by Griff Hosker
The land north of the river was similar to my land. It was easy to see why the invaders had found it so hard to wrest it from us. Each town was well defended. I was known and given a guarded welcome at each town through which we passed. It took two days to reach Alt Clut and we discovered that the King was in residence.
Eugein ap Beli was unknown to me. I had met his father once. He was a tall man with brooding, not to say glowering features. In battle he would appear fearsome. When he greeted me, however, his face broke into a smile. “The cub of the wolf warrior! I am pleased to finally meet you.”
I could not help but like him. There appeared to be no deception in his face. His arm clasp was firm and he looked me in the eyes.
“And I am pleased to meet you. Our fathers knew each other but thus far we are strangers.”
“And we can end that this night. We will hold a feast to celebrate your arrival.” He lowered his voice, “And then you can tell me what brings you here for this is unexpected. Is there danger?”
I shook my head, “No more than there is normally. King Oswald, however, is planning to go to war with Mercia. If he wins… we do not know how the land will look.”
He nodded, “We will talk when you are cleaned and refreshed. The Romans did not build many roads in my land and I know that the ones we have built are not as clean as we might hope.”
We had commented on the roads as we had ridden here. The recent rains had caused mud and soil to wash on to the already poorly maintained roads. Our horses, cloaks and mail were all besmirched and grubby. Our quarters were clean and we had our own chambers. There were four of them allocated to us. This was different from the Mercians. I did not like the communal halls. The water was warm and the towels were clean. I felt much refreshed when I joined the King in his hall. In this part of the world they drank oat beer but I had brought a flagon of wine which had come from Constantinopolis.
I held it up, “King Eugein, please accept this gift of wine from the Empire.”
He nodded, “only if you will share it with me.” I nodded as he waved over a servant, “I confess that I like the taste but it is so hard to get. My father told me of a time when Imperial ships would trade here and now there are few.”
“We still get a few. If you like this then I will get some for you. We have ships which trade that far east. They make two journeys a year. The Empire likes our copper and our iron. We like their wine, their fruits and their spices. It is an equitable trade.”
As he gulped down the wine Eugein nodded, “This is a fine drink. But now tell me, why did you come here Warlord? You did not come here to bring me a flagon of wine and to flatter me.”
“You are right. We are both of the old people and we are both assailed by enemies. I think that one or both of us will be attacked. I would rather put in place an agreement to help each other now before we need it. That is all.”
“I am agreeable but I confess that we have more to gain from this than you do.”
“Not so, King Eugein, we had a vast land which we held and now we have a tiny enclave of beleaguered land. I have fine warriors and the best of horsemen but we are few in number. War will come again and we will need help. Who knows, King Oswald, or his brother Oswiu may cast covetous glances at Alt Clut. This stronghold would never be taken but you would not wish the Angles to run rampant across your land.”
“You are right.” He tossed off the wine and poured another, “You have my agreement, of course but my men march on foot and if you sent for aid then it would take some time for us to reach you.”
“That is not the problem. We have strong walls. We can laugh away a short siege. Just so long as you reached us might make the difference.”
“Then you have my agreement.” He nodded to my equites and squires, “As a king I can only dream of having men like that to serve me. They are invincible. How could any warrior defeat a man encased in mail?”
“It happens but most of our success comes through training and discipline.” I told him of the ambush we had thwarted.
“Your horses make the difference. We are not riders. We can stand toe to toe with a foe and we can best him but sometimes our enemies are as thick as the sand on a beach.”
“We just do what we can, King Eugein.”
When we left, the next day, I felt happier. If we were summoned by King Penda I would be leaving my land with someone to aid us. Each of my strongholds could hold out for a moon. The King of Alt Clut could reach us in seven days.
On the way home, I spoke with Arturus. I had hoped that King Eugein had a daughter but he had only sons. Part of my reason for going there was to see if there was a bride for my nephew. It was not the best plan but having an alliance backed by a marriage was often a safe and secure way of ensuring that promises were kept.
“Arturus, your father and I have decided that you need to be wed.” He looked at me open mouthed. We had not discussed this at all. I smiled, “This sounds like something we have conjured from nowhere but we have both thought this was your next step to becoming Warlord.”
“You are still Warlord! We need not another.”
“That spear which tore my mail could easily have broken the links. Then I would be dead. You need a bride. You need to father sons. I failed. You are the last of the Warlord’s line.”
“Your daughter…”
“Has no sons and she is my daughter. Like it or not Arturus, you will lead our people. I know that you have embraced the life of a warrior but you have more to do. When we visit the Mercians I will be looking for a bride of noble birth.”
“But if I do not like her?”
“It matters not. As Warlord you have few choices over your own life. Your choices are about more important matters such as the survival of our land and our way of life.” I saw his crestfallen face. “This is not imminent but it will come.”
As Gawan had suggested I had sown the seed. Now we would have to see if it took root.
