Before Beltane

AD 71, Northern Britannia Late Iron Age

At the Islet of the Priestesses, acolyte priestess Nara greets each new day eager to do her allocated tasks. She is a respected healer of the people at Tarras Hillfort and the overseer of the defences of the sacred priestess nemeton - an unusual combination of skills. Weapon training is a guilty pleasure but she is devastated when she is unexpectedly denied the final rites of an initiated priestess. The goddess Dôn has prophesied a new future for Nara. She must return to live at the Hillfort of Tarras where she is hated by the chief, her father Callan. Returning to be a normal Celtic Society member is terrifying. A shocking new future beckons for warrior-woman Princess Nara of the Selgovae of Caledonia...

In the aftermath of civil war across Brigantia, Lorcan of Garrigill's promotion of King Venutius is fraught with danger. Many of his fellow Brigantes still cling to the support of Queen Cartimandua whose whereabouts are unknown after the last civil war battle. Potential invasion by Roman legions from the south, intent on Roman Empire expansion, makes an unstable situation even worse. The new Roman Governor of Britannia, General Cerialis, is ensuring that the Roman temporary encampment at Eboracum will soon become a huge fortress of the Legio IX. Smaller forts are appearing in the west where the new Legate Julius Agricola is making his mark in the Legio XX. When Lorcan meets the Druid Maran, the future foretold for Lorcan of Garrigill is as enthralling as it is horrifying...