⚔️ Book Tour with Author Q&A ➜ A hidden island. A hunted knight. Knowledge powerful enough to change everything. The Lonely Knight (MYRE Book 1) Fantasy Adventure by Author Bruce Clayton

A rescue that should have ended quietly instead becomes the beginning of something much larger in The Lonely Knight by Bruce Clayton. The story introduces the MYRE series, a completed fantasy saga built around the idea that knowledge, discipline, and understanding can change the course of history. 

Synopsis 

Violence and instability continue spreading across the kingdom as powerful warlords fight for dominance over fractured lands. When Torch Thorvald rescues a young girl from one of the most ruthless among them, he unknowingly becomes tied to discoveries capable of transforming the world itself. Hunted by enemies and driven from any place of safety, he journeys toward the hidden island known as the Myre.

There, Mizar has begun quietly teaching forms of knowledge that challenge everything people believe about magic and power. What others fear as impossible abilities are rooted instead in understanding, discipline, and the mastery of forces hidden within the world itself. As these ideas spread beyond the island, kingdoms begin realizing how dangerous such knowledge could become in the wrong hands. Fear, ambition, and desperation drive armies and rulers toward conflict, each determined to control what Mizar has uncovered. As tensions rise and violence closes in from every side, Torch is forced to confront truths capable of changing not only his own future, but the fate of entire kingdoms.

Excerpt:

Prologue The Milford Castle courtyard was bitterly cold. Weary guardsmen trudged through the dark, carrying armloads of wood to the executioner’s stake. A man would burn at first light, put to death by order of the king. The preparations had to be completed before dawn. “What did he do?” whispered Rich Thorvald, a youngster with unruly red hair. Although only fifteen, Rich was a head taller than his comrades, with a strength that stood him well in their rough company. His size prompted many rude jokes, but inside, he was a boy. He was awed by the thought of burning a man. The soldier beside him, William Cruller, was barely twenty. William was Rich’s only friend. He glanced across the courtyard at their officer before replying. “He brought the Death to Gyrland, they say,” he said, raising an eyebrow. They placed two armloads of wood beside the stake and turned back toward the woodpile, fifty yards away across the bailey. “Killed his family and drained their blood. Black magic. And him a royal, too, or almost.” “Drained their blood?” asked Rich. “Necromancy!” hissed William. “Magic of the dead! The king says to burn him, and that’s right by me!” “You there! Silence!” Both youths made a show of attending to duty. Their captain was a saturnine lord who used a length of rope as a lash. He was alert to any sign of goldbricking and was equally on guard against the dry sound of a cough. A quiet, hoarse cough was the first sign that the Death had touched another victim. People said the Death had come from the east, over the sea to Gyrland. Mass graves had been chipped out of the frozen fields around Milford. A shroud of snow softly mantled the unfortunates who sprawled there awaiting burial. The Death was not particular. It struck down men, women, children, dogs, horses, and cattle. It destroyed nobles and commoners alike. No known spells, blessings, or medicines could stop it. Most victims died within two days. One man only had walked among the dying without fear. His guilt was plain. “Why such a hurry?” asked Rich as he gathered the next armload of wood. Sir Geoffrey Griffin’s orders had come suddenly. A man burns at dawn: make ready! The night watch had been called off the battlements to prepare the stake. “King Jarrod has exhausted the serving girls of Milford and wants to go home,” replied William with a smirk. “He wants the trial over with, so he can return to Misty Tor and hide from the Death. Little good it will do him.” He coughed in the frosty air, and both youngsters winced. Their officer glared at them in the moonlight. The boys laboured another hour to build the pyre and soak the sticks in oil. It wasn’t enough for the miscreant to die in the flames. Under the Law of Gyrland, the bones had to be burned black. The wood was stacked at last, and the weary soldiers stumbled back to the guardroom. The execution would greet the rising sun, but the midwinter dawn came late. There would be time to warm themselves and catch a few minutes of exhausted sleep. The guardroom was smoky and humid, filled with the thick smell of unwashed soldiers. Forty men slept on bunks in the nearby chambers. Racks of hauberks, helmets, pikes and swords stood ready by the doors. Rich poured himself a cup of tea from the kettle beside the fire. His companions hung their clothes on pegs and collapsed into their bunks. Rich’s feet and hands were numb. An execution! To see a wizard burn! He sipped the tea and tried to make his teeth stop chattering. The guardroom door swung open. A finely dressed young nobleman stepped inside. His boyish face was marred by eyes that glittered in the firelight. He pulled off his gloves, finger-by-finger. The noble’s gaze settled on Rich. “You there,” he said. “Take me to the condemned man.” His manner was brusque, and Rich hesitated. “My lord,” said the boy, “you need to speak to Sir Geoffrey, the captain of the guard. I can’t—” “If we disturb your captain,” smiled the newcomer, gliding forwards, “I will tell him how insolent you were to me. Do you think fifteen lashes would make you mindful of your betters?” He tucked the gloves in his belt and smiled again. “Twenty?” he whispered sweetly. The smile was warm, but the eyes had no expression. “As you wish, my lord,” said the boy, astonished by such casual ruthlessness. “The dungeon is this way.” Rich took a torch from a barrel and lit it in the fire. He led the way into the dank cellars beneath the gatehouse. The graceful lord glided along behind him.

