AD 2-AD 33 PRE-CURSE LIFE

• AD 2 – Birth of Casca (?) in village in Tuscan hills
• AD10 – Growing up in village (Casca 1 page 56)
• AD20 – Pestilence takes the lives of his family (Casca 1 page 57)
• AD21 – Enrols into the 7th legion at Livorno (Casca 1 page 57)
• AD30 – Casca joins 10th legion
• AD33 – Assigned to execution duty for the condemned Jesus

 

AD 33 – AD 165. Casca 1: The Eternal Mercenary

Casca spears Jesus on the cross and is cursed to live forever until the Second Coming. Sentenced for murder to the Copper Mines of Greece, he spends years underground until he manages to earn his ‘freedom’ to the surface. His slavery is replaced for a life as a gladiator in Rome and he’s trained to be the best. Eventually he earns his freedom from the Emperor but almost immediately falls foul of Nero and is once more sentenced – this time to a life as a galley slave on a ship. Shipwrecked, he finds his way to the lonely Neda and enjoys his first real love, but time forces his hand and he leaves to once again fight for Rome. Partaking in the battle against the Persians outside Ctesiphon, he wonders if all his life will be is blood and slaughter.

Main Points between AD 33-165

• AD33 Casca spears Jesus and is cursed to immortality (page 18) and is condemned as a slave to the Copper Mines (page 76)
• AD40 Casca is sent underground for the first time (page 76)
• AD50
• AD54 Start of Nero’s reign
• AD60
• AD61 Mine cave-in allows Casca to return to the surface (page 78). Casca is bought by Crespas and becomes a gladiator
• AD63 Casca gains his freedom but is arrested again and sentenced to life on the galleys
  (page 203)
• AD68 End of Nero’s reign
• AD70
• AD80
• AD90
• AD96 Galley is wrecked – Casca is free. (Page 210) Casca spends the next few decades wandering, partly a pirate out of the Kilklades, or a Causasian chief.
• AD100
• AD110
• AD120
• AD130
• AD140
• AD145 Casca rescues Neda and lives with her on her farm (p 211)
• AD150
• AD160
• AD164 Casca leaves Neda to join the Legions again (page 213)
• AD165 Campaign against Persia – battle of Ctesiphon. Casca tries to commit suicide but fails due to Curse (page 238)

AD 165 – AD 252. Casca 5: The Barbarian

After deserting the legions Casca spends a little time in the Empire before crossing the Rhine and joining up with Glam, a Germanic warrior. Together they arrive in Helsfjord and eventually Casca takes over as Lord, killing the evil Ragnar and marrying the lovely sightless Lida. He fights off marauding Saxons and builds a hold that is the envy of his neighbours. He stays until Lida dies of an illness.

Main points between 165-252

(note, God of Death overlaps in some places)

• AD165 Casca deserts the legions and travels west (Barb p3)
• AD166 Has a number of jobs until he gets to Massilia
• AD170
• AD180
• AD190
• AD200
• AD209 Travels up to Rhone to Lugdunum (Barb p27)
• AD210 Crosses the Rhine and meets Glam (G of D p11)
• AD211 Glam and Casca arrive at Helsfjord
• AD212 Ragnar imprisons Casca and blinds Lida (Barb p90)
• AD214 Casca escapes, kills Ragnar and marries Lida (Barb p98)
• AD220
• AD230
• AD236 Casca buys Corio off a merchant (Barb p130)
• AD240
• AD250
• AD252 Death of Lida ‘after 40 years’ (Barb p183)

AD 252 – AD 268. Casca 2: God of Death

After Lida’s death Casca decides to sail away from Helsfjord and takes a company of Vikings with him. They sail far out into the ocean and eventually cross to a strange land inhabited by the Teotec. Casca is captured and earmarked for sacrifice, but his immortality means he cannot die and the Teotec hail him as a God. Casca takes a Teotec woman, Metah, as his, but the neighbouring Olmecs invade and Metah is captured and left for dead. In trying to save her life and give her immortality through a blood transfusion, Casca discovers his blood is poison. Casca and the surviving Vikings then set sail for home.

Main points between 252-268

• AD252 Casca sails with the Vikings into the ocean
• AD254 Casca is sacrificed but rises as a god (page 144)
• AD260 Emperor Valerian taken prisoner by the Persians (page 175)
• AD268 Victory over the Olmecs; death of Metah

AD 268 – AD 328. Casca 3: The Warlord

After falling overboard, Casca is rescued by a Roman trading vessel and ends up in Britannia. Returning to Rome, he is saddened by the decay and corruption, and moves on to the east, where he joins with a youth called Jugotai who is returning to his homeland near the Himalayas. Casca falls foul of a sinister Christian sect called the Brotherhood of the Lamb and discovers that they are persecuting him for killing Jesus. Escaping their clutches, he travels to Khitai – the lands of Chin. Becoming a warlord of the Emperor Tzin, Casca saves the Emperor’s life in battle. But the Empress Li Tsao arranges for Casca to be buried alive for not passing on his secret of immortality. On his escape, Casca decides to return to the west.

