HAGAN TOOK A seat and looked around at his fellow councillors.
‘We must fight Attila sooner or later,’ the king said. ‘Why not now?’
‘We don’t have enough warriors, Lord King,’ Geic said. ‘You heard Ediko: Attila commands fifty thousand men.’
‘A lot of whom are cavalry,’ Wodnas said. ‘I’m sure you saw the havoc Hun horse archers can cause at Vorbetomagus. We have no mounted warriors to counter them.’
‘Really?’ Hagan said. ‘The rest of the war horde seems complete. It’s almost Roman in its discipline and organisation.’
‘It takes years to build a war horde and we were starting almost from scratch, with mere boys,’ Gunderic said. ‘We needed to start with the basics and that meant foot warriors. We haven’t had the time or enough people with knowledge of mounted warcraft to move on to that yet.’
While Hagan had learned the value of cavalry support in the Roman Army, he knew the previous Burgundar horde of his father had not used mounted warriors. They had also been devastated by the Hun horsemen.
‘Even if we had cavalry, our forces cannot match fifty thousand,’ the lord of the Leuhtungs said.
‘Perhaps our only choice,’ the man called Lokke said. ‘is to accept Attila’s offer and join him?’
‘We will never join the Huns!’ the lord of the Solungs declared, slamming his fist on the table.
‘Agreed,’ the king said. ‘You heard the emissary: Attila wants our treasure.’
‘I did not hear that,’ Lokke said. ‘I heard that he was interested in a sword.’
‘Well, let him come and try and take it,’ Sigurd said, patting the hilt of the sword. ‘Or perhaps you want to try?’
‘Sometimes, Lokke,’ Wodnas said, shaking his head, ‘I think you just say things to see what sort of reaction you can get. I know you cannot be serious. We both lost our homeland to the Huns.’
‘And perhaps this is a way to return there,’ Lokke said.
‘Don’t be childish,’ Wodnas said. ‘We cannot trust Attila. He only says he will accept us into his horde. He will take our warriors, perhaps, but we, their leaders, will all be put to the sword. Either that or humiliated, degraded and treated no better than his hunting dogs. I have seen these so-called kings who submitted to Attila. They quake at his every word lest it brings punishment down on them. They jump at his every command. They do whatever he orders, no matter what the cost to themselves or their people, because they fear torture and death. I’d rather die than live like that.’
‘I certainly don’t want that,’ Gunderic said.
‘So what do we do? Hide in the mountains and let Attila and his horde sweep through our land?’ Gunhild said. ‘Let him take everything we’ve built here, everything we’ve worked on for the last eight years?’
‘Attila will not just sweep through this realm and head on to Ravenna,’ Wodnas said with a heavy sigh. ‘He means to take the whole Roman Empire. When he’s done he means to rule everything from the Western Sea to the Danube and the Don. Attila will leave officials and warriors to make sure this realm remains part of his Empire. I once thought my land was free but now it is just another part of Hun Land.’
‘It sounds like we must fight Attila either on our own terms or his,’ Freya said. Hagan marvelled that even her voice was captivating, almost like the pealing of little bells.
‘He must be defeated,’ the lord of the Leuhtungs said. ‘It is the only way for us to remain free.’
‘Have you not been listening?’ the lord of the Solungs, a man in his early twenties, said. ‘How can our war horde of perhaps a thousand men – with no cavalry – defeat Attila’s army of fifty thousand?’
Hagan was surprised and dismayed at how fast this council of the realm appeared to be falling into conflict with itself. Then he realised this could be an opportunity. Since leaving Ravenna he had been wondering how he would present Aetius’s message – message? More ultimatum – to his folk but now it seemed Fate had given him the chance.
‘There is perhaps another way,’ Hagan said. ‘I came here from Ravenna. The Romans are preparing to fight Attila.’
‘They will lose,’ Wodnas said. ‘Until a couple of years ago the Huns made up half their army.’
