Chapter 49 #2
‘We will,’ Kat said.
That night, Arthur walked in his dreams.
He was standing on a ledge jutting out from the rocky side of the Nemhain Mountains, Camlann Plain spread before him, Dinas Emrys in the distance. The air rang with the sounds of battle – steel on steel, cries of pain, of victory, as the grass beneath a thousand feet was churned into a bloody soup.
In the sky, two dragons clashed.
‘You saw a slice of what happened all those years ago,’ a voice said. Arthur jolted to find Eseld beside him. She was young, fresh-faced and radiant, her dark hair falling over her shoulders, her white gown glowing. A simple crown sat atop her head.
‘Eseld,’ he breathed. ‘Where have you been?’
She ignored the question, gesturing to the carnage before them ‘You did not see this.’
‘Who are they all?’ Arthur asked quietly.
‘Men who fought alongside my brother, and those who fought against him,’ Eseld explained. ‘Enyon was a king, but he desired more – he wanted the power of the gods, and it was promised to him by one of them if only he would do this one small thing.’
‘The Red One?’ Arthur asked, but he knew before she spoke what Eseld would say.
‘No. The Goddess of Magic.’
Arthur swallowed. ‘She did this?’
‘Magic was losing its place in the world as more people were born without it,’ Eseld said.
‘Jealousy and resentment grew among the people. Niniane manipulated that, encouraged my brother to restore magic’s place, to show those who opposed it the might and power of gifts they despised.
’ She gave Arthur a sad look. ‘Ordinary people, those without magic who didn’t wish to live under its yoke any longer took up arms against my brother.
He could not see what you can, Arthur – that compassion, understanding and accepting of difference is the future of this world. He could not see balance and harmony.’
‘And you?’ Arthur asked.
‘By the time this happened, I was already dead.’
There was something Arthur needed to know. ‘Did your brother seek the Grail?’
‘He did – or rather, Niniane did,’ Eseld said.
Arthur watched the battle unfolding below them.
He could not see faces, but he could imagine them.
Ordinary people, Eseld had said. Like the ones in his camp, ready to march to war for him.
Like the ones behind the walls of Dinas Emrys, ready to fight for what Mordred thought the world needed.
And then, in the middle of it all, as before, were the Old Ones.
‘She’ll come for it, won’t she?’ Arthur asked.
‘She will come for the one who can wield it.’
Arthur turned his gaze to the sky as the White Dragon swooped into view. ‘And Mordred?’
The ancient Queen of Teyath put her hand on Arthur’s arm. ‘He is not the villain, but the tragedy of this tale, like Enyon was before him. The difference is that Mordred believes he is doing Ereshki’s work, when really, it is Niniane he serves, though he doesn’t understand that.’
In the sky above, the Red Dragon met the White, the beasts clashing in a mighty brawl of tooth and claw. Arthur’s stomach tightened, his hand brushing his hip, searching for a sword that was not there.
‘Do not pity the beasts, Arthur,’ Eseld said. ‘They are not truly alive.’
Arthur watched the dragons, wincing as the jaws of the White Dragon closed over the throat of the Red and tore through flesh. Blood sprayed in the air and fell towards the earth like rain. ‘They will fight regardless of what I want?’
‘They will fight as you fight – the dragons are tied to you and her and as long as you oppose one another, so will they,’ Eseld replied.
‘Her?’ Arthur asked.
‘She who breathes when she should not,’ Eseld said.
Arthur chewed his lip. The Red Sister at Mordred’s side – was it her? Olwen said she was there to guide, not ally herself with him. Who else would be powerful enough to wake a dragon? Medb?
He turned his attention back to the warring human armies. ‘Who wins this battle?’
‘When the Old Ones put down their weapons, so did the humans. My brother will die soon, and this will all slip into forgotten memory,’ Eseld told him.
‘Only it doesn’t,’ Arthur mumbled.
‘No.’
The dream began to fade around the edges, the world peeling back. The dragons had gone; the armies had gone. Dinas Emrys seemed closer than ever.
