Far Traveler

Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
A division of Penguin Young Readers Group. Published by The Penguin Group.

 

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Copyright © 2005 by Rebecca Tingle

eISBN : 978-1-101-49832-3

Map illustration copyright © 2005 by Karen Savary.

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, G. P. Putnam's Sons, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014. G. P. Putnam's Sons, Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated. Published simultaneously in Canada.

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

First Impression

SOME OF THE NAMES IN THIS STORY ARE TAKEN FROM OLD English, a version of our language spoken more than a thousand years ago. To make these words look more familiar, I have changed the Old English rune letters wyn (ρ), yogh (δ), and thorn (þ) and eth (ð) into the Roman characters w, g, and th. Another letter called æsc (æ) remains, and indicates the short “a” of our word “cat.” So the first sound in the name “Ælfwyn” matches the first sound in the better-known name “Alfred.” One more detail of Old English pronunciation: The letters “sc” make the “sh” sound. When you see the word
scop
(which means “bard”), remember to read it as “shop.”

Ælfwyn's story takes place on the shifting battlefield of tenth-century Britain. Danish invaders have seized land north of the Humber River and have settled there among the English people who were there before them. Raiding parties of Danes and rival Norsemen continue to attack English fortresses close to the northern boundary of Anglo-Saxon territory. Mercia, once the largest and strongest of the English kingdoms, has declined and come into the care of Lady Æthelflæd. She looks to Wessex, where her brother, the West Saxon ruler King Edward, has wealth and men enough to help preserve Mercia's Northumbrian border—but this alliance will come with unexpected risks.

RAIN BEAT DOWN, WHIPPING ACROSS THE FACE OF THE SOLI
TARY rider. His horse slipped in the mud of the mountain path, and the man cursed, then bit his tongue. The horse was all he had left, now that his Lord Alric had gone to his grave without an heir.

“WE'LL BE LATE!”

“No, we won't. Come on, Ælfwyn!” My cousin Æthelstan grabbed my hand and dragged me along after him. We were nearing the stables, and the morning press of riders, servants, and stable hands jostled around us, drowning out Æthelstan's words.

“But Brother Grimbald is expecting us,” I protested. “Remember what happened last time we missed our Latin lesson?”