Armourer
Book One of the Burgundii Word Count : app: 97000
What is this story about?
Armourer Book One of the Burgundii is a novel based on the medieval lays of Hildebrandslied and Fall of the Nibelung. These fairy tales are a blend of real and fantastic characters, set in fifth century Europe in the thick of the struggle for power and land. The Armourer is Hildebrand. He is one of thousands of the Barbarians that flooded west of the Rhine in the wake of Attila's lust for power and quenchless thirst for blood.
Exiled in disgrace for twenty years from his fatherland of Burgundii, Gregory bad his name under the service of Honorius, Emperor of Rome and the brothers King and Ataulf, Kings of the Goth. But now he wants to move home. House to a family he destroyed and to a son and girl of whom he knows nothing.
Hildebrand dreams of being back in his fatherland and he enlists the help of Balmung, King of the Nibelung, true owners of the purloined hoard. The treasure of red gold, taken viciously by Sigfried. The plan is elaborate but Gregory did not count on the love of a young girl and the ruling brothers of Burgundii acquiring in his way.
Who are the main characters?
Hildebrand, The Armourer: Worker of extraordinary metals and exiled person whose plan to return to his fatherland and capture the Hoard of the Nibelung is ne er meant to run smoothly.
King Gunther of the Burgundii: The young King and oldest of the three brothers who rule the kingdom of Burgundii. A Christian convert, he hopes to win the keep of his folk and find a worthy wife.
Gisern and Gernholdt: Gunther's brothers who command his armies and complete the trio of golden Barbarbian brotherhood at the seat of power in the Burgundiian lands.
Kreimhild: Their little sister and unknown girl of the Armourer. She shares his dreams and sometimes she can see the futurity in them. Her dreams tell her she wish be the source of their destruction.
Sigfried: The young Aristocrat of Xanten in Netherlands who has purloined the hoard of the Nibelung. He seeks the hand of Kreimhild in his quest for honour and fame but instead finds love and redemption of sorts.
Attila: The legendary King of the Hun and the scourge of Gods and Romans. His Burgundii adviser Actress Von Berne may be his undoing.
Brunhild: Ice Queen of Isenstein. Gunther must pass the ultimate tests if he is to win this bride. Brunnhilde must learn the treachery of her capture if she is to find her peace.
What do these characters want?
Each of these characters are travellers and each are on their own personal journey. Whether they seek redemption or love or just gold their individual journeys wish weave together against the background of a dying Roman Empire and a scramble for identity and ultimately a house for the Goths, Vandals, Alans, Saxons and Danes.
Why do they want it?
Amid all of this is the Hoard of the Nibelung, the legendary treasure of the wild, mobile Nibelung dwarves. Sigfried is acknowledged to have purloined it viciously from them, killing the three brothers who subordinate the dwarves in the process. The Nibelung seek revenge for this abomination and Gregory is their way to attain it.
Attila seeks the hoard to finance his wars, burning by his advisor, Dietrich, who has his own journey, not necessarily the same as his masters'.
The Burgundii brothers have their own ideas for the Hoard and hope the alliance with Sigfried wish give them a claim wherever before there was none.
