History Main / MerlinAndNimue

!!Film -- Animation
* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/ThorTalesOfAsgard.'' Teenage Loki is Amora's apprentice, and she's [[FemmeFatale rather flirty]] with him.

* In ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'', Tala was instructed in the ways of magic by sorceror Felix Faust.

* Happens in ''Series/BabylonFive'' between the extremely powerful human telepath Lyta Alexander and the two successive Vorlons (SufficientlyAdvancedAliens) that she serves, Kosh and Ulkesh. She and Kosh have a generally positive relationship until Kosh's death, but Ulkesh treats her outright abusively, to the point that she participates in a successful plot to assassinate him, which is thoroughly approved of by the story. And there was strong innuendo that both relationships [[InterspeciesRomance had a sexual element]].

** It comes up yet again in ''Series/OnceUponATime'', with the actual Merlin and Nimue. [[spoiler:Nimue was the first dark one, and the dagger was once part of Excalibur. Subverted, because Merlin didn't actually teach her, but he did give her the opportunity to turn on him.]]

* Creator/GarthNix wrote a short story in his collection ''Across [[Literature/TheOldKingdom The Wall]]'' Merlin drags his feet about teaching Nimue, and tries to warn her that for a mage to gain power, they must give up their heart's desire. Nimue scoffs at the paradox, since her fondest desire is the power itself. She gets that wish, alright... [[spoiler: but the cost is Merlin himself, because they were each other's hearts' desire.]]

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': ''Cosmos in the Lostbelt'' plays with expectations on this trope by initially presenting Artoria Caster, an AlternateTimeline counterpart to Saber from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', as a country bumpkin mage girl who claims to know magecraft after being taught by Merlin in her childhood via magic communication. This plays into expectations that she is the same character as Saber where she became the Nimue to Merlin, but [[spoiler:she's actually a faerie [[TheChosenOne sent from Avalon to forge the Holy Sword Excalibur]]. Her teacher, "Merlin", isn't actually the real Merlin, it's the AlternateTimeline Oberon who taught her how to use magic when he caught wind of her wish to make fire to keep herself [[AllTheOtherReindeer after being given the cold shoulder by all other faeries]] during her childhood. He taught her for a year, going out of his way to teach himself magecraft just to to fulfill her increasingly specific wishes.]] She set out on her journey part of a desire to see if she can meet Merlin in person.

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' Part 2 has this trope in Merlin and ''[[spoiler:Altria]]'', as her Lostbelt counterpart became a magician under Merlin's tutelage instead of [[spoiler:the King of the Britons]].

* Creator/GarthNix: One story set out to turn this into a TearJerker. For one thing, Merlin is younger than he makes himself seem to everyone else. Two, he actively ignored Nimue until he couldn't take her hanging around his house begging for training anymore. Three, while both he and Nimue are clearly interested in each other, she's frustrated by his refusal to act on his desires. Four, to get their power, a mage has to give up their heart's desire. Nimue scoffs at the paradox, since her fondest desire is the power itself. Five, a mage gets their power by harnessing a star. [[spoiler:The power in one mage actively repels the power in another. Once Nimue harnesses hers, she physically cannot go near Merlin ever again.]] Six, [[spoiler:Merlin saw it coming, after he got ''his'' power. His heart's desire was Nimue, whom he hadn't even met yet. Nimue's was him. He tried to keep her away so he wouldn't hurt her. Not only can they not ever be together, but he sinks into a stone even Nimue's power can't get him out of, though she immediately leaves to try, leaving England unprotected.]]

* ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'' plays this dead straight between Merlin and Morgana with all the traditional touches.

