THE LOST YEARS OF MERLIN EPIC

by T. A. Barron
A Reader's Companion
by Sally Estes (Former Editor, Books for Youth, Booklist)

Introduction

Do you ever wonder just who you are, or who you could become in the
future? What kind of experiences do you think would help you as you are
growing up? The young Merlin faces these very questions in his search for
his true identity and the secret of his powers. In reading about Merlin,
author T. A. Barron noticed that little had been written about Merlin's youth
and started wondering what challenges Merlin had faced in his search for his
identity. What was Merlin like as a boy? Where did he come from? Like
everyone, Merlin has to learn who he is and who he could become. He
confronts his deepest dreams, his darkest fears, and his greatest lessons
about life. The deeper Barron got into the story, the more Merlin himself
seemed to take over the telling.

The journey begins in The Lost Years of Merlin when a young boy washes
ashore on the coast of ancient Wales. He has no memory—not even his own
name. For five years he lives in a small village, with a woman who claims to be
his mother. By age 12, Emrys, as he is known, has seen the awakening of his
powers and gained his second sight, though he loses much at the same time.
In search of his identity, he builds a raft and makes his way to the mythic
isle of Fincayra. He finds that he must save his the island from a terrible
blight to answer his questions. At last, he learns he is Merlin, destined to be
the greatest wizard of all time.

The saga continues in The Seven Songs of Merlin in which Merlin finally
encounters his mother and discovers the dark side of his powers. Danger
still stalks Fincayra, and Merlin's mother is the first victim. The only way to
save her is for Merlin to master an ancient riddle called the Seven Songs of
Wisdom, which will enable him to enter the Otherworld and find the elixir
his mother needs. Even more difficult, Merlin must discover the secret of
seeing not with his eyes, but with his heart.

In The Fires of Merlin the boy encounters fire in the various forms, most
particularly in the form of the ancient dragon Valdearg, who is awakened and
threatens to wreak havoc on all of Fincayra. Only the uncertain, insecure
Merlin, whose magic powers are untested, has a chance to stop the dragon,
though his efforts could cost him his life. Merlin faces not only outward
fires but also the awakening flames of passion within himself. And he finds
that the power to heal is far greater than the power to destroy.

In The Mirror of Merlin, the young wizard gains a greater understanding of

his powers and his essential humanity—as well as the great destiny that
awaits him. In the Haunted Marsh, he encounters the witch Nimue, who tries
to destroy him. He also discovers a magical mirror that can alter anyone's
fate. But when he looks into it, he sees the person he least expected to find.

And, at last, we come to the Wings of Merlin. Merlin discovers new aspects
of his own spirit and gains even more mastery over his powers. Everything
comes to a head as Merlin finds himself in a desperate race to save his
homeland, Fincayra, and all the people he loves, from destruction. The spirit
lord Dagda summons Merlin to tell him that the world of Fincayra and the
Otherworld will soon nearly touch. A doorway will open at the sacred circle
of stones, and Rhita Gawr, the warlord of the spirit world, will invade with
his deathless army. The only hope of repelling the evil forces is to assemble
enough Fincayran creatures—humans, dwarves, marsh ghouls, talking trees,
living stones, deer people, canyon eagles, merfolk, giants, and more. Only
Merlin, who is known to all the races, can possibly rally them. Can it be done?
How can Merlin cover enough territory to reach everyone? And more, how
can he convince them all to join together, when all distrust one another? As
Merlin and his closest companions race against time, new dangers emerge,
including a masked warrior whose shoulders bear swords rather than arms.
He is roaming the lands, attacking children to lure Merlin into a battle to the
death. How can Merlin gather and hide all the children to protect them? The
answer lies in solving the ancient mystery of the Fincayrans' lost wings, and
in learning the true value of forgiveness. Can Merlin achieve all this and still
make it to the circle of stones in time? In the surprising conclusion, Merlin
must make the most difficult choice of his life.
About T. A. Barron

T. A. Barron, who lives with his wife and five children on a small farm in
Colorado, spent much of his youth on a ranch outside of Colorado Springs. As
a child he loved to hike and camp-and also to write. In elementary school, he
wrote, illustrated, and printed his own magazine called The Idiot's Odyssey.
He continued to write in college, founding two publications at Princeton-and
was awarded the Pyne Prize, Princeton's highest honor to an undergraduate
for outstanding service to the university. He went attended Oxford as a
Rhodes Scholar and traveled widely-backpacking through parts of Asia and
Africa.

