Tales of the Lorekeepers 01 - Rise of the Red Dragon

hill.”
    “I would love nothing more, but even that may prove impossible.”
    “You drive a hard bargain! Very well, you have my word. Carry on, then.”
    Samuel nodded to the king of Britain and continued explaining his theory.
    “Vortigern is actually the one who gave me the clue I was missing. At first, I didn’t make much of it, but now I can see it clearly. He was right about one thing: the army is in disarray and the morale of the troops is at its lowest level. The Saxons are almost here, and they will defeat the Britons if your people do not fight back with all their might and spirit. Vortigern is hoping that killing the white dragon—representing the enemy—will breathe a new wind over his army, a wind charged with hope and filled with songs of victory. I believe he is right about that part.
    “The red dragon represents the Britons and will eventually become a powerful emblem of your people, Ambrosius. However, here is where Vortigern is wrong: he cannot kill the white dragon himself; the red one needs to do it. Only then will the men see the omen in this. The word had been spread across the army camp about the two dragons, Vortigern made sure of it. If the soldiers witness the red beast trouncing his foe, then they will believe in victory again.
    “If I am right, Ambrosius, then, before this is all over, you will have won back your army and the faith of your people. I trust this is how it is supposed to be. Your descendants and your brother’s descendants will be among the highest regarded rulers your nation has ever known and will prevail against many foes.
    “I believe this is the night when you must use a symbol—the red dragon—to rally your troops around you and overthrow Vortigern. I believe this is the night when you will reclaim control of Britain and start fighting back against your enemies.”
    Samuel paused to make sure everyone was following.
    “You may have said too much to this man, Lorekeeper,” Angeline said.
    “I don’t have any other choice, Angeline. He is part of this legend and he has to know what needs to happen if we are to save history.”
    “All right. But what now?”
    “All along, we thought that the Yfel was plotting to kill Myrddin or Ambrosius, when in fact he was waiting till the very end to make his move. This is why Myrddin’s vision never changed, because nothing has changed yet. In the minds of everyone involved, therefore, this legend is still going according to plan. The device is disguised as an altar, and the attempted sacrifice of Myrddin is still a possible outcome, even if we know it would not have happened.
    “I believe that when the two dragons emerge from the cave and soar into the sky, the agent of Yfel will aim this weapon at the red one and fire all its power at it.”
    “By the gods,” said Angeline, suddenly realizing what was about to happen and what it meant. It was almost unthinkable.
    “I don’t get it,” asked Myrddin. “What will he accomplish by killing the dragon?”
    “If he kills the symbol around which the whole Briton army is supposed to rally, then your warriors will lose their last glimmer of hope. Especially if he makes a big display of it, showing the Saxon dragon slaying the Briton one. Any attempt by Ambrosius to take back control of his army won’t make a difference in the world. The metaphor is too profound. Think about it. Dragons? It doesn’t get much more powerful than that. If the red dragon loses the battle, the men will give up and the Saxons will exterminate the last Britons within a few days. Ambrosius and Uther will never become kings of their people, and the rest of history as we know it will never happen.”
    Angeline whispered a name: “Arthur.”
    “Exactly,” answered Samuel. “If he succeeds, he will effectively change the history of Britain and erase the whole Arthurian mythology.”
    “Hold on,” said Angeline. “It makes sense, but still, why go to all this trouble? Why not devise a plan to kill Myrddin earlier in the story, without him seeing it coming? That way, Vortigern would have never learned about the dragons and the army would never have gotten its momentum back, suffering the tremors night after night until the Saxons crushed them. He would have gained the same thing, without having to unearth two dragons!”
    “It’s quite simple,” answered Samuel. “If he had made such a plan and been successful, there were no guarantees that Vortigern would have stayed here. Under the