The Saxon kings of England did not have a single fixed place of residence. They preferred to live a mobile existence, travelling across their lands, staying at various royal houses and estates, where they would be richly entertained by the local earls, eager to curry favour with the king and outdo their rivals.
This meant that the king’s court, such as it was, travelled with him too. It was a modest affair, in contrast to the more lavish and formal courts to be found elsewhere in Europe, being limited to the king’s closest advisors and friends. However, wherever the court went, the Witenagemot would most often be assembled.
The kings rarely ruled purely by decree, rather they exercised their power through an assembly to which all the nobles of England belonged. This was the Witenagemot, an advisory and law-making council that formed the supreme decision-making body in the country, answering only to the king himself. It had been a fixture of English governance since well before the country was unified; each kingdom had had their own witenagemot in the years before the Vikings.
The current English king was Edgar, who had come to the throne only a year before. The years immediately prior to his accession had been troubled, much of the trouble caused by Edgar himself, who had seized control of the north of England from his unpopular brother and ruled it himself. Now his brother was dead, Edgar was king of all England, and had set about establishing himself as a strong ruler, intent on cementing the unified kingdom together.
When Rowena and Helga arrived in London and made discreet enquiries as to the whereabouts of the king, they learned he was staying just outside the city, to the west, a short way up the River Thames. This area had long been an important religious or monastic site, and the presence of a monastic church, or ‘minster’, together with its location west of London, had led the locals, in typically English straightforward fashion, to name the place Westminster.
The king had just appointed a new Archbishop of Canterbury, a man who had been exiled during his brother’s reign, and plans were afoot to greatly expand and formalise the monastic order at Westminster, making it one of the more important centres of Church power in the country, so the king had come to inspect the area and discuss the plans with his Witenagemot.
Rowena paid a ferryman to row her, Helga and Helena the short distance up the Thames. As they approached, Rowena saw Westminster sat mainly on a small island in the north bank of the Thames. As a much smaller river approached the Thames, it divided into narrow streams, which entered the Thames at different points, so creating the island between them.
Close to the mouth of the first stream, the ferryman moored his boat and the witches stepped ashore. They had barely gone a few strides forward when Rowena stopped. Helga looked back at her. –What is it?â€
–Don’t you feel that?†said Rowena.
–Feel what?â€
–This place, it has known magic. Very, very strong magic, I am sure of it. The ground cries out with it. I can feel it in my bones. Can’t you?â€
–Not all of us are as magically attuned as you are, Rowena. All I feel is a slight sense of uneasiness, but I’m sure that’s more to do with what we’re trying to do here. Are you sure?â€
–I’m certain. Somewhere near here is a source of extremely powerful magic. But it’s strange; I can’t be sure exactly where the source is. I should be able to tell, but it’s as if the feeling is coming from everywhere. I don’t understand it.â€
Helga smiled. –Well, there’s a first. Come on, we’re not here searching for strange sources of magic. Do we even have a plan for what we’re going to do?â€
–We’ll infiltrate our way into the gatherings around the king’s court,†said Rowena as they started walking again. –There are always plenty of hangers-on wherever the seat of power goes. The Witenagemot is meeting here as well, so many of the earls, nobles and senior clergy will be here too, along with their retinues. We must find those among them who are wizards and witches, then work out which of those would be prepared to work with us.â€
–What if there aren’t any magical folk? And how will we know the ones that are?â€
–There will be one or two, I am sure. Our community may be small, but not too small that there won’t be those among us with political ambition. As to finding them, we must use our intuition. Once we have, the usual exchange of spell words will be enough to be sure.â€
They passed into the small village that had grown up around the monastic centre, and approached the monastery itself. They found it to be a complex of rough, wooden buildings, with a large wooden-built but stone-clad church at its centre. It was very modest by the standards of many Church properties in England, but if the new archbishop got his way, that would all change.
There being no great hall, or similar sized building, the members of the court and Witenagemot were gathered outside the church, in the monastery’s grounds. There were maybe a hundred present, and more were still arriving. Indeed they seemed to have quite swamped the small village which was their current host.
–If anyone asks, we’re with a group from Jorvik,†said Rowena, as they joined the latecomers approaching the gathering. The noise woke Helena, who had been napping, still wrapped in her travel blanket secured about Rowena’s shoulders. She began to cry and Rowena did her best to soothe her quiet but so many people and the unfamiliar surroundings were making her agitated.
Rowena and Helga split up and moved into the crowd, striking up conversations where they could and seeing what they could discover. The king was not present, he was apparently inside the church praying and talking with close members of his household. The formal opening of the Witenagemot that day was not due until early afternoon.
The chief earls and bishops were unapproachable, well guarded by their attendants. But as Rowena had expected, there were many present with connections to nobility, or seeking to advance themselves, who were happy to talk, and for an hour and more Rowena moved among them, testing them out, but none she could detect were wizards.
After a while however, she began to suspect she was being watched. Standing guard at the entrance to the church was a tall strongly-built man with thick red hair and an equally thick beard. An ornate sword was sheathed at his side. Every time Rowena glanced over, she could swear the man was looking at her, though she couldn’t be sure. She moved deeper into the crowd, hoping to lose his attention.
There was a commotion, and Rowena looked up. The king had emerged from the church, flanked by two guards. He moved to greet some of his nobles. Rowena noticed the tall man had gone. She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to find herself face to face with the tall man. –Come with me,†he said gruffly, his hand taking a tight grip on her shoulder.
He led her into a barn and sat her down on a hay bale. Rowena clutched Helena tight to her. –Stay here,†the man ordered. –I’m going to find your friend.†He called over another armed man and told him to stand guard over her, then left. Rowena sat nervously, wondering what would happen. The guard stood impassively watching her.