He spent the following years in business, as president of a fast-growing

venture capital firm in New York. Finally, in 1989, he surprised his business
associates by resigning from the management in order to return to Colorado
with his family to write books. Every one of Barron's novels-featuring heroic
young people in a wide variety of settings and times-have been highly
acclaimed. His books include Heartlight, The Ancient One, The Merlin
Effect, and most recently, The Lost Years of Merlin and its sequels, The
Seven Songs of Merlin, The Fires of Merlin, The Mirror of Merlin and The
Wings of Merlin.

Barron is also an accomplished nature writer. He wrote the prose and poetry
for two books with photography by John Fielder: To Walk in Wilderness,
and also the award-winning coffee table book Rocky Mountain National
Park: A One Hundred Year Perspective. In addition, he writes picture
books for children. Where is Grandpa? is a loving tribute to his own father-
and the wisdom of kids. He has also written High as a Hawk, the story of a
brave young girl and a mountain guide on Colorado's Long's Peak.

Barron's favorite pastime is hiking with his wife, Currie, and their five kids,
on the trails near their Colorado home. In addition, he often speaks to
schools and conventions around the country, and also supports an array of
environmental and educational causes. He continues to serve on several
nonprofit organization boards. A former trustee of Princeton University, he
helped to found the university's program in environmental studies. And he
recently received The Wilderness Society's highest honor, the Robert
Marshall Award, for his efforts to protect America's wilderness heritage.
Barron and his wife have also created the Gloria Barron Young Heroes Prize,
to honor and inspire heroic young people.
Further Reading

Books by T. A. Barron:

The Lost Years of Merlin EPIC:

The Lost Years of Merlin

HC: 0-399-23018-1 $19.99
ACE PB: 0-441-00668-X $5.99

The Seven Songs of Merlin

HC: 0-399-23019-X $19.99
ACE PB: 0-441-00701-5 $5.99

The Fires of Merlin

HC:0-399-23020-3 $19.99
ACE PB: 0-441-00713-9 $5.99

The Mirror of Merlin

HC: 0-399-23455-1 $19.99

The Wings of Merlin

HC: 0-399-23456-X $19.99

Other Novels:

Heartlight
HC: 0-399-22180-8 $18.99

The Ancient One

HC: 0-399-21899-8 $19.99

The Merlin Effect

HC: 0-399-22689-3 $19.99
Picture Books:

Where is Grandpa?
illustrated by Chris K. Soentpiet
HC: 0-399-23037-8 $15.99

Related Reading:

The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen

by Lloyd Alexander
Dutton Children's Books, 1991
ISBN 0-525-44826-8

An intricate and intriguing tale, in which young prince Jen sets out on an
arduous journey, full of danger and adventure, and learns to be a ruler and a
man.

Fire Bringer
by David Clement-Davis
Dutton Children's Books, 2000
ISBN 0-525-46492-1

In the Great Land, which today is known as Scotland, a fawn named Rannoch
is born, bearing on his brow the mark of a perfect oak leaf of the Herla
Prophecy: "When the Lore is bruised and broken," such a deer will be born a
healer and a king to lead his people to freedom. But, like Merlin, Rannoch
must endure unspeakable danger and learn his inner self and his powers to
complete the prophecy.
Parzival: The Quest of the Grail Knight
by Katherine Patterson
HC: Lodestar, 1998
ISBN 0-525-67579-5
PB: Puffin Books
ISBN 0-14-130573-8

This is the tale of Parzival, who goes to Arthur's court to become a knight
but leaves to pursue his path of valor. He encounters the Angler (Fisher
King) and dines in the presence of the Holy Grail. Although Parzival sees that
the Angler is suffering some "great pain or sorrow," he hesitates to ask the
cause. Dishonored because of this, Parzival is doomed to wander until he can
undo the wrong.

I Am Mordred: A Tale of Camelot

by Nancy Springer
Philomel Book, 1998
ISBN 0-399-23143-9

The Arthurian arch villain Mordred, bastard son of King Arthur and his
sister Morgause, tried to sort out his love/hate feelings for the father who
tried to murder him as an infant. When he's 15, Mordred is sent to Camelot,
where he meets his father, who refuses to acknowledge his son for the well
being of the realm. Desperately wanting to avoid his destiny as Arthur's
killer, Mordred embarks on a long and dangerous quest that does not stop his
inexorable path to fulfilling his destiny.

