Book I · Western Scotland, c. 1129–1180
The Flame Beneath the Heather
Somerled's bastard son raises a stronghold on the tidal isle of Tioram, and becomes the first Keeper of a mantle bound to sacrifice.
OutliningDomhnall mac Somhairle is the firstborn son of the warlord Somerled, but he is illegitimate, so he will never inherit. He is charged with building a new stronghold on the rocky isle of Tioram — a tidal island, reachable on foot at low water and cut off at high.
At a stone circle there he meets the Old Woman, and learns that he has been chosen as the first guardian of the Brat an Dùthchas, the Mantle of Heritage. It was made for sacrifice, not for power.
His half-brothers want what he is building. Norse-aligned forces and rival clans close in. By the end Domhnall has come to see that his part is not to rule. It is to remember, and to make sure others will.
Three acts, fifteen beats, sixty-seven chapters — fully outlined.