Book 1, Chapter 1 Summary

This story begins when Merlin is about six-years-old. He lives with his mother the Lady Niniane in his grandfather the King's palace. He has no father that anyone knows of and this causes considerable problems for him. The conflict is set in motion with the return home of his uncle Camlach. Camlach has returned because his brother Dyved has died under some unusual circumstances. There was talk that he could have been poisoned. Camlach seems to have come home to check on things but more apparently to make sure of the status of his inheriting the throne from his father.

Merlin is small, squirrelly and an outcast, because no one knows who his father is. His mother refuses to tell that secret even after being beaten. The old King hates Merlin with a passion. His caretaker, nurse Moravik, is a strong...