‘If I don’t win?’ Arthur asked. He turned to Eseld. She was fading, too. The tips of her crown were broken. Her eyes were sad as her lips lost their colour and the flesh of her cheeks sunk away.
‘Then this will happen again, eventually, a cycle that will continue to repeat itself until the Grail is found and the world remade, reshaped by hands who can see the Light, who acknowledge the Darkness, but do not bow to it.’
Then, she was gone and when Arthur opened his eyes, he knew dawn was close.
Arthur was alone when his uncle and Halymere stepped into the tent. ‘It’s time?’
Halymere nodded.
‘I’ll be along in a moment,’ Arthur told him. ‘I’d like to speak with Gaheris first.’
Halymere inclined his head and left. Alone with his uncle, Arthur forced a smile. ‘I wish I had time to get to know you.’
Gaheris’ smile was casual, calm. He didn’t look like the sort of man easily rattled. ‘There will be plenty of time for us to get to know one another when this is all over, Arthur.’ He eased himself into a chair. ‘You have Igraine’s eyes.’
‘I want to know all about her when this is over,’ Arthur said eagerly.
‘How did Morgause do it? She led a country. She was fierce and amazing. I didn’t know her for long, but…
how did she know the right words to use, the ones that would give hope to people.
Keep them believing in her and themselves? ’
‘There is no recipe for it, Arthur,’ Gaheris said. ‘In the end, they’re words – what matters is the conviction of the person speaking them.’
‘Kat said you were a spy for Morgause,’ Arthur said. ‘Words would have served you as well, I imagine.’
‘Words, and a little air magic,’ Gaheris said with a wink.
‘I could make a man tell me whatever I needed to hear, and he’d never know what he’d divulged.
But it is not deception you need to focus on, but truth.
’ He leant forward. ‘Speak true and from the heart, and you’ll find the words are already there. ’
After Gaheris left, Arthur took a deep, steadying breath and stepped out into the morning.
His palms were sweaty, knees trembling by the time he reached the edge of the camp where everyone had gathered.
He tried not to think about how many people there were.
He kept his chin lifted as he made his way to Halymere’s side.
Seeing Ordes, Jen, Katarin and Olwen there as well made his heart sing. He could do this.
He faced his people.
‘We stand on the precipice of great change. The beginning of a new world, one for everyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from,’ Arthur said.
‘I want to thank each one of you for being here, for being willing to support me in this. I won’t promise you that there won’t be losses, because I won’t lie to you.
The world that will rise from the ashes of this place will be one of our making, forged by our hands, without the Old Ones. ’
A murmur went through the crowd.
‘The time of gods is over,’ Arthur said. ‘It is time for men and fey to make their own way in this world, bound to no one except ourselves and one simple rule to live by – fairly take and fairly give, no harm to those who seek to live.’
He looked out over the crowd, and it was Jalen’s eyes he found.
‘The truth is that I don’t know for certain what will happen.
The only thing I can say is I want to build a better world.
Some power bigger than me, bigger than all of us, has decided that this is to be my destiny.
I never wanted to be a leader of anything, and I certainly don’t want to be the sort of leader who will tell you what to do, how to live your lives, what to think or feel or believe in.
The only thing I will tell you is the power of choice is yours and I promise not to interfere with that.
As someone who, until recently, had never had the freedom to make choices that would shape my life, the idea of making choices that will shape yours is terrifying. ’
Arthur looked out over the crowd. Every face looked to him.
‘Evil acts often live on, a legacy of brutality that outlasts those who committed them,’ Arthur said.
His father’s face floated behind his eyes, but he shoved it away.
That wasn’t how he wanted to remember Ulrian.
‘But so can acts of good. If we choose to do nothing in the face of brutality, then we will have a world without freedom for all, without equality and compassion. The worst we could do now is permit an indifference to hatred and apathy towards the suffering of those who are not the same as us. But how we each decide to turn our hearts against evil is not my decision to make for you. If you do not want to be in this fight, you are free to leave with no judgement, no ill feelings.’ He paused. ‘The choice is yours.’