Medders

A short list of common herbs & spices compiled by Brother Brendan of the Monks of Messah, including their common name, Gaelic name and type ( ) and the ailments or potions used for.

Absinthe
Was believed to ward off evil. Probably worn in a small sack on one's person. Also used in love potions.

Aconite
See Wolfsbane.

Agrimony
Also known as sicklewort or cocklebur. Mixed with honey and mulberry syrup it made a fine gargle for sore throats and coughs. Also said to heal warts, convulsions, poisonous bites, inflamed eyes and wounds obtained from iron made weapons. Thought to ward off evil and aid dreaming. To aid in urinary and intestinal infections.

Agnus-castus
Also known as chasteberry or monk's pepper. Used to aid women with their monthly cycles.

Almond (cno ghreugach - Greek nut)
Used in love potions. And as a cooking spice. Also used as soap and oil for moisturizing skin.

Aloe
Used in love potions. Internally to relieve constipation and benefit the liver. And still widely used to this day to treat minor cuts and burns.

Angelica (lus nam buadha - plant of virtues or powers)
Named after the archangel Raphael who it was said to have given it to a monk during the plague. Candied stems of angelica were often eaten, especially around holidays. Promotes circulation and warms the body. Said to relieve stomach discomfort.

Anise
Thought to unclog blocked livers and ease flatulence. Used as a remedy for digestive disorders, colds, and colic. One of the world's first perfumes.

Apple Blossoms
Used in love potions.

Aster
Used in love potions.

Balm of Gilead
Also called coltsfoot from the bud of the poplar tree. Used to treat coughs. Also used in love potions

Barberry (barbrag - brilliant shell leaf)
Used against throat, intestinal and urinary infections. Also good for gall bladder and liver problems. Note: Has side effects in high dosages.

Basil
Used as a ward against evil. As well as in love potions. Also used as a cooking spice.

Bay leaves
Used in love potions. And as a spice in foods.

Bear Berry
Also known as Uva-Ursi. A diuretic herb and natural tonic for the urinary system. In the body it converts to hydroxides, a urinary disinfectant.

Betony
Was good for head ailments and thought to protect one from bad dreams and visions.

Bistort
Also known as adder wort, dragon weed, and snake weed. Used to treat wounds and digestion.

Bittersweet
Used in love potions.

Black Hellebore
The roots were used to kill wolves and foxes. For people it was used to cure gout and scabies.

Butcher's Broom
Ointment thought to relieve pain and used to treat leg discomfort.

Cardamon
Used by Scandinavian and Middle Eastern cultures as a spice in cooking.

Cascara Sagrada
Also known as buckthorn. Used as a laxative.

Catnip
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility. Also used in love potions. Combined with chamomile and lemon balm to relieve nervousness.

Chamomile
Used for stress and insomnia. Thought to relieve cramps, indigestion and back pain.

Chervil (costag)
Used in soups and spices.

Cinnamon (caineal)
Used in love potions. Also used as a spice in foods.

Cloves
Used to treat tooth aches and digestive disorders. Also used in love potions.

Columbine (lus a cholamain - dove's plant)
Used in love potions.

Comfrey (meacan dubh - dark plant)
Used to heal wounds. Note: Toxic if taken internally.

Coriander (coireiman, lus a choire)
Used in love potions. Used as a cooking spice.

Cuckoo pint
Dried in the sun in a bowl of rose water two to three times, created a powder that was good for the complexion.
Curry
Used as a cooking spice.

Cranberry (muileag - little frog, frog berry)
Used as a diuretic. Also used to treat internal infections.

Crocus (cr?, cr?dh, cr?ch)
Used in love potions.

Cumin
Used in love potions.

Damiana
Used in love potions, believed to be an aphrodisiac.

Dandelion
Used as a diuretic and liver tonic

Daisy
Used in love potions.

Dill Seed (dile ? dill)
Used to treat gas and colic. Also used in love potions. Used widely as a food spice as well.

