You’ve got
to love these barbarians!
DAMSEL OF
THE HAWK just released in the medieval fantasy series Curse of the Lost Isle.
The story is set in 1204, after the sacking of Constantinople by the Crusaders,
and I had lots of fun with the research. My hero is one of the mysterious
Kipchak warriors who served in the Byzantine emperor’s personal guard. Savagely
loyal, fearless, and deadly, the Kipchak offered their skills for gold, and
Constantinople had plenty.
As
barbarians go, the Kipchak are full of surprises for a westerner like me.
Raised in France, I always considered the hordes from the east a bunch of
uncivilized demons on little horses, eating raw meat, killing, and pillaging.
Although some tribes were more violent than others, and despite the fact that
many lived in tents, these barbarians of the steppes, when they settled, could
build beautiful cities, temples and palaces. There is also a gap in centuries
between Attila the Hun and Genghis Khan, who was on the rise at the time of the
story.
The Kipchak
also brought with them a number of amenities we still enjoy today. They didn’t
eat their meat raw, they grilled it, and many of us still like a good Mongolian
Barbecue. They brought us medicine herbs and spices from the orient. They
traded silk and precious gems as they controlled the roads between the
continents. They enjoyed fermented drinks, made from goat milk, oats and
barley, and they could drink great quantities of it. They could hold their
liquor like no one else.
While the
Crusaders used a crossbow and fired their bolts in volleys, the Kipchak used a
small composite bow of wood, horn and sinew, with incredible precision. They
could hit their mark from a great distance, with a single arrow, from the
saddle of a galloping horse. The Kipchak’s skills as riders reached the point
of acrobatics. Their horses, small in comparison to the enormous destriers of
the western knights, could travel great distances in very little time, even in
mountainous terrain.
Always
close to nature, the Kipchak raised horses, sheep and goats, and they loved and
respected their animals, although they rarely named them. They even had a white
dog deity named Kopec. Of course, that’s what I named the hero’s white sheepdog
in the story.
But there
was also gold in the Caucasus Mountains between the Caspian and the Black Sea,
and the Kipchak weren’t immune to the fascination of precious metals. The women
wore headdresses and heavy necklaces made of gold coins, especially the khan’s
wives and concubines.
Their
beauty was legendary. The term Caucasian comes from their look. Part Asian and
part Viking (the Russ tribe that invaded from the north), they had golden skin
and clear eyes, very little body hair, and the men kept their hair short under
the turban. They bathed often and kept good personal hygiene, compared to the
often smelly Crusaders.
I will miss
my close relationship to these Kipchak warriors as I move on to writing the
next book in this series, which will be set in Poitou and Aquitaine (France),
and will feature Melusine the Fae, the infamous lady of Lusignan.
Here is my
new release:
DAMSEL OF
THE HAWK
Curse of
the Lost Isle Book 7 (standalone)
from Books
We Love Ltd
by Vijaya
Schartz
in eBook
and paperback
1204 AD ‑
Meliora, immortal Fae and legendary damsel of Hawk Castle, grants gold and
wishes on Mount Ararat, but must forever remain chaste. When Spartak, a Kipchak
warrior gravely wounded in Constantinople, requests sanctuary, she breaks the
rule to save his life. The fierce, warrior prince stirs in her forbidden
passions. Captivated, Spartak will not bow to superstition. Despite tribal
opposition, he wants her as his queen. Should Meliora renounce true love,
or embrace it and trigger a sinister
curse... and the wrath of the Goddess? Meanwhile, a thwarted knight and his
greedy band of Crusaders have vowed to steal her Pagan gold and burn her at the
stake...
Vijaya
Schartz
Blasters,
Swords, Romance with a Kick
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