Friday, December 11, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
More to come soon...
Haven't had the chance to do much creative writing this semester but I will be taking a creative writing class next semester (minoring in creative writing). More stories will be posted soon (next month during winter break hopefully).
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
done with high school
Will write at least one story over the summer, going to try to make it longer than they usually are. College soon.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Excerpt from story I am writing
The General raised his sword over his head and cried out as his troops charged the fields. The sky went black with arrows and the deafening thunder of hooves blocked out all noise as the two armies clashed, swords hitting shields and bones breaking as the barbaric humans from the south tried to fight back against the slavers. Smoke appeared in the distance signaling that the siege was underway and a ballista went off. The general fell from his horse grabbing at his neck just as the call for retreat had been sounded. The battle ended as quickly as it had begun.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Great Movie
Der Untergang(The Downfall) is a movie about the last days of the Nazi government in Germany. It is only available in German but it has English subtitles.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Market (Written for Modern European History)
The Market
It had been a good day for Viktor Sidorov. The harvest was good on his farm this year and his wife was about to give birth to a child who would hopefully live through the winter. As he walked towards his home heard gunshots in the distance, just hunters he said to himself as more shots fired and an explosion lit up the night sky. Dropping to the ground he yelled to his family to stay indoors. Warhorses caused the ground to shake as the victorious army approached the farm. Viktor had not thought to take his rifle with him today
“Greetings comrade, we hope our little battle did not scare you.” The man on the horse laughed and threw Viktor a potato. “My name is Commissar Taras Petrov of the Red Guard. Under the decree put into place by Vladimir Lenin you are ordered to give up your harvest for redistribution in cities, you will be given enough food to last you the week then you will have to come to the city for rations, failure to comply will result in unpleasant consequences.
The soldiers began taking Viktor’s first good harvest in ten years. They left a small section of the field for him to live off of for the next week and left leaving a cloud of dust. How would he tell his family what had happened? He had an eight year old daughter and his son was a month away, he had to think of something.
Viktor went inside and picked up a small bag of coins off of the counter, the months rent. Viktor’s wife, Tanya looked up from the sweater she was stitching and began to say something but Viktor interrupted, “I need to go do something in town; I’ll be back by dinner hopefully.”
The road to town was long and dangerous. Every turn could lead you into a trap set up by bandits or just a drunk looking for someone to fight. Because of this Viktor was taking the long route through the forest, where he didn’t expect to find anyone else. He continued walking until he saw a small stream and began to drink. He stopped drinking as soon as he started. The water was red. Viktor looked upstream and saw at least five bodies thrown into the water near a campfire, a group of hooded men with rifles and swords were standing around the fire talking. One of them looked back and saw Viktor staring at them and began aiming his rifle. “Walk over here slowly with your hands visible. We will not hurt you unless you try to run.”
Viktor walked towards the group. Once there a rifle butt hit the back of his head and he fell forwards into the fire. They pulled him out before any serious damage could be done, leaving a jagged scar down the left side of his face. The man who had spoken kicked Viktor onto his back and checked his pockets. “Looks like this one has some coin on him, he can live.” Viktor passed out as another hard kick hit his head.
Five hours later Viktor woke up. He was lying in a field outside of the village, he attempted to stand. At least his legs still worked, he thought as he walked towards the tavern. Once inside he sat down at the counter. “Viktor my friend, what will it be today?” asked the fat old man behind the counter. Sergei had owned the tavern for twenty years and knew most of his customers by face if not name. If anyone knew how to help Viktor, Sergei would.
“My farm has been claimed as property of the communist war effort and I was just robbed in the forest. I have no way of feeding my family, especially with a son being born next month. Do you know anyone who can help me?” The tavern went silent as a tall man got up and walked over to Viktor. “I can help you feed your family and more. You can become one of the richest men in Russia if you do what my people ask of you. I will send one of my men with you to your home if you want.”
Once back at his farm Viktor noticed the person following him. “My name does not matter. Now that we are here I can tell you our offer. You will participate in the black market, trading services or goods for food and other items. Sometimes we will come to you for special requests, you will have to go through with these or you will find the Red Guard knocking on your door with an execution squad waiting in the field. Do you accept?” Viktor looked back at his farm, if he did not accept his family would not live through the winter. The special requests couldn’t be that bad, he accepted. “Good, here is the money my men stole from you in the forest. Go get some sleep; we will be visiting you early tomorrow.”
The next day they returned. They didn’t ask for much, just for Viktor to repair some tools in return for some potatoes and meat. This went on throughout the winter once a week, Viktor and his family became wealthy and his son survived. Then spring came. The requests became harsher and the Red Guard had increased patrols in the area, soon they were asking for stuff he couldn’t give them until one day they went too far.
