Cry of Sorrow (64 page)

And then he gazed at the constellations that appeared at this time of year. Mabon, for the God of the Sun. Cerrunnos, for the Master of the Hunt. March, the Horse. Cerridwen, the Lady of the Wood. Nantsovelta of the Waters. Y Honneit, the Spear of Fire. Abwyd, the Worm. And Aertan, the Weaver of Fate.

And what, he wondered, was Aertan weaving for him this night? What would his fate be? Would he succeed in freeing Kymru, or would he die? The answer to this, no one knew. Not even the Dreamer. For Gwydion had seen nothing in his dreams beyond Arthur coming to Cadair Idris for the Tynged Mawr.

As if thoughts of Gwydion had aroused the Dreamer, Arthur’s uncle suddenly stood at the open door of the chamber.

“Come in, uncle,” Arthur said.

Gwydion sat cross-legged on the floor by Arthur, but did not speak. For a time the two men sat there, gazing up at the sky. At last, Gwydion spoke. “You hold Caladfwlch well.”

“The sword you paid so dearly to find. The sword for which you lost your brother.”

“Amatheon would be so pleased, if he were here,” Gwydion said quietly.

“I wish I had known him.”

“You would have liked him. Few did not. If you are rested now from the test,” Gwydion went on, “you must begin.”

“I have begun, uncle,” Arthur said quietly, as he laid a hand to his chest. “It is in here, and it is ready.”

“Good. The Dewin, the Bards, the Druids are ready to begin to work with you.”

“And the Dreamers?”

Gwydion’s brow rose. “What could you hope to get from the Dreamers? The others, I understand. With the augmented power of the others, you could do mighty things. But the Dreamers?”

“The Dreamers are the Walkers-Between-the-Worlds, uncle,” Arthur pointed out. “And that is a path I may need to take.”

“Be careful,” Gwydion warned. “It is dangerous even for born Dreamers to walk near to the Otherworld. It would, perhaps, be even more dangerous for you to be with us when we do.”

“But I shall. When the time is ripe. And we will call for those who can help us.”

“What, then, are your plans, my King?” Gwydion asked quietly, his gray eyes steady.

“They are these,” Arthur said, ticking the points off on his fingers. “To kill Sledda, the Arch-wyrce-jaga, for his part in Anieron’s death. To rescue the Master Smiths from Caer Siddi and bring them here to Cadair Idris to forge weapons of war. To rescue Queen Elen of Ederynion and Queen Enid of Rheged. To bring down the Archdruid and take his Druids back into the fold. To rescue the captive Y Dawnus from Afalon. And, finally, to throw the Coranians back into the sea.”

Gwydion’s mouth twitched, but his eyes remained grave. “Those are a great many tasks to accomplish, Arthur.”

“What else is a High King for?”

A
LEAGUE AWAY
, Havgan gazed at the stars from the heights of Eiodel. At home, in Corania, they would have different names than here, but they were the same. There was Wuotan, the God of Magic. And Fal, the god of Light. Holda, the goddess of Water, and Nerthus, the Mother. Draen, the Dragon, and Mearth, the Horse. Donar, the god of Thunder, and Sif, the goddess of Plenty. Flan, the Arrow, and Skeggox, the Axe.

Suddenly, for the first time since he had come to Kymru, Havgan longed for his country, for Corania. Longed to be away from this strange land where he somehow felt more at home.

Most of all, he longed to see the last of Cadair Idris, the mountain that had defied him still. It shone now across the dark meadow, glowing with a faint, golden light, a light, which, Arianrod said, meant that the High King had returned.

Things that had once been under his control were under his control no longer. The broken network of Y Dawnus had been repaired—the latest reports of caravans attacked, temples burned, and wyrce-jaga slain were enough to tell him that. Three days ago, a third of his troops had been killed at the crossroads. The testing tool they had captured many months ago had found no fresh Y Dawnus. The ones he had captured suffered terribly on the nearby island of Afalon, but there were not enough of them to satisfy him. His cold, beautiful wife was plotting against him, and his General, once his friend, always looked at him with pity in his brown eyes. The Treasures, so eagerly sought for and followed across Kymru, had eluded him and Cadair Idris had refused to open for him.

