Dochraid

"I am the Dochraid! The earth speaks to me. [...] I am a creature of the earth, you cannot kill me."

- The Dochraid to Emrys

The Dochraid is an enigmatic being with a repulsive physical form. She has the appearance of a cadaverous old witch or hag with no eyeballs and lives in the perpetual darkness of a cave. Unable to see, the Dochraid uses her sense of smell to detect her surroundings.

Biography
As a creature of the Old Religion, she had a powerful knowledge of the old ways and wished to see them restored, therefore aligning herself with Morgana Pendragon, who she believes is destined to bring back the old ways.

Morgana went to the Dochraid’s dwelling to seek advice on how to use a magical coin, which had been given to her by Morgause for the purposes of Necromancy. The Dochraid was one of the last creatures who remembered the time of the Old Religion and therefore knew its secrets. She told Morgana that she was destined to bring back the old ways, and hoped to live long enough to see that day. Morgana gave her the coin to inspect and the Dochraid was so enthralled by its power that she desired to keep it, though Morgana swiftly refused. The Dochraid informed her that she would have to travel to the Pool of Nemhain, the last of the five Gateways that separated the world of the living from the Spirit World. Morgana had to cast the coin into its waters and focus her powers on it to raise Lancelot's Shade from the dead (Lancelot du Lac).

Merlin, disguised as Old Emrys, went to the Dochraid's cave to ask her how to free Guinevere from the "Teine Diaga" (the "sacred fire"), an ancient ritual of the Old Religion which, according to Gaius, used the mandrake root to bring unimaginable terror to the victim (their screams could be heard twenty leagues away). When it was finally over, their will was no longer their own, they were slaves of the High Priestesses for eternity. As a boy, Gaius was privy only to rumors, for such mysteries were revealed only to a handful of female initiates, destined to become High Priestesses. At Merlin's time, the only people who truly knew the Old Ways and the Teina Diaga were Morgana Pendragon and the ancient Dochraid.

The Dochraid, who recognized Merlin by smelling his hand and knew of his intentions since the earth spoke to her, refused to help the warlock, for Emrys was no friend of the Old Religion or of Morgana. Merlin threatened her with Excalibur, the only weapon which could kill a creature of the earth such as the Dochraid. The old hag thought that he hadn't the power to wield it, but Merlin wounded her on the arm, opening a cut from which her green blood poured out. With the sword at her throat, the hag told Merlin that Guinevere was doomed, her spirit consumed by the Teine Diaga and bound to the Silver Wheel for all eternity. Her body was nothing but an empty vessel, filled by Morgana's will.

To free the Queen's spirit, a thing that only the most powerful sorcerers could hope to attempt, Merlin would have had to travel to the Cauldron of Arianrhod and there use all his powers to summon The White Goddess herself. The waters of the Cauldron held the Goddess' powers and only their touch could heal her, but Gwen would have had to enter the lake willingly; if she were tricked, forced or beguiled, she would fall into the abyss and be lost forever.

After having obtained this information, Old Emrys was ready to depart, but the Dochraid cast a spell on a dagger and sent it flying towards him. Merlin deflected it with magic and stabbed the creature with Excalibur, severely wounding her. Some time later, the Dochraid recovered and cast a spell to take strength from the earth, curing herself. She then sent a raven to Morgana, informing her that Emrys was going to thwart her plan (With All My Heart).

Powers
The Dochraid was a powerful creature, who possessed incredible knowledge of the Old Religion and her knowledge surpassed all others; she stated that "the earth" spoke to her, suggesting she got information directly from it. She also possessed the power to learn who someone was by smelling their hand.

As a creature of the Earth she could not be killed or harmed by either conventional methods or magic. However, Excalibur was able to injure her, as it was made to represent fire, a stronger element than earth. She could also apparently sense this, similar to how Merlin could sense the Cup of Life.

As well as her knowledge, the Dochraid was also capable of performing powerful magic: she non-verbally threw a dagger at Merlin, although he was able to halt it in mid air. She could also cast powerful spells.

Appearances

 * Series 4
 * Lancelot du Lac 


 * Series 5
 * With All My Heart

Trivia

 * In one of the Series 4 promotional trailers the Dochraid could be seen cackling in the end. This however did not happen in the only episode she appeared in, nor in any released deleted scenes (Lancelot du Lac).
 * Like trolls, she has green blood.