Dittany (lus a phiobaire - pepper wort)
Was used to draw thorns or iron out of the body. Also was considered helpful in astroprojection.

Dragon's Blood
Used in love potions.

Elder (ruis ? wood)
Used mostly by Gypsy's to heal wounds and treat colds and flu.

Ephedra
Thought to be the world's oldest herbal remedy. Used to treat asthma and upper resperitory infections.

Eucalyptus
Used as a ward against evil.

Eye Bright (lus nan leac - hillside plant)
Used to treat eye aliments.

Fennel (lus an t'saiodh ? hayweed)
Also known as finocchio and carosells. A favorite of the Romans to treat digestive disorders. Also used in love potions

Feverfew
Thought to be helpful for headaches and childbirth. Today used to treat migraines.

Garlic (garleag)
Used to treat all number of ailments and as a ward against evil.

Geranium
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Gilly Flowers (lus leth an samrhaidh - half the summer plant)
These were thought to be good for childbirth and labor.

Ginger
Used as a digestive aid and in love potions. Used as a cooking spice.

Gingko Biloba
Also known as maiden hair is from one of the oldest trees on earth. Used to aid the aging.

Ginseng
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Hemlock (fealla bog - soft deceiver)
Amazingly enough this was thought to destroy lechery. Pretty funny when you consider the fact that it's fatal!

Hemp
Used in love potions.

Horsetail
A major source of Silica treats inflammation

Hibiscus
Used in love potions.

House leek
Used in pulous form it was believed to drive infection out of wounds. Some thought it would ward off lightning.

Hyacinth
Used in love potions.

Hyssop (isop)
This was used as a wormer on humans and to cure evils of the mouth.

Jasmine
Used in love potions.

Juniper Berries (aiteil, ailtinn, aitiol)
Used in love potions. Trees were planted outside homes to scare away witches.

Laurel (cran laoibhreil - tree with rich foliage)
Used in love potions.

Lavender (lus-na-t?ise - incense plant)
Used in love potions and as a perfume. Also used to aid sleep and to soothe fears.

Lemon (crann limoin)
Used in love potions.

Lemon Balm
Thought to be a magic elixir that could cure serious illnesses. It was used for fevers and colds because it causes sweating.

Licorice
Used in love potions.

Lily of the Valley (isop)
Distilled it was used to make a liquor by soaking the flowers in wine for four weeks to treat apoplexy. Also was believed to grace the user with common sense when mixed with lavender and peppercorns and smeared on the forehead! (how attractive!)

Lotus Flowers
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Lungwort
Used to treat chest disorders.

Magnolias
Used in love potions.

Maidenhair Fern (failtean fi?nn - resplendent hair)
Used in love potions

Mallow
Gout was eased by a mixture of mallow and sheeps' tallow. It was also believed to keep witches away when mixed with vinegar and linseed.

Mandrake
Was used to dull pain. It would knock someone out for a few hours if one knew the right dosages or it would be fatal. It was also used in the cures of evil and in love potions. Also thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Marjoram (oragan - delight of the mountain)
Used in love potions. And used to make healing poultices to place on bruises and swellings.

Marigold (a chorrach shod - clumsy one of the marsh)
Looking at marigold flowers was enough to banish bad thoughts and strengthen eyesight. They were used against poisoning and intestinal disorders.

Marshmallow (leamhad ? insipid)
A soothing, healing plant, useful in treating inflammation and ulceration soothes urinary and respiratory tracts.

Mint (mionnt gh?raidh - garden mint)
Used in love potions.

Mistletoe (Druidh-lus - Druid's weed)
Used in love potions.

Monkshood (fuath mhadhaidh - wolf's aversion)
See Wolfsbane.

Mugwort (liath lus - gray weed)
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Myrtle (rideag ? fragrant)
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Orchids
Used in love potions.

Paprika
Used as a cooking spice.

Patchouli
Used in love potions.

Pennyroyal
Thought to ease itching, boils, bellyaches, headaches, stuffiness and congestion.

