Merlin Daemons

[awanderingbard]

Well, I continue to give everyone daemons. Merlin characters this time. Below the cut is choices and natter.



I decided to use heraldry animal meanings for my Merlin daemons because a) it allowed me to know what sort of animals those in that time period would know about and b) I thought the significance of what each symbol means would be influential in how a daemon might decide to settle in a medieval setting. In the HDM books, witches and wizards always have bird daemons, so I've honoured that here, though I've decided it's not a rule in the Merlin verse, as it would be really easy for Uther to pick out who has magic or doesn't.

Merlin-- Sigrun (Old Norse, meaning 'secret lore' or 'victory lore'), a duck. In heraldry, ducks signify someone of many resources, as it swims, flies, and walks on the ground. Also, in real life, ducks seem very mild mannered, but are vicious if roused.

Arthur-- Brandra (Old Norse, meaning 'sword'), a lioness. A fairly cliche choice, I know, but the heraldry symbol of a lion suited Arthur very well. "Valiant in courage, strong of body, politic in council and a foe to fear."

Guinevere-- Amandus (Latin, meaning 'worthy of love'). a sheep. Lambs symbolize 'faith, innocence, bravery, gentleness, purity, resolute spirit'.

Gaius -- Slana (Irish, meaning 'health). A raven. Ravens are symbols of knowledge, and of a quiet, settled life. I thought it suited Gaius' status as Captain Exposition, as well as someone who prefers to life quietly than get too involved in what's going on.

Morgana -- Delane (Irish, meaning 'dark challenge'). A falcon (that's a common kestel, actually, but they're in the same family. Falcons symbolize someone who 'is hot or eager in the pursuit of an object much desired and did not rest until the objective was achieved.'

Lancelot -- Phaenna (Ancient Greek, meaning 'shining'). A deer. Bucks and stags signify one who is a skilled fighter, but will only fight if provoked, but always wins if battle is necessary. It's also considered one of the most 'handsome' charges.

Gwaine -- Jocosa (Medieval English, meaning 'merry, playful'). An otter. Otters represent people who work hard, but know how to play, and live life to the fullest.

Percival -- Iphigenia "Effie" (Ancient Greek, meaning 'strong born'). A greyhound. Dogs of all sorts are considered loyal, strong hunters, and temperate. Percival is sort of a gentle giant, which seemed to suit a greyhound.

Elyan -- Gobnait (Irish, meaning 'little smith'). A badger. Considered animals who are fierce in fighting in defence of their home. It represents bravery, perseverance and protection.

Leon -- Aalis (Old French, meaning 'noble sort'). A leopard. "A valiant and hardy warrior who braves dangers with enduring force and courage."

Uther -- Corona (Latin, meaning 'crown'). A crab. Crabs represent someone who grabs onto something and won't let go, which reminded me of Uther's zeal towards holding onto his crown and ridding the world of magic.

Mordred -- Orianna (Italian, meaning 'gold'). A pheasant. Like Merlin's duck, pheasants signify someone of many resources.

Comments

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I cycled through a few for some of them, but Lancelot's was always a deer.

I like that Arthur's daemon is kind of obvious. I think that reflects Arthur in many ways as he's the least subtle person on this show.

That's a good point. I suppose Brandra might have willfully became something worthy to win Uther's favour, too. Uther wanted a king, so what's more kingly than a lion?

Here's a random thing I was struggling with: what do you suppose daemons call their human's parents? I couldn't decide if Svana should be referring to Frigga as 'Mother' when talking to Thor, or 'Frigga' or something else. Maybe just 'your mother'?

[joonscribble.livejournal.com]

Uther wanted a king, so what's more kingly than a lion?

Poor Arthur. He tries so hard.

what do you suppose daemons call their human's parents?

I would guess that she would say 'your mother' or internally 'Thor's mother.' If it's a completely parallel relationship, I'm guessing daemons only say 'mother' and 'father' when referring to the daemons of their human's parents, right?

