#bbc nimueh

[twistedshipper]

a charm for scrying from The Witch's Art of Incantation, Spoken Charms, Spells, & Curses in Folk Witchcraft by Roger J. Horne.

[sugar-coated-prat-dragon]

Title: Gaius’s choices and mentality

Episode: "A Remedy to Cure All Ills" questions #3

Questions by @tansyuduri

Tagging: @miyriu

Books used for reference: A Fighting Chance, Potion and Poisons, Valiant and Merlin Complete Guide

Question: Gaius was willing to give up Uther to protect Merlin. And is later revealed to have saved Alice.

So part of me wonders how close of friends the sorcerers could have been?

My answer: Gaius sides with Uther for a long time, despite knowing that he has killed innocent people and only decides to start ‘rocking the boat’, once he takes Merlin under his wing.

In fact, up until Gaius is forced to chose between Uther and Merlin for the first time during Edwin’s appearance, does he realize that he would choose…Merlin.

Before that point, Gaius would have pleaded for mercy on Merlin’s behalf, but he likely wouldn’t have risked his own life or attempted a rescue.

So Merlin’s presence changed him and caused him to risk Uther’s displeasure, but it took a little while for him to realize how much he’d changed.

Book description: Because he failed to speak out when Uther executed many of Gaius one-time friends and colleagues - the physician was branded a traitor by the surviving members of the magic community.

Gaius has found it easier to go along with Uther's wishes than make a stand; it is only as he gets to know Merlin that he allows himself to rock the boat' and risk the king's displeasure.

- For many years he has been a loyal servant to Uther, often serving his king rather than his conscience. But when his old friend Hunith appealed to him to look after her only son, Merlin, his life took a different path. Gaius soon found himself having to make very difficult choices.

WHAT WOULD GAIUS DO IF UTHER FOUND OUT ABOUT MERLIN?

Early on in their acquaintance, Merlin asks Gaius what he would do if Uther discovered the truth and Gaius avoids answering.

Back then, although Gaius felt a responsibility for Merlin, he might not have risked his own neck for the boy. He might have pleaded for mercy, but it's less likely that he would have courted certain death by admitting to concealing a criminal or attempting a rescue.

However, being with Merlin has changed Gaius. It is not just his growing love for the boy that makes him stand up to Uther, but a realization that he cannot always remain on the sidelines - 'turning a blind eye'.

Question: Did Gaius actually agree with Uther on a level?

Was Gaius actually afraid of magic and its capacity to corrupt? Is that why he keeps Morgana’s magic from her.

My answer: Gaius kept Morgana’s magic hidden from her because he was afraid of what Uther would do if he found out. He was trying to protect her.

- Gaius was indeed afraid of magic (even his own) and had a hard time casting the spell to save his charge from the Morteaus flower, due to that fear of stepping over the line and not being able to go back afterwards.

- Gaius originally served his king, rather than his conscience. Which means that he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he stood by and let it happen regardless, because of his loyalty to his king.

Even as Gaius thought back on how Uther’s own choices had caused people to attack in order to get payback, he still remained loyal… despite everything.

Book description: the future.

Gaius has been working hard to keep knowledge of Morgana's abilities from the girl herself and from Uther, fearing what the king might do if he were to discover that his ward is a magical being.

If anyone ever heard sounds of Morgana's distress in the night, if anyone did ever ask what was wrong, then Gaius just brushed them off. 'Bad dreams, that's all. Nothing to worry about,' he'd say.

2nd description: There was another worry too. 'Magic corrupts, he'd told Merlin, not that long ago. Once he'd stepped over that line again, would he ever be able to go back?

But of course, he knew he had to do it.

Whatever the consequences. Even if he hadn't already come to love Merlin as a son, even if Merlin wasn't destined to be a great warlock, Gaius had promised the boy's mother he would look after him.

3. For many years he has been a loyal servant to Uther, often serving his king rather than his conscience.

4. But through it all, the king had believed he was acting for the best. He believed that a world without magic was the right one for his people. Whatever he had done, he had done it for his kingdom.

