My first memory is that of looking out of the stronghold fort now known as Stanwick and seeing the night sky, velvet laden with stars. Under this blanket lay a vast kingdom, an army and a proud people bonded by mutual trust in the king and leader. A prince was I, born of the Carvetti, although sent to fosterage at the Brigantine capital of Stanwick. I was told by my foster mother, a great repository of lore and teller of tales, that i was of the lineage of the legendary Fionn MacCumhail of the Fianna Éireann. However my foster mother was said to be of a lineage even more renowned; that of Bran the Blessed, a remnant of Troy.
My boyhood years were spent in the usual manner of swordplay and exploring and questioning everything in sight. I had no true brothers or sisters but my only close of kin was a brat named Cartimandua, my foster sister. That is i remember her birthday party in which she wouldn't accept the present given to her by my father; that of a sleek pony to match her name. She demanded a better pony, as the one my father presented was supposedly too old and thin. So she sulked and refused to come out until she had got what she wanted, that was the best of brood mares. She would not accept that she was being unreasonable and eventually her parents just had to give in and let her have her own way, as they always did. So it was that Cartimandua, the sleek pony, got her own way. Thus i nicknamed her "the sly pony" and how i despised that brat!
Soon my questioning became more serious and i was drawn to an old story that my foster mother used to read to me. This was about a mysterious youth who shone like the sun and was imprisoned in a tower. Nobody knew where he could be found, not even the oldest of the wise and the oldest of the birds, fish and beasts. I had heard rumors of my lineage as being descended from such a being. A mysterious Mabon in a far off land across the ocean, who was said to hold the wisdom of the world and miracles were no obstacle to him. Yes we had druid magicians, but of late our bards had grown vain and no longer sang of the old mysteries and the stories of old. They had become intoxicated by the promises a new government, a new world order under the Romans with its perks of material gain and prosperity and fame.
So i left my home in order to set out on quest for this mysterious Mabon, or, at least, those who held knowledge of him and who could tell me more about the meaning of this tale. My foster father would say little only that i should travel to the court of Cymbeline at Camulod (Camalot),, or Camulodunum (Colchester), and there i would find an answer to the questions i asked.
Along the way, and i was passing through the land of the Iceni i was ambushed by Boudicca the daughter of the Iceni King, who challenged me to fight with her or be done with! As i walked the road with only a pack horse and my sword strapped to my belt, i told her to get down off her high horse and fight like a man. Instead she cantered around me and whistled for another prime mare to be brought over by her company, and she bid me mount. So i did and she set off at a gallop and so i followed her at pace. I soon overtook her and made her horse stall and rear and it threw her off. Down onto her i went and we were soon grappling in the dirt and she was such a fury that i was thrown back and winded myself. She let me recover first and then our play became more tender and i was soon giving her some of my caress!
Queen Boudicca
Afterwards we rode on together and came to her fathers court and she said "look what i have found father, a prince, and i a princess!" Having being recognised and my lineage ascertained, i was allowed to stay for a while, which suited me fine as i could now have access to my new girlfriend and our secret laisons became more intense and passionate. I was forgetting my original mission however, and having remembered this, i took to visiting a very wise old Druid who was Boudicca's tutor. That is, he was very angry with me at first for having distracted his pupil from her study, as i used to turn up on the dawn and entice her away into the woods and fields for more loveplay. So the Druid and i got talking and soon Boudicca became more and more left out and forlorn. I was fascinated by his knowledge of the east and my questing to find the Mabon again took hold. I was to seek out a certain Caractacus king of the Catuvellaunii, who was also of the lineage of Bran the Blessed, and he would tell me more about the question i sought.
I set off immediately and left my heartbroken lover behind! She never did forgive me for that betrayal and in later years would always refuse my help.
After meeting with Caractacus i was told that our lineage was of Bran who had married Anna, the daughter of one Joseph of Arimathea. He was the brother of the one whom i sought. I learned that he, Joseph, was still alive and could be found in Damascus along the lower Euphrates, so i set off at once!
I eventually came to the area known as Damascus and after much query and searching i was directed to some who were called Esseanes. Having convinced them that i was not a spy of the Romans by showing them a token of Caratacus, i was taken to the residence of Joseph. I was initiated into the knowledge of my Mabon figure whom they called the "True Teacher" or Jesus Christ. My lineage was known to them already and they told me much about this and of the implications of the Dragon lineage. Joseph had taken Jesus with him previously to Albion, where they did some Tin trade with the Celtic tribe known as Dumnonii. Jesus had forseen many things concerning this land and its eventual destiny as was so in ancient times; Albion, and who's daughter was Jeruselem. Jesus was no longer alive but his wife Miriam Magdalena was now living in a cave near Acquae Sextiae (in France). There she was guardian of the hidden teachings of which were already being handed on by her son, Josephes. Josephes had already converted the king of Sarras, Evelake, to the New Covenant and he was also planning a journey to the shores of Albion.
The scourge was the "antichrist" who were embodied in the form of the Romans and it was because of the Romans that many of Jesu's followers were now refugees in Damascus. Joseph related to me that our good Jesus who you call Mabon has already promised a fulfillment of the Divine Plan on earth. That is to prepare for the New Covenant which we celebrate at Pentacost. The "antichrist" he said, was in the form of an evil dragon (the Romans) who were claiming sovereignty over the land and planned to overide the true Dragon Guardians of the land. That is in preparing for the New Covenant under Christ. I was told to take word back to Caratacus who was to be thereafter called Pendragon or Sacred Guardian of the New Covenant. This knowledge i was to take back to him with the promise that Joseph would return to Albion when all else failed.
I journeyed back to Albion with my new found knowledge and my mission to uphold the sovereignty of our race and to prepare for the New Covenant. Also to to protect our children from the Roman "antichrist". And so i indeed returned to Caratacus son of Cunobelinus. To him i brought the knowledge of "The One Who is to Come" and our duty as Guardians of the Holy Lineage was accepted and a plan was drawn up to implement this for all the Isle of Albion.
Now i heard that Boudicca had married and that the new King of the Iceni was one Prasutagus who was already accepting tribute from the Romans. The benefits of this were enormous for any Celtic tribal king who complied with the agreement. Protection would be theirs in return for free access to the kingdom and the posting of Roman Garrisons throughout. All the benefits of Roman culture and technologies were introduced and a new found prosperity was soon also tinged with vanity and worldliness.
My own kingdom of the Brigantes was as yet Roman free and the inhospitability of my own people to these foreigners, showed in their faces. Some battles had already been fought and our borders were as yet innaccessible.
So as i took the journey back home with the longing to be reunited with my family, i heard a singing in a pool as it was along a riverside path that i was walking. Now as i came closer to the source of this haunting cadence, i tripped and made the sultry singer take fright and lunge into the deep of the pool, where a current carried her towards the rapids further downstream. She was taken over the edge of a waterfall and she became trapped on some potruding tree. I ran accross to the spot and climbed the tree to release the screaming maid from her predicament. She was quite naked with long flowing red hair down to her waist. "Ha!" she said, "its you, the wanderer returns! No thanks to you that our borders are safe, eh! Were were you eh? Spying on me were you, you pervert. Don't you think that i couldn't have got out of this fucking tree myself etc, etc" so she went on cursing and belittling me.
"So just the same old party brat eh, Cartimandua! You may be my foster sister but my how youv'e changed in your appearence, i wouldn't have recognised you at all for your beauty is greater than that of Queen Rhiannon herself. Please let me escort you home after you have dressed and appear more seemly."
At this Cartimandua's heart melted and she didn't bother to get dressed at all. She just went straight for my manhood and then we were soon in the same state of primal glory, just splashing through the pool and then onto the rocks and then rolling along the bank.
Now Cartimandua and i were in love and we were married after my return and when my kingship as leader of the Brigantes was instated, and we reigned together as King and Queen. After eight years things were becoming more stressful for the kingdom. I was called to battle more often and with the help of my charioteer, i saved our borders many times. I was fascinated by these Romans and the organised way they went about things. Eventually i decided to accept an open invitation to meet and talk with them. The meeting went well indeed and i was very impressed by their vision of a perfect state. It was not how i had envisioned the "antichrist". I was even introduced to a ceremony involving an underground chamber whereby soldiers were initiated into the mysteries of one Maponus. That is the similarity i saw betwen this god of theirs and my own Mabon. I took the initiation into Maponus rites and then introduced a new era into the land. Of peace with the Romans!
