Your support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)
Questor
Moon
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2018
Warrior and Princess of Pangea
Pangea, a super continent of the world, long before man began recording history. Kingdoms that were lost in time and the separation of the land mass into what the modern world looks like. A time of heroes and villains, kingdoms and empires. A time of strange animals that disappeared long before the continent broke apart.
In this world mankind had come to be, and dredged themselves out of caves and crude dwellings to form large tribes, and then communities, and eventually Kingdoms with magnificent cities and monuments. Empires began and of course there were countless wars between the kingdoms, as each sought to become the dominant one in the world, ruling over the others.
The great city of Arthos was built in the year 1133 after many long years. It was a magnificent city with tall spires of polished granite that had bridges spanning between the towering structures. It was a powerful city ruled by a King that was loved by its people. He had risen up from being a common warrior to become the King through battle and leading the forces of Arthos to victory again and again. He had carved out a Kingdom that was rich and lay in the center of trade routes to other cities, and to those coastal cities to the west that brought goods from far away places on Pangea by sea.
It had enemies and the most powerful was an a group of large Islands of the Western Coast called Tyron. It was a sea faring kingdom with a great fleet of war ships and merchant ships. Like Argos it was a well known and hungered for more power. Many feared this Kingdom for its ships almost controlled the sea, but it could not exist with out the goods that other Kingdoms had and therefore was held in check most of the time.
Pangea's people had a cast system that the people lived by. There was the Warrior Cast that was the fighters of the world, the Physicians that healed and made wonder drugs that did many things for the people. The Merchant Cast was the one that traded goods throughout the land, formed the caravans that transported goods across the great distances or over the sea. The Builders were the ones that designed and built the great cities towers, temples and monuments. They were highly skilled. Then there was the cast of the Priests, that ran the Temples, prayed to the gods and offered them sacrifices. These were the High Casts of Pangea. There were others that made up the Lower Casts, and there were many. Though born into one cast one could always change their cast if they met the requirements. All but one if you called it a cast, and that was being a Slave. Seldom did a slave attain freedom, and it did not matter what cast you had been before. Once you were made a slave it seemed you would be a slave for the rest of your life.
Into this world Dakar was born. He was born to the Warrior Cast and was trained by his father to become a warrior. He was trained in the use of the sword, spear, shield, bow and arrow, and battle ax. He was trained to fight on foot or on horse back. He excelled in the way of the warrior and fought several battles for the city of Arthos, that he was born and raised in. He was known for his fierceness and bravery on the battle field, though a bit reckless at times that caused him to receive a number of lasting scars on his chest, arms and back. But he yearned for adventure and to see the world and what it had to offer. There were tales of the far off kingdoms to the south, east and west that filled him with the wandering lust that could not be dampened.
He gathered his weapons, horse, and armor along with supplies and a pack horse and set out. He knew he would be traveling through lands that were filled with danger, thieves, renegades, raiders and of course the soldiers of other kingdoms, that might look upon him as a spy or a threat. But that was part of the allure of venturing out to find adventure, fortune and glory. He sold his sword as a mercenary to any that could afford his price. Whether it was for guarding a caravan, or protecting a village from raiders, as he made his way to the east, where he had heard that there were exotic women that, were different then women he knew. Beautiful, and some times dangerous, and other times willing to satisfy a man's needs. But also of what some called magic. The ability to draw on a source of energy and weave it into what was called spells to do things. Tales of these spells from caravan masters, said these people could call lightning from the sky to strike down at people, throw great balls of fire that could engulf many and explode, killing them. Also of some that could touch a wounded man and heal his wounds or cure a sickness with a touch and a few words. Most he thought were just stories, made up to entertain, but one could never know until one saw for themselves or was able to disprove them.
So it was that he came to a Kingdom called Socara, and encountered a group of men and a wagon that had a cage on it. In the cage was a women, beautiful, and exotic looking to him. She was chained and looked defiant even in captivity. They were traveling in the opposite direction of what he was on the road. The men looked at him with suspicion and wearyness. The woman looked at him, her hands on the bars of the cage but said nothing. The men looked to be either mercenaries or bandits, by the look of their weapons and armor and just general look. He looked at them and smiled, his hand touching the hilt of his sword. "Now what do we have here?" he called out.
