Charles R. "Chuck" Dowling

The Place is Britain . The period is the Dark Ages. The Saxons and Angles have been pushing onto the island for a number of years brutally driving the Britons from their homes and taking their land.

For the Britons, the threat from the invading Germanic tribes is far greater than first thought, and they are ill prepared to stem the tide. Still, they must do something before the situation becomes irretrievable. The brutal death of Arthur's uncle, Ambrosius Aurelianus, and the serious wounding of Arthur's father, Uther, both of whom had been fighting the invaders in a holding action, is the spur that is needed.

Nennius, a monk writing in the eighth century, relates in his History of the Britons , that Arthur fought twelve recorded battles against the Saxons. The Time of the Eagle tells us about those battles, when the sixteen year old Arthur, calling upon the lessons of Alexander, Caesar, Hannibal and his ancestor Constantine the Great, embarks upon a year long campaign to defeat his enemies. Merlin, the former Druid now turned Christian, and the grizzled veteran soldier Ector, guide the young Arthur and his Lieutenants, Kay Bedwyr, Tristan, Gawain and Lancelot as they take the fight to the enemy, an enemy that brings vastly overwhelming numbers to the fray. The young warlord employs every tool at his disposal including, a winter campaign,speedy cavalry, heavy cavalry, hit a run tactics, night attacks, shield walls and more. During this time he fights not only against Angles and Saxons and Danes, but against their allies, blue painted Picts and the Irish pirates.

Along the way, the still recovering Uther is assassinated, adding further to Arthur's burden.

Merlin, now in his middle years finds love with Brigit, an orphaned waif, not much older than Arthur. Brigit becomes essential to Arthur's forces when she develops teams of small women and men riding small ponies, who operate as fast moving spies and elusive messengers for Arthur's army. Guinevere, the daughter of a deposed King, becomes Arthur's conscience and the soft place for him to take refuge as the battles become more and more difficult.

Not only must Arthur fight the battles, but it also falls to him to negotiate with the large numbers of British clans that live in the western mountains. The fractious clans, led by self serving Druids, who still practice human sacrifice, ignore the threat of the common enemy. Old hurts and jealousies linger. They do not wish to join with him and his clan, the Pendragons. Arthur and his followers are too romanized; too ready to accept the ways of their former oppressors. The centuries-old Druids hold is strong.

Finally, in a monumental three day battle near Mount Badon in central Britain , where, thanks to Arthur's earlier preemptive campaigns and the last minute appearance of the mountain tribes, they crush the overwhelming hordes of Saxons so decisively that a forty year peace ensues; a time known as Pax Artorius (Arthur's Peace).

Arthur, Dux Bellorum (War Chief) of the united tribes, is finally crowned the first High King of the British people.

It has been about The Time of the Eagle . What comes next is The Time of the King.

Merlin has asked me to keep a record of what had gone on, and so I will, but I don't know if I am up to it or not. Now that Aurelianus has been brutally murdered and Arthur has to step forward, the time ahead looks so grim, so undecided.

My name is Dubricious. I am a priest. Although not British, I have been here so long and become so involved in the fortunes of the Pendragons, that I have almost forgotten that Ireland was the land of my birth.

I came to Albion as young man and I was there when Uther and Ygraine were married. I was also there in that hideous castle on the western sea when Arthur was born. I made sure he was marked with the sign of the Pendragons. I will vouch that he is the son of Uther and Ygraine, although I wish they had waited until, Ygraine's husband Gorlois was dead before they embarked on their, uh, affair.

I taught Arthur his lessons, along with Kay, Ector's son. Ector had been Uther's right-hand man for many years. We were keeping Arthur in hiding at the time. Arthur and Kay were the same age and except for their hair coloring they looked a lot alike. Arthur's hair is golden. Kay's is brown. They both were big for their age, Arthur I think was a little taller, but Kay a little broader. From a distance though, it was hard to tell them apart. People thought of them as twins sometimes.

