This is a very brief synopsis of the Eagles and Dragons series from Book 0, A Dragon among the Eagles, to Books IV and V, Isle of the Blessed and The Stolen Throne.

The following is meant only as a brief refresher of the main plot points. It does not go into detail about every event or touch on all of the primary, secondary or tertiary characters who inhabit the series.

SPOILER ALERT!

If you have not read the Eagles and Dragons series, we highly recommend you read the individual books in order. 

If you have read the series, we hope that this synopsis helps to remind you of Lucius Metellus Anguis’ journey, and that it prepares you for The Blood Road ahead.

Thank you for reading.

Eagles and Dragons Series Synopsis 

Books 0 – 5

At the peak of Rome’s might a dragon is born among eagles, an heir to a line both blessed and cursed by the Gods for ages.

Lucius Metellus Anguis is an idealistic young man who has a special connection to the Gods, especially to Apollo, the patron god of their family. He grows up in the old family home located in the neighbourhood between the Forum Boarium and the Circus Maximus in Rome. He has an older sister, Alene, whom he loves very much, and two younger siblings, Quintus and Clarinda, with whom he is not very close because of the age gap. Also living beneath the roof of the Metelli is Argus, Lucius’ best friend whose parents were killed when he was very young.

Lucius’ mother is Antonia Metella. She loves her son very much and tries to support him in every way that she can, even though her husband, Quintus, and Lucius are constantly at odds.

Lucius and his father argue often, mainly because Lucius wants to join the army, while Quintus wants him to follow the Cursus Honorum, the proper path for someone of Equestrian rank to follow to go into politics and the Senate.

In A.D. 197, during the reign of Septimius Severus, recent victor in the civil war, a major campaign involving thirty two legions is being prepared against the Parthian Empire, Rome’s long-time enemy. Many young men of Rome come to join the legions for this campaign, including Lucius and Argus.

When Quintus Metellus finds out what Lucius has done, it is the last straw. He is very angry with his son for going against his wishes and tells Lucius he is on his own, but not before he gives Lucius (at Antonia Metella’s insistence) the ancestral weapons, and armour bearing the image of the dragon (the ‘anguis’), a symbol Quintus Metellus has always resented due to its influence on his own father, Avus Metellus, who wanted his grandson, Lucius, to inherit it for some mysterious reason. 

Lucius and Argus leave Rome for war in Parthia, but first they stop to help with recruiting and training in Greece for the three Parthica legions the emperor has created for the campaign. They eventually arrive in Antioch, where the legions have mustered.

The war is brutal, and there are many battles against the Parthians. Lucius quickly realizes that war is not romantic or heroic, but bloody and inhumane. In his first battle, he sees one of his friends killed right beside him. Despite the hardship, however, Lucius and Argus become fast friends with a group of men that includes Alerio, Antanelis, the brothers Eligius and Garai, and Maren. They survive many trials of combat together, and in one great battle in which their centurion is killed, Lucius saves Antanelis’ life, something which the younger man never forgets.

At this time, Septimius Severus is making great changes to the army, and there is more mobility in the ranks, especially for Equestrians. As a result of his many brave actions, Lucius begins to rise through the ranks until he is made centurion.

Severus’ Parthian campaign is successful, and at last Rome has defeated its long-time enemy. In the aftermath of the war, the emperor and some of his legions move on to Alexandria, with Lucius and his men among them. After a bittersweet sojourn in the city of Alexander, where Lucius learns much from the physician Aelius Galenus (Galen), who was an old friend of Lucius’ childhood tutor, Diodorus. In Alexandria, Lucius is promoted by the emperor himself to the rank of tribune for a special mission.

He is to run a patrol across North Africa to his new posting at the legionary base of Lambaesis, in Numidia, a solid veteran outfit. The purpose is to take out the desert nomads who are threatening trade in North Africa, and investigate rumours of arms dealing. Lucius appoints his six friends, the men he trusts most, as his new centurions beneath him as tribune, and their cohort of 480 men sets out, joined by an ala of auxiliary cavalry headed by a disrespectful commander named Brutus who has it in for Lucius right away.

