Chapter 2

Believe me Father

Waking up in the morning Sardi lay in his bedroll staring up at the birch thatch of the broch. The details of his latest dream were burned indelibly into his memory and gave rise to very conflicting emotions.

He was thrilled beyond belief at the knowledge of what a future Scotland might be like – united, strong and free.

He was crushed by the suggestion that nothing he could do would affect the battle of ‘Mons Graupius’ and he could not save the Caledonians he had seen being slaughtered. “That won’t stop me from trying as hard as I can though,” he thought to himself.

Most of all he was overwhelmed by the role that the ‘Heralds’ seemed to see him playing, a role that would set the entire country on its future path no less – “even the Boar seemed unconvinced about my readiness for that.”

Anxious now to confide in his father, he scrambled from his bed and quickly dressed himself ready to start the day. Sardi’s mother had prepared breakfast, but his father had already eaten and was off doing something around the settlement. Sardi hurriedly ate his porridge, hoping to catch up with Papa before he had to start his working day. Alas, Frace was nowhere to be seen and Sardi had to head out to the fields to meet up with Aelfi.

“At least I can share my latest dream with Aelfi and ask her what she thinks, she usually has good advice” he thought as he ran towards the grain fields.

His friend was waiting for him at the first sluice gate.

“You’re late!” Aelfi called as Sardi doubled over to catch his breath.

“I was trying to find my Papa,” he gasped out, trying to suck in air. “I had another dream last night.”

“Oh no!” exclaimed Aelfi, “another nightmare?”

“Not this time,” Sardi answered.

There had been some heavy rain showers overnight and Sardi quickly determined that the grain needed no further irrigation. That meant he had time to describe his latest dream to his friend.

“This field has had enough water, let’s check the next one and I’ll share the details as we walk,” Sardi suggested.

Aelfi was so amazed at the detail of Sardi’s latest dream that she actually stopped walking three times before they reached the next grain field. Her eyes grew wide in astonishment when Sardi described the Lion especially. When he explained that he was now the seer for the heralds of Scotland she stopped once again and looked at him with awe.

“You? A Seer?” she stammered. “Like seeing visions of the future and stuff?”

“Well I guess that’s what the nightmare about the battle was,” Sardi replied. “It hasn’t actually happened yet so if it is a true ‘vision’ then I reckon there is still something we can do to change the outcome. Although the Boar told me that nothing I could do would make any difference.”

“Maybe that’s because your story is so far-fetched that no one will believe a word of it,” suggested Aelfi.

Sardi scowled at her.

“What? You don’t believe me? You think I’m making it up or that I’ve maybe gone mad or something?” he asked.

“No! Not that, never that,” Aelfi hastened to re-assure her friend. “But maybe it’s just a dream. Maybe there’s nothing more to it than that.”

“So somehow my dreams can conjure up creatures that I could never even imagine?” Sardi asked. “That giant golden cat – where would I get that from – even in a dream.”

“I’m just warning you that perhaps the reason that the silver Boar told you that you can’t change the outcome of the battle is because none of the adults will believe you,” warned Aelfi.

“I know what you’re saying, and I wouldn’t take this to any adult for that very reason,” Sardi reluctantly conceded, “but don’t you see, the only one I would take this to is my Papa. I only need to convince him! As a druid he has all the influence required to get others to believe and do something about it.”

Aelfi still looked sceptical.

Frace was again not at the broch when Sardi returned after working all day. He decided that he would eat and then scour the settlement to find his Papa; after all, time was of the essence.

The settlement held around sixty huts of various construction – most were built from turves but some – like the one that Sardi lived in – were built from stone and signified the owner’s status within the tribe. Sardi knew that the Damnonii had bigger settlements – for example Aluana and the main tribal base, Victoria. Besides the huts and brochs there was a central structure that combined the Headman’s home and a meeting hall. Two other structures stood at the very edge of the settlement. There was a pole built barn that stored the hay that was gathered to help feed the Tribe’s livestock through the winter and a granary made from baked clay bricks which would hold the settlement’s grain.

Sardi’s first stop was the meeting hall where he enquired if anyone had seen his father. No one knew where Frace might be so Sardi wandered from hut to hut trying to track him down, but without success.

“I guess he’s out somewhere foraging again,” the boy thought to himself.

Dusk was starting to fall and Sardi had just decided to return home in the hope that his father would be there, when movement to his left impinged on his peripheral vision. Turning his head, he could make out his Papa leading a woman and two girls towards the hay barn.

Delighted to have found his father at last, Sardi gave no thought to what was going on. He swivelled and followed the little group in the direction of the barn. His father and the three females slipped into the barn and at last Sardi began to think something wasn’t quite right. He slowed his approach and tried to remain as quiet as possible.

Reaching the corner of the barn, Sardi heard his Papa’s voice.

“Now woman, prepare the staff of the Gods that it might carry out their will!”

