CHAPTER II
HOME AGAIN
Saebald, chief of the Billingas, had just returned from visiting his outposts on the Wharfe. He was standing at the gate of his burg when he beheld six horsemen and some pack animals advancing towards him up the hill. As they came nearer he saw that the men were fully armed and accoutred, but he could not guess who they could be. They rode up, dismounted, and stood before him. He looked from one to the other with doubt and astonishment, until his eyes rested upon Sivel, whom he recognised at once. In a moment they were in each other's arms, and Sivel spoke the names of his companions. It was long before Saebald could recognise his little friends in these stalwart young warriors. His surprise was extreme, but his welcome was hearty and cordial. He showed unfeigned joy at their marvellous reappearance. "Knowing your friendship," said Coelred, "we came here first to hear from you all that has happened in our absence, for we know nothing. We did not dare to go to our homes, fearing to find empty hearths." He then very briefly told the story of the kidnapping, said that they had had many strange adventures, but that they had sworn to each other to come home together, and that at length they had succeeded. "Our stories will keep," he added, "but our anxiety is so great that we cannot wait longer for your news." Saebald insisted upon their having supper first, and then they went out and sat round the Billinga chief on the hillside.
"You have given me a melancholy task," said the Fairfax, "for I shall cause grief and pain to each one of my young friends. No anxiety was felt until you had been missing for two days. Then search was made in every direction, and vigilant watch was kept on the rivers. The Princess Bergliot was overwhelmed with grief, and told some story about the curse of a nixy, but neither she nor the dog could guide the search farther than to the mouth of Stillingfleet beck. Guthlaf stopped every boat that passed up and down the river, hanging all the crews whose answers did not satisfy him. By this means many sea–thieves were disposed of." "But not our sea–thieves," said Porlor, "for they were all hanged by the Franks when we were landed." "At last," continued Saebald, "anxiety gave way to despair. There was mourning in many homes, for no boys were ever so beloved. My poor Forthere, your loss must be told first. Verbeia, your gentle mother, never held up her head again. She died of grief within a month." Forthere and Sivel bowed their heads to hide their tears. The eyes of the rest were full, for too surely they felt that worse was coming.
"Towards the end of the year," Saebald went on, "a great calamity befell Deira. Our King died very suddenly with suspicion of poison. Some looked askance at Coifi; for the dirge he chanted at Aldby when King Ella returned victorious from the borders of Elmet was remembered against him. Things looked even more suspicious when it was known that Coifi had taken refuge with King Ethelric of Bernicia. Ella was scarcely in his grave before news arrived that the King of Bernicia was advancing upon York with a large army, led by his two fierce sons, Ethelfrith and Theobald. Elfric, the unconquered Atheling, hastily assembled a force to oppose them. The gathering was at York. I came first with the Billingas. Seomel, Guthlaf, and Brand, with their men, were close on my heels. But there was no time to wait for more. The Heslingas were to guard the Princess and little Edwin, the hope of Deira, at Aldby. Elfric then advanced to encounter heavy odds. Battle was joined beyond the forest. We were overpowered by numbers. First the noble Guthlaf fell, like a stag at bay surrounded by the dogs. Seomel was slain while valorously warding off blows from the Atheling. Finally, Elfric himself, after dealing death around him, bowed his proud head and breathed his last. Brand and I were fighting near, and when we saw that all was lost, we drew off our men. 'Edwin must be taken out of the land or he will be murdered. The sons of Ida are merciless.' These were Brand's words as we galloped towards York. The old warrior said he would go to Aldby and secure the child, if possible inducing the Princess to come with him, while I placed relays of fresh horses outside York and at Tadcaster.
