Agoge App

[purpleandgray]

PLAYER
NAME: Piipa
CONTACT: piipa
ARE YOU 18 OR OLDER: Yes, I'm a dinosaur.

CHARACTER
NAME: Merlin Sawall
CANON: Amber Chronicles
AGE: ?? Multiverse with different time stamps make it really hard to gauge but he looks like he's in his late twenties.
CANON POINT: The end of Merlin's cycle.
HISTORY: I'll start with a WIKI entry on Amber Chronicles. To catch what's going on, the introduction setting at the top is a good read. Here is a very rudimentary WIKI entry on the character himself. I will write out some of the events in the book series that develop his character, however,because the Wiki doesn't really touch on any of that. It's a really old book and it's hard to find material online that goes into a lot of detail. But if you want to read the book summaries, Merlin's story is depicted in 'Merlin's Cycle', books 5 through 10.

To summarise the universe in concise way the idea is that on opposing ends of the universe there are two real places. These are the Courts of Chaos and the Amber. They correlate with two founding forces in the universe, Chaos and Order, or Logrus and Pattern as they're called in Amber canon. Between these places is the vast and uncountable universe. There are shadow worlds, such as Shadow Earth and Shadow Earth 2 where maybe Churchill died as a baby and that affected the history considerably. Every possible existence is there if you just go looking and both Amber and Chaos cast their echoes through this shadow. People from the Courts or Amber are more real than the folk from Shadow worlds. They have the power over this universe. In a sense they're god-like entities in the universe.

The main point that the Wiki fails to account in the really short summary is that Merlin starts off as gullible as they come. He's a regular guy in San Francisco, a good friend, maybe a little adventurous. Then his life starts to unravel around him and for the next few months or so, he doesn't seem to catch a break. He is betrayed by his best friend, his girlfriend, and his relatives. He becomes a plaything for creation powers of the universe and he learns that he has the power to say no if he wants to. He takes part in incredible events (that would take more than two novels to explain and aren't exactly necessary to know to understand his personality) that eventually lead him to discover that most of it has been an elaborate ruse to get him to sit on the throne of Courts of Chaos as a puppet ruler under the influence of both his mother and his step-brother.
Fame and glory hold little sway, he's happy with being a nobody. Meanwhile, the story shaves layer after layer off from his modesty and calm. Until at the end he takes the throne under his own rule, refuses to take sides in the endless battle between chaos and order (even under pressure from god-like creatures). We see him becoming just as ruthless as all the players that have surrounded him until that point.

Amber as a story is complicated and multilayered. It's a heist with a twist in the end and a modern drama about a boy who finally grew up, about broken family, and finding friendship and love in strange places. Merlin is the unreliable narrator of the story and we see everything from his perspective.

PERSONALITY:
"I don't know that I ever wanted greatness, on its own. It seems rather like wanting to be an engineer, rather than wanting to design something — or wanting to be a writer, rather than wanting to write. It should be a by-product, not a thing in itself. Otherwise, it's just an ego trip."

Curious, intelligent, allergic to ambition, Merlin is an unusual bird in his habitat. He's a child of two kingdoms at opposing ends of the universe. One born with a promise of power, plenitude of opportunities at his feet, and the wealth and strength of two kingdoms at his back. Much to his mother's disappointment, Merlin turned out to be a dreamer, an artist, and a creator instead of an ironfisted ruler. You can see his eternal hunger for knowledge and the force of his curiosity in the way he controls a wide variety of different powers, wanting to hold it all on his palm and researching for more.

He's an easy going young man, a fantastic friend, loving easily, hard pressed to hatred but perhaps a bit flippant and easily arrogant. He loves a good time almost as much as he likes a good puzzle and a magical challenge. Despite what you might expect, he's not a lazy guy, but rather hardworking and has a sense of duty towards not just his own world, but the rest of the universe as well.

As a child of the "true world" his moral compass seems a little skewed when considering the shadow folk, people who are the population of the Shadow worlds between Amber and Chaos. He isn't a bad guy, but if he has to choose between his own life and someone threatening his, he is going to stab first and ask questions later. It might be a worthy sacrifice to lay waste to a few less real places than his birthplace but at the same time, he's completely against the idea of rewriting the whole universe and putting an end to all the lives and worlds that aren't seated in the power of the two real forces (Pattern and Logrus.)

Unlike most of his peers, he doesn't seem to have a deep rooted sense of patriotism towards either of the kingdoms. He values personal loyalty more than that to the establishment. This might spring from his desire to belong and be cherished for who he is instead of what he is. His mother created him to be her personal vehicle for power and he never knew his father very well - family and having that connection is something that haunts him even if he doesn't admit to that flaw in his chipped armour.