Periwinkle
Worn on the person to ward off evil and witches, and laid around the house for the same purpose. Also believed to ease toothaches and cold fevers. Used in love potions.

Raspberry (preas s?bh chraobh - sappy sprout bush)
Used to assist women in labor and used in love potions.

Rose
Used in love potions.

Rosemary (r?s Mhuire - sea dew)
Kept under one's bed it was believed to ward off evil dreams. Boiled in wine it was good for the complexion when washed on the face. Also used in clothing trunks as a pomander and moth repellent. Used in love potions. And used by as a cooking spice.

Rue (rugh, r?, ruigh ? rue)
Considered the penicillin of the middle ages. It was also believed to ward off all manner of evils from witches to headaches. Used in love potions.

Saffron (cr?, cr?dh, cr?ch ? crocus)
Used by Spain as a cooking spice.
Sage (slan lus - healing plant)
Used in love potions.

Sarsaparilla
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Savory (garbhag gh?raidh - coarse garden plant)
Used as a cooking spice.

Spurge (spuirse - wart-wort)
Used as a laxative. Believed to prevent bad dreams. Used to empty the stomach and for melancholia and cholera.

Strawberry (subh, s?th - earth's delight)
Used in love potions.

Sweet Violet
Medicinally used to cure drunkenness, achy eyes, and clumsiness. It was used more for cooking in such things a fritters, custards and sauces. Also was used as a plate garnish.

Tansy (lus na Fraing - french weed)
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

Thyme (lus an righ - king's plant)
Believed to aid respiratory and digestive disorders. And used in love potions. Used as a cooking spice.

Turmeric
Used as a cooking spice.

Vanilla
Used in love potions.

Vervain (tronbhod ? woody)
Also known as Herb of the cross. Used against fevers and poisons such as bites. Thought to ease the ills of the lungs, liver, and stomach. It was carried into battle for luck.

Violet (fail chuach - scented bowl)
Used in love potions

Watermelon
Also known as Aconite & Monkshood. The root used as a pest killer by being baked into cakes and left for the household vermin to eat. Used in oil or liniment form to aid bruises, strains, sprains, and swellings. Note: This is a highly toxic herb and should not be taken internally under any circumstances.

Wormwood (buramaide - bitter plant)
Added to spikenard, was thought to ease flatulence. Used in love potions. Also used to rid the digestive system of worms and in clothes to repel fleas.

Ylangylang
Used in love potions.

Yarrow (lus chosgadh na fola - plant that stops bleeding)
Also known as bloodwort, miliaire, staunchgrass, and thousand seal. Used for headaches and to staunch the flow of blood from wounds.

Yohimbe
Thought to be helpful for fertility and virility.

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Medders

Here follows the Old Code of Pendragon, the code of conduct followed by Medric D'Morte, Knight of Virtue, Knight of the Road and Acolyte of the Messian Faith.

The Old Code:

Chivalry is a high code of honour, which is of most ancient origin, and must be lived by all who follow the Old Ways.

It is only by preparing our minds to be as true that we can ultimately attain the truth.
"This above all...to thine own self be true..." ? William Shakespeare

The Code:

A Knight?s word must have the validity of a spoken and witness oath. Thus, give thy word sparingly, but adhere to it like iron.

The fury of the moment plays folly with the truth; to keep one's head is a virtue.

Contemplate always the consequences of thine acts upon others. Strive not to harm.

As a Knight, thou hast power, and thy powers wax strongly as wisdom increases. Therefore exercise discretion in the use thereof.

Courage and honour endure forever. Their echoes remain when the mountains have crumbled to dust.

Pledge friendship and fealty to those who so warrant. Strengthen others of the Order and they shall strengthen thee.

The laws of the land should be obeyed whenever possible and within reason, for in the main they have been chosen with wisdom.

Those who follow the Code should be above reproach in the eyes of the world.

Have pride in thyself, and seek perfection in body and in mind. For the Lady has said, "How can thou honour another unless thou give honour to thyself first?"

Refrain from speaking ill of others, for not all truths of the matter may be known.