Winter came and went. Our warriors became fathers and that was hope for the future. The new horses we had from Mercia were in foal. When spring came we would see how fruitful our land would be. A good year would show that the gods were with us. If they were not then we would fight on. To do other was inconceivable.
The message which came from King Penda arrived a month after the new grass. King Oswald was heading south. Our vigilance meant he could not use the Eden valley. He was, instead, forced to use the High Divide. His warriors would not have a pleasant journey. There would be little in the way of food and they would have a harder time. When the battle came that might make all the difference.
The messenger, who came on a brown and plain mount with a boar token told me that the King of Mercia did not have enough men to face the foe at Tomworðig. His plan was to draw Oswald towards Powys. His Welsh allies, his messenger, a thegn told me, were reluctant to move into the land of Mercia. We were asked to ride to Tatenhale and join Eorledman Ethelbert who would travel across the land of Gwynedd.
As we prepared to leave Arturus asked me, “Why ride over the hard mountains of Gwynedd, Warlord?”
“We are the bane of Oswald. King Penda is cunning and he hides us from view. There will be scouts and they will watch for more than two hundred horsemen. A horse is easy to track. Even without hooves a horse leaves a mark on the land. Oswald will think that we wait here in Rheged. We will be the surprise which might turn the battle.”
We took Gawan with us. He needed to be there. He gave an argument that as we were fighting closer to Wyddfa and the tomb then Myrddyn might be able to help us. I think he wished to be with us for he wanted to watch his son. We left perilously few men watching our homes. We had many horses and I took three of mine. I sent a message to King Eugein asking him to watch my land. This would be a test of his commitment. We took servants and horses laden with spears and arrows. This was a war. This was not a raid. We would be fighting the might of Bernicia and Deira. If Penda lost then Oswald could turn his attention to us. I was under no illusi
ons. The men who fought and died in Powys would be fighting for Rheged. If Arturus did well then I would make him an equite. He still needed more experience but I needed him as a leader. Others could fight but Arturus was as important as Saxon Slayer.
We reached Tatenhale without incident and Eorledman Ethelbert had many men waiting to follow him. He had ten small warbands. There were three hundred warriors. Only his hearth weru, all fifteen of them, wore mail but they were a formidable formation. He had culled his hearth weru and rid himself of any whom he thought shared the beliefs of Thingfrith. My men camped with the men of Mercia.
As we ate with the Eorledman I asked, “Is all well done, Eorledman? Will the alliance hold?”
“There will be three armies, four if we count yours. To hold together such a disparate group of men will not be easy but I believe that King Penda will succeed.
“And Eowa?”
He nodded, “His son, Alweo, has disappeared. Some say he fell in the ambush but I do not believe that. I am convinced that he is with Oswald. Eowa pretends that he supports his brother but the King has him watched constantly. If there is treachery then we will know of it.”
We headed due south the next day. These were little more than tracks over which we marched. In many places we had to use single file. We were, however, free from observation. A hawk or an eagle might have seen us. Gawan seemed to grow in confidence as we headed close to Wyddfa. Its power reached out to my brother. In his head he saw the armies of Bernicia and Deira as they headed south. He knew their numbers. We had rested at a col. We overlooked a long piece of water and the hills all around were reflected in it. I thought that this would be a good place to hold off the forces of Oswald. We could not use our horsemen here but they would break themselves against Mercian shields and our archers could slay them. When we had more even numbers our equites would swing the scales in our favour.
“They will outnumber us but this is not Oswald’s land. Powys is close to the holy mountain and its power will add strength to our warrior’s blows. We will prevail.” I looked at him and saw him shake his head, “You will not fall here. That web has yet to be spun.”
I stared at him, trying to see into his mind, “Web brother?”
“We both have many steps to take before your death. When a spider spins its web, things happen to break strands and to make weaknesses. It changes the web as it goes. What we see at the end is not the web which was started. The end remains the same but the journey there is not yet written.”
I laughed, “You are becoming Myrddyn. He said many things that I did not understand. The way you read my mind is most disconcerting.”
Llenlleog had been listening to our words he said, “Warlord it does not need a wizard to know that you were thinking of this as a place to do battle. Each time we have stopped I have watched you assessing the ground and wondering if this might be the best place to fight the Bernicians.”
“It will have to be upon Mercian soil that we fight. King Penda can only move back so far and then the retreat becomes a rout and Oswald will have that which he wants, Mercia’s heartland.”
We began to descend down little more than hunting trails to the east. We saw the camp of King Penda. He had gathered not at the ancient hill fort to the north but on a flat piece of ground. The warlord in me disapproved of his choice of ground immediately. If there was high ground then you used it if only to deny the enemy. I saw that the hill fort was slightly overgrown. Some of the stakes of the old palisade had been green and now sprouted into trees. They could be easily cleared. I saw nothing of value on the ground he had chosen. There were only a few strands of scrubby trees. There was no river to use as a defence. I saw one solitary hut and a single huge tree. The ancient people had worshipped such trees. People had not chosen this as a place to build a home. They had come, in the past to worship at the tree and take refuge in the hill fort. Why fight here? Perhaps this was not the ultimate site for his battle.
