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The funeral pyre of the King was set ablaze by
the Lords and the surviving royal family stepped back inside the castle. They
adjourned to the hall and were surrounded by the Lords in attendance. There was
the issue of the ascension of the new King.
“Silence, my Lords of the land.” Lord Vortigern
took to address the gathered there. The three lads of the previous King were
seated next to the throne. A few Lords glared at the request of Lord Vortigern
but none dared to challenge him there. The duel with Lord Sebastian was still
in their mind, and the errant Lord's carcass was dragged away.
“Give the young lads time to think. The passing
of the King was sudden but his kingdom remained. We need to preserve it for the
people. Stay vigilant and keep the raiders from our borders. A weak kingdom
will fall. And I shall not allow that to happen now.” The last words of Lord
Vortigern were seen by some as a self-proclamation.
The gathered was sent back to their castles and
homes while the three siblings met Lord Vortigern in the hall.
“My young ones, you are all princes of the
land. Your King lays dead and one of you is to be King.” Lord Vortigern looked
at them. “Not me nor the other Lords, but yourselves. You are the bloodline of
the King.”
“Constan ….” Lord Vortigern addressed the
eldest and was cut off.
“I am not to be. I am not to be the new King. I
am a monk now. I am at peace with my life.” Constan stated his stand. “Make
Aurelius the new King. Or Uther.”
“I…” Aurelius was to speak but Lord Vortigern
motioned him to stop. The Lord then looked at Constan.
“Constan, you are the eldest and by years ahead
of them. More to it, you have ridden to battle and proven yourself.” Lord
Vortigern stated the obvious.
“I had to kill…I had to take a life.” Constan
uttered out. “It’s not mine to take. It’s God's will that can do that.”
“And it was God’s will that you take the life
on his call.” Lord Vortigern affirmed the lad’s action.
“Blasphemy! Don’t poison his mind, Lord
Vortigern.” It was Gildas who had intervened in the hall. Lord Vortigern turned
to look at the approaching monk. He drew his dagger and leveled it toward the
other.
“What is this, Lord Vortigern? Did God tell you
to take my life? If it was true, do so now. Then I don’t have to witness this …
blasphemy in God’s name.”
Lord Vortigern held his hand then. He looked at
the dagger and was In deep thought.
“Father, I do not want to dirty my hands with
more blood,” Constan spoke out then. “Let …”
Constan looked to his brothers and felt the
guilt to pass on the responsibilities to them.
“You be the King, Lord Vortigern. You can do
what is needed.” Constan looked to the Lord. “You defeated many of the King’s
enemies. You can be King.”
“My son, the King can be without the blood
calls. Remember my words m my son when we were in the chapel. “If the war cannot be
averted, then we do what is needed. Many times, we will find ourselves, driven
to the sea; the sea throws us back
on the other thus, two modes of death await us, we are either slain or
drowned.”
Lord Vortigern looked at the monk in disbelief.
“Without the king, the Lords will not be united
and chaos will reign on the land. I have seen it myself, my abodes built for
the faithful of God were destroyed when the order was not there. I have seen
the King preventing this with his will to ensure peace reigned. He defended
God’s subject from the …. Devils that inhibit those others.” Gildas looked at
Cosntan. “My stay here showed me the workings of the King. As God had to send
his Angels to battle the Fallen, it was inevitable to avoid more chaos.”
“I shall not kill.” Constan defended his faith.
“And you shall not kill and the Lords will not
do so, unless…. It's needed. Remember my words again; we will find ourselves,
driven to the sea; the sea throws
us back on the other thus, two modes of death await us, we are either slain or
drowned.”
“We may face the sea if there is no King.”
Gildas sighed. “Man is created equal from the shoulder up, but our feet stand
on different grounds. There is no perfection to all of God’s creatures. He gave
us a journey with the choices and our path will be judged at the end.”
“Would the repentance of our sins be a choice
for us?” Constan asked then.
“It’s but the acceptance of it must come from
our soul and not our voice.” Gildas looked at Lord Vortigern. “There must be no
other motives.”
Gildas then took to leave the hall, At the end
of the day, the voices herald the new King to the kingdom.
“Hail King Constan!” The new King had the crown
placed on his head with his trusted Lords by his side, led by Lord Vortigern,
The latter met the monk during the late night, at the castle ground.
“Why did …”
“I did nothing more than to advise the King. He
is young and the kingdom needed a better person to be King.” Gildas looked at
Lord Vortigern.
“Are you indicating that I …”
“Lord Vortigern, I am not here to listen to
your confessions. I will leave it to God to do that.” Gildas interjected on the
Lord. “Stay by his side and do your duty as Lord. He is still young. One day,
he may ask you for your confessions. He is still a monk in the faith.”
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