It is a difficult march across the desert with few signs of the nomads. Local magistrates are of little help to Lucius who discovers that there is a lot unsaid, and that local politics is highly corrupt. He slowly begins to learn that the world is not made up of good, honest people, and that every step he takes is risky.

Lucius and his men eventually discover who is helping the nomadic forces get a hold of Roman weapons, and it turns out it is his traitorous cavalry ala captain, Brutus.

In a very controversial episode, Lucius charges the entire cavalry ala with treason and sentences them to decimation, that is, the killing of every tenth men, with the rest of the force put into slavery aboard the galleys. Word of the act carried out by this young tribune carries quickly, all the way to Rome itself.

On the way to Lambaesis, in the middle of the desert one night, Lucius rescues a strange desert dweller by the name of Ashur Merhdad, who is being tortured by nomads who have captured him. But there is something very different about Ashur that makes Lucius take notice. Ashur comes and goes as he pleases, but at one point he warns Lucius that there are traitors in his midst, and that he is there to help him. Ashur’s presence causes Lucius’ close friends to grumble, especially Argus who takes an instant dislike to the desert dweller.

Lucius and his men eventually reach Lambaesis, only to find that they are treated like children by the hardened veterans there. However, the legionary legate takes a liking to Lucius and encourages him to keep going. In a massive battle against combined nomad forces, Lucius distinguishes himself yet again by saving the legate’s life in battle. He is honoured for this and earns respect in the legion.

Word comes that Septimius Severus is returning to Rome for a triumph and games to honour his Parthian victory, and officers, generals and politicians from across the Empire are invited to return to Rome for the festivities. Lucius is among them.

Lucius’ legate allows Lucius to go, accompanied by one man of his choice, and Lucius invites Argus to go along with him to stay at the family home in Rome. It has been many years since they were in Rome, since they have seen the family, and Lucius is nervous. But he is not the young, naive man he once was, afraid of his father’s opinion. He returns a veteran and hero, honoured by the emperor himself.

Even as a slow jealousy of Lucius is burning within Argus, he and Lucius return to Rome and the family domus where Lucius’ sister, Alene, and his mother, Antonia, are overjoyed to see them, especially Lucius. As the family catches up, Argus withdraws, preferring the company of the house slave, Ambrosia, and some off-duty Praetorians in the taverns.

Quintus Metellus is not so happy to see his son return, for he has been embarrassed by Lucius’ actions in North Africa, mainly the decimation people are talking about. He takes his younger son, Quintus, with him to the family estate in Etruria to get away from Lucius and the chaos of the emperor’s celebrations in Rome.

Antonia is sad to see her husband go, but she focusses on Lucius, her pride evident as she and Alene go to watch Lucius march in the triumphal parade behind the emperor.

One day, Ashur Merhdad appears in Rome at the door of the Metellus domus, determined to help Lucius in any way he can. But Lucius is busy with all of the celebrations in Rome, including the great banquet in the Severan palace on the Palatine Hill, to which he and his sister are invited.

At this banquet, Lucius’ life changes forever when he meets Adara Antonina, the daughter of a Roman magistrate in Athens. Lucius and Adara fall in love immediately, and it becomes obvious that the Goddess of Love herself has had a hand in it, for she too has watched over Lucius since childhood, just as Apollo has.

As they spend more time together, Lucius and Adara fall deeper in love until it is decided that they should marry. At a celebratory banquet at the Metellus domus, the two families meet and there is much joy.

However, there is much jealousy and alienation too, as Argus finds himself more and more outside of the Metellus family circle. In his time at the tavern, Argus meets an off-duty Praetorian who recruits him for the Praetorian Guard under the powerful prefect, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus. The prefect is a brutal man however, and he breaks Argus badly in his recruiting and training, seeking only to use him as a means to take down his enemies, including the Metelli.

But while Argus is wooed by the Praetorian Prefect, Lucius in turn is won over by the Empress Julia Domna who is gathering her own supporters for her and her son, Caesar Caracalla, as they seek to counter Plautianus’ play for power.

In the midst of his new-found joy, Lucius received a letter from his centurion, Alerio, that a tragedy has occurred: Antanelis has been killed while hunting lions in the desert. Lucius has a difficult time with this and leaves Rome behind to travel with Ashur to give Antanelis’ parents the news. On the road, they are attacked by a Praetorian.

