The royal banner of Queen Guinevere flapped in the breeze on Badon Hill. Beneath it, the Queen and her defenders prepared to sell their lives dearly, Prince Cynric began the assault with a wave of ceorls, to take the measure of the defenders. Sir Balthazar, Sir Zebediah, Sir Xavier and Lady Elspeth threw them back, with the aid of the heroes from Fairwind Castle: Gwyddno Garanhir, Merionwydd, young Taliesin, and more. After an hour's fighting, the ceorls fled, and Lady Svenhildr and others treated the defenders' wounds. Spirits were high, but everyone knew that the Saxons would soon return, and in greater number.
As the afternoon waned, Prince Cynric flung the main body of his force up the hill at the beleaguered defenders. Now the fighting was more intense. Inspired by the presence of the High Queen, the Cymric heroes held their ground. In the middle of the fighting, Elspeth found her nephew, young Hugh, in the middle of the battle. He had disguised himself and secretly joined the force, wanting to fight as Sir Taedi had fought. He held King Arthur's shield, which Sir Taedi had given him before his death. Elspeth ordered him back behind the lines, before being grievously wounded herself. Onion, the giant of Castle Fairwind, rescued her and took her back to the first aid tents. Barely conscious, she would not be able to fight any longer.
Horns sounded, and the Saxons withdrew once more. A new army drew near, flying the banners of Malahaut and Salisbury, and Prince Cynric did not wish for his force to be caught off guard by them. The new arrivals climbed the hill to greatly reinforce the thinned ranks of the defenders. Sir Donna was among the new arrivals, and she sought out her friends. She had arrived too late at Salisbury to save the city, but she had managed to evacuate Earl Robert and some of the other knights. Then Nimue appeared and directed them towards Badon Hill. They had met up with King Berrant of Malahaut, who had led his forces south to fight the Saxons as well. He was no friend of Logres, but the Saxons were a far greater threat. He, too, had been told to come to Badon Hill by Nimue.
The next day's dawn brought no respite. Prince Cynric had been reinforced during the night by King Cerdic's forces, and their allies from conquered Dorset. Far to the east, a single black storm cloud could be seen, and men wondered what it meant. Did King Arthur fight there? Cerdic and Cynric flung their army up the hill to assail the defenders again, and more bitter hand-to-hand fighting followed. After long hours of violence, they were flung back again. A hasty council of war followed with Sir Balthazar, Queen Guinevere, King Berrant and Earl Robert. They all agreed that the Saxons would inevitably conquer the hill and kill them. King Berrant decided to take some of his men and try to break through the Saxon lines. If he could find King Arthur and bring him here, perhaps there was a chance.
King Berrant and his Hundred Knights rode out shortly thereafter. They charged at a weak point in the Saxon lines and managed to escape the siege of the hill. However, this left the defenders weak once more, and the Saxons swarmed up the hill to defeat them. Berserkers broke through the defensive escarpment and drove them back to the summit of the hill. During the fierce fighting, a group of Saxons broke through to the first aid tents. Svenhildr was wounded and nearly died, while Asher, formerly of Amesbury, was killed. The Cymric forces attempted to rally, but it seemed as if the hill would surely fall. Sir Xavier died then, struck down by a berserker's axe. Suddenly, the Saxons were fleeing. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table had arrived, brought by King Berrant. King Cerdic's forces broke and fled down the hill. Briefly, the defenders were jubilant. However, King Arthur had been fleeing the main Saxon army, led by King Aelle. He had been fighting a running battle with them from Silchester. Because of Guinevere's defense on the Hill, he had not been caught between Aelle and Cerdic; the Saxon battle plan had been foiled. Now, all the defenders of Britain were united on Badon Hill, while all the Saxon attackers were united to attack it. Here, the war that had raged for generations would end, one way or another,
The next day, the sun did not rise. The sky was grey and foreboding. Banners hung limp from poles. Badon Hill seemed transformed, from an old hill fort into a mountain of legend. In the sky, the white and red dragons that Merlin had once prophesied coiled and roared, the personified spirits of the two peoples. King Arthur reclaimed his shield gratefully from Hugh, and then knighted him and all the squires present - anyone who could bear arms would be needed to fill out the ranks. Those who were wounded but could still fight shuffled out. The High King gave a short, inspiring speech to his men. The whole world had fallen into chaos, and now they were the last bastion of civilisation. "We are the blaze in the dark! And if we should die here, we shall have made such a blaze that men will remember us on the other side of the dark!"
Battle was joined. Both armies seemed larger than they had been the night before: for the battle now took place on the border between History and Legend. The air blistered, as Nimue fought a magical battle against the Saxon wizards. The souls of all those who had ever fought in this war fought alongside the living. Sir Donna was struck down, but her life was saved by Sir Aeronwy, who wore her famous bear's-head helmet. Sir Balthazar fell, too, but his father Sir Arnulf, who had died fighting this same war, this same battle twenty-three years earlier, came to his respite. Were they truly there? No one would be quite sure afterwards, for the battle was like a bloody dream. King Aelle's forces broke the shield wall at the foot of the hill. There, finally, Sir Zebediah fell, pierced by many wounds. But Aelle's forces were drawn into a trap. The Knights of the Round Table charged them, breaking them, and flung them back off the hill. The slaughter went on for all of the day and much of the night.
When the fourth day dawned, there was no sign of dragons, or ghosts. The Saxon army had been shattered. Only the most hardened veterans remained, and they prepared to sell their lives dearly. But Arthur's own forces were greatly depleted. The battle still hung in the balance. Grim slaughter followed. The ground underfoot was mud and gore. King Aelle attempted to personally kill King Arthur to win the war, but his heorthgeneats were broken by the Knights of the Round Table, and Excalibur personally claimed the life of the would-be bretwalda. Shortly thereafter, King Cerdic and Prince Cynric were captured, and many of their followers surrendered. Some of the Saxons withdrew in despair; the rest sold their lives grimly. But when the day was over, the Saxons had been defeated. All of the Saxon kings and lords were dead. Britain had been saved.
Now, the knights waited, exhausted and eager. Would King Arthur give the order to drive the Saxons back into the sea and reclaim Britain once and for all? But the High King - who could not be called the Boy King any longer, for he had proven himself beyond all measure that day - gave a different edict. "The war between Cymric and Saxon is over, and now we will have peace. We ride for the lands of the Saxons, for they are my lands and my subjects now. Do not harm those who acknowledge my rule."
