Read Tales of the Lorekeepers 01 - Rise of the Red Dragon for Free Online

had befallen him. He was trying to evaluate the Saxons’ next move. As king of the Britons, he had to protect his people from old enemies, namely the Picts and the Scots from the Northlands. He had successfully eliminated most of his rivals for the crown, but those two tribes had been the main cause of all his problems. Tirelessly, they had tried to steal his lands and capture villages close to Hadrian’s Wall. Ever since the Romans had left the island to go back to the main land, tribes like these two had been trying to gather power and might eventually overthrow the Britons.
    Since most of the Briton noblemen had grown into pompous weaklings, under the “generous” administration of the Romans, Britain had been left with a minimal defense system as soon as the last regiment of legionaries had left. The few thousand men he had at his disposal at the time had been insufficient to protect the whole island.
    He had needed to ask for help, and the Saxons had seemed like the logical choice—the only choice, in fact. Even though his entire court had showered him with warnings about the Saxons, he had had no other options. But those barbarians were greedy, always asking for more land and more gold, more food and more women. Vortigern had been kind enough to give them a place to stay, in the eastern part of the island. Still, every month, more of their people were coming to the island, crossing over from the continent, all of them looking for a place to settle down and begin a better life.
    “I should have listened, Morghan. I should have known they would ask for additional lands.”
    His advisor did not answer. There was no need to. He knew his king was still mourning the loss of many friends.
    About a year ago, a messenger had arrived at the king’s court, bearing a letter from the Saxons. The message was simple enough. Hengist, the leader of the Saxon tribes, was asking for a meeting with the king and various lords of the region. He had claimed a desire to discuss a number of proposals, in order to find more room for his people. Doing so, he would also increase his army and provide the king even more protection from the northern tribes.
    Again, the nobles and advisors had told the king to be careful, claiming Hengist’s request had all the makings of a trap. “They can’t be trusted!” they kept repeating, but the king would not listen. His stubbornness was partly because of his pride, but also due to a much darker secret: he was deathly afraid of the northern tribes and would blind himself to every other danger, in order to ensure his people’s safety from the barbarian hordes of the Northlands.
    Therefore, he had accepted Hengist’s proposal and went to meet with them, along with most of the lords and nobles who owned the lands, leaders of the Briton’s small army. As if that had not been foolish enough, they had gone to the meeting with very little protection, convinced it would show their good faith to the Saxons. But savages do not care too much about good faith and things as trivial as honor.
    They were massacred, all of them, with the exception of Vortigern, who was left alive so that his people could witness the shame and disgrace that would forever fill him.
    “They knew they were going to die, Morghan,” said the king, still staring at the fire. “Each of our companions that day knew it was a trap, but still they came with me.”
    “You are the king,” Morghan said. “A strong and confident one. Our people will follow you no matter what they think or believe.”
    “If you speak the truth, old friend, then tell me what will happen once the people start seeing me as weak and unable to lead them? What then? Will they still follow me? Will they even allow me to breathe the same air as they do, or eat the food they produce by the sweat of their brow?”
    “My liege, there is no need to dwell on such things. You still have the confidence of the people, of that you can rest assured. There is no need to