How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
When I reported with them to the officer in charge, and asked him to assign me a place in his troop, he was horrified, and begged me quite seriously to stay out of the fight, but to find some place where the men could see me, and know, as he put it, "that the prophet was here with them." (IV.4.8)
Merlin's really eager to put himself to practical use on the battlefield to help his father. But everybody in Ambrosius' army knows that Merlin has supernatural powers and has given them a favorable prophecy. No way they're going to let a valuable commodity like that become food for the crows. Merlin hates sitting out the battle, but he obeys to show respect to his father and the men.
Quote #8
I believe I told myself that my first duty and concern was to visit St. Peter's to ask about my mother's death, and to see where she was buried. But when I got from my horse at the nunnery gate and lifted a hand to the bell, I knew from the knocking of my heart that I had told myself a lie. (IV.7.26)
Merlin knows a lot about family duty: he's just come from a battle in which he played his part to help his father. And now he's eager to do the right thing by his dead mother. Seriously, though, he's seventeen. He can't stop himself from thinking that maybe—just maybe—the gorgeous porter at the nunnery will still be there to let him in. We might say that in hoping so, he's being loyal to himself.
Quote #9
They had buried him, I knew, with his sword in his hand. I said to him: "We shall come back, both of us, at the winter solstice." Then I left him and mounted my horse, and rode toward Amesbury. (V.1.7)
Merlin spends a lot of time promising his loved ones that he will carry on their legacies in some way. This promise to his dead father is no different: Merlin's erected the stones at Stonehenge precisely, in a way that will draw the first rays of light on the winter solstice straight across his father's grave. It's a monumental achievement. But for Merlin, it's another sign that he's obedient to the destiny that shapes his life.