Ravens of Avalon: Avalon Read online

  M A R I O N Z I M M E R B R A D L E Y ’ S

  RAVENS

  ofAVALON

  Other books in this series

  Ancestors of Avalon

  Priestess of Avalon

  Lady of Avalon

  The Forest House

  The Mists of Avalon

  M A R I O N Z I M M E R B R A D L E Y ’ S

  RAVENS

  ofAVALON

  D i ana L . Pax s on

  V I K I N G

  vi k i ng

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A. • Penguin Group (Canada), 90

  Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4P 2Y3 (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, En gland • Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) • Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) • Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11

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  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices:

  80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, En gland

  First published in 2007 by Viking Penguin,

  a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  Copyright © The Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Trust and Diana L. Paxson, 2007

  All rights reserved

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  l i b rary of cong re s s catalog i ng i n p ubl i cati on data

  Paxson, Diana L.

  Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Ravens of Avalon / Diana L. Paxson.

  p. cm.

  ISBN: 1-4295-4202-0

  1. Boadicea, Queen, d. 62—Fiction. 2. Druids and Druidism—Fiction. 3.

  Great

  Britain—History—Roman

  period, 55 B.C.–449 A.D.—Fiction. 4. Great Britain—History, Military—55 B.C.–449 A.D.—Fiction.

  5. Romans—Great Britain—Fiction. 6. Britons—Fiction. 7. Avalon (Legendary place)—Fiction.

  I. Bradley, Marion Zimmer. II. Title. III. Title: Ravens of Avalon.

  PS3566.A897M34 2007

  813'.54—dc22

  2007003307

  Set in Bembo

  Designed by Spring Hoteling

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright own er and the above publisher of this book.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not partici-pate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightable materials.Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  To Sarah Rachel, who fought long and hard . . .

  N A M E S I N T H E S T O RY

  CAPITALS = major character

  + = historical fi gure

  (

  ) = dead before story begins

  [

  ] = alternate or later form of name

  P E O P L E

  B riton s

  (Note: Most of these names are attested from written documents of the

  period; however, I have left the British nominative ending “os” on some

  but not on others to provide variety and lessen confusion for the reader.)

  +Adminios—middle son of Cunobelin, exiled king of the Cantiaci

  Anaveistl—mother of Boudica

  Antebrogios—Durotrige chieftain defending the Hill of Stones

  +Antedios—High King of the Iceni

  Argantilla—Boudica’s younger daughter

  Aurodil—an Iceni maiden

  Beric—son of Segovax, a young warrior in the rebellion

  Bethoc—an old woman from a fishing village on Mona

  Bituitos—bodyguard to Prasutagos

  viii

  Nam e s i n th e Story

  +Bodovoc—king of the Northern Dobunni, subject to Togodumnos

  +BOUDICA—daughter of Dubrac, later wife of Prasutagos and queen of

  the Iceni

  Bracios [Braci]—Boudica’s youngest brother

  Brocagnos—an Iceni farmer

  Calgac—a warrior in Boudica’s service

  +CARATAC [Caratacus]—third son of Cunobelin, king of the Cantiaci

  and leader of the fight against Rome

  +Cartimandua—queen of the Brigantes

  Carvilios—a warrior in the rebellion

  Caw—a freedman in the service of Boudica’s daughters

  Cingetor—king of the Silures

  +Cogidubnos—grandson of Verica, later, king of the Atrebates and

  Regni

  +Corio—king of the Southern Dobunni

  Crispus—a Gaulish freedman in Boudica’s service

  (+Cunobelin [Cunobelinos])—king of the Trinovantes and Catuvellauni,

  overlord of southeast Britannia)