* Harry Dresden and his apprentice [[spoiler: Molly Carpenter]] in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' by Creator/JimButcher. Harry is older, in his thirties (although WizardsLiveLonger so he is just coming into his own power and not generally thought of as venerable by any means) when he takes on an apprentice who's still a teen. He makes it very clear from the start that there is not going to be any romantic connection between the two, with a bucket of icy water. This is for a number of reasons. Two big ones: he's too good to abuse the power relationship like that, and he has been a friend of her father since she was a child so it would be {{Squick}}y, but there are many hints that she has feelings for him nonetheless. He's intellectually aware that she's gorgeous, and academically appreciative, but not remotely interested (as he puts it, he can admire the scenery without wanting to go camping there). We know there are lots of magic lessons going on behind the scenes and in {{Noodle Incident}}s, but on stage we see more life lessons being learned than actual magic.
** In ''Literature/ColdDays'', when Molly is in her mid-twenties and only his apprentice in the sense that she hasn't technically graduated, it's pointed out to him that the power relationship is very different, the relative age-gap is smaller and shrinking, and she's not a kid anymore - physically or mentally. Plus, WizardsLiveLonger. While he's holding a torch for Murphy and has problems with being [[spoiler: the Winter Knight]], he finally tacitly admits that it's a possibility - if not a very likely one. [[spoiler: The end of that book seems to end it beyond all doubt, with Molly becoming the Winter Lady, which means she CantHaveSexEver, due to the nature of the mantle.]]

* ''Webcomic/YetAnotherFantasyGamerComic:'' Eddie the elderly wizard has the young female Megs as his apprentice. She's always something of a jerkass, and eventually does a full FaceHeelTurn and becomes a Rannite gorgon. [[spoiler:She ends up doing an accidental MutualKill with another gorgon, and Eddie has to find a new career after TheMagicGoesAway.]]

* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': Zelretch and Rin. [[CanonSue Dude is an immortal, dimension-hopping vampire mage capable of magic-beyond-magic]], and also [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Arcueid]]'s grandpa-figure.

* ''Literature/TheLostYearsOfMerlin'' switches it around: ''Nimue'' is older than Merlin and teaches him such magic stuff, but mostly she's just flirting so that she can steal his MagicStaff when he's distracted. This is a short subplot of the second book. A {{Time Travel}}ing adult Nimue is the BigBad of the fourth book; she still looks young, despite coming from a time period when Merlin looks old, but there doesn't seem to have been any more mentorship or romance between them.

* ''Literature/TheLostYearsOfMerlin'': Thirteen-year-old Merlin meets Nimue (who's actually a few years older than him) in the second book; she flirts to distract him while she steals his MagicStaff, but is quickly defeated. In the fourth book a {{Time Travel}}ing adult Nimue is the BigBad; she still looks young, despite coming from a time period when Merlin looks old, but there doesn't seem to be any mentorship or romance between them.

* ''Literature/LeMorteDarthur'', the most well-known version, portrayed Nimue as being justified in sealing Merlin away, as Merlin used his status as her teacher to [[StalkerWithACrush come onto her against her will]].

At the most basic level, this trope is about a partnership between two magic-users where [[StudentAndMasterTeam one is older, (and thus usually the master/teacher or the more powerful member of the team) and the other member is younger and the apprentice type figure]]. And more often than not, they're of opposite sexes.

The TropeNamer and probable TropeMaker is [[Myth/ArthurianLegend the Arthurian Mythos]], where Myth/{{Merlin}} had a habit of teaching magic to younger women. In the oldest stories his pupil/lover's name was Nynave, (but this is often changed to Nimue and sometimes changed again to other names, with Vivien/Vivianne being the most common) and she eventually betrayed him and [[SealedGoodInACan bound Merlin in a tree, a rock or a cave]], depending on the version of the story you're reading or watching. (As a small note, if you're not an expert on Arthurian legend and are wondering why you don't hear about this character all that often, these days she is [[CompositeCharacter often combined]] or interchangeable with either Myth/TheLadyOfTheLake, Morgan le Fay, or Morgan's sister Morgause, the mother of Mordred.)

