11 - On the Further Fate of Britannia:

My return to Britannia was rather uneventful, but I found my old homeland in a state of chaos. Vortigern's rule had initially been successful; he had joined forces with the Saxones to defeat the Picti under Aifric at Lindocolonia, and he had remained victorious at Kalon, securing Saxon rule in Cantium. The forces of the High King also triumphed at Aquae Sulis, but dissent was brewing among his Britanni followers, with Vortigern's own son, Vortimer, leading the dissatisfied. When I arrived in Glevum, the conflict between the Saxones and the rebellious Britanni warlords had already turned bloody. I found Josef's sanctuary destroyed and plundered; Armagus of Gors had invaded the land, looting Glevum and seizing its sacred treasures, desecrating the Senae, or holy maidens. However, even in Gors, I no longer felt the Grail, as if the Holy Spirit had veiled it from my sight, keeping the vessel hidden. In truth, the Grail had not fallen into Armagus' hands but had been saved by a devout warrior named Titus Relius. At that time, though, I was unaware of this. Instead, I accepted that it was not my destiny to find the Grail and moved on to Tigernleuc, where I stayed at Vortigern's court.

Hrothwen's influence over the King had grown stronger, for she had made a pact with the goddess Helith, Lucifer's daughter. Fearing the invasion of the Men of Aremorica, led by Ambrosius and Uter, Vortigern agreed to settle large masses of Saxones. This led to the Cantiaci uprising, causing the alliance to crumble, and many princes and petty kings favored Vortigern's removal, to be replaced by his eldest son, Vortimer. During this time, two Christian episcopes named Germanus and Ludovicus came to Britannia to support Christianity. Germanus found an important supporter and disciple in Vortigern's youngest son, Faustus while his daughter, Vindovera, sought refuge with the High Priestess of the Senae, the Lady of the Lake.

Vortimer and Caitigern, Vortigern's older sons, took matters into their own hands and led a force to Aboderva, where they defeated the Saxones, forcing them to retreat to the Isle of Toliatis to lick their wounds. In another battle at Wippedesfleot, the Saxones nearly wiped out the rebellious Cantiaci and established their first kingdom there. Horsa, the leader of the Saxones, died in that battle, but he mortally wounded Vortigern's younger son, Caitigern, in a duel. At that time, I had not yet given up on Vortigern entirely and did not wish for his death. I foiled a nocturnal attack on the King's life by sending him a vision, allowing him to kill the assassin. However, after the battles of Londinium and Gillasthorp, which the High King himself led, the Saxons proposed peace talks and met with the Britanni on the plain of Sorviodunum. During the negotiations, they drew their famous short blades and slaughtered two hundred Britanni, many of them Noblemen. Vortigern was captured and became a High King by Saxon favor, granting wide parts of the southern island as fiefs to the Saxones in exchange for his office and life, thus establishing the kingdoms of Eastseaxe and Suthsaexe.

Vortimer was then officially proclaimed as the rival king and led the battles of the inscribed stone and the Channel coast, where he was severely wounded. His stepmother, Hrothwen, seemingly converted to Christianity, gained access to his camp with her servants Ága and Aethelred and poisoned him on his sickbed. The petty kings were unable to fulfill their wish to erect a monument in his honor, so they buried his limbs at the main harbors of the Britons to magically ward off the Saxons. However, since Hrothwen knew about this, she ordered Vortigern to search for and retrieve the remains, allowing the Saxons further secure settlements.