tower and beacon. His wife is Trevenna, and his children are Natalenya, Rondroc, and Dyslan. He takes pride in his Roman descent.
Trevenna — (treh-VENN-nah) Tregeagle’s wife, and mother to Natalenya, Rondroc, and Dyslan.
Troslam — (TROS-lum) The village weaver. Safrowana is his wife, and Imelys is his daughter.
Trothek — (TROH-theck) The old and infirm arch fili who wants the druidow to stick to their present laws and not regress to the ancient ways, which include human sacrifice.
Uther* — (UTH-er) The High King of the Britons, he is descended from a long line of Roman governors and kings. His father was Aurelianus, his wife is Igerna. He has two daughters, Eilyne and Myrgwen, as well as his son, Arthur. His name in Latin is Uthrelius.
Vitalinus Gloui* — (vi-TAL-ee-noos GLEW-eye) Usurper High King who slew Uther’s grandfather Constans. His grandson is Vortigern, and his granddaughter is Igerna, Uther’s wife. He was slain in battle by Aurelianus.
Vortigern* — (vor-TUH-gern) The grandson of Vitalinus Gloui, who entered Uther’s service as his battle chief following the marriage of his sister, Igerna, and Uther.
Vortipor* — (vor-TUH-poor) Vortigern’s son.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Nothing difficult can be accomplished alone.
To God, who “rescued me from the dominion of darkness and brought me into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom I have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” And to Christopher Board and Gary Thomas Wood, who first told me the good news about Jesus Christ and his love for me.
To Robin, my wife, best friend, joy of my life, and my number-one fan. This book could not have been written without you. To Adele, my faithful daughter and writing buddy — your fascination and understanding of the ancient world has kept me on track. To Leighton, my amazing son — thank you for your devoted support, your love of swords, and for applying your 3D artistry to helping promote Merlin’s Blade. To Ness, my cheerful youngest — your friendship, smiles, and love of books inspires me to keep on writing.
To my mother, who passed away during the editing of this book. Thank you for choosing to give me life. Your love has been a shining light that saw me through many dark days. Thank you, also, for sharing your priceless library of old British, Scottish, and Irish books. My novels would be that much poorer without them.
To my sister, Wendy, for all of your tireless genealogy work, without which I never would have known we were descended from a Cornish blacksmith. To my brother, Stuart, who encouraged Leighton and me to learn bladesmithing. And to all my other family members, you know that I care for you even if busyness and distance have gotten in the way.
To my in-laws, Dick and Carol — your cheer and love have been immeasurable during the last six years of writing.
To my growing-up friends, Mark and Richard — you helped me become strong in the faith and righted my ship more than once.
The rough path to publication has also been smoothed by the many new friends I have met along the way. This is to them. If I have forgotten anyone, may God credit you doubly!
Tegid, you have been a great advocate and encourager. Your generous confidence in the value of my tale spurred me on to keep writing and working toward publication.
To L. B. Graham: our regular author get-togethers have been nothing short of sanity saving. Thank you for the friendship, commiseration, critiques, belief, and help.
To Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper — you guys are awesome! Your crazy wisdom and timely backing have helped make the difference. To Scott Appleton: thank you for helping clear a path through the jungle of publishing. To Douglas Bond: your careful attention to detail and historicity are an inspiration. To S. D. Smith: many thanks to a true friend and brother — may your quill and quiver never be found empty.
And thanks to my other helpful critiquers: Brandon Barr, Keanan Brand, Marcus Goodyear, John Otte, and Daniel Struck. Your selflessness helped make Merlin’s Blade a better book. Thanks also to Jeff Gerke and Randy Ingermanson — you both got my novel on the right track with your expert advice.
To Jeffrey Overstreet: thank you for being a kindred soul on the playground of paper and pen. Thanks also to Stephen Lawhead for your unique and expert critique. You have inspired me more than you can know.
To all the Holy Worlders — you’re a fantastic bunch, and I appreciate all the help you’ve given to a new author like me.