#1 – The Northman
In 1069, Three years after the Battle of Hastings, William of Normandy had yet to crush resistance in England. To the north, the people of the Danelaw refused to bow to the Norman yoke. In the east, the famous Hereward waged savage resistance in the fens…
#2 – The Outlaw
In 1070, the English rebels in the north have sacked Jorvik and defied William the Conqueror. Now they must face the wrath of the brutal Norman king, bent on avenging the slaughter of his army. Meanwhile fresh revolts erupt all over England, from distant Northumbria to…
#3 – The Exile
In 1076, William the Conqueror reigns supreme in England. After many years of bitter warfare, all his enemies are dead or defeated. The Norman king has imposed an iron grip on the land. His dreaded castles, filled with brutal foreign soldiers, cover the kingdom from sea…
#4 – The Warlord
In 1076, After the slaughter of his comrades in Iberia, Thorkell leads the few survivors to Constantinople, the Great City, capital of the Roman Empire. He finds the empire in a state of bloody confusion. The emperor is under siege, attacked by a mighty rebel host,…
#5 – The Conqueror
In 1081, the young Roman Emperor, Alexios, sits upon an unsteady throne. Threatened on all sides, the Empire is also bitterly divided between pretenders to the imperial throne. As Alexios staggers from one crisis to the next, the very survival of the ancient realm of the…
#6 – The Varangian
In 1086, the Roman Emperor, Alexios, has finally overcome the Normans. Yet the war has taken a heavy toll, and left much of his empire in ruins. Suddenly he is attacked by a host of enemies at once. In Thrace, the heretical sects of the Bogomils…
#7 – The Dragon
In 1087, After their victory in Thrace, the emperor Alexios and his trusted warlord, Thorkell Skaldsson, have returned to Constantinople. Their respite is only brief. Soon word reaches them of Chaka Bey, the feared Dragon Pirate, ravaging the coasts of Anatolia. At the same time the…
#8 – The Crusade
In 1096, Despite his many victories, the Emperor Alexios is unable to stem the relentless advance of the Turks. Anatolia, the imperial heartlands in the East, are almost completely overrun. Alexios is forced to seek help from the West, and the armies of the First Crusade.…
#9 – The Caesar
In 1116, After the triumph of the First Crusade, the Romans have reconquered much of Anatolia. However, the Turks are recovering their strength under the leadership of the formidable sultan, Malik Shah. Suddenly they unleash a string of bloody raids on the imperial frontier. The existence…