by Griff Hosker
When Myrddyn and Lann Aelle returned it was with the news that the Saxons were planning to assault Deva. They were building camps all around the isolated fort to stop the trickle of supplies that King Iago was sending them. There would be no more reinforcements for Deva for a while. The good news was that King Aethelfrith’s attention was not on us.
Chapter 16
When we were ready we had to move in secret. The two kings left their borders and mines well defended but brought the rest of their warriors; the best armed and the best trained to Nefyn. Garth assembled our army at Rhuddlan. Myrddyn and I journeyed to Nefyn to discuss our strategy. There were just five of us in the room Prince Cadfan had chosen. We overlooked Wyddfa which was a constant reminder to all of us of the power of the mountain and the link between all of us and the land.
Prince Cadfan was crucial to my plans. He had spent many hours with Hogan and Pol. The three of them had exchanged ideas on ways of attacking an enemy. Their schooling in Constantinopolis came to their aid. He was ready to lead. I hoped that my other two allies would not feel the need to flex their military muscles. I used Myrddyn as the teacher. He was well respected by all of my allies.
Brother Oswald had drawn a detailed map of the land. I am not sure if the two kings had ever seen such a detailed map but they peered at it as though it was part of Myrddyn’s magic. “Your army will have the longer journey but you will not be encumbered by heavy horses. It is seventy miles to Wrecsam. You will travel to the lake at Bala. You will need to use your scouts to cut off any garrison which is there as we do not want King Iago warned of an attack from that direction. It may be that Prince Cadfan can persuade those who fight for his father to come over to our side. That would be preferable than spilling the blood of those we wish to fight for us eventually. Bala is half way. If you do not have to fight them then you can rest there for a day. You have three days to reach Wrecsam. Your scouts must let us know when you are close for we will be the bait.”
King Cloten asked, “How will you achieve that?”
“We will leave a day earlier than you and we will approach Wrecsam slowly. We want King Iago to think that he outnumbers us, which he will. We will fix his attention to his front which will allow you to attack his flank. With three armies, even though each one is smaller than his, attacking his left flank we should achieve victory. We have to stop him retreating to Wrecsam. We do not want a siege. We want to destroy their will to win.” He smiled. “I want them to think that we have used magic to surprise them.”
Myrddyn sat and I stood. “You have five hundred warriors between you and this is your chance to defeat King Iago once and for all. With Cadfan on the throne we will have peace between brother kings and we can then defeat the Saxons. This will be the golden age for the land of Wyddfa and Cader Idris.”
The prince accompanied us to our horses. “I want to thank you Warlord. I told you once before that you have been more of a father to me than my own ever was and I will not let you down. I will lead our armies to victory. We will be there when you expect us. I promise you.”
“And I told you Prince Cadfan that you are truly noble and I know that you will be a man of your word.”
We only had to ride as far the docks for ‘The Wolf’ was waiting. Our mounts were used to being transported by sea and happily walked aboard. The journey gave Myrddyn and me the time to finalise our own assault. We were leaving skeleton garrisons to protect our forts. Every warrior who could fight in a shield wall was with us. Every archer would be there under Daffydd’s command. We had a little over six hundred men. The scouts had estimated that King Iago had almost fifteen hundred warriors. Some of these were in garrisons but over twelve hundred were at Wrecsam. We would be outnumbered two to one when we began our attack.
This was the first time we had gathered our whole army together. It was quite a proud moment for me. Young Gawan had begged to join me but he was too young. I did not want to worry about my young son when the whole of our future was at stake. Lann Aelle carried my Wolf Banner proudly as we rode with the sixty equites, then came my warriors followed by Daffydd and his archers, finally came the squires with the spare horses and armour of the equites. We could have brought another five hundred men but that would have stripped Mona and my forts of their best warriors. I remembered that there were ten Saxon ships not far away and they could easily land a force to take advantage of our absence. I was happy that I had the best warriors in Britannia at my back. If we lost it would be because of my incompetence and not the quality of the warriors under my command.
