And so he would, save that now the cathedral would prove to be her casket, and not that of the Troy Game.
1675
After years of wrangling, of planning, of heartache, of arguing and of desperate pleading, Sir Christopher Wren finally had the approval of the city and church officials to rebuild the ancient cathedral church of St Paul’s in a cruciform layout with a magnificent dome.
On this day in the second half of the year, Wren stood on the site of the demolished cathedral. It had taken nine years, and far more lives, to bring the charred walls down. Now, Wren could start the intricate work of laying out the foundations.
It was an important day, and a crowd had gathered to watch. Wren, hatless, his curls blowing a little in the breeze, walked slowly about the levelled site, finally choosing a spot where one day would rise the great dome as that place most suitable from which to measure out the rest of the cathedral.
Impatient, his booted foot tapping, Wren called to a nearby labourer. “Bring me a stone, a flat stone, so that I may the more permanently mark this spot.”
The man hurried off, conscious of everyone’s eyes on him.
To one side of the churchyard was a pile of flat stones. The labourer grabbed one, and hurried back to Wren.
“Humph.” Wren took the stone, turning it over in his hands.
He stilled as he saw the stone’s front surface, and a chill of supernatural awe ran down his spine.
The stone was an old tombstone, broken and scorched in the Great Fire. But despite the dirt and ash which coated its surface, Wren could clearly read the single word inscribed there.
Resurgam.
I will rise again.
Wren breathed in deeply, trying to still his emotions. Then he raised the broken tombstone high above his head, showing it to all gathered about, and shouted, “Resurgam! Resurgam!”
Resurgam!
As the shouting died down a movement at the edge of the crowd caught Wren’s eye.
A little girl, not more than five or six, stood there. She was very lovely, with black snapping curls cascading down her back and with deep blue eyes in her pale face.
Shadows danced about her eyes and form, and for a moment Wren felt coldness envelop him.
In one hand she held a large rolled up sheet of paper, which she allowed to unravel once she realised she’d caught Wren’s eye.
See here, she said in his mind, gesturing to the paper with her free hand, I have a plan here for you. A plan of London as it should be rebuilt. It shall be our Game, yours and mine alone. Will you play?
Glossary
ALBA: ancient, and now vanished, city on the banks of the River Tiber in Italy.
ANCIENT CAROL: that which is sung by the CAROLLER within the FAERIE to welcome in both dawn and dusk.
ARIADNE: ancient MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH at Knossos in Crete of the GREAT FOUNDING LABYRINTH. She was the half-sister of ASTERION, the Minotaur, as also his lover. She betrayed him to Theseus.
ASTERION: the ancient Minotaur who inhabited the GREAT FOUNDING LABYRINTH in Knossos on Crete. Murdered by Theseus, and recalled from death by ARIADNE, he has ever since been locked in a battle with BRUTUS for the kingship bands of TROY and control of the TROY GAME. In this current life he is known as WEYLAND ORR.
BANKS, NOAH: CORNELIA reborn and EAVING, the goddess of the waters. In her previous life she was Caela, wife to Edward the Confessor, and in her first she was CORNELIA, wife to BRUTUS.
BEDFORD, EARLS OF: see RUSSELL.
BRAGANZA, CATHARINE OF: princess of Portugal, and wife to CHARLES II.
BUTTERED BEER: a rich brew of beer, sugar, spices and butter, served warm. It was drunk by all but the poor.
CAROLLER, THE: the songstress who carols in the dawn and the dusk in the REALM OF THE FAERIE.
CARTERET, MARGUERITE: daughter of the governor of Jersey, Marguerite became CHARLES II’S mistress when he was in exile and bore him several bastard children.
CATASTROPHE, THE: after Theseus left ARIADNE, she responded by destroying much of the ancient Aegean world in revenge. This is known as the Catastrophe.
CATLING: daughter of NOAH BANKS.
CHARLES I: King of England 1625-49. Executed by Parliament at the end of the English Civil War.
CHARLES II: son of CHARLES I and HENRIETTA MARIA, lived most of his youth in exile following the ENGLISH CIVIL WAR. Regained the throne in 1660.
CIRCLE, THE: the means whereby three or more people can recreate the ancient magic of the STONE DANCES.
CLARENDON, EARL OF: See HYDE, EDWARD.
COEL: a man of the Bronze Age and a friend and lover of CORNELIA.
