The Winter King

In the narrative present, Igraine asks about Guinevere’s beauty, and whether she loved Arthur. Derfel replies that she had a striking presence, and loved the idea of Arthur as “champion of Dumnomia” (218). Igraine then presses Derfel on his own love life, but he demurs, insisting that it will come with the unfolding of the story. She again wishes that the story were more romantic, with tales of Camelot and ladies fair, Lancelot and Merlin, but here also Derfel counsels patience.

Derfel resumes his story. In the wars with Powys, the Irish, and the Saxons, Derfel’s prowess earns him the name “Cadarn,” or “the mighty.” Sagramor, a Numidian captain of Arthur’s army, invites Derfel to join the cult of Mithras, a god of soldiers. He is blindfolded, sent into a cave, and tested for his ability to follow orders without question, such as slaughtering what he is told is a child and then drinking its blood, only to find out that it was a baby lamb. His entry confirms his status as a leader of men in battle, and his celebratory feast brings together men who are otherwise at war in shared recognition of a worthy addition to their ranks—one enemy even asks Derfel to switch to Gundleus’s side.