I Am Morgan Le Fay: A Tale of Camelot

by Nancy Springer
Philomel Books, 2001
ISBN 0-339-23451-9

Fleeing for her life after her stepfather, the king, is killed, Morgan learns
to treasure the power of sorcery, even at the expense of love. Nancy
Springer continues to shed light on the dark side of Camelot in this follow-up
to I Am Mordred.
Internet Sites of Interest:

The Worlds of T. A. Barron

www.tabarron.com
The official website for the author of the Lost Years of Merlin series.

King Arthur on Britannia

www.britannia.com/history/h12.html
Britannia, an online travel and tour guide to Great Britain and Ireland, offers
comprehensive information on King Arthur and Merlin.

Locus Online
www.locusmag.com
The online version of the news and review magazine dedicated to science
fiction, fantasy, and horror publishing.
An Interview With T. A. Barron

What first brought Merlin to your attention?

When I first read T. H. White's Once and Future King, I absolutely loved
his characterization of Merlin, elder wizard and mentor of Arthur. I read it
under an English oak tree on a farm outside Oxford, so the setting seemed
very real. I even named the old oak "Merlin's tree." But I had no idea at all
that I would, one day, have the chance to add a little bit to his legend.

Twenty years later, when writing a novel The Merlin Effect that required
some research into Arthurian lore, I realized how little had been written
about Merlin as a youth, except for occasional references in the Welsh
Mabinogian and a few modern treatments by authors such as Mary Stewart.
I started to wonder about his struggles and triumphs as a child and as a
young man. What were his deepest dreams? His darkest fears? His greatest
lessons about life? It seemed to me that, in this wondrous, truly luminous,
tapestry of myth about Merlin, there was a gaping hole—his youth. So
despite feeling humbled by the task, I couldn't resist trying to add a few
new threads. The result is the five books of The Lost Years of Merlin.

You often refer to Merlin as a metaphor in your Author's Notes. Would

you explain just what you mean?

This character has incredible depth. One reason he has stayed so richly alive
for 1,500 years, and across so many cultures, is because he represents some
of humanity's most basic struggles and aspirations. Three examples are his
ability to learn from nature; his ability to cross boundaries and stand for
universality; and his ability to combine both a dark side and a light side in h
is wisdom—a sense of his own frailties and vulnerabilities as well as his own
powers and ideals. Looked at in the historical context of the disintegration
of society in sixth-century Britain and the antagonism between the emerging
faith of Christianity and the ancient faith of the Druids, who were being
driven into the forests, Merlin's role as a bridge builder is truly
extraordinary.

The first stories emerged about a Druid master who would step across that
line and become the friend and teacher of a young Christian king, so that
together they could unify the people and create a society where justice and
individual respect would prevail. This was a radical—and terribly hopeful—
idea.

After spending these years writing about Merlin's youth, however, I am

struck even more by another metaphor: that of Merlin's own passage, from
the nameless, half drowned boy who washed ashore at the start of Book One
and who grows in many ways, until he is finally ready to step into his
legendary role as the greatest wizard of all times. That transformation, with
all its struggles and surprises, is really about Merlin discovering his own
inner gifts, his own inner magic. As he grows in wisdom and mastery, he finds
that he holds far more greatness inside himself than he ever believed
possible. And therein lies the metaphor. Perhaps, like that boy who washed
ashore, each and every oneof us holds some special magic within ourselves—
magic that just might hold the makings of a wizard.

It's obvious that you did considerable research to write about Merlin
because your young Merlin fits so well in the Merlin canon. However, did
you turn up your other characters in your research or in your
imagination?

Some of both. From the start, I knew my young Merlin had to fit seamlessly
into the greater body of myth. Even so, that left me considerable room for
originality—as long as my new additions felt completely integral to the whole.
The grounding of Celtic lore, therefore, was essential. The name Fincayra,
for example, came from a line in a Celtic ballad that referred to an island
called Fincayra, halfway between our world and the Otherworld of the
spirits. This reference fit my story perfectly, not only because of its blend
of mortal and immortal, but also because of the ancient Druids' reverence
for "in between things." Ancient Celtic lore inspired the names of many of
my characters. For example, once I knew the personality of Merlin's friend
and teacher, Cairpré, I named him for a fabled bard. I also found an old tale
about a wood nymph called Rhiannon—just the right name for the girl of the
forest who would become so important to Merlin. The name of Merlin's
archenemy came from a deadly ogre known as Rhita Gawr. And I gave
Dinatius a name of Roman origin to connect him to post-Roman Britain.

