======Merlin Trial======
=====Object Information=====
  * **Type:** [[Magical Puzzle]], Ancient [[Magic]] Construct (video game)
  * **Owners:** N/A (Discovered throughout the [[Scottish Highlands]]) (video game)
  * **Maker:** [[Merlin]] (video game)
=====Description and Appearance=====
A [[Merlin Trial]] is an ancient magical puzzle found scattered across the landscape. In its dormant state, it appears as a circular stone platform on the ground, engraved with a distinct swirling pattern. These platforms are often overgrown with vines and blend into their natural surroundings. (video game)
To activate a trial, a witch or wizard must place a sprig of [[Mallowsweet]] in the central indentation of the stone circle. Once activated, the vines recede, and the platform glows with a faint green light, revealing the components of the puzzle in the immediate vicinity. (video game)
=====Magical Properties and Usage=====
According to the historian [[Nora Treadwell]], [[Merlin]] created these trials to test a witch or wizard's ingenuity and magical prowess. They were designed not as a show of force, but as challenges that often involved restoring or interacting with the environment, reflecting [[Merlin]]'s belief that a good heart was as crucial as magical strength. (video game)
Solving a trial causes vines with glowing blue flowers to rapidly grow over the stone platform, signifying its completion. For the protagonist of //Hogwarts Legacy//, completing sets of trials magically increases the capacity of their gear storage. (video game)
There are numerous variations of [[Merlin Trial]] puzzles, each requiring the use of specific [[spell|spells]]: (video game)
  * **Lighting Torches:** The user must quickly light a series of three or more stone braziers before they sink into the ground. This requires the use of a fire-making [[spell]] like [[Incendio]] or [[Confringo]]. (video game)
  * **Guiding Moths:** Using the [[Lumos]] [[spell]], the user must guide swarms of glowing moths from their resting places to illuminate three hollowed-out crystalline stones. (video game)
  * **Stone Sphere Puzzles:** A large, decorated stone sphere must be moved from its starting position into a nearby stone crater, typically using [[Depulso]] or [[Wingardium Leviosa]]. (video game)
  * **Stone Cube Puzzles:** The user must cast [[Flipendo]] on stone cubes set in pillars to rotate their symbols until they match the symbols on the pillar below. (video game)
  * **Pillar Destruction:** Several small, fragile stone orbs are perched atop pillars. The user must destroy all of them, often with the Basic Cast. (video game)
  * **Statue Repair:** Three clusters of broken statues must be repaired using the [[Reparo]] [[spell]]. (video game)
  * **Stone Sphere Collection:** The user must use the Summoning [[Charm]], [[Accio]], to pull nine small stone spheres from their perches into a stone receptacle with nine holes. (video game)
  * **Parkour Challenges:** A series of stone platforms appears, which the user must jump across without falling or touching the ground. (video game)
  * **Destruction Puzzles:** A large, green-veined stone block must be destroyed using the Blasting [[Curse]], [[Confringo]]. (video game)
=====History=====
The [[Merlin Trial]]s were created by the legendary [[wizard]] [[Merlin]] during his time as a student at [[Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]], where he was sorted into [[Slytherin]] house. He scattered these challenges across the countryside for future generations to discover. For centuries they lay dormant, waiting for a [[witch]] or [[wizard]] with the right combination of skill and perception to solve them. (video game)
In the 1890s, the trials were being studied by [[Nora Treadwell]], who dedicated herself to finding and cataloguing them. She introduced the concept to the protagonist of //Hogwarts Legacy// and provided the initial [[Mallowsweet]] needed to begin solving them. (video game)
=====Role in the Story=====
The [[Merlin Trial]]s are a major side-quest and collectible activity within the //Hogwarts Legacy// narrative. While not part of the main plot, their completion is mechanically essential for the player, as it is the only way to increase gear inventory space. This encourages widespread exploration of the game's open world. (video game)
=====Behind the Scenes=====
[[Merlin Trial]]s are a gameplay feature created exclusively for the 2023 video game //Hogwarts Legacy//. They do not appear in the original seven //Harry Potter// novels by J.K. Rowling, nor are they mentioned in the films or other supplementary materials. They serve as one of the primary open-world puzzle systems in the game, designed to test the player's knowledge and application of a wide variety of [[spell|spells]].