Meanwhile, at the villa in Etruria, Quintus Metellus is visited in secret by Argus who, it is revealed, has become a Praetorian spy for Plautianus. With the revelation that he knows Quintus is his true father, Argus blackmails him into providing the Praetorians with information about Lucius and his every action in the hopes of taking down the young tribune who has become a strong ally of the empress and her son, Caracalla.

The politics continue and, despite the tragic news of Antanelis’ death, Lucius and Adara’s life as a married couple begins with great love and beauty. Together, the newly-married couple leave Rome for a few days for a holiday by the sea at Cumae. While there, they go to the famous cave of the Sybil only to have that oracle of Apollo’s reveal to Lucius a dreaded prophecy about his life that will change him forever.

Only just married to the woman he loves beyond all things, Lucius is suddenly recalled to Africa with the imperial family who is going to Severus’ home of Leptis Magna. As the wife of an officer, Adara is also invited to come, but Lucius knows in his heart that something is not right with Antanelis’ death, and the persistence of the Praetorian spies who seem to be constantly dogging his heels. 

It is arranged that Adara will return to Athens with her family while Lucius works out what has happened in Africa. In order to keep her safe, Lucius asks Ashur to go to Greece with them. It is a task Ashur is somewhat reluctant to undertake but for the fact that he too has fallen in love with Carissa, a sculptor and friend of the Metelli, who is also going to Greece with her mentor Emrys.

Lucius sails to Leptis Magna with the imperial fleet, alone among thousands of attendees and officers. He is given luxurious lodgings and slaves to attend to him by the empress in Leptis Magna, for she wishes to keep the young tribune close. But Plautianus is there too, as Praetorian Prefect, and when he sees a filthy galley slave go berserk at the sight of Lucius Metellus Anguis in the port of Leptis Magna, he realizes that that slave could be useful, and has the man locked up in the Praetorian camp.

During the grand celebrations that take place in Leptis Magna to welcome the city’s son, Septimius Severus, things begin to take a strange turn for Lucius. He sees and hears things that he isn’t sure are real, as if the Gods are trying to tell him something.

After a grand banquet one night, Lucius sees a Praetorian soldier attacking a young woman on a dark street. He rushes to the woman’s aid and ends up killing the Praetorian. The empress finds out and as soon as possible she arranges for Lucius to be smuggled out of Leptis Magna before Plautianus and his spies can find, accuse him, and kill him. This further solidifies her hold on Lucius as a possible ally against the Praetorian Prefect.

Meanwhile, Plautianus has called his spies to gather, mainly one of his newest acquisitions: Argus. But Plautianus does not stop there, for when Argus arrives in Africa with the information he has obtained from Quintus Metellus about Lucius and his family’s whereabouts, he is given a partner with whom he is to hunt down and kill Lucius. This new partner hates Lucius perhaps more than any other man, for he is Brutus, the traitorous cavalryman whom Lucius send to the galleys previously, and whom Plautianus saw screaming with rage when he saw Lucius arrive in Leptis Magna.

Lucius arrives in Carthage in secret so that he can make his way back to the base at Lambaesis, in Numidia, and discover what happened to his centurion and friend, Antanelis. When he arrives at the base, it is to find Alerio, whom he had left in charge, distraught at the strange circumstances around Antanelis’ death. Lucius also finds that the legion has been joined by a cavalry ala of Sarmatian warriors with whom he immediately develops a special bond, for they recognize the ‘dragon’ in him.

While Lucius is in Numidia, looking into Antanelis’ death, Adara and Lucius’ sister, Alene, are in Greece with the sculptor Emrys, Carissa, and Ashur who is there to protect them at Lucius’ request. However, Ashur is torn between his duty to Apollo and his love of Carissa.

Apollo appears angry with Ashur, and turns his back on the warrior. This causes Ashur great distress, but he feels he cannot ignore his heart, and vows to remain with Adara until he can safely deliver her to Lucius when the time is right. In the meantime, the Gods bless Adara in that she discovers she is pregnant with Lucius’ child, and this makes her more impatient than ever to join him in Numidia.

