George was the last one that afternoon to reach the rock outcrop in the orchard just within the palisade. Both his alarm about Angharad’s unidentified enemy and Gwyn’s flurry of activity about the blocked way had to give way to the diplomatic meeting scheduled days in advance.
When he reached the spot where they had decided to anchor the way Seething Magma would be creating, he found Gwyn and his brother Edern deep in conversation with Ceridwen. Rhodri waved him over.
“You’re here in a dual capacity today?” George teased his friend as he joined the group.
“Just call me Ambassador,” Rhodri said with a straight face. “I doubt we’ll have that much use for way-adepts in this crowd.”
Ceridwen looked up at the sun. “It’s time, everyone. George, why don’t you take your spot? The rest of us will give you room.”
George stood in front of the rock outcrop and watched them all back off a good distance. The winter-bare apple trees nearby loomed like scarecrows. This part of the arrangement made him more than a little nervous. Seething Magma was going to home in on him like a beacon, since she knew his feel best, and make the exit of the way come out upslope in front of him. If she miscalculated he’d probably never feel it. Wouldn’t be his problem any longer.
Can you hear me, Mag, he thought. I’m in place.
*Greetings. I’m coming.*
He faced the outcrop to watch. Until a month ago, no one had ever seen a way made before. Of the group there today, only Rhodri and he, and to a lesser degree Gwyn, would be able to see it happen.
A glow appeared on the ground between him and the rock face and widened to about twenty feet, marking a semi-circular opening, a passage slanting into the earth at a gradual angle. Most way entrances were above ground like invisible tunnels, but since they had a choice Gwyn had suggested this underground approach for greater ease of defense.
Rhodri’s face lit up as it completed, and George backed away to give Seething Magma room to emerge. She was the size of a large pickup truck, a featureless flexible slab something like an animated boulder, propelled by short pseudopods on her lower surface.
*Location correct?*
“Perfect,” George said. He walked up and patted her upper body in greeting.
Gwyn and the others joined them and bowed, keeping a careful distance away from her. “We are very glad to see you again, my lady,” Gwyn said. “Please lead on, and we will follow.”
Seething Magma led them out of the way onto a broad rock terrace high on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge.
*Map of surrounding land, ways marked.*
George translated the mental picture for everyone. “Mag says this is in between Greenway Court and Edgewood to the north. Must be near the southern boundary of Edgewood, I think.”
Edern and Rhodri looked at the crest of the slope not far above them with unease. The ways worked by the rock-wights deep within the ridge focused at the top of the ridge line as painful and impassable barriers to creatures with a bit of magic in them. Only completely natural animals, or those closer to full magic, seemed immune. The rock-wights themselves had the same effect.
*Cut-away view of interior of ridge.*
“She’s showing me the ways underneath us. We’re just south of a gap in the ridge, and there are no ways directly under it.” He ran his way senses along the top of the ridge at the gap. “Is this a natural break in the barrier above it, Mag?”
*Yes.*
She tapped once on the bare rock for the benefit of the others. They’d worked out a quick shorthand for her a few weeks ago while rescuing her daughter—one knock for “yes,” two for “no,” three for “I don’t know.”
Seething Magma moved off to one side as they approached the creatures waiting for them and George stepped aside as well to let Gwyn take the lead.
George’s initial thought was, they’re enormous. Mag had shown him her mother Gravel in a mental image so he had some idea of what to expect, but it hadn’t prepared him sufficiently. He felt them first, as presences just like the huge way that exited at the rock face behind them. Then they shifted position, and his eyes rebelled at estimating the size of anything that large that could move on its own. There were two of the giants, one noticeably larger than the other, and a third one, smaller than Mag.
The largest of the three moved forward a few feet to meet Gwyn. She stopped and Gwyn nodded his head. George fell into his role as translator and facilitator. He faced the formidable elemental, as large as a log cabin, and bowed. “Please let me introduce my lord Gwyn ap Nudd, Prince of Annwn.”
*This is Gravel, my mother, she who speaks for our people.*
“My lord, may I present my lady Gravel, speaker for the elementals in this land.”
This dual role wasn’t strictly necessary. While only George could hear the rock-wights, the elementals had no trouble tapping the minds of the smaller beings directly. George wondered what that was like for Gwyn, someone with many plans and secrets.
*Greetings, Prince of Annwn.* A deep mental voice, like a cathedral bell talking, resonated in George’s head. He murmured a quiet translation as Gravel continued.