And yet, in spite of those things, Havgan would not give up. He would not go home—because he no longer knew where home was. Was it Corania, the land in which he had grown up, the land that had always been strange to him? Or was it Kymru, the land of the witches, the land he had come to conquer and that had somehow, perhaps, conquered him?

The faint scent of honeysuckle came to his nostrils. She had come to him, as he had known she would. She came to stand by him on the battlements, and, for a while, did not speak. When at last she did, her words rocked him.

“I carry your child,
cariad
,” Arianrod said softly.

Cariad
. He knew that Kymric word. It meant beloved. That she should use that word to him told him much of her. Told him, too, much of himself. For he had longed for that word from her. Though he had not known it until now. He reached for her, enfolding her in his strong arms. She rested her head on his heart.

“
Cariad
,” he said to her, at last breaking the silence. “Wife of my heart.”

She was quiet for a time, and he felt a dampness on his breast. She was crying. He let her go and framed her face with his hands, gently forcing her to look up at him. Her amber eyes—so very, very like his own—were swimming in tears. But she was smiling.

“It will be a boy, Havgan. A son,” she said.

“You know this?”

“I am Dewin,” she said simply. “I know.”

“We will call him Sigefrith, after Sigerric’s father, my first Lord.”

She shook her head. Her honey-blond hair—so like his own—stirred beneath his strong hands. “In Kymru, the task of naming is given to the mother.”

He smiled. Once her opposition—anyone’s opposition—would have enraged him. But no more. For she was the woman he loved as he had never loved any other woman before. She was the Woman-on-the-Rocks, come to him at last, facing him, gifting him with her heart. She would never leave him. And he would cling to her for the rest of his life.

“What will be his name, then?” he asked smiling.

“We will call him Medrawd. It means ‘skillful.’“

“And in my tongue, what will that be?”

“Mordred,” she replied.

Addiendydd
: sixth day of the week
aderyn
: birds

aethnen:
aspen tree; sacred to Ederynion

alarch:
swan; the symbol of the royal house of Ederynion

alban:
light; any one of the four solar festivals

Alban Awyr:
festival honoring Taran; Spring Equinox

Alban Haf:
festival honoring Modron; Summer Solstice

Alban Nerth:
festival honoring Agrona and Camulos; Autumnal Equinox

Alban Nos:
festival honoring Sirona and Grannos; the Winter Solstice

ap:
son of

ar:
high

Archdruid:
leader of the Druids, must be a descendent of Llyr

Arderydd:
high eagle; symbol of the High Kings

Ardewin:
leader of the Dewin, must be a descendent of Llyr

aryme:
. prophecy

Awenyddion
: dreamer (see Dreamer)

awyr:
air

bach:
boy

Bard:
a telepath; they are musicians, poets, and arbiters of the law in matters of
inheritance, marriage, and divorce; Bards can Far-Sense and Wind-Speak; they
revere the god Taran, King of the Winds

bedwen:
birch tree; sacred to the Bards

Bedwen Mis:
birch month; roughly corresponds to March

blaid:
wolf; the symbol of the royal house of Prydyn

bran:
raven; the symbol of the Dreamers

Brenin:
high or noble one; the High King; acts as an amplifier for the Y Dawnus
buarth:
circle
cad:
battle

cadair:
chair (of state)

caer:
fortress

calan:
first day; any one of the four fire festivals

Calan Gaef:
festival honoring Annwyn and Aertan

Calan Llachar:
festival honoring Cerridwen and Cerrunnos

Calan Morynion:
festival honoring Nantsovelta

Calan Olau:
festival honoring Mabon

cantref:
a large division of land for administrative purposes; two to three commotes make up a cantref; a

cantref is ruled by a Lord or Lady

canu:
song

cariad:
beloved

celynnen: holly

Celynnen Mis:
holly month; roughly corresponds to late May/early June

cenedl: clan

cerdinen:
rowan tree; sacred to the Dreamers

Cerdinen Mis:
rowan month; roughly corresponds to July

Cerdorrian:
sons of Cerridwen; the hidden organization of warriors and Y Dawnus working to drive the