Author Q&A

What’s a detail, theme, or clue in your book that most readers might miss on the first read but you secretly hope someone notices? MYRE is a reality-based medieval adventure (hard science fiction). It presents events that possibly could have given rise to many of our later legends and fairytales. For instance, our wizard puts a castle to sleep to rescue an unconscious woman. At another point, he shows his students how to turn silver coins into gold ones (using metallurgy and nitric acid), giving rise to the legend of "wizard gold." At another point he casts thousands of teeth into a forest and makes an army materialize from the darkness. When did this story or idea “click” into place for you—was there a single moment you knew you had to write it? I read National Lampoon's Bored of the Rings in 1985, and was taken by their wizard, "Goodgulf," who cheated at cards. I wondered how far I could take that idea-- of a man who pretended to be a wizard. What miracles would natural science let him perform? The whole saga (5000 kindle pages) unfolded in my mind. I sat down and started to write. Thirty-eight years later, I finished. Which character or real-life person surprised you the most while writing this book, and why? The most surprising characters were Lamia, matriarch of the Rovdjur family of assassins, and her psychopathic son, Glyss. They started as one-note villains, but Lamia grew senile and Glyss had to intervene to keep her safe from herself-- an experience many people have had with aging relatives. Even bad people have families. The villains developed human depth as they grew. What’s one belief, question, or emotional truth you hope readers carry with them long after they finish your book? That's in the foreword of each volume... Fantasy fans who love spells and potions must know they are surrounded by both. Engineering has spells that let us fly. Chemistry is all potions. Mathematics is divination. We have the most advanced healing magic in history… probably in the universe. Our farmers can breed any kind of plant or animal we want to have. Astronomy lets us look deeply into the past and forecast the future. Paleontology shows us worlds of fantastic beasts. Microbiology lets us plunge into an alternative universe. Geology is a map to buried treasure. Writing is time travel and telepathy. We can link minds with people who have been dead for centuries, and send our own thoughts into the future. The world is all magical, and we can master it. We can be wizards, not just read about them. Tell us about a moment during the writing process when the story (or message) took an unexpected turn. MYRE is an epic, and epics often have a timeline problem. The initial cast fragments and follows multiple paths to the same ultimate destination. Sometimes one group gets out of sync with the others and has to fill a few days with an unplanned adventure. I was surprised that these diversions turned out to be so exciting and enjoyable! If your protagonist (or central figure) could give the reader one piece of advice, what would it be? Mizar advises us to question our assumptions. People who do not are incapable of rational thought. What real-world place, object, or memory helped shape a key element in your series? MYRE is strongly rooted in real history and geography. The ruins of the Dolaucothi gold mine in Wales shaped one of the episodes. Portchester Castle at Portsmouth Harbor framed another. One volume occurs in Gdansk, Poland, where colorful medieval houses line every street. The MYRE characters even visited Gough's cave in Cheddar, Somerset, the original site of Gollum's underground lake.

What’s something you had to research, learn, or experience to write this book that genuinely surprised you? I did constant research for 35 years, and was surprised at how many significant scientific discoveries have occurred by accident-- and might have occurred much sooner if anyone had been prepared to notice them. Black gunpowder came from ancient China, but modern nitrocellulose gunpowder was discovered by a Swiss chemist who accidentally blew up his kitchen in 1846! That accident could have happened at any time in the previous thousand years-- and probably did multiple times. The Swiss chemist was just the first to survive the discovery! If your book were invited to join a shelf with three other titles, which ones would make you happiest—and what would that shelf say about your story? 1. The Swiss Family Robinson by Jonathan Wyss. The father in that story had the same encyclopedia knowledge of natural science shown by Mizar, the wizard in our story. The story also shows children and adults contributing equally to a grand adventure, a theme of MYRE. 2. Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein. A magnificent adventure featuring a man who had been there and done that over a vast stretch of history. The book is full of practical wisdom and insights into human character. 3. The Odyssey by Homer. An epic journey of a man who overcomes every obstacle using strength, wits, and skill instead of fanciful magic spells.

About the author:

Bruce D. Clayton is an award-winning author, scientist, historian, and professor emeritus of martial arts. With a PhD in the sciences and decades of experience studying history, engineering, and human behavior, his work bridges the gap between imagination and reality.

He is the author of the MYRE series, an 18-book epic written over 38 years, blending medieval adventure with real-world science, strategy, and survival. His nonfiction works, including Life After Doomsday and Shotokan’s Secret, have earned international recognition in their respective fields.

Clayton lives in California and continues to explore the intersection of knowledge, storytelling, and the idea that the world around us is far more “magical” than it first appears.

Amazon: https://bit.ly/4ukzvqU

Goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/myreseries

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