To Nimue, my dear, sweet child.
It is a beautiful summer’s day here in Amesbury and I write this from underneath our favourite birch tree, snacking on a sweet, crisp apple and a slice of hard cheese. Despite these gifts from our Goddess, the highlight of my day is the chance to write this letter to you! We have been very busy around the monastery. Sir George and I are planning a trip up to Cameliard to see his highness, King Leodegrance as we may be staying there over the winter. Meanwhile I hear that Sir Brietta, Mountain Lady as you call her, is leading another expedition into the Forest Sauvage. I hope she found the time to meet up with you and the Ladies of the Lake as I know you do so enjoy asking about her wild adventures.
Speaking of stories, I have just spotted an eagle soaring up ahead and am reminded of a story by your Aunt Argle, the wife of my late brother Percival. It is about a young eaglet who was eager to explore the world, hopping from nest to nest. She is taken in by several families of coots along the way, facing exciting experiences each time she travels. You remind me of this young eaglet, travelling from family to family. The Ladies of the Lake tell me you are a gifted, special child and have high hopes for you to make the world a better place. This much was apparent to me from the day I took you home to Idmiston. Things will be challenging at time. Always remember there are many who deeply love you and will gladly share your troubles.
Everyone from Amesbury sends their love. Sister Taffy complains that the windows do not shine quite so brightly as when you used to clean them, while Brother Wren moans that the dinner table has never been set so perfectly as under your careful hand. I send with this letter a rosary made by your close friend Gwyn, who you may remember cried so dearly when you left. She practices her birdsong to this day, though she doesn’t sound quite as sweet as you do. Aunt Argle also sends her famous honeycakes from Idmiston. Don’t eat them all at once.
Thinking of you always,
Esther
Tuesday 26 November 2013
499 AD, Part One: The Fall of Salisbury
The end was coming. Only one year to go until the Second Coming, the priests said. And so Britain prepared itself for the final days and the Rapture. In some parts of the war-torn kingdom, there was anarchy and rioting; in others, missionaries preached the Good Word in an attempt to save as many souls as they could before the return of Christ.
The world was indeed about to end for the knights of Salisbury, although they did not know it at the time. For all that Logres was in chaos, beset by enemies from within and without, Salisbury was enjoying a respite from the bloodshed. She had proven herself more mighty than her enemies had known when Sir Rhisiart of Leucomagus had attacked two years ago, and had entered into an alliance with King Cerdic of Wessex, ensuring her further protection. Salisbury boasted one of the foremost religious leaders in Britain, in the person of Saint Gwiona. And furthermore, word came from Silchester that Sir Rhisiart of Leucomagus was dead in a riding accident. True, there were still enemies, but for now the situation seemed better than it had in many years.
But there were visitors to Salisbury, who arrived as the snow receded, whose coming was the first winds of the black storm upon the horizon. Prince Mark was the well-spoken young heir of King Idres of Cornwall. He seemed charming and personable, though crying serving-girls were a hint that there was a darker side to his nature. His father's armies had spread throughout the south-west, and were on the verge of attacking Jagent. From there, it would be only a year or two before they reached Salisbury. Accordingly, the King of Cornwall sought submission and fealty. "This land will be claimed by the sword," Mark argued, "and surely, better a Cymric King than a Saxon."
Meanwhile, emissaries from the Saxons arrived. The Saxon kings fought amongst one another for the title of Bretwalda, the ruler of all Britain. There were rumours of a new Saxon warchief, a deadly mercenary chieftain called Saexwulf, who sought no kingdom for himself but would serve the mightiest of the Saxons. King Cerdic sent his son, Prince Cynric, to garner military assistance from his new vassal kingdom. Other Saxon emissaries also came to court Salisbury, seeking any edge in their forthcoming battles.
Salisbury needed strong friends. Her long-serving Marshal, Sir Elad, suffered a stroke and was bedridden. Countess Ellen decided to follow the advice of Sir Brietta and Sir Helbur, and pledge herself in marriage to gain an alliance. Therefore, they planned to hold a great tournament, inviting emissaries from all of the major factions. The winner of three challenges - mind, body and soul - would win the hand of Lady Ellen, and the support of Salisbury.
Three of the knights of Salisbury put themselves forward. Sir Bleddyn, who had all the scheming ways of his older brother Sir Cadfael, sought to gain control of Salisbury. Sir Brietta was working for the Ladies of the Lake, who wanted control over Salisbury as a first step in the rebirth of paganism. Sir Helbur also competed. Prince Mark came from Cornwall, and Sir Alain (who had once met Sir Arnulf, five years earlier) from King Nanteleod in Escavalon. For the Saxons stood Prince Cynric of Wessex and the formidable Saexwulf on behalf of King Aelle in Sussex. The most unexpected competitor was Sir Brastias. Once the bodyguard of King Uther Pendragon, he was now lordless. Gaining control of Salisbury would make him a significant power once more. There were many other competitors as well, but these eight distinguished themselves in each event, and all knew that one of them would win the challenge.
There were three challenges for the tournament. The Test of the Mind and the Test of the Soul would determine who fought whom in the Test of the Body, which would end the tournament. The first challenge was a series of riddle-duels. Prince Mark proved himself quick-witted here, but mighty Saexwulf proved to have a mind as sharp as a dagger, and won the first challenge with ease. The second challenge was to spend a night in the Countess' famed Allegorical Zoo, and in the morning to identify the virtues which the animals therein personified. Here, Sir Alain triumphed, with Prince Mark coming second again (although there were whispers that he had cheated!)