“We have a special request from a commander in the white army. You are to give us your daughter in return for increased protection against the reds; you will never see your daughter again.” Viktor began to protest but it was too late, he heard a scream as two men dragged his daughter out of bed and placed her in the back of a car. “Your service is appreciated.” The man smiled and got in the car, Viktor watched the car drive away in disgust.
Ten years later
War communism had passed and Lenin’s New Economic Policy was in place. Viktor still remembered the first day of May ten years ago, one day he would have revenge. Today a messenger had arrived at his home with news for him. “I have a report from the market. Your presence is requested in the village immediately, you are ordered to bring all of your wealth with you.”
Viktor looked at the boy, about one year older than his own son. This was the first time in eight years that the Black Market had contacted him, something must have happened. Viktor got in his car and drove to town, the car was given to him the last time the market had contacted him requesting he repair a stolen prototype weapon from England. Once in town his car was stopped by five men bearing the red star of the military.
They couldn’t have found out, it has been eight years. The men pulled Viktor out of the car and threw him on the ground. “You are under arrest under charges of supporting the rebel forces during the civil war. We have just caught your men here and they told us all about how you forced them to work for you.” Viktor’s face was red “They are the ones who forced me to-” Viktor could no longer talk as a rifle butt slammed into his face and his head slammed into the ground. “Take him away.”
Viktor woke up in a dark cell next to a family of rats. He got up quickly and startled them, running back into the crack they came from. He looked around and saw a young woman across from him, his daughter. She looked like she had been there for at least a year, her skin was pale and clothes torn. Her eyes had long ago lost any glimmer of hope that she would see daylight again. Viktor began to cry and attempted to get over to her. “I’m sorry. I was only trying to help the family.” The woman looked away, she didn’t notice him. “Speak to me” he said as she remained silent. Viktor began to yell and a guard opened the cell door. “Come with me, your time has come.” The woman stood up obediently and walked out of the cell. Five minutes later a gunshot echoed down the hall and his daughter was dead for a crime that was his fault. Viktor looked down at the ground and fell asleep.
He never woke up.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Future of the news – Paper or Internet?
By Christopher Gourgouras
News writing should remain balanced between Internet and print. This is because if one side dominates the market they will also have control over pricing and what gets written. If an even balance is kept than there will be competitive prices and more interesting stories from both sides.
Right now print news isn’t doing too well due to the fact that the economy is bad. Fewer companies are paying to advertise in the paper because of sites like craigslist that make advertising free and other companies just can’t afford to hire. The newspapers are also having subscriber problems because not as many people are reading the newspaper daily anymore and those who do are discovering you can get the same information for free online. What newspapers need to do to fix this is give consumers a reason to subscribe such as subscriber benefits such as more coupons or a yearly/monthly subscriber event such as a raffle. A lot of people buy the Sunday paper because it has a coupon section.
Print news also has to cut back on costs, this is because paper costs a lot of money but if they found a way to recycle old newspapers and create new ones they could make more money and spend less. They also need to lower advertising prices so more companies will see newspapers as an affordable method of getting the word out about their business.
Online news will do fine unless the Internet goes down for more than a month around the world. This is because online news sites do not need subscribers; they are paid for by ad companies who put ads on their sites such as Google. They have a large supply of talented writers from around the world as well and many write for free on these sites.
As long as a balance is kept the news industry will do fine. Competition is good for this type of industry and without it the news would be boring.
News writing should remain balanced between Internet and print. This is because if one side dominates the market they will also have control over pricing and what gets written. If an even balance is kept than there will be competitive prices and more interesting stories from both sides.
Right now print news isn’t doing too well due to the fact that the economy is bad. Fewer companies are paying to advertise in the paper because of sites like craigslist that make advertising free and other companies just can’t afford to hire. The newspapers are also having subscriber problems because not as many people are reading the newspaper daily anymore and those who do are discovering you can get the same information for free online. What newspapers need to do to fix this is give consumers a reason to subscribe such as subscriber benefits such as more coupons or a yearly/monthly subscriber event such as a raffle. A lot of people buy the Sunday paper because it has a coupon section.
Print news also has to cut back on costs, this is because paper costs a lot of money but if they found a way to recycle old newspapers and create new ones they could make more money and spend less. They also need to lower advertising prices so more companies will see newspapers as an affordable method of getting the word out about their business.
Online news will do fine unless the Internet goes down for more than a month around the world. This is because online news sites do not need subscribers; they are paid for by ad companies who put ads on their sites such as Google. They have a large supply of talented writers from around the world as well and many write for free on these sites.
As long as a balance is kept the news industry will do fine. Competition is good for this type of industry and without it the news would be boring.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Security in Pakistan. What security?
