Myrddin

Myrddin Emrys

Age: 50s
Physical Description
- Race: Kvesknelian – creature from the lower realm
- Eyes: Characteristic amber eyes of a Kvesknelian
Occupation: Wizard
Wound: Aggrieved by the injustices of the gods. Defeated in single combat by Wyrtgeorn
Motivations: to see the end of the line of Wyrtgeorn; rule the Middle Kingdom
Goals: Return to his realm or Domination of the middle realm
Relationships:
- Phryxus: they share a complex co-dependent relationship. Both men have distinctly different, but overlapping goals. Myrddin has tied his fortunes to Phryxus family for 3 generations as they are both indirectly and directly responsible for his restoration to physicality.

CHARACTER PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE

Myrddin Emrys is a Kvesknelian—an ancient demonic being banished to the netherworld in a cosmic war predating human civilization. He embodies the archetype of the vengeful immortal: eloquent, charismatic, and consumed by millennia-old grievances. His story spans from the 11th century through the present day, making him both the primary antagonist and a tragic figure shaped by cosmic injustice, exile, and an unquenchable thirst for revenge. He is a soul eater who consumed millions to reconstitute his physical form after being destroyed by Wyrtgeorn.

PHYSICAL PRESENCE

Medieval Form (11th Century)

Myrddin appears as a man in his 50s, standing tall with ebony skin and distinctive molten gold eyes that mark him as otherworldly. He carries a twisted staff that serves as both a weapon and magical focus. His bearing is that of someone accustomed to command—he ‘swaggers’ into scenes with absolute confidence. A direwolf familiar orbits him ‘like a bad moon rising,’ reinforcing his predatory nature and connection to dark forces.

Modern Forms

After his death at Wyrtgeorn’s hands, Myrddin exists for a thousand years as ‘mist and shadow’—a specter, a ‘noxious fume scattered to the wind.’ This vaporous form is his punishment and his persistence. In modern times, he manifests as a scarred, semi-corporeal being that Phryxus can pass his finger through. When he finally reconstitutes fully in the hospital after consuming countless souls, he marvels at ‘the physicality of his own black hand,’ suggesting both wonder and satisfaction at regaining embodiment.

CORE PERSONALITY TRAITS

Ancient Grievance: Myrddin is defined by cosmic injustice. He explains to Rowena that the Zesknelian gods ‘made war upon us’ and when defeated, ‘fled to Zeskneli and poured their honeyed lies into the ears of Armazi who unjustly banished us to the netherworld.’ This sense of wrongful persecution drives every action.
Eloquent Manipulation: He speaks in poetic, archaic language that suggests both education and otherworldly origin. His offer to Wyrtgeorn—’I shall grant you a mighty boon: life eternal’—is delivered with theatrical flair. He describes love as ‘fleeting as the morning dew on a spider’s silken snare,’ showing his ability to craft compelling verbal imagery.
Patient Vengeance: When confronting Atlas in the hospital, Myrddin says ‘Centuries I have longed for this,’ then slowly squeezes Atlas’s throat, ‘savoring the experience.’ He has waited a millennium for revenge and refuses to rush the culmination.
Impatient Pride: Despite his patience for ultimate revenge, Myrddin shows frustration with delays. He tells Phryxus ‘I grow impatient with your subterfuge’ and later ‘You test my indulgence with your machinations.’ He believes his power and status entitle him to immediate action.
Sadistic Pleasure: When holding Rowena hostage with a dagger to her heart, he taunts Wyrtgeorn: ‘It would be a pity to ruin such flawless breasts.’ This reveals his enjoyment of psychological torture and sexual menace.
Philosophical Fatalism: Myrddin views mortal concerns with disdain. He dismisses love as ephemeral and sees human life as fundamentally worthless compared to immortal existence. This worldview justifies consuming millions of souls—they’re temporary anyway.

MOTIVATIONS AND GOALS

Primary Drive: Return to Kveskneli

Myrddin seeks to reopen the Stanenges—mystical gates—to Kveskneli, the netherworld where his kind were banished. He believes Rowena’s blood might serve as a suitable offering to Armazi (the cosmic authority who banished the Kvesknelians) to open this passage. In modern times, he works with Phryxus to collect dragon fossils and engage in ‘dark arts’ toward this same goal.

Secondary Drive: Revenge Against Wyrtgeorn’s Line

The insult of being struck down by a mortal demands recompense. Myrddin tells Atlas: ‘The grievous insult of your line compels recompense. With the perpetual wink of thy house and name I shall deem that debt requited.’ He seeks not just Atlas’s death but the extinction of the entire bloodline.

Tertiary Drive: Restoration of Power

After existing as vapor for a millennium, Myrddin consumed ‘a host of souls beyond reckoning’ to manifest physically. He mentions that ‘millions did Stalin surrender’ to his thirst. This restoration is not merely about embodiment but about reclaiming the strength to perform great magical acts like the Summoning that originally ‘scattered his atoms to the wind.’

PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY

The Wronged Victim Narrative

Myrddin genuinely believes himself to be a victim of cosmic injustice. His speech to Rowena reveals deep conviction: the Zesknelian gods started the war, lost, then lied to get the Kvesknelians banished. Those left behind were ‘hunted for sport.’ This victim mentality justifies any atrocity—he’s merely balancing cosmic scales. This makes him more than a simple villain; he’s a revolutionary seeking to overturn what he sees as tyrannical divine order.

Loneliness and Isolation

For a thousand years, Myrddin existed as disembodied consciousness, ‘mist and shadow,’ consuming souls but unable to truly interact with the physical world. This cosmic loneliness has fundamentally warped him. When he finally regains form, he marvels at his own hand—suggesting that even basic physical sensation has become precious. This isolation explains both his eloquence (he’s had centuries to craft perfect arguments) and his disconnection from human empathy.

The Cost of Immortality

Myrddin tells Phryxus that attempting quantum entanglement across astral planes left him feeling ‘stretched to the point of breaking—then held there.’ Despite his immortality and power, he experiences profound suffering. His offer of ‘life eternal’ to Wyrtgeorn may reflect genuine belief that immortality is valuable, or bitter irony—he knows it’s a curse as much as a gift.

POWERS AND ABILITIES

Pyromancy: Myrddin commands fire with ease—yellow flames spring from his palm, he creates walls of flame, conjures fireballs, and sets buildings ablaze with his staff.
Illusionary Magic: He creates ‘vaporous orcs’ to confuse opponents during combat, showing mastery of deceptive magic.
Necromancy: When Wyrtgeorn kills his direwolf familiar, Myrddin ‘gestures with his staff’ and the beast revives, demonstrating power over death itself.
Soul Consumption: As a ‘soul eater,’ Myrddin drains life force from victims. In the hospital, sentries convulse as ‘green plasma glow flickers’ and their souls are sucked from their bodies. He consumed millions under Stalin’s regime to reconstitute himself.
Shapeshifting: He can transform into a ‘black shapeless cloud’ to infiltrate locations, then ‘transmogrifies’ back into physical form.
Summoning: His dying curse summons the dragon that destroys Wyrtgeorn and the castle. He mentions that his last attempt at a Summoning ‘scattered his atoms to the wind,’ suggesting this is his most powerful and dangerous ability.
Immortality: Even when impaled and cast from the battlements, Myrddin doesn’t truly die but persists as vapor for a millennium, slowly rebuilding himself.

RELATIONSHIPS

Wyrtgeorn (Nemesis)

Myrddin views Wyrtgeorn with contempt mixed with grudging respect. He calls him ‘mortal’ dismissively, yet engages in philosophical debate about love and immortality. When Wyrtgeorn rejects the offer of eternal life, Myrddin responds with poetic condescension but doesn’t dismiss him entirely. Being killed by a mere mortal becomes the defining insult that fuels his revenge across centuries.

Rowena (Cosmic Enemy)

Myrddin addresses Rowena with a complex mixture of hatred, respect, and ancient grievance. He calls her ‘your worship’ sarcastically, acknowledges she’s ‘young’ and ‘a child newly ascendant,’ yet holds her accountable for millennia of persecution. He sees her as both victim (she’s too young to be personally guilty) and symbol (her mere presence is ‘provocation’). His plan to sacrifice her reveals utilitarian cruelty—she’s a tool to open the gates to Kveskneli.

Phryxus (Complicated Alliance)

In modern times, Myrddin works with Phryxus, descendant of Stalin’s regime. Their relationship is tense—Myrddin demands immediate action while Phryxus advocates for patience and strategy. Phryxus reminds Myrddin that he was ‘nothing but pestilence, a noxious fume’ before consuming millions, and questions whether Myrddin ‘gifted’ anything or merely used resources. Myrddin ultimately defers, saying ‘I concede your point,’ showing rare humility born of necessity.

EMOTIONAL RANGE

Rage (Primary Emotion)

Myrddin’s baseline state is controlled fury. His confrontation with Rowena reveals ‘effrontery’ at her presence. He ‘fulminate[s]’ about ancient injustices. Even when speaking calmly, anger simmers beneath—he’s a being whose entire existence is defined by cosmic rage at his banishment.

Satisfaction and Savoring

When he finally confronts Atlas, Myrddin doesn’t rush. He squeezes Atlas’s throat slowly, ‘savoring the experience.’ This capacity for sadistic pleasure reveals that beneath his philosophical arguments lies simple cruelty. He enjoys others’ suffering as compensation for his own.

