
New Dawn is set in post-Roman Britannia in Spring 455 AD, several months after the events described in the novel: Britannia: World’s End After wintering at Villa Magna to recover from his bitter struggle against the British High King Vortigern, ex-Imperial Officer Dux Ambrosius Aurelianus leads his motley company westwards. He hopes to find a safe refuge in the south-west near Durnovaria, where he believes his dead mother’s kinfolk might be found. Arriving in the area, Ambrosius finds a small, abandoned settlement where his company can take shelter for the night before moving on to the town of Vindocladia – just north of Durnovaria. But Vortigern has put the word out: a high blood price will be paid to anyone who captures Ambrosius; and there are many who would take up the challenge… This story was first written in March and April 2020 as a contribution to Authors Without Borders, set up by distinguished author Ben Kane, as a means of providing some free stories online in first ‘lockdown’ during the Coronavirus Pandemic. It was written in 25 daily instalments, but has now been assembled and re-edited into a complete narrative.