It was easy to see what Arthur's destiny was to be. He had been the selected one. He was the son of a King and a Queen. His job would be to unite the fractious British tribes into a united entity so they could repel the common enemy. This was not an easy task, nor would it be in the future. There are deep seated divisions among the Celtic peoples.

The four hundred years that the Romans ruled Britannica as they called it—we called it Albion —there were those who adopted Roman ways and those that didn't. The Pendragons were among those that moved ahead in their development and became romanized. But a goodly number of the remainder stuck with the old ways. In numbers, it was about an even division. Most of those in the western mountains remained as they had for centuries. Those in the central and eastern parts took on the new ways.

If anyone looked at the situation without bias, they couldn't help but know that unity was the right path. But mistrust and long held negative memories clouded reason for some.

And who is this common enemy? They are the invading heathens from the continent and the cold countries from the north, the Saxons and the Angles. And how did they get here?

This is all history, but I'm sure Merlin would want me to report on it too.

The Cymru, the name the British call themselves, made a mistake. I'm sure they have rued the day their leaders asked Hengest and his band of Saxon pirates to help in their fight against the ferocious Picts from the north. They invited them here, I mean the Saxons and they never left; in fact they bred and multiplied themselves and then brought in others too. Worst of all, they massacred three hundred of the British leaders at a meeting that became known as The Night of the Long Knives , setting the British back many years. Now there are more of them than us and we are at a war of annihilation with them. This all happened before Arthur's time.

The Pendragon clan leader is Old Ambrosius or Ambrosius the Elder. He lives in Amorica, or Brittany as we call it. That's on the continent, in Gaul . The family calls him Old Da. He led the fight for many years in the past. He's too old and crippled for that now, but he has been instrumental in Arthur's training.

He lives with King Ban and his sons Bors and Lancelot.

Uther and Ambroisius Aurelianus—yes I now the names are confusing—Da's two sons, have been doing the fighting. Actually they have been conducting a “holding action” as Aurelianus called it, buying time to build up their forces and for Arthur to grow and hopefully unite the others.

Aurelianus had been doing most of the “holding” in the south and east. Uther had been fighting in the north against the emboldened Picts and, lately the opportunistic Irish. But now he was recovering from some serious injuries he recently sustained in those battles.

Not too long ago, Uther's older son, Medraught joined the battle as Aurelianus's second in command. Uther had a daughter too, Morgan, a churlish sort. She is married, quite reluctantly I understand, to Lot , King of Orkney, a much older man. Lot 's has four sons by his first wife. Their names are Gawain, Gaheris, Gareth and Agrivane. They joined our efforts in fighting the heathen along the way,

Morgan and Medraught were born to Morag, Uther's first wife who died a few years ago.

Oh, I hope this all isn't too boring for the reader, but I must be thorough, and the record must show who the players are. There are many more “dramatis personae” in this production and we need to know at least a little about them all. Let me begin with Bedwyr.

Bedwyr joined us a few years ago, and along with Kay became one of Arthur's most talented and trusted leaders. He is an imposing figure, especially when astride his magnificent roan horse. He has a gnarled hand, which he received in the Brocelinde Forest in Brittany , the night Arthur killed the bear. The bear had clamped onto Bedwyr's arm before Arthur got to him. True to his character however, he turned the injury into a weapon. He is able to hold the reins and wield a sword better now than before. I wish he were a little more Christian however. He seems to have a devil's streak in him when it comes to the ladies.

Sweet Guinevere, daughter of a King without a Kingdom, Leodegrance, has become, along with myself, Arthur's conscience and balancing influence. Guinevere, little more than a teenager herself—I remembered her when she was all giggles and curls—will be the perfect consort for Arthur when the time comes for Arthur to wed. Leodegrance's situation reflects some of the problems we have with the invaders. He was the ruler of the Canti people in southeastern Albion . Now his people are gone, wiped out. They stood in the way of the Saxon march. Except for himself, Guinevere and a few retainers, I believe there are no more.