‘Aetius, the Roman Magister Militum, is creating an alliance with other kingdoms to make up for that,’ Hagan said. ‘He intends to offer battle in Gaul. We could join this alliance.’
‘Fight alongside Rome?’ the young lord of the Solungs said with a sneer. ‘You must be dreaming.’
‘I spent ten years in the Roman Army,’ said the lord of the Leuhtungs, ‘That was enough for me.’
‘I too was in the Roman Army,’ Gunderic said. He talked as though deep in thought. ‘I was rewarded for brave deeds. Perhaps if we help them defeat the Huns we will be rewarded. Perhaps this is a way for this realm to remain free.’
‘You forget what we did to our Roman officials, brother,’ Gunhild said.
‘Why would we willingly put ourselves under Roman command again?’ the lord of the Leuhtungs said. ‘It would bring dishonour. Shame.’
‘We would not be the only folk to do that,’ Hagan said.
‘Who else has pledged to fight with Aetius?’ Gunderic said.
‘King Sangiban of the Alans, Hegelac of the Saxons as well as the Armoricans and Franks,’ Hagan said. ‘And Theodoric, King of the Visigoths.’
A gasp went around the gathered councillors.
‘The threat from Attila must indeed be great,’ Gunderic said. ‘If it can compel Theodoric to hold his nose and fight alongside Rome.’
The Western Goths and the Western Empire had been at each other’s throats for most of one hundred years, and had of course sacked Rome some decades ago. Theodoric had since taken great swathes of Hispania and Southern Gaul away from Rome and made his own kingdom there.
‘There would be no shame in joining the army that opposes Attila if Theodoric the Goth was also part of it,’ Gunhild said.
The lord of the Leuhtungs stroked his chin as he considered this. He turned the corners of his mouth downwards and cocked his head to the side.
‘Just say we did join this alliance,’ Gunderic said. ‘I would want us to fight as one unit within the larger army. That way if we perform great deeds everyone will see it was the Burgundars who did it, not the Romans.’
‘I believe all allied peoples will fight in their own formations,’ Hagan said. ‘Aetius will be in overall command though.’
‘You seem to know a lot about Aetius’s plans,’ Lokke said to Hagan, eyes narrowed. ‘What if we lose?’
‘No one should ever go to war expecting to lose, Lokke,’ Wodnas said with a smile. ‘The way I would prefer to look at it is that if we join Aetius it will swell the ranks of those opposed to Attila and make it less likely they will lose.’
‘It seems we may have little choice in this matter,’ Forsetti spoke for the first time. ‘Either we join the Roman Alliance or we risk perishing alone.’
‘You’ve been very quiet, Kvasir,’ Gunderic said to the old man with the grey beard. ‘What are your thoughts?’
‘A hero needs to perform great deeds for a poet to sing his praises,’ Kvasir said with a shrug. ‘A war would give the chance for our heroes to perform great deeds. The poets could write new songs. On the other hand, if we lose this battle we could all be annihilated by the Huns. What use is glory if there are none to sing of it?’
There was a moment of silence as everyone considered his words.
‘Attila is the greatest threat to the world,’ Wodnas said. ‘His greed and viciousness know no bounds. If he is not stopped he will enslave all of humanity. Theodoric can see that. The other kings can see that too.’
‘Yes,’ Gunderic said. ‘And if we are among many others it is also a chance to show what we can do. Wodnas. You have been saying lately how it is only a matter of time before we need to strike out at someone. All nations must do it. We cannot just remain within our borders and think we shall have peace. If we don’t strike out then others will think they can strike us. What better way to show our power and prowess to all than if we take part in a battle that every other kingdom is part of? If we win glory then all other nations will think twice before they attack us in the future. If we stand up to Attila and he is defeated we remain free and we keep what is ours.’
Hagan felt a little panic enter his heart. Was he doing the right thing? Since leaving Ravenna he had come to the conclusion that the right thing for his folk to do was fight Attila, and their best chance of success was to join the alliance Aetius was putting together. Aetius had made it clear he would be as ruthless as Attila towards the Burgundars if they did not choose to join him. It looked like things were going to go that way. However, Aetius was as greedy for the Burgundar treasure horde as Attila.