The final round was a series of duels, which would decide the winner of the tournament. These duels would be fought until one warrior either surrendered or was incapable of continuing. Sir Alain and Prince Mark entered the duels in the lead, which gave them first choice of their initial opponents. Prince Mark chose Sir Bleddyn, thinking him the least threatening enemy, while Sir Alain surprised everyone by calling out the gigantic Saexwulf! Sir Brastias challenged Prince Cynric, owing to his hatred of the Saxons, and finally Sir Helbur and Sir Brietta were to duel.
In the first bout, Sir Alain surprised everyone when he struck Saexwulf down with two blows, and receiving not a scratch in return! Sir Bleddyn schemed with Prince Mark and threw his match. Sir Brastias took out his fury with the Saxons by humiliating Prince Cynric, and nearly dishonoured himself by murdering his enemy once he had defeated him, though with effort he restrained himself. Finally, Sir Helbur proved himself a better warrior by far than Sir Brietta, but the giant woman refused to surrender until she was beaten to the brink of unconsciousness. In the second round, the veteran Sir Brastias easily subdued young Prince Mark, while Sir Alain of Carlion, bastard son of King Nanteleod, continued to prove his worth to his father by defeating Sir Helbur. The final battle was a duel for the ages, where both Sir Brastias and Sir Alain landed many mighty blows and bled profusely from many wounds, but in the end Sir Brastias was triumphant!
The various competitors withdrew, gracefully or bitterly, as the forthcoming nuptials were arranged. The three knights spent some time in bed recovering from their fights. When they had healed, they set off upon a new quest. At the close of the previous year, Sir Brietta had accompanied Sir Esther and her ward Nimue to Glastonbury, so that Nimue could begin learning how to control her magic from the Ladies of the Lake. While there, the Ladies had spoken to Sir Brietta of the coming rebirth of paganism. For this to happen, however, the long-missing Merlin had to be discovered, for he was destined to be the first archdruid since their faith had been destroyed by the Romans, over four hundred years earlier, and to usher in the return of the old gods.
It was into the Forest Sauvage, upon this quest, that Sir Brietta now led her companions. Sir Helbur had heard rumours of a strange hermit on the outskirts of the forest. The knights travelled to Medbourne, where they paid their respects at the monument to Cadfael and Violette, before entering the forest to look for the hermit - for this was almost certainly Merlin Ambrosius. They spoke to villagers who had seen the naked man, but none knew where he was, for he fled whenever anyone approached.
Entering further into the forest, the three knights were startled as the trees began to shake around them. An immense beast of many hues appeared, terrifying Sir Helbur and Sir Bleddyn as it knocked down many trees. Sir Brietta recognised the creature as an elephant, far from its native land and bright with all the colours of the rainbow. She hailed the faerie beast respectfully. It transpired that the elephant was blind, and 'saw' with its trunk. Faerie hunters had blinded it and taken its eyes for sport, but then a strange hermit healed the elephant's wounds and showed it the way to the heart of the forest. There, the elephant had petitioned the King of Sauvage for recompense, and had received the eyes of the huntsman in restitution: it kept them in its mouth, and proudly displayed them to Sir Brietta. She was disgusted, but also pleased to learn where she would have to travel to deal with her changeling nephew. For now, she asked the elephant if it knew where the hermit who had treated its wounds was, and the elephant was able to point the knights in the correct direction.
Continuing onwards, the group discovered an old man: naked, with tanned skin and a wild beard, sitting beneath an apple tree with a pig by the banks of a river. The man babbled randomly to himself and the pig, but his words bore the weight of prophecy as he unknowingly revealed the souls of those who stood watching, who he had not even noticed as yet! The knights noticed that all of nature seemed to be bending towards the man - in some way he had returned to a state of primitive innocence and had truly become one with the natural - and supernatural - wilderness.
Sir Brietta approached, and Merlin fled from her. She gave chase, and managed to catch the insane enchanter. Sir Helbur then spoke to him, and so powerful were his words that he managed to soothe the panicking master magician. Sir Helbur spoke of Logres' need for Merlin, of how imperilled the kingdom had become since the death of Uther and the madness of Merlin. Merlin did not respond - but the trees began to rearrange themselves, and a straight path led onwards. The knights could tell that it led in the direction of Stevington Well, where they had hoped the magical healing waters of the famous well could restore Merlin's sanity. Subconsciously, it seemed, Merlin was exerting his new and puissant powers to aid them.
The knights, their squires, and the insane hermit followed the road east towards Stevington Well. As they drew near, Sir Brietta remained with the horses and with Merlin, who refused to continue onwards. Sir Bleddyn and Sir Helbur continued on foot towards the sound of singing, where they discovered the beautiful Lady Vithelen, white of face and black of hair. Sir Bleddyn hung back, suspicious of the custodian of the waters, but Sir Helbur agreed to subject himself to her trial, to demonstrate his honesty and chastity, to prove himself worthy of the miraculous healing waters. The two walked through the woods together, while Lady Vithelen asked Sir Helbur about his quest. While they talked, the lady innocently but very provocatively bared one perfect breast to Sir Helbur. Though gripped with desire for the beautiful faerie, Sir Helbur managed to restrain himself, and pass the challenge. After what seemed like hours, he returned alone to the others, bearing a wooden bucket with the diamond-clear waters of the well.