Peering round the corner, Sardi recognised Fliranta, the mate of one of the tribe who had been dragooned into joining the Roman auxiliaries. Fliranta’s twin daughters, one year older than Sardi, were also in view.

“Myrtle and Rose, prepare each other to receive the Gods’ blessings,” Sardi heard his father order.

As Sardi watched, Fliranta sank to her knees in front of his father. She seemed almost trancelike as she hitched his druid’s robe up to his waist and reached for his cock! Sardi knew what a cock was, all of the youngsters did. You couldn’t be responsible for livestock without witnessing the act of procreation so they all knew and talked about it. He had never witnessed humans having sex however, and had certainly never witnessed any animals doing what Fliranta was now doing to his Papa.

“Suck the staff of the Gods, lick it!” Frace groaned.

Sardi watched as Fliranta’s mouth covered the head of his father’s cock and she began to bob up and down on it. He felt a tingling in his own groin and for the first time that he was aware his own cock grew hard. Papa’s cock looked huge compared to what he knew he had between his own legs. Still, Fliranta seemed to be coping just fine.

Glancing towards the twins, Sardi could see that they had both removed their clothes and they were lying on top of each other with their heads between each other’s thighs. Myrtle was on top of Rose her twin sister and as Sardi watched she arched her back and raised her head.

“Yes! Yes! Lick me you little slut! Lick me and get me ready for the Gods’ blessing!” cried Myrtle.

Sardi was treated to his first sight of a woman’s sex. Myrtle’s fingers were spreading Rose’s petals, revealing her pink gash to Sardi for a few seconds before her head dipped once more and she lapped at her sister’s juicing slit. Sardi moved position to get a better view of the girl’s tongue swiping the length of Rose’s pussy then focusing on the point where her sister’s nether lips met.

Shifting his focus, the boy saw that his father now held Fliranta’s head, his fingers entwined in her auburn hair, as he thrust his cock repeatedly into her mouth.

“YES! Yes, take it wench. Take all of it!” grunted Frace, his facial features now scrunched up with the effort he was expending and the pleasure he was so obviously receiving.

This was a side of his father that Sardi had never seen. He was clearly overcome with lust as he vigorously thrust his cock so deeply into Fliranta’s mouth that Sardi knew it must be all the way into her throat. With a final mighty plunge, Frace roared and Sardi knew that he was depositing his seed into the woman’s mouth.

Frace’s cock had lost none of its hardness despite him cumming in Fliranta’s mouth. He moved over to where the twins were engrossed in each other’s sex – moaning as they enthusiastically licked each other’s pussies. He knelt behind Myrtle and held her bare ass with one hand as he lined up his cock with the other. Sardi could see that his father’s face had turned almost purple as he thrust into the young girl’s sex.

“Why is he here doing this with these three?” Sardi asked himself. “Why them and not mother? Where is the love in this? He seems no better than a rutting beast.”

Sardi’s eyes glazed over and in his mind a picture of the rock pool in the mountain cave appeared. Once more he could see the huge silver Boar and the golden Lion.

“You know what words to say, little deer,” the Boar told him sadly.

Sardi’s mouth opened and he heard himself speak.

He saw his father’s head jerk up and their eyes met. Sardi realised that Frace had heard the words he had spoken; words that perhaps marked his first true prophecy, the prophecy of his own father’s death.

Feeling nothing but disgust now at his Papa’s actions, Sardi turned and walked away from the lascivious scene behind him.

Sardi avoided meeting his mother’s gaze when he entered the broch. He sat and numbly spooned the bowl of stew she handed him into his mouth, not really tasting it. He tried to come to terms with what he had seen and the prophecy he had made. This was his father, a man he worshipped and had loved unconditionally up until now. What he had seen made no sense to him and his emotions were in turmoil.

Some time later Frace drew back the hide covering the doorway and entered the broch. Sardi saw that he glanced worriedly from himself to his mother and back again.

“He’s trying to figure out if I’ve told mom what I saw,” Sardi guessed.

Frace continued to cast glances at Sardi as he ate a meal and then spoke for the first time since he had entered the hut.

“We are only a week away from the solstice, Son,” he said, “you will then have seen fifteen summers, only one more until you are recognised as a man by the tribe. It is perhaps time that you and I had a talk.”

“A talk about what?” Sardi asked.

“A talk about what it means to be a man, to be a member of the Damnonii,” Frace replied. “Come; let’s find a quiet spot somewhere.”

Sardi noticed that his mother had raised a questioning eyebrow at her husband but that Frace simply ignored her. His father stood and left the broch, clearly expecting Sardi to follow him.

Frace headed for a rocky outcrop that overlooked Loch Lomond. He sat and eyed Sardi expectantly and the boy joined his father, sitting tailor-fashion on the exposed rock. Frace didn’t speak for a few moments, instead he seemed to be examining his son’s face, perhaps trying to read what was going through Sardi’s mind. At last he seemed to come to a decision and he began to speak.