Showing results by author "K. M. Ashman" in All Categories

An Empire's Fate Lies in the Shadows of an Ancient Land. The mighty Roman Empire is stretched thin, its grip on its most vital province slipping. In Egypt, whispers of rebellion echo along the Nile. Roman legions, once feared and unstoppable, are plagued by desertions and mysterious deaths, many haunted by visions of gods and monsters. Supplies meant to sustain the empire falter, and pirates roam the Mediterranean, striking with uncanny precision.

As rebellion brews in Rome and the invasion of Britannia approaches, Senator Lepidus uncovers a dangerous conspiracy that threatens the emperor himself. With the elite operatives of the Occultum scattered behind enemy lines and no one left to trust, he turns to the one man he never thought he'd need: Veteranus, an ex-Exploratore shrouded in infamy.

AD 1045. Godwin of Wessex, one of the most powerful earls in the country, prepares for the marriage of his daughter to King Edward of England. The mood is jubilant, his family's relationship with the Crown secured through matrimony. But one man seeks to undermine him at every opportunity.

AD 1177. The threat of war sweeps across the Holy Land, and the kingdom of Jerusalem is at imminent risk of invasion from the massed armies of Saladin. Reports of Saracen patrols devastating towns and villages cause panic throughout the Outremer, and Baldwin, the teenage king beset with leprosy, tries desperately to counter the threat. But nobody knows where the enemy forces are, and the Christian forces are stretched thinly.

As the Roman invasion of Britannia draws near, the Occultum strengthens its ranks with a new generation of elite operatives, forged through a brutal selection process. Their mission: infiltrate Britannia and pave the way for the legions. With the team poised for deployment, troubling news from Germania threatens to derail their plans, a fellow Occultum member is in grave danger, forcing them to make a fateful choice, continue the critical mission in Britannia or risk everything to rescue one of their own.

1135 AD. Wales is a broken land. Many of its true-born rulers are in hiding, or married into noble English families. But, though low and dim, a flame of vengeance still burns... In the southern kingdom of Deheubarth, Gerald of Windsor governs. Firm but fair, he commands the respect of those he reigns over, and the love of Nesta, his wife. But then treachery strikes from the heart of the English ranks and peace and stability are quickly forgotten.

In the grandeur of the Roman Empire, Centurion Marcus Antonius Maecilius is a man of honour and valour. Yet, fate deals him a cruel hand when he is falsely accused of cowardice and sentenced to serve as an oarsman on a bireme, a slave to the rhythm of the waves and the lash of the overseer. Broken and embittered, he resigns himself to the monotonous toil of the galley—until the day a mysterious group of five men board his ship in Hispana with orders for the captain to take them to Belgica in the northern seas.

AD 1055. With the crisis of 1051 long behind them and finally coming to terms with the death of Sweyn, the Godwin family's influence across England is growing. Harold enjoys a position of trust with King Edward and the country is at peace, but Edward knows that he needs an heir before it is too late. In Hungary, there is one potential heir with royal blood running through his veins, but before he can be contacted another king, much closer to home, rises to power, and Harold finds himself torn between diplomacy and violence to maintain the peace.

Britannia 43AD. The last unconquered stronghold of the Celts and a land of gold and slaves. A dangerous place of men without fear, led by mystical Druid warriors, yet still to face the might of Rome in the unrelenting expansion of the empire. Four Roman legions have assembled in Gaul undertaking final preparations for the invasion of Britannia. Two young men are posted to a training cohort under the sadistic tutorage of a battle scarred veteran, Remus. The training is brutal, but eventually the trainees find themselves involved in their first campaign. The invasion of Britannia.

Britannia - AD 60. When her husband dies, Boudicca, queen of the Iceni, expects Rome to enter into a new power-sharing agreement with her people. However, when Rome reneges on the agreement and her daughters are raped by Roman soldiers, Boudicca raises an army to fight back against the occupation. The Britannic tribes rise up and join her in a campaign against their oppressors, and soon her enormous army is sweeping across Britannia in an unstoppable campaign of brutality.