Pass not unverified words about another, for heresay is, in a large part, a thing of falsehoods.

Be thou honest with others, and have them known that honesty is likewise expected of them.

Dignity, a gracious manner, and a good humour are much to be admired.

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Medders

We are all borne of the Wyrm, the great serpent who encompasses the world, whose breath draws the life unto us, and whose words are the words of binding, most primal of that which man calls sorcery. For she is nature, known to some as Gaia, Messah to others, Dondinia to yet others though she is older still than that name; she was the beginning and will be the end.

Before the great Kings of Men, before the Elvenkind, before the laws of the Virtues there was only the Wyrm. Not good or evil, she is the purest heart of the world, loving as a doe to her fawn, cruel as a winter?s storm. Life and death are just part of a cycle to her, all her issue return to her eventually.

In the first of days, she cast her breath across the face of the world, and to the fore came her children, the Dragons. From the most ancient of the wyrms, through the varying colours of dragons, to the drakes and wyverns, they held court over the world, and all fell beneath their diamond eyes.

And so the world turned, unchanging for millennia. New races came into being, at one with the Wyrm and her children. The oldest were the Elvenkin, borne unto the green woods of the world and granted the tomes of the Wyrm?s knowledge. Here followed the Khazad, the Smiths, who dwelt below the mountains in Annwn, where they crafted artefacts and pursued the science of the world.

But then a new age came, and a race grew in knowledge and power. Where the Wyrm was innocent in nature, the new borne were cunning and manipulative. The Elvenkin, those who had been entrusted with the Wyrm?s knowledge, found that even with their long lives the knowledge given unto them had faded; so a new race was brought forward; short in years, measured in the passing of a hand full of seasons, and unto them she entrusted her knowledge, that the quick turn of generations would keep this lore fresh, and at the forefront of their minds.

But this new race, this race of men saw those who had come before, and grew jealous that they should only have a short span on this earth. That jealousy blackened their hearts, some struck out at those they envied, and great wars were fought between the Elves and Men. Even the Dragonkin, mighty though they were, were hunted by those that would live on in history as heroes. Soon unto them the knowledge was lost in favour of the sciences of war craft.

Others though coveted this knowledge in a hope of unlocking the secrets to long life; these men became twisted sorcerers, whose long life wrought a terrible price on their health and sanity, they preyed on their own kind to restore their health, and loathed themselves so much that the hid from the sun, lest they should glimpse a reflection of their corrupted image.

The Wyrm saw what had happened among her children and wept in despair, and her tears formed the great oceans of the world. But still she wept, and a great flood consumed the world. She drew unto her the first borne, those great Dragons that the Ancient Wyrms of today are all but a crude shadow of, and she lifted up her Elven children, and gave them the White Ships to sail forth on.

Of the race of men, she drew unto her those that had stayed true to her, and within them she placed her breath, and the Ancients were borne, of which I, Merddyn, am one of that line.

As her tears stopped, and the waters drew back from the land, she looked out on what was left of her fourth borne children. Their civilisation destroyed, some had taken to the mountains and found homes in caves there. These she left, and they would one day become the founders of the peoples of this world. Of the heroes, the High Men, some too had survived, and from these the race of High Kings, the Pendragons of the land came forth, and she entrusted their guidance to the Ancients, that they would uphold her Codes and Laws, and defend her earth.

This done, and the knowledge that had corrupted the land all but forgotten, she slept, curling herself around the world, and left her earth to the Pendragons and Ancients, the children of the Great Dragons and the Elvenkind, now returned from the seas.

But little did she know that some of the Nightbreed also survived, and wrought upon the earth monstrous creations to do their bidding.

And so it falls to the line of Pendragon to defend the peoples of this world from these evils, counselled by the Ancients, and each in turn calling forth Knights to ride the land and act upon the Old Codes. And so we follow our path, generation through generations.

