In 'Grave Gold', when a hole is uncovered after a mudslide Cassie, a university student, and Anna, her archaeology professor and lover, begin exploring what appears to be an ancient man-made cave. However, they quickly begin to suspect that this may actually be the grave of the famous Boudica. As their exploration continues Cassie begins having vivid dreams about Boudica and cannot escape the feeling that what Anna hails as academic research is actually the desecration of a sacred burial site. In 'Dream Walker', in order for summer to arrive and the darkness of winter to depart, a village performs an annual ritual under the guidance of the grandmother who is the dreamer. The villagers know that if the ritual is performed incorrectly, or the sacrifice is not willing, then the buds of spring will never grow into the summer. In 'Pantera II', set in Hyrcania AD 57 this short story gives an insight into the culture and society of an ancient city and provides a glimpse of Pantera's past through the eyes of the narrator Demalion of Macedon. This exclusive short stories bundle is part of the Storycuts series.

Set during the turmoil of the brutal Christian conversion of the Norse, this short story is the coming of age tale of Arne Thoreson. Thoreson, whose condemnation of Christianity is born out of respect for his lineage, is the son of Thore, feeder of ravens, and Ranveig, a Singer witch. When adversity befalls Orkney, Arne must not only assert his defiant rejection of Christianity, but take decisive action to thwart the Christ-Wolf, Olaf Trygvason. Part of the Storycuts series.

The ancient story of Nero's tyranny and the burning of Rome is here told from a fresh new perspective: a young Greek boy is captured into slavery to be a sex toy for the spoiled sons of the wealthy aristocrats and he is witnessing the madness and the destruction with his own eyes! History is only able to report the dry facts but is completely inapt to transport the feelings and emotions, which come with them: only Pierre d'Amour can do both of those tasks at once . . .

Boudica, “She Who Brings Victory.” Born to the Eceni, a tribe of dreamers and warriors, she is her people’s last hope: a copper-haired warrior who can lead her tribe in battle—and speak the language of the sacred dreamers. But in the face of a battle half won, Boudica has retreated with the living and wounded. Because across a river is the world’s mightiest army. And with the invaders comes a strange, bloodthirsty warrior astride a pied horse—a man who seems to know the Eceni as well as they know themselves. For just as destiny marked the young queen for greatness, it was destiny, too, that drove Boudica’s half brother to a far different path. Now brother and sister will stand on opposite sides of a brutal war of attrition, each unknowingly determined to see the other dead.

"This is the first book in the Boudica series. In AD 60, Boudica, war leader of the Eceni, led her people in a final bloody revolt against the occupying armies of Rome. It was the culmination of nearly twenty years of resistance. This book recreates the beginnings of a story so powerful its impact has survived through the ages." --Worldcat.org.

They are known as the Legion of the Damned. Throughout the Roman Army, the XIIth Legion is notorious for its ill fortune. It faces the harshest of postings, the toughest of campaigns, the most vicious of opponents. For one young man, Demalion of Macedon, joining it will be a baptism of fire. And yet, amid all of the violence and savagery of his life as a legionary, he realises he has discovered a vocation - as a soldier and a leader of men. He has come to love the Twelth and all the bloody-minded, dark-hearted soldiers he calls his brothers. But just when he has found a place in the world, all that he cares about is ripped from him when, during the brutal Judaean campaign, the Hebrew army inflict a catastrophic defeat upon the legion - not only decimating their ranks, but taking away their soul - the eagle. There is one final chance to save the legion's honour - to steal back the eagle.

AD 57: Caradoc is lost forever, betrayed to Rome and exiled in Gaul, leaving Boudica bereft, to lead the tribes of the west in an increasingly bloody resistance against Roman occupation. Only if she can drive Rome from the land will she find the peace she needs and to do that, she must raise once again the tribes of the east. Her people, the Eceni, languish in the shadow of the Legions, led by a man who proclaims himself King and yet allows slavers to trade freely in his lands. Too notorious to reclaim her own birthright, Boudica strives instead to return her daughters to their heritage. Across the sea, Boudica’s half-brother, Bán, has been named traitor by both sides. He too, seeks peace on a journey that takes him from the dreaming tombs of the ancestors to the cave of a god he no longer serves. Only if Boudica and Bán meet can their people — and all of Britannia — be saved. But the new governor has been ordered to subdue the tribes or die in the attempt, and he has twenty thousand legionaries ready to stop anyone, however determined, from bringing Britain to the edge of revolt....