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John Fitz

Physician by trade. Historian at heart. Storyteller of the untold fight for freedom in post-Roman Britain.

John Fitz is a practicing Ophthalmologist, and this is his first published work. Living in Southeast Missouri with his wife in their recently built hobbit house (see BrynDerwenBurrow.com), he has numerous hobbies besides writing historical fiction, including golf, fly fishing, playing bridge, hiking, listening to Celtic music, and collecting military miniatures and other militaria. He enjoys walking his two dogs and tolerates his two cats. He enjoys the company of a blended family of five children, their spouses and significant others, and his hopefully ever-expanding cadre of grandchildren. He started Precision Eyecare in 1986 and was one of the founders of the Surgery Center of Farmington in 1999. A lifelong student of history, he is the author of the Age of Arthur trilogy, a gripping tale of survival, loyalty and freedom set in the darkest of ages in post Roman Britain, when civilization was collapsing in western Europe.

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Arturius

Descended from the lesser nobility of Rome, Arturius is a scholar enamored with Stoic philosophy, a reluctant warrior, fighting not for glory but for survival of Roman thought and beliefs. Not in line for any throne, he is part of the thin, red-cloaked line protecting civilization from annihilation. Still, he harbors the fragile hope that law and order might outlast the chaos consuming Britannia. His armor is worn, his weapons simple, his ideals heavy. He leads by necessity, not ambition, burdened by the memory of what was lost and the knowledge that no one else will stand in his place.

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Cerdic

Born of mixed blood, raised by a Norse mother and a British father, he fights beside his friends Arturius and Caradoc out of oath- sworn loyalty. He yearns to go to Valhalla with sword in hand, but he also respects the Romano-Britons, honoring his vows to protect the weak and innocent from harm. His skill with both sword and spear in in battle is unmatched, only marred by his unease with who he is. To some, he’s a barbarian; to others, he is a traitor, He dreams of uniting his own British tribe with their West Saxon allies to form a unified kingdom, a man seeking a home in a land tearing itself apart.

Caradoc

Feared by all of Britannia as a nobleman of mysterious Silures tribe, Caradoc is brave, taciturn, and fiercely loyal to his friends and family. He honors the teachings of the ancient Druids, and strives to unite his tribe under one banner, to have his people allied with the rest of Britannia to stave off the yoke of oppression from the invading Anglo-Saxons. Able to prove himself with quiet confidence, his skill with his Welsh longbow is legendary.

Sister Brigid

A deaconess in the Celtic version of the Christian church, she seeks to honor the words of the Christos in an increasingly hostile world. Regarded as a heretic by some, she is the target of hostile co-religionists for her unstinting support of social justice for the poor and formerly enslaved and not catering to any kings and nobles. A beekeeper and a healer, she founded a refugee community that welcomed all faiths with open arms, beloved by all despite her foul language and impatience with narrow-mindedness. Deeply in love with her husband Petrus, her marriage was a model for all to aspire to. The three young men who found safety in her community after escaping a life of servitude all viewed her as a sister, and they had vowed to protect her and her community, a promise that eventually included all of Britannia.

The Companions

The legends of King Arthur were born in the darkest of ages. After three hundred years of rule, Rome had recalled their legionaries, and ruthless barbarians scoured Britainnia. Three oath-bound young men join forces with a rag tag group of refugees led by an Irish deaconess as they strove to preserve their culture against annihilation.

“The forests of the Weald had never been kind to prey, and today the quarry had no fearsome teeth, horns, or claws; instead of sporting feathers or fur, this prey ran on two legs. But this quarry could fight back. Arturius, one of the hunted, was only certain of one thing: he would never be enslaved again.”