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

If it's a completely parallel relationship, I'm guessing daemons only say 'mother' and 'father' when referring to the daemons of their human's parents, right?

Yeah, I thought about that, too. The situation is that Thor is getting told off by Frigga in public with Runi and Svana playing go between to keep it discreet, so I couldn't decide if it should be 'Mother says to behave yourself' or 'your mother says to behave yourself' or 'Frigga says to behave yourself' or 'Runi says to behave yourself'. Since we don't really know how daemons come to exist, it's hard to know if they consider themselves related to their human's parents or not. My own head canon is they sort of burst into existence shortly after a baby is born and takes a first breath.

[joonscribble.livejournal.com]

My own head canon is they sort of burst into existence shortly after a baby is born and takes a first breath.

That makes sense. It's like the reverse of what happens when a human dies and their daemon sort of poofs out of existence.

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

It's like the reverse of what happens when a human dies and their daemon sort of poofs out of existence.

Yeah, exactly. There's so much I'd like to know, like how do baby!daemons get around before their humans can walk. Can they walk or does the mother's daemon carry them around like you carry around a baby? And what happens if the mother's daemon is an ant or hummingbird or something too small to carry anything around?

Oh well, more opportunity to make shit up! That's always fun.

[joonscribble.livejournal.com]

Can they walk or does the mother's daemon carry them around like you carry around a baby?

Hmmm...good question. I suppose maybe when the baby is still mostly immobile, the daemon probably remains something small (like an insect or a small mammal) and usually just sits on the baby so the mother can pick up the baby while the daemon hangs on. Or maybe in the HDM world, all baby clothes come with a little pocket or pouch where the daemons sit in for easy transport.

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

Or maybe in the HDM world, all baby clothes come with a little pocket or pouch where the daemons sit in for easy transport

Aww, that's cute! I can picture them advertises baby clothes with extra comfy pockets for daemons.

I wonder if maybe the daemon takes on a baby version of the mother or father's daemon, since that's the first animal it sees? Maybe it doesn't really start shifting until the baby starts to become self aware.

[joonscribble.livejournal.com]

Maybe it doesn't really start shifting until the baby starts to become self aware.

That works. Kind of like how a human learns to talk by usually saying the word they hear the most around them.

So many good questions! I want Pullman to just write a history book about daemons. I don't really care about an actual story. I want more world building.

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

That works. Kind of like how a human learns to talk by usually saying the word they hear the most around them.

Yeah, exactly. Maybe it's like a milestone in the HDM world. Your child's daemon should be shifting around three months, consult a paediatrician if this isn't happening.


So many good questions! I want Pullman to just write a history book about daemons. I don't really care about an actual story. I want more world building.

Yes, give me all the world building. It's such an awesome concept, I just want to know more about it.

[joonscribble.livejournal.com]

HDM was one of those rare books where I really cared about the world the characters inhabited but I didn't care that much about the characters themselves. Kind of like the world of Pacific Rim.

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I remember being really 'meh' about the story and characters, but really fascinated by what was going on there. I read it just before the movie came out, but I never read the other two. I suppose I might have some of my questions answered if I did, but I just didn't feel the need to carry on.

[joonscribble.livejournal.com]

There's no reason to keep going with the trilogy. The story gets super off the rails after awhile. And I'm not sure anything gets answered in terms of how daemons come into being. They might have talked about when Lyra goes into 'our' world but I can't remember.

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

I don't think they do, because when I was researching around, everyone seemed to be wondering the same things as us. I also learned that there's a sort of pseudo-religion of people who 'have' daemons, or seem to think they do, or pretend they do, or visualize that they do. Or something.

I'm off to bed. G'night!

[joonscribble.livejournal.com]

I also learned that there's a sort of pseudo-religion of people who 'have' daemons, or seem to think they do, or pretend they do, or visualize that they do. Or something.


Right. I feel like the Venn diagram for people who subscribe to this religion and who would believe Tom Hiddleston is their personal property kind of looks like a circle.

G'nite!