Kilgharrah

Kilgharrah, more commonly known as the Great Dragon, was a mighty dragon who was imprisoned and chained in a cave beneath Camelot by Uther Pendragon at the conclusion of the Great Purge. He served as a mentor to the sorcerer, Merlin, telling the young warlock of his destiny to protect Prince Arthur Pendragon and help him become king of Albion. This information, however, came at a price; the Great Dragon made Merlin swear that one day he would free him. Under pressure at the time, Merlin agreed, and kept to his word when he cut the chains that bound the dragon a couple of weeks later.

This decision, however, was disasterous for Camelot, as the Dragon, seeking revenge, pushed the city to the verge of destruction and killing many innocent civilians in the process. Merlin, however, searched for the last dragonlord, Balinor, in the hope that he would be able to tame the Dragon. Arthur and Merlin found Balinor, who was actually Merlin's father. On the way back to Camelot Balinor was killed, and on his deathbed, passed on the gift of the dragonlord to Merlin. Merlin, using his newfound ability, was capable of ordering the dragon to leave Camelot. The Dragon obliged, and foresaw that his and Merlin's paths would cross again some day.

Life before the series
Kilgharrah once claimed that he had lived for over a thousand years, so very little is known about his history. However it is known that near the conclusion of Uther Pendragon's purge of magic, the King of Camelot approached a dragonlord named Balinor and asked him to bring Kilgharrah, the last dragon, to him so he could make peace with it. But after Balinor did so, Uther had the Dragon imprisoned to serve as an example of what happens to those who are magical. All dragonlords were also rounded by and slaughtered, although Balinor managed to escape.

Prisoner and mentor
The Great Dragon was then imprisoned and chained in a cave beneath Camelot. During the final year of his imprisonment, Balinor's son Merlin arrived in Camelot. After saving the Prince's life from an assassination attempt, Merlin became the manservant of Prince of Camelot and Uther's son, Arthur Pendragon. The Dragon called to Merlin and told him of his destiny to help Arthur unite Albion and return magic to the land.

Kilgharrah gave Merlin advice on how to solve many challenging problems and also directly helped him at times. The Dragon also usually spoke through riddles, allowing Merlin to figure out their meaning, much to Merlin's annoyance. However, Merlin did not always do as the Dragon advised. For example, Merlin decided to save the druid boy Mordred despite the Dragon saying he would eventually kill Arthur. He also decided to help save Uther when he overheard Morgana conspiring to kill him, despite the Dragon's advice to let him be killed.

Kilgharrah appears to possess foresight, evidenced by his claims regarding Arthur's destiny, and his prophecies concerning Mordred's role in Arthur's future (The Beginning of the End). When Arthur's dead uncle was resurrected as a wraith, the Dragon aided in the creation of a sword capable of destroying Tristan.

Merlin and Kilgharrah had a major falling out during the time when Arthur was dying from a Questing Beast's bite. In order to save Arthur's life, Merlin was told by the Dragon that he had to go the the Isle of the Blessed and accept the price. Merlin discovered that this price meant that another person would have to die in Arthur's place. Merlin agreed to sacrifice his own life, but Nimueh, an Old Religion high priestess, took his mother instead. Merlin went to Kilgharrah and accused him of tricking him. The Great Dragon agreed with this, telling him it is Merlin's destiny to protect Arthur until he claims his throne, at which time the Old Religion will be allowed to resurface and he would be free. Realising that was all Kilgharrah cared about, Merlin swore he would never allow him to be free. Enraged, the Dragon tried to kill him. Merlin conjured a shield and escaped.

Despite Merlin's vow to never return to him, Merlin had to in return for Kilgharrah's advice as to how to kill Cornelius Sigan. The Dragon forced Merlin to promise to free him some day in return for his advice. With no other option, Merlin unwillingly obliged, a decision he would come to regret.

Merlin sought the Dragon again when the Lady Morgana's magic began to reveal itself and she became terrified. Merlin wanted to know where the Druids were so Morgana could seek their help. But Kilgharrah said it would be best if Morgana, who he confirmed as a witch, never knew the full extent of her powers, and refused to aid Merlin if he was planning to aid her. Despite the Dragon reminding Merlin of the consequences of his ignoring his advice in the past, Merlin defiantly chose to help Morgana.

