Slater (Hengist: People of the Horse Book 4)

by Jacky Gray

  31 – Spreading the Word

  The professors had been alarmed when they could not wake Slater for a day and a night, but Cathair’s sister was an experienced healer. She had not panicked, instead tending his motionless body, checking his pulse and temperature and moistening dry lips.

  He woke with a raging thirst and a powerful headache from lack of food. After a day of feeding him up with herbal infusions and broth, she pronounced him fit to travel. She insisted, however, that he spend a couple of days under the care of Aveburgh’s most powerful healer.

  Apart from Slater’s family, the only visitor Ganieda would allow was Professor Cathair.

  ‘Well Slater, you had us all worried for a while there, but after your previous adventures, we had little doubt that you were experiencing another willow moon dream.’

  ‘It was a willow moon dream? But it wasn’t Imbolc. And I had no willow wand.’

  ‘Are you sure about that Slater? Weren’t you lying under a willow tree when you had the second dream?’

  ‘Yes, but that was only one dream.’

  ‘When I looked in your shoulder sack, there was a wand which looked like willow.’ The professor’s face was bland, but the way his body leaned forward gave Slater the distinct impression that this was important.

  ‘Yes, I often carry a dowsing wand.’

  ‘Excellent.’

  The relief on the professor’s face made Slater feel like he had just passed an important test.

  ‘You are aware of Reagan’s willow moon dreams leading to the carving of several new White Horses.’

  ‘Of course. He was guided by the crop circles.’

  Cathair’s eyebrows rose. ‘You know about them?’

  ‘Everyone does – the numbers led him to the site.’

  ‘I mean the recent ones. While we were at Stonehenge, several patterns appeared, there and here at Aveburgh.’

  Slater’s eyes widened. ‘So that was why I dreamed of Blaise. I couldn’t ride her, of course, only Reagan can.’

  ‘Interesting. When Ganieda says you are fit enough, we will hold a meeting to discuss this. In the meantime …’

  ‘I know, don’t say anything to anyone.’

  The professor’s face was grave as he stood. ‘Slater, I know you think I am being overly cautious about this, but trust me, there are many dark forces around. If any of them learnt of your ability to travel back in time and interact with the people, your life would be in grave danger.’

  Slater’s grin dissolved.

  ‘I don’t wish to frighten you, but it is extremely important that everyone except for myself, Jadon and Malduc believes that you had nothing more remarkable than the typical willow moon dreams youngsters have at your age. Do you understand?’

  Slater nodded as a chill prickled through his body.

  Cathair’s words came back to Slater as he looked round the room where Reagan, Kalen and Archer chatted like old friends. Slater was overawed to be in such prestigious company and worried about what they expected of him.

  It got worse as Archer clapped him on the back. ‘Welcome Slater; good to finally meet you.’

  Slater matched the handclasp, but could not speak.

  ‘Well I never thought a boy as well-travelled as you would be tongue-tied. Or is it this dark-haired girl Reagan’s been telling us about? You seem to have quite a fan club.’

  The term was not known to Slater, but he was saved the need to reply as the door opened.

  Ganieda walked in with a smile of affection for her son Archer, which changed to reassurance as she passed Slater and squeezed his shoulder. Professors Cathair and Jadon came in next and Malduc was last, closing the door behind him and sitting down at the head of the meeting table.

  ‘My dear friends, thank you for coming at such short notice; I appreciate your co-operation and I’m confident you all understand the importance of this meeting.’ All seven faces turned toward him as they concentrated on their leader’s words. ‘Each person in the room is here because they have an important part to play in the future of the Hengist people. What we do now impacts on the lives of every man, woman and child living in this land.’ To emphasise the gravity, he looked at them in turn and as he caught their eye, each one sat up straighter.

  ‘Before we start, I would like to summarise what has happened so far. I know many will know parts of the story, but it is important you all understand the full implications of our proposal. You will have many questions I’m sure, but I would ask that you wait until the end – there is a slate in front of you to note down anything which is not clear.’

  Taking a sip of water, Malduc waited while Ganieda provided them all with chalk. ‘As you know, the emblem of the Hengist people is a white horse, which can be seen on hillsides throughout the land, guiding pilgrims toward the sacred temple. The cutting of a new horse was a huge event, bringing people together and giving them a sense of pride. They were a symbol of our strength and harmony and a focus for celebrations.’ His tone became serious.

  ‘Unfortunately, just under a century ago, certain people questioned the way of life in this land. They fought against the natural order of things, and at the height of the troubles there were serious consequences with many families splitting apart. During this time, no new horses were created and, as young Reagan here discovered, this had ramifications. Until then, a new white horse had been cut every fifteen years. He also determined that some of them were not in the correct place to mark the intersection of the powerful spirit lines.’

  Turning to the huge map of the area, he pointed to the geometrical shapes linking the different sets of horses. ‘You will all remember the worrying sequence of events which resulted from the lack of harmony and imbalance of the sprit paths. You may not realise the solution to the problem was only possible with the help of a series of crop patterns which pointed the way.’ He brought up another picture, showing each of the patterns along the way.

