Elantia is Sold into Freedom’s heroine. She’s from southwest Britannia, the area that is now Devon and Kent. Her father is the chief of their small village, which is part of the Dumnonii tribe.
Britannia was inhabited by the people we now call Celtics, though they weren’t known by that name until the 17th century. They were actually many disparate tribes who rarely worked together, and the Dumnonii were an especially fierce tribe. After a devastating battle with the tribe to the east, the Roman commander—future emperor Vespasian—forged a treaty with them rather than lose any more men.
Elantia was a seer, a gift she had inherited from her mother and grandmother and had studied for years to perfect. Celtic women fought alongside the men, and when she is captured and taken to Philippi as a slave, this strength of will serves her well. She vows to return home no matter what.
Our hero, Quintus Valerius, is a Roman of the upper class, but not the senatorial class. He is the fifth and last son in his family, and his father did not include him when he divided the inheritance among his brothers. Quin and his mother are close, but he’s been gone for the last six years in Britannia, and served eleven years before that in Germania.
He was a well respected and successful tribune in the Roman army, but a career-ending injury caused him to be dismissed. He is offered land on which to retire, but it is in Macedonia—Philippi. Quin is a warrior, and life outside the army proves to be difficult and unsettling for him. After an unexpected betrayal in Philippi, he is forced to take a job as prison master in order to survive.
Quin and Tia are both intrigued by the stranger who soon arrives in Philippi. Paulos begins talking about his God, about love and joy and peace. Eventually his words attract the attention of the powers that be, and not only Paulos and his friends, but Quin and Tia as well, all find themselves in grave danger.