Original subtitles

The same?

No bear or wolf brought this beast down.

Nor spear, neither.

It was no hearsay, then, Brother Amlodd.

The Saxon animals are dying of a pestilence.

They are.

That pleases you?

With cause.

Our enemy�s sheep and cattle are struck down.

Men with empty bellies have little heart for war.

But the pestilence does not choose between Saxon and Celt.

And you also have bellies to fill.

So, Cerdig and his Saxons are losing their livestock to the sickness!

We should be grateful for it!

It�ll spread further than their pastures.

What if it does? We�re hunters, not farmers.

We still need our cattle and goats for their milk,

our sheep for their wool.

Brother Amlodd has what he thinks to be a remedy.

Perhaps, you should pass on this great lore to Cerdig.

That is what I intend to do.

Celts! Quickly!

Do you know me, Saxon?

You are Arthur.

You live only to take a message back to Cerdig.

Tell him I know how death runs with his herds by day and night, and would speak with him.

If he doubts my earnestness,

then let the fact that a Saxon was in our hands and lived be proof of it.

Tell Cerdig that I would meet with him at dawn tomorrow.

My spears are blunted, Cerdig.

They will hurt no Saxon today.

You did well to come.

I gave it much thought.

Is it that you seek terms to lay down your arms?

If so, you and yours will not find me too hard a master.

It is because you dream these dreams by the hearth, old man,

that we do not see you on the battlefield.

He bites, then, that Saxon puppy,

who has all the Celts for his brothers, but no man for a father!

You would talk of sick cows?

Your livestock are dying.

The pestilence will pass.

It will destroy all your flock and spread further afield.

You�re worried about your few sheep and goats?

I would protect them against this Saxon plague.

Saxon plague?

It was not known here before you invaders set up farming in this land!

Listen now to these Celts,

who hunted and fought in their mud huts,

until their lords and masters of Rome

taught them to wipe their noses with leaves and to be good servants.

What did they learn from their masters?

Nothing, save to fight!

There is honour in battle.

There is greater honour to see that your family is fed.

To do that a man must, till land, and pasture flocks.

But what of it?

You think there is a cure, then?

Amlodd the monk has a way to halt the spread of this disease.

What does your one god tell you, then?

First, you must slaughter your pigs,

and your herds of sheep and cattle, sick and well alike.

Their bodies must be burned.

Then you must burn the byres in which they were penned.

Gar!

This way, as fire will cleanse a wound,

so fire will cleanse this sickness from the land.

You must be mad! Slaughter me livestock?

D�you think I can�t see through your trap?

That is not the way of it, Cerdig. Listen to me!

I�ve heard enough.

The sickness will pass.

Cerdig the wolf. Cerdig the simpleton.

Still he does not learn.

Draw one breath to cry out and it will end as your death rattle.

Your animals are still dying, Cerdig.

The sickness has not passed.

Amlodd was right.

It is possible.

So now, will you follow his way?

And put all my people at your mercy?

Do as the priest says,

and I, Arthur, give you this pledge:

that you shall have half

of all the sheep and goats belonging to my people.

That way, you Saxons can survive,

until you build up fresh herds from untainted stock.

Half our animals? You said nothing of this.

Such decisions are mine.

Share our livestock with our enemies when our own people need food? Are you mad?

Let him starve, and all the Saxons with him.

If the sickness does not pass, we will all starve.

There is self-interest in what you propose,

so I believe you are in earnest about the sickness.

But if I do order all our animals killed,

how do I know you�ll keep your word?

When I return to my village,

I shall send one of my people as a hostage.

Very well.

Let this be our bond.

But I want as a hostage

not some ordinary man who means little to you.

I want him.

And his life will be the first forfeit for any trickery.

So be it, then.

When you have done what has to be done, we�ll make the exchange.

At the Giant�s Dam.

And mark this, Cerdig.

Injure this man in any way,

and there will be no place, here or across the sea,

where you shall be safe.

For I will hunt you down and cut out your heart.

My lord koenig, think again.

There are those who doubt the wisdom of this.

Then let �em speak out.

But this is a Celt trick!

Nah. Arthur wouldn�t dare.

Not while we hold such a hostage as Kai.

It might almost be a blessing if Arthur did not keep his bond.

What would happen to our young hostage then, eh?

Would he seek to fight with Arthur again?

Or would the love he bears him turn to hate?

And would he then fight with us again?

Huh. Would it were so.

