Asgard Application

[medicus]

OOC Information;
Name; Est
Personal Journal; lichking
Contact; AIM: Dear Tokyo.
Other Characters; None.

IC Information;
Character Name; Gaius.
Canon; BBC's Merlin. Wiki link
Canon Point; Series 5 episode 8- The Hollow Queen.
Age; Around the 78 years old mark. The reason for this is that Gaius was given a book for his 50th birthday prior to the Great Purge, which was some 27-28 years ago.

House; Sigyn, house of healing. Gaius has traits that could probably have him dip his toes in a few houses. However, even though he is loyal, he will still go around the rules to help someone in need. Which ultimately puts him in the house of Sigyn.
Power; Healing, level 1.

Personality;

"Merlin: I'm thinking." "Gaius: You know how bad that is for you."

On first meeting Gaius, he would first appear to be a standard, elderly court physician. He's serious in the face of a majority of things, rarely smiling in the court and mastering the art of the stern look™. And that is a part of whom Gaius is. As the court physician he is in a unique position of being close to the King and Arthur. He sees a lot of what goes on in the court and is big on discretion. Such is his position that on occasion Uther will ask for the man's advice, or Gaius will find himself able to offer it without being asked.

Not only is Gaius known for his wisdom in the physician arts, he is also known for his information on the arts of magic, assorted myths and all kinds of lore, which he is happy to share within reason. He will always be the one to know what ailment or enchantment is being worked on someone, and just how to fix it as well. The majority of the time, regardless of what is going on, he is able to keep his cool, making Gaius the perfect mentor for Merlin and go to person for others. With an aura of reliability, a lot of people like to confide in Gaius, or even talk to him when they need to. And naturally Gaius will listen and keep it confidential. After all, he knew for a fact Arthur was conceived with magic and managed to keep that one quiet for over twenty years. Even when it was looking like Arthur should be told, Gaius was able to keep it on the low down until it was very much a requirement.

As a physician, Gaius is hard working and good at what he does. He can be a stern taskmaster for Merlin, making full use of having an apprentice around. It comes to fruition when Merlin is able to be of some use as a physician, as always hard work pays off. Something Gaius believes in.

He can also be a useful sorcerer, as not everyone is always as perfect as they seem. Everyone has their secrets and Gaius is no stranger to that.

Prior to the great purge, Gaius was actually a user of magic. Something he managed to keep on the low down and hide during the darker times of Camelot, something that has also waned with age. He's adept at hiding it, being able to stand in the court with no-one suspecting. It's one of the reasons why he even took Merlin in, fascinated by the idea that the kid could actually use magic without the need for incantations. Despite the fact that magic is outlawed and punishable by death, Gaius is happy to help Merlin with the magical aspect of things, becoming a mentor for many things. He always has something in a book to help, has always heard something, or has known something that was never useful until Merlin needs it. He is more than happy to go against the order of Camelot when it comes to it's stance on magic, though not openly of course. Gaius doesn't want to lose his own head over the matter. He will risk things for magic users, managing to smuggle Morgause out of Camelot when she was a child, helping Balinor escape, and others such like them. Gaius can see past the hysteria and assumptions, believing in the good of people. He is also a firm believer that it is not magic that is the evil, but more whom is wielding it at the time. This means he is usually a decent judge of things when they are happening. That's not to say he doesn't make mistakes from time to time of course.

Despite being a user of magic, Gaius is still very loyal to Camelot and Merlin. Even with the Great Purge, he remained at Uther's side for decades afterwards. Gaius even had the chance to leave Camelot with his beloved Alice, though chose to stay and look after Merlin instead.

"Gaius: Merlin, I know I can never compare with your father, but for what it's worth... you've still got me."

Physician and sorcery aside, Gaius shows emotions other than the stern stare of doom™. Merlin living with him shows Gaius to be a likable old man who has nothing but Merlin's welfare in his mind. Whilst he may give Merlin harsh tasks such as cleaning out the leech tanks, it's normally as a punishment for Merlin going against him or a plain lesson in hard work. He will often cover up for Merlin should anyone ask where the kid is when he's out doing magic- normally it involving Merlin being in the tavern- and will also take Merlin's side when needed to. Gaius adores Merlin and has a very fatherly attitude towards him. This isn't just restricted to Merlin either, Gaius is fond of the other youngsters of the group such as Gwen, Arthur and Morgana. After all he has watched them grow up and will always try to steer them on the right path. Sometimes his belief in good can be misplaced, but in the grand scheme of things he is a believer of innocent until proven guilty. Even Mordred gets this from Gaius- at first the physician was on the side of the dragon, believing Mordred to be evil. Since the druid's arrival at Camelot, and Mordred not putting a toe out of line, Gaius doesn't have it in him to treat the knight for any wrong doing he may yet come to bring. He even points out to Merlin that some times prophecies can be wrong.

Gaius likes his sarcasm and dry wit, carrying both in abundance. He's always one to mutter under his breath a dry retort, or openly if it's Merlin. Gaius is always handy with excuses on occasion, taking a few seconds to come up with something, even if they aren't the best of things. He knows that people are more liable to believe an elderly old man more than anything. The tavern was a misunderstanding, but now everyone believes Merlin likes to spend his time there, even if Gaius tries to clear that misconception up before letting people run with it. And if he has to do damage control, which is something else he seems to excel at, then it's normally done so efficiently. Gaius is an old man in the grand scheme of things, drawing on the experiences of life to try and guide Merlin through them. From cleaning leech tanks to giving up his own life (in series one) to save Merlin and the boy's mother, it's very obvious that Gaius is someone who will put others before himself time and time again. He will always be the one to suggest using magic to save others, though does have to leave it to Merlin when it comes to the more physical aspect of saving people. Undoubtedly if he were years younger, Gaius would be right there with Merlin. He's also extremely shrewd, able to tell when people (namely Merlin) are lying to him, and is more than happy to stare at them to try to get them to squirm out of it. He is the one you need to sneak around in order to get your shenanigans done, as Gaius is usually right there on top of it.