Christopher Gourgouras, Nashua
The March 3rd attack on the Sri Lankan national cricket team in Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan and the capitol of the Punjab province that Congress needs to pay attention to the growing problem with Pakistani security forces. The country has become increasingly unstable since 2006 when the Taliban created strongholds in the Swat Valley and caused a near civil war that has recently been brought to an end at a price. Pakistani officials have allowed the Taliban to Institute Sharia Law in the former tourist location. Sharia or Islamic Law is the same law that allows the courts to order the death of rape victims on charges of adultery or the removal of a thief’s hand. This shows the Pakistani governments growing inability to deal with militants and keep its country stable at the same time.
One major concern is Pakistan’s nuclear weapon program. If there was a coup initiated by the Taliban or another militant group the weapons would become vulnerable and the country would become a danger to nearby countries and also NATO and US troops in Afghanistan. If a militant group allied with Al-Qaeda gained control of nuclear material the Middle East could become even more unstable than it already is. Israel would be at a much greater risk of attack from more powerful groups using the Gaza Strip as a staging ground. Security in Pakistan needs to improve its technology and allow US forces to enter its borders to deal with threats on the border of Afghanistan.
The attack against the Sri Lankan team was an embarrassing event for Pakistan, cricket is one of the national sports in Pakistan and a foreign team was allowed to be attacked in a major city. The security given to the team was not enough to defend against this attack, the attackers escaped after killing five police officers without having one attacker caught or killed. The attackers shouldn’t have even gotten near the team with the weapons they carried, which included assault rifles and anti-tank missiles. This security gap needs to be fixed as soon as possible, until then foreign sports teams should not play in Pakistan.
One thing that should be done by the government is to increase pay of security forces. This is because the people protecting civilians and tourists from attacks are less effective when they are underpaid, the enemy can just bribe them a month’s salary to be somewhere else during the time the attack takes place. Families of police and soldiers should be protected also because terrorists do not fight with honor, if they see your face they will blow up your home or kill your children. ''The average salary of police in Pakistan is 3500 rupees a month,'' or about $60, Moinuddin Haider, a senior Pakistani police official said to the New York Times
Even though the attacks in Pakistan continue, the country will not cooperate with NATO forces in Afghanistan; they accuse NATO forces of being too aggressive. This is because NATO forces are launches raids into Pakistan to kill top Taliban officials ordering attacks in Afghanistan or hunting down insurgents who cross the border and kill people than return to Pakistan. The country needs to increase border patrols and allow the US have unmanned drones patrol the area. This would greatly decrease the threat of enemies crossing the border and forcing NATO to follow them. An agreement needs to be made between the US and Pakistan so relations between the two countries don’t become strained.
Overall, this is an issue that needs to be watched closely by intelligence agencies and congress; if it gets worst the country can become dangerous to neighboring countries including India and Afghanistan. Pakistan is estimated to have over 50 nuclear weapons in possession according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), if one of these weapons went missing during an attack or due to corruption it could be used to cause greater destruction than what was caused by the 9/11 attacks.
The March 3rd attack on the Sri Lankan national cricket team in Lahore, the second largest city in Pakistan and the capitol of the Punjab province that Congress needs to pay attention to the growing problem with Pakistani security forces. The country has become increasingly unstable since 2006 when the Taliban created strongholds in the Swat Valley and caused a near civil war that has recently been brought to an end at a price. Pakistani officials have allowed the Taliban to Institute Sharia Law in the former tourist location. Sharia or Islamic Law is the same law that allows the courts to order the death of rape victims on charges of adultery or the removal of a thief’s hand. This shows the Pakistani governments growing inability to deal with militants and keep its country stable at the same time.
One major concern is Pakistan’s nuclear weapon program. If there was a coup initiated by the Taliban or another militant group the weapons would become vulnerable and the country would become a danger to nearby countries and also NATO and US troops in Afghanistan. If a militant group allied with Al-Qaeda gained control of nuclear material the Middle East could become even more unstable than it already is. Israel would be at a much greater risk of attack from more powerful groups using the Gaza Strip as a staging ground. Security in Pakistan needs to improve its technology and allow US forces to enter its borders to deal with threats on the border of Afghanistan.
The attack against the Sri Lankan team was an embarrassing event for Pakistan, cricket is one of the national sports in Pakistan and a foreign team was allowed to be attacked in a major city. The security given to the team was not enough to defend against this attack, the attackers escaped after killing five police officers without having one attacker caught or killed. The attackers shouldn’t have even gotten near the team with the weapons they carried, which included assault rifles and anti-tank missiles. This security gap needs to be fixed as soon as possible, until then foreign sports teams should not play in Pakistan.
