Description

The Last Equestrian continues the story of the Varus family living in Byzantium. Four centuries had passed and the family still prevails. This was quite a feat with all the political intrigues that the government suffered. Many families met their demise by the different factions that fought for the power of the imperial throne. At the beginning of the 10th century, Andreas Quintus Varus was leading his legion against the Kievian Rus' attack on Constantinople. He and his son, Apollo Octavius Varus, had forced the Rus back to the shore of the Black Sea. Andreas Quintus wisely parlayed a truce with the Hetman Goryainov. These two men formed a professional bond of respect for the other. This friendship would be passed down to their sons and grandsons. It proved valuable for Apollo and his son Andreas Flavius Varus when they were imprisoned and sentenced for execution by Hetman Oleg of Novgorod. They are saved by Goryainov's grandson Dmitri and taken to his family estate and hidden from Oleg. It was impossible to send them south back to Byzantium. The empire was under constant attack from either the Bulgarians or the Rus in the north, and the Arabs in the south. Dmitri thought it wisest to send them west to escape Oleg's wrath. They would find a new life in the west. Their trials and fortunes are what this story is about. They will fight bandits, Vikings, and Tartar attacks as they try to establish a settlement in the land of Masovia.