 Part mystery and part alternative history, this novel debuts a series, which takes the reader on a grand adventure during one of the most dramatic episodes in European history.
The year is 1448 and the epic struggle between the Islamic Empire of the Ottomans and Christendom is at its height. Transylvania and Wallachia, the sword and the shield of the Kingdom of Hungary, are about to be invaded by an immense army under the banner of Sultan Murad II, the man who calls himself the Shadow of Allah upon the World.
Lorian Comosicus, the heir of a mysterious Draconic ring, and his twelve-year-old stepbrother, Silvan, are sent across the border mountains with a secret message from the conspirators who killed Vlad Dracul for pledging allegiance to the Ottoman Empire. Lost in the vast forests of Transylvania, they meet Sir Gregor Dahr Altair, an imperial knight rushing ahead of the tempest to warn the Excubitors, a secret fraternity of royal advisors, financiers, merchants, and scholars who, through their influential positions within the two powers, could change the outcome of the war.
The period embraced in this series generated one of the most dramatic turning points in European history. Describing a long-forgotten past so genuinely, as if unraveling it in front of our eyes, the author take us on an adventure through events which – in the intricate tapestry of human history – helped shape the world of today.
This unique novel is endowed with a comprehensive glossary that contains descriptions of wars and invasions, dynasties and historic figures, and colloquial and geographical names.
About the Author
Florian Stone Wells’ origin is from Transylvania, not far from where the story begins. His early ancestors, it seems, lived there as far back as the mid-14th century, and he was fortunate to spend a good part of his childhood in the same mountains were the ruins of Dracula’s Castle remain today. From a very young age, he developed an ardent interest in the Middle Ages and became a lifelong student in history, completing his erudition with many years of study and research.
After a ten-year hard-fought battle to escape Communist Romania and the repressive regime of Ceausescu, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1977 as a political refugee. In 1984, he became naturalized. His struggle as a political dissident and as an emigrant of the 20th century Cold War Era is quite a story in itself and, someday, he has plans to put it down on paper.
The Sword and the Shield of the Realm, by Florian Stone Wells, can be ordered from SAPIENTUS. The price is $18.95 plus $4.00 shipping/handling. For more details, please visit www.sapientus.com
Florian Stone Wells
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