Why I Don’t Think Cyran is the Second Greatest Mage.
Hear me out. As much as I love Cyran, he really can’t be the second strongest mage to compare to Merlin. He really can’t.
I’m not saying he isn’t good with magic, but he is not second to Merlin. He was only the second strongest mage academically (which I mean in the Lyceum). But in a worldwide sense? No.
The question I want you to keep in mind is: how can a Chief Court Mage who lives in luxury, opulence, comfort and all the highs of life be considered second to Merlin?
I notice in regards to Cyran copying Merlin’s magic, it ties into his character a lot. In CoA, (current season), Merlin accuses Cyran of only using second-hand tricks. So let me tell you why I agree.
Firstly being, 1) when Cyran's talents fell short of Merlin's, admiration soon gave way to envy. As graduation loomed, Cyran joined the Adamant Syndicate and turned to dark magic in a desperate bid to surpass Merlin.
This is the first instance I find that Cyran is using another means to become stronger, rather than focusing on HIS OWN MAGIC—he’s literally saying, “If I can’t do it with my own magic, I might as well just get it from somewhere else.”
2) In his affinity tales state that he harbors a secret, and this secret is that he still studies Merlin’s magic after all these years. But even though he is still studying Merlin’s magic, look the barrier he made. Merlin called it “sloppy”.
Cyran did not improve his magic. He chose to grow by copying Merlin’s magic and getting involved with Adamant Syndicate, Hypogeans, and using dark magic as means to “heighten” his power.
At the end of the day, his twisted view of being a better mage is absolute garbage. Because all he is doing is using is power from another source and not his own signature magic. (Though, he may use his own spells—all we’ve seen him do is dark magic and copy Merlin’s spells.)
This is why I think his view on magic is so poignant. He views magic is for power, so if he wants to go to the Adamant Syndicate for his own benefit—hey! It aligns with his philosophy. He can use dark magic to heighten his magic; but at the end of the day, strip him bare without it. What is he? What is special about his magic?
NOTHING. He’s just the Chief Court Mage.
Why? Beneath his polished exterior, however, lies a haughty and egotistical nature, driven by an insatiable desire for superiority over others. He is so driven by wanting to be better than everyone else, he never managed to focus on his OWN IDENTITY.
Even though that’s the sad part, that’s his own fault. He let envy enter his head, when he could have built meaningful relationships (and just think of Merlin and Cyran as a team! That would be an unstoppable pair.) He could have focused on building his own brand with his magic as Merlin did. But he used other means to further his skills.
A stupid example is like Kai from Kung Fu Panda. (I’m so sorry. I had to use this one.) He is using everyone else’s magic to make him strong, when his own magic was meaningless against Po.
But, I will say—even though his raw magic power isn’t his strength, his cunning, manipulative abilities are golden. He has connections in the palace, with the Adamant Syndicate. And Merlin can’t match him on that. I’ll give him that one.
3) Cyran is not a practicing battle mage. This man lives in the palace. His hands were said to be soft. And whether you think it was meant by Merlin literally or figuratively, that is the point. He hasn’t worked and fought as hard Merlin had.
How can a man used to opulence pose a threat to a weathered mage (who’s been in some tough ordeals) possibly pose a threat in a hand-to-hand duel? Merlin gained his strength and well-deserved legendary title by going through the school of hard knocks.
While Merlin is fighting in the Second Divine War and sacrificing himself to the point of oblivion, Cyran is in the palace. He only was elevated to Chief Court Mage because so many other mages died in the war (and he had good experience with magic.)
Also, what made Merlin the strongest mage in all Esperia was the fact that Merlin focused on building his own identity. Merlin refined twenty-something spells and shortened the Arcane Council verification process, for example. Merlin was always questioning, always searching for ways to improve in the most purest, rawest sense. No second-hand means, or anything other than just building from the ground up on his own.
If you look at the Memory Stars in ToM, you can see how Merlin studied various aspects of magic. Merlin branded himself—and expanded on his magic to the most extreme heights (e.g. sealing Hypogeans, attempting to revert hypofiends back to humans) and all the other seasons explain the rest.
