Merlin's Nightmare (The Merlin Spiral) (2 page)

T
HE
S
TORY OF
B
OOK
1: M
ERLIN
’
S
B
LADE
. . .

The Stone
— In 407 A.D., a meteorite crashes to Britain, depositing a black stone in a crater, which fills with water to become a mysterious lake. In 463, Merlin’s mother supposedly drowns in the lake, and her body is never found.

Mórganthu
— The arch druid finds the Stone in 477. With it he can enchant the Britons, and intends to restore the power of the druids — starting in Merlin’s village.

Merlin
— The swordsmith’s son. Half-blinded by wolves seven years ago, he is protected from the Stone’s enchantment because he can’t see it. Despite his weakness, he begins to fight against Mórganthu and the Stone.

Natalenya
— The seventeen-year-old daughter of the Magister, and Merlin’s love interest. She must see beyond Merlin’s scars to his courageous leadership and join with him to fight the Stone.

Ganieda
— Merlin’s nine-year-old half sister; she seems to have an affinaty for wolves.

Garth —
A friend of Merlin who is an orphan and a rascal. He lives at the abbey and despises the abbot’s discipline. He is the first to be enchanted, motivating Merlin to fight against the Stone.

Owain
— Merlin’s father, and a swordsmith, who deserted the High King’s warband many years ago. He also becomes enchanted by the Stone.

The Blade
— Made by Merlin’s father, who gives it to the newly arrived High King Uther to appease his wrath. When the king is not satisfied, Owain gives Merlin to him as a servant.

Uther
— The proud High King and father to Arthur. When the druids prevent the villagers from swearing fealty, he cuts off the head of Mórganthu’s son. Mórganthu swears revenge.

Colvarth
— The king’s bard, a former druid and now a Christian, who agrees to mentor Merlin. In this new role, Merlin advises the king to destroy the Stone.

Vortigern
— A battle chief. He is enchanted and betrays Uther and Arthur to the druids.

Arthur
— the young son of King Uther. Garth sees Mórganthu’s cruelty, and his plan to murder the royal family, and saves Arthur’s life.

Dybris —
A monk who works with Merlin and Owain to take the Stone and destroy it. He discovers the other monks were caught by Mórganthu and will be burned to death during the ritual. While trying to free his fellow monks and remove the Stone, Dybris and Owain are captured, leaving Merlin to try and save everyone on his own. In the end, Merlin conspires with a sympathetic druid named Caygek.

Connek
— A thief hired by Mórganthu to kill Merlin, and by Vortigern to kill Natalenya after she overhears his treachery. When Natalenya visits the mill to borrow a mule to haul the Stone away, Connek hides there and tries to kill Natalenya, but he dies when the millstone falls on him.

The Murder
— During the druid ritual, Uther and Owain are to be sacrificed to the Stone, and the monks to be burned. Vortigern hides his men and arrives to make sure Uther is dead. When he finds the High King alive, he tries to kill him, and after a brief skirmish with Merlin, he succeeds. The druids, cheated of their sacrifice, attack. Vortigern calls his men to fight.

The Escape
— The monks are freed by Caygek’s friends, and Owain is freed by Caygek himself. Merlin, Owain, and Dybris escape with the Stone, but are chased by both the druids and Vortigern’s warriors. Natalenya rescues them, and they haul the Stone to the smithy, barricading the doors.

The Fight
— Owain can’t destroy the Stone. While trying, Vortigern’s men try to break in, and Garth sets fire to the fortress where their horses are kept. The warriors run off, and the druids break into the smithy alone. Mórganthu enters with the dead king’s new blade. Dybris and Owain are injured, but Merlin cuts off Mórganthu’s hand and reclaims the blade.

The Hammering
— Natalenya is trapped by flames erupting from the Stone, and Merlin must save her. He tries to hammer the blade into the Stone, and burns his hands in the process. Natalenya steadies him, and they are both given a vision.

The Vision
— is of Natalenya being taken to a red dragon and a white dragon so they can eat her. Merlin fights the dragons, chops off a fang from one, and stabs the other in the eye.

The Victory
— The vision ends. Merlin and Natalenya hammer the blade into the Stone, which causes an explosion, knocking out the druids.

The Aftermath
— An angel heals Merlin of his blindness, and he, along with Natalenya, Colvarth, and Garth, take Arthur away to save him from Vortigern. Before leaving, Merlin visits the lake where his mother supposedly drowned and finds her alive — a water creature freed from serving the Stone, but forever confined to the lake. Vortigern rallies his men in pursuit, setting the stage for book two,
Merlin’s Shadow.

T
HE
S
TORY OF
B
OOK
2: M
ERLIN
’
S
S
HADOW
. . .

Ganieda —
Merlin’s half sister, who is nine years old. She falsely blames Merlin for her parents’ death. In grief she visits her father’s smithy, and finds the Stone impaled by the sword. Beside it, she finds a mysterious orb and fang.

