Berserker Returns — R.W. Peake

In the Year of Our Lord 885, the tenuous and fragile peace between King Alfred and King Guthrum has grown increasingly strained, exacerbated by raids from Northmen from across The Narrow Sea. One such foray, the besieging of Rochester in Cent, rouses King Alfred to call on his Thanes to march to the relief of the besieged city, and among them are the men of Wiltun, led by Lord Eadwig and his son Eadward. Unknown to Eadward, Lord Eadwig has determined that this will be his last campaign, unwilling to endure a long decline into old age, and wanting to free Eadward to make a decision concerning the hulking Saxon warrior that Eadwig had banished after Titus was ambushed by a grieving husband who deduced that his wife Isolde died bearing not his child but Titus', and who Titus killed with his bare hands. Across The Narrow Sea, Titus is now in the service of the Margrave of Flanders, Count Baldwin II, as a member of the Count's personal bodyguard, Flanders being part of the Kingdom of West Frankia. The Count takes an interest in Titus after the Saxon displays his prowess in repelling a Northmen raid on one of the towns under Baldwin's protection, where his exploits confirm that the appellation Berserker is justified. What Titus doesn't know is that Baldwin's interest is not just based in Titus' abilities, but also because the King of Wessex, learning of Titus' whereabouts, has communicated his interest in the Saxon warrior. When the Northman leader Sigfred mysteriously vacates the fortress port of Boulogne, which has served as the primary base for the raids that plague the Saxons across The Narrow Sea, it prompts Count Baldwin to lead his army in an assault, spearheaded by Titus and nine of his comrades. While it is at a terrible cost, thanks to Titus the Berserker, Boulogne falls, while Titus' life is saved from an act of treachery by a rival Frankish warrior by an unlikely savior, a young spearman named Eudes. In Cent, the siege of Rochester is broken, and Lord Eadwig fulfills his promise to himself, falling in battle, leaving his son and heir as the Lord of Wiltun, whose first act is to summon Titus from exile, but to Eadward's shock, he learns that his whereabouts are not only known by his King, but Alfred has a proposal of his own concerning not just the Berserker, but the future of one of his children. The question is: will Titus the Berserker accept Lord Eadward's offer, and if he does not, will it impact the rest of King Alfred's proposal?