And knowing that, Gaius remained loyal.

Despite everything.

[xviruserrorx]

MerlinRewatch2023 -> "The Mark Of Nimueh" Book Of Job ~ Masterlist [Prev <- • -> Next]

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

Fic: “All The King's Horses And All The King's Men”

read on AO3

Fandom: BBC Merlin

Rating:  Teen (M-rating on AO3)

Summary: On the eve of King Uther's long-awaited marriage ceremony, Nimueh convinces her lover to flee.

@flashfictionfridayofficial​

Even from this distance, Nimueh hears the ringing of the great bell.

They cordoned off the lower town not long after she stole one of Uther's thoroughbreds, pulling a weeping Ygraine on. 

"I won't marry him… if my life means so little…" "I won't…"

Bruises colour Ygraine's wrists and arms. 

Nimueh remembers a murmurous kiss and holding Ygraine reassuringly. Her yellow curls smelled of the dungeon's rotted straw. Her breath heavy.

In the dead of night, both women run. 

Ygraine begs to speak with Uther, and Nimueh fiercely denies it. He desires Ygraine. Uther would go to unspeakable lengths for a son, an heir… even befriending a sorceress unafraid of dark magic and capable of creating life…

A life for a life… it is how the balance of their world is met.

Ygraine will not be safe with him.

"I won't…"

Nimueh chases out the sounds of hooves following them, reaching the edges of the Darkling Woods. Uther's men hope to entrap them. "Bael onbryne!" she yells, lighting up the trees, clearing a path for only her and her lover. 

But… Nimueh's magic, wild with her emotions, overtakes.

Another of Camelot's knights, Uther's men, dies… unintentionally… riding into the haze. His armour turns to a molten steel liquid. With him inside.

He screams agonizingly.

Ygraine leaps from the horse, as more men surround them, their weapons out. Her eyes defiant. "By my honour, if you return us to the castle, I shall go without falter," Ygraine swears, and Nimueh mutters out her name, incredulous.

The enchanted fires slowly diminish.

"Come," Ygraine urges her, smiling courageously. "Uther will forgive."

A grieving Nimueh stares into her face. How can she not see…

"I won't…"

"On your life, my lady," Nimueh says bitterly, readying Uther's horse. "I will not."

She vanishes into the thicket, no longer pursued.

Years and years pass before Gaius seeks her out, on behalf the King and Queen of Camelot… and the Great Purge began... Nimueh wonders Ygraine's fate if she remained at the Isle of the Blessed, cruel-hearted to their pleas…

And if her people might have lived freely…

If another of those with magic had been blamed for Uther's ignorance…

Then…

No-one is safe.

Deep in her cave, Nimueh laughs, marking the Afanc's egg in her hands.

[tiodolma]

Morgana: Merlin you loved me first

Merlin: I uh

Nimueh: But he killed me first

Morgana: he killed me more times than i can count. And I killed him many times too!

Merlin: that’s not really something to be proud of tbh

Morgana (ignoring Merlin): we had moments!!! I helped him once! We saved a kid once! We even have a dragon together! I got to chain him up in my bedroom! I have nightmares about him!Take that nimueh!

Nimueh: ... WTF

Merlin (sparkle eyes): morgana i thought u hated me 🥺🥺🥺 i didnt know you cant get me out of your mind. That’s... disturbing but also hot.

Nimueh (recovering): you say that but he showed me his true powers... you never saw him use magic in his true form... while I did... and he was Magnificent.

Merlin (preening): aw shucks. That’s awfully nice, nimueh.

Morgana (turning on merlin): she’s right, how dare you Emrys!!!

Merlin (carrying baby arthur): Oops we gotta book it now Arthur lets goooo

Morgana: dont take him away from meeeee

[ehlihr]

annual nimueh sketches

[justaz]

ygraine gives birth to a quiet child. the babe does not scream, cry, or wail when it is born. one of the midwives take the bloody babe and holds it against her chest and she rubs its back and urges it to breathe. gaius is hidden beneath her dress and he tends to her wounds that sap her strength with every gush of blood. nimueh sits beside her, holding her hand as she takes in gasping breaths, recovering from the painful and exhausting ordeal of birthing a child. nimueh’s hand is running through her hair as she whispers praises in her ear that she cannot hear.

the room begins to darken as she leans against nimueh. her vision tunnels to a golden scene hovering in the air above her. she sees a young man with golden hair and bright blue eyes. he sits atop a throne with a golden crown nestled on his head. beside him is a figure that is obscured, their features hidden from her view but she can tell they are powerful. the image in the air shifts between the two people, flipping like a coin in the air, the golden king on one side and the cloaked figure on the other. the coin slowly picks up speed until the two figures blur together.

from the distorted image, three women appear and whisper a prophecy to her, a familiar one that has been told for millennia - more a fairy tale now than the words of a seer. as the women speak each line of the prophecy, one after the other, their voices combine into one as they whisper to her “behold the once and future king, arthur pendragon”

“do you see that?” she feels herself mumble as the three women disappear and the coin begins to slow once more. the two men come back into view, now side by side, “oh, its beautiful,” she murmurs, “look at him, nimueh. my son, my son…so beautiful.” arthur shifts his gaze to meet her own and suddenly the golden visage begins to rot. his regal robes fall apart, his crown rusts, the castle around him begins to decay and collapse into rubble.

arthur begins to cry like a child, unfitting for a man of his age. he shrinks to a young boy, perhaps seven, and stands next to his father, uther, as he addresses a crowd. he stands tall and proud though it is clear something has happened. his expression is cold and unfeeling until his gaze shifts down to someone in the square and pure hatred fills his eyes. the vision moves back and allows ygraine to watch as a young woman is tied to a pyre, screaming and crying and begging and pleading for her life.

“this woman has been found guilty for the crime of sorcery,” uther’s voice commands attention though his words make no sense to her. sorcery a crime? what nonsense. uther continues, “for such a crime, the punishment is and will always be death.” he nods down at the executioner who ushers forward and lights the wood of the pyre. knights follow suit and soon the woman is screaming in agony as flames engulf her.

arthur lowers his head and averts his gaze but uther grabs his chin and pulls his face up, “watch,” he orders him, “they killed your mother. they deserve this.” young arthur has tears in his eyes but he does not let them fall. he squares his shoulders and stares down at the woman as she is burnt to a crisp. when the screaming finally stops, young arthur shifts his gaze up to hers.

“i’m sorry,” he whispers, “please, save me.”

ygraine can hear her cries as the vision dissipates, her wails and denials. nimueh holds her close and whispers how she needs patience, her child will breathe yet. ygraine feels even more of her strength sap away and she understands. the deal uther made with nimueh, it called for a death to create a life. she knows now that it is her life that will be reaped in exchange. she does not have time to weep.

she turns to nimueh, “protect him,” she squeezes her hand, “you have to protect him.” she pleads. nimueh does not understand. how could she? ygraine squeezes her hand harder than she had in childbirth, “promise me, nimueh. you won’t let uther corrupt him. you won’t let him harm my son.” nimueh looks down at gaius who peeks over her dress, sorrow in his gaze and shakes his head. ygraine sobs once more, “promise me, nimueh!”

the high priestess turns back to her, “i promise, my lady, but rest assured king uther will not harm a hair on your child’s head.”

ygraine shakes her head, her body has gone numb, “you don’t understand. he will never be the same. you have to protect him. you have to protect arthur.”

nimueh nods, her expression trouble, “i promise, ygraine. i will protect arthur.”

ygraine smiles through her tears, the pain and sorrow fading as she grew weaker. nimueh’s expression grows panicked but the last thing she hears is her beautiful son’s cries.

