The only creatures that are evolved enough to convey pure love are dogs and infants
Johnny Depp
Chapter 17: The Business of War
Kilgharrah listened as Balinor told him everything that had been discussed with the Druids about the revelation that his and Hunith's child may be the Esteemed Emrys.
Kilgharrah nodded softly. "I understand," he said when his dragonlord was finished. "I've heard tales of this one who some say is actually magic incarnate. I never thought I would see the day where he would come though with these times perhaps it was to be expected."
"Tell me old friend…is my child really the one?"
"Hmm…to tell the truth I have been sensing something in the making the last couple of days. A strong presence has been emerging little by little with magical stirrings. Much like a seed sprouting and slowly growing into a grand oak and it has been close and now I understand that it was your own child that I've been sensing. For him to generate such a presence within a being like me there is no doubt that he is the One."
Balinor deflated at his dragon's words. "I was afraid of that."
"Afraid? Why? Most would be proud and delighted that their child would be so special."
"I am…but for my child to be this special…I can only imagine the life he will have. It will be hard enough to be among the last dragonlords but he will also have to carry the weight of world. So many people will be looking to him as a savior and he will have so many expectations of himself. With a power like his so many will be leaning towards him and some will most likely wish to use him to their own ends. People will both admire and idolize him and there will be those that fear and wish to destroy him! To raise and teach a child will be challenging enough but just how am I going to raise a child to be able to handle all this pressure from so many?"
Balinor sounded panicked and hopeless. His breathing had intensified and his knees were wobbily. He rubbed a hand across his face to find that he had shed tears without him even knowing. The pressure for both himself and that of his child, it was now plain on his face. Kilgharrah understood now. For his child to carry all of this burden will be great enough but to be his father will be just as challenging for Balinor. He honestly didn't know what to say on this. Humans often handled emotions like these much differently than dragons especially when it came to their own young.
"I pride myself as one who could always offer counsel no matter what situation though I regret to say that there are few instances where I'm unable. I'm afraid this is one of those rare few times. Are you feeling some sort of regret?"
"No!" he answered quickly. "Not at all. I want to be a father but I want to be the father that a growing 'Emrys' needs me to be."
"Balinor!"
The man in question nearly fell over by his own feet at the sudden shriek. "Hunith!" he cried in surprise. She was standing there with her arms crossed and had a stern expression plastered on her face.
"I love you Balinor but sometimes you could be a real idiot!"
"Excuse me?"
"You're saying that you're scared? Guess what, I'm scared too! I'm scared if I'm going to be a good enough mother for our son. Not because he could very well be some figure in a magical legend but because he will be something that you and I brought into this world together. I think that all this talk about sorcerers and dragonlords is starting to get to you on that you are something other than human. To be worried about your child's future and how you will fare as their father is a very human thing to do. Don't you think that Richard is going through what you are going through right now?"
"It's not the same Hunith."
"You're right!" She didn't sound like she meant it as an agreement or submission but like it was another jab in her favor. "It's not. Richard doesn't know at all what his child will bring or what will be brought on them. Unlike him you actually have insight on something that you will have come up against in your child's life; something that we will come up against," she said sharply stretching the word we. "A fair warning that we can already start preparing for ahead of time. Most future fathers might consider you lucky and would smack you for complaining! You have a chance to be a father now so stop worrying about failing as a father when you can already start now."
Hunith huffed a little when she was done and then left Balinor with Kilgharrah who had been silently watching the woman bring his dragonlord to submission with wide eyed…admiration.
"That woman has the makings of a grand noblewoman," he whispered. "Strong, brave, wise, loyal and full of conviction in what she believes is the right path."
Balinor had been as still as a statue until his friend had made that comment. Noble, that word had been used to describe his people, that they were called lords more because of who they were not what they were. It seemed Hunith was one such person herself. He then thought on everything he had learned so far about Emrys. That he was perhaps magic itself. Maybe it was the will of magic itself that had brought him and her together for this very purpose. Because they were the two to bring in and care for Emrys in this world.
"Yes," he said breaking into a soft smile. "That she is."