Exhaustion and Vulnerability

After performing astral projection, Myrddin lies in bed feeling ‘stretched to the point of breaking.’ He tells Phryxus ‘Now let me rest. Tonight, I will sup.’ This exhaustion reveals that despite his power, Myrddin has limits. His vulnerability is quickly masked, but it exists.

Wonder and Marveling

When Myrddin regains physical form and looks at his own black hand, he ‘marvels’ at it. This moment of genuine wonder suggests that beneath the rage and cruelty exists a being capable of appreciation, even if only for his own restoration.

TRANSFORMATION ARC

From Embodied Power to Vapor

In the 11th century, Myrddin appears confident, commanding, theatrical. He swaggers into scenes, makes grand offers, commands magical forces. Wyrtgeorn’s sword through his face and the impalement that follows scatter him to atoms—a devastating reduction from flesh to nothing.

Millennium as Shadow

For a thousand years, Myrddin exists in liminal horror—conscious but formless, ‘lingering between worlds.’ He consumes souls methodically, ‘a host beyond reckoning,’ slowly building strength. This period fundamentally changes him, making him simultaneously more patient (he can wait centuries) and more impatient (he’s tired of waiting).

Reconstitution and Hardening

When Myrddin finally manifests in modern times, he’s stronger but also more scarred—literally and metaphorically. Phryxus can pass fingers through his vaporous scarred face. Myrddin acknowledges ‘this travail has made me stronger than I otherwise could have been,’ suggesting he views his suffering as transformative rather than purely punitive. He’s become something harder, darker, more focused than the theatrical wizard of the 11th century.

ACTING NOTES FOR THE PERFORMER

Physicality and Presence

Swagger vs. Weariness: In the 11th century scenes, move with confident swagger—take up space, use grand gestures. Post-resurrection, add subtle exhaustion beneath the confidence. You’ve been scattered atoms for a millennium; every movement costs something.
Stillness as Power: Myrddin doesn’t need to rush or fidget. Stillness conveys immortal patience. When you do move, make it deliberate and meaningful.
The Staff as Extension: The twisted staff isn’t just a prop—it’s an extension of Myrddin’s will. Handle it with familiar authority, like a conductor’s baton or a king’s scepter.
Otherworldly Touches: Your molten gold eyes mark you as non-human. Let this inform small choices—perhaps you blink less than mortals, or tilt your head at odd angles when listening.
Physical Recovery: In the hospital scene where you drain souls and walk through corridors, start with shuffling weakness that strengthens with each step. This shows the process of consuming life force to rebuild strength.

Vocal Quality and Delivery

Archaic Formality: Myrddin speaks in elevated, poetic language. Find a vocal quality that suggests both education and antiquity—perhaps British Received Pronunciation with unusual rhythms, or an accent that can’t quite be placed geographically.
Controlled Rage: Most of Myrddin’s anger is ice, not fire. Speak calmly even when furious. Let rage sharpen consonants and darken vowels rather than raising volume.
Savoring Language: Myrddin enjoys words. He’s had centuries to craft perfect phrases. Relish the poetry in lines like ‘Love is as fleeting as the morning dew on a spider’s silken snare.’ Don’t rush.
Tactical Shifts: When Myrddin bargains with Wyrtgeorn, he’s persuasive and almost friendly. When threatening, his voice becomes a blade. When speaking to Phryxus, there’s wary respect. Master these shifts.
The Killing Moment: When squeezing Atlas’s throat, speak with quiet satisfaction—almost tender. ‘Centuries I have longed for this’ should sound like a lover’s confession, making the cruelty more disturbing.

Emotional Preparation

Access Ancient Grievance: Find a personal injustice in your own life where you felt wrongly accused or punished. Multiply that feeling by millennia. That’s Myrddin’s baseline.
The Loneliness of Immortality: Consider what it means to exist for a thousand years as disembodied consciousness. Everyone you ever knew is dead. You’ve seen empires rise and fall while unable to touch anything. This isolation should inform every interaction.
Justify the Atrocities: Myrddin consumed millions of souls under Stalin. To play this authentically, you must find his justification: they’re ephemeral beings anyway, their suffering is momentary compared to cosmic eternity, and his cause is righteous. Villains don’t think they’re villains.

