Therein began the great trouble.
Gorlois looked up when Igraine had stopped singing in the middle of her blessing song. She looked stricken. She realised the mistake she had made, but it was too late. The words had been spoken; the words of power, the words of Magic, the Words of Making. There was no taking them back! She said, “Oh!” and an expression of fear crossed her face. Now, Gorlois had never seen fear on the face of his wife, so he looked in the direction of her staring and saw that the focus of her distress was Uther. Gorlois tried to stand so that the true extent of his fading and failing heart might not be known – so as not to let his weakness show – for there could be danger in that… and so that he would not embarrass himself. He held to the arms of his chair and his servants helped him as he stood.
He said, “My dearest, what is the matter?”
Igraine was taken aback, as she knew not what to say, but she pointed her Magical finger from which a line and a ray of her power hit Uther in the heart, knocking him back down onto the floor – chair and all. For Igraine knew that Uther had risen in his lust; and for this Igraine despised him. She said, “That man would do me ill, dishonour you, and cause great calamity.”
Gorlois was very angry for he knew that what was spoken through the words of his wife was always absolute truth. There was a great rush and a great rumble around the hall. Arguing broke out, for Uther had been their battle’s hero, but others knew Igraine spoke the truth, and all knew of Gorlois’ sense of honour. But they really did not yet know the honour of Uther. Opinion was split, but eventually most of the younger Dux’ and Roman Warriors sided with Uther. They said that it was only the word of a woman that was being accepted by this besotted old man, honourable as he may be. Then, most of those got up and left. As Uther and his young friends were storming in anger from the fortress, Uther loudly proclaimed, “I will have Igraine! And now, I will destroy you, Gorlois, for this disgrace you have caused upon me in my hour of Honours.”
They rode from the outer courtyard in great haste; hooves thundering across the bridge, throwing up Stones and turf along their way.
Almost speechless with shame, Uther’s brother Ambrosius Aurelius , with moist eyes, said, “My Lord Gorlois, please hold this not against me or my Ancestors, for as I live, I do not approve of my brother’s intent or actions. And to you, kind Lady Igraine, great Seer, I hope that you will ‘See’ a good end to this, for I am grievously sorry.”
“My good Sir Ambrosius Aurelius , I ‘See’ that when your Time comes, you will go to your Ancestors with all honour, for you have lived a life worthy and true.”
Of course, again, all of this has been related to me by my Mother and others who were there to remember these events. For all I, Morgan, can remember of these things were my Mother’s haunted eyes on that morrow.
There is one other thing, though. I found this page tucked within some other correspondence of my Mother’s. Perhaps it had been forgotten with Time.
These were Igraine’s own words:
Late in the Night, when the raucousness and confusion had died down and all was at some sort of peace, Aquila, along with his companion Yagouth, who had come all the way from Gaul to attend this high event and express their respect for Gorlois – asked to speak with him. And so Aquila and Yagouth were allowed into Gorlois’ bedchamber and I went with them.
Aquila said, “My dear and old friend Gorlois, we have talked together, Yagouth and I, and have come to the agreement that we cannot leave you here under the threat of siege. We are not Warriors, but we simply cannot leave. Our hearts will not allow us to abandon you in this Time of danger! We must lend our support and aid to you in any way that we may.”
But Gorlois said, “My dear and very old friends, you are not Warriors. Aquila, you are a Philosopher and Yagouth you are a Holy Man – and both of you are Merchants, not Warriors. You only bear your personal daggers to protect yourselves. What good would you be in battle against well-armed and battle-seasoned Warriors? I do not mean to offend you in any way, but simply – look around you. There is a large Roman guard whose charge here is to defend me and my fortress and they are all well trained. Their commission from the Gods and their superiors is to fight, to slaughter, and to be slaughtered – to stand in bravery. I am well protected. Besides, my lovely Igraine and the Goddess she serves, as well as the Spirits of the Well, will protect Igraine and our daughters. But, you, on the other hand... I fear for your lives if you stay. I would not have that grief and that burden upon me while I am so ill. Please take your leave of me and go in your Gods’ peace. Go with my gratitude, my friendship.”
