Chris Ryan

J. K. Swift

A wild land too mountainous to be tamed by plows…A Duke of the Holy Roman Empire, his cunning overshadowed only by his ambition…A young Priestess of the Old Religion, together with a charismatic outlaw, sparking a rebellion from deep within the forests…And an ex-Hospitaller caught between them all.“Re-imagining the William Tell legend—without William Tell.”At the end of the thirteenth century, five hundred orphans and second sons are rounded up from villages in the Alpine countryside and sold to the Hospitaller Knights of St John. Trained to serve as Soldiers of Christ, they fight in eastern lands they know nothing about, for a cause they do not understand.Thomas Schwyzer, released from his vows by the Grandmaster of the Hospitallers, returns to the land of his birth a stranger. Once a leader of men, and captain of the Order's most famous war galley, he now settles into the simple life of a ferryman. He believes this new role to be God's reward for years of faithful service fighting the Infidel in Outremer.Seraina, considered a witch by most, a healer by some, is a young woman with a purpose. A Priestess of the Old Religion, and the last Druid disciple of the Helvetii Celts, she has been gifted by the Great Weave to see what others cannot. Her people need her guidance and protection now more than ever. For Duke Leopold of Habsburg, in his efforts to control the St. Gotthard Pass, builds a great Austrian fortress in Altdorf. Once finished, the Habsburg occupation will be complete, but the atrocities visited upon her people will have just begun.Set in medieval Switzerland, ALTDORF, a novel of The Forest Knights, is the first book in a two-book series.

A Novel of the Forest Knights

Altdorf

1314 AD. A druid priestess enlists the help of an ex-Hospitaller warrior and a charismatic outlaw to fight Austrian tyranny in medieval Switzerland. ALTDORF tells the events leading up to one of the greatest underdog stories of the medieval age, the Battle of Morgarten. “Re-imagining the William Tell legend—without William Tell.” At the end of the 13th century, five hundred orphans and second sons are rounded up from villages in the Alpine countryside and sold to the Hospitaller Knights of St John. Trained to serve as Soldiers of Christ, they fight in eastern lands they know nothing about, for a cause they do not understand. Thomas Schwyzer, released from his vows by the Grandmaster of the Hospitallers, returns to the land of his birth a stranger. Once a leader of men, and captain of the Order’s most famous war galley, he now settles into the simple life of a ferryman. He believes this new role to be God’s reward for years of faithful service fighting the Infidel in Outremer. Seraina, considered a witch by most, a healer by some, is a young woman with a purpose. A Priestess of the Old Religion, and the last Druid disciple of the Helvetii Celts, she has been gifted by the Great Weave to see what others cannot. Her people need her guidance and protection now more than ever. For Duke Leopold of Habsburg, in his efforts to control the St. Gotthard Pass, builds a great Austrian fortress in Altdorf. Once finished, the Habsburg occupation will be complete, but the atrocities visited upon her people will have just begun. Set in medieval Switzerland, ALTDORF is the first book in a two-book series.

The Forest Knights Book 1

A daring moonlight raid with only a few hundred men leaves the outlaw Noll Melchthal in possession of an Austrian fortress. In the north, an outraged Leopold of Habsburg assembles the ultimate punitive force: a great army, thousands strong, boasting the best knights and soldiers the Holy Roman Empire has to offer. Noll's rebel army of boys and old men number less than a thousand. They have few swords, and even less armor. But Noll has two things that Leopold does not: a Priestess of the Weave, and a ferryman. The forests can protect them no longer. It is time to make a stand.

Morgarten

Over 340 Goodreads 5-Star Reviews! Action-packed adventure perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell. 1314 AD. A druid priestess enlists the help of an ex-Hospitaller warrior and a charismatic outlaw to fight Austrian tyranny in medieval Switzerland. ALTDORF tells the events leading up to one of the greatest underdog stories of the medieval age, the Battle of Morgarten. “Re-imagining the William Tell legend—without William Tell.” At the end of the 13th century, five hundred orphans and second sons are rounded up from villages in the Alpine countryside and sold to the Hospitaller Knights of St John. Trained to serve as Soldiers of Christ, they fight in eastern lands they know nothing about, for a cause they do not understand. Thomas Schwyzer, released from his vows by the Grandmaster of the Hospitallers, returns to the land of his birth a stranger. Once a leader of men, and captain of the Order’s most famous war galley, he now settles into the simple life of a ferryman. He believes this new role to be God’s reward for years of faithful service fighting the Infidel in Outremer. Seraina, considered a witch by most, a healer by some, is a young woman with a purpose. A Priestess of the Old Religion, and the last Druid disciple of the Helvetii Celts, she has been gifted by the Great Weave to see what others cannot. Her people need her guidance and protection now more than ever. For Duke Leopold of Habsburg, in his efforts to control the St. Gotthard Pass, builds a great Austrian fortress in Altdorf. Once finished, the Habsburg occupation will be complete, but the atrocities visited upon her people will have just begun. Set in medieval Switzerland, ALTDORF is the first book in a two-book series.

J. K. Swift

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