Merlin drank deeply of the waters, and his reason was restored to him. He thanked the three knights for saving him, but refused to accompany Sir Brietta to the Ladies of the Lake, dismissing them as fanatics whose desperation blinded them to the divinity all about them. Instead, he said that he had his own plans - a boy, who would grow to be the saviour of all Britain. Before he departed, he gave the three knights two pieces of advice. The first was positive, for Merlin pointed the knights upon the road that led into the heart of the forest, where Faerie itself held court, and where the King of the Forest Sauvage dwelt. With this aid, Sir Brietta would finally be able to rescue her nephew.
The second was less positive. For dark events had befallen in Salisbury since the knights had left upon their quest. The changeling child, no longer pacified by the influence of Nimue, had slipped his prison and spoken to Prince Cynric. The Saxon prince was already bitter about how Salisbury had all but cast off their alliance with Wessex. The changeling twisted Prince Cynric's mind to a bloody vengeance. And so, on the day when Sir Brastias was to marry Lady Ellen, a force of Saxons had entered Sarum by stealth, and then attacked. With Marshal Elad bedridden after his stroke, there was no defence of which to speak. The Saxons massacred many at the feast, including Sir Brastias and Lady Ellen. Their bloody bodies were cast into the Allegorical Zoo, to be devoured by the animals there.
But not all had perished in the Saxon treachery. Lady Jenna, Sir Esther and Sir George led an exodus from Salisbury, smuggling out Robert, the young heir. For now, they were encamped in the sanctified sanctuary of Amesbury, until they decided upon their next move. They would need allies to give shelter, and to aid in reclaiming their homeland. For now, however, all of Salisbury lay in the bloody grasp of the Saxons, and above all echoed the maniacal laughter of the changeling, revelling in the ultimate chaos that he had wrought upon his adoptive homeland.
The world was indeed about to end for the knights of Salisbury, although they did not know it at the time. For all that Logres was in chaos, beset by enemies from within and without, Salisbury was enjoying a respite from the bloodshed. She had proven herself more mighty than her enemies had known when Sir Rhisiart of Leucomagus had attacked two years ago, and had entered into an alliance with King Cerdic of Wessex, ensuring her further protection. Salisbury boasted one of the foremost religious leaders in Britain, in the person of Saint Gwiona. And furthermore, word came from Silchester that Sir Rhisiart of Leucomagus was dead in a riding accident. True, there were still enemies, but for now the situation seemed better than it had in many years.
But there were visitors to Salisbury, who arrived as the snow receded, whose coming was the first winds of the black storm upon the horizon. Prince Mark was the well-spoken young heir of King Idres of Cornwall. He seemed charming and personable, though crying serving-girls were a hint that there was a darker side to his nature. His father's armies had spread throughout the south-west, and were on the verge of attacking Jagent. From there, it would be only a year or two before they reached Salisbury. Accordingly, the King of Cornwall sought submission and fealty. "This land will be claimed by the sword," Mark argued, "and surely, better a Cymric King than a Saxon."
Meanwhile, emissaries from the Saxons arrived. The Saxon kings fought amongst one another for the title of Bretwalda, the ruler of all Britain. There were rumours of a new Saxon warchief, a deadly mercenary chieftain called Saexwulf, who sought no kingdom for himself but would serve the mightiest of the Saxons. King Cerdic sent his son, Prince Cynric, to garner military assistance from his new vassal kingdom. Other Saxon emissaries also came to court Salisbury, seeking any edge in their forthcoming battles.
Salisbury needed strong friends. Her long-serving Marshal, Sir Elad, suffered a stroke and was bedridden. Countess Ellen decided to follow the advice of Sir Brietta and Sir Helbur, and pledge herself in marriage to gain an alliance. Therefore, they planned to hold a great tournament, inviting emissaries from all of the major factions. The winner of three challenges - mind, body and soul - would win the hand of Lady Ellen, and the support of Salisbury.
Three of the knights of Salisbury put themselves forward. Sir Bleddyn, who had all the scheming ways of his older brother Sir Cadfael, sought to gain control of Salisbury. Sir Brietta was working for the Ladies of the Lake, who wanted control over Salisbury as a first step in the rebirth of paganism. Sir Helbur also competed. Prince Mark came from Cornwall, and Sir Alain (who had once met Sir Arnulf, five years earlier) from King Nanteleod in Escavalon. For the Saxons stood Prince Cynric of Wessex and the formidable Saexwulf on behalf of King Aelle in Sussex. The most unexpected competitor was Sir Brastias. Once the bodyguard of King Uther Pendragon, he was now lordless. Gaining control of Salisbury would make him a significant power once more. There were many other competitors as well, but these eight distinguished themselves in each event, and all knew that one of them would win the challenge.
There were three challenges for the tournament. The Test of the Mind and the Test of the Soul would determine who fought whom in the Test of the Body, which would end the tournament. The first challenge was a series of riddle-duels. Prince Mark proved himself quick-witted here, but mighty Saexwulf proved to have a mind as sharp as a dagger, and won the first challenge with ease. The second challenge was to spend a night in the Countess' famed Allegorical Zoo, and in the morning to identify the virtues which the animals therein personified. Here, Sir Alain triumphed, with Prince Mark coming second again (although there were whispers that he had cheated!)
The final round was a series of duels, which would decide the winner of the tournament. These duels would be fought until one warrior either surrendered or was incapable of continuing. Sir Alain and Prince Mark entered the duels in the lead, which gave them first choice of their initial opponents. Prince Mark chose Sir Bleddyn, thinking him the least threatening enemy, while Sir Alain surprised everyone by calling out the gigantic Saexwulf! Sir Brastias challenged Prince Cynric, owing to his hatred of the Saxons, and finally Sir Helbur and Sir Brietta were to duel.