*These behind me are Cavern Wind and Ash Tremor.*
Seething Magma provided private commentary for George. *My daughter, my older sister.*
Gwyn spoke in his turn. “With me are my brother Edern ap Nudd, my scholar Ceridwen, and Rhodri, my way-adept.” He gestured at each. “My great-grandson George Talbot Traherne is translating for us.”
Gravel spoke, for George’s translation. *We thank you for the return of my granddaughter Granite Cloud.*
“And we thank you for the destruction of Madog, her kidnapper,” Gwyn said, confirming the foundation of their relationship.
*We have noticed your kind using our leftover ways in the past few thousand years, but it has not been a matter of concern to us. My daughter has told me this should change, and I wish to see for myself.*
“We did not fully understand who made the ways until now. They are important to us, and we want to learn more and possibly agree on some arrangement with mutual benefits.” This was more direct than Gwyn usually was, but George thought it a smart accommodation, since they could read his underlying thoughts anyway.
*We also want to learn more about how it was that one of yours was able to seize one of ours.*
“We are afraid for your safety from evil ones among us, both for your own sake and for ours.” Well, thought George, that was stating it baldly.
Seething Magma flowed forward again. *George, I thought a demonstration would be easiest. Will you help me with that?*
He hesitated. If I scare them badly, why wouldn’t they just eliminate the threat, he thought to her.
*No harm will come to you by this.*
Out loud, he said, “Mag wants me to help show the others what we can do.”
Gwyn looked at him. “And if they’re afraid of you? What then?”
Gravel extruded a pseudopod toward George. *Come.*
He walked over.
*Seething Magma says it damages your folk to touch us, but that you are different. May I touch you?*
Go ahead, he thought, bracing himself.
She lay the end of the pseudopod lightly on his head. He could feel her delicate tasting of his mind, like a light breeze on a spring day.
*Strange. Someone else is there.*
He explained about the form of Cernunnos that he carried, both as the horned man and the deer-headed man. He’s not always there, he thought to her, sometimes it’s just the empty forms. He showed her what Cernunnos did in the annual great hunt, creating ways for the quarry and hounds, and destroying them again when it was done. His ways were like doors, direct and without passages.
*I must think about this. But you have nothing to fear from me, for I do not fear you.*
“You should, my lady,” he said aloud. “We can be dangerous to you.”
He walked back over to Seething Magma. “If you’ll make a little stationary way, I’ll kill it for you.” Some ways moved across space through an internal transition point, and those were the ones that the fae used for long-distance travel. Others simply penetrated space, like an underground tunnel. This was how the elementals made their way through rock.
Rhodri took over the role of commentator for the rest of the fae, since he could see the ways directly.
Mag created a way twice her length there on the terrace between them, her body vanishing from view and reappearing as if transitioning an invisible tunnel in the air. The leading edge glowed as she created it.
Rock-wights made open unclaimed ways and had no need for anything else. George showed the elementals how he and Rhodri could claim the way, close it, and prevent even Mag from using it again. Then he took the claim back from Rhodri and moved the way as a whole a few feet closer, putting it on metaphorically like a garment, picking it up and then casting it off in a different place. That created a stir in both groups. Neither Rhodri nor the rock-wights could do that.
Finally, George said, “I’m going to destroy it.” He reached out with his mind and let the surrounding air rush into the unnatural void, and the way was gone.
In the silence, Seething Magma flowed back to him. *Claim me.*
No, he thought.
*They need to know the worst.*
That’s not the worst, he thought.
*I know you won’t unmake me, George. Please, we must show them.*
He sighed. “Seething Magma has asked me to show you what Madog did to Granite Cloud.”
Ash Tremor moved closer. *May I watch through you?* Her voice was crisp and firm in his mind.
He walked over and let her touch him with a pseudopod. She didn’t intrude, but he could feel her intense curiosity.
He reached out with his mind and claimed Seething Magma, as if she were a way. He sent her away from him and summoned her back and then he released the claim. It left him feeling dirty, and Ash Tremor removed her contact.
“Let me be clear,” George said to Gravel. “There are other way-adepts among the fae, like Rhodri. Whatever they can do with a way, they can do with one of you. And now that they know about you, you aren’t safe. I’m something else, something worse. I can destroy a way.” He let them work out the implications on their own.
Gwyn took back control of the meeting. “We know you are not without defenses, as the death of Madog demonstrated.” Seething Magma had opened a way through him. “We want to help you find a better defense against a new threat.”
