That Most Chivalric of English Tales: Remus & Gwilherm Chapter X: The Death of Balthrorth

If you can read this, you don't need glasses

The journey up the Mount, on that day was the heaviest climb ere man has ever done on the Lordly-Isle up until that time. Balthrorth had none of the strength in magic, will or physical might of the Warlock-King of Amadan, or the magic of Gith-Andrathal, or the will and physical might of Arndryck the Golden, Balthrorth was still the most terrifying force alongside Razenth currently living on the Lordly-Isle.

The cavern loomed as ever as a yawning-gap from the Northmen’s tales about the dawn of time, so that Gwilherm stepped thither with his heart beating with such force as to reduce a man to his knees from sheer pain. But not the great harpist of Auldchester, who in spite of his fear hummed a tune, singing below his breath the song of Cormac. More specifically the part of his great-song that involved the battle of the Vyrtigern Fields, wherein Cormac pushed back the armies of darkness, with the fields being just north of Valdchester, just south-east of Cymru.

“Hwaet! This be Cormac’s tale,

Quiet in birth in that far vale,

Black shores welcom’d Elves,

Dark wore the foul ones,

Slack found they the Lordly-Isle,

Hark sayeth they the most vile,

Years uncount’d pass’d whilst war ruled,

Corpses untold heap’d whither they annex’d,

Flowers whithered in all fields,

Amongst both the corps and the reeds,

Paint’d all scarlet didst they with steel,

Vale to vale was red seen,

Wails wert shed by clean and unclean,

Short ran the plenty until famish’d,

More cry’d all who bled,

Vast travel’d was Neithan Oak-manstle,

Father to he who never didst rankle,”