There was a gentle feeling of regret, and then he was gone.
Yseult laid down on the tiled floor of the atrium and wept.
* * * *
Yseult held Kustennin's hand as the body was lowered into the earth next to the stone Arthur had erected in Drystan's honor. They were laying him to rest outside of Voliba, among the people who had saved him once from death at his father's hand. Yseult had chosen a spot on a rise with a view of the sea, a place where Drystan would be happy if ever he came from the Otherworld to visit, a place where she would be happy if she came to visit him.
After they had each thrown a handful of earth on the body, and Arthur's Companions had filled the hole, they returned to their mounts, silent. Yseult took Kustennin up in front of her and joined the party making its way back to the fortress of Lansyen and the funeral dinner that awaited them. The sun was setting, and the sky above was brilliant with shades of orange and red and purple.
Kustennin squirmed around on her lap to look back, and Yseult turned to take a last look as well. The impressive gravestone, taller than a man, caught the rays of the setting sun and glowed as if it was on fire. Yseult's hands tightened on the reins.
"Why did you tell me that Drystan is really my father and not my brother?" Kustennin asked. There was no resentment in the question, just honest curiosity. At the age of five and a half, he understood enough of the world to know that most people would hide such information.
She kissed the blond curls at the top of his head. Perhaps it was too much knowledge for one so young, but many people underestimated children. Kustennin had been through much and he would go though more. "You should have a father you can be proud of, a father you deserve," she said.
He nodded. "I'm glad Marcus was not my father. I liked Drystan better."
Yseult smiled. Having Drystan no longer in her life still left a gaping wound in her soul; she didn't know what she would have done without her son. In a small way, her lover was still there with her, as if Kustennin was the physical incarnation of what she'd had in Armorica when Drystan was part of her mind. Kustennin had something of each of them, his father's fine laugh and his mother's impatience, Drystan's green eyes and Yseult's fair skin. As difficult as it was, she would have to live without Drystan now.
They never had a chance, but at least they had a son. And Yseult would do her best for him, for what was left of Drystan.
DRUSTANS HIC IACET CUNOMORI FILIUS
Here lies Drustanus, son of Cunomorus
Text of the "Tristan Stone" north of Fowey, Cornwall
Author's Note
I've always loved Arthurian fiction and had a penchant for tragedy, so it probably isn't too surprising that I decided to try my hand at a retelling of the Tristan and Isolde legend. Many of the twists in my version of the tale, as well as my portrayal of "the court of King Arthur," come from less well known Arthurian traditions and historical research. I have amassed shelves and shelves of books on ancient Ireland, the Celts, Arthurian and Celtic legends, Roman and Sub-Roman Britain, and the question of Arthur's historicism — too many for me to mention them all here. For those interested, I will concentrate on the most dog-eared references in my collection and the ones I checked out most regularly from the library.
In creating Yseult's background story in ancient Ireland, I relied heavily on F. J. Byrne's excellent reference, Irish Kings and High Kings. For the plot thread dealing with St. Patrick, I am indebted to James Carney's The Problem of Saint Patrick and Thomas F. O'Rahilly's The Two Patricks: A Lecture on the History of Christianity in Fifth-Century Ireland. Regarding mythology and daily life, I repeatedly consulted Simon James, Exploring the World of the Celts, Peter Berresford Ellis, A Dictionary of Irish Mythology, Anne Ross, Everyday Life of the Pagan Celts, T.M. Charles-Edwards, Early Christian Ireland, and Fergus Kelly, A Guide to Early Irish Law, to name just a few.
While finding resources was the challenge in researching fifth century Ireland, for fifth century Britain it was choosing resources. The ongoing fascination with the figure of King Arthur and the question whether or not he was a historical person has produced a wealth of material. Most influential in my portrayal of Arthur and the era in which he might have lived were probably the following works: Christopher A. Snyder, An Age of Tyrants: Britain and Britons A.D. 400-600, K. R. Dark, Civitas to Kingdom: British Political Continuity 300-800, John Morris, The Age of Arthur, Leslie Alcock, Arthur's Britain, and Geoffrey Ashe, The Quest for Arthur's Britain. As references on Arthurian figures and legends, I regularly consulted Rachel Bromwich, The Arthur of the Welsh, Ronan Coghlan, The Encyclopedia of Arthurian Legends, and Norris J. Lacy and Geoffrey Ashe, The Arthurian Handbook. For information on Roman and Sub-Roman Britain, I consulted Ken Dark, Britain and the End of the Roman Empire, Barri Jones and David Mattingly, An Atlas of Roman Britain, and John Wacher, The Towns of Roman Britain.
