When Merlin arrives at Vortigern's side, the King looks him up and down, still reserving his judgment. He is waiting for proof of Merlin's prophecy. The older officer, who had originally convinced Vortigern to allow Merlin to outdo the magic of the priests, sees the dragon brooch on Merlin's shoulder, but says nothing to the King. They wait for two hours and when Vortigern's men exit the cave, they have only a clutter of objects such as an old belt buckle and a knife with its blade eaten away. The last officer brings out the last bucket on the ground creating a pool of water at the base of the royal standard. Suddenly, a gust of wind tears down the banner with the white dragon which slaps down in the pool at the King's feet. The last ray of sunlight reflects on the pool, giving it the appearance of blood. A shout rings out, Great Thor, the Dragon is down! Merlin cries out that the god has spoken and points to the sky where the comet of his vision appears and burns hot across the sky. Merlin proclaims it the Red Dragon of the West and warns Vortigern to strike his tents and leave Wales. His walls cannot help him stand against the Red Dragon there. He must go back to his own borders and guard them well there. The crowd becomes an organized panic as they seek escape from the prophecy.
Then, Merlin melts into the crowd and steps behind the pavilion they
have built there where he will be unseen. He finds Cadal who refuses to
believe that the appearance of the shooting star was just luck. He says,
It came when it came. As they start to ride away, they are stopped by
the officer Merlin called Greybeard, the man who had convinced Vortigern
to give Merlin a chance. He declares himself a man of Ambrosius, a spy
who had come north on behalf of Merlin's father. He says his name is Gorlois
of Cornwall and that he had known Merlin was Ambrosius' son just by the
look of him, but had final proof when he saw the dragon brooch. They ride
all night together with no pursuit and three days later, in the early
morning, Amborisus comes ashore.
It is ironic that one of the King's officers turns out to be Gorlois
since it is his wife, Ygraine, who will become the mother of Arthur. The
god speaks yet again through the banner which falls in the pool and is
given the appearance of being in blood by the setting sun. Cadal is right
when he says that things come when they come for Merlin. The shooting
star allows Merlin to convince Vortigern that he'll find no protection
on this crag and that he must return to his own borders. This makes him
ripe for defeat.
(The title refers to Ambrosius and his army who will defeat Vortigern
and claim Britain for himself as should have been his birthright from
the beginning.)
It takes Ambrosius more than two years to become king and pacify Britain. The first part goes quickly, because Ambrosius has modeled his army after the Saxon forces who were marvelously mobile and which could strike quickly and live off the country. It was called Caesar-speed. He had barely landed when the whole of the West Country rose up to declare him King of Cornwall and Devon. The first to meet him at Glastonbury is Eldol of Gloucester who had fought with Constantine against Vortigern, with Vortigern against Hengist, and with Vortimer against both. Along with him come many lesser leaders, including Eldad, his brother, a fiercely devout Christian bishop. His declaration of fealty to Ambrosius brings all of Christian Britain to Ambrosius' side. Last comes Gorlois of Tintagel in Cornwall which adds, for the first time, all of Cornwall to Britain.
Ambrosius' greatest task becomes unifying all these tribes of Britain which had formed after the Romans left. He sows his own officers among each of the tribes - for co-ordination, he says, no more - and through them quietly adapts the fighting tactics of each force to his central plan, with his main force always taking the brunt of the attack. Even though these new tribes are anxious to go after the Saxons, Ambrosius refuses, because he sees his ability to defeat Vortigern as a way, not only to rid himself of his old enemy, but also to strike fear into the superstitious Saxons. So they march northward and meet Vortigern at Doward.
Doward is the kind of place which must be taken from within, this time
not with treachery, but with fire. Ambrosius sieges the place for about
three days and then sends in a messenger with conditions for Vortigern
for surrender. Vortigern sends the man back with his hands cut off and
bound in a bloody cloth to his belt. The message is clear: Ambrosius can
stay there until his army melts away and he is left handless. It is the
Queen, Rowena, who had ordered the man's hands severed. Ambrosius angrily
replies to this by gathering great piles of brushwood around the wooden
fortress and watching while everything burns away. At the end, his white
horse turns red from the reflection of the flames and the white dragon
banner itself turns blood red, then black and then falls.
Ambrosius uses his marvelous unifying personality to bring all the Britons
under his control. Militarily, he is just like Merlin - almost magical
in his power to lead. Also, like Merlin, who uses fire to see into the
future, Ambrosius uses fire to conquer.
New names in this chapter: Eldol, Duke of Gloucester and his brother
Eldad, Christian Bishop, who promise to support Ambrosius
Clapsaddle, Diane. "TheBestNotes on A Long Way Gone".
TheBestNotes.com.
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