Hosker, G [Wolf Brethren 02] Saxon Revenge (28 page)

We formed into our lines as yet unobserved by Aella who was busily feeding more men into the front ranks as Riderch hurled his men at the Saxon lines. Tuanthal’s javelins and Miach’s arrows did little damage but they did alert Aella to our presence and as my standard began to move towards the Saxons he quickly moved reinforcements to that side of the perimeter. Angus was to my right and he carried a huge two handed sword. His men were to his right and to my left I had the ten warriors and archers left from our attacks. Angus swung his sword and I looked on in amazement as he sliced off three heads in one blow.  I took advantage of the gap and stabbed forwards at the next man in line. The men from Strathclyde were awesome and must have terrified the Saxons. 

Behind me I heard Scean.  “My lord, we are about to be surrounded.”

“Retreat!”

The men were ready and everyone struck out with his shield and moved swiftly back.  As the Saxons tried to close with us Raibeart and Miach rained arrows at them and Tuanthal’s men raced in dealing death with their long swords. Riderch and his men sensed the hesitation and pushed forwards, shrinking the perimeter even more. The Strathclyde men with their king then added their own deadly hail of rocks and hammer to pound and grind at men already reeling from continuous attacks.  Whereas our men were able to gain some respite whilst another arm attacked the same Saxon warriors each faced different foes; we were on all sides now.

I heard the recall sound.  “Tuanthal, when the king attacks so shall you.  Raibeart and Miach support the horsemen when they charge in.” I knew that our attack would be as a pinprick but if it divided the Saxon attention then so much the better. I saw Myrddyn with our wounded.  His presence in this campaign had saved so many warriors that I thought about asking Brother Oswald for another three for the rest of the army.

He glanced up at me. “So far my weapon has remained sheathed.”

“No Myrddyn, for you have used a more powerful weapon, the weapon of your mind.”

I heard the call for the charge and the horsemen thundered in.  This time they were ready with their shields but all that that did was to make the shields unwieldy as they could not free them of the javelins; when they tried the arrows ended their attempts quickly. The next attack would be the last. Riderch and Ridwyn now led a wedge towards the Saxons while Prince Pasgen and the men of Elmet led another.  King Urien was making two parts of the shield wall weaker. “How many arrows brother?”

“Less than five each.”

“Then loose them and arm yourselves with swords.  The next time I order charge we all go in and support the king.”

Their arrows fell on the unprotected backs of the men in the front ranks and I could see the shield wall was precariously thin. Then I heard the sound for the charge and the wailing of the dragon standard told me that it was King Urien and his equites who were charging.  They charged in a wedge at the point between Pasgen and Riderch. It takes a brave man to stand up to charging horses and the Saxons had had enough.  They broke.  We too charged but it was not a wedge we all ran as individuals. My aim was not to break through but make the Saxons think we were attacking from all sides.

As the Saxons ran before the mailed horsemen Aella’s bodyguards formed a defensive ring around their king; they were the elite and they were oathsworn.  Other Saxons still fought but none could stand before the King, his men and his fellow kings.  King Urien’s blade flashed in the first light of dawn and I could see the blood running in rivers from its silvery edge. The Saxons who faced us were nervous and, glancing over your shoulder is not effective when you are fighting warriors who mean to kill you.  Even Pol with his seax and small shield was able to pierce the defence of warriors who feared what was behind them as well as what was in front.

Riderch and the warriors had reformed into one wedge and were approaching the last stand of the Saxons.  Tuanthal and the spare horsemen were busily pursuing the fleeing Saxons. I hacked, slashed and stabbed until there were no more enemies before me and I raced towards the Saxon elite.  King Urien’s horse was well trained in war and he raised his hooves to smash down on the shields of the front ranks.  You could almost hear the bones breaking, along with the warrior’s spirits.  Mercifully the hooves then smashed their skulls and ended their lives.  The king was not worrying about his horse and his sword carved a path of death towards Aella.  Aella was cunning but he was also brave.  The equite who preceded King Urien found that to his cost when the Saxon King’s axe sliced through his horse’s legs and as he was thrown to the floor, his head was neatly decapitated. 