* The film ''Film/{{Excalibur}}'' plays this pretty much dead straight between Merlin and Morgana with all the traditional touches.
* The page quote comes from ''ComicBook/TheBooksOfMagic'', when Tim very briefly meets Merlin while traveling through time with The Phantom Stranger. At the time Merlin is just 14 years old, but he already knows what is going to happen and why.
* ''Literature/TheWarlordChronicles'' features Merlin teaching both Morgan and Nimue, and both having relationships with him. Morgan's relationship with Merlin ended before the books start, and she symbolically betrays him by converting to Christianity and preaching against him. Nimue stays loyal to Merlin through the first two books, (although there are some occasional hints and foreshadowing of great trouble between them) despite him putting her through some pretty horrific trials and abandoning her for awhile. [[spoiler:Merlin goes into being a WellIntentionedExtremist in the third book, but eventually backs away from crossing any {{Moral Event Horizon}}s. On the other hand Nimue proves to be a KnightTemplar and goes JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, eventually coming to hate Merlin for his "weakness" of not following through with their plan, and then killing him as a HumanSacrifice.]]
* Subverted in Creator/MaryStewart's ''Literature/TheCrystalCave'' series, where Merlin and Niniane truly love each other and she innocently mistakes him for being dead when she buries him in the cave. When he comes back she has moved on to a younger lover and Merlin recognizes she is in any case no longer the girl he loved and the romantic relationship ends amicably on both sides.
* In ''Literature/TheMistsOfAvalon'', Nimue is a sympathetic character, a young priestess sent by Avalon to win Merlin's heart and lure him back for their revenge. The magic she uses to help make Merlin fall in love with her works in such a way that she too falls for him, but she is bound by duty to seduce and lure him to his death. [[DrivenToSuicide She kills herself afterward]].
* This relationship happens between Merlin and Nimue in ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing''.
** Merlin does state that he knows it'll happen and does look forward to having a nice period of time resting up. His only regrets are that he forgets to tell Arthur who his mother is, and he wants to warn the Round Table of who actually poisoned some apples and killed an Irish knight named Sir Patrick. The latter regret is fixed when he asks Nimue to show up and clear up the mess. While she does it willingly, she unfortunately shows up a day late, and only narrowly saves Guinevere from being tried for attempted poisoning of Sir Gawain.
* In ''Literature/LeMorteDarthur'', the most well-known version, Nimue is portrayed as justified in sealing Merlin away, as Merlin used his status as her teacher to [[StalkerWithACrush come onto her against her will]].
* ''Caliber'', a comic that sets the Arthurian Legend in the [[TheWildWest Old West]], has a shaman and Merlin figure advising the good guys and trying to get the magic gun to TheChosenOne, and his ex-pupil and ex-lover Morgan, who advises the villains and [[DragonWithAnAgenda appears to have her own agenda]].
* In ''Webcomic/ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'', Merlin's "betrayal" by Nimue, despite being [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/0062.htm heavily foreshadowed]], is actually [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/2005.htm a complete accident on her part]]. The betrayal aspect gets played straight with [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/0444.htm Morgan]], though. As to whether Merlin has a relationship with his apprentices, [[http://www.arthurkingoftimeandspace.com/0026.htm well]]...
* Averted in BBC's ''Series/Merlin2008'', as A) Nimueh is older and more experienced than Merlin, B) Nimueh starts out evil, C) there's no attraction between the two and D) [[spoiler: Merlin apparently kills Nimueh at the end of Series 1]].
** He spent the beginning of ''"The Poisoned Chalice"'' gawking at her and described her as "pretty for a princess" and she [[spoiler: tricked him into drinking from said poisoned chalice.]] Subverted later on, [[spoiler: when he strikes her with a bolt of lightning.]]
* In the ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'' comicbooks, it's eventually revealed that the Queen of Blood, the genocidal new leader of TheFairFolk, is Nimue herself. As it turns out, it was the whisperings of [[EldritchAbomination the Ogdru Jahad]] that caused her to originally betray Merlin and turn to evil.
* Averted in the ''Series/Merlin1998'' miniseries, where Merlin tells Nimue that all his magic are only "tricks", and although she does end up trapping him through his love for her, it's at the ''real'' antagonist's behest. Also, he eventually ends up getting free of his prison (albeit being [[StarCrossedLovers forced to leave her behind]]) and at the end [[spoiler:they get to be together]].
* One Creator/GarthNix story set out to turn this into a TearJerker. For one thing, Merlin is younger than he makes himself seem to everyone else. Two, he actively ignored Nimue until he couldn't take her hanging around his house begging for training anymore. Three, while both he and Nimue are clearly interested in each other, she's frustrated by his refusal to act on his desires. Four, to get their power, a mage has to give up their heart's desire. Nimue scoffs at the paradox, since her fondest desire is the power itself. Five, a mage gets their power by harnessing a star. [[spoiler:The power in one mage actively repels the power in another. Once Nimue harnesses hers, she physically cannot go near Merlin ever again.]] Six, [[spoiler:Merlin saw it coming, after he got ''his'' power. His heart's desire was Nimue, whom he hadn't even met yet. Nimue's was him. He tried to keep her away so he wouldn't hurt her. Not only can they not ever be together, but he sinks into a stone even Nimue's power can't get him out of, though she immediately leaves to try, leaving England unprotected.]]
* {{Downplayed}} or {{Averted}} in ''Literature/TheLostYearsOfMerlin'' (which is a pretty loose adaptation of Arthurian mythology in general): thirteen-year-old Merlin meets Nimue (who's actually a few years older than him) in the second book; she flirts to distract him while she steals his MagicStaff, but is quickly defeated. In the fourth book a {{Time Travel}}ing adult Nimue is the BigBad; she still looks young, despite coming from a time period when Merlin looks old, but there doesn't seem to be any mentorship or romance between them.
** She also appears as the antagonist of ''The Merlin Effect,'' an UrbanFantasy novel by the same author that has BroadStrokes continuity with the series.