COMMONWEALTH, THE: that period in England between the death of CHARLES I in January 1649 and the restoration of his son CHARLES II to the throne in mid-1660.
CORNELIA: wife to BRUTUS when the TROY GAME was first constructed. Now she lives as NOAH BANKS.
CROMWELL, OLIVER: Protector of England during the period of the COMMONWEALTH, leader of the Parliamentary forces against the royalist forces during the ENGLISH CIVIL WAR.
DANCING FLOOR, THE: literally the labyrinth as it is carved into rock or stone. The MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH and the KINGMAN use the dancing floor to raise the Game from the labyrinth. Dancing floors—labyrinths—could be found in many medieval European cathedrals.
DOLBEN, JOHN: Dean of Westminster School.
EAVING: the goddess of the waters who takes the mortal form of NOAH BANKS. In the Anglo-Saxon language, Eaving meant “shelter”, or, “the unexpected haven from the storm”.
EAVING’S SISTERS: in God’s Concubine EAVING was reborn in Caela (now NOAH BANKS). She drew fiercely loyal women about her who became known as Eaving’s Sisters. Chief among them is Ecub, reborn now as MARGUERITE CARTERET; Erith, Judith in her previous life and now reborn as KATE PEGGE; and Matilda of Normandy, now reborn as CATHARINE OF BRAGANZA.
ELIZABETH: a prostitute working in WEYLAND ORR’S brothel in IDOL LANE.
ENGLISH CIVIL WAR: CHARLES I, like his father, James I, believed in his divine right to rule (i.e. he believed he was answerable only to God). In a country which had long believed the king was subject to his nobles before God, this attitude caused great friction, resulting in civil war between the forces of the king and Parliament between 1642 and 1646. From 1646 to 1649 CHARLES I was held captive by Parliament until his eventual execution in January 1649.
FAERIE, LORD OF THE: an ancient being who watches over the FAERIE. He is often confused with the Green Man, an ancient mythical figure in English village culture closely associated with the forests, and with the May-tide celebrations. Figures of the Green Man, or the Lord of the Faerie, can be found carved into the decorations of myriad English (as European) cathedrals and churches.
FAERIE, REALM OF THE: the faerie world which exists side by side with the mortal world. Governed by the LORD OF THE FAERIE.
FELTON, BESS: a goodwife of Easthill, who took in NOAH BANKS after her father’s death.
FOX, SIR STEPHEN: one of CHARLES II’S companions in exile.
FRANCES: a prostitute working in WEYLAND ORR’S brothel in IDOL LANE.
GARDIEN, HELENE: mother of LOUIS DE SILVA.
GOG: one of the legendary giant protectors of London, closely associated with the Guildhall (you can still see him there); his brother is MAGOG. Once a SIDLESAGHE.
GOG MAGOG HILLS: a line of hills a few miles south of the town of Cambridge.
GREAT FOUNDING LABYRINTH, THE: the original labyrinth in Knossos on Crete, where the Minotaur ASTERION was imprisoned, and where ARIADNE betrayed him to Theseus.
GREAT ORDEAL, THE: whenever a woman is trained as a MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH, she must undergo a final test to determine whether or not she is capable of controlling the powerful sorceries of the labyrinth. It is the Great Ordeal, and not all novice Mistresses of the Labyrinth survive it.
GREAT MARRIAGE, THE: the formal union between the STAG GOD and the goddess of the waters (see EAVING), signifying that forest, water
and land exist in harmony.
HAMPSTEAD HEATH: lying in the north-west of modern-day London, the Heath comprises 800 acres of parkland and woods; Parliament Hill rises in its south-east quadrant. To its east, close to the village of Highgate, are a number of natural springs which in the seventeenth century became popular for medicinal purposes.
HENRIETTA MARIA: French-born wife of CHARLES I, mother to CHARLES II, Queen of England.
HENRIETTE-ANNE, PRINCESS: daughter of HENRIETTA MARIA and CHARLES I, and sister of CHARLES II.
HYDE, ANNE: daughter of EDWARD HYDE.
HYDE, EDWARD: adviser and friend of CHARLES II. Later Earl of Clarendon.
IDOL LANE: one of London’s many remaining medieval lanes, Idol Lane is now a fairly mundane passageway watched over by office blocks and CCTV cameras. It does, however, bear exploration if ever you’re in London.