Coranians out of Kymru

cleddyf: sword

collen:
hazel tree; sacred to Prydyn

Collen Mis:
hazel month; roughly corresponds to October

commote:
a small division of land for administrative purposes; two or three commotes make up a cantref; a commote is ruled by a Gwarda

coed:
forest, wood

cynyddu:
increase; the time when the moon is waxing

da:
father

dan:
fire

derwen:
oak tree; sacred to the Druids

Derwen Mis:
oak month; roughly corresponds to December

Dewin:
a clairvoyant; they are physicians; they can Life-Read and Wind-Ride; they revere
the goddess Nantsovelta, Lady of the Moon

disglair:
bright; the time when the moon is full

draig:
dragon; the symbol of the Dewin

draenenwen:
hawthorn tree; sacred to Rheged

Draenenwen Mis:
hawthorn month; roughly corresponds to late June/early July

Dreamer:
a descendent of Llyr who has precognitive abilities; the Dreamer can Dream-
Speak and Time-Walk; the Dreamer also has the other three gifts—telepathy,
clairvoyance, and psychokinesis; there is only one Dreamer in a generation; they
revere the god Mabon, King of Fire

Dream-Speaking:
precognitive dreams; one of the Dreamer’s gifts
Druid:
a psychokinetic; they are astronomers, scientists, and lead all festivals; they can
Shape-Move, Fire-Weave, and, in partnership with the High King, Storm-Bring;
they revere the goddess Modron, the Great Mother of All

drwys:
doors

dwfr:
water

dwyvach-breichled:
goddess-bracelet; bracelet made of oak used by Druids

eiddew: ivy

Eiddew Mis:
cds to April
enaid-dal:
soul-catcher; lead collars that prevent Y Dawnus from using their gifts

eos:
nightingale; the symbol of the Bards

erias:
fire

erydd:
eagle

Far-Sensing:
the telepathic ability to communicate with animals

ffynidwydden:
fir tree; sacred to the High Kings

Fire-Weaving:
the psychokinetic ability to light fires

gaef:
winter

galanas:
blood price

galor:
mourning, sorrow

goddeau: trees

gorsedd:
a gathering (of Bards)

greu:
blood

Gwaithdydd:
third day of the week

gwarchan:
incantation Gwarda: ruler of a commote

gwernan:
alder tree; sacred to Gwynedd

Gwernan Mis:
alder month; roughly corresponds to late April/early May

gwinydden: vine

Gwinydden:
vine month; roughly corresponds to August

Gwlad Yr Haf:
the Land of Summer; the Otherworld

gwydd:
knowledge
gwyn:
white

gwynt:
wind

Gwyntdydd:
fifth day of the week

gwyr:
seeker

haf:
summer

hebog:
hawk; the symbol of the royal house of Gwynedd

helygen:
willow

Helygen Mis:
willow month; roughly corresponds to January

honneit:
spear

Life-Reading:
the clairvoyant ability to lay hands on a patient and

determine the nature of

their ailment

llachar: bright

llech:
stone

lleihau:
to diminish; the time when the moon is waning

lleu:
lion

Llundydd:
second day of the week

llyfr:
book
llyn:
lake

llys:
court

Lord/Lady:
ruler of a cantref

mam:
mother

march:
horse; the symbol of the royal house of Rheged

Master Bard:
leader of the Bards, must be a descendent of Llyr

Meirgdydd:
fourth day of the week

meirig:
guardian

Meriwdydd:
seventh day of the week

mis:
month

morynion:
maiden

mwg-breudduyd:
smoke-dream; a method Dreamers can use to induce dreams
mynydd:
mountain

mynyddoedd:
mountains

naid:
leap

nemed:
shrine, a sacred grove

nerth:
strength

neuadd:
hall

niam-lann:
a jeweled metallic headpiece, worn by ladies of rank

nos:
night