In the first bout, Sir Alain surprised everyone when he struck Saexwulf down with two blows, and receiving not a scratch in return! Sir Bleddyn schemed with Prince Mark and threw his match. Sir Brastias took out his fury with the Saxons by humiliating Prince Cynric, and nearly dishonoured himself by murdering his enemy once he had defeated him, though with effort he restrained himself. Finally, Sir Helbur proved himself a better warrior by far than Sir Brietta, but the giant woman refused to surrender until she was beaten to the brink of unconsciousness. In the second round, the veteran Sir Brastias easily subdued young Prince Mark, while Sir Alain of Carlion, bastard son of King Nanteleod, continued to prove his worth to his father by defeating Sir Helbur. The final battle was a duel for the ages, where both Sir Brastias and Sir Alain landed many mighty blows and bled profusely from many wounds, but in the end Sir Brastias was triumphant!
The various competitors withdrew, gracefully or bitterly, as the forthcoming nuptials were arranged. The three knights spent some time in bed recovering from their fights. When they had healed, they set off upon a new quest. At the close of the previous year, Sir Brietta had accompanied Sir Esther and her ward Nimue to Glastonbury, so that Nimue could begin learning how to control her magic from the Ladies of the Lake. While there, the Ladies had spoken to Sir Brietta of the coming rebirth of paganism. For this to happen, however, the long-missing Merlin had to be discovered, for he was destined to be the first archdruid since their faith had been destroyed by the Romans, over four hundred years earlier, and to usher in the return of the old gods.
It was into the Forest Sauvage, upon this quest, that Sir Brietta now led her companions. Sir Helbur had heard rumours of a strange hermit on the outskirts of the forest. The knights travelled to Medbourne, where they paid their respects at the monument to Cadfael and Violette, before entering the forest to look for the hermit - for this was almost certainly Merlin Ambrosius. They spoke to villagers who had seen the naked man, but none knew where he was, for he fled whenever anyone approached.
Entering further into the forest, the three knights were startled as the trees began to shake around them. An immense beast of many hues appeared, terrifying Sir Helbur and Sir Bleddyn as it knocked down many trees. Sir Brietta recognised the creature as an elephant, far from its native land and bright with all the colours of the rainbow. She hailed the faerie beast respectfully. It transpired that the elephant was blind, and 'saw' with its trunk. Faerie hunters had blinded it and taken its eyes for sport, but then a strange hermit healed the elephant's wounds and showed it the way to the heart of the forest. There, the elephant had petitioned the King of Sauvage for recompense, and had received the eyes of the huntsman in restitution: it kept them in its mouth, and proudly displayed them to Sir Brietta. She was disgusted, but also pleased to learn where she would have to travel to deal with her changeling nephew. For now, she asked the elephant if it knew where the hermit who had treated its wounds was, and the elephant was able to point the knights in the correct direction.
Continuing onwards, the group discovered an old man: naked, with tanned skin and a wild beard, sitting beneath an apple tree with a pig by the banks of a river. The man babbled randomly to himself and the pig, but his words bore the weight of prophecy as he unknowingly revealed the souls of those who stood watching, who he had not even noticed as yet! The knights noticed that all of nature seemed to be bending towards the man - in some way he had returned to a state of primitive innocence and had truly become one with the natural - and supernatural - wilderness.
Sir Brietta approached, and Merlin fled from her. She gave chase, and managed to catch the insane enchanter. Sir Helbur then spoke to him, and so powerful were his words that he managed to soothe the panicking master magician. Sir Helbur spoke of Logres' need for Merlin, of how imperilled the kingdom had become since the death of Uther and the madness of Merlin. Merlin did not respond - but the trees began to rearrange themselves, and a straight path led onwards. The knights could tell that it led in the direction of Stevington Well, where they had hoped the magical healing waters of the famous well could restore Merlin's sanity. Subconsciously, it seemed, Merlin was exerting his new and puissant powers to aid them.
The knights, their squires, and the insane hermit followed the road east towards Stevington Well. As they drew near, Sir Brietta remained with the horses and with Merlin, who refused to continue onwards. Sir Bleddyn and Sir Helbur continued on foot towards the sound of singing, where they discovered the beautiful Lady Vithelen, white of face and black of hair. Sir Bleddyn hung back, suspicious of the custodian of the waters, but Sir Helbur agreed to subject himself to her trial, to demonstrate his honesty and chastity, to prove himself worthy of the miraculous healing waters. The two walked through the woods together, while Lady Vithelen asked Sir Helbur about his quest. While they talked, the lady innocently but very provocatively bared one perfect breast to Sir Helbur. Though gripped with desire for the beautiful faerie, Sir Helbur managed to restrain himself, and pass the challenge. After what seemed like hours, he returned alone to the others, bearing a wooden bucket with the diamond-clear waters of the well.
Merlin drank deeply of the waters, and his reason was restored to him. He thanked the three knights for saving him, but refused to accompany Sir Brietta to the Ladies of the Lake, dismissing them as fanatics whose desperation blinded them to the divinity all about them. Instead, he said that he had his own plans - a boy, who would grow to be the saviour of all Britain. Before he departed, he gave the three knights two pieces of advice. The first was positive, for Merlin pointed the knights upon the road that led into the heart of the forest, where Faerie itself held court, and where the King of the Forest Sauvage dwelt. With this aid, Sir Brietta would finally be able to rescue her nephew.
