The Sons of Constance FAQ

These questions are intended for people who have already read the book. If you have not read the book, you will encounter SPOILERS for this book, but not for any other books in the series.

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What’s going on with the dragons and the dragon fight?

The dragons are one of the earliest elements of the legend. They originate in an earlier piece of Welsh mythology, The Mabinogion, where they cause the scream that causes all women in the land to miscarry, and they are put in the ground by Lludd, just as I reference in the novel. The story of Vortigern being told that the dragons are beneath the tower he is trying to build, that he needs the blood of a fatherless boy, and that boy being Merlin, are all elements of the mythology that appear either together or separately. It is widely understood that the white dragon represents the Saxons and the red dragon is the Welsh people. The red dragon that is still on the Welsh flag refers to this dragon.

Is Dinas Emrys a real place? What about the dragons?

Dinas Emrys is a real place, and still exists in Wales. There are stone ruins there, which some would like to imagine are indeed the remnants of Vortigern’s tower. 

Was the Round Table really made for Uther?

Yes. In the legend, Merlin makes the Round Table for Uther, who goes on to become Arthur’s father. It all happens just as you read it in the book—although the characters of the stonemason and woodcarver are invented. The scene at the end, where the Round Table shows magical properties to draw those who sit at into harmony, is very much in the legend. Spoiler: The Round Table goes to King Leodegrance after Uther’s death. Leodegrance becomes the father of Guinevere, and Arthur inherits the Round Table as part of her dowry when she and Arthur are married. 

Is Sir Brantius really in the legend?

His character is in the legend, but he is not named. He only appears for the section he is in as some random adviser who decides to test Merlin and then he’s gone and forgotten. But I really loved the darkness of the story, the scene in which Merlin scolds Pendragon and Uther, and of course the macabre ending. I had to spread him throughout the entire book and develop his rivalry with Merlin so he wouldn’t just appear out of the blue. There is one sentence in the source story that indicates that this character’s death became a source of town gossip, which I developed into the whole town waiting for him to die because I just love how macabre it is, and it certainly fits with the kind of cruel ironies present in the Arthurian legends… that jealousy turns a character’s life into an unforeseen prison. The story is a popular Medieval motif called a “threefold death,” which I used as the title of this section.

Is the creation of Stonehenge really in the legend?

It certaintly is! But it happens pretty much “off-screen” and does not involve any confrontation between Merlin and Uther. You have to love the concept that Medieval people didn’t understand how Stonehenge possibly could have been created, so they just said: “Merlin made it!”

Is the Circle of Blood in the legend?

That is my addition. It does not exist in the legend. The idea that Merlin creates Stonehenge is in the legend, however, which caused me to research Stonehenge and I saw that there is this ditch around it. In the legend, Merlin creating Stonehenge is just another thing that happens, but it is referred to as Pendragon’s tomb, and they do reference all the British blood that was spilled there. I thought it should have a little more meaning and importance in the story (in the legend it is just another unrelated element), so I made it important to Pendragon’s death and tried to imply a spiritual connection. It is not going away in my series, either. If we have Stonehenge in the story, dammit we’re going to use it! 

Does Vortigern really see his dead son?

Not in the legend. That is my way to develop and provide continuity for Vortigern in this section of his story. A lot of incident happens for Vortigern in this part of the story, and I really had to whip through some of it. For instance, the thing where Hengist orchestrates the slaughter of all British leaders is a very big moment, but isn’t cohesive with my narrative of Vortigern, so it got reduced to a quick mention. In the sources, Vortigern never mentions his son again. He also does not have a change of heart before his death. His story gets a little vague and unfocused, then he’s suddenly dead and gone. There is nothing in the sources between his finishing the tower and his death, so I created his change of heart and special day outside as a way to round off his story in a satisfying way that does tribute to him as a character.

Does Merlin really go back to his mother’s house when he’s upset?

No. In fact, his mother, who is only given a name in one obscure source (think about that… in the vast majority of the Arthurian legends this character appears but is not named), she says goodbye to Merlin at the beginning and that is the last we ever see or hear of her. I couldn’t bear to just dump her, so I began thinking of ways she could stay around a little longer. In the legends, Merlin does say that because of his devilish nature, he does occasionally need to be away from people, so I decided that he can go back to her house. Also, Merlin is developing for the first three books, and he has no mentors or people to discuss his issues with, so I decided that Blaise and his mother can serve as advisors and stabilizing forces for him.