The top half of the body of the young man lay crushed beneath that of a horse. The old Viking's eye was caught by the gold ring on a finger of the dead body - obviously a person of some consequence. Stooping to take a closer look, he noticed the surcoat worn over the chain mail - expensive material, some sort of heraldic device thereon. Puzzled by the swollen abdomen, his first thought - instantly rejected - was of bloating, but these people had just died...
Olaf Svensen had seen too much violence and grief in a long and eventful life to be overly sentimental, but he did feel a pang of sorrow. Without thinking he put his hand down almost as a sort of blessing, upon the swollen belly.
Only to jump back, alarmed. For at his touch, he had distinctly felt a strong kick - from the baby inside. Seemingly impossible, this was a pregnant woman; still alive, though barely.
Although fatally crushed by the body of the horse, Olaf had felt for and detected a faint pulse.
Taking out his knife, Olaf prepared to do the merciful thing - just plunge his blade deep into the woman. Instead he found himself carefully cutting into her belly. quickly lifting out the small, dark looking infant, covered in the whitish birth vernix. He stared at this tiny creature, it's eyes squeezed tight against the sudden exposure to light.
With this dramatic birth begins the remarkable life of Jonas Svensen, wandering through medieval Europe, fighting battles of his own and on behalf of others. A tale of heroes and dastardly deeds, of brutal violence and the grace of good people, told with humour and an eye to historical accuracy.
