The Forged Prince

I wanted what I like. Swords and horses and castles and deep intrigues and elder races and dark magic and brave companions and evil villains and noble steeds and scary monsters and, against it all, a single protagonist on his own hero's journey.

Inspired by The Chronicles of Prydain and several other works, I wanted to capture some of the feel of those books and ancient Celtic Prydain or Brython, but for an older audience, all while not being overly derivative. I also wanted a story I could read to my grandchildren someday, and which even adults could find delight in.

In Welsh myth, the forces of enchantment, shape-shifting, illusion, and betrayal are free to run wild and nothing is ever quite as it seems. If you think you see archetypes, you may--or may not. If you think a see a simple, uncomplicated plot, well then, if you read The Forged Prince as a stand-alone story, you might. If you read it as part of the web in which it is embroiled, it is anything but.

* * *
Queen Moriganna has found what she believes to be precisely what is needed in her schemes against her rival, Lord Arawen of Annwyn, ruler of the land of the dead.

The ancient sorceress plans to forge a very special weapon, one intended to sunder dark prophecy itself and, in the process, make even the Lord of Death find reason for fear.

Yet these are the lands of Tethera, where nothing is ever quite as it seems, and even a weapon forged for evil can turn in its maker's grasp and strike in an unexpected direction-most especially a weapon with a mind of its own.

Forced to venture forth through the wilds, to usurp a throne he does not desire, to save a kingdom he has never seen, a young man finds himself pursued by an ever-growing array of deadly enemies. Although he has gone forth to do the impossible, it now seems impossible he will live long enough to even try.

Fortunately, he is impossibly optimistic . . . and fairly handy with a sword.