#queen ygraine

[darkhorse-javert]

@flashfictionfridayofficial

Something from one of my early fandoms, Merlin, and one of the scenes which began a pairing which twisted my heart for four years.

I hover just at the servants door of the chamber, as it rests slightly more than ajar. My boy lays there, brow fevered, numbed by the poison of the beast. Not a boy, almost a man now.  

The young woman, sat on the edge of the bed, methodically sponging him down with the cloth Gaius had left. Her actions might be methodical, perhaps Gaius has taken her as assistant, but the words which reach me are not.

“I'm telling you. Because I know that one day you will be King. A greater king than your father could ever be. It's what keeps me going. You are going to live to be the man I've seen inside you, Arthur.” They're spoken tenderly, yet with a fierceness and strength behind them which belies the simple unobtrusive figure she made as she came in.

“I can see a Camelot that is fair and just. I can see a king that the people will love and be proud to call their sovereign. For the love of Camelot, you have to live.”

 It is almost an order, more than a plea. She reaches out, and does what I may not, folding one of her hands, then the other around my son’s hand as it lays on the sheet, then softly raises the cradled hand to her cheek, pressing it close.

Who are you, child? I look to her, trying to trace back her face of those I knew, against the plainness of her gowns. No, who will you come to be? Something good, great, I hope.

 The scars on my wrist itch, the wood on the corridor and the door wavering, the magic exerting more pull than I can fight, wrenching me back to the island. I fix my eyes on the little tableau. Let it be the last, perhaps the very last, I see of Camelot. My boy, and a lady who loves him.

I cast a last thought towards them. Hold on to what you have, Arthur, and don't be shaken from a good path, my darling

[alex-the-bringer-of-chaos]

Other characters - my BBC Merlin hcs

Do click on the images cause some got turned fugly

King Cenred (he/him)

Cis man gnc, Omnisexual and Monogamous.

Had an intimaship with Morgause

Eira (she/her)

Cis woman, Abrosexual orchidromantic and Agamous.

In a queerotic relationship with Gwaine and Morgana.

Princess Elena (she/fae/it/they)

Genderfae, Queer and Mesoamorous.

Courting Mithian.

Godwyn's daughter. Rodor's daughter-in-law.

Freya (she/her)

Demigirl, Pomo greyaro cupioace and Gamyflux.

In a wavership with Elyan, Gwen, Morgana and Will. In a simulship with Merlin.

George (Non fem prns)

Libramasculine, Gay orchidrose and Europic.

In a qpr with Leon.

Princess Mithian (she/her)

Cis woman gnc, Bisexual and Divisuamorous.

Courting Elena. In a semiship with Gwen. In a qpr with Leon. In a simulship with Arthur and Merlin. In an quoi-distinguishable relationship with Morgana. Had a casual relationship with Morgana.

Rodor's daughter. Godwin's daughter-in-law.

Morgause Le Fay (she/he)

Bigender, Queer apothiromantic and Lovequeer.

In a passionate friendship with Morgana. Had an intimaship with Cenred.

Gorlois and Vivienne's child. Morgana's half-sibling. Gwen's sibling-in-law. Mordred's aunt.

Nimueh (she/fae)

Transfem, Lesbian and Relationship anarchist.

Was Ygraine's delamour.

Queen Ygraine Pendragon (she/her)

Intersex cis woman, Pomosexual and Biamorous.

Was Nimueh's delamour. Had an open marriage with Uther (though he rewrote history to depict it as monogamous).

Agravaine and Tristan's sister. Arthur's mother. Morgana's step-mother. Merlin's mother-in-law. Gwen and Lancelot's step-mother-in-law. Mordred's grandma.

Other hcs

The Rulers of Camelot

The Knights of the Round Table

[akelafang]

It is currently 8 am and I stayed up all night writing. This idea I had a while ago crept its way back into my mind and would not let go until I had written this thing out. Please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes, I am very sleep-deprived and have not properly proofread it.

Enjoy!

After Morgause’s ritual Ygrain may have vanished from Arthur’s sight but she did not leave his side. She watched his rage build as he rode back to Camelot. She watched as he confronted Uther about his newly acquired knowledge of the circumstances of his birth. She watched as the man she once called husband so flippantly dismissed the charges laid against him and felt her own rage boil inside her, echoed in the fury of her son's words. She watched as Arthur threw down his gauntlet, as the seriousness of the situation finally hit Uther. She watched their fight with a sick mix of satisfaction at Uther finally facing consequences and horror at Arthur’s actions.

