by Griff Hosker
Riderch and the warriors had reformed into one wedge and were approaching the last stand of the Saxons. Tuanthal and the spare horsemen were busily pursuing the fleeing Saxons. I hacked, slashed and stabbed until there were no more enemies before me and I raced towards the Saxon elite. King Urien’s horse was well trained in war and he raised his hooves to smash down on the shields of the front ranks. You could almost hear the bones breaking, along with the warrior’s spirits. Mercifully the hooves then smashed their skulls and ended their lives. The king was not worrying about his horse and his sword carved a path of death towards Aella. Aella was cunning but he was also brave. The equite who preceded King Urien found that to his cost when the Saxon King’s axe sliced through his horse’s legs and as he was thrown to the floor, his head was neatly decapitated.
King Urien reined in and dismounted. He was taller than the Saxon king but I could see the mighty muscles on the warrior’s arms. King Urien had not fought as much in the last few years and I worried that he might not last a long fight. The king’s bodyguards desperately formed a ring to keep the others away as the two kings circled each other. Aella’s axe flew at Urien’s head but he deftly moved out of the way, hacking at the Saxon as he did so. A ribbon of blood could be seen along the Saxon king’s arm but it did not seem to slow him up. Instead of going for King Urien’s head he swung his axe at his shield. It gouged a lump of wood from it and I couldn’t help thinking that I had asked the king to protect his shield with iron as we had. It was too late for that now. The axe had swung in full circle and King Urien saw a gap. He stabbed forwards and the point of the sword found a gap in the mail. This time blood spurted and Aella roared a shout of pain and anger. He swung his axe even harder and the shield of King Urien shattered. From the limp state of King Urien’s left arm I suspected that it was broken. I stabbed at the eye of the bodyguard who faced me and he fell dead. I was desperately trying to get to my king’s side but there were too many men between us. The king staggered back and I saw the look of joy on Aella’s face. He might be seriously wounded but without his shield King Urien was at his mercy.
King Aella took a mighty swing with his axe and King Urien did the most unexpected thing, he stepped in to Aella’s body bringing his sword up as he did so. The handle of the axe struck King Urien a blow to the head which made him stagger but by then the Sword of Rheged had penetrated the mail, the muscles and the heart of King Aella. With a shocked look on his face, he died and the slaughter of the bodyguards began.
As I joined in the killing I shouted over my shoulder, “Pol, Myrddyn, get to the king and help him.” I saw a blur of movement as the two young men sprinted through warriors who were too slow to stop them. When I saw Myrddyn kneel at the king’s side with Pol guarding them I turned to the bodyguards. Today was the day when the Saxons would be defeated. Even though we were all exhausted we knew that this last effort would end the problem with which we had lived for so many generations and we gritted our teeth and we killed.
Chapter 15
It was late morning when the last of the Saxons had finally been killed. The bodyguards and oathsworn fulfilled their oath and died around the body of their king. The ones who fled were chased down and slaughtered by horsemen of the allies. It was a great victory but it had come at a great cost. Many of King Urien’s bodyguards had perished in the brutal battle of the hill as had Angus and Prince Rhiwallon. Of the kings only King Urien had suffered a wound, a broken arm. Garth was badly wounded in the leg but Myrddyn had gone to him as soon as he had tended to the king. I found the king still guarded by Pol.
King Urien looked up at me, “He is a brave sentinel you sent to watch over me Lord Lann. I am indebted to him and your healer.”His sad eyes softened. “Your plan succeeded, you did well.”
I shook my head, “No your majesty, the honour of this day belongs to you. You led the charge and it was your tactics which succeeded. For the first time since the Romans left we have finally defeated the Saxons.”
“Help me up young squire.” Pol helped the injured king to his feet and King Urien leaned on his shoulder. “I think this will be my last battle. I saw my death as the axe was swung and I would see my grandchildren and play with them on my knee. I will leave the defence of Rheged to young men like my sons and you.” He looked around at the body and blood littered field. “It is a grim sight. How many men have we lost?”
