R W Byrum

Morcar the Knight R W Byrum

Within the caste society of the Kingdom of Mercia, few men or women have any opportunities for social advancement. The lives of most are dictated by the circumstances of their birth. Tradition determines the course of their lives from the cradle to the grave. Morcar, as the bastard son of an earl, is one of the rare exceptions. As the scion of a noble, he enjoys all of the advantages of nobility but as a bastard, he is not bound by the traditions that would otherwise circumscribe his life. Thus he has unlimited potential, but does he have the unlimited ambition necessary to realize that potential. Morcar the Knight tells the story of Morcar's life from the completion of his seven year term as a squire until his enfeoffment as a landed knight. Each time he is faced with the opportunity to advance to the next level in Mercia's feudal hierarchy, he is tested to determine if he is indeed worthy of the advancement. During these tests, Morcar must demonstrate his courage, his loyalty, and, above all, his resourcefulness. During Morcar's career as a knight, he encounters both inhuman monsters and human political opponents. He quickly learns that the human opponents more often than not prove the more dangerous. The dangers which Morcar faces as a knight involve more than just the obvious physical threats he meets in combat, but the moral dangers of being an honorable man in a world so palpably lacking in honor. Will he be able to retain his honor when so many of those around him have long ago abandoned theirs? Only time will tell.