  Drostac of Ash Hill—a chieftain of the Iceni

  Dubnocoveros—eldest son of Dubrac and brother of Boudica

  Dubrac—father of Boudica, a prince of the Southern Iceni

  Eoc Mor—bodyguard to Prasutagos

  Epilios—youngest son of Cunobelin, foster brother of Braci

  Nam e s i n th e Story

  ix

  +Esico—goldsmith minting coins for Prasutagos

  Kitto—the son of a farmer near Manduessedum

  Leucu—an Iceni warrior in the service of Dubrac

  Maglorios—overking of the Belgae

  Mandos—an Iceni warrior

  Morigenos—an Iceni clan chieftain

  Nessa—an old servant in Boudica’s family

  Palos—owner of the farm near the Horse Shrine, husband of Shanda

  +PRASUTAGOS—son of Domarotagos, High King of the Iceni, Boudi-

  ca’s husband

  Rigana—Boudica’s older daughter

  Rosic—a farmer near Eponadunon, father of Temella

  Segovax—an Iceni clan leader

  Shanda—wife of Palos, of the farm near the Horse Shrine

  Tabanus—a Trinovante slave in Colonia

  Tancoric—king of the Durotriges

  Tascio—son of Segovax, a young warrior in the rebellion

  Taximagulos—an Iceni farmer

  Temella—Boudica’s maid

  Tingetorix—a war leader in the rebellion

  +Togodumnos—son of Cunobelin, king of the Trinovantes and Catuvellauni

  x Nam e s i n th e Story

  +Venutios—king of the Brigantes

  +Veric [Verica]—king of the Atrebates expelled by Caratac

  D ru i d s

  Albi—a boy in training with the Druids

  Ambios—Druid attached to the household of King Caratac

  ARDANOS—a Druid priest

  Belina—a niece of Cunobelin and a priestess

  Bendeigid—a Cornovian boy in training with the Druids, later husband

  of Rheis
<
br />   Brangenos—a Druid bard from Gallia

  Brenna—a Brigante girl in training with the Druids

  Brigomaglos—a Durotrige Druid

  Caillean—an Irish girl fostered by Lhiannon

  (Catuera—a legendary priestess)

  Cloto [Lucius Cloto]—an Atrebate boy in training with the Druids

  Coventa—a Brigante girl in training with the Druids, later a priestess

  Cunitor—a Druid priest

  Elin—an old priestess

  Divitiac—chief Druid of the Durotrige tribe

  Helve—a se nior priestess, later High Priestess

  Kea—a girl in training with the Druids

  Nam e s i n th e Story

  xi

  LHIANNON—a young priestess

  Lugovalos—Arch- Druid at Lys Deru

  Mandua—an Atrebate girl in training with the Druids

  Mearan—High Priestess when Boudica arrives on Mona

  Nan—an old priestess living at Avalon

  Nodona—a young priestess, Helve’s second protegée

  Rheis—daughter of Ardanos, later wife of Bendeigid

  Rianor—a Trinovante boy in training with the Druids, later a priest

  Sciovana—wife of Ardanos

  Senora—a girl in training with the Druids

  Roman s

  Calvus [ Junius Antonius Calvus]—a Roman lawyer

  +Catus [Decianus Catus]—Roman procurator in charge of collecting debts

  +Claudius [Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus]—emperor

  41 CE to 54 CE

  Crispus—a Gallo-Roman freedman in the household of Boudica

  +(Gaius Julius Caesar, imperator and leader of a successful campaign in

  Britannia in 54 BCE)