One thing that should be done by the government is to increase pay of security forces. This is because the people protecting civilians and tourists from attacks are less effective when they are underpaid, the enemy can just bribe them a month’s salary to be somewhere else during the time the attack takes place. Families of police and soldiers should be protected also because terrorists do not fight with honor, if they see your face they will blow up your home or kill your children. ''The average salary of police in Pakistan is 3500 rupees a month,'' or about $60, Moinuddin Haider, a senior Pakistani police official said to the New York Times
Even though the attacks in Pakistan continue, the country will not cooperate with NATO forces in Afghanistan; they accuse NATO forces of being too aggressive. This is because NATO forces are launches raids into Pakistan to kill top Taliban officials ordering attacks in Afghanistan or hunting down insurgents who cross the border and kill people than return to Pakistan. The country needs to increase border patrols and allow the US have unmanned drones patrol the area. This would greatly decrease the threat of enemies crossing the border and forcing NATO to follow them. An agreement needs to be made between the US and Pakistan so relations between the two countries don’t become strained.
Overall, this is an issue that needs to be watched closely by intelligence agencies and congress; if it gets worst the country can become dangerous to neighboring countries including India and Afghanistan. Pakistan is estimated to have over 50 nuclear weapons in possession according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), if one of these weapons went missing during an attack or due to corruption it could be used to cause greater destruction than what was caused by the 9/11 attacks.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
new story
1. Beginning
‘The Emperor is your friend, your family, your leader, your god.’
Imperial Propaganda Campaign 174
_______________________________________________________________________________
The Blademaster began his assault against Saxen for the fourth time; Saxen quickly deflected the blow and feigned an attack of his own. The Blademaster fell for the move and lost yet another duel. Saxen was good with a blade, his best pupil. He had learned quickly and at the age of fifteen had already surpassed the Blademaster’s fifty years of training. “Good work today, I can see improvement in your attacks. Lessons are over for today, I will see you back here again tomorrow at the same time”. With that, Saxen quickly picked up his cloak and left the training grounds. After twelve hours of intense training he was very hungry and was ready to sleep
Ever since Saxen was a child he had served the Blademaster. The Blademaster was the emperor’s personal bodyguard for thirty years and was now the groundskeeper of the Imperial School of Warfare. Only the best students in the empire were allowed into the school and those who made it sometimes committed suicide before the first week was over. Training was harsh and once there you were not allowed out until you turned twenty and when you did you were forced into serving the emperor. Anyone who tried to escape was normally tortured by the Inquisitors until they were begging to be thrown into the meat grinder at the local butcher to end their misery.
Saxen was one of the schools special cases. He came from a family of peasant farmers who had less than two copper coins to their name. At ten years old he was taken from home by the Inquisitors, the emperors personal agents who carried out jobs no one else would touch. Before taking him they had burned his farm and brutally tortured his father in front of him. He was taken into custody by the inquisition with his mother, who was never seen again. He was then thrown in a dungeon and locked away for a month before he was released and forced into the service of a duke, who had him killing rats in the kitchen and cleaning. He got into a lot of fights with the other children and was always the victor; this was noticed by a very important man in the duke’s court. The Blademaster bought this slave from the duke for fifty silver coins and returned to the school, it had been five years since that day.
Saxen walked into the schools main hall and grabbed a platter of meat. He returned to his room only to find a note on his desk. ‘Report to my office immediately. –The Blademaster’. Saxen ate his food than got up and began walking to the office nervously. He walked in and saw fresh blood on the wall, a man in a black hooded robe was standing by the dead body of his former master. “I thought you would be here sooner child. You are late and that has cost your master his life. You are no longer a student of this school, as of right now you are under arrest and property of the inquisition. Do not pack your things, you have no property. You will be forgotten by whatever friends you had so do not bother saying goodbye. You effectively no longer exist.
2. Rebellious Acts
‘Trust no one but your own two hands when in combat. The man guarding your life could just as easily put a crossbow bolt in your back if you miss a payment.’
The Blademaster
_____________________________________________________________________________________
“Who the hell are you?” Asked Saxen as he stared at the body of the only person he had come to trust in five years.
“My name does not matter. In the name of the emperor you are ordered to come with me, resist and you will die.” Saxen reached for his blade and seconds later a pain shot through his stomach and he fell onto the concrete floor. The pain was released and the dark mage towered over him smiling. “I told you not to resist. I have an offer for you but you will not receive this offer if I see one more action such as this. I can be your friend or your enemy; it is your choice to decide. Will you come with me or do you want to stay here and die slowly, the wraiths will never let you leave without permission from the man lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.”
“I will come with you, only because I have seen what your kind has done with the people have resisted the emperor.” They left the school and never looked back.