‘We still have no horse warriors,’ Wodnas said. ‘Even if we are part of a larger army I wouldn’t want to fight the Huns without cavalry of our own to counter theirs.’
‘What about Brynhild?’ Gunhild said before Wodnas answered. ‘Her mounted warriors helped us defeat the Romans once.’
‘True,’ Wodnas said. ‘They would be excellent. Well-trained. Disciplined. Bloodthirsty. I’d certainly rather they were on our side than against us.’
‘But aren’t they all…’ Gunderic began to say but trailed off.
‘What? Aren’t they all women?’ Gunhild said, raising an eyebrow. ‘Is that what you were going to say? It wasn’t a problem the last time they helped us against the Romans.’
‘Except now we would be asking for them to fight for the Romans,’ Gunderic said. ‘We would need to offer them something to make it worth their while. Something to their advantage.’
‘Perhaps it’s time to offer an alliance?’ the lord of the Solungs said. ‘We need to expand the realm anyway.’
‘I agree,’ Wodnas said. ‘Gunderic, you realise what that means? A marriage.’
‘You think I should marry Brynhild?’ Gunderic said. ‘That would not be a chore.’
‘That’s the usual way two realms are united,’ Wodnas said.
‘There may be a problem with this,’ Lokke said. ‘Brynhild’s realm cut themselves off from the world a year or so ago. They don’t let anyone in. Several other kings have offered Brynhild an alliance but she has set some sort of test of skill and courage and vowed to only marry the man who completes it. So far no one has.’
‘I have an advantage, though,’ Gunderic said. ‘I am an old friend of hers. And when we were younger I am pretty sure she had an eye for me, if you know what I mean?’
He grinned. Hagan opened his mouth to say something but hesitated.
‘It really is time you were married anyway, King Gunderic,’ Wodnas said. ‘We have talked about this before. A king should have a queen, and she should give him children. That way there is stability in a realm.’
‘If we can secure Brynhild’s cavalry then I would support the war on Attila,’ the lord of the Leuhtungs said with a sigh.
‘We have talked enough,’ Gunderic said. ‘Everyone has had their say. Wodnas, what should we do?’
Hagan raised his eyebrows. Surely a decision such as this should lie with the king?
‘Let me consider everything for a moment,’ the old man said.
He stood up and walked away from the table. When he was about thirty paces away he sat down on a side bench and set the leather satchel he always carried on his lap. Wodnas unlaced the straps and peered inside. He began to mutter something but he spoke so quietly and was too far away for anyone at the table to hear. To Hagan it looked like he was talking to something inside his bag.
Hagan looked around the table. No one else seemed surprised by the old man’s odd behaviour.
‘What’s he doing?’ Hagan mouthed at Gunhild.
‘He always does this when he has an important decision to make,’ Gunhild said.
Hagan caught the looks of approbation from all the others around the table and realised he had made another impropriety by questioning this man’s behaviour. He blushed but could not dispel a sense of unease that the fate of the Burgundars now lay with an old man who talked to a bag.
After a while Wodnas stood up and rejoined the others at the table.
‘I think we should fight Attila as part of the Roman Alliance,’ he said. ‘He must be stopped. If we don’t fight him now as part of a larger army we will have to fight him alone later.’
The others all nodded. Hagan noted that even his fellow Burgundars who had previously objected, no longer did so.
‘If it looks like Rome is losing then we withdraw as fast as possible,’ Wodnas continued. ‘And we leave all the rest to their fate.’
Everyone around the table cheered, even Hagan who felt himself carried along with the enthusiasm of the others.
Gunderic clapped his hand on Hagan’s shoulder.
‘You have come at just the right time, my friend: we’re going to war and I’m getting married to Brynhild!’
‘Soon our little group of friends will finally be all back together,’ Gunhild said.