By the time the servant boy arrived horror had won out. She was relieved when he managed to talk Arthur down. She desperately wanted Uther to face justice for what he’s done but not this way, not by Arthur’s blade. The murder of one's father is a stain on the soul that can not be washed out and one she would never wish upon her beloved son.

She understood why the boy, Merlin, had lied to stop Arthur. In the state of mind he was in she doubted that anything else would have stopped him from running Uther through. Though she could tell it pained him to say such words. Since the day Merlin had arrived in Camelot Ygraine had watched this boy protect her son with magic and now he forced himself to speak ill of it in order to protect his soul. She’d grown fond of Merlin as she’d witnessed the growing bond between him and Arthur but this instilled an affection for him in her that almost rivaled that of her love for Arthur. His care and devotion to Arthur was as endearing as it was heartbreaking.

That night she watched over Arthur as he slept, as she had done many nights before. As she expected he had trouble falling asleep and what sleep he found was not restful. She knew she could do little to soothe him but she hoped that on some level he knew she was there and that her presence would help.

Currently, he lay on his side, face smushed into the pillow and hair fallen over his eyes. For now, he had stopped tossing and turning in his sleep and seemed to be getting some level of rest. Ygrain smiled at the image he made. Oh, how she loved her ridiculous boy.

She reached out, wishing to brush the hair away from his sleeping face. When her fingertips reached the golden strands she expected them to pass through, instead she felt their softness against her skin. She pulled her hand away with a gasp. Surely she had imagined it. But then she looked closer. The hair she had reached for sat differently than it had before. The difference was miniscule but it was there. She had touched her son’s hair. And her touch had caused it to shift ever so slightly. 

Slowly she reached out again and could not contain a smile as her fingertips connected with Arthur’s hair once more. She lifted her hand upwards towards the side of Arthur’s head and marveled at how the strands of hair followed her movement. She shifted his fringe away from his eyes and smoothed out the hair that stood on end. She ran her fingers through those silky golden threads with reverence. 

She never thought she’d feel what it was like to touch something again. She thought that brief moment during the ritual would be the first and last time she’d get to hold her son. She never thought she’d get to experience this simple joy of stroking her baby’s hair while he slept.

As she continued to tentatively move her hand she felt him shift beneath her fingers and she froze. The last thing she wanted was to wake him. But that wasn’t the case. No, instead he leaned into her touch. She released a breath she didn’t need and continued her ministrations. Arthur nuzzled into her touch, his face so relaxed and peaceful. Ygraine wished she could stay in this moment forever.

Minutes passed, or it could have been hours, Ygraine was uncertain. But eventually, Arthur rolled over in his sleep and out of her reach. With the moment broken, Ygraine turned her attention to the things around the room. Could she touch them? 

A glinting of light caught her eye. The sun was beginning to rise and the morning rays were peaking through a small gap in the curtains covering the windows, shining off of the gold tassels. She made her way over to them and eagerly reached out to grab hold of the closest one. A huff of quiet laughter escaped her as she felt the expensive material in her hand. She moved her arm this way and that way, amazed as the heavy fabric followed her movements. She delighted in the way they caused the light to shift and sparkle off of the tassels. With a sudden burst of confidence she scrunched up her fistful of curtain and flung it to the side, pouring light into the room. Behind her, she heard a groan from Arthur.

“Too early Merlin” He grumbled before settling back to sleep.

Whatever spell Morgause had cast had changed things. She could touch Arthur. She could move the curtains. She could interact with the physical world.

Ygraine smiled. It seems she has some unfinished business to attend to.

[penguicorns-are-cool]

all the queens in camelot are so hot

like anyone who has ever been queen. they're powerful and hot. is that like a requirement in Camelot or something.

[mossmx]

I know Ygraine in fanon is like this good person who would have been proud of S5 Arthur and all... but hear me out!

Morgause summons what might be her in S2, by that point she tells Arthur it's Uther fault she died: kinda shitty to snitch on your husband if you loved him??

Also Uther did not know she would have died (he tells as much to Nimueh, and we have no reason to believe Uther would have willingly exchange her life for Arthur's seeing how he reacted afterwards) and she should know that! So either 1) that is not true Ygraine therefore telling Arthur she's proud doesn't make real Ygraine proud of him.

