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The Legacy of Merlin is the 8th novel of the Charmed novels.

This novel takes place during the week leading up to the summer solstice on June 21, and as such is set between Season 2 Episode 19 "Ex Libris", which takes place in April, and the Season 3 premiere "The Honeymoon's Over" as Phoebe has not yet developed her power of Levitation.

Summary[]

For a complete plot of The Legacy of Merlin, go here.

White robes under the Druid moon,
Midsummer's Eve is coming soon.
Spells and chanting call the power
To work dark witchcraft in the hour!

Prue lands a summer trip to England to buy medieval books for a collector, so Phoebe and Piper tag along to the quaint village of Hay-on-Wye, in the heart of King Arthur country. While Piper reads how to make love charms from flowers, Phoebe meets the darkly handsome Niall. But she's shaken by a desolate vision of him on a windswept heath, holding an infant. Is Niall a warlock?

Then Piper discovers a secret Druid ritual in progress, with Niall at the center of it! She freezes the group, and the Charmed Ones set out to discover Niall's secret. They learn that a local villager is in terrible danger from the Druids, and only a magical spell from centuries past can save her. The Charmed Ones are convinced that only a long journey can win against the Druids—a voyage back in time to Camelot!

Excerpt[]

"Why don't you start by telling us who you really are and what you want with Phoebe?" Prue suggested to Niall, the handsome and mysterious stranger Phoebe had gone on a date with the night before.

"What's Phoebe got to do with anything?" Niall demanded.

"Is this all part of some elaborate ploy to get the Power of Three? Because it isn't going to work," Piper said angrily.

"The power of what? I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about." He stood up and started for the door.

Prue made a flicking gesture with one hand. Niall flew backward, thudding into an armchair with such force that it skidded a few inches across the carpeted floor.

He gaped up at Prue, openmouthed. "Are you—are you a witch?"

"We're the most powerful witches around," Piper answered. "Believe me, you really don't want to get on our bad side. So I suggest you tell us what we want to know."

Characters[]

Major[]

  • Prue Halliwell: The eldest sister with the powers of Telekinesis and Astral Projection. She went to England to find ancient volumes for Lloyd Claiborne.
  • Piper Halliwell: The middle sister with the power of Molecular Immobilization. She finds a spellbook using flowers, and tries a love spell for jokes, only to land a problem as consequence for using her magic for personal gain.
  • Phoebe Halliwell: The youngest sister with the power of Premonition. She meets a handsome stranger while on vacation with her sisters. The man admits he is not what he seems, but is he good or evil?

Support[]

  • Niall Oldman: Son of Merlin. He was forcefully brought to the 21st century by Diana Jones for her dark purposes. Though he possesses no active powers of his own, the magic existed in his blood.
  • Diana Jones: A power-hungry Druid who summoned Niall to the 21st century. She wished to conceive a child on Beltane to obtain powerful magic.
  • Merlin: The powerful Druid who served King Arthur. He channeled his power through his staff.
  • Blodwen Jeffries: A widow elderly lady who runs a fruit stand in Hay-on-Wye.

Minor[]

Mentioned[]

  • Darryl Morris: Police inspector of the San Francisco Police Department. He is aware of the sisters' secret. Prue calls him to look up information about Niall when they suspected he was a threat.
  • Nifein: Mother of Niall and wife of Merlin. Known as Nifein the Enchantress due to her powerful magic and status.
  • Leo Wyatt: The sisters' Whitelighter and Piper's boyfriend.
  • Charles Howard: Earl of Nottingham, and husband of Lady Mary Howard. He played a major part in England's victory against the Spanish Empire.
  • King Arthur: The famous ruler of England back in the Middle Ages.
  • Lady Mary Howard: Charles Howard's wife, and speculated to be a descendant of Niall Oldman, which would make her a witch who was vital in securing England's victory against the Spanish Empire.
  • Gwyneth: One of Niall's daughters.
  • Rhys of Penarth: Gwyneth's husband.
  • Idris: Niall's foster brother.
  • Lloyd Claiborne: Buckland's wealthiest client, who sends Prue to England to collect ancient books for his collection.

Magical Notes[]

Spells[]

Love Posy[]

For this spell, the caster should have the following flowers which should be made into a posy in the shape of a heart: mallow blue, bloodred wort and fire of stars.
For constancy, this mallow blue
Shall never give me cause to rue.
Bloodred wort makes passion blaze;
Add fire of stars for length of days.
Behold the spell I weave for you!
Lover, to me alone be true.

Tracking Spell[]

Something of the lost person is needed, placed in the outline of a pentagram made by watermark.
Like calls to like, by this ancient rule;
Dirt to dust, and gem to jewel.
We call upon thee, O Great Maklik
To hear, and show us what we seek!

To Cleanse Objects Touched by Evil[]

Power of Three spell
In this place, upon this night,
Cleanse these stones, bring them back to light.
By the Power of Three, bring them back to light!

Other Spells[]

  • Prue and Piper cast a spell that sent them back in time to find Merlin.
  • Merlin used a spell of his own language to grant himself omnilingualism in order to communicate with Piper and Prue.
  • Niall read the spell in the scroll to send himself back to his own time.

Powers[]

Artifacts[]

  • Book of Shadows: The Halliwell family's tome of spells and information.
  • Druid Stones: Diana's source of magic.
  • Merlin's Scroll: A scroll with Merlin's time-traveling spell written on it to return Niall to his own time.
  • Merlin's Staff: Merlin's item that allows him to channel magic and spells.

Terms[]

  • Beltane: An ancient rite of fertility that can only occur on midsummer night. On this day, a man and a woman will represent the Sun God and Summer Queen, respectively, and conceive a child. The ritual also requires a human sacrifice to be effective.

Notes and Trivia[]

Timeline[]

This book was released less than a week after "All Hell Breaks Loose" (Aired in May 17th, 2001), the episode in which Prue died, but she's still included in the storyline as being alive. It often takes authors about a year to finish a novel from conception to printing, so discrepancies between the show and the books are to be expected.

Differences from the Show[]

  • Time Travel was included in the novel. Unlike the show, however, the sisters retained their active powers while back in the past, evident by Prue's ability to use telekinesis to move a pebble.
  • When Prue astral projects, her astral form is without substance and cannot touch anything. She can, however, use telekinesis to her advantage. In the show, Prue's astral form is fully solid, but cannot use telekinesis.
  • A magical wind flipped through pages of the Book of Shadows which helped Prue find the spell she needed. It was really Grams's telekinesis flipping through the book in the series.
  • Prue mentioned her mother dying in a swimming accident, but by now she would have known that she was killed by a Water Demon. It is also inconsistent with the fact that she doesn't develop the power of Astral Projection until after they vanquished the demon.

Cultural References[]

  • Arthurian legends are heavily featured.
  • The Spanish Armada and the war was mentioned.

Errors[]

  • Sir Charles's wives were Catherine Carey and Margaret Stuart.

Intrenational titles[]

  • French: Le secret des Druides (The Secret of the Druids)
  • Russian: Nasledije Merlina (Merlin's Legacy)
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