The Light of the North saga
Exciting, engrossing historical fantasy, set in a world where the Vikings did not peacefully change their ways, the light of the North saga explores an alternate ending to the Viking age, one bathed in the fire of conflict between the Old gods and the new.
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The Vikings and the Crusaders
The Kings of the North
Three kings of the Norse nations, a bickering brotherhood of enemies, face a single threat for the first time in their history. In the south, the drums of war can be heard beyond the cold sea. Can these proud men, the relics of the old ways, unite to fight a common foe? Or will they fall one by one under the tide of the Crusades.
Two worlds collide
After enduring three centuries of Viking raids, the Christian nations of western Europe can abide the ravages of the Northmen no longer. The banner of Christ has been raised against the Pagans of the north, and all of the power of the west rides under it. A climactic clash of cultures, of ways of life, of civilizations and their gods. As the crusades sweep the north with fire and the sword, can the Norse people survive? Or will their proud nations finally be brought to kneel before the Cross.
The Crusader lords
Their fathers captured the holy land and bathed in glory and the acclaim of the Christian world, and all the power and riches that brought. Now the sons of the conquerors of the holy land are given their opportunity. The Pope calls for a great crusade to capture and convert the troublesome Norse lands. The lords of the west will now face their toughest opponents yet, the wild warriors of the North, their violent gods, and the harsh land they live in.
The slave and the swordsmith
A life of slavery
The life of a Norse slave is short and hard. Their names forgotten by history, the work of their hands lost to the dust and ashes of time. But in a time of chaos, the old rules and ways can be set aside, and the hands of a slave can wrestle the path of the world aside, and leave their mark on the very strings of fate.
A life of service
Born to the hammer. A lifetime of service at the anvil, working in the heat and flames and dirt, crafting weapons that will be used by the mighty to cut down the weak. A bladesmith is a tool for the rich, a creator of power who will never feel its touch or blessing. But as worlds collide, the strong hand that can so powerfully forge steel to its intent, can also grasp the haft of his own destiny and bend it to his will.
Ljós a Norðan - The Light of the North
The legend
The Icelandic sagas speak of a magical blade, forged in the darkness of the northern crusades, a blade said to be blessed by Odin himself, a shining sword forged from the heart of a fallen star. The sword, blazing like the sun when it is drawn for battle, is the light and the hope of the Norse people, the light of the north. The legend says as long as the sword is wielded by a Norseman true and brave, that the Norse people have a future. A sword said to have a core of blazing light lined with fire and a rim of smoke swirling with the souls of its victims, lost to time.
The Hero
Every great weapon needs a hero to wield it. In the time of his people’s greatest need, a reluctant hero emerges and gives the Norse their last great weapon: hope. Gjaldir, the legendary warrior smith and champion of the Norse. The saga tells of a mighty warrior, who in the despair and destruction of the crusades, forges himself a final blade, a weapon fit for the gods, with the magic of the dwarves wound into it, and carries it into the battle for the future of his people.
A free short story - The Last Rider
A short story, from a series of standalone short stories I am working on titled ‘Songs of the end of the world’, this is a story of love in the face of adversity… and a mysterious stranger.