lludd and llefelys retold

7/30/2019 Lludd and Llefelys Retold

1/5

The original tale as retold by myself to help inform the game design:

The story is centred around King Lludd and his troubles affecting Kingdom, he is

the eldest of four brothers and his youngest Llefelys goes to France to marry the

maiden left with the crown to become King of France. King Lludd is said to

have ruled over the Kingdom of Britain for many years and his favourite city

entitled Caer Ludd, that he built and surrounded with great walls and would

later become known as London.

However King Lludd's reign was not always peaceful, he had to overcome

three plagues that were afflicting him and his people, to do this he would need

his brothers help. So he sailed to meet his brother in the waters between their

two kingdoms, when they met they were first troubled by foul words travelling

through the bronze horn they had made so their conversation could not be

overheard by their enemies.

Llefelys who was always the smarter of the two brothers realised that there was

a demon in the horn that was causing his and his brothers words to be garbled

and twisted. Taking some red wine he washed out the demon from the horn

and was able to speak to his older brother clearly and without malice.

Lludd had come to Llefelys as he was the more studious out of all the brothersand Lludd valued his council, he started to explain the three plagues that had

been affecting his Kingdom.

The first was a silent invasion of people known as the Coraniaid, a mysterious

and magical people that could catch conversation about themselves on the

wind so it was impossible to draw plans against them.


2/5

The second was a terrible scream that was heard every May Eve that would

makes crops go barren, men and women lose their senses and turn farm

animals wild.

The third was the inability for King Lludd's castle to keep a store of food in the

castle over the winter, unless the food was eaten on the first night it would all

be gone by the next morning when the King and his court would awake from

an unnatural deep slumber.

Llefelys had heard of these plagues and knew at once how to help his brother,

it would however not be easy to solve all of them quickly, some would take

planning and care to deal with once and for all.

The first, the silent invaders, could only be solved through subterfuge and

cunning. Llefelys advised Lludd that he should mix up a potion comprised of a

particular insect that Llefelys would supply and water. Lludd would then have

to arrange a feast in which his people and all of the Coraniaid would be

invited to. At he feat he would have to spray the potion over all those in

attendance and it would destroy the Coraniaid but not his own people. Llefelyswas careful to advise his brother Lludd to keep some of the insects alive and to

breed them in case the Coraniaid were to ever return.

The second Llefelys knew was in actual fact the fight between two dragons,

one that was the spirit of Britain the other the spirit of another land that was

trying to invade and subdue the dragon of Britain. Llefelys could not supply a

permanent solution to this problem as the realms of spirits was not his to

command, however he could offer a way in which King Lludd's people could

live in peace and not be affected by the dragons fighting, but it would take

work.

King Lludd needed to obtain the finest brocaded silk sheet that he could find,

create the best honey coloured mead that he brewers had ever made andthen he had to set his scholars on a task to find the exact centre of his Kingdom

and dig a large pit. This turned out to be the place now known as Oxford, the


3/5

centre of the Kingdom and where time began. The one last task that would

take the most time was the creation of the strongest stone chest that his

carvers could manage; he then needed to find the most secure place in his

Kingdom a place that lay between this world and the spirit world. This was

known to be a small hill near the base of the largest mountain in the land,

known as Dinas Emrys, it was here that once the dragons were captured that

they needed to be taken and buried.

Llefelys told Lludd that after he had created or collected the materials he

would require for the mammoth task and found the suitable places as

described by Llefelys then he would have to wait for the next May Eve when

the dragons would fight again.

King Lludd and his men would have to wait and watch for the fighting dragons,

keeping each other sane through the terrible screeching, they would have to

guard the large pit they had dug in the centre of the Kingdom. Before

sundown they would have to ensure that the large vat was lowered into the pit

taking care not to spill any of the mead it now contained and then cover the

trap with the silk sheet.

Not long after sundown King Lludd and his men would witness the ghastly forms

of two beasts rise into the air, silhouetted against the deep red of sunset and as

these indescribable beasts rose into the air they would take on the form of

might dragons and begin to fight.