* ''Film/TheLastJedi''Rey and Luke Skywalker fit the bill in at least the age and gender difference. No romance, but they do have a turbulent relationship, considering that Luke is a CynicalMentor who believes the galaxy is better off without the Jedi, and only agrees to train Rey in an effort to convince her that the Jedi need to end, while Rey is TheIdealist who believes that she can end the war simply by recruiting Luke to fight. Rey betrays Luke by taking his Jedi texts and chasing down [[spoiler: a chance to redeem Kylo Ren]] instead, but when it doesn't work out, they reconcile, and by ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' they've clearly learned a lot from each other.

* Harry Dresden and his apprentice [[spoiler: Molly Carpenter]] in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' by Creator/JimButcher. Harry is older, probably in his thirties or forties although WizardsLiveLonger so he is just coming into his own power and not generally thought of as venerable, and takes on an apprentice when she is still a teen. He makes it very clear from the start that there is not going to be any romantic connection between the two for a number of reasons (two big ones: he's too good to abuse the power relationship like that, and he has been a friend of her father since she was a child so it would be {{Squick}}y), but there are many hints that she has feelings for him nonetheless. We know there are lots of magic lessons going on behind the scenes and in {{Noodle Incident}}s, but on stage we see more life lessons being learned than actual magic.
** This also comes up in regards to Wardens Lucio and Morgan, whose relationship was very similar, [[UnresolvedSexualTension one-sided UST and all.]] Also of note is Ebenezer [=McCoy=] and [[spoiler: Margaret Dresden, Harry's mother. Though they did ''not'' have any sort of romantic or sexual relationship, as it's eventually revealed that she was his daughter.]]
** Lucio, in particular, implies this is the case for ''almost all'' apprentices (presumably she means the ones who both fit the opposite sex requirement and are not related to their teacher), and muses aloud, "do any of them ever grow out of it?" Lucio falls under being bisexual, so it's very likely even some of her [[LesYay female]] students gained crushes on her.