We halted just south of Ruthin and made camp. Here some of Aidan’s warriors and scouts joined us. With an attack on Wrecsam the frontier fort should be safe. Aidan had confided in me, when I had stayed with him, that his men yearned to prove themselves in battle rather than fending off attacks of a few lightly armed warriors. I was more than happy with their contribution thus far. Without their efforts we could not have made the rest so prosperous. Aidan himself led his contingent and he was confident that his deputy, Tadgh, could defend the fort as well as he could.
Prince Pasgen and Hogan had not camped for some time and they found the Spartan camp a little hard to bear. They were used to soft beds and baths. Garth and Mungo found it quite amusing. They were hard men who frequently went out on long patrols with their men and they had slept rough before. No matter what the outcome of the battle I was pleased that we had the opportunity of fighting together. Myrddyn and I spent the last few hours before sleep going over the fine details of the plan. Much depended upon the two of us. I was confident that my men would not let me down; I did not want the two men who had conceived the plan to be found to be wanting.
The next morning brought with it an icy wind blowing from the east. I hoped that this was not an evil portent. The scouts were well to the fore and were vital to the plan. I had told Aedh that his normal strategy of staying hidden was to be abandoned. I wanted them seen. I wanted the new horsemen of King Iago to come chasing after them. Although I did not know for certain I was convinced that King Iago did not have enough food in Wrecsam for a siege. Our spies had told us that they had had a poor harvest. The fact that he had been keeping Deva supplied had eaten into his reserves. He could not stay cooped up in his stronghold for long. He would want to fight us, in the open but with the walls of Wrecsam at his back. I needed him fixed in place to allow my allies to strike him at his vulnerable left side.
When we were four miles from Wrecsam we halted and the equites were equipped and mounted on their war horses. They looked magnificent and seemed to sparkle in the icy sunlight. The ten squires who were left behind to watch the mounts had been drawn by lots and none of them looked happy. The equites took their place on the left flank while the squires were on the right. My shield wall marched in column but we would fight in a wedge formation. The archers marched behind the warriors. I led the whole, magnificent army with Myrddyn at my side and Lann Aelle behind me with the banner.
One of Aedh’s scouts galloped up. “Warlord, King Iago’s horsemen are pursing Captain Aedh.”
Good. Ride to the squires and prepare them to attack.”
“Yes Warlord.”
It was flat and open fields before us and we saw the scouts hurtling towards us. They were feigning fear and the men of Gwynedd had bought the deception. They were whooping and cheering as they raced after the thin line of scouts. They saw us just as I ordered Lann to lower the banner. They halted in a ragged line, unable to believe what they saw. Their delay cost many their lives as the squires, eager to prove themselves with the Warlord watching, tore into them. The horsemen at the rear, some twenty of them, turned tail and raced back to Wrecsam. The well trained squires halted and chased the riderless ponies back to our lines. Five of the squires took the mounts to the other squires at the rear and the scouts formed a line of mounted skirmishers half a mile ahead of us.
We marched forwards. There was no hurry in our gait. We wanted King Iago to have time to react. The last thing
we needed was to try to take a fort. I wanted him to attempt to defeat me in battle. I had judged that he thought he could defeat me and would then prove to the other kings that he was the better general.
The two lines of equites were to the left of our line and I knew that they would intimidate not only King Iago but all of his warriors. So it proved when King Iago marched his army out from the walls of Wrecsam. He placed his strongest warriors on his right. He personally led out his oathsworn whom he placed behind him in a shield wall. Garth had already ordered our men into a wedge formation of three arrow heads. He led the middle one.
I rode forwards with Myrddyn and Lann. I halted out of bowshot of the enemy. I did not trust King Iago to follow the conventions of war. “King Iago ap Beli I am here to avoid war and unnecessary bloodshed. Your son Prince Cadfan,” I waved, vaguely at the lines of men behind me, “has been abused by you. He is the rightful king of Gwynedd. With him ruling this land there will be peace for all. Leave now, with your oathsworn and surrender the field to us and you can live. Stay and fight and you shall die.”