King Urien reined in and dismounted.  He was taller than the Saxon king but I could see the mighty muscles on the warrior’s arms.  King Urien had not fought as much in the last few years and I worried that he might not last a long fight.  The king’s bodyguards desperately formed a ring to keep the others away as the two kings circled each other. Aella’s axe flew at Urien’s head but he deftly moved out of the way, hacking at the Saxon as he did so. A ribbon of blood could be seen along the Saxon king’s arm but it did not seem to slow him up. Instead of going for King Urien’s head he swung his axe at his shield.  It gouged a lump of wood from it and I couldn’t help thinking that I had asked the king to protect his shield with iron as we had.  It was too late for that now. The axe had swung in full circle and King Urien saw a gap. He stabbed forwards and the point of the sword found a gap in the mail. This time blood spurted and Aella roared a shout of pain and anger. He swung his axe even harder and the shield of King Urien shattered.  From the limp state of King Urien’s left arm I suspected that it was broken. I stabbed at the eye of the bodyguard who faced me and he fell dead.  I was desperately trying to get to my king’s side but there were too many men between us. The king staggered back and I saw the look of joy on Aella’s face.  He might be seriously wounded but without his shield King Urien was at his mercy.

King Aella took a mighty swing with his axe and King Urien did the most unexpected thing, he stepped in to Aella’s body bringing his sword up as he did so. The handle of the axe struck King Urien a blow to the head which made him stagger but by then the Sword of Rheged had penetrated the mail, the muscles and the heart of King Aella.  With a shocked look on his face, he died and the slaughter of the bodyguards began.

As I joined in the killing I shouted over my shoulder, “Pol, Myrddyn, get to the king and help him.” I saw a blur of movement as the two young men sprinted through warriors who were too slow to stop them.  When I saw Myrddyn kneel at the king’s side with Pol guarding them I turned to the bodyguards.  Today was the day when the Saxons would be defeated. Even though we were all exhausted we knew that this last effort would end the problem with which we had lived for so many generations and we gritted our teeth and we killed.

Chapter 15

It was late morning when the last of the Saxons had finally been killed.  The bodyguards and oathsworn fulfilled their oath and died around the body of their king.  The ones who fled were chased down and slaughtered by horsemen of the allies.  It was a great victory but it had come at a great cost. Many of King Urien’s bodyguards had perished in the brutal battle of the hill as had Angus and Prince Rhiwallon. Of the kings only King Urien had suffered a wound, a broken arm.  Garth was badly wounded in the leg but Myrddyn had gone to him as soon as he had tended to the king. I found the king still guarded by Pol.

King Urien looked up at me, “He is a brave sentinel you sent to watch over me Lord Lann.  I am indebted to him and your healer.”His sad eyes softened.  “Your plan succeeded, you did well.”

I shook my head, “No your majesty, the honour of this day belongs to you.  You led the charge and it was your tactics which succeeded.  For the first time since the Romans left we have finally defeated the Saxons.”

“Help me up young squire.” Pol helped the injured king to his feet and King Urien leaned on his shoulder.  “I think this will be my last battle.  I saw my death as the axe was swung and I would see my grandchildren and play with them on my knee.  I will leave the defence of Rheged to young men like my sons and you.” He looked around at the body and blood littered field. “It is a grim sight. How many men have we lost?”

“It is early yet and we have not accounted for all the wounded but two thousand would be a reasonable estimate.”

“So many?”

“The Saxons lost far more and most of their fleet.  There will be many empty hearths over the sea when the ships return unmanned.”

I looked up to see Prince Ywain riding over to us.  He looked sad and he must have been told of his brother’s death.  I did not envy him having to tell his father.  There were now but two brothers left: Pasgen and Ywain.  King Urien had paid a high price for his victory. I nodded to him. “I will leave you with your father.  I go to collect the few men of mine who remain and work out how I can tell their families of their loss.”

Raibeart, Pol, and Scean joined me as we moved around the battlefield gathering our men. When we had reached the causeway I had but thirty men left from the one hundred and ten I had brought.  Raibeart had lost fewer men but the losses were still grievous. We gathered around Garth and Myrddyn. My champion tried to raise his head but Myrddyn forced it down.  “Just lie there.  I have not finished my work.”

