The army arrives in York three days before the end of May. This is where they find Octa and Eosa. The Saxons decide to beg for mercy. Ambrosius demands that the Saxon army withdraw to the north behind the Wall of Hadrian which he would count as the border of his kingdom. Then, he begins his occupation of York. He sends in his own troops to create order, clean the city, and repair any fortifications. Once these steps are complete, Ambrosius demands the oath of loyalty from the city officials and declares a feast of thanksgiving. This would become the manner in which he handled every city he occupied.
Although the public celebration would be Christian, Ambrosius and Uther arrange to have a secret meeting in an old underground temple of Mithras where Merlin believed his father would hold the position of Courier of the Sun. Merlin does not give us any details of the worship service as he cannot, even after all these years. break his vow of silence. Merlin is welcomed in as an initiate, but it is Uther who holds the position of Courier and his father is not recognizable anywhere. He learns later at the official Christian celebration that his father has decided to worship in the Christian manner, because he believes that Mithras in this land bears the face of Christ. They never speak of it again.
The army moves on to London and Ambrosius begins the great task of reconstruction
and consolidation of a people who had been beaten down by the Saxons.
Merlin stays with his father for two years as one of his engineers, but
then, he decides he must leave to find the god again. He has not had time
to listen for the god in the busyness of his days. When he goes to Ambrosius
to tell him his plans, he is struck at the change in his father: now that
his reached the summit he sought and is burdened with the everyday cares
of ruling, he has begun to grow old. He gives Merlin leave to go.
Ambrosius' great compassion is once again evident as he shows mercy
to the remaining Saxons and sends them north beyond the border of Britain.
Then, he begins the burden of ruling the people and bringing them stability,
a compassionate decision that ironically will make him begin to grow old
and lose the spark that had once moved a great army. Merlin's initiation
into the Order of Mithras once more brings him eye to eye with Uther,
foreshadowing the next duty he will perform for the god. Ambrosius, however,
chooses Christianity, mostly because it is the dominant religion of the
Britons, but also, perhaps, because it was the religion of his great love,
Niniane. Her last message to him had been about meeting him again in another
world. Perhaps, Ambrosius strives now to be part of the God who will welcome
him there where she resides.
On the journey to Caerleon, Merlin stops in Amesbury, the birthplace of his father. Nearby are the stones known as the Giant's Dance or The Dance of the Hanging Stones. When he visits them, Merlin is awed by their size and still has no idea why he has been brought her, but he knows that he has. He walks among them, noting that some have fallen and others are tilted over. He hears starlings nesting overhead and is reminded that this bird was sacred to the druids. He knows the stories about the druid worship at these stones, the mystery that surrounds them, but yet as he looks at how the stones are carved into tenons and sockets, he knows it was men who built them eons ago. Then, Merlin looks to the west and the setting sun and sees the shape of a two-headed axe on the stone ahead. His need to turn and look causes him to fall into a shallow pit which may have been made by falling stone years ago even though no such stone lays there. It even could be, he thinks, a grave. As he lays there on that spot, he feels a cold strike up below and he knows this is why he has been brought here.
They arrive in Caerleon to find that Tremorinus has been working hard to rebuild the city. He tells Merlin that a rumor of fresh trouble, this time from Pascentius, brother of Vortimer, is going around. Merlin is sure he will eventually show his face. He then tells Tremorinus that he is going to Maridunum which is his home, and he leaves the next day.
Merlin tells himself, when he stops at the door of St. Peter's, he is
going there to see where his mother is buried, but he knows it is a lie.
He goes there to see Keri, the young nun. He speaks with the Abbess first
and leaves with his mother's cross. He asks the old portress where Keri
is, but she only knows that the young woman is gone. So, Merlin rides
on to the cave where his finds Cadal who had been told to stay there before
the Battle of Kaerconan. Cadal has fixed the cave as it was in the time
of Galapas, even placing the carved figure of the god in the niche above
the entrance. Inside, he has furnished it in absolute comfort and that
night, Merlin sleeps as he has not slept since he was a child.
The Giant's Dance is definitely a reference to Stonehenge and it is
here where Merlin once again knows his purpose, even though we as yet
are not aware. The attraction to the young nun, also, still occupies his
mind, but he doesn't act on it overtly. His return to the cave becomes
more important, because it is here that he feels he is finally home.
New names in this chapter: the Giant's Dance, another name for
Stonehenge
As April lengthens into May, Merlin stays in his cave sanctuary and only hears news when Cadal brings it back or some messenger arrives there. He learns that Pascentius is indeed massing troops in Germany and war will surely come by the end of the summer.
One day as he is gathering herbs, he sees Keri coming up the path. She
tells him she left her vocation, because she felt too closed up inside.
He tells her that he is the son of the High King. She seems awed by him
being both a magician and a prince. They act on their attraction, falling
to the ground in an embrace. But Merlin's reaction is strange: he feels
as if she is strangling him and he rolls away from her, sweating with
fear and shame. He knows this is the god telling him that he must not
be with her. When he tries to explain, she merely laughs at him and tells
him she never believed in his magic.
The irony presented in this chapter concerns the metaphor of chains that Keri
mentions she wanted to escape. Merlin says his chains are not the same
as hers. This then is reinforced by the terrible reaction he has to Keri's
caresses. He is in chains and they are forged by the god who holds him
to an unspoken vow which doesn't include a woman.
Clapsaddle, Diane. "TheBestNotes on A Long Way Gone".
TheBestNotes.com.
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