2) That is actual Ygraine and she's a crappy wife.

Either way she might have been proud of Season 2 Arthur but not of S5 Arthur: she might not hate magic, but still hate that Arthur married Gwen and knighted peasants.

What if she was as shitty as Uther in that regard?? like, your vibe attracts your tribe... what if she was the standard noblewoman, we know Queens are as bad as Kings, come on: Royalty sucks!

I think exploring the fact they could both be fucked up people is more interesting than a martyr saint of a mother.

She was a noble woman and all the laws Uther made before her departure would probably have been ok with her.

What if she would have axed Percival herself if Arthur had summoned her with the horn in 5x03??

I want to explore this!

[tiny-and-witchy]

What if Nimueh's spell took Uther instead of Ygraine in exchange for Arthur 's life?

[bestmothertournament]

[unproduciblesmackdown]

1909 edition of alfred sutro's english translation of the 1894 original published "la mort de tintagiles" open access internet archive digitization, for interest

asia kate dillon in triptych, ft. one-acts “phenomena & existences” by daniil kharms, “SPIDERS ARE REAL! THEY’RE ALIVE AND THEY HATE YOU!!” by t. adamson, and “le mort de tintagiles” by maurice maeterlinck

[dogfennel]

“Ygraine, is our honored friend still where he was before?”

Sir Curran of the Hawthorn, inspired by Brennan’s Dungeons and Drag Queens look & visionary Aabria “the knight is Brennan” Iyengar.

[shanastoryteller]

Happy Halloween! Ygraine lives please?

a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Ygraine send for her brother with her persona seal, writes the letter herself because she knows that he'll recognize her hand. He won't believe it's hers, but the audacity of it will send his blood boiling and he'll come.

Then she can speak to him, can hopefully dampen the flames of his ire, can make him swear fealty to her son in front of her eyes, which is an oath he'll never go back on.

She worries that he's spent these long years looking at Arthur and seeing Uther, the man he hates, who he blames for the loss of his sister and brother both. If she can make him look at Arthur and see her, then he'll be safe. More than that, he'll be protected by someone who's protection she relied on so heavily in her youth.

In the meantime, she has them reopen the queen's chambers that she barely used for the entirety of her marriage and refuses to speak to Uther. Part of her knows she's being cruel, that he's suffered without her, but the rest does not care. She's laid down her terms. He can either meet them or rot.

The moment he lifts the ban on magic, she'll return to his arms and to his bed.

If he's determined to sink into hatred rather than love, then he will at the least no longer do it in her name.

[groundbreakingdot872]

What fascinates me the most about Gwen’s enchantment, is how cleverly Morgana uses skills that held importance to her old life, as assets in her plots against Arthur and the greater kingdom.

In A Lesson in Vengeance, we’re told that Tyr Seward had seen the traitor un-stitch and re-stitch the girth of Arthur’s saddle, which promptly breaks when the planned bandit attack comes to play. This is evil!Gwen’s doing obvs, but pays a reference to a younger version of her, who’d embroider the most dainty flower arrangements onto the bodice of her servant gowns, or who helped design and create an entire chainmail set for Lancelot’s first attempt at becoming a knight, after Merlin commisions her help.

Or in The Hollow Queen, we briefly see her use the key placed on top of the dungeon gate (the one Daegal places there for her to get to later), and it makes me think… how would he get his hands on it in the first place?

Morgana’s plan was too meticulous to not involve making a copy of the key so Gwen isn’t under immediate suspicion for the original going missing in the first place. I think she made a copy of it herself, just like she did in The Coming of Arthur, by using her father’s forge and kicking into those ygrained skillsets on how to do it.

Using Gwen’s very own hands, she’s made to undo everything she worked for, mislead everyone she loves, and it’s all, horrifyingly, muscle memory.

[pondermoniums]

AU where Arthur wakes up next to the lake. He feels cold and tired, like he can't fully wake up. He's sore, but for the most part he's able to get himself back to Camelot. The city and his queen welcome him back with relief and jubilation...but Merlin is not there.

"We expected him to come back with you," Gwen says.

"He'll turn up," Leon says, but it sounds hollow. Arthur knows he's waiting for his brother knights, and as the days go on, neither the knights, nor Merlin return home.