So it was that Aquila and Yagouth, two Days later, having taken their leave of us the Night before, packed up their belongings and were about to leave our fortress. It was very early in the morning, but I ran out into the courtyard with only a blanket wrapped around me and said, “Please wait! Would you not allow me to share with you the blessing of Nodens’ Well, and allow the Spirits who dwell therein to hear your wishes? – for I hoped that you would experience and take of the Waters. Even, I humbly ask that you allow me to say my words of power so that you may have safe journeys – and a long, happy and prosperous life together. For you are good men of your words and our gates are left open to all who would come with open hearts to receive the blessings of the Well.”
They looked at each other, smiled broadly and said, “We would be so honoured, Lady Igraine.”
Yagouth did this in a position of his hands being placed palms together in front of his heart and bowing forward toward me. I assumed that it was a custom of his people and was greatly pleased by this.
So we walked together to the Well and the shrine and I did as I had done hundreds of Times here since my marriage to Gorlois – I performed the Words of Power. I Chanted and sang for them.
These men already had many blessings in their lives. But they drank the Water of Nodens’ Well and I could feel the Spirits of the Ancestors, the Gods, and the Great Goddess around us. I believe that Yagouth felt them too. I cupped my hands and poured Water over each of their heads and Chanted the Words of the Making and then I asked them to turn their hands palm up – for this is the feminine side, the receiving side – and I poured some Water from my hands into theirs and Chanted another blessing for them.
We bade each other a final farewell and they rode away. But, as I watched their leaving I had an easy heart because I knew that all things that had been asked of the Spirits that Day would manifest and these two beautiful men would live long, happily and prosperously with each other.
I wish that all things could go that way for people, but of course, that is only I as a woman speaking. For I do know well that we learn from the wicked and the evil things that others do – and that we ourselves do. We learn from these things and if we be smart – if we be wise – we allow our own mistakes as well as those of others to bring us closer to Spiritual Enlightenment. So, the good and the bad must fall upon everyone at some Time, but I knew that these men would have much more good than bad.
It was cold outside in the courtyard that morning though I was warm in my heart. But my thoughts went back to my own situation here and a shiver of doom went through me and a great sadness began to overtake me.
I went back to my husband's chamber. He was sleeping on his great and beautiful bed. And though we had each our own chambers, usually I curled up to him at Night under his great wool and skin blankets. That morning, I snuggled up to him and found some peace, but from then on I awaited what foul and wicked circumstance was about to befall my household.
Chapter 2
Gwyddion, The Merlin
Morgan
Now there was in Gwynedd a very renowned Magician and Druid. He was the one whom the Clans called “The Merlin,” which means the Hawk. This title signified their recognition of him as having attained the greatest knowledge, power and prestige of all the Druids. His name was Gwyddion.
Only in some – not all – generations did the Druids now give this disti
nction to one of their own. Although there had been a Time, before the Romans outlawed the Druids – for fear of sedition – and killed most of their generation, that there had always been a Merlin in Briton. However, the Days of the Druids’ glory had been crushed. Now that Rome had quit their rule over “Britannia,” the Druids were rebuilding their numbers and their Universities. So, to be named “The Merlin” was quite an exceptional honour.
To speak truth as it was, this title had been bestowed upon him not only because of his celebrated triumphs in association with Ambrosius and Uther, but – and mainly so – because of his work as Architect, Seer, Counselor, and Magician to Vortigern and because of the splendorous fortress he had designed and built in the Snowy Mountains of Gwynedd for him. Nothing made by the hands of man – save the ancient Hanging Stones and Henges which, it is told, were built by the God-men of lore – could compare with it; not even did the wonders of the Roman Builders upon our land compare. His fame had grown and spread throughout these, Our Fair Isles. His brilliance, inventions and discoveries went far beyond the ken of his contemporaries!
