Feather of Hawk – Rebellion

SCOTLAND’S FORGOTTEN LEGEND LIVES ON!

The Celts once inhabited much of Europe long before the Roman Empire almost wiped them off the face of the earth. We know very little about them as they did not leave written records. These ancient people were an oral society; societies whose bards, seers and druids passed down their unique stories that would live in the hearts and minds of their people. The Celtic heroes were superhuman; larger than life, boastful and courageous, fearless and flawed and were doomed to a dark fate. It was a fascination with the Celts that drove on my desire to write a story about the lesser known Celtic prince called Calach the Swordsman.

The idea for the historical fiction, ‘Feather of Hawk – Rebellion,’ began with a road trip through the Scottish landscape along the Antonine and Hadrian’s Wall. I discovered an old Roman Fort in Peel Park, north of Glasgow. A cold winter day. A bleak scene of snowy mountain tops. The winds froze my hands and limbs to the bone as I looked out to northern Scotland. What where the Romans doing here? Why would these soldiers from Italy, used to the hot climates of the Mediterranean, want to be here at all? I will remember that road trip for the rest of my days; a stay over in an old fiesta car van at the old Roman fort of Vindolanda. A strange mist enveloped the site as I tried to get to sleep. Suddenly, even though I was on a dirt track in the middle of nowhere, I sensed that the road was full of ancient traffic of marching Legionaries and their neighing horses. The distinct clatter of their armour, as they paced to a steady beat, filled my ears and the whole road was vibrantly alive. I had to drive the car off and park somewhere quieter. I went into Glasgow and bought a second hand copy of Peter Salway’s book, ‘Roman Britain.’ It was from Peter’s research on Tacitus, the renowned Roman historian who describes Calach's epic struggle. Before the final, decisive battle between Celt and Roman Tacitus notes that there was, ‘a man of outstanding valour and nobility named Calgacus; ( this was his Roman name ) who addressed the close packed multitude of men clamouring for battle.’ Calach’s achievements, using Tacitus as the source, were as follows ;

• Calach united the Caledonian tribes of ancient Scotland against the Roman invaders.

• He almost destroyed the Roman Ninth Legion in their garrison fort of Eborecum.
(present day York- Northern England.)

• A great battle took place between Calach’s United Celtic Army and the Roman army.

Why did Calach rebel? It must have been something terrible, something evil, perpetrated against him, which drove on his desire to destroy the hated invaders. I wanted to portray Calach as the Spartacus of ancient Britain. I penned him as a fearless and highly skilled sword warrior who inspired a nation not yet born to rise. I wanted to make the chapters as vivid and gripping as possible and, where I could, lace the story with earthy humor. The novel has a strong love interest, a whole host of colourful characters, a few bloody battle scenes as well as a shadowy traitor who stalks Calach. The theme of the story is revenge and how revenge poisons Calach’s humanity. The main protagonist begins to realize that he has become the monster that he is fighting, but is it too late for him to reverse his burning hatred and find some sort of salvation?