At Lambaesis, Lucius and Alerio ride into the deep desert with their troops on the pretence of a military exercise. The real reason, however, is to confront those whom they suspect of being guilty of murdering Antanelis because he was going to warn Lucius of Argus’ plotting against him. When Lucius and Alerio confront the men, it is revealed that Maren, Garai and a couple other men were guilty of the murder. After a skirmish, Maren is captured, but Garai escapes when nomadic raiders attack at the same time. Lucius is wounded badly in the ensuing battle, but they are saved by the arrival of Mar and Dagon, the leaders of the Sarmatian cavalry.

Back at base again, the guilty parties are executed, including Maren, but Garai is still at large, though some suspect that he would have died in the desert on his own.

When Lucius is healed and the plot revealed, he feels it is safe enough to bring Adara and Alene, who is with her, to Africa to join him in Numidia and the tribune’s residence there. Ashur is with them, but he tells Lucius that he cannot stay because his place is with Carissa, and so he returns to Rome to join her once again. It is a sad farewell between the two men, but they know they are on separate paths.

Time passes and, after becoming a part of life at Lambaesis and making friends with the other tribunes’ wives, Adara eventually gives birth to twins whom they name Phoebus and Calliope. There is much joy at this occasion with friends from nearby Thamugadi and from among the legions joining them for the celebration.

During this idyllic period, Alene Metella and Alerio, Lucius’ centurion and friend, fall in love, but they do not tell Lucius for fear of upsetting him. Despite their sneaking about, Alene is happier than she has ever been, for she is not only in love, but also enjoying being an aunt to her wonderful niece and nephew.

Not all joys last, however, and one sad day, while Alene is walking with the two babies just outside the walls of the fortress, she is attacked and killed by two Praetorian spies who mistake her for Lucius’ wife, giving her life to save her brother’s children. The spies are none other than Argus and Brutus, and they have been tracking the Metelli for some time, waiting to make their move. In fact, Argus and Brutus have left a trail of blood in their wake that included the deaths of Garai, who found Argus in Carthage, and Eligius, his brother who tried to dissuade Garai for helping Argus.

Back in Rome, Antonia Metella discovered the her husband was sending reports to the Praetorians, and calls upon Ashur to take an urgent message to Lucius, to go and help him. Ashur travels to Numidia to warn Lucius, but he arrives too late, only to find that Alene Metella has been murdered, and that Argus has disappeared.

Grief overwhelms Lucius’ family, and the soldiers at the base look at him with wary eyes now, fearful that he is cursed. Lucius writes a letter to his mother in Rome to give her the tragic news of Alene’s death.

When Antonia Metella, beaten to within an inch of her life by her husband, Quintus, confronts him and accuses him of being responsible for their daughter’s murder, he dismisses her claims. But Antonia Metella will not have it, and she slays him where he stands, avenging her daughter’s death and the brutal treatment her husband heaped upon her and her younger children. He will never harm them again.

Eventually, because of all the tragedy, Lucius is dismissed from duty and sent back to Rome with his family under the protection of the empress. Julia Domna hides them away safely in a villa along the Tiber. Lucius is told to wait.

After many days without a word about their fate, Lucius is visited by the empress and Caracalla who inform him that his mother and siblings are safe, but that the time has come for him to help them with one task: to accuse the Praetorian Prefect, Gaius Fulvius Plautianus.

Lucius and Alerio are smuggled into the palace where they appear before the emperor with members of the court, and other officers, to accuse Plautianus of betraying and plotting to kill Severus.

The Praetorian Prefect lashes out and attempts to slay Caracalla and the emperor, but Lucius, filled with hate for the man who ordered the death of his family, kills him on the spot. Plautianus is no more, and with Lucius Metellus Anguis’ help, Julia Domna and Caracalla have won for now.

In the aftermath of Plautianus’ downfall, Alerio is made a centurion in the Praetorian Guard, and Lucius and his family are permitted to live in peace at the Metellus family villa in Etruria. However, peace does not last long. One day, a violent man bent on murder shows up at the Metellus villa. It is Argus, who has been wandering and hiding since the fall of his master, Plautianus.

In a final duel, Lucius defeats Argus, but he does not kill him when his mother reveals that they are brothers. Lucius then leaves Argus’ fate to Alerio to handle, for Argus killed the woman he loved, Alene Metella. Alerio makes sure Argus will never be a threat again.

