( ) = dead before story begins
* = historical figure
Praise for the novels of Avalon
Lady of Avalon
“Bradley’s women are, as usual, strong and vibrant, but never before has she so effectively depicted the heroic male…. An immensely popular saga.”
—Booklist
“No prior familiarity with Bradley’s Avalon titles will be required in order to enjoy this ongoing saga…. Fine characters mark a moving story.”
—Midwest Book Review
“A nice blend of historical and mystical elements, and Bradley’s interpretation of the priestesses and their role in Britain’s power struggles is quite interesting.”
—FutureFiction.com
The Forest House
“Compelling, powerful.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“The setting evokes a fascinating time of change…. The mythic elements grow to hint satisfactorily at the Arthurian wonder to come…. The stuff of legend.”
—Locus
“A seamless weave of history and myth.”
—Library Journal
“The sure touch of one at ease in sketching out mystic travels.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Compelling reading.”
—The Green Man Review
Priestess of Avalon
“The message that all religions call on the same higher power should go over well with fans of Mists [of Avalon]. Paxson’s own skill at bringing historical characters and places to vivid life enriches Helena’s story.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Stunning…this rich and moving novel merits its place beside Bradley’s fantasy classic.”
—Booklist
“Bradley creates a powerful tale of magic and faith that enlarges upon pagan and Christian traditions to express a deeper truth.”
—Library Journal
“Priestess of Avalon does a stunning job of recapturing the legendary power of the original…brings rich imagery to its prophetic scenes.”
—The Green Man Review
Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Ancestors of Avalon
“Magical….[The Mists of Avalon] devotees won’t feel let down by Ancestors…. Provides plenty of pleasurable reading hours.”
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“An elegant stylist, Paxson captures the awe, tragedy, and resounding mystery of ancient Britain and mist-enshrouded Atlantis.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Paxson fashions an entirely new entry in the Avalon saga…. [Her] storytelling features the requisite veins of mysticism, but, like Bradley, she excels at bringing the vast sweep of imagined history to an accessible level…. A rich and respectful homage that will dazzle readers longing to revisit Bradley’s sacred, storied isle.”
—Booklist
“Once again, Diana L. Paxson has beautifully elaborated on Marion Zimmer Bradley’s beloved Avalon saga with this dramatic new installment…. [An] extraordinary journey.”
—SFRevu
“Paxson is an excellent choice as successor to Bradley for this series. Her style and the details of the plot retain the sense of the mysterious past and the feminist awareness that was an underlying theme in the originals.”
—Chronicle
“Ancestors of Avalon may be the best of the Avalon tales. The story line stands alone due to the strength of the characterizations…yet also interconnects the myriad plots from the previously published books.”
—Midwest Book Review
OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES
The Mists of Avalon
The Forest House
Priestess of Avalon
Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Ravens of Avalon
Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Ancestors of Avalon
Lady of Avalon
Marion Zimmer Bradley
ROC
Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi -110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Previously published in Viking hardcover and Roc trade paperback editions.
Copyright © Marion Zimmer Bradley, 1997
All rights reserved
Ritual excerpts in chapters 10 and 23, and the song in chapter 19, courtesy of Diana L. Paxson.
Map by Peter McClure.
