Collen added his amen and Dafyd continued, “We who are born of earthly parents need to be bom again. For in the sacred texts the good news of Jesu tells us that unless a man has been born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. And so God, who is ever wise and faithful, gives us a way to be born again by water and his Spirit. This baptism enacts our second birth.”

Turning to Taliesin, he said, “Is it your wish to receive the sacrament of water?”

“It is,” answered Taliesin.

“Then kneel down, Taliesin,” said Dafyd. When the bard had knelt, he asked, “Do you Believe that Jesu is the Christ, the only begotten son of the Living God?”

“I do Believe it,” Taliesin replied.

“Do you repent of your sins?”

“I repent of my sins.”

“Do you renounce evil?”

“I do renounce evil.”

“Do you swear allegiance to Jesu as your Lord and King and vow to love him and follow him and serve him all the days of your life?”

“With all my heart I do swear it,” said Taliesin.

Dafyd bent to scoop water into his hands. “Then in the name of your new King, Jesu the Christ, friend and savior of men, and in the names of the True God and his Spirit, I do baptize you.” So saying, the priest raised his hands and poured water over Taliesin’s bowed head.

And then, placing one hand between Taliesin’s shoulder blades and the other on his head, he tilted Taliesin back into the water. “As Jesu died that men might live, so you die to your old life.” He held the bard under the water for a moment and then raised him up again with the words, “Awake, Tal-iesin ap Elphin! Arise to new life as a child of the One True God.”

Taliesin rose up from the water with a shout, his face shining, his body trembling and shaking water all around. “I am reborn!” he cried, pouncing on Dafyd and wrapping him in a great hug.

“Hold, Taliesin! Stay! I have been baptized already!” the priest sputtered. Collen launched into another hymn and sang with vigor.

Charis was baptized next and when he had finished, Dafyd raised his hands over them and prayed, “Almighty God, in your never-ending love you have called us to know you, led us to trust you, and bound your life to ours. Surround these, your children, with your love and protect them from evil, even as you receive them into your care, so that they may walk in the way of the Lord and grow in grace and faith. Amen.”

Turning first to Taliesin and then to Charis, he made a motion in the air, saying, “I sign you with the cross, the sign of the Christ. Do not be ashamed to confess your faith, my friends. Live in the light, and fight valiantly against sin and the Devil all the days of your lives.”

They waded back to shore and as Taliesin came up out of the water he turned to Charis. “We are reborn together,” he told her. “Now nothing can separate us.”

“It was not a marriage,” remarked a dripping Dafyd. “Ah, but I can perform that rite as well.”

“And you shall,” said Taliesin, “very soon.”

They strode from the lake and back to the shrine, where Collen gave them robes to wrap themselves in while they waited for the sun to dry their clothes. They ate smoked fish and brown bread beside the fire, and Taliesin told about King Avallach’s visit the night before and his gift of land.

“But what a great and generous gift,” remarked Dafyd when he heard. “I am pleased, for it means that you will stay close by.” He glanced at Charis, who had grown silent during their talk. “Is that not good news, Charis?” he asked her.

She stirred at the sound of her name and said, “What? Oh… Yes, it is good news.”

“And as soon as we have established our holding,” Taliesin continued, “Charis and I will be married.”

Dafyd nodded approvingly. “Such a handsome match!”

Charis said nothing, and after a time Collen came with their clothes slung over his arms. She left them to dress.

“She has been lonely,” the priest said. “She has lost much in her life and may be fearful of losing more. It is not easy to love what can be lost. Sometimes I think it is the most difficult thing in the world.” Dafyd paused and said, “You know, Hafgan came to me a few days ago.”

Taliesin’s brows raised in surprise. “Did he? He said nothing to me about it.”

“He wanted to hear about the Lord. ‘Tell me about this god,’ he said. ‘This Jesu, the one called Christ.’ We talked for several hours and he told me the most remarkable thing: he said that the sign of the Christ’s birth was noted in the sky, and that the druids of old knew that a king like no other on earth had been born. Think of it! They knew.”

“I have never heard that story, although I have heard another often enough-concerning a starfall many years ago.”

“He did not mention it.”

“Hafgan and many others saw it. He said that it too betokened a wondrous birth, a royal birth: the king that will lead us through the Dark Time.”

“The Dark Time? You mean the attack that drove your people south?”

“That is only the beginning, and not even that.” Taliesin grew very grave. “But it is coming… Darkness deep as dead night will descend over the Island of the Mighty.”

“This king-you say he has been born?” asked the priest.

Taliesin shook his head. “Perhaps… No one knows. But his coming cannot be far off, for the darkness grows more powerful with each passing day. He will have to come soon if there is to be anything left worth saving.”

“I Believe it is true,” put in Collen excitedly. He had been following this exchange as closely as he could. “Some herders passing by this morning said that raiders have been seen hereabouts-where no Irish have been seen for many years.”

“Charis came upon them yesterday in the valley. If I had not been there, she might have suffered the worse for it…” He paused, remembering the sight of her besting trained warriors. “Ah, but you should have seen her. Even now I am not so sure she needed my help at all.”

“I can well imagine,” mused Dafyd, stroking his chin, “that she would be a most formidable opponent. There is a good deal of iron in that spine. I have often wondered where it comes from.”

“Will you be leaving soon?” asked Collen.

“Today,” said Taliesin. “I mean to visit here often though and invite you to do the same.”

“We will, we will,” promised Dafyd. “I have my new converts to look after. And more new converts to make. I think we will be seeing much of one another in time to come.”

Charis rejoined them, and she and Taliesin reluctantly took their leave. The priests waved them on their way and then went back to work on the shrine.

The two rode to the Tor and across the causeway, whereupon, reaching the winding pathway leading to the palace, Taliesin turned aside. Charis also pulled up, and they sat for a moment looking at one another. “You are leaving,” she said matter-of-factly.

“For a little while. But when I come back we will be together and will never be separated again.” He urged his mount closer a few steps and took her hand. “You will fill my thoughts every moment until I return.” He leaned forward and kissed her gently.

Charis stiffened, gripping the reins in her fist. “You say we are reborn,” she replied bitterly. “You say we will be married and that we will never be parted. You say you love me.”

“I do, Charis. With all that is in me, I do.”

“It is not enough!” she shouted, lashing the reins across her horse’s withers, kicking her heels into its flanks. “It is… not… enough…”

The gray bolted away up the winding path to the summit of the Tor.

Misery descended upon Charis’ heart with the cold, bleak, rain-filled days that settled over the land. She paced the corridors of the palace, fretful, anxious, hating herself for feeling the way she did, and then feeling worse for it.

Her torment had no center. Like a wind that assailed from all directions, it seemed to strike wherever she turned, at times unexpectedly. Why? she kept asking herself. Why? Why? Why?