Main points between 268-328

• AD268 Casca picked up out of the sea
• AD270 He travels east with Jugotai. Valerian is emperor (p34)
• AD271 Arrives at the Jade Gate (p109)
• AD273 Battle of Chong-Ye; saves Tzin’s life
• AD274 Casca is made an officer in the Imperial Guard (p152)
• AD280
• AD288 Empress Li Tsao poisons Casca and buries him alive (p157)
• AD290
• AD300
• AD309 Shapur II made king whilst still in the womb
• AD310
• AD320
• AD326 Earthquake frees Casca from the tomb
• AD328 Finally leaves China via the Jade Gate

AD 328 – AD 337. Casca 6: The Persian

After arriving in Persia, Casca impresses the King Shapur II and soon is made commander of the army. But the vizier Rasheed, a member of the Brotherhood, begins to plot against him. He takes a woman, Anobia, and frees her from slavery. He also wins battles against the Huns and once more meets Jugotai, now an old man. But Rasheed’s intrigue condemns Casca to be branded a heretic and burned at the stake. An Egyptian, Imhept, takes his body and tends it and Casca eventually recovers and leaves Persia, once more bound for the Roman Empire.

Main points 328-337

• AD328 Casca arrives in Nev-shapur and is made a commander of the Persian army by King Shapur II
• AD330
• AD337 After being burned at the stake for heresy and black magic, Casca is rescued and nursed back to health by Imhept. Casca leaves for the Roman Empire.
• AD338 There is a large unexplained gap now from this year until the start of The Damned.

AD 400 – AD 453. Casca 7: The Damned, also Casca 37: Roman Mercenary and Casca 45: Emperor’s Mercenary

 

 

 

Falling foul of the new Christian laws, Casca is made a gladiator and has to fight for his freedom. Captured once more, this time by Alaric’s invading Goths, he witnesses the sacking of Rome and realizes that the days of the Empire are drawing to a close. Taking on mercenary jobs he tries to fill what feels like an empty void within but fails. He flees to the haven of Helsfjord but finds it an abandoned ruin, and sinks into a half feral depressed state. Years later a chance encounter brings him back to awareness and he returns to find the Empire under threat from Attila the Hun. Joining the last of the Roman armies he helps to defeat Attila in a climactic battle. Afterwards he tracks the surviving Huns across the Alps and marks where Attila is buried.

Main points, 400-453

• AD400 Casca arrested for pagan practices
• AD402 Roman capital moved from Milan to Ravenna
• AD404 Last gladiatorial games
• AD408 Death of Stilicho (page 41)
• AD409 Casca captured by Alaric’s Goths (page 42)
• AD410 Casca witnesses the fall of Rome (page 49)
• AD410 Events of Casca 37: Roman Mercenary
• AD411 Events of Casca 45: Emperor’s Mercenary
• AD412 Takes odd jobs between Africa and Spain (The Damned, page 76)
• AD420
• AD430
• AD435 Approximate date Casca crosses Rhine and finds an abandoned Helsfjord (page 76)
• AD440 Wanders Helsfjord in a crazed half feral state
• AD450 Regains mind, returns to the Roman Empire (page 96)
• AD451 Helps with defence of Orleans. Attila defeated.
• AD452 Catches plague, sees Leo’s meeting with Attila (page 184)
• AD453 Witnesses burial of Attila (page 203)

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.

620-622 Casca 59: The Explorer

During his time with Ayseha, Casca and her sail east to the lands of India and become embroiled in a war between two rival kingdoms.

 

 

 

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 preaching’s 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.

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

Casca’s 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

 

1189 – 1219. Casca 22: The Mongol

Fighting as a chained beast in arenas, Casca is rescued by a young Mongol called Temujin. Casca readily agrees to help the young man in his quest to regain his place in his tribe, and the two slowly build an army, Temujin learning how to fight wars from the teacher Casca. Temujin takes a wife and dominates the tribes he conquers, forming them into a vast army. Victorious at the deciding Battle of Baljuna, Temujin is shortly afterwards proclaimed Genghis Khan – Great Leader – and begins to build an empire. His work done, Casca decides to leave.

Main points 1189-1219

• 1189 Temujin frees Casca from slavery (page 31)
• 1190
• 1200
• 1204 Battle of Baljuna (page 114)
• 1206 Temujin proclaimed Genghis Khan (page 162)
• 1210
• 1219 Casca slips away on the eve of the Mongol invasion of Khorezm (page 170)

1219 -1236. Theoretical and Mentioned

Crossing over into India, Casca is captured by soldiers of the Delhi Sultanate and taken to the capital where he is made into a personal slave of the Sultan. Proving his prowess in battle, Casca is enrolled into the Sultan’s army and rises in rank, although still a slave, until he is commander of the Palace Guard. When the Sultan dies, the successor his daughter Raziya, takes a dislike to him and Casca flees, pursued by soldiers loyal to her.