And Brigit. What do I say about Brigit?

Brigit, small, pretty, intelligent and precocious, she is like a forest nymph that has taken human form. Merlin, who is known as Myrddin in Celtic lands, and Arthur and Kay found her in the woods where her protector had been killed. She has joined our little band and with her questioning mind and winsome ways, she has brought supreme joy to us all. She and Myrddin have become extremely close although there are many years between them. He calls her Little One. Right now she commands Arthur's messengers, “The Flyers.”

Oh yes, the Flyers. Brigit came up with this great idea. She would develop a band of small riders, riding small ponies to deliver messages from unit to unit in time of war. She used small women, like herself, and diminutive men to be her riders. Most would be teenagers. When Arthur came back from his great adventure in the Brocelinde Forest he brought back a number of small ponies. Brigit adopted them for her people's mounts. Over the last year or so she has been establishing way stations for them all over Albion ; the idea being to ride hard from station to station, change ponies and continue on. The speed in delivering news from one end of the island to the other was astonishing.

Bedwyr tells me that I have to record that Arthur was left handed. I'm not sure why; he mumbles something about this gives him an advantage sometimes in fighting or something. Also some warriors are superstitious and they are afraid to fight left handed people. The Goths call him Linksmeister, which means Left handed. Even in Latin the word for left handed is sinister. I try not to think about things like this, superstition being the work of Satan, but I guess it can be important to a warrior.

I have just read back through what I have written and it occurs to me that I have said little about Myrddin. Let me correct that now.

Besides Arthur, he is the most important player in this whole history. Myrddin, or Merlin if you prefer, was born and raised as a Druid. Early in life, he fell under the influence of Saint Patrick and he became a Christian. Now he blends the best of both worlds.

He is an extremely educated man and he has traveled the world, including visits to the lands where Jesus walked and the lands where the Greek scholars wrote. He has knowledge people don't understand. Some say he is a wizard. I think not. I just think he is terribly smart.

He grew up with Uther and Aurelianus, and although not a blood relative, he is the unquestioned brains of the Pendragon clan, as well as the person providing their moral direction. He is also Arthur's mentor. I consider him my mentor too, and my best friend.

I guess I would be remiss, if I didn't at least mention the name of the Saxon and Angle leaders too. As loathsome as they are, they are part of the history no matter how distasteful.

Aesc, or Oisc as some people call him, the leader of the Angles, had been nothing but a pirate until landing in Albion . Now he leads thousands of barbarians in their marauding ways. Aelle was the Saxon leader in Albion , the largest contingent of Germanic invaders and Cerdic was the leader of the Jutes.

Where all these places are, I haven't the slightest idea. I just know that they come mostly from cold lands and that they are pagans. They raid and kill and rape women. They take young people as slaves and sell them. They are murderous people. How can Our Lord allow people like that to exist? Sometimes my faith is tested.

I try to see some good in them. Jesus told us there is some good in all, we are all made in the image and likeness of God, but I have to say, I haven't found God in these people.

There. That's done. Ugh.

I guess that catches us up.

Well, why did Myrddin ask me to start this journal?

Because, we're moving from one time to another.

We are moving from the time of the Raven, Myrddin's time; the time of treachery and preparation, to the time of the Eagle, Arthur's time, and, God willing, the time of resolution.

I have noted as I read and studied, that often in history it is difficult to tell what event is the seminal event that sends a people from one path to another, but that is not the case with Arthur and the Pendragons. The telling incident for them and British people to begin their task was The Night of the Long Knives .

The telling incident now for Arthur was the death of Aurelianus.

It was not just a death per se. If he had died as the warrior he was, sword in hand, slaying enemies perhaps the situation would have been different. But … in the words recorded by Myrddin: