"You see, Edward, editor and budding Grail Knight, you're part of the Merlin myth, and you have been for a long time," said Merlin enigmatically.

The figure of Merlin, magician, enchanter, trickster, strategist of King Arthur's Camelot, wise old man of Celtic myth, has intrigued and enthralled readers for centuries, but who, really, was he? Did he ever actually exist?

Boston editor Edward Burbage is given a unique opportunity to find out. He's invited to Merlin's home on Mertowney Mountain to interview him. The invitation includes free transportation, and Merlin's mountain is not in this world, and for that matter, how on Earth could Burbage be talking to Merlin anyway? Merlin is supposed to be only a character from an old myth, isn't he?

Over the course of five years, starting in 2034, Burbage conducts his interviews, and the revelations Merlin makes are astounding. He has been many mythic figures, taken on many guises, such as the Irish Cuchulainn, the Egyptian Anubis, the Navaho Monster Slayer, the Greek Herakles, the Polynesian Maui, and even a few holy men like Saint Columba of Iona and John the Evangelist of Patmos, author of "Revelation."

He's worked as initiator, war-god, slayer of inimical spirits, prophet, seer, a guide to the soul in the after-life, geomancer, terraformer, a fisher up of islands, and especially a devoted field agent to the Great Mother, Herself operating under many guises such as Morrigan, Isis, Changing Woman, and Hera.

But why has Edward Burbage been brought to Mertowney Mountain? It's not just so Merlin can tell his true story. Merlin has a plan for him, and he's preparing things all the time he's recounting his exploits. Edward Burbage has a key role to play in the next installment of the long life of Merlin. He's about to step onto the world stage of myth disclosing a long withheld mystery, the secret of the "Mer-Line," the truth and power behind Merlin himself.