Night Birds' Reign(149)

Longing, Longing, back, back! Do not weigh on me so heavily;

Move over a little to the bedside and let me sleep a while.

“She did love him so,” Amatheon agreed. “And missed him sorely.”

“And he loved her,” Gwydion proffered softly. “For he was the Dreamer and he knew he would die at that battle, but did not tell her so.”

“Do all Dreamer’s know the time of their death?” Angharad asked.

“It is not given to all to see. Some do,” Gwydion replied.

“Do you?” Rhiannon asked.

“No,” Gwydion said. “At least, not yet. Were you hoping to hear differently?”

“No,” Rhiannon said, flinching at the question. “I was not.”

Obviously startled by her reaction, Gwydion began to step forward, perhaps to comfort her, perhaps to apologize. But whatever he had meant to do, he thought better of it, and subsided.

As he often did, Amatheon stepped into the breach that Gwydion and Rhiannon’s enmity had created. “Llyr composed a poem about that, as I recall.”

“I know that one,” Cai said unexpectedly. “He wrote:

I’m helpless now,

And if they call me home

I cannot answer;

For the black, cold, bare, dank earth

Covers my face.

“He left that at Caer Dathyl and she found it after she returned alone,” Cai went on. “She stayed in Caer Dathyl only long enough to bury him, I believe. She gave the governance of the Dewin over to her daughter, for she would be Ardewin no more.”

“And then she went to Arberth, to rule for her grandson, Pwyll, Pryderi’s son, until he came of age,” Rhiannon submitted.

“And then she returned to Caer Dathyl, and died there,” Amatheon finished. “Twenty eight years after Llyr’s death.” He put his arm around Angharad’s waist, holding her to his side as he gazed down at the barrow. “A long time indeed to live without your love.” Angharad smiled sadly and briefly laid her fiery head on Amatheon’s shoulder.

“Tell us of the battle,” Trystan said to Gwydion.

Gwydion, whose head had been bowed in thought since Rhiannon’s last comment, straightened up and began to speak. “At that time the Great Ones of High King Idris were these: Llyr the First Dreamer and his wife, Penduran, the First Ardewin; their son, Llywarch, the Second Master Bard; and Govannon, the First Archdruid. Govannon, who was a very clever geneticist, had determined what proper matings were necessary in order to produce the next generation of Rulers and Y Dawnus. Therefore Annon, the daughter of Llyr and Penduran, was sent to Arberth, to mate with King Pryderi. She did so and the couple produced a son, Pwyll. Annon left Arberth soon thereafter, returning to Caer Dathyl.

“But Pryderi was enraged that she had gone from him. For he had fallen in love with her. He rode to Caer Dathyl and begged and pleaded with Annon to return to him. But she refused him, as kindly and gently as she could. But she would not be swayed, for her heart belonged to Trinio, the son of Math, and they were soon to be married. At Llyr’s insistence Pryderi finally left Caer Dathyl, but not before promising that he would get Annon back, one way or another.

“Pryderi went to his father, High King Idris, and poured out his heart. He begged his father to order Annon back to him, but Idris refused. Pryderi left Cadair Idris in a rage. His mother, High Queen Elen, journeyed to Arberth a few weeks later, hoping to help her son come to terms with what must be. But Pryderi was adamant. Annon would be returned to him or he would march on Caer Dathyl and take her by force. Sorrowfully, Elen returned to Cadair Idris, unable to sway her son from his destructive course.

“Pryderi attempted to find support among his brothers and his sister, the other Rulers of Kymru. But they, too, refused to further his aims. Then Pryderi sent for his uncle, Connan, Idris’s younger brother. Now Connan had been jealous of Idris for many years, and he coveted his sister-through-marriage for himself. It was an easy matter for Pryderi to convince Connan that the High Kingship should be his. How Pryderi stomached Connan’s plans for High Queen Elen was something no one ever knew.

“Even then it might have stopped there, but for Gilfaethwy. Gilfaethwy, Penduran’s younger brother, had been in hiding for many years, ever since he had raped Goewin, High Queen Elen’s sister. Gilfaethwy, ripe for anything that would turn the tables on Llyr and Idris, convinced the men to seriously challenge Idris’s rule.

“And this they did. Pryderi, Connan, and Gilfaethwy marched on Cadair Idris, though Pryderi hid his true purpose, saying only that he was coming to his father for aid, and ensuring that Connan and Gilfaethwy were well concealed. He surprised his parents at Cadair Idris and even succeeded in driving them from the mountain for a short time.”