JAMES, DUKE OF YORK: younger brother to CHARLES II, eventually James II 1685-88 before he was deposed. Loth-reborn.
KINGMAN, THE: the TROY GAME is constructed and controlled by two people, the MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH and the KINGMAN. The Kingman was traditionally the king or ruler of the city which needed to be protected by the Game. In TROY, the original Kingman was Aeneas, and his descendant Brutus later took on the role.
KINGSHIP BANDS OF TROY, THE: when Brutus originally constructed the TROY GAME with Genvissa, he used the power of the ancient and magical six kingship bands of Troy he wore about his limbs. But when CORNELIA killed Genvissa, and ASTERION threatened to invade, Brutus took the kingship bands and hid them about London as part of a protective enchantment. Ever since then both Brutus-reborn and ASTERION have competed in the effort to locate them. In Book Two, God’s Concubine, Caela (Cornelia-reborn and NOAH BANKS in this book) took them and hid them in different locations about London. Possession of the bands enables the wearer to control the TROY GAME.
LIBERTY OF THE TOWER: see TOWER LIBERTY.
LLANGARLIA: the ancient name of England during the Bronze Age (about 1500 BCE).
LONG TOM: a SIDLESAGHE, and a close friend of Noah Banks, particularly in her previous life as Caela. In medieval and early modern England, individual standing stones were often called Long Tom.
LONQUEFORT, SIMON GAUTIER, MARQUIS DE: French nobleman, father of LOUIS DE SILVA.
MAG: goddess of the waters in ancient LLANGARLIA, now reborn in NOAH BANKS as EAVING.
MAGALLAN: the priestess who acted as the living representative of the goddess MAG in ancient LLANGARLIA.
MAGOG: one of the legendary giant protectors of London, closely associated with the Guildhall (you can still see him there); his brother is GOG. Once a SIDLESAGHE.
MARY, PRINCESS: daughter of HENRIETTA MARIA and CHARLES I, sister of CHARLES II, and wife of William of Orange.
MESOPOTAMA: in the Bronze Age, Mesopotama was a Dorian city on the River Acheron on the west coast of Greece. It was ruled by Pandrasus, who was CORNELIA’S father.
MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH: the TROY GAME is constructed and controlled by two people, the MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH and the KINGMAN. The Mistress is an ancient office which derives from the Great Founding Labyrinth in Knossos in Crete. In previous lives Genvissa, reborn as Swanne (now JANE ORR), has been the Mistress of the Labyrinth.
MONTAGU, SIR EDWARD, EARL OF SANDWICH: General-at-sea, or Admiral, of the English fleet which sailed to bring home CHARLES II to England.
NAKED, THE: the greatest of the holy sites within the REALM OF THE FAERIE, and the site of the LORD OF THE FAERIE’s throne.
OG: see STAG GOD.
ORR, JANE: sister to WEYLAND ORR, and a prostitute working at her brother’s brothel in IDOL LANE, London. She is Genvissa-reborn, who lived her last life as Swanne, wife of Harold of Wessex.
ORR, WEYLAND: procurer and brothel keeper living in Idol Lane in London. ASTERION-reborn.
PARLIAMENT HILL: once known as the Llandin, it is the holiest of the sacred VEILED HILLS of ancient Llangarlia. Parliament Hill is still easily accessible from Hampstead Heath, and has an ancient circle just to one side of its summit.
PEGGE, CATHERINE (KATE): Erith-reborn and one of CHARLES II’S mistresses when he was in exile. Kate bore him at least one child.
PEN HILL: one of the ancient sacred VEILED HILLS of Llangarlia. Pen Hill has now vanished underneath the nineteenth-century urban sprawl (and waterworks) of London.
PEPYS, SAMUEL: secretary to SIR EDWARD MONTAGU, and noted diarist.
RINGWALK, THE: the medieval term for the path of the stag through the forest.
RUSSELL, LADY ANNE: wife to WILLIAM RUSSELL, Earl of Bedford. Her maiden name was Anne Carr.
RUSSELL, WILLIAM: fifth Earl of Bedford. Husband to LADY ANNE RUSSELL.