nimueh didn’t understand ygraine’s wish until uther learned of his wife’s fate. she had expected sobbing, falling to his knees, or begging the gods. she didn’t expect the rage, though it was understandable, and she definitely didn’t expect the vitriol he spat at her, blaming her for ygraine’s passing. despite the protests that fell from her lips, she knew he was right. it was her magic from a deal she offered him that took her life.

her magic claimed ygraine’s life in her chambers. she held her in her arms as she died and could do nothing to save her. the last thing she saw when she died was nimueh, helpless to do anything to stop what she had put in motion.

uther called for his guards to round up all magic users and have them punished. gaius, a man who was always a bit selfish, surrendered to uther, denounced sorcery and magic and was forgiven for his past “treachery”. when he turned to nimueh, she knew even if she had denounced magic, he would never forgive her for what happened. he ordered his guards to have her taken to the dungeons in cold iron and spat that she would burn in the morning.

it didn’t take much magic to disappear from the throne room and reappear out in the halls. she strode through the castle up to the nursery where little arthur was to reside. something in uther shattered in that room, he cursed magic users and called them monsters, beasts meant to be hunted and killed. she wouldn’t know if he truly meant to go through with it until the first execution but she was not waiting that long.

ygraine’s last wish had been for her to protect arthur, to protect him from his father. when she had said that, she had assumed the queen was delirious from pain and blood loss. now she understood. the triple goddess had blessed her with knowledge before her passing. and with that knowledge, she begged nimueh to protect arthur from uther. nimueh would not wait until it was too late, she would not sit back and let fate have it’s way, she would not let ygraine down again.

nimueh greeted the wetnurse with a smile. the woman smiled kindly up at her and she politely requested arthur and asked her to leave. the woman was hesitant but a subtle spell over her mind guided her out and away from the room. nimueh stared down at little arthur’s face. he had thin strands of white hair that was sure to thicken and darken as he grew. he had ygraine’s nose and lips. when he blinked his eyes open it was like she was staring down at the late queen.

the sound of guards pounding down the hall alerted her of her precarious situation once more and she did not waste another second before fleeing. she held arthur tight to her chest as she fled the castle and wormed her way through the citadel. no one looked twice at her, the average citizen unaware that their queen had had a child and died just that morning.

nimueh traveled as fast as she could back to her island. she warned her sisters that resided on the island of what uther meant to do. they did not take his threats seriously until they scried and saw uther slaughtering hundreds of magic users in the coming weeks. nimueh and her sisters helped raise arthur until an attack was launched on the isle itself. she and arthur remained under the castle while the other high priestesses fought back against the armies storming their home. one of her sisters stumbled down into the room, beaten and bloodied.

“they’ve won,” she slurred, “the isle of the blessed has fallen. you must go, protect the child. do not let him fall into uther’s hands.” she cast her magic to form a gateway for nimueh and arthur, “i do not have much strength to hold this, sister. go now.” nimueh left her home behind. she heard two weeks later that the castle had been burnt and crumbled to rubble.

nimueh and arthur traveled the land, hopping from place to place and never settling for long as camelot knights were soon to follow. arthur grew quicker than she thought possible and she knew she had to settle down somewhere, yet she knew that if she were to settle in a village or town, it would only be a matter of time before camelot found them.

it took time and energy and lots of magic, but she created a cottage in the woods, hidden by wards to divert any visitors. she and arthur both learned to live off the land, to grow what they needed and survive on their own. he always found her magic fascinating and loved to watch her cast spells. since he was born from a deal she made, his very being was fused together with her own magic, marking him as hers.

he called her mama and she called him son. she told him of his other mother, ygraine, of how she gave birth to him but perished before she could meet him. she told him that she knew ygraine was proud of him because she was proud of him. arthur always wished to explore the world outside of their haven but nimueh’s paranoia kept him close.

it wasn’t until one day when arthur was ten that something changed. nimueh had been on her way out to tend to their crops when she heard arthur laughing and playing. she smiled to herself as she continued on her way. until she heard another voice, a higher voice belonging to what sounded like a child.

nimueh dropped her tools and rushed around the lawn to find arthur on the edge of their haven playing with a boy a couple of years younger than him with a mop of black hair and wide blue eyes. the boy was also inside their haven. he had gotten past her wards. he was dangerous. nimueh dashed forward and grabbed arthur, tugging him behind her as she assessed the boy. arthur complained behind her and begged her to let him stay. the boy stood up on shaky legs and didn’t bother dusting off his trousers.