* In ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'', both Joseph Joestar and Caesar Zeppelin are trained in [[KiManipulation Hamon]] by the mysterious Hamon Master Lisa Lisa. While Caesar sees Lisa Lisa as a ParentalSubstitute, it's clear that Joseph finds her attractive, namely when he peeks on her taking a bath as revenge for the TrainingFromHell. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that Lisa Lisa is actually Elizabeth Joestar, Joseph's MissingMom. She tells him after the defeat of [[BigBad the Pillar Man]]]].

* In ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'', both Joseph Joestar and Caesar Zeppelin are trained in [[KiManipulation Hamon]] by the mysterious Hamon Master Lisa Lisa. While Caesar sees Lisa Lisa as a ParentalSubstitute, it's clear that Joseph finds her attractive, namely when he peaks on her taking a bath as revenge for the TrainingFromHell. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that Lisa Lisa is actually Elizabeth Joestar, Joseph's MissingMom. She tells him after the defeat of [[BigBad the Pillar Man]]]].

* In the American dub of the first movie to ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', it is revealed that Clow Reed had a student known only as "Madoushi" ("Sorceress"), who was also [[TeacherStudentRomance his girlfriend]]. They had a good relationship, until she decided she wanted more power and [[FaceHeelTurn began practicing dark magic]]. He couldn't allow her to continue to do this, so he [[WhatTheHellHero called her out on this]] and told her that she was no longer his student (and no longer his girlfriend), despite her protests and promises that they could rule the world together. She continued to practice her dark magic, so he sealed her up in [[SealedRoomInTheMiddleOfNowhere an alternate dimension he created]] and left her there. (It is not known when or even ''[[FridgeHorror if]]'' he ever intended to let her out.) She died in there, [[GhostlyGoals still waiting to be set free]], and causes problems for Sakura and her friends.
** The original plotline is aversion of this trope. Instead of a relationship they had FoeYay. The sorceress was a FortuneTeller who felt like Clow stole her business in Hong Kong, but fell in love with him anyways and never got a chance to tell him before he vanished. This was bowdlerized because the American execs thought kids wouldn't understand an economic rivals plot and instead opted for a 'good vs evil' thing.

* Subverted/averted oh so hard in the ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'' version of Camelot (in the ''Rifts England'' sourcebook), where any true mentorship or betrayal of either party by the other is impossible [[spoiler: as they're both essence fragments of the same EnergyBeing EldritchAbomination who's TheManBehindTheMan {{chessmaster}}ing the whole Arthurian gig; "the Lady of the Lake" is in fact a contigency it could use to [[InvokedTrope act out the trope]] in case "Merlin" was outed as evil to keep control of the realm; another one is ''Guinevere'' ([[OhCrap who's also an essence fragment]])...]]

* About as thoroughly averted as possible in BBC's ''Series/Merlin2008'', as A) Nimueh is older and more experienced than Merlin, B) Nimueh starts out evil, C) there's no attraction between the two and D) [[spoiler: Merlin apparently kills Nimueh at the end of Series 1]].

The TropeNamer and probable TropeMaker is [[Myth/KingArthur the Arthurian Mythos]], where Myth/{{Merlin}} had a habit of teaching magic to younger women. In the oldest stories his pupil/lover's name was Nynave, (but this is often changed to Nimue and sometimes changed again to other names, with Vivien/Vivianne being the most common) and she eventually betrayed him and [[SealedGoodInACan bound Merlin in a tree, a rock or a cave]], depending on the version of the story you're reading or watching. (As a small note, if you're not an expert on Arthurian legend and are wondering why you don't hear about this character all that often, these days she is [[CompositeCharacter often combined]] or interchangeable with either Myth/TheLadyOfTheLake, Morgan le Fay, or Morgan's sister Morgause, the mother of Mordred.)