"Be on your way stranger." one of the men called back. All drew their weapons, as they moved up to form a line. There were four of them. A breeze waifed from behind them and their stench with it. Raiders, the scum of warriors. Fallen on hard times they had turned to robbing and terrorizing people. He grinned as he drew his sword and pulled his shield from his back and gripped the leather strap to hold the shield, as his forearm was encircled by another leather strap to help hold the shield on his arm.
A Highlander Tale (Alternate History)
The King of Scotland had a big problem. Actually he had two problems. The first was England. The English King had decided that Scotland needed to be invaded, conquered and made a part of England. Now this did not agree with the King of Scotland. But his army was not sufficient enough to repel any army that England was to send against Scotland. His Kingdom was divided. He had the clans of the Lowlands and those of the Highlands. The nobles and clans of the lowlands were mostly farmers and such but got along pretty well with each other. But the Highland Clans were a different story. There were constant clan wars and a general mistrust among the clans. They were fierce fighters and with the constant little wars, were well trained in the art of war. They seldom came when called and then only a couple of the clans perhaps. But they were apart of Scotland and obeyed the laws of Scotland and the King for the most part.
That was his problems and he could only think of one way that might unite the Highlanders and Lowlanders. He decreed that the Lairds, or the sons of the lairds of the Highlands would take a lowlander bride. He hoped that by doing this that the highlanders would wish to defend the clans of their brides and therefore join him when it came time for war. This made much grumbling among the lowlanders who thought the Highlanders were nothing more than savages, barbarians and unsuited to marry their daughters. But the King had made a royal decree and they were obliged to obey.
Now it didn't really set well with the clans of the Highlanders either, but they to obeyed the Kings Decree. So it was that Duncan McCloud of Clan McCloud set forth with four of his clan to go fetch is bride to be. Duncan was not really happy about the matter. His parents had married because they had fallen in love with each other and not because of some arrangement which was quite common. His father had died a couple years earlier from health reasons and left him to be the Laird of the Clan. He didn't want no empty headed, whining and scared of her own shadowed, weakling woman for a wife. The Highlander women were tough, high sprited. Oh there were those that thought noting of themselves of course and were probably empty headed. But he thought he had a better chance of finding one that was to his liking in the Highlander Clans. Duncan was a hansom, tall and strong man. His long light brown hair held the redish tint of his mother's hair. He was clean shaven and stood tall in the saddle. His cousin Angus rode beside him. He was a large man with a mass of red hair and beard. He was not a bad looking man but one could hardly tell with the beard.
So it came to pass that he came down from the Highlands with four of his clan to meet with the father of his bride to be. For the King had chosen families of various clans to be the ones to give up their daughters for the good of Scotland. The King had selected the families that would give up the brides. The soon approached the farmstead of one of the McNally Clan's families, the lowland clan that he was to take a bride from. As they approached Duncan saw the Head of the Family, one Cirus McNally standing before their humble home with his wife and two daughters.
The Knight and The Elf Princess
Tanner Maximus had followed his king to the shores of the Elven lands. He was an Eldrich Knight, skilled with the sword and bow yet one of a few gifted with the ability to tap into what was called by humans the Soul of the World. A force that if properly wielded could produce wonderous things and do things no other mortal could. He and those like him became the Eldrich Knights. The Knights of the Elders that long ago flurished but had since almost died out. The Soul of the World was not strong as it had been once in the lands of the humans.
Some thought that Mankind had squandered the powers that it had granted and that the world began taking back its power to keep it from the humans. But there was a little left and Tanner was one of a few that was still able to tap into it. When he reached the shores of the Elven lands that power began to increase with in him and the small band of Eldrich Knights that he lead. He began to learn things in his mind as if the world itself was teaching him. Things that he and the others needed to keep secret for the time being.
Tanner and his fellow Eldrich Knights had sworn an oath the the King. They would fight for him and defend him as long as he did not go against their code.
During a battle away from the main army's advance Tanner and his knights found a detachment of Elven Warriors. He offered them a chance to surrender, but they refused and the battle was joined. Some of the Elven Warriors died, others ran off to fight another day, but one continued to fight Tanner. He was good at fighting. He put Tanner to the test and was proving to be a hard opponent. His knights stood back, knowing Tanner did not want any help, a matter of honor one would say. Tanner fought with honor and when he was able to disarm his opponent he offered the mans sword back to him to continue the fight or not. The same was true about the Elven warrior who inturn did the same to him.
