“He needs protection from their cruel tricks.”
“They may intend the best for him, as it seems they did for you and for Bridei. I have already begun to teach him such safeguards as he is able to employ. Such folk are illattuned to human ways. Their purposes can seem obscure. Often enough, they do the
work of higher powers. The Shining One has had a hand in Bridei’s future, no doubt of it.”
Tuala glanced at him, thinking of the vision she had seen, the one she had not spoken of. An idea was simmering somewhere in the back of her mind, a crazy idea she could not quite dismiss. Perhaps the goddess had had more of a hand in matters than anyone had ever realized. “I can’t summon them,” she said.
“They only come when it suits them, not at my call.” She remembered that terrible journey home to Pitnochie, all by herself at Midwinter, a flight whose ending would have taken her out of the mortal world forever, leaving Bridei behind. How had Gossamer and Woodbine ever persuaded her to consider that? “But I can try.”
“Then try,” Fola said quietly. “For it seems that if you cannot send these
strange messengers down the Glen to warn him in time, Bridei is lost, and the war is lost with him.”
AS SUMMER BECAME autumn and the trees of the Great Glen turned to scarlet and gold, ocher and yellow, the armies of the Priteni swept southward through the lands of Dalriada, and as they moved they linked and merged to form a single, monumental force. Bridei had set strict rules for the
conduct of the action and its aftermath. He did not want victory to descend into an orgy of burning, pillage, and rape, leaving only a charred and ruined wasteland where once, before the coming of the Gaels, had been thriving Priteni farms, staunch fishing communities, and well-protected outposts. He had made his expectations for the business of war clear over the five years of his kingship, rules
every one of his chieftains was bound to instill in his fighting men. One could not expect flawless obedience, but those who erred knew they would be punished. It made for an orderly advance; for the conquered, it eased the pain of defeat. As Bridei moved through, he left behind men who would maintain order and control, men who understood the rules he had set and were strong enough to enforce
them.
They pressed on. Elpin fell in battle at a place called Two Rivers. In the same action, Uven sustained a deep knife wound to his left arm, which he bound tightly and ignored, riding on with his comrades. He could still help with horses and supplies and arms, but he would not be guarding the king, nor doing much fighting for a while.
It became clear that the carefully planned strategy was
a stunning success. The Gaels, not ready for such an early move by the armies of Fortriu, nor for the massive scale and complex nature of the onslaught, began to scramble into defensive positions once word of the first attack began to spread across Dalriada, but it was too late to summon powerful help from abroad, too late to call upon sympathetic northern chieftains such as Alpin of Briar Wood,
and too late to save each small settlement, each outpost, each regional fortress that fell before the disciplined advance of Bridei’s combined forces. The Dalriadan fighting men perished in their hundreds.
Sometimes there was surrender, and when that occurred Bridei gave the Gaels a choice: submit to the authority of his own regional chieftains and to the ultimate rule of the throne of Fortriu,
and they might stay in their settlements and live their lives in peace. The alternative must be death for the men and exile for the women and children beyond the borders of Priteni lands.
He had not intended to be quite so magnanimous, and it was clear both defeated Gaels and victorious Priteni were somewhat taken aback by it. That the gods required this of him had become clear to Bridei when
they entered the settlement at Two Rivers, on the way south toward the Gaelic stronghold of Dunadd. Without it the western lands would lose their heart.
There was a man at Two Rivers whom the Priteni had spared, for he was no fighter but had the look of a scribe or teacher, being dressed in a long robe and without weapons. As the people of the settlement gathered on open ground for the formal
surrender, Bridei saw this man draw a woman and children close to him, as if to offer what shelter he could against the overwhelming tide of Fortriu’s army. He saw that, although the man had the broad features and ruddy hair typical of so many Gaels, his wife was slight and dark, a woman of Priteni blood. The little girl’s curious eyes gazed, innocent yet of the knowledge of death, at the tall strangers
who had marched into her home with the light of conquest on their stern faces. She was like her father, a rosy, red-haired Dalriadan; her brother, older and more wary, was as lean and dark as any son of the Flamekeeper. The wife clutched her husband’s arm; he held the boy’s hand and cradled his daughter in his other arm, bending his head to murmur words of reassurance against her bright curls.