Key Scenes and Approaches

First Entrance (Great Hall): Command the room immediately. Your swagger isn’t bravado—it’s earned authority. The direwolf orbiting you is ‘a bad moon rising,’ so let your entrance feel like a natural disaster arriving.
Offer to Wyrtgeorn: When offering immortality, genuinely believe you’re offering something valuable. Your surprise at rejection should be real—who refuses godhood?
Confrontation with Rowena: This is personal cosmic history. Your anger at Zesknelians is ancient and absolute, yet you acknowledge she’s young and perhaps blameless. Navigate this contradiction—she represents everything you hate but isn’t personally guilty.
Battle on Battlements: Fight with magical superiority but growing frustration. You should be winning easily—you’re immortal facing a mortal. His persistence angers you. The dagger to Rowena’s heart is both tactical and vindictive.
Death and Curse: When impaled and thrown from the battlements, your final curse should carry the weight of millennia. This isn’t just anger—it’s a cosmic binding. Explode into yellow plasma with the satisfaction of knowing your revenge will succeed.
Modern Vapor Form: As a specter, move with unnatural fluidity. You’re not bound by physics. Let your body suggest partial transparency—move as if parts of you might dissipate at any moment.
Hospital Reconstitution: Marvel at your own hand genuinely. You’ve been formless for so long that having fingers again is miraculous. Then let that wonder harden into purpose as you approach Atlas.
Atlas Murder: Savor every second. You’ve waited centuries for this moment. Speak slowly, squeeze gradually. This is your symphony’s crescendo—don’t rush the final notes.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Don’t Play ‘Evil’: Myrddin believes he’s righteous. Play conviction, not villainy. He’s not cackling or gleeful (except when savoring revenge)—he’s determined and justified.
Don’t Rush the Language: The dialogue is deliberately archaic and poetic. If you speed through it, it becomes nonsense. Trust the language and give it time to land.
Don’t Ignore Exhaustion: Immortality doesn’t mean unlimited energy. Show the cost of great magic, the weariness of millennia, the strain of maintaining physical form.
Don’t Make Him Stupid: Myrddin has existed for millennia. He’s brilliant, educated, and strategic. His conflicts with Phryxus show he can be convinced by superior arguments. Play the intelligence.

PSYCHOLOGICAL SUMMARY

Myrddin Emrys is a being whose psychology has been shaped by cosmic injustice, millennial isolation, and single-minded purpose sustained across centuries. He embodies the tragedy of the immortal who cannot forget or forgive—every slight compounds rather than fading. His eloquence masks but doesn’t erase his fundamental nature as a predator and soul-eater. His grief at banishment has curdled into an all-consuming need for revenge and restoration.

The actor must find the human core within the monster: the loneliness of existing as vapor for a thousand years, the satisfaction of regaining physical form, the exhaustion that comes from maintaining power across millennia. Myrddin is most dangerous when he’s most sympathetic—when his arguments about cosmic injustice almost make sense, when his weariness feels genuine, when his satisfaction at revenge seems earned.

This is not a character who twirls mustaches or cackles. This is an ancient intelligence that has learned patience through suffering, mastered language through isolation, and concluded that the only response to cosmic injustice is to become the very thing they accused him of being. He is victim and monster simultaneously—and that’s what makes him truly terrifying.

***

Backstory

In the beginning, there existed only the head god (მორიგე ღმერთი) and his Sister. She made him unhappy, so he cursed her. The sister became a demon. For every good thing that the head god created, the Demon created an evil thing to mar it and oppose it. Women too was a creation of the Demon, as were the lesser demons (Georgian: დევი, romanized: devi – see below), while men and the lesser gods were creations of Morige Ghmerti. The lesser gods grew weary in their unceasing fight with the demons and fled to the upper world of Zeskneli (ზესკნელი), leaving behind the men. The men however lacked the power to resist the demons, so the lesser gods (Georgian: ღვთის შვილნი, romanized: ghvtis shvilni – see below) hunted down the demons and drove them underground to the netherworld of Kveskneli (ქვესკნელი). The demons left behind them the women who, like them, were part of the evil creation.^[5]

Myrddin Emrys is one such lesser demon that was hunted down by the gods.

Notes: Myrddin Emrys in the common tongue is Merlin the Immortal, from the Arthurian tales of Canterbury. Decided that he should be of African descent for reasons related to the origins of his strength, and how he was able to survive for centuries. When considering the mechanics of how he was able to conjure up the dragon and Zombie Knights, it was important that the use of magic comes at a cost. Otherwise, Myrddin could conjure up ‘infinite dragons’, etc. which makes for a very short and uninteresting tale. After considering other monster tropes, I found ‘soul eaters’ to be an appropriate fit for the character. A soul eater is a folklore figure in the traditional belief systems of some groups, known for sucking or eating the souls of their victims.

Soul eaters can be related to witchcraft, zombies, and other similar phenomena. The soul eater is supposedly able to consume an individual’s spirit, causing a wasting disease that can be fatal. Some traditional religions, including that of ancient Egypt and the Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Natchez of North America, contain figures whose names have been translated into English as “soul eater”.

The concept of the soul eater also exists in Greek mythology,^[2] These types of mythological figures, however, are spiritual and not human beings, and so are distinctly different from the soul eater as conceptualized by the Hausa and some others.

In considering where this ‘power’ has appeared in various mythologies, such as the Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Natchez of North America, this was unworkable because of where Myrddin Emrys appears geographically. The only logical choice was that he was from Africa. Or had lived there for a sufficient period of time