Main points referred to in Casca books 1219-1236

None

• 1219
• 1220 Taken captive by the Sultanate of Delhi
• 1230
• 1236 Escapes from the Sultanate of Delhi

Casca 34: Devil’s Horseman 1236-1241

Casca escapes from India and is rescued by a Mongol patrol. He is escorted to Samarkand where he learns of a new campaign in Russia, and also that the Mongol unity is beginning to fracture. Given a precious coronation stone to guard by Subedei, Casca has to ward off attempts to steal it by one of the Mongol factions. He takes a Russian woman, Tatiana, as a slave, and frees her when they fall in love. Finally in Hungary, Casca takes part in the great Battle of Mohi and leaves the stone with a trusted friend before leaving for Nicea with Tatiana and a Swedish mercenary guard, Lars.

Main Points 1236-1241

• 1236 Arrives in Samarkand, agrees to join Mongol army in Russia
• 1240
• 1241 Climactic Battle of Mohi in Hungary. Casca leaves Mongol Horde

1242-1271 Theoretical and Mentioned

The Empire is fragmented and in disarray, but Casca helps the general Michael Palaeologus gain the title of Emperor and they retake the lands lost to the Latins and rival Byzantine forces, and ultimately the capital Constantinople. In the celebrations Casca leaves, recognizing the Empire is not strong enough to survive long.

Finding his way to the troubled Holy Land, he hires himself out as a hired sword but tires of the squabbling amongst the remaining Crusader lords and travels to Venice.

Main points referred in Casca books 1242-1271

• 1242
• 1250
• 1260
• 1270
• 1271 Slips away from Acre on a ship to Venice

1271 – 1292. Casca 24: The Defiant

In Venice Casca saves the life of young Marco Polo and becomes embroiled in his family politics. Marco’s father returns after years of being away and they set out with Casca and a few friends eastwards to the lands of the Mongol Emperor Khubilai Khan in China. While there Casca helps thwart a coup and win a war for the Emperor. When the Polos return to Venice Casca goes with them.

Main points 1271-1292

• 1271 Maro Polo leaves for the east. Casca goes with him
• 1275 Casca and the Polos arrive in Shen-Tu (p178)
• 1278 Approximate date of revolt of traditional Mongols
• 1280
• 1288 Approximate year of Burmese campaign
• 1290
• 1292 Casca and the Polos leave China

1292 – 1414. Theoretical and Mentioned

Some of the following is mentioned in Casca 24: The Defiant. In Casca 25: Halls of Montezuma the Battle of Crecy is mentioned. In Casca 30: Napoleons Soldier, Casca 32: The Anzac and Casca 41: The Longbowman references are made to Casca serving with Tamerlane

Casca travels through Europe, stopping in an Alpine village but plague drives him away. Making his way to Scotland he fights against the invading English under William Wallace but when the war turns against the Scots Casca is forced into hiding. Hunted by superstitious Scots and the Brotherhood, Casca’s escape is helped from an unexpected source. He ends up in Wales and trains as a longbowman and when war with France comes Casca joins up as an archer and helps Edward III win at Crecy. With war petering out, Casca departs and has some time in the far north whaling and fishing.

When his friends grow old or die Casca returns to warmer climes and finds the Byzantine Empire disintegrating under Ottoman Turkish invasions. Fleeing with refugees to Constantinople Casca is recruited by the Emperor and his Court to recruit the assistance of a power that can defeat the Turks. A Mongol speaker, he’s sent to the Golden Horde but the Horde is engulfed in civil war.

Main points in Casca books 1292-1360

• 1292
• 1300
• 1310
• 1320
• 1330
• 1340
• 1346 Battle of Crecy
• 1350
• 1360 Tamerlane begins his rise to power

1363-1402 Casca 43: Scourge of Asia

Travelling to Central Asia he finds a new warlord called Tamerlane who’s building an Empire. Assisting him in building up a mighty army, finally after many campaigns Casca persuades Tamerlane to turn on the Turks and at Ankara in 1402 smash the Ottomans. But the Empire is too weak to recover.   Finally Casca finds his way to England.

Main points in Casca books 1403-1414

• 1370
• 1380
• 1390
• 1400
• 1405 Death of Tamerlane
• 1410

1415.  Casca 41: The Longbowman

Joining Henry V’s army at Southampton, Casca partakes in the siege of Harfleur and the Battle of Agincourt.

1416 – 1434. Theoretical

Casca fights for Henry in France until the death of the English king and then makes his way to Italy and hires himself out as a mercenary for the various city states, until he tires of the struggles and ends up in Portugal where he boards the Kuta.

1434-1440. Casca 23: The Liberator

The ship, The Kuta, is sunk by pirates and Casca spends a few years at the bottom of the sea. When he’s pulled up by fishermen, he is mistaken for Olokun, a god. They want him to free them from a despotic king, Awanoshe. When Casca reaches the capital he witnesses brutal torture and the madness of Awanoshe is evident. But Casca, as a god, is taken on by Awanoshe and goes with the army to conquer a neighbouring kingdom. But Awanoshe works to destroy Casca’s reputation and when the army is deliberately allowed to lose, the king turns on Casca. Backed by senior army generals as well as the population, Casca leads a coup that deposes Awanoshe and installs his brother Ewuare on the throne.