It was rare indeed to find an opponent that also had such honor and fair play. They battled for some time and the Elf made a mistake that lead to him being serverly wounded. If he did not get help he would die, and Tanner knew that in the humans camp he would not get the help he needed, and he was not about to leave such a warrior to die on the battle field. He picked him up and put him on his own horse and rode off in the directions those that fled went. He had heard there was some sort of encampment not to far from them. Perhaps they had a healer among them. What he had heard of these healers, they could heal the most grevious of wounds, bringing those at death door back so that they might fight again.
It did not take them long to find the encampment in a forested area. As they approached it the civilians ran in terror, trying to hide, thinking that they were going to be murdered. Tanner dismounted as he had his men stop and hold their position. He eased the wounded warrior off his horse and carried him forward. He had learned the language of the Elves from prisoners and called out in their language, "Is there a Healer here among you. This Warrior needs immediate attention or he will die."
A Pirates Tale
John looked from the Quarter Deck out at the ship they were catching up on. He used his spyglass to get a better look, "Ah a nice Fat Spanish Merchant ship." he chuckled. Putting down the spyglass he went to the railing and yelled down at the men. "Look alive lads, we have a fat prize before us. To your stations. Mr. Andrew, full canvas. Hoist the Colors!" The black flag with the skull and crossbones rose at the Missinmast and the crew scrambled for their positions. Gunners were preparing the cannons, the marksmen were taking up their positions.
The Sea Raven was a fast ship and could easily out distance and manuver the fat merchant ship. As more canvas was raised, the ship leaped forward closing the distance between the two ships. "All guns ready Captain." came the Gunner's Mates voice. John smiled as he had the helmsman turn the ship slightly so that they would begin to come up on the right side of it.
"We'll give them a broad side and then cut across their wake and give them another on the other side." He called down to the Gunner's mate. "Reload and be ready to pound them."
"Aye Captain!" the man yelled back up to him.
The distance closed and he could see the crew of the Spanish ship preparing to fire back. But they did not have the cannons he did and the ship was slow. He would pound them good then close and board her. Then the fighting would become up close and personal. He laughed and drew his cutlass. As they began to come along side of the ship he yelled, "Fire." Fourteen cannons on the Starboard side fired as one. The cannon balls tore through hull and railings and main deck siding, sending splintering wood everywhere and slicing into men's flesh They fired back but again they did not have the guns nor the expert gunners he had. Most missed and those that hit did little damage. The helmsman spun the wheel and the ship turned towards the Spanish ship and crossed behind it and came up on its Starbord side and again he gave the order and the port side cannons fired ripping the man deck to pieces. Then he closed the distance between the two ships.
"Boarding party. Grappling hooks away." Ropes were thrown over with grappling hooks that caught and the men pulled the ships together. With a blood thirst cry the crew of the Sea Raven surged over the Railings to the deck of the Spanish ship and engaged it's crew. John followed cutting down one then another that sought to cut him down. Sharpshooters took out officers, the helmsman and those with muskets trying to kill his crew.
The fighting was fierce and soon the deck ran red with slippery red blood. Finally John made it to the Quarter Deck where the Spanish Captain fought and engaged him with his blade. Back and forth the two of them went, the ring of steel filling the air. The Captain of the Spanish Ship was a good swordsman but so was John, perhaps a bit better. He also knew a few tricks and before long he disarmed the Captain and placed the point of his cutlass to the Captains throat. "Order your men to surrender, and you and they will live."
The Spanish Captain gave the order and the fighting stopped. The Spanish crew was rounded up and placed int he middle of the main deck along with their officers, to be guarded. The rest of the Sea Raven's crew began to remove the cargo, which was indeed a rich one that had been headed to Spain. There was also another surprise waiting for John in the Captain's quarters. A lovely woman with long raven black hair and dark eyes. With her were two other women that were her servants. "Well now, what do we have here?"