Merlin does have a bit of temper, though, and it shows when he's stressed and frustrated. He can be cunning and cruel when he needs to and is in the process of learning how to play the long game in the Courts of Chaos. Sometimes he makes stupid mistakes simply because of his inborn arrogance and lack of self-criticism. He keeps giving second chances to his best friend who made it his business to try and kill Merlin for years and kept doing so even after his betrayal came to light. Eventually this loyalty is rewarded and Luke is the person who he can place the most trust in, but it speaks for his inability to let go and apply rational thought to something he's mostly viewing through an emotional lens.

Merlin's humour is dry as the desert and he isn't going to pass up a chance to deliver one-liners, even in the heat of battle. His behaviour is very deadpan and it's virtually impossible to surprise him to a point of silence. He's obviously incredibly stubborn and has his own pace to things. Towards the end of the series, he comes to his own in a way that makes it obvious that he's filling up his shoulder width even with relatives ten times his age and power level.

POWERS: Just to start this off, I'm going to say that Merlin has a ridiculous power base. Even compared to other Amber characters he has everything and then some. I'll describe it all but I'll also suggest some nerfing with each power and I'm not looking at all to keep all these in game.

• LOGRUS - This is the true power of Chaos. It gives him an ability to pierce the universe and either relocate himself anywhere in the universe or pull something to him from anywhere in the universe. He also can manifest Logrus Tendrils, sort of two-dimensional appendages that he can use to tear open things or grab swords or simply push and pull things. Logrus Sight gives him an ability to see through magic and magical things. Sort of like viewing the true state of things. He also hangs his spells into Logrus matrix, which means that they'll be ready for him to use with a few keywords. Nerfing: I'd suggest cutting off everything except the sight, tendrils and spell matrix. Teleportation between worlds is kind of game breaking and bothersome.



• PATTERN - This is the true power of order, or Amber, the opposing force to Logrus. It gives him an ability to "walk" the universe, recreate it as he traverses it, take out things, add things, to get to his desired location. It also allows him to manipulate probabilities. For example, he's in Earth and he knows he only has gold coins in his pocket, he can say that it's very likely that if he puts his hand in his pocket he will find a few dollars there instead. This power includes a lot of different things the are directly related to items and constructs in his world that could never be applicable in the game. For example "walking the Pattern", the actual power construct of the Pattern, would remove all ailments and spells from him, etc. He, however, has a higher level initiation to this power through a trinket that's important to both forces. Nerfing: I'm not sure how much into detail I should go here because I'm going to suggest to capping everything from this except a mild case of the probability manipulation. It's a game breaking power to be able to travel and create the universe. So, what I'm suggesting is to let him have a minor case of oh, I did have dollars after all! and nerf the rest.



• SHAPESHIFTING - As a Chaosite, Merlin has to have an ability to change his shape. He has two constant forms: one is a human form and the other is his Chaos form which looks demonic (spikes, chitin armour, and elongated limbs). Merlin isn't exactly great with this power and we only really see him using it once or twice in the books, but it's familiar to the reader from earlier encounters with the power in the Corwin's cycle (books 1-5). Basically he could shift his shape to look like someone else or have amphibian lungs or well, engorge certain body parts. He rarely if ever uses the power but I don't mind nerfing it if you would prefer it that way.



• TRUMPS - These aren't exactly a power but an ability to create items that are powers on their own. Trumps are images or items that have been created through the third creation power in the Amber universe. They're real and cannot be destroyed. They work like communication pieces between people or places. For example: Merlin has a trump of his brother and when he wishes to speak to him, he concentrates on the trump and eventually it'll become like a window to his brother. They can talk, they can exchange mental communications, or travel to each other's locations. He could have trumps of places, which work like portals. Anyone can use trumps if they've been shown how. Merlin's ability is that he can create them. Nerfing: ? I'm not sure how to go about this. I really like this power. It's the one that I use the most when playing him. But I understand that it shouldn't work between different worlds at least and I know teleportation is kind of troublesome in games. But perhaps he could be allowed to create trumps of people.



• MAGIC - Merlin's magic is pretty straightforward fantasy stuff. He has to hang each spell separately and maintain them. He can't hang a spell and then pull it out half a year after. It can be hung for a little while before it distorts into something else. Especially if he's doing intergalactic travel in between. His spells are various and usually come with little trickery. Fireballs, shower of flowers,etc. Out of his magical powers his spells are easily the weakest, but he has a magical item called Spikard which gives him the power to do pretty much any kind of magic almost instinctively. The Spikard masses power from all over the universe and puts it into his hands without limitations. Nerfing: Dump the Spikard. And maybe limit him to less showy spells?