“hi!” he waved a hand, a goofy smile on his face, “my mom’s busy at the market so i came to play in the woods. arthur and i were just about to play will and i’s favorite game, knight and princess. will always makes me be the princess but arthur wanted to be the princess this time so i really, really, really wanna play with him. do you wanna join? you can be…the dragon guarding the princess!! oh, you already are. are we playing now? hold on, let me get a stick so i can-“

“who are you?” nimueh finally cut off his rambling. she wasn’t sure how a child, or anyone for that matter, could talk so fast and endlessly without taking a breath. her fear eased as she recognized that he truly was just a child, but she still remained wary as he had somehow found his way past her wardings.

“oh, sorry! my mom always says i have to be more polite but i always am so i never understand what she means.” he blinked and shook his head before grinning up at her, showing off his missing tooth in the top corner of his mouth, “i’m merlin!”

[emrys-merlin]

I just love Merlin loving magic, those moments are the best ones for me. The dragon out of fire, the butterflies, the horse out of smoke, the flying lights...it's just so Merlin, and it makes your heart ache how badly he just wants to make pretty things

It's so great to see how happy magic makes him, and how badly he wants Arthur to feel that too (and not only Arthur)

It's what's so good about his character, he stays optimistic and good, despite all this hate and murder.  Even in season 5, yes. The fact that when he gets his magic back he could do whatever he wants, and he chooses to create butterflies

This particular scene makes me sad. Look at him

Merlin doesn’t have a whole lot of opportunity to use his magic for fun really, you can see how badly Merlin wants to be free. It's something tragically beautiful.

[kateis-cakeis]

Do you guys ever think about how Merlin was only born because Arthur was born?

Two babes born who never should have existed, pulled from the very fabric of the world, magic.

One born from a ritual fraught with consequences, a mother dead, a terrible retribution sought.

One born after a man was forced to flee, the last of his kind, taken in by a woman across the border.

And while it is possible Balinor could have made it to Hunith regardless, it seems it was only the terrible circumstances that led to him going to Ealdor at all.

Arthur and Merlin, two sides of the same coin, soulmates right down to their mere existence at all.

[merlin-gifs]

Live Gaius Reaction

MERLIN | 1x04 "The Poisoned Chalice"

[twistedshipper]

high priestesses + fire

[sugar-coated-prat-dragon]

Title: Nimueh is a High Priestess who came to Camelot to gift the king an heir (she was never Court Sorceress)

Episode: "A Remedy to Cure All Ills" questions #2

Questions by @tansyuduri

Tagging: @miyriu

Books used for reference: A Fighting Chance, Sword and Sorcery, Merlin the Complete Guide, Valiant, Merlin Villains Guide, and Merlin Annual 2010

Question: Geoffery: “The record are sealed they cannot be opened. Uther has forbidden it.”

Why would Uther have forbidden it? He has no issue mentioning it. The first episode is a celebration of it?

So perhaps It has to do with Ygraine's death and Arthur's birth. But they can't have recorded what they did right? Since that is a big secret? … Or did they somehow record it and Geoffery was actually one of the few in the know?

My answer: According to Gaius, the sealed records seem to merely be a list of every magic-user killed in the land.

Uther likely doesn’t want those sealed records opened for the same reason that he had Knight Valiant’s dead body put in an unmarked grave and why sorcerers can not have headstones. ‘Sorcerers are to go as unmarked in death as they are in life.’

Bonus: Uther, Gaius and Nimueh are the only ones who know the circumstances of Arthur's birth.