“It is early yet and we have not accounted for all the wounded but two thousand would be a reasonable estimate.”
“So many?”
“The Saxons lost far more and most of their fleet. There will be many empty hearths over the sea when the ships return unmanned.”
I looked up to see Prince Ywain riding over to us. He looked sad and he must have been told of his brother’s death. I did not envy him having to tell his father. There were now but two brothers left: Pasgen and Ywain. King Urien had paid a high price for his victory. I nodded to him. “I will leave you with your father. I go to collect the few men of mine who remain and work out how I can tell their families of their loss.”
Raibeart, Pol, and Scean joined me as we moved around the battlefield gathering our men. When we had reached the causeway I had but thirty men left from the one hundred and ten I had brought. Raibeart had lost fewer men but the losses were still grievous. We gathered around Garth and Myrddyn. My champion tried to raise his head but Myrddyn forced it down. “Just lie there. I have not finished my work.”
Garth opened his eyes and asked, “Will I fight again?”
Myrddyn grinned, “Well not tonight but some day with rest then you will fight.” He nodded his head at me. “Our Wolf Warrior overcame a wound such as this and so shall you.”
“Ridwyn did well my lord. He dragged me from the field. I owe my life to him.”
“Aye and his brother Riderch led the last charge and did so valiantly. They are both a credit to Bernicia.”
Myrddyn threw me a sharp look and then thought better of it. I wondered what he knew. When we had the time I would speak with him. I turned instead to the rest of my men. “We have done well and now we need to rest.” I looked over at the small copse in the valley bottom. “Brother Raibeart, what say you and I go and try to hunt some food for our men?”
They began to protest but Raibeart laughed, “An excellent idea. The rest of you prepare our camp and we will return with food.” He suddenly looked at his empty quiver. “If I can find some arrows!”
We returned at dusk with some game birds and rabbits. The marshes and swamps were not well endowed with game but it would make a hearty stew and Raibeart and I had enjoyed being brothers again. All of the allied troops were in their own camp. Each of the kingdoms had lost many men and it would be a time to sing songs and tell tales of the dead. When we returned home they would be told to the families as a reminder. We all built our own funeral pyres and said goodbye to our friends. The small and cosy camp of the warriors of the Hogan brothers gave us all a sense of belonging.
After we had eaten Myrddyn sought out Raibeart and me. “I knew that something had annoyed you. What did you see, healer?”
“When the battle was at its height Bladud and five of his men were not at the king’s side. I saw them holding back. There was that warrior Garth did not like with and three others I knew not. And the Bernician king did not put himself at the fore as the other kings did. There is something afoot.”
“Men may have said that we hung back on our flank. We know that we did not.”
“No my lord, this was different. They were both at the rear of their warriors. I would doubt that there is mark on their armour and any nicks in their blades have come from striking at the rear of men.”
Raibeart looked at me. “He may be right brother. I noticed that they were not protecting the king. Many of the bodyguard died and all have wounds except for Bladud and his cronies. We had better watch them again.” He looked into the flames and sighed, sadly. “I will be glad to return to my family.”
“You tire of w
ar?”
Raibeart glanced up, “We began this war against the Saxons to avenge our parents and then to protect the king. The Saxons are no more and we can enjoy a little peace.”
“I hope so brother.”
Myrddyn’s young face looked old and serious “I am not so sure. I know that the Saxons have gone but when I was in their camp I learned that they view this land as heaven. Their own home is being eaten by the sea and by terrible warriors from the east. We have not seen the last of the Saxon invaders.”
I knew what he said was true but I still had the belief that we could not fail. “If they come again we can defeat them while they are weak. King Ida and King Aella had been here for some time and we defeated them; any newcomers would know even less. We know this land.”
The healer stretched and rose, prior to retiring. “We live in the west Lord Lann. If they come again it will be in the east and do you think that King Morcant Bulc will change and suddenly become King Urien?”
As we all turned in for the night I pondered those words. He would not change and if the Saxons came again then it would be us who would be forced to fight them but King Urien would not lead us and I was not sure if Prince Ywain, after his wounds, was the warrior to lead us. Perhaps it would be Prince Pasgen who had shown, when he led the wedge into the attack, that he was unafraid and that men would follow him.
The next day we cleared the battlefield and filled carts with the armour and the weapons we had taken. King Urien insisted that it be split four ways, despite the fact that it had been Rheged who had fought the longest and lost the most. The men gathered along four sides of a square as the four kings took their leave of each other. After they had all extolled the virtues of everyone’s warriors they embraced and prepared to mount. King Gwalliog held up his hand. “Before we depart I would like to thank Rheged for without King Urien and his warriors we would have lost.” He knelt to the ground. “Elmet will serve you my lord as High King.”
I thought it was spontaneous but King Rhydderch Hael also dropped to his knee. “And Strathclyde will serve you and your son, my lord.”
The whole of the army looked at King Morcant Bulc who stood with pure hatred for his fellows etched on his face. Even though he did not swear allegiance or subservience the idea was there for all to hear. King Urien was High King. He was the first to be acknowledged as such since the time of Dux Britannica.
When he spoke it was measured and thoughtful. “I thank you. I hope that we never need the High King again and that this threat from the Saxons is over but if they return then I swear that I will lead you again for it has been my honour to serve with such brave and resourceful warriors.”
He mounted and led us west to the land of Rheged. As I waited for the princes to pass I noticed that Llofan Llaf Difo was speaking with King Morcant Bulc and I wondered if he were thinking of returning to his homeland having learned his trade with the finest army in Britain. After a few moments, however, he trotted to take his place next to Bladud and the handful or bodyguards who had survived the slaughter.
We had to take our time crossing the land for we had wagons and we had wounded. Garth complained about having to travel in a wagon but Myrddyn, for all his youth could be quite strict and Garth had to lie there and suffer. Myrddyn worked miracles and he saved men and their limbs when all hope was gone. Next to King Urien he was the man held in the highest regard by all of the army of Rheged. His bravery as a scout and on the battlefield merely added to his lustre. I thanked my gods again for bringing him into our lives.
We reached Castle Perilous first and, not for the first time, I was glad that I had left so many of my warriors to guard my home. Had I taken them all then I know that they would all have died. The others did not come to my home as they were all keen to return to their own families. Aelle’s survivors left too, to head south towards the Wide Water. King Urien announced that we would have celebratory games at midsummer. Until then we could all reflect on the war to end all wars which we had just fought.
I led my tiny troop through the gates. Any celebration would have to wait until we had mourned and paid our respects to the dead. Once through the gates Brother Oswald, Aideen and my children waited for me. They had seen no reports of our travails and I saw the look of relief flood over Aideen’s face as she watched me dismount. I knew what she was thinking and I smiled. She was checking for fresh wounds but I had been saved this time and returned whole.
I said little, after hugging my family and greeting Brother Oswald. It had been a hard campaign and Garth’s wounds were a clear reminder of the mortality of all of us, no matter how invincible we felt. Hogan appeared to have grown and my daughter, Delbchaem, now responded with giggles and smiles. Some of my hurts went away. They all left me in my silence and after we had eaten Aideen put the children to bed while I went to the solar. Myrddyn appeared quietly and sat opposite me. He said not a word, but, like me, looked to the west and the setting sun.
Eventually he spoke; not necessarily expecting a response but merely articulating his ideas. “They say, my lord, that there are lands to the west Hibernia.” I said nothing but noted the thought. “Perhaps it is a place too far for the Saxons to bother us.”
I looked at him sharply. This sounded like defeatist talk. “You would give up the fight against the invader? You would let all the deaths become meaningless?”
He gave me that disarming smile of his which infuriated me. “No, my lord, I was doing my job, I was healing, healing your mind. The battles and the deaths seem to have taken something from you as though you no longer wish, yourself, to finish the fight. I was merely giving you an option.”
