Arthur, King. William Speir

cavalry against however many soldiers Ceretic has with him. My foot soldiers aren’t here yet, and most of them aren’t likely to reach this spot before nightfall. Did I act too rashly by setting off with just cavalry and not waiting for my soldiers?

      Uther looked around. Where are Ceretic’s men? We should have encountered them before nightfall yesterday. Is this just a ruse? Is he testing my defenses? Or has he laid a trap for me?

      Uther viewed the ridge in front of him. If I were Ceretic, I’d have my men on top of that ridge with archers ready to rain arrows down on me.

      Uther shook his head in anger. I don’t know where Ceretic us, and my cavalry is exposed. I need to find high ground and make Ceretic come to me.

      Uther remembered a long ridge two miles northeast of his current position. He turned his horse and led the column back the way they had come. A moment later, he heard a whistling sound coming through the trees behind him. Glancing back, he saw the arrows falling just short of his men.

      “Archers!” A shout went up from the rear of the column.

      Uther saw Ceretic’s archers on the ridge behind him. Just as I thought. If I hadn’t turned the column around when I did, we’d have been caught in his trap.

      Uther urged his horse to gallop, and his cavalry followed him northeast to the long ridge where they’d wait for Ceretic’s men and the rest of Uther’s army.

      The first companies of Gododdin soldiers arrived at the long ridge shortly before noon. Uther ordered them to take positions along the edges of the ridge and ordered the archers to the center.

      He waited. More Gododdin soldiers arrived and were deployed in the woods on both sides of the ridge.

      Merlin arrived with the soldiers from Din Eidyn by mid-afternoon.

      “What are you doing on this ridge, my Lord?” Merlin asked when he reached Uther. “Where is Ceretic?”

      “We encountered his archers on a ridge two miles southwest of here around mid-morning. They fired on us, but we were out of their range. I deployed here to wait for him. I have scouts looking for him in case he’s moved his men to swing around us.”

      “One of the scouts from our northern border arrived just after you left Din Eidyn yesterday,” Merlin said. “He reported that he saw a large force of Picts moving south toward Gododdin.”

      I knew that our enemies would see any fighting between our kingdoms as an opportunity to attack.

      “Did the scout say where they were heading or when they’d cross the border?”

      “No, my Lord.”

      Uther was about to say something when he saw a lone Strathclyde messenger riding toward him.

      “King Uther!”

      Merlin looked down at the messenger. “What do you want with the king?”

      “My Lord, King Ceretic wishes to speak with you,” the messenger replied.

      “Through his army?” Uther shouted back.

      “No, my Lord. In private. At a point halfway between your current position and where you found his archers this morning.”

      “Will he be alone?” Uther demanded.

      “He will have one person with him, and he requests that you do the same.”

      Uther looked at Merlin. “I want you with me, Merlin.”

      “You’re not going to meet with him, are you, my Lord?” Merlin asked, sounding shocked.

      “He’s still a King of Britain, and we’ve been allies for years. I’ll speak with him in honor of our alliance and our past friendship.”

      Turning to the captain of his cavalry, Uther said, “If we’re not back in an hour, attack Ceretic’s men and drive them back across the border. Give no quarter, understand?”

      “Yes, my Lord,” the captain promised.

      Turning to the messenger, Uther shouted, “Tell your master that I’ll meet with him. But if this is a trap, my men have orders to put your master and every one of his soldiers to the sword.”

      “He understands that, King Uther. He waits for you at the rendezvous point.”

      The messenger turned his horse and rode southwest.

      Uther and Merlin reached the place where Ceretic waited for them. The King of Strathclyde stood next to his horse, and his companion was still mounted. Both men were armed, but neither had a hand near their weapons.

      Uther rode forward, dismounted, and handed the reins of his horse to Merlin. Uther walked forward, and so did Ceretic.

      Uther held out his hand in greeting. Ceretic hesitated, but then grasped Uther’s forearm.

      “I wish I’d known you were coming, Lord Ceretic,” Uther said. “I’d have prepared a proper welcome for my western ally.”

      “I’m not here as your ally, Lord Uther,” Ceretic stated.

      Uther released Ceretic’s forearm. “So the treaties that we made between us as friends and as defenders of the northern frontier of Britain no longer mean anything to you, Ceretic? Bringing your army across my borders unannounced and without my permission violates those treaties and is hardly the act of a friend.”

      “I’m not here as a friend either, Uther.”

      “Then what are you here as?” Uther demanded. “You and I have been friends for years. We’ve fought at each other’s side, and we’ve protected each other’s kingdoms countless times. What could possibly have happened to make you suddenly decide to invade Gododdin?”

      “You know perfectly well what happened, Uther,” Ceretic growled.

      “I know that you and I had a difference of opinion at the Council meeting,” Uther stated. “If two people can’t disagree without it leading to war, then what’s the point of ever speaking with each other? What purpose does friendship, treaties, and shared victories serve if a simple disagreement can cast them into the dust?”

      “The choice of High King is not a simple disagreement,” Ceretic snapped. “I support Vortigern because he’s the High King. You betrayed him by supporting Ambrosius. You betrayed me!”

      “I never once betrayed you, Ceretic. I still count you as one of my closest friends and allies. If I’ve betrayed anyone, it’s Britain as a whole by not backing someone to replace Vortigern years ago. When you backed Vortimer and I didn’t, I didn’t cross my armies into Strathclyde to attack you. Why are you attacking me now?”

      “Because I don’t like Ambrosius!” Ceretic shouted. “I don’t want our next High King coming from the southern kingdoms, and I don’t want another Roman ruling Britain.”

      “The High King doesn’t rule, Ceretic,” Uther pointed out. “He serves the kingdoms of Britain as our commanding general in the field. He’s responsible for protecting us from our enemies. He doesn’t have the power to dictate how we govern our kingdoms. Ambrosius is a King of Britain; he doesn’t represent the Roman Empire or a return to the yoke of Roman Imperialism.”

      “That’s not the point, Uther!”

      Uther stared at him. “Then what is the point? Your prejudice against Romans? Is that why you’re attacking me now? Because I’m half Roman myself? What will that solve? Or are you just blindly following Vortigern because you think that you’ll be spared from what he’s about to unleash on the rest of us? Do you honestly think that Vortigern’s threat to call for help from his allies was an empty one? If Hengist, Horsa, and Colgrin attack the kingdoms that support Ambrosius, how long will it be before they turn their eyes to your kingdom? Do you think that Vortigern can control them once they’ve overrun and slaughtered the rest of us? Has he been able to control them