• TECHNOLOGY/COMPUTERS/GHOSTWHEEL - Merlin is a computer engineer by profession. He combines magic and powers of the universe with technology and software. This is how he created Ghostwheel, which is like a universal search engine that leafs through the universe through trump connections and has a very human-like AI that Merlin wrote for it. Ghostwheel is an entity on its own, not a power of his. I'm just bringing it up as an example of a skill; he created the thing.



• AMBERITE/CHAOSITE
- Because ridiculous powers aren't enough, Amberites and Chaosites also are physically stronger and more endurable than humans. Merlin isn't physically the most fit among his peers, though. He might lift a horse, not a car. They're also known to grow back body parts given enough time and can resist magical and mental abilities because of their superior psyche.


• THE RENAISSANCE MAN - Merlin is rather well educated, enlightened on various topics, he paints, he writes and reads, he sings and dances, fences and rides horses without a problem. He has fantastic manners when he chooses to use them and he can adapt to pretty much any situation.

SAMPLES
1ST PERSON: Mock network posts
3rd PERSON: Old Bakerstreet threads: 1 & 2

MISC
PLANS: I don't have plans. I like to go with the flow but I already know that I'm easily attracted to plot and character development. Why I'm looking to app to the game is because I like the setting and a friend recommended the game. All I have at this point is that he's going to be a little fatigued and irritable upon losing the Spikard that also leeches on his energies and when he puts it down it seems like the world is dreadfully small and he's awfully powerless.
ITEM: It's called Frakir. It's a silvery piece of a strangling cord. It has a few magical components. It warns him of danger by tightening around his wrist. This isn't foolproof. Sometimes she's too slow. She also has a little bit of a mind of her own. She likes Merlin quite a bit. She's happy to get rid of his enemies. She also originates from Logrus. He can leave the cord to do his bidding and then return to him. As a weapon it's virtually useless in a big fight but works well in backstabbing scenarios.
CHARACTER @ID SUGGESTIONS: His nickname is Merle but I'm running dry with suggestions honestly... He's a nerd? A king who doesn't want to be a king? Also an unwilling game piece?
HOW DID YOUR CHARACTER JOIN COST? He joined voluntarily. But not without some ideas on how to benefit from this himself. For all his power and advantages, there's one thing that Amberites/Chaosites don't have any control over and that's time. At the later part of his canon quite a bit of shit happens that he would rather go back on if he could. Given that it seems that COST have some kind of power over time, he's just getting close to them to study it in hopes of finding some kind of way to use it for his own selfish ends. He probably will pretend that he doesn't remember.

Links: (just in case any of this might be helpful)
Pattern
Logrus
Amber
Shadow

Comments

Revisions:

[purpleandgray]

Hi! We have a few quick questions about your app before we feel we can approve it.

- The application mentions several names, but doesn't give context for who those people are or what they mean to Merlin. Aside from his mother, we aren't sure if these relationships are important, and if so, how much they mean to Merlin and his development. Could we have more detail on this?

- You describe Merlin as unambitious and artistic, but note his reasons for joining COST involve selfishness and a hunger for more power. Could we have elaboration on this?

- Your application mentions Merlin's thoughts on control and selfishness in general, and that these are important given the setting, but doesn't give a lot of clarifying details as to what these things mean to Merlin in specific. Could you please elaborate on this?

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1. I wasn't quite sure which names you meant because the application itself doesn't mention by name others than Luke. But I'll spread out some of his important connections here.

Most Amber characters are cunning, selfish and very power hungry. There's a saying in Amber that goes something like never trust a relative and they're all related to each other through some connection however small that might be.

Merlin has three brothers, the oldest, Mandor, is older than Merlin and the only son of his step-father from his earlier marriage. Throughout the books Mandor is the person Merlin goes to when he needs help from someone and he seems to trust Mandor quite explicitly. However, at the very end, Mandor is revealed to have been plotting to put Merlin on the throne of Chaos to use him for his own ends. It's safe to say their relationship is strained even if we don't see them interact much after the revelation. His younger bothers Despil and Jurt are his half-brothers and Despil is only mentioned once and never shows up in the books at all. Jurt continues to be a nuisance to Merlin throughout his story, constantly challenging Merlin to fight him and constantly losing to him. Jurt is very angry because he imagined that Merlin is gunning for the throne himself and doesn't realise that Merlin has no plans for it. They also reconcile their relationship at the end but it remains to be a shaky connection at best.

Merlin's mother, Dara, doesn't show up much, but as a reader you understand through Merlin what her personality is. She was Mandor's accomplish in the scheme to put Merlin onto the throne under mind control.

