Kirjahaku

Over four hundred years before the birth of Christ, the island of riu is a patchwork of feuding kingdoms, wide plains, and impassable bogs. Battle, intrigue, betrayals, and courage are part of life for the Celts who call riu home, while from their underground halls the mysterious Aes Sidhe seduce brave warriors, turning men in to kings and binding them with fearsome geis. Conall Mac Gabhann is content with his apprenticeship to the local blacksmith. Content, that is, until his family is slaughtered in their home. Two men share responsibility for the massacre: a mad Irish king and a dissolute Roman. Conall will have his vengeance on both, or die in the attempt. Accompanied by his childhood friend Brion Cathasaigh and the veteran warrior Fearghal Maoilriain, Conall's hunt takes him northward through unfriendly kingdoms and treacherous bogs to a confrontation beyond the ancient earthworks of the Black Pig's Dyke. Along the way, Conall will gather an army, and come to the attention of the Aes Sidhe. An apprentice blacksmith could become a king with their help--if he so desires--or can live with the consequences.

Conall II: The Raven's Flight continues to chronicle the epic journey of the warriors from riu (Ireland). Conall Mac Gabhann and his brooding queen, M rr gan, lead over two thousand warriors together with their followers across the narrow sea that separates riu from Albu (Britain). Their quest: the capture of Cassius Fabius Scaeva, the dissolute Roman patrician held responsible for the slaughter of their families. The riu encounter human, natural, and supernatural foes and friends. At the mercy of the aes sidhe, a race of demi-goddesses who demand that he fulfill an ancient geis, Conall is named as the "Hand of the Goddess" and given the instrument that will crush the Na Daoine T rsach-a tribe of fanatical, blood-lusting priests. They battle fierce northern tribes: the Aos na Coille, whose one-eyed king, Drostan Ruadh, opposes their presence as do the Na M adaidh led by the sly Finnean Mac S itheach. Not all are enemies. The Aos an Fhithich offer their support, although it too comes at a price. Heroes and villains from myth, legend, and history converge in this saga set in the vast ancient forests, treacherous bogs, snow-capped mountains, and mysterious lochs of Scotland some four hundred years before the birth of Christ.