Merlin Mythology II - the new legends
May. 18th, 2011 06:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wiseheartThis part of the mythology is deals mainly with the Fallen Kings, in whose valley the Crystal Cave is located. These Kings, clearly the ones who built the ruined castle in which Arthur and Co. sought refuge in the two-episode 3rd season finale and who built the Round Table in the first place, are otherwise a complete mystery. So, this is my take on them - be warned that the rest of the entry behind the tag is full of spoilers!
The Fallen Kings are the rulers of old in Albion: sovereigns of all the petty kingdoms scattered across the Isles. They all belogned to two major Houses: the House of Don (named after the Sun god of the Old Religion) and the House of Llyr (named after the Sea god of the old religion.
Originally, both Houses used magic to increase and protect their power, but their magical powers were built on different sets of elements.
The House Don built its power on air adn fire. Their sons were born of the day and determined to become great warrior kings. Their daughters were born of the night, without natural magical abilities, but they could learn to practise sorcery by the way of spells, rituals and the use of magical items. Sorceresses of the House Don were inclined by nature towards dark magic.
The House Llyr built its power on water and earth. Their sons were born of the night and could be great warriros, but their true strength was their charismatic nature; few people, be they men of women, could resist their natural charm. Their daughters were born of the day, with magical abilities that were part of their very nature and could rise in power beyond imagination.
According to ancient prophecies, Albion could only be reunited in peace if the last Son of Don would marry the last Daughter of Llyr - a daughter with magical abilities, at that. The union of a warrior Don King and a royal Llyr enchantress was considered blessed, as they represented the strongest aspects of day and night, respectively.
The union of a warrior Llyr King and a royal Don sorceress, however, was considered an abomination, as they were both born of the night. Consequently, a child born of that union would be inherently turned to the dark side of magic. Morgause, who always wanted power more than anything else, seduced Prince Meleagant of the House Llyr with the explicit intention to produce a child capable of such dark, powerful magic - hence Mordred's extraordinary abilities.
The Dragonlords appeared fairly late on the playground. Legend says that in ancient times dragons were capable of shape-shifting (yes, Earthsea homage here); one of the Great Dragons, in human disguise, seduced a Don sorceress and gave her a magical child. Fort hat reason, the true strength of a Dragonlord always lay in air and fire, since those were the elements of the dragons. The only exception was Balinor's bloodline, who had a Llyr enchantress somewhere up his family three, which explains how Merlin can use all elements to his advantage.
The Nine Priestesses of the Isle of the Blessed were the counterparts of the Dragonlords. While capable of manipulating all elements to their advantage, their main strength lay in earth and water. Although neutral at the beginning of the long war, eventually they allied themselves with the house Llyr. The only exception was Nimueh, who, at some point, befriended Uther Pendragon and acted as his court sorceress for a while - until Ygraine's death. She was the only one of the Nine Priestesses who survived both the war and the Great Purge.
Again, this is still fairly rough and will change and develop. Comments and suggestions are welcome, a discussion would be even more lovely. :)
The Fallen Kings are the rulers of old in Albion: sovereigns of all the petty kingdoms scattered across the Isles. They all belogned to two major Houses: the House of Don (named after the Sun god of the Old Religion) and the House of Llyr (named after the Sea god of the old religion.
Originally, both Houses used magic to increase and protect their power, but their magical powers were built on different sets of elements.
The House Don built its power on air adn fire. Their sons were born of the day and determined to become great warrior kings. Their daughters were born of the night, without natural magical abilities, but they could learn to practise sorcery by the way of spells, rituals and the use of magical items. Sorceresses of the House Don were inclined by nature towards dark magic.
The House Llyr built its power on water and earth. Their sons were born of the night and could be great warriros, but their true strength was their charismatic nature; few people, be they men of women, could resist their natural charm. Their daughters were born of the day, with magical abilities that were part of their very nature and could rise in power beyond imagination.
According to ancient prophecies, Albion could only be reunited in peace if the last Son of Don would marry the last Daughter of Llyr - a daughter with magical abilities, at that. The union of a warrior Don King and a royal Llyr enchantress was considered blessed, as they represented the strongest aspects of day and night, respectively.
The union of a warrior Llyr King and a royal Don sorceress, however, was considered an abomination, as they were both born of the night. Consequently, a child born of that union would be inherently turned to the dark side of magic. Morgause, who always wanted power more than anything else, seduced Prince Meleagant of the House Llyr with the explicit intention to produce a child capable of such dark, powerful magic - hence Mordred's extraordinary abilities.
The Dragonlords appeared fairly late on the playground. Legend says that in ancient times dragons were capable of shape-shifting (yes, Earthsea homage here); one of the Great Dragons, in human disguise, seduced a Don sorceress and gave her a magical child. Fort hat reason, the true strength of a Dragonlord always lay in air and fire, since those were the elements of the dragons. The only exception was Balinor's bloodline, who had a Llyr enchantress somewhere up his family three, which explains how Merlin can use all elements to his advantage.
The Nine Priestesses of the Isle of the Blessed were the counterparts of the Dragonlords. While capable of manipulating all elements to their advantage, their main strength lay in earth and water. Although neutral at the beginning of the long war, eventually they allied themselves with the house Llyr. The only exception was Nimueh, who, at some point, befriended Uther Pendragon and acted as his court sorceress for a while - until Ygraine's death. She was the only one of the Nine Priestesses who survived both the war and the Great Purge.
Again, this is still fairly rough and will change and develop. Comments and suggestions are welcome, a discussion would be even more lovely. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-20 12:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-20 08:13 pm (UTC)My addition is the fracturing towards certain elemenst along the lines of air/fire (Don, Dragonlords) and earth/water (Llyr, priestesses), respectively. That and the war that has been going on for centuries.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-21 02:32 pm (UTC)The books, are they any good?
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-21 04:21 pm (UTC)