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1、Flight of the HawkThe Second Book in the Storyteller Series G R GroveLPublished by LLulu Press, Inc.Morrisville, NC, USACopyright 2007 by G R Grove. All rights reserved.First Edition: November 2007ISBN: 978-1-4303-2851-3Set in 12 and 18 point Garamond and 10 point Arial by Aldertree Books, Denver, C
2、olorado, USA.Front cover image based on a design by Urweg jewelers (), Salida, Colorado, USA.For further information about the Storyteller series, see or CONTENTS Prologue: The Storyteller : 1The Hawk : 2The Road North : 10The King in the Ground : 20In the High Hills : 29Blood and Fire : 38Tristfard
3、d : 45The Court of Urien Rheged : 54Goddeu : 63The Old Man of the Forest : 70The Irishmans House : 78Mist on the Water : 92The Rock of Alt Clut : 104Tree of Thorns : 114The Green Branch : 122Gold and Steel and Silver : 131Galanas : 142The Earth-House : 151The Eagles Path : 163The Contention of the B
4、ards : 175The Kings Sisters Wedding : 187The Road South : 195Trimontium : 203The Long Straight Track : 213Mixed Blood : 226Bleiddigs Hunting : 236The Gates of Annwn : 248The Might-Have-Been : 262The Wind in His Wings : 271Authors Postscript : 275Appendices : 277 Map of Britain in the mid-6th century
5、.Prologue: The StorytellerBlood and fire, gold and steel and poetry, a rivers voice in the silence of the night, and the shining strings of a harpall these and more I have known in my time. Steep mountains, dark forests, and the endless song of the rain; music and laughter and feasting in the fire-b
6、right halls of kings; a dusty road, and a fast horse, and a good friend beside me; and the sweet taste of the mead of Dun Eidyn, with its bitter aftermath: a dragons hoard of memories I have gathered, bright-colored as a long summers day. Now they are all gone, the men and women I knew when I was yo
7、ung, gone like words on the wind, and I alone am left here in the twilight to tell you their tale. Sit, then, and listen if you will to the words of Gwernin Kyuarwyd, called StorytellerAnother Samhain night, another audience. I have never been one to promise what I cannot perform. It was with the wo
8、rds above that I started this tale of my adventures on Samhain night a year ago, and those of you who were with me then got full measure, as I think, and a little over, in my first tellingtales of how in my youth I left my home to be a traveling storyteller, and how I met the great bard Taliesin him
9、self, who had sung for King Arthur, and was sent by him to his own old master Talhaearn to learn the essentials of the bards craft. So it was that I came to winter among strangers that year at the Prince Cyndrwyns court of Llys-tyn-wynnan in the hills of western Powys, instead of going home to my ow
10、n people in Pengwern as I had planned. But by the time the wild geese flighting up from the south brought the spring north with them again, many of Cyndrwyns folk were no longer strangers to me, nor I to them. Indeed, I was feeling very much at home there, and beginning to put down rootsnot somethin
11、g that a bard should ever do!when fate, in the form of Taliesin, took a hand in my affairs once more, and sent me off a-wandering again. And that is the story I will be telling you tonight.The HawkIt began on a bright spring evening two days before Beltane. The birds were singing passionately in the
12、 new-leafed trees; the cattle were lowing in the green fields outside the court; and I and my girl Rhiannedd were seated on a rough wooden bench close by Cyndrwyns mead-hall, passing some moments pleasantly enough until it was time to go inside for dinner. I had my arm around her slender waist, and
13、was just about to kiss her, when we were interrupted by the sound of approaching horses.Into the muddy courtyard there rode three men, and two of them, to my astonishment, were familiar to me. The slight, dark man in the lead, Taliesin Ben Beirdd himself, I would know, I think, at the worlds endalwa
14、ys supposing that he himself wished it!and his apprentice Neirin mab Dwyweis dark red hair and lean build were hard to disguise by any light. The third man, a fair-haired youth who rode behind them and led their packhorses, was a stranger to me.With a startled word to Rhiannedd, I leapt up and ran t
15、o meet them. “Taliesin! Neirin! By all the gods, what brings you here?” Then there was confusion and shouting in the courtyard as others ran to greet them or to hold their horses, to carry word to the Prince and make ready his hospitality, or merely to participate in the excitement. In the midst of
16、it all, I found myself face to face with Taliesin himself. “Gwernin!” he said smiling, and reaching out he took me by the shoulders and looked me up and down, his blue eyes sparkling in his dark-bearded face. “Yes, I was right. Being with Talhaearn suits you, I think. And you have grown.”It was true