Hunter and the Thief
The Hunters: A group of men and women trained by the Roman Catholic Church to kill Vampires, Werewolfs, and any in human type of being that they deemed as spawns of the Devil. Formed when the church was in its infancy, the Order was made in secret and kept that way throughout the centuries. These men and women were trained in every aspect of ways to kill every creature that the Church sent them after. They trained hard and trained with every weapon that was made, from simple daggers to guns as they were invented.
Many of the hunters prefer the older weapons as they like to get up close and personal when they kill. Others like getting the job done quickly and less messy, so as not to have to have a clean up crew come and try to keep the population from know that these creature really exists. To the normal human the creatures of the night and myth and legend were just that and what the movies portrayed them as. So much was not known about these creatures and what the movies made them to be was mostly lies. Mostly. There were those that wanted nothing more then to live in peace and not even be known about. But the Church saw them as evil and wanted them dead.
Those of the Church in charge of the Order made sure that only the best were bred to make the perfect killing machine. Men and women were selected to breed and their offspring were trained almost from birth to be the killing machines for the church. They did as they were told no questions asked. Well most of them did. Some saw things a bit differntly though they did not let their superiors know this.
There were three ranks to the Order of Hunters. Sparrow being the beginner, one that had to prove themselves so they could be promoted to the next rank of Hawk. These were the more experienced hunters that went out in small groups to hunt and kill. Then there were the elite, the Eagles. They were the toughest and the bravest and the most deadliest. One could tell their rank by a ring each wore bearing the symbol of the bird that represented their rank.
The year 1805, Venice Italy. A young man, attending the University was walking along one of the canals when a figure ran into him. Both of the men stumbed and fell. Behind the one man that had been running was five other men, each carried a wooden spear and swords. Both men got to their feet as the other five attacked the one, trying to run him through with their wooden spears. The man was quick, and it looked as if he was faster then the other men that were trying to kill him. The Student tried to stay clear of it all but one of the men with the spears was able to run the man through the side and the bloodied spear pierced the side of the Student, greviously wounding him. He fell in to the canal as he passed out.
Later he awoke on a bed in some ones home. An elderly man was tending to him and talking to someone. The tone of voice was one of amazement and wonder. The Student, Dante Silva found out why. The wound he had received had healed and had left no scar. Dante sat up and the old man approached him. "It is a miracle that you are alive young man. Yes a true miracle. "
Over two hundred years Later, Dante Silva still lived. He had come to discover, he did not age, he healed rapidly, he moved faster and was stronger then any human alive. He could jump from the ground three stories up or from the roof of a three story building and land on his feet with out breaking anything. He also discovered what he called shifting. He could be in one place and in the blink of an eye a distance away.
He had given up trying to become a scholar and had taken up the trade of being a thief. He found his new abilities helped in this as he was quite acrobatic when he had been a student and now with his enhanced agility and strength he was better then any. He became known as the Prince of Thieves. In his long years in the world, he had come to see a differnt side of it. The Supernatural side if one would call it that. He had encountered vampires, werewolves, changelings, what people would have called faye, and other creatures that was only in myth and legends. It was a whole new world that lived within the normal one.
Now and then there were those that made things hard for the others, as what was called Hunters came and sought them out and killed them. Most of these were vampires and werewolves that had a craving for blood and human flesh.
Dante was on a job. Some rich dude had a very expensive and presious gem locked in a safe in his fancy and rich apartment. Dante was there to releive him of it, and sell it for a good sum of money that would let him live a good life and also do something else. But things don't always work out the way you want them. After cracking the safe and taking the gem, the owner returned way to early from his nightly nightclubing. He had a lovely woman with him and as it was the man saw Dante. Dante ran for the window and smashed through it and sailed across to the roof top across from the building the apartment was. He had thought he had made his escape but found that the man had made the same long leap and was pursuing him.
"Shit. he is one of them." Dante muttered as he ran for his life. The Bastard was a vampire and he was coming on strong. From roof top to roof top they jumped and Dante was not gaining on this one.
Warrior and Slave of Gor
Daniel was on a battlefield on earth, moving through the ruins of a village. He had been in a battle where his entire squad had been wiped out, by the insurgents. They had taken a lot with them but now he was a lone and it was getting dark. He was trying to make it back to his base, but that was miles away. His life expectancy was not good. Suddenly there was a bright light that hit him and that was the last thing he remembered from Earth.