The second was less positive. For dark events had befallen in Salisbury since the knights had left upon their quest. The changeling child, no longer pacified by the influence of Nimue, had slipped his prison and spoken to Prince Cynric. The Saxon prince was already bitter about how Salisbury had all but cast off their alliance with Wessex. The changeling twisted Prince Cynric's mind to a bloody vengeance. And so, on the day when Sir Brastias was to marry Lady Ellen, a force of Saxons had entered Sarum by stealth, and then attacked. With Marshal Elad bedridden after his stroke, there was no defence of which to speak. The Saxons massacred many at the feast, including Sir Brastias and Lady Ellen. Their bloody bodies were cast into the Allegorical Zoo, to be devoured by the animals there.
But not all had perished in the Saxon treachery. Lady Jenna, Sir Esther and Sir George led an exodus from Salisbury, smuggling out Robert, the young heir. For now, they were encamped in the sanctified sanctuary of Amesbury, until they decided upon their next move. They would need allies to give shelter, and to aid in reclaiming their homeland. For now, however, all of Salisbury lay in the bloody grasp of the Saxons, and above all echoed the maniacal laughter of the changeling, revelling in the ultimate chaos that he had wrought upon his adoptive homeland.
Saturday 2 November 2013
498 AD: The Allegorical Zoo
Countess Ellen had a plan.
Sir Bleddyn, Sir Brietta, Sir George, Sir Helbur, Lady Jenna and her retinue headed north to the Forest Sauvage. On the way, they were accosted by apologetic bandits: a group of peasants who had turned to banditry to survive after the storm of two years earlier destroyed their livelihood. Rather than fight them, Sir George chastised them in the name of God, and shamed them into surrendering. The knight told them to go find a monastery for aid, and then sent them on their way.
Continuing to the Forest, the party encountered a traveller upon the road: Nineve, the Lady of the Lake who had recruited them to defeat Sir Gorboduc the previous year. She greeted the knights and asked for their company as she conducted the errands that she had on the outskirts of the forest. In exchange for this help, she would act as midwife for Lady Jenna, and help with the capture of the stork for which they quested. The knights agreed.
Around mid-day on the following day, Nineve called the procession to a halt outside a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. She then asked for everyone to wait outside, while she went in to talk to the inhabitant. After an hour or more, a grim Nineve emerged and explained what was happening. The cottage belonged to a friend of hers, dying of an inoperable illness. Nineve was now going to go and pray over a poison which would end her friend’s suffering. The knights argued about the morality of this while she was gone, with Sir George particularly upset; meanwhile Sir Helbur went inside and used his skill as an orator to tell the bedridden old woman a beautiful story. While he was telling it, Nineve returned with cups of tea for them all, and the old woman slipped away from her pain-ridden life as Sir Helbur finished his story.
It was now time for Lady Jenna to give birth. The group headed deeper into the forest, for only where the border between reality and the other world blurred could the group hope to find a stork. With Nineve and the elf-stone as their guides, the procession was able to penetrate deep into the forest. In a empty glade, Lady Nineve delivered the child, with Sir Brietta’s aid. A stork watched from the branches of a nearby tree, and the Lady of the Lake sang to it, so that Michael Falconer could catch it. The quest of the stork was a success! The new mother, her attendants, the knights, and the Lady of the Lake departed the forest. Nineve left the group behind to visit another friend of hers who lived nearby, while the others returned to Salisbury to learn what Sir Esther had learned next.
Sir Esther, in the time that the knights had been gone, had successfully discovered the location of camels! During the Roman invasion of Britain under the Emperor Claudius, a regiment of camels had been brought across in case they were needed. The descendants of the camel-handlers had settled in Dorset, and had continued to look after a herd of camels in case the Romans ever returned and needed them again. She decided to leave her books and join the other five, as they rode to meet Sir Gaius, custodian of the imperial camels. Sir Gaius received the five knights hospitably, but refused to surrender any camels to them: they were not his to give away, but the property of the Emperor!
Eventually, Sir Gaius relented and decided that if the five proved themselves to be true Romans, he would entrust them with a pair of camels – but they had to promise to give them back immediately if the Romans ever returned and wanted them! This did not prove to be a difficult task. Sir Esther, as a woman of letters, was able to quote from a number of latin literary texts, impressing Sir Gaius. Sir Brietta offered sacrifices to Epona, the pagan goddess of horses (and camels) – a deity that the Romans respected. Sir Helbur demonstrated his excellent rhetorical skills in a debate with Sir Gaius. Impressed by their Roman virtue, Sir Gaius decided to entrust the knights with a pair of camels for the zoo.
Returning to Salisbury, Sir Esther returned to her studies as she directed the group upon their next challenge: finding a lion, the symbol of courage. This would be a difficult challenge, for lions were notoriously rare in the British Isles, as well as being extremely dangerous: it was only five years since Sir Aeronwy had been devoured by one in Malahaut. Sir Bleddyn, Sir Brietta, Sir George and Sir Helbur headed out into the wilderness (with considerable trepidation) to look for a lion. After much hunting, they discovered the trail of a lion and followed its spoor until they discovered the beast itself. Sir George thought about what he knew of lion-hunting, and remembered erroneously that a lion could be subdued by an act of supreme bravery. Accordingly, he stripped off his armour and approached the lion naked – only to discover that he was mistaken in his beliefs! The lion pounced at them, its breath fetid with the stink of meat, and only Sir Bleddyn and Sir Helbur stood to fight it – Sir Brietta and Sir George turn and fled in terror! A ferocious battle ensued, in which the lion savaged the knights brave enough to withstand it. As they vainly tried to resist its claws, Sir Brietta and Sir George gathered their courage and returned to the battle. Sir Brietta drew the lion’s attention from her bleeding companions, and Sir George, still naked, struck a mighty blow with his sword, knocking the lion unconscious. With the terror subdued, it was hurried back to Salisbury, where it was put in a very secure cage.
