Theobald and Githa have a daughter

In the spring of the new year, Theobald and Githa Selle were delighted by the birth of a daughter, little Athelis. Since he was the baby of his family, Theobald never spent much time with children, and so he felt a bit awkward around the little thing and was afraid he might hurt her with his big hands. His greatest fear was that he would find himself alone with her when she needed her diaper changed, and he would have to do it himself. Githa told him he was just being silly.

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Ethelmund and Githa at home

Ethelmund Ashdown was not pleased about moving into the valley. He wasn’t afraid of the so-​called curse, but he was unhappy about leaving his friends, and there were no good fishing holes around the new farm. Worse, the big new farm meant a lot more work, and if there was one thing Ethelmund Ashdown didn’t like it was work. Usually he liked letting his wife manage their affairs because it meant less bother for him, but this time he thought she had gone too far.

One evening, a few weeks after they moved into their new house, he found Githa to be strangely quiet. He waited for her to begin nagging him about the work that needed to be done, as she did every night, but she just stared at the wall, seemingly in another world. Ethelmund tried to enjoy the peace and quiet, but he was worried about the sudden change in his wife. Finally she began. Ethelmund was secretly relieved, and prepared himself to be annoyed, as usual.

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The Families

Ethelmund and Githa Ashdown

Githa Ashdown had been disappointed with her husband so far. He was the laziest man she had ever known, and neglected both her and the small farm her father had given them in order to go fishing or talk over the fence with his friends. A radical change was needed. So when she heard about the opportunity in the valley, she secretly sold the farm and informed her husband one morning that they were going someplace new. The farm that Sigefrith offered her was far larger than her father’s—larger even than her father’s and her uncles’ put together. More importantly, there was no fishing hole, and their only close neighbors would be a Earl’s family and a few peasants, so there was little chance of Ethelmund getting friendly with either group. Best of all, when she saw Alwy Hogge building his hut next to her land, she knew that she would have the ideal neighbor: too stupid to question her commands, and strong as an ox. Ethelmund just shrugged and accepted his fate. He had already figured out that the vast forests surrounding their farm would be a great place for wandering and hunting.

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King Sigefrith and Queen Maud

While the peasants worked on erecting wooden buildings atop the ancient stone foundations, Sigefrith and the other nobles stayed at the abbey on the mountain. Early one morning, too full of plans to fall back to sleep, Sigefrith went out, intending to go for a gallop before breakfast. But crossing the garden he surprised a girl as she stepped out of the trees. He was as startled as she, for this was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She was tall and slender, her eyes dark and dreamy and her face exquisite. Before he could say a word, though, she had run away.

Later he asked the abbot who the girl might be. The old man knew it must be his niece, Maud, who had been living at the abbey since her parents had died. Accustomed by now to being a king, Sigefrith asked her uncle quite plainly whether he could marry her. The old abbot could tell Sigefrith would do or give anything to have his niece, and while seeming to refuse, he slyly let it be understood that if Sigefrith could send, say, twenty percent of his rents as tithes to the abbey, well…

Sigefrith immediately swore that he would faithfully send twenty percent of his revenue to the church, and when the day came for Sigefrith to ride into Lothere for his coronation in the new castle, the abbot married his niece to the new king.

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The Story Begins

The year is 1067. After the defeat of King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, the Anglo-​Saxon nobility is all but extinct. The few that remain are living quietly and anonymously. But one young lord has refused to accept William as king and has gone wandering, traveling farther and farther from the court into the wild country.

In the spring, looking down from the hills, he sees a rich and yet barren valley, with ruined huts and an ancient church, as well as the remains of old fortifications. Farmers from the hill country tell him that this is the land of Lothere, a land under a curse. A century ago or more, a sudden plague eliminated the entire population in a matter of weeks. No one knows if the malady lingers, because no one dares enter the valley—some nights odd lights can be seen flickering in the church: proof, they say, that the curse remains even if the air is no longer diseased.

Lord Sigefrith Hwala, unable to imagine that anything worse than his present life could be waiting below, decides to take his chances and start a new life here. He rides boldly down through the foothills and into the court of the old fort. When the ringing echoes of his horse’s hooves have died down, he cries out, “I am King Sigefrith of Lothere! Who challenges my right to rule?” There is, of course, no answer.

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