Merlin shouldn't have ever left Ealdor. For once, he has a friend that actually provides him some questions for self-reflection. Who actually challenges him and who he can't hide from.
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Merlin shouldn't have ever left Ealdor. For once, he has a friend that actually provides him some questions for self-reflection. Who actually challenges him and who he can't hide from.

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All time ever does is pass and all you ever do is remember.
November | Sue Zhao
Title: Hunith went hungry countless times so her son could eat
Episode: The āMoment of Truthā questions
Questions by @tansyuduri
Tagging: @miyriu
Books used as references: āThe Magic Beginsā, āDangerous Questsā, āThe Death of Arthurā, āLancelot and Guinevereā and the āHeroesā Guide
Question: It was normally a lord's responsability to make sure raiders did not come and take food? I know itās a border region in Cenred's kingdom, but it doesnāt seem to have a lesser noble of the kingdom ruling over it?
It also must be far from Cenred's court. Since Cenred would have more of an interest protecting villages that actually provided him food. (Thus kept up their side of the feudalism deal?)
My answer: When Merlin first came to Camelot, he noted the table in the great hall had more food then heād ever seen in his life and that just this one feast alone could feed his entire village for a year.
Also, according to the Camelot maps, Ealdor is very small (barely a blip on the map) and the only houses on the map in that village seem to be tiny ramshackle huts.
If you look above Ealdor in the map, you can see Jarlās castle, which is much bigger then the whole of Ealdor and therefore their likely isnāt any nobles anywhere near them (since everything nearby seems to be unoccupied land, caves and forests).
Considering how little food Ealdor has been mentioned to produce, itās likely Cenred doesnāt even take food from them, since less then a tables worth of food at a single banquet is hardly worth taking and likely only taxes them to farm/live there.
Book description: Merlin enjoyed just looking at the great hall with its rich wall coverings and vast hanging chandeliers, at the beautifully carved wooden tables laden with more food than he'd ever seen in his life before.
This one feast would feed Merlin's entire village for a year - but he was in too good a mood to begrudge the guests their meal.
Question: Why didnāt Uther send only a few men as Arthur suggests. ESPECIALLY since there is little likelihood of any of Cenred's soldiers being in the area to know?
My answer: Uther himself admits that Cenred had never been openly hostile towards them without good reason and was therefore shocked when the mercenaries attacked without provocation.
(THIS š could also be a major reason why Uther was not willing to send aid to Ealdor, even in the form of a few knights. He was not willing to risk starting a war with a neighboring kingdom who had so far never attacked with provocation).
(Source: āTraitor Withinā book)
In the āLancelot and Guinevereā book, Morgana muses to herself about how Uther always considered the ābigger pictureā and acted accordingly.
In many ways, Uther sending even a few soldiers to Cenredās kingdoms would be a bigger risk and he would consider it not worth it, especially given how the ābigger pictureā is that heād be risking war in order to protect a tiny village that isnāt even on his land.
1st Book description:
'We've had reports that mercenaries are streaming into Cenred's kingdom,' he announced to the assembled councillors.
Uther frowned. Cenred had never been openly hostile towards them without good reason. It seemed strange that the situation had changed. 'Do we know why?'
2nd book description: Morgana had been angry with Uther before, but this time her rage against the king's indolence left her physically shaking.
She had long ago recognized that Uther would always make an appeal to 'the bigger picture, but the least she expected was that Arthur would plead for Gwen.
(Source: āLancelot and Guinevereā book)
Question: So from what we see, Merlin's diet growing up would have been milk, grains, eggs, and likely some fruits and vegetables as we saw those taken earlier. Perhaps every once in a while some meat?
My answer: Merlin mentioned that men would go out to trap animals for food when times were desperate and they were facing starvation.
As Hunith grew sicker as the result of the deal with Nimueh, Merlin recalled the countless times his mother had gone hungry so that heād never once had to miss a meal.
Book description: āDangerous Questionā book
In the little village where he'd grown up, men would go out and trap animals for food. In lean times, it was a choice between that and starvation.
But the Crown Prince of Camelot sat down to a banquet every night - he had no need to hunt. This was just sport to him, the challenge of his wits against the beast's.
Taking the life of a feeling, thinking creature for fun? Merlin couldn't see how it could ever be right. Yet he knew that Arthur was a good man. It was very confusing.
Book description in āDangerous Questionsā:
Merlin remembered how she'd always been there for him when he'd got upset, unable to come to terms with the great powers that had been bestowed upon him.
The countless times she had gone hungry so that he d never once had to miss a meal.
Question: It seems like most of the Ealdor did NOT know about Merlin's Secret?
