A Boy's Ride

A fourteen‑year‑old boy rides the bridle‑path that winds through the ancient woods of northern England, the wind of late May rattling the budding trees. Trained by a monk uncle yet yearning for knighthood, he wears a hidden shirt of chain mail beneath his doublet and carries a bow, his faithful deerhound at his side. When a sudden hail of arrows forces him to dash toward the nearest stronghold, the boy’s quick reflexes and his protective armor become his only salvation.

He bursts through the castle’s lowered drawbridge just as the warder’s horn sounds, the deerhound wounded but still alive. Inside the bustling courtyard he meets the lord’s own son, who questions his sudden arrival and tends to the hound’s injuries. Amid the clatter of men‑at‑arms and whispered rumors of ominous dreams, the newcomer must decide whether to seek refuge, prove his worth, or become entangled in the looming conflicts of a medieval world still on the brink of change.