Artorius — David Pilling

"Beware the shadow, and the storm in the north..." Britain, 470 AD. Ambrosius Aurelanius, the defender of Britannia, is dead, murdered by the son of his greatest enemy. His successor, the heroic General Artorius, is meant to take the crown his predecessor refused and reign as High King. With the Saxons defeated, and the Picts and Scotti driven out, all is set for a golden age of peace and prosperity. Artorius, however, chooses to step aside and allow another to seize power. The new king, Constantine, despatches Artorius and his army across the sea, to aid the Western Empire in her fight against the Visigoths. Betrayed on all sides, the general narrowly avoids death and returns home to disgrace and exile. Now reduced to a mercenary, fighting the enemies of British kings, Artorius gathers a band of elite horsemen around him. As Britannia's enemies slowly recover their strength, and the realm slides back into darkness and ruin, he proves to be the only hope of his people. All the while, a terrifying new threat arises in the north, from the lands Artorius once called home... Book Two of the Leader of Battles trilogy chronicles the military exploits of Artorius, destined to be remembered as King Arthur, in the treacherous, crumbling world of Sub-Roman Britannia, where every man was a potential enemy, and the sword ruled.