Merlin's NO 1 FAN.

Merlincest

To make things less confusing, I gave both Merlins different names. The previous Merlin (blond) — Mirrid The new Merlin (brown-haired) — Ansel

The Star in the Dream

After the Tower of Memories, Ansel begins studying the Memory Stars in hopes of uncovering his past. Instead of answers, he is haunted by the feeling that the memories don't belong to him—as if he's living someone else's life.

Soon, the same dream begins repeating every night: endless darkness, and a single star silently trying to tell him something.

Talmiria

Together with Hogan, Ansel travels to Talmiria, a kingdom that has recently reopened its borders.

In the capital, Elzahr, they are welcomed by Prince Kaelis, the sole surviving member of the royal family after the war. He brings Ansel to the Temple of Dura's Heart, where a mysterious anomaly prevents anyone from entering. As Merlin, Ansel is expected to solve the problem.

The Temple of Dura's Heart

As Ansel attempts to investigate the temple, his magic suddenly becomes unstable. The temple itself seems to react to his presence, and his loss of control nearly injures the people around him.

Rumors quickly spread across the city, while Ansel is left wondering what is happening to his own magic.

Morena

Unable to sleep because of the recurring dreams, Ansel eventually encounters Morena—a former temple priestess who has become an infamous necromancer.

She immediately tells him that he is not the Merlin she once knew. As someone who can sense souls, she claims his soul is completely different. According to her, the real Merlin died twenty years ago.

Ansel dismisses her words as the ramblings of a madwoman, yet they refuse to leave his mind.

Nightmares

As time passes, Ansel's condition worsens. A blue mark appears in one of his irises, mirrors begin showing him someone else's face—or no reflection at all.

Morena's words continue to echo in his head:

"You don't remember your past because you don't have one."

A Deal with Morena

Desperate for answers, Ansel seeks Morena out once again.

She tells him that his magic isn't unstable at all—it may simply be revealing its true nature. According to her, every answer lies within Dura's Heart, but the truth can only be uncovered by destroying it.

Before he leaves, she gives him a rune that will allow him to pass through the anomaly unharmed.

Dura's Call

The rune works, and Ansel enters the temple.

As he prepares to destroy Dura's Heart, he hears a voice begging him to stop. But his desire to finally learn the truth is stronger.

He destroys the Heart.

The temple begins to collapse, and Ansel falls into the abyss beneath it.

Kaelis

Exhausted and barely conscious, Ansel is confronted by Kaelis, who finally reveals his true identity—he is a demon.

He admits that the story about Ansel being a "fake Merlin" was all part of a plan to manipulate him into destroying Dura's Heart, a divine fragment that had been keeping demons sealed away.

Overwhelmed by guilt and rage, Ansel kills Kaelis. But his own magic completely consumes him, dragging him into darkness.

The Star from the Dream

Within the darkness, Ansel sees the same star from his dreams.

He reaches out and grabs it. The star pulls him back into reality.

Morena is already waiting for him. Without another explanation, she hands him a small box and says only:

"Keep it with you."

Ansel places the star inside, not knowing why it matters.

Later, Ansel ventures deep into the forests of Avalon.

There, he discovers Mirrid's body.

The small box suddenly begins to shake. The star flies out, enters Mirrid's body, and moments later...

Merlinverse (or rather Merlincest) meme compilation part 3 feat. @permanga-nate!

Absolutely loving the colors on this

Also this random thing I made—

Or better yet, who put them there? Who enrolled them? Not themselves I don’t think. Maybe a parent or guardian, but there’s no mention of any past figures like such because they likely would’ve been mentioned in the memory stars.

Was it the previous Merlin? My theory leans more heavily towards that being the possibility, our Merlin having shown prominent magic and selected by the last Merlin and enrolled by them to hone their magic. Because they already have the name Merlin in the photo of them and Cyran on the student council photo together again, then again, the photo could’ve later been updated but it’s one that was locked away in the Stellar Spire with no one to access it for twenty years, and I doubt Cranky would tamper with it.

If that’s the case of Merlin being chosen as the next Merlin so young, then it’s kind of sad. They had their life chosen for them quite young. Maybe they knew that right from the get go and decided that if they’re supposed to be this all powerful and revered mage later, they might as well be the kid they want to be during their school days. And they were.

Hi anon!

Similar to other RPGs, we know that Merlin has been deliberately designed to be a blank slate. I thought it was neat that Hogan mentioned we went under different disguises and different names, like an in lore explanation of why we could pick our name and outfit. Having amnesia was also another neat trick on why we didn't know what was happening and who is everyone.

For about four seasons after, there was no explanation on Merlin's past, just that we are a great mage and we must help, with or without our consent. There were hints here and there, but nothing really concrete. I mean, it only took Lilith this long to introduce the other Seats, eh? And of course, up until ToD to drop an entire bucket of lore on us. We know Merlin is not a being of the Tree, we know they are the First Seat, and we know they 'perished' in the Second Divine War and woke up twenty years later with amnesia. Apparently that is enough for the player to play as a self insert.

Lilith really started leaning into the lore after ToD; in ToM, we learn things about Merlin that may or may not fit our self inserted Merlin. Most of it is after Merlin started keeping diaries. They just couldn't start earlier, unfortunately. Or the devs didn't plan on fleshing out so much in one go. Nevertheless, we can safely say that whatever we know, is what Lilith wants us to know, or is important to the story.

How did they enter the Lyceum? Not important apparently. There's preparatory school as we've seen in the three little HP ripoffs. Was Merlin already there? We don't know. Someone, most likely a guardian, would have acted on Merlin's behalf to enrol them, either as a suggestion from another mage or like Cassadee's parents. That guardian is, unfortunately, probably dead or simply forgotten by Merlin. Since they don't appear in the story at all, the guardian is not important. Feel free to head cannon Merlin as an orphan.

Could it be the previous Merlin that enrolled them? Maybe, but wouldn't the then Headmistress Heidi know? Wouldn't it be mentioned that Merlin was groomed (sounds bad) young? If the previous Merlin hid their identity, how are they going to prove little Merlin is a talented kid worth the trouble?

Now I'm wondering how does the Serene Lyceum operate? Like a public school? Seems unlikely. Who's providing the funding for the food, uniforms and general needs? Leymar does accept rich students for funding, so it's definitely a private school. Zorya helps out students that are worse off, so we know there are students that can't afford something. Maybe Zorya kept Merlin funded in school, discreetly. Maybe the previous Merlin was rich and left a fund like HP. Maybe Merlin is so talented that Leymar fought to keep them enrolled, even if Merlin terrorized the entire faculty. Strange, that Merlin never had to suffer a parent-teacher meeting outcome. It's like no one cares.

Now, no matter how much classes Merlin skipped, something tells me they did enjoy being there. They loved entering forbidden zones. They hung out in the library after closing time. It's just that the classes were too easy for them. Skipping classes, yet still topping year after year? It's not a student that hates class for class. It's a bored student. It's making kindergarten level classes mandatory attendance. I'd skip too.

Did they know they were going to be a Merlin though? Seems unlikely. They would have told Cyran, besties that they are. Or the previous Merlin put a spell to make them keep it a secret. I prefer the simplest answer, which is they didn't know.

Why is Merlin only known as Merlin? Remember Aurelian and his contract? Someone must know Merlin's true name. Unless, there was a side effect of having your true name erased from history once you took up the mantle of Merlin. You're telling me not a single living being in Esperia knows Merlin's true name? No notes? No photos? Not even Cyran knows? Yeah, sounds like magic.