The field became quiet and then King Iago began to laugh. “You are a fool! The whelp who ran to you is not my son. This is my son.” It was then I noticed the boy on the pony next to him. “Cadfan’s mother deceived me and he will never be king of this land.” He glared at my serried ranks. “Wherever you are cowering boy, hear those words. You will never be king. As for you Lann of Rheged, you too are a fool. You bring this handful of men against me. I have two thousand men here. We did what you could not. We defeated the Saxons. Do your worst and at the end of the day I will wear the sword you call Saxon Slayer. It will truly belong to a mighty slayer of Saxons.”
His oathsworn and the shield wall all banged their shields and cheered. I noticed that the others did not. Perhaps they did not believe that I was a fool.
“This is your last chance Iago before I unleash my men upon you.”
“You do not frighten me with your words or with your so called wizard, the trickster, Myrddyn!”
Myrddyn answered. His voice was far more powerful than one would think and his words boomed out across the field. “And I warn you King Iago. Today I will bring forth an army from the heart of Wyddfa and it will be the spirit of our holy mountain which defeats you. It is Cymri herself who will beat you.”
This time his oathsworn and shield wall remained silent. I could see King Iago’s face suffuse with anger. He shouted, “I will kill you both myself!”
His banner lowered and his men marched forwards. “Now Lann!”
Lann Aelle waved the banner once and then we withdrew to the rear of the wedges. A shield wall does not move swiftly and King Iago had made the classic mistake of not changing formation. If they tried to move swiftly then they would lose cohesion. Hogan led the equites in a charge towards their strongest warriors. Daffydd began loosing arrows in flight after flight to soar above our wedges. King Iago and his advisers had learned the value of shields and armour. His men protected themselves and suffered fewer casualties. Garth and his men were in wedge formation and could move quickly. The shield wall they struck was not solid; men had been killed by arrows while others had slowed down to protect themselves. The line bowed inwards as the three wedges hacked, slashed and slaughtered the Gwynedd shield wall.
I peered nervously over to the right where Hogan’s sixty warriors had charged over four hundred men. I need not have fretted. The first line had broken the wall with their spears and the second line had thundered in with maces, axes and swords. The enemy right flank began to curve back towards the walls of Wrecsam. Garth and his men had penetrated deeply into the Gwynedd shield wall and were now in danger of being surrounded.
“The second signal Lann.” Lann dipped the standard twice and the squires, all fifty of them, charged and threw three flights of javelins at the Gwynedd left flank. The pressure on Garth decreased and Daffydd’s archers score more hits. I saw Iago shouting orders and his oathsworn began to move further left to protect the flank from the horsemen. I nodded to Lann and he waved the standard three times. The squires withdrew and the oathsworn cheered at their apparent victory.
“The horn, Lann.” Lann took the Roman Buccina and gave three blasts on it. My well trained wedges began to subtly change direction. The left wedge held while the middle one moved slightly left and the right one moved almost in echelon. We now had a line which was facing south west. The horn should have signalled Prince Cadfan but of him there was no sign. So far our whole pan had worked perfectly but the flaw was that if our allies did not arrive then it would break down completely and we would lose.
I summoned Aedh. “Send scouts and see if you can find Prince Cadfan.”
“Aye my lord.”
The sheer weight of the number of the enemy was now forcing my wedges into one round shield wall and we no longer had the momentum which gave us the edge. I was just about to dismount when I heard a groan from the shield wall and a strangled cry from Lann Aelle.
“What is it nephew?”
“Garth has fallen, King Iago has slain him.”
That decided me. “Myrddyn, direct the battle. Lann Aelle, bring the banner.”
