Kilgharrah

Kilgharrah, more often 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 Merlin, telling the boy of his destiny to protect Prince Arthur Pendragon and help him become king of Albion (The Dragon's Call; The Mark of Nimueh).

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Near the conclusion of Uther'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.

The Great Dragon was then imprisoned beneath Camelot for twenty years. During the final year of his imprisonment, Balinor's son Merlin arrived in Camelot. The Dragon called to Merlin and told him of his destiny to help Arthur unite Albion and return magic to the land. (The Dragon's Call)

Kilgharrah gave Merlin advice on how to solve challenging problems and also directly helped him at times. 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 (The Beginning of the End). 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 (To Kill the King).

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 (Excalibur).

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 found out the price was 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. The discord appears to have increased due to Merlin's killing of Nimueh (Le Morte d'Arthur).

Despite Merlin's vow to never return to him, Merlin does return for Kilgharrah's advice and is forced to promise to free the dragon some day, for the knowledge of how to defeat Cornelius Sigan who has conquered mortaility (The Curse of Cornelius Sigan).

Merlin sought the Dragon again when 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 was 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 (The Nightmare Begins).

Merlin later returned to Kilgharrah after Uther had been enchanted into marrying a troll, a happening that the Dragon found very funny. 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 (Beauty and the Beast: Part Two).

Later, Merlin used magic for his amusement and a villager witnessed it, 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, but Gaius took the blame. 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 infromed 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 (The Witchfinder).

The Dragon later advised Merlin when Arthur was enchanted into loving a princess, saying that only the one Arthur truly loves could break the enchantment (Sweet Dreams).

During Merlin's next visit, 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. This has clearly shaken Merlin, and he is now torn between upholding his promise and protecting Camelot. (The Witch's Quickening)

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. From Balinor, Merlin learned the Great Dragons true name. 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. (The Last Dragonlord)

Personality
Kilgharrah acted as a mentor to Merlin and was very wise, though he tended to speak in riddles which sometimes irritated Merlin. Kilgharrah appeared to be able to see into the future, though it's also possible he learnt of Merlin's destiny from another source. Either way, the Dragon possessed great knowledge of the future and Merlin found his advice useful, though he didn't always follow it.

During the last episode of Series 1, the Great Dragon revealed that he was only helping Merlin 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 (The Witchfinder). In Series 1, Merlin considered Kilgharrah a friend but became less trusting after the Dragon revealed his true intentions.

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.

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 Merlins protests, Kilgharrah frequently called Morgana a witch.

Abilities
The Great Dragon was very powerful with great knowledge and power in magic; during the final episode of series 2 Merlin hurled an enchanted spear at him but it just bounced off his scales even though it was filled with magic (The Last Dragonlord). Because he was a Dragon, Kilgharrah had the ability to breath fire. Despite his massive size the Great Dragon was a graceful and much faster than he appeared, able to easily avoid numerous arrows while attacking Camelot even when they were fired at the same time. He was able to defeat a whole group of knights, including Arthur, with ease (though not without an injury) and he seemed to be undefeatable to anyone except a Dragonlord.

In addition to being virtually unbeatable in combat, Kilgharrah had the power to transmit spells from his thoughts into another persons mind (The Curse of Cornelius Sigan) and used his fire to fill the sword Excalibur with magic giving it great power (Excalibur). Due to his prodigious knowledge of the future it's likely that Kilgharrah could foresee the future, though he may have learned the future from another source.