Chapter 4

As requested by ‘the Heralds’, Sardi left the raw Yew wood outside of the broch when he retired for the night. Surprisingly he slept well, despite his excitement at what the Boar had suggested might happen to the staff. In the morning he rushed outside without waiting for breakfast and then stared in awe at the transformation in the raw Yew wood that lay on the ground. Gone was the plain but attractive yellowy/ochre staff and in its place there was now a thing of true beauty.

The entire length of the staff was covered in intricate runes, finely carved into the wood and seared somehow so that they showed as fine black lines. Both ends of the staff were now tipped in a reddish/gold metal and a band of the same metal encircled the exact middle. The staff had a slight natural taper and at the thicker end, obviously the top, there were now two intricate carvings. On one side was the head of a Boar, complete with tusks. On the other was the head of a Lion; its mouth open in a roar.

Sardi held out his right hand, palm down and called to the staff.

“Come to me, Freedom!”

Without hesitation the staff leapt from the turf and slipped gracefully into his hand. Sardi felt a feeling of ‘rightness’ wash over him at first contact with the wood. He turned his wrist so that the staff was perpendicular to the ground and gently let the tip settle to the grass.

“It is so beautiful and it feels so right in my hand,” he thought to himself. “I can feel it! It’s almost as if it has come to life and it feels powerful.”

Sardi twirled the staff and swung it tentatively a few times to test out the weight and the balance. Then another thought entered his head.

“It is too beautiful. It is clearly a very valuable piece and the Romans will surely take it from me.”

Immediately he heard the voice of the silver Boar in his head.

“Fear not, little deer. The Romans will not be able to see the staff. It will be invisible to their eyes.”

“I vow that she will never be far from my side. I vow that she will grow to be a part of me and whatever the future might hold for me.” Sardi swore to himself.

Why he had given the staff a feminine persona was a mystery to him, but again it just felt right. No sooner had he completed the solemn oath in his thoughts than the staff began to glow. The glow encompassed the entire staff and it grew brighter and brighter as he held it out now at arm’s length.

When the glow had grown to the point that it was hurting Sardi’s eyes, he suddenly saw and felt the light rush from the hand that held the staff into and through his body.

He felt as if he was the wind; bending the boughs of the trees and whipping across the plains. He felt as if he was the current in the water; crashing into rocks and exploding down mountainsides in a waterfall. He felt as if he was the sun; baking great rocks until they cracked and giving heat to all living things.

Looking down, Sardi saw that he was floating above the grass. He raised his head to the sky and made another vow, this time speaking it aloud.

“For the Gods and for Scotland!”

In the clear blue sky of summer a single mighty lightning fork appeared, accompanied by a resounding clap of thunder. With the thunder still echoing in his ears, Sardi felt his feet return to the ground.

“Wow! That was pretty impressive,” he thought, wondering what it all meant. “I’m not even sure where the words came from, but they seemed to be fitting,”

He decided that it was time for breakfast and to show off his new staff to his parents. The reactions of his mother and father to the staff could not have been more marked in there contrast.

“Oh my,” gushed Maeve. “That is so beautiful, son. Where did you get it?”

“Who did you steal that from?” barked Frace.

Sardi blinked as he looked from his mother to his father. His father’s anger in particular surprised him.

“It’s mine,” he replied firmly. “I made it or at least I cut the branch from which it has been made.”

“What nonsense is this?” Frace continued angrily. “How could you have made something so finely crafted?”

Sardi saw that his mother was looking at her mate with a puzzled expression, confused by his anger.

“I’m telling the truth,” Sardi insisted. “I cut the branch yesterday morning and the silver Boar and golden Lion that you refuse to accept as real told me to leave it outside overnight. When I went to fetch it this morning, this is what they had done to it.”

“A more unlikely tale I have yet to hear! I’ve told you many times never to lie!” spat Sardi’s father. “Give it to me and I will find its true owner and apologise for you stealing it.”

Frace grabbed for the staff. There was a blinding flash and Sardi saw his father launched across the room. He collided with the wall of the broch and slumped in a heap to the floor.

“I guess she doesn’t like you touching her,” Sardi offered smugly. “Perhaps that little display will convince you that she is truly mine.”

He turned to his mother.

“I’m glad you think she is beautiful, mom, I think so too. Would you like to touch her? I’m sure she will be much gentler with you.”

Sardi held the staff out towards Maeve. Having seen what had just happened to her mate she looked at him doubtfully but then extended her hand and nervously trailed her fingers along the patterned wood.

“Oh, it’s smooth and it feels warm,” she observed.

From his place still lying on the floor, Frace seemed incensed that Maeve had been able to touch the staff without anything happening to her. He sat up and shouted angrily at his son.

“Get out of here! Out! And take that evil thing with you. I will not have it inside my home!”

Things between father and son remained very tense over the next few days. Frace would not allow Sardi to bring the staff inside the broch, but the boy just shrugged at this strange behaviour and left ‘Freedom’ outside overnight. He somehow knew that the staff would come to no harm and neither would anyone be able to steal her.

Sardi tried to get his father to speak about the reasons behind his anger, trying hard to get his relationship with Frace back to what it had once been. Every attempt was rebuffed though. He brought the situation up with his mother too, wondering if she had any insight that might help him mend the rift that had grown between himself and Frace.

“Something happened, son,” his mother shared. “Maybe it all stems from when you spoke to him about the dreams you had? I’ve got no idea why he would react so strongly to that unless he somehow thinks that you are going against our Gods and Goddesses. You aren’t, are you?”

“No, mom!” Sardi replied firmly. “I would never do that and I don’t know why father would even think that I would.”

