The Somme River slipped by silently as a morning mist rose from its surface. Three men and a woman stood near the banks of the river, watching the dirt trail that led to the north. A rude dock stood at the end of the trail about fifty metres distant. A single flat-bottomed boat was tied to a weathered post planted in the mud next to the dock. The trail wasn’t one that was often used except for in late summer…
On Saint John’s Day, in late June, 1175 Louis de Longpré de Fontaine’s daughter, Ada, caught the eye of King Henry II. Henry was doing what many men who get bored with life at midlife do, he sought out conquests to prove to himself and to others that he was still a virile man. Eleanor was now in her fifties and had lost interest in trying to please her husband. She was focused on her sons, trying to make sure…
A few villagers had gathered near the visitors to the glen. All eyes were on Laurent rather than on Guillaume and his sons. They were familiar with the three of them who made twice yearly journeys to the village. “Laurent, I didn’t see you,” laughed Enguerrand. “You appeared as if by magic. How did you do it?” This was the second time the boys had met Laurent. “Well, it certainly isn’t because I am dressed fashionably,” Laurent added with his…
In the winter of 1129, Guillaume II met with a small group of knights. He was sixty years old and had inherited his father’s land and titles before his father left to take part in the Crusade of Princes. Guillaume was aware of his father’s involvement with the Templars in Spain. Like his father, he had been entrusted with safeguarding the unspoken secrets connecting the Templars with the Belgae, the Celtic tribes of Picardy, Flanders, and Belgica. “Sir Guillaume, at…
Other knights began to arrive in Amiens. By the end of the second week of waiting, several hundred knights had gathered, including their leader, Robert Kurthose, the Duke of Normandy. “My brothers,” Robert gritted through clenched teeth as he addressed the gathered knights, lords, counts, dukes, and princes. “All they do is humiliate me. The English throne belongs to me as his eldest son, not to my younger brother, William, and certainly not to Henry.” Guillaume listened as usual, without…
“Ah, you have it right. You have made the connections needed. The old religion knows me as Lugh. I’m not really a god though. I just have this small problem of being an immortal.” “An immortal?” Guillaume spoke a bit too loudly, before Lugh, or was it Laurent, shushed him. “Yes.” “Then, the mother of my son? Was she also an immortal, a goddess?” The thought that he had bedded a goddess during the year he had lived in that…
The three knights left the church and went to the new inn where they were intent on enjoying some wine and a hot meal. The Belanus Inn stood at the crossroads near the bridge, replacing an old inn which had been destroyed in a fire not that many years earlier. Guillaume looked at the sign which featured a pathetic image of a golden-haired Celtic god holding a wooden mug of ale. Naturally, in deference to the power of the Church…
Guillaume, Seigneur de Longpré, sat astride his charger with the other knights of Picardy and Flanders, including his younger brother, Pierre. Many of the military force ranked behind them and other nobles were descendants of the ferocious Celts who had given the Romans, who had passed through Picardy and Flanders, so much grief. Of all the Celtic peoples, the Belgae were the fiercest fighters. Guillaume’s foot soldiers were comprised of a blend of these Celtic people and the Franks who…
I’ve wrestled a long time with the idea of telling my story. My name is Lugh, just Lugh. I don’t have a middle name or a last name. Over the years I have had so many names that I have found the need to adopt because of who I am. I am an immortal. Well, immortal in a strange kind of way. I could die, but I would soon be reincarnated. That doesn’t sound too difficult to believe if only…
Two days after the meeting with his father, both Guy and Pierre were called to meet with the Captain of the Count’s guard. “The two of you are to accompany the Duke’s son to Picquigny. You will represent the Count with extreme dignity. Be prepared to ride tomorrow morning. You will wear the uniform of the guard for this occasion only. Don’t think for one moment that this is my idea or that I approve. You are much too young…