Author's Notes:

Ceffylgwyn – I decided to marry them off. I thought both Tristan and my readers deserved a break from my awkward romance writing:(

I am glad you note my point at the end. We humans have broken nature's cycle of regeneration – returning nutrients to soil - and thus we have 'waste'. As an Aussie, you might be interested to know that it is an Aussie – Bill Mollison - who introduced 'permaculture' to the Western world. Permaculture uses nature's regenerative principles to design human life, e.g. composting to enrich soil.

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That evening Arthur called a meeting of the round table. The knights filed in and waited with Arthur for the Bishop to arrive. The company was in a good mood. The British knights were impatient for their discharge papers, and the Baltic knights – who had four more years of service left – were following Arthur to Rome. So was Tristan, to be with his wife. From long habit, Tristan covertly observed his companions.

From time to time Eric asked solicitously of Gawain, Gault and Galahad whether the plumbing in the newly renovated latrine was working, if they were in a lighter frame of mind, would they care for wine after etc. The three did not answer, and Percy ignored their murderous glances. They were not about to confront the surgeon though. The man was built like an ox and used to wrestling down strong men while operating on them. In his way, he was as unpredictable as the scout.

While Bors laughed loudly with Eric and Senna grinned, the scout noted an absent look on Dagonet's face. Lancelot was on edge, his disquiet apparent in the controlled way he handled his wineglass. Tristan shrugged and turned to Dani who sat next to him quietly enjoying the banter. Over the chatter, he felt a warm glow suffuse him.

Clad in the finery of his office, a frowning Bishop halted in front of the round table. His frown became even more pronounced at the sight of the woman who sat at the table at equal terms with the men. She stared back unabashed, used to Roman officials from her long years of service. Whatever gracious speech he had in mind eluded him.

'It's a woman!' he hissed, distaste showing in his voice. Servers walked around the table, discreetly setting down glasses of wine.

'I try my best,' answered Dani sweetly, eyes dancing with merriment and challenge.

'She is one of my company,' broke in Arthur in a tone that brooked no challenge. He would not let any criticize whom he saw fit to include in that company, even his guest and late father's friend.

'Of course, of course,' the Bishop let it go, with poor grace and a false smile. 'You run things differently here in the wild frontiers, eh?' Tristan thought the Bishop must have had grave matters to discuss to let it go so easily. The man seated himself next to Arthur at the commander's urging. His next words were also unfortunate.

'There are more of you than I thought,' said the Bishop. Clearly the number of discharge papers did not tally with the number sitting at the table. Arthur frowned at the reminder of men dead under his command.

'We were joined last year by five from the Rhenus-Danuvius limes to the East.' Arthur gestured and the five inclined their heads with guarded expressions. 'They are following me to Rome to complete their terms of service.' The Roman Empire was, since many generations, divided into several smaller empires for ease of maintaining order. The Baltic knights were from the Eastern parts.

'Yes, yes,' said the Bishop. Pointedly ignoring Dani, he added, 'Rome needs good men.' Tristan and Dani exchanged an amused look.

What followed next was small talk about the glory of Rome, Arthur's duty to his God, honor and wealth that awaited the commander in Rome etc. Tristan's thoughts wandered a bit – Rome was lately on his mind too - until Lancelot interrupted with sharp words.

'Day, not days,' said the curly haired knight, eyes glittering. Gawain and Galahad leaned forward, with questioning looks. Bors' forehead knitted in consternation and Dagonet slowly put down his drink. Arthur looked askance at the Bishop and Tristan went still. The Baltic knights shrugged and sipped their drinks.

At the Bishop's gesture, his secretary opened the scroll case he was carrying with a flourish. All eyes went to the six scrolls of parchment they held, Tristan's intense and narrowed. Instead of handing them out, the Bishop continued with his speech – how Rome was beset with invaders and the empire was withdrawing from indefensible outposts, such as Britain etc.

'We'll just leave the land to Woads?' Galahad broke in to argue.

Tristan wondered if the boy would ever be happy. He himself bristled at the Bishop's careless dismissal of Britain and wondered where it was leading. He listened for things left unsaid while voices were raised in discord. The case was shut and taken away. Confusion appeared on the faces of the British knights.

