Prologue Summary

The novel begins with Merlin speaking of his memories of his life from the time before Arthur became King. He describes the tendency of his memory to forget things of recent past in favor of those long gone. Merlin hints at his ability to create fire and discern unseen things. He recounts a dream of sorts of a couple meeting in the misty, woods outside a cave. This meeting suggests some type of danger even though Merlin does not tell us who the man and woman are.

Prologue Analysis

The author uses the opening prologue to show that this is going to be a first person accounting of Merlin's life. The novel is set to be the recollection of a somewhat tired and jaded person with a story to tell. We glean that this is King Arthur's Merlin. There is great use of...