Merlin Pendrake

"The last mortal mage. The first mortal trickster. The one who proved gods could bleed."

Appearance

In his true form, Merlin is a middle-aged man with long silver hair flowing like spun moonlight and piercing blue eyes that shimmer faintly with shifting runes — the sign of someone who has looked too long into the Nine Realms. His dark robes are embroidered with constellations and circles that rearrange themselves like living equations, and in his hand rests an ancient staff topped with a shard of crystal stolen from Kythera, the Realm of Song. The staff pulses faintly with rhythm, as if echoing the heartbeat of the Veil itself.

When cloaked by glamour in the mortal world, he appears instead as a shabby figure in a dusty old three-piece suit, complete with scuffed shoes and a cane that is far older than it looks. The cane, of course, is the staff. He rarely explains the disguise — only muttering that mortals “trust an eccentric old man more than a sorcerer who knows their soul’s weight.”

Personality

Merlin is equal parts mentor, jester, and executioner. He delights in playing the long game, arranging events decades in advance, and forcing both mortals and gods to confront truths they would rather avoid. His wisdom is undeniable, but his methods are infuriating: he withholds answers, speaks in riddles, and engineers tragedies as often as victories.

Despite the aloof facade, Merlin deeply cares for the Pendrake line, though he shows this by testing them mercilessly. He has no patience for arrogance — mortal or divine — and is as quick to cut down a reckless Pendrake heir as he is to defend them. He loathes worship, calling it “the cage of fools,” and his greatest pride is that he has refused godhood at every turn, no matter how close he skirts the edge.

Backstory

Merlin Pendrake’s origins are shrouded in contradiction — even he tells different stories depending on the listener. Some claim he was the bastard son of Sir Cadeyrn, last knight of Camelot. Others whisper he is older still, born in the days when mortals first touched magic before the Veil. The Watchers know one truth: he is the only mortal to have survived spells of the Tenth Circle without ascending.

Over his centuries of life, Merlin has:

Invented every mortal-crafted Tenth Circle spell and taught none in full.
Tricked three gods into swearing oaths they could never fulfill, binding them to silence.
Played both sides in the Mythic World War, serving gods, mortals, and demons — but always tipping the scale toward survival of the Veil.
Vanished for forty years during the Industrial Revolution, only to reappear with theories that reshaped Veil-borne magic in the modern era.
Personally dueled a Titan, and though he did not win, neither did he lose. The Titan walked away, laughing, calling him “little brother.”

Merlin’s refusal to ascend is the greatest mystery. He has walked the line of godhood countless times — when he parted the skies to crown Arthur, when he invented the first mortal resurrection, when he unraveled a Watcher’s oath without killing it — but he always pulls back. Some believe this is his greatest trick: that by not becoming a god, he stays free of divine rules and remains the only being truly untouchable.

Mannerisms

Riddles and Parables: Rarely speaks plainly; answers questions with half-truths, leaving others to puzzle out the rest.
Dramatic Entrances: Appears suddenly at feasts, funerals, or in the middle of a battle as if he had always been there.
The Staff-Cane: Twirls it absentmindedly when lost in thought; striking it once can silence magic in a hundred-foot radius.
Quiet Whims: Known to disappear for weeks to “brew tea properly” or “chase a butterfly that knows too much.”

Mythic Traits

Master of the Ten Circles: Only mortal to have learned, cast, and survived spells of every level.
Veil-Walker: Can step through the Veil at will without tearing it. Appears mortal in both realms.
Paradox Anchor: His existence bends prophecy. Many oracles cannot see him clearly, or else see him twice in conflicting roles.
The Pendrake Oath: Though not bound by bloodline, Excalibur does not turn cold in his hands — proof that the Pendrake line considers him kin.

Legacy & Reputation

To the Pendrakes, he is both family and tormentor: the uncle who ensures their heirs never grow complacent.
To the Watchers, he is a dangerous anomaly: a mortal who has walked too close to their duty. They do not trust him, yet they dare not move against him.
To the gods, he is a thorn in eternity — the man who proved that the divine are not invincible, only lucky.
To mortals who glimpse him in his glamour, he is “just a dusty old man with stories”… until the air bends and the impossible happens.

Titles

The Last Mortal Mage
The Weaver of Tenth Circle
The Thorn of the Veil
The Weird Uncle (Pendrake family nickname, much to his amusement)