"Old Brand, as I have been told, broke the fatal news to the Princess, and urged upon her that there was no time to lose, and that she and Edwin must escape out of the country. She replied that her duty was to remain; but that she would entrust the child to her father's oldest and most faithful friend. There was no time to be lost. It was known that the Bernician army was marching rapidly on York. The Princess Alca folded the child in a tender embrace, and put it into the arms of Brand. 'Most valorous warrior,' she said, 'I entrust to your care the hope of Deira.' Her own resolution was immutable. Brand knelt and kissed the hand of the elf–maiden, then mounted his horse and galloped away. I waited with fresh horses on the Mount at York, and rode with them to Nehalennia's ford. There I bade farewell to old Brand, my beloved uncle, and swore obedience to young King Edwin, returning disconsolately to Bilbrough.
"Brave old Ingeld, with the Heslingas, remained as a guard at Aldby. But they were not molested. Ethelric advanced to York, and, as resistance was unavailing, the country submitted. We had no Atheling to lead us. Hereric was lost, his brother Osric was a child. The Bernician King was an old man. He appointed Coifi Priest of Woden, with charge of all the sacred images at Godmundham. Four years afterwards he died, and was succeeded by his son Ethelfrith the Wild—a fierce, dangerous man, hating all opposition, and often false to his plighted word. He had twice asked for Alca in marriage, but had been repulsed.
"The Princess continued to live at Aldby, with the children of Elfric, Osric and Bergliot, the Lady Volisia, and her young daughters Braga and Nanna. Worn out with grief and anxiety, Volisia died a year after the coming of the Bernicians. Month after month, year after year, passed away, and nothing more was heard of Brand and little Edwin. One day an aged British priest, named Urien, arrived at Aldby and asked for an interview with the Princess. He came owing to a solemn promise he had made to Brand when he died in Gwynedd. Urien brought up the boy after Brand's death, but one day Edwin said that he would leave Gwynedd, and go to a country where Englishmen dwelt. The boy departed, and Urien had heard nothing more of him. So the old man kept his vow, undertook the long journey to tell Alca, and then returned. The Princess remained quite confident that Edwin was safe, and all knew that she must be right.
"The last event I have to relate is the strangest of all. About a year ago King Ethelfrith again asked for Alca in marriage, and she consented on conditions. She sent for us, the surviving thegns of Deira, and said that she only lived for her country, and that she would consent to be Queen of Bernicia on condition that Ethelfrith would solemnly declare that Edwin was King of Deira, and that he only ruled until the child was old enough to assume the government. 'The King has consented,' continued the Princess, 'and is here,' Ethelfrith came into the great hall and made the declaration in our presence. He looked haggard and fierce, but cowed. Then Alca became his Queen. She has a beautiful child named Oswald. Ethelfrith is devoted to Alca, but we all think that his devotion is more like terror than love. A glance from her stills his rage, and he almost cowers in her presence. Fierce, cruel, and suspicious when he is away from the Queen, her presence at once calms and softens him. All who are under her protection are safe. It is evident that he dare not molest them. It may be her goodness and purity which effect this change, but she must also possess some power which is incomprehensible to us. Thus we his enemies, the thegns of Deira, are not molested, though we must obey the King's summons to war. And now, my boys, my sad story is told. I see that you are overwhelmed with grief, and it is best that you should all seek rest."
The lads got little sleep that night. The wounds were too fresh, the grief too acute during the first hours. They wept long and silently over their lost ones and the desolated hearths. In the morning they besought Saebald to make their plans for them. He said that he would go with Forthere and Sivel to Ulfskelf. The other four should cross the Ouse at Acaster, whence Lilla would visit his home at Hemingborough. "You must go to your homes at once," he said, "and assume your positions among your people. On the first of the next moon you shall all meet again at Stillingfleet, and thence fare onward to Bambrough, where the Queen now is. I will send a messenger in advance with the wonderful news of your arrival, to prepare her mind. The little girls, too, must not be taken quite by surprise. A great war with the Scots is threatened, so you must promptly offer your swords to King Ethelfrith."
