Vonalt: Blog

Chapter Fourteen is in the queue, waiting to be published.
Johannes and his men have returned to Aachen Palace, the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. But changes await him, and one of them goes directly against everything he believes. If Johannes is to continue serving as an Imperial Knight, he must accept it and carry on with his duties.
His return to Court is far from pleasant. His nemesis, Henry the Lion, Duke of Bavaria, has returned as well. Only Johannes’s remarkable control over his anger has kept Henry alive—and kept Johannes from imprisonment or something far worse.
Yet not everything at Court is unpleasant. Johannes is offered a position of great responsibility, and he accepts. Once again, he demonstrates why the Imperial Crown has placed its confidence in his abilities.

Chapter Thirteen is in the queue. Ordered back to Aachen from Rome, Johannes gathers his companions for the long journey north. His party includes his trusted friend Marcus, Father Denis, eight Frangipani retainers, and a number of servants to manage the pack animals and assist wherever they are needed along the way.
Uncertain which route to take from the Holy City to the Imperial City, Johannes consults experienced travelers, merchants, and ship captains before deciding on the safest path. As he journeys north, he learns news that will shape his future at court. Not all of it is welcome.He learns that some, jealous of his rapid rise in the Emperor's favor, would prefer to see him assassinated. As if that were not enough, Johannes discovers that the Emperor now has a queen at his side in Aachen.
In the span of only a few weeks, everything has changed. Johannes realizes that if he is to survive—and thrive—at the Imperial court, he must learn to adapt.

Chapter Twelve is in the Queue.
Johannes once again finds himself in Rome, ordered there by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The city is once again in the same condition as it was the first time he entered Rome. The central government that he had helped form—an alliance between the Imperial Crown and the Papacy, assisted by the Commune of Rome—has fallen into disarray. Loyalties have shifted, infighting between various factions continues, and support for Pope Adrian IV is shrinking.
If that isn't enough, guests whom the King of France asked Johannes to accompany have arrived on a mission to offer an alliance of their own, one intended to replace the Holy Roman Empire as the Mother Church's principal supporter.
Then there are the personal demons Johannes must face: the family of his deceased wife, the betrayal of those he had considered friends despite being warned not to trust them.
Being back in Rome is a trying time for Johannes Braun, Imperial Knight. And he doubts that he will make it through this time.

Chapter 11 is in the queue.
Johannes Braun and his Frangipani men-at-arms travel to Paris and the court of Louis VII, King of France. While there, he is introduced to French court life and learns to refine his diplomatic skills under the guidance of an old French knight who befriends him and becomes his mentor.
Things proceed well until Johannes receives a missive from his Emperor informing him that he is needed once again in Rome. The alliances he helped establish are beginning to collapse, and the Holy Roman Emperor believes that Johannes’s presence in Rome may restore what he had worked so hard to build.

Chapter 10 is in the queue to be posted.

When Imperial Knight Johannes Braun is presented at the court of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, he quickly discovers he knows more faces than he ever expected. Some once sought to consign him to a monastery, and only the intervention of the then-King Frederick spared him that fate.

His father's warning echoes in his mind: trust no one, and be slow to call anyone a friend. The imperial court is a place of ambition, intrigue, and hidden rivalries. Johannes's celebrated arrival earns him admiration from some—but resentment from others who see his rank as a threat and are eager to test the young knight's worth.

Yet not everyone at court is an enemy. Johannes forges friendships and begins to believe he has found his place among the emperor's household. Just as life seems to be turning in his favor, tragedy shatters everything. Left grieving and consumed by guilt, Johannes must find the strength to endure a loss that threatens to break both his spirit and his future.