Research pertaining to the Bannerlord

Supplied by Ryoshi Ichinose, 1121

The Helm of the Bannerlord 

“Through the mists I rode 

Bearing arms to new shores 

For the Bannerlord’s cause; 

My path was clear. 

I spurred my mount on, 

At the dawning of the day, 

As the sun burnished the way, 

And the mists billowed and furled. 

A green and pleasant land, 

Beckoned me to its heart, 

But all I felt was dread. 

The trees and rocks and rivers 

Were angered at our coming, 

But the Bannerlord rode on; 

And the mists billowed and furled.” 

“From dark Kenric in the dim morning 

with gesith and captain rode Gedrun’s son: 

to Aethelshof he came, the ancient halls 

of the Spear-wardens, mist-enshrouded; 

golden timbers were in gloom mantled. 

Farewell he bade to his free people, 

hearth and high-seat, and the hallowed places, 

where long he had feasted ere the light faded. 

Forth rode the Bannerlord, fear behind him, 

fate before him. Fealty kept he; 

oaths he had taken, all fulfilled them. 

Forth rode Cerdyc, five nights and days 

east and onward rode the vaulting-gate

through Folde and Fenmarch and the Fallenwood, 

six thousand spears to Vortigern, 

Aelaban the mighty across Afallun, 

the many kingdoms of the other-realm, 

foe-laden, war-seeking. 

Battlehunger drove them on. The Mists took them, 

horse and horseman; hoofbeats afar 

sank into silence; so the songs tell us.” 

What we know of the Saes comes mostly from the accounts written in the time of Aurelius Pen Ddraig, of his  younger brother Uther, and Uther’s son Arthur. They came, through the Mists, at Vortigern’s call, from  another realm, and thus their histories are mostly unknown to us.  

What we know can be found in various books, but of interest particularly, here, is Cerdyc. He was, to the Saes,  what we might call a king, and yet, he was not. Cerdyc led the Saes not through the will of the ancestors, nor  through the popular acclamation of the people, but by right of strength.  

The Saes were a warring and disparate people – they had no singular, unifying leader. Each of the Hyrds was a  law unto itself, and more often than not they would be fighting amongst themselves. But the stories we know  tell us of a helm.  

The Helm of the Bannerlord. They say that some Saes would take it upon themselves to quest for the Helm,  and that most would die in the attempt. Were the Helm to be found it was not guaranteed that the finder  could wear it, for the Helm itself required mastering and conquering.  

But, in those rare times, perhaps once in a hundred years, the Helm would be found, and mastered, and for a  time the Saes would be united, for all would march behind the Bannerlord. The strongest of a people who  valued strength, it was the Bannerlord who could command the Warhyrd – the massing of the Saes. 

Cerdyc was such a Saes, and using the helm he led his people through the Mists to conquer Albion. A great,  shining thing, the Helm, with a full face-plate that would hide the wearer’s own face – the purpose of this was,  we surmise, to show that the wearer was no longer an individual, but the avatar of the Saes as a whole.  

When Cerdyc was killed, the Helm was claimed by Uther, however, owing to the magic of the Helm, it soon  faded from his grip, for when the Helm’s wearer is defeated the Helm will shift itself, to be ready for the  seeking. Wherever that Helm lies it is somewhere within Albion, and should it be found, and mastered, the  Bannerlord may find themselves in command of the remaining Saes – for we know they are out there still. 
 

The Goldenblade 

The sword of Hyrsa, daughter of Cerdyc the Bannerlord, Gesith to her father, a leader among the Saes. Little is  known of this blade, other than the fact it seemed to never need the touch of a whetstone, and even in  darkness the golden blade shimmered with light. Hyrsa wielded the blade when she rode forth from Avalon once more – where the blade now lies, none know.