Lots of fighting in this one!

The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Saga of Uthred continues!

Along with some light raiding of Cornwall by a bored Uthred who really is made for the life of a Wessex lord, the main focus of the book is the events of 878, starting with the Danes surprising Alfred of Wessex at Chippenham, his subsequent exile, and guerrilla war from the Somerset Levels. The climax of the book is a rather condensed telling of the Battle of Ethandun.

Uthred again is used as a central point of telling the story of the era. Many of the characters he interacts with are historical, and to increase his standing, he is given credit for moving the scholarly, pious, Alfred along when he needs a push. Uthred makes for a very interesting man, torn between two worlds.



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Creating a RuneQuest character, Part 2.

So, here we go!

I'll admit that my character concept is entirely influenced by my recent reading of Maurice's Strategikon (you can read my review here)

The idea of a character who dreams of leading his people in a mass cavalry formation, with banners and horns sound, appealed to me. It gave me a character goal. So the first thing I had to do was choose my homeland. There are several cultures in the Dragon Pass region with strong cavalry traditions, but the nomads of Prax seemed a little too "tribal barbarian" for my tastes. So I went with the Pure Horse People of the Grazelands, as they have a well-ordered society and practice an early form of feudalism.

That's settled! Onto the next step, which is my family history. I choose my paternal grandmother as my first favored ancestor, a noble of the Pure Horse People, and she immediately dies covered in glory at the Battle of Grizzly Peak. But having a famous ancestor gives me a slight Reputation boost and +5% to my Orate skill. I guess that's from retelling Grandma's tale around the fires.

My father did no better, he died defending the Feathered Horse Queen which gives me another boost to my Reputation. But I finally come of age, and wearing my father's armor, go to war! I fought in the Esorolian Civil War and at the Siege of Nochet, I rally my side and win a great victory, becoming more skilled in Battle (+10%) and finally gain some reputation in my own name. At the Battle of Pennel Ford, I found myself face-to-face with Harrek the Beserk and barely escaped with my life! I Fear (Passion - 60%) him now and have a nasty scar on my arm to remember him by. But my reputation grew and I became more skilled and maneuvering in the chaos of battle.

Finally, in this the year 1625 I was part of the last Satar Army facing the Lunar Empire at their new temple. There I witnessed an event that shook me to my bones, the Dragonrise. Satarite priests managed to awaken a True Dragon, who rose from beneath the earth and swallowed the Lunar Temple and most of the Lunar army with it. I have nightmares about that day, and never want to see a True Dragon again (Passion Fear Dragons - 60%)

So there you have a real history for my yet unnamed character. He has fought the Lunar Empire, though he bears them no real ill-will, it's just that his loyalty to his clan and Feathered Horse Queen demands that he does his duty!

OK, the next one is Rune affiliations and skills.