They begin the descent. ‘Tell me more about him,’ says the boy.

‘He was a great leader,’ his older companion responds. ‘King of Britain, as they called it then. When he came to the throne the country was under constant attack by its enemies, both from outside and within.’

Down the steep track they jolt, each for a time absorbed in his own thoughts, the boy’s head buzzing with questions.

‘But what exactly did he do?’

‘The world had gone mad. The king tried to bring it back to its senses, and restore meaning to people’s lives. He wanted to give them courage and hope for the future. But to do that he first had to impose order on chaos.’

‘How do you mean, impose?’

The man nods approvingly. ‘You are right to question that word. He questioned it too. The thought of using force troubled him. But after much heart searching he decided that if mankind was to be saved, he had no other choice. He was given the power to do it, you see, power so formidable that many thought he had been sent to earth by God, or even that he himself was a divine being.’

‘And was he?’

‘No.’

‘So he was just an ordinary man?’

A brief silence. ‘He was a man, but no ordinary man. When he was young he found it hard to believe he had a special destiny. He wanted to lead a fun life and have a happy time, just as most people do. But as he grew older he came to understand that he was not the same as other men, and that the road he would have to take would be a different one.’

‘Because of the power he had?’

‘Yes. And because of the way he chose to use it.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘Other men would have used it for selfish ends, but not him. He decided to fight the forces of darkness and chaos. He was a brave and cunning warrior; but he was also much more than that, a philosopher and a visionary, a wise and humane individual, gallant, just and honourable. Those who ruled by terror feared him. Those whom they terrorised, worshipped him. And in return he loved and honoured them, the ordinary men and women. He had a dream, a dream that one day the meek really would inherit the earth. But he knew they could only do it with his help.’

‘Was there no one else they could turn to?’

‘No one else whom good men and women would follow, no other leader who had the courage and strength of character to meet the challenge. Not that he was the only one who saw the world descending into chaos; there were leaders in other lands who feared for the future but were too weak, or too corrupt, or simply too afraid to act. As everything around them disintegrated, they stood by helplessly, resigned to self-destruction, accepting that mankind was doomed. They had abandoned all hope of changing anything; they no longer cared what happened. But he cared. He did everything in his power to create a new world for mankind, a world based on love and respect and justice.’