YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE PAST Fergus’s world changes forever the day his car crashes near the village of Allingley. Traumatised by his near-death experience, he stays to work at the local stables as he recovers. He will discover a gentler pace of life, fall in love – and be targeted for human sacrifice. Clare Harvey’s life will never be the same either. The archaeologist’s dream find – the peat-preserved body of a Saxon warrior – is giving her nightmares. She can tell that the warrior was ritually murdered, and that the partial skeleton lying nearby is that of a young woman; their tragic story is unfolding in her head every time she goes to sleep. Fergus discovers that his crash is linked to the excavation, and that the countryside harbours some dark secrets. As Clare’s investigation reveals the full horror of a Dark Age war crime, Fergus and Clare seem destined to share the Saxon couple’s bloody fate.

Example in this ebook ACT ONE. SCENE ONE—A road through a forest. On either side trees stand thick and dark. Immediately in front the light sifts down upon a rude bridge spanning a narrow stream. At the roadside, to the right, a large crucifix, apparently new, stands upon a post some ten feet in height. It is elaborately carved and is set in a deep frame to protect it from the weather. At the foot of the post, cut into the mossy bank which slopes toward the road, is a kneeling place with a white sheep's pelt lying upon it. A sound of voices is heard. Fritz and Rudolph enter from the left and pause where a path leads off through the wood. The latter has an ax upon his shoulder. Far in the forest a faint sound of chopping is heard. TIME—Mid-day in summer, in the early part of the thirteenth century. Rudolph—He's worth six. Fritz— I'll give you five, you pick them. Rudolph—I'll pick six. Fritz— I'll keep my ewes, then. Rudolph— And walk To the mountains? Fritz— We have not gone yet. Rudolph— But— Fritz—And if I had my way we would not go. Rudolph—Nor would we go had I mine, Fritz. But we Have not our way. The dragon has his way. As far as Niflheim the North is red. Fritz—Are we their sheep that we must follow them Or be hung up on trees? Rudolph— He follows us. Fritz—Who do these woods belong to, anyhow? Rudolph—Where a man puts his foot the dragon puts His belly, and the man's track disappears. Where is the tree that has not felt the storm? Have they not disappeared? Like leaves the tribes Are scattered. Fritz— It has blown down trunk and all. Rudolph—Forests and rivers and ten thousand graves Lie under that red paw. Fritz— It stains the world. Rudolph—The Weser rolls down bodies to the sea; Their yellow hair is matted in the Rhine; The deer that drinks the Aller in the night Starts back from bloody faces in the stream. They are our fathers, Fritz, who cannot sleep While this coiled Hunger tracks us toward the north. Fritz—And we must feed it, eh? We must grub roots, Fatten ourselves on acorns in the wood, As swine do, and then waddle to the swamp And stuff its belly so that it will sleep And trouble us no more, we must do that? Rudolph—No; we must leave, and starve it. Fritz— It don't starve. More hunger means more flesh. Let's feed it steel. Rudolph—Steel draws the blood and brings the hunger on. Fritz—Then draw the life. We don't feed it enough. Rudolph—It eats the blade— Fritz— Then feed it hilt and all. Rudolph—It eats our swords and they come out in claws. As Canzler says, a thousand spears have but Peeled off its poisonous scales, and where they fall A deadly fire burns and the elves die. Fritz—We will call Wittikind. Rudolph— From out the grave? Fritz—His spirit will hear. Rudolph— Wittikind was baptized. Fritz—His head was baptized, but his heart was not. A few drops here could not put out a fire That scarred and seamed the dragon till it lashed, Maddened and bleeding, all the tribes away. A spark of him is in this forest. Rudolph— Oswald. Fritz— Yes. Rudolph—Silent and shy. Fritz— Their fate whom Woden loves. He homes the lightning in the silent cloud. Rudolph—Weak. Fritz— In himself, but strong by prophesy. Rudolph—Can you or I or chief hasten the day Wherein Val-father's voice shall wake the North? What man can say unto the lightning, "Leap"? Of Woden's race, a million summer leaves, We are, as it were, the winter mistletoe, A lone green sprig with barren woods all round. Can we shake off the snow and say, "Appear," To the young race asleep within the trees? Cry out above the dragon winter, "Die"? You cannot hurry in its growth one leaf. Yet you would thrust a sword in Oswald's hands, Thinking to hurry Prophesy along. If naked strength can save us, why not chief's? Why Oswald, if the battle is to be now? Without the aid of Woden, he is naught. To be continue in this ebook

A deadly continental struggle, the Thirty Years War devastated seventeenth-century Europe, killing nearly a quarter of all Germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. Peter Wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict that transformed the map of the modern world. When defiant Bohemians tossed the Habsburg emperor’s envoys from the castle windows in Prague in 1618, the Holy Roman Empire struck back with a vengeance. Bohemia was ravaged by mercenary troops in the first battle of a conflagration that would engulf Europe from Spain to Sweden. The sweeping narrative encompasses dramatic events and unforgettable individuals—the sack of Magdeburg; the Dutch revolt; the Swedish militant king Gustavus Adolphus; the imperial generals, opportunistic Wallenstein and pious Tilly; and crafty diplomat Cardinal Richelieu. In a major reassessment, Wilson argues that religion was not the catalyst, but one element in a lethal stew of political, social, and dynastic forces that fed the conflict. By war’s end a recognizably modern Europe had been created, but at what price? The Thirty Years War condemned the Germans to two centuries of internal division and international impotence and became a benchmark of brutality for centuries. As late as the 1960s, Germans placed it ahead of both world wars and the Black Death as their country’s greatest disaster. An understanding of the Thirty Years War is essential to comprehending modern European history. Wilson’s masterful book will stand as the definitive account of this epic conflict. For a map of Central Europe in 1618, referenced on page XVI, please visit this book’s page on the Harvard University Press website.

In 'Danes, Saxons and Normans; or, Stories of our ancestors' by John G. Edgar, the reader is taken on a journey through historical tales of Viking invasions, Saxon conquests, and Norman settlements. Edgar's detailed descriptions and vivid storytelling bring to life the struggles and triumphs of our ancestors, shedding light on how these early civilizations shaped the world we live in today. The book is written in a scholarly yet engaging style, making it accessible to readers interested in history and narrative literature alike. Set in the context of medieval England, the book provides a unique perspective on the cultural exchange and conflicts that defined the era. Edgar's meticulous research and attention to detail make this a compelling read for history enthusiasts and literary scholars alike. 'Danes, Saxons and Normans; or, Stories of our ancestors' is a must-read for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of medieval European history and the lasting impact of these ancient civilizations.