Kilgharrah looked down to see his friend's earlier turmoil nearly stamped out of him. Dragonlords look to dragons for wisdom, they always have and they always will but they must look elsewhere for their strength. Balinor seems to be stronger than he had ever seen him and its no real mystery as to where he is acquiring it from.
The Battle of Ealdor had quite a chain reaction throughout the Five Kingdoms. In the weeks following that battle messengers from Essetir and Camelot had ridden off to every kingdom, lordship and warlord spread throughout the land with messages demanding support and/or alliance. Cenred wasted no time to try and emphasize how Camelot had just trespassed and attacked a village in his land unprovoked. Uther tried to defuse that by claiming that one of his magical enemies had been conspiring in that village against him and had to attack to protect his kingdom but it didn't completely work the way he envisioned. Cenred turned that around on him by filling the other rulers who that enemy was and what he had at his beck and call. He gave off the impression that he had offered terms of alliance with the Dragonlord Balinor and his dragon and there was a bit of worry that if they sided with Uther then the Great Dragon would rain fire down on their army like it did with Uther's and his city.
King Olaf and other lords like Odin said that they couldn't get dragged into this with such a force set against him that could endanger their lands.
King Alined delivered news to Cenred that he hoped that they could still have friendly relations and offered a deal to him for steel armor and mail to better equip his soldiers. Cenred was happy to accept as he had an influx in his weapon supply thanks to Uther's recent defeat and this could complete in strengthening future conscriptions to his forces.
"Do you have the full count?" Cenred asked his advisor.
The man gave some pages a last look. "Yes sire. Bayard, Hengist, and the others sent over their manifests and together we now have over triple the force we had before."
"Excellent," he said going over to pour himself some wine.
"Quite," the man said before his face fell a little. "But…
"Yes?" Cenred said a little snippy.
"It seems that with Uther's new allies he has enough reinforcements to fill in the losses he suffered at Ealdor as well as put up a decent defense against numbers of this multitude."
Cenred picked up his cup and brought it to his lips. He didn't take a sip but just held it close to them for a moment before he slammed it down to the table. "Uther is just a natural survivor of crisis isn't he?" he said with heated sarcasm. "Any luck with relocating that dragon?"
"No sire. We have patrols scouring the kingdom but there has been nothing. Not even rumors."
"What about the hunt for that messenger from Ealdor. The one who approached me with that druid; have we had any luck with locating him?"
"No sire, I'm afraid not. There's no telling if he was killed during the battle due to all the fires that were set and if he wasn't then there is no clear destination we can determine he would go. His records show no family outside the village."
He then took his cup and threw it furiously at the wall near the man. "I want that dragon. Just its presence has served me well and if I had it then I could become the chief ruler of the Five Kingdoms. Plus, it would give me the edge I need to dominate in the coming war."
"It's not the only edge available to you." A new voice sounded.
Cenred and his advisor turned around to see a dark haired robed woman in the room.
"Who are you and how did you get passed my guards?!" Cenred demanded.
"I have my ways," she responded calmly. "and like you I have an interest in seeing to Uther's fall from power. I thought I might offer my services to the one who has stepped up to contend with him."
"Enough of this foolishness!" the advisor said before he growled out to the men behind the closed doors. "Guards, remove this woman from the throne room immediately!"
Suddenly the advisor clutched his throat with both hands as the woman raised her hand at him. Her eyes burned with a golden light as she rhen raised her hand up higher and the advisor lifted off the floor with his feet dangling. "I'm am the farthest thing from a fool, fool!" She then shot her arm off and the man ricocheted off to the wall head first and fell to the ground motionless.
The guards brought out their swords and spears but Cenred halted them. "Wait…" he said as he looked from the woman to his now dead advisor. "Impressive," he mumbled. Cenred stared at the woman for a few more moments before he broke into a small smile. "Where are my manners? A beautiful woman comes to my throne room and I don't offer her a drink."
He gestures for his nearest guard to serve her a cup of wine while two others carry his advisor's body out of the throne room.
"Thank you," she says taking the offered cup and having a small sip. "You have good taste King Cenred."
"Why thank you. Please, sit," he said as he had a chair pulled up for her. He then went to sit at his throne and looked down at the woman. "May I ask you for your name?"