At that moment, the gods whispered in Bridei’s ear that he must compromise. If he swept every Gael from this western shore, he would destroy the fabric of community, part mother from son, husband from wife, set this land back to a time of chaos and uncertainty. The Gaels had been settled in these territories through the lives of son, father, grandfather; these were one people. His plan must change,
starting now.
So he spared those who agreed to peace, but made certain it was understood any attempt at revolt or uprising would be met with iron. Each community was left with a small force of armed men and an assurance that, once Gabhran relinquished the kingship of Dalriada, they might return to their old lives. Only one thing would change: each region would be governed by a chieftain of Fortriu.
Bridei did not tell them there must be no public observance of the Christian ritual. Time enough for that when the last battle was won.
So they moved on, and by the eve of the feast of Measure they were in the Dalriadan heartland. Intelligence had come in that Gabhran had ridden forth from his fortress at Dunadd with what remained of his forces, and was heading north to meet Bridei’s army in
the open field. Perhaps the Gaelic king already saw that the Blade of Fortriu would cut him down sooner or later, its edge honed by the bone-deep certainty of a mission ordained by the gods. Or perhaps Gabhran believed, foolishly, that he could still defeat them; that they had entered his domain like minnows swimming into a net, and that he need only close their escape and draw the catch in.
Bridei met with his war leaders for what might well be the last such gathering before the decisive battle. Around them their combined force was encamped, resting in preparation for the morning. They had reached the fertile lowlands near the southwestern coast; each chieftain had his own tale to tell of the journey there, the encounters won, the men left by the wayside, their own buried hastily, the
enemy piled and burned or left to crow and gull.
Talorgen’s sea force had taken the coastal stronghold of Donncha’s Head by surprise, standing off until dusk, then sweeping in to sink the Gaelic fleet before the enemy could launch a counterattack. That had been almost too easy, with the outpost undermanned; by then Gabhran’s fighting men had been called southward to form a defensive shield before
Dunadd, for the news that the Priteni were coming in force was spreading to every corner of Dalriada, and the safeguarding of the king held high priority.
As for Bridei’s own protection, Hargest was taking an ever-increasing share of the duties, with Cinioch and Enfret the only Pitnochie men still uninjured. The boy’s strength and endurance made him an asset on the long marches, though Hargest
had not yet achieved his fervent desire to stand by his king in battle. By night, two of the three guards stood watch while the third slept. So close to victory, the king must be protected with utmost vigilance. Who knew what the Gaels might try with a skilled assassin?
Hargest complained that Bridei hardly needed a night guard at all, since he barely slept; why didn’t he lie down and rest properly,
instead of spending the precious time of respite in prayer or meditation or conversation with whoever else was awake in the darkness? Uven, frustrated that his injury had relegated him to a secondary role, reprimanded the boy for being too outspoken, but Bridei merely smiled. The boy could not understand what it meant to be druid-raised, nor how the responsibilities of a king robbed him of
the capacity to surrender to sleep. For Hargest life was a great deal simpler. He reminded Bridei of a wild creature, perhaps a hunting cat. Enemies existed to be killed. If good men fell in the process, that was the way it was. Eat, sleep, move on, kill again. In all these long days of marching, Bridei had not managed to persuade Hargest that there was more to it than that.
Tonight the chieftains
of Fortriu gathered within a protective circle of their personal guards and finalized their strategy for the last assault. Alongside Camach, Ged, Morleo, Wredech, and Talorgen were Fokel of Galany and the huge, fierce figure of Umbrig. Bridei had approached the Caitt chieftain earlier and obtained his consent for Hargest to remain with the king if he wished; Umbrig had seemed more relieved than
concerned, admitting that he’d begun to find the boy’s attitude trying of recent times. Hargest chafed at the restrictions of his foster father’s household while remaining reluctant to test his father’s goodwill by requesting a return home to Briar Wood. The lad’s talents were best suited to work with the horses, Umbrig was sure of it, but that was just what Hargest least wanted to do. If Bridei
wanted him he could have him. As for seeking Alpin’s permission, there was no need of that. The truth was, the lad’s father had lost interest in him long ago. A pity, that. Umbrig thought what Hargest needed was the firm authority best given by a father. He’d tried to do it himself, but the boy was difficult: difficult to discipline and difficult to like. Bridei had thanked the Caitt chieftain
and refrained from comment. He hoped very much that, when all this was over, he might be able to make a mature man of this volatile young warrior. Time, patience, and good example would surely bring out the best in Hargest.