Ceridwen spoke for the first time, to Gravel. “What do you know of your relatives in the old world?”
*We have had no communication for eons. I am the eldest here, the matriarch.*
George returned to his translator role.
“I know my grandfather met one thousands of years ago,” Gwyn said, “but they’re very rare and I don’t know if they are thriving anywhere.”
*What exactly is it that you want, Prince of Annwn?*
Gwyn said, “I want to see you well-defended and independent. I want to trade with you for practical way-building. I want agreements with you as friends, allies, and neighbors, so that our relationship will thrive. My scholars want to talk about history with you.”
“In turn,” he continued, “there must be things we can offer you. George tells me you are interested in the knowledge of the earth and how it has changed over time. We can share that with you. There may be many things like that which you would find worthwhile.”
He looked at Gravel directly. “Is this something that you also wish to pursue?”
*We are the bones of the earth, but surface creatures like you are its flavor. We are grateful for your candor in alerting us to danger from your own kind. We have never envisioned an alliance such as you describe, but nothing stays the same, not even the land, and we are inclined in its favor. My daughter Seething Magma has hinted at the knowledge your kind has accumulated, and we would welcome an opportunity for learning.*
George translated quietly.
Gwyn bowed and said, “I propose we part now and prepare something for formal discussion, on each side. Would you be willing to resume this meeting tomorrow morning?”
*Agreed. Seething Magma will come for you.*
Gravel and Ash Tremor turned and entered the way in the rock face behind them while Cavern Wind stayed behind and approached George.
*Music? Can you teach us more about music?*
George laughed. “Rhodri,” he called, “We need to add music to the list.”
Rhodri walked over. Cavern Wind extended a pseudopod toward him, but George stepped between them. “My lady, it will hurt him if you touch him.” They had discovered that the touch of a rock-wight was like trying to penetrate through a way from the side, or cross the way-focus barrier at the top of the ridge line—something very painful to creatures with some magic in them. George’s relationship with Cernunnos seemed to be the reason he was largely immune. It made him magical enough himself not to be harmed by the effect, like the outsider hounds that came from Cernunnos each year at Nos Galan Mai.
*I want to talk to him and he can’t hear me. If I touch you and you touch him, maybe?*
Now that was an interesting notion, George thought. “Rhodri, time for another experiment. She really wants to talk to you. She’ll touch me and I’ll touch you. I don’t think you’ll feel anything, but I also don’t think it’ll work. What do you say?”
“I’ll give it a try.”
George put out his right hand and touched Cavern Wind. Greetings, he thought. Then he lightly tapped the back of Rhodri’s hand with his left fingers, just in case there was any danger to him. Nothing happened so he clasped Rhodri’s hand and waited.
Instead of the sense of someone riffling through his own mind, he felt the attention go by and he could faintly overhear a conversation, as though he were tuning in to a very distant radio station. Only a few words penetrated.
Rhodri stood still, wide-eyed and grinning. “I have lots of ideas for you, Windy.”
Cavern Wind backed away from George. *Thank you. That was very interesting.*
Seething Magma and Cavern Wind turned to go back into the way at the rock face. *Until tomorrow, mid-morning,* Seething Magma said, as she vanished into the darkness.
Lludd spoke to Gwythyr alone late that evening, in his private rooms. He was pleased with the report from Gorwel—Bryntirion entered without resistance, and the Travelers’ Way exit held.
“I told her, my way was better,” he said. “My daughter’s vision has always been too limited in her ambitions for me.”
He looked over at Gwythyr’s composed face and tried to read it.
He continued, “Think what could be accomplished with the rock-wights. Access into any keep, support for my armies abroad, even an improvement on the expense of road and bridge building. No one could stand against me. My son has no business denying them to me.” What a waste—I will make proper use of them, he thought.
“I can understand your wrath at the refusal,” Gwythyr murmured. “How can I assist you, my lord king?”
Smooth and dignified as always, Lludd thought. He’s clever, he is, clever enough to know he can only get this gift at my hand. Annwn will be a realm like any other, and he will hold it for me. Maybe Creiddylad can be induced to resume the old alliance, if he’ll have her back.
“I’ve laid the foundations for this over the last month,” he told Gwythyr, leaning back in his comfortably cushioned broad chair and watching him carefully, motionless and effortlessly erect on his own hard wooden seat. “My agents in Gwyn’s domain have new orders.” And I have new agents in place, too. No need to share that with Gwythyr. He agreed with his adviser Derlwyn about the virtue of secrecy. He was impatient to hear about his latest experiment—had it worked?