Mórganthu —
Ganieda’s grandfather, the arch druid, and Merlin’s enemy. He takes Ganieda back to his tent. There they discover that the orb allows them to spy on Merlin.

Merlin —
After the death of Uther, he flees to save Arthur from being killed by Vortigern. Colvarth the bard, Garth the bagpipe-playing orphan, and Natalenya his betrothed go with. Chased by Vortigern, Merlin decides they should find refuge on the island of Dintaga, against Colvarth’s advice.

Gorlas —
The King of Kernow, who resides on the island fortress of Dintaga. When he learns of the death of Uther and Igerna, Arthur’s parents, he refuses to believe Igerna is dead. He loved her and hated Uther for marrying her, and so kicks Merlin and his companions out of his fortress and invites Vortigern to come and kill them.

The Mirror —
Merlin sulks at his folly of choosing to go to Dintaga and, in a pool of water, looks at himself for the first time since his sight was restored. Seeing the ugly scars on his face, he doubts that Natalenya could love him and intends to free her from her vow to marry him.

The Fang —
Natalenya comes and Ganieda spies on them with the orb while they wait for Vortigern. She tries to hurt Merlin with the fang, but misses and injures Natalenya, sickening her.

Vortigern —
The traitor who killed Uther. He arrives at Dintaga, but Garth calls a ship using his bagpipe, and they all escape. Before landing in Kembry, Colvarth opens the old box Uther had found, and he and Merlin discover an ancient wooden bowl. Meanwhile, Natalenya gets sicker.

Taken Captive —
Ganieda tells Vortigern where they are going, and he catches them in the middle of a steep-sided valley. But a band of raiding Pictish warriors fight off Vortigern, and take Merlin and his friends as slaves. Vortigern wanted to kill Arthur, but he is happy Arthur is now a slave.

Necton —
A Pictish warrior, who takes them as slaves to the far north. Along the way, Merlin has a vision that the bowl is the Sangraal, the cup of Christ that caught his blood. He tries to heal Natalenya, but it doesn’t work, and Merlin begins to question his faith even more.

Scafta —
The witch doctor of the Picts, he buys Garth’s bagpipe from Necton, making the orphan mad. Scafta has a huge mound of tangled hair that he won’t let anyone touch.

The Escape —
Merlin’s faith sours during their slavery. When they escape, they’re caught and taken back to the Pictish village, where Merlin must fight Scafta to the death. Merlin pins Scafta,
Garth cuts off the the man’s hair, and Scafta runs away. The people cheer because they hated the witch doctor, and give Garth his bagpipe back.

King Atle —
Respected now, Garth convinces Necton to sell them to Atle, who is Merlin’s great-grandfather. But there is something strange about the king, for Colvarth thinks he shouldn’t be alive after so many years.

The Feast —
A great feast is held, and Merlin and the others’ food is drugged. Merlin wakes up and finds Arthur has been stolen by Atle and that they are trapped by guards in his fortress.

Kensa —
An old woman who was locked up by Atle. Merlin frees her, and she explains that Atle has sailed to the land of the dead and will sacrifice Arthur to renew his own youth.

The Parting —
Merlin says good-bye to Natalenya, as well as Colvarth, who will care for her. Colvarth offers the Sangraal to Merlin, and he takes it, only to later lose during a fight by dropping it accdientally into deep water.

Sailing North —
They escape, buy a leather-hulled boat, and set sail. On the way, Merlin finds the Sangraal miraculously in his bag. Angry still, he throws it into the water. A light appears and guides them.

Atle’s Temple —
When they arrive, they’re captured by Atle’s son, Loth. Atle offers Merlin eternal youth and to heal his scars if he will join them. Merlin is tempted, but refuses, choosing what is right.

Arthur —
The boy is slain by Atle, and everyone is made younger. Merlin pulls his knife to kill Atle, but finds the Sangraal in his hand. He grabs his knife instead, but has the Sangraal again. Choosing to trust, not the Sangraal but the God of the Sangraal, he pours a drop of Christ’s blood upon Atle’s foul altar.

The Victory —
The altar is destroyed, along with Atle and his household. Arthur is brought back to life, and they leave the island for home, where Merlin uses the Sangraal, trusting in God now, to finally heal Natalenya. The two are reconciled and plan to marry.

Mórgana —
Ganieda has saved Loth’s life using the orb and transported him back to Kernow. With the power of the fang, Ganieda grows taller and becomes Mórgana. Together with Mórganthu and Loth, she plans an elaborate trap for when Arthur is older, setting up book three,
Merlin’s Nightmare
.

T
HE
WILDS OF
B
OSVENNA
M
OOR
K
ERNOW
,
IN SOUTHWESTERN
B
RITAIN
S
PRING
,
IN THE YEAR OF OUR
L
ORD
493