Time passes, and there is peace, but one day, a force of cavalry shows up at the villa. It is Dagon and the Sarmatian cavalry. He brings news of the death of Mar, his uncle, but also the news that the new command of the Sarmatian cavalry falls to Lucius who is now Praefectus. Dagon also tells him that the time for war has come again. They are to make for Britannia and a new campaign led by Severus to invade Caledonia.

Lucius and his Sarmatian cavalry, co-commanded by Dagon, are sent ahead of the main invasion force to secure territory north of Hadrian’s wall. In the wake of the legions as well, the empress and her court are making their way to Eburacum. Among them are Adara and her children, Phoebus and Calliope, whom the empress is taking care of. But life at court is not a pleasant experience for Adara, who is constantly aware of the talk behind her back about her and her husband.

In southern Caledonia, Lucius, the Roman ‘Dragon’ as he has come to be known, is making a name for himself among his allies and enemies. One of his most brutal enemies is known as the Boar of the Selgovae, a great warrior who was crushing all forces who came against him, that is, until Lucius and his Sarmatians.

In a great battle, Lucius defeats and imprisons the Boar, holding him in chains at Trimontium until a unit of Praetorians can come from Eburacum to take him into custody. At this time, Lucius and the Boar have occasion to speak as one warrior to another, and they find that they have more in common than they thought. The Boar also causes Lucius to question his loyalties to Rome for the very first time in his life.

After an attempt by Praetorian spies to slay the Boar, who is still a prisoner under Lucius’ protection, Lucius realizes that the warrior will not receive honourable treatment at Rome’s hands. All the Boar wants is to go down fighting with a sword in his hand. After much thought, Lucius takes a great risk when he transfers the prisoner to the Praetorians who arrive shortly after; he does not fully secure the Boar, but gives him an opportunity to fight, a courtesy from one warrior to another.

When a Praetorian officer by the name of Marcus Claudius Picus arrives to take the prisoner, the Boar breaks free and fights to his death. Claudius Picus suspects Lucius and takes an immediate disliking to him. This hate will brew and from that time on, Claudius Picus will work against Lucius within the military command.

But Lucius is too busy for such confrontations as the war is progressing and the Emperor and Caracalla will soon be arriving at the front. With help from long-time Roman allies, the Votadini, Lucius, the Sarmatians, and a force of legionaries sweep north to secure the former Gask Ridge frontier in a brutal guerrilla war against the Caledonians. They succeed and the imperial army arrives and establishes a fortress at Horea Classis where the legions assemble, and from where the war will be waged.

During this time, a druid named Weylyn, who is in hiding in the South in the sacred isle of Ynis Wytrin has a dream of his son, the Boar, his death, and the Dragon warrior who ensured that his son’s body was given back to their people for proper rites. The Boar’s spirit speaks to his father of Lucius, and of how he needs help from their people.

Weylyn speaks to his peers, the priestess of Ynis Wytrin, Etain, and the Christian priest, Father Gilmore. They agree to send two Dumnonian twins named Einion and Briana, who have been living in sanctuary with them, to Caledonia to help Lucius in whatever way they can.

Einion and Briana, whose entire family was murdered by their traitorous uncle in Dumnonia, travel to Caledonia to find Lucius. They offer him their help, but Lucius is naturally uneasy with this, for he trusts no one besides his loyal Sarmatians. They prove themselves, however, when they save Lucius from an assassin’s knife in the heart of his Sarmatian base at Bertha.

At this time, Alerio is a centurion in the Praetorian Guard travelling with the Emperor and Caracalla. He visits Lucius to let him know that Claudius Picus is turning Caracalla against Lucius. He also informs Lucius that Adara and the children are safe and that they will join him soon.

Before that, several major confrontations with the Caledonians result in the brutal deaths of many of Lucius’ warriors, men who are his friends. He is hungry for revenge and prays to the Gods for help in this. Little does he know that the Caledonians led by Argentocoxus are also being aided by the Morrigan, their goddess of war and death who hates Lucius for all that he has done to her worshippers.

