Kinsman Redeemer
A Tale of High Adventure in 1013
by
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Chapter 1 The promise was made before I was born, to warriors who lived across the sea in Denmark. It was a simple promise for protection from the new bride's brother in England to the new groom in Denmark. My guardian Lord Harold was the brother who made that promise to Kormac the Dane. Truth be told, had he known how his words would be twisted he would have chosen them more carefully and saved me a whole heap of trouble. The promise that nearly took my life was written on a parchment that later disappeared — twice falling into the wrong hands. Had I, William called Wiley, fallen into that first set of hands at the wrong time I would not be telling this story. Those hands belonged to Svein Forkbeard, the second meanest man I had ever met. He was certainly no friend of God, but rather I suspect a friend of Satan the Devil. This you may judge for yourself. My life turned upside down on an ordinary spring day that suddenly became extraordinary. Strangers recognized me that day, though even I didn't know who I was. One of those strangers, Halfdan, easily earned the title of the meanest man I had ever met. Those men changed me from an unnoticed nobody into a target they pursued in a deadly game of greed and betrayal. Now, many years later, I'm still not sure I understand all that happened. No man can tell which events God, Satan, fate, destiny, man or chance arranged, though I'm certain God always rules over all.
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About the Book
Years before Wiley was born, a pact written on parchment was made between his guardian, the Englishman Lord Harold of Rockhaven Castle, and Kormac the Dane. The parchment was stolen and altered, putting 250 English soldiers in mortal danger and challenging the ownership of both estates. In the spring of 1013 King Svein Forkbeard of Denmark arrives at Rockhaven with the altered pact, claiming to be the kinsman recipient of the promises made therein. Thirteen year old Wiley is determined to become a knight even though he has no father. Wanting to see the enemy up close, he disobeys orders by sneaking into the great hall. Recognized by two Danish strangers he runs for his life, but not before catching the windblown parchment. Later kidnapped and taken to Denmark, Wiley discovers his identity and finds two unexpected allies-King Svein’s seventeen-year-old son Knute and Svein’s sister-in-law, Lady Freya, who help him escape the wrath of Forkbeard. Aided by his friends, an alchemist with Greek Fire, the Norwegian Viking Thoren, and a strange dwarf named Toadskin, Wiley probes the mysteries of the parchment, new enemies, a lady underground, his own beginnings, his future as a knight, and God’s foreknowledge.
About the Author
Ruth Anderson Lawler was born and raised in New England but migrated west to Wyoming as a young adult. There she married a rancher and moved to Alaska, where she and her husband have lived for most of their lives and raised three children.