Arthur is slowly losing his mental fortitude, and Gaius is the only person who is honest with him. "Something must have happened, sire."

"You think he's a prisoner of war?"

"No. I think Merlin...did something. What do you remember?"

"I remember...I believed I was dying. But then I woke up and I was fine."

It takes another day and a half for Gaius to build up the courage to tell him, "Your majesty, I have reason to believe that you did perish at Mordred's blade."

"Then why am I sat here talking to you? You can see me. Hear me. I can touch things."

"Sire...do you remember the illusion Morgause gave you all those years ago? About your mother?"

Arthur had willingly pushed that memory to the back of his mind, where the darkest and quietest waters made no sound unless forcefully stirred. The look on his face, however, encourages Gaius to continue, "Do you remember what she told you? About your conception?"

Arthur tried to make light of it. "Nobody wants to think too much on their conception."

Gaius, ever the stoic physician, persevered, "Except Ygraine could not. Bringing you into this world evoked an ancient magic, the magic of life and death. The sorceress who utilized it, did so in such a way that allowed you to be born, but at the price of your mother. Souls trading places in this world."

Arthur knew what Gaius was telling him, but he did not want to know. Did not want it to possibly, ever feasibly, be true. Out of politeness, he hears his voice say, "What are you telling me?"

The old physician's demeanor did break as he took a deep breath. "I'm telling you...that I believe Merlin traded places with you."

[bibliophilicstranger]

Mergana AU Prompt: Arthur dies as a child or Ygraine never conceived. Uther ends up making Morgana his heir and she becomes Crown Princess of Camelot, trained as a knight and with all the education of a prince. Merlin comes to Camelot and starts training as Gaius's apprentice. Morgana isn't Arthur-she retains her fiery nature but also her kindness. She and Uther are still often at odds over his treatment of others. Merlin meets her because of the sleeping tonic. He saves her life but Uther gives him money instead of hiring Merlin.

The Dragon, grasping at straws to resurrect magic and get his own freedom, spins the prophecy as being Merlin and Morgana, insisting it is their destiny to bring back magic and Merlin's to keep her on the side of good- whatever that takes.

Cue Merlin befriending Morgana, revealing his magic to her when she reveals hers to him and the two of them studying magic, working together surreptitiously to rescue magic users and preparing for the day Morgana becomes queen and magic is legalized. They still fight bad magic users, but only if they're unreasonable.

Meanwhile the Druids are freaking out that Emrys is with Morgana and the prophecy markers are happening but with the wrong Pendragon.

The day that Morgana takes the throne she legalizes magic, announces she's a witch and proclaims she's going to marry her new Court Warlock. Having not told Merlin of that last bit, he faints off the balcony and the first legal magic in Camelot is the Queen slowing the fall of her new fiance so he doesn't brain himself on the courtyard below.

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

Things I've worked out so far for my Merlin Soulmate AU:

Soulmates and soulmarks are their own subset of magic, and one that Uther can not eradicate, because everyone is born with soulmates

So he does the next best thing and makes it practically illegal to find one's soulmate, mandating the use of gloves and long-sleeves around anyone that is not immediately blood related (soul bonds are solidified through touch)

(Except in the cases where he found someone with a soul mark that moved (a sign that their soulmate was born with magic) in which he would force a parade of citizens to come touch until he finds them. (Very rarely does he find them in this way))

Uther repeals most of the laws surrounding soulmates that ensure their rights. Such as the law that protected bonded soulmates (soulmates who have solidified their bond through touch) from having to testify against each other. In fact, under the new laws he made, if someone refused to testify against their soulmate, both/all would be assumed guilty of the crime in question and punished accordingly

Uther, being very classist and viewing common folk as inferior, also passes a law nulifying marriages between noble and common born soulmates, and outlawing any future marriages of the kind. So people that had been noble for decades were stripped of their title and standing and forced to return to their lives from before (in many instances this part was not strictly enforced, and it caused a lot of outrage when a noble spouse DID abide by this and shun their common born soulmate that had been their partner.)

Uther also repeals a law that allowed nobles to lend their noble status to their platonic soulmates, suddenly making GENERATIONS of nobility commonfolk.

This causes resentment from these nobles, as well as their friends. Sorcerers are not the only ones trying to kill Uther in this au, he wrongs just about everyone.

The only reason he continues to stay in power is because he's so brutal and he fosters a strong inner circle with similar views as his (or so he thinks in some cases)

Uther only had one soulmate and it was Ygraine. However, Ygraine had another soulmate and it was Nimeuh.

Nimeuh tried very hard to dissuade Ygraine from agreeing to the enchantment that lead to her giving birth to Arthur, and it was Ygraine that had to persuade Nimeuh into agreeing to even do it, as Nimeuh knew the risks and did not want to risk losing a part of her soul

She does anyway, despite her every effort

Uther makes it illegal to talk to others about their soulmates or soul marks or to show them to anyone.

Now even before Uther's bullshit, it wasn't polite to just ask, or to ask to see someone's marks (unless that mark was your own, then it was fine, lots of people wanted to know what the representation of their soul looked like)

But this made it so the generation(s) raised following the purge had next to no knowledge of soulmates (Same as with magic) or what made them "evil"

Well, they're magic. Measures of destiny, pieces of ones soul displayed on the skin of the people most important in one's life. And when a piece of one's soul dies, it's agony.

It was no secret that Queen Ygraine was King Uther's soulmate.

In the years of and following the Purge, those particularly bold and angry would whisper, "His entire soul died with her."

Everyone's soulmarks are as follows:

Merlin's is a fluttering blue butterfly

Arthur's is a gleaming golden crown

Gwen's is a forge bucket filled with lavender

Morgana's is a crescent moon with a bright star rotating around the bottom tip (thank you to @clotpoleofcamelot for the idea!)

Percival's is an acorn that is beginning to take root (thank you to @jgvfhl for the idea!)

Leon's is an owl in flight holding an arrow in its talons (I'm not entirely sold on this one, so if anyone has other suggestions, I'm open to it)

Gwaine’s is an oak with his necklace's symbol carved into the trunk (thank you to @donttouchtheneednoggle for the symbol idea!)

Lancelot's is a sword crossed diagonally over a shield with the crest of a winged beast

And Elyan's is a forge hammer circled by chainmail links (thank you again to @donttouchtheneednoggle for the idea!)

Arthur, Elyan, Gwaine, Gwen, Lancelot, Leon, Merlin, and Percival are all soulmates with each other. Gwen also has a soulmate in Morgana, and Merlin has a soulmate in Freya

(Merlin's soulmark for Freya does not start moving until she is cursed, and Merlin asks Gaius what it means. He has a crisis when he finds out, as he puts together that Arthur and Gwen (and Lancelot, but thats not an issue) must know that Merlin was born with magic.)

Merlin before that point is not aware that his soul mark on his soulmates moves, marking him as a born sorcerer. Should he have known this, since Huneth would know due to her soulmate being Balinor? Yeah, he probably should, but there's a lot Huneth didn't tell Merlin in the show and it might not have occurred to her to tell him, or even that he'd find his soulmates in Camelot.

Morgana's other soulmates are Morgause and Mordred.

Leon, Gwen, and Elyan find out they are soulmates when they are kids. The thing about young kids is that they don't really care a whole lot about rules that they don't understand, rules that no one explained, rules that don't make sense. You cant go swimming and catch frogs in full clothes with gloves! So they don't. And it's just the three of them present when they find out that Leon is soulmates with both Gwen and Elyan

(Gwen has known that she and Elyan are soulmates since she held him for the first time. Siblings that are soulmates are unusual but not unheard of)

They agree not to tell anyone, as they don't want to get in trouble

Leon and Arthur soulbond by accident.

Arthur comes over one day to Leon's estate and Leon, who does not have gloves on as he is in his home, greets Arthur with a hair ruffle without thinking.

This is in front of Leon’s parents and a guard, so there is no covering it up when both boys have the exact same reaction, and Arthur asks what that feeling was

Leon (a teenager at this point, maybe 15-16) is TERRIFIED. He just broke the law in front of several witnesses, and soulbound with the king's son. He's expecting to get executed or banished

Neither of those things happen.

In fact, Uther is not even mad. Leon is well on his way to becoming a skilled and respected knight, and he comes from a loyal noble family going back generations. If anything, Uther sees Leon being Arthur's soulmate as a sign of his loyalty and a garentee he will serve him well (Never let it be said that Uther isn't a hypocrite)

It's not long after this that a young Arthur asks Gaius what it means when a soulmark moves. Gaius stiffens and slowly explains that it means that the soulmate was born with magic. "But I thought magic is evil?" "According to your father, it is illegal, yes." "But I thought soulmates were supposed to have positive lasting impact on your life. Leon does." And Gaius is feeling a mix of emotions, cause if Arthur is implying what he *thinks* he is... "Arthur, do you have a soulmark that moves?" And Arthur nods and shows him the butterfly with the gently flapping wings. Gaius instructs Arthur not to tell or show anyone this, especially Uther, as it could be dangerous not only for his soulmate, but for him as well.

Arthur listens to Gaius and doesn't say a word to anyone, including Leon (if he had, they might have figured out they had all the same soulmates, and Leon could have pointed him towards Gwen and Elyan sooner)

Gwen almost doesn't take the job as Morgana’s servant because TWO of her soulmarks move and her parents warned her and Elyan (who shared most of the same soul marks as her) never to let anyone see, to never talk about it, or it would put both them and their soulmate(s) in danger.

A downside to always having to wear gloves it it makes it rather difficult to dress someone, even if tools had been invented to help with the process. One day Gwen gets frustrated and Morgana tells her to take them off if it would be easier. And Gwen freezes a bit. Because Morgana is the king's ward, and this is a bad idea, she's encouraging her to break the law. But then Morgana takes off her own gloves and wiggles her fingers at Gwen "It's fine, Gwen. No one needs to know. It's a stupid law anyway." And Gwen turns away, heading for the door, and for a second Morgana thinks she's gone too far and is about to apologize when Gwen flips the lock on the door, ensuring it's secure and coming back, removing her gloves as she does so. Morgana grins and promises that nothing that happens before that door gets unlocked will be repeated to anyone.

Morgana holds out her hand for Gwen to shake and after a long moment Gwen takes it. And their marks for each other go warm and and this feeling of *rightness* settles over them both, they've found another piece of their SOUL

This is how Morgana gets confirmation that she has magic, by asking to see her mark on Gwen and realizing what it means that her mark *moves*

I have more that starts moving into what changes and stays the same to canon, but this is already so long that it will have to be another post. If anyone has any clarifying questions, please feel free to ask me!

[jade-bright]

Adding to my Sterek Queen Charlotte au (lowkey, more like Royalty au), because almost everytime I read a merthur fic that mentions Ygraine de Bois' Sigil i think of this...

After some time, when their marriage starts to be something more than an arranged marriage, Stiles starts to call Derek by terms of endearments and nicknames: love, dear, sourwolf, etc., and telling Derek that he loves him and kissing him outside of when it may be required of them to kiss.

And Derek returns his feelings of course! Anytime they kiss, Stiles has to be the one to separate them, because if it were up to Derek, he wouldn't end it for anything or anyone but Stiles.

So yes, Derek loves his husband very much, but at the same time, he hates that they're already married because although they actually like each other now and tell each other that they love the other, Derek doesn't feel like it's enough, he almost wishes they weren't married just so he could properly propose to Stiles.

Inspiration strikes one day. Derek goes to his mother and requests to have their family's sigil on a pendant to give to Stiles. Talia happily fulfills his request [cause I don't want to make her a meanie to Stiles like George's mom was to Charlotte]. Now there are two ways I think things could go once Derek is given the sigil:

He sets up a whole day just for him and Stiles, has his favorite breakfast made, has some quality cuddle time together (or whatever) takes him out to have a picnic and then gifts him the sigil explaining what it represents and what it means to everyone else, and what it'll mean to Derek if Stiles chooses to accept, orrr

Derek goes immediately running to find Stiles and once he does, doesn't explain, doesn't say anything else but, "Will you marry me?"

Obviously, in either scenario Stiles accepts, although he wants a little bit of an explanation afterwards in the second one. From then on, like with everything else Derek gives him *cough*hickeys*cough*, Stiles proudly wears the Hale's sigil everyday, which makes all the Hales, especially Derek, very happy to know and see.

[happypeachsludgeflower]

Au where Uther’s life was taken instead of Ygraine and while she made stricter rules about magic, the purge never happened, allowing Merlin to grow up with his father as a nobleman in Queen Ygraine’s court and Morgana to grow up without fearing herself and Arthur to be less of a prat.