The Inquisitor took off his robes once out of the school, revealing a dark red robe with a black flame in the middle; the mark of a rebel. “That whole inquisitor act was just to fool the wraiths. My name is Markus Horatian; I am a recruiter for the Council of Six. We are the true rulers of this kingdom; the tyranny of the emperor must come to an end. He has lived for far too long without anyone standing up to him. Join us and revenge your family. Join us and save your mother.”
“What do you know of my mother?” Saxen was now turning red. “I know that she has been forced into the emperor’s personal service as one of his many vessels of pleasure. She is not treated like a human in his service and has been addicted to powerful drugs for years in order to escape what she saw the day she was taken from you. We need your help to take down the emperor and save thousands. This is the only way you will ever see your mother again.”
“I will join your order. If you really know where I can find my mother I will owe you my life.”
“Great, you have already passed your first test. I will tell you the rest of what you need to know when we get to the temple.”
After an hour of traveling they arrived at the gate of a massive stone temple dedicated to Rothgaar, the god of changes. They stepped inside the barred doors and were assaulted by the smell of cooking fires and freshly harvested produce. The temple was set up like a fortress, once inside the doors immediately locked behind them. The guards approached Saxen with caution before seeing Markus and returned to their posts.
“Welcome to your new home. You are untouchable here and it is from these walls that you will begin planning your revenge. Revenge the death of your father and save your mother, once this is done we can come to power and make this land a better place for the people of the empire.
For the next three years Saxen trained and plotted with the Order until he could defeat anyone in the temple during a fair fight. During this time he attempted magic training and learned the basics of how to detect and disarm magic traps but not much else. On his eighteenth birthday everything changed.
3. Death in the family
‘Please, don’t kil…’
Last words of an Inquisitor before losing his head to a rebel ambush
____________________________________________________________________________________
The birthday celebration was short. After four hours there was a banging at the temple door followed shouts from outside. The door splintered open as fifty imperial troops armed with crossbows swarmed inside and surrounded the group. Markus had already escaped and Saxen was on his own as one by one every rebel troop and five of the six members of the council were cut down by crossbow bolts. Saxen drew his blade and charged at the left flank of the attackers, killing ten of them. The confusion that followed allowed him to kill twenty more with swift blows before the remaining soldiers retreated. Markus came out of hiding and yelled to him to chase after the attackers. Saxen quickly ran out the doors and followed his attackers.
He followed them for five miles before they finally arrived at an outpost. He snuck inside posing as a laborer and followed the remaining attackers to the military section. Once there a group of five inquisitors walked towards them and began questioning them about why they failed. Nineteen of the twenty remaining soldiers were executed on the spot and the captain was tied up by the inquisitors who than began to recite a spell under their breaths. Once the final spell was complete, the captain’s skin began to boil and he began to scream out in pain. “You have failed us greatly. The emperor requested nicely that you get the boy and you insulted him by losing your entire unit and accomplishing nothing but killing off some criminals. Your service is no longer required and you are now permanently relieved of duty”.
With that, the captain screamed more as his body began to disfigure itself to the point that he was no longer recognizable as a human. If he could, he would have slit his own throat by now and if someone nearby had the courage they would have put a bolt through his heart to end his suffering. No one did. Saxen saw an opening as the inquisitors went into a trance while performing a death spell he had witnessed perform before. He quickly jumped out and interrupted the spell with the removal of the leaders head. This caused the remaining inquisitors to break off the spell and turn towards Saxen, who was now confused at what to do next since he didn’t even think the first plan would work. “You are the one everyone has been looking for. It is so kind of you to walk right into our little camp and turn yourself in, now drop your weapon or we will bind you here until the emperor arrives. He wants to have a talk with you.
Saxen walked over the head of the inquisitor he had slain and than to his body; the body of his father.
4. Imperial Greeting
‘War is like a game of cards with less cards and more blood.’
Unknown general
_____________________________________________________________________________________
The emperor arrived at the camp and walked towards the area where Saxen was being held. He walked inside and sat down in front of the confused man and began talking to him. “I am your emperor. I know what you have been told by your current friends but I can assure I am not evil and my men did not kill your parents. You were arrested for your own safety and you have become a great weapons master. I see that you have become acquainted with your father already so I won’t need to introduce him to you. What I have to say is important; the cult of Rothgaar is using you, they know that you have skills that surpass any warrior, and there have been prophecies that foretold your birth and spoke of how the one to command your loyalty would win control of this empire. You must join us before it is too late and the cult of change kills millions. You must return to the temple and kill the rogue inquisitor Markus Horatian before it is too late.”