They made three plans: one for an encounter on open, level ground, one for an uphill assault on a fortification—it was greatly to be hoped they would not need this—and a third
for a downhill attack, in which their well-practiced pike-block formation could be utilized to devastating effeet. In an open situation, which Carnach believed Gabhran would favor, they would commence with a mounted charge, complete with banners. Once the front line of the Gaelic force had been broken by this, the Priteni warriors massed behind the horsemen would march in on the enemy. The sheer
size of Fortriu’s consolidated army allowed the possibility of moving on Dalriada from three sides, provided they could glean advance intelligence of where Gabhran’s force was mustering.
“The men are hungry for this,” Talorgen said. “They’re weary, of course, after so long on the march and so many lost. But they scent victory. They know the end is close.”
“If we can make it quick,” Carnach said,
“so much the better. Use the spark they have now to seize the upper hand. If we can take Gabhran himself, that will give us the leverage we need to call a halt. I believe his chieftains will be prepared to negotiate.”
“What is there to negotiate?” Ged’s tone was blunt.
“The life of the Dalriadan king is surely worth something,” put in dark-bearded Morleo. “What do you plan, Bridei? Will you
make an end of him if he does not perish on the field?”
Bridei had an idea of how it might fall out; his long nights of hard thinking and his silent conversations with the gods had borne some fruit. He was not sure he wished to put it in words, even before his most trusted war leaders. “Let us see how he conducts himself,” he told them. “Do not doubt that, if it is necessary, I will order Gabhran’s
death. Do not doubt that if I must execute that order to secure capitulation, it will be done immediately and without hesitation. I wish him to kneel before me and renounce the kingship of Dalriada. He must surrender and withdraw his fighting men from our shores entirely. Should he agree to that, I will give consideration to his future and that of the Uí Néill princelings who support him. There
won’t be any full-scale slaughter of captured warriors unless there’s no alternative. They have a fleet; let them sail back to their home shore and never trouble us again.”
Talorgen cleared his throat.
“In fact,” Carnach said, “since Uerb and Talorgen engaged in a little seaborne warfare of their own, there’s not much of the Gaelic fleet left. Still, they’ll have a few ships in the south. I
expect they could get back home, given the right encouragement.”
“What if Gabhran decides to turn tail and hole up in Dunadd?” Ged asked. “It could be a lengthy siege, and we’re far from home.”
“At least there are plenty of supplies to be had,” said Umbrig. “It’s good farming land in these parts; wouldn’t mind a little holding myself. The cattle down here are twice the size of the ones we have
at home.”
“Let us see how this unfolds,” Bridei said. “I’ll deal with Gabhran and his chieftains first, then we must establish our own base here and ensure these lands remain stable and productive. Certainly, I will be looking for chieftains who possess both authority and sound judgment, for I need strong leaders here in the west. We’ll talk of this when the war is won. Talorgen, what is your
best guess of time and place for this encounter?”
“Soon,” Talorgen said with grim satisfaction. “I reckon we’ll meet them within three days. As for the place, it’s likely to be somewhere Gabhran can’t find himself hemmed in by our much larger force. There’s a valley a day’s march southwest of here. In times past the place was known as Dovarben, but no doubt it now bears some Gaelic invention
of a name. There is a stream, broad and slow-flowing. There’s not much cover save at the far ends of the strath. If I were the Gaelic king, that’s the place I would choose. We’d need to pass that way to reach Dunadd. To execute the strategy we prefer, we’d have to be in position well before they made an appearance, and we’d somehow have to avoid detection by Gabhran’s advance scouts. With a force
of this size, that’s near impossible.”