Stories tagged “medieval”
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Hadlén and the Pyre
Hadlén looked over the funeral pyre with a vacant stare. Stars twinkled above his head. He’d thought to himself before that the stars looked like they were the tears of the angels while a funeral pyre was burning, but that he was never struck wi...
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Hadlén's Grief
It had seemed to Hadlén like only seconds had passed, possibly minutes but no greater measure of time than that. Much time had passed however and soon the dawn would be breaking over the Hills of Symol that lay on the horizon. His fellow clerics had l...
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Pigeon Feathers
The room was completely silent, except for the quiet scratching noise of a quill on paper. Bent over a massive wooden table sat an old man, carefully tracing line after line on a sheet of finest paper. With endless patience, his fingers drew continents...
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Lord of the Fly
The fair maiden looked at her Lord longingly as she wiped her chin with her sleeve and widened her sultry smile. “Off with you now. Your King has pressing matters to attend to lass.” He paused for a moment, quivered, regained his composure ...
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Wrong Side of an Arrow
It is oft said that in times of war centuries ago England was gifted with a large number of the most talented archers of all time. The monarchy had made these into the Longbowmen, great warriors whose arrows arced the skies from their native land to th...
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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The Legendarye Queste To Gette Up And Go To The Mysticale Fridge
Gather ’rounde, fellow goodly knightes and faire maerrymakers! For thise saucy troubador has a talle tale to singe to thou, a tale as olde as ye merry olde taverne we now maerrymake withine! It begins as any goode tale doth, with a hearte as nobl...
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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...
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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 ...
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The Wrath of the Envious Lover
With clenched fists and pitchforks waved madly about her front gate, Anne was forced to sneaking out of her house in secrecy. Her face covered by her father’s old cloak, she wept silently without cease. Beth had always been envious of her, but to...
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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...
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Fireflies
Shugo’s quiet contemplation of the night sky suddenly shifted to a wicked grin. “Let’s go catch fireflies,” he decided. I forgot to behave properly and sat bolt upright, staring at him. I could already anticipate the snide remar...
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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...
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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 ...
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The Negotiations Didn't Work
Nadia de Barbec tried to hide her disgust as the servant girl led her into the mouldering banquet hall. The smell of rotten thatching almost made her retch. “Good evening and welcome,” sir Gerrick said, standing to bow to his guest. He stoo...
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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 ...
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Rider in the Sand
The troops were moving slowly now, baking in the hot desert sun at midday. Everything and everyone was covered in a heavy layer of sweat and sand grit. The general, atop his steed, wearily adjusted the sword at his side and checked his maps once more. ...
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Seeds
Johann dug at the hard-packed soil with the dull edge of his hoe. Sweat, beading on his forehead, dribbled down into his eye. As he dabbed his face with his rough sleeve, he surveyed the field. Birds fluttered overhead, and far beyond them, scuddy clou...
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Living
It’s better than dying. During my blue period, when the first protean delights of immortality had passed, and I was left with the prospect of undying boredom. Artistically, I mastered painting, sculpture, and drama. Athletically, under the guise ...
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An Ambassador of Nature
The hem of her forest green dress swept leaves into motion as she passed by, creating an audible illusion that the wind preceded her presence. The dress itself was not tight, but close fitting – not at all like the voluminous garments the courtie...
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Wailing Seasons PROLOGUE pt. 2
“Silence,” The man standing in front of him narrowed his eyes into burnt shades of coal, and his voice was ever authoritative. “You try to soften me with that pathetic chew.” He drew his lip back and scoffed, “ A wife and children. Mmm, and w...
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Wailing Seasons PROLOGUE
Prologue A thick blanket of dried maple leaves swept over the diligent town, and claimed it the season of fall in the land of Eastone. The earth was dry, and rich which nutrients from the dying summer foliage, and despite all of the warm scents wafting...