Synopsis

Why is The Morrígan’s raven crying? Only Britons with hearts for true liberty know!

In 43 CE Roman conquest of Britannia seems all but certain — until a chance meeting between King Prasutagus of the Iceni and a runaway slave of royal decent from the Aedui tribe in Gaul changes the fate of the British islands forever.

Tacitus meets modern archaeology in this exciting non-fiction tale!

Biography Edition

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Stage Adaptation – Kindle * Smashwords

Excerpt

From Chapter Five

Three days later every Briton in the east and south met ten miles north of Camulodunum.  Numbering nearly one hundred thousand, every level of British society came together:  farmers, warriors, druids, crafts people, nobles, royals, and beyond.  Some drove war chariots.  Some marched on foot.  Some rode with light saddles on their horses.  Clad in bright colors, in plaids, in simple white, brown, or dark green, some covered their bodies in blue tattoos, war paint, and piercings while others wore only the simplest bracelets and necklaces.  It was a gathering such as the southeast had not seen since the wars against Julius Caesar.  War drums pounded.  Harps played.  Women, men, and children shouted, dancing themselves into the war fury that terrified the Romans decades before.  It was everything that terrified the mighty legions most about these peoples they called barbarians and savages.  Yet Boudicca, her family, and allies knew better.  For the brutality of Rome was second to none in the western world, brutality aimed at anything or anyone different from the elite classes of men who ruled them.  With the spirit of the war god Camulos, the fire of the trinity goddess the Morrígan, and the rage of Cathubodva, protectress of violated women, the peoples of the south and east came together with a single voice.  Ready for battle, they charged!

The streets of Camulodunum shook as if hit by an earthquake. In front of the temple dedicated to Claudius, the winged statue of Victory fell off its base, shattering prophetically. Alarmed by the omen, Roman citizens who came as colonists from Gaul fled from their houses, trying to get away while they could. With all but a couple hundred soldiers fighting to conquer Ynys Môn to the west and the rebellion of the highlanders and lowlanders to the north, Camulodunum sat ripe for the taking.

Ten minutes later, Boudicca charged into Camulodunum.  Torches now ignited across her forces.  Archers hailed thatched roofs with fire. Smoke rose up.  Those who had weapons retreated to the well-fortified temple of Claudius, forcing Boudicca’s warriors to laid siege to it.  For two days Boudicca and the enraged Britons with her slaughtered by fire and by sword every living person in Camulodunum, cleansing the city of its Roman stench and destroying every building, every statue, and every trace of what the Romans called ‘civilization.’ Cries of victory shouting Boudicca’s name rang out in the many dialects of the tribes.  Finding a field downwind of the lingering smoke, the joyful Britons slept in freedom under the stars.  Camulos was with them, avenging the wrong done to his people.

In the morning, an alarm rose among the Britons: alerted about their attack on Camulodunum, cohorts of the Ninth Legion under the command of Petilius Cerealis were less than two hours from the Briton’s encampment.  War drums beat fiercely, the cry rousing all from their beds.  In half an hour the entire British force stood ready to take on the famous Ninth Legion whose swords slaughtered so many druid priestesses and priests on Ynys Môn in their effort to destroy the British heart and soul.  At the head of her ranks, Boudicca stood proud on her chariot, her alto voice booming as she addressed those near her, “This dawn is glorious.  Camulodunum is cleansed.  Now shall we destroy this mightiest symbol of Roman power. We shall send a great message to Governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus:  leave our island forever or be driven off by the might of our swords!  It is right our demands are made first and foremost by women whom they think exist purely for the service of men – to bear their sons and whore themselves in Roman bed chambers. But we Britons would rather die than serve for death in freedom is honorable.  Look!  Their cavalry comes!  Cry out, my people!  Cry for vengeance, for blood, for freedom!”

“FOR FREEDOM!” shouted wave after wave of Britons as the queens words spread like lightning.  Dancing, drumming, screaming, shouting, the Britons raged in battle fury before they charged head first into the fray.  For two hours the Britons slaughtered the legion until only a few survivors, including Petilius Cerealis with a handful of cavalry beside him, escaped the bloody field to shouts of joy and victory in a dozen tribal dialects.  The day was Boudicca’s.  Now Boudicca set her sights on a bigger target, one far more precious to Rome:  the trading port of Londinium itself.

Excerpt

Stage edition: ACT I, SCENE III

March.  The spring equinox.  A beach on the shores of the North Sea. The soft sounds of lapping waves fill our ears.  Downstage left is a bonfire upon which cooks crabs, lobsters, mussels, clams, and fish. Center right a crowd of BRITONS watch as BOUDICCA and PRASUTAGUS stand in front of the druid priestess LINET center stage.

LINET

Do you Prasutagus, king of the Iceni take Boudicca of the Aedui as your wife?  Will you honour , love, and respect her in all things, forsaking all others, and with reverence and respect for the goddesses and gods?

PRASUTAGUS

I will.

LINET

Do you Boudicca of the Aedui take Prasutagus, king of the Iceni as your husband? Will you honour , love, and respect him in all things, forsaking all others, and with reverence and respect for the goddesses and gods?

BOUDICCA

I will!

LINET

(loosely binding their joined hands with a woollen cord and tying a simple knot)

With this cord I bind together your hearts, your lives, and your very souls.  May the love you have declared this day before the Morrígan bind you forever together.  In every life may you find one another in love, peace, and passion until the stars are no more and all that exists ceases to be.  If this eternity remains your will, I bid you bind yourselves now and for forever with a kiss.

PRASUTAGUS/BOUDICCA

Now and forever, I am yours!

(Prasutagus and Boudicca kiss passionately)

LINET

(raising her hands in blessing)

SO MOTE IT BE!

BRITONS

(echoing)

SO MOTE IT BE!

[Ad Lib Local cheers]

(END OF SCENE)

About the Author

Born, raised, and educated in Lincoln, Nebraska USA, author-historian Laurel A. Rockefeller has written over a dozen book titles since August 2002 including The Peers of Beinan science fiction series, American Stories, the Legendary Women of World History biography series, and the My First Cockatiel Series.

Enjoy Ms. Rockefeller’s books in English and Chinese in your choice of digital, paperback, and audio editions narrated by dynamic British voice artist Richard Mann. Three Act stage adaptations are available on Legendary Women of World History biographies and on the Peers of Beinan Series novellas.

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