Now my wife who was initially against this programme was soon won over when certain riches and costumes were brought to her and a new relationship evolved which, as it turned out, was to be our undoing. As i was released from the duty of war, i took once again to my favourite pastime of hunting and would often be away for days on the trail of some boar or stag.
Cartimandua was in the lap of luxury and her presence soon started to nausiate me. All she would talk about was her the fulfillment of her own material desires and i would just be glad to get away hunting and such like. The tides soon turned again though and news was reaching us of Roman tyranny in the south. Boudicca had already revolted against Roman oppression and had tried to rout them at Londinium. Her defeat was a worry to us and our clientship with the Romans was brought into question. My will was firm that we shoud terminate our deals immediately and reinstate our independance. Cartimandua was forced to agree with my plan to give aid to Caratacus and his alliance with the Silures and Ordovices. The Pendragon was in need, having already been defeated at the hands of the Roman Governor - Ostorius Scapula, and fleeing north was to seek refuge with us, the Brigantes.
It was my solemn duty to obey the cause of the Pendragon. Caractacus was already on his way and little did i suspect that my wife had been doing her homework. She had recieved him under my instructions at Stanwick, while i was away gathering the support of various other Celtic tribes. My wife, first faining hospitality, had Caractacus chained and handed him over to the Romans!
When he was set before the emperor's tribunal, he spoke as follows:
"Had my moderation in prosperity been equal to my noble birth and fortune, I should have entered this city as your friend rather than as your captive; and you would not have disdained to receive, under a treaty of peace, a king descended from illustrious ancestors and ruling many nations. My present lot is as glorious to you as it is degrading to myself. I had men and horses, arms and wealth. What wonder if I parted with them reluctantly? If you Romans choose to lord it over the world, does it follow that the world is to accept slavery? Were I to have been at once delivered up as a prisoner, neither my fall nor your triumph would have become famous. My punishment would be followed by oblivion, whereas, if you save my life, I shall be an everlasting memorial of your clemency." (Tacitus)
Upon this the emperor granted pardon to Caractacus, to his wife, and to his brothers. Released from their bonds, they did homage also to Agrippina who sat near, conspicuous on another throne, in the same language of praise and gratitude. (Tacitus).
Not only that but the news broke that was a blow not only to my heart, but also to my manly pride and dignity. Cartimandua my queen was caught with her legs wrapped around my friend and charioteer, who having nothing better to do was intent on seducing my queen. He had not only poisoned her heart with tales of how i was neglecting her, but also blamed me for laxity and that i was past it in battle! She had put him on the throne next to her and claimed to be "in love." He had renamed himself Vellocatus (better in battle)! Also she had won over the Roman army to her cause and told them that i was banished from the kingdom and that i was not to come and see her.
With my remaining loyal comrades i planned not only to rout out the bastard but to put my Queen to shame. Vellocatus indeed! The people were against her now but could i do nothing? They called her a bitch and a whore but dared not say it out loud. Several had already been put to the sword for treason for saying this.
So with my loyal followers we drove an attack on Stanwick and drew battle with the mainly Roman stronghold. As the battle raged on i fought my way into the stronghold and came before my wife, Cartimandua, the sleek pony. We looked at each other as if to say - why has it come to this? Then our moment of remembered innocence was past and she pulled a mocking curse over me and i drew my sword to behead her. Alas i could not strike for my will failed me and i found myself dragged and beaten from behind. I awoke in chains and was put before the Romans like my friend Caratacus had been. This time the Romans were not so lenient however and i was put on to the chain gang building roads.
That is how i ended my days with the memory of a wife and queen who had betrayed me and a cause that had failed. My empty heart eventually lost all hope and in this state it broke and i died.
Venutius. The End.footnote: Venutius had secretly sent emmisaries to Damascus before the battle at Stanwick, alerting Joseph of Aramathea to the arrest of Caratacus the Pendragon. Joseph later travelled once again to the shores of Albion and re-instated the teachings of the Sangreal at Glastonbury. His sect went unnoticed amid Roman occupation and the Sangreal teachings found refuge amongst the Druids of Albion until the eventual Roman collapse and the subsequent Return of the King, the Pendragon- Arthur.
Brionnfhionn.
Refs: Cartimandua
Chadwick, Nora, 1979, The Celts. Pelican books.
Gardner, Laurence, 1996, Bloodline of the Holy Grail. Element.
Schonfield, Hugh,1984, The Essene Odyssey, Element.