"Mary Stewart - The Arthurian Saga 02 - The Hollow Hills" - читать интересную книгу автора (Stewart Mary)

me, young cockerel. No one doubts your courage. I'm sure the King does not. Now, tell me about this
Saxon landing. Where? What happened? I've had no news from the south for over a month now."
 In a little while he answered me civilly enough. "It was in May. They landed south of Vindocladia.
There's a deep bay there, they call it Potters' Bay. I forget its real name. Well, it's outside federated
territory, in Dumnonia, and that was against all the agreements the Federates made. You would know
that."

I nodded. It is hard to remember now, looking back down the years to the time I write of, Uther's time,
that today men hardly remember even the name of Federate. The first of the Federated Saxons were the
followers of Hengist and Horsa, who had been called in by King Vortigern as mercenary help to establish
him on his stolen throne. When the fighting was done, and the rightful princes Ambrosius and Uther had
fled toBrittany , the usurper Vortigern would have dismissed his Saxon mercenaries; but they refused to
withdraw, demanding territory where they could settle, and promising, as federated settlers, to fight as
Vortigern's allies. So, partly because he dared not refuse them, partly because he foresaw that he might
need them again, Vortigern gave them the coastal stretches in the south, from Rutupiae to Vindocladia тАФ
the stretch that was called the Saxon Shore. In the days of the Romans it had been so called because the
main Saxon landings had been there; by Uther's time the name had taken on a direr and truer significance.
On a clear day you could see the Saxon smoke from London Wall.

It had been from this secured base, and from similar enclaves in the north-east, that the new attacks had
come when my father was King. He had killed Hengist and his brother, and had driven the invaders
back, some northwards into the wild lands beyondHadrian's Wall , and others behind their old
boundaries, where once again тАФ but this time forcibly тАФ they had been bound by treaty. But a treaty
with a Saxon is like writing in water: Ambrosius, not trusting to the prescribed boundaries, had thrown up
a wall to protect the rich lands which marched with theSaxonShore . Until his death the treaty тАФ or the
Wall тАФ had held them, nor had they openly joined in the attacks led by Hengist's son Octa and Eosa his
kinsman in the early days of Uther's reign; but they were uneasy neighbours: they provided a beach-head
for any wandering longships, and the Saxon Shore grew crowded and still more crowded, till even
Ambrosius' Wall looked frail protection. And everywhere along the eastern shores raiders came in from
theGermanSea , some to burn and rape and sail again, others to burn and rape and stay, buying or
extorting new territory from the local kings.

Such an attack, now, Raff was describing to me.

"Well, of course the Federates broke the agreement. A new war-band тАФ thirty ships it was тАФ landed in
Potters' Bay, well west of the boundary, and the Federates welcomed them and came out in force to help
them. They established a beach-head near the river's mouth and started to push up towards Vindocladia.
I think if they had once got to Badon Hill тАФ what is it?"

He broke off, staring at me. There was amazement in his face, and a touch of fear.

"Nothing," I said. "I thought I heard something outside, but it's only the wind."

He said slowly: "You looked for a moment the way you did that night at Tintagel, when you said the air
was full of magic. Your eyes went strange, all black and blurred, as if you were seeing something, out
there beyond the fire." He hesitated. "Was it prophecy?"

"No. I saw nothing. All I heard was a sound like horses galloping. It was only the wild geese going over
in the wind. If it was prophecy, it will come again. Go on. You were speaking of Badon Hill."