Meanwhile, Sir Esther journeyed to London to meet with a merchant there. As pelicans, the bird of faith, were not native to Britain, she decided that it would be easiest to purchase one, and only in that metropolis might she be able to find one. She managed to track down a merchant who sold exotic animals, and after some bargaining she found herself the proud owner of an Egyptian pelican. She also had the merchant throw in some Occitanian lapdogs – a better animal for a zoo than the commonplace British hounds that the knights had already acquired.
There were only two animals left to acquire, the coot and the eagle. Sir Esther’s continued reading had revealed that both animals could be found in close proximity, in the peaks of Wales. The noble eagles made their nests at the summit of the mountains, while the coots were lower down, and often raised the offsprings of eagles which were forced from their nests for failing to meet the exacting standards of their parents. On the way to the mountains, the five knights encountered a group of Welsh tribesmen, who refused to believe that anyone would come such a distance simply for a few birds. Sir Esther and Sir Brietta went with the Welsh as hostages. True to Sir Brietta’s expectations, the Welshmen soon attempted to attack them, but Sir Brietta fought them off, and the two women knights escaped back to their companions. The Welshmen’s mountain ponies could not keep up with the stronger warhorses, and they soon abandoned their pursuit.
The group, led by Michael Falconer, found the cliffs where eagles and coots nested. Sir Bleddyn volunteered to scale the cliffs and steal eggs from their nests. He was easily able to reach the coots, and took several eggs without difficulty. Stealing from the eagles proved more difficult, as the parents attacked him. He attempted in vain to defend himself from their incensed talons with his knife on the summit of the mountain. When this proved ineffective, he decided to simply climb down again, ignoring the eagle as best he could. Sir Bleddyn managed to climb down the mountain again, even with an eagle tearing at his face, and Michael Falconer shooed off the attacking eagle. When the knights returned to Salisbury, they installed the eggs in their new enclosures. The Allegorical Zoo was complete!
That winter, Sir Helbur was married to Lady Jenna with much pomp and ceremony in the grand hall of Sarum. Sir Brietta drank too much, and the next morning woke up naked save for a codpiece in the camel enclosure, with no idea of how she got there. In addition, Sir Esther had visitors: two of the Ladies of the Lake had come for her adopted daughter. They won over Sir Esther by impressing upon her how the girl’s power would grow to be a threat to her unless she was trained in its use – and so the girl Nimue was taken from Amesbury and her playmate Morgan, to go to Glastonbury and train to become one of the Ladies of the Lake. Sir Esther was assured that she could visit whenever she wanted. Sir Brietta confessed to Sir Esther that she had told Lady Nineve about Nimue when they were travelling in the Forest Sauvage. Sir Esther forgave Sir Brietta, and as the snows began to thaw, the two travelled west to Glastonbury, to visit Nimue and the Ladies.
This was a prospect fit to make grown men run screaming. The
Countess was famously airheaded and impractical, and the only mercy about her
reign as Regent of Salisbury for her son Robert was that she was generally so
distracted that other, more capable souls (such as Sir Elad, the Marshal of
Salisbury) could do the work for her. But now she had an idea that she was
fixated upon, and there was no getting out of it!
First was the small matter of Sir Rhisiart, the Steward of
Leucomagus. He had made a deal with the Saxons of Essex to invade Salisbury and
have himself installed as puppet ruler, a plan which went wrong when Sir Elad
led a far more spirited defence than anyone had expected. The Saxons, disgusted
by their erstwhile ally, had abandoned him to his enemies and departed, and now
he languished in the dungeons. The knights of Salisbury debated vigorously
about what should be done, with Sir Cadfael's younger brother Sir Bleddyn
advocating that he be put to death immediately. However, the faction that
suggests peace won the day, and Sir Rhisiart was ransomed back to his home for
a princely sum, which went towards finishing the inner ramparts of Sarum - the
stone walls would be useful in case the Saxons came back!
As the meeting was about to adjourn, the Countess revealed
her new orders to her son's vassals. Salisbury had been through much hardship
and suffering over the last few years. It was also said by the Christians that
there were only two more years until the second coming of Christ and the end of
days. Too many people were not prepared for Heaven, and so Ellen intended to
solve both problems at once. She wanted to build a zoo! Not just any zoo, but
an allegorical zoo, with animals representing the most important Christian
virtues, so that everyone who visited would become a better person and be sure
of going to heaven!
Sir Bleddyn, Sir Brietta, Sir Esther, Sir George and Sir
Helbur were assigned the job of assembling the zoo. Sir Esther withdrew to her
books for the year, looking through as many bestiaries as she could to discover
exactly which animals represented the most important virtues, as well as
checking the Bible to remember what the virtues actually were. The other
knights took turns aiding her, or going out into the field to track down the
animals that she assigned them to find. Over the course of the year, she
decided that the key virtues were prudence (represented by a stork), justice
(represented by an eagle), temperance (represented by a camel), courage
(represented by a lion), faith (represented by a pelican), hope (represented by
a dog) and love (represented by a coot). The hunt was on!
