Start Here: A Sword for Wellington
All the chapters of Book 3 of The Môrdreigiau Chronicles, plus character list and more!
If you’re new here, I might best describe this series as a Regency-era Arthurian quest to avoid ecological collapse, with sea dragons. This is the third book of The Môrdreigiau Chronicles and you probably (definitely!) need to go read the first two books before starting on this one.
This will become the landing page/index for the book and will be updated weekly over on The Môrdreigiau Chronicles, once the email/post goes out to all.
Book 3: A Sword for Wellington
Beginning July 12!
The prophet Llyr dreamed of a sword needed to complete the ritual that will save the world from ecological collapse. Will Eidothea and her Chosen Court retrieve the sword in time?
Gwenddydd has the sword. She comes forward in time to deliver King Arthur’s sword to the Duke of Wellington in order to save Britain. Fortunately, she meets Sir Hugh Devenish, a wounded veteran of the Peninsular Wars, who helps her find her way in this modern world of 1815.
Both Eidothea and Gwenddydd face opposition, for there is one who wants to destroy both Britain and the Chosen Court itself.
A Sword for Wellington is compiled from a collection of letters, diaries, and a novel published in the Victorian era. More on this in the video below.
To tell this story with any coherence I had to choose which passages to share between my two main primary sources: a memoir about Gwenddydd and Sir Hugh Devenish, written in a creative non-fiction way (who knew the Victorians were into that?) as well as Eidothea’s diary.
While it’s probably of academic interest to see the same event from two different perspectives, that doesn’t necessarily make for entertaining reading. The memoir, which having been published in 1851 is long out of copyright, also filled in some gaps in Eidothea’s diary. The love stories contained within the memoir are rather sweet so I couldn’t resist bringing them to you.
Don’t forget to check the flip throughs of both the memoir, whose title I have borrowed for this book in The Môrdreigiau Chronicles, and of Eidothea’s diary—again none of the text is hidden. If she didn’t want to talk about something, she didn’t share it. I get the impression she wrote it for — well, that would be giving it away. You’ll see. To keep things clear, I’ve marked the sources as small subheadings like this one:
A Note on Notations
Throughout, I have used the colon (:) to mark conversations occurring via thoughts, instead of being spoken aloud, an ability unique to the dreigiau môr. This is the convention used by Eidothea in her diary, presumably because italics wasn’t an option for her, so I have kept it as is.
Flip Through and Discussion
What do you think? Who could have possibly gathered all these diaries and researcher materials and kept them in the trunk that ended up in my attic? Let me know in the comments below, or drop me a line/DM!
Don’t have 30+ minutes? Here’s the super-brief flip. You still see the pretty and get some ASMR, but you miss out on all the delicious details. (Long videos still not your jam? Don’t worry, there’s a compendium of letters you can read through further down.)
Let’s Go Live!
As I mentioned in the video, I will be going live to read the essay aloud using the very silly voice of Peter Cook as the priest/bishop in The Princess Bride. You will soon get a separate announcement on this (because that’s how this platform operates) but it will be on Monday, July 7 at 8:30 a.m. (that’s in Australian time—it’ll be early evening on Sunday in New York and midnight in London).
The replay will be sent out afterwards, with a transcription of the essay, so you can read it without the silly voice. Or in a silly voice of your own choosing.
A Compendium of Letters
These are the letters found in the wrapped fabric that was in the trunk that was in my attic. Still not sure what this is about? Watch the video unveiling the source material for A Sword for Wellington.
Chapters
Posted weekly, starting July 12, 2025, will be listed here.
Characters
Please note that pronunciations of names are guidelines. Welsh speakers feel free to correct me!
Craiglyn House People
Sir Hugh Devenish, nephew of Lady Meredith Rathven. He is a wounded veteran of the Peninsular Wars and former aide to the Duke of Wellington
Gwenddydd, (also Gwenneth, Miss Jones, Gwen, depending on who is talking or thinking of her) a warrior woman from Dark Ages Britain with a quest to deliver King Arthur’s sword to Wellington. Pronunciation etc explained below:
Olwen, the one originally chosen for this quest and Gwen’s best friend
Lady Meredith Rathven, aunt to Sir Hugh, leader of the women of the Lady’s Circle
Chosen Court (so far)
Eidothea Pendyr (eye-doh-thee-ah pen-dear), monarch
Llyr ap Peredur (lear app pair-eh-derr), prophet
Maeve, prophet of the prior Chosen Court, sage of this one
Ondine ap Peredur, healer
Jasper Tregallas (treh-gah-liss), fisher king
Pendyr Family and Staff
Eidothea Pendyr (eye-doh-thee-ah pen-dear), our heroine. She is more magical than she thinks.
Gerald Pendyr, our heroine’s father
Staff include Cook and Jenni (Eidothea’s maid)
Tregallas Family
Jasper Tregallas (treh-gah-liss), one of the male leads, has searched the world for the greal.
Lord Cornelian Tregallas, Jasper’s father
Ladon Tregallas, Jasper’s half-brother
Lady Tregallas, Jasper’s step-mother
Llyr’s Family
Llyr ap Peredur (lear app pair-eh-derr), a young draig môr that Eidothea found washed up on her beach and one of the male leads.
Ceridwy ferch Heddwch (care-wid-ee firch Head-wich), Llyr’s mother, and a member of the Caer Morgana Council
Ondine ap Peredur, Llyr’s sister
Other Key Dreigiau Môr
Rhiannon Grealseeker, Eidothea’s tutor (and probably a cousin)
Maeve, the ageless Prophet, lives in the Deeps
Cychwr (keech-weir, although I often pronounce it sitch-weir), Llyr’s best friend
Emrys ap Cynfelyn (em-ree-s app Kin-fell-in), the former Esteemed
Other Dreigiau Môr That Show Up On Occasion
Elin Grealseeker, Eidothea’s grandmother
Edryd ap Amlawdd (ed-rid app am-lawth), son of the chief bard
Chief Bard Amlawdd ap Dewi (am-lawth app devvi), head of all the bards
Chief Healer Derfel (dir-fill), head of all the healers
Return to the Master Index of all the books and stories in The Môrdreigiau Chronicles universe:
Start Here: The Môrdreigiau Chronicles
Here’s the Glossary (helpful with the Welsh words!) I found this old trunk in my attic. I started this publication to share all I have found within it. The first find is a diary from 1814. It’s magical. It’s full of hidden journaling and talks about sea dragons, or dreigiau môr.