But I fear in my time, though I see the greatest of the Pendragons before me, and his Knights a reflection of the heroes of yore, the darkness grows more powerful, and the line of Kings will fall when they are needed most. I shall leave what knowledge I can before I fade back to the Wyrms embrace, and I call upon the favours of the Elven Master Smiths, that we leave the means to combat this darkness with reach of those who would choose the hardest Road, even if it takes them through the mists and into the lands beyond?

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Medders

A Knight is sworn to valour
His Heart Knows Only Virtue,
His Blade Defends The Helpless,
His Might Upholds The Weak,
His Words Speak Only Truth,
His Wrath Undoes The Wicked.
Valour, Virtue, & Truth...
Remember These Well!

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Medders

There is one book in Medric's personal library more dear to him than the Old Code itself. It if the legend of the first Knight of the Road, the first of Medric's Order. Here follows that tale ...




That which has gone before ? it is the darkest time for the Old Kingdom of Britain. The Knights, under the banner of Arthur Pendragon have ridden forth against the forces of Morgana Le Fay, commanded by her son, Mordred, on the field at Camlann. Battle has been joined, and both Arthur and Mordred fall at each other?s hands. With his last breath, Arthur orders his Constable, Bedivere, to return Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake, Niniane.

This done, Bedivere returns to his King, only to witness his last ship sail for the shores of Avalon.

Meanwhile, Lancelot, greatest knight of the land, hangs up his arms on hearing of the Kings death. With his sword gone, this leaves the gates of Annwn unguarded against the return of Vorien Xerrier, fel-paladin of Morgana, who some say was of the line of the Elves, banished to the eternal dark of the Underworld, to return and take the mantle of Guletic of Morgana?s forces.

All this begins at the end of my history. I shall not recount what has gone before; that was the stuff of legends. Instead I shall tell in this journal what follows, and hope that it shall find it?s way to those who would restore the Realm to her glory, in preparation for the coming of the Pendragon.

And so my journey begins ?

I had my orders, uttered across the waters as his last ship travelled unto fair Avalon. Find the children of Caladfwlch, it had said, find the Mystic Isle. I knew not what this meant, Caladfwlch was the old name of the blade I had returned unto the Lake, the hard lightening, Excalibur. How could such have children? But I would follow my Liege?s word beyond his grave, I knew of the Mystic Isle; it was far to the North and West of here, many days travel.
I took off my colours, left my armour on the muddy grounds of that last great battlefield, and took the simple robes of a monk, and headed north. To travel, as a Knight, would spell the end of this quest before it had begun, for now there were powers in the land that hunted the Brothers of the Table, those that had not fallen at Camlann. The forces of the Morgawse, Lady Morgana Le Fay were now unchecked in the Kingdoms, and invaders crossed the Eastern Seas to pillage our once fair land.

My quest took me northwards and to the west, across the mountains of Cambria and into the Kingdom of Gwynedd and past the walls of Dinas Emrys, then across the Menai Strait and onto Ynys Mon, then to the Holy Isle set against the vast Western Oceans. Here it was said the Elvan Forges were once sited at the portal to Annwn, and in those ruins would be found the home of the Grandmaster Smith, Wayland.

But in these deserted ruins I found no great Smith of Yore, the rains had turned the ashes to mud, but the cracked stonework still showed the blackened mark of flame. A force had been here and broken this site. I knelt in the mire and pulled forth a black banner, that of Le Fay, of the men of her dead son Medraut, Mordred as some called him, had been here first.

Was that the end, before it had begun? Had I failed and lost these children unto Morgawse? Then a small figure came before me; that of a young girl not long turned to womanhood. She said she was the Maid of the Three Sisters, and knew of my task. I asked her how she could know of this, and she said that she was privy to the knowledge of Merddyn, advisor to my Liege, and it had been her sister the Mother of the Three whom had taken Caladfwlch for me at the lake. I asked her for her name and she said that I could call her Nimue.

I said that I had failed in my task, but she said not to worry, for although the children were lost to this land, this land was also lost to Messah. And with the finding of the children, a new kingdom would rise, ready for the Pendragons return.