“How can I be sure that you are not lying to me to gain my trust? I know what you are doing to my mother.” “Your mother has been held in the rebel dungeons since Markus attacked your home and tortured your father in an attempt to force him to join The Order. I should have known he would use her as bait to make you try to kill me. Go back now before it is too late.”
Markus was supplied with a horse and a new sword. He rode through five miles of familiar forest until reaching the front steps of the temple. The sky was the color of blood and the bodies of former cult members were lying outside the temple in flames. Markus was crouched on the roof of the temple and watching as his friends burned when he saw Saxen approaching from the forest line and ran inside. Saxen stormed through the temple doors and drew his blade when suddenly he felt like the weight of the entire building had been placed on top of him. He fell to the ground and was unable to get up as Markus walked out of a door that he had never seen before. He was followed by a familiar woman who looked like she hadn’t seen the sun in ten years.
“If you swear an oath to serve me, she will live and be released. If you do not she will hang as you watch before I slit your throat and leave you on the emperors steps. I hope you choose wisely”. “I will never swear an oath to server you and your god. You lied to me, murdered a friend of mine and caused me to kill my own father. I will not fight for a man who claims to fight for justice to cover up the fact that he is really just a madman who takes pleasure in killing in the name of a false god. You will not have my oath and you will not kill my mother. Take my life first if you can.”
Saxen broke the bond and charged at the priest sword drawn. As he drew near the priest disappeared and was behind him with a poisoned dagger, which Saxen deflected easily after receiving a small scratch on his chest. He swung his sword in rage and killed the air in front of him as Markus cast another spell and appeared ten feet away. Saxen breathed deeply and made a final charge with unexpected force that caught the priest off-guard. He cut off both of his hands and tied him down.
Laughing, Markus lied there in his chains. “You will not live out the night. If I die, you will die as well, I have the only cure for the poison that I cut into you. Let me live”. “I am not going to kill you, just make living the rest of your life extremely painful”. Saxen drew a dagger from his belt and forced the priest’s mouth open before cutting out his tongue. Markus screamed in pain and choked on blood as he was forced to swallow his own tongue. The pain alone was enough to knock him out and soon his eyes were closed. Saxen began to stumble and the poison began to take affect. His mother ran over and tried to help him but it was too late, he died shortly after the fight had ended.
5. Funeral
‘What?’
The thoughts of Markus Horatian after waking up in an imperial jail cell
__________________________________________________________________________
The streets were lined by thousands of mourners as the funeral procession began. Once they had reached their destination, the body of Saxen, his father and his mother were all placed on the funeral pyre and the flame was lit. As they burned the emperor spoke to the crowd.
“The people before you today served the empire with great courage; all three of them former peasants have become heroes worthy of the history books. Saxen has killed the rogue inquisitor and leader of the cult of change, Markus Horatian, who has kept me in hiding for all these years. From the day forth you will see more of me. The empire is once again safe and the civil war has come to a close. Markus Horatian is imprisoned and his followers have all been slain. With peace comes a great price though. These people lost their lives to save yours, I ask you now to pay your respects to them”. The next day Markus Horatian was hung and the citizens of the empire rejoiced. A week later the emperor had a crossbow bolt in his back.
‘The Emperor is your friend, your family, your leader, your god.’
Imperial Propaganda Campaign 174
_______________________________________________________________________________
The Blademaster began his assault against Saxen for the fourth time; Saxen quickly deflected the blow and feigned an attack of his own. The Blademaster fell for the move and lost yet another duel. Saxen was good with a blade, his best pupil. He had learned quickly and at the age of fifteen had already surpassed the Blademaster’s fifty years of training. “Good work today, I can see improvement in your attacks. Lessons are over for today, I will see you back here again tomorrow at the same time”. With that, Saxen quickly picked up his cloak and left the training grounds. After twelve hours of intense training he was very hungry and was ready to sleep
Ever since Saxen was a child he had served the Blademaster. The Blademaster was the emperor’s personal bodyguard for thirty years and was now the groundskeeper of the Imperial School of Warfare. Only the best students in the empire were allowed into the school and those who made it sometimes committed suicide before the first week was over. Training was harsh and once there you were not allowed out until you turned twenty and when you did you were forced into serving the emperor. Anyone who tried to escape was normally tortured by the Inquisitors until they were begging to be thrown into the meat grinder at the local butcher to end their misery.
Saxen was one of the schools special cases. He came from a family of peasant farmers who had less than two copper coins to their name. At ten years old he was taken from home by the Inquisitors, the emperors personal agents who carried out jobs no one else would touch. Before taking him they had burned his farm and brutally tortured his father in front of him. He was taken into custody by the inquisition with his mother, who was never seen again. He was then thrown in a dungeon and locked away for a month before he was released and forced into the service of a duke, who had him killing rats in the kitchen and cleaning. He got into a lot of fights with the other children and was always the victor; this was noticed by a very important man in the duke’s court. The Blademaster bought this slave from the duke for fifty silver coins and returned to the school, it had been five years since that day.
