Continuing Casca’s story down the ages, this page deals with his story in the aftermath of the Damned until the year 815. Much of this page is theoretical.
453 – 535 Casca 9: The Sentinel
After saving a village from bandits, Casca climbs into the mountains and freezes in a cave, high above the village. Sleeping for generations, he’s awakened by Ireina, a young girl from the village who tells him bandits have returned and have raped and murdered and are staying. Casca kills them and Ireina decides he is hers, and together they leave for Constantinople. Ireina gives birth to a son, Demos, a consequence of her rape, but Casca takes him as his own son. Joining a mercenary company, Casca serves in North Africa against the Vandals but returns when news of Ireina and Demos’ capture by the Brotherhood of the Lamb reaches him. Both are killed and in a rage Casca pursues the Elder, Gregory, to Asia and executes him.
Main points 453-535
- AD453 Saves village, freezes high in cave in Alps (page 22)
- AD460
- AD470
- AD476 Western Roman Empire falls
- AD480
- AD490
- AD500
- AD510
- AD520
- AD527 Ireina unfreezes Casca to rescue village again (page 32)
- AD528 Demos born. Casca, Ireina and Demos leave (page 53)
- AD530 Casca taking odd jobs in Northern Italy
- AD533 They travel to Constantinople. Casca joins mercenary army and fights in N.Africa Vs Vandals
- AD534 Deaths of Demos and Ireina. Casca pursues the Elder Gregory through Asia.
- AD535 Death of Gregory and Hrolvath.
535-552 Casca 28: The Avenger
Returning to Constantinople, Casca seeks revenge on the rest of the Brotherhood. Learning that Narses, an imperial general, is one of them, he seeks to gain entry to the palace, and trains as a charioteer to impress the Emperor and Empress who support one of the factions. His success gets him into the palace, but he is then sent to Italy with the army to fight the Goths. On his return the woman he took as his is pregnant from another man and Casca leaves for Persia to fight another war. After victory he returns to find the city gripped by plague and the woman and her lover dead. The girl, Delia, survives and Casca brings her up until she marries. Casca leaves for Italy and fights in one last battle that sees the Goths finally defeated.
Main points 535-552
- AD535 Returns to Constantinople. Joins Blue charioteer faction. Gains victories in Hippodrome. Joins army.
- AD536 Sent to Italy to fight against Goths
- AD540 Taken prisoner but freed when Ravenna falls. Sent to Persia to fight against Persians.
- AD542 Outbreak of plague. Returns to Constantinople to look after Delia.
- AD550 Delia comes of age
- AD551 Marriage of Delia to Licinus. They take the family name of Longinus. Casca leaves for the Balkans.
- AD552 Joins army again. Fights at Taginae.
552 -572 Casca 49: The Lombard
Casca lives with the Lombards across the Alps for a while, but wars break out with rival tribes, especially the Gepids and Avars, and Byzantine intrigue results in the Lombards crossing the Alps en masse and settling in northern Italy, driving out the Byzantine armies. Casca is reunited with an old friend and learns that Narses is alive in Naples. Leaving the Lombard tribe he seeks final revenge for Ireina’s death.
Main points 552-572
- AD552
- AD560
- AD568 Invasion of Italy by The Lombards
- AD570
- AD572 Death of Narses
572-622. Theoretical timeline
Leaving Italy, he crosses the sea to Egypt and spends time there discovering the old pharaoic empires, meeting and then living with a woman called Ayesha. But when they near Alexandria, they are captured by the Brotherhood.
Main points referred to in Casca books 572-622
None.
- AD572
- AD580
- AD590
- AD600
- AD610
- AD620
- AD622 Mohammed flees to Medina; start of struggle for Arabia.
622-628 Casca 35: Sword of the Brotherhood
Casca is forced into undertaking a mission to retrieve the Spear from the Persians when the Brotherhood threaten to kill Ayesha. Casca joins the Byzantine army of Emperor Heraclius and fights in the war against the Persians for 5 years, until he finally manages to find the Spear. Both Casca and the Brotherhood carry out a double cross and Casca is left to reflect once more on how evil the fanatical sect is.
Main Points 622 – 628
- AD622 – Byzantine army trains at Issus
- AD625 – Near catastrophe at the Saros River
- AD627 – Decisive Battle of Nineveh – Persians defeated
- AD628 – Casca returns to Jerusalem and the confrontation with the Brotherhood.
AD628 – AD700. Theoretical and Mentioned
Casca meets Mohammed – mentioned in The Assassin (page 34) and The Conquistador. Halls of Montezuma refers to Casca being present at Yarmuk.
Casca travels to Arabia where he has heard of a new preacher. Thinking it is Jesus returning for the Second Coming he finds an Arab called Mohammed. Joining his growing army, Casca helps unite Arabia under Mohammed, and after his death continues fighting for the Arabs as they pour out of Arabia. Entering Jerusalem Casca finds the Brotherhood scattered, many of them dead but others gone.
Part of the army that invaded Egypt, he tires of the religious preachings and falls foul of a fanatical iman and is sentenced to death by being cast out into the waterless desert.
After fifty years under a huge sand dune, a storm frees him and Casca wanders the desert, terrorizing the locals who believe him to be a djinn. Casca has no memory of this, existing almost in a zombie-like state, until he stumbles into an oasis and is revived.
Main points referred to in Casca books 628-700
- AD628
- AD630 Mohammed returns to Mecca.
- AD632 Death of Mohammed.
- AD636 Battle of Yarmuk. Arabs defeat Byzantines.
- AD640
- AD650
- AD660
- AD670
- AD680
- AD690
- AD700
710-732 Casca 55: The Moor
After recovering from his desert ordeal, Casca ends up in Tangier.
When the Moors capture the city, Casca joins them and travels to Spain where he fights in the fateful Battle of Guadelete. He settles down with the beautiful slave Rebecca for a while until he is compelled to flee to the Pyrenees. After Arabs sack the village he lives in he exacts revenge before being wounded and lies under a lake for a few years before recovering and ends up joining the army of the Franks under Charles Martel.
733- 796. Theoretical
The Avars were one of the many enemies Casca fought against while serving under Charlemagne.
In Casca 21: The Trench Soldier and Casca 31: The Conqueror mention that he fought in the campaigns of Charlemagne.
Casca becomes a count and enjoys his time running one of the eastern counties of Francia. But time is the enemy and he has to leave before awkward questions are asked. Becoming an ordinary soldier once more, he joins Charlemagne’s armies and campaigns against the Basques, Saxons and Avars. Finally, tiring of the constant wars and Christianizing of Europe, he quits and heads north into the wilderness of Frisia.
Main points referred to in Casca books 733-796
- AD737 Absolute rule of Charles Martel in Francia.
- AD740
- AD741 Death of Charles Martel
- AD750
- AD750
- AD760
- AD768 Accession of Charlemagne to eastern Francia
- AD770
- AD771 Charlemagne becomes sole ruler of Francia
- AD772 Start of Saxon Wars
- AD774 Conquest of Lombards in Italy
- AD778 ‘Roncesvalles incident’. Death of Roland the Paladin.
- AD780
- AD789 Start of Slavic Wars
- AD790
- AD791 Start of campaign against Avars
- AD796 Avars crushed. Casca quits Charlemagne’s army and heads into Frisia.
797-815 Casca 47: The Viking
Casca is captured by Vikings and taken back to their hold where he soon convinces them that he is Casca The Walker. Taking command of the hold, he becomes embroiled in wars between Vikings and against Slavs. Finally in a civil war, he ends up on the losing side and flees eastwards with his woman and a fifteen year old child.