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Back A Night of Flames
Chapters (76)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise forMATTHEW HARFFY
  3. BY MATTHEW HARFFY
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. Maps
  8. Epigraph
  9. Contents
  10. Place Names
  11. One
  12. Two
  13. Three
  14. Four
  15. Five
  16. Six
  17. Seven
  18. Eight
  19. Nine
  20. Ten
  21. Eleven
  22. Twelve
  23. Thirteen
  24. Fourteen
  25. Fifteen
  26. Sixteen
  27. Seventeen
  28. Eighteen
  29. Nineteen
  30. Twenty
  31. Twenty-One
  32. Twenty-Two
  33. Twenty-Three
  34. Twenty-Four
  35. Twenty-Five
  36. Twenty-Six
  37. Twenty-Seven
  38. Twenty-Eight
  39. Twenty-Nine
  40. Thirty
  41. Thirty-One
  42. Thirty-Two
  43. Thirty-Three
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. Thirty-Six
  47. Thirty-Seven
  48. Thirty-Eight
  49. Thirty-Nine
  50. Forty
  51. Forty-One
  52. Forty-Two
  53. Forty-Three
  54. Forty-Four
  55. Forty-Five
  56. Forty-Six
  57. Forty-Seven
  58. Forty-Eight
  59. Forty-Nine
  60. Fifty
  61. Fifty-One
  62. Fifty-Two
  63. Fifty-Three
  64. Fifty-Four
  65. Fifty-Five
  66. Fifty-Six
  67. Fifty-Seven
  68. Fifty-Eight
  69. Fifty-Nine
  70. Sixty
  71. Sixty-One
  72. Sixty-Two
  73. Author’s Note
  74. Acknowledgements
  75. About the Author
  76. An Invitation from the Publisher

He stumbled away. I watched him go. We were soon to sail across the Whale Road, on a new ship to a land we had never been to before. Our only knowledge of the people came from Runolf, a few traders we might have crossed paths with over the years, and the recent attacks on the minsters along the coast of Northumbria. It was natural enough to be concerned for what the future held. But of all the men who would travel with us, Gwawrddur was the last I would have expected to be frightened of anything. He longed to pit himself against the best swordsmen in the world, but the sea was not something one could defeat by skill of arms. And no man can control that which might frighten him beyond all reason. I once knew a man who served Al-Ma’mun as the Keeper of Knowledge at the Bayt al-H.ikmah, the Grand Library, of Madīnat as-Salām. He was terrified of beards, and was confined to one room in the Library, only interacting with young boys and hairless eunuchs. He could barely breathe if he ever needed to step outside his room and deal with a bearded scholar, or the caliph himself, who wore his beard thick and long. In comparison, Gwawrddur’s fear of the sea was much more understandable.

I thought about Gwawrddur as I walked down the slight slope towards the cluster of houses and huts that lined the riverbank. The smell of roasting meat that had been so strong in the air, was faint now, wafted away from me by the sea breeze. The sounds of conversation and laughter became distant and subdued, but every now and then a shriek from the playing children, or a bark of laughter, splintered the night-calm. As I drew closer to the river, I could make out the whisper of the waves washing the beach off to my right. Light from the stars and moon glimmered on the dark expanse of the sea and I wondered what it would be like to be surrounded by water, with no land in sight. I shuddered at the thought. I offered up a prayer that God would smile on us. All would be well. Benesing had blessed the ship. The sea would not claim us.

And if the Almighty did not protect us, hopefully Njörðr would. I cursed my own stupidity and lack of faith. Perhaps I should cross the broad mouth of the river and go to the church. I should certainly pray before we sailed in the morning. The Lord Almighty would be displeased that my thoughts were tainted by such pagan nonsense. I transferred the jug to my left hand and made the sign of the cross with my right as I recited the paternoster under my breath.