It was so arranged. Hereric, Coelred, Porlor, and Lilla (Oswith) rode over to Stillingfleet, where Tanwin, the old and faithful servant of Seomel, had kept things in order and led the Stillingas since his master's death. He was overjoyed at the sight of them, and it was long before he could believe his eyes. Hereric and Coelred, he declared, were Elfric and Seomel over again, as he remembered them when they first bore arms. They went slowly up the hill to the deserted hall, their hearts too full for words. An aged dog was lying on a heap of ferns in the yard. "Shuprak," they cried, and the faithful old dog raised itself on its forelegs, gave a joyful bark, and fell forward. The lads burst into tears. It was the last straw. When they ran up, Shuprak was dead. Tanwin said that it had lain for months without moving, and taking little food. They made its grave on the other side of the beck, near the place where it generally ran into the forest. As they covered its remains with earth, slowly and reverently, Porlor said, "Suparaka is Yama. We will not be less worthy than Yudisthira." The lads understood each other.
Next day the Stillingas assembled and swore that Coelred and Porlor were their leaders. Each ceorl walked past his chiefs and touched their weapons in token of fealty—the ceremony of the wapentake. Sad as it all was, it was necessary to give a great feast in the old hall. Lilla wished his friends to accompany him to Hemingborough, where the same scenes were repeated. The Hemingas crowded round the son of Guthlaf, and swore that Oswith (they did not yet know him by the name of Lilla) was their leader, also performing the wapentake ceremony. They might well be proud of the splendid young warrior as he went round to each man, renewing the acquaintance of his boyhood. Again and again, both at Stillingfleet and Hemingborough, the tale of their disappearance, of the long–continued but fruitless search, of the despair of their parents, was repeated to the friends, with many details passed over by Saebald. They heard about the great battle in which their fathers fell, and were told of the numerous losses on the field, and of the sullen submission of the survivors, while curses were heaped on the head of Ethelfrith the Wild. Their homes seemed desolate without the loved faces of their dear ones and the welcome bark of old Shuprak. It was indeed a sad homecoming.
They were glad when, at the appointed time, Forthere and Sivel arrived from Ulfskelf, where they too had passed a mournful time. The gentle mother of Forthere had been killed by extremity of grief. Old Brand had died far away from home and kindred. The hearthstone was quite cold at Ulfskelf.
The six lost ones, found again, set out together from Stillingfleet and rode northwards into Bernicia. Pack–horses, with their precious bales, were in charge of old Tanwin and his son Froda, and of Ingebrand, the faithful servant of Elfric, who had now attached himself to Hereric. In three days they reached Bambrough, the capital of Bernicia. It was an almost impregnable place. The fortress rises up from a solitary rock of black basalt overlooking the sea. The building of Ethelfrith's time was constructed by his grandfather Ida in A.D. 550, on the site of a fort built by order of Agricola, and was named Bebbanburgh after his wife Bebba. The interior court was extensive, with a great hall of timber, and many rooms opening into the hall or directly upon the court. The whole had been surrounded by a quickset hedge at first, for which a stone wall was afterwards substituted.
Orders had been given for the suitable reception of the guests, and they were soon ushered into the presence of the Queen. Alca was more stately and more beautiful than when they parted from her at Aldby. Her cheering words had sunk into their hearts, and had inspired their actions, keeping alive hope when their need was greatest. Coelred and Porlor regarded her with such devoted love that no one else ever found a place in their hearts. The adoration of the others was little less profound. She embraced them all as dear brothers returned after a long absence, but with no surprise. "I knew you would return," she said, "and I know by your looks that you have returned unscathed by sin or shame. You have returned, strong and bold and full of knowledge, to serve your country in its sore need. May the All–father bless and preserve you!"
Then the girls and little Osric ran in, and after the first warm greetings, Bergliot burst into tears at the thought of the last parting with her boys. The nixy's curse had always been ringing in her ears. It would cease now. She put her small hand shyly into her dear Oswith's large one, while Braga nestled close to Hereric, and Nanna tried to divide herself between her brothers Coelred and Porlor. The rest of the day was passed very happily, and on the morrow the young warriors were to be presented to Ethelfrith at a great audience.
Ethelfrith sat in the hall, surrounded by his thegns. He scowled savagely as the young men came in and stated their names and positions, offering him their swords. But when Alca entered and looked at him with a calm searching glance, his mien changed and he welcomed them warmly enough, accepting their services with thanks. Next day Coelred sent for Bassus and Godric, who arrived at Bambrough soon afterwards.