In other cases, I grounded original characters in established categories.

Hallia, for example, is a deer maiden. Valdearg is a mighty dragon (though I
gave him a soft heart). And Elen is a healer and herbalist—although I also
made her a Christian who retained her respect for the wisdom of other
faiths. Other characters bear little or no resemblance to anyone I found in
the traditional tales: Shim, the dwarf who discovers that he is truly a giant;
Trouble, the fiery hawk who becomes Merlin's first friend, and lasting
inspiration; Merlin's shadow, who possesses a minds of its own; the
kreelixes, creatures who devour magic; and Urnalda, the irascible
enchantress of the dwarves.

The conventions of most fantasies include a struggle between Good and

Evil, magic, a prophecy, a hero and his/her companions, a quest, an
amulet, etc. What makes good fantasy? What takes it beyond the
formulaic?

The elements you've cited are some of the tools commonly employed in
fantasy. But like nay tools, they can be wielded well or poorly. And these
tools aren't the core of the best fantasy, which contains a moral vision, with
ample room for complexity and contradiction. That is why such stories can
give us a whole new perspective on ourselves, through casting an altered
mirror that reveals our world afresh. But such a mirror must be more than
just distorted: It must also be true. Every detail, every element, of an
imaginary world must be believable, and all those details must be fully
integrated.

Imagination, really, is our personal form of the power of creation. If a

reader finds a story about an imagined world to be true, in all its characters
and places and voices, then that reader can completely envision that world.
And also inhabit it. That is why I prefer the term "visionary tales" to
describe this kind of story—tales about new worlds we can envision, and
create, because they are at once wholly imaginary and wholly true.
Discussion Questions

1. Like all fantasies, The Lost of Years of Merlin books carry you into
other worlds, allowing the reader to go "outside" his or her life.
However, the Merlin books also explore many inner worlds, such as the
meaning of life and who you are as a person. Are there lessons you
take from the series that may help you learn more about yourself and
your dreams?

2. Throughout the series, what aspects of himself did Merlin have to

discover-and why-in order for him to grow as a wizard and as a man?
Think about the journey Merlin took to discover his essential
humanity. Do you think you know yourself or do you have things you
need to discover about yourself? In The Mirror of Merlin, young
Merlin looks into a magical mirror and faces the person he least
expects to see. What kind of person do you think you will become?
How can you find out? Where and how do you picture yourself in five
years? What about ten years?

3. As he began writing The Fires of Merlin, T. A. Barron discovered that

Merlin's path to self-discovery would take longer than the three
books he'd originally planned. As you look at the different parts of
your life, think about the goals you have set for yourself so far. Did
you realize you were setting them at the time? Do you feel that you
have met many of your goals, or has it taken you longer than you had
thought to fully realize your potential?

4. When Rhia and Emyrs talk about home in The Lost Years of Merlin,
she asks him, "Where then is your home?" He doesn't know; he has no
memory of his past. "Isn't your home wherever you are?" she asks.
"You aren't serious. Home is the place you come from. The place
where your parents live, where your past is hidden," Merlin answers.
Why is he so intent on finding what he calls "home" and how does this
influence him throughout his adventures? How does your home affect
your life and personality? Does it influence your relationship with
other people?
 5. What does the blight that threatens to destroy Fincayra in The Lost
Years of Merlin represent? How might you relate it to our own world?

6. What does Dagda mean in The Wings of Merlin when, after telling
Merlin of Fincayra's greatest peril, he says, "Heed well these words
young wizard: Fincayra's fate has never been more in doubt. You may
find unity in separation, strength in weakness and rebirth in death,
but even that may not be enough to save your world. For in certain
turns of time, when all is truly gained, all is truly lost." Have you ever
experienced what you think is a victory, only to realize that it may not
be one after all?

7. Sometimes authors pull back from their main characters in order to

let them take the center stage, to take on lives of their own, which
can make them seem very real—like people you could talk to and
interact with. In his Author's Notes in each of the five books, T. A.
Barron tells us that Merlin himself is the guide, that Merlin invited
him to be his scribe. Can characters develop their own personalities
and take over the story? Is this what makes a character easy to
relate to when you're reading a story? Imagine holding your own
conversation with Merlin. What would you talk about?

Find more teaching guides and tips at: http://us.penguingroup.com/youngreaders.