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NJC

I get what your saying, though I have no idea how I could incorporate it into the story. Long intros tend to get skipped, so I'd have to make something very short. I can definitely play with it and see what happens! I don't want people going into the story, feeling lost...

The year is 413, and the British Isles are rocked by piracy, invasion, and internal war. Romano-Celtic rulers desperately cling to their lands as...

Something like that?

There might be a confusion with people groups, so I wanted to clarify. Let me know if you have any questions!

Celtic People (Britannae/Eire/Gaulic)
Height: Tall
Framed: Small
Hair Color: Brunet/Redhead/Blond
Hair: Curly/Wavy/Straight
Eyes: Round
Eye Color: Brown/Green/Blue
Pale/Freckled
Face: Long/Round

Germanic People (Saxon/Angel/Frisian/Frank)
Height: Short/Medium
Framed: Large/Medium
Hair Color: Blond/Brunet
Hair: Straight/Wavy
Eyes: Round/Slit
Eye Color: Blue/Brown/Green
Tanned
Face: Square

Viking People (Dane/Jute/Norse)
Height: Tall
Framed: Large/Medium
Hair Color: Blond/Brunet/Redhead
Hair: Straight/Wavy
Eyes: Round/Slit
Eye Color: Blue/Green/Brown
Pale
Face: Square/Long

Roman/Latin
Height: Short/Medium
Framed: Medium
Hair Color: Brunet/Blond/Redhead
Hair: Wavy/Straight/Curly
Eyes: Round
Eye Color: Brown/Copper/Blue/Hazel
Olive
Face: Square/Long

Pictish
Height: Tall
Framed: Medium/Large
Hair Color: Black/Brunet
Hair: Straight
Eyes: Round eyes
Eye Color: Gray/Hazel
Medium Brown/Tanned
Face: Square

These are just generalizations of course, as there could always be exceptions.
A Celtic could be short (like Enhinti)
Large boned (like Owain from the Beast)
Or have black hair (like Drech)
And with all the mixing, a lot of people had characteristics of another people mixed in (like the Dobunni being darker skinned even though they are Britannae).

Also remember that the rich are more likely to be tall in any culture at this time, as they had better nutrition and better access to medical aid. So a Saxon Aetheling could be as tall as a Britannae Prince even if the Saxon commoners are much shorter than the Britannae ones.

I have no idea how the statistics are collected so I couldn't say on the accuasy of them.

I do know that a lot of people assume that because they are right handed they must be right eyed, and are shocked when they find out they are actually left eyed! My husband is right handed and left eyed. So for archery he needs a left handed bow. But cameras are different. He has no problem taking pictures with his right eye.

Then definitely have the bird feathers unusual and the shaft painted! Matthew is rich, he can afford it!

Archery fell out of use for warfare in the mid 1600s and was replaced by muskets which were being made much better by that time. It then became very popular as a sport for women. (It had always been popular as a sport for men).

However at the time of Northern Skies archery was still used for war. And the bows quite difficult to use by a small or weak person. Draw weight was well over 100 pounds, some bows were as much as 175 pounds. Archers had to be quite strong in the upper body and arms to pull the string back. Women rarely shot (I think Queen Elizabeth learned). It was considered unladylike, masculine, certainly not a weapon for a woman to learn.

If women learned to fight, (and not many did at this time) they would use a small sword or a spear. The spear was actually the traditional weapon for women.

Haha! Sometimes I think writing is like fighting!

Question about chapter breaks for Pendragon VI Chapters 18, 19 and 20!

Chapter 18 is average (9 pages)
Chapter 19 very short (5 pages)
And Chapter 20 average (8 pages)

1)
I could make 19 and 20 one very long chapter (I think 13 pages, which is the longest I have)

2)
I could split the contents of 19 up between 18 and 20 (20 would of course become the new 19)
Chapter 18 would end at:

...
But hopefully I shall not regret this.
They shook their swords to remove the blood and returned the weapons to their sheaths. Then lifting the injured knight, they draped his arms over their shoulders and staggered back to the bushes.
###

And Chapter 19 would start at:

“Agh!”
The scream of agony bounced off the standing stones, resonating the circle with the sound of pain. King Milwr's body trembled and contorted, his limbs pulling in vain against the hemp binds. Beads of sweat dotted his face.
“Belunus!” he cried. “It hurts!”
...

Then would contain all of what is now chapter 20

3)
I could cut this part:

Though the trek was no difficult than before, the Drech's party was tired from the fight, and Orson gasped and coughed the whole way. When they stopped to rest, Drech eyed his mentor with growing concern.
“Breath, Lord,” Drech whispered.
“I am well,” Orson replied, but speaking on brought on another fit of coughing.
Drech shook his head in dismay. “Let us go back before the whole Eire army is on us.”
He scanned the tired knights, counting them to be sure of their number.
“What!” he gasped. “Who is missing?”
The knights look around themselves, perplexed.
“Sir Gurci!” Captain Samyl breathed. “Where is Sir Gurci?”
Drech looked around again for that knight but could not find him.
“He was struck with a war club, but he did not fall,” Sir Teuhant said.
“Tis not good,” Drech groaned. “I must go and find him.”
“Indeed,” Orson said, rising to his feet.
“Not you, Lord,” Drech said to his mentor. “You are too weak to fight again tonight. Go with the knights back to camp.”
Orson shook his sheep white head. “I shall not die this night, Drech.”
“And neither shall you fight. Captain Samyl–”
“I shall not leave your side, Dominus,” the Captain replied.
Drech looked at him for a moment before nodding his consent. “The rest of you, go back to back.”
The knights began to protest, but Drech held up a silencing hand.
“I cannot sneak up on the enemy trailed by thirteen men,” he said. “The fewer come, the more likely I am to succeed. You will all take Lord Orson and return to camp. Sir Elisedd.”
“Yea, Dominus,” the lone Saxon of their group replied.
“See that Orson gets back to his tent.”
“Yea.”
“You are treating me like a child?” Orson said, laughing then coughing.
“I am, Lord,” Drech replied.
With Captain Samyl at his side, he left for the rocky beach.

out of chapter 18 to make it shorter (8 pages) and add it to chapter 19 to make it longer (6 pages)

4)
I could just leave them as is.

Let me know any thoughts or other suggestions!

Nice!

I guess I'll have to ask everyone when I post 20...

Thanks!

I can definitely amp up Queen Lang's reaction! She's an over protective mother when it comes to little Pappo, so I can make her protest a lot!

Wow! You have been keeping track!

Prince Outigern gets his in the next book (Book V)
Sir Cadvan and Sir Anlach will have a bit next book (Book V) and a lot more in the last book (Book VI)
Princess Becuma also gets a bit more (I think in Book V)
Lord Nynio gets a little this book (Book IV) and more in the last (Book VI).
Onnen also gets time in the next book (Book V) as does her and Camuir's son.

Oh, I hadn't thought of that!

But King Milwr is healthy and determined to live for a long time. He is in line to be the next the Pendragon after all (King Swale and Prince Camuir being out of the equation). With Mother Gratianna's help, King Milwr will take over the Kingdom Colun, kill Vitalinus, and subjugate those unruly Trinovantae. He is an Andoco and therefore better then everyone else, so he should conquer everyone else, rule everyone else. And yes, there are a lot of perks for being on the top.

The article is interesting, Janet! Thanks for sharing!

I like the rule of sound verses no sound. I have always found the "smiled" dialogue tag odd. As if the character is a Cheshire Cat or something.