ST DUNSTAN’S-IN-THE-EAST: one of the medieval churches of London. Named after St Dunstan, a martyred Saxon archbishop of Canterbury, it was first built some time in the thirteenth century, was partly destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666 (its steeple was rebuilt by Christopher Wren), and destroyed again during the Blitz of World War II. The steeple has been rebuilt, and the bombed and burned walls have been left standing as a memorial.
ST JAMES’ PALACE: built by Henry VIII in Westminster in the sixteenth century, the palace remained as one of the monarchy’s principal places of residence for over three hundred years.
SIDLESAGHES: ancient magical creatures of the land who often take the form of standing stones within the STONE DANCES.
SILVA, LOUIS DE: bastard son of SIMON GAUTIER, Marquis de Lonquefort, and his mistress, HELENE GARDIEN, and friend to CHARLES II.
SILVIUS: father to BRUTUS, murdered by BRUTUS in the forests outside Alba in Italy almost three thousand years ago.
SPIV: an early twentieth-century term for a black marketeer.
STAG GOD: one of the ancient gods of the land of LLANGARLIA, the Stag God is particularly associated with the forests. For aeons he was known as Og. Now that he is to rise again, he will take a new name.
STONE DANCES, THE: the ancient circles of standing stones which dot the British Isles. See also the CIRCLE.
THANET, LEILA: mistress of Langley House near Bushey Park, north of London. Wife to THOMAS THANET.
THANET, THOMAS: master of Langley House, near Bushey Park, north of London. Husband to LEILA, and long-time friend of JOHN THORNTON.
THORNTON, REVEREND JOHN: tutor to the Earl and Countess of Bedford’s (see RUSSELL) children at Woburn Abbey.
TOWER FIELDS: during the medieval period and up to the end of the seventeenth century, the complex of the Tower of London was surrounded on its north-west and north-east sides by the gentle slopes of Tower Hill (see the VEILED HILLS). These open grassy areas were known as Tower Fields. In the north-western portion of Tower Fields stood the crumbling remains of a medieval scaffold.
TOWER LIBERTY (or LIBERTIES, or LIBERTY OF THE TOWER): until the nineteenth century the Tower of London and a small area surrounding it was free from the jurisdiction of the City of London. The Tower Liberty had its own courthouse and prison, and the Gentlemen (or Officers) of the Tower claimed certain rights, such as the beasts that fell off London Bridge, all swans which floated below the bridge, as well as the right to exact some tolls on goods travelling on the Thames past the Tower.
TOWER STREET WARD: London was anciently divided into administrative wards. Tower Street Ward covered the extreme south-eastern corner of London. It contained IDOL LANE, ST DUNSTAN’S-IN-THE-EAST, the Customs House and many of the wharves along the Thames.
TROY: the fabulous city of Troy sat on the western shores of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). Paris, son of the Trojan king Priam, stole away Helen from her husband, Menelaus, King of Sparta, precipitating the Trojan War in which the city-states of Greece united against Troy. Although it survived a long Greek siege, Troy was eventually destroyed due to a combination of hubris, the betrayal of the gods and Greek cunning. Those Trojans who survived the destruction scattered about the lands of the Mediterranean, either as refugees or slaves.
TROY GAME, THE: the ancient protective sorcery which draws on the power of the ancient labyrinth in order to protect a city. In Hades’ Daughter Brutus and Genvissa constructed the Game, but were unable to complete it when CORNELIA murdered Genvissa. Now the Game has taken on a life and power of its own, and wishes only to be completed by the KINGMAN and the MISTRESS OF THE LABYRINTH.
VEILED HILLS, THE: the six sacred hills of LLANGARLIA, clustered above the Thames River in the area now known as London. The six hills were: Tot Hill (where now stands Westminster); the Llandin, the most sacred of the hills (now called PARLIAMENT HILL); PEN HILL; Og’s Hill (Ludgate Hill); Mag’s Hill (Cornhill); and the White Mount (Tower Hill; see TOWER FIELDS).
WHITEHALL PALACE: situated on the northern bank of the Thames between Westminster and Charing Cross, and formerly known as York Place, Whitehall Palace was extensively renovated by Henry VIII, with various buildings and chambers added by every following monarch. By the time CHARLES II was born in 1630 the palace was a warren of some 2000 rooms centred about the Great Courtyard. The palace burned to the ground in 1698 when a Dutch laundress lit a fire to do her washing; all that remains now is the Great Banqueting House (outside of which CHARLES I lost his head).