Casca’s story continues after 815 on this page. Much of this page is theoretical, but there are some novels here too. This page goes up to 1189.
800-1066 Theoretical and Mentioned
Cascas 26: Johnny Reb and 31: The Conqueror mention Casca being part of the Magyar invasions of Europe, and Conqueror also refers to Casca being in the Varangian Guard.
He travels east into Slavic lands and becomes an explorer with a group of Swedish Vikings who call themselves Rus. Building a city they call Kiev, he takes part in many raids until he moves on again.
A nomadic tribe pick him up and they call themselves Magyars. Taking his place in the tribe, they invade Europe and settle in the huge plains where the Huns once ruled. They raid far and wide and Casca becomes an important member of his village, until sickness claims everyone except him and Casca turns away to the east.
He revisits Kiev, now a glittering capital, and joins Prince Svyatoslav’s Guard, fighting the Bulgars and Khazars. After the Prince’s death, Casca volunteers to be one of the group to travel to Byzantium and become one of the Varangian Guard of the emperor Basil. In the long war against the Bulgars, Casca rises high in the ranks until the conclusive victory at The Struma in 1014.
Wandering after the war’s end, he finds himself in the far north and sails across ice-bound seas to the strange land of the Skraelings, who drive the Viking travelers away from the land they call Vinland. Returning to Europe he finds a farm and settles down in northern France.
Main points mentioned in Casca books 816-1066
- AD816
- AD820
- AD830
- AD840
- AD850
- AD860
- AD870
- AD880
- AD890
- AD896 Start of Magyar campaigns into Central Europe
- AD900
- AD910
- AD920
- AD930
- AD940
- AD950
- AD955 Approximate end of Magyar campaigns.
- AD960
- AD970
- AD980
- AD988 Varangian Guard established under Basil II
- AD990
- 1000
- 1010
- 1020
- 1030
- 1040
- 1050
- 1060
- 1066
1066-1067 Casca 31: The Conqueror
When his farm is burned by bandits, Casca pursues them to Caen where the Norman Duke William is gathering an army to invade Saxon England. While he picks off the bandits, he learns that their leader is a man high up in the Norman administration. He also falls in love with a high born girl called Aveline and follows her to England. At Hastings, Casca emerges on the winning side and is made a Baron of Stokeham, taking Aveline as his. He finally also deals with the last of those responsible for the destruction of his farm.
Main points 1066-1067
- 1066 Casca’s farm is burned. On a mission of revenge he joins the Norman army. Wins at Hastings.
- 1067 Sets up Stokeham with Aveline.
1068-1090. Theoretical Timeline
After a few years at Stokeham, Casca has to leave as he always must, and travels to Sicily where the Normans under Robert Guiscard are carving out a kingdom. Casca offers his services as a mercenary and fights the Saracens and locals, until news of a disastrous defeat of the Byzantine army pulls him across to the fading Empire and he meets the general Alexius Comnenus. Impressed by his ability, he becomes a trusted lieutenant and they overcome rival factions to put Alexius on the throne. Casca then leaves to the east.
Main Points mentioned in Casca books 1068-1090
None.
- AD1068
- AD1070
- AD1080
- AD1090
1090 – 1096. Casca 13: The Assassin
Casca is captured by Muslim slavers and takes the name Kasim the Spear after helping to defeat bandits. While en route to Baghdad where he was due to be sold, he is taken to Castle Alamut, home of the Assassins, and inducted into the cult through the use of drugs. Sent to kill under the orders of Hasan al-Sabah, Casca makes a mess of things and is taken prisoner. He is rescued however and finally joins the company of Persian poet Omar Khayyam and vows to go with him north to the lands of the Rus.
Main Points 1090-1096
- 1090 Casca captured by Muslim slavers (page 8 )
- 1091 Taken captive and inducted into the Assassins (page 69)
- 1092 Assassination of Nizam Al-Mulk (page 83)
- 1093 Casca falls into an underground qanat (page 121)
- 1095 Casca escapes from the qanat (page 131)
- 1096 Kills Bu Ali and meets Omar Khayyam again
1096 – 1099. Casca 39: The Crusader
Lost in a sandstorm, Casca eventually returns to Byzantium where the Emperor tells him a crusade is on the way and he is to join it and spy on the crusaders. Helping to take Nicea from the Turks, Casca becomes a part of the crusade to Antioch and then Jerusalem, but the slaughter by the crusaders on the people of the city sickens him and he departs.
Main points 1096-1099
- 1096 Casca returns to Constantinople, rejoins Byzantine army, agrees to help Giselle de Doumanche
- 1097 Battle of Doryleaum
- 1098 Antioch falls, death of Giselle
- 1099 Fall of Jerusalem, Casca leaves Crusade in despair
1100-1183. Theoretical Timeline
He finds a village in Asia to settle in for a while, helping them to defeat a local warlord who has been terrorizing them, but he moves on in time and makes his way to Chin. Here, the warlike tribes to the north, the Jurchen, capture Casca and eventually he becomes one of their number, invading the lands of Chin and conquering it. Then he becomes involved in the war against the Southern Sung across the great river, hiring himself out as a mercenary to whichever side wants his services. Finally he’s hired by a merchant to escort his goods by sea but he is shipwrecked.
Main points covered in Casca books 1100-1183
- 1100
- 1110
- 1120
- 1130
- 1140
- 1150
- 1160
- 1170
- 1180
- 1183 Casca travels by ship from China but is shipwrecked
1184 – 1185. Casca 19: The Samurai
Washed ashore on Japan, Casca teams up with Japanese warrior Jinto Muramasa, who is on the run from the Taira, one of two competing dynasties in a war. The two travel north to the castle of the Minamoto and join the army to fight in the civil war. After a bloody campaign, both are created Samurai at the climactic Battle of Dan-No-Ura, but Casca is condemned to death for trying to stop the murder of the boy Emperor. Jinto suggests Casca is tied to a broken mast and cast out to sea, which the Minamoto agree to.
Main points 1184-1185
- 1184. Casca washed ashore, joins Jinto Muramasa.
- 1185. Battle of Dan-No-Ura. Taira defeated. End of war.
1185 – 1189. Casca 51: The Saracen.
Picked up by a trader, Casca is set ashore in India and makes his way to the Holy Land where he has heard of a new warlord and leader, Saladin. Casca rescues a young woman and her father from the clutches of Reynauld of Chatillon, a crusader lord, but Casca is thrown off the walls of the castle as a result. Vowing revenge, Casca joins Saladin’s army and is victorious at the Battle of Hattin – and he also kills Chatillon. Part of the conquering army that takes Jerusalem, Casca then falls foul of intrigue and is sent north to a border patrol where he is taken prisoner and sent to Samarkand for selling in the slave market.
Main points 1185-1189
- 1185 Casca washed out into Straits of Tsushima
- 1187 Battle of Hattin. Fall of Jerusalem to Saladin
- 1189 Becomes a slave, owned by the Tatar Zhoutai