"I am who I am, what I am, what I know and believe, because of who my people are." When Wulfhere, the son of a great Angel lord, is orphaned, he knows that his duty is to lead his people and ensure their safety. A hard enough task for a thirteen year old in any age but these are the turbulent times that history would come to know as the Dark Ages. Against a backdrop of pirate raids, war with the Franks, and a king who would rather see his home in the hands of a more experienced leader of men, Wulfhere has to rebuild his shattered life and claim leadership of his people. Helped by his uncle, and his father's surviving hearth companions Wulfhere must overcome the hurdles that fate has laid before him. He must prove to the king that he is worthy to inherit his father's mantle. What have fate's spinners got in store for the young lordling? Are the gods smiling on him? Will he lose everything that his family have struggled for? How can one so young possibly hope to prove himself on the savage, dark age slaughter fields? What is the mysterious land beyond the whale roads that haunts his dreams and calls him to leave the old lands behind? ,.