Yesterday's Falcon

by Tim Newman

Yesterday’s Falcon tells the story of Gawain, Knight of the Round Table. We first meet him fighting his way across a drawbridge in a growing snow storm. Near death, he is taken in by the young Druid, Rhiannon. She uses runic powers and her talent for channeling natural essence to heal him but she can only sustain his health for short periods. If she doesn’t think of a better solution, he will surely die. The answer lies in the mysterious Terran Stone, left behind by the Far Druids before they vanished. The ancient monolith stands on an island in the middle of the treacherous Natal Lake. If she can get him to the Stone, she can use its power to heal him permanently. The Natal Lake is fed by a river flowing south from the ruinous wastelands. "Anyone falling into that water will lose their willpower, their desire to live, all thoughts, everything," Rhiannon warns the ailing knight. "If I am to heal you, then we must brave the lake. As long as we don’t touch the water, we’ll be safe." But when their small boat is attacked by the creatures lurking in the underground darkness, disaster strikes. Gawain, attempting to fend off the attack, falls into the Natal Lake! By the time Rhiannon reaches the shore of the island, his memories are gone, his mind leeched clean by the water. And then, the healing begins. The monolith does more than cure Gawain’s wounds, it also begins to restore the memories he lost. As he nears the Terran Stone, its light takes him back to his childhood as he pieces together the events which led him to Rhiannon’s the day he first meets Merlin at Llansteffan, when the arch Druid came striding through the Shield Hall of his father’s castle, light swirling around the Runes cut in his yew staff; the terrible discovery he makes high in the Lait Mountains amidst the barren escarpments and fluting winds; the day he first learns of Morganna’s fearsome talents and her pact with the Devil . . . The Terran Stone shows all, weaving together the threads of his life like the patterns of a tapestry. As Gawain re-discovers the intricate plot set in motion by the Dark Druids and the fragmentary clues to the truth about the Holy Grail, he re-ignites the urgency that he had lost to the poisonous lake. The love between Gawain and Rhiannon grows on this lifetime of a journey but so does the awful knowledge that his quest is not complete. Once his memory is restored, Gawain leaves for the wastelands and Rhiannon makes her way to the top of the Isolate Tower, determined to use her Druid skills to help him. For all this while, out in the wastes amid the death and carnage, the last and most powerful of Morgana’s creatures hunts with a terrible purpose — and nothing can stop him except the iron-willed knight.

420 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2006