King Lludd and his men would have no choice but to remain hidden and

watch the brutal fight unfold and ignore the screams that would make normal

men go mad. Once the dragons became weary from the fight the spot that

they fell to was that covered by the silk sheet, unable to support the weight of

the dragons them along with the sheet sunk to the bottom of the vat. Once

there the dragons transformed into the shapes of pigs as they drank their way

through the mead, once in pig form the dragons would fall into a deep

slumber. This would only be a temporary transformation so King Lludd and his


4/5

men would have to work fast to then wrap the pigs in the silk sheet and then

place them in the carved chest. They would then have until dawn break to

transport this chest to Dinas Emrys and bury the dragons, who upon waking

would realise their entrapment and have no choice but to return to slumber

until their strength returned or their prison was disturbed.

The third plague was not one that affect King Lludds beloved people,

however he and his court were without their luxurious food stores throughout

the winter months. Lludd s other brothers took offence to this and were starting

to doubt their older brothers ability to lead his people if he could not even

provide food for his own family. Llefelys sympathised with Lludd, being the

youngest brother he never thought he would become King and Lludd had

always been the kindest brother to him. Again he knew what the cause might

be, there was a series of food thefts, and it was said that there was a magician

involved, how else could a whole food store could be emptied in one night

and none of the loyal guards even see the culprit?

Llefelys told his brother Lludd that he would have to be the one to stand guard

and no other man could be trusted to resist the magic and confront the thief,

this would also prove to Lludd s other brothers and his court that he was the

great King that their father Beli the Great said Lludd would be. Yet he would

have to find a way to stay awake through the night of deep slumber, the best

way Llefelys could devise was to ask his brother Lludd to either pour water on

himself or submerge himself in water to keep himself awake. He would then beable to catch the thief in the act and confront him.

That year after the harvest and during the main feast at his prized castle in

Cear Ludd the King could not be found celebrating with his courtiers; instead

he was in the castle stores, sitting on a simple stool with a bucket of water that

was being filled by the spring that had been diverted to castle store room. At

midnight King Lludd started to hear music, in soft and calming tones it made

him feel peaceful and sleepy. He started to nod off, while he lightly slept a

giant of a man climbed in through the window, a flute playing itself floated


5/5

around him, creating the soothing music that would place all those in the

castle in a deep slumber.

King Lludd however soon found himself slipping off the stool as he relaxed into

sleep and fell into the bucket of water, upon waking he saw the giant

magician conjuring food into a hamper he had fastened to his back. The

hamper must have been enchanted as it never appeared to become filled,

thus allowing the thief to take all of the supplies in the room.

With the music still playing and lulling the King into a drowsy state he splashed

his face with water again, this time disturbing the thief. His concentration gone,

the magical flute dropped to the ground and the giant of a man, his face

obscured by his armour drew his sword to confront the King.

King Lludd was an expert swordsman and had no quarrel in fighting this giant,

he was sure of his skill and he was determined to bring the thief to justice.

Within a moments notice the fight started, the two mens swords emitting

great sparks that flashed across their vision leaving an impression each time

they met. The giant was a formidable opponent, but King Lludd was a better

swordsman, and almost as quickly as it had started the battle was over. The

King had the thief on the floor, his sword at his throat.

The thief puled of his helmet and asked the King for mercy, King Lludd was

surprised by this, but as he was wise he asked how that could be granted after

all the thief had done over the years.

The thief replied that he would serve the King loyally and return all that he had

taken and more, offering his services to the King for the rest of his life. King Lludd

thought about this and realised that the thief was powerful and would be a

good addition to his court, he agreed that these terms would be acceptable.

This and all the other acts that King Lludd bravely performed saving his

Kingdom from the three plagues earned him a place of greatness among his

Kingdom and he was known for his deeds many years after the end of his reign.

lludd and llefelys retold

Documents