Topher Lydon

As frustrated as Darien gets with Atreus (Those two being FAR too much alike) Darien goes out of his way to show and remind Atreus that he is loved. And given Atreus's utter devotion to his Uncle Wylan, Atreus is in a very loving home. Though boy do he and Darien have stroppy teenager vs terrifying dad fights. Darien knows how to battle Seljuk hordes. but a teenage son, oooooh boy.

One more chapter to go for this one. I am debating what I want to do after this one. I have a few short stories I might release while I figure it out.

Ch15 The night swallowed Alvarez the moment he guided his massive roan mare, Flower, past the final, flickering glass lantern at the edge of Lanternlight's muddy thoroughfare. The bruised iron sky of the frontier, a canopy completely devoid of stars, pressed down upon the earth with a suffocating, freezing weight. He rode in absolute, terrifying silence. The flamboyant, theatrical bandito who thrived on the attention of crowded cantinas and the gasps of saloon girl

Richard will deny that to his dying days. But probably.

Richard and Atreus (The two from the pitched battle for the horn, the drop bear, and the river.)

we ALL know he'd be running the Direction générale de la Sécurité extérieure, sitting in a rather nice chair, stroking a cat, and plotting the downfall of Russia

They hope:

The Boar's Rest:

Dowager Lady Adele Haskal has her work cut out for her. WELCOME TO FRANCE Good morning

Considering his part in the attacks on the Community, that is for the best.

Welcome to France:

The rain in the Vexin did not fall; it assaulted. It drove horizontally across the deep, treacherous valleys and jagged limestone cliffs of the borderlands, a freezing, relentless gray sheet that battered against the high, reinforced stone walls of Château de la Dernière Espérance. The locals, in their cynical, war-torn wisdom, had long ago stopped calling the region by its proper Frankish name. They called it the Vixen—a sly, cunning, fiercely contested strip of earth straddling the bloody boun

The profound, hard-won peace of the Great Hall lasted exactly fourteen minutes. Darien Haskal was still sitting in the heavy oak chair on the dais, the lingering warmth of Wylan’s presence a soothing balm against the damp chill of the Vexin rain, when the heavy timber doors at the far end of the hall opened once more. They did not slam this time. They opened with a slow, deliberate, ominous creak that carried far more dread than any explosive entrance. Ser Val stepped across the

In the rain-lashed borderlands of the Vexin, Darien Haskal has carved a fragile peace with blood and steel. But when King Radoslav's royal progress arrives, it brings not celebration but a nest of vipers: a scheming duke, a fanatical nun wielding forbidden magic, and the golden knight whose smile hides a blade. As ancient curses awaken and political machinations tighten like a noose, the Vanguard's found family must protect their own—a feral heir, a dying prince, and a love that defies the Church itself. In a fortress perched between kingdoms, war is coming. But the Vanguard has survived the end of the world. They'll survive a dinner party.

In the Vexin, yes. It is quite common for a high noble of the realm, such as a Duke, to have lesser titles and lands. Sometimes not within the domain of the primary title. Haskal's keep, the Boar's Rest, is the Castle Darien has restored and established his territory around. It is a real Castle, and the ruins are still there: Château Gaillard (French pronunciation: [ʃɑto ɡajaʁ]) is a medieval castle ruin overlooking the River Seine above the commune of Les Andelys, in the French department of Eure, in Normandy. It is located some 95 kilometres (59 mi) north-west of Paris and 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Rouen.

We jump two years to the next book.

Jeb's parents tried to help him, the flashback earlier in the book where Jeb's father tried to get him to leave and go be with Devon, that the community was a wrong and hateful place for that kind of love. The Tragedy of all Four of these boys on Rumspringa is played out: Devon - Betrayed and cast out - Innocent of any wrong doing beyond love. Jeb - Cast out and murdered - Terrified, scared and resorted to lies, but tried to redeem himself through that guilt. Lemuel - Cast out and killed - Sexually abused as a child, manipulated into violence Ephraim - FATE TBD - Manipulator and violent, twisted by the community into hatred. This is the theme and plot of the story, how thie Community betrayal chewed through a group of children and wrought nothing but havoc upon them. Sow hate, and hate is what you reap in return.

Dinner!

Devon confronts the real people responsible for all their suffering. Of all the boys, only one stayed true to peace, and the teachings of how to treat people Funny that it was the one the Community wanted never to return. After all, they weren't ever going to save him, so he went ahead and saved his own soul

Ch14 The morning was still hollowed out by the lingering dark when Devon began the final, terrible work. The back-room clinic of the Lemon Saloon was freezing, the potbelly stove having burned down to nothing but gray, lifeless ash during the chaotic violence of the night before. Devon did not build a new fire. He needed the cold. He needed the stark, numbing bite of the frontier air to keep the trembling in his hands at bay. He stood over the heavy wooden examination table

I am afraid no Seb, Ami, Dieter or Erik in the next one. Their story heads off in a different direction that I plan to write over the next year. They're bound to House D'avenel which makes them vassals to Julian who, in turn, is vassal to the Lord of the Vexin.

two years. It is set in 1102AD When we first hear of Atreus, he is Eight. By the end of the Crusades and Darien getting home he is 12. When the new Trilogy begins, he is 14, the same age as the Prince of France (Casimir) and three years older than the boy Ashot and Stephen adopt (Enrique)