17、: I had grown a fingers breadth over the winter, and was now as tall as he. It seemed very strange, but I had no time to ponder it, for Taliesin had released me to Neirin, who stood beside me grinning, and had turned to greet the Prince and my master Talhaearn. I did not see what passed between them
18、, for Neirin had flung an arm around my shoulders, and was introducing his companion. “Gwernin, this is Pedr mab Rhys, from Dyfed. He is wanting to learn the harp, and Taliesin has brought him along to take your place while you are gone.”“Gone?” I cried. “Where am I going?”Neirin laughed. “To the No
19、rth with me, I hope! But only for the summer! Na, na, but I should have let him tell you the story himselfno doubt but that I have spoiled it.”“Now that you have begun, go on!” I said. “But first let us take your horses to the stables, and you can tell me as we go. Besides, there will be less of a c
20、rowd there while they are all gathered around our masters, and we shall have more chance to speak!”“How was your winter?” Neirin asked as we walked. He too had grown over the winter, I thought, though not as much as I; but then he had been the taller already.“Good,” I said, and thinking back I smile
21、d. “Most of it, at any rate! And yours?”“Good indeed. Your town of Pengwern where we wintered is a most fair place, and her Prince very generous. He loaded Taliesin with treasures, and could hardly be persuaded to spare him for a few days to make this trip. Indeed, I thought at one point I would hav
22、e to come alone to make my request, and glad I am that I did notTalhaearn would have made short work of me! How do you get on with him now?”“Very well, nowadays,” I said with a laugh. “He is no easy master, I can tell you, but he has taught me muchif only to know how little I really knew!”“That is t
23、he first lesson,” said Neirin seriously, “and the hardest. I mind me well when I first came to Taliesin: hai mai, I was full of myself! But he soon showed me the error of my thinking.” And he chuckled reminiscently.Cyndrwyns chief groom was waiting at the stables with boys to take the horses, so Nei
24、rin and I loaded ourselves with harps and saddlebags and went out again, leaving Pedr behind to deal with the gear on the pack-ponies. “I do not know where they will be putting you,” I said, “but come to our hut first and leave your gear. Then we can talk properly, and I can introduce you to Rhianne
25、dd.”“Oho!” said Neirin, his amber eyes shining. “This has the sound of news! Should I remember her?” He and Taliesin had spent some days at Llys-tyn-wynnan the previous autumn when I was new there; that was how we first became friends.“I do not know,” I said, shouldering aside the leather door-curta
26、in and beginning to set down my load on the stone-flagged floor. “You will have seen her, I know, but there are others more memorable at first glance. I will let you decide.”Neirin grinned. “A good winter indeed, I think you must have had! Though I was not lonely in Pengwern myself. Where now?”“The
27、hall: I want to see what is passing between our masters. And you still have not told me about this trip we may be making, or about Pedr. He had little enough to say for himself.”“I doubt we gave him a proper chance,” said Neirin, falling into step beside me. “He is here because Taliesin wants to bor
28、row you from Talhaearn to be my companion on a mission, and feels that he should provide the old man with a substitute while you are gone. Their discussion, I think, should be well worth the hearing!”“I hope we are in time,” I said, and laughed.We found Taliesin still talking to the Prince, while Ta
29、lhaearn stood by with an expression on his craggy face that spoke to me of gathering storm. “Ah, Gwernin!” said Cyndrwyn as we came up. “I have been offering Taliesin the guest lodgings across the courtyard from yours for himself and his party. Would you take them there?”“Gladly,” I said, keeping a
30、weather eye on Talhaearn. “Neirin and I have just been stowing some of their baggage in our own hut, so”“Let us all go and get it, then,” said Taliesin, “and you can be our guide, Gwernin. Prince, we will talk more at meat, if it please you. Talhaearn, give me your company now, please.” And he swept
31、 us off with a hand on blind Talhaearns arm, gesturing to myself and Neirin to go ahead as he did so. “So here you are again, and unexpectedly as ever,” I heard Talhaearn say behind us. “What are you playing at this time, Gwion?”“A diplomatic mission, as I said: can you doubt it?” I could hear the l
32、aughter in Taliesins voice, and Talhaearns snort in response. “Na, na, Father of Awen, we will talk of it soon enough, and I hope you will not be displeased. Wait you only until we are indoors and private.”“As you please, as you please,” said Talhaearn, and was silent until we reached our lodging. A