Lastly, the difference between them is that Merlin made a lasting impact in his genuine abilities, being true to himself. Whereas Cyran, only wanting to be superior, will be willing to find a shortcut to do it.
And as we saw, he literally did that at the end of CoA. He used his gem as a “shortcut” (or in other words, a second-hand trick) to turn into a hypofiend—to become stronger.
So, we meet again...
Ahahaha, or perhaps not, I just thought I saw you on Reddit. If or if not, I am glad you wrote this. Because I wanna agree with you!
But I also want to add something else to the mix...
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First of all, I agree with you in many aspects. Once the Lyceum days are over, we also don't really have any measurement any more as Merlin and Cyran go vastly different ways. You could say that Cyran was always the second most promising student, but that's just a memory and hardly currently applicable.
We also don't really know the real competition out there. Merlin is at the top, as far as we know (until another cool strong mage shows up, be it on our side or in the enemy team), but after that? Cyran's one of many and his position as Chief Court Mage doesn't necessary mean anything in raw power. And even if it did, just like raw power doesn't mean anything when playing AFKJ, tactics and investment in the right units is also important. And as you have pointed out, Cyran's investment is maybe not in the right places, and his raw power has been bought. xD
What a fun comparison. LOL
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Anyway, what I still want to throw in as a counter-argument. Or at least as an argument for "the final battle should have been a bit more difficult for Merlin".
What WERE Cyran's duties? That is definitely up to one's imagination, because we don't really have any info on Court Mage duties. While I largely think that he is more manager than active practitioner now as Chief, HE STILL is a Court Mage and they do not exist just to look pretty.
One aspect they should do is security measures. That means shields of all sorts. And they should constantly work on improving and innovating those shields, because naturally people (as in normal other mages) will try to break them. Not much running around needed here, just plain study work, speed and proficiency in applying them. Cyran brought that quality from school and I doubt he was gonna be content with being "just an average" Court Mage. His imitated shield on the Central Plaza was just for show and "divine appearance". Even as Chief, I think he can't afford to NOT be involved in constant practice and given how he accompanied Orion, I think he is expected to be able to adequately protect the Royal Family directly. (Which makes it so goddamn stupid that he struggled to overtake Gwendolyn's shield who likely REALLY is less trained as a mage.)
On that note, I also think that Cyran DID fight in the war. He was still a regular Court Mage at that time, perhaps already one his superiors really liked due to his diligence. The war took surely some time, and if the King himself went out to fight, then he would take Court Mages with him for protection, as well as employ Court Mages all around the Empire to hold lines. I feel like, as much as Cyran would despise the battle field and the dirty tents etc, Cyran would not "want" to look like a coward and hide, especially when his brother is also on the battlefield. And we sing praises to our soldiers, how would Cyran "want" to miss that glory? At least not unless he had a valid and official excuse. While it's possible he stayed behind in the palace on official orders, I just prefer to think he was pulled into action. And that is again, mostly protection (also against weather conditions), providing lights, hiding presences, perhaps buffing allies etc.
That presence will have given him a VERY good idea on how to structure battles and manage your powers. He was not the only Court Mage to survive, but incidentally a very much liked one, and again I prefer to think he was selected not just for his family name but also his qualities shown.
While this may not be able to outshine Merlin's constant battle experience, I don't think Court Mages (and Army) rest in times of peace. I imagine there are enough "battle drills" to give every Court Mage a reminder of what they would need to be able to do.
I also want to mention the general skill level of these Court Mages. This isn't fully clear, I think, but it seems established that Hypofiends and Hypogeans cannot be beaten with regular weapons or their wounds healed with regular magic. And yet we have two Divine Wars where normal people held their lines against the Hypogean forces. It may have been the Celestials and Dura herself to seal the Hypogeans (and thus perhaps reduce and drive back the Hypofiends as well) but we can't ignore that the soldiers of the Empire, supported by the Court Mages, managed to hold out against all these Hypofiends. The magic of the Court Mages, and other available mages drafted into the war, as well as that of their brothers at the church wielding the magic of the Divine Light, had enough power to stand put. That doesn't mean these guys should be strong enough to be a challenge for Merlin, but I feel like it paints an image of their power scaling and given how I think Cyran was part of the war, it puts him into somewhere closer to the top than at the bottom.
