Name: Merlar
Appearance: Paper Mario (2001)
Gender: Female
Species: Ghost
Age: 253
Location: Crystal Palace
Affiliations: The Star Spirits
Appearance: A spirit whose face is obscured by her light, purple robe. Her eyes are cyan and parts of her hair stick out from underneath her hood.

Biography
In olden days, the Crystal Palace was used as a shrine for paying tribute to the Star Spirits. Merlar was a high-ranking templar who guarded this sacred place, using her magic to ward off intruders with the potential to do harm. Templars didn't have too much responsibility in the palace, as the only people who really entered were those who wanted to make wishes that the Star Spirits would grant. There was a strict age limit for those who would fight off intruders, though. Once Merlar got old enough, she became a sage in charge of guarding the Star Stone, a device that would activate the stairway to Crystal Palace.

Meanwhile, outside of the palace, the many Duplighosts and White Clubbas were fed up with having to live outside in the cold vicinities of Shiver Mountain. Together they plotted a trick to access Crystal Palace and ultimately invade it. One Duplighost disguised itself as a Ninji from Starborn Valley. In this form, it requested to enter the Crystal Palace in hopes that his wishes would be granted by the Star Spirits. Merlar, who held the Star Stone, used it to give the Duplighost access to the palace. As soon as the staircase appeared, dozens of Duplighosts and Clubbas charged forward and invaded Crystal Palace. They simply ignored Merlar, who ended up being trampled by the violent creatures. Fatally injured, Merlar grabbed the Star Stone and sealed herself behind a wall of thick ice to prevent something like this from happening again. There she fell, still clutching the Star Stone in her hands.

After her death, Merlar became a ghost, still trapped in her frosty tomb. However, her death gave her the ability to telepathically communicate with the Star Spirits. About 200 years passed before Eldstar gave her an important message of Bowser's rise to power, and that Merlar should give the Star Stone to a man named Mario. Eventually, Mario did come. Merlar appeared to greet him, and proceeded to tell him all about her life. Mario fell asleep during this long story. It seems that Merlar and her descendants have a bad habit of rambling on about the most boring things. Although irritated by Mario's sleepiness, she granted him the Star Stone, and Crystal Palace was open again, although it was now a hive of monsters that were under Bowser's influence.

After Bowser was defeated, the power of the Star Spirits, the Star Rod, and Twink was enough to spread happiness to everyone in the kingdom. One of the results of this was Merlar being released from the chamber she was trapped in for 200 years. She had just as much of a reason to celebrate as anyone. In spirit, she joined her descendants in the victory parade that took place after the final battle with Bowser. Afterwards, Merlar went back to the now-empty Crystal Palace out of her loyalty to the Star Spirits. She happily serves as the palace's single guardian, watching over it for all eternity.

Etymology
Merlar's name seems to be a corruption of the "Merl" prefix used for the names of most of the cloaked people. The "ar" at the end of her name, though, might be a reference to her close connection with the stars.

Trivia
A character in Super Paper Mario, Merlumina, seems to be inspired by Madame Merlar. Not only is she one of the mysterious, cloaked people that appear frequently in the Paper Mario series, but when Mario meets her, her dialogue is similar to Merlar's. She talks to Mario and tells him a story about her past, followed by giving him a sacred artifact that he needs to proceed.

Merlar has her own musical theme that plays in her cave. It's one of the most obscure themes in the game because it only plays once in the whole game and Merlar's cave can never be revisited after Mario activates the stairway to Crystal Palace.