All of these characters come from the Courts of Chaos.

His father, Corwin, is a prince of Amber. And his relationship with Merlin remains a bit of a mystery because they only meet twice. But it's safe to say Merlin respects him and cares for him even if they've barely had any interaction.

On the Amber side of things he has a lot of casual connections through his father. He's friendly with all of his aunts and uncles, and there are plenty of them. The current king of Amber is his uncle Random, who seems to treat Merlin in a mildly condescending but caring way. (I'm unsure how much of these I should mention, because there's a lot. If you want me to go into more detail, let me know.)

Luke is Merlin's best friend and a person, who tried to kill him for years. He's also Merlin's cousin through his father. They reconcile their differences during the canon and it's one of the rare relationships in the books that isn't tainted with one of them trying to benefit from the other. (Towards the end, though. They go through quite a bit of that too.)

Merlin has two love interests in the books. First is his ex-girlfriend Julia, who dies in the first book. Except surprise, she didn't die and she was actually working with Jurt and tried to kill Merlin on several occasions. They also sort of make up at the end of the books and she kisses him. (His life is a whirlwind, what can I say?) The other is a surprise cousin of his, Coral, who Merlin helps to discover her heritage and what it means. She ends up being married to Luke but Merlin's relationship with her always remains a good one and it's shown that he really does care for her.

Other relationships: a body-hopping demon who they end up calling Nayda. A strained relationship turned into something actually nice and good. She worked for his mother but in the end was able to revoke that deal.

Ghostwheel is his creation and also a self-aware entity. He calls Merlin 'dad' and their relationship is peculiar to say the least but at the end of the day a friendly one. He also has a personal relationship with other items and constructs like his strangling cord, Frakir, the Pattern and the Logrus.

2. Merlin is obviously curious towards different kind of magical powers. He has a giant set of them even compared to other older characters of the series. However, that wasn't what I was thinking when I came up with the reason for his joining the COST and wanting to know about time manipulation. He has some regrets of how certain things went down. And it's more a case of common good rather than his selfish ends why he would want to fix those events. He can be arrogant in ways of thinking that he can handle something or he should be the person to take care of something. But he doesn't strive for power or position to get ahead. It's more to appease his own curiosity and to help others.

But he does also showcase quite a bit of change of personality on the very last pages of the last book. He isn't exactly gullible and the worst case of bleeding heart at that point anymore. He's toughened up.

But to be more specific, his step-brother and mother had masses of people assassinated to put him on the throne. If he had known about their plans earlier, he would have stopped them, surely. And then there's Coral, who ended up in a very difficult place at the end of the book series mostly because Merlin didn't stop her from making a very foolish decision. Not with the marriage, that doesn't seem to bother him at all, but basically she took a leap of faith with the Pattern, which then used her as a pawn and quite a bit of unpleasant things happened to her. At the end of the series she's basically confined to a space where neither Logrus nor Pattern can touch her and she's not going to be able to move out of there until... well, who knows. Merlin surely doesn't.

3. If I understand what you're asking me to explain, I've touched upon that already above a few times. In the Chronicles of Amber it comes very clear that there are very few characters who aren't gunning for those positions of power for selfish reasons. The two series deal with race to the thrones of first Amber and then the Courts of Chaos. Corwin, his father and the main character of the first five books, is an actually horrible person at the start of the series. He goes for the throne with a very cut-throat attitude, giving very little for what trouble he causes and who he hurts. Corwin's story ends up with him giving up the throne but during his cycle we learn that the Amberites and Chaosites are one very backstabbing and scheme-loving family. Corwin mentions several times how it's never a good idea to trust a relative because they're always going for their own selfish ends even if they seem friendly and helpful. He becomes increasingly suspicious when someone is nice towards him.

Merlin seems rather allergic to ambition and personal power. The story starts with him bringing Ghostwheel to Random, because he thought it would be a helpful tool for him. Merlin created the thing because he was curious but he was aiming to give it away for the King to use to help him govern. Random immediately tells him to shut it down because it's too much of a liability if and when it ends up in the wrong hands. This shows that Merlin honestly doesn't see the family in those terms at first. He's genuinely surprised to learn about every betrayal that is laid on his path and in most cases he keeps reconciling those connections because he doesn't have the same kind of pride that drives the others where any kind of personal slight like that would have lead to decades of blood feuding. It's unfair to say that he's the only decent person in the family but often it seems like he's the only decent person willing to put his ass out there to do something good instead of defaulting to revenge and backstabbing.

I hope this was what you were after! Let me know if I understood something wrong.