Ieuan straightened neck, stiffened,
‘You keep calm up there, now;
there’s my lovely rider.’
Gwair patted, nodded, raised spear salute,
‘Hail! Wrath Rider, welcome to the Wall..’
Llewei nodded, charged straight past;
hoof clump mud face spattered.
Gwair wiped, smiled, downed spear,
‘Well, so much for the ritual
and time spent in rehearsal…’
Ieuan rear-turned, trotted upwards,
‘Trouble with people these days,
no real respect for the old ways…
Hold on, good boy, go neck low,
let’s see if we can catch them now!’
Gwair smelt mane, acceleration came,
uphill sweat-burst power streak;
fortlet passageway blurred rapid past,
saw Llewei vanish over Vallum peak.
Ieuan panted, plunge galloped downhill,
‘Ooh, he’s fast! That’s so very good!’
No break in pace, up Vallum bank,
slowed at crest, Ieuan took breath,
decelerated to downward canter.
Dismounted, Llewei knelt,
opened cloak revealed robes
striped many vibrant colours;
from which produced a hare;
gentle murmur, stroked his ears.
Rapid dense whispers lost to air;
Hare nodded, spoke briefly back,
explosive rared away buck fast.
Horses nodded greetings to each other,
‘Alright, Ieu, good to see you,
how have you been keeping?’
‘Oh, not too bad, can’t complain;
almost broken in my rider!
Excellent long range gallop, I saw;
I shall mention it to the judges.’
All Island horses competed for inclusion
in the esteemed annual Horse Show Triad.
Llewei rose, knee swiped, smiled; Gwair
pleased to see still wearing her first face;
‘Didn’t want the welcome ritual, Llewei?’
‘We’re still doing that then, are we?
Seems pointless to pretend the wall
barriers me from social calls.
Come on, descendant of Troy,
I’m here to chat with the boys.’
In hall, Palmyredes produced parchment;
‘Padraig’s letter’s not our biggest issue
since I was couriered this missive.’
Cunedda’s eyes quick scan flicked,
‘A brief period of dictatorship?
I’ve before heard that shtick…’
‘I hold my commission from the Senate,
under the terms of the Agreement. Late
illegal orders – I’ve tendency to neglect.’
‘Fine, but before we take next action,
shouldn’t we try for clarification?’
‘The comms network seems be broken;
signals past Eboracum forsaken; [York]
not even a back up pigeon.’