"Nimueh. The High Priestess to the Triple Goddess and Lady to the Isle of the Blessed."
"Nimueh? An exquisite name? Now then Nimueh, how can I help you?"
"Actually, I'm here to help you."
"Really? Why?"
"Cenred, don't make the mistake that your advisor did and take me for a fool and I won't take you for one in return. Surely you must know about Uther's stand against my people."
"Oh yes, he has been showing no restraint letting his views about magic be known. You mentioned that you are a Priestess of the Isle of the Blessed? Unless I'm mistaken, didn't Uther destroy them all?"
"High Priestess," she corrected him with a raise in her tone before she settled slightly. "I am now the last of my noble order. I want nothing less than to see Uther pay for what he has done to me and my sisters."
"And you've come to me? What exactly is it that you want from me?"
"To offer you my services. My influence could bring you an asset that your new allies haven't offered you against Uther. One that he now lacks: Magic. I've heard of the recent events by the last dragonlord Balinor and the last great dragon. Granted they don't seem to be eager to join up with you Cenred but all is not lost on that front. There are quite a few sorcerers and other magic folk besides them that would love to see Uther defeated. We are at war with him as well and I can help bring them to your side in this one."
Cenred rubbed his chin a bit. "Hmm…an interesting proposition. But, what do you want in return?"
"Simply the promise that Uther and all he holds dear will be made to suffer and die will be all the reward I need. I hope to rebuild what has been lost of the Old Religion but as long as Uther is in power then we can never be what we once were."
The tossing of ideas and propositions took several hours before Cenred rose from his throne and took Nimueh's hand and gently shook and kissed it.
At the camp most of the people from Ealdor had started to settle in well with the Druids. At the beginning a few of the people left when they felt that they were strong and safe enough to. Yet a great deal of them were starting to take with the peaceful way of life that the Druids had; some had formed friendships and even begun to convert. Enid, the herb woman, she had begun delving into the in-depth knowledge of medicinal and feeding plants and herbs that they had. After a while she began to feel like one of them and asked to join them. The village children and the druid children had easily formed bonds as they played games and had fun in the woods.
Over a week since they had arrived there was an added number to the children there when Gina fell into labor and gave birth to her and Richard's new son. There was a small celebration through the camp as a toast was given to the birth of William, son of Richard and Gina. Little William had his mother's eyes which Hunith thought was adorable and had a strong set of lungs on him. There was also a small toast to Hunith and Balinor as Hunith's pregnancy soon became public knowledge. She had begun to show and they both knew they couldn't hide it, and with the recent state of things, they felt that more good news was needed.
Just two days prior to this they had been given the news that King Carleon and Queen Annis had chosen to support Uther in the war with Camelot and Essetir. They knew that they none of them could stay there too much longer.
"I don't understand Balinor," Gregory said as Balinor told them of the need to abandon the camp. "Carleon and Annis haven't done anything to hinder or harm us."
"Maybe not but that won't matter now that they're allied with Uther. His people will learn of you here from Carleon's and he will seek to destroy you, everyone here. Carleon may not actively oppose magic but he won't defend it either. He will let Uther's men ride through this camp and slaughter everyone with little to no resistance. It won't matter to Uther that there has been peace here for years. The man doesn't believe in a peace where he is not in control, believe me," he said darkly.
Iseldir nodded. "I believe you Balinor. We will move somewhere else. Perhaps to one of a neutral land. We can all move on."
"I'm afraid we all can't," Balinor cut in. "I'm sorry but too large a group migrating will draw attention and the last thing we need is attention until the war has drawn away enough of their attention. My group will go off separately."
"Are you sure?" Gregory asked. "We have no objection to all of you joining us. You, Kilgharrah, Hunith, your friends are welcome among us no matter where we make home. As is your future son. We will serve and aid Emrys in any way we are able."
"I'm sure," he smiled sadly. "That's a main reason actually. My wife and I have thought long and hard on this. I know that my son just might very well be Emrys but…I want him to come to accept his role, not be trained into it from his conscious thought. If we just stay with you then he will treated like a some religious idol that is incapable of mistakes instead of learning about people and life. Magic itself or not, he is still going to be a human being and we all have the right to make our own decisions, both right or wrong. Before he can assume any grand role, he has to be responsible and mature enough to carry it out."
