Tales of the Lorekeepers 01 - Rise of the Red Dragon

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 envision absurd and unlikely scenarios.”
    Morghan was lying, of course, and it pained him terribly to do so, but his friend needed to regain his composure and his imperious attitude if they were to win this war.
    “Your army still follows you, don’t they?” he continued. “They will keep obeying your command for as long as you give them some hope. Now is not the time to sink into bitterness.”
    “They follow me because they have nowhere else to go! For the past year, the Saxon army has been rampaging over our lands and destroying every village in its path. Our homes have been burned to the ground, our women assaulted and left for dead by a terrible enemy. An enemy we are powerless against so far, Morghan! No, they do not follow me because of my leadership. They follow me because there is no other alternative.”
    Again, Morghan remained silent. He knew Vortigern was right and did not want to offend his king by treating him like a child and pretending everything was fine.
    “I fear my enemies will take this opportunity to rise against me,” said the king suddenly.
    “You have successfully kept the Picts and the Scots away from your lands, my lord, even with the Saxons pushing us toward the Western Sea. There is no reason to think they will organize themselves any better and succeed in overthrowing your defenses stationed behind the wall.”
    “It’s not the northern tribes I am referring to, but much older and more cunning enemies. I’m talking about brothers seeking to avenge the murder of one of their own. I’m talking about the two surviving sons of Constantine II.”
    “My king, there have been no signs of the brothers in over two decades.”
    “Exactly. I wish we had heard something. I had hoped that, by now, words would have reached our ears of their demise or at least their departure from the island. If I knew they were plotting to overthrow me, at least it would give me some indication of their whereabouts. Alas, they have successfully avoided all of my spies, remaining hidden from me, ready to strike from the shadows. I’ve killed their younger brother, Morghan, so I could take his place on the throne. They won’t ever forgive me, nor forget what I did.”
    Morghan considered his answer for a second.
    “They will have to find us first,” he said finally. “And if they decide to embark on this quest, they will also have to fight the Saxons, just like we do. The barbarians won’t make any exceptions in their conquest of the