Sir Brietta was soon able to track down a dog; then she and
Sir Helbur went looking for a dove, thinking that it represented one of the
virtues. The quest became awkward immediately, for Sir Helbur and Sir Brietta
had slept together two years earlier; then Sir Brietta been taken by Faerie,
and their child Deidre had grown wings and flown away. They spent more time
arguing than they did looking for doves, and so failed to find any. Finally,
Sir Helbur hired an expert, Michael Falconer, to help track down the doves for
him.
The next animal that the knights needed to find was a stork.
White storks were a very rare bird in Britain, but Sir Brietta had a brainwave.
The Forest Sauvage was a place where the borders of reality weakened, where
fable walked under the boughs. And fable said that a stork would attend a woman
in labour. Perhaps if a pregnant woman were taken deep into the wildest parts
of the Forest Sauvage, she would be able to summon a stork. Sir Helbur agreed,
and then asked his lady-love, Lady Jenna. Jenna and he had been in love for a
long time, since before she was married to Sir Arnulf. She, lonely, had
propositioned Sir Helbur while she was living in Tilshead, but the knight had
refused to betray his lord. However, after the strangeness of his fling with
Sir Brietta, Sir Helbur had returned to Lady Jenna and slept with her, and she
was to be delivered of a child soon. So Sir Helbur used his amazing skills of
oratory to convince his beloved to travel to the borders of Faerie to give
birth, all so that her mother could complete her allegorical zoo. To everyone's
surprise, she agreed!
Sir Bleddyn, Sir Brietta, Sir George, Sir Helbur, Lady Jenna and her retinue headed north to the Forest Sauvage. On the way, they were accosted by apologetic bandits: a group of peasants who had turned to banditry to survive after the storm of two years earlier destroyed their livelihood. Rather than fight them, Sir George chastised them in the name of God, and shamed them into surrendering. The knight told them to go find a monastery for aid, and then sent them on their way.
Continuing to the Forest, the party encountered a traveller upon the road: Nineve, the Lady of the Lake who had recruited them to defeat Sir Gorboduc the previous year. She greeted the knights and asked for their company as she conducted the errands that she had on the outskirts of the forest. In exchange for this help, she would act as midwife for Lady Jenna, and help with the capture of the stork for which they quested. The knights agreed.
While they rode under the boughs of that strange forest, Sir
Brietta was eager to talk with Lady Nineve, as she was a fervent follower of
the old ways, and the Ladies of the Lake were virtually the only remnant of
paganism left. She learned that Lady Nineve was looking for children who had
magical gifts to join the Ladies of the Lake – one in particular, of whom Lady
Evienne had dreamed: a child with powers as great as any of the Ladies, and
constantly growing in strength. Sir Brietta told Nineve about Sir Esther’s
child, entrusted to her by Merlin, who had calmed the changeling child the
previous year. They also spoke about Ganeida, about whom the knights had heard
many strange rumours. Nineve confirmed that Ganeida, although stillborn, was
The Lady of the Lake, the faerie spirit who led the mortal Ladies, and, by
extension, the faerie godmother of Merlin. The answers left Sir Brietta
realising that she would never truly understand the ways of Faerie.
On the first day that they were with Nineve, the group met a
beggar upon the road who requested a cloak to keep him warm; in exchange, he
would guide them upon the road. Sir Brietta immediately offered hers; however,
when the beggar put it on, it only covered one shoulder. Sir Helbur, Sir Bledri
and a reluctant Sir George were forced to surrender their cloaks as well, until
the vagrant was fully covered, and pointed them upon the correct path.
Upon the second day, the knights heard the jingle of small
bells and the sound of approaching horses. A group of beautiful women, led by a
fair lady so pale she seemed almost white, attended by a number of
handsome young pages, were riding upon the road from the opposite direction.
The two groups stopped to take food together, during which time Lady Blanche of
Blanche introduced herself, and made a curious request of the knights. "I
would like you to teach my ladies something," she said. "Will each of
you please tell us why you are a good person?" The knights happily spent
the afternoon bragging of their exploits to the attentive audience, before
continuing onwards.
On the third day, the cavalcade passed through a field of red
poppies, with a beautiful fragrance floating through the air. So beautiful was
the odour that the riders began to fall asleep in their saddles. Only Sir
Brietta was able to force herself to stay awake, and led the group through
safely. All soon recovered from their brush with the poppies - save Sir
George, whose beard mysteriously vanished while he was sleeping. Sir Brietta
only grinned when she was asked about it.
Around mid-day on the following day, Nineve called the procession to a halt outside a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. She then asked for everyone to wait outside, while she went in to talk to the inhabitant. After an hour or more, a grim Nineve emerged and explained what was happening. The cottage belonged to a friend of hers, dying of an inoperable illness. Nineve was now going to go and pray over a poison which would end her friend’s suffering. The knights argued about the morality of this while she was gone, with Sir George particularly upset; meanwhile Sir Helbur went inside and used his skill as an orator to tell the bedridden old woman a beautiful story. While he was telling it, Nineve returned with cups of tea for them all, and the old woman slipped away from her pain-ridden life as Sir Helbur finished his story.
It was now time for Lady Jenna to give birth. The group headed deeper into the forest, for only where the border between reality and the other world blurred could the group hope to find a stork. With Nineve and the elf-stone as their guides, the procession was able to penetrate deep into the forest. In a empty glade, Lady Nineve delivered the child, with Sir Brietta’s aid. A stork watched from the branches of a nearby tree, and the Lady of the Lake sang to it, so that Michael Falconer could catch it. The quest of the stork was a success! The new mother, her attendants, the knights, and the Lady of the Lake departed the forest. Nineve left the group behind to visit another friend of hers who lived nearby, while the others returned to Salisbury to learn what Sir Esther had learned next.