Both Gregory and Iseldir looked to each other, talking silently with another, before they turned back to Balinor and nodded.
"Yes," said Iseldir.
"We respect and accept your decision. Emrys might be our hope but he will still be your child. We will have him and his two parents in our prayers until the time comes for him to pursue his destiny however way he deems fit."
Balinor went to shake the two brothers' hands. "Thank you again for everything. I hope this isn't goodbye."
Gregory smiled grew wider. "I can sense that we will meet again sooner than any of us expect."
In a room at Uther's castle the Lady Vivienne was overseeing her baby daughter Morgause crawling around. Not too far away was a near two year old prince playing with some toys as a nursemaid watched him. A soft knock on the door caused her to look up and her wide smile fell suddenly in surprise.
"Uther," she nearly cried out. "What brings you here?!"
"Does a king and father need an excuse to see the prince who just happens to be his son?" he asked a little curiously but with a hint of playful sarcasm.
A faint blush came over Vivienne's cheeks at her foolish question. "Of course not," she responded quickly. "Forgive me sire."
He held his hands to stop her fast paced apology. He started to lightly chuckle. "It's quite alright. I was only poking a little fun at you my lady."
"My question was foolhardy. That was out of line of me my lord."
"No really…it's alright. Truthfully, I don't mind. I've rarely had a chance to have fun like that lately. Thank you," he took Vivienne's hand and gave a small kiss at her knuckles. "Something tells me that I'm not going to have much opportunity for such simple pleasures in the coming months."
"Oh yes, I heard the news sire."
Out of all of the kings throughout the Five Kingdoms it would seem that only Carleon's royals had allied with Uther. Lord Godwyn, though, not a full-fledged king but from a strong house with a rich supply of allied nobles had pledged his support to Uther as well. King Olaf and King Alined both had retained a position of neutrality in the conflict though Alined had promised to supply Uther with state of the art armor piercing bolts and crossbows to compensate for the loss of weaponry lost in the Battle of Ealdor, under the table which Uther answered that he fully understood yet still appreciated as it helped balance the increase number of weapons Essetir acquired.
Other lords like Odin told him that they weren't going to be involved in what was clearly a crisis he brought upon him himself. They proclaimed that Uther's decision to attack a village in another king's domain behind his back was foolish and they would not legitimize it by siding with him. However, they would not fight against him out of gratitude for dethroning the Greedy King who had been an enemy to a good few of them. King Bayard had chosen to side with Cenred as had a good deal of small warlords and nobles. Many of them had been contenders and enemies of his family for quite some time and almost jumped at the opportunity to fight against him. As it was, there was no clear sign of who had the upper hand so it was promising to be a hard and taxing war in the making.
"I must thank you again for you and Gorlois support. He's off strengthening and covering any holes in Camelot's defense of its borders."
"It's Gorlois who deserves all your gratitude Uther. He's the one who is truly helping Camelot. I'm afraid that my duties are revolving on overseeing our daughter and the state of things back home while he assists you. I'm afraid that does little to warrant a thank you from your kingdom."
'So humble…like Ygraine,' Uther thought with a sad sort of smile. It grew when he saw Vivienne go off to help pick up a wooden toy that Arthur had let loose from his grip.
"Be more careful with what you wave around young prince. Morgause or anyone could've been there. You don't want to hurt anyone by mistake," she softly scolded.
The baby prince reached up to get his toy again but Vivienne lifted it out of his reach. Arthur made a face at her and Uther went over. "You listen to the lady Arthur, you understand me?" he said to his son sternly. His boy shrunk a little under his tone and went to play with his other toys.
"My hero though I think I could've handled it," she jested.
For the first time in years, Uther Pendragon genuinely laughed.
End of Chapter 17
A/N: It's great to be back! I hope I have made the waiting worth it. Many pieces are falling into place aren't they? The next chapter will have the war fully break out. Balinor and the others also begin considering what their next move would be and come up with a controversial plan. Uther also crosses a line with Vivienne. There are about four more chapters left in this story.