But to Arthur, the word that�s spoken cannot be recalled.

Perhaps there�s some other way.

You left my adopted son at the mercy of Cerdig?

There was no choice!

Against a ransom of half our livestock?

What is our main source of food, Llud?

The wild boar and the deer in the forest.

Well then, you�d better start learning how to fish.

Because if this pestilence goes unchecked,

it must spread to the forests.

And from one forest it�ll reach out to the next,

until the whole land is affected!

Well, the Saxons will suffer equally! � No!

For a while they�ll share our misfortune,

then they�ll reap in their filthy wheat and it�ll just be the Celts weakened by this plague.

Take a long look, Llud!

See it. Taste it. Savour it.

For soon it could be just a memory in your starving belly!

And not just you, Llud, not just you!

And me. And this village.

But the entire Celtic race will be searching the forest in vain

for the meat that is their life�s blood!

Fate has planned this for Cerdig,

better than if he�d sacrificed his own son to the gods!

Arthur.

My sword is yours.

I�ll stand beside you against any threat,

as I have done since you were a child.

But never again put Kai, who is also as my son,

at this risk to achieve your own ends.

Look around you, Kai.

You know, it was in a village such as this that your mother and father lived.

Where you were brought up and cared for.

It must seem strange to you, to think that even this could have been your village.

Where you laughed, and played... got to know your own people.

You�re no longer my people.

Oh, no.

No, you belong to the Celts now.

To Arthur�s people.

Nevertheless, the blood in you�s Saxon blood, as was your parents�.

They�re dead.

But are they?

That man over there.

Isn�t it possible he could be your father?

He would know if he had lost a son.

Hmm.

But somewhere, in one of our villages,

perhaps not very far away,

your father may live.

If my father lives, why has he not sought me all these years?

Why have you not heard from such a man?

I ask you again.

Could not that man be your father?

I tell you again.

He would know if he had lost a son.

Nyeah.

He would also know that that son was you.

The Saxon who kills Saxons.

Would he claim you, or would he let you pass?

He will come.

Arthur keeps his bond.

And the moment of his coming � the moment of your decision.

Whether you return to Arthur,

or remain amongst your own kind.

What would you give me if I stayed, Cerdig?

Would you feast me? Smother me with gifts?

Present me with the best house in the village,

and the choice of any of the young women for my pleasure?

What tempting scraps would you throw to me from your table?

I�d give you nothing.

You�d have to build your own house, court your own women, as the others must.

There�d be no gifts.

And you would feed on whatever harvest you could plough and reap yourself.

But one thing I would swear to do.

I would acclaim you throughout the Saxon lands,

and call upon your father to come forward,

and take his rightful place, proudly, beside his son Kai,

the wandering Saxon who has come home to his own people.

And you would have me fight beside you against the Celts?

I would have you defend your people against whoever may attack them.

Never Arthur.

Never could I take arms against Arthur, who was as a brother.

Nor Llud, who was as a father to me.

If you agreed those conditions,

then I would stay.

It is agreed.

Cut his bonds.

Hah!

Arthur loses more than sheep and goats today!

Cerdig!

I would say this.

Among the Celts, I was a warrior among warriors.

I cannot stay here to be a fool, among fools such as you!

Here, give this to your son.

Hold your spears! Hold your spears, I say!

Arthur!

Where are the animals?

Ach! We have been betrayed!

Arthur has broken his bond.

Could you not wait?

Cerdig sought to dig deeper the pit you left me in.

I had to build a ladder of cleverer lies with which to climb out.

There�s no need for this bargain. � I gave my word.

To a Saxon?

To Celt or Saxon, my word must stand.

There is no more sickness.

Our animals are healthy, and hunting will be good.

With empty bellies, our enemies would soon be at our mercy.

I say prepare for...

Well, Kai? What do you say?

Your word must stand.

Leave the animals! Go!

My thanks

for supporting my pledge to Cerdig.

Kai is himself again. Yar!

Cerdig! Celts!

Get back to your own land! The bond is kept!

In common cause, we have done well.

In common cause, let us draw a line beyond which you shall not advance!

Who shall keep that line?

We both shall.

And you must send messages to your people across the seas,

saying that they are not welcome here.

The messages shall tell of green pastures,

and abundant game, rich, new land.

It shall be done!

And you will not burn nor pillage,

and you will not advance across that line?

We shall not!

At least, this day we shall not.

Today at least they shall not.