Main points 1434-1440

• 1434 Casca’s ship is sunk. Spends a few years on the seabed
• 1439 Casca pulled from the seabed by Ewuare’s fishermen
• 1440 Part of the coup that instals Ewuare as Oba

1440-1452

• 1440
• 1450

1453. Casca 53: The Last Defender

Returning from Africa, Casca makes his way to Italy and learns that the Turks are preparing to conquer Constantinople. Joining up to help defend the city from overwhelming odds, he fights for the last city of the Caesars until sheer weight of numbers defeat the Graeco-Italian defenders.

 

 

1454-1461  Casca 57: The Red Rose

Wounded in spirit by the death of the last link to the Roman Empire, Casca wanders through Germany, stopping to talk to Johannes Gutenberg. Hiring out his sword to the Duke of Burgundy, he is then recruited by the Duke of Somerset to fight for the Lancastrian faction in the English civil war against the Yorkist faction.

He fights in the battles of St.Albans (twice), Wakefield and Towton.

Theoretical Timeline 1461-1485

The war of the roses lasts 30 years until the final Battle of Bosworth where the last Yorkist leader, King Richard III, is killed.

Main points in Casca books 1440-1485

• 1440
• 1450
• 1453 Fall of Constantinople
• 1455 Start of the Wars of the Roses: First Battle of St.Albans
• 1460 Battle of Wakefield
• 1461  Battle of Towton
• 1470
• 1480
• 1485 End of the Wars of the Roses. Casca is involved in a brawl in Seville and imprisoned

1485 – 1519. Casca 10: The Conquistador

Casca travels to Spain and is arrested in a brawl. He ends up in a Seville prison at the hands of the Inquisition, and striking fear into the hearts of the Spaniards, is left for years to rot. Faking his death, he frees himself and crosses the ocean to Cuba where the new adventurers – Conquistadors – are discovering the New World. Casca joins Hernan Cortes’ expedition as he wishes to see what became of the Teotec lands since he left. Finding the Aztecs practicing sacrifice, he decides they have to go and takes part in the capture of the city, but the Aztecs rise up and drive the Spaniards out.

Main points 1485-1519

• 1485 Interrogated by Tomas Torquemada. Left to rot in prison
• 1490
• 1500
• 1510
• 1516 Casca fakes suicide and is buried outside Seville (page 16)
• 1519 Casca arrives in Cuba and joins Cortes’ expedition
• 1519 Casca and the Spaniards flee Tenochtitlan

1520 – 1590. Theoretical and Mentioned

Casca 2: God of Death refers to Casca meeting Machiavelli. Casca 20: Soldier of Gideon mentions Casca seeking the new Protestant religions in Switzerland and Germany, while Casca 21: Trench Soldier has a reference to Casca fighting in the army of Charles V. Casca 25: Halls of Montezuma states Casca was in England during the reign of Henry VIII

Casca returns to Europe and joins the army of the Spanish King Charles V, who is also Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Charles campaigns in Italy and Casca is part of the victorious campaign. He also meets Machiavelli, in his twilight years. Victory at Pavia is followed by the infamous Sack of Rome (1527) and Casca quits, disgusted at the conduct of the army. Hearing of new religions rising in Switzerland and Germany, Casca goes to meet those preaching, hoping it is Jesus returned, but finds that Zwingli and Luther are merely men with new religious ideals.

He does join Luther’s Saxon followers in a rising and fights in Thuringia. When he hears of another new religious leader in England, Casca quits his commission and crosses to find the King, Henry VIII, is the man behind it, and again not Jesus. Captured and tortured by the Brotherhood, Casca is eventually released when Henry’s army sacks the monastic order the Brotherhood is disguised as.

He returns to the Continent and rejoins the conflict there but is defeated at Muhlberg in 1547 and the survivors, Casca included, are chased well into Germany. Casca heads east away from the religious disorder. Here, he is confronted by two unruly Cossacks and Cacsa kills both with his bare hands that impresses the other Cossacks, and Casca in accepted into their community.

War looms and the Cossacks and Casca joins Ivan’s army in the conflict against Poland and Sweden, but then news reaches them that the Tsar’s army has turned on their village and destroyed it. After returning to bury the dead, Casca bids a sad farewell and travels west and eventually arrives in Spain.

He gets into an argument with arrogant Spanish troops which ends with 3 dead and 4 wounded and Casca a captive. Sentenced as a slave to the galleys, Casca partakes unwillingly in the Armada to England, and his ship is wrecked and ends up on the beaches of eastern England. Casca is the only survivor and makes it to a small village where he settles down as a fisherman.

Main points in Casca books 1520-1590

• 1520
• 1521 Start of the campaigns of Charles V. Spread of Luther’s teachings in Germany.
• 1527 Death of Machiavelli
• 1530
• 1531 Swiss protestant Zwingli dies at Kappel
• 1534 Establishment of Anglican Church under Henry VIII
• 1540
• 1546 Death of Luther
• 1547 Death of Henry VIII
• 1550
• 1560
• 1570
• 1580
• 1590

 

 

1590-1682 Theoretical and Mentioned

Casca 21: The Trench Soldier mentions Casca fighting in the Thirty Years War.

