Knighthood is a noble station indeed! To fight in defence of those who cannot defend themselves is a grand calling. But for one group of newly-appointed knights, it is the opportunities for romance which are the most appealing aspect of their rank. Sir Cadfael paid court to Lady Gwiona. This beautiful heiress had been unlucky in love four times: four times she had been betrothed, and four times her beloved had perished in battle before the wedding day. Sir Cadfael was nervous, fearing some curse might be upon the lady, but her pleasant appearance and valuable lands proved incentive for him to begin flirting with her.
Meanwhile, Sir Aeronwy sought to catch the attention of the handsome pagan knight, Sir Leo. However, disaster struck when the Bearslayer accidentally winked at his companion instead, Lady Elaine. Lady Elaine was infamous at court for having an... obsessive nature, and Sir Aeronwy became her latest obsession. Lady Elaine told lies to Sir Leo to chase the good knight off, and then began spreading stories of Sir Aeronwy's valour. The bear had been the size of a mountain! Its hide was so thick that no weapon could pierce it! It had devoured entire cities! Sir Aeronwy had wrestled it into submission, throttled it with her bare hands, and then skinned it with its own claws. Strangely, Elaine's stories of this Herculean labour tended to make most people feel that Sir Aeronwy was a braggart and behind the stories herself. Despite the damage that Lady Elaine had done to Sir Aeronwy's reputation, Sir Aeronwy decided that she was quite flattered by Elaine's attention...
The knights were assigned to patrol the eastern borders of Salisbury, under the leadership of Sir Lycus. Accompanying them would be two other young knights: the over-large Sir Neddig, and the pious Sir Angharad. Sir Lycus was a vain and insulting knight, who denigrated Sir Cadfael's father and who wanted to lead the patrol to raid neighbouring Silchester or Hampshire for personal profit. The knights grumbled about Sir Lycus, and plotted various schemes to humiliate him or remove his authority over them. However, this was soon forgotten when the patrol reached the village of Nether Wallop.
Nether Wallop was aflame. Raiders had attacked the village, killing men, raping women, stealing livestock, and burning the village. Sir Lycus, Sir Cadfael, Sir Albrecht, Sir Neddig and Sir Aeronwy gave chase after the raiders, while Sir Percival and Sir Angharad stayed in the village to look after the surviving peasants (and, when their task was done, started playing gwyddbwyll against one another while they waited for the others to return!)
A short distance north of Nether Wallop, the five knights met the raiders in battle. Sir Albrecht recognised the knights from their heraldry: they were servants of the Steward of Leucomagus, a rival of Earl Roderick's. The knights were led by Sir Arnulf, the personal champion of the Steward. Battle was joined, in which Sir Albrecht again failed to distinguish himself despite his great physical might, and Sir Neddig showed his dishonourable nature by using bow and arrow to slay enemy knights while they were distracted. Finally, the knights of Salisbury were victorious, and the knights of Leucomagus were slain, save for Sir Arnulf, who was taken alive.
It was here that Sir Cadfael had an interesting idea. Rather than ransom Sir Arnulf, they decided to let him leave unhindered - but talked to him first. The kingdom of Logres was in turmoil, beset by Saxons from without and internal dissent from within. King Uther Pendragon was seeking to garner the political power necessary to have himself appointed High King over all of Britain, to unify the feuding lords and lead them against the Saxons. Rather than continue the feud between Salisbury and Leucomagus, the knights sought Sir Arnulf's aid in reconciling the two enemies so that Logres could stand united against the greater threat of the Saxons. Sir Arnulf was convinced by Sir Cadfael's passionate words, and departed, promising to seriously consider the matter.
It was at this time that word came from London that King Uther intended to capitalise on his victory of the previous year by summoning the lords of Logres to war once more against the Saxons. This time he intended to strike south against King Aelle of Sussex. The young knights mustered their forces at the estate of Sir Albrecht, whose hall at Berwick St James was the largest. Sir Cadfael went to Sarum, where he proposed to Lady Gwiona (somewhat nervously!) Meanwhile, Sir Aeronwy began an affair with Lady Elaine. Elaine continued to demonstrate her obsessive behaviour. Learning that Sir Aeronwy had a grudge against Sir Albrecht for beating her in a duel the previous year, Elaine arranged for Sir Albrecht to be served undercooked chicken, giving him a bad case of food poisoning. Fortunately for her, Sir Albrecht was ignorant of the origins of his ailment.
Once the knights had mustered their troops, they joined the Earl's main host and began the march to Silchester, where the Pendragon's war-banner flew. Once they arrived in Silchester, they heard ill tidings. Some lords had not answered the summons to war - most notable amongst them, Duke Gorlois of Cornwall, who was reputed to be... otherwise occupied, with his beautiful new wife, Igraine. Sir Cadfael sought to learn more about this, and wound up causing a feud between himself and the token force from Cornwall, led by the Duke's son Sir Cador. In addition, a new Saxon army had arrived from the continent. Led by King Aethelswith, they had landed in Caercolun and had captured much of the duchy already. King Uther dispatched his bastard son, Prince Madoc, with part of the mustered army to Caercolun to hold back King Aethelswith's advance and allow refugees to escape the Saxon onslaught. As a result of these two calamities, the army that King Uther now commanded for the invasion of Sussex was far lower than anticipated.
Regardless, the forces of Logres headed south, along the valley of the Mearcred Creek. Before long, scouts reported another army in their way: the Saxons of King Aelle. Both forces formed their battle-lines, while champions from each side issued challenges. Chafing from his humiliation at the hands of Uhtred, the Saxon bandit leader, the previous year, Sir Albrecht accepted a challenge from a Saxon berserker. He landed a mighty blow upon the bearskin-wearing maniac - who ignored it and struck back, nearly killing Sir Albrecht! Seeing this, Sir Cadfael burst from the line and dishonourably struck down the berserker, while Sir Percival dragged Sir Albrecht's bleeding form away.
Sir Cadfael's honourless intervention in a duel of single combat incensed the Saxon army and dismayed the British. Howling the name of their bloody god Wotan, the Saxons flung themselves forward, hitting the Cymric shield-wall and shattering it. The initial knightly charge, spearheaded by the knights of Salisbury, slew many Saxons, but soon their momentum waned and the cavalry found themselves assailed by the vanguard of the Saxons. Sir Aeronwy was struck down and dragged to safety by her squire. When all hope seemed lost, King Uther's royal bodyguard managed to break through the Saxons and attack them from the rear, throwing them into chaos. The result was a victory for the British - but the butcher's bill had been high indeed, and the Pendragon was forced to withdraw his army back to Logres.
After the battle, Sir Angharad went to the healing tents. She was a skilled healer, and so she wished to see if she could help the grievously wounded Sir Aeronwy. To her horror, she found that Lady Elaine was there. Elaine had become hysterical as a result of the injuries that Sir Aeronwy had suffered, and was attempting to save her beloved through bloodletting. Realising that the 'bloodletting' could have fatal consequences, Sir Angharad intervened, only to be stabbed by Lady Elaine! Sir Angharad considered beheading the crazed woman, but instead knocked her out and saved Sir Aeronwy's life.
As the muster dispersed, word came from Leucomagus and Sir Arnulf. After the events of the year, Sir Arnulf had become convinced that the Saxons were by far the greatest menace. The next year, when the winter snows melted, he offered to send to London for a negotiator from the crown, and would host the knights of Salisbury as ambassadors of peace to his lord the Steward. To seal his friendship with the knights of Salisbury, he married Sir Angharad's sister. The year had been one of many setbacks, but perhaps the next year some lasting good might be achieved.
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