'I must speak privately with you,' the Bishop said to Arthur, shedding his affable mask. The man had news the knights would not take kindly, thought Tristan. Simultaneously he felt sympathy for Arthur and a renewed sense of unease.

'We have no secrets here,' said Arthur, leveling the man with an unblinking stare. Disappointment showed in his face at Rome's decision to abandon Britain. Several of the knights looked rebellious, and impatient. Lancelot decided the matter.

'Let's leave Rome's business to Romans,' he said, mockingly raising a toast to his commander before leaving. Arthur and his closest friend and advisor had been locking horns lately, sometimes bitterly, Arthur's belief in Rome's goodness, justice and honor at infuriating odds with the other man's sense of wrongness and injustice that had been meted out to conquered people. The bitterness that had crept into their frequent arguments of late jarred the rest of the close-knit company at times, and they dropped their gaze at the latest volley.

Tristan bent his head to Arthur in respect, dropping his gaze to signify support to his commander. The others strode out as well, the Baltic knights looking puzzled and the British knights simmering in anger. Outside the meeting room, Dani touched his elbow, her face puckered in thought.

'How does he know about the Saxon army?' She asked him.

The Bishop had said that a massive Saxon incursion that had already begun in the North. What he left unsaid was how he knew about it.

Author's notes:

In the absence of satellite imagery, how did the Bishop have such up to date information of the location of the Saxon army? Read on. I shall try to close this plot hole as well :)

Rhenus-Danuvius limes = Rhine and Danube rivers marked Rome's frontier to the North in Europe and were guarded by a line of watchtowers on the South sides of the rivers. Dani and her friends were stationed previously near where the Danube empties into the Black Sea. Limes means earthwork or barrier, also refers to frontier since defensive earthworks marked the frontier. Hadrian's Wall was a limes.

The Roman Empire declined (at least the Western part) over a period of around 250 years, a very long time. 'The Collapse of Complex Societies' by Joseph Tainter is a study of how empires, which are complex societies, collapse. Complexity includes such things as size, population, levels of organization, hierarchy, notable personalities, occupations etc. A hunter-gatherer society is the simplest.

Human societies tend to increase in complexity because initially it yields high returns. For example as Romans conquered more territories, they had more wealth in currencies, slave labor, grains, natural resources, recruits for the army etc. But complexity also leads to increase in bureaucracy, cost to suppress rebellions, repel invaders and maintain communication etc. Past a point, return becomes increasingly marginal. When this is combined with catastrophic events such as natural disasters, wars, epidemics, crop failures etc, the complex society starts to unravel. Empires begin strategic withdrawals from indefensible – and depleted - outposts. Britain was abandoned after much of its wealth – metals such as silver, lead, tin, copper etc – had already been extracted.

'Catabolic collapse' is the term used by John Michael Greer to explain this process of unraveling in his book 'The Long Descent: A User's Guide to the End of the Industrial Age'. Of course he is referring to the age that we are living in as we too face the limits to our civilization's growth due to the high costs of maintaining it – in terms of energy, water, waste produced, soil depletion, species loss etc and ultimately our own stressful, debt-ridden, long-commute lifestyles.

A lot of books have been written about how to transition to a more sustainable, stable and equitable society - as opposed to spiraling unchecked into a chaotic one (think 'Mad Max') - as we face the inevitable descent of our own times. Obviously it is we humans as a species who must power down our resource consumption.

Many people have been forced into making lifestyle changes due to financial challenges. Some of us are lucky enough to be able to choose our own 'strategic withdrawals' from a life of costly excess – finding simplicity, happiness and creativity in living a less consumerist lifestyle. Think gardening!

Some wonderful resources:

Toolbox for Sustainable City Living

The New Normal: Agenda for Responsible Living – David Wann

Radical Homemakers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture – Shannon Hayes

The Urban Homestead – Kelly Coyne & Erik Knutzen

Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front - Sharon Astyk

I Garden: Urban Style – Reggie Solomon & Michael Nolan

Your Money or Your Life – Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez

Much information, and hope, can be found in the 'Transition Towns Network' - initiatives at town and neighborhood levels to raise awareness, share knowledge and resources, and relearn valuable skills.

Onwards with the story! Feedback is most welcome.