Merlin later returned to Kilgharrah after Uther had been enchanted into marrying a troll, a happening that the Dragon found very funny but stopped laughing when Merlin said Albion won't be born if the troll was the heir to the throne. Kilgharrah gave Merlin the knowledge on how to break the troll's spell, and also reminded Merlin of the deal he had made with him.

Later, Merlin used magic for his own recreation, which a villager witnessed, though she didn't know he had done it. She reported it to Uther, who sent for the dreaded witchfinder Aredian. Aredian, after searching for any sign of magic, pubically accused Merlin of being a sorcerer, however Merlin was saved when his uncle Gaius falsely confessed that he sorcerer.

Merlin went to Kilgharrah for advice on how to help Gaius. At first, the Dragon rebuked him for wanting to reveal himself, saying Aredian would simply kill him along with Gaius. When he saw how distressed Merlin was, Kilgharrah felt genuinely sorry for him and informed Merlin that he couldn't help him because he didn't know how to. Merlin later exposed Aredian's treachery and framed him for sorcery, which resulted in the witchfinder's death and Gaius' freedom.

During one of Merlin's next visits, Kilgharrah asked him to uphold his promise and set him free. Merlin said he would, but only when he knew Camelot was safe. Merlin asked the Dragon about a crystal that Morgana had stolen. Kilgharrah said the crystal only works for those who can use its power, but for those who can it can tell the future. He then told Merlin why he had warned him about Mordred and Morgana: prophecy speaks of an evil alliance between them. Sometime later, Merlin got his hands on the crystal and saw a future where Kilgharrah attacked Camelot once he was free. Merlin was now torn between upholding his promise and protecting Camelot.

Freedom
Merlin, despite his vision of the future, later fulfilled his oath to the Great Dragon and used a sword stolen from one of the Knights of Medhir to free him. This, however, would have dire consequences for Camelot. Kilgharrah, full of rage, attacked the kingdom. Merlin was later forced to find the last dragonlord so the Great Dragon could be defeated before he destroyed Camelot. Merlin found Balinor, a dragonlord who was also his father. After being ambushed by a bunch of knights, Balinor was killed after sacrificing himself for his son. Shortly before his death, Balinor said the powers of dragonlords were passed on genetically from father to son, and therefore Merlin now had the power to command Kilgharrah. Merlin managed to stop Kilgharrah in his tracks after he attacked Arthur and his men, but showed mercy by banishing him from Camelot forever. Kilgharrah commented that Merlin's attitude towards him was a sign of the man he would one day become and, before departing, told Merlin he was sure their paths would cross again.

A year later, when Morgause and Morgana discoverd that Merlin had discovered their plans to take over Camelot, he was chained up by King Cenred's men and was then left on his own surrounded by Serkets, giant scorpions. He tried to break his chains and fend off the Serkets using magic but failed and was struck by a Serket sting. After his warlock magic failed, Merlin resorted to using the power of the dragonlords and called on Kilgharrah, who came to his rescue and fended off the Serkets with his fiery breath. The Dragon then flew away with Merlin in tow. After rescuing the young dragonlord, he told Merlin that the battle for Camelot was about to begin.

Personality
Kilgharrah acted as a mentor to Merlin and was very wise, though he tended to speak in riddles which sometimes irritated Merlin. The Dragon possessed great knowledge of the future and Merlin found his advice useful, though he didn't always follow it.

The Great Dragon then revealed to Merlin that he was only helping him in order to gain his freedom. Although the Dragon acted mostly for selfish reasons, he was capable of thinking about others and felt genuinely sorry for Merlin when he told him he would be unable to help him save Gaius. Merlin once considered Kilgharrah a friend but became less trusting after the Dragon revealed his true intentions. However, Balinor claimed that they were spiritual brothers, due to Merlin's heritage as a dragonlord.

Kilgharrah was a vengeful creature and attacked Camelot after Merlin set him free, killing innocent people in the process, in order to take revenge for his imprisonment and the near extinction of his kind. However he was grateful to Merlin for showing him mercy when he could have killed him and believed that their paths would cross again, which was true.

