Showing results by author "MJ Porter" in All Categories

Tamworth, Mercia AD 825. The once-mighty kingdom of Mercia is in perilous danger. Their king, Beornwulf, lies dead, and years of bitter in-fighting between the nobles and cross-border wars have left Mercia exposed to her enemies. King Ecgberht of Wessex senses now is the time for his warriors to strike and exact his long-awaited bloody revenge on Mercia. King Wiglaf has claimed his right to rule Mercia, but can he unite a disparate kingdom against the might of Wessex who are braying for blood and land?

Tamworth AD833 After successfully rescuing her husband from the Island of Sheppey, Icel hears the deathbed confession of Lady Cynehild which leaves him questioning what he knows about his past, as well as his future. In the unenviable position of being oath sworn to protect their two atheling sons when Lord Coenwulf is punished and banished for his treason against the Mercian ruler, King Wiglaf, Icel is once more torn between his oaths and the secret he knows.

Oath sworn to Wiglaf, King of Mercia and acknowledged as a member of Ealdorman Ælfstan’s warrior band, Icel continues to forge his own destiny on the path to becoming the Warrior of Mercia. With King Ecgberht of Wessex defeated and Londonium back under Mercian control, the Wessex invasion of Mercia is over. But the Wessex king was never Mercia’s only enemy. An unknown danger lurks in the form of merciless Viking raiders, who set their sights on infiltrating the waterways of the traitorous breakaway kingdom of the East Angles, within touching distance of Mercia’s eastern borders.

Icel is becoming a warrior of Mercia, but King Ecgberht of Wessex still holds the Mercian settlement of Londonia and its valuable mint. King Wiglaf of Mercia is determined that the last bulwark be reclaimed from his sworn enemy to complete his rehabilitation as Mercia’s rightful ruler. In the heart of the shield wall, Icel suddenly finds himself on the wrong side of the battle and thrust into the retreating enemy stronghold where he must take on the pretence of a Wessex warrior to survive and exact a cunning plan to bring down the Wessex force cowering behind the ancient walls.

Tamworth AD831. Icel's profile continues to rise. Lord of Budworth and warrior of Mercia, he's acknowledged by King Wiglaf and his comrades to keep Mercia safe from the ravages of Wessex, the king-slayer of the East Angles, and the Viking raiders. But, danger looms. Alongside Spring's arrival comes the almost certain threat of the Viking raiders return. When Lord Coenwulf of Kingsholm is apprehended by a Viking and held captive on the Isle of Sheppey in Wessex held Kent, Icel is implored by Lady Cynehild to rescue her husband.

Following Icel’s epic rescue of Lord Coenwulf's children from their almost certain death, King Wiglaf is forced to call upon Icel’s loyal services once more. Furious that the conspirators behind the audacious move to snatch the children have yet to face justice, he dispatches Icel to hunt down the enemy of Mercia and discover who seeks to conspire against the throne.

Called to the local mortuary where a man’s body lies, shockingly bent double and lacking any form of identification, Mason and O’Rourke find themselves at the Castle Bromwich aerodrome, seeking answers that seem out of reach to them. The men and women of the Royal Air Force stationed there are their prime suspects. Or are they? Was the man a spy, killed on the orders of some higher authority, or is the place his body was found irrelevant? And why do none of the men and women at the aerodrome recognize the dead man?

Athelstan is the king of the English, uniting the petty kingdoms of Wessex, Mercia, the Danish-held Five Boroughs and York following the sudden death of his father, King Edward. His vision is to unite the realms of the Scots and the Welsh in a peace accord that will protect their borders from the marauding threat of the Norse Vikings. Whilst seemingly craving peace and demanding loyalty with an imperium over every kingdom, Athelstan could dream of a much bigger prize.

AD934. King Athelstan of the English has been successful in uniting the many kingdoms of Britain against one enemy, the Viking raiders. But men who are kings don’t wish to be ruled. Constantin, King of the Scots, rebelled against the Imperium and was forcibly brought to bend the knee to Athelstan and England at Cirencester. His son Ildulb seeks bloody vengeance from Athelstan following the battle at Cait and the death of his son. Olaf Gothfrithson, king of the Dublin Norse, having asserted his power following his father's death has his sights set on reclaiming Jorvik.

With allies in every kingdom, the great warrior king, Penda of Mercia, stands in a position of power throughout Britain. Just one kingdom stands aloof, that of Bernicia to the north. Ruled by King Oswiu, the brother of the long-dead King Oswald of Northumbria, Oswiu schemes for a unified kingdom of Northumbria, despite Penda’s desire to truncate those wishes.

In the wake of the agreement reached at Lincoln between Edmund and Anlaf Sihtricson of the Norse, Edmund returns to Wessex to reflect and rebuild, impatient to reverse his losses at Lincoln. But this is the winter of discontent. In Jorvik and the kingdom of the Scots, those who’ve waited too long to become kings in their own right grow restless. As the enemies of the English turn on themselves, Edmund senses the opportunity to reclaim all his brother, the victor of Brunanburh, managed to gain before his untimely death plunged England back into war with her many foes.

After the slaughter field of Brunanburh, a defeated Olaf Gothfrithson of the Dublin Norse and Constantin of the Scots narrowly escaped with their lives. In their kingdoms, failure has left them demoralised and weak. Olaf licks his wounds in Dublin, whilst Constantin and the Welsh kingdoms who defied King Athelstan, are once more forced to bend the knee. As Athelstan’s reputation grows stronger day by day, their need to exact revenge on the overmighty and triumphant Athelstan has never been greater.

The deadly conspiracy against the children of Ealdorman Coenwulf is to be resolved. Those involved have been unmasked and arrested. But will justice prevail? While the court convenes to determine the conspirator’s fate, King Wiglaf’s position is precarious. His wife, Queen Cynethryth, has been implicated in the plot and while Wiglaf must remain impartial, enemies of the Mercia still conspire to prevent the full truth from ever being known.