Living with the villagers for a while, Casca moves in with a widow, and things are settled until more religious discord sweeps the country. Branded a witch, Casca barely escapes with the mob after him, and he sails across the sea to Sweden where the country is about to go to war with Denmark. Rising to sergeant, Casca impresses the new king Gustav Adolph, and is promoted to Count of Hapsal, one of the newly conquered regions following wars with Norway and Russia. He administers land there until the Thirty Years War breaks out and Casca goes with the King and the army to Germany to fight.

At Breitenfeld (1631) the Swedes triumph but a year later at Lutzen the King is killed, although Casca and the other officers rally the Swedes to victory. But then in 1634 at Nordlingen the Swedes are badly beaten and Casca is left for dead on the battlefield. When he recovers, he makes his way to the reforming Swedish army and rejoins, this time as a private, and fights until the end of the war.

He moves east and finds another Cossack people, the Zarapog, who are being oppressed by the Poles. Seeing an opportunity to help them, Casca joins them and fights in the revolt.

Main points in Casca books 1590-1682

• 1590
• 1600
• 1610
• 1618 Start of 30 years war
• 1620
• 1630
• 1640
• 1648 End of 30 years war
• 1650
• 1660
• 1670
• 1680

1683 Casca 48: The Austrian

After the revolt is over, he moves south west as war with an old enemy is coming, and he joins the Austrians in Vienna just before the Turks arrive to besiege it. Eventually the Austrians, helped by the Poles, triumph at the Battle of Kahlenberg.

Main points in Casca books 1684-1699

• 1684
• 1690
• 1699

1700-1718 Theoretical and Mentioned

Casca joins the Allied forces as a British grenadier under John Churchill and the campaigns during the war sees many battles, such as Blenheim and Malplaquet. Casca’s experience helps him through the bloody war and at the end of it is shipped back to London where he’s billeted with the other grenadiers. But then he gets into a fight with two others over a woman and kills them.

Main Points in Casca books 1700-1718

• 1700
• 1710
• 1718 – Casca kills some British grenadiers and escapes arrest by taking ship to Jamaica.

1718 Casca 15: The Pirate

Escaping arrest, Casca takes a ship to Jamaica and while he’s there, is hired by a plantation owner to find his niece who’s been kidnapped by pirates. Put on board Blackbeard’s ship under cover, Casca is discovered and marooned by Blackbeard on an island. Enlisting an Anglo-Spanish group of fugitives, they steal a ship and sail to Jamaica and find the niece and rescue her, but the plantation owner betrays Casca. Killing him, Casca decides to stay with the niece in Jamaica for a while.

1718-1774 Theoretical and Mentioned

Casca’s participation in the European theatre of the Seven Year’s War is mentioned in the Trench Soldier, and in the Minuteman.

Finally Casca leaves Jamaica and lands in North America. The lure of a free life in the untamed wilds draws him west with fur trappers. When Cherokee attack, all the trappers are killed and Casca’s healing powers impress the Cherokee. He’s taken to their village where he lives as a powerful medicine man for some years, taking the chief’s daughter as his squaw. But when smallpox decimates the village, including the squaw, the surviving Cherokee decide Casca’s medicine is broken and cast him out.

He staggers into a British settlement who believe he’s a survivor of an attack and take him in. He ends up with a wealthy widow who tells him her late husband was murdered by a French officer. Taking payment to hunt him down, Casca ends up crossing the Atlantic to Europe and enlists in the Prussian army who are fighting the French. When Casca finally finds the Frenchman he’s told that in fact the widow and he were lovers but he had gone back to his wife and she had never forgiven him. Casca returns to America and tells her the Frenchman died in the war.

Main points in Casca books 1719-1774

• 1719
• 1720
• 1730
• 1740
• 1750
• 1757 – Outbreak of 7 years war.  Casca ends up fighting for the Prussians.
• 1760
• 1764 – End of 7 years war.  Casca returns to North America.
• 1770

1775-1777 Casca 36: The Minuteman

Growing discontent with British rule leads towards conflict. Casca is arrested on false charges by British officer Sir Richard Eley and he escapes and he joins the rebels, fighting at Lexington, Boston, New York and Trenton & Princeton, with Sir Richard seeking to kill Casca at every opportunity.

 

 

 

Main points 1775-1777

• 1775 Outbreak of War, Battles of Lexington and Boston
• 1776 Battle of New York, Battle of Trenton
• 1777 Battle of Princeton

1777-1783 Casca 38: The Continental

The war carries on, with Casca initially experiencing more reverses at Philadelphia, but eventually the war turns and the Americans begin to win the war, and finally at Yorktown the British surrender.