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
ISBN: 978-1-1012-1278-3
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
To Diana L. Paxson,
without whom this book could not have been written,
and to Darkmoon Circle, the priestesses of Avalon
Contents
People in the Story
Places in the Story
The Faerie Queen speaks:
PART 1The Wisewoman
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
PART IIThe High Priestess
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
PART IIIDaughter of Avalon
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
People in the Story
{Part 1}
Priests and Priestesses of Avalon
Caillean—High Priestess, formerly of the Forest House
(Eilan)—formerly High Priestess of the Forest House, Gawen
’s mother
Gawen—son of Eilan and Gaius Macellius
Eiluned, Kea, Marged, Riannon—senior priestesses
Beryan, Breaca, Dica, Lunet, Lysanda—junior priestesses and maidens in training
Sianna—daughter of the Faerie Queen
Bendeigid—former Arch-Druid, Gawen’s British grandfather
Brannos—an ancient Druid and bard
Cunomaglos—High Priest
Tuarim, Ambios—younger Druids
The Christian monks of Inis Witrin
*Father Joseph of Arimathea—leader of the Christian community
Father Paulus—his successor
Alanus, Bron—monks
Romans and others
Arius—Gawen’s friend in the Army
Gaius Macellius Severus Senior—Gawen’s Roman grandfather
(Gaius Macellius Severus Siluricus)—Gawen’s father, who was sacrificed as a British Year-King
Lucius Rufinus—centurion in charge of recruits for the Ninth Legion
Quintus Macrinius Donatus—Commander of the Ninth Legion
Salvius Bufo—commander of the cohort to which Gawen is assigned
Waterwalker—a man of the marsh folk who pole the barge of Avalon
{Part II}
Priests and Priestesses of Avalon
Dierna—High Priestess and Lady of Avalon
(Becca—Dierna’s younger sister)
Teleri—a princess of the Durotriges
Cigfolla, Crida, Erdufylla, Ildeg—senior priestesses
Adwen, Lina—maidens being trained on Avalon
Ceridachos—Arch-Druid
Conec—a young Druid
Lewal—the Healer
Romans and Britons
Aelius—captain of the Hercules
*Allectus—son of the Duovir of Venta, later on Carausius’ staff
*Constantius Chlorus—a Roman commander, later Caesar
*Diocletian Augustus—senior Emperor
Eiddin Mynoc—Prince of the Durotriges
Gaius Martinus—an optio from Vindolanda
Gnaeus Claudius Pollio—a magistrate of Durnovaria
Vitruvia—Pollio’s wife
*Marcus Aurelius Musaeus Carausius—Admiral of the Britannic fleet, later Emperor of Britannia
*Maximian Augustus—junior Emperor
Menecrates—commander of Carausius’s flagship, the Orion
Quintus Julius Cerialis—Duovir of Venta Belgarum
Trebellius—a manufacturer of bronze fittings
Barbarians
Aedfrid, Theudibert—warriors in Carausius’ Menapian guard
Hlodovic—a Frankish chieftain of the Salian clan
Wulfhere—a chieftain of the Angles
Radbod—a Frisian chieftain
{Part III}
Priests and Priestesses of Avalon
Ana—High Priestess and Lady of Avalon
(Anara and Idris—her second and first daughters)
Viviane—her third daughter
Igraine—her fourth daughter
Morgause—her fifth daughter
Claudia, Elen, Julia—senior priestesses
Aelia, Fianna, Mandua, Nella, Rowan, Silvia—novices of the House of Maidens, later priestesses
Taliesin—chief bard
Nectan—Arch-Druid
Talenos—a younger Druid
Britons
*Ambrosius Aurelianus—Emperor of Britain Bethoc—Viviane’s foster-mother*Categirn—Vortigern’s older son
Ennius Claudianus—one of Vortimer’s commanders
Fortunatus—a Christian priest and follower of Pelagius
*Bishop Germanus of Auxerre—an enforcer of orthodoxy
Heron—one of the men of the marshes
Neithen—Viviane’s foster-father
Uther—one of Ambrosius’ warriors
*Vortigern—High King of Britannia
*Vortimer—his second son
Saxons
Hengest—leader of the Saxon migration
Horsa—his brother
Figures from Myth and History
*(Agricola)—Governor of Britannia A.D. 78–84
Arianrhod—a British goddess associated with the moon and the sea
*(Boudicca)—Queen of the Iceni, who led the Great Rebellion in A.D. 61
Briga/Brigantia—Goddess of healing, poetry, and smith-craft, Divine Midwife, and territorial goddess of Britannia
*(Calgacus)—British leader who was defeated by Agricola in A.D. 81
Camulos—a god of warriors
*(Caractacus)—first-century leader of the British resistance
Cathubodva—Lady of Ravens, raven goddess, a war goddess, related to the Morrigan
