Stephen Lawhead - The Paradise War

Above the ecstatic tumult, I heard Tegid's voice, strong and clear, lifted in song. And the song he was singing was the Song of Albion. The words poured forth from his heart, igniting the hearts around him like sparks from a kindling torch. And soon the Song was re-echoing from the mountaintops round about.

«Listen!» I cried, turning to the king beside me. «The Song of Albion is restored!»

But the king did not answer. His head was bent and his eyes were closed; tears ran down his cheeks and his shoulders heaved with the sobs breaking soundlessly from his throat. Amidst the great jubilation of victory, King Meidryn Mawr stood and wept.

The gates of Findargad were thrown open wide, and everyone-men and warriors, women, and children, dancing in their joy and rapture-streamed out to prove beyond all doubt that Lord Nudd and the Demon Host of the Coranyid were gone. The enemy had indeed been driven back into the nether realms of the underworld, leaving only the filthy snow behind-and that was rapidly melting under the bright-kindled sun. Gone, too, was the oppressive stink and stench, banished by Gyd's fresh winds. The Llwyddi rushed here and there beneath the wall, and the scattered fragments of the song-laden stones were gathered by hundreds of eager, happy hands.

Tegid continued to dance along the walltop to where I was standing with the king. «The enemy is defeated! Your kingdom is free of their defilement. Will you put aside your geas and speak to your people now, Great King?» he asked.

But the king raised his tear-stained face, and beckoned his bard close. Tegid inclined his ear to the king's mouth, whereupon the bard raised his hands and called out to all gathered on the wall and below it. «People of Prydaini» he cried. «Hear the words of your king: This day is our enemy defeated. This night we will celebrate the victory in the king's hail. Three days we will feast and take our rest; but, on the fourth day, we will leave this place and return to our homes in the lowlands.»

Then the king left the wall and returned to his chambers. I watched as he walked alone across the yard. Prince Meidron and Paladyr approached him as he neared the entrance to the hail. The king stopped and turned stiffly to meet them. The three stood together for a moment. I could not hear what was said, but I saw Prince Meidron make a quick, violent gesture towards the open gate. The king stared at his son for a moment, then turned away without reply and proceeded to the hail. The prince and Paladyr then hastened away; they passed from my sight beneath the wall and I did not see them any more.

The preparations for the feast continued all through the day. The sun remained bright and the clouds disappeared, and we began to believe that Gyd, the fairest of seasons, had at last returned to Prydain. After bleak Sollen's endless reign, we had feared the world would never more enjoy the bounty of the sun. Accordingly, we revelled in the warmth as we went about our chores.

I searched for Simon-Siawn Hy-both inside and outside the wall, but could not find him in the general bustle to make ready the celebration. All too soon the sunlight faded to dusk, and the chill of night returned. It was with great reluctance that we kindled the torches in Findargad's hail at dusk, even though it meant that the feast could begin. As I stood in the throng outside the hail, waiting to enter, I thought I saw Siawn standing among the warriors of the prince's Wolf Pack. But, by the time I had worked my way over to the place, they had gone inside and I lost him again.

Sweet mead shone rich and golden in the countless cups that circled the king's hail. The hearthfire leapt high and the torches and rushlights burned bright, and we drank to victory and the vanquishing of foes, in the shimmering firelight. Everyone-warriors and men, maidens and wives, children and babes-everyone joined in the celebration. We ate and drank and sang. How we sang! The night was transformed into a beautiful praise song, a glittering gem of gladness and thanksgiving to the Swift Sure Hand for our deliverance.

And when we had eaten and drunk enough to make us merry, and sung the songs of liberation, Tegid called for the king's throne to be brought into the hail. A number of warriors hastened to the king's chamber, took up the throne and carried it on their shoulders into the ball. Whereupon the king, looking more like the Meldryn Mawr I had first encountered-all glittering and golden in his fmery-with little evidence of his recent illness, took his place at the head of his hail, and, with wide sweeps of his arms, motioned for all the people to gather and draw near.

Because of his vow, the king did not speak outright, but directed the gathering through the voice of his bard. Tegid relayed the king's words, saying, «Tonight, while the light of life burns in us, it is right to sing and dance our delight in the victory we have been granted. But let us pause to remember our kinsmen who lost their lives to Nudd.»

At this, Tegid began to sing a lament for the dead. It was a well-known lament, and he was not more than a few words into the song when everyone in the hall joined in. I did not know the song, but it was beautiful as it was sorrowful, and heartbreakingly sad. I could not have sung; just to hear it, my eyes filled with tears and my throat swelled so that I could hardly breathe.

Others wept too, their eyes shining with tears in the torchlight as they sang. When the song was fmished, silence filled the hail. The last notes lingered long in the empty places. After a time, the king leaned again to his Chief of Song, and Tegid said, «We have remembered the honorable dead as it is right to do. Now, let us pay homage to the living who have earned the hero's portion with their feats of courage and valor.»

To my amazement, the first name called was my own. «Llyd, come to the throne.»

A way opened before me through the crowd, and I stepped forward hesitantly. I was aware, once again, of the stares my appearance provoked, and the hushed exdamations of astonishment. But why? Had I changed so much? The king beckoned me to stand before him; whereupon he removed a gold ring from his fmger and held it out to me. I reached out to take it and he grasped me by the wrist, and turned me to face the crowd.

«You, above all men, are to be honored this night,» Tegid said, speaking loudly so that he could be heard by all. «At great danger and sacrifice, you brought the enchanted stones from their hiding place and conceived the plan by which they might be used to defeat our enemy. Without the stones we could never have prevailed against Nudd and his demon brood of Coranyid. Therefore, receive the gratitude of your king.»

The Great King stood and, still holding my wrist, raised my hand high before the close-gathered throng. Taking the ring, he slipped it onto my finger. I saw torchlight glinting in a thousand watching eyes and heard the undercurrent of amazement buzzing through the ball. Again I felt the eerie and unaccountable sensation that people were awed by my appearance.

I had no time to wonder over this. Tegid lifted his hands, palms outward in declamation, and loudly proclaimed, «Let it be known that your king has set a high value upon your skill and courage. From this night you are champion to the king. In recognition of this honor, henceforth are you named Llew. Let all men greet you thus from this time forth: Hail, Llew, Champion to the King!»

«Liew! LIew!» the people cried in fervent reply. Indeed, they seemed eager to respond. «Hail, Llew! King's Champion!» Their voices filled the hail from hearthstone to rooftree, and I trembled inside myself: Llew, the name of Albion's savior, was now my name. What the Banflith had predicted was coming to pass.