Tales of the Lorekeepers 01 - Rise of the Red Dragon

Unlike you, I don’t know all of our people’s history yet.”
    “You should know this,” said Malloy.
    “Come on Malloy,” said Atwood. “He’s just a kid, he doesn’t know what Vortigern has done. Probably doesn’t know who the Saxons are either.”
    “He sure knows how to handle a sword, though!” Darroch grinned.
    “How would you know?” said Freston. “You were sleeping the whole time.”
    “Why, you …”
    Atwood had to intervene quickly in order to restrain his brother from attacking the archer. Finally, Malloy turned away from Samuel and resumed eating his dinner in silence.
    “Well, aren’t you going to tell him the story?” Atwood asked Malloy. “After all, he did save your arse earlier.”
    “Fine,” answered Malloy, turning to Samuel. “I guess it falls on me to teach you about our history. Maybe if you spent less time wielding that sword of yours, and more time learning about your ancestors, you would know about them already.”
    “Duly noted,” replied Samuel.
    “Well, I’m sure you know that the Romans were in charge of Britain up until recently. For a few centuries, our people lived under the protection of their empire, and followed their way of life. From what we know, it seemed it was a fairly peaceful time on the island, except for the occasional raids from the north. However, one day, the Romans packed up their goods and left. I imagine they had been recalled to defend their empire, back on the main continent. When the last of them sailed away, most of Britain found itself in a struggle for leadership, every noble claiming they had a right to a throne that had been practically nonexistent until then.
    “In the end, it was agreed that a man named Flavius Claudius Constantinus, or Constantine II, would be put on the throne. He was of Roman descent and was a noble from the main continent, appreciated by all, if we are to believe the stories. Nonetheless, his crowning didn’t mean everyone had suddenly quenched their thirst for power. As you probably know, there will always be people who will scheme to overthrow a king or a ruler.”
    “Where I come from,” said Darroch, “we call them traitors.”
    “You can call them whatever you bloody well want,” replied Malloy. “Just don’t interrupt me again! Now, where was I? Right, there will always be traitors. However, Constantine II ruled for many years. His reign was relatively uneventful, and he eventually took a wife who gave him three sons: Constans, Ambrosius and Uther. The firstborn was sent to study with monks, while the other two remained with their father, in order to help him rule the land.
    “One day, while the two brothers were away to conduct some business, a Pict assassin slipped into the castle and murdered the king. The perpetrator claimed he had acted on his own, but many believed Vortigern’s clan was behind it. At the time, our present king was an advisor to Constantine II, the last of a long line of Briton noblemen.
    “When Ambrosius and his brother returned home, the whole country was already arguing who should inherit the throne and step up as king. Many believed Ambrosius would be an outstanding leader and should inherit the crown, but he and his younger brother insisted that their elder, Constans, was the rightful heir to the throne. When Vortigern, as the head advisor to the former king, declared that Constans was the rightful heir, the elder of the three sons left the monastery where he was living, to assume his new role.
    “If you believe the stories, however, Vortigern had plans of his own, which he immediately set in motion. He knew the elder son could easily be manipulated, since he had been away from politics for so long. This provided the advisor with the necessary time to put his scheme in place, turning the rest of the council, along with the army generals, to his side. When he became powerful enough to suppress any opposition, he murdered the young king and took his place. His first command was to declare the two surviving brothers outlaws and a menace to the Crown. Before long, anyone found guilty of helping them was sentenced to death.”
    “My God,” said Samuel. “And no one stood in his way or organized a rebellion?”
    “There was simply no time to do so. As soon as he was put in charge, Vortigern decided to address one of the biggest threats facing the kingdom. At the time, the people were outraged by the Picts and Scots raiding the northern part of the land, murdering