BOOK IV - The Red Dragon

CHAPTER 4

Summary

Ambrosius' intention of frightening the Saxons with the burning at Doward does the trick and they withdraw to fortify themselves north of the Humber. For awhile, the Saxon arrogance keeps them there as Hengist believes Ambrosius has little more than his invasion force and the Saxons have no respect for the fighting abilities of the Britons. But then he changes his mind and decides to meet the Red Dragon forces at a place of his own choosing where he might surprise Ambrosius and defeat him.

The end comes the second week of May when Ambrosius finds Hengist and the Saxons with their preparations half complete at Kaerconan. Ambrosius has the advantage of the land and speed in his arrival: the Saxons are trapped between his forces and the narrow pass where they had begun to set up their ambush. The Saxons are also afraid of the prophecy they had heard Merlin had given and so fight out of desperation. It is over before sunset. Merlin himself rides to stand with his father just before the troops go into battle so they will know that Vortigern's prophet is there beside them. Then, he watches the entire battle from atop of a small, rocky crag, seeing it unfold like a map below him. The Britons fight with a disciplined attack, but the Saxons show little or no organization. Through it all, Merlin hears the song of a robin, high and sweet, and ever after, whenever he thinks of the Battle of Kaerconan, he thinks of the robin's song mingling with the croaks of the ravens, which circled overhead to pick at the bodies of the dead.

Hengist is eventually captured by Eldol, the Duke of Gloucester, and the rest of the Saxons break and flee, only to be cut down in the narrow defile where they had hoped to ambush the Britons. Merlin allows his father to enter the stronghold there without him, knowing he will be needed by the wounded. He knows there is no need to hurry with his mother's message, because she has already sickened again and has died.

Notes

This chapter presents the Battle of Kaerconan as part of the destiny foretold by Merlin. The Saxons are presented as having no chance, because the god has decided that the Britons are the victors. That which should always have been-Ambrosius as the true king of Britain - has come to past at last. Merlin's role is finally one of power: he stands by the troops who are glad he supports them, but at the same time fear him, and he watches the action from above like the god himself. In the end, however, his power forces him to recognize what he had been denying every day that he saw his mother. She was dying even then, and now he knows she is already dead.

CHAPTER 5

Summary

The sights Merlin sees and the sounds he hears as he approaches the battlefield are horrific: the screams of the wounded, the cries of the dying, the ravens circling overhead, looters stealing from the dead, the Britons killing the wounded Saxons, and stretcher-bearers running the British wounded into the castle among mingled shouts of victory. He comes across a looter who has been speared by a Briton sword for his efforts. He is still alive and looks at Merlin for help, but Merlin knows the man is doomed and hastens him onward by cutting his throat.

Merlin speaks with a soldier about the outcome and learns that Hengist has been captured but that his brother Octa and a cousin Eosa got away. He knows then that the battle against the Saxon invasion is not yet over. Merlin heads for the castle where he knows that the decision about what to do with Hengist is being made. He sees them bring the Saxon leader outside and Ambrosius followed by a Christian bishop who is whispering intently in his ear. Ambrosius makes the order and Hengist is beheaded while the bishop demands that the body be thrown to the wolves and the kites. Ambrosius, however, insists that Hengist will go to his gods with his army around him in the manner of his people. Merlin follows his father back into the castle.

Merlin goes to work inside the castle with Gandar, the army's doctor, and works non-stop until midnight. Then, Ambrosius enters and walks among the wounded, offering words of encouragement. When he stops to speak with Merlin, his son tells him that Niniane has died and he passes on her message, a message given because she knew she was dying.

The Britons do as Ambrosius asks and the Saxon dead, including Hengist, are burned on a large funeral pyre. Hengist is laid out with all his armor and weapons as well. Ambrosius asks Merlin if sees anything in the fire about Octa and Eosa, but Merlin insists again that the god only comes when he wants to and Merlin can not command him. He can only assume that the prophecy still holds true if the two Saxons still fight under the banner of the White Dragon. Ambrosius tells him then to come with to York, prophecies or no prophecies, because he'll need an engineer since Tremorinus is in Caerleon.

Merlin also speaks to Uther who, as usual, has found himself a woman for the night. Merlin Notes that Uther is feeling his own power after years of frustration in Less Britain.

Notes

Merlin's killing of the looter is a disturbing picture as we have not seen him in this kind of scene before. At the same time that is a disturbing scene, it is also one of compassion as Merlin knows the man will only suffer until his certain death. Ambrosius, too, shows a kind of compassion to Hengist, who, because he is the enemy leader, must die, but who is given a dignified funeral along with his dead men. Finally, Uther is still very much a part of Merlin's observations and the emphasis the author places on his constant womanizing foreshadows the final use Merlin will have for him: fathering Arthur.

New names in this chapter: Octa and Eosa, the brothers of Hengist who escape the Battle of Kaerconan; Gandar, the doctor who travels with Ambrosius' army; Caerleon, a city in South Wales