Talk:Warlock/@comment-2600:1700:82B0:3870:E4D2:BD2D:87BA:3B71-20180114071233/@comment-37017073-20181005231259

When it comes to "natural" magic users like Mordred or Morgana, I don't think it's so much that they were born with magic as that they were born with a natural aptitude for magic. What seems to set Merlin apart from them is that he could use his magic instinctively from birth without any formal training or knowledge of spells, whereas every other sorcerer in the series had to be taught to use their magic. (The main exception being innate talents like Mordred's penchant for telepathy or Morgana's prophetic dreams.) Morgana, for example, learned that she had magic in 2x03, but apart from a couple odd flareups during that same episode (which never happened before or since) her magic remained almost entirely dormant until after Morgause spent a year teaching her to use it. (And even then it wasn't until series 4 that she could do anything particularly noteworthy with it. She hardly used her magic at all throughout series 3, and when she said in the season opener that her magic was "still weak" Morgause did not disagree.)

Mordred would seem to be the best argument to this theory, as he displayed quite a bit of magical ability in his first few appearances despite his obvious youth. However, it's important to note that Mordred was raised as (and quite possibly born) a Druid, and considering how important magic is to their culture was likely taught to use it from a very early age. This is somewhat supported by the fact that he was apprenticed to a Druid sorcerer during his first appearance, and we have no way of knowing how long that apprenticeship lasted. It's entirely possible that he'd been in training for years by the time that his master/father was killed. He also seemed to be regarded as a bit of a prodigy at times, which would further explain his skill.

I suppose you could think of it like, say, chess. Chess'll do. Anyone (the Gaiuses of the chess world, I suppose) can learn to play chess and learn to play it well. But only a few people (the Mordreds and Morganas) are born with a natural talent for it. However, that talent means nothing if no one ever teaches them how to play. They still have to learn the rules, how the different pieces move, etc. before their talent can do them any good. And that's where Merlin would differ from them, as in this scenario he would be born not only with the natural talent for chess but with instinctive knowledge of the rules and how the pieces move without anyone ever teaching him. He might still need some degree of training and guidance (Gaius) to figure out how to apply that knowledge and learn to play the game well, but he wouldn't need anyone to teach him how to play the game at all.