1081. William's bloody conquest is over and Britain is under Norman rule. But one bastion of resistance remains: Wales. A divided land where brother fights brother and kings battle for power. The English use this to further their own ends, and while one king is tempted by an offer he cannot resist, the others wage war over long-forgotten feuds.

When Egyptologists open the lost tomb of a long dead king, they are astounded to find another body entombed alongside him. But this is no ordinary mummy. Not only is it dressed in the manner of a commoner, it also contains a few blood cells that only seem dormant. Becky Ryan, a museum researcher, receives a macabre message from her father, just before he is found dead and follows the clues to uncover what is either a massive hoax, or the greatest ever discovery in the history of mankind. What she uncovers is beyond her wildest dreams…and darkest nightmares.

India Summers is a librarian and a talented historian, so when a stranger asks her opinion on an ancient coin she is happy to oblige, but when the same man is murdered less than an hour later, it soon becomes apparent that there is far more to the situation than meets the eye. Recognising her unique talents for historical reference, she is quickly recruited by Brandon Walker, a security service intelligence officer investigating the strange disappearance of a very special young girl.

AD 1136. Across a barren battlefield in the shadows of Kidwelly Castle, the bodies of a defeated army lay abandoned, left to rot as a warning to all who dare rebel against the authority of the English crown. Throughout the kingdom, the people are subjected to a renewed campaign of brutality from the victorious castellans, and any thoughts of freedom are abandoned as they struggle simply to survive each passing day. However, deep beneath the Cathedral of Saint David, in a cold and damp cell that has been his home for many years, an old monk kneels in prayer.

An uneasy peace reigns in Wales. It's 1109 and the truce with England hangs by the thinnest of threads. While King Gruffydd ap Cynan's rule of law holds in the north, a spirit of rebellion is rising in the south, as tearaway princes and rebels grow to resent England's oppression of their homeland. And when Nesta, married off in a political move by England's King Henry, leaves the safety of her husband's castle to attend a celebration, the rebels seize their opportunity.

When a 100-year-old crucifix is discovered around the neck of a 500-year-old mummy, Brandon Walker once more calls on the expertise of India Summers to solve the mystery. Within days they realise there is far more to this than a cruel hoax, and it soon becomes clear that there are strong links back to the SS in the Second World War. Ultimately, what they find is not only a cover-up of global proportions and the tragic aftermath of a long-forgotten battle, but a group of dangerous men seeking the most powerful and dangerous Icon the world has ever known.

King Henry is dead, and his son, Edward Longshanks, is on his way back from crusade to claim the crown and impose his iron will on a weakened country. The nobles of north Wales are nervous and grow frustrated at the inaction of their own leader, and make a daring pact to replace him with a figurehead to unite the warring factions against the English prince. In the south, two young men attempt to rebuild their lives after a terrifying ordeal in Acre.

50 AD. The invasion is over, and Roman Legions spread throughout the land, a blood red stain on Britannia. Caratacus has fled south to rebuild his army, and warriors flock to his banner. In the north, a disgraced legionary grasps the chance to regain his honour and joins the Exploratores, the elite Roman unit operating behind enemy lines. Soon he is tasked with disrupting the plans of Caratacus, but deep inside he nurtures a deeper mission, the chance to fulfill an oath made six years earlier.

AD 1294. Caernarfon has fallen to Madog, and the Welsh uprising spreads like a wildfire. The four main warlords of Wales join forces to wreak havoc amongst the English settlers and rampage across the country in a frenzy of aggression born of a lifetime of servitude. One by one, Edward’s castles fall before the Welsh onslaught, but though there seems to be little reaction from the king, across the border, he musters his armies and plans the re-taking of his famed Ring of Steel.

In 1274, Edward the First ruled England having inherited the crown from his father, Henry the Third. Across the border to the west, the smaller country of Wales was ruled by Prince Llewellyn ap Gruffydd, a direct descendant of Llewellyn the Great. Tensions were strained between the two countries and minor conflicts were commonplace between the lesser nobles, but when Edward found out about Llewellyn’s proposed marriage to Eleanor du Montfort, he was incensed, and in 1275, arranged for her ship to be intercepted as she travelled from France to be with the Welsh prince.