Magus

For the horse of the same name, see Magus (horse)

The Magus in 994.

The Magus was the wizard who cursed the gargoyles, trapping them in stone sleep. His real name is unknown, "Magus" being the Latin word for "wizard", and therefore a title.

History

The Magus was born in the year 966. [1] He first apprenticed with the Archmage in 982, although this did not last long. [2] In 984, the evil sorcerer was banished for treason against Prince Malcolm. From there, the Magus became the new court wizard for Castle Wyvern and chief adviser to its ruler (by 994, Princess Katharine). Like Katharine, he disliked the gargoyles, considering them unnatural creatures. During this time, he also fell in love with her (the only person he held such feelings for), if in a somewhat hopeless manner. ("Awakening: Part One", "Long Way To Morning") [3]

The Magus with Prince Malcolm in 984.

In 994, the Magus was captured alongside the rest of Katharine's household when the castle fell to the Vikings. When the surviving gargoyles arrived to rescue the humans, Hakon furiously tried to kill Princess Katharine. The Magus mistakenly believed that he had succeeded, and, blaming the gargoyles for this, cast a spell upon them from the Grimorum Arcanorum, causing Hudson, the trio, and Bronx to enter stone sleep "until the castle rises above the clouds".

When he discovered that Katharine was not dead, and that Goliath had actually saved her life, he was remorseful of his rash action, but he could not reverse his spell, since Hakon had burnt the page with the counter-spell upon it. He did, however, at Goliath's request, place the same spell upon the gargoyle leader, and agreed along with Katharine to watch over the gargoyle's rookery children. ("Awakening: Part One", "Awakening: Part Two")

Afterwards, the Magus accompanied Princess Katharine, Tom, and "The Eggs" to Kenneth II's court. He soon began to write a magical record with a personal account of the Wyvern Massacre and of their travels in the Grimorum Arcanorum. ("Avalon" Part One) [4][5]

When the following year Kenneth was murdered by Constantine, who then seized the throne and tried to force Princess Katharine to marry him to solidify his position, the Magus had to take action to protect both Katharine and "The Eggs". Using his magical knowledge, he smuggled them out of the castle and took them to Avalon. Their path was barred, however, by the Weird Sisters, who denied them entry and attempted to turn them into owls. The Magus reflected the Sisters' spell upon them, but knew that he could not bring the Grimorum Arcanorum into Avalon, it being an object of human magic. He entrusted it to Finella and Mary, while entering Avalon with the Princess and Tom. ("Avalon" Part One)

Meanwhile, in Scotland, the Magus was considered a wanted fugitive by Constantine. Eventually, Brother Valmont convinced Constantine that the Magus had "left this world" and no longer posed a threat. ("The Gate", "Tyrants")

An older Magus on Avalon in 1995.

This was true. On Avalon, the three humans raised "The Eggs" together. The Magus noticed, with the passing of the years, that Katharine and Tom had fallen in love with each other. Because of his own love for the Princess, he was heartbroken, but remained on Avalon to raise the young gargoyles out of atonement for having turned the gargoyles to stone. He spent much time by himself when not raising them, and in the process, learned how to harness the intrinsic magic of Avalon, although he did not find it an easy feat. Any experimentation he attempted had little success, but there was no crisis that required more effort on his part. [6]

When the Archmage and the Weird Sisters attacked Avalon, the Magus was convinced that he lacked the strength to defy them without the Grimorum. But when Elisa came to the island with Goliath and Bronx and announced her intent to awaken King Arthur Pendragon from his enchanted sleep in the Hollow Hill to recruit him for the defense of the Avalon Clan, the Magus accompanied her. Using the raw magical energy that he tapped from Avalon, he defeated the two animated suits of armor that guarded Arthur's sleeping place.

In the battle that followed, the Magus fought against the Weird Sisters, and finally utilized his magical strength to transform the two suits of armor, which were made of iron, into a chain that bound them fast. However, the strain of this act was too much for him, and he died soon afterwards, laid to rest on the very bier upon which King Arthur had slept for over a thousand years. ("Avalon" Part Three)

Appearances

• "Awakening: Part One" (First Appearance)
• "Awakening: Part Two"
• "Awakening: Part Four" (Mentioned Only)
• "Long Way to Morning"
• "Reawakening"
• "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" (Mentioned Only)
• "City of Stone" Part One (No Lines)
• "Avalon" Part One
• "Avalon" Part Two
• "Avalon" Part Three
• "Shadows of the Past" (Mentioned Only)
• "Ill Met By Moonlight" (Mentioned Only)
• "The Journey" (Indirect Reference)
• "The Gate" (Mentioned and Depicted in Drawing Only)
• "Tyrants" (Mentioned Only)
• "The Reach" (No Lines)
• "The Promise" (No Lines)
• "The Dream" (No Lines)
• "The Pledge" (No Lines)

Production Background

Voice Actor: Jeff Bennett

Originally The Magus was to offer Goliath the choice to have the sleep spell cast on him until Gary Krisel suggested for it to be the only way around. The change was to demonstrate how much in despair Goliath was in. [7]

The Magus was planned to have joined Arthur Pendragon on his journey. The former's death was to demonstrate that battles can have their price. In addition, Merlin was planned to join Arthur in time and it was decided that having the Magus would lead to redundancy in the cast. [8][9]