Stories tagged “historical”
-
Brocade Sleeves
My earliest memory is of my mother. She was a beautiful woman, and from what I’ve been told, she had the favor of the court due to her grace and poise. Old letters and poems that I later found among her things compared her to the full moon, the starr...
-
Silk Curtains
I listened to the faint rustle of leaves outside the latticed window as I sat quietly, amused by my brush and ink as I drew saucy little birds across the paper and listened to the Fourth Minister drone on and on about policies and harvests. All sorts o...
-
Wind in the Pines
I ladled a small amount of hot water into the bowl, then carefully set the ladle back across the kettle’s mouth, mindful of my movements. Shugo sat nearby, crosslegged as he leaned against an upholstered, laquered bench to watch. I picked up the ...
-
Brush Strokes
I unfolded the carefully creased paper, a spring flower tucked in one fold. I wondered who it was from as I ran my fingers over the small pink bud. No one wrote me poems or praised my beauty, as they had for my mother. I recognized the author’s s...
-
Light of the Moon
I sighed as I studied my reflection in the polished brass mirror. The ‘gibbous moon’ look wasn’t very flattering, but it was the latest rage in women’s hairstyles. I studied the long, dark sections of hair brushed down along my ...
-
Urheimat
On the plain of the ancestors, the priest held the boy. There were five mounds, pyramidal in form but with flat tops. The blood from the ritual sacrifice was still running thick as the fires burned. They had sacrificed to Sehul and Mehnot, the Sun god ...
-
The First Arms Race
Yunis sat on the throne as his Budin, his most experienced military advisor, spoke to him. “The Hittites are forging new and greater weapons,” he said, his head hanging. “This is a recent development. Their new class of materials are ...
-
Invaders from the East
Udis walked down the stone path that overlooked the mountains. The mist hung above them like a specter, haunting him, staying on to his conscience. He could see the fires, far off in the distance. The war was going very badly. Invaders from the east ha...
-
On the Run
Siutin ran through the field. It was a black night, with not even the moon to shine its light. Siutin was a wanted man. The Ottomans had been ramming their way through the world, and all the cannon power in the nation had not been enough to repel them....
-
A Different Sort of Battle
Finally, Zibin realized, there was peace. The Ottomans had finally been warned away, and Britain had pledged her aid. There was a different sort of battle going on in the streets, though. Zibin’s country had jumped on the bandwagon of industriali...
-
Red in Morning
Puennio stood in the ruins of what had once been the king’s palace, and watched the sun rise. The switch to democracy had taken some doing, but it was done. The architect of the palace’s destruction, however was not people wielding weapons ...
-
Red at Night
Spreigas, only the second democratically-elected president since before World War II, addressed a rejoicing nation. It was 2000 hours. “My friends,” he began, “this is truly is a momentous day for our people, as we celebrate seventeen...
-
A Night With Rodney Candycane, Railroad Tycoon
“Let’s build us some railroads for speedy transportation! Maybe someday even _people_’ll walk ’em!”
-
Forged in Fire, Quenched in Blood
The splash of blood was hot and wet, and the screams that followed were the birthing cries of a new empire. Such things always required blood. A lone horseman stopped beside General Kao-Tsung. He wasn’t worried. There was only one man that his gu...
-
Nostalgia
Shugo stepped past the curtains and settled himself comfortably on the floor before I could fetch a silk cushion for him. He waved off my flustered look as I belatedly offered the brocaded pad. “I’m tired of formality,” he remarked, s...
-
Stealth
I picked my way cautiously along the hallways behind Shugo, trying not to jump at every sound the palace made as we crept past. If someone saw us, it wouldn’t matter that I was behaving at my lord’s behest – I had my robes hiked indec...
-
Swift Feet
We burst into the gardens in a hasty tumble of giggles and brocade; I’d long since forgotten about behaving decorously, once more the young girl who beat all of the boys at foot races. I stumbled on my robes, tucking the long fabric up under the ...
-
Guilty
Shugo’s laugh echoed across the garden, and I sat brazenly on his chest, my robes rucked up to my knees. I was still waving my prize triumphantly as several torches flickered to life nearby, brightly illuminating our horseplay. And no fewer than ...
-
Fighting Fire With Fire
Dense smoke floated heavily on the sea air while cannons barked and cannon balls whistled through the air. The calm of the sea was disproportionate to the battle that raged in it. Two ships faced off. One bore the flag of the East India Trading Company...
-
Chronicles Of Millie and Me Chapter 1
This is a true story that spans from 1919 to present day. Only the names and places have been altered for privacy reasons. Cuthridge , Victoria, Australia December 1919 This Christmas I spend with my family as I had always done every other year. This y...
-
Song of the Samurai
A young man knelt beside the small spring in his uncle’s garden. The spring was a constant song often accompanied by flute-like nightingales, the sawing violin chirp of crickets, kettle drums in the form of raucous laughter, and the paper-brush o...
-
A Rough Patch
Anson: I hate jobs like this and I shoulda asked before, but this is a paying job, right? Simon: What do you think? I’m not out here for fun. Anson: I know. You and fun don’t mix. Simon: Whaddya mean? Anson: Nevermind. I just want your word...
-
CSI : Norman London
“Hell, another murder. If we don’t find who did this, Lord Jameson is going to have our heads.” “Any ideas Robert?” “We could try Forensics.” “Popperian Empiricism? In a 13th Century setting? We’d b...
-
El Fin
The Spanish Conquistador dismounted his stallion on the edge of a towering precipice. He had leaped from atop here many times. On countless occasions, he felt the blood rush to his face, he and his mount ascending in the air. He knew the pain of thousa...
-
Time Shuttle
The mission had a three stage objective: First, send a man forward in time. Second, observe his reaction. Third, bring him back with no residual effects. The first stage was a launching success: Traveling at 17,544 miles per hour it took me a mere 4 ho...