Still, it would do no harm to let Gwythyr know this was no small or secret endeavor he was undertaking. “As you can see, I now control his passage from the new world.”
Gwythyr replied, “There is one other, as you know, my lord king.”
Lludd waved that aside. “Yes, yes, the one they think no one knows about. But it’s small and private. The Travelers’ Way, now, that’s their main route for trade. They will pass through my blockade, or not, at my pleasure.”
He drew himself upright. “Will you take Annwn from me, at my hands?” he asked Gwythyr.
“Gladly, my lord king,” Gwythyr said. “But Gwyn’s hold is on more than the land. What about Cernunnos?”
“What of him? I remember a time when there was no great hunt each year, no antlered master of beasts to impose his notions of justice on us all. His fastening on this human to serve as his huntsman and give him a way to manifest may impress the rabble, but I hold to Camulos and the other, older gods. Camulos has never disappointed me.”
Gwythyr said, “I have often wondered how you came to take him as your sponsor.”
Lludd smiled broadly and thumped the arm of his chair. “He promised me power, raw power, whenever I required it. All that I needed to take and hold my position.” And damn my father Beli for an interfering fool, with his notions of morality. That’s not for kings, he tried to tell him. When he finally received the long overdue weapon of his line from Taranis, he’d explain it to him more forcefully.
“While you are exploring the military option and an economic blockade,” Gwythyr said, “it would be well to consider how to undermine Gwyn’s obligations for the great hunt. Better to cause Cernunnos to abandon his protégé than to have to fight with him directly.”
He tented his fingers before his chin and spoke calmly and analytically. “To win the annual contest in a few months at Nos Galan Mai, as your father Beli Mawr has required, Gwyn must be present. If he wins, his huntsman must also be in attendance to retrieve new whelps for the pack from Cernunnos. If you can prevent any of this, the pack is weakened. Do it for six or eight years, and the pack will be worthless—no hounds able to do Cernunnos’s bidding for the great hunt. No more great hunt, no more Cernunnos as sponsor for Gwyn. A bloodless victory.”
Lludd nodded. “Yes.” Derlwyn had been thinking along these lines, too—stop the huntsman, control him. What he’d actually said was ‘control the wife, control the huntsman.’ A nice, simple, traditional lever. “It takes too long for my taste, though. I could just press through the Travelers’ Way now, after all. Gwyn doesn’t have enough men to stop me.”
“But he can close the way,” Gwythyr said, unmoved. “You can block the way but you can’t invade without way-token control. And what will your barons say, as you assault your son’s domains, both here and in the new world? They will fear receiving similar attention.”
“Let that be my problem,” Lludd said.
George watched as Gwyn’s impatient gesture silenced the side conversations in his council room. He’d called for a meeting of all his senior staff. Even Idris would be attending, having brought Madog’s old domain in Dyffryn Camarch far enough along toward normality to leave it briefly in the hands of his delegates. Rhys had sent Edern in his place, since his grandfather’s frequent visits had kept him up-to-date on the situation in Edgewood.
Gwyn looked around the table as they quieted and attended to him.
“Nothing has changed since yesterday.” George caught fleeting expressions of relief on some of the faces. “Before we discuss the Travelers’ Way, I want to bring us all up to date on our different tasks. We need to know where we are, before we can plan our next steps.”
Gwyn pursed his lips. “Our alliance with the rock-wights was formalized this morning. We plan an initial round of gifts, a taste of what they can learn from us, well, really from the humans, through George. We explained the notion of an ambassador to them, and they’ve appointed Seething Magma to that role.”
Surveying the smiles around the table, he added, “So, now we have access to new ways, beyond their first contributions. We must take measure of how this changes everything for us, how best we should proceed.”
“We will begin with a summary of the situation in the outlying districts. Idris, please tell us all how things are going, over the mountain.”
Idris leaned forward to speak. “I know some of you are more current than others, so forgive me if you’ve heard this before. After the death of Madog more than a month ago,” he tipped his head to George, “neutralizing his officers was surprisingly straightforward. The destruction of the internal ways hampered their ability to communicate and, without the fear and threat of Madog or any heir to defend, their heart wasn’t really in it. It took about two weeks for the last pockets of resistance to yield.
“I am minded to reinstate some of them, the ones that seem least corrupted, but I’m waiting until we can organize more information from the populace they controlled, lest we unknowingly include any that have serious accusations against them. My senior officers are sitting in summary courts, listening to the complaints of the people, and have been for a while.
