William Napier - Attila: The Gathering of the Storm

THE GATHERING OF THE STORM

Attila the Hun Book Two

William Napier

Orion Books Ltd,

Orion House, 5 Upper Saint Martins Lane London, WC2H 9EA

www.orionbooks.co.uk

Table of Contents

Praise for Attila: the Gathering of the Storm

[A] rip-roaring account of the boyhood of Attila the Hun, a tale jam-packed with epic set pieces, bloody battles, a fair bit of history and the requisite lusty interludes [a] gripping novel

Daily Mail

William Napier has a genius for making the blood-dimmed chaos of ancient history into the very stuff of thrilling narrative

Tom Holland, author of Rubicon and Persian Fire

He brings the fifth century back to horrible life and convincingly sets up the major players of the time for the turmoil that will have the world rocking on its axis Attilas a winner

Sunday Sport

William Napiers rattling good yarn Napier tells a great story, complete with smells and sounds, and lots of gore. The battle descriptions are particularly good I couldnt put it down

Big Issue

William Napier is the author of two previous novels. He lives in Wiltshire and travels widely. He is currently working on the final novel in the Attila trilogy.

Attila: The Gathering Of The Storm

Orion

www.orionbooks.co.uk

An Orion ebook

An Orion paperback

First published in Great Britain in 2007 by Orion

This paperback published in 2007 by Orion Books Ltd,

Orion House, 5 Upper Saint Martins Lane London, WC2H 9EA

An Hachette Livre UK company

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Copyright William Napier 2007

Map John Gilkes 2007

Copyright William Napier 2007

Map John Gilkes 2007

The right of William Napier to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner .

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

eISBN : 978 1 4091 1673 8

www.orionbooks.co.uk

This ebook produced by Jouve, France

LIST OF PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS

Characters marked with an asterisk were real historical figures. The rest might have been.

Atius* (pronounced Eye-EE-shuss) - Gaius Flavius Atius, born 15 August, 398, in the frontier town of Silestria, in modern-day Bulgaria. The son of Gaudentius, Master-General of Cavalry, and himself later Master-General of the Roman Armies of the West

Aladar - Hun warrior, the son of Chanat, and one of the eight chosen men

Amalasuntha* - only daughter of King Theodoric of the Visigoths

Athenais* - daughter of Leontius, a Professor at Athens, and later the wife of the Emperor Theodosius II

Attila* - born 15 August 398. The King of the Huns

Bayan-Kasgar - general and later king of the People of Oroncha

Bela - Hun warrior, one of the eight chosen men

Bleda* (pronounced BLAY-da) - Elder brother of Attila

Candac - Hun warrior, one of the eight chosen men

Chanat - Hun warrior, one of the eight chosen men

Charaton (pronounced Karaton) - chief of the White Huns

Checa* - Queen Checa, first wife of Attila

Csaba - Hun warrior, one of the eight chosen men

Dengizek* - eldest son of Attila

Ellak* - second son of Attila

Enkhtuya - a witch of the Kutrigur Huns

Galla Placidia* (pronounced Galla Pla-SID-ia) - born 388. Sister of Emperor Honorius, mother of Emperor Valentinian III

Genseric* - born 389 near Lake Balaton, modern-day Hungary. King of the Vandals from 428

Geukchu - Hun warrior, one of the eight chosen men

Honoria* - born 422, daughter of Galla Placidia, sister of Valentinian III

Honorius* - born 390. Emperor of the Western Empire until 423

Juchi - Hun warrior, one of the eight chosen men

Kouridach (pronounced Kuridak) - chief of the Hepthalite Huns

Little Bird - a Hun shaman

Mundzuk* - older brother of Ruga, and briefly King of the Huns

Noyan - Hun warrior, one of the eight chosen men

Orestes* - a Greek slave by birth, and lifelong companion of Attila

Pulcheria* - sister to the Emperor Theodosius II

Ruga* - younger brother of Mundzuk, and later King of the Huns

Sky-in-Tatters - chief of the Kutrigur Huns

Theodoric* - son of Alaric, and himself King of the Visigoths, 419-451

Theodoric the Younger* - the first of Theodorics six sons

Theodosius II*, nicknamed Kalligraphos, the Calligrapher - Emperor of the Eastern Empire, 408-450

Tokuz-Ok, Nine Arrows - God-King of the People of Oroncha

Torismond* - the second of King Theodorics six sons

Valentinian* - born 419, Emperor of the Western Empire, 425-455

Yesukai - Hun warrior, one of the eight chosen men

Acknowledgements

Among the many books read and consulted, the most useful were two recent studies, Peter Heathers The Fall of the Roman Empire and Bryan Ward-Perkinss The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization. Both scholars agree that Rome really did fall, that the West thereafter collapsed into a terrible Dark Ages; and Heather argues that it was the Huns who were largely to blame.

The verses on the ancient Irish King Goll are taken from The Madness of King Goll by W. B. Yeats, while the verse on p 299 is from The Curse of Cromwell. Claudians hymeneal hymn is genuine. The other verses are my responsibility.

More personal thanks to Jon, Genevieve and Angela at Orion for all their enthusiasm, encouragement and patience; to Lizzie Speller and Bywater for help with my small Latin and less Greek; to Patrick Walsh, best of agents, as ever; to the helpful staff of various libraries, including Shaftesbury Public Library and the London Library; and to Iona, for great forbearance, and for everything else, too.

To Iona

PROLOGUE

Thirty years passed after the Hun boy, Prince Attila, was sent into exile, and the world knew an uneasy peace. What he experienced during that exile in the unimaginable wastes of Scythia, with only his faithful Greek slave Orestes for company, none can tell. But one can surmise well enough. For scripture warns us that man is born to sorrow as the sparks fly upward. And exceptional men are born to exceptional sorrow.

In the first volume of my chronicle, I, Priscus of Panium, told of Attilas boyhood as a hostage in Rome, of his escape and flight through an Italy ravaged and laid waste by the Goths, and of his doomed return to his Hun homelands. In this, my second volume, I shall tell of what came thereafter: of Attilas return from the haunted wilderness, and the blood-darkened day on which he made himself king; and of how he gathered all the tribes of his own and kindred peoples and welded them into an army vast and terrible enough to fulfil his final ambition. To turn upon the Empire of Rome, that hated Empire which had tormented his boyhood, destroyed his youth, and humiliated his people during the long years of his exile. To make all ready for his long-meditated and apocalyptic vengeance.

Then let our story resume.