* About as thoroughly averted as possible in BBC's ''{{Series/Merlin 2008}}'', as A) Nimueh is older and more experienced than Merlin, B) Nimueh starts out evil, C) there's no attraction between the two and D) [[spoiler: Merlin apparently kills Nimueh at the end of Series 1]].

* In the ''Comicbook/{{Hellboy}}'' comicbooks, it's eventually revealed that the Queen of Blood, the genocidal new leader of TheFairFolk, is Nimue herself. As it turns out, it was the whisperings of [[EldritchAbomination the Ogdru Jahad]] that caused her to originally betray Merlin and turn to evil.
* Averted in the ''Series/{{Merlin 1998}}'' miniseries, where Merlin tells Nimue that all his magic are only "tricks", and although she does end up trapping him through his love for her, it's at the ''real'' antagonist's behest. Also, he eventually ends up getting free of his prison (albeit being [[StarCrossedLovers forced to leave her behind]]) and at the end [[spoiler:they get to be together]].

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'':

** Possibly the case with Gagaga Magician and Gagaga Girl, also [[{{Expy}} Expies]] of the Dark Magician and DMG, two Spellcasters used by Yuma in ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL''. While Gagaga Girl is less powerful and a lower Level and the two cards do form a powerful combo (if both are used for an Xyz Summon, her effect can reduce an opposing monster's Attack Score to zero) there's no direct evidence as yet that she's his apprentice. There ''was'' a subtle hint in the manga that she's his girlfriend.

* Amora the Enchantress, a recurring enemy of ''Comicbook/TheMightyThor'', learned a lot of what she knows by seducing tutors.

* Warlic and Nythera from the Creator/ArtixEntertainment games. Romance is not involved here, but Nythera, the Nimue in this relationship, is constantly scheming to get rid of Warlic and get her hands on his power (something she actually did in ''VideoGame/{{DragonFable}}'', but which would come back to bite her and force her to resurrect him).

** The Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, both the cards and their Ancient Egyptian counterparts. They are rather closer in age than most, with there being only about a 10 year age difference. The Dark Magician Girl becomes more powerful if a Dark Magician is in either player's graveyard and this has two interpretations: either she gains magic power from his being dead, or she [[ThePowerOfLove became stronger on her own to avenge him]]. (Or maybe ''he'' helps ''her'' from beyond the grave. Yugi's duel with Pandora, where she first appeared, seemed to suggest this; both Yugi ''and'' Pandora's Dark Magician were contributing to her Score, and it was obvious that the spirit of Pandora's Dark Magician was angry at Pandora for betraying him.)
** After the "Dawn of the Duel" arc, the first option seems very unlikely; it is revealed there that Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl are spiritual embodiments of Mahad and Mana, respectively, close friends and allies of Pharaoh Atemu. Mana was indeed Mahad's apprentice, but the loyalty they had towards each other was genuine.
** One of the movies suggests that Dark Magician takes young, attractive, female apprentices on a regular basis, as Yugi's roster now includes a whole ''team'' of Magician Girls of varying ages and strengths, [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Choco_Magician_Girl Choco ]], [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Apple_Magician_Girl Apple,]] [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Lemon_Magician_Girl Lemon,]] [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Berry_Magician_Girl Berry]] and [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Kiwi_Magician_Girl Kiwi,]] all of which can support each other and other Spellcasters with powerful synergy.
** Possibly the case with Gagaga Magician and Gagaga Girl, two Spellcasters used by Yuma in ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL''. While Gagaga Girl is less powerful and a lower Level and the two cards do form a powerful combo (if both are used for an Xyz Summon, her effect can reduce an opposing monster's Attack Score to zero) there's no direct evidence as yet that she's his apprentice. There ''was'' a subtle hint in the manga that she's his girlfriend.

* ''FateGrandOrder'' Part 2 has this trope in Merlin and ''[[spoiler:Altria]]'', as her Lostbelt counterpart became a magician under Merlin's tutelage instead of [[spoiler:the King of the Britons]].