So many people helped in making this book possible that I hardly know where to begin. Dozens of fellow writers read various chapters in the early stages and gave me valuable feedback, including Michael Bateman, Dena Landon, Katherine Miller, John Schoffstall, Marsha Sisolak, and Larry West. I am especially grateful to the friends who read and critiqued the complete manuscript: Elizabeth Bear, Jay Lake, and Tamela Viglione. I feel incredibly lucky that I have been blessed with supportive children, Britta and Alexander Mack, who believed in me more than I believed in myself at times. Finally, as with so many things in my life, this book might never have realized without the support of my partner and husband, Christian Schmidt, who made it possible for me to run down my dream in the first place. Thank you.
Glossary
Aedes - Altar or room in the headquarters (principia) where the regimental standards of the legionaries were displayed
Aes Dana - The learned class, including druids, bards and judges
Alba - Old Celtic name for the island of Great Britain
Alban Elued - Autumn Equinox
Anu - Irish mother goddess
Apodyterium - The changing room in a Roman bath
Ard Ri - Irish High King
Atrium - The open central court in a Roman house
Audacht Moraind - Old Irish text dealing with the honor of kings
Baen Sidhe - Woman of the Sidhe, the magical race of the spirit world. The Baen Sidhe would wail and moan when someone in a house was going to die.
Ban Drui - Female druid
Ban File - Wise woman, priestess.
Beltane - A Celtic fertility festival celebrating the beginning of Spring (May 1)
Bituriges - A Celtic tribe in Gaul
Boruma - The traditional tribute which the tribes of the Laigin paid to the high kings of Midhe and Brega
Bothach - Unskilled laborer
Brandubh - Ancient Irish board game
Brehon - Term for druids concerned with lawmaking and arbitration. Also applied to the laws of ancient Ireland as a whole.
Brehon law - Ancient Irish law
Bretain - Irish word for British
Brigid - Irish threefold goddess of smiths, healing and poetry
Caldarium - Hot bath
Catuvellauni - A Celtic tribe in Britain
Century - A group of originally 100 legionaries in the Roman army, later reduced to 80 men
Civitas (pl. Civitates) - Roman city with administrative function
Cohort - A sub-unit of a Roman legion consisting of 480 legionaries divided into six centuries of 80 men
Contubernium (pl: Contubernia) - The smallest organized unit of soldiers in the Roman army, comprising eight men who shared a tent
Cú Chulainn - Legendary warrior in Old Irish tales
Dagda - "The good god," one of the main deities of the Tuatha Dé Danann
Danu - Main goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann, mother of Dagda
Dian Cecht - Celtic god of healing
Dobunni - A Celtic tribe in Britain
Dolmen - Megalithic tomb usually constructed of three or more standing stones
> Dux Bellorum - Leader of battles
Eriu - Ireland
Erainn - Irish
Feadh Ree - The Old Race - The ones who were there before the arrival of the Gaels. Many of them have powers the Gaels do not possess, and as such, they enjoy great respect, even though the Gaels hold most of the political power now. People with blood of the Feadh Ree make up a large proportion of the druids and bards of the land.
Feis - Festival
Fianna - Powerful bands of warriors in old Ireland
Fionn - Legendary Irish warrior
Fidchell - Ancient Irish board game
Fili (plural filid) - Umbrella term for the wise men of Eriu, including druids, bards, ollamh, and brehon
Frigidarium - The room with a cold pool for cooling off in a Roman bath
Gael - The race that has taken over from the Feadh Ree (the Old Race) for dominance in Ireland (Eriu)
Hibernia - Latin for Ireland
Honor price - See Log n'enech
Hypocaust - Ancient Roman system of central heating
Imbolc - Fertility festival celebrating the first signs of spring at the beginning of February
Laigin - The Gael tribes of the southeast, traditional enemies of the Ulaid.
Lia Fail - Stone of Destiny in Tara
Log n'enech - Honor price. The amount that had to be paid to the relatives upon a person's death (assuming their death was caused by someone else). Honor price was calculated according to property and a person's standing in the community.
Lugh - Sun god and one of the leaders of the Tuatha Dé Danann when they are driven underground
Lugnasad - Summer festival dedicated to the god Lugh
Medb - Legendary Irish warrior queen
Morrigu - Celtic goddess of war and death
Oenach - A council held by the kings and nobles of Eriu. There were both regional assemblies and assemblies which decided the fate of the entire land. Kings were elected out of the appropriate gene pool by the Oenach in charge for that region.