A couple of minutes later, the tall man returned with Helga and sat her down next to Rowena. –Leave us,†he said to the guard, who departed without a word. The man pushed closed the door to the barn and drew his sword, which gleamed brightly. He stood over Rowena and Helga, holding the sword point downwards, touching the ground. –Who are you and what are you doing here?†he demanded.
Rowena met his keen gaze. –I am Rowena, and this is Helga,†she replied. –We are from Jorvik and are here to observe this session of the Witenagemot.â€
–You would do well not to lie to me,†said the man. –I know a Scots accent when I hear it, though you are doing well to disguise it. And I find it highly unlikely you have come from Jorvik. There was no party from Jorvik at the last meeting of the Witenagemot, and I doubt you would have come all that way for just this one session, especially as the matter at hand is one that does not concern you.â€
–Who are you and what right do you have to demand such answers from us?†said Rowena.
–I am a Marshal in the King’s Guard and military advisor to the Witenagemot. I am sworn to protect the king from all dangers and threats I might perceive. I have been watching you ever since you arrived. You came alone, that is clear. Two women travelling alone, one with a child, is not a common sight at the king’s court. If you had a cause or petition to put to the king or one of his earls, you would have made it known publically. Rather, you have attempted to blend into the crowd. So I say again, no lies, why are you here?â€
–Our business is private and our own. It does not concern the king.â€
–You are at the king’s court. Everything here concerns the king. Will you not answer?â€
–And if we refuse?†said Rowena. She slowly began shifting her hand to the folds of her skirt, where her wand was concealed.
–Don’t move,†said the man, and Rowena’s hand froze. –As I said, I am sworn to protect the king against all dangers: those he knows about, and those he does not.†He reached into his tunic and to Rowena’s astonishment extracted a wand of his own, which he rolled in his fingers. –Reducto,†he murmured, almost to himself.
–Reparo,†replied Rowena in amazement.
The man immediately levelled his wand at Rowena and Helga, whilst his left hand took a tight grip on his sword. –So I was right,†he said. –Take out your wands, both of you, right now. Do it slowly, and lay them on the ground.†Rowena and Helga both did as they were told. –Two women alone, totally unworried amongst such powerful men? You could only be witches. With our world the way it is at the moment, don’t think you’re the first of our people to try to get close to a king. My family have served the kings of Wessex and England for generations, always on the lookout for people like you. Who do you work for?â€
–We mean no harm to your king, I swear,†said Helga. –We work for no one.â€
–Then why are you here?†said the man, not lowering his wand.
–In truth, we are looking for people like you,†Rowena said. –This is Helga of the village of Hufflepuff, and I am Rowena of Fife, known to some as the Raven’s Claw.â€
–I have heard that title before,†the man said, doubt creeping on to his face.
–I am on a mission,†Rowena explained. –I want to change our society, to break the cycle of violence in the wizarding community. I need help to do that. I need wizards of power and influence. Wizards like you.â€
The man seemed unsure. –A noble sentiment, but how do I know I can trust you? How do I know you are who you say you are?â€
–You don’t, not unless you have a truth potion to hand. But if we witches and wizards cannot trust one another at all, then my mission is doomed from the start. Will you at least hear us out?â€
Slowly, the man lowered his wand. –If what you say is true, then I wish you all the success in the world, though I am not sure I am the man to help you. I am but a soldier, not a leader. Yet we are crying out for guidance and peace, I know. I protect the king from ordinary threats, yes, but though he does not know it, he is fortunate to have a wizard in his guard. Those out to prove themselves, or make some grand statement, who better to target than the King of England? If the violence that besets us spills out into the wider non-magical community, God knows what the response will be.â€
–What is your name?†Helga asked.
–I am Godric, son of Godwin, of the house of Gryffindor,†the man answered.
–Gryffindor? You are one of the Lions of Wessex?†exclaimed Helga.
Godric smiled. –The house of Gryffindor has borne that title ever since my great-grandfather fought alongside King Alfred against the Vikings. We have been proud to serve the royal house of Wessex ever since.â€
–Then you are the Godric who single-handedly defeated the Dark wizard Ulred...â€
–It wasn’t entirely single-handed...â€
–...and tamed the Exmoor Dragon...â€
–I didn’t tame it, I merely helped relocate it.â€
–The deeds of you and your family are renowned, Godric. I have heard stories about them since I was young. It is an honour to meet you. Rowena, this man may be modest, but he is exactly the sort of person we are looking for. Will you help us, Godric?â€
–If I can, though I don’t know what I can do personally. I may know others you can speak to, though. I am on duty, but is there anything I can do for you right now?â€
The strange feeling that Rowena had been experiencing all day rose up in her again, like a tingling at the back of her neck. –This place,†she asked, –is it a magical site? I am sure there is an intense source of magic nearby, although I don’t know where.â€
–Not that I know of,†said Godric, –though now you mention it, I have had a similar feeling since I’ve been here. But I’ve never heard of magic being practised here. Although, there is that old tale...â€
But at that moment, the guard they had seen previously put his head round the door and said, –Godric, the king is calling for you.â€
–I have to go,†said Godric. –I’ll be needed for the rest of the day. Can you find a place to stay tonight? Meet me in the village at sunrise. I think we have a lot more to discuss.â€
He departed, telling the guard to let Rowena and Helga go. Rowena was delighted they had found such a worthy potential ally, but her mind was preoccupied with the magic she had felt. It was as if it was calling to her, and she knew she would have to find out what it was.
The Raven's Claw by Sonorus
Chapter Endnotes: Edgar (reigned 959-975) is a real historical figure, as is his archbishop, Dunstan. The first Westminster Abbey was built in the eleventh century, but the origins of the site as a place of importance go back to this time. Westminster really was on an island; the rivers that created it have long since disappeared under the city.