Arthur

Since we had days aboard ship, and little else to do, I managed to get out of Arthur exactly what he thought he was doing offering peace to Britain's enemies.

'We have been at war with the Saecsen, Pict, Scot and Irish for three hundred years and more. Think of it, Bedwyr! There has never been a generation to know peace on this island,' Arthur said, as we stood on deck watching the coastline rise and fall with the waves.

'There has never been a generation to know peace anywhere on this earth, God love you!'

"That may be true,' he allowed, 'but that does not mean it is not possible. I believe it can happen. But someone has to make a start.'

'You have made a start, Bear. But do not expect the small kings to shower gifts of gold upon your head. Gifts of steel, perhaps.'

"The killing must stop. If I must endure the hurt, so be it. I will endure it gladly, and more besides – but the fighting must end.' He smiled thoughtfully. 'It is no less than Our Lord the Christ did for men.'

I shook my head and looked out across the grey-waved sea, listening to the keen of the gulls following our wake. What Arthur said made a certain sense. But I knew Arthur – knew him, Blessed Saviour! – and I could not believe he was so innocent, so guileless and trusting about this.

'Do you not believe me?' asked Arthur, after a moment. I took my time answering. 'I believe you, Bear. And I pray God you are right, I swear it. But this is not like you.' I turned to find his clear blue eyes gazing at me, mirth drawing up the corners of his mouth. 'You think this is funny? I do not. I tell you it chills me to the marrow.

'Yes, it does! We have given land to our most deadly enemies – something even Vortigern in all his glory never contemplated. Yet we have done this, and asked for nothing but promises in return. Saecsen promises!' I blurted, and fell silent.

'You think me a fool.' Arthur's voice was quiet.

'God love you, Arthur, I know you are no fool. That is why this troubles me so. You are not yourself since you returned from Ynys Avallach.'

Arthur did not reply directly, but turned away to study the far horizon, his face as hard as the rock cliffs in the distance.

'What happened to you at Ynys Avallach?' I asked. I did not know if he would tell me, and at first I thought he would not.

But at last he spread his hands towards the distant shore and said, 'I saw a vision, Bedwyr. I saw a land alive with light. I saw a land blessed of the Living God, where all men lived as kinsmen and brothers. I saw a land – this land, this Britain – at peace under the rule of Justice and Right.

'I saw this, and much else besides. And I vowed to make it true. I have pledged my life to it, Bedwyr. My life is a sacrifice to the Summer Realm, for I am the Lord of Summer.'

What could I say to this? If he saw a vision, he saw a vision. But was this the right way to go about it?

Arthur laughed suddenly. 'So maybe I am a fool after all, eh?'

'God's truth, Bear, I do not know what to think.'

'I will tell you something else, shall I?' he raised his eyebrows and jerked his head back towards the sea cliffs. The north is very far away from the south, you know.'

'Well I know it. We would not be on this leaky tub if it were otherwise.'

He nodded, his mirth turning waggish. 'No one has yet discovered a way to fight the Picts and Angles in the north while the Saecsens raid in the south. Jesu knows that I cannot be in two places at once.'

'Meaning?'

‘He is a strong lord, with many ships and a good warband.

'Meaning?'

'The war will be fought and won in the north. Our freedom will be won in the north, or lost there.'

He saw by the expression on my face that I thought this unlikely. 'You doubt me?' he asked. 'Consider this, then: every invasion has always come from the north. It is the swiftest way into the heart of Britain. The Romans understood this – just as they discovered that it is impossible to defend." He flung a hand to the wavering coast. 'There are ten thousand bays and coves on this sea – and each one a hiding-place for Sea Wolves. They have only to make landfall and the Picti, or their own kind, will welcome them.'

'Aelle and Colgrim attacked the south,' I pointed out.

'Did they?'

'You know that they did.'

'Are you like the others? Think, Bedwyr! How were they able to strike so quickly? How were they able to order their attack so?'

I stared blankly back at him, for I did not know.

'It is too far to come from Saecsland. The sea journey is too difficult – and then to fight at the end of it? It cannot be done. So what did they do? Think, Bedwyr!'

'I am thinking, Artos! What did they do?'

'It is so simple! They made landfall in the north and wintered there. This they were able to do because they had friends waiting for them. They gathered their forces from those who had come before; they amassed ships and weapons and men through the summer. Then, when they were ready, they swept down from the north to attack the brittle defences of the south.' Arthur smiled grimly. 'As I said, the swiftest, surest way to the south is through the north.'

Yes, it was true what he said. I had not thought of it that way before, but I recognized the truth now that he explained it to me. What is more, this was the Arthur I knew and remembered. I told him so.

'You think because I want peace I have lost the craft of war?' He shook his head slowly. 'I have not changed, my friend – not enough anyway.'

'So what are we doing now? What can we accomplish in the north, just the three of us?'

'We are going to hold council with King Lot of Orcady. He is a strong lord, with many ships and a good warband. I would see whether he will support me.'

'Ships? You have horses, now you want ships?'

'I want as many ships as I can get – as many as Lot will give me. Then I mean to build the rest. I want a fleet such as the great Caesar had when he came to the Island of the Mighty.'

'But we cannot fight on ships.'

'Oh yes, we can. And, what we do not know of it, we shall learn. Even if we do not fight with our ships, we must have some way to move horses and men more swiftly than over land. That is too slow, and – '

'I know: the north is very far from the south, and you cannot be in two places at once.'

Arthur grinned and slapped me on the back. 'Well done! I was beginning to think you slow witted.' He rose from the railing and stretched. 'But all this talk has made me thirsty. Let us have some beer.'

I watched him move off along the deck, thinking, Do I know this man, after all? He turned and called, 'Not thirsty?' And, never one to turn away a cup, I hurried after him.

The Orcades are a huddle of bare rocks that poke from the northern sea like the heads and shoulders of drowned giants. They are covered with a green crust of earth, so that the scrawny sheep have something to eat. It is an unlikely place to find a lord of Lot's repute. More a hoarding of small settlements than a realm. Yet the lords of Ynysoedd Erch have ever held their own with a fierce and justifiable pride.

I wondered what our reception would be. Certainly, Lot would welcome an alliance with the south. His position could hardly be comfortable in the best of times – with Picti and Angli between him and the southern lords. But he existed, some said, by trade and friendship with the Angli and Saecsen. Mind, I have never known anyone to make that accusation to Lot's face.

As our ship neared Llyscait, where Lot's stronghold overlooked the deep stone-lined bay, the sun dimmed as it passed behind the clouds. The quick chill off the water made me shiver. But it was not only the cold, I think.

We were met by a small boat which came out to us from the rock-strewn shingle. The boatmen hailed us and called for news. Some of our ship's hands obliged them, and then Myrddin bade them take us to Lord Lot.