Chapter 20

Eoric's journey up through Strath Spey kept him on level ground and avoided the high peaks of the Cairngorm Mountains. Once more he was surrounded by purple heather as he ran along the banks of the broad River Spey. Even in the height of summer the river was full and flowing strongly and he could sense the many tributaries that fed it running down from the surrounding mountains.

As he reached the head of the strath he stopped and began peering into the water of the river looking for some fish to eat. The Spey was teaming with salmon he could feel. It didn't take him long to spot a large fish and he beckoned it to come to him. Eoric rested while he cooked the salmon, eating half of it in one go and plucking some large leaves from a nearby bush to wrap the remainder in. Then he was off once more at the run.

His route now swung eastwards and he had to negotiate his way round a Pictish camp at the entrance to Strath Isla. He paused briefly to map out the nature of the settlement and to note the numbers of Picts who were based there.

Strath Isla opened out into the much broader and flatter Strath Bogie and here he passed a further two settlements and mapped them out in his head. While he had never been in this part of the country, his senses could easily pick up the sea away to his east. It was pulling at him strongly and he felt the urge to be there and to immerse himself in the water.

He sensed a larger settlement just north of Ceann Tòrr (modern day Kintore) and once more he gathered as much information about it as he could before continuing his journey. He had been running now with only one short break for twelve hours, five of those in darkness and had covered around one hundred and thirty miles.

He had to strongly resist his urge to make for the sea when he became aware of a very large body of men to the south of him. The numbers involved here could only mean that he had found Domnall and King Beli and he veered southwards to head in their direction.

He ran for a further ten miles with his camouflage helping him bypass the scouts and guards that the Celtic force had deployed. He paused just inside the treeline of a wood to focus on making himself visible to all and as the main host began to pass, he stepped out and greeted Domnall.

"Well met, my Lord of Kintyre," he said.

"Well met indeed, Lord of Lorne. How is my royal father?" replied Domnall.

"He was well enough when I left him last evening by the River Garry. Atholl is quiet, with the Picts it seems scared to venture forth there. Eochaid King will have slim pickings. The same can't be said for you, Domnall. I have passed a number of Pictish camps on my way here and you will have your fill of fighting before this campaign is through," Eoric said.

All around men shook their heads in amazement at the distance they knew he must have travelled if he had left the King where he said. Eoric nodded to King Beli of Strathclyde, a man who had recently been fighting against Dalriada.

"Aye, we have already had a few minor skirmishes, but the Picts seem to be retreating before us. Those few we have captured and can understand confirm that the main base is at this Aberdeen. Come, Eoric, we will take a break and you can share with us what intelligence you have gathered," Domnall suggested.

Domnall had explained that they had overrun a Pictish camp only a few miles back at a place the locals called Beannchar (modern day Banchory) and that was where they had captured some Picts and questioned them. Eoric shared all the information he had but advised that he had not yet scouted out this Aberdeen. It was agreed that that should be his next task.

"We need to make sure we're not overmatched before we go much further," Domnall said.

"Aye, we haven't seen many of the savages so far. They need to be somewhere and possibly they have banded together for their own safety," added Beli.

Eoric took some time to soak up some additional energy from his surroundings and finished the last of his salmon. Then he was off alone to scout out Aberdeen.

He ran directly east until he reached the coast and took a few minutes just to stare out at the sea from a high clifftop. Clouds had gathered and the colour of the water reflected the grey day. Still, he had a strong urge to be in the water. Without conscious thought, he stripped off his clothing and jumped from the cliff. Eoric was only slightly surprised when he didn't plummet downwards but instead descended in a graceful and controlled swoop.

"Are you flying again?" asked Merlin from inside him.

"Not this time, but I feel I could have if I wanted to. No, this is but a dive."

He entered the water cleanly, with barely a splash and immediately began to swim northwards. The water was cold, but he was at home in it and he swam happily. Eoric could sense small numbers of humans on the land he was passing, but the presence of sheep and cows confirmed for him that these were herders.

Half an hour later he sensed something altogether different and he rose to the surface for the first time to have a look. He could see a few miles of sandy beach before him and further inland, on higher ground a major settlement. Eoric extended his senses and began mapping the camp in his head. There was a substantial defensive earthenwork mound with a deep ditch and a berm going all the way round the settlement. The mound was manned with guards and Eoric estimated there were over four thousand people here.

