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

As far as I can tell, the difference between Merlin and other "natural" magic users such as Mordred and Morgana is that his magic developed naturally from birth seemingly by instinct alone, whereas their magic seemed to remain almost entirely dormant until someone actively taught them to use it. (The main exception being special talents such as Mordred's penchant for telepathy or Morgana's prophetic dreams.) Morgana, for example, learned that she had magic in the Nightmare Begins, but apart from a couple odd flareups during that same episode (which never never happened before or since) her magic remained dormant until after she'd spent a year being trained by Morgause. The Druid leader, Aglain, even made a point of telling her that though she did have magic it might take years for her to really understand and learn how to use it, and what little we know about Mordred's magical background would seem to support this. He was presumably raised in (if not born into) Druid society, and considering how important magic is to their culture was likely taught to use it from a very early age, as evidenced by his apprenticeship to a Druid sorcerer in the Beginning of the End. He also seemed to be regarded as a bit of a prodigy at times, which, taken into account with what was likely years of magical training by this point, would further explain his impressive magical ability during his first few appearances despite his obvious youth.

I suppose you could think of it like, say... chess. Anyone (the Gaius's of the chess world, as it were) can learn to play the game 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 natural talent means nothing if they don't know how to play the game. They still have to be taught the rules, how the different pieces move, etc. before their talent can do them any good. And that's where Merlin differs from them. He would be born not only with a natural talent for chess, but already knowing the rules and how the pieces move, entirely by instinct. He would still need training and guidance to figure out how to apply that knowledge and learn to play the game well, but he wouldn't need anyone to teach him to play the game at all.