I admit that I am enjoying this one greatly. There is magic in it, but it's very restrained as you will see. It's more about the comradery of the Squires and about Haskal and Darien's father/son dynamic.
Tomorrow they reach Constantinople, and the Court of Emperor Alexios. Boy oh boy were there a lot of shenanigans going on in the background to all of this. It was fascinating to research.
A lot of the beats in this story are direct and historical. Radoslav takes on the role of Lord Bohemond, while Haskal and Darien take on the role of Lord Tancred.
Darien, Val and Lloyd each have thier key role. Darien as the Lieutenant to the army, Val as the Lord of Horse, and Lloyd and his mouse
The Squires are just as important, Wylan, Julian, Ashot and Stephen all earn their keep. Ashot is a favourite of mine he's ... fun. Each of them shines in their own ways, and I like their dynamics. They're interesting enough that I am contemplating letting them have a short five or six chapter story of their own... because it would be fun.