  ‘But that was three years ago, there have been no disasters since then.’ Archer forgot the no questions rule.

  ‘Nothing on the same scale, certainly, but there is still a lack of unity. There have been a number of crop patterns in the past few weeks that no one has yet been able to interpret, however I think young Slater may have a few ideas.’ He displayed the patterns on a slate sheet.

  Looking at the first pattern, Slater checked the writing underneath which gave the measurements.

  Reagan was confident. ‘The third one is Aveburgh temple. That’s the moon circle with the centre stones, that’s the sun circle and this is the outer circle.’

  ‘Quite right Reagan, what about the first two?’

  ‘The first could be one of them, maybe the sun circle?’

  ‘No it couldn’t. The centre stone is lying down; it should be standing up.’ Archer drew the correct position.

  ‘True.’ Reagan pointed to the drawing. ‘And the second one’s not right either; the middle stone is not quite in the centre.’

  ‘They both show the first design of the temple at Stonehenge.’ Slater spoke up. ‘As it was originally designed and after the correction to move the altar stone to its present position over the spiral water energy line.’

  ‘Really? How do you know that?’ Reagan was curious.

  Cathair jumped in before Slater could explain. ‘If you look at the size, they are both ninety five paces in diameter, the exact size of a ring of dark shadows that Professor Jadon and I measured. This is not a coincidence.’

  Jadon took up the tale. ‘Yes, and if you examine the crop pattern closely as we have, you will see there are actually fifty six small circles equally spaced just inside the perimeter, although they are too faint on this copy to be seen, they were on the original sketch.’

  ‘The fourth pattern looks like the Aveburgh area with the temple in the centre. So the smaller circles represent Silburgh and Windmill Hills and the Sanctuary.’

  ‘Well done Reagan; right again.’

  ‘So these would be the Michael a
nd Mary lines?’ Archer pointed to a pair of lines which twisted their way round the design as Reagan pointed to another line.

  ‘What is this extra line here? I don’t recognise that.’

  ‘Would you care to explain Slater?’ Malduc smiled encouragingly. As the tale of the serpent temple dream unfolded, the council leader examined each face closely. Recognition sharpened their expressions and the questions forming in their minds were almost visible.

  With an abrupt energy, Malduc stood and fetched another slate sheet. ‘Before you ask your questions, I would like you to look at these last two patterns. Maybe you can tell us what they are, Slater.’

  ‘Each picture has small differences. For example, in the outer circle, one has thirty dots, the other twenty eight. On the inner circle, there are sixty and fifty six dots.’

  ‘Exactly double each time.’

  ‘Absolutely Reagan, although I never spotted it at the time, so I didn’t think to ask why. And you can see a slight difference in the central layer, the first is a horseshoe, the second more of an egg shape.’ He went on to explain about the contest which had resulted in the two designs.

  Once more, Malduc watched the faces of the others, waiting until Slater finished. ‘Kalen. This is not entirely news to you.’

  ‘Not all of it. I have been dreaming about the serpent temple ever since we completed the last of the white horses. I did not recognise it at first, but after the second full moon when the shape appeared, I found myself a willow wand and gradually the bigger picture of the complete temple began to appear. Each moon, a little more of the puzzle filled in until I knew without doubt what I was seeing.’

  ‘That’s why you wanted the large scale map of the area – I thought it was to calculate the angles of the spirit lines.’

  ‘I did think the purpose of the dreams was to do with the spirit lines, but I didn’t understand because one of the lines didn’t make sense.’ He pointed to the short line coming from the south-west. ‘When I investigated the place, I couldn’t detect any trace of it. But it sounds very similar to what you are calling the earth energy line, originating at Knoll Down and feeding into the henge.’

  ‘So that’s why Blaise has been trotting up and down the Michael and Mary lines for the last few moons. I thought she was trying to tell me I needed to go on a journey.’

  ‘Do interrupt me whenever you feel like it, Reagan.’

  ‘Sorry Kalen, it was just that …’

  ‘As I was saying, I didn’t recognise the third spirit line which Slater is calling the earth line, but that’s quite obviously what it was.’

  ‘Thank you Kalen.’ Malduc looked at the others. ‘Do you have anything to add, Archer?’

  ‘I’m not sure. I have spent quite a lot of time in the other land, and even there, I’ve noticed things are happening. There was at least one new crop circle every week in August and there are lots of articles all over the internet about new-age travellers and sacred places …’

  ‘The inter-what?’ Slater had not had much contact with the folk-hero, although he knew all about him from Reagan.

  Malduc was quick to drive the meeting on, apologising for the haste. He moved on to ask the adults present, whose dreams were nothing like as powerful or focused as the boys’. Ganieda’s foresaw many more tragedies, with images of choices and paths. One always led to death and destruction, the other to happiness and abundance.

