Merlinkainen
The God of the Bright Magicks; Archmage of the Insurgent Gods
Merlinkainen is the Material God of the "bright" arcane magicks—evocation, conjuration, transmutation and abjuration—on the plane of Waking Materia. He is a reluctant god that receives and disseminates divine power from his worshippers mainly because he does not wish the role to fall into more nefarious hands. He is also known as The Blue Fox, The Wandering Wizard and The Master.
Merlinkainen and his students (called the Magi) were an important force among the Insurgent Gods, who sought an end to the tyranny and destruction of the extraplanar Lichlords. Stories often tell of him saving the day with his sharp wits, tenacity, a healthy arsenal of illusions and the odd fireball. He was also adept at sowing discord and disloyalty within the necrocratic First Empires, sometimes resulting in the defection of entire nations like the Iyō, the Noa-Aina-Koroa, Kintyria-Mors and more.
The Wandering Wizard enjoys traveling the plane in various guises, and seems to especially enjoy aiding the Wardens of his old friend, The Lady of the Mountain.
Merlinkainen's alignment is Lawful Good.Appearance & Heraldry
See also: Merlinkainen Image Gallery (External)Portrayals of Merlinkainen are moderately common in surviving First Age literature as a popular Insurgent God and wandering hero. He is usually described to be tall, thin and lanky, with spidery hands. He was brown of skin and black of hair (with visible greying) and had gleaming amber eyes. Merlinkainen had no interest in fashion and preferred to wear simple traveler's clothes.
Domains
Merlinkainen's primary Domain is Magic. His secondary domains are Knowledge, Creation, Glyph, Travel and Trickery.Favoured Weapon
The Archmage's favoured weapon is the shillelagh. His Relic shillelagh is the Crook of Felnades.The Three Magi
Merlinkainen was as reluctant to take students as a mortal wizard as he is to be worshipped in godhood, but there were a few exceptions that found themselves under his wing. Some would go on to become minor demigods themselves, with followings that straddled the line between church and school.
- Inunvieli Koyaté: An ondine (water-aspected), eladrin archevoker. Exiled from her clan for being an ondine (elemental births are often the target of superstition), Koyaté was a filthy and cruel young hermit when discovered by Merlinkainen. Though the two wizards are still loyal to each other and the ondine has calmed over the centuries, she still carries a vengeful streak. She is a minor demigod of ondines and anti-bigotry, as well as arcane magic.
- Tekchinyulot Ch'tosé of Locrian Hall: An aikyo archabjurer. The birdperson would come to start a school of wizardry within the forces of the Insurgent Gods. He was one of the great strategists of the Insurgents alongside V'Shaat al-Avra and a skilled diplomat, splitting the loyalty of some Colonial factions, most famously a schism that created the Anzu Riders of Tel. Ch'tosé died alongside Lichlord Na'ashu in the Battle of Terss, confronting the Draconic God of devastation, Elir-Otrinax.
- Though this is vociferously rejected by the Morganites, it is commonly thought a young Mael Morha, who would eventually become the Lichlord Morha and later the Goddess of Black Magicks Morrigan, was also one of Merlinkainen's students.
History
The Wandering Wizard's biography involves untold centuries of adventures and military campaigns against the forces of evil.Antiquity: Lorgain
Merlinkainen's earliest origins are a mystery even to the author; he did not appear to have any surviving family in his youth, and few other associations. What is known is that he was a traveling hedge wizard on his home plane of Lorgain prior to befriending the mercenary and weapon master Emeliat Reis. The two would become adventurers and inseparable allies, eventually pivotal in stopping a series of wars between the Reiver King of the Spiral Mountains, Inum'indiron'aravaut, and several Egwithian nations.
The Reiver King would only grow in power, eventually becoming a Lichlord and seeing greener, extraplanar pastures for invasion. Reis and Merlinkainen followed, and would therefore become two of the four Insurgent Gods of First Age Materia, alongside V'Shaat al-Avra and Galadnock mac-Kenzie.First Age Materia
Much of the First Age is defined by the wars between the Colonial and Insurgent Gods. Merlinkainen in particular was responsible for the defeat of Lichlord Indu'una in a certamen duel, though much of his influence was more subtle. A master of not only magic but psychology, the Blue Fox created entire nations by sowing discord within the First Empires against the Lichlords, resulting in political and theological diasporas like the Iyō and the Noa-Aina-Koroa. Of course, leading these nations—either as a deity or a politician—was contrary to Merlinkainen's isolated nature, so he performed miracles only in the guise of the Overbeings or his fellow Insurgents. In fact many of the modern Waking conceptions of Aios and Uhrmazd are thanks to the Wandering Wizard, inspiring people to look beyond the power of the Lichlords.
Third Age Materia
It is with no small amount of smugness that worshippers of Merlinkainen credit him as the progenitor of the two largest churches on modern Materia. Part of the reason why Merlinkainen's churches are so scattered and remote is they're heavily ostracized for this belief. Some churches of the Blue Fox openly reject the story in order to blend better with wider society. A melancholy irony.
Merlinkainen
Godhood
Ascendant (Early First Age) Alignment
LG Domains
Magic, Knowledge, Creation, Glyph, Travel, Trickery Favoured Weapon
Shillelagh Relic Weapon
The Crook of Felnades
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