 

 

 

 

Main Points in Casca books 1777 – 1783

• 1777 Battle of Philadelphia.
• 1780
• 1781 Yorktown. Casca witnesses final surrender of British forces
• 1783 Formal end of war

1784 – 1811. Theoretical and Mentioned

Staying on for a while after the American independence, Casca finally knows he has to leave so travels to Europe, and lands in France which itself is engulfed in revolution.  As part of Napoleon’s invincible army, Casca takes part in many of the famous campaigns, first in Italy then in Germany and Austria. Some of the victories include Marengo, Ulm, Austerlitz and Wagram. Casca rises in the ranks to sergeant and is one of the most experienced members of the army. But over a dozen years of fighting he knows he should change units or else begin to attract suspicion. He leaves the main army and enrols in Prince Eugene’s Army of Italy.

Main Points in Casca books 1784 – 1811

• 1784
• 1790
• 1800
• 1810
• 1811

1812. Casca 30: Napoleon’s Soldier

Part of Napoleon’s Grande Armee to invade Russia, Casca and his unit make their way to Russia via Poland. They come across a looted village and the looters are executed except for their leader who has escaped. Casca vows to a dying Polish girl to return precious icons that have been stolen. Joining the invading force, Casca takes under his wing a Polish woman, Marianka, who is a target of an assassin. Fighting their way into Moscow, the army fights a fire, but then as winter approaches, have to retreat. On the journey back the army is whittled down and Casca battles to keep his unit together. Eventually Marianka dies and Casca finds the mystery looter and the icons. But he is arrested and shot as a murderer.

1813 – 1815. Casca 56: The Iron Duke’s Man.

Casca recovers and decides never to fight for Napoleon again. Making his way to Holland he spends a year or two on a farm until news arrives of Napoleon’s escape from Elba and Casca hurries to join the coalition forces massing in Belgium. He’s part of Wellington’s British army that wins at Waterloo.

1816 – 1845. Theoretical and mentioned

Casca The Legionnaire refers to Casca serving in Sidi Slimane in 1832 as a member of the French Foreign Legion, and African Mercenary mentions Casca being part of the Boer Trek of the 1830s.

With the ending of the European conflicts, Casca returns to the farm to find it occupied by its former owners, so he hires himself out as a mercenary and soon gets a job fighting for the Greeks in their war of independence. When the war ends, Casca ends up in the French Foreign Legion in north Africa and for a while fights against the Arabs in a murderous war but deserts after killing his sadistic sergeant.

 

Travelling to the southern tip of Africa, Casca joins the Boers in their trek northwards away from British control and helps defeat the Zulus. He takes a Boer woman but when she dies Casca kills the British soldiers responsible and becomes a wanted man.

Main Points in Casca books 1816 – 1845

• 1820
• 1830
• 1832 Casca joins Foreign Legion at Sidi Slimane
• 1835 Great Boer Trek begins
• 1838 Battle of Blood River
• 1840
• 1845 After killing some British soldiers, Casca escapes South Africa en route to America

1846-1848. Casca 25: Halls of Montezuma

Stowing away on a ship, Casca eventually arrives in America, hoping for a new life. He saves a family of Irish immigrants from the clutches of Whitby, a felon and brothel owner. When Casca is badly hurt in a fight at Whitby’s place, he’s cared for by Ann, the eldest daughter in the Irish family, the McGuires.

Settling down in Lynchburg, Virginia, Casca becomes aware the Brotherhood is hunting him as well as Whitby and decides to join the American army just as war with Mexico breaks out. Fighting his way to Monterrey, Casca forges his unit into a battle hardened one, and then is sent to Vera Cruz to fight up to Mexico City where they storm the fortress of Chapultepec. He finally kills Whitby and saves the life of the youngest daughter, Elizabeth.

Main Points 1846 – 1848

• 1846 Casca arrives in America. Outbreak of war with Mexico
• 1848 End of Mexican War

1848 – 1862. Casca 26: Johnny Reb

Casca stays on the farm, mostly because the Brotherhood threaten to kill everyone if he doesn’t. The girls have all grown up and Elizabeth and Casca become lovers. This causes friction in the household so Casca and Elizabeth move to Richmond after Casca wipes out the Brotherhood cell in the area. Civil War comes and Casca joins the Confederacy to fight for Virginia and is involved in training up his platoon which includes Ann McGuire’s son, Billy Brady. Victories against the North follow, but the Brotherhood close in and corrupt Ann to work for them and Elizabeth is taken prisoner.

Main Points 1848 – 1862

• 1848
• 1850
• 1857 Death of Mary Maguire
• 1860 Casca and Elizabeth Maguire move to Richmond
• 1861 Outbreak of Civil War; Casca joins Confederacy
• 1862 Battles outside Richmond and Manassas. Elizabeth taken captive and dies.

1862 – 1865. Casca 27: The Confederate

As the war turns against the Confederacy, Casca learns of Elizabeth’s capture and finds her dead. Vowing revenge, he rejoins the army in time for the Gettysburg campaign and he and his unit are trapped behind enemy lines after the defeat. Chased by the Brotherhood, he and his men finally turn up at Lynchburg and destroy the Brotherhood units and Billy takes his deranged mother to an asylum. The war then closes in and Casca, Billy and one of their unit, Herman Munz, end up back at Lynchburg after the war where Casca bids a farewell.

