Sarrum

"I shall enjoy putting you to the test."

- Sarrum to Arthur

Sarrum was a ruler of the kingdom of Amata, who came to Camelot in the episode The Hollow Queen. He unleashes an evil plot on Camelot, while Merlin is distracted by Daegal. He was also the man who held Morgana captive for two years.

Biography
He arrived in Camelot to form an alliance with Arthur Pendragon. Arthur was warned by Gaius of Sarrum's reputation as a ruthless killer of friend and foe, however, the alliance was to ensure a certain battle against sorcery as Sarrum and Arthur were both enemies of Morgana Pendragon. In fact, Sarrum had even captured her for two years along with Aithusa, her dragon.

While feasting with Arthur, Sarrum talked of his accomplishment of capturing Morgana. After being asked how he managed to do this, he explained that he tortured Aithusa, which caused Morgana much pain and sorrow. This allowed him to find a weakness within her and so he captured her, although he confessed that a lapse allowed her to escape his grasp.

While practicing combat, Arthur was defeated by Albin. Sarrum, having personally trained Albin, promised to maybe train him one day, when the alliance was fulfilled.

Secretly, Guinevere Pendragon wanted Sarrum to kill Arthur, and asked him to meet her outside the court room. She requested him to have Arthur assassinated, and told him that she would reward him handsomely. Sarrum chose Albin for the job, and also began making plans to assassinate Guinevere and take Camelot for himself, saying to Albin that a "serving girl" is all that stood in their way.

However, while signing the alliance pledges, he was fatally shot by Albin. Albin was supposed to assassinate Arthur, but he lost his aim and accidentally shot Sarrum when Merlin threw a spear at him using magic. Sarrum died there, and the deceased Albin was blamed for it (The Hollow Queen).

Personality
Sarrum appears to be quite similar to Uther in terms of tolerance to sorcery, although Sarrum was more extreme, being more ruthless and cruel than Uther was even at his worst. He seemed to be a sadist, and was described as enjoying impaling men, women and children. He emotionally tortured Morgana by torturing her beloved Aithusa, as he had stated that she was Morgana's greatest weakness. He was also highly intelligent, and deceptive.

When Gwen asked him to assassinate Arthur, he was confused at first, but when an offer was offered that he could not refuse, he happily agreed to have Arthur killed. He smiled in a sinister way at Gwen whenever their paths crossed, and he also planned to have Gwen killed once Arthur was dead, therefore showing him to be ambitious, greedy and treacherous.

Despite his cruelty, his men were fiercely loyal to him, and obeyed his every command without question. His weaknesses seemed to be his arrogance and his greed, both traits he heavily possessed.

Little was known about the relationship between Uther Pendragon and Sarrum. As confirmed by Arthur, his father feared Sarrum who was known to be ruthless, dishonest, dishonorable, and not to be trusted, which indicates that there was no friendship but rather a truce and probably a common interest in fighting sorcery.

Abilities
While Sarrum is never seen fighting, he once tutored Albin in swordsmanship. Given that Albin was skilled enough to even defeat Arthur, it shows that Sarrum must have been highly skilled himself to have taught someone at that standard. Indeed, after Arthur's defeat, Sarrum remarked how he could train Arthur one day, suggesting that he had the knowledge and skill to teach Arthur.

Appearances

 * Series 5
 * The Hollow Queen

Trivia

 * Sarrum was the man who held Morgana and Aithusa captive for two years. He seemed to delight in the fact that Aithusa was deformed.

Sarrum