“As we expected, we’ve experienced a version of the awakening at Edgewood, now that the external barrier way is gone. The effect was never as severe because the distances were greater, but the population is also much larger, so I’ve been working with Rhys to copy his basic methods of cleaning up and moving forward to make as much progress as fast as possible. Edgewood was collapsing when we got to it, but Dyffryn Camarch was more self-sufficient and is recovering much more quickly. I think we can slow down some of the emergency supplies.”
“A good thing, too,” Ifor Moel commented. “It’s been a strain on our resources supporting both of them at once. The real answer is to get the traders involved. There never were korrigans in Dyffryn Camarch, but they’re certainly welcome now. There were no outside traders at all, near as we can tell. The korrigans have been a big help at Edgewood, getting the mills going and setting up shop again. And they’re eager to work with the rock-wights.”
Gwyn asked, “Do you think we should let it be known that we seek settlers for Dyffryn Camarch, as we did for Edgewood?”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Idris said. “The folks at Edgewood were our own, and so are many of the adventurers that have poured in for resettlement. Madog’s people are different. We don’t have blood ties with them. They have their own way of doing things, and we will need to be careful how we integrate their folk and ours.”
Gwyn shook his head. “They’re all our folk now,” he said. “As soon as you can be confident that you’ve located most of the threats hiding in the general population, I want you to draw up a plan whereby they can operate on the same basis as the rest of the people in this domain, with the same resettlement options.”
“As you wish, my lord,” Idris said.
Gwyn looked at his notes. “How are the new ways working out for you?”
“They’re a great help, my lord. We used one to join Tan-y-bryn, the village at the base of the keel mountain Y Farteg to Madog’s old court, which we’ve renamed Tagell, the Snare. That one allows us to supply the keep three thousand feet up, and it makes a superb base of operations. The Rescue Way from the old garden at Tagell to Edgewood gives us direct communication with Rhys so that we can support each other militarily at need, or simply exchange goods. And there’s the Dyffryn Way, of course, from the keep back to Daear Llosg, so all three are well connected.
“The other four ways connect the most important of the market towns, but we’ll need to start building roads soon. Dyffryn Camarch was rich in ways, many more than we’ve just added, so the roads are ill-tended.”
George winced privately, but it couldn’t have been helped. He’d had to kill all the ways in Madog’s domain, with Cernunnos’s help, in order to trap him there and destroy him. It was like burning all the bridges over a wide area—it would take time to restore the routes that people relied on for everyday use.
“Edern,” Gwyn asked his brother, “How goes Edgewood?”
“Much improved. All the survivors have been accounted for and, where possible, reunited with their families. The good news is that none of the damage from the barrier way that imprisoned them seems to be permanent, though many people lost family members while under its influence. They’re rebuilding as quickly as they can, and each of the villages is a hive of activity. They’re determined to move forward and put it behind them.”
“As Ifor said,” he continued, “the korrigans and the outside settlers have had a great influence on the strength of the recovery. I only wish we had more of them. Between that and the improvement in the local people, I think Edgewood’s out of danger.”
He glanced at Idris. “I understand Idris’s concerns, but Dyffryn Camarch is very large and could easily digest many hundreds of settlers and several branches of external traders, now that it’s possible. If you want to hasten both the recovery and the integration, I recommend doing that.”
“Thank you, brother,” Gwyn said. “We have been gifted with six more ways by the rock-wights, and we have an agreement in place for acquiring more. For now, I’d like recommendations from everyone in the next two days about the locations of these first six ways, and the beginnings of a strategic plan for ways, overall. Bring all your issues to Ceridwen—she’ll present an initial plan to us in a few days.”
He paused and surveyed the listeners, and George thought, now he’ll get into it.
“You’ve all heard that my father has invaded Bryntirion and seized the end of the Travelers’ Way. He allowed Geraint to come and deliver his message, and I sent him back to keep watch. So far we have offered no resistance there and the situation is bloodless, if dangerous.”
Idris said, “You allowed your men to withdraw before Lludd’s advance?”
“That was done without my direction,” Gwyn said, “but I approve it. There are not enough defenders there to stand against a tyrannical king, with most of my strength here. Better they watch and wait, and husband their resources.”
“What are Lludd’s terms?” Edern asked.
George could see Gwyn’s jaw stiffen. “My father has graciously permitted limited trade to continue, but of course that is little more than a taunt—he can shut it off at any time.”
