‘My oath is this,’ he said, ‘that if I survive this battle with Gorfyddyd then I shall avenge the innocent souls I have condemned at Ratae. I will kill Aelle. I shall destroy him and his men. I shall feed them to the ravens and give their wealth to the children of Ratae. You two are my witnesses, and if I fail in this oath you are both released from all the bonds you owe me.’ He dropped the stone into the hole and the three of us kicked earth over it. ‘May the Gods forgive me,’ Arthur said, ‘for the deaths I have just caused.’ Then we went to cause some more.