Saxen walked into the schools main hall and grabbed a platter of meat. He returned to his room only to find a note on his desk. ‘Report to my office immediately. –The Blademaster’. Saxen ate his food than got up and began walking to the office nervously. He walked in and saw fresh blood on the wall, a man in a black hooded robe was standing by the dead body of his former master. “I thought you would be here sooner child. You are late and that has cost your master his life. You are no longer a student of this school, as of right now you are under arrest and property of the inquisition. Do not pack your things, you have no property. You will be forgotten by whatever friends you had so do not bother saying goodbye. You effectively no longer exist.
2. Rebellious Acts
‘Trust no one but your own two hands when in combat. The man guarding your life could just as easily put a crossbow bolt in your back if you miss a payment.’
The Blademaster
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“Who the hell are you?” Asked Saxen as he stared at the body of the only person he had come to trust in five years.
“My name does not matter. In the name of the emperor you are ordered to come with me, resist and you will die.” Saxen reached for his blade and seconds later a pain shot through his stomach and he fell onto the concrete floor. The pain was released and the dark mage towered over him smiling. “I told you not to resist. I have an offer for you but you will not receive this offer if I see one more action such as this. I can be your friend or your enemy; it is your choice to decide. Will you come with me or do you want to stay here and die slowly, the wraiths will never let you leave without permission from the man lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood.”
“I will come with you, only because I have seen what your kind has done with the people have resisted the emperor.” They left the school and never looked back.
The Inquisitor took off his robes once out of the school, revealing a dark red robe with a black flame in the middle; the mark of a rebel. “That whole inquisitor act was just to fool the wraiths. My name is Markus Horatian; I am a recruiter for the Council of Six. We are the true rulers of this kingdom; the tyranny of the emperor must come to an end. He has lived for far too long without anyone standing up to him. Join us and revenge your family. Join us and save your mother.”
“What do you know of my mother?” Saxen was now turning red. “I know that she has been forced into the emperor’s personal service as one of his many vessels of pleasure. She is not treated like a human in his service and has been addicted to powerful drugs for years in order to escape what she saw the day she was taken from you. We need your help to take down the emperor and save thousands. This is the only way you will ever see your mother again.”
“I will join your order. If you really know where I can find my mother I will owe you my life.”
“Great, you have already passed your first test. I will tell you the rest of what you need to know when we get to the temple.”
After an hour of traveling they arrived at the gate of a massive stone temple dedicated to Rothgaar, the god of changes. They stepped inside the barred doors and were assaulted by the smell of cooking fires and freshly harvested produce. The temple was set up like a fortress, once inside the doors immediately locked behind them. The guards approached Saxen with caution before seeing Markus and returned to their posts.
“Welcome to your new home. You are untouchable here and it is from these walls that you will begin planning your revenge. Revenge the death of your father and save your mother, once this is done we can come to power and make this land a better place for the people of the empire.
For the next three years Saxen trained and plotted with the Order until he could defeat anyone in the temple during a fair fight. During this time he attempted magic training and learned the basics of how to detect and disarm magic traps but not much else. On his eighteenth birthday everything changed.
3. Death in the family
‘Please, don’t kil…’
Last words of an Inquisitor before losing his head to a rebel ambush
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The birthday celebration was short. After four hours there was a banging at the temple door followed shouts from outside. The door splintered open as fifty imperial troops armed with crossbows swarmed inside and surrounded the group. Markus had already escaped and Saxen was on his own as one by one every rebel troop and five of the six members of the council were cut down by crossbow bolts. Saxen drew his blade and charged at the left flank of the attackers, killing ten of them. The confusion that followed allowed him to kill twenty more with swift blows before the remaining soldiers retreated. Markus came out of hiding and yelled to him to chase after the attackers. Saxen quickly ran out the doors and followed his attackers.
He followed them for five miles before they finally arrived at an outpost. He snuck inside posing as a laborer and followed the remaining attackers to the military section. Once there a group of five inquisitors walked towards them and began questioning them about why they failed. Nineteen of the twenty remaining soldiers were executed on the spot and the captain was tied up by the inquisitors who than began to recite a spell under their breaths. Once the final spell was complete, the captain’s skin began to boil and he began to scream out in pain. “You have failed us greatly. The emperor requested nicely that you get the boy and you insulted him by losing your entire unit and accomplishing nothing but killing off some criminals. Your service is no longer required and you are now permanently relieved of duty”.
