Octavia Randolph · 2022 · sea

Dragons are said to guard treasure with their lives. Ceric, unhinged by the losses he has suffered, wanders the forests of Kilton, leaving his younger brother Edwin to shoulder the lordship without the guidance of their grandmother Modwynn or Cadmar the warrior-monk. Hunger among his folk drives Edwin into Mercia, where he does what he came for and finds the greater prize out of reach. At Four Stones, Sidroc's second son Yrling has come from Gotland to train under his half-brother Hrald, and a visit from Raedwulf, Bailiff of Defenas, sends Hrald on a journey that matters to Four Stones and to King Aelfred alike. And on Gotland a dragon ship oars steadily for shore, its warriors ready to leap out the moment the keel strikes the pebbled beach - and Sidroc is there to meet them, the man they came looking for.

1. 1
   Kilton

   Ceric, beset with madness from all he has lost, is somewhere in the forests above the hall. Edwin is Lord of Kilton now and far too young for it, with both the people who taught him gone.

2. 2
   Weogornaceastre

   Into the Kingdom of Mercia, driven by an urgent need to stave off the hunger of his folk. Edwin fulfils his mission - and finds the greater prize he had really come for beyond his reach.

3. 3
   Four Stones

   Hrald's hall has his half-brother under its lofty roof: Yrling, Sidroc's second son, come from Gotland to be trained. Then Raedwulf, Bailiff of Defenas, arrives unexpectedly, and sends the young Jarl out on a journey of vital importance both to Four Stones and to King Aelfred himself.

4. 4
   Gotland

   The pebbled beach below the trading town. A dragon ship comes oaring steadily for shore, its warriors ready to leap out as the keel strikes.

5. 5
   Tyrsborg

   Sidroc is there to meet them - he is the man they came looking for. The Kingdoms of Cymru have long bedevilled Wessex and Mercia, and much of Welsh strength lies in their women; two of them, driven by their own ends, are about to reach Kilton in ways no one imagined.