Magical Creatures: Dragons

Dragons are not monsters. They are creatures of magic and wonder. Here is all the information I know about them!

The Great Dragon, Kilgharrah

During the Great Purge, Uther Pendragon found the last Dragonlord and asked him to use his powers to bring the last Dragon to Camelot, saying he wanted to make piece with it. He lied. He imprisoned the Great Dragon in a cave, deep below the city, keeping it as an example.

When Merlin arrived in Camelot, Kilgharrah called to him, and told him of his destiny (series 1 ep.1, The Dragon's call) . Whenever Merlin was unsure of what to do, he would ask the Dragon for his knowledge. The sword, Excalibur was forged in his breath. Then, Merlin blamed Kilgharrah for his mother's illness, and told the Dragon he would not be seeing him again (Series 1 ep. 1, The Questing Beast). But when Sigan returned, Merlin had no choice but to ask the Dragon, and had to agree to one day set Kilgharrah free in exchange for his advice (series 2 ep. 1, The Curse of Cornelius Sigan).

When Merlin released him, The Dragon took his revenge and attacked the city without any mercy. It was Merlin who stopped him in the end, when he became the Last Dragonlord. He told Kilgharrah to leave, and that if he ever attacked Camelot again, he would kill him.

The Dragon returned in series 3 when he was summoned to save Merlin from the serkets (giant scorpion… things). He gave Merlin a few rides on his back to get quickly from one place to another, even though he said he was “Not a Horse”.

In series 4, Merlin summoned him as he and Lancelot were being chased by the Derocha, spirits of the dead. The Dragon's fiery breath soon warded them off. He spoke to Lancelot, and told him that he was the most Nobel of all the knights. Kilgharrah reapeared in episode 4, when he persuaded Merlin to save the last Dragon's Egg, and when Merlin accomplished the task, he witnessed the birth of Aithusar, a white dragon.
In the finale of Series 4, he was summoned to save Merlin and Arthur from the fast approaching army, and he saved them using fire.
 In Series 5, we first see the Great Dragon summoned when he explained to Merlin not to ignore the words of the druid-prophet who Merlin had just spoken to. After this, he appeared a few more times, and we discovered that he had a problem with his wing, because he was getting old.
In the Final double parter of the show, Merlin desperately summoned Kilgharrah because Arthur died (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!) and he needed to be taken to the Isle of the sidhe, because he could still be saved... he hoped. So Kilgharrah took them there, then told Merlin that one day, at the time of Albian's greatest need, Arthur would live again...

Aithusar

We first see Aithusar in Series 4, episode 4.
In the tomb of Ashkana, there lay the Last Dragon egg. It remained there for 400 years, until it was rescued by the Last Dragon Lord - Merlin! Under the guidance of the Great Dragon, Merlin summoned the dragon from it's egg by naming it: Aithusar. In the Dragon tongue, it means the light of the sun, a name which suited it's white skin.
We don't see Aithusar again until the series finale, when he saves Morgana's life using raw magic.
He then becomes Morgana's dragon.
In between series 4 and 5, Morgana and Aithusar are captured by the vicious Sarrum of Armata, and kept chained in a dark cell underground with no daylight... and no room to grow.
2 years later, when they finally escaped, Aithusar had become crippled, and could not speak.
We now come to series 5.
In Ismere, when Morgana discovered that Arthur was somewhere under her fortress, she releases Aithusar into the tunnels, where he rages through them breathing fire. Merlin goes after him, commands him to stop attacking him. He asks Aithusar what happened but then discovers he can't talk. From what I saw, it seemed that this dragon had a bond with Merlin, but is loyal to Morgana for some reason.
He appeared many times throughout series 5, usually attacking Arthur and Merlin on order of Morgana.
We see in last in the battle of Camlann, where he helps Morgana fight the Camelot army, until he is commanded to fly away by Merlin.
We don't see what happens to him from then on.

Dragon Lords

Merlin and his Father Balinor
Both dragon lords

There were once men who could talk to Dragons, they could tame them. They are called the Dragon Lords, and are bonded with all dragons because they are all creatures of magic. The Dragon Lord gift is passed down from father to son, and can only be inherited once the father is dead (as Merlin so horribly found out when his father was killed).They are vital to the survival of Dragons because only a Dragon Lord can summon a dragon from its egg.
If a Dragon lord commands a dragon to do something, the Dragon can't refuse, even if he wanted to. As
Balinor told Merlin when he was to face Kilgharrah: "When you speak to him [Kilgharrah] as kin, he must obey your will."
A Dragon Lord can command any Dragon, and any creature related to Dragons.
Merlin is the Last Dragon Lord now, because his father died, and Uther Pendragon wiped out the rest during the Great Purge.

Dragons in General

• They have to obey the Dragon Lords
• They can speak human languages
• They can give sorcerers spells with their breath
• They can create weapons that can slay the dead
• They are creatures of magic.
• In the past, some have allied themselves with trolls (Gaius said this in series 2 ep 5)
• They can live for thousands of years.

So that's pretty much all I can tell you about Dragons!

See other Magical Creatures Posts
Afanc
Sidhe

PS: I realise this is totaly un-Merlin related, but have you heard about the petition against a coal mine being build on the edge of the iMfolozi wilderness in South Africa? Find out more here. Once the petition is over, I will remove this text. Also see my other blog.