Isle of the Blessed



The Isle of the Blessed is thought to be the centre of the Old Religion and the focus of its power, but, according to the sorcerer Taliesin, magic could have been come into existence in the Crystal Cave. The Isle of the Blessed is a rather small isle in the middle of a lake, surrounded by mist. The lake is located near the Great Seas of Meredor.

History
In times Old Religion the High Priestesses and High Priests would gather on Samhain Eve on the Isle of the Blessed where they would sacrifice a living human to tear the Veil between the worlds of the living and the Spirit World (The Darkest Hour).

The High Priestesses probably lived on the Isle of the Blessed, where they guarded the Cup of Life. They were served by the Blood Guards and they looked after the Rowan Staff, a powerful magical instrument carved from the Rowan Tree that grows at the very heart of the Isle of the Blessed. The Rowan Tree was very important to them and it was the symbol of the Blood Guards (The Tears of Uther Pendragon).

Morgana’s healing bracelet was forged on the Isle of the Blessed by a High Priestess of the Old Religion (The Secret Sharer).

When Uther’s wife, Ygraine, could not bear an heir to the throne of Camelot, Uther struck a bargain with the High Priestess Nimueh that would allow Ygraine to conceive. He appeared to have sent Gaius, who was the court sorcerer and physician, to the Isle of the Blessed to make the request on his behalf.

After Arthur Pendragon was bitten by a Questing Beast, Merlin went to Kilgharrah who told him to travel to the Isle of the Blessed and accept the heavy price that he would have to pay to the High Priestess of the Old Religion he would find there, in order to save Arthur’s life. He did so and once again he encountered Nimueh. He was told that to save Arthur’s life, another life had to be given to the ancient gods. Merlin chose to sacrifice his own, and Nimueh gave him a vial of water from the Cup of Life that would revive Arthur. But the life that was taken was not Merlin’s, but his mother’s, who became ill with a terrible disease that would kill her. Merlin intended to once again visit Nimueh and bargain his own life for his mother’s, but Gaius arrived before him, and sacrificed his life for Hunith, who later recovered from the illness.



Merlin blamed Nimueh for Gaius’ death, and attacked her. Nimueh easily overpowered him in a magical battle, and seemingly killed him. But as she turned her back to him, Merlin rose up and and summoned the power over life and death to strike her down. This revived Gaius, for Nimueh’s death was used as payment (Le Morte d'Arthur).

Merlin thought that the Cup was destroyed when he killed Nimueh, however, the Cup remained and fell into the possession of a group of Druids located past the border into Cenred’s kingdom (The Coming of Arthur).

Around two years later, Morgause gave Morgana a staff carved from the Rowan Tree that grows on the Isle of the Blessed, which she used to awaken the dead in the Great Battle for Camelot, but Merlin destroyed it to break the enchantment and save Camelot (The Tears of Uther Pendragon).

A year after their attack on Camelot, Morgana took the wounded Morgause to the Isle of the Blessed. On the shores of the lake, they met a Ferryman that Morgause paid so that he would have taken them to a certain place on the Isle, now infested with wyverns.



Right before midnight on Samhain Eve, Morgause asked Morgana to use her in a blood-sacrifice to tear the Veil between this world and the next. After a tearful goodbye, Morgana used her new and terrible powers to open a split in the veil by spilling on an altar her sister’s blood. The Cailleach came forward with her people, the Dorocha.

Arthur, along with Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table decided to go to the Isle of the Blessed to sacrifice himself to heal the broken veil. They eventually arrived at the Isle of the Blessed but were attacked by wyverns. Merlin used his Dragonlord powers to command the wyverns to leave but more wyverns arrived. While Elyan and Percival held them off, the others moved on and encountered the Cailleach. Arthur told the Cailleach to close the Veil but she replied that she didn’t not have the power to do it as she hadn’t torn it open. After she knocked Gwaine unconscious with her magic to prevent him from attacking her, Arthur offered his life to heal the Veil but before he could go to the goddess, Merlin knocked him unconscious with a stunning spell. Merlin then attempted to sacrifice himself but the Cailleach told him that his time among men was not over. Lancelot walked into the Veil and vanished as it was closed (The Darkest Hour).

Appearances

 * Series 1
 * Le Morte d'Arthur (first appearance)


 * Series 3
 * The Tears of Uther Pendragon: Part Two (mentioned only)
 * The Coming of Arthur: Part One (mentioned only)
 * The Coming of Arthur: Part Two (Rowan Tree only, appears on Morgana's crest)


 * Series 4
 * The Darkest Hour: Part One
 * The Darkest Hour: Part Two
 * Lancelot Du Lac (mentioned only)

Ancient Mythology



 * The Isle of the Blessed or a similar concept is a recurring feature in many different religions across the world.
 * In Greek mythology, it is the Elysian Fields, the final resting place for the souls of heroes and virtuous men.
 * In Celtic belief, the Island of the Blessed is synonymous with Avalon, the Celtic Otherworld. However, historically, the centre of the “Old Religion”, the seat of the Druids, was the Island of Anglesey.

Trivia
The appearance of Isle changed a lot from Series 1 to Series 4, mainly becoming bigger. In Series 1 it was a rather small isle, with only a few ruined buildings. In Series 4 it looked like a city or a castle, on different levels and with many buildings and towers. It is unknown why in Series 4 the Isle was infested with Wyverns, while in Series 1 it wasn’t. A possible explanation could be that, while Nimueh was alive, she inhabited the Isle and used her magic to keep them away, but after her death, on the Isle of the Blessed there was nothing to stop them from infesting it.

It is also unknown why the ferryman was not in Series 1; a possible explanation could be that he was scared of Nimueh and what she could do to him.

Nimueh, High Priestess of the Triple Goddess, probably lived on the Isle of the Blessed, where her cave was located. The often travelled from it (The Poisoned Chalice, Excalibur), but it seems she did not need the ferryman and his boat to cross the lake.