Gwyddion’s unusual education had not been gained in the formal setting of a Druidical University, but rather solely Master to apprentice. Indeed, his Master, Brennos, had come through a long noble lineage of Druidic Masters. Brennos had apprenticed with Ea Kunagos, who had been apprenticed to Calleach-oidhche, who were of the line of the last acknowledged “Merlin” of Briton, Bran y Doeth. Now, each of these Druids – having been trained underground, both figuratively and literally – had needs been trained so due to Roman persecution.
After Brennos had accomplished twenty years of pure Druidical education, he had vowed to himself never to stop gaining knowledge. His interests had turned to the great Greek Scholars and Philosophers and toward whatever other books of the Sages he could acquire. Even by word of mouth did he seek Wisdom – including that of the old Dark Tribes and of the Order of the Goddess on the Isle of Apples. The gaining of knowledge Brennos had continued until his eyesight failed him and he became too feeble of body to travel.
So, while Gwyddion trained with Brennos, he had been exposed to many diverse Sciences, customs, forms of worship, and profound otherworldly activities – at all of which he proved to be an amazingly adept student! Although Gwyddion’s acquiring of this vast and varied knowledge, which was known to not be purely Druidical – and despite his very young age – the great Council of Briton’s Druids had unanimously named him “The Merlin.” And so it was...
Truthfully, the sum of his diverse education and experiences set his path somewhere between the traditions of the Great Goddess of the Tribes and the practices of the Gods, Goddesses, Magic, Mysteries and lore of the Druids. Perhaps because of this, Gwyddion was respected by all. We were not, after all, so very different.
Much more surprisingly, he was, as well, revered by the Roman Britons – many of who had, at one Time at least, theoretically been devout Christians. His Wisdom was unchallenged.
At the Time of Gwyddion’s having first been considered as a candidate for the esteemed position of The Merlin by the High Council of Druids, he was still in the service of Vortigern. But there had been storms brewing in Vortigern’s camp and increasing tensions between him and Gwyddion.
At the Time of the staging of the “Hallelujah” battle, Gwyddion abandoned Vortigern and allied himself with Ambrosius and Uther. This was just past his nineteenth year-turn. He was still very young at the Time of the “Honours” of Uther, being then only twenty-two. He had by then served Uther and Ambrosius for three full years. But, The Merlin had little taste for accolades of slaughter and so had begged off the victors’ feast. He had gone instead to see his old teacher Brennos, in Gwynedd.
After the Feast of Treaties...
It came about that after Uther’s riotous, angry threats at the Feast of Treaties, he dispatched a messenger to The Merlin.
Uther wrote: “Meet me on the Full Moon in Pisces... at a certain place in Gwynedd, near to Brennos’ Cave. I am in urgent need of your help.”
He told Gwyddion the truth of all that had happened, for Uther knew there was no fooling The Merlin.
You see, at Times, Gwyddion had the opaque silver grey eyes of an old man, who should not be able to see, but this was all illusion. He was not an old man and he had eyes like pools of deep water, like silver spirals were they. He could look into the eyes of anyone and See what was truth and what was lie – or so did Uther believe. There was no point in Uther’s trying to hide from him exactly what he had done or what he desired.
So he said to him, “Gwyddion, you are known as The Merlin of these Isles and respected above all other Magicians. I want – no, I need – for you to create a great Magic for me, for there is someone I desire more than anything... even more than I desire to become the next High King. I desire Igraine. I lust for her Night and Day. I must have her!”
The Merlin responded, “What is this – to become King?”
“It has been decided in secret council that since the Romans have gone from us and seem never to return, we must indeed have a High King to maintain order within our lands, so that we and the Clans may protect ourselves – as a unified force – from the Eire and Saxon invaders. We want a High King! There must also be a council... of course. And in these secret talks we have spoken of my becoming that King. But even as much as I want to be High King – far beyond my wanting that, I want Igraine.”
“Just exactly who is us?” asked The Merlin “ and – forgive me, but, why you and not Ambrosius?”
“Ambrosius is too soft of heart. He grows old... slower on the field. And...”
