I am from Castell Henllys, a fortress of great renown. Arianrhod is our chief; she rules justly and has great respect amongst our people. This she earned after the death of her father the mighty Llyr Fawr descendant of heroes.

Llyr Fawr was a giant of a man and a great warrior with flaming red hair and piercing, deep dark eyes. He raided far and wide and his host swept upon the slopes of Carningli. There a great slaughter took place and many cattle and slaves were taken back to the great gates of Castell Henllys. After feasting with his heroes, Llyr set the horned skulls of the largest cattle on poles upon the gate-tower of Henllys. After winning many battles his gaze fell upon Carn Alw the fort of echoes in the shadow of the mighty Preseli Mountains. There he fought against Idris, the chieftain of Carn Alw and there he fell.

As the host of Henllys pressed forward towards the fort, Llyr Fawr's chariot wheels smashed to pieces on the bitter stones hidden in the grass and guarding the gateway. He was thrown from his chariot and grievously injured. His brave warriors tried to rescue him but were driven back by the shower of stones hurled at them from the sling shots fired by the warriors of Idris in the fort. The enemy took his body high up to the Preseli Mountains above the fort and cut off his head, shouting to the gods to admire their strength and bravery. His head, so legend has it, bounced against the rocks and rolled down the hills coming to rest in a secluded vale below Castell Henllys where immediately a spring issued forth. We pay homage to his head whenever we venture this way but never drink from the spring as it rises from the land of the gods and the dead.

After his death, Arianrhod his only child was proclaimed chieftain of Castell Henllys. She was the fairest of women and much loved by the people. She felt the weight of responsibility for Castell Henllys lying heavily upon her shoulders. For generation upon generation back into the mists of legend her family had lived and ruled from strong Castell Henllys. Now it fell upon her to rule her people, would she be strong enough and wise enough? She swore to avenge the death of her father by the warrior band of Carn Alw, the fort of echoes.

The host of Henllys had scattered far and wide after the slaying of Llyr Fawr, Arianrhod spent three harvest times gathering back together the noble warrior band of Castell Henllys and Arianrhod cried for vengeance and battle against the might of Carn Alw.

But the chief of Penpedwast sighed and whispered "cousin we will all be slain by their slingshots which hiss through the air like striking snakes"!

And the chief of Castell Llwyd muttered " cousin we are still not strong enough, our chariots will be destroyed by the bitter stones which defend Carn Alw".

Whereby the chief of Castell Mawr whispered "cousin how can we face the strength of Idris, the chief of Carn Alw and his mighty warriors of renown"?

Arianrhod shouted, "Cousins, are we warriors or peasants? My father spoke of the legend of a magical cauldron of plenty, which once filled could never be emptied; none parted from it hungry, the legends said it would provide wealth beyond measure. It could even bring a slain warrior back to life"! Lowering her voice, Arianrhod stared at each chief in turn eye to eye and said "I have no magic cauldron but come, come with me and drink from my family's cauldron in the roundhouse of my father and maybe the strength of Castell Henllys will fortify you".

Later, at Castell Henllys the first ladle-full was given to the chief of Penpedwast and suddenly he felt he had the power to cast a slingshot three times as far as the slings of Carn Alw.

The second ladle-full was given to the chief of Castell Llwyd and he feared the bitter, sharp stones defending Carn Alw no more.

The third ladle-full was given to the chief of Castell Mawr giving him the courage to fight the mightiest of the mighty warriors of Carn Alw three times over.

Arianrhod stood and drank three times from the cauldron, then slowly raised her spear above her head and cried in a mighty voice that shook the rafters. "Follow me now warriors of Henllys, follow me to victory and vengeance for Llyr Fawr and his blood, follow me to Carn Alw"!

And with a deafening shout, once more the host of Castell Henllys rode out, with Arianrhod at their head in her swift chariot leading the galloping warriors across the fields. Her host swept up the long shadowy hill to Carn Alw.

The warriors of Carn Alw clashed their swords and spears against their long shields shouting insults and challenges and sent slingshots raining down upon the heads of the attacking host. But Arianrhod halted the charging warriors of Henllys and ordered them to dismount from their chariots and horses and to follow the Chief of Castell Llwyd through the maze of bitter, sharp stones defending the gates of Carn Alw. Arianrhod then ordered the Chief of Penpedwast to have his warriors shower stone after stone from their slings upon the heads of the enemy. However warriors from both sides fell as the battle raged before the gates of Carn Alw until finally Arianrhod called upon the courage and might of the Chief of Castell Mawr and his warriors to break open the gates allowing Arianrhod and her warriors to sweep into the fort, whereupon a great slaughter took place.

Finally Idris, the Chieftain of Carn Alw, submitted to the host of Henllys and, in supplication, gave up his sword which represented the power of his people to Arianrhod swearing that, henceforth his people would forever pay tribute to Castell Henllys. Arianrhod ordered her three chiefs to bring cartloads of wood to burn down the gates and walls of Carn Alw and for miles around, people watched the smoke billow into the sky in fear and wonder. Only when the gates and fences had burned to nothing did Arianrhod leave Carn Alw, the fort of echoes in the shadows of the Preseli Mountains.

Arianrhod rode her steed and led the victorious host with all the booty won from the raid back to Castell Henllys. There were sturdy black cattle with fine horns, milking cows and suckling calves, sheep with fine fleeces, baskets full of good stored grain, iron swords and spears, battle shields, fine bronze and iron for working, glass for necklaces, silver wire and a fine gold torc, cloaks, baying stag hounds fleet of foot and many slaves from the coast and beyond.

Arianrhod stopped in the quiet vale below Henllys to pay homage to her father, leaving gifts and said "father I have avenged you and I have brought again great honour and respect to our family, Castell Henllys is great once again".

Then she called for a great feast to celebrate their mighty victory but before entering the fort she stopped to pay homage to the gods who had strengthened her arm in battle. She placed in the black river below Castell Henllys the sword given to her by Idris, Chieftain of Carn Alw as an offering of thanks to the gods for her great victory.

Castell Henllys was set alive by the order to prepare the feast. Food had to be produced, clothes repaired and cleaned, the great roundhouse cleaned and prepared. To help in the celebration a great beacon was lit to invite the neighbouring tribes to join the festivities.

During the feast the chief of Penpedwast raised his cup to Arianrhod and said "Cousin, you were right. We defeated the warriors of Carn Alw. I was able to beat their warriors with my sling. Not one of them could stand against the stones I fired at them. Now let us collect from the coast hoards of sling shots to defend our walls"!

And the chief of Castell Llwyd proclaimed "Cousin, you were right, we won a great victory over the tribe of Carn Alw. I alone led our warriors through the maze of bitter, sharp stones that protected Carn Alw. Now let us set up many sharp stones before the gates of Henllys to defend us from our enemies"!

The chief of Castell Mawr agreed and said "Cousin, we beat the cowards of Carn Alw. I was stronger than their strongest warriors and with that strength I broke open their gate to let our warriors in. Now let us build a mighty gatehouse to strike fear into the hearts of our enemies"!

All three Chieftains and their warrior champions stood, and together three times they proclaimed Arianrhod the Chieftain of Castell Henllys. The celebrations went on for three days and three nights in the fort and surrounding settlements and Arianrhod proclaimed that a feast would be held every year at that time to remember the great victory won by the host of Henllys over Carn Alw the fort of echoes.