Book description:
As Merlin's childhood friend, William of Ealdor was the only other person, apart from Hunith, who knew Merlin's secret.
Question: What is Merlinās relationship like with the other villagers in Ealdor?
My answer: Merlin admits to knowing people back in Ealdor, who thought they could get away with anything just because they were good looking and skillful. (Funny enough he thinks about this while watching Arthur throwing knives at his servant).
Book description:
Merlin watched with a frown as the boy scurried back and forth across the yard, the young knight throwing dagger after dagger at him - hitting the target spot-on every time. He would, of course.
Merlin knew the type - even back in Ealdor there had been people like that, who thought that being good looking and skillful meant they could do whatever they liked.
All the girls fancied them too. It was funny how girls couldn't spot how much of a prat someone was if that someone had big enough muscles.
His only reprieve from that pain had been Will, who joked him through it. Who took the blame for some of the mischief that Merlin's magic caused. Will never treated him differently. He never lied to Merlin. Will had died for his sake. If Merlin didn't have a friend like Will, who risked a lot and risked it often for him, then Merlin would never have made it to Camelot.
Morgana never had that. He could have been that, but he was afraid. He was a coward, Merlin knew as much. Will wouldn't have poisoned his friend. He would have found another way. But Merlin didn't. He betrayed Morgana. She had put her entire life in his hand and he crushed it.
Fanfic: Another Way Ch 1, Merlin | FanFiction
It's not everyday where you can read a mergana fic that remembers Will.
Will: Ain't nobody tellin' me I can't do anything no more!
Arthur: [to Merlin] I think that was the worst English I've ever heard.

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Arthur: You saved me. I owe you my life.
Will: No thanks. Iāve seen it and Iām not very impressed.
Merlin Headcanons, Part One (Pre Canon and Canon Era)
⢠When Merlin was born, his eyes were gold when he first opened them and he broke a plate when he cried. When the townswoman who helped Hunith with the birth came running into the room to investigate the noise, Hunith starting crying hysterically (she later said she was simply upset that Merlinās father wasnāt there) and threw a cup against a wall from her bedside to cover up any evidence of Merlinās magic. It worked; the woman was alarmed by her sudden and extreme actions and ran from the room before Merlinās magic did anything else. The woman gave Hunith a bit of space for a while afterwards; Hunith didnāt mind, as it took a few years for Merlin to stop doing spontaneous magic when laughing or crying.Ā
⢠Merlin did in fact tell Will he had magic, Will didn't find out by accident. Between Will's reaction to Merlin not wanting to tell Arthur about his magic, and Merlin's strong desire to tell people in Camelot about his magic even under the threat of execution, there's no reason to think he didn't tell Will himself.
⢠Will knew for a year or two before Hunith found out he knew. This, combined with Merlin's lack of control over his magic, made her reach out to Gaius on Merlin's behalf. (She had to travel to the next town over to send the letter, but she was so upset she didnāt tell Merlin where she was going. He just thought she had had enough and decided to leave and was so happy when she came back home again)
⢠When Merlin was little and it was winter time, he used his magic to make crops grow from the seeds stored in his house so that he and his mother could eat. Merlin wanted to share his gifts with the rest of the village but his mother was adamant that he shouldn't .
⢠(This was endlessly frustrating to baby Merlin, who didn't understand why he couldn't just use his magic to help people. His mother assured him that maybe some day he could change how the world saw magic. She forgot these words as he grew older, but Merlin never did)
⢠Merlin is extremely sensitive to the cold after what happened with the dorocha. It's never directly addressed because of the grief over Lancelot that is associated with those memories, but on extended hunting trips Merlin always sits closest to the fireside even when it isn't that cold outside. Sometimes he falls asleep shivering and wakes up covered in a red cloak or five
⢠Merlin likes fire; it was one of the first magics he experimented with after telekinesis. He is not afraid of it because of its association with the pyre.
⢠No matter how afraid he is of Arthur reacting badly to his magic, he knows Arthur isn't cruel enough to burn him alive. Beheading, however, is a very real fear for him. That was the first type of execution he ever saw, and when Arthur asks him why Merlin never told him about his magic, Merlin didn't say "Because I didn't want to burn," he says, "You'd have chopped my head off."
⢠This is also why he continues wearing neckerchiefs throughout the series; in Ealdor it was just the style and a way to keep warm, but in Camelot Merlin feels more comfortable keeping his neck covered.
And the one that makes me saddest (sorry):
⢠Merlin never did find out that Arthur hugged him during the whole fomorrah incident; in his mind, the only hug they ever shared was Merlin holding Arthur as he died.
That's all for now! There will be a Part Two: Immortal Edition to follow but this is getting too long.