Merlin

So, sitting here eating my Campbell's Cream of broccoli soup out of a tupperware bowl [I'm so classy, right?] I was trying to think about what I wanted to blog upon this time 'round.
I've decided this weeks post is about an off shoot of Arthurian fantasy. Kind of.
The great wizard Merlin also known as Emrys. Who I am sure could really be in a category of his own, but I am going to make an intuitive leap and put him under Arthurian for now.

Now then, the thing I remember most when I sift through my vast knowledge [It's a joke, laugh] and think about Merlin is the books of Merlin's... well, Pre-Arthur Merlin that I read when I was much younger by Ed Greenwood. I was probably thirteen or fourteen when I read these books, but at the time I thought they were the greatest things I had ever read. And I was kind of a shut in, so I read a good deal.
Anyway, I digress.
This series was entitled 'The Lost Years of Merlin', of course, only the first book was actually called that and there were five. It was Published in 2002 in rapid succession. It was essentially the stories of Merlin as he grew up;

"Spat out by the sea, the boy lay on the rocks, as still as death. Even if he survived the day, he had no home. No memory. And no name. So begins the tale of the strange young boy, who having washed up on the shores of ancient Wales, is determined to find his real home and his true name. One day he will become the greatest wizard of all time, but he knows nothing of this now.
At the knee of the mysterious Branwen, who claims to be his mother, the boy learns lore of the Celts, Druids, and people even more ancient. Yet the secret of his identity seems always to escape him. To discover the truth, and the secret of his own powers, he runs away, voyaging to the mist-shrouded side of Fincayra, an enchanted land between earth and sky that is being destroyed by blight. It is there he discovers that the fate of this land and his quest are strangely entwined."

 At the end of the series, Merlin leaves Fincayra, leaves his entire life, with no hope of return later to go and help a young boy.[Fincayra is dreadfully difficult to get to you see.]  This young boy's name was Arthur.

There is yet another thing that comes to mind when I think of Merlin, also placed in his early years, though Arthur is also there with him and they grow up together. The British television series that aired a few years back. There were three seasons to date, though I did not actually know about season three until just now. And they follow all of the usual characters, Arthur, Merlin, and Gwen as they grow up in a realm ruled by Uther Pendragon where magic is outlawed and those who posses it are in grave danger, be they good or evil.

Now then, that's enough for this post, gotta get on that other blog, which is considerably harder to write about.