Garth opened his eyes and asked, “Will I fight again?”

Myrddyn grinned, “Well not tonight but some day with rest then you will fight.” He nodded his head at me.  “Our Wolf Warrior overcame a wound such as this and so shall you.”

“Ridwyn did well my lord.  He dragged me from the field.  I owe my life to him.”

“Aye and his brother Riderch led the last charge and did so valiantly.  They are both a credit to Bernicia.”

Myrddyn threw me a sharp look and then thought better of it. I wondered what he knew.  When we had the time I would speak with him.  I turned instead to the rest of my men. “We have done well and now we need to rest.” I looked over at the small copse in the valley bottom.  “Brother Raibeart, what say you and I go and try to hunt some food for our men?”

They began to protest but Raibeart laughed, “An excellent idea.  The rest of you prepare our camp and we will return with food.” He suddenly looked at his empty quiver.  “If I can find some arrows!”

We returned at dusk with some game birds and rabbits.  The marshes and swamps were not well endowed with game but it would make a hearty stew and Raibeart and I had enjoyed being brothers again. All of the allied troops were in their own camp.  Each of the kingdoms had lost many men and it would be a time to sing songs and tell tales of the dead.  When we returned home they would be told to the families as a reminder.  We all built our own funeral pyres and said goodbye to our friends.  The small and cosy camp of the warriors of the Hogan brothers gave us all a sense of belonging.

After we had eaten Myrddyn sought out Raibeart and me. “I knew that something had annoyed you.  What did you see, healer?”

“When the battle was at its height Bladud and five of his men were not at the king’s side.  I saw them holding back.  There was that warrior Garth did not like with and three others I knew not. And the Bernician king did not put himself at the fore as the other kings did. There is something afoot.”

“Men may have said that we hung back on our flank. We know that we did not.”

“No my lord, this was different.  They were both at the rear of their warriors. I would doubt that there is mark on their armour and any nicks in their blades have come from striking at the rear of men.”

Raibeart looked at me.  “He may be right brother.  I noticed that they were not protecting the king.  Many of the bodyguard died and all have wounds except for Bladud and his cronies.  We had better watch them again.” He looked into the flames and sighed, sadly.  “I will be glad to return to my family.”

“You tire of war?”

Raibeart glanced up, “We began this war against the Saxons to avenge our parents and then to protect the king.  The Saxons are no more and we can enjoy a little peace.”

“I hope so brother.”

Myrddyn’s young face looked old and serious “I am not so sure. I know that the Saxons have gone but when I was in their camp I learned that they view this land as heaven.  Their own home is being eaten by the sea and by terrible warriors from the east.  We have not seen the last of the Saxon invaders.”

I knew what he said was true but I still had the belief that we could not fail.  “If they come again we can defeat them while they are weak.  King Ida and King Aella had been here for some time and we defeated them; any newcomers would know even less.  We know this land.”

The healer stretched and rose, prior to retiring. “We live in the west Lord Lann.  If they come again it will be in the east and do you think that King Morcant Bulc will change and suddenly become King Urien?”

As we all turned in for the night I pondered those words. He would not change and if the Saxons came again then it would be us who would be forced to fight them but King Urien would not lead us and I was not sure if Prince Ywain, after his wounds, was the warrior to lead us.  Perhaps it would be Prince Pasgen who had shown, when he led the wedge into the attack, that he was unafraid and that men would follow him.

The next day we cleared the battlefield and filled carts with the armour and the weapons we had taken.  King Urien insisted that it be split four ways, despite the fact that it had been Rheged who had fought the longest and lost the most. The men gathered along four sides of a square as the four kings took their leave of each other.  After they had all extolled the virtues of everyone’s warriors they embraced and prepared to mount.  King Gwalliog held up his hand.  “Before we depart I would like to thank Rheged for without King Urien and his warriors we would have lost.” He knelt to the ground. “Elmet will serve you my lord as High King.”

I thought it was spontaneous but King
Rhydderch Hael
also dropped to his knee.  “And Strathclyde will serve you and your son, my lord.”