Father of Storms

by Dean Jones

  Seth frowned, “that would be great Doctor, torture followed by being prodded and tested in a laboratory…like a little holiday!” Seth couldn’t stop the sarcasm, the whole idea was ridiculous, he was a man, not an animal!

  “Maybe…” Garrett smiled, “you would welcome a less violent approach?…but that’s for the future, right now we need to ascertain your fitness, so my colleague can continue to find creative ways to add further injuries, which I am required to patch up.” The doctor completed his examination and beckoned to the door where the same frightened man, who had brought him refreshments previously, approached the bed with a tray of sandwiches and another jug of water.

  “Eat up my good fellow,” Garrett said as he left the room, “oh and be sure to get some more sleep…its very late and you will have an early start tomorrow.”

  Seth watched the door close and then reached for the food. He found he was quite hungry.

  After polishing off the meal and emptying the jug Seth struggled to his feet before falling to the ground again as the pain in his legs ordered his body to do so. Gritting his teeth, he dragged himself to the corner of the room where the toilet was. Thoughtfully there were handles either side for him to use to haul himself onto the seat.

  The indignity of having to do your ablutions with people watching was clear but it had to be done.

  Seth sat for a long while after he was finished trying to muster the energy to make it back to the bed. He closed his eyes knowing he would see the same images of his family he had over the last few days, but he needed to try to focus on the matter in hand and that was getting from the toilet back to the bed.

  As he concentrated he could sense someone in the room with him. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to see the old man sitting in front of him. He still had his white hood over his face, but Seth looked him up and down and saw he was wearing blue denim jeans and brown leather sandals without socks. The image of this old man wearing a hoodie designed for teenagers was amusing to Seth and he let a smile creep across his swollen face.

  “Nice to see you remain in high spirits, Seth” the man began. “I must admit you are much more stubborn than I remember but we continue to try, as eventually you will break, and I will get what I want from you”

  Seth’s smile broadened, “I doubt that, I am still waiting to learn why you are keeping me here and where my family is.”

  “Your family is dead, Seth. I and all my agents have told you this repeatedly. Even the news is reporting their demise…why do you refuse to believe what you see and hear?” He raised his hands to his hood and looked as though he was going to remove it before thinking better of it and placing them neatly back on his knees.

  “You have told me lies…. I would know if they were dead, I would feel it.” Seth said calmly

  The buzzing in his head increased and with it came the images of their dead bodies

  “What are you doing!” Seth bellowed, “stop messing with my head!”

  The man sat back clearly shocked and the buzzing stopped completely. Seth suddenly had clarity in his mind for the first time in days and he could feel the injuries he had sustained. He drew a quick breath and focused his mind internally as he instantly knew healing himself was the best use of this respite.

  The man leaned forward, clearly having composed himself again. “You really are a remarkable man Seth, I always knew you were, from the first time I saw you…I knew.” The buzzing hit him again this time with greater ferocity and Seth wavered on the toilet and had to grab one of the handles to stop himself falling off.

  “I will get what I want…eventually,” Seth watched as the man got to his feet and began to shuffle out the room.

  “You will not break me, I want to know what you have done with my family” Seth screamed at his back, but the man seemed not to hear and continued through the door before it was closed behind him with a click.

  Seth breathed heavily at the exertion of keeping his wits about him. After a minute or two, the buzzing in his mind had gone back to its irritating murmur and he found he could stand and walk across the room to his bed.

  He wasn’t sure if this was due to him healing himself or the anger he felt blocked out the pain. Sitting on his bed he began to hear a familiar whisper and he turned his head to the left and right to try and orientate himself to the direction it came from. Settling on the door he focused to try and pick out the sounds.

  “You need to sleep, Master,” he heard before falling back on the bed a letting his eyes close.

  A Conflict in Wessex

  The day had arrived, all the planning had led them to this point in time. Seth readied himself, he had said his goodbyes to Meredith that morning and was content he would be back soon to begin their new life together out of the village and away from Aethelbald and his demands on his time.

  The Mercian army was gathered outside of Tamworth and they were a fearful sight. Aethelbald sat at the head with Seth and his other bodyguards beside him. Things had been awkward between Seth and Aethelbald since he had informed his King he wished to leave his personal guard to start a family with his wife, but the King still needed him, so he was here leading the other bodyguards and preparing to go to battle.

  He had noticed the King was in high spirits and his previous anger at his announcement had subsided. Seth put this good humour down to the coming battle.

  The border of Mercia now stretched to four days walk so they knew they had time to gather more warriors as they passed down the country towards Tetbury.

  Aethelbald gave the order to advance and their mighty force rumbled into movement and set off in the early morning sunshine towards Wessex and the inevitable conflict as they tried to take Malmesbury.

  The morning passed quickly, and Seth noticed the army was in full voice and high spirits. They had yet to lose a battle where Seth was present, and he knew he had become a good luck omen for the rest of the warriors. Superstition still played a big part in their lives even though they had mostly converted to Christianity.

  Seth was proud, and he knew he had the respect of those who would fight with him, it was going to be a wonderful battle and he planned to make his last one something all would remember.

  By the end of the day they had made excellent progress and as the sun was setting they set up camp outside of Worcester. That night they had many visitors from the town, all eager to gain favour with the King. Seth tired of the pleasantries and grew frustrated at the sight of his King wallowing in the compliments and gifts they brought.

  Slipping away from the gathering he made his way into the night towards a campfire where he knew he would find better company. The men rose as he entered the firelight and he waved a dismissive hand as he sat down among them.

  “No need for getting to your feet boys, I am no one special and certainly do not require you to leave the comfort of your furs to welcome me.”

  The men murmured and sat back down. Seth warmed his hands over the fire and the men waited to see what he would say.

  “Carry on, don’t let me stop your conversations…. how feel you this night, are you excited, fearful…let’s talk!” Seth encouraged.

  The men looked at each other to see who would speak first, Seth was known and revered in their ranks and him sitting at their fire was truly an honour which none of the five could believe was happening.

  Seth sighed and looked around the men he had for company and saw the faces of five boys who were hardly men at all. Looking across the fire he picked out one of them.

  “You lad, where are you all from?” he asked.

  The boy flinched at being the focus of this great man’s attention and he felt himself blush and hoped the firelight would hide his embarrassment. Seeing Seth still holding his eye he swallowed before answering nervously, “Erm…we are all from Repton my Lord.”

  “No need for any my Lord nonsense, call me Seth I am just one of you, no fancy titles are needed between friends.” He instructed although he knew the etiquette surrounding his p
osition as head of the King's bodyguard, he was not in the mood for protocol and just wanted an evening of conversation with normal men without agendas.

  “What’s your name lad?” Seth asked quickly cutting through the uncomfortable silence.

  “John my Lor…I mean Seth,” he glanced at his friends around the fire and gave a smile.

  “Well John, I am happy to meet you, how is Repton these days, it’s been a while since I was there last?”

  “Its fine, it is growing quickly but the land is rich, and folk are Godly, so it’s a good place for my family.” John flicked his dank brown hair from his eyes and reached up to stroke his patchy beard.

  Seth nodded, “do you have wife and children?”

  A smile crossed John’s face, “I have a beautiful woman at home, Seth and she is carrying my first son!” The pride was palpable.

  Seth laughed, “you are certain it is a son, have you seen the child in your wife’s belly and examined his jewels?” The others around the fire laughed too at this comment.

  “Erm…” John started but Seth raised his hand placatingly.

  “I jest, if you are sure the Gods have provided you with a son, then no man can question until the day he or she arrives.” mention of ‘Gods’ raised eyebrows, but they were all aware of Seth’s beliefs and no man there would challenge him on them.

  This jovial exchange seemed to break the ice and before long they were all laughing and reminiscing tales of their wives and past battles while knocking back ale and food. Seth felt a weight lifted and stayed with them for an hour or two before making his excuses and heading back to his tent.

  Seth walked past the King’s tents and saw he was still enjoying the attention of his retinue and felt no desire to join them.

  He wrapped himself in his furs as he settled down for the night and smiled remembering his exchange with the men from Repton before drifting off into a restless sleep.

  The days passed quickly, and each night Seth joined a different campfire to exchange stories and laughter with the men. This kept his spirits high and found he looked forward to picking out a fire and starting up conversations with men from all over the Kingdom.

  At noon of the fourth day, they reached the outskirts of Tetbury and made camp while messengers were sent to the town to request the leaders attend the King. They had swelled their ranks by another three thousand warriors en-route and they were all ready and eager to take the will of Aethelbald to the Kingdom of Wessex and to show Sigeberht, their King, the true force of Mercia.

  It had been a war of words between Aethelbald and Sigeberht for months and the politics had drawn the worse kind of mood from the Aethelbald and it was this which had led to their planned battle. Sigeberht needed to learn a lesson as he had become too big for his boots, according to the King.

  Aethelbald had decided the time was right for a new King of Wessex and had been sending messages to his manors spreading rumours and gossip to any who would listen. It wasn’t the most dignified way to fight a battle, but Aethelbald wanted to make sure any army Sigeberht raised, to stand against Mercia, would have heard some of the stories circulating their country manors. He knew their loyalty would not hold them on the battlefield when the Mercian army was in full flow.

  After they had made camp and eaten their meals, Seth sat with Aethelbald and the rest of the bodyguards in silence until Aethelbald made a gesture to the rest of the guards to show they were dismissed.

  Seth rose to leave with them but Aethelbald raised his hand for him to wait. Evidently, his King had something to say and Seth hoped whatever it was would lift the discomfort between them.

  “I have heard news from your village, Seth, news which has a disturbing flavour to it.” Seth sat back down and looked towards Aethelbald with curiosity on his face.

  “What news have you heard my lord?” Seth was genuinely intrigued by whatever this news might be and was eager to find out.

  “I have heard rumours you have been praying to the devil to protect your farm through the winter months and to provide you with a healthy supply of piglets to sell at market…is this true?”

  Normally when someone accused him of something he would react in the only way he knew and would end the discussion quickly. However, it was his King who was making the accusations and he was sure grabbing him by the throat would not end well.

  “I have no idea where this has come from my lord, I have had to deal with these lies ever since I arrived in your court and I have a good idea who it is who is spreading them.” Seth had an image of Ripley in his mind and he promised himself that when he got back, he would deal with this man once and for all.

  “Nethertheless, I cannot have one of my own guards being caught up in this kind of storm….”

  There was a silence which hung in the air between them which neither was eager to break, finally, Aethelbald spoke again.

  “Can you assure me it is not you who is involved in this devil worship, as some are claiming?”

  Seth nodded and looked sincere “I can my lord, I swear on my honour I am not involved in devil worship, as you put it.”

  Seth knew he wasn’t lying but he also knew where the rumours had come from. His sows had all given birth to at least six healthy piglets which would fetch a good price at market. He knew others were jealous, but he had tried to help as many as he could by buying poor quality stock and seeds from the others in his village as well as helping where he could to heal sick and diseased animals or bring rain when it was needed using Spae.

  “Excellent, Seth, I have no cause to doubt your word, so I will ensure all are aware you have nothing to do with the witchcraft which has occurred at your farm.” Aethelbald rose to his feet and headed back to his tent before Seth could answer.

  Seth sat for a while alone by the fire trying to work out what had just happened and whether he had heard Aethelbald correctly.

  After deciding there was no benefit in dwelling on the conversation, especially since tomorrow he would likely be knee deep in battle, he headed for his bed to try to get some sleep.

  Morning came quickly, and Seth felt like he had hardly slept during the night. The conversation was still replaying in his mind and he was keen to speak with Aethelbald again about the matter to ensure he had understood what he had meant.

  Aethelbald, however, was nowhere to be found and word got to Seth he had headed out early in the morning to set up a forward line in readiness for the day’s battle. This caused Seth some concern as they hadn’t planned to do this, and any deviation was risky as far as he was concerned.

  Seth rounded up the village leaders and asked them to ready their warriors. He was going to set off straight away as Aethelbald would be outnumbered and would likely fall if they didn’t get to him quickly.

  They left the camp as it was, leaving behind a handful of the older men to ensure it was there when they returned.

  Seth led the army and made a quick pace to meet up with Aethelbald. After an hour he could make out Aethelbald and the rest of his personal guard involved in a skirmish ahead of him. Seth raised his arm and looked back to the force following him.

  “Your King is in danger…. raise your spears and charge!”

  Seth's voice boomed over the heads of all the warriors and each one was touch by the urgency contained in his instruction. As one they raised their spears and charged.

  Aethelbald was struggling to hold his position and was glad to see Seth wading into the action with his sword and spear in hand. The group of Wessex men was quickly dispatched by Seth and the rest driven backwards by the oncoming force of the Mercian warriors.

  Aethelbald regained his composure and placed a hand on Seth's shoulder then called for his army to advance on the enemy’s position.

  The battlefield was soon filled with warriors from both sides and Seth stayed close to his King and protected him from any attackers who made it through the line to where they had positioned themselves.

  The battle wasn’t going to plan, and the enemy h
ad greater numbers in its ranks than anyone had expected. Seth quickly took charge of two village leaders, directing them to the eastern flank of the Wessex force to try to drive them towards a river which was flowing to their right. This would give the Mercian’s a small advantage in that the Wessex force could not retreat so would break apart rather than be driven into the swollen river.

  No sooner had the two hundred or so warriors headed off, Aethelbald gave an order for the ranks of men protecting them to follow and help push the enemy towards the river. Seth knew this would leave them venerable and prepared himself for the inevitable.

  He was right, as soon as the Mercian warriors had left to support those Seth had dispatched, the enemy commanders saw their chance and flooded the space which had been vacated moments earlier.

  Seth called out to those who had set off to the eastern flank for them to turn around and protect the King, but it was too late. By the time they had returned to cut into the advancing force over a hundred of the Wessex, warriors had breached the line and were bearing down on Aethelbald, Seth and the rest of the King’s personal guard.

  Turning to face them Seth quickly barked orders for them to form in a single defensive line in front of the King, Seth stood in the centre and discarded his spear in favour of another sword he had taken from one of the dead bodies from the earlier skirmish.

  The enemy was on them quickly and they were pushed back by the weight of numbers, they were only ten against the hundred trained warriors they now tried to keep from their King.

  Seth fought hard and was making headway into the onrush of soldiers, but he knew at least three of his comrades had fallen and as he looked to his left and right for support he found he was the only one remaining and he was stood over Aethelbald’s unconscious body with at least twenty of the enemy warriors circling him.