Sir Esther, in the time that the knights had been gone, had successfully discovered the location of camels! During the Roman invasion of Britain under the Emperor Claudius, a regiment of camels had been brought across in case they were needed. The descendants of the camel-handlers had settled in Dorset, and had continued to look after a herd of camels in case the Romans ever returned and needed them again. She decided to leave her books and join the other five, as they rode to meet Sir Gaius, custodian of the imperial camels. Sir Gaius received the five knights hospitably, but refused to surrender any camels to them: they were not his to give away, but the property of the Emperor!
Eventually, Sir Gaius relented and decided that if the five proved themselves to be true Romans, he would entrust them with a pair of camels – but they had to promise to give them back immediately if the Romans ever returned and wanted them! This did not prove to be a difficult task. Sir Esther, as a woman of letters, was able to quote from a number of latin literary texts, impressing Sir Gaius. Sir Brietta offered sacrifices to Epona, the pagan goddess of horses (and camels) – a deity that the Romans respected. Sir Helbur demonstrated his excellent rhetorical skills in a debate with Sir Gaius. Impressed by their Roman virtue, Sir Gaius decided to entrust the knights with a pair of camels for the zoo.
Returning to Salisbury, Sir Esther returned to her studies as she directed the group upon their next challenge: finding a lion, the symbol of courage. This would be a difficult challenge, for lions were notoriously rare in the British Isles, as well as being extremely dangerous: it was only five years since Sir Aeronwy had been devoured by one in Malahaut. Sir Bleddyn, Sir Brietta, Sir George and Sir Helbur headed out into the wilderness (with considerable trepidation) to look for a lion. After much hunting, they discovered the trail of a lion and followed its spoor until they discovered the beast itself. Sir George thought about what he knew of lion-hunting, and remembered erroneously that a lion could be subdued by an act of supreme bravery. Accordingly, he stripped off his armour and approached the lion naked – only to discover that he was mistaken in his beliefs! The lion pounced at them, its breath fetid with the stink of meat, and only Sir Bleddyn and Sir Helbur stood to fight it – Sir Brietta and Sir George turn and fled in terror! A ferocious battle ensued, in which the lion savaged the knights brave enough to withstand it. As they vainly tried to resist its claws, Sir Brietta and Sir George gathered their courage and returned to the battle. Sir Brietta drew the lion’s attention from her bleeding companions, and Sir George, still naked, struck a mighty blow with his sword, knocking the lion unconscious. With the terror subdued, it was hurried back to Salisbury, where it was put in a very secure cage.
Meanwhile, Sir Esther journeyed to London to meet with a merchant there. As pelicans, the bird of faith, were not native to Britain, she decided that it would be easiest to purchase one, and only in that metropolis might she be able to find one. She managed to track down a merchant who sold exotic animals, and after some bargaining she found herself the proud owner of an Egyptian pelican. She also had the merchant throw in some Occitanian lapdogs – a better animal for a zoo than the commonplace British hounds that the knights had already acquired.
There were only two animals left to acquire, the coot and the eagle. Sir Esther’s continued reading had revealed that both animals could be found in close proximity, in the peaks of Wales. The noble eagles made their nests at the summit of the mountains, while the coots were lower down, and often raised the offsprings of eagles which were forced from their nests for failing to meet the exacting standards of their parents. On the way to the mountains, the five knights encountered a group of Welsh tribesmen, who refused to believe that anyone would come such a distance simply for a few birds. Sir Esther and Sir Brietta went with the Welsh as hostages. True to Sir Brietta’s expectations, the Welshmen soon attempted to attack them, but Sir Brietta fought them off, and the two women knights escaped back to their companions. The Welshmen’s mountain ponies could not keep up with the stronger warhorses, and they soon abandoned their pursuit.
The group, led by Michael Falconer, found the cliffs where eagles and coots nested. Sir Bleddyn volunteered to scale the cliffs and steal eggs from their nests. He was easily able to reach the coots, and took several eggs without difficulty. Stealing from the eagles proved more difficult, as the parents attacked him. He attempted in vain to defend himself from their incensed talons with his knife on the summit of the mountain. When this proved ineffective, he decided to simply climb down again, ignoring the eagle as best he could. Sir Bleddyn managed to climb down the mountain again, even with an eagle tearing at his face, and Michael Falconer shooed off the attacking eagle. When the knights returned to Salisbury, they installed the eggs in their new enclosures. The Allegorical Zoo was complete!
That winter, Sir Helbur was married to Lady Jenna with much pomp and ceremony in the grand hall of Sarum. Sir Brietta drank too much, and the next morning woke up naked save for a codpiece in the camel enclosure, with no idea of how she got there. In addition, Sir Esther had visitors: two of the Ladies of the Lake had come for her adopted daughter. They won over Sir Esther by impressing upon her how the girl’s power would grow to be a threat to her unless she was trained in its use – and so the girl Nimue was taken from Amesbury and her playmate Morgan, to go to Glastonbury and train to become one of the Ladies of the Lake. Sir Esther was assured that she could visit whenever she wanted. Sir Brietta confessed to Sir Esther that she had told Lady Nineve about Nimue when they were travelling in the Forest Sauvage. Sir Esther forgave Sir Brietta, and as the snows began to thaw, the two travelled west to Glastonbury, to visit Nimue and the Ladies.
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