In a great battle that sees the Roman forces led by Caracalla and Lucius clash with Argentocoxus and the Caledonians, many men are lost, including the leader of the Votadini, whose son, Afallach, could not save him. They manage to defeat the Caledonians, but just as Lucius and his men are about to slay Argentocoxus at last, Caracalla steps in and makes a secret treaty with the Caledonian leader who agrees to surrender to terms.

Caracalla takes credit for the victory, though most fighting men know that it was Lucius and his Sarmatians, supported by the men of the legions, who really won the battle.

In a great ceremony, Emperor Severus receives the formal surrender and weapons of Argentocoxus and his warriors with Lucius and other officers looking on. As Severus and Caracalla ride out to meet the Caledonian leader, Lucius and others see that Caracalla is about to strike his father down. Lucius warns the emperor before Caracalla can do the deed and, keeping his composure, the emperor stares down his wayward son, berating him in private afterwards.

Upset by the terms of the treaty with the Caledonians, and by Caracalla’s betrayal and support of the Praetorian, Claudius Picus, Lucius is given a furlough with his family so that he can go to the South where they have a piece of land which was given to them as a wedding present by Adara’s father.

Before Lucius can leave, however, Alerio overhears Claudius Picus’ plans to kill Lucius and his family whom he has come to hate with a passion. Alerio slips out of the Praetorian camp to help Lucius, following the assassins sent by Claudius Picus and Caracalla. He races to catch up with the assassins and finds them lying in wait for Lucius’ family. In a last, brave act for his friend and the love of his friend’s sister, Alene, Alerio slays the three assassins, but is mortally wounded at the same time. He dies alone, but as the life leaves him, Alene’s spirit comes for him, and he is happy at last.

The Morrigan watches Lucius and his family head south. She is not finished with the Roman Dragon yet.

After a long journey south, Lucius and his family, accompanied by Einion and Briana, arrive at their land in southern Britannia. When they arrive, they find an ancient hillfort that is part of their land where there is also a Roman supply station. At long last, they begin to make a life for themselves, a true home.

The Metelli build a grand timber hall, stables, a temple and more upon the hillfort, and they become a part of the local community of Britons, many of whom are grateful to return to the hillfort and make offerings to their gods once more.

After a time, Lucius discovers that he owes taxes on the land and heads to the nearby town of Lindinis to visit with the tax collector. While there, he meets the leaders of the local council, mainly Serenus Crescens, a rich land owner who invites Lucius and Adara to his villa for a banquet. Little does Lucius know that the council of Lindinis wants to use his influence with the emperor to grant their town a higher status which will benefit them greatly. Lucius says there is little he can do. While they are outside the villa between courses, assassins attack Lucius and Crescens while they are speaking. Lucius kills one, but another escapes.

Crescens believes the assassins where sent to kill him by the fanatics of Ynis Wytrin who, he believes, want him dead because the Lindinis council wants to tax the the sacred isle. Little does he know that the assassins were sent by Claudius Picus who has found out that his previous assassins did not succeed in killing the Metelli.

When Crescens and the other council members see that Lucius is not going to help sway the emperor on their behalf, they turn to a man whom one of them met in Aquae Sulis, a man who says he has even more influence on the emperor. That man is Claudius Picus. In exchange for keeping him informed about the Metelli and their home, Claudius Picus promises Crescens and the Lindinis council what they want.

Meanwhile, Lucius and his family are joined at the hillfort by Dagon, Barta, and other Sarmatians who are on leave. They bring Lucius the sad news that Alerio has been slain. There is great sadness among the Metelli at this news, and Lucius and Dagon suspect foul play.

The Sarmatians stay with the Metelli, Einion and Briana at the hillfort for a long time, and during that time Lucius and his family, Einion, Briana, Dagon and Barta visit Ynis Wytrin after they save a young priestess of the isle from the son of none other than Serenus Crescens.

They arrive with the young priestess in Ynis Wytrin and stay there for some days, marvelling at the magic and beauty of that blessed place, hidden away from the world of Rome. The triad of leaders in Ynis Wytrin, Etain, Weylyn, and Father Gilmore, are intrigued by the Metelli and see how special they are, and Etain and Weylyn come to understand that Lucius and his family are, in some way, of great importance to the future of that land.

