They Marvel at the Star

by L J Hick

the battle? For some reason, Thomas felt that this was not the case. Why would a saboteur give a young boy a hauberk and a sword? Why would he befriend him? Perhaps, Kauko intended to keep Thomas alive so that he could tell the English how the mighty Viking, Kauko, avenged his king's defeat. Thomas hoped that this was not the case, not least because Kauko was the only friend he had here. When Kauko stopped chanting and got to his feet, Thomas scurried away, back to the other boys. As he lay in the grass, watching the clouds pass by the moon, he saw Kauko walking towards him. Suddenly, Thomas began to panic. Had Kauko seen Thomas watching him? Was his friend walking over here to silence him? Thomas placed one hand on his sword as Kauko sat beside him.

  "You can take your hand off your sword," said Kauko. "There is no one here for you to fight yet."

  Thomas screwed his nose up and took his hand from the sword. It was as if Kauko had second sight.

  "Can I ask you something?" asked Thomas.

  "If you like," said Kauko.

  "Are you from here?" asked Thomas.

  "I've already told you, I am not a Viking," said Kauko.

  "That's not what I asked," said Thomas.

  Kauko smiled.

  "I should have known how perceptive you would be," said Kauko. "No, I am not from these lands, but do not tell the others."

  "You said you were not religious, but I saw you kneeling at the edge of the hill," said Thomas. "I heard you chanting in a different language. Where are you from?"

  "From somewhere far away from here. A place so far away that you would not understand," said Kauko. "I doubt that you would even believe me."

  "I might," said Thomas. "Try me."

  Kauko rubbed his chin and shook his head.

  "It is not for you to concern yourself with. All you need to know is that I am not your enemy," said Kauko.

  "No, you're my guardian non-Angel," said Thomas. "But you were praying."

  "No, not praying," said Kauko. "I was using words from my homeland to give me strength."

  "Not asking for help from God?" asked Thomas.

  "If there was a God, do you think that men would be ripped from their families, waiting at the top of a hill to die?" asked Kauko. "Do you think that a just God would have taken you from your family to fight another man's war?"

  "Maybe he's just a God. Maybe, he just wants things his way and he does not care about us," said Thomas.

  "And maybe, he just does not exist," said Kauko.

  As they sat together, Alfred came running towards them. Kauko sprung to his feet, concerned at Alfred's haste.

  "What is it?" asked Kauko.

  "You're not going to believe this, but the king intends us to fight in the morning," said Alfred.

  "That's madness," said Kauko. "Some of these men can barely stand."

  "William is already on his way and will be in position at the bottom of the hill by morning," said Alfred.

  "Then we hold the position with the shield wall, but take the day for rest," said Kauko.

  "That's not what the king wants," said Alfred. "Be ready for the morning."

  Alfred walked away and Kauko sat back down on the grass.

  "The madness continues," he said.

  Before Thomas went to sleep that night, he hoped that when he woke this all turned out to be a bad dream and that he would wake up to see the faces of his mother and father standing over him and urging him to get to work. Thomas knew that the bad dream was all too real, though.

  Morning came with the shouts of men and the sound of metal clanging against shields as they hurriedly tried to prepare themselves. Thomas jumped to his feet and watched as the men started to form the shield wall on the top of the hill. He wondered whether, in all the excitement and confusion, he could manage to slip away quietly down the other side of the hill. Surely, they would think he had died in the battle if they did not see him leave? He edged away from the others, making a careful bid for freedom before the hand on his shoulder stopped him.

  "You would not get far. They have men, mercenaries, who are tasked with the job of executing all deserters," said Kauko.

  Thomas looked around and could see the scarred face of a man watching him, his hand resting lightly on his sword. Thomas realised that this man was more practised than him in the art of quiet observation and movement, and sighed. Kauko smiled at Thomas and beckoned him to follow as he walked back to the main group.

  "You should not worry," said Kauko. "I will not let anything happen to you. You will see your mother and father again, I promise."

  Thomas wished that he had as much faith in Kauko as Kauko did, but the sight at the bottom of the hill made him believe that these were just hollow words from Kauko. The shield wall had lined up in such a way that it seemed impenetrable, but Thomas looked to one side of the wall and saw the massed troops of William's armies approaching.