His words set me thinking. I had become morose over the deaths and there were three choices, as far as I could see: continue the, fight, join the Saxons or flee. Myrddyn had merely given me a way out. “Sometimes I think you are a wight, and far too clever for your own good. Where did you get such knowledge when you are so young?”
“I listen, my lord, and I think. It is an activity in which more men should partake.” He paused and his eyes seemed to bore into my mind as though he was reading my thoughts. “You will continue to fight then?”
“Your mythical land to the west may cause more deaths than fighting and I could not, in all conscience, join with the Saxons. No I will fight and, so long as King Urien is the leader of the kings then we will prevail.”
He nodded. “They will, of course return and those Saxons in the south will come north to take, first the land of Elmet and then, Bernicia. We both know that they are ripe for plucking.” He of course was correct and we both knew it. “We have bought time and that is all.”
Once again his astute young mind had cut through the mist to see the truth. “What would you suggest then? The old mind in such a young body?”
“There are a number of things we can do. The king could make Rheged so impregnable that the Saxons will find other land to steal.”
To me, that sounded as though we had lost. “The king would not countenance that. He would defend the other kings.”
“Then, my lord, become used to this feeling for it will be Rheged blood which will defend the allies and you will have to face the families of the dead.” I suddenly looked at him. How did he know that was what I had been thinking? The men knew about dying on a battlefield but the families had to live with the loss. “That is the real reason you are so unhappy is it not? You do not want to see the looks on the faces of the families of the men who will not return that is what you fear, not death, not defeat and certainly not the Saxons.”
I slumped in my chair. My healer was right. “I know from Aideen’s face that she worries each time I leave and yet I always return. How much worse for those who do not return?”
“It is the same for every warrior but at least here in Rheged the families are not left destitute. Someone cares. It is another reason I left my home to serve Rheged. Even if I had not had the dream and the vision it seemed to me that this was a place I could live and a king and a l
ord I could serve.”
I pondered those words. He was right and we all served King Urien because of who he was and how he acted. We were tied to him for good or all. I suddenly felt better. “Well then Myrddyn. How can we make life difficult for the Saxons?”
We talked, or rather he talked and I listened until a sulky Aideen came for me. Her ill temper was short lived as she saw the change Myrddyn had wrought upon me. After we had enjoyed each other and she slept, snuggling in my arms, my mind was filled with all that Myrddyn had said. As he had said to me, it was obvious but I had not seen it until he had pointed the way. We could not defeat them in a shield wall. They would always outnumber us. The weapons they feared were our bowmen, our horses and our castles. Now that we had the booty from the battles we could arm more horsemen and archers and improve our castles. As far as I knew the only stone buildings which stood against the Saxons were in Rheged and at Din Guardi. As the sly Morcant Bulc had shown, you could easily defend such edifices. In the time we had before the Saxons returned we would train more men to be archers and horsemen whist we toiled to improve the defences. Myrddyn was clever and had deduced that a series of ditches with offset entrances would enable our archers to slaughter an attacking army. He also recommended towers at the gates from where we could have a greater range with our bowmen. He had heard of the horse patrols the king and the prince had once undertaken and he suggested that would be a good way to watch the Saxons and slow them down. When I had finally dropped to sleep I had all of my plans made for the next year.
By the time the midsummer games arrived, Garth and the other wounded men were healed and could travel. Surprisingly many declined the invitation to visit Civitas Carvetiorum. I did not make the men go for I, above all, understood what it was to leave your families. Brother Oswald had evolved into a fine Steward who ran Castle Perilous far more effectively than I could. He had the men continue building the ditches and improving the defences. He and Myrddyn had spent long nights drawing and scribbling on pieces of parchment with the priest showing a remarkable knowledge of how the Romans used to do such things. I knew that the building would carry on well without me. In the end I took only twenty men; they were all mounted and well armed. I was not worried about the Saxons but I knew that there were still Hibernians who liked to raid the coast for easy pickings. They would find us a hard morsel to swallow.