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What I also want to discuss is HOW mages fight and apply magic in the first place. That depends greatly on the way magic works in this universe. I may be ignoring canon here, but I just ... dislike something along the lines of "just feel it and if you want it strong enough and you have the magical talent for it - it will happen". The Gala scene, for example, was terrible in that regard. T_T
I much prefer magic to have rules and languages, and you can't just feel like speaking French and then speak it perfectly without any prior knowledge.
So the thing is, that mages will have their favorite spells and can apply them quickly. And given how every mage will have a different repertoire, it's just a matter of having the right defense spell on hand, or being quick and confident enough to cast the spell needed.
I grant that Merlin has a larger repertoire of suitable spells for battle (then again, they mostly use shields and orbs of light to throw at the enemy), but I also don't think Cyran's are that insignificant (given his battle skills in-game).
I don't think he should have had a fighting chance. He did not. :/ But the big deal is the lack of weakness on Merlin's side and THAT bothers me. A lot. Cyran is not a weak opponent. But without Merlin struggling at least once by having to loose balance or have a shield broken, or get a tiny scrape... then I don't know what is at risk in the first place. It is boring to know that Merlin is SO overpowered that literally nothing is gonna be a struggle to them.
Merlin made so many mistakes in previous season or has shown a weak side... in this season, though? I just wanted Merlin to have more struggles than just showing us a sad face after Cyran's gone. And perhaps there will be some more that will balance the fight in hindsight.
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Eh, anyway, thanks for humoring me. I have a feeling this is more anti-Merlin than anything but... that really just bugged me. T_T Can't Cyran be at least so competent that Merlin struggles more than just with a sad face? Gah.
I am active on Reddit when it comes to AFKJ lore. But I have no idea which post you’re referring to or if it was me, haha. But still, I appreciate your response! You brought up a lot of interesting points, which I agree with.
As for Cyran’s strength, I do think he’s strong in magic but only to a degree (as I’ve stated prior). Whether he fought in the war directly or indirectly in the palace, we can know for sure that he does have some merit to his magic.
But, I have to say that Cyran isn’t a practicing battle mage. I’m not disagreeing with you, but Merlin will find most fights easier due to his vast experience fighting hard opponents.
Merlin fights Hypogeans for a living. Even if Cyran fought in the war, that was only one time and I doubt it was in the front-lines. Because Cyran’s brother was said to have died in the war, so I can’t say I’d see Cyran wanting to go fight in it.
Yet I will somewhat disagree over the fact that Cyran isn’t strong against Merlin. He is if you look at the way he fights. He prefers to fight by instigating someone from simply whispering in their ears as he directs them from the shadows. For example, look at Chains of Eternity. Merlin DID NOT have an easy fight against Cryonaia the first time around. And Cyran was the one that planned all of this.
Cyran planned the whole thing out a year in advance and covered his tracks. (I have no idea how he was able to get to Whiteridge without the King’s knowledge, but he was able to do it—manipulating the Archduke to “bring his daughter back;” which in turn, ended up corrupting the churches, acolytes, and caused a time-loop and people freezing over into an eternal bliss.)
If Merlin hadn't been Dura's chosen one, he almost certainly would have died the first time he fell into the abyss with Valka. The only reason he returned was because Dura had already chosen him, allowing him to meet the God of Death and continue fulfilling the role Dura intended for him. It's an exceptional circumstance rather than something Merlin could simply do on his own.
Yes, it's an unfair advantage—but it's also the foundation of Merlin's role in the story. Without Dura's intervention, Merlin's journey would have ended much sooner.
But even though Merlin succeeded, at the end of Chains of Eternity, the outcome is not a very happy one. The Archduke is dead, Yolena is dead, the Valesa castle is still warped by Cryonaia’s power, Rodrigo has to find a new heir—and at the end there is more of an unhappy ending than a happy one. All because of one guy. ONE GUY! One guy who just said a few simple words to the Archduke.
Everything turned out to be a tragedy. Even though Merlin won and saved Whiteridge, there were more losses that impacted it as a whole.
