Characters are very important for any story. In honour of the characters of Bridge of Honour, I have decided to provide some sneak peaks into the book so that you can get to know them better.
Meet the Characters!
Owain ap Gwion:
Owain is from Rhos, a northern cantref in Wales. He is a small-plot farmer, like his father, and is familiar with scrounging in the woods for game, using his Welsh long-bow to bring down rabbits and deer for the family pot. Owain loves the quiet and simple life of his forefathers, but deep inside him is a smoldering desire to use his skills with the bow in battle. Like most of the men of Rhos, Owain's allegiance is to the lords of Gwynedd, where Llywelyn, Prince of Wales, rules. Owain's home cantref has been under the English control on and off for a generation, and all it needs is a call from Llywelyn, and the Rhosmen will rise!
Scenes from the book:
The old priest went on softly, "English blood will not wipe out your father's death."
"Then ye had better pray that no Englishman every crosses my path."
...
Moving as stealthily as he could, he plucked an arrow from the ground and notched the end to his bowstring. His muscles were tight and quivering with suppressed energy. Sweat began to bead on his forehead as he drew the bow halfway and waited for Bran's signal. Rank after rank of English horse and foot passed him, marching along with a heavy tread that pounded trails into the dirt of the roadway. Owain licked his lips and squinted along his arrow, aiming between two slender yew trees that grew at the roadside.
Alan de Martreu:
Alan is the son of an English baron, who rules over a broad fief in Lancashire, in the North of England. Alan is very proud of his family's heritage, and has a long legacy of warlike deeds to live up to, beginning with the first de Martreu who sailed across the Channel with William the Conqueror. Alan is eager to see the wider world beyond Lancashire and to serve under the banner of the great Edward the First, king of England, and veteran of many foreign wars. Unlike his king, Alan has never seen battle before, although, as a noblman's son, he has been training nearly his whole life for it. Now, with a Welsh rebellion looming, he is desperate to put his skills into practice and to win glory for his house. He has little respect for the fighting ability of the rude Welsh farmers, but his father, who has fought them before, is not so sure...
Scenes from the book:
"We charge," he snapped, lifting his helmet and settling it firmly down over his head. All around him, the men-at-arms raised their shields and set their lances in rest. Alan nodded to his standard bearer and raised himself in his stirrups.
"For England and Edward," he shouted and clapped spurs to his horse.
Agnes de Baroe:
Agnes is the daughter of a simple, English knight, a marcher-lord, whose family have dwelt in the Welsh border country for several generations. Her house is familiar with fighting the Welsh, living as they do in the often contested lands that lie between England and the Welsh heartlands, where sometimes countrymen and fellow marcher-lords can be as dangerous as Welsh chieftains...
When two young men from the outside world stumble into her life at Castle de Baroe, Agnes is launched upon a journey out into the greater conflict that rages in Wales, far from the relative safety of her castle.
Scenes from the book:
"What is the meaning of this?" demanded the girl from her horse. Eyes sparkling with anger, and chin lifted, she managed to seem a queen ready to give judgement, and a queen quite prepared to execute all prisoners immediately rather than an ill-defended damsel surrounded by a band of hostile savages. Her accusing tone almost made Alan laugh.
"These are the lands of Sir Roger de Baroe. You have no right to ender them in arms thus!"
______
Well, there you have it...an intro to our three heroes. Will Alan survive in the deadly forests of Wales? Will Owain be able to preserve his family’s land and heritage, or will the war destroy all that he holds dear?
And what about the sinister Welshman Dorlas who lurks in our heroes’ shadows?
Dorlas looked out from the shelter of the trees at the little band, huddled by the postern door. His eyes gleamed as Conan cried out, his axe strokes faltering for a moment. A faint smile crossed his face as a cry of distress went up from the doomed men by the gate.