He awoke in what appeared to be a large tent made of colorful material. All about him were the naked forms of beautiful women who were chained together and had metal collars about their necks. He had on a simple tunic like piece of clothing but no collar and no chains. He stood up and looked about him. Was he in some Bedouin's tent? Though it looked like one the women about him were not Arab. That is when he heard the shouts from outside the tent in a language he did not understand or recognize. It was not Arab or Afghanistan, that was for sure. It almost had the tone of Greek, but wasn't that. He stepped over the prone, sleeping forms of the women and peered out of the tent. The sight that he saw stunned and confused him.
Outside the tent was a number of men dressed in Scarlet Tunics and what looked to be Ancient Greek Helmets. They carried swords and spears and a large round metal shield. They were forming up and one was yelling what he assumed was commands. They were on a grassy plain and from where Daniel could see there were others riding hard at them on strange steeds. They looked like Raptors from movies he had seen, only larger. They to wore the Scarlet Tunics and had helms, and equipment like those defending the Camp. In wagons that looked strange to him were other women, naked and wearing collars that were screaming in panic voices.
The men in the camp prepared for the attack, they threw their spears and took down a couple of the riders then the battle was joined with sword and shield. Those on the strange mounts jumped from them and attacked with sword and shield. It was a bloody battle and it did not look good for the defenders as there were more of the attackers and seemed to be better then the defenders. Something in Daniel made him rush forward and pick up a sword and shield from a fallen man. He had trained for fun with sword and shield for martial arts training as well as other aspects of the arts. He joined the men that defended the camp and with a savagery attacked those that were attacking. He was good, and he was able to spin and slash with his weapon, taking down two of the attackers. His tactics were not familiar with those he fought against or with.
He used his skills in the Martial Arts to spin, attack, duck, and maneuver, using his shield to bash and throw off balance his opponents. He also was able to use his legs to knock his opponents from under them and bury his sword in their chests. The ferocity of his attacks turned the tied of battle for the Defenders and they pushed the enemy back until they had enough and they ran for their lives. When the fighting was over all but three of the enemy were dead and there was but five of the armed defenders our of twenty.
He looked at the five before him, his shield at the ready and his sword in hand. They looked at him, all ready to do battle again, but with an air of not wanting to battle someone that had helped them. A voice of a man from another tent broke the silence. "Hold. Stand Down." he told the men in English. They immediately took a more passive stance and looked at the man that had exited the tent. He wore Yellow and black stripped robes. He approached Daniel raising his hands to show he held no weapon. "Have no fear, no one is going to harm you." he smiled. He then said something to the men in the other language and they began dragging bodies away and collecting weapons and shields.
"I am Jamal, Slave Trader." he introduced himself. "You fought well today, and helped save my precious cargo of slaves and new acquisitions, not to mention my life." he smiled. "Come, sit with me in my tent and we will talk."
Daniel followed Jamal and he found out a lot from their talk. He was no longer on Earth but another world called Gor. The planet was in the same solar system as Earth but on the opposite sided of the Sun where it could not be seen or detected. It was kept that way by who he called the Priest Kings. Evidently the Gods of the world. He was taken from Earth and brought to Gor in one of the Black Ships of the Priest Kings. Ships that were crewed by men, slavers, that went to Earth to select beautiful women to bring back to be sold into slavery. Sometimes men, like him were brought. Not often and usually as slaves as well. But he told Daniel that he was informed that he was not to be made a slave but was to serve another purpose one he didn't know.
Daniel stayed with Jamal for several months, helping guard the cargo of slaves. The men gave him a scarlet tunic and a helm to go along with the sword and shield he now carried. They called themselves Warriors and he found out that Gor had a number of casts. The Warrior Cast was one of the High Casts and were bound by honor and oaths. Well most of them anyways. They visited a number of cities, unlike anything Daniel had ever seen. Tall graceful towers rose into the sky with walkways between them. They were beautiful and not filled with the smog and foul smells of Earth's vehicles. People walked about the cities or rode the strange reptilian animals or other animals to get around. Life there was more like the Ancient Greeks and Persians, where slavery was quite common. Jamal made money on selling his slaves, he learned the distinction of the White Silk Girls and Red Silk girls and of course slaves that were meant for other duties of slaves.
