Long before Arthur became king, long before the Round Table, there was a wizard. The greatest wizard who ever lived. His name was Merlin, and without him the story of Camelot would never have happened. But who was Merlin? Where did his powers come from? And what became of him in the end? This is his story.

Merlin's birth was wrapped in mystery. His mother was a pure and holy princess, but his father, so the legends tell, was a spirit of the shadows, a being from another world. When Merlin was born, the wise men of the kingdom grew worried, saying that a child of such blood would have terrible powers and might do great harm.

But Merlin's mother took the boy to the church and had him baptized. And a wonderful thing happened: the baby received not evil, but good. His powers would indeed be immense, but he would use them to help, not to destroy. From his earliest years, Merlin was unlike anyone else. He could see the future and the past, he understood the language of animals and plants, and he could work magic that no one else in the world could work.

When Merlin was only seven years old, something happened that proved his extraordinary gifts. The king of those lands, Vortigern, was trying to build a tower, but every time the walls rose, they crumbled in the night. The king's magicians declared that, for the tower to stand, a child without a father would have to be sacrificed, and his blood poured into the foundations.

They searched the whole kingdom and found Merlin, who had no human father. The soldiers brought him before the king. But Merlin, though only a child, was not afraid. He laughed and said:

"Your magicians are fools. The trouble is not a lack of blood. There are two dragons fighting beneath the earth, and that is why your tower falls."

"Impossible," said the magicians.

"Then dig, and see," Merlin answered.

The king ordered the digging. And far below, deep in the ground, they found exactly what Merlin had said: an underground cavern where two enormous dragons, one red and one white, fought without rest.

King Vortigern was so impressed that he spared Merlin's life and made him a royal counselor. But Merlin had other visions.

"Your tower will never stand, Vortigern," he said. "For your kingdom will fall. Two brothers are coming from the lands beyond the sea, and one of them, Uther, will defeat you and rule these lands."

And so it came to pass. Vortigern was defeated, Uther became King Uther Pendragon, and Merlin became his closest counselor.

Years later, Uther fell in love with Igraine, the most beautiful lady in Britain, who was married to another lord. Uther asked Merlin for help, and the wizard used his magic to give Uther, for one night, the appearance of Igraine's husband. From that union a boy was born: Arthur.

Merlin knew that many dangers surrounded the baby.

"Give the child to me," he said to Uther. "I will have him raised in secret. When the right time comes, this boy will be the greatest king Britain has ever seen."

Merlin gave Arthur to a kind knight named Sir Ector, who raised him alongside his own son, Kay. Arthur grew up never knowing he was a prince. Meanwhile, Merlin prepared everything for the future: with powerful magic, he set a sword through an anvil upon a stone before the great cathedral of London, with a promise carved in golden letters that only the true king of Britain could draw it out.

When Arthur was fifteen, Uther died, and the kingdom fell into chaos, with the nobles quarreling over who should be king. All the nobles tried to pull the sword, and all of them failed. But then Arthur, who was there only as Kay's squire, touched the sword, and it came free with ease.

Many nobles were furious. A boy, a nobody, king of Britain? But Merlin came forward before them all and proclaimed:

"This is no nobody. This is Arthur Pendragon, son of Uther, the rightful king!"

And so Arthur became king, with Merlin at his side as counselor.

The years that followed were glorious. Merlin counseled Arthur in everything. It was he who suggested the Round Table, he who helped Arthur win battles that seemed impossible, and he who guided the young king along the road of wisdom and justice.

Merlin could change his appearance, coming sometimes as a wise old man, sometimes as a young knight. He could call the snow and the rain when they were needed, he spoke with the animals, and he could see things happening leagues away. But his greatest power was his sight of the future: he knew what would happen before it happened. And that included his own fall.

"Arthur," Merlin said one day, sadly, "soon I must leave you. My fate draws near."

"What?" Arthur was horrified. "Do not say that. I need you, Merlin. Use your magic and turn this fate aside."

"I cannot," sighed Merlin. "I know my fate. I will see every step that leads me to it, I will try to avoid it, and still I will walk into it of my own free will. For the future cannot be changed, only understood."

And then she appeared. Nimue.

She was young and beautiful, with hair as black as night and eyes as green as emeralds. She was also a student of magic, gifted, but still an apprentice. Nimue sought out Merlin and said, in a voice as sweet as honey:

"Master, teach me your magic. I will be your devoted pupil."

Merlin knew he should refuse. He could see the future, and he knew exactly what Nimue was planning. But the old wizard's heart grew fond of her, and love, Merlin discovered, was stronger than wisdom.

"Very well," he said. "I will teach you."

Day after day, Merlin taught Nimue his secrets, and she learned quickly, too quickly. With every spell, her power grew. Nimue pretended to care for her master, telling him how wise he was, how powerful, how dear he was to her. But in her heart, Nimue did not care for Merlin at all. She wanted only his power.

One day, Merlin and Nimue were walking through an ancient forest when they came to a hidden cave, or, as other stories tell it, a gigantic hollow tree.

"Master," said Nimue, "I have heard there is a spell that can imprison someone forever. Is it true? Will you teach it to me?"

Merlin hesitated. This was the moment he had seen so many times. He knew that if he taught her that spell, Nimue would use it against him, and he would be trapped forever. But he looked at her face, at the green eyes pleading with him, and his heart won.

"Yes," he said calmly. "I will teach you."

And he taught her, word by word, gesture by gesture, the most powerful imprisoning spell that existed. When he finished, Nimue smiled, and it was not a smile of gratitude, but of triumph.

"Thank you, master," she said. "And now, sleep!"

And she cast upon Merlin the very spell he had just taught her. Waves of magic wrapped around the old wizard, and he sank slowly to the ground. He was not dead. He slept an enchanted sleep from which he would never wake.

Nimue used more magic to seal Merlin inside the cave, or inside the tree, as each version tells it. Great stones closed the entrance, enchanted roots wound around him, and there he remained, asleep, dreaming of a future he would not see. Nimue took Merlin's staff and his books of spells and went her way. She became powerful, and some stories say it was she who became the Lady of the Lake. But she was never as wise as Merlin, for power without wisdom is a dangerous thing.

Arthur searched for Merlin for years and never found him. Camelot went on, but without the wizard's wisdom, things slowly began to fall apart.

They say Merlin is still there, in the enchanted cave, sleeping his magic sleep. Some claim that he still dreams, that his dreams shape the world, and that his magic watches over Britain from afar. And they say too that in a time of great need, when Britain calls for him once more, Merlin will wake.

But why did Merlin, who could see the future, let all this happen? Perhaps because, as he himself told Arthur, the future cannot be changed. Perhaps because he chose love over certainty. Or perhaps Merlin knew that for Arthur to become truly great, he needed to stand alone, to make his own decisions, make his own mistakes, and learn his own lessons. A wise counselor can guide a king, but it is by facing trials alone that a king becomes a legend.

And Arthur did become a legend. Partly because of Merlin, and partly in spite of him.

Sometimes, travelers passing through certain ancient forests say they hear a voice, old and wise and gentle, murmuring on the wind. Could it be Merlin, dreaming in his enchanted prison? And when beautiful, unexplainable things happen, when an impossible coincidence saves the day, when wisdom appears where no one expected it, could it be Merlin's magic still at work in the world?

No one knows for certain. But one thing is true: the greatest wizard who ever lived left a mark on the world that will not fade. His wisdom lives in every good counsel given, his magic lives in every moment of wonder, and his spirit lives in everyone who chooses to use their gifts to help others, and never to harm them.