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.

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