Jamal taught him much including the language that was common on Gor. He learned that the high casts knew of Earth and many spoke English. The life on Gor was simple, but savage at times. Technology was limited in some areas, like weapons but yet there was advancements in medicine that those of earth would dearly like to have, and the architecture marvels of the cities was something that would also be wanted on Earth. He learned this had been the way of Gor for thousands of years. That it had been populated by the people of Earth. They had been brought to Gor by the Priest Kings.
But with all things, their time together was at an end. They had come to the Great City of Ar, one of the most powerful cities on Gor. Here Jamal Sold the best slaves to the Slave Market and in their stay there, Daniel saw and fell in love with the Great Birds called Tarns. They were magnificent creatures, huge Hawk like birds that could be ridden. Many were trained as war tarns and used by cities to help defend them. Jamal made it a point to see if Daniel was right for them, and he found that Daniel had a special ability to bond with animals. He had Daniel trained as a Tarnsman before he Left Ar and had purchased one for Daniel. A going away gift to the man that had saved his life. Daniel named him Midnight, as he was pure black and beautiful.
After Jamal departed. Daniel set out to explore Ar more and found himself at the Great Slave Market of Ar. He descended to the Pens where the slaves were kept in cages. They would be taken up and put on the auction block. But here was also private deals that could be made in the pens. For some reason Daniel felt compelled to purchase his own slave, as he had used some of those that Jamal had and had liked it. Pleasure Slaves were slaves that if trained properly gave their masters great pleasure, and not just in sex, but other ways as well.
As he walked about the pens his eyes fell upon one in a cage. Naked, beautiful, and clearly new to the collar. He could tell she was from Earth. Probably recently brought from there and sold to the Slave Market by another Slaver like Jamal. Something drew him to her and he called one of the slavers over and inquired of the price. Since she was new and untrained, she was not expensive. He paid the coins for her and had the slaver go and engrave a collar with his name on it "This slave belongs to Daniel Knight." Once he had the collar he had the slaver put it on her and give him the key. Then he snapped on a leash to the collar and pulled her from the Cage. He told her in English, "You are now my slave."
Pangea, a super continent of the world, long before man began recording history. Kingdoms that were lost in time and the separation of the land mass into what the modern world looks like. A time of heroes and villains, kingdoms and empires. A time of strange animals that disappeared long before the continent broke apart.
In this world mankind had come to be, and dredged themselves out of caves and crude dwellings to form large tribes, and then communities, and eventually Kingdoms with magnificent cities and monuments. Empires began and of course there were countless wars between the kingdoms, as each sought to become the dominant one in the world, ruling over the others.
The great city of Arthos was built in the year 1133 after many long years. It was a magnificent city with tall spires of polished granite that had bridges spanning between the towering structures. It was a powerful city ruled by a King that was loved by its people. He had risen up from being a common warrior to become the King through battle and leading the forces of Arthos to victory again and again. He had carved out a Kingdom that was rich and lay in the center of trade routes to other cities, and to those coastal cities to the west that brought goods from far away places on Pangea by sea.
It had enemies and the most powerful was an a group of large Islands of the Western Coast called Tyron. It was a sea faring kingdom with a great fleet of war ships and merchant ships. Like Argos it was a well known and hungered for more power. Many feared this Kingdom for its ships almost controlled the sea, but it could not exist with out the goods that other Kingdoms had and therefore was held in check most of the time.
Pangea's people had a cast system that the people lived by. There was the Warrior Cast that was the fighters of the world, the Physicians that healed and made wonder drugs that did many things for the people. The Merchant Cast was the one that traded goods throughout the land, formed the caravans that transported goods across the great distances or over the sea. The Builders were the ones that designed and built the great cities towers, temples and monuments. They were highly skilled. Then there was the cast of the Priests, that ran the Temples, prayed to the gods and offered them sacrifices. These were the High Casts of Pangea. There were others that made up the Lower Casts, and there were many. Though born into one cast one could always change their cast if they met the requirements. All but one if you called it a cast, and that was being a Slave. Seldom did a slave attain freedom, and it did not matter what cast you had been before. Once you were made a slave it seemed you would be a slave for the rest of your life.