The Great Dragon also possessed a slightly strange sense of humour and usually displayed this humour at inappropriate times. For example when Merlin told him that Uther Pendragon's new wife was a troll Kilgharrah went into a fit of laughter while Merlin couldn't see the funny side of it. He also laughed about Morgana when Merlin told him that she had stolen an important crystal. Despite Merlin's protests, Kilgharrah frequently called Morgana a witch.

Merlin
Kilgharrah was the one who informed Merlin of his destiny. Whenever Merlin was lost as to what to do, particularly when it involved magic, he turned to the Great Dragon for advise or outright assistance. The Dragon acted as a mentor to Merlin, even though Merlin didn't always do as the Dragon advised him. Merlin actually considered the Dragon a friend at one point but when he discovered the Dragon only cared about his own freedom and had tricked him into sacrificing his mother, Merlin turned his back on him, vowing to never allow him to be released.

Merlin returned to the Dragon when he needed help defeating the spirit of Cornelius Sigan. The Dragon agreed to help, on the condition that Merlin promised to one day free him, which he agreed to do. Merlin appeard to have regained some level of trust in the Dragon, and continued to seek his aid when he needs it. The Dragon appeared to be quite fond of Merlin and he had proven that he can care about more than his own freedom as he felt genuinely sorry for Merlin, when he told him he was unable to help him save his uncle Gaius.

Merlin later released the Great Dragon, who proceeded to lay waste to Camelot as revenge for his imprisonment and his species' near-eradication. Merlin, who inherited the powers of a dragonlord from his father, Balinor, managed to get the Dragon under his control, but chose to spare him instead of kill him. The Dragon was grateful for Merlin's choice to not kill him, and departed after telling him he was sure they would meet again. Because of Merlin's heritage as a dragonlord, he and Kilgharrah are spiritual brothers. The Dragon came to Merlin's rescue when he was surrounded by serkets sent at him by Morgause and Morgana.

Gaius
Kilgharrah has known Gaius for at least twenty years and Gaius respects the Dragons power and wisdom. However they were not friends and Kilgharrah appeared to be slightly distainful towards Gaius, claiming that he had a talent for turning a blind eye. The Dragon also claimed that Gaius meant nothing to him. Despite this Kilgharrah was genuinely sorrowful when he heard that Gaius was about to be executed, though this was for Merlin's sake rather than Gaius'.

Balinor
Considering Balinor knew Kilgharrah's true name, it's likely that they knew each other at some point in the past, though their relationship is unknown. However Balinor felt that Kilgharrah's rage and hatred towards Uther Pendragon was justified due to Uther betraying both the Dragon and Balinor, after the Dragonlord brought Kilgharrah to Camelot.

Uther Pendragon
The Dragon, ever since Uther had killed off the rest of his kind, has always held a grudge with Uther. Uther had the Dragon imprisoned to show what happens to those who are magical. Insulted by this, the Dragon reeked vengence on Uther's kingdom after Merlin had freed him. The Dragon would have completely destroyed Camelot if it was not for Merlin's dragonlord ability.

Abilities
Kilgharrah was tremendously powerful and had a wide variety of abilities. Like all members of his kind, he was able to breathe fire, usually using this ability as an attack, but on one occasion he used his fire to enhance the power of a weapon forged for Arthur. Kilgharrah also appeared to be immune to the powers of even a powerful sorcerer such as Merlin, not even flinching when Merlin hurled an enchanted spear at him; the weapon simply bounced off his scales. Kilgharrah was also very graceful for such a massive creature and was far more agile than he appeared able to easily evade numerous arrows while attacking Camelot even when they were fired at the same time. Additionally he was able to defeat a whole group of knights, including Arthur, with very little effort, though Arthur managed to inflict a wound on the Dragon before being knocked unconscious.

Kilgharrah was also able to transmit his thoughts into the minds of others, which he used to provide Merlin with a way of defeating Cornelius Sigan. Kilgharrah was also capable of forseeing the future, frequently speaking to Merlin about the destiny he and Arthur shared, as well as forseeing that Morgana would turn evil.

Behind the scenes

 * The Great Dragon was computer generated but is voiced by English actor, John Hurt.
 * Kilgharrah has yellow eyes, and they look exactly like the eyes of a sorcerer when they are using magic. This could be because he is a creature of magic.