Rhodri commented, “But you can close the way yourself and keep Lludd and his men from entering.”
Gwyn nodded. “True. But if I want trade I have to keep it open.”
George wondered how many of the traders were spies, infiltrating Greenway Court, leaving surprises like yesterday’s box for Angharad. How many had already passed through before the seizure? Lludd had turned up the pressure—would more covert attacks be the result? He shifted uneasily in his chair.
“Idris,” Gwyn said. “I want to see plans for a military defense of our end of the Traveler’s Way. I don’t wish to rely solely on way-tokens, and it would be as well if Lludd’s covert agents could see a show of force on our side.”
“A show, my lord?” Idris asked. “Don’t you expect it to be used?”
“That not where the battle will be,” Gwyn said. “I expect to meet with Lludd Llaw Eraint, my father, soon. He wants what we have, and I intend to keep it out of his hands.”
After dinner that night in the great hall, Gwyn summoned his brother Edern for a private conversation. The night was mild for winter, and they walked about well-wrapped on the terrace in front of the manor house, working off the meal.
“I have formally protested to our father,” Gwyn said.
Edern looked at him. “And?”
“His pretense is to limit emigration while Madog’s domain is under dispute. His brothers are protesting, Lludd says.”
“All seventeen of them?” Edern said, sarcastically.
Gwyn smiled briefly. “He offers to make up for it by sending us two new huntsman trainees, after the old usage.”
Privately, Gwyn wondered where that idea had come from. George had mentioned being short-staffed, but Lludd wouldn’t know that. Lludd had no interest in the continuation of the annual great hunt—that could only solidify Gwyn’s relationship with Cernunnos.
“Did he now?” Edern commented. “What does your great-grandson say to that?”
“I haven’t told him yet.” Gwyn knew his great-grandson was chafing under limited information. He’d hoped he could keep it that way a while longer, but George was pushing at the restrictions and the thwarted attack on Angharad with no response had exhausted his patience.
Edern walked to the edge of the terrace steps and looked east into the night. The constellation of the Hunter blazed in the clear winter sky.
“You have to tell your huntsman, and you have to take him with you when you go. He’s part of your arsenal now, and you can’t leave him behind.”
“I have every intention of using him,” Gwyn said, “and he’s got to be a willing participant, just as Cernunnos has to agree.”
He joined Edern on the top of the steps. “I must get Cernunnos’s acceptance in this or it goes nowhere. Everything hinges on that.”
Edern grunted in assent and they stood together silently for a few moments.
“Is our father trying to keep you from the contest on Nos Galan Mai?”
“How can he? He must know of the existence of the Family Way, even if he’s not sure where it comes out.” He looked sideways at Edern. “I can’t avoid it. I’ve lost the contest, sometimes, but never forfeited. I must attend. I know it’s awkward—I’ll have to come through to your domain instead of mine, and our father will no doubt find out more than we want him to.”
Edern turned and faced his brother. “You know, I’ll have to join you if you break away from our father. What will happen to all of us if you fail? Even if you succeed, how can I keep my domain there, or you yours?”
Gwyn silently acknowledged the justice of the complaint. “I know, and I’m sorry,” he said. “You’ll be first here, after me, and well-rewarded, but change is never easy.” He reached out with both hands and gripped his brother’s arms. “I value your support.”
Edern nodded in acknowledgment. “This quiet time before the fray won’t last much longer, and then events will carry us along with little care how we try to steer them.”
He looked at his brother. “What support do you hope to get?”
“I thought to involve some of Lludd’s hunting lords,” Gwyn said. “A gift of whelps, from George’s breeding in a few days, would be well-received.”
“And some of the others will want to curb our father’s ambition and greed for power,” Edern said. “Enough of them?”
Gwyn shrugged. “The wizards have their own ambitions, especially the unaligned ones. Let’s compare lists tomorrow, if you will advise me.”
Edern nodded.
Gwyn said, “I’ve been told that Lludd knows far too much already about the elementals and the death of Madog, especially the destruction of the ways and George’s part in that. It’s only a matter of days, I believe, before there will be a summons to court.”
“Are you going to wait for that?” Edern said.
“No. I thought I’d make my own excuse for coming, with my full entourage. A mark of my own royal line, a show of strength.”
Edern raised an eyebrow.
“How can you forget? Your granddaughter Rhian has just turned fifteen,” Gwyn said, grinning.
Edern laughed. “That’s why you haven’t scheduled the coming-of-age ceremony for her yet. You’re planning a full court presentation.”