Into this world Dakar was born. He was born to the Warrior Cast and was trained by his father to become a warrior. He was trained in the use of the sword, spear, shield, bow and arrow, and battle ax. He was trained to fight on foot or on horse back. He excelled in the way of the warrior and fought several battles for the city of Arthos, that he was born and raised in. He was known for his fierceness and bravery on the battle field, though a bit reckless at times that caused him to receive a number of lasting scars on his chest, arms and back. But he yearned for adventure and to see the world and what it had to offer. There were tales of the far off kingdoms to the south, east and west that filled him with the wandering lust that could not be dampened.
He gathered his weapons, horse, and armor along with supplies and a pack horse and set out. He knew he would be traveling through lands that were filled with danger, thieves, renegades, raiders and of course the soldiers of other kingdoms, that might look upon him as a spy or a threat. But that was part of the allure of venturing out to find adventure, fortune and glory. He sold his sword as a mercenary to any that could afford his price. Whether it was for guarding a caravan, or protecting a village from raiders, as he made his way to the east, where he had heard that there were exotic women that, were different then women he knew. Beautiful, and some times dangerous, and other times willing to satisfy a man's needs. But also of what some called magic. The ability to draw on a source of energy and weave it into what was called spells to do things. Tales of these spells from caravan masters, said these people could call lightning from the sky to strike down at people, throw great balls of fire that could engulf many and explode, killing them. Also of some that could touch a wounded man and heal his wounds or cure a sickness with a touch and a few words. Most he thought were just stories, made up to entertain, but one could never know until one saw for themselves or was able to disprove them.
So it was that he came to a Kingdom called Socara, and encountered a group of men and a wagon that had a cage on it. In the cage was a women, beautiful, and exotic looking to him. She was chained and looked defiant even in captivity. They were traveling in the opposite direction of what he was on the road. The men looked at him with suspicion and wearyness. The woman looked at him, her hands on the bars of the cage but said nothing. The men looked to be either mercenaries or bandits, by the look of their weapons and armor and just general look. He looked at them and smiled, his hand touching the hilt of his sword. "Now what do we have here?" he called out.
"Be on your way stranger." one of the men called back. All drew their weapons, as they moved up to form a line. There were four of them. A breeze waifed from behind them and their stench with it. Raiders, the scum of warriors. Fallen on hard times they had turned to robbing and terrorizing people. He grinned as he drew his sword and pulled his shield from his back and gripped the leather strap to hold the shield, as his forearm was encircled by another leather strap to help hold the shield on his arm.
A Highlander Tale (Alternate History)
The King of Scotland had a big problem. Actually he had two problems. The first was England. The English King had decided that Scotland needed to be invaded, conquered and made a part of England. Now this did not agree with the King of Scotland. But his army was not sufficient enough to repel any army that England was to send against Scotland. His Kingdom was divided. He had the clans of the Lowlands and those of the Highlands. The nobles and clans of the lowlands were mostly farmers and such but got along pretty well with each other. But the Highland Clans were a different story. There were constant clan wars and a general mistrust among the clans. They were fierce fighters and with the constant little wars, were well trained in the art of war. They seldom came when called and then only a couple of the clans perhaps. But they were apart of Scotland and obeyed the laws of Scotland and the King for the most part.
That was his problems and he could only think of one way that might unite the Highlanders and Lowlanders. He decreed that the Lairds, or the sons of the lairds of the Highlands would take a lowlander bride. He hoped that by doing this that the highlanders would wish to defend the clans of their brides and therefore join him when it came time for war. This made much grumbling among the lowlanders who thought the Highlanders were nothing more than savages, barbarians and unsuited to marry their daughters. But the King had made a royal decree and they were obliged to obey.
Now it didn't really set well with the clans of the Highlanders either, but they to obeyed the Kings Decree. So it was that Duncan McCloud of Clan McCloud set forth with four of his clan to go fetch is bride to be. Duncan was not really happy about the matter. His parents had married because they had fallen in love with each other and not because of some arrangement which was quite common. His father had died a couple years earlier from health reasons and left him to be the Laird of the Clan. He didn't want no empty headed, whining and scared of her own shadowed, weakling woman for a wife. The Highlander women were tough, high sprited. Oh there were those that thought noting of themselves of course and were probably empty headed. But he thought he had a better chance of finding one that was to his liking in the Highlander Clