496 AD: The Age of Anarchy

A storm swept across Britain.

Winter storms are no strange thing, but at mid-day, the previously cloudless sky grew black with the storm. They mustered with unnatural swiftness, and then unleashed their fury upon the land below: driving rain, terrible lightning, and roaring winds tore at the landscape, before subsiding with similar, unnatural haste. In estates across Salisbury, knights huddled inside their halls with their peasants, hearing the sounds of their lands being ravaged by an enemy more deadly than any Saxon army. Sir Helbur's estates of Newton Tony were particularly badly affected, while Sir Albrecht's old home at Berwick (now administered by Sir George until his son came of age) and Sir Esther's lands at Idmiston escaped largely unscathed.

In the weeks that followed the storm, rebuilding occurred: buildings had been damaged, herds of livestock had perished or escaped, orchards had been uprooted. A summons also came, from Countess Ellen, the acting leader of Salisbury after the death of her husband the year before, summoning her knights to Sarum to advise her. They took their leave of the devastation behind them and travelled to her side.

In the keep of Sarum, unexpected guests waited for them. Aescwine, a Saxon aetheling or prince, sent as envoy to Sarum by his father King Aescalax of Essex to negotiate an alliance. The Saxons of Essex had largely kept inside their borders over the past years, but now Logres was weak, they smelled opportunity. Prince Aescwine offered the protection of Essex in exchange for a tribute of silver and of cattle - or, if they preferred, they could swear fealty to the Saxons and offer military service to aid them. While Sir Esther (still struggling with the weight of having killed, the previous year) was in favour of anything that would prevent further bloodshed, the knights decided collectively to refuse the Saxon offer.

The Countess also had a question to put to her advisors. Should Sarum invest in defensive walls, given that future bloodshed seemed extremely likely? The knights decided that this would be a good idea, and started laying in money to build defensive walls: a stone wall around the central keep, and once that was completed, further walls around the entire city. Over the course of the year, Sir Cadfael and Sir Helbur diverted their income into defending Sarum, and so the central walls were half-completed. In addition, Sir Elad, the elderly Marshal of Salisbury who had survived the Battle of Saint Albans, concentrated his attention on quickly training up a new generation of knights. Salisbury would not be undefended! Sir Elad could also feel the weight of his own years upon him, and so he began to instruct Sir Cadfael, preparing the younger man to take his place when Sir Elad was gone.

A second alliance came to Salisbury soon. The neighbouring duchy of Hampshire had been overthrown by a new force of Saxons during the winter of the previous year, and now an envoy came from 'Wessex', requesting ambassadors be sent to their capital of Winchester. Sir Brietta, Sir Cadfael, Sir Esther, Sir George, and Sir Helbur decided that they would go and see what the new Saxon king wanted. At Winchester, they were welcomed with a succulent feast (though the Saxon food was rather strange) and met King Cerdic of Wessex. He was half-Cymric, half-Saxon by descent, and wished to see Saxons and Cymric live together peacefully. Sir Cadfael did not trust him, however - his father was King Vortigern the tyrant, enemy of the Pendragons and the man who was responsible for the present crisis as he had invited the Saxons to Logres and given them land. While this offer seemed more tempting than the previous one, the five knights felt it most fitting to wait and see what King Cerdic did next, and so declined his offer for the time being.

While in Winchester, the knights decided to go hunting. Sir Cadfael caught sight of an immense white stag and attempted to pursue it, but with no success. Soon he realised that he was separated from his companions and lost in the forest. A knight wearing strange and ornate armour, clad all in white and with a white shield, chastised Sir Cadfael for scaring away his prey, and demanded recompense - he would take away Sir Cadfael's senses of touch, smell and taste, past and present, as they related to his wife Lady Violette. Sir Cadfael challenge the faerie knight to a duel, but was overcome and abandoned in the forest, his memories and senses taken from him forever.

Returning from Winchester, it was time to decide what to do next. All of the knights had heard various things about what was going on: Sir George spoke of the need to journey to Malahaut, to convince the Archbishop of Eburacum to accept Gwionaism. Sir Brietta had heard of the Forest Sauvage, where shadows moved without the sun. Sir Helbur and Sir Cadfael related the tale of Rydychan, where Countess Ellen's sister-in-law Maegan had been overthrown by three brother knights following the death of her husband at Saint Albans. The knights decided to travel to Rydychan, to locate Countess Maegan (who had vanished during the uprising) and to restore her to power - hopefully gaining a useful ally for Salisbury in the process!

Before leaving, they spoke to travellers to learn about the three brothers: Sir Basil the eldest, Sir Beleus the wastrel and Sir Bege the ambitious. It was decided that the knights would split into two groups. Sir Helbur and Sir Brietta would scour the countryside for news of the missing Countess, while Sir Cadfael, Sir Esther and Sir George spoke to Sir Bege and attempted to turn him against his brothers by playing on his ambitions. While they managed to gain an audience with young Sir Bege with ease, the rest was less easy. Sir Bege seemed amenable to the idea of betraying his brothers and becoming the hero who restored the Countess, but he had no idea where she was, and ultimately decided to trust his brothers over a group of strangers. Sir Cadfael, Sir Esther and Sir George were imprisoned, and a squire sent forth to seek ransom.

Sir Brietta and Sir Helbur encountered the squire as they rode throughout Rydychan, trying to find some sign of the missing Countess. They contemplated attacking Sir Bege's castle to attempt to free their companions, but decided against it - it was too risky, and the three knights could easily afford to pay their ransom. They decided to focus on the Countess instead. They suspected that either she had been imprisoned by Sir Basil, or that she had fled - most likely southwards to her sister-in-law in Salisbury - but no peasants were willing to speak with them, and all their attentions brought them was a force of men-at-arms, led by a knight of Rydychan loyal to Sir Basil. The two fled on horseback, with the enemy in close pursuit, but the knights of Salisbury were superior riders and were able to use their skill to engage the enemy one-by-one. The men-at-arms fell easily to the flashing blades of Sir Brietta and Sir Helbur, and then hardy Sir Brietta slew the knight leading them.

There was still no sign of the Countess, and Rydychan had been alerted to their presence. The two knights decided that their mission had been a failure. However, at the urging of Sir Brietta, they went on a further quest, to the forest just north of Rydychan - the mysterious Forest Sauvage! There, they were soon lost, bewildered by strange sounds and by paths which seemed to shift under their feet even as they travelled upon them! The two knights encountered a marvellous serpent, fully twelve feet in length, its body divided into bright red, blue and green, its fangs dripping venom and a terrible barb upon its tail.

They decided that discretion was the better part of valour. Continuing through the forest, they encountered a group of bandits, also lost and almost feral, who they slew with great ease. The stress was taking its toll on the two knights, and led to them having sex in the Forest Sauvage - which would leave Sir Brietta pregnant.

Finally, they encountered a hunting party, and discovered that they were now on the opposite side of the forest from where they entered, even though only a week had passed! The two knights found themselves in Lonazep, on the north-east of Logres. They stayed there as guests of the Marshal of Lonazep for a few days, and heard strange news: a small force of Saxon settlers had recently landed on the coast. The Marshal had led forces to repel them, but they were better armed and organised than the usual Saxons, and easily defeated his force - then promptly fled east, into the fens of the Wash. Most peculiar!

The five knights of Salisbury were reunited in Sarum much later that year, Sir Brietta and Sir Helbur having travelled south, and the other three having paid their ransoms and been released by Sir Bege. In Salisbury, terrible news awaited Sir Brietta. Her younger brother was dead, the result of broken glass in his wine, and the killer was... her nephew, Bert? For Bert was now many years older than he should have been, foul-featured and hairy. He was a fairy changeling! The previous year, when the Questing Beast had barked and then vanished, both dog and child had been abducted by the fae, and the changeling left in their place.

Sir Brietta ordered the child sequestered but not harmed, and immediately made plans for the next year, to travel north once again to the Forest Sauvage and to seek out the stolen child. Sir Cadfael was keen to accompany her, to reclaim what had been taken from him by the faerie knight. Meanwhile, Sir Esther (who had recovered from her depression after being spoken harshly to by Sir Brietta and told to toughen up) had been in correspondence with the eccentric monk Eilmer of Malmesbury, who had studied the strange storm of months earlier and deduce that it had originated in the Forest Sauvage. Surely the answer to all these puzzles lay somewhere beneath the boughs of that fae wilderness...

495 AD: The Battle of Saint Albans

King Uther was dying.

That was the rumour that flew from lip to lip across Britain that year, as heavy snows fell. The King was more than fifty years old now, and the loss of two sons had aged him further. And with their loss, there was no heir to the throne in Logres’ darkest hour. The Supreme Collegium would not meet to appoint a new king, not after the fiasco when they had met four years earlier. Nor was there a lord powerful enough to be acclaimed king or to seize power: Duke Ulfius of Silchester, the most powerful landholder in the kingdom, had lost much political capital when he had foolishly allowed the Saxon King Octa’s half-brother Eosa to walk free in an attempt at appeasement. Marshal Talferyn, leader of the armies of Logres in the King’s absence, was rumoured to be seeking a private settlement with the Saxons.

And it was indeed Logres’ darkest hour. From the north, Octa and Eosa had struck from Deira into Lindsey, supported by their ally the Centurion King, driving the Duke into his fortress at Lincoln. With the Duke powerless to stop them, Lindsey was being ravaged, and only the snowfall had stopped the enemy from pressing further inland. Once the thaw came, however, they would surely strike from the north, supported further by King Oisc of Kent from the east. And what was to say that Aelle of Sussex and Aethelswith of Anglia would not join in as well, wolves tearing meat from a dead lion’s carcass?

A royal summons bearing the seal of the Pendragon arrived in Sarum, calling Earl Roderick to London. There, the decision would be made about what should happen. Some sort of resistance against the Saxons had to be organised. But, not trusting the others lords, he took a retinue of many of his most trusted knights with him: his son-in-law Sir Arnulf, Sir Aeronwy’s younger sister Sir Brietta, the cunning Sir Cadfael, gentle Sir Esther, outspoken Sir George, and many others. They spent the winter with their loved ones. When they fell, the spring rains would presage only death.

As the knights were about to depart to London, they had a visitor. Saint Gwiona of Amesbury herself, leader of the controversial feminist Christian movement that was spreading throughout Britain, wished to accompany Earl Roderick to London. She had dreamed that her presence would be required in the events that would unfold. The Earl agreed. It is never a bad thing to have a Saint accompany you!

When the knights reached London, they found that it was as they had heard: the King was weak and listless, barely attentive to what was happening. If he had sent the summons, he gave no indication of it now. The other lords had also brought their own followers, and so armed camps were set up about city. Violence seemed about to erupt at any minute, when one or another lord decided to simply seize power for himself. And every day brought the spring thaw closer and closer…

The knights spent their time waiting as well. Sir Brietta tried to keep an ear to the ground, monitoring the tensions between the different lords and their followers, but with little success: no one wanted to talk to a six foot warrior woman! Sir George and Sir Esther withdrew to their lady's side, spending the time in prayer with Saint Gwiona. Sir Cadfael, feeling fatalistic, also visited Saint Gwiona. In a roundabout way, he had caused the sect's existence, by courting Gwiona and then failing to live up to her expectations. Now, he went to seek her forgiveness. The woman who received him was unrecognisable as the one he had romanced. The Saint chastised him gently for his despair, and then gravely forgave him and blessed him,, knowing that whatever path he strode, it was always with the best intentions of Logres in his heart.

Meanwhile Sir Arnulf spent his time practicing, and making sure that everything was prepared. He encountered a few old friends as well: the remnants of Prince Madoc's bodyguard, the so-called 'Rainbow Guard' (since they bore heraldry from all across Logres). Sir Glesni, the most veteran of the Rainbow Guards, bemoaned the Prince's untimely death. If he had been here, surely the fight would have already been taken to the Saxons! She also mentioned an interesting rumour - that Prince Madoc had had an illegitimate son. If this rumour was true, the child might be an heir to the throne! Sir Arnulf also spoke to Sir Bertram of Leucomagus, who had decided to come to London to help with the inevitable battle against the Saxons. Sir Arnulf and Sir Helbur had convinced him that it was important the previous year.

The tensions festering below the surface boiled over as the snows began to melt and the first blossoms of spring to bloom upon the branch. The Saxons would surely begin to march on every side now, and still no decision had been reached. At a feast, Earl Roderick lost his temper, leapt to his feet and angrily denounced Duke Ulfius for his failures. Another lord then rose and shouted at Roderick for failing to recruit Malahaut, and soon the entire room was on its feet, shouting at one another, while the king sat listlessly in its midst, waiting for his end.

"Enough!" a voice roared. There was a flash of light. It was Merlin.

The court stood still and silent as the great enchanter strode amongst them, despite having been outlawed by the King's edict for abducting the heir, and chastised them all like children. "The Saxons are on your very doorstep, and yet still you squabble!" Octa and Eosa had not been slowed by the winter snows - instead, they had marched throughout the winter, avoiding settlements and roads to stop from giving their deadly purpose away, with the intent of killing King Uther himself. Saint Albans, a day's ride north of London, had just fallen to their wrath, and now the heart of the kingdom itself was imperilled. Merlin Ambrosius revealed that it was he who had summoned the lords of Logres, in hope that they would be able to come to an accord, but now the hour was too late.

One lone knight in the court challenged Merlin: the wizard was a wanted outlaw for stealing the young prince. "If you believe this more important than the safety of the realm, then step forward and seize me now," Merlin challenged, and the room was completely quiet once more. WIth no reply, Merlin strode over to the King and slapped him. "Hearken to your duty! Your children are gone and you mourn them, but behold that your son the Prince is kept safe and shall be revealed when the time is right! But now it is time for you to step forth once more in the defence of your kingdom. Rise to war, King Uther Pendragon!"

Uther rose, weakly but with his eyes blazing with anger. "Bring me my sword!" he shouted. "To war!"

Merlin slipped away, to talk to his friends once more (returning to his guise as Ambrose the scholar in the process.) For starters, he admitted that he was terrified that something would go wrong when he bluffed the entire court! His knowledge of the Saxon was nothing magical, certainly - Archbishop Bartholomew of Canterbury and Sir Julius of Saint Albans had just arrived from that city, having fled to London as soon as the Saxons were sighted. Sir Esther presented Merlin with the cheese from Carmarthen, which he ate with gusto. Sir Arnulf contemplated asking Merlin about his sister Ganeida, but decided not to raise the topic.

The army was already mostly assembled, thanks to Merlin's foresight. King Uther's sickness was as much the result of depression at the loss of his two children as any physical ailment, and so he led the army to battle, albeit borne in a litter. The army that travelled northwards was small, but it was elite: the lords of Logres, and their mightiest retainers. The windsock banner of the Pendragon fluttered boldly, as did the banner of Prince Madoc, borne by Sir Glesni as the Rainbow Guard rode one last time, and the banners of all the other dukes and earls and knights.

The army arrived at Saint Albans to find the Saxons occupying it. There was barely any sign of their presence: the town had been taken swiftly and secretly. If the Archbishop had not escaped, then the surprise attack would have worked for certain. Sir George rode forward to parley with the Saxons, and found a strange sight: the gates of Saint Albans were open. "King Octa disdains to fight a sick, old man, and so we Saxons have withdrawn into the city," the Saxon envoy jeered. An unlikely story - clearly, the open gateway was a trap! However, it would allow the use of the knights' horses, which was their most significant advantage over the Saxons, and which would be denied to them if they assailed the walls. Furthermore, Octa was clever enough that the seeming bluff could be a double-bluff, or a triple-bluff... Waiting was also clearly not an option: the most likely reinforcements to arrive would be more Saxons from Essex or Kent. The only thing for it was a forward assault, with the flower of British chivalry charging into the maw of Octa's trap.

The knights charged boldly in, and soon found themselves out of their depth. Octa had armed his troops with long-spears, to negate the advantage, and had secretly created simple traps, like hidden holes, to slow or cripple horses. Then, once the knights were engaged, heorthgeneat warriors led by Sir Eleri the Traitor swarmed in to attack them, driving them back from the gate in hours of fierce fighting. The knights of Salisbury, incensed by the sight of the traitor, and sensing a way to possibly turn the tides of the battle, charged to attack Sir Eleri's Saxon bodyguards. Sir Brietta was the first to strike down her foe and confront the former Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard: but Sir Eleri was too experienced a warrior for her, and struck her down with a blow that would have surely slain any less-harder mortal. Sir Cadfael suggested to Sir Arnulf that the two could dishonourably engage Sir Eleri to strike her down, but Sir Arnulf refused, and a furious Sir Cadfael went to what he was sure would be his doom, while Sir Arnulf kept other Saxon warriors at bay. Sir Cadfael and Sir Eleri were both hardened veterans, and their swords splintered shields and cleft mail asunder, but in the end Sir Cadfael fell from his horse, blood streaming from his many wounds. Now Sir Arnulf charged in, and the mightiest duel of all ensued, for Sir Arnulf was one of the foremost swordsmen in all of Britain. Both warriors were exhausted now from hours of fighting, but it was Sir Arnulf whose blade struck true, badly wounding Sir Eleri. She fled from the battlefield, while other Saxons attacked Sir Arnulf to cover her retreat.

Despite Sir Eleri's defeat, the forces of Logres had the worst of the first day. Morale was low - Octa had successfully tricked them into attacking the open gate, and they had suffered losses before being repulsed. Some of the more experienced knights realised that cunning Octa had set up a position where no matter where the Cymric forces struck, they would have had the worst of it - so no matter what choice they had made, it would have seemed that he had predicted their actions. Sir George used his pre-eminent skill as a harpist that night, moving through the camp and singing songs of past victories against the Saxons to give heart to the knights. Meanwhile, a few reinforcements did arrive, for the Cymric forces. Sir Cadfael was in the first aid tents, where he was being tended by Saint Gwiona and Sir Esther (who, gentle soul that she was, had avoided the battle in favour of helping to save lives), when he had a visitor. Sir Cador, now the commander of a small mercenary force, had come to repay his debt to Sir Cadfael by taking the field, even though in his view King Uther was scarcely better than the Saxons. In addition, a small column of determined peasants appeared and asked to join the fighting. Saint Albans was sacred to more than just Christians, they said - for they had come to defend the place where their own hero, Sir Albrecht, had died in the name of Wotan!

The next day dawned, cloudless and dry. A wind whipped through the camp, teasing through the unfurled banners of Logres. The army of the Saxons emerged from Saint Albans, to take the field against the Cymric knights and their allies. Straps were tightened. Shields were set. Prayers were said. The lords of Logres, outnumbered, mounted their warhorses and set their lances for a charge, against a shield wall screaming the name of Wotan. Hooves churned up the soil beneath them. A terrible, splintering impact as the force of riders drove into and through the wall. The battle was joined.

Only Sir Arnulf and Sir George took the field that day, Sir Esther again staying with her lady to attend to the wounded, and Sir Cadfael and Sir Brietta being amongst those wounded. They found themselves fighting for their lives against a sea of Saxon warriors - but the vast majority of the Saxon forces were only ceorls, inferior warriors recruited to bulk out numbers. The two struck down an innumerable host of enemies, as did the other knights of Logres. King Octa released his berserkers immediately, a small group of senseless ravagers wielding mighty axes, who tore into the side of the knights' charge. Sir Neddig fell there, cleft asunder by the axes of his enemies. Cursing and swearing every oath he had learned over his many, many years as a knight, Sir Elad of Vagon Castle, who had personally trained almost all the knights of Salisbury, led a counterattack against the berserkers. Old he may have been, but experienced, and under his leadership the berserkers were slain to a man.

The sun continued to rise in the sky until it reached its zenith. The initial deadly momentum of the knights had slowed and ceased, and now the knights were beset on all side by Saxon ceorls, Now King Eosa the half-giant led a group of elite heorthgeneat warriors against them, and none could stand before them. Sir Lycus, veteran warrior of Salisbury, tried to challenge Eosa and was slain. Then a hardened contingent of mercenary knights rode to confront the giant: the men of Sir Cador. At the Battle of Lindsey, his father had defeated Eosa, and now his son Sir Cador completed what his father had done. Sir Cador boldly confronted the immense warrior and struck him down, and the Saxons wailed as his fall shook the earth.

The tides of battle were turning. The Saxons were greater in number, but the knights of Logres were greater warriors, and Eosa's fall sapped their fighting hearts. The attackers began to fall back, and the Cymricmen assailed them with fresh vigour. Sir Arnulf and Sir George rode for the Saxon war banner, and Sir Arnulf struck down every man about it with deadly vigour, before trampling his second battle standard into the mud. Sir George was less skilled: a Saxon axe struck him down, and he fell insensate to the ground.

With the falling of the sun and the falling of the Saxon banner, the fight left the enemy and they began to flee, to be struck down by the pursuing knights. Through the press, Sir Arnulf caught sight of his archnemesis, King Octa, trying desperately to rally his routing forces. This was the enemy who had created the bandit menace, had subverted Sir Eleri, had engulfed London and Lindsey in war, had claimed Malahaut. Sir Arnulf had sacrificed much of his life in his quest: his loyalty, his lands, his estates, all for the greater good, all for this moment: saving Britain by slaying Octa. A red rage took control of him and he flung himself forward, ignoring the hulking Heorthgeneat bodyguards, and darting past them to strike at Octa himself. The Saxon king never saw it coming. He was flung from his horse, his blood running into the ground. However, he was not dead. Desperately he scrabbled away on hands and knees from the grim Sir Arnulf.

Sir Arnulf never saw the blow that struck him down. His passion had consumed him so that he ignored the bodyguards, one of whom struck a mighty blow at him, opening him wide and sending him to the ground, his life swiftly running from him next to the Saxon King. But Sir Helbur, his former squire, and Sir Barr of Salisbury, saw. The two charged the roal bodyguard, and Sir Barr felt, his head cleft asunder. With a scream of incoherent rage, the former squire cleft the head from the shoulders of the warrior who had felled his friends, and then dismounted to attend to Octa. A single blow downwards, and the king stopped moving. Sir Helbur ignored him and went to Sir Arnulf's side. "Good boy, Helbur," the dying Sir Arnulf said for the last time. "Find him... Prince Madoc's son. Find him..." As Sir Helbur's tears fell upon him, Sir Arnulf closed his eyes and went to sleep.

Nearby, there was a spluttering, bloody cough. Octa spat out a gobbet of blood upon the ground, and tried to speak, very quietly, and gestured for SIr Helbur to come closer. "I didn't think I'd die here," the king gasped. "Not the plan. I'm... afraid. What happens now? What.. waits for me?" The king asked Helbur to hear his last confession, in case it was the Christian God who waited for him, and Helbur bent closer to hear the king's last words. "My... worst... sin... I said.... I'd never die alone." And with his dying breath, Octa drove a knife at Sir Helbur's throat, cutting deeply. Sir Helbur fell into a swoon, but the blow was not fatal: he would have a beautiful scar, but he would survive.

With Octa's death, the battle was over. Against the odds, King Uther Pendragon had won a decisive victory, smashing the armies of Octa and Eosa once and for all. There were many casualties: Sir Lycus, Sir Barr, Sir Neddig, and Sir Arnulf amongst them, and many lay wounded: Duke Ulfius and Sir Brastias both were grievously wounded, and being attended by the healers, as were Sir Cadfael, Sir Helbur, Sir George, and Sir Brietta. In fact, only Sir Esther had escaped unharmed, by virtue of the fact that she had used the excuse of protecting Saint Gwiona to avoid the entire battle. A mass funeral pyre was arranged for the Saxon dead, while inside the great hall of Saint Albans, King Uther prepared a victory feast of special extravagance. Everyone who had taken part was invited.

Meanwhile, Archbishop Bartholomew returned to the cathedral, along with Saint Gwiona. The two had much to talk about. Gwionaism had become a major new religious movement, but apart from its focus on the feminine, it promoted Christian ideals of charity and compassion, and had spread throughout Britain (in large part because of the good work of Sir Esther). The Archbishop had decided that it was time to come to some settlement with Gwiona. As it happened, Bartholomew was a follower of the teachings of Saint Pelagius, who denied the concept of original sin - and if there was no original sin, then Eve was not responsible for damning the human race, and women were not the root of all sin. The two managed to reach a compromise: of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit is genderless; God the Father could be reinterpreted as 'God the Parent of Humanity' and be seen as either male or female; and God the Son is Jesus Christ. This compromise warded off potential internal conflict in the British Christian Church, but both were aware that it was sure to be unpopular with the distant Pope Gelasius.

Sir Esther attended the feast briefly, though her heart was burdened by her wounded friends, and so she did not intend to stay long at the feast. However, she saw something in the crowded, carousing hall which drew her attention: a familiar face, hidden beneath a hood, moving surreptitiously from the hall. It was Sir Eleri. Sir Esther slipped out and followed. The streets were quiet as everyone in the town was at the feast, and so the two were uninterrupted as they moved through the darkness. Sir Esther called out to Sir Eleri to get her attention, and then finally confronted her by name, making her stop and turn.

Sir Eleri was clearly still wounded after her fight with Sir Arnulf the previous day. Sir Esther called on her to surrender and be treated with mercy, and Sir Eleri laughed bitterly. There would be no mercy for anyone that night. Her life had fallen apart completely, and she was consumed by despair. In a fury, she drew her sword and attacked the warrior-nun, screaming at Sir Esther to kill her. Sir Esther fought back to defend herself, and tried to reason with the maddened woman, but to no avail. Screams began to sound through the night, from the King's feast, as Sir Eleri battered Sir Esther down. Instinct and training took over as Sir Eleri knocked Sir Esther down: the nun was no warrior by nature, but she had drilled extensively, and she automatically parried Sir Eleri's blade and then slashed her across the stomach. The traitor fell bonelessly to the ground, and her blood mingled with the falling rain and Sir Esther's tears. Sir Esther tried to bandage her enemy and save her life, but Sir Eleri was dead, and her empty eyes stared at Sir Esther: she had claimed her first life.

There was no time to think about it now. Screams were still coming from the king's feast, and so she turned and sprinted through the night, to discover an unspeakable horror behind her. The King was dead, lying face-down in a pool of foaming blue vomit and blood. So were the rest of the court. Sir Eleri had managed to poison everyone at the feast. Earl Roderick was dead, as was Sir Leo of Salisbury. So was Sir Bertram of Leucomagus. King Canan had fallen from his chair to stare sightlessly at the ceiling. Both Admiral Gwenwynwyn and Marshal Talferyn were dead, leaving the army and navy of Logres leaderless. Sir Ifan of the London Guard was dead, as was Sir Owen, the last of the Tower Guard, and Sir Glesni of the Rainbow Guard. In addition to these familiar faces, many other lords, nobles, and knights had been poisoned. Logres was leadership. There was only one survivor: somehow, Merlin had managed to survive. He had used some of the magic which he did possess to protect himself, but at a steep price: Merlin had been driven insane in the process. Sir Esther moved towards him, and Merlin failed to recognise her, fleeing the hall like a cornered animal.

The first part of Igraine's prophecy had come true. Merlin had been destroyed by a woman for the first time. And Logres was without lords.

Two mass funeral pyres were set by the survivors, for the Saxons and the Cymric. The few survivors, those who had been wounded or who had not attended the feast, or had left early, dispersed. King Uther's remains were taken to Stonehenge, where he was buried next to his brother and his son. Sir Brietta, Sir Cadfael, Sir Esther, Sir George and Sir Helbur returned to Sarum, to break the news to Countess Ellen. Her son Robert, a three-year-old boy, was now the Earl, and Ellen was the ruler of the county until he reached his majority. Sir Elad, the veteran Marshal of Salisbury, had also survived. But enemies would beset them from every border. Octa and Eosa might be dead, but the Saxons of Anglia, Essex, Kent and Sussex yet remained, and Malahaut and the Irish would continue their raids. With no King in Logres, Logres was surely facing a time of anarchy...

Prelude to 495 AD

This is a special entry, in the lead-up to 495 AD and the end of the Uther Period. In two days time, they will fight Octa, Eosa and Eleri, with the future of Logres at stake. As part of climax of the first nine months of the campaign, I've planned three special mini-events. The first is that every player will have some event from the game thus far return, as a legacy for their character - some of them might be able to guess what; others might be a complete surprise. The second is a list of twenty recurring NPCs, some minor, some major, who will return for the final battle against Octa and Eosa, whose fates will be directly in the hands of the players. I can't reveal all of these names just yet - so I'll name half of them!

Sir Barr - A knight of Salisbury, famous for strength of arm and weakness of wit
Sir Bertram - the champion of Leucomagus
King Canan - King of Estregales
Sir Elad - the Marshal of Salisbury, who trained the player knights
Admiral Gwenwynwyn - Leader of the navies of Logres
Sir Helbur - The former squire of Sir Arnulf, who saved the group many times - and may be having an affair with his lord's wife.
Sir Ifan - Leader of the City Guard of London
Sir Leo - Honourable pagan knight of Salisbury
Earl Roderick - The liege lord of the knights of Salisbury
Marshal Talferyn - Leader of the armies of Logres

The third special aspect of the game is a vote. The Gwionite movement of feminist Christianity began as a joke result of a few critical failures and successes on dice rolls, and has evolved into one of the most fundamental parts of our game. The players and I will vote whether Gwionism shall become a part of the mainstream church and compromise its ideals, or whether it will become an independent and heretical movement in conflict with the church. At this point in time, the voting is split fifty-fifty, with four votes cast and three votes still to come! Here is a letter from Sir Esther which one of the players sent me, with their opinion on the fate of Gwionism...

To my Lady Gwiona, Abbess of Amesbury and Servant of our Goddess the Creator

I trust this missive finds you well and in good time. It is a relief to hear that Brother Eilmer has been received positively by our sisters and brothers at Amesbury. I must confess that, when posing the idea of a monastic exchange for the winter, I had my concerns about his unbridled zest for knowledge. I have also been in correspondence with representatives of Kings Leodegrance of Cameliard and Canan of Estregales who send their warmest regards to Amesbury.

The fruitfulness and joy from these relationships are a testament to the wisdom of your teachings of open empathy and compassionate outreach to others. It thus saddens me to hear news attacks on our selfless mission. I had hoped that Saint Dewi would be favourable to the establishment of orphanages, especially in the grip of war and turmoil. Sister Asher, my ears to the ground, has also warned me that others throughout Logres have made moves to check our advance of aid to those in greatest need.

I turn now to your original question. That of whether, heaven forbid, we should be forced to compromise our ideals by enfolding with the mainstream belief or face being branded as heretics. I have prayed and fasted on the issue, consulted teachings from scripture and your own lessons, and discussed at length with my trusted allies. Given my lack of mastery of theology and politics, I am hesitant to express my view for fear of doing more harm than good. However, I shall give it at your request.

It is my humble opinion that we should not deviate from our beliefs and mission. These attacks on our order stem from a narrow and inflexible mindset, from assailants who, in my modest judgement, are more interested in being served that serving others. From my readings, scripture does not conflict with belief in a female creator. Claims of heresy are thus petty name calling, which certainly should not lessen our aims to protect the weak.

Forgive me if my position sounds vengeful. In truth, I am deeply conflicted between the objectives of peaceful coexistence and the sanctity of our belief and mission. By writing firmly, I had hoped to solidify my choice of action in my own mind. My view is that we can still work to avoid this destructive ultimatum. As ever, I submit ultimately to the wisdom of those more learned than myself. Whatever the outcome, I remain a faithful servant of our order.

Humbly yours,

Sister Esther

494 AD: The Embassy to Estregales

As the snows of winter melted, Sir Arnulf found himself returning to Leucomagus for the first time since he abandoned his obsessed lord Sir Rhisiart, the Steward of Leucomagus, eight years earlier. Now he wished vengeance upon his former lord, for attempting to frame him for banditry the previous year. With him was his former squire Sir Helbur, now a knight, as well as his companions Sir Cadfael (recently returned from his enslavement in Ireland) and Sir Esther (who had spent the previous year productively, arranging for monasteries following Saint Gwiona's precepts to be established across Britain, which would also act as refuges for women and orphans threatened by the worsening conflicts).

Sir Arnulf wished vengeance, but he did not intend to seek it. Before coming, he had discussed with his companions and his Earl what he should do in retaliation for Leucomagus' attacks. Most advocated dealing with the matter legally - denouncing Sir Rhisiart and demanding a duel of honour to prove his perfidy. Earl Roderick, whose hatred of Leucomagus was perhaps equal to that of Sir Arnulf, suggested using the Steward's own tactics - leading a force bearing no banners, or perhaps even banners of an enemy like the Saxons, to ravage Leucomagus and murder Sir Rhisiart. However, Sir Arnulf was mindful of the Saxon threat. Octa son of Hengist had four nations allied against Logres, and all knew that war was imminent. Even a diplomatic effort led by Duke Ulfius, which sought to placate Octa by returning his imprisoned half-brother, the giant Eosa to him, could at best only delay the inevitable. Any sort of internal strife within Logres at this point was unthinkable. While Sir Arnulf may have abandoned his oaths, it had always been for a greater purpose, the purpose his current companions had instilled in him - to save his people from the threat of the Saxons.

The embassy arrived in Leucomagus and were treated poorly. The Steward shamed his guests by making them wait, and then sitting them amongst the peasants in his hall, serving them only gruel, but the knights of Salisbury ate grimly, refusing to dishonour themselves by complaining. Sir Arnulf spoke to Sir Bertram, his former friend, who guiltily apologised for his lord's actions - and for being the one who impersonated Sir Arnulf during the raids. Finally, Sir Helbur rose to address the crowd - who had been waiting to see what action Sir Arnulf and his companions would take in response to the slights visited upon them both here and in the past. Sir Helbur, always a masterful orator, publically shamed the Steward with his words - by exposing Sir Rhisiart for the shallow, bitter, dishonourable wretch that he was. However, Sir Helbur also said that Sir Arnulf was mindful of the greater threat, and therefore forgave Sir Rhisiart his trespasses against him, so that they could both focus on Logres' true enemy. Humiliated by the truth of Sir Helbur's words, Sir Rhisiart agreed as well to end the feud between them, and let the knights return to Salisbury in honour.

As spring turned into summer, Earl Roderick summoned Sir Arnulf, Sir Cadfael and Sir Esther to task them with a great mission. It was not only they who knew that the hour of reckoning between Uther and Octa was imminent. Logres still sought allies who could aid her in her hour of need. For that purpose, the Earl required his vassals to travel west into Wales, to the court of King Canan of Estregales at Pembroke, and to deliver a message to him from King Uther Pendragon, beseeching his assistance against the Saxons. The three knights agreed, and prepared for the road - Sir Arnulf entrusting his city and his wife into the protection of his friend and former squire Sir Helbur.

The knights headed for the northern road through Somerset. Once, they would have been afraid of banditry - but their own activities had crushed the worst of the Saxon-sponsored bandits that had been operating throughout Logres, and those few petty groups which remained did not dare to threaten three veteran knights. However, the knights were alarmed, not far out of Malmesbury, when they heard an almighty crash on the side of the road! They headed to investigate, but could see nothing - until they heard a muffled voice asking for help above them. Looking up, they saw a bizarre sight: a monk was stuck upside down in a tree, his cassock fallen down about him. Strangest of all was the contraption that the monk was attached to - a strange kite-like affair, with the monk's arms attached to two wings!

Sir Arnulf and Sir Cadfael shook the tree to dislodge the man, and Sir Esther and the three squires failed to catch him. Sir Esther tried to help him, but the strange monk's legs were badly broken from the impact with the tree and the fall, and he needed more serious care than she could give. The man introduced himself as Brother Eilmer, from a monastery in Malmesbury. He had been attempting to fly, and had jumped from the bell-tower of the monastery, but he sheepishly admitted that as he had forgotten to attach a tail to his hinder parts, his flight had ended rather abruptly! Sir Cadfael said that if God had intended for man to fly, he would have given him wings already; Brother Eilmer retorted that if God had not intended for man to fly, he would not have created birds to provide an example and a brain for men to wonder about it with. Sir Arnulf and Sir Esther were amazed and amused by the monk, and the three agreed to help him. The knights hitched up a crude travois to attach Brother Eilmer and his contraption to their horses, and helped to take him back to Malmesbury. Once there, they had dinner with the abbot (who was exasperated rather than surprised at Brother Eilmer's injuries) and Sir Esther arranged for a monastic exchange to take place - a nun of Saint Gwiona's order to winter in Malmesbury, while Brother Eilmer could come to Amesbury.

The three companions continued north, through Clarence and into Gloucester. They knew that the Dukes of these lands often feuded with one another over their poorly-defined borders, but decided to continue along the road and attempt not to become embroiled in the dispute. They passed through Clarence without any incident, but were met once they crossed into Gloucester by the sons of the Duke: the Twin Bannerets of Glevum. The Green Banneret seemed more intelligent and indolent, while the Red Banneret seemed his opposite, impetuous and brash. They feuded incessantly, but were inseparable nevertheless. The Twin Bannerets of Glevum escorted their guests to their father the Duke, who offered the knights hospitality before having his sons see them on their way in the morning. The next day, sharp-eyed Sir Arnulf spotted an ambush waiting off the road for them, and charged to meet it. A small melee broke out, in which poor peaceful Sir Esther attempted to talk her for into submission unsuccessfully and had to be rescued by the deadly Sir Cadfael. The Green Banneret attempted to pin the attack on Clarence, and asked for the knights' help in seeking redress from the Duke of Clarence - but all three of the knights of Salisbury saw through his plot. He had organised the attack himself! An irate Sir Arnulf punched the Green Banneret in the face, and then they left the Twin Bannerets on the road and entered Escavalon.

King Nanteleod of Escavalon was a middle-aged man, and extremely welcoming in his hospitality. He arranged for his guests to sit at the high table with him, and then spoke to them constantly, offered them the finest wines and delicacies from his kitchen, laughed when Sir Arnulf revealed the true origins of his epithet 'The Wind Dragon', and asked them questions. Many questions. Sir Arnulf, not as savvy as the other two and his lips loosened by the fine wines of Escavalon, found himself telling the kindly King all manner of things about the politics of Logres, with Nanteleod nodding and listening very intently. It was only afterwards that an embarrassed Sir Arnulf realised that he had been manipulated into giving some very good and somewhat secret information to King Nanteleod!

From King Nanteleod's seat in Carlion, the road continued westwards, along the edge of the Severn Sea, into Estregales. The group stopped for the night in Carmarthen, which Sir Esther knew to be the birthplace of her friend Ambrose - better known as Merlin Ambrosius. With a presentiment that she might see him again, she decided to get him something from his home, and found a wheel of Carmarthen's famous hard yellow cheese for the wizard, knowing his fondness for it! The group also took a guided tour around the little town, seeing all the Merlin-related landmarks (and Sir Arnulf picked up some souvenirs for his children!) Sir Arnulf was most interested in finding out about Merlin's mysterious twin sister Ganeida, however, who did not seem to be mentioned anywhere in the tour, and no one in town had heard of her. Eventually, Sir Esther discovered why, when she found a headstone with Ganeida's name on it. Merlin's twin sister had been stillborn. But if that was the case, why did the Ladies of the Lake follow her, and why was Merlin so touchy about a lost sister he had never known? Clearly, there was something more to the mystery.

The knights continued further west, where they finally arrived at Pembroke Castle, and were welcomed by King Canan. That night at dinner, they met his steward, Sir Orcas, as well as the King's sons, the newly-knighted Prince Dirac and his squire, Prince Lac. King Canan received the knights's letter and promised to give thought to it, and the three decided that it would be best to win allies in court, who could help sway King Canan to their cause. They dismissed the two Princes, and decided that the best person to recruit would be Sir Orcas. The knights put arguments both well-argued and emotional to Sir Orcas, reminding him how the Saxons had landed in Estregales years earlier, where they were fought off at the Battle of Menevia. Sir Orcas was persuaded, and he promised to help Logres.

The King's decision was not forthcoming, and so the knights decided to turn their attention to the two Princes next. They agreed to go hunting with Prince Dirac, hoping to win his support. Once on the hunt, Prince Dirac suggested a hunting challenge - whoever could bring back the best game over the next three days would be the winner, and would owe a favour to the other. This seemed like an easy way to win Prince Dirac's support, the knights felt, and agreed. Prince Dirac set a condition - as there were three knights of Salisbury, and only one of Prince Dirac, one of the three ambassadors would have to hunt with him - and he immediately requested Sir Esther.

It soon became apparent that the whole hunt was merely a pretext, and that the Prince was horribly and inappropriately infatuated with chaste Sir Esther in the worst possible way. She for her part did nothing to encourage the Prince. On the second day of the hunt, Prince Dirac tracked down a wild boar. He speared it, but the boar slew his horse and began to savage him. Sir Esther attacked the boar and hurt it badly, drawing its ire and saving the Prince's life. Prince Dirac slew the boar, and then continued to proposition Sir Esther. Upset by the bloodshed, she responded harshly at last, scorning the Prince's advances. It only served to flame his ardour further. The young man came to visit Sir Esther that night, to try and seduce her to sleep with him again. Sir Esther escaped to Sir Arnulf's room, and the more experienced Sir Arnulf shamed the young prince into fleeing to his room. From then on, he left Sir Esther alone, and did not show his face again.

Time continued to pass, and King Canan still did not give a reply to the three ambassadors. At this point, the three knights had been at Pembroke for long enough that they were called upon to entertain one night at dinner. Sir Cadfael began to tell a story - and in the process managed to inadvertently offend all those gathered, not once but repeatedly, to the point where one of King Canan's knights leapt up to attack him with his bare hands. Sir Cadfael thought through his options: fighting back could insult the King's hospitality, and turning this into an incident with swords would certainly escalate the situation. The best thing to do would be to take his punishment for his ill-chosen words, and hope that he had not doomed the embassy. Accordingly, Sir Cadfael submitted to a sound beating from the irate knight.

Over the next few weeks, barely anyone would talk to the three knights, and still there was no reply from King Canan! They had one visitor: a grubby king of one of the many Welsh hill-tribes, King Gwynfor of Ystrad Tyi, who was intrigued but also dismissive of the knights' warhorses, so much bigger and more powerful than his own hill-ponies. The King challenged the knights to a horse-race, which Sir Arnulf handily won, impressing King Gwynfor mightily. He attempted to buy one of the warhorses from the knights, but when they refused, he departed with his tribesmen. It was only when they were gone that Sir Esther realised that her handmaiden, Asher, had been abducted by the tribesmen! The knights tracked down King Gwynfor, who denied everything. Eventually he 'discovered' Asher was in Ystrad Tyi, and Sir Esther had to bargain away her warhorse to get her back.

When the knights returned to Pembroke, they discovered that King Canan was no longer there! He and his court had moved on to Tenby. The ambassadors followed him, and that night the King announced that he looked favourably upon King Uther's requests and was drafting a reply to his letter. The three knights were then ignored for the rest of the month. More time passed. The court moved again, this time to Carmarthen again, where suddenly events took a change for the worst: at the feast after the first night of arrival, King Canan turned blue in the face and began to choke and wheeze. Sir Esther instantly raced up to the throne, recognising the signs of poisoning, and induced vomiting, making the King throw up the poison and saving his life. He was taken away to recover, very weak from his near-death experience, while the court turned on the man who had given him the goblet: his son, Prince Dirac!

Prince Dirac was taken to jail (and accompanied by Sir Arnulf, who suspected that more was going on than met the eye). Sir Esther accompanied the King to make sure that he would recover, while Sir Cadfael privately went to talk to Sir Orcas, who had taken charge now that the King was indisposed and the Princes were imprisoned. Sir Cadfael accused Sir Orcas of attempting to seize power, and to his surprise the steward admitted his guilt immediately. Sir Orcas had been convinced of the need for Logres and Estregales to ally, but he also knew that King Canan had decided against the union as he felt the situation within Estregales was too delicate. Therefore, Sir Orcas had seized power for the greater good. Sir Cadfael, Sir Esther and Sir Arnulf deliberated for many hours on the news. If they allowed Sir Orcas to finish off the King, they would have succeeded at their mission, but blackened their own honour in the process. They might be able to save the King and hope that in his gratitude he would change his mind. In any case they all agreed that the two young princes needed to be taken to safety - Prince Dirac had committed no crime greater than youthful foolishness in his attitude towards Sir Esther, and did not deserve to die.

After much arguing, the three finally decided that honour must be more important than pragmatism. They captured the assassin which Sir Orcas sent after the King that night, and through Sir Cadfael's cunning and Sir Arnulf's application of force, convinced him to confess who had sent him before the court. This, coupled with Prince Dirac's sworn word that the poisoned goblet had been handed to him by Sir Orcas, was enough to make the steward's guilt plain. Sir Orcas cursed Sir Cadfael for betraying him, and challenged him to a duel of honour to prove his innocence. Unfortunately, Sir Cadfael was a far more experienced swordsman, and he crippled Sir Orcas by shattering his sword-arm. The Steward begged for mercy, but the only mercy that Sir Cadfael would grant him was a swift death.

With King Canan's life saved and the plot revealed, Sir Esther led a new set of negotiations with King Canan. The King was grateful for everything that the three knights had done (especially as he realised that they could have easily let him die to achieve their goals!) and agreed to send what men he could spare to aid Logres when war broke out. With their mission accomplished and their honour intact, the three ambassadors returned home - where grim news awaited them. The duchy of Lindsey was aflame. Octa's Saxons, reinforced by the army of Malahaut, had invaded. And in London, King Uther's long sickness had taken a turn for the worse. In Logres' hour of need, its king was now dying, and armies threatened from all sides. The onset of winter snows stopped the Saxon invasion in its tracks, but everyone knew that when the thaw came, the doom of Logres was at hand...

493 AD: The Embassy to Malahaut and the Rescue of Sir Cadfael

At the beginning of 493, a knight and squire rode into Salisbury, seeking answers. While this in itself was no strange thing, their identities certainly were - for beneath their disguises, they were Lady Violette of Castle Illwind, and her handmaiden Bronwyn. They sought to discover what had happened to Lady Violette's husband, Sir Cadfael. It did not take long for the two of them to reach Tilshead, now ruled over by the newly married Sir Arnulf, and to discover how Sir Cadfael had been taken as a slave by the Irish. Immediately, a council of war was summoned - Lady Violette, Sir Aeronwy, Sir Arnulf, and Sir George began to lay plans for how to rescue Sir Cadfael from Ireland.

The first challenge proved to be Earl Roderick. Sir Cadfael had angered the Earl a few years earlier when he had refused to marry at the Earl's behest, to form a political alliance with Somerset, and now he had gotten himself enslaved by the Irish? Leave him, commanded Earl Roderick. Don't waste any time getting that one back. Here, young Sir George shined. He was a master musician, from a family of skilled harpists, and he composed a song extolling the virtues of Sir Cadfael, so skilfully that it shamed the Earl. Roderick changed his mind; if the knights wished to go to Ireland, they could do so. However, they would have to do so on their own time, for King Uther Pendragon had requested that Earl Roderick travel to Malahaut. to reaffirm the alliance with the Centurion King, and the Earl wished for his loyal knights to accompany him as bodyguards, and to aid in winning over the northern king.

In the short amount of time that they had before setting off to Malahaut, the four travelled east to Devon, there to prepare a ship to take them to Ireland upon their return from the north. After some searching, they discovered an independent and mostly honest trader who could carry them - Kefin, captain of the Lady Luck. They also thought about seeing Sir Gherard, but the good knight was apparently still off on his honeymoon with the Dowager Countess Rowena.

The group returned to Sarum, and shortly the expedition set off for Malahaut. It was a long ride, for the Earl was expected to stop off along the way to pay his regards to every Baron, Earl and Duke whose land he passed through, but eventually the knights reached Eburacum, the Roman-built capital of Malahaut. They noted as their horses were taken to the stables that theirs were not the only horses there - the Centurion King had other visitors. Sir Aeronwy gathered information (by seducing a kitchen boy) - the Centurion King and his son Prince Berrant were jealous of Logres' power, and the knights of Malahaut considered themselves the true heirs to the Roman power in Britain. At the welcoming banquet for the embassy, the knights soon met these other visitors: they were Saxons, led by none other than King Octa and Sir Eleri the Traitor!

Insults were thrown by the Saxons, and the British nobly withstood them for the sake of hospitality. Octa revealed how it was that he was not in the Tower of London. Three years earlier, at the Battle of Lindsey, he had seen how the battle was clearly lost, and allowed another Saxon to take his 'magic axe' and crown, to be captured in his place, while he himself escaped with Sir Eleri. In the intervening years, he had created a new Saxon kingdom from the many Saxons in the north - Deira. He had also created alliances with the Saxons of Kent and Essex, and was now working on an alliance with the Centurion King, against Logres. He also hinted that other lords in Logres had been approaching Sir Eleri to discuss changing sides, as they could see who the winner of this war was going to be.

Octa also offered the knights a deal in secret. The Saxons had already established a foothold in Ireland. Octa would see to it that these Saxons gave the knights of Salisbury the assistance they needed to strike deep into the lands of the Irish and rescue Sir Cadfael. In exchange, all Octa asked for was that they deliberately fail to gain an alliance with Malahaut, and left it to him. Working with him now could ensure them their future when the Saxons had overrun Britain... the knights turned and walked away coldly, refusing to fraternise with their arch-enemy.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Earl Roderick and the four knights tried their best to defeat the Saxons at politics and to win the alliance with the Centurion King. The Earl spent much time sequestered with the King, talking with him, but the other four did their best to impress him. Sir Arnulf decided to present a gift to the Centurion King - the tattered half of Octa's war banner that he had captured at the Battle of Lindsey. This was well received, and definitely superior to the Saxon gift of weapons captured from a raid against Lincoln. Lady Violette decided to keep a low profile, and disdained from slipping something in Octa's food, as Bronwyn suggested. Sir George wrote another song, extolling the prowess of Malahaut at the Battle of Lindsey:

There was a great Centurion King,
And his grand Roman general.
When Logres was in peril,
They rode down with an army
They smashed the Saxon horde
And crushed them underfoot.
The mighty Roman King
Is an effin awesome sight.
He proudly displays his trophy
For all his men to see.
The Saxons now sit and cower
In their dirty latrines,
And now all of Logres knows
The might of Malahaut,
Who will never bend their knee
To that dirty smelly lot!

Sir George's song was certainly a success; unfortunately for him, the Saxons also had a harpist present, who sang an equally convincing song in favour of the Saxons.

Sir Aeronwy decided to go out hunting, and challenged Sir Eleri to a hunting competition. Over the course of three days, they would go out into the woods around Eburacum and bring back whatever they could find - they would try to bring back the best game they could, and whoever brought back the best game the most often would be the winner. Sir Aeronwy thought vaguely about ambushing Sir Eleri in the forest and murdering her, but decided against it - it would be contrary to her sense of honour and hospitality. On the first two days, Sir Aeronwy managed to bring down a deer, while Sir Eleri only managed to bring back one deer. On the third day, Sir Eleri returned again empty handed... but Sir Aeronwy returned not at all. She had become lost in the forest pursuing another deer... and soon heard the sounds of something pursuing her! It was a terrible lion, such as still roamed the wild places of Britain in those days. Sir Aeronwy tried to outrun the lion, but her horse was too slow, and the lion brought it down with a single leap. Fortunately, the beast seemed more interested in its new dinner than in the knight - she backed away slowly, trying not to gain too much of the lion's attention - and broke a twig loudly underfoot. The lion sprang. Sir Aeronwy got her shield up and managed to deliver a terrible blow to the lion, laying open its flank, but was herself torn by the terrible claws of the lion, whose claws were so sharp, they could tear through her chainmail. She set her shield again, as the lion stalked closer - but when the lion sprang, its strength was too great for her. Its claws ripped her shield asunder, and then tore through armour, flesh, and bone alike...

Meanwhile, the other knights began receiving mysterious letters. Someone in Malahaut was interested in making a deal with them behind the King's back. Sir George was taken to a secret meeting with a representative of the unknown nobleman, who offered a deal to him - if the knights of Logres arranged for the death of the Centurion King, then when the anonymous nobleman seized the throne, he would agree to the alliance with Logres against the Saxons. Sir George prevaricated, and when he returned to Earl Roderick and the other knights, they decided not to betray the hospitality of their host by arranging for his assassination.

Unfortunately, this meant that their efforts were now evenly matched with those of the Saxons. Sir Eleri had proven a better huntress than Sir Aeronwy, Sir Arnulf had given a better gift than the Saxons, and the two musicians had proven equal in their talents. So the decision of whom Malahaut should ally with was up to Octa and Earl Roderick's attempts at diplomacy.. and King Octa's had more successful. The Centurion King thanked the embassy from Logres, and allowed them to depart safely, honouring the display of hospitality which they had shown. Octa proved, unsurprisingly, less honourable, and as the Earl's procession moved south, they were attacked by a band of Saxon warriors intent on murdering them all. Sir George and Lady Violette held off the attackers as best they could, while Sir Arnulf slew the Saxon leader and then led the defenders to defeat the main band.

Upon their return from Malahaut, the knights found a guest waiting for them: Lady Evienne, the Lady of the Lake whom Sir Cadfael had rescued the previous year. She had come to return the favour by helping to rescue him from his own captivity. She revealed that Sir Cadfael had agreed to help the Ui Cennsealaigh raid the Ui Maol tribe; however, the raid had gone wrong, and Sir Cadfael was now a prisoner of the Ui Maol. Sir Arnulf, Sir George, Lady Evienne, and Lady Violette headed west to Exeter and the Lady Luck, to take ship to Ireland.

The trip to Ireland was mostly clear sailing, and the expedition arrived in the lands of the Ui Garrchu, in eastern Ireland. A warband of Ui Garrchu warriors awaited the ship on the beach, to challenge the intruders to their land. The knights were forced to take three challenges by the Irish: firstly, to break a large piece of driftwood (which they failed); secondly, a contest of harping, which Sir George handily won; thirdly, a duel to first blood, which Sir Arnulf accepted. However, it turned out that Sir Arnulf was not used to duelling unarmoured opponents - for what should have been a light blow wound up disembowelling the Irish champion! His brother immediately accused Sir Arnulf of murder. The matter was taken to the breitheamh (lawyer) of the Ui Garrchu, and both Sir George and the upset Irishman put forward their cases. Sir George won the case, but now found himself in the unfortunate situation of owing the breitheamh a cow in legal fees!

Fortunately, the group now convinced the Ui Garrchu to begin a Tain Bo (cattle raid) against the Ui Maol, during the course of which they hoped to rescue Sir Cadfael from his imprisonment. The battle began, and Sir George managed to claim his cow quickly, while Ui Maol defenders swarmed out from their village to defend their cow-herd from the raiding Ui Garrchu. During the confusion, Sir Arnulf and Lady Violette hewed their way into the village itself, where Lady Violette found Sir Cadfael - trussed up and in bad shape, but alive! She freed Sir Cadfael and gave him a sword to defend himself, and then the three had to fight their way out of the village again. The reunion was almost a very short one, as an Irish sword struck down Lady Violette, but her handmaid / squire Bronwyn was able to treat her injuries in time to stop her from bleeding to death.

With Sir Cadfael rescued and Sir George's legal fees paid, the groups stayed in Ireland until Lady Violette could safely travel. Once she could, it was time to return to Salisbury. There was an unpleasant surprise waiting for them there, however: a troop of guards was waiting in Tilshead for Sir Arnulf, and put him under arrest. Someone, bearing his arms, had been committing acts of banditry throughout Salisbury during his absence, and there were many witnesses who were willing to attest to it, up to and including Saint Gwiona herself! What was worse, the plunder from the raids had been planted in Tilshead to further implicate the Wind Dragon! The furious Sir Arnulf was challenged by the foremost of his accusers to a duel of honour, to the death, to prove his innocence. So Sir Arnulf and Sir Amig of Castle Du Plain faced off in Sarum. Sir Amig immediately dealt a mighty blow that made Sir Arnulf faint, and the hero knew that if he did not win the duel soon, he would pass out from loss of blood and perish! He surged forward, but Sir Amig held him off, and Sir Arnulf grew more and more faint. On the verge of passing out, Sir Arnulf struck the mightiest of blows, sending Sir Amig crashing to the ground in a swoon. Sir Arnulf retained consciousness only long enough to hear himself proclaimed the victor; then he, too, fell senseless to the ground.

Over the next few weeks, Sir Arnulf recovered from his duel. He appointed Sir Helbur, formerly his squire, now a knight in his own merit, as warden of Tilshead in his absence to protect against any further wrongdoings. Sir Cadfael and his lovely wife put their keen minds to the task of figuring out what had happened. Between them, they were easily able to find evidence that proved Sir Arnulf's innocence, and revealed that the raiders had not come from Tilshead, but from the east. The raids had been a set-up by Sir Arnulf's former lord, the Steward of Leucomagus. As the winter snows fell, an exonerated Sir Arnulf swore that he would have revenge...

RIP Sir Aeronwy, 463 - 493. Eaten by a lion in Malahaut.

492 AD: The Irish Raiders

492 AD was about dealing with the consequences of what had happened the previous year. Cornwall continued to be unsettled after the invasion by the Pendragon, the previous year. Britain continued to slowly rip itself apart as more and more lords lost their faith in King Uther. The Saxons continued to reinforce their position in Caer Anderida. And across the land, reprisal attacks targeted the newly-born Wotanic movement, in retaliation for the death of the Archbishop of Canterbury at Saint Albans. Sir Esther sheltered Sir Albrecht's widow and children at her own estate, so that they could escape the violence, while Saint Gwiona travelled to the deceased knight's estate at Berwick Saint James, where she personally interceded with the incensed mob, in order to prevent further violence. She was accompanied by a young knight who, despite being male, also followed her cause, and when she returned to Amesbury, Sir George remained behind, appointed by Earl Roderick to watch over Berwick Saint James until Sir Albrecht's son Siegfried came of age.

The knights of Salisbury were called upon to travel again to Cornwall. King Uther wished for many knights to be patrolling the former duchy, to keep the peace. He himself was in Tintagel Castle with Queen Igraine, who was heavy with the child that he begat on her during when he, with the aid of Merlin, disguised himself as Duke Gorlois in order to rape her. It would not be long until the child was born, and all Logres was hoping for a son, a new heir to the throne after the death of Prince Madoc. So it was that Sir Arnulf, Sir Cadfael, Sir Esther, and Sir Neddig headed west to Cornwall.

While they were still en route, they were stopped by an out-of-breath peasant. Glastonbury Abbey, the oldest Christian site in all of Britain, where it was believed Jesus Christ himself went as a youth, was under attack by Irish Raiders. (It is probably worth noting at this point that there was a large error in the plot for this year - based on the fact that I thought that Glastonbury was further west than it is, and much closer to Cornwall! So for the rest of the year to make sense, we must assume that the Irish had bad maps...)

The four knights headed to Glastonbury Abbey, where they were welcomed by the Sacristan, Neot - a dwarf and former soldier. The Abbey was clearly damaged by the raiders, but the damage was far lighter than it could have been. Most surprising of all was the fact that of all those dwelling at Glastonbury, only nineteen had been taken as slaves! There seemed to be no pattern as to who was taken, also - they ranged from novices to the abbot himself. Searching around the monastery showed that the Irish raiders had thoroughly looted the abbey, but they had made no attempt to take more than their initial nineteen slaves. Why? There were also signs that the Irish had headed up to Glastonbury Tor, but the knights decided not to investigate the Tor - instead, they had to give pursuit as quickly as they could to try and catch the Irish raiders.

Before long, the knights found a campground where the Irish had rested for the night. Clearly, their ships were somewhere on the coast of the Severn Sea, far enough away that they had not been able to reach them in a single night. The knights investigated the campsite, and realised that this must have been a fairly sizeable Irish force - maybe as many as three warships worth of warriors had come to attack Glastonbury Abbey. In addition, Sir Neddig found a strange brooch, a pentacle in a circle, made all of silver, on a silver chain the right size for a woman's neck. It did not appear to be Irish in origin, and it was not a Christian sign - and there were no women at the Abbey. Where did it come from?

The knights continued northwards, into the Somerset marshes. Night was beginning to fall, and the horses were growing tired, so the knights and their squires found the driest area that they could and decided to rest for the night. They were near to the coast now, and so the Irish could not be far ahead at all. The Irish were unlikely to sail treacherous waters at night - they were more likely to wait for a morning tide, and so if the knights of Salisbury set off before dawn, they should be able to catch the raiders before they set sail. Settling down as best they could in the strange marshes, surrounded by the croaking calls of frogs and other, less identifiable things, they went to sleep.

As they slept, Sir Neddig had a vision. It was as if he were somewhere else, looking through other eyes - those of the woman who had owned the pentacle necklace, who was now the twentieth slave held by the Irish. She was now held in the Irish camp, not far at all from where Sir Neddig slept, with the other slaves, watching her captors carouse next to their boats. She psychically begged Sir Neddig's help, and identified herself - as Evienne, one of the Ladies of the Lake!

However, there was a more immediate problem, as strange creatures arose from the swamp to attack the knights. Sir Arnulf, wary of attack, had slept in armour, but exhaustion had made him fall asleep nevertheless. Only Sir Arnulf's squire Helbur noticed as creatures emerged from the night - like unto frogs, but the size of a child, and sprouting terrible bat-like wings. These were the dreaded water leapers, which claimed a score of careless Somerset fishermen every year. The knights scrambled to get ready, and shouted for their squires to fetch them armour and horses. The first water leaper propelled itself into Sir Neddig's squire, its tiny but razor-sharp teeth clamping down on his face and dragging the screaming, struggling boy into the marsh... The otherwise heroic Helbur's nerve finally broke, and rather than lead Sir Arnulf's horse to him, the panicking squire mounted it and fled!

The knights were now partially armoured, and they flung themselves against the enemy with furious abandon. This was Sir Esther's first battle (during the attack on Castle Terrabil, she had hidden during the night-time raid) and she hid behind her shield, flailing frantically with her sword to try and drive back the water leaper attacking her. Sir Neddig, meanwhile, recalled that somewhere he had heard that the water leapers could be tamed, and tried to wrestle one into submission! Sir Arnulf was groggy from having slept poorly in his armour, and a water leaper fastened its teeth around his helmet and dragged him underwater, then tried to beat his head against a rock to kill him! Fortunately, Sir Cadfael was ready for the monsters - he struck down one swiftly, then went to help the others. Revolted by the monsters and the violence, Sir Esther claimed her first ever kill. Meanwhile, Sir Cadfael slew the water leaper attacking Sir Arnulf, and Sir Esther stopped him from drowning in the water. Finally, Sir Neddig, who had been torn up badly in the attempt to tame a water leaper, realised that it could not be done and slew his foe.

The water leapers were dead, but attacking the Irish, always a risky proposition, now seemed suicidal. Sir Arnulf was gravely wounded, and Sir Neddig (who had begun skinning his fallen foe in order to obtain a fancy new cloak, and was also beginning to think about painting a water leaper on his shield) was not in much better condition. Sir Esther felt that saving their lives was more important than throwing away everyone's life against the Irish trying to save the slaves, and intended to return to Glastonbury. But Sir Cadfael refused, and on his own he rode north as the sun began to rise, to single-handedly confront the Irish slavers.

The three Irish ships were being prepared for the morning tide as Sir Cadfael came over the crest of a hill and gazed down upon them. There were fully sixty Irishmen around them, and the twenty slaves about to be put on to the boats. Sir Cadfael was spotted by Irish scouts, and since violence seemed pointless, he rode down to parley with the Irish and their leader! Fortunate he was that the Irish leader, the Morholt (King's Champion) Cahal of the Ui Cennseallaigh tuath of Leinster, had taken a geas to refuse hospitality to no man. All of this meant very little to Sir Cadfael, save that instead of being slain as he had expected, he was invited in to a hot breakfast at the Irish campfire!

He struck up a conversation with Cahal, where the Irishman let slip a massive surprise to Sir Cadfael - that the Irish had been given permission to raid for slaves, by none other than King Uther Pendragon himself! Sir Cadfael was shocked, but played along, bluffing for more information - which he received. The Irish were incensed by the theft of the standing stones of the Giant's Dance by Merlin, many years earlier, which he had used to rebuild Stonehenge. They had been raiding in reprisal ever since then. In the previous year, an Irish envoy had met with the Pendragon, and he had given them permission to take twenty slaves annually, for the next four generations, from the 'rebellious' duchy of Cornwall. However, Cahal pointed out that King Uther had never specified which twenty slaves could be taken in any given year, and so he had chosen to take the first twenty from Glastonbury Abbey, desecrating a holy site of Britain in recompense for the desecration of a holy site of Irish.

Sir Cadfael agreed, and then tried to strike a deal with Cahal for one of the slaves - the Lady of the Lake, Evienne. However, Sir Cadfael did not have the greatest skill as an orator, and so he was unable to convince Cahal to risk leaving Britain with fewer than the twenty slaves that he had been sent for. Next, Sir Cadfael tried to convince Cahal to take Sir Cadfael himself as a slave in her place - but Cahal pointed out that a Lady of the Lake was a far more valuable slave than an unknown knight. So it came to pass that Sir Cadfael challenged Cahal to a duel of honour, to prove himself worthy enough to be taken as a slave by the Irish in Lady Evienne's place! Amused, Cahal agreed. He was the personal champion of the Irish High King Lugaid mac Loegairi of Tara, a great warrior-lord, and did not think that any British knight could defeat him. After the first few blows were struck, Sir Cadfael was inclined to agree! The Irish knight was a far stronger warrior than he was, constantly driving the British knight back and raining blows upon him which Sir Cadfael could not hold off with his sword or his shield. In desperation, Sir Cadfael put his strength into a single mighty blow, which struck Cahal upon the helmet, stunning him. Cahal sank to the ground insensate, and Sir Cadfael surrendered himself to the Irish as their new slave. Lady Evienne was freed, and she departed, along with Sir Cadfael's squire, to return to Glastonbury Abbey.

Lady Evienne soon met up with the other three knights at Glastonbury. All were shocked to learn that King Uther had sold his own people into slavery, and flabbergasted by Sir Cadfael's actions. They also learned a bit more from Lady Evienne about her own story. The Ladies of the Lake were a pagan sisterhood, who gathered women from across Britain who had nascent magical abilities. They dwelt upon Glastonbury Tor. Evienne herself was one of the youngest and most inexperienced of the Ladies. She was clairvoyant, but she went into trances when her power took control of her - and this was how the Irish had managed to capture her. She also shared the subject of her vision. The walls between worlds are weakening, she warned...

The knights continued on to Cornwall, where they heard disturbing news. The royal heir had been born, and was a boy - but, immediately after his birth, he had been abducted by Merlin! Merlin was declared a traitor in absentia, and sentenced to death. In addition, Sir Neddig had a second vision - courtesy of the silver pentacle, which he had forgotten that he still possessed, which shared Lady Evienne's visions with him.

Queen Igraine was sitting naked in a dark room, lit only by candles arranged at the points and intersections of a pentacle. In her hands she held an athame, a ritual knife, and a silver chalice sat before her. A cage, holding a terrified, hissing cat, was also inside the circle. She removed the cat from the cage, ignoring the scratches which it inflicted upon her arm, and then slew it with the athame, draining its blood into the chalice. Once she was done, she cast the dead cat aside, and used a wand of hawthorne wood to anoint herself with the blood. As she did so, she called down a curse upon Merlin Ambrosius. It was his magic that had betrayed her husband Gorlois and allowed another man access to her bed. It was he who had stolen her baby away from her. Invoking the darkest of curses, she called upon a woman to be an avenger for her, for women to cast down all of Merlin's mighty works, and for Merlin himself to be destroyed three times at the hands of women. Once the oath was made, she drank the dregs of the cat's-blood in the chalice, and the vision ended.

491 AD: Christmas in London and the Invasion of Cornwall

At the end of the year 490, messages were sent throughout Britain to the lords of the Supreme Collegium, calling them to London. It had been many years since they had last gathered and appointed Aurelius Ambrosius as High King. Now there was another who sought that hallowed rank, and whose deeds warranted his obtaining it: his brother, Uther Pendragon, wielder of the sacred sword Excalibur, victor of the Battle of Lincoln. For long years this had been Uther's ambition, for by uniting Britain he would finally have the power needed to truly take the war to the Saxon invaders at last!

Amongst those who travelled in the retinue of Earl Roderick, who held the Collegium seat of Sarum, were Sir Aeronwy, Sir Arnulf, Sir Gherard, Sir Cadfael and Sir Albrecht - all of whom had personally been involved in aiding Uther in his quest in the previous years. Four of these knights had even journeyed to Faerie with Merlin to obtain Excalibur for Uther. All of them hoped for a united Britain.

The knights had their own ambitions, however. Sir Albrecht sought to spread his Wotanic faith. It had suffered something of a setback recently - after the destruction of Malksham, Sir Albrecht was summoned before Earl Roderick and emissaries of Gwiona of Amesbury, to answer for his attack. Saint Gwiona recognised that Christians had also some culpability for what had happened, and while she sought justice, she also desired reconcilation and an end to religious conflict. Therefore she had demanded a weregild from Sir Albrecht in order to rebuild Malksham, and an oath from Sir Albrecht that in the future he would allow no harm to come to the Christian Church, or to womenfolk. Sir Albrecht was unhappy with the oath, but recognised that he had no other choice and agreed to the terms.

Alongside Sir Albrecht rode a young woman knight who had sworn fealty to Saint Gwiona. Her name was Sir Esther, and she was the younger sister of Sir Percival. Although she had wished to become a nun, she left the monastery upon the death of her brother to manage his estates. She was also tasked with liasing with Sir Albrecht to ensure no further conflict, and with overseeing the reconstruction of Malksham. She, too, had personal goals in London - to spread the influence of Gwiona and her pacifistic, feministic version of Christianity further throughout Britain.

Sir Cadfael was trying not to attract the attention of Earl Roderick, since the Earl was furious with him after refusing a political marriage to a lady of Somerset. He would have been left behind, except that King Uther explicitly wished for the knights who had obtained Excalibur to be present at London. With his retinue was his wife, Violette, in disguise. Sir Cadfael usually spent the winter at Illwind Castle, but since that would not be possible this year, he had decided to show his wife the world outside the Campecorentin Forest and to take her to see the capitol.

Sir Gherard's goal was the same as it had been for many years - to find a rich wife of higher status to marry. Sir Aeronwy's was similiar - she was seeking a man to father her child. After years of trying, she was beginning to feel that her husband (to whom she had never been particularly loyal in the first place!) might be impotent - and there would be many lords at London to seduce. Sir Arnulf was also interested in finding a wife, but his primary concern was to help out his man - for he and Prince Madoc had become lovers after Sir Arnulf had helped to save the Prince's life the previous year.

The Christmas feast began with a day of prayer and fasting, to remember Our Lord's birth into the world. Not all of the knights believed in this, since not all were Christians, but lip service was paid. In the evening, the feasting began. Uther's court, and the other lords of the Supreme Collegium, were gathered around a special table that Uther had had prepared for this moment - a round table, where no man sat above another, to symbolise how all those who sat down were lords and heroes of note. It was a simple piece of propaganda, but popular propaganda for all that. Now that the prayers were said, and the winter celebrations were beginning, it was time for the knights of Salisbury to set about accomplishing their various aims.

Not all of these goals were achieved over the winter. Sir Arnulf took the opportunity to sleep around in the licentious atmosphere of the winter celebrations - justifying it as a way to seek allies for his Prince. For Sir Arnulf, this led to the wife of the Earl of Doncaster growing jealous with him and attempted to sabotage the knight's saddle - fortunately, Sir Arnulf's loyal squire Helbur noticed this and saved him. Sir Arnulf also made further enemies during the Feast of Saint Stephen, when gifts are traditionally handed out. Earl Roderick wished to reward the knight, who had fought so valiantly at the Battle of Lindsey, as well as bind him to Salisbury (since Sir Arnulf technically owned no land of his own, after leaving Leucomagus - he was living in Salisbury only to look after his dead sister-in-law's estate). Furthermore, the Earl knew that honouring Sir Arnulf would infuriate Sir Rhisiart of Leucomagus, whom he hated. Therefore, Earl Roderick offered Sir Arnulf the hand of his daughter, Lady Jenna, in marriage, as well as the city of Tilshead. Sir Arnulf accepted - making himself an enemy of Leucomagus (who had wished for Jenna's hand for himself), as well as the other, longer-serving knights of Salisbury who felt that Sir Arnulf was an interloper and an upstart.

Sir Arnulf's winter continued in a similar vein when the knights went hunting in the woods around London. The brave knight became separated from his companions in the thick winter fog. He heard the sound of hunting horns and travelled towards them - only to find spectral hounds attacking him from out of the fog! It was the Wild Hunt, which was said to ride over the deepest hours of midwinter! Sir Arnulf fled, his horse being slain by the hounds of the Hunt, but was unable to escape. Brought to a halt, he challenged a ghostly stag-headed Huntsman to a duel, and managed to brutally defeat the spectre - but refused to execute a fallen man, and instead showed mercy. This sign of mercy was not a good idea, and the hounds of the Hunt attacked him, tearing at his flesh savagely. They surely would have slain him - but a brilliant entity clad in light drove them in terror away from the fallen knight. As Sir Arnulf's senses returned to normal, the shining form revealed itself to be Merlin the Enchanter, come to rescue him. The bloodied knight was dragged back to the castle, and spent the rest of the winter recovering in bed.

Sir Gherard had considerably more success than Sir Arnulf. He managed, very early on, to seduce the Dowager Baroness of Devon, Lady Edwina. The older woman had been widowed, and so her son was now the Baron - but she was looking for a new partner, while Sir Gherard had been looking to marry upwards for some time. However, the match was not just one of convenience - the two swiftly grew very fond of one another. Earl Roderick approved the match as well, for it strengthened connections between Salisbury and the small barony of Devon. So Sir Gherard achieved a happy marriage to Lady Edwina of Devon.

Sir Albrecht had intended to spread the Wotanic faith. He had made a stop on the way to London to do so, to visit Dorchester-on-Thames, in Rydychan. There was another Saxon community there, also from the first Saxon settlers under Magnus Maximus a hundred years earlier, who were also experiencing a Wotanic revival as a result of Sir Albrecht's actions in London. They, however, were led by a man called Acwel Raven's-Cloak, who was putting himself forward as the leader of the nascent religious movement. Sir Albrecht went there, intended to murder the challenger to his position, but instead he found himself talking to the older man and accepting that Acwel had more experience and knowledge of Wotanism. Sir Albrecht accepted Acwel as the leader of the faith, and in exchange was taken on as Acwel's chief disciple and heir. Acwel promised that in time, he would even teach the knight the secrets of runic magic!

Once but he found himself with very little opportunity to do so. He found himself challenged almost immediately by a small, round, pink-faced, moustachioed knight - Sir Hubert (who was quickly dubbed 'the Pig Knight') Sir Hubert continually challenged Sir Albrecht to a fight over religion, but the much larger Sir Albrecht, considering how he now had a 'minder' in the form of Sir Esther, decided not to respond to the taunting. A bigger problem was the new Archbiship of Canterbury, Iestyn. This Archbishop immediately proved himself a schemer, and attempted to manipulate Sir Albrecht and Wotanism. If Sir Albrecht would lead the Wotanist movement to destroy the heretic Saint Gwiona of Amesbury, the Archbishop said, then Iestyn would raise the oath that Sir Albrecht had been forced to swear. Otherwise, the Archbishop would dedicate the church to destroying Wotanism entirely. Sir Albrecht found himself torn - he despised the Archbishop and resented being manipulated; on the other, his oath sat heavily upon him and he wished it removed, and vengeance against Gwiona for forcing it upon him would be very satisfying!

Sir Albrecht's 'minder', Sir Esther, also wished to spread her religion at London, although she had somewhat more success than Sir Albrecht did in that regard. She spoke to King Leodegrance of Cameliard, whose wife was pregnant. The King proved most amenable, and agreed that, should his wife be delivered of a girl, that Amesbury should send a nun north to Cameliard to act as her tutor. In addition, Sir Esther learned of a Saint Dewi in Escavalon, known as 'the Waterman' for his devotion to temperance - in fact, it was said that he had miraculously changed wine into water! Sir Esther arranged for a messenger to take news to Saint Dewi from Saint Gwiona, to begin talking to him about the Saint officially recognising Gwiona's movement. Day by day, Gwionaism was becoming more mainstream!

In contrast to everyone else, Sir Cadfael had a quiet winter. As usual, Sir Cadfael heard all of the major political rumours that were circulating: that the Supreme Collegium was to decide what should happen to the two seats which had been lost to the Saxons. The two major factions which sought them (in exchange, no doubt, for their support for Uther) was King Nanteleod of Escavalon, who already controlled several seats; and King Lot of Lothian, an extremely powerful land-holder north of the Wall, yet one who did not control any seats on the Supreme Collegium. However, Sir Cadfael was not very interested in the politicking. He had brought his wife, Lady Violette, along with him, and during the Christmas celebrations he slipped out of the castle with her and showed her the sights and sounds of London. A good time was had by both!

Sir Aeronwy also used the opportunity to sleep around (even managing to seduce the Duke of Gloucester!), as well as to spread her own religion. As a good pagan, she knew that the Feast of Saint Stephen was once known as Wren Day, and so she took the opportunity to hunt down a wren and parade it through the town, according to custom.

Sir Aeronwy also signed up for the great tournament on the day of the Feast of Saint Simon Stylites, as did Sir Gherard, Sir Cadfael and Sir Albrecht. (Sir Esther did not like violence, and Sir Arnulf was still recovering from the Wild Hunt). All four knights managed to reach the final eight contestants. Sir Aeronwy duelled another woman knight, Sir Diane of the Green Isles, an Irish knight whom Sir Aeronwy quickly became friends with. Sir Diane proved the more skilled of the two, and defeated the pagan woman. Meanwhile, Sir Gherard was defeated by Sir Ector, a genial knight who generally dwelt in the Black Mountains of Wales, and Sir Albrecht finally was given the opportunity to fight, and easily defeat, Sir Hubert the Pink. Sir Cadfael fought with an old adversary - Sir Cador of Cornwall, whom Sir Cadfael had insulted years earlier before the Battle of Mearcred Creek. Sir Cador handily defeated Sir Cadfael, then yielded to him to show that the old grudges were forgiven and that Cornwall stood on the side of Logres, now and forever! Sir Cadfael then fought Sir Ector, overcoming him without too much difficulty, while Sir Albrecht dealt such a terrible blow to Sir Diane that she suffered brain damage and became addled in the head. The final of the tournament was to have been Sir Cadfael against Sir Albrecht, but the wounds that Sir Cadfael had suffered fighting against Sir Cador burst open, and so Sir Albrecht was declared the winner.

While all this was happening, the wife of the Earl of Doncaster made another attempt to murder Sir Arnulf in his bed. Sir Arnulf wrestled with the assassin, and fortunately his squire Helbur had stayed behind with his master rather than going to watch the fighting, so Helbur was able to save Sir Arnulf's life. Weakly, Sir Arnulf began to consider betrothing his baby daughter to the young squire, who had done so much for him.

There were various other events during the Christmas feasting as well. Helbur told the story of how the knights had achieved Excalibur at one of the feasts, impressing lords whom Uther wished to sway to his side. Gifts were given to them, by the Earl, by the King and by the Prince. Much wine was drunk, and the knights took part in a riddle-game (which they did not do well at) and in carolling. Particularly fun was singing 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', where the lines were improvised by each knight in turn:

Twelve pink pig knights
Eleven useless squires
Ten Saxon heads
Nine shooting stars
Eight breaded plates
Seven effing pounds
Six sharpened battle-axes
Five bowls of stew
Four judgemental women
Three French pastries
Two horns of mead
And a partridge in a pear tree!

Finally, on Twelfth Night, at Feast of Misrule, Sir Aeronwy discovered the bean inside her cake and was crowned 'lord of misrule'. She ordered that the entire court should be forced to wear women's clothing! Some of the knights (like Sir Ector) took to the fun enthusiastically, while others (like Archbishop Iestyn) did not enjoy this as much. Sir Aeronwy also took the opportunity to talk to Merlin, who was attending the feast incognito, as was his wont. She asked the great enchanter about his sister, Ganeida, about whom she had heard rumours. Much to her surprise, Merlin took offence at this question, muttered that he had no sister, and stalked off!

The next day was the Feast of the Epiphany, the final day of the Christmas celebrations. On the morrow, the politicking would begin, as the question of the lost seats of the Supreme Collegium would be discussed, and as Uther made his big for the High Kingship. The mood was ebullient, for everyone knew that Uther had garnered the support that he needed, and should easily be voted to become the High King. Then... disaster struck. A beautiful woman came forward to read a poem in the Pendragon's honour. She was the Duchess of Cornwall, the wife of Duke Gorlois, the beautiful Lady Igraine. Sir Aeronwy, Sir Albrecht, Sir Arnulf and Sir Gherard all fell in love with her immediately - as did King Uther Pendragon.

As the month continued on, King Uther stopped paying attention to the Supreme Collegium and to the task at hand, and instead spent his time fawning over Lady Igraine, while Duke Gorlois grew more and more furious and the Supreme Collegium grew more and more impatient. The promise of unity symbolised by Uther's new round table was gone. Eventually, realising that Uther's infatuation with another man's wife had blinded him to the needs of the kingdom, the lords of Britain began to disperse, with nothing decided - save that Uther should not be the High King. Uther continued to stalk Lady Igraine, who found it difficult to avoid his unwanted attentions, and yet as other lords left the castle, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall were forbidden permission to leave. Finally, the Cornish embassy slipped away in the night, and an incensed King Uther Pendragon used this as a spurious excuse to declare Duke Gorlois a traitor. He began to muster his armies - for a war with his own vassal, to seize another man's woman who did not want him as his wife.

Duke Gorlois summoned his forces to war, and prepared for the onslaught of the rest of Logres. The armies of the Pendragon mustered for the war in Devon. However, the conflict was wildly unpopular, with many feeling that they were simply serving as whoremongers for the Pendragon. Fighting between knights broke out commonly, and Sir Cadfael and Sir Aeronwy got into a fist-fight with some of the dissident knights. The knights of Salisbury felt betrayed by the King's actions, and none of them were happy with the war, but none of them wished to speak up about it, and all agreed to go along with the armies for one reason or another.

Also feeling conflicted were Prince Madoc and Merlin Ambrosius. Prince Madoc despised what his father was doing, with Saxon armies on Logres' borders, and wondered whether he should support the campaign against Cornwall or whether he should attempt to usurp his father's throne for the greater good - even though he loved his father dearly. Talking with Sir Arnulf about it, the Prince decided not to divide the kingdom any further, and to support his father - for now. Meanwhile, Merlin and Uther had argued loudly about whether Merlin should use his magic to win Igraine for Uther. Merlin refused to help completely, because he found the situation extremely reprehensible, but now he visited Sir Esther (since he had trusted and respected her brother) for advice whether he should, in fact, help Uther - for many men would die in the King's war, men might not die save that Merlin was keeping his hands clean.

The army marched westward into Cornwall, to find that Gorlois was occupying the fortress of Castle Terrabil, while his wife Igraine was kept safe in the coastal fortifications of Tintagel Castle. The siege of the castle was long and hard, and King Uther himself fell sick - from frustrated love, it was said. Then, after several weeks had passed, Gorlois and his knights sallied forth for a night attack upon Uther's encampment. The knights of Salisbury were caught largely by surprise, with only a few managing to find armour or steeds before the battle was upon them and they were forced to fight Duke Gorlois' knights. King Uther was not present, and so Prince Madoc attempted to rally the defenders in his place. However, Duke Gorlois himself was present in the raid, and attacked Prince Madoc from behind, putting his sword through the back of Prince Madoc's head! Sir Arnulf saw his lover die and, in a fury, he struck the Duke nearly asunder with a single mighty blow. With Gorlois' death, the now-leaderless raid fell apart, and Castle Terrabil fell.

The war was now over. King Uther now controlled Cornwall, and married Igraine after barely a month had passed. The Dukedom itself was dissolved, its lands divided up amongst faithful followers of the Pendragon. Gorlois' surviving followers fled or were slain. The Duke's three daughters Morgause, Elaine and Morgan were promised in marriage to King Lot and his supporters, in an attempt to create new alliances after the disastrous events in London, while Sir Cador was to be hunted and put to death as a traitor's son. It was Sir Cadfael who eventually discovered Sir Cador, hiding out in a village on the coast. Sir Cador had grown disillusioned with Logres and the institution of knighthood, and so Sir Cadfael helped Sir Cador fake his death, bringing in the knight's coat of arms as a sign that he was no more.

Meanwhile, the other knights confronted Merlin about his part in what had happened. They knew that he had gone to see Uther again shortly before Gorlois' death, and they knew that Uther had been missing on the night of the raid - in fact, his absence was what had prompted the midnight attack. Furthermore, rumours said that Duke Gorlois had visited Tintagel to lie with his wife on the very night that he had been slain at Castle Terrabil! Merlin admitted that he had used his magic to help Uther disguise himself as Gorlois, in order to rape Igraine. His visions had revealed that a great good would come as a result of their union, and the magician used this to bitterly justify his actions. One woman had been raped? Far worse happened after any battle! And the results of the one night's ill deeds would have immeasurable impact upon the destiny of the world! Everyone could tell that Merlin was simply trying to justify his actions to himself - and as they had also taken part in the campaign, they hoped that he was right, so that they could reconcile their own parts in the sordid war to themselves.

There was further ill news. Through his actions, King Uther had proven unworthy of the sword Excalibur, and overnight the magical blade vanished. Furthermore, the Saxons took advantage of the internal conflicts. King Aelle of Sussex had attacked Caer Anderida, on the southern coast, and slain all of its defenders, capturing it for himself.

The final events of the year were Sir Albrecht's. He spent a long time contemplating the words of the Archbishop Iestyn at Christmas. Should he betray Gwiona, and bow to the blackmail? Unsure what to do, he went to visit his mentor Acwel Raven's-Cloak that winter, who told him exactly what he should do. No man should try to manipulate a follower of Wotan! If this Iestyn sought a conflict with Wotan, then Sir Albrecht should give him one - by putting an axe in his skull! Sir Albrecht agreed immediately, and summoned many of his followers to lead a raid on the Archbishop in Saint Albans.

Before he left, Acwel told him that it was time he learn the secrets of the runes, for they might help him in defeating the followers of Christ. However, a sacrifice would be needed - and so Sir Albrecht tore his own eye from its socket as an offering to Wotan, just as Wotan had given his eye to gain wisdom from Mimir. As a result of his sacrifice, Albrecht gained mastery of three runes: Wynn, the rune of happiness; Feoh, the rune of cattle; and Hagl, the rune of winter.

Sir Albrecht led his army secretly to Saint Albans, and waited for the dead of night. He then secretly entered the town and carved Hagl into the streets of Saint Albans, summoning a terrible blizzard. In the middle of the blizzard, the Wotanic army entered the town and attacked the cathedral there unawares. Sir Albrecht was now forsworn, for he had broken his oath to Saint Gwiona, but he did not care. He broke into the cathedral and found the archbishop sleeping, woke him so that he knew Sir Albrecht - and then split his skull asunder with his axe.

Sir Albrecht enters Saint Albans Cathedral in search of vengeance. Art by Sir Aeronwy's player.

 

By this point, the defenders of Saint Albans, led by the lord of the town, Sir Julius, had rallied, and the followers of Wotan were surrounded, forced back against the walls of the church, and were being slaughtered. Sir Albrecht emerged and slew many of the guardsmen, withstanding blow after blow until he was the last man standing. His axe was broken asunder, and he was reduced to fighting with his bare hands, but no man dared approach him. Even a fully armoured knight charged the berserk warrior - only for his horse to be wrestled to the ground, and the man to be slain by Sir Albrecht's bare hands. Finally, Sir Julius struck down Sir Albrecht, whose spirit left his body to join the einherjar in Wotan's hall of Valhalla.

Sir Albrecht's mother is not happy about the Christians killing her baby boy - Art by Sir Aeronwy's player

RIP Sir Albrecht, 457 - 491. Slain after murdering the Archbishop of Canterbury.