Faithandpersecution Stories

Born an orphan in plague-scarred 15th-century London, Samuel Knight was raised on scripture by his grandparents-yet became a street urchin. Their deaths left him scavenging docks until, at seventeen, he fled to the merciless sea aboard the merchant cog The Impregnable. Amid Hundred Years' War storms and French privateers, he learned iron discipline and quiet faith. A routine cargo run to a lakeside port near Tábor in the Holy Roman Empire changed everything. Hidden in the hold was Sara Wilhelm-daughter of a noble persecutor, fleeing after Church raiders torched her Hussite circle. Inspired by Jan Hus's martyrdom at Constance, she carried banned Czech scriptures and a burning call for truth in the common tongue. Only Samuel offered kindness. In the dim hold, shared rations became shared convictions; Sara rekindled the faith his grandparents planted. When she begged help to free imprisoned believers facing torture, Samuel stole a skiff under moonless skies, ferrying families to safety. Discovery branded them heretics. With Sara and the rescued aboard, Samuel fled across open water-pursued by The Impregnable that once was home. His old captain, now hunter, closed fast. Samuel's hard-won sailing skill was all that stood between life and the pyre. In an age of doctrinal fire and unyielding seas, Samuel fought to shield the persecuted-and the woman who had awakened his soul-defying empire, Church, and betrayal to protect faith's fragile flame.