*
Constans—third son of Constantine and Fausta
*
Constantine [Flavius Valerius Constantinus]—son of Helena, Emperor, 306-337
*
Constantine (II)—eldest son of Constantine and Fausta
*
Constantius Chlorus [Flavius Constantius]—consort of Helena, Caesar and later Augustus, 293-306
*
Julius Constantius—second son of Constantius and Theodora
*
Constantius (II)—second son of Constantine and Fausta
*
Crispus—Constantine’s illegitimate son by Minervina
Cunoarda—Helena’s Alban slave
*
Dalmatius—son of Constantius and Theodora Dierna—Helena’s second cousin, later Lady of Avalon
*
Diocletian—Senior Augustus, Emperor, 284-305
Brasilia—cook in Helena and Constantius’s household
*
Bishop Eusebius of Caesaria—Metropolitan Bishop of Palestine, a major writer of church history and later the biographer of Constantine.
*
Fausta—daughter of Maximian, wife of Constantine and mother of his legitimate children
Flavius Pollio—a kinsman of Constantius
*
Galerius—Caesar, 293-305, Augustus, 305-311
*
Gallienus—Emperor, 253-268
Ganeda—Helena’s aunt, Lady of Avalon
Gwenna—a maiden being trained on Avalon
Haggaia—Arch Druid when Helena returns to Avalon
*
Julia Coelia Helena, later, Flavia Helena Augusta—(Eilan) daughter of Prince Coelius, consort of Constantius, mother of Constantine and priestess of Avalon
*
Helena the Younger (‘Lena’)—a noblewoman of Treveri, wife of Crispus
Heron—a maiden being trained on Avalon
Hrodlind—Helena’s German maid
(*
Joseph of Arimathea—founder of the Christian community on the Tor)
Katiya—a priestess of Bast in Rome
Lactantius—a rhetorician and Christian apologist, tutor to Crispus
Licinius—Caesar appointed by Galerius to replace Severus, later Augustus in the East, 313-324
*
Lucius Viducius—a pottery merchant trading between Gallia and Eburacum
*
Macarius—Bishop of Jerusalem
Marcia—midwife who delivers Constantine
Martha—a Syrian slave, healed by Helena
*
Maximian—Augustus of the West, 285-305
*
Maximus Daia—Caesar appointed by Galerius
*
Maxentius—son of Maximian, Augustus in Italy and North Africa, 306-312
*
Minervina—Constantine’s Syrian concubine, mother of Crispus
*
Numerian—younger son of Carus, Emperor, 283—84
Philip—Constantius’s servant
*
Postumus—rebel Emperor of the West, 259-68
*
Probus—Emperor, 276-282
*
Quintillus—brother of the Emperor Claudius II, Constantius’s great-uncle
(
Rian—High Priestess of Avalon, Helena’s mother)
Roud—a maiden being trained on Avalon
*
Severus—Caesar appointed by Galerius, executed by Maximian
Sian—daughter of Ganeda, mother of Dierna and Becca
Suona—a young priestess of Avalon
Teleri—wife of Carausius and then of Allectus, later, High Priestess of Avalon
*
Tetricus & Marius—rebel co-emperors of the West, 271
Tulia—a maiden being trained on Avalon
*
Victorina Augusta—mother of Victorinus and virtual ruler
*
Victorinus—rebel Emperor in the West, 268-270
Vitellia—a Christian matron living in Londinium
Wren—a maiden being trained on Avalon
Helena’s dogs: Eldri, Hylas, Favonius and Boreas, Leviyah
* * *
PLACES
« ^ »
BRITANNIA
Aquae Sulis—Bath
Avalon—Glastonbury
Calleva—Silchester
Gamulodunum—Colchester
Cantium—Kent
Corinium—Cirencester
Eburacum—York
Inis Witrin—Glastonbury
Isurium Brigantum—Aldborough, Yorkshire
Lindinis—Ilchester
Lindum—Lincoln
Londinium—London
Sabrina estuary—the Severn
the Summer Country—Somerset
Trinovante lands—Essex
Tamesis—the Thames
Tanatus Insula—Isle of Thanet, Kent
THE WESTERN EMPIRE
Alpes—the Alps
Aquitanica—southern France, Aquitaine
Arelate—Arles, France
Argentoratum—Strasburg, Germany
Augusta Treverorum (Treveri)—Trier, Germany
Baiae—Baia, Italy
Belgica Prima—eastern France
Belgica Secunda—the Low Countries
Borbetomagus—Wurms, Germany
Colonia Agrippinensis—Cologne, Germany
Cumaea—Cumae, Italy
Gallia—France
Ganuenta—formerly an island where the River Schelde joins the Rhine in the Netherlands
Germania Prima—lands just west of the Rhine, Koblenz to Basle
Germania Secunda—lands just west of the Rhine, North Sea to Koblenz
Gesoriacum—Boulogne, France
Lugdunum—Lyons
Mediolanum—Milan, Italy
Moenus fluvius—the River Main, Germany
Mosella fluvius—the River Moselle, France, Germany
Nicer fluvius—the River Neckar, Germany
Noricum—Austria south of the Danube
Rhaetia—Southern Germany and Switzerland
Rhenus fluvius—the Rhine
Rhodanus fluvius—the Rhone
Rothomagus—Rouen, France
Treveri (Augusta Treverorum)—Trier, Germany
Ulpia Traiana—Xanten, Germany
Vindobona—Vienna, Austria
THE EASTERN EMPIRE
Aegeum—the Aegean
Aelia Capitolina—Jerusalem
Aquincum—Pest (Budapest), Hungary
Asia—Western Turkey
Bithynia et Pontus—northern Turkey
Byzantium (later, Constantinople)—Istanbul
Caesarea—a port city south of Haifa, Israel
Carpatus Mountains—the Carpathians
Chalcedon—Kadikoy, Turkey
Dacia—Romania
Dalmatia—Albania
Danu, Danuvius—the Danube
Drepanum (Helenopolis)—Hersek in northern Turkey
Galatia and Cappadocia—Eastern Turkey
the Haemus—Balkans
Heracleia Pontica—Eregli, Turkey
Hierosolyma—Jerusalem
Illyria—Yugoslavia
Moesia—Bulgaria
Naissus—Nis in Romania
Nicaea—Iznik, Turkey
Nicomedia—Izmit, Turkey
Pannonia—Hungary
Rhipaean Mountains—the Caucausus
Scythia—lands above the Black Sea
Singidunum—Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Sirmium—Mitrovica or Sabac on the Save, Serbia
Thracia—southern Bulgaria
* * *
PROLOGUE
« ^ »
249 AD
With sunset, a brisk wind had blown in from the sea. It was the season when farmers burn the stubble from their fields, but wind had swept away the haze that had veiled the heavens, and the Milky Way blazed a white road across the sky. The Merlin of Britannia sat on the Watcher’s Stone at the top of the Tor, his eyes fixed on the stars. But though the glory of the heavens commanded his vision, it did not hold his entire attention. His ears strained to catch any sound that might come from the dwelling of the High Priestess on the slopes below.