Uther’s voice trailed off lacking a good answer.
“Old? By only nine years beyond your own age, Uther! How dare you try to usurp him? And how dare you ask me to do your bidding to satisfy your lust!?”
Just as Gwyddion had spoken these words, a Bear crossed the path in front of him. It stopped. It looked straight into his eyes… and the Owl, Chronos, who The Merlin carried on his shoulder as companion, blinked and hooted. The Bear did not try to do harm – and in the shimmer of a Star, was gone. But, Uther had seen nothing.
Now, when Gwyddion told Uther what had just happened, he was speaking in the tongue of the Clans, which was of a less formal nature than that of the Roman. Uther repeated the word for “Bear” – in Latin – which sounded much like “Arthur.” At the hearing of this name, The Gwyddion felt a chill run up and down his spine. It broke through his head and out of his toes and down into the Earth! Then his legs grew long and gnarled and down went they… down and down into the soil and Rocks did they grow and entwine with all that lurks within the Earth, like the roots of a mighty Tree – for Gwyddion was becoming a Tree. Then his arms raised and his fingers grew and extended. Up went they, up and up beyond the Moon and into the milky band of Stars.
When Gwyddion, The Merlin was thusly Entranced, the “Voices of the Stars” whispered in his ear, “Gwyddion... Gwyddion...” in a shimmering of sound, the untold many spoke as one.
“Gwyddion, you must listen to what Uther is saying, for he will be King and it is true that the other Britons want this. It is also true that waves of invaders from the Northern and Teutonic Tribes will try to overtake and forever change the ways of all the peoples of these Isles. Uther is a coarse man, but he is a man of his word.
“Gwyddion, we must make you understand that there are great Magics afoot here that go beyond the ken of men. You must listen and obey. In return, we will give to you the greatest of all Gifts – the knowings of the Cosmic Mysteries – as well as a lifetime of great purpose.
“It is true; the land needs a High King. Uther has the blood. His Mother was Elen of the ancient lines of the Kings of the Britons – pure of blood back to the beginning. Uther’s – and your – Father was known to the world as Flavius Claudius Constantinus – named Emperor Constantine the third; the second of Briton.
“Igraine is a great Seer, beloved of the Goddess – and would be co
unted as royalty of the Old Tribes, if they held such notions. Together they will make a King who will unite, in blood and mutual respect, all the peoples of these Fair Isles – such a King as will never be forgotten: Arthur – the Bear – and you will be his mentor and counselor! You are the one, Gwyddion, to bring this all about! You must agree to quench Uther’s lust for Igraine with his oath that what issues from that Night’s doing is yours! Also, he must then leave Igraine as a woman who owns herself as well as the fortress, the Sacred Well, the shrine, the wealth, and lands and is responsible for the folk who therein reside.
“Mesmerize him, Gwyddion! Look deeply into his eyes with your silver spirals – use your ‘Grym Hudol’ – your Magical Powers – and he will agree! Once you have his oath, you must leave – on this very Night – and rush to Igraine.
“When you explain to Igraine what is at stake, she will agree. For, without these great Magics, Uther – left to his own devices – would storm Gorlois’ fortress, kill him, and rape Igraine. She would feel bound to take her own life for being forced to submit to him against her own will. But you must remind her that she is sworn to be Guardian of Nodens’ Well and has two young daughters, all of which would be in great peril were she dead! She must be persuaded to agree to bed Uther under her own terms. This she will do. You must see that this all comes about.”
When the Starry Voices released The Merlin, he came back into himself, with Uther staring at him. He looked around. It was full dark whereas it had been Dusk at what seemed a moment before. Slowly recognition returned to him. They were standing in a Wooded Glen near an oval Ritual Hill, where had been in the distant past a monolith placed at its Northern edge. He noted seven Stones standing in a circle, with seven Oaks trained to grow over the Stones. Gwyddion remembered then, that they were standing in the great Valley of Gwynedd, just a few leagues from the Snowy Mountains where Brennos lived in his Cave.
Voices of the Stars Page 5
