Meet the Cast
Merlin (Myrddin Emrys, Merlinus Ambrosius)
Chances are you've come across Merlin before. The Sword in the Stone, maybe? Excalibur? The TV show Merlin?Dude's hard to miss, right? But don't think you know everything there is to know about him...
Ambrosius
Break Out the Dad JeansSurprisingly, we don't get a lot of details about Ambrosius—the ambitious would-be King of Britain and Merlin's dad—even though we're seeing him through the eyes of an ad...
Uther
Uther is…not the nicest guy you're ever going to meet. He's not a villain, exactly, but that's kind of not for lack of trying.Let's see what makes him tick.Uncle JerkMerlin meets Uncle Uther in t...
Niniane
Woman. Trouble.Merlin's mom is no stranger to family or political controversy. Her fling with Ambrosius, the exiled brother of the murdered High King, pretty much ensures that. When she refuses to...
Galapas
Cave ManMerlin's wise teacher and friend lives in a cave just above Maridunum and has been one with nature for so long that he kinda looks more like an element than a person:Now the old man's veins...
Cadal
A Brother and a FriendCadal is the first person Merlin can really talk to in Ambrosius' court. He's funny and chill and immediately takes to the pathetic little wizard. Merlin appreciates Cadal's a...
Camlach
A Classic VillainCamlach, Merlin's scheming uncle, is a total villain. He's so villainous that Mary Stewart gave him the full-out villain fashion statement: "Later I was to discover that he always...
Vortigern
A Fearful KingLike many of the characters in this book, Vortigern is the stuff of legends. If you check out Geoffrey of Monmouth's pseudo-historical History of the Kings of Britain, you'll find the...
Cerdic
A Faithful FriendCerdic turns out to be Merlin's only male friend and protector at the palace in South Wales. He's a Saxon by birth, taken as a slave in one of the many wars raging across Britain....
Dinias
Courtyard BullyMerlin's cousin (an illegitimate son of Merlin's grandpa) has no love for him. Dinias spends most of his childhood looking for ways to beat up on the nerdy, unsocial Merlin. His stre...
Gorlois of Cornwall
An Old BoarGorlois is the first friendly face, outside of Cadal's, that Merlin sees when he flees the scene of his triumph at Vortigern's tower. He shows himself to be a jokester, though an old fri...
Ygraine, Duchess of Cornwall
More Than a WomanOld Gorlois' wife is definitely the surprise player of this book. When we first hear about her, she's being relentlessly and inappropriately courted by King Uther. Merlin gets this...
Belasius
A Seriously Bad HombreMerlin tells us that Ambrosius brings Belasius on board to be his tutor in Brittany. Belasius is definitely not as awesome as Galapas (who could be?). He's not even as nice as...