  +Gaius Nero “Caligula”—emperor 54 CE to 68 CE

  +Gallus [Aulus Didius Gallus]—governor of Britannia 52 CE to 57 CE

  +Narcissus—a freedman and secretary of state to Claudius

  +Nero [Nero Claudius Caesar]—emperor 54 CE to 68 CE

  xii

  Nam e s i n th e Story

  +Petilius Cerialis—commander of Legio IX in 60 CE

  +Paulinus [Gaius Suetonius Paulinus]—governor of Britannia 58 CE

  to 61 CE

  +Plautius [Aulus Plautius]—commander of the invasion force, military

  governor of Britannia 43 CE to 47 CE

  +Poenius Postumus—commander of Legio II Augusta, the legion that

  failed to come to Paulinus’s aid

  Pollio [Lucius Junius Pollio]—a tax collector in Britannia

  +Scapuola [Publius Ostorius Scapuola]—governor of Britannia 48 CE

  to 52 CE

  +Seneca [Lucius Annaeus Seneca]—senator and playwright, one of the

  regents for the emperor Nero

  +Silanus [Lucius Junius Silanus

  Torquatus]—senator, son-in-law of

  Claudius

  +Vespasian [Titus Flavius Vespasianus]—legionary legate in command of

  Legio II Augusta during the invasion (emperor, 69 CE to 79 CE)

  A N I M A L S

  Bogle—pack leader of Boudica’s white, red-eared hounds

  Roud—Boudica’s red mare

  Branwen—Boudica’s white mare

  D E I T I E S

  Andraste—battle goddess of the Iceni

  Argantorota [Arianrhod]—Lady of the Silver Wheel

  Arimanes [Arawn]—ruler of the Underworld (or Arihausnos)

  Nam e s i n th e Story

  xiii

  Belutacadros, Cocidios, Coroticos, Lenos, Olloudios, Teutates—war gods

  Brigantia—goddess of inspiration, smithcraft, and healing, also territorial

  goddess of the Brigantes

  Cathubodva—“Battle Raven,” see Morrigan

  Dagdevos [the Dagda]—the Good God, a god of fertility, mate of the Morrigan

  Epona—the Horse Goddess, patroness of the Iceni

  Lugos [Lugh]—the many-skilled, honored at the harvest

  Morrigan—“Great Queen,” a title for the battle goddess, also called

  Cathubodva (“Battle Raven”) and Nantosuelta (“Winding-One”)

  Sucellos—“the Striker,” a Gaulish equivalent to Dagdevos, mate of the

  Morrigan

  Taranis—god of thunder

  P L AC E S

  An-Dubnion [Annwyn]—the Underworld

  Briga/the Brigante lands—Yorkshire and Lancashire

  River Brigant—the Braint, in Anglesey

  River Brue—near Glastonbury

  Camadunon [Cadbury Castle]—a hillfort at the edge of Somerset that in

  the sixth century was to be refortifi ed as King Arthur’s Camelot.

  Camulodunon [Camulodunum, Colonia Victricensis, Colchester]—chief

  dun of the Trinovante territories, capital for Cunobelin, and later admin-

  istrative center for Britannia Superiore

  Carn Ava [Avebury]—a stone circle north of Stonehenge

  xiv

  Nam e s i n th e Story

  Danatobrigos, the Hill of the Sheep [Sedgeford, Norfolk]—Boudica’s farm

  Deva [Chester]—home fort for Legio XX and IV

  Dun Garo [Venta Icenorum, Caistor St. Edmunds, Norfolk]—Iceni capi-

  tal, just south of present-day Norwich

  Dun of Stones [Hod Hill, Dorset]—hillfort defended by the Durotriges

  Durovernon [Durovernum Cantiacorum, Canterbury]—dun of Caratac,

  the Cantiaci capital

  Durovigutum [Godmanchester]—a Roman fort at the edge of the Iceni

  country

  Earth-ring—Arminghall Henge, south of Norwich

  Eponadunon [Warham Camp, Norfolk]—King Prasutagos’s dun

  Eriu [Ireland]

  Garo—river Yare, Norfolk

  Gesoriacum [Boulogne]—Roman port in Gallia

  Great Road [Watling Street]—an early Roman road bisecting Britannia

  from London to Wroxeter

  Horse Shrine [Sedgeford, Norfolk]—local off ering place near Danatobrigos

  House of the Hare (near Teutodunon)—home of Boudica’s parents

  Isca Road [Fosse Way]—Roman road from Exeter to Lincoln

  Isle of Vectis [Isle of Wight]

  Laigin [Leinster, Ireland]

  Lake of Little Stones—Llyn Cerrig Bach, Anglesey

  Lead Hills [Mendip Hills, Somerset]

  Nam e s i n th e Story

  xv

  Letocetum [Wall]—a Roman fort on Watling Street in the Midlands

  Limes—the border between the pacified and unpacified lands, running

  roughly from present-day York to Usk in Wales

  Londinium [London]—administrative center and trading town on the Tamesa

  Lys Deru (Oakhalls) [near Brynsiencyn, Anglesey]—the Druid commu-

  nity on Mona.

