Merl

Merl is our hero in the making. He is a gentle soul whose adolescence has been tainted with a strange ability. He can see things others can't. If he looks at a building, it has letters and numbers over the top of it. If he stares at an object for too long a gold plaque appears with all sorts of scribble on it. Everyone he meets has some combination of letters over their heads.

But Merl can make no sense of them. He can't even read. Merl is a shepherd, and that's exactly what his dad wants him to be, until a wizard comes to town. Merl is entirely unprepared for what happens next. He has no amazing childhood to fall back upon. All he knows is that his mother died in childbirth, and that his father has looked after him ever since.

If he is to survive his future journey, he will have to rely on his good friend, the worldly-wise Billy Muckspreader. The trouble is, Billy isn't as worldly-wise as Billy thinks he is.