Description
In the Year of our Lord 882, Titus of Cissanbyrig, now known as the Berserker after his exploits at the Battle of Edington in 878 has settled into life as a sword warrior, serving his Thane Otha, who is sworn to Lord Eadwig of Wilton. His future is bright, then in a moment of youthful arrogance, he succumbs to temptation and betrays Isolde, the girl he has loved since they met when he was fourteen, with another local girl, Aslaug. However while he recognizes his mistake and spurns Aslaug, who has set her eyes on young Titus, he is too proud to apologize to Isolde for his actions. Thwarted, Aslaug convinces Hrodulf, another young man of Wilton, that she has been wronged, alleging that Titus has raped her, and when Hrodulf instigates a confrontation in a Wilton alehouse, he taunts Titus with the news that Isolde is now planning to wed another man. Titus demonstrates once again why he is called The Berserker, losing his temper and beating Aslaug's unwitting pawn to death in a brutally unforgettable display. Under Saxon law, Titus will be brought before a court, but larger events occur that offer him a reprieve from being tried when a force of Danish ships appear in the waters off of Wessex on a viking expedition, the term the Danes used for their raiding and pillaging, a term by which they will become known in history. King Alfred calls for his most experienced warriors to fight not on land, but to meet and defeat the Danes on their favored terrain of the sea, including the men of Wilton, led not by Lord Eadwig, but his son and Titus' friend, Lord Eadward. To that end, Alfred calls on an unlikely ally, King Guthrum of East Anglia, who provides a dozen Danes who will turn men of the shield wall into seaborne warriors, and along with the other Wilton men, Titus will learn how to fight aboard ship. And, when the two forces do meet each other, Titus will once again show both friend and foe why he is called The Berserker, and in the process, learn that in many ways he has more in common with his foes than with his own people and how being a warrior without a war poses special challenges.
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