I wanna yap abt,, some things,,,
Spoilers for tower of memory and also every other season.
Sacrifice EVERYTHING is such a vague but also specific term. I mean , EVERYTHING???
Hear me out
We already know Merlin lost their memories cuz of the sacrifice, but what else? Well,,,
Contess mentions the name we choose is a Fake Name. This could totally be for game mechanic reasons, or even identity reasons, but it's safe to say Merlin's real name is likely one of those sacrifices. Whether that means it was entirely erased from all records, or Merlin simply doesn't remember it and no one thought to tell us 😒, idk.
Our form ? I Know it's for game mechanics and player choice as to why we don't have a real form, but it makes either plotholes or insane implications. The Arcane Disruptor doesn't force our transfiguration to drop. We see it directly affect our magic, but not the transfig. This could be explained as transfiguration being a one and done magic, and therefore there's nothing to disrupt. BUT ☝ in the voyages, there's the anti-transfiguration areas. It's specifically stated they interfere with transfigs. It drops our wolf form, but never our disguise. This could purely just be game mechanics tho, so I wouldn't put too much thought into it. It is strange a bit tho, also we already know wtv form we choose is a fake one, and we Know the real one thx to the various portraits. We even have the costumes! Ahem anyway.
I will lightly brush the topic of memories. When it was first said, I assumed it meant we can't get those memories back, but we totally can. First of all, Dura is constantly telling us to "remember the mission." Hey girl 👋 why don't you just TELL ME!! why the emphasis on remembering? If I remember does it hurt the seal 🥺. Secondly, at some point (sorry no screenie) we specifically remember flashes of the war. Like, it straight up goes "flashes of wtv appear in yr mind." THATS REMEMBERING 👈👈 also, not sure if viewing the Memory Stars is more like a seeing it like a show OR its genuinely jogging yr memory. I assume more a show like view, its angstier.
Their Magic. We are also told Merlin has lost a considerable amount of power. We see it in action in the starter story, when they faint after using a big spell. But we also see them regaining this power. Zorya mentions we were "once" the greatest mage in Esperia, but clearly not anymore. We're still powerful enough that she'd ask for our help, though. And again, we are regaining that magic. But how long? Clearly we didn't Give any of these sacrifices to the seal, we just. Happened to drop them in walmart on the way I guess. BUT ☝
Onto my favourite part of everything.
Their Life.
As we all know, Merlin is not part of the Tree of Life. Neither human nor god, but a secret third thing (autistic 😌). But, how did this happen? Merlin clearly grew up at least Like a human, right? They went to school, they had (and have) emotions, they act perfectly human. Aside from the godlike abilities, but that's in the air a bit. Basically, Merlin was definitely human - or thought they were. I'm leaning more on the "was once a human." And then boom sacrifice and now,, no longer human,,, but why ? What sorta mf seal needs That ??
And most importantly, where does Dura fit into this ? Why could she not seal them away? Why US? And why were we Dura's favourite princess? She made Avalon for us, presumably during the war phase or recovery phase, then dipped ?? But she's still around if she's whispering about missions and warranties.
IF we sacrificed our Life, we should totally be dead. But, what if someone (Morgan? Dura?) took us from the tree of life, and SOMEONE (Dura) planted a seed in Avalon, gifted us (adrift, not tree, no roots), Avalon and that seed. And thus we become a tree of life, or some sort of gardener, ourselves. Lots of ifs and I rly only put this paragraph together on the spot. Neither god nor human makes you a gardener of sorts I guess??? 🌳🧑🍼 <- this is Merlin.
Wait that works cuz Merlin is taking on the guide role, like in the legends. A supportive figure. Merlin doesn't even fight, it's all summoning heroes (swords) to fight For them. Wait I think I cooked a bit. I just needed someone to yap to,, omg 😌
Anyway! I yapped.
TLDR; sacrificing everything could very well mean Merlin sacrificed their memories, their name, their form, and their very life.
PS. I used to use Arena as a lore reference, but then they started changing Arena lore to suit Journey, so I haven't touched Arena with a ten foot pole since, cuz wtfrick man. I do believe that Merlin is the player in Arena tho, cuz its fun. Idk anymore I stopped playing when they changed everything.