With that, the captain screamed more as his body began to disfigure itself to the point that he was no longer recognizable as a human. If he could, he would have slit his own throat by now and if someone nearby had the courage they would have put a bolt through his heart to end his suffering. No one did. Saxen saw an opening as the inquisitors went into a trance while performing a death spell he had witnessed perform before. He quickly jumped out and interrupted the spell with the removal of the leaders head. This caused the remaining inquisitors to break off the spell and turn towards Saxen, who was now confused at what to do next since he didn’t even think the first plan would work. “You are the one everyone has been looking for. It is so kind of you to walk right into our little camp and turn yourself in, now drop your weapon or we will bind you here until the emperor arrives. He wants to have a talk with you.
Saxen walked over the head of the inquisitor he had slain and than to his body; the body of his father.
4. Imperial Greeting
‘War is like a game of cards with less cards and more blood.’
Unknown general
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The emperor arrived at the camp and walked towards the area where Saxen was being held. He walked inside and sat down in front of the confused man and began talking to him. “I am your emperor. I know what you have been told by your current friends but I can assure I am not evil and my men did not kill your parents. You were arrested for your own safety and you have become a great weapons master. I see that you have become acquainted with your father already so I won’t need to introduce him to you. What I have to say is important; the cult of Rothgaar is using you, they know that you have skills that surpass any warrior, and there have been prophecies that foretold your birth and spoke of how the one to command your loyalty would win control of this empire. You must join us before it is too late and the cult of change kills millions. You must return to the temple and kill the rogue inquisitor Markus Horatian before it is too late.”
“How can I be sure that you are not lying to me to gain my trust? I know what you are doing to my mother.” “Your mother has been held in the rebel dungeons since Markus attacked your home and tortured your father in an attempt to force him to join The Order. I should have known he would use her as bait to make you try to kill me. Go back now before it is too late.”
Markus was supplied with a horse and a new sword. He rode through five miles of familiar forest until reaching the front steps of the temple. The sky was the color of blood and the bodies of former cult members were lying outside the temple in flames. Markus was crouched on the roof of the temple and watching as his friends burned when he saw Saxen approaching from the forest line and ran inside. Saxen stormed through the temple doors and drew his blade when suddenly he felt like the weight of the entire building had been placed on top of him. He fell to the ground and was unable to get up as Markus walked out of a door that he had never seen before. He was followed by a familiar woman who looked like she hadn’t seen the sun in ten years.
“If you swear an oath to serve me, she will live and be released. If you do not she will hang as you watch before I slit your throat and leave you on the emperors steps. I hope you choose wisely”. “I will never swear an oath to server you and your god. You lied to me, murdered a friend of mine and caused me to kill my own father. I will not fight for a man who claims to fight for justice to cover up the fact that he is really just a madman who takes pleasure in killing in the name of a false god. You will not have my oath and you will not kill my mother. Take my life first if you can.”
Saxen broke the bond and charged at the priest sword drawn. As he drew near the priest disappeared and was behind him with a poisoned dagger, which Saxen deflected easily after receiving a small scratch on his chest. He swung his sword in rage and killed the air in front of him as Markus cast another spell and appeared ten feet away. Saxen breathed deeply and made a final charge with unexpected force that caught the priest off-guard. He cut off both of his hands and tied him down.
Laughing, Markus lied there in his chains. “You will not live out the night. If I die, you will die as well, I have the only cure for the poison that I cut into you. Let me live”. “I am not going to kill you, just make living the rest of your life extremely painful”. Saxen drew a dagger from his belt and forced the priest’s mouth open before cutting out his tongue. Markus screamed in pain and choked on blood as he was forced to swallow his own tongue. The pain alone was enough to knock him out and soon his eyes were closed. Saxen began to stumble and the poison began to take affect. His mother ran over and tried to help him but it was too late, he died shortly after the fight had ended.
5. Funeral
‘What?’
The thoughts of Markus Horatian after waking up in an imperial jail cell
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The streets were lined by thousands of mourners as the funeral procession began. Once they had reached their destination, the body of Saxen, his father and his mother were all placed on the funeral pyre and the flame was lit. As they burned the emperor spoke to the crowd.
“The people before you today served the empire with great courage; all three of them former peasants have become heroes worthy of the history books. Saxen has killed the rogue inquisitor and leader of the cult of change, Markus Horatian, who has kept me in hiding for all these years. From the day forth you will see more of me. The empire is once again safe and the civil war has come to a close. Markus Horatian is imprisoned and his followers have all been slain. With peace comes a great price though. These people lost their lives to save yours, I ask you now to pay your respects to them”. The next day Markus Horatian was hung and the citizens of the empire rejoiced. A week later the emperor had a crossbow bolt in his back.
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