Twice the Dragons Duelled: Part II
- telynmyths
- Feb 1
- 5 min read
Lludd and Llefelys
Merlin sat atop a mossy rock, overlooking King Vortigern and his men who were resolutely digging into the hill on Dinas Emrys.
As promised (in part I), he began to tell them the tale of the royal brothers, Lludd and Llefelys.
“Lludd and Llefelys were the sons of Beli the Great, King of the Britons. When Beli the Great died, Lludd, the eldest of his sons, naturally inherited his kingdom.
Lludd proved himself to be a worthy successor of his father’s epithet and crown, as within just a few years of his reign, Lludd had restored peace to every corner of the kingdom. Trade flowed, and so too did the wine after every bountiful harvest.
And what better way to celebrate his success than to rebuild a city and fort at the heart of his realm. Stone by stone, plank by plank, the fortress took its form next to the wide waters of the river Thames.
The Britons came to call this fortress Caer Lludd.”
Merlin paused here, his gaze drifting over Vortigern and his men who were enchanted by his story. “Well keep digging,” the young boy sternly reminded them.
“They say all good things must come to an end. No sooner than Caer Llud was established, and the golden age of Lludd seemed to be at its height, did three plagues befall the island of Britain.
The first of the trio of plagues came in the form of fairies.
But, these weren’t the type of fairies who spread joy, magic or pixie dust. No. These demonic fairies could hear everything the wind carried. All your secrets, all your plans, all your shames.
How do you fight demons that know what you'll do and when?
The second plague was a loud, terrifying scream that echoed throughout all the land. Even mighty warriors were brought to their knees, begging for the screeching to stop.
The third and final plague happened on the first night of every harvest. Every time food and wine was prepared and stored into the halls of Caer Lludd, the people would wake up the next day to find it all missing.
Try as he might, Lludd couldn't find the ailment to any of the sicknesses that terrorised his land. So, he contacted his dearest younger brother, Llefelys.
Llefelys lived in France, and knowing that the fairies may be listening in to any conversation between him and his brother, he devised a clever plan.
They would meet in the middle of the English Channel in separate boats. Once in arms reach of each other, they would talk through a long horn so their words wouldn’t travel through the air to the fairies. Genius.
At least it seemed genius, until they started hearing cruel words through the horn.
“You pig.”
“You fat slug.”
The brother knew well enough that this couldn’t possibly be what the other was saying, so LLefeys , clever as he is, poured some ale down the horn. Out stumbled a little demon, hiccuping and stirring his words as he fell overboard into the sea.
That dealt with, the kingly brothers began discussing the plagues and LLefeys came up with a plan.
Firstly, Lludd was to make a poison out of insects. This would be deadly to the eavesdropping fairies, but not to the native Britons.
Secondly, Lludd must go to Oxford and set a trap, for the terrifying scream came from two creatures that were locked in a gruesome duel.
Lastly, Llud had to keep himself awake through the Harvest night with a bucket of freezing water, as it was actually a sorcerer that was stealing from the stores after enchanting the whole castle to fall asleep.
The pair parted ways and rowed back to their respective shores. Lludd trusted his brother above any one else, so immediately set to work and did exactly as he had been told.
He gathered creepy crawly things from beneath earth, rock and stone. Spiders from their webs, wasps from their nests, and woodlouse , well from under wood as you can guess.
He ground them all up into a poisonous draft that was then diffused through the air like incense. The mist carried through the air like a secret, and one by one, all the demonic fairies fell silent.
Lludd then rode to Oxford. There, beneath a hill that was believed to be the exact centre of the island, the king ordered his troops to dig up a great pit. Into the pit, they laid out a cloth and placed it in a giant cauldron full to the brim with the strongest mead they could brew.
That evening, the frightful scream returned and with it the cause.
Two dragons, one red and one white, danced and dove through the air as they battled and tore at each other’s scales. They seemed to be trapped in an endless duel.
However, even during this intense fight they could smell the mead. Exhausted, and perhaps parched from breathing endless streams of fire, they both swooped into the cauldron and took their fill.
Lludd and his men rushed out from their hiding places and wrapped the cauldron in the cloth. The two fiery, winged serpents turned into pigs as they fell asleep drunk on mead.
The little piglets were placed in a wooden chest, and the king ordered a company of troops to take them far away into the mountains to be buried and forgotten about.”
Vortigern’s men swiftly glanced over at Merlin, their hands trembling. “Are you saying…-”
“-wait, wait, wait! Let me finish. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Merlin said.
“The scream was heard no more. So now came the final plague, the theft of the food.
Lludd filled a bucket with icy water and sat alone in the corner of his dark storeroom.
That night , as with every Harvest night, an enchantment filled the air and sent everyone into a deep slumber.
Lludd could feel his eyelids getting heavier, but he resisted the temptation to sleep by pouring the cold water over his head. He shocked himself awake and was alert as a rabbit.
Sure enough, he then saw the tricky magician strutting through the halls. The arrogant sorcerer didn’t even bother sneaking around. Why would he? He could be as loud as he wanted and no-one ever woke up.
He scoffed at the bread, helped himself to some wine, and flung some grapes up into the air to catch with his mouth.
You can imagine his face when he saw the great ruler of all the kingdom stood right in front of him crossing his arms.
“My lord…. I uh…I was simply checking the food was to a good standard. Forg-“
Before he could finish, Lludd bashed him across the head and put him in a cell. He would now be the one in a deep sleep - at least for a few days.
The people woke up, unaware of what had happened during the night, to the biggest breakfast they had ever laid eyes on.
Peace had returned to Britain. No more fairies, no more screams, and no more hungry bellies.”
Merlin stood up on his mossy platform.
“And that,” he said, “ is why you must keep digging.”
“For somewhere beneath Dinas Emrys, are two terrifying beasts that still remember how to scream.”
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