TODAY, WE ARE DELIGHTED TO WELCOME OUR GUEST AUTHOR, CAMERON HUXLEY, WHO IS SHARING AN EXCERPT FROM HIS NOVEL, 'BROC FER - Part One The Northern Bow' #RWRTeamBlog #ReadWriteRepeat
- 9 hours ago
- 5 min read
BROC FER PART TWO
THE SOUTHERN PROMISE
BROC FER PART ONE
THE NORTHERN BOW
Extract from: Broc Fer – Part one, The Northern Bow
Eldon walked in from his bedchamber with his great sword slung over his back as he always wore it. In the middle of the room lay a big firepit surrounded by long wooden tables and benches. On one of the tables there were baskets full of fruit, cooked meat and fish, bread, and cheese.
Standing there to meet him was Boyd, a chieftain from a tribe that had a small settlement a dark fall’s ride following the river inland. Boyd stood with three men around him all wearing mixed patches of horse skins with round wooden shields slung over their backs, a sword with a big iron hilt slung over Boyd’s other shoulder.
Eldon marched up to the men and welcomed Boyd with a big hug.
“Friends! Please, drink, eat. You must be tired from your travels,” Eldon said, greeting the men.
The three men didn’t move, their eyes dark in the candlelit room. Boyd gave a wave of his hand and a nod to tell the men to relax and take some food. As they sat, a young girl poured some wine from a jug and handed a horn to each of the men.
“What brings you to my hall?” asked Eldon, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
Boyd joined his men at the bench. He took a bite of some freshly cooked pork from the table and with a mouth full of food began to talk. “I have been told of men from this settlement taking horses and sheep from my farmers.” As he was talking, bits of food fell out his mouth and onto his furs. He was in no rush for an answer; he turned back to the table and took a bite of bread then a big drink of wine.
Eldon gave Tad a glance as he took a seat on the opposite side of the table to where Boyd and his men sat. “If they are truly my men, I will ask for them to come and explain themselves,” he said calmly.
“No need for that,” Boyd replied, still picking at food, eating like he hadn’t had a good meal for many days. “They’re dead,” he added after swallowing another mouthful of bread and wine.
Without any visible reaction, Eldon turned and asked, “You killed these men without trial?”
“They were caught taking sheep from a farmer. I had them brought before me and I killed them,” Boyd replied as he took more food from the big wooden plate in front of him. “We have their heads and your black and white skins outside with the horses.”
Eldon stood up, picking up a bread roll and beginning to rip little pieces off, eating the bread slowly piece by piece he walked to the head of the table.
“I would like to see these heads to know if they are truly my men,” he said without lifting his eyes from his bread.
Boyd gave a nod to the man who sat closest to the door. He was probably the youngest of the three but had thick arms and long brown hair that was tied behind his head like the tail on a horse’s arse. He walked to the big wooden doors that sat at the main entrance and with a thud pushed them open. He returned moments later with five black and white furs covered in dried blood. As he walked into the hall, he threw them onto the floor, the furs opened, and five bloody heads bounced and rolled around on the stony mud.
The man wasted no time in sitting back down to finish what he had started to eat. Boyd looked at Eldon with a side look, with his elbows on the table he stuck more meat into his mouth. “Why did you send these men to take my sheep?” he asked Eldon.
Eldon gave Tad a look and with a little laugh, he said, “These men were sent to your lands to take your sheep, so you would come to me.”
Boyd looked at Eldon in confusion. But before he’d had chance to swallow what he had in his mouth in order to speak, Eldon had picked a small meat knife off the table and with a thud had stabbed it into Boyd’s neck. Bread and pieces of chewed meat were spat all over the table followed by blood squirting from the hole the knife had just made. As Boyd tried to grab Eldon’s hand, Eldon twisted the knife and pulled it out.
As Boyd fell to the floor choking on blood and bread, with one swing Tad killed the closest man to him with a deep cut from the back of his head to his shoulders. His sword was then pointing straight at the second of Boyd’s men, who had no time to react as the point of the sword was driven through his face and out the back of his head. Tad let go of the sword that was still in the second man’s head and pulled a dagger from his belt as the third man struggled to get up from the bench in time to defend himself. The dagger was driven into the side of his head, through the ear and into the man’s skull. Tad stood and let the body of the third man fall lifeless onto the floor.
Eldon took a knee beside Boyd, looking into his eyes. “This land is mine,” he said slowly so that Boyd who was struggling for his last breath could hear him.
With one last choke of blood, Boyd’s body relaxed. Covered in bread and meat, with his hands around his neck, he relaxed as the blood poured all over his shield and pooled on the mud floor.
Eldon stood up to see the other three men. The closest man was sitting on the bench with his face in a plate of food. The second man was slumped half on the bench and half on the floor with Tad’s sword still stuck through his head. The third man was on the floor face down, his leg twitching as blood began to pool around him.
“We ride at first light,” Eldon said as he dropped the meat knife onto Boyd’s body.
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https://amzn.eu/d/06ZFXZP7 - Part One
https://amzn.eu/d/06mdFsIL - Part Two
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AUTHOR BIO
C.T. Huxley is an emerging author whose work is defined by immersive storytelling and a distinctive narrative voice. His debut series, Broc Fer, marks the beginning of an ambitious literary journey, introducing readers to richly layered worlds shaped by political tension, personal conflict, and moral complexity.
Drawing on a deep passion for history, C T Huxley blends elements of the past with imaginative storytelling, crafting narratives that feel both grounded and expansive. His writing explores the intricacies of human nature, power, loyalty, ambition, and most of all… Survival.
Through dynamic characters and interwoven plot-lines his work brings the reader into his story.
Before turning to fiction, C T Huxley’s diverse background informed his nuanced approach to storytelling, lending authenticity and depth to his work. With Broc Fer, he establishes himself as a compelling new voice in epic fantasy, appealing to readers who seek both sweeping adventure and thoughtful reflection.
Website: https://cthuxley.com/
Facebook - C T Huxley. Author
Tik Tok - @ct_huxley_author
Instagram - C T Huxley
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COMINS SOON: On Sunday, 26th July, we are thrilled to welcome author, Janice Seagraves, who will be sharing Chapter 1 of her novel, 'Alien Rescuers'.
