Power
Power is a theme of the novel and is what drives Lot to betray his King. He wants the throne of the High King and will do whatever it takes to obtain it. He refuses the King’s offer to marry Morgause, but instead takes the engagement to Morgian so that he will be in line for the throne when Uther dies. He pretends allegiance to Uther while making deals with the Saxons in case he will need them to secure the throne. The thought of power makes him align himself with questionable people.
Merlin uses the power of his arts to make Arthur High King. He makes the sword part of the Chapel Altar so no one, but Arthur can claim the sword. For the nobles, he consumes the sword in flame so that no one will dare to try to take up the sword. Arthur trusts Merlin so puts his hand into the flames to claim the sword thus making him the accepted High King.
Morgause wants power of her own. She tries to get Merlin to teach her his arts, but he refuses. He will not teach a woman his enchanter’s skills. Morgause learns what she can of these arts on her own, but she does not have the power of Merlin. She craves this power and is not pleased when Merlin refuses to be her teacher.
Betrayal
Lot betrays Uther, attemp[ting to find Arthur and have him murdered so that he cannot claim the High throne. He wants the High King’s throne so he holds back during the battle of Luguvallium so that he can see which side is winning so he can throw his support in for the winning side. When he arrives too late to the battle, he must devise means to discredit Arthur as Uther’s successor. He does this by breaking Uther’s sword and goads Uther into presenting it to Arthur. He knows that the nobles will see the broken sword as an omen that Arthur is not fit to lead the Kingdom.
Morgause betrays Arthur by seducing him into her bed knowing that he is her brother. She wants to associate herself with his power and knows that she will become pregnant with his son. She also betrays her father with this act.
Loyalty
Loyalty is a theme of the novel. Merlin is loyal to Arthur; he helps him to prepare to become High King and does everything in his power to accomplish this. When Arthur becomes King, he steps behind him to be his servant and serve his King.
Cador is loyal to King Uther and then to King Arthur. Merlin does not trust him because of the guilt he feels for Gorlois’ death and he believes that Cador blames him, Uther and Arthur for his father’s death. Cador does not have any animosity toward any of them. He knows that his father died due to his own rash behavior. He cannot blame Merlin or Uther for that and certainly not Arthur who was not even born. Cador has been attempting to protect Arthur from Lot. Cador also shows his loyalty by proclaiming Arthur to be the true King and that he does not need Uther’s sword for he has a sword of his own, the sword of Macsen. His proclamation leads the men to the Chapel to watch Arthur claim his sword from the stone altar. Arthur rewards his loyalty by making Cador his heir until he can have an heir of his own.
Ralf shows his loyalty to Merlin by taking on the protection of Arthur. Ralf wants to be in service to the King by going to battle with him instead he is left to look after a baby. Merlin tells him that Arthur is to be the High King and will unite Britain. Because of his belief in him and his loyalty to him, he spends his life looking after the young boy.
Secrecy
Secrecy is a theme of the novel. The whereabouts of Arthur is the greatest secret of Britain. Merlin does not even tell Uther where exactly Arthur is kept. He finds it important that few people know where the boy is. Merlin travels so that any spies looking for the boy’s whereabouts will follow him. Merlin goes to great pains to keep the boy safe.
Arthur is known as Emrys and no one knows his true origin at the court of Ector except for Count Ector his wife and Arthur’s escort Ralf. He is known as the foster son of Count Ector and raised in the court as one of his children. This secret leads Arthur to believe he is a bastard and not knowing his parents leads him to have no true feelings of grief when Uther dies. The secret also leaves Arthur open to the deceit of Morgause. Had he known his true identity he would not have slept with his sister. She uses his ignorance against him for her own means.
Merlin keeps his identity from Arthur when they first meet. He pretends to be the caretaker of the chapel and befriends Arthur. They form a lasting friendship and Arthur is stunned to learn that he is Merlin the enchanter. Arthur thinks that Merlin is his father due to their likeness. He is slightly disappointed that he is not.
Trust
Merlin must trust Ralf to care for Arthur and keep him safe so that he will become High King. He trusts Count Ector to raise the boy to be a fit King. Ralf trusts Merlin when he says the boy will be a great King. He gives up his life in the Queen’s court to travel with the boy in obscurity upon the word of Merlin. Arthur trusts Merlin. He is drawn to the man and follows his lead without question. When Merlin tells Arthur that he will be safe in lifting the sword from the flames on the altar, he does not question it just sticks his hand in the fire and lifts the sword.
King Uther and Queen Ygraine trust Merlin to take care of their son. They know that he will be safe under his protection. When Uther meets his son, he knows that he has been raised to become King and will be a great successor to the throne. He trusts Arthur with his sword during the battle and in leading his troops to defeat the Saxons.
