though merlin was targeted for many years by an unknown antagonist, he was content to remain on the shadow earth. however, he became suspicious when he discovered his ex-girlfriend was murdered by a creature from shadow, and his investigation was the catalyst for his choice to leave earth. during the course of his travels through shadow, he learned the identity of his nameless enemy, as well as that of his friends. with the rapid increase of his powers, the pattern and the logrus each attempted to persuade him to ally with amber or the courts of chaos, respectively.