Ogham - Irish alphabet, scratched into wooden sticks or the edge of stone
Ollamh - The highest rank of druid, usually the chief chronicler of a tribe
Otherworld - The mysterious realm of the gods and the Feadh Ree, often seen as a paradise of eternal youth. Often associated with the magic hills of the Sidhe.
Patria - Fatherland
Principia - Headquarters in a Roman fort
Protector - Leader responsible for the defense of a particular region in Britain
Rath - A royal seat, usually a hill fort with earthwork ramparts.
Rath na Riogh - The main seat of kings at Tara
Romanitas - The spirit and ideals of Rome in everyday life; the advantages of a civilized Roman way of life
Samhain - The Celtic new year's festival at the beginning of the dark half of the year, some of the rites of which have carried over into Halloween
Sidhe - "Of the hills"; another term for the Feadh Ree, emphasizing their dwellings in the magic hills that are often seen as doors to the Otherworld
Tarb feis - Ritual of the bull dream to determine or confirm the High King of Ireland
Tepidarium - Warm bath in a Roman bath house
Triclinium - The dining room in a Roman villa
Torc - A circular neck or arm ring
Tuath - Tribe or sept (plural tuatha)
Tuatha Dé Danann - The tribes of the goddess Danu; the "political" organization of what is left of the Feadh Ree. While they hold only small, scattered seats between the areas held by the larger Gael tribes, their political clout is much more far-reaching as a result of the mythical place they have in the mind of the Gael people, their conquerors. (Short form: Tuatha Dé)
Ui Liathain - Tribe of the Laigin that conquered Demetia in Britain (modern-day southern Wales)
Ui Neill - The tribe which traces its descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages, Lóegaire's father.
Ulaid - The Gael tribes of the northeast. High King. Lóegaire is from the Ulaid, but he now rules in the area of Midhe and Brega, the traditional center of Eriu.
Vicus (Plural: Vici) - A Roman settlement
Characters and Places:
Characters in Erui (Ireland):
Ailill Molt - King of Connachta
Coirpre - Older brother of High King Lóegaire
Crimthann - Son of Enna Cennsalach
Dunlaing - King of the southern Laigin
Enna Cennsalach - Strongest king of the Laigin at Dun Ailinne
Eogan - Lóegaire's older brother, king of Airgialla
Lóegaire - Ard Ri (High King) of Eriu at Tara, son of the Niall of the Nine Hostages
Murchad - Brother of Yseult the Wise, uncle of Yseult the Fair and father of Brangwyn
Nemain - Wife of Murchad and mother of Brangwyn
Palladius - First bishop of the Roman church sent to Ireland about 434 AD
Patraic - The holy St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland
Characters in Britain and Armorica:
Aelle - One of the most powerful Saxon kings in Britain, king of the island of Vectis
Aircol - Prince of Demetia
Ambrosius Aurelianus - High King of Britain
Cador - Son of Geraint, King in eastern Dumnonia
Cerdic - Count of the Saxon Shore
Ceredig - A king of Gwynedd
Coroticus - Ceredig in Latin
Hengist - One of the Saxon kings in Ceint
Honorius - King of Gower
Idres - One of the Dumnonian kings, related to Marcus Cunomorus
Geraint - King in Dumnonian Dortrig at Dyn Draithou
Ginevra - Dumnonian princess
Gurles - A king in Dumnonia
Gwythyr - One of the seven kings in Dumnonia and father of Ginevra (seat Celliwig)
Lot - King of the Gododdin
Marcus Cunomorus - Most powerful king in Dumnonia
Madoc - King of Ergyng (seat Corinium) and older half-brother of Arthur; he is Uthr's legitimate son
Manawyd - Prince of Powys
Modrun - Daughter of Ambrosius Aurelianus, second wife of King Honorius of Gower
Morgawse - Cousin of Modrun, wife of Lot, and mother of Agravaine, Gawain, Gaheris and Gareth
Myrddin - Arthur's advisor
Oneon - Ruler in Calleva (Son: Natanleod)
Owain - Son of Madoc
Uthr - Brother of Ambrosius Aurelianus and father of Arthur, who was conceived when he raped young Ygerna
Ygerna - Mother of Arthur
Places in Eriu(Ireland):
The five provinces of Eriu:
Yseult: A Tale of Love in the Age of King Arthur Page 58