Ceridwen—British goddess of the “terrible mother” type, possessor of the cauldron of wisdom
The Faerie Queen
The Horned One, Cernunnos—lord of the animals and the dark half of the year
Lugos—bright god of all talents
Maponus/Mabon—the young god, Son of the Mother
Minerva—Roman goddess of wisdom and healing, identified with Athens, Sulis, and Briga
Modron—Mother goddess
Nehallenia—territorial goddess of the Netherlands
Nemetona—goddess of the grove
Nodens—god of clouds, sovereignty, healing, possibly related to Nuada
*(Pelagius)—a fourth-century British religious leader
Rigantona—Great Queen, goddess of birds
Rigisamus—lord of the grove
Sulis—goddess of the healing springs
Tanarus—thunder god
Teutates—tribal god
Places in the Story
Aquae Sulis—Bath
Armorica—Brittany
Branodunum—Brancaster, Norfolk
Britannia—Great Britain
Caesarodunum—Tours, France
Calleva—Silchester
Cantium—Kent
Clausentum—Bitterne, on the Ictis, near Southampton
Corinium—Cirencester, Gloucester
Corstopitum—Corbridge, Northumbria
Demetia—Dyfed, Wales
Deva—Chester
Dubris—Dover
Durnovaria—Dorchester, Dorset
Durobrivae—Rochester
Durovernum Cantiacorum—Canterbury Eburacum—York
Gallia—France
Gariannonum—Burgh Castle, Norfolk
Gesoriacum—Boulogne, France
Glevum—Gloucester
Ictis—river that empties into the bay at Portsmouth
Inis Witrin—Glastonbury, Somerest
Lindinis—Ilchester, Somerest
Londinium—London
Luguvalium—Carlisle
Mendip Hills—hills to the north of Glastonbury
Mona—Isle of Anglesey
Mons Graupius—a mountain in Scotland, site of the battle in which Agricola destroyed the last British resistance to Rome
Othona—Bradwell, Essex
Portus Adurni—Portchester (Portsmouth)
Portus Lemana—Lymne, Kent
Rutupiae—Richborough, Kent
Sabrina Fluvia—the Severn River and estuary
Siluria—the Silure tribal lands in South Wales
Segedunum—Wallsend, Northumbria
Segontium—Caernarvon, Wales
Sorviodunum—Old Sarum, near Salisbury
Stour River—river that passes through Dorchester and empties at Weymouth
Tamesis Fluvivus—Thames River
Tanatus Insula—Isle of Thanet, Kent
Vale of Avalon—the Glastonbury levels Vectis Insula—Isle of Wight
Venta Belgarum—Winchester
Venta Icenorum—Caistor, Norfolk
Venta Silurum—Caerwent, Wales
Vercovicium—Housesteads fort, Northumbria
Vernemeton (most holy grove)—the Forest House
Vindolanda—Chesterholm, near Corbridge
Viroconium—Wroxeter
The Faerie Queen speaks:
In the world of humankind, the tides of power are turning…. To me, the seasons of men go by in moments, but from time to time a flicker will attract my attention.
Mortals say that in Faerie nothing ever changes. But it is not so. There are places where the worlds lie close together as folds in a blanket. One such bridge is the place that men call Avalon. When the mothers of humankind first came into this land, my people, who had never had bodies, made forms for ourselves in their likeness. The new folk built their houses on poles at the lake’s edge and hunted through the marshes, and we walked and played together, for that was the morning of the world.
Time passed, and masters of an ancient wisdom crossed the sea, fleeing the destruction of Atlantis, their own sacred isle. They moved great stones to mark out the lines of power that laced the land. It was they who secured the sacred spring in stone and carved out the spiral path around the Tor, they who found in the contours of the countryside the emblems of their philosophy.
They were great masters of magic, who chanted spells by which a mortal man might reach other worlds. And yet they were mortal, and in time their race diminished, while we remained.
After them came others, bright-haired, laughing children with burnished swords. But the touch of cold iron we could not abide, and from that time onward Faerie began to separate itself from the human world. But the ancient wizards taught the humans wisdom, and their wise folk, the Druids, were drawn to the power in the holy isle. When the Legions of Rome marched across the land, binding it with stone-paved roads and slaughtering those who resisted, the isle became a refuge for the Druid-kind.
That was but a moment ago, by my reckoning. I welcomed to my bed a golden-haired warrior who had wandered into Faerie. He pined and I sent him back again, but he left me the gift of a child. Our daughter is as fair and golden as he was, and curious about her human heritage.