During this time, Briana and Dagon fall in love, but Einion, Briana’s brother, is distracted, for Etain tells him that the time to reclaim his father’s stolen Dumnonian throne, has come.

When they return to the hillfort, Einion tells Lucius and the others that the time has come for him to go. Lucius tells him that he and Dagon will help him on the quest.

At Samhain, Lucius, Dagon, and Einion set out for Dumnonia and the fortress of Din Tagell where his uncle Caradoc still rules. While they are gone, strange goings on are happening at the hillfort. Strange men are spotted and one night there is an attack on Adara and Briana. Barta and the Sarmatians who remained behind, help fend off the attackers, but all are uneasy about the strange occurrences. Adara and Briana worry about Lucius, Dagon and Einion and whether they will be successful in their mission or not.

Lucius, Dagon and Einion finally arrive in Dumnonia and find a land suffering under its false ruler. They meet up with locals whom Einion grew up with, including the woman he loves, Gwendolyn, whom he thought had been slain during his uncle’s uprising. They plan an attack on the seaside fortress of Din Tagell on Samhain night.

After a brutal battle in the hall of Din Tagell, Einion defeats and kills Caradoc with help from Lucius, Dagon and the others, and the rightful king sits upon the throne at long last. The people rejoice at this, but just as all seems well, a dark hunter of the otherworld appears and attacks. Lucius rushes to pursue the otherworldly warrior and chases him out into the night. The hunter leads Lucius over the moors until they pass through a portal into Annwn where Lucius finds himself wandering, confused and alone in the otherworld.

After seeing strange beasts, past enemies and the shade of his grandfather, Avus Metellus, Lucius stumbles into the trap that has been laid for him by the dark hunter and the Morrigan herself. As Apollo, Epona, and Venus herself look on helplessly, Lucius must fight the dark hunter to the death upon the grass of the otherworld. 

The battle is brutal and Lucius is severely wounded, nearly killed by the hunter. But with the sword given to him by his wife and Apollo, Lucius narrowly defeats the dark hunter. The gods watch him bleeding to death, forbidden to help him. At that moment, as the veil to the mortal world is about to close, the Boar of the Selgovae emerges to help Lucius and carries him to the portal. He has survived, but the scars of what he endured are deep, as is the knowledge of what he discovered from the lips of the Gods themselves: he is really the son of Apollo.

Lucius returns with Dagon to the hillfort and his family after healing in Dumnonia for some weeks. Adara, who is pregnant, is relieved to see him, but distraught at the physical and mental state of her husband. He is changed by the knowledge he gained in Annwn about his birth, but he does not tell anyone about it as he has yet to come to terms with it himself.

Time passes and eventually word comes from the North that the Caledonians have broken the treaty. Lucius and his men are recalled to the front to fight not only Argentocoxus and his men, but also a new, more brutal leader who is a son of the Morrigan: the Wolf of the Maeatae. 

The guerrilla war in Caledonia continues, and it is as brutal as ever. The Wolf is a deadly enemy and Lucius and his men, charged with hunting him down, finally hear of his whereabouts when Afallach of the Votadini brings intelligence of a location in the highlands. Lucius, the Sarmatians and the Votadini attack the Wolf’s hidden base, and after a daring cavalry charge, and single combat, Lucius slays the Wolf once and for all, further angering the Morrigan. The victory also cements his status as one of Rome’s greatest leaders in the eyes of the legions, and casts a shadow over Caracalla and Claudius Picus.

The victory is dampened, however, when word comes from Eburacum that Emperor Severus has died. Lucius and his men march south for the funeral, as do Caracalla and the Praetorians and other legates of the legions.

The funeral of Severus is a magnificent affair, and during the proceedings both Caracalla and Geta light their father’s funeral pyre. To the surprise of many, the Praetorian Prefect, Papinianus, also asks Lucius to light the pyre in front of everyone.

There is a lot of tension now, and plays are being made for the throne. Julia Domna is trying to reconcile her sons so that they can begin their joint rule in peace, but some people, including the Praetorian Prefect, Papinianus, having something else in mind, a plan to preserve the empire built by Severus.

Papinianus and his loyal men, as well as the legionary legates, approach Lucius and offer him the imperial throne.