Again, in Tower of Memory he caused the whole Arcane Council issue by manipulating one person and tampering with the court mage selection. And the fight was not easy if you can recall Merlin’s magic being binded by Cyran’s gem. If it weren’t for Silven, Merlin would be dead or seriously injured—and I don’t think it was just plot that Silven saved the day, because Merlin was the one that restored his sword.
In my humble opinion even though it wasn’t directly stated, I think it’s safe to say that the entire fight was a Cyran vs Merlin. Cyran’s Gem in Gervan’s hand versus the Merlin-restored sword in Silven’s. So it was essentially Merlin’s magic that stopped it.
But they didn’t come out unscathed. There’s a brief line that mentions them all being battered and bruised.
AND MAN, is Cyran a hard person to catch! He covered his tracks so well in the end that only Gervan, Aurelian, and Durella were convicted.
Aurelian was dumb. He gave everything away. HAHA. Serves him right. I’d like to imagine Cyran was fuming when he heard about it…
As for Crown of Ashes and why it was so easy for Merlin—is just basically these two points. One being that Cyran imitated Merlin’s magic. Of course Merlin would break it so easily, it was a flawed imitation of Merlin’s personal style.
And second, the final battle was exactly the kind of situation Merlin excels in. Sealing away Hypofiends and Hypogeans is one of his greatest strengths, and Cyran was no exception. That doesn't mean the fight was effortless, though. There was a moment when Cyran nearly dragged Merlin into the Abyss, and Merlin genuinely struggled before finally breaking free. So while Merlin ultimately won because the battle played to his expertise, it wasn't as though he walked through it without resistance.
All in all, I do want a story where Merlin “loses.” I'd enjoy that. But I don't really agree with the idea that he needs to lose just because he's overpowered. Merlin has already paid a heavy price in other ways, and I think those losses matter just as much as losing a fight.
(I hope I didn’t miss any of your points! I really enjoyed your conversation and thought process on each one. It made me think about it, so I appreciate it!)
Yessss, so many good points! It makes me shift a little bit, actually. Cyran is not a fighter, he is a schemer. Merlin is the fighter instead. I knew this, of course, but bias likes to play with personal values...
I don't think I ever intended to make Cyran be the second most powerful mage in Esperia, not now, after reading many good thoughts about it. There are also Celestial and Hypogeans, who also kinda count. I just wanted him to be clever enough to punch up a bit more, despite being weaker... *sigh*
But ... as you pointed out, he DID play his games successfully, for many years. Everybody in Esperia is fooled and would have continued to be fooled if Merlin hadn't stuck their nose into Cyran's business. So in terms of a man playing a game, Cyran is most certainly 2nd to no one but Merlin, for Merlin is the ONLy man he lost to. ;-)
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That Merlin struggles against the abyssal claws is a nice catch. Of course I saw that, I just didn't quite... accept it. I am not exactly a shipper but yeah, it hurts to see Cyran fall short of expectations, and Merlin's "being-stupidly-good-at-everything" this season didn't help me. T_T
But I think I can better grasp his own strengths better. I always knew, but perhaps I needed someone to express this as well as you have. So thanks for that!
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(I apologise for budging in, but here are some thoughts if you don't mind.)
"So in terms of a man playing a game, Cyran is most certainly 2nd to no one but Merlin, for Merlin is the ONLy man he lost to. ;-)"
He IS good at choosing victims though. Our investigation of the cult in Whiteridge revealed he Syndicate's tactics. Choose vulnerable victims. Desperate or disabled. Preferably kids. And that's exactly what Cyran's MO has been.
When he was forced to confront Merlin, he kind of folded immediately. If we limit the "second strongest in the world" to just Merlin, Cyran and a couple of disabled kids, then yes, Cyran is the second best.
"I also think that Cyran DID fight in the war. "
I'm sorry, but if Cyran fought in the war, no way it was on the good guys' side. He was already a member of the Syndicate, who are notorious hypogean enjoyers. I wouldn't be surprised if they reveal the Syndicate's role in that war later. The full-fledged demon invasion Cyran unleashed on Sahvannah that killed countless people, where do you think he learned it?
And he wasn't even a court mage at this point (he only became one after a lot of court mages conveniently died in the war).