In the following days the young men, one after the other, related all they had seen and heard to Alca in the minutest detail. They told her of their conversations at Canterbury, of their perplexities, of their proposed Gemót; and they besought her guidance and advice. The precious bales were opened before her and offered for her acceptance. There were gold ornaments of eastern workmanship, precious stones, spices, myrrh and frankincense, the small parcel of bdellium presented by the Guru, boxes of sandal–wood, fine calico and muslin, besides many bags of gold coin. She insisted upon Coelred and Porlor retaining the money, and they afterwards dug a hole by the side of Shuprak's grave, which became the "uvaru" for their treasures. Alca kept the bdellium and a few things to please her young friends, and distributed the rest among the delighted girls. Alca had had described to her the whole realm of France; the buildings and people of Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and Ujjayani; the navigation of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Red and Erythraean Seas, and the German Ocean; the habits and customs of many peoples; the religion of Christ, with Porlor's version of some heresies; and the religions of the Fire–worshippers and the Hindus; besides innumerable anecdotes and stories. In the minds of most people such an enormous mass of fresh and surprising information could not have been assimilated. It would simply have caused utter confusion. But it was not so with Alca. She told the boys that she would take a long time to think over all they had told her, and arrange everything clearly in her mind. When she had done so, she promised to take them into her counsels, to consult with them, and to let them know her thoughts. But first they must all fight bravely in the coming struggle in which their country would be engaged.
THE YOUNG WARRIORS PRESENTED TO ETHELFRITH
Ædan, the King of the Scots, was assembling an immense army with the object of invading Northumbria and destroying Ethelfrith, his forces, and his kingdom. Ethelfrith's followers were very numerous, and both he and his brother Theobald were valiant soldiers. But they were ignorant of the art of war, head–strong, and without judgment. Alca consulted privately with her young friends. It was ascertained that Ædan would advance up the valley of the Eden, intending thence to pour his forces down the western valleys and converge on York. To defeat this plan Lilla and Bassus conceived the brilliant idea of imitating the strategy of Narses in the Median Mountains. Ethelfrith was to advance down the valley of the Eden with the main body of his army, while his brother Theobald occupied the mountains and threatened the enemy's flank, but with strict orders to avoid an engagement. Lilla and Bassus were to remain with the King and direct the campaign. Coelred and Porlor were to be at the head of the troops gathered from between Ouse and Derwent. Saebald, Forthere, and Sivel were to head all the levies from the west of the Ouse. Hereric and Godric were to fight in company with the thegns and their followers from the east of Derwent. Thus all the Deirans would be with the King, as well as part of the Bernician army. The detached force of Theobald would consist wholly of Bernicians.
"But how are we to induce King Ethelfrith to adopt all these measures?" said Bassus. "Leave that to me," replied the Queen. "You and Lilla, as you have named our Oswith, are experienced men of the world. You now have to practise that forbearance for the cultivation of which you have resolved to take counsel with each other. Take care that Ethelfrith gives all the orders, and so manage as that he will think that they all originated from himself. Let him have the glory, and it will be well. It is sufficient for you to serve your country as brave and faithful warriors."
Soon afterwards there was a great assembly of chiefs in the hall of Bambrough to hear the final instructions of the King. To the astonishment of Lilla and Bassus, they heard Ethelfrith make the following speech:—"I have conceived the plan of marching down the valley of the Eden to meet the enemy in front, while my brother with a picked force of Bernicians will threaten their flank from the mountains. But it is my strict and positive order to Theobald to avoid an engagement. Lilla and Bassus are to remain near my person. The whole Deiran force will form part of my division, and I shall have my eye on their chiefs, especially on the young men who lately offered me their swords. My plan is perfect, and victory is certain if our men do their duty. Prepare to march in a few days."
Ethelfrith believed that all the arrangements were originated by himself when the army set out from Bambrough in two divisions, to fight one of the most decisive battles in the dawn of our history.