I drew Saxon Slayer and began to work my way through the warriors. There was a mumbling which grew slowly into a shout which became a roar as we approached the front of the wall. “Wolf Warrior! Wolf Warrior!” The warriors at the rear began to bang their shield in time to the shout and I could feel the fluttering of the banner above Lann’s head. I sensed, rather than saw, the line stiffen as my oathsworn heard my arrival.
Iago could see my banner and I saw him furiously fighting one of my warriors. His fury gave him added strength and his sword sliced through the helmet of the warrior who fell dead at his feet. I stepped into the gap and promptly punched the warrior to the right of Iago and then sliced Saxon Slayer across his open throat. With room to my left I turned to face Iago. He tried to swing the sword at my head but there was no room for the movement and he merely caught me a blow from his hilt on my helmet. I head butted him when he tried to withdraw his sword for another blow. My helmet had been given to me by Andronikos and was stronger than any helmet I had ever seen. The strengthened nasal was as hard as a sword and I heard his nose break. Blood splattered all those in the Gwynedd front rank and King Iago recoiled from the strength of the blow. I took the opportunity of slipping a dagger into my left hand and then punched again with my shield. The warrior who had stepped in to protect King Iago’s right was not ready and the blow knocked him to the ground. Lann Aelle slew him. I stepped forwards again suddenly aware that we were all moving forwards.
Saxon Slayer was impotent in a tight shield wall. None of us could swing our weapons and it became a battle of strength as to who could force the other one back. My men had trained for years and we all practised this push. Punching with shield and sword hilt we knocked the men of Gwynedd backwards. King Iago had a face filled with fury. The blood from his broken nose gave him a terrible aspect. “You can still surrender, King Iago!”
“Surrender? We still outnumber you. You are going to die.”
“Outnumbered? What of the army of Wyddfa that Myrddyn promised?”
He tried a punch with his hilt which I countered with my shield. “They are another of the magician’s lies.”
Suddenly there was a wail from the rear of Iago’s line and, above the heads of his men I could see the banners of Cadfan and the two kings. They had arrived. “Then who is slaughtering your men?”
The Gwynedd line slackened and Lann Aelle stepped beside me and chopped down on the neck of the warrior before him. It allowed me the chance to swing Saxon Slayer across my body to slice into the top of King Iago’s armour. It tore though some of the links. Mail armour is only good when it is whole. I could see his leather vest below the armour. Fear replaced the fury on his face. He had more room now and he swung his sword overhand at me. I countered with Saxon Slayer. I saw pieces of metal flayed from his sword and he stepped backwards. I gave
him no chance to recover and swung my sword at his leg. The mail protected it but I saw that it had suffered another rip. I punched with my shield and he was forced to step backwards.
I saw that Cadfan and his allies were now less than fifty paces from me. The men of Gwynedd were fighting back to back. They were no longer fighting to win they were fighting to survive. I had to end the battle soon or there would be no army left for Prince Cadfan to lead.
I feinted at Iago’s shield and he turned it to face the blow which never came. I turned the blade and sliced across his middle. A large rent appeared in his mail shirt. He tried to chop at my head but I took the blow on my shield and then punched with the crosspiece of my sword. His shield was too low and the end went into his eye. He screamed in agony and I punched with my shield again. The blows to my shield had made some of the metal stick out and one of the pieces caught on the ripped mail of the king’s mail shirt. As he tried to step back he found that he could not. He began to overbalance and I pulled Saxon Slayer back. I aimed for the gap in his mail and my blade skewered him to the ground. I twisted as I withdrew the bloody weapon and saw that it was a mortal wound. He tried to raise himself and speak but he collapsed backwards, his life blood flooding from him.
I shouted, “King Iago is dead! Long live King Cadfan!”
I saw the warriors of Gwynedd look at each other. The oathsworn were almost all dead and they could see their king dying. They began to throw down their weapons. We had won but at what cost?
I looked around and there was Lann Aelle. He was grinning at me. I grasped him about the shoulders and held him to me. “Well done Lann!”
“No, Warlord, any praise should go to you. You held the line when we were about to be defeated. The victory is all yours.”