Again, I heard the echo of an older sentiment in his words. Llenlleawg had recognized it and named it, and he was right. Here in this Emerald Island, the old ways still lingered on. The Irish, for all their failings, yet held to the ideals of their ancestors and clung to the beliefs of an earlier age – when kings were more than power-hungry hounds ever attacking one another and killing off the weaker members of the pack.
Oh, there were Irish kings as grasping as any, of course. But it warmed my heart to see that these few, at least, were not like their brothers.
'I must warn you,' Gwenhwyvar was saying, 'there is sickness in Britain. Plague is there, and more are dying of fever than ever see a Vandal.'
'One enemy is much like another,' Aedd answered. 'Each will be fought in its own way. The plague will be to us only another enemy to be met and matched. We will not shrink from the fight.'
Laigin called, 'Are we to grow old standing here? There is honour to be won, and I mean to get my share.'
'Hear him!' shouted Diarmait. 'Why do we linger even a moment longer when we could be gaining everlasting renown?' At this the gathered Irish sent up a great clamour to be away.
Gwenhwyvar, overcome by the eager affection of her countrymen, turned once more to thank the king. But he would hear nothing of it. 'You see how it is,' Aedd said. 'They will have their share of glory. Send them now, for I can no longer hold them back.'
Gwenhwyvar stepped a few paces nearer the lords. 'Kinsmen and friends,' she said, 'if Arthur were here before you he could in no wise offer you greater thanks than I do now. Go and join him – you will be welcomed. Even so, do not think to increase your renown. For I tell you truly – ' she paused, tears shining in her eyes – 'any glory you win in battle cannot match that which you have already earned this day.'
The Irish lords, and those men close enough to hear, were greatly cheered by Gwenhwyvar's words. No sooner had she finished than Diarmait shouted, 'A blessing! Send us with a blessing!'
Aedd turned to me.
'Myrddin? Would you?'
I took my place beside Gwenhwyvar and raised my staff. Stretching my other hand high, palm outward, I said:
Strength of fortress be yours,
Strength of kingship be yours,
Strength of love and pride of homeland
sustain you through all things.
The circling of Christ to protect you,
The shielding of angels to guard you,
The aiding of God to support you
in the hot rage of battle and the
twistings of the fight.
Be the Holy Christ between you
and all things hurtful,
Be the Holy One of Heaven between you
and all things wicked,
Be the Holy Jesu between your shoulders,
turning every harm to good,
Upholding you with his Swift Sure Hand,
Forever upholding you with his Swift Sure Hand!
So saying, I sent them on their way to Muirbolc and the waiting ships. Aedd bade us dine with him before leaving. Gwenhwyvar declined. 'We will break fast in the saddle, I think, or we shall be left behind.'
We departed the fortress as soon as the horses were saddled. Aedd summoned his chief bard and one of his noblemen and directed them to hold the caer in his absence, saying, 'I give you full freedom to serve me in every cause while I am away. Should evil befall, I bid you to seek the best for the people. If your lot is good, then I urge you to seek its increase and impart the benefit to all within your care.'
Both bard and chieftain vowed to uphold the king's will and extend his renown, whereupon Aedd bade them farewell and we left the stronghold in a white haze of dust.
Upon reaching Muirbolc once more, we dismounted and stood on the cliffside overlooking the bay while the warriors and crewmen undertook to board the horses, a task made difficult by the swirling surge of the tideflow. Once the animals were blindfolded, however, the boarding process proceeded smoothly. Soon the first ships were putting out to sea.
Turning to Aedd, Gwenhwyvar put her hand on his arm. 'Thank you, my friend,' she said. 'You do not know how much your courtesy and thoughtfulness have encouraged me.'
'Never say it,' Aedd replied. 'What I have done is but a small kindness when held against all that you and Arthur have given me.'
'Lord,' Gwenhwyvar wondered, 'what have we given you- save the chance to die on foreign soil fighting an enemy that is no more threat to you?'
'Lady,' the Irish king answered, 'you have granted me the opportunity of raising sword alongside the most exalted hero of this age. If I die, so be it. At least my blood will be mingled with that of champions, and I will enter heaven's fair hall in the company of men of vast and terrible renown. What warrior dares hope for more?'
We joined the ships then, picking our way down the cliffside to the shore. As Llenlleawg boarded the horses, Aedd, Gwenhwyvar and I hurried to our ship waiting a little way out in the bay. The Irish used small round hide boats – hardly larger than leather shields – to carry us so that we would not have to wade through the surf.
Barinthus helped us aboard, leaning low over the side to steady the small coracle. 'The wind is fair for a change and the sea is running. I would we were away, Lord Emrys,' he said as soon as we were all aboard. 'We will make good sailing if we leave at once.'
'Then do so, man,' I urged. 'Lead on, the rest will follow.'
He scurried back to his tiller and began shouting commands to all within sound of his voice. The big square sail swung up on creaking ropes, ruffled in the wind, puffed out, and the ship swung away from the land. Within moments we were running before a fresh wind. The low-riding sun sent yellow rays glancing off the green waves, setting every crest alight and seeding the watery furrows with gold.
Gradually, the greens and gold of water and light deepened to the blues and greys of night as eventide stole over the wide sea-field. Beneath a clear, star-filled sky, the sea danced and glittered, divided at our passing by the ship's sharp prow, swirling in pools of molten moonlight in our wake. The air remained warm, occasionally wafting cool crosscurrents that splashed across my face. I remained awake, watching the lively sky and the slow progress of the glowing moon across heaven's vaulted dome.
To be alive to the wonder of the commonplace, I thought, that is the very gift of a wildly generous Creator, who ever invites his creatures to contemplate the exuberance of his excellent handiwork. There is a deep and abiding joy at work in this worlds-realm, and we who toil through our lives do often forget this, or overlook it. But look: it is all around! Ceaseless, unrelenting, certain as sunrise, and constant as the rhythm of a heartbeat.
I stood, as I say, at the prow through the night, the stars and silent, watchful Barinthus my only companions. Toward morning I saw the rich darkness of the eastern sky begin to fade. I watched the sunrise with eyes beguiled by night's veiled mysteries.
Dawnlight streaked the sky with the red of blood and banners, staining the deep-hued water. The play of liquid light and sinuous shadow cast me into a melancholy mood. I felt the coming of day as the approach of a predatory presence. My scalp tingled; my stomach tightened. My vision grew keen.
The boat rode the tideflow and the sunrise glinted like molten metal in flux, swirling, bubbling, moving. I lifted my eyes to the opposite shore, now in shadowed silhouette against a burning sky. It seemed to me as if the boat were no longer moving through water, but gliding over endlessly coiling clouds – passing like a phantom through the very essence of this worlds-realm.