 

 

Main Points 1862 – 1865

• 1862 Battles of Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg
• 1863 Battle of Gettysburg
• 1864 Battles of Petersburg
• 1865 Final surrender of Confederacy. Casca leaves for the West

 

 

 

1866 1869 Casca 17: The Warrior

Working for a while on the railroads of America, Casca eventually sails from San Francisco out into the Pacific and ends up on a South Sea island where he joins with the main village in fighting the expansionist designs of the local area warlord. After defeating him Casca sets sail into the vast ocean alone.

Main Points 1866 – 1869

• 1866 – Casca works on the railroad gangs
• 1867 – Joins the crew of the Rangaroa in San Francisco
• 1869 – Escapes from the island in a dug out canoe

1870-1876 Events of Casca 46: The Cavalryman

Tossed onto the Californian coast after a storm Casca makes a living as a bouncer in the saloons of the frontier, and then gets involved in a mission of revenge. Heading into the wilderness he signs up as an army trooper. Commanded by Custer, Casca is part of the Seventh Cavalry that are wiped out at the Little BigHorn. Casca comes round as the only survivor and walks off into obscurity.

1877 – 1897. Theoretical and Mentioned

Casca lies low in the United States doing odd jobs in the Old West.

Main points in Casca books 1877 – 1897

• 1877
• 1880
• 1890

1898 Casca 52: The Rough Rider

Finally destitute again, in order to earn money he rejoins the US Army and takes part in the fighting on Cuba in the war against Spain. After victory Casca sails for the far east and Hong Kong.

• 1899 – Sails from America en route to Hong King

1899 – 1900. Casca 18: The Cursed

Joining the British army in Hong Kong Casca is sentenced to death for executing a lieutenant in an act of revenge. Spared in return for becoming a spy for the governor, he’s sent to China but is captured. Deciding to join the Chinese, he leads one of the Chinese armies in the Boxer Rebellion, attacking the legation at Tsungkow. However he is betrayed and ends up losing everything. Oddly, he’s rescued by the Brotherhood of the Lamb.

1900 – 1914. Theoretical and Mentioned

• 1900
• 1910
• 1913 Casca is forced to go onto the streets of London after a chance meeting (Trench Soldier page 5)
• 1914

1914 – 1915. Casca 21: Trench Soldier

After serving the Chinese government for a while, Casca has to flee to London after being recognised as a murderer (see above). One of the many homeless in London, Casca finds money and travels to South Wales and works in the coal mines. When war breaks out he signs up and is sent to Flanders as part of the B.E.F., fighting at Mons and on the Marne. Eventually he is burned and left for dead, but the ship he’s on is sunk and he’s picked up by a troopship bound for Gallipoli.

Main Points 1914-1915

• 1914 – Casca joins the British Army
• 1915 – Is wounded badly in the trenches in Flanders

1915. Casca 32: The Anzac

Casca comes to in an Alexandria hospital, but a medical orderly is suspicious of his healing powers. Escaping by crashing an ambulance, Casca is hunted by the British as two soldiers died in the accident. Casca joins the Australian army to flee Egypt and becomes part of the campaign in Gallipoli to fight the Turks, but the medical orderly closes in on him. After becoming romantically involved with a young nurse, Casca escapes Gallipoli and ends up in Bulgaria, walking away from the horrors of trench warfare.

1917-1919.  Casca 50: The Commissar

Despite trying to flee the horrors of World War One, Casca ends up in Romania just as they enter the war and is caught up in the disaster that overtakes the country. Retreating into Russia, Casca is engulfed in the revolution there and initially joins the communists until the truth of what they do hits him.  He then escapes the clutches of the Communists.

1920 – 1939. Theoretical and Mentioned

After the horrors of the Russian Civil War he makes his way to Spain where civil war looms and he takes the anti-communist side. After victory there he travels to Nazi Germany where their anti-communist stance draws him into their armed forces just as another war breaks out.

Main points in Casca books 1920 – 1939

• 1920
• 1930
• 1939

1939-1940. Casca 40: Blitzkrieg

As World War Two looms, the Eternal Mercenary joins the Wehrmacht to avoid the attentions of a German police investigation, and enrols into the 3rd Panzer Division.  He partakes in the campaigns of Poland and France, meeting his new crew including Gus Beidemann and Teacher.

Main Points 1939-1940

• 1939 – September, German invasion of Poland
• 1940 – 10 May, German invasion of France and Belgium

1941 – 1942. Casca 42: Barbarossa

Casca is part of the panzer successes in Russia as he drives towards Moscow until the winter and Russian reinforcements stop them. More fighting on the Russian front sees the war see-saw.

Main points 1941-1942

• 1941 – June, German invasion of Soviet Union
• 1941 – December, battles outside of Moscow
• 1942 – Battle of Kharkov, Caucasus campaign

1943-1945. Casca 4: Panzer Soldier

Casca is involved in the nightmare Battle of Kursk in which the Russians win, and the months following this he’s sent retreating back towards Germany. Most of Casca’s unit die, except the giant Gus, but Casca is finally taken prisoner by the Nazi hierarchy and he learns that they are run by the Brotherhood of the Lamb. Placed in the Bunker in Berlin just as the Russians close in, Casca meets Hitler and helps him die.