33、s Neirin and I were leaving with the baggage, I heard him say, “What news from Rheged?” But the curtain closed and I lost Taliesins answer.“Phew!” said Neirin as we crossed the court again. “We are well out of that, I am thinking! Ho! Pedr! This way!”waving to his companion, who was standing irresol
34、ute and burdened at the entrance to the stable-yard. As he came up I saw that he was Neirins age or a little older, a well-grown handsome young man, with the golden hair and blue eyes you often see on the Saxons, and sometimes on the Irish as well. His voice when he spoke sounded pleasantly of the s
35、outhwest. “I thought I would never find you,” he said. “This place is like a maze!”Neirin chuckled. “You would not say that when you had seen Deva, or any of the old Roman towns.”“I have seen Caerwent,” said Pedr, “but that is mostly straight lines. This is different.”“Did you pass through Caerllion
36、 on your way?” I asked. I had been that way myself a year before, at the start of my adventures.“Let me think: no, we went by Severn-mouth, and up through Glevum: another Roman town, and bigger than Caerwent, but fewer people in it. A place of the dead; I did not like it.”“Well, well,” said Neirin p
37、eaceably, as we entered the guest lodging. “That is as it may be. Put the packs down over there, and let us sort things out.”At this point a kitchen boy arrived with a flask of wine and three cups on a tray, saying, “Cyndrwyn sends it for the bards.” “I will take it to them,” I said, and the boy gri
38、nned and left. Pedr made to reach for one of the cups, but I pulled the tray back in surprise. “Pedr, I meant what I said.”Pedr frowned briefly. “My apologies,” he said. I looked at him for a moment longer, my brows raised, and he continued unwillingly, “I thought you meant for us to share it oursel
39、ves; we are bards, too.”“Speak for yourself,” I said reprovingly. “I am Gwernin Storyteller, and I serve Talhaearn.” And turning, I went out of the room with the tray. Behind me I heard Neirins voice speaking to Pedr; the words were muffled, but the tone was not kind.At the door of my own lodging I
40、paused, hearing the rumble of Talhaearns voice within. But I had been in this position before; balancing the tray one-handed, I tapped on the door-post and went in. “Wine from the Prince, masters,” I said; and setting the tray down on a low table, I filled a cup with the strong red wine and took it
41、to Talhaearn. His color was high, and he was frowning, his bushy white brows almost meeting in the middle, but he took the cup readily from my hand and drank. I turned back to do as much for Taliesin, but he was already helping himself. Before drinking he poured a few drops, neatly and deliberately,
42、 onto the floor in libation. Looking up he caught my eye and smiled. “No, Gwernin, not about you this time,” he said. “Though that will come soon enough, no doubt. Has Neirin told you my plan?”“Part of it, Lord,” I said, and looked at Talhaearn. “Master? Do you know?”“Not yet,” said Talhaearn. “He h
43、as only told me that the North is a tinderbox, about to burst into flame, and the Saxons are stirring again in the east, and Cynan Garwyn is doing his best to foment war in the south and west: nothing of great moment, you perceive. Why, what is it that he has yet reserved? Something to do with you,
44、Gwernin, I feel.” He did not add, “as usual,” but I felt it in the air.I turned back to Taliesin. “Will you tell him, Lord? It will come more completely from you.”“Gwernin,” said Taliesin lightly, “are you trying to force my hand? Well, then,” and he turned to Talhaearn, “it is true I have come to a
45、sk you a favor, Iron Brow, though I would have preferred to choose my own time for the asking. The North being, as I have said, a tinderbox, I am sending Neirin up there this summer to gauge the accuracy of my news and do what he can to soothe things down in his own home country, while I do my best
46、to restrain Cynan. And as he is still young, and only one man, I thought to give him company on this trip by borrowing Gwernin from you for a few months. I have brought a young man with me to serve you while he is gone, Pedr mab Rhys by name, who says he wishes to learn the harp and the other arts o
47、f the bard. I think”and here he grinned unexpectedly“that you will soon get his measure. Treat him as you will, Father of Awen: perhaps he will last out the summer!”At that Talhaearn smiled grimly in his gray beard. “Well, we will see,” he said, and then to me: “Gwernin? What do you think of this? A
48、re you ready so soon to leave me?”At that I went down on my knees beside his chair. “Master,” I said, “you know I am not. I admit that the adventure tempts me, but it is for you to decide, yea or nay. I will do as you desire.”Talhaearns expression softened a little. “Well, well,” he said, “you are very docile. Is it only my company you would be missing, I wonder? Never mind; but do you come back to me in the autumn, and strive not to forget all my teaching in the meantime.” And he laid his h
