Demon Laird (Legacy of the Mist Clans) (48 page)

After le March tortures him
, Ronan’s illness manifests itself in a different form:
“The most common and dramatic, and therefore the most well-known, is the generalized convulsion, also called the grand-mal seizure. In this type of seizure, the patient loses consciousness and usually collapses. The loss of consciousness is followed by generalized body stiffening (called the ‘tonic’ phase of the seizure)…then by violent jerking (the ‘clonic’ phase)…after which the patient goes into a deep sleep (the ‘postictal’ or after-seizure phase). During grand-mal seizures, injuries and accidents may occur…”
(WebMD.com)

The falling-down sickness was often misunderstood during this time period and many did believe it a sign of possession. Common folk were not typically educated and often fell prey to superstition, yet on the other end of the spectrum, nobles
, while educated, were just as human as the next man, and superstition can have a powerful impact.

Yet the illness was known and had been diagnosed. Hemlock, although a
potent poison, was indeed used to treat the falling-down sickness, and it was also considered an accepted treatment for palsy, mania, and dropsy.

The story opens with young Ronan and Aidan discovering a void that leads under the foundation of the keep and curtain wall built over the “footprint” of ancient ruins.

Sapping was a common strategy in medieval siege warfare and the combination of the discovery and siege tactics at the time leads to Ronan’s idea to tunnel out.

For medieval castles, tunnels and secret passages or escape routes are popular points of
intrigue and hundreds of legends abound. Unfortunately, historians have only been able to confirm the actual existence of a select few secret passages. Some of the most popular in historical fact are the tunnels of Valkenburg Castle in the Netherlands. History has documented the tales of the Ghost Knights, who would mysteriously appear behind the enemy laying siege to the castle and attack. The tunnels were also used to bring supplies in, thereby rending the point of siege warfare useless.

Longshanks’s trebuchet,
Lupus Guerrae
, the War Wolf, was indeed the reason why Stirling Castle fell in 1304. The besieged Scots watched for five months without hope of rescue while Longshanks constructed the massive engine (as well as assembled the smaller ones he had brought with him). When close to completion, the Scots attempted to surrender to Longshanks, but he refused, sending them back into the castle just so he could see what the trebuchet could do. Documented to be 300-400 feet long, it is said that one blow from the engine destroyed an entire curtain wall, but some historians believe it was actually the original gatehouse (barbican) of Stirling Castle that the War Wolf obliterated.

I believe it an important point to mention that historians debate
whether Stirling Castle actually had an “original” gatehouse during this time period. If it did exist—and again considering the period, it should have had one—War Wolf destroyed it so totally that historians can’t decide if it was really a part of the original construction or if the gatehouse was added years later.

I
hope you enjoyed reading
Demon Laird
, for creating these characters and situations has been a delightful adventure for me and has developed to such a point that it has expanded the
Legacy of the Mist Clans
series potential dramatically. Ronan’s brother, Aidan, will definitely get his own story.

To those readers of
Mist Warrior
who hoped to see sequels for Gavin de Reigny and Tristan of Greystoke, worry not, those are still planned, and as the series expands and develops, I hope to weave the threads of each into a vibrant tapestry, similar to the one Ronan brings to mind in the close of
Demon Laird
.

I would also like to encourage readers to leave reviews of this work on Amazon,
Goodreads, Facebook, and other sites if at all possible. They not only help other potential readers but they help myself as a writer. I appreciate comments from readers and seek to learn from them in an effort to make myself a better writer so that I can produce more stories my readers will enjoy.

Also, I
just plain love hearing from folks, so feel free to look me up on
Facebook
and say hello
. My author website, kathrynloch.com, is in the midst of an overhaul, but you can also check out
My Blog
for updates.
Thank you again, and happy reading!