Samples;
Network Sample;

Dear Mun link

Log Sample; ( Set in Asgard with Gaius coming across a letter Merlin had written to him some time ago, with Merlin-mun's permission. Link to the letter is here. )

Gaius sighed as he entered Merlin's lodgings, wondering to himself just how this had even happened. The whole "Asgard" thing was a complete and utter mess of information, people willing to throw it at others and hoping they could pick up the pieces themselves. That was not the part that currently bothered the elderly man making his way through the hallway. No sir. It was the part where Merlin had asked him to pick something up, and Gaius had finally agreed to accommodate the boy in that matter. Normally it was the other way around with him asking Merlin to do things. That was something Gaius would make sure didn't happen too often, though when it came to actually following through with that mental note, Gaius would most likely fail.

Quietly, Gaius peered around as he cautiously walked through the apartment. He'd been told which room was Merlin's and was making he way to it with some ease. The way things worked in Asgard were still a mystery, Gaius still chewing his way over the explanation of "electricity". Almost sounded like a scam to him and-

"Blast it!"

Gaius picked up the offending boot in which he'd almost broken his neck on. Looked like a riding boot, obviously Arthur's. And as he glanced around it was definitely not difficult to see the King of Camelot's mark on the place. One day the young man would learn to pick up after himself without Merlin around, but as long as Merlin kept accommodating Arthur in such things.... well, it would be a long time in the future. Holding back another sigh, Gaius placed the boot to one side and out of the way where some other poor fool wouldn't trip over it. Where the other one was, Gaius had no doubt they would ever know. The chances were it had fallen into some other realm.

Soon enough he was in Merlin's room, already making the boy's bed automatically. He'd spent the last eight years watching Merlin grow up, cooking for the servant and on occasion picking up after him. This wasn't an exception, and Gaius knew he could look around for what he needed as he did it. He wasn't seeing what was needed, but then Merlin's ideas of directions were always hazy at the best. It was a small miracle that Merlin could find his way to court on certain days. It wasn't until Gaius managed to knock something out from under the bed that he was finally distracted from his mission at hand. It was a small, decorated box. Nothing too unusual, everyone had keepsakes such as that. What was interesting was the paper poking out of it, Gaius spotting his own name on it in Merlin's handwriting.

It wasn't snooping if it had your name on it, surely. After making sure his glasses were on, Gaius finally took the moment to read. It wouldn't take long.

"It's been three months since I saw you and I have never missed your guidance more than I do now. A lot has happened since the Nordic gods first brought me to their city, and most of it has been good........."

Gaius couldn't help but smile at the first paragraph. He'd had no idea Merlin was missing, having only seen him the same day he'd found himself in Asgard. Three months for Merlin suggested time was different in Asgard, Gaius finding himself feeling a tad sorry for the boy. All that time on his own to deal with not only his destiny but a new world and the people who inhabited it. That would be enough to drive a normal person insane. As he kept on reading, Gaius felt the smile drop from his face as he slowly sat down on the bed.

This was pure nightmare fuel.

He couldn't disagree with the Morgana part. It had been his idea after all to hide Morgana's magic from her. And now the woman had been driven mad by the whole ideal, a mortal enemy of Camelot. It was one of the few instances where even Gaius would find himself wondering if they had done the right thing. There'd been very other little option at the time though. If they had told Morgana outright, Gaius was certain she would have told Uther. And that would never have ended well. It still hadn't ended well, but none of them could have foreseen what Morgana would have become. The fact she was in Asgard and happy though.... That was something Gaius made a note of keeping an eye on. He was too used to the fact she had been trying to consistently kill them all.

It was the magic part of the letter that was the greatest concern. Gaius was sure Arthur could somewhat manage the information to some degree, Uther was a whole different barrel of fish. And he couldn't help but wonder if Merlin had told Uther that his court physician had known all along. Whilst to some degree it was self preservation that had dragged that thought up, it was also worry for Uther's state of mind. The King had despised magic, undoubtedly. But a man like Uther - in Gaius's mind - was the kind who only felt comfortable when things were in their control. And the idea that someone who had been there for decades working against them, as that would be the first thought, that would just about crack the foundation of Uther's control beliefs.

Not for the first time Gaius found himself wishing that Merlin had thought of the bigger picture as opposed to the one in front of him before saying anything. That boy always managed to cause a mess when he didn't think things through. Gaius had no doubt that if people seemed accepting now, they would be chewing it over in their minds when they had a moment.

"Oh Merlin, you silly silly boy. What am I going to do with you?"

They would need to talk over it for certain, but then that would mean explaining the letter. Gaius knew Merlin would probably be uncomfortable for that, and when that boy got uncomfortable he would dig his heels in. No, he would have to bring this up somehow in another way, or hope that Merlin merely said it outright sooner rather than later. For now Gaius put the letter back, making sure the box was in it's right place before spotting what he'd originally come for on the side. Hopefully he wouldn't break a leg falling over something else that Arthur hadn't managed to pick up after himself.

How any of them had survived for so long in this place, Gaius would never know.