User blog comment:Fimber/Elements of classic literature and religion in "Merlin"/@comment-188.32.253.75-20130203051430/@comment-7285162-20130324033231

As for the name, Ambrosius Auerelianus is a somewhat historical figure and a possible prototype for some particular legendary characters. ;)

By the way, "Ambrosius" and "Emrys" are actually two different forms of the same name (Roman and Welsh correspondingly), so this is a bit tongue-in cheek: oh, might this guy's nickname have something to do with "Merlin"?

On the real life example I gave... That was not about other people's beliefs or whether it's all real or not, the whole point was: while the religion may seem inherently evil at first sight, it's actually not if you look deeper into it. What I'm talking about is the motives underneath: they're more benevolent than anything, it's not all about total word destruction, domination etc (like some particular real life examples).

Now back to the Old Religion... I see your point about the price of creating life, and that's an interesting one! The whole "Mother Earth Nemain" stuff, obviously, has a lot to do with the concept of Nature (so does magic in "Merlin"), and the key attribute is Balance. This pretty much resembles the druids (yes, those tree-huggers) from AD&D and their concept of True Neutral, if you're familiar with that. So, my point is the Old Religion is actually True Neutral.

I can try and elaborate on the concept of natural balance and neutrality some more. Nature is surely harsh and cruel, I mean, wolves do eat deers, how terrible! But in fact the whole ecosystem is in balance (unless humans disrupt it, that is), the populations of predators and prey are heavily dependant upon each other and so on. Miriads of things are interlaced with each other, forming the circle of life and death (one creature's death is another's life).

As for the killing, it is never for fun or some selfish reasons (we humans are bastards and are capable of this, but a predator never does this; he works hard to kill his prey and does so to sustain himself and the offspring), so you can't call it truly evil. However, no subtleties either (we humans are sissies, but Mother Nature is not), so in general it is neutral.

All in all, the key principle of maintaining the balance of life and death in the Old Religion is quite fitting from this point.

PS Fear not, I haven't forgotten about Gwen, and hopefully I'll bring in some comments about her in the very near future (just let a guy catch his breath :D). Moreover, I've been thinking about something else, and that pretty much involves you. ;) As an Uther fan, you must have found a particular episode totally outrageous, and his character utterly ruined by the creators. What I intend to do is share some thoughts that may ease your mind.

Cheers and see you soon. ;)