The Dark Side of Honour (The Honour Series Book 3)

When Honour Becomes a Weapon

Across centuries and cultures, the concept of honour has shaped human behaviour—sometimes inspiring bravery, but too often justifying violence and division. The Dark Side of Honour is a stirring collection of seven stories that confront the ways honour has been manipulated to serve power, uphold prejudice, and silence love.

Spanning from medieval England to modern India and America, these narratives explore how the honour of family, caste, race, and religion can become a dangerous force. Whether through caste-driven vendettas, racial hatred, or religious conflict, each story reveals the devastating cost of misplaced pride. Yet, through the rising voices of the younger generation, there is a glimmer of change—a challenge to old hierarchies and a reimagining of what honour could be.

The Dark Side of Honour invites readers to question not just the past, but the values we carry forward.

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Excerpt from the book

The Lust of Power

In the middle of the thirteenth century, the land of the English was in turmoil. The King was in trouble, and the power of the Earls had increased. The Earl of Southton, James Higham, was a headstrong and cruel man. He had amassed a great amount of wealth by taxing most of the produce of the people of his lands. It was said that he had under his command a band of highwaymen who contributed to his coffers, although this was only whispered about and never spoken of aloud. He had more knights than the other Earls and maintained a small standing army. He had pledged his loyalty to the King, and hence the King, needing his strong support, ignored the complaints of his crimes and misdeeds.

The neighbouring shires were ruled by the Earl of Northam, Thomas Darcy, who was also a very rich man, but he came by his wealth honestly, and the people of his lands loved and respected him and his family. He came from a family of seafarers and adventurers, and most of his family’s wealth came from conquests in foreign lands and the capturing of enemy and pirate ships on the high seas. The Earl was known for his bravery and kindness, unlike his neighbour, who was known for his cruelty.

James Higham was a wealthy and powerful Earl, but he was never satisfied. He always wanted more wealth and more power. He had his eye on the lands and wealth of Thomas Darcy. He told his son, Baron Edward, who was twenty-two years of age, that if the two Earldoms were united, they would be the strongest force in the land.

“I have sent messengers to Darcy,” he told his son. “I suggested that we unite to strengthen the hand of the King. I outlined all the benefits that would accrue to such a unity—not least that we would become the right hand of the King and hence the second most powerful force in the land.”

Baron Edward asked him, “And what did the good Earl reply?”

His father’s face turned red with anger, and he shouted, “Do not call that oaf a good Earl! He refused my offer of unity! He refused it!”

Edward was well aware of his father’s avarice and ambition, so it came as no surprise to him that the Earl of Northam had refused his father’s offer. Thomas Darcy was a smart man, and he would have known that if he accepted the Earl of Southton’s offer, it wouldn’t be long before all he had was taken away by the Earl. But now Edward just shrugged and said, “That is his choice to make, Father. It does not belittle us in any way, especially since I have heard that he couched his refusal in the politest way possible.”

James glared at his son, but he knew that his son did not fear him as others did, so he just grunted and said, “We will see!”