That was an unusual number of people to be gathered in one place and Eoric assumed that Domnall and King Beli had guessed correctly. The Picts from the surrounding camps and settlements seemed to have converged on this Aberdeen, believing there was safety in numbers. He was able to differentiate between the men, women and children in the settlement and he thought there were over two thousand men of fighting age.

Having gathered as much intelligence as he could, Eoric swam back towards the point he had entered the sea. He emerged onto a narrow beach, dripping water and scanning the cliff to try and find a way up to the top. Climbing upwards proved easy enough and soon he was pulling on his clothes once more and setting out at a run to find the Celtic army.

News of the numbers at Aberdeen was met with mixed emotions. On the one hand Domnall and Beli were pleased that they had seemingly caught up with the main Pictish force in the area, but on the other hand facing over two thousand meant the odds were pretty even. When Eoric described the strong defences around the settlement all agreed it would be folly to attack it.

Heads were scratched as those involved in the discussions tried to think of a way to draw the Picts out from their strong defensive position. Eoric was anxious to help. He knew defeating the Picts at Aberdeen would open up all of the northeast to Domnall and the Celts and would speed up the point at which he himself would be able to begin his own mission.

"I think I might have an answer," he suggested.

Everyone looked at him and when he explained his idea there were looks of both astonishment and disbelief.

"But that's impossible," said King Beli.

"I believe I can do it," Eoric responded, "in any event, you have nothing to lose. All I'm asking is that you move your men close enough to Aberdeen to take advantage of the situation if it does work."

"Eoric's right, moving forward makes sense and it will allow us to keep an eye on the Picts too," said Domnall.

It was agreed that the army would move forward at first light so that they would be in position by mid morning. Eoric had suggested the timing, knowing how important it was to his plan.

The next morning as the Celts advanced on Aberdeen, Eoric once more ran to the coast and dived from the cliff top into the sea. He swam until he was off of the beach that led up to the settlement of Aberdeen then surfaced to check on the progress of Domnall and King Beli. When he was satisfied that the Celts were in position on the high ground above the settlement, he dived under the water and swam downwards.

Eoric allowed himself to settle so that he was standing upright on the seabed. He soaked up as much energy as his body could stand and then let his head fall back. He let out a roar that used up all of the energy at once; creating a powerful wave that angled diagonally upwards toward the surface and the beach.

The wave caused a swell of over twenty feet and this now surged forward at over a hundred miles an hour towards the shore. As the seabed shelved, so the wave grew in height and intensity until it crashed ashore and the water swept over the landscape.

Eoric had only been able to generate enough power for a localised tsunami, but it was still enough to inundate the Pictish camp and sweep away their houses, defences and many of their men. Widespread panic ensued as the Picts tried to escape the water and get to higher ground. Most of them tried to make for the northern side of the settlement, away from the Celts they could see waiting for them.

Domnall and Beli led their men forward but had to detour round the lake of seawater that remained from the giant wave and as a result the Picts were already disappearing into the surrounding countryside before they could be brought to battle. Domnall had only forty or so mounted men at his disposal but he sent these forward now to try and run some of the Picts down. He conferred with Beli and they decided to split their force into five smaller bands of around four hundred each with orders to begin to sweep northwards and slaughter all the Picts they came across.

"Women and children are to be spared," said Domnall, "we Celts need to begin to expand and these can be the first contribution to that."

By the time Eoric rejoined Eochaid's son, the troops had been split and had dispersed.

"Eoric, remind me not to make you angry my friend. I wouldn't have believed it possible if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," he said.

Eoric shrugged off the praise and confirmed that Domnall had no further use for him. It was clear that it might take weeks of traipsing over the northeast countryside, but Eoric's devastation of Aberdeen had broken the back of any attempt at concerted resistance from the Picts.

Donachd and his force of Antrim men had landed at the head of Loch Carron and marched up Glen Carron in a northeasterly direction. Through Strath Bran and round Loch Luichart they went, then they turned southeast and marched past Loch Garve. After five days of marching across rough and hilly country, Donachd halted his men on the shores of the Moray Firth, waiting for Eoric to put in an appearance.

He sent out scouts to begin to gather some intelligence and to make sure he himself wasn't ambushed, then allowed the majority of his men to relax and rest after their long march.

Eoric quickly retraced his steps to the head of Strathspey and followed the river south until he reached Aviemore once again. When he had been passing the smaller Pict settlements he had sensed that they were abandoned and he wondered where all of the people had gone. Although none of them was significant in numbers, combined they could represent a force of four or five hundred and that could be significant.