Lucius is faced with a very difficult decision, one that he does not have the time to consider properly because Caracalla and Claudius Picus are making their own moves to strike. Lucius has the backing of his friends, his trusted warriors, but he debates with himself. On the one hand, failure could be fatal, but on the other he knows that he could, at last, create a better world for his family, his men, and the empire at large. 

Lucius agrees to Papinianus and the legates’ proposal.

But Caracalla and Claudius know of the plot and make a move first, ambushing Lucius and his men, as well as taking Papinianus and his own Praetorians captive.

Lucius and his men fight their way out of Eburacum, but they are further ambushed and their forces are separated.

Lucius and Barta are given the chance to ride south for the hillfort because they know that is where Claudius Picus will strike next. They ride day and night to get home, but Claudius Picus has planned things perfectly. Paid men lying in wait ambush Lucius and Barta and take them prisoner.

Lucius wakes up in a remote roundhouse to find himself tied up. To his great dismay, Claudius Picus appears along with Serenus Crescens, the Lindinis council leader, and his son, whom Lucius stopped from attacking the priestess of Ynis Wytrin.

After Barta is tortured and killed before Lucius’ eyes, Claudius Picus and Crescens’ son beat Lucius. Claudius tells Lucius that he ruined his career and plans when he slew Plautianus, the former Praetorian Prefect who had promised Claudius advancement and power. He then tells Lucius that he and his men are now heading to the hillfort to slay his family and everyone there. They set fire to the roundhouse with Lucius in it, and leave him to die while they go to kill Adara, the children and anyone else at the hillfort.

Lucius sees his end, and sees the Morrigan laughing at him from the darkness as the flames consume the building around him, as they burn his clothes and body. But from deep within, that immortal side of him that has lain dormant and undiscovered for so long helps him to break his bonds just in time and burst out of the burning roundhouse into the rain outside where he collapses in the mud beside Barta’s lifeless body.

Meanwhile, from out of the North, Dagon and the Sarmatians he could rally, who survived the ambushes laid by the Praetorians, race south to catch up with Lucius. They happen to find Lucius’ horse, Xanthus, on the road and the stallion leads them to the building where Lucius lies near death.

They find him one step from death, with just enough strength to ride one last time to his family’s aid, and together they all charge for the hillfort which they can see alight with fire from a distance, the screams echoing over the countryside.

At the hillfort, Adara, Briana, Phoebus and Calliope struggle to escape the sudden attack by Claudius Picus and the Praetorians. Their friends, the Britons from the village down the hill, come to their aid and get the children and Briana to safety, but Adara is pursued by Claudius Picus up a nearby hill opposite the fort. He follows her like a slavering wolf, ready to have his way with her and kill her.

But Lucius sees them in the darkness, riding away from the hillfort and follows at full speed, just barely alive himself, while Dagon and the Sarmatians charge up onto the hillfort to fight and defeat the Praetorians.

On a lonely cliff over the neighbouring valley, Adara is fighting Claudius Picus desperately, even as he beats her pregnant belly and is ready to slay her. Just as he is about to finish her, Lucius rides in out of the darkness like a demon possessed, his entire body and face burned and unrecognizable.

He and Adara fight Claudius Picus together and slay him so that he can never harm their family again. As Lucius is pulling Adara back from the cliff’s edge to safety, however, he falls over into the darkness so that his body crashes far below.

Adara cries out to see her husband, her true love fall, even as she bleeds to death herself.

Briana, Dagon and the others find Lucius and Adara and know that they have only one chance for survival: to get back to Ynis Wytrin. They go on barges, along with the children, uncertain of what will happen, all in shock by the sudden attack and the burning of the world about them.

When Lucius wakes, he finds himself face to face with Apollo and Venus, on Olympus itself. He is strong and free of pain, but he also realizes that if he were to stay there, he would not see his family again.

The Gods give him a choice: stay on Olympus and take his place with his father, Apollo, or go back to the mortal world and his family where he will endure unimaginable pain.

Lucius chooses the mortal world, for he cannot bear to be without his family, and so he tumbles from the heights of Olympus to awake in a world exploding with pain and fear and anger. He chooses life.

And so, The Blood Road begins…