  Lys Udra [near Aldborough, Yorkshire]—Queen Cartimandua’s home

  Medu [the Medway]—in Kent

  Mona [Anglesey]—an island off the northwest tip of Wales, the Druid

  sanctuary

  Manduessedum [Mancetter, near Nuneaton]—site of Boudica’s last battle

  Narrow Sea [English Channel]

  Noviomagus—Chichester, Sussex

  Rigodunon—Venutios’s hillfort at Stanwix, near Carlisle

  Sabrina [Severn River]

  Sacred Spring—Holy Well at Walsingham, Norfolk

  Salmaes Firth [the Solway]

  Tamesa [River Thames]

  Teutodunon [Thetford, Gallows Hill]—dun of the Iceni clan of the Hare,

  home of Boudica’s family and site of Prasutagos’s great hall

  Verlamion [Verulamium, St. Albans]—Catuvellauni capital

  Vernemeton, the Forest House (near Chester)—sanctuary to which the

  surviving Druid priestesses are moved after the fall of Mona

  xvi

  Nam e s i n th e Story

  Tri bal Te rri tori e s


  ( B o rd e r s A p p r ox i m a t e a n d S h i f t i n g )

  Atrebates—Hampshire, Berkshire

  Belgae—Wiltshire, Hampshire

  Brigantes—York, Lancaster

  Cantiaci—Kent

  Catuvellauni—Oxfordshire, Hertshire

  Deceangli—Flintshire (north coast of Wales)

  Demetae—Pembrokeshire (southwest Wales)

  Dobunni—Gloucestershire

  Durotriges—Dorset, Somerset

  Iceni—Norfolk

  Ordovices—western Wales to Anglesey

  Regni—Sussex, Surrey

  Silures—Glamorgan and Monmouthshire (southern Wales)

  Trinovantes—Essex, Suff olk

  M A R I O N Z I M M E R B R A D L E Y ’ S

  RAVENS

  ofAVALON

  P R O L O G U E

  Lhiannon Speaks

  At Samhain, we open our doors to the spirits of those who are

  gone. These days I find it easier to remember the dead than the living. I

  recall the most insignificant details of dress and habits of the women

  who were priestesses when I was young, and forget the names of the

  girls who serve me now. Even at this season of chill winds and falling

  leaves the house they have made for me beneath the trees of Vernemeton

  is comfortable, but when I remember our sanctuary on the Isle of Mona,

  it is all one golden afternoon, for Lys Deru was a place of magic.

  These girls have grown up in the shadow of Rome. How can I show

  them the glory of that world in which we lived before the Legions

  came? I suppose it was no more perfect than any other society of hu-

  mans, but it was our own. The Druids of Lys Deru preserved a noble

  tradition which we can practice only in pale imitation here.

  Ardanos says that to survive we must bow our heads, conceal our

  powers, compromise. I do not gainsay him—what use would it be? But

  sometimes I wish that we could make these young ones understand why

  we fought to stay free. They say that the Society of Ravens is rising again.

  Will they call upon the Lady of Ravens to lead them? Boudica did, and

  nearly brought Rome to her knees.

  In those days we loved deeply and dared greatly. Now all we can do

  is endure. It is the turn of Ardanos’s granddaughter Eilan to serve me.

  Perhaps this evening, when we wait for the pro cession of spirits to come

  to my door, I will try to tell her the tale . . .

  O N E

  They had come to the Druids’ Isle just before sunset, Boudica sitting