I said that I knew not how I could help, for I was a warrior, not a wet nurse, and at this she laughed, stating only a man could be so blinded to the world.

Then she recounted a tale of what had gone before.

?In the Time of Mists, during the final years of the reign of the Pendragon, Wayland, the Elf Smith of Ynys Mons, the Sacred Isle, was called upon by the head of the Council of Druids, Merddyn, to forge seven swords of power to defend the realm, for he saw that the Pendragons? days were numbered.

?Wayland called upon all of his skills, and forged swords in the image of the Kings own sword, Caladfwlch, known also as Caliburn, and named by historians later as Excalibur.

?The swords he forged were mere shadows of Caladfwlch, for the Hard Lightning had been given to the Pendragon by the Immortals, and was forged of mythrll and star stone, being passed to him by the Lady of the Lake to replace the sword of Kingship, once pulled from the stone, that had broken in battle.

?But still, he poured his heart into the crafting of these blades, added his essence to them, so much so that he dimmed the light of his Elven soul in the doing, and became lessened in this Realm, soon to pass from this world.

?As he rested, a Lady of noble birth came upon his workshop. She was Morgana le Fay, Queen of Gore, half sister to the Pendragon, and mother of his mortal enemy Mordred. She had earlier stolen Caladfwlch from the King, but had been thwarted by his knights, though she hid the scabbard from them, that stopped him taking wounds in battle.

?She had heard of the forging of the blades, and had sought out the Smith, to pervert them to her cause. As he slept she worked ancient rituals over them, and bound to the blades seven Daemons of Power, namely Elidor, Beleth, Flaures, Morax, Solas, Orias and Albion, with the purpose of arming Mordred?s lieutenants with them, that they be able to defeat Pendragon and his Knights.

?But Wayland had woken as she worked, and seeing that it was too late to stop the binding, worked a charm with the last of his powers. He cast a spell upon each blade, that they could only be bore by humbled Knights, men of Virtue, who lived their lives by the Old Code, men who were joined by blood to the Great Wyrm, Messah, whose tail encompassed the world, and whose breath was the source of all magic in the Realm.

?Morgana awoke from her trance, and as Wayland faded into the eternal night, saw what he had done, and in a rage she cast the swords into the veil of mists, scattered to the wild places of the beyond, away from the eyes of men.?

?So the children are swords?? I asked.

?Yes, but so much more. They are a sign of things to come, empowered by the heart of the men who carry them.?

I said I knew of the Lady Le Fay, and had battled her minions many a year, and would go to the lengths of the earths to hold true to the word I had given my Liege, but I knew not of this Code of which she spoke, and had not the power of spirit to journey the Mists between worlds.

She said that I had all the qualities of one of Arthur?s Knights, but to take to the road that followed I would need to become more, and in doing so become less. She would take me to one who would instruct me so, and on the way she would take me through trials to prepare my spirit for the journey beyond.

I did not understand what she meant but followed regardless, and as she summoned mounts as if from nowhere, so we started our journey south.

We crossed the Menai Straits again and followed close to the coastline, then cut inside to a small lake, reflecting the mountains of Dinas beyond. Nimue told me that this was Dinas Emrys, a sacred pool where once Vortigern had tried to hide the throne of Britain. We waited until nightfall and she bade me disrobe and cleanse myself in the waters, to give up my life before, and answer her one question; who was I?

I bathed in the icy waters, cleansed myself of the grim of battle and travel, washed the blood that had caked my hair away, and answered in a proud cry ?I am Bedivere, noble Knight of the Round Table, Royal Constable of Camulod and Cup Bearer to the King!?

She turned, and power burned in her eyes. ?Your Knighthood is forfeit, your table is broken!? she turned, with ancient power in her eyes, and snarled.

?I am Bedivere, noble Knight of the Round Table, Royal Constable of Camulod and Cup Bearer to the King!? I returned with more resolve.

?Your laws are banished!?

Again, ?I am Bedivere, noble Knight of the Round Table, Royal Constable of Camulod and Cup Bearer to the King!?