Main Points 1943-1945

• 1943 – Battle of Kursk
• 1945 – Battle for Berlin

1945-1954. Casca 11: The Legionnaire

Breaking out of Berlin, he’s taken prisoner by the French and recruited into their Foreign Legion, trained and then shipped to Vietnam to fight for France against the Viet Minh. Casca meets up with Gus again and together they fight in the decisive Battle of Dien Bien Phu. After being defeated, they are sent back to France.

Main Points 1945-1954

• 1945 – Casca breaks out of Berlin and is captured by the French
• 1946 – Training at Sidi-bel-Abbes (page 19)
• 1949 – Casca sent to Indo-China (page 24)
• 1950
• 1954 – Battle of Dien Bien Phu

1955-1970. Theoretical and Cascas 54: The Killer and 16: Desert Mercenary

The Algerian War of Independence (Casca 54) provides Casca and Gus with plenty of action but both buy their way out when the war turns against them and the opportunity presents itself for them to become mercenaries. One job they do is to rescue a couple of Americans from a fanatical Tuareg leader (see Casca 16). In 1963 Casca returns to Indo-China and turns his back on mercenary work – for the time being – and joins the American army where he fights in Vietnam and Laos (see Casca 14).

Main Points 1955 – 1970

• 1955
• 1960
• 1962 – End of Algerian War of Independence. Gus and Casca quit the French Foreign Legion.
• 1962 – Events of Casca 16: Desert Mercenary
• 1963 – Casca joins the American army in Vietnam
• 1966 – Casca meets Van during a battle at Moc Hua against the Viet Cong (Soldier of Fortune, page 90)
• 1970

1970. Casca 14: The Phoenix

Recruited into a special force to stop a Viet Cong assassination squad from taking out many officials in Vietnam, Casca is captured by his enemy but escapes. Finally he confronts the assassin squad leader and lures him and his men into a crocodile infested swamp where all the Viets are killed. Casca is wounded shortly afterwards and taken to an army hospital where he is fated to meet Julius Goldman.

1970-1973. Casca 20: Soldier of Gideon

After quitting Vietnam in the wake of his first encounter with Dr.Goldman, Casca spends a few years in New Zealand. When yet another Arab-Israeli war looms, Casca and his friends decide to join up and fight for Israel. They fly to Israel and are inducted into the army, and are sent to Egypt to capture some border fortresses. No sooner have these been taken, then they are sent to Jerusalem to eject the Jordanians from the city. Finally they are sent to the north and the Golan Heights and they scale the sheer cliffs to capture them from the Syrians. In 6 days the Israelis have won a war, but Casca is the only one left alive out of the group of friends.

Main Points 1970 – 1973

• 1970 – Casca leaves Vietnam and the American army and goes to Australia, then to New Zealand
• 1973 – Joins the Israeli army

1973-1977. Casca 8: Soldier of Fortune & Casca 12: African Mercenary

After the Israeli war Casca winds up in the far east and becomes an established mercenary based in Malaysia and Thailand. He gets a mission to rescue a Chinese family in Cambodia and parachutes in, but he and his group are betrayed and the Khmer Rouge chase him back from the rendezvous point. Eventually he escapes and falls in love with the Chinese girl Yu Li. The two set up home in the Cameron Highlands, and Casca’s next mission is to take out an African dictator, Matthew Dzhombe. Again, they are betrayed. Gus Beidemann is one of the mercs with Casca and they fight their way south to safety, but Gus is one of the fatalities.

Main Points 1973 – 1977

• 1973
• 1975 – Khmer Rouge sieze power in Cambodia.
• 1976 – Events of Soldier of Fortune. Casca finds a home in the Cameron Highlands of Thailand with Yu Li.
• 1977 – Events of African Mercenary

1978-1990. Theoretical.

After a few years as a merc Casca knows his time to leave the far east has come, so he changes continents and bases himself in Central America. Afterwards he fights in wars in Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama.

1991 Events of Casca 44: Balkan Mercenary

Casca fights in Yugoslavia during its civil war.  Taking the side of the Croats, he has to take out a vicious warlord intent on ethnic cleansing.  But there is one of his group who has a hidden agenda.

Main Points in Casca books 1992 – 2021

• 2000 Bob Landries dies.  His son Danny becomes a new sounding board for Casca’s stories.
• 2003 Casca meets Danny in Cracow
• 2005 Danny becomes a business partner with Casca, running his mercenary ops from New York
• 2010
• 2011 Hayley Landries (Danny’s wife) lifts Casca and his mercs out of Libya.
• 2017 Casca meets Danny and a pregnant Hayley in Vienna.
• 2021 Casca and his mercs rescue Afghan provisional government in Herat, flown out by Hayley.

2023 Casca 58: The Hunter

With the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine, Casca is dragged into the conflict when it is discovered the Brotherhood is using the invasion as a means to get at an old project they had to abandon in 1986 following the Chernobyl disaster.  It becomes a race between them and Casca and his sidekick Hayley to get at the secret weaponry first.