  Jadon’s dreams were affected by visions of the behaviours and appearance of the tribes Slater had experienced at the three stages. He was particularly struck by the description of the language developments. Cathair had dreamt of ancient rituals and symbols. He frequently woke with a sense of unease, as though he had been having a nightmare.

  ‘This is all very interesting; thank you very much. My dreams have been similarly disturbed by images of the serpent temple and the spirit lines. Like Ganieda’s dreams, there has been a recurring theme. I believe we are being told what the next step must be in order to reduce the harmful effects on the planet and prevent more problems occurring in the future. I hope this final pattern will convince you.’ He brought out the third sheet with a single design and there were gasps of recognition from every person in the room.

  The design represented the path of the Michael and Mary lines as they traversed the country from St Michael’s Mount in the south to Hopton in the east.

  Epilogue

  ‘I’m really not sure about this; it will be a lot better coming from you. You are after all, Archer, son of Sedge.’

  ‘And I believe you are Slater, Henge-maker according to Gaelic Sound. If Doug’s done his job well, everyone will have heard of your tale and have many questions.’

  ‘But what if I can’t answer them all?’

  ‘Then you tell them something impressive that they didn’t know, or you ask their opinion – the second one is guaranteed to endear you to them.’

  Slater looked nervously at Archer – although only six years older, he had a wealth of experience and an assurance which came from dealing with things the younger boy could not begin to imagine.

  Archer had started off limiting the information about the other land, but after three days in each other’s company, it became obvious he must discuss it or spend all his time watching everything he said. By the time they had their first gathering in Oxford council hall; Slater knew many things about Archer’s experiences in a place which couldn’t have been more different from their land.

  The idea of telling his tale to an audience of respected elders terrified Slater. The meetings included leaders from many small villages surrounding each of the five main cities to the east of Aveburgh. He wondered whether Reagan was as nervous about talking in the western cities, or if being older gave him more courage. Malduc decided the two younger boys should spread the message, because they were both spiritually gifted and spoke so passionately and with such authority about the new order of things.

  Archer had been responsible for many of the ideas to communicate the message; he frequently referred to mystifying concepts such as “advertising campaigns” and “good marketing.” Slater felt a little foolish at the start, wearing a tabard with the words “Do your part to heal the land” surrounding a map with the Michael and Mary lines running from coast to coast. The front had a picture of the Aveburgh serpent temple enclosed by seven White Horses. Posters with these images were displayed at meeting places: markets, taverns and town halls. Many folk were discussing the scandalous waste of precious paper.

  There was no more time for nerves as the senior elder thanked everyone for coming and introduced Archer.

  ‘Before you spend more breath worrying about the waste, I would like to assure you that each piece of paper has been used once and discarded for recycling in a place quite far from here.’ He paused to allow people to voice their concerns about such a place. ‘That is all I will say about the matter now, if you have questions, please talk to me at the end. I would like to introduce you to a young man whose willow-moon dreams are responsible for this exciting new initiative. May I present: Slater.’

  Swallowing a huge lump in his throat, Slater stood, the sea of faces making his head spin. Closing his eyes to stop the dizziness, he felt a tingling around his shoulders as though someone was hugging him. More than one person. The bright, beautiful faces of Aurala and Lunella swam through his mind, but it was Mondilla’s husky voice that whispered, ‘Courage, Slater, you can do it.’ Taking a deep breath, he relaxed and smiled. ‘Long ago in Wessex, there were two warring tribes known as Kenit and Durren …’

  Glossary

  Beltane

  The festival of Mayday, linked to graduation

  Convey

  Bodyguard or escort, particularly on journeys

  Dais

  Raised platform or stage

  Dowse

  To search, with the aid of simple hand held tools, for something hidden from view or knowledge.

  Envoy

  Messenger

  Gitt
ern

  A stringed instrument, similar to a guitar

  Handfasting

  Wedding

  Imbolc

  Festival to mark the start of the planting season at the beginning of February (Candlemas)

  Jest

  Joke

  Junior

  A child in the first stage of training, i.e. from 7–16

  Lehren

  Equivalent to school, with the emphasis on learning rather than teaching

  Litha

  Summer solstice celebration on the longest day (June)

  Lughnasadh

  Festival of bread (Lammas) in early August

  Magi

  A Hengist clan: healers, scholars and officials

  Outil

  Largest Hengist clan: craftsmen, artisans and farmers

  Samhain

  Festival to mark the end of the harvest season at the end of October (Halloween)

  Senior

  From age 17, the education is specific to a trade or occupation, according to talents

  Shaman

  An ancient priest, similar to a witch-doctor

  Sunwise

  Clockwise

  Warrior

  A Hengist clan: soldiers, constables and gamekeepers

  Weddung

  Wedding

  Widdershins

  Anti-clockwise

  Yule

  Midwinter solstice celebration in late December, the shortest day (Christmas)

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to everyone who has helped me to believe in myself – without you, Slater would never have lived outside of my imagination and my computer’s hard drive.