Book description:

Gaius wanted to view the court records from the time of the Great Purge - but to his immense frustration, Geoffrey refused to let him see the sealed documents. 'Uther has forbidden it, he insisted, despite the physician's pleas.

Gaius had no choice but to give in. But he was certain he would find the answers he sought in the history of that time. The time when Uther had killed every magic-user in the land.

2: Uther had decreed that all of Valiant's colours be destroyed, his body buried in an unmarked grave and his shield melted down.

3: The only people in the world who know the circumstances of Arthur's birth are Uther, Gaius and Nimueh - and Uther will go to any lengths to prevent Arthur discovering the truth.

Question: If Nimueh was indeed court sorceress, then perhaps Uther doesn’t want Arthur to be able to look at the records and see his father had a court sorceress that escaped just after he was born?

My answer: There’s actually no mention in any of the books of Nimueh being a Court Sorceress.

In fact, all evidence points to her being a High Priestess, who only came to Camelot ‘after’ Gaius went to the Isle of the Blessed on his kings orders and requested her help in blessing Ygraine with a child.

In fact, it’s implied Uther never had a Court Sorcerer during his reign.

And then when Uthers wife died, Nimueh was banished from his kingdom.

Book description: Nimueh was banished from the court, and all magic was banned on pain of death.

- Uther sent his trusted confidant Gaius to the Isle of the Blessed to ask the High Priestess Nimueh for help.

She agreed, and worked a powerful spell to give Uther the son he desired.

Question: Gaius: “I know neither of us wants to remember that time.”

Could it be that Geoffrey just doesn’t want to remember all the people dying?

My answer: That’s a good possibility, since Geoffrey was one of the few people who had witnessed the magic users deaths, and been at court as long as Gaius.

Book description: Geoffrey of Monmouth, one of the few people who had been at court as long as Gaius had - one of the few people who had witnessed long-ago events that were never now spoken of.

Question: Edwin has a last name. Does that mean he was of a noble family?

If so it’s interesting because Uther did not recognize a noble family just because a maiden name was used.

My answer: Edwin is more than likley from a noble family given that he has a last name and that his mother had one too, even before she married.

Edwin is also mentioned under the paragraph of “Nobility”, where it specifically talks about Uther siding with him over Gaius and I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

Book description:

NOBILITY:

To Uther, only nobles have any worth.

Those of lesser rank may become well regarded - Gaius, for example - but their fortune is entirely dependent on the king's whims.

Uther shows little faith in his physician, accepting the word of the stranger Edwin Muirden that Gaius is incompetent - although he later apologizes for the betrayal.

Question: Geoffrey: “IF UTHER WERE TO DISCOVER THIS, HE WOULD KILL US BOTH!”

I guess disobeying a direct order from Uther can be a death sentance? I feel like there is somthing I am missing.

My answer: Uther literally ordered starving villagers, who were just trying to feed their families (aka looters) to be executed.

I have no problem believing that same man would execute both Gaius and Geoffrey without hesitation for opening up documents that he had ordered to be sealed.

Book description: "Please, my Lord," he begged. "I do not steal for myself. I have three children..they are hungry."

Arthur softened. Although his father had ordered that looters be executed, he let the poor man go with some grain for his family.

[merlinemrys]

it always gets to me how powerful merlin is because if nimueh, one of the last high priestesses of the old religion, has to say a spell aloud to just unlock a door while merlin in the first five minutes just stops TIME for funsies then it's honestly a miracle that the whole of camelot doesn't just blow up if merlin sneezes too hard

[morganaconda]

[tiodolma]

Morgause preferring undead, zombies and ghosts over actual ppl is so funny tho. Ig it’s easier but she cant build a culture with that.

Nimueh the conjurer is even worse.

Or are high priestesses just doomed to be kinda introverts and hate interacting with people in general?

Morgana’s got an edge over them coz she actually likes people or thrives in being among them and working with them.

Merlin is more Nimueh-like as well.

[ehlihr]

Nimueh sketches