?Your castle burns!?

?I ? I am Bedivere, noble Knight of the Round Table, Royal Constable of Camulod and Cup Bearer to the King!? I faltered.

?Your cup is cracked, your King is dead!? she hissed, the venom of her words piercing my very soul.

?Then ? I am no one.?

The words broke me; all I had followed, all I had fought for, all I had believed in was gone. The golden age of Britain was over. The land was now in the hands of fell men. I should have died at Camlann with my Liege and my brothers, but instead I lived on, hanging on to the last words of a dead king.

I fell back into the cold waters of the lake, wishing that she would rise up and take me, as once the lady of another lake had taken Caladfwlch. I felt soft arms close around me, and draw me to the surface. ?My sister Niniane does not call you yet, Bedwyr, and where all else has failed, your word holds true.? A tender voice spoke. It was Nimue, her tone now gentle, soothing, soft as the breast she drew me to, and I cried in her embrace, as I hadn?t since childhood. As finally the tears left me, I felt the warmth of her body against me, around me, within me. And as my lips met hers, it was as if the pool illuminated itself from the full moons light.

That night we were joined, but in the morning she was cold to me as the winters day we had met. My hand sought hers, but she warned ?Stay true to your vows Bedwyr, true to your word.?

We headed south in silence. By midday she turned to the east, and we headed up into the mountains. By the eve we were reaching the foothills of Cader Idris. Finally she broke her peace, and said that I had to climb to the peak by midnight, some three thousand feet, and stay until dawn?s rays fell upon me.

I had known of this peak by legend; some called it the bards? peak, all knew it to be haunted. Most who stayed here until sunrise lost their minds, some very few returned with the bards tongue. I took in her cold stare for some seconds, then dismounted and started at a run up the slopes of Cader Idris.

Hours later, exhausted, I reached the summit and found a stone to rest on.

As the moon reached its zenith, my breath returned. I took in the scene around me, the crest of the great mound lit in grays by silver light; far below one single campfire in the wilderness. But as I watched, a mist formed around me.

As my sight was obscured, slowly voices formed around me; wails on the night breeze, growing more intense as the minutes went on. The mist started to spin, and shapes formed around me. Soon, ghostly forms of wraiths and banshees surrounded me, the wails screaming within my ears until I edged unto the brink of insanity. This night would be the end of me, and all I had strived for.

Then one point of light formed in front of me, one ghostly form, and as I thought my sanity would finally leach away, it reached out and touched my cheek, and I felt warmth run through me.

I looked up and saw my Liege, glorious as he had been in life, made more so in his illuminated form. He smiled and I felt comforted, and then began to fade. Before he had gone completely from sight, he whispered, ?Stay true to your word and your vows? listen, and speak only of those who demand it.?

So I sat in the circle of ghosts, calmed by my Lieges? words, and as the screams ran around me, I heard words, though I could not quite make them out. As the night ran through this continued, though I lost not my nerve, striving to hear what they called to me with no succesu find a squire to pass on the Old Codes of Pendragon. Here is Llamrai, the mount of your Liege; he served Arthur well, and shall serve you likewise.

?Seek your squire once seven ages have passed you, for now Messah shall extend your existence in her service, and pass down the words you have learned in the Cavern of Mushrooms in the land of Virtues. All that you carry shall be all that you own, and you shall not know a home, nor shall you kith until the seventh in the line of your Order is drawn back here, and the time of the Swords is upon us. He shall prepare the seven sword bearers for the coming of the King.?

And so rode from that place, and have ridden the roads of this land for near three hundred summers, and now teach the words once told to me to another, that he can continue the Order when I am returned to my Nimue?s side.

We are the Knights of the Road, the followers of the Old Code of Pendragon, holders of the Arthurian Code, descended of the Knights of the Grail and the Round Table, and servants of Messah. We are the first; we shall be the last. We are always true knights of the land and await the return of the once and future King.

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Medders

Within these tomes are the rules and codes of practice of many of those who served the Virtues ...

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