  "He's already here," gasped Thomas.

  "He has wasted no time. I suspect that he wants to get this battle started whilst his men still have the stomach for the fight," said Kauko. "King Harold will feel the same."

  Thomas could see the men on the horses and the archers who were quickly forming into mass ranks behind the rest of the army.

  "They have horses and archers, what chance do we stand against them?" asked Thomas.

  "I do not intend to save all of the men today, just you," said Kauko. "Now do as I say and do not falter."

  Thomas followed as Kauko took his position in the wall. Kauko pulled Thomas tight in behind him. Thomas could not see much because the huge frame of Kauko blocked much of his vision, but as they began to walk down the hill, he could occasionally see William's men advancing towards them. They stopped in a position about halfway up the hill and the men started to shout and chant. If this was meant to intimidate the men at the bottom of the hill, it did not appear to work. William's men emitted what seemed like a roar to Thomas, and then a group of them started to sing.

  "What are they singing?" asked Thomas.

  "How do I know, I am not a Norman? I am a Viking, remember?" asked Kauko, without turning around to look at Thomas.

  When the men crouched behind their shields and Kauko instructed him to get down, Thomas knew that something bad was coming. The hiss of arrows through the air was quickly followed by the sound of them clattering against the shields. Occasionally, one would find its way through the smallest of gaps and find the flesh of a man. Thomas watched as those that were unlucky enough to be found by an arrow fell to the floor, clutching at the wound or staring lifelessly into space. He saw as the mercenary who had been watching him at the top of the hill, took an arrow to the shoulder. To his amazement, the man pulled the arrow from his shoulder and held his position behind the wall. Thomas was so glad that it was Kauko who had prevented him from fleeing and not this man. Despite the arrows, the shield wall held firm, causing William's men to advance up the hill towards the Saxon army.

  As they climbed the hill, a volley of stones and rocks came raining down upon them, hurled by the men of the Fyrd standing securely behind the shield wall. Thomas was amazed that such a primitive method of attack could cause such carnage amongst the ranks of a modern army. The defenceless men were scattered by the storm of rocks descending upon them, and they began to run back down the hill in retreat. Upon seeing this, William ordered his cavalry to charge. The cavalry closed the gap between themselves and Harold's men quickly, their horses too fast for the random rocks coming from the skies. The horsemen lowered their spears and thrust them into the shield wall, but once more, the wall remained solid and unbreakable. Men and horses fell as they were impaled on the spears of the shield wall, their cruel points extending beyond the boundary of the wall. As the cavalry turned and fled back down the hill, some of Harold's men broke ranks and ran after them.

  "We've got them, they're running," shouted Thomas.

  He ran around Kauko and went to follow the others. The promise of a return home was within his grasp. William's men were broken and scattered. The battle was
over before it had barely begun and the drug of triumph filled his senses. The smack of a hard armoured glove hit him full in the face, sending him to the floor dazed and shocked. As he tried to get to his feet, the same armoured glove reached out to help him. It was Kauko.

  "You bloody hit me," said Thomas. "Why did you hit me?"

  Kauko pulled Thomas to his feet and pointed to the chasing pack.

  "Watch and you will see," said Kauko.

  Thomas struggled to break free from the grasp of Kauko, but Kauko's grip was too strong.

  "Let me go. They are done," said Thomas. "Let's finish this."

  "They were done, but stupid men have given them a second chance," said Kauko.

  Thomas saw that the men were already on top of William's men, realising far too late that they were now fewer in number and lacked the protection of the wall. As the cavalry spun around and regrouped, the men tried to get back up the hill. Tired feet and aching limbs were no match for the swiftness and agility of a horse, however, and one by one, they were cut down and left to bleed their lives away beneath the hooves of the horses.

  "We have to help them," screamed Thomas. "We can't just leave them to die."

  "We have no choice," said Kauko. "If we run to their aid, we will be cut down as well."

  The screams of the dying men soon turned into an eerie quiet, punctuated only by the soft crying and moaning of the fallen. Thomas fell to his haunches and held his head in his hands. Kauko crouched beside Thomas and placed a hand on his shoulder.

  "When it happens again,