And both people who (as he thought) overshadowed him, his brother and Merlin, conveniently died in that war too (it's not enough to accuse Cyran of anything, but it doesn't look good.)
But if he did, it would help your point if we saw some kind of court mage training facility. (Like we saw with the guards in Savannah or Ravion's people in Sal'thorin). Instead, we only saw a very bureaucratic-looking office, with the spy reports Cyran has been gathering on us.
Which makes sense considering the explanation of a court mage's role we've got in the last season. It's not exactly magical spec-ops.
Although the image of Cyran practising some kind of magical kung-fu with his staff in his robes vs a dummy dressed like Merlin is kind of fun.
Not like training would automatically make him the second greatest mage anyway, though. Second best in Merlin's class is cool, but let's not forget about the existence of other classes, other mages who might have trained more after school, other magical schools, self-taught mages and all the other factions' mages too.
I mean, if I was the second fastest in a class where the first guy later became a world champion, it doesn't mean that decades later I'm the second fastest person in the world.
Btw I kind of see Merlin as a One-Punch Man kind of character. It's not about whether we win, it's about all the other stuff. Nobody's angry at Saitama for being OP. That's the point.
And Merlin did "lose" once already (when they died). They also lost their memories and friends.
Losing to a disgruntled former classmate without even confronting the consequences of their first death would be lame.
No need to apologise. You brought up a good point I hadn’t considered before.
I had known Cyran joined the Adamant Syndicate before graduating, but I never considered that it would cause a conflict of interests if he would fight for the royal family, while the Adamant Syndicate supported the other side.
Though, I have to say that Cyran was a court mage during the war. His affinity tales state: “During the WAKE of the Second Divine War…. He was propelled to chief court mage….”
And to put a timeline on when the court mage selection took place, we can use what we’ve learned from Tower of Memory. Another one of tales say: “There are conflicting accounts regarding the court mage selection. Some assert that Cyran outperformed Merlin, securing the position, while others suggest that Merlin opted to forgo the opportunity to serve the palace to serve a greater purpose.”
So, I would assume that this occurred during their last years in the Serene Lyceum or something along those lines (or after) because if this is true, Merlin became Merlin before the war. So Cyran must have gotten this opportunity before the war as well.
If you check out the side quest with Cranky, Leymar invites Merlin to teach AFTER receiving the title of Merlin. So the Merlin Era was after Student Era, but before the Teacher Era.
But I agree with you on everything else. Those points are well said.
Though, I’m curious as to why Cyran likes to manipulate vulnerable people. What’s his drive? What’s his thought process behind it? I am not sure if it’s just only because they’re easy prey, or if there is something more than what meets the eye.
All good for adding your own pov. ;-) And thanks to legendary-finale to point out the timeline details there, which I agree with.
I just wanted to add that, while there is an interesting conflict of interests going on, I think on the surface Cyran fought for the Empire. We have no current evidence that something strange was going on with him during that time, so I assume that for the most part everything was as expected.
And, we don't know WHEN Cyran became a Top Member of the Adamant Syndicate (and is he Envy as presumed or not?). I don't he was high in the hierarchy and he may not even have known the secret plans of the Syndicate and their cooperation with the Hypogeans. Or he was, but wasn't fully involved other than small-scale cover ups or hijacks or so...
Positions like this are usually for senior members or perhaps special VIP people from the start, which Cyran was likely not. He started by asking for their services and I always assume he has been a supportive member since (mostly helping with connections given his position in the palace from then onwards, plus likely financial support). Until he became a regular face and eventually Chief Court Mage. That's likely put him on a special pedestal within the AS as well.
I'd also be interested what the requirements are to be placed around Pride as one of the seven, assuming that TOP MEMBER refers to one of these positions. The Syndicate is an organisation that needs the same structures as others, but I don't think Cyran is doing full-time managing there. I think these guys are more the top-core-advisors (or "messengers" if you will) of Pride, just giving the direction of things, with fairly little constant insight into the daily business of the Syndicate.
And I am sorry if I am cycling back to it but... Cyran's certainly gotta have "certain" strength or power over Dark Magic to be considered for such a position, I am sure. But if THAT's Cyran's power level, considered adequate for Pride's needs, then how "weak" is Pride gonna be? xD