“Well something else must have happened,” added Maeve. “Something that perhaps only you and your father know of? I’m sorry, Sardi, I don’t know what’s going on. I’ve tried to talk to him about it too, but I’ve had as much luck as you have. Maybe if you just let it lie for a while he’ll come round?”

“More and more I think this is about Papa having a guilty conscience,” Sardi thought. “All of this started from the moment I saw him with Fliranta, Myrtle and Rose. He tried to justify what he was doing, but he knows, he knows deep within his heart that he has betrayed my mother.”

“Everything else stems from that. Sure, he might be angry about ‘the Heralds’ – maybe even a bit jealous – why else would he have Fliranta pretend to be the Earth Mother? He told me he had never been contacted by the Gods in over twenty summers of being a Druid. I tell him about my visions and suddenly he puts on a sham visit from a Goddess! Definitely jealous. But the real seeds of the anger come from the fact that I dared to tell him the truth about not being able to keep his cock in his breeches!”

So things were not great for Sardi. His best friend remained withdrawn and his father was angry with him. There was nothing for him to do but try his best – being there to support Aelfi and Alma, and ensuring he did nothing to anger Frace any further. The young boy threw himself into his work around the settlement, doing more than his share and gaining the respect of the other Damnonii for the contribution he was making.

At last the grain harvest was completed. Aelfi and Sardi had done a good job and the yield was high. That fact had raised perhaps the first smile to grace Aelfi’s face in weeks.

A celebration for the harvest was planned for that evening, with his father, the Druid, leading the worship of the Goddess of fertility. The worship would thank the Goddess for her bounty and express the hope that it would see her grace them similarly in the following year. Already people were busy making preparations.

Sardi heard some shouts of anger, the sound of metal clashing with metal and then a loud scream. All of the noise came from the direction of the meeting hall and the boy began to run in that direction. Many others had the same idea and when Sardi reached the area there was already a sizeable crowd gathered. People tried to squeeze into the area that was already congested with cauldrons, drums and other gear being used to prepare for the celebration that night.

Sardi could see the full complement of the Roman contubernium (10 man squad) nominally based at the settlement. Seven were spread out in a loose circle, facing outwards towards the crowd with their swords drawn and shields up. The Decanus (commander) stood over the bleeding corpse of Lindum’s Headman (Piranti), with two other Romans by his side.

“Stay back you savages or you’ll get the same as him!” the Decanus shouted, pointing with his sword at the body at his feet. “Let me repeat what I just told this fool Piranti. By order of the Imperial Roman Emperor this year’s tribute from Lindum will be half of your grain!”

“KILL THEM! KILL THEM!” Howled quite a few of the Damnonii in the crowd.

There were over sixty able-bodied male Damnonii in this settlement – easily outnumbering the Roman Contubernium. Despite that, the Romans remained unflustered and stood ready to fight.

Sardi saw his father pushing through the crowd and he approached the Decanus. His appearance quietened the crowd, who were all now keen to hear what the Druid had to say.

“Decanus Aurelius, what is going on here?” Frace asked. “What has happened to Piranti and why is he not receiving aid?”

To give him credit, Frace tried to rush forward to see whether there was anything he could do for the Headman.

Aurelius raised his sword and stopped the Druid from reaching the fallen Piranti.

“Back heathen! Back I say!” the Decanus barked and he swung his sword in Frace’s direction. “He has paid the price for trying to lay hands on an officer on the Imperial army. Let him die. You savages need to learn your station in life and that station is under the heel of the might of Rome!”

“Why would Piranti try to lay hands on you?” asked Frace.

The Decanus smiled an evil smile.

“I think it was because he was unhappy at the news I brought,” Aurelius sneered. “The news that this year’s tribute will be half of all of your grain!”

Once more the crowd reacted to this demand.

“KILL THEM, KILL THE THIEVING ROMAN BASTARDS!”

There was a press of bodies as the crowd surged forward to try to engage with the Romans. The seven members of the Roman squad already spaced out simply stood their ground and swung their swords from behind their shields. Seven more Damnonii fell screaming and the crowd pulled back.

“STOP! STOP THIS MADNESS!” screamed Frace, turning in a circle and addressing the entire crowd.

Sardi had remained quiet up until this point. Given how proud he was that his and Aelfi’s hard work had contributed to a record yield, he was as angry as everyone else at scale of the increased tribute. He also knew that resistance at this point was futile though and would only lead to more killing.

“Let them take the grain,” he called out now.

All eyes turned to look at him. He was already well-respected in Lindum despite his age and everyone knew how much work he had personally put in to the successful harvest. His words therefore were something of a surprise.

“You overstep your bounds boy!” Frace shouted at him. “Keep your callow views to yourself and leave this to your elders and betters!”

“NO!” cried Aurelius. “Let us hear the boy. I’m interested in what he has to say. Come boy. Speak up!”

Sardi saw his scowling father give a slight shake of his head, clearly telling him not to say anything further. Sardi slowly turned his head and focused one at a time on the fallen tribesmen. That seemed to stiffen his resolve and he ignored his father’s warning.

“Let them take the grain,” he repeated. “It is not worth any more lives! Already eight lie here. It’s possible we might kill all of these ten and keep the grain, but others would have to die to achieve that. Worse than that, within a few days you can rest assured there would be ten times this number of Romans at our door. They would slaughter every man, woman and child in Lindum in retaliation.

“The grain is not worth that. It is too high a price to pay. Let them take it.”

There was a great deal of grumbling and muttering from the crowd, but it was clear that most could see the truth in what Sardi said.

“Out of the mouths of babes!” laughed Aurelius loudly. “He is right of course and you all know it. Now get out of the way and let the wagon pass!”

Still the Damnonii were angry, but they allowed themselves to be pushed aside as a wagon pulled by two horses came forward and manoeuvred towards the granary. One of the Romans climbed the ladder leaning against the granary to gauge how full it was.