Cambria

Chapter 9: Epic, Part 4

"Tristan, being an incredibly brave warrior, accepted without thinking.

"'Take all the time you need before you decide,' Arthur said. 'You can wait in prayer for an answer tonight, and then give me your decision on the morrow.'

"'Sire, I need not time to decide,' Tristan answered. 'I've made my decision and I will do as you say.'

"Arthur nodded, then Tristan kissed the ring with the Holy Seal on Arthur's ring finger, pledging his loyalty to Arthur and to England.

'I will not fail you, Sire,' Tristan pledged, then turned and walked away. This was the last time he would see Arthur, or England."

"What happened?" Seth interrupted again, leaning forward on the table, clearly enthralled by the story. Herman gave him a look that said he was interrupting again, then Seth countered, "Oh, sorry. Please continue."

"The next morning," Herman went on, "Arthur chose The Cambrian for Tristan to sail, a well constructed sailing ship of her day, the best of Arthur's fleet. All able-bodied men had worked through the night loading the ship to ensure that it would be ready for her long voyage the next day. The moment it was ready, Tristan and a small crew set sail for Jerusalem.

"The first two days were smooth sailing; however, on the evening of the second day, a gale blew up so fierce that even the compasses were thrown off balance. Tristan and the crew found themselves just a day and a half off the coast of England in the worst storm any of them had ever witnessed, without any kind of navigation. They would have used the stars, but the night was black and due to the severity of the storm, no stars were visible.

"During the course of the night, the ship was blown hopelessly off course. The Cambrian was the finest sailing ship of her day, but was no match for the iron warships, or even modern sailing ships of today - and no match for a severe storm. The ship came apart at the seams. Much of the crew was lost, but Tristan and a few members of his crew survived. The year was 558 A.D.

"The next morning, Tristan woke on the shore of what is now called St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada."

"Here?" Seth interrupted once again, his eyes wide.

"Yes," Herman continued. "Right here in St. John's. In fact, they washed ashore on the edge of what is now St. John's Harbor. St. John's is located directly across the ocean from England. Tristan thought that the storm must have hit just before his navigation crew would have made the turn that would take them toward their destination of Jerusalem.

"Since The Cambrian was completely destroyed, there was no way for Tristan and his men to return to England. Tristan thought himself a failure for not having returned to Arthur with the Holy Grail.

"To try and make up for his presumed failure and with no way to get back, Tristan vowed to make this new land a tribute to King Arthur and to claim it for England. He named this new land Cambria, in honor of Camelot and of his lost ship, The Cambrian."

"Cambria?" Seth asked. "The word Cambria is inscribed on this medallion."

"Yes," Herman continued. "As I said, Tristan vowed to make this new land a tribute to King Arthur and to Camelot. King Arthur was a just and fair king; the best in all of England's history. In Tristan's eyes, no man was his equal.

"Then Tristan set out to make good on his word. It was summer when they arrived, and much cooler than in England. Tristan was a smart man and decided that they must hurry to construct shelter from the impending winter that he suspected would find them. The first winter was the hardest. They had just enough time to construct two houses the first year, and found a cave system in the mountains. However, the caves were occupied by the Beothuk Indians, beautiful Indian natives of Newfoundland. Beothuk means "people" in modern English. Tristan explained to the natives that they were peaceful and that they did not wish to fight, but not before two of his good men were killed.

"Tristan and his remaining men befriended the Beothuk native tribe, and it was the natives who helped Tristan and his men survive that first harsh winter. When spring came, Tristan set to work building a castle in defense of the harsh weather and of impending attacks from neighboring tribes, which he thought inevitable.

"In the process, Tristan met a beautiful Beothuk woman with long brown coffee-colored hair reaching almost to her feet, warm brown eyes, and russet-colored skin. Her name was Nina, which means "strong." She was kind and a help to Tristan. Before the summer's end, Tristan took her as his bride.

"She was true to her name, very strong, beautiful, and kind. She also bore Tristan three sons and two daughters, and worked by his side until she died one winter of influenza. Tristan tried, but there was nothing anyone could do to save her. Tristan and Nina had built a happy life together, but now she was gone.

"After Nina's death, Tristan worked to finish the castle in her memory. His men had also taken Beothuk wives and soon an English settlement was established. This settlement existed as Cambria for many years."

Seth listened, watching the fading candles now with red liquid wax pooling on the plate at their bases. "How do you know all of this?" Seth asked, his eyebrows pulling together, his mouth set in a straight line of disbelief.

Herman paused for a moment, and then replied, "Because I was there."

Seth sat in stunned silence for a moment. "You what?"

After another moment, Herman slowly repeated, "I was there."

Seth pushed his chair back from the wooden table to stand. "Okay, I've heard some whoppers in my time, but this one takes the cake. You almost had me believing until you said that you were there. Right!" Seth turned to walk away.

But Herman caught his arm tightly as he passed, then looked directly into his eyes and said in a low, calm voice, "I was there. I'm not lying to you, Seth. Please sit down." Herman indicated the chair across the table where he had just risen, but Seth just looked in his uncle's eyes, then down to his hands gripping his arm. "Please. Hear me out."

Seth could see truth in his eyes. "But how is that possible?"

"Please, sit," Herman asked, and then Seth turned and calmly took his seat again. "I am a wizard."