Gawan chuckled, “Brother we are but a few miles from King Penda. Let us wait and then he can tell us why he has chosen this place to do war.”
As we neared the camp I saw that there were fewer Welsh warriors than I had expected. Had his alliance not been honoured? If King Oswald was coming then he would bring the full might of old Northumbria as well as the men of Lindsey and those of the East Angles. This would be a battle for Britannia. Whoever won would control the island for some time.
Most of the camp had gathered in clan and family groups but there were five tents in the centre. I saw Penda’s boar standard and the red lion of Powys. The dragon of Gwynedd was absent.
Our arrival prompted men to stand and stare. We were the only horsemen. My men’s mail shone and sparkled in the afternoon sun behind us. We looked like a shimmering dragon. With our fluttering standards and red plumed helmets, we must have looked like an imperial army. A fluke of wind made the dragon begin to wail. It was not the howl of a charge but it was eerie enough to make the Christians amongst the Welsh clutch their crosses. It drew King Penda from his tent. Next to him was another warrior wearing mail. I took him to be the Welsh King.
Gawan said quietly, “We have made quite the entrance brother!”
“I would that we had the same effect on Oswald but I fear that he knows us too well. He will have plans to defeat the equites of Rheged.”
I climbed down from Copper and King Penda stepped forward to clasp my arm, “Welcome, Warlord, to Maes Cogwy. This is King Cynddylan ap Cyndrwyn, King of Powys and King of Dogfeiling.”
I had been right. The king looked to be of an age with me. There were flecks of grey in his beard. I had never met him but knew that he was a strong king. His grip, as he clasped my arm, confirmed it. “Warlord, I have waited many years to meet with you. You and your father are legends. Our bards sing songs of your mighty sword and your shimmering soldiers. I would not have thought that any who looked so beautiful could be so terrible and yet the stories we have heard cannot lie. Llenlleog, Gawan, Bors, Kay, those names are known in our mountain valleys. With you at our side then Oswald will be defeated.”
I nodded, “I do not see King Cadafael ap Cynfeddw. Gwynedd have mighty warriors too.”
The two kings looked at each other and King Penda said, “Come, the flies will soon congregate, let us go inside my tent and talk.” He saw Gawan, “Your brother’s advice would be welcome.”
I nodded and handed my reins to Arturus. “Llenlleog see to the camp.”
“Aye Warlord.”
As I stepped into the tent I saw the mighty Pybba waiting to ensure our security and privacy. The interior of the tent was dark but I could see that there would be just the four of us. Where was Eowa? Pybba stepped in with a lighted candle and its glow threw strange shadows around the tent. It allowed us to see each other’s faces and that was important.
“You wonder why we have chosen this strange site for the battle, Warlord?” King Penda seemed to be a mind reader too for he launched straight into that which was on my mind.
“Aye and I wonder at the absence of Eowa and King Cadafael ap Cynfeddw.”
“There are all connected with our choice of battle field. We had planned on meeting north of here at King Cynddylan ap Cyndrwyn’s kingdom of Dogfeiling. There we could have used the hills and mountains to hold off our enemies. King Cadafael agreed to bring his army thence. My brother betrayed us. Suddenly King Cadafael said that he could not make war on a fellow Christian and that he would remain in his palace of Aberffraw.”
The King of Powys said, “Oswald must have bribed him. Cadafael is not the king his father was.” He smiled sadly at me, “Perhaps had he trained as an equite like his father then events might be different.”
“Perhaps, and Eowa?”
“Fled to join his son and King Oswald. He has been promised the throne of Mercia when Oswald wins. Some of the men of Gwynedd joined us in defiance of their King. They are archers who live close to Wyddfa. They are good men.”
Gawan asked, “But why choose here?
My brother is the strategos but I agree with him, this site has little to commend it.”
“We draw Oswald further away from his home. His men will have had to march almost half the length of this island. This place is called Maes Cogwy. It is marshy. Our camp is on the solid ground. The Bernicians and their allies will have to march over the marsh and they will be slowed down. Our archers and the men led by Daffydd ap Miach will be able to slaughter them as they approach.”
“Then you did not need my equites for we cannot charge over marshy ground.”
King Penda smiled, “You saw the old hill fort as you approached?”
“Aye it is a mile or so to the north of here. That would have made a good place to defend.”
“And also to wait. We would have your standard with ours here by the camp. You, your equites and your squires will secrete yourselves at the hill fort. Oswald and Eowa will think you and your men are here with us and fighting on foot. When they are engaged then you charge. There is a solid area between the hill fort and the place the Bernicians will use. That is why we chose this site. It is a trap. They will cross the harder ground which you will use and not know of the marshy ground ahead. We had to find somewhere that Eowa did not know. This is Powys. King Cynddylan chose it.”