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silence forever the voices of the people from Caer Neithan, the Town of Bards. In time, he found all the Treasures—except for the Last Treasure. Most people believed that it was a mysterious pendant, the Galator . But as Merlin, Rhia , and Shim ultimately discovered, the Last Treasure was really something quite different.
    Trouble
    This bold hawk with fire-bright eyes and deadly talons made up for his small size with sheer ferocity and feistiness—and proved so loyal to Merlin that many people consider him to be the very first maryth . The young man had saved his life in the Druma Wood of Lost Fincayra , even though the hawk caused enough problems to earn the name Trouble.
    In the ultimate confrontation with the spirit lord Rhita Gawr at the Shrouded Castle , Trouble played a crucial role. For this small hawk with the great heart gave his own life to save the lives of Merlin, Rhia , and Shim —which led to the victory of the Dance of the Giants . In the years that followed, Merlin saw Trouble in spirit form only three times: during his visit to the Otherworld in search of the Elixir of Dagda , his final battle to save Fincayra and restore the lost wings , and his wedding to Hallia . Yet Merlin's affection for the hawk never diminished. Some believe that, in honor of Trouble, he chose to carry a hawk or an owl wherever he went on Earth . And no one doubts that his name was inspired by the merlin hawk who was such a true friend.
    Tuatha
    Long before Merlin 's birth, the wizard Tuatha ruled Fincayra with wisdom, but also with unbending severity. He was most stern with his only son, Stangmar , who had not inherited any of the wizard's magical powers. Only many years later, when his grandson Merlin visited Tuatha's grave in a dark and eerie glade, did the elder wizard's spirit show any compassion. Maybe that was the influence of Tuatha's wife, Olwen , a mer woman who loved him so much that she chose to leave her people and her home beneath the sea just to be with him. Or maybe Tuatha finally recognized his own frailties.
    Whatever his reasons, Tuatha finally agreed to help young Merlin find the Elixir of Dagda in the Otherworld , the only hope of saving Merlin's mother, Elen . Although he spoke with characteristic gruffness, Tuatha explained the first crucial step in solving the riddle of the Seven Songs of Wizardry . And as a parting gift, Tuatha gave some new magic to Merlin's staff, Ohnyalei —magic so powerful that it still radiated from the staff a thousand years later in Avalon .
    Urnalda
    All the dwarves of Fincayra feared this enchantress with wild red hair, torch-bright eyes, and earrings of dangling shells that clinked whenever she moved. Sometimes, in a fit of temper, she used her magic to shorten the stubby legs of dwarves who questioned her decisions—or, even worse, to make their precious beards disappear. Yet she successfully guided her people through the Blight of Stangmar , ensuring their survival in tunnels deep below the surface.
    When Merlin first met Urnalda, he felt more like her prisoner than her guest. She glared down at him from her throne of carved jade, stole his staff, and insulted him relentlessly. Later, she destroyed his instrument of musical magic and even tried to rob him of his wizard's powers. Yet despite such behavior, Urnalda remained loyal to the great spirit Dagda , and above all, to the survival of the dwarves. That is why Merlin decided she could be his ally . . . if she didn't kill him first.
    Valdearg, Wings of Fire
    The last and most feared of a long line of emperor dragons, Valdearg blackened much of Fincayra with his fiery breath. At the height of his power, he incinerated whole forests and swallowed entire villages—and earned the name Wings of Fire.
    Finally, the powerful wizard Tuatha , grandfather of Merlin , drove the dragon back to his lair in Fincayra's Lost Lands. After a prolonged conflict, the Battle of Bright Flames, the wizard prevailed. Valdearg succumbed to an