The Champion's Sword — Robert M. Johnson

The story of the clan MacGregor takes place long before the Romans even began the invasion of the Isle of Brittany. Historians consider it part of the Dark Ages, where weapons of steel were now becoming commonplace and a new war machine was beginning to change the practice of warfare. The chariot had taken its place on the battlefield and whether you called it a war cart or chariot, it was designed to bring death and destruction to the enemy. The Isle of Erin was still isolated for the most part not only from the mainland but even from the larger island of Brittany itself. People had come to Erin from Northern Europe, the continent, as well as from the north lands further to the east. The struggles of immigration were now long gone and in their place the lands were partitioned off to several major clans: Connaught, Leinster, Brewster, and Ulster. Each of these separate peoples held long-standing grudges against the others, grudges learned through violence on the borders that separated them from one another. The religions developed slowly by following superstitions related to the natural phenomenon of the earth and the sky, of fire and ocean. It would still be a long time before the gods of Rome and the God of Christianity came to the Erin Isle. It is in that context of the Dark Ages that we begin the story of Connor and Donal MacGregor, twin sons of Ian MacGregor, Blacksmith and Weapon Maker. Their story, the first volume of the MacGregor Saga is called, The Champion's Sword