After the fall of the mighty Roman Empire, hell on earth wasunleashed, ushering in the darkest of days. Europe was constantlybombarded with ominous, life-changing events, from the blackplague to romantic tales of chivalrous knights and ruthless kingswaging wars for supremacy. Surreal moments of sheer madnessran wild throughout the roads of every city, town, and village.

There have been a variety of conflicting stories involving aman known simply as Merlin. Most believe that he came from theminds of imaginative storytellers, whereas a few firmly believethat he was once very much human. Truth be known, he wasconsiderably much more than human and became a legend becauseof it. His mother was Princess Alden, who always maintained shehad never been alone with another man for any reason. Becauseof this, rumors circulated that Merlin was the spawn of Satan, anincubus, or perhaps even a product of immaculate conception.He became many things to many people, comfortably wearinga variety of hats throughout his life. Among his many talents,he was a musician, bard, kings counsel, alchemist, prophet, andmaster magician, and according to local lore, he was referred toas a demigod. In South Wales, United Kingdom, in AD 679,constant battles shook the lands over Europe's blood-drenchedfields, providing an endless supply of death, despair, and disease.People could find moments of peace only in one of three places:on a mountain, deep inside a rainforest, or in death.

Alden was the youngest, smartest, and bravest of the threedaughters of the tyrannical Welsh king of Dementia. She wasshocked and frightened at becoming a pregnant virgin and didher best to hide the pregnancy from everyone, especially herfather. She knew the king would surely have her exiled or killedin disgrace, but Alden desperately wanted her unborn child tolive. She made arrangements for sanctuary with the head priestof the St. Peter's church in Carmarthen, South Wales, whereshe vowed to serve God and raise her child in peace. One nightinto her sixth month, she went to the stables, stepped up into hersmall horse-drawn carriage, and grabbed the reins with a distinctexpression of determination on her tear-bathed face. She tooka deep breath and began moving past the blood-stained castlewalls, out into the cold darkness of uncertainty. Now safely atthe church, with the sisters' help, Alden soon began to relax, andgave birth to an unusually hairy, albeit healthy, male child. Shenamed him Merlinus. His initial physical appearance managed tofrighten the nuns. Even the head priest, Father Angus, clutchedhis crucifix and knelt down to pray, baptizing him on the spot.At the age of five, a healthy and happy lad, Merlinus soon becameaffectionately known as Merlin by the sisters. He again startledeveryone when he suddenly began speaking in completely lucid,intelligent sentences. He practically lived in the church library,reading on a variety of subjects, like a human sponge absorbing allhe could. At the age of ten, with the help of his teachers, Merlinlearned to read and speak Welsh, French, English, and Latin. Hewas also a typically curious lad who got into his share of trouble,but he always knew that true power is knowledge. He quicklybecame the precious jewel of St. Peter's church, loved by all. FatherAngus did what he could to help guide Merlin into manhood.At fifteen, he became a strapping young lad with a wealth ofeducation and everything in front of him; his mother could nothave been prouder. Merlin's grandfather, the king, eventuallyreceived word that his daughter and her child were alive andliving in a church in South Wales. He instantly dispatched a bandof assassins to kill everyone in the church, including the royalembarrassment and her bastard child. The next night, the king'smen lit the church ablaze killing anyone who tried to escape.Merlin's mother screamed as fire begins to engulf her room. Shetells her son that her father's assassin knights were there to killthem both. "You must leave right now, and don't look back! Myjourney is over, but yours has yet to begin. You were meant tolive a long life and accomplish many great things." She told herson to stay in the shadows and seek shelter deep inside the nearbyrainforest. She handed him a blanket and told him to stay safeand warm. Merlin hugged his mother for the last time. The firequickly intensified as he went to the window, jumped out ontoa nearby branch, climbed down the tree, and darted out into thedense black forest, completely undetected. His mother watchedhim disappear and then bravely died quietly.

On his horse, the assassin leader yelled out, "What of thewoman and child?"

Seconds later, another voice responded, "Adults only, my lord;the child is nowhere to be found." The king's men ventured intothe forest as far as their horses would allow. "If the boy is alive,he would not last two days in there."

Not long after, they exited the forest as quickly and silentlyas they had come. Merlin found cover behind some rocks, wherehe lay down, quietly curled up, and emptied all the tears he hadbravely suppressed for hours, releasing them with all his heart andsoul. After a while, the initial grieving process began to subsideas he collapsed from exhaustion. Hours later, just before dawn,young Merlinus opened his eyes and got up to take one last lookat the only home he'd ever known, which was now smolderingashes. Haunted by the faint screams of the dead blowing throughthe dense trees, he took a long, deep breath. He then brushedhimself off and headed into the heart of the forest, seeking shelterto honor his mother's last wish—his survival. Distraught andlost, Merlin became painfully aware that he might have to livein that inhospitable forest for the rest of his life. Fortunately, hehad learned a variety of survival skills from the head priest, whowas the closest thing to a biological father he had ever known.Trudging deeper into the forest until he could walk no more, heclosed his eyes and fell down onto a soft, marshy area. The nextmorning broke to reveal a lightly frosted ground as a teary Merlinshivered uncontrollably, wrapped in the blanket his mother hadgiven him. Praying to God for the sun's merciful warmth as hiseyes began to well up, again missing his saintly mother, he got tohis feet and soldiered on. Several hours later, he collapsed againby the foot of a large hill. He clearly heard the sudden sound ofrushing water and looked around, desperately struggling to locatethe source of the sound. The mountain mist slowly burned away,revealing a lush multicolored oasis brimming with life. Warmingrays of sunlight caressed a calm wall of sparkling water that fellgently into an emerald-colored pool. Merlin could not believe hiseyes and quickly began to drink the cool, fresh water, submerginghimself fully and gaining strength with every gulp he took. Stillstanding in the waterfall, feeling rejuvenated, he opened his eyesand focused on what appeared to be the mouth of a large cave. Heslowly walked toward it, and his eyes got wide with disbelief ashe found himself inside a large crystal-lined cavern. After a quickreality check, he went back outside and, with a renewed senseof purpose, noticed a school of fish in the pond and discoverededible berries on a bush nearby and had his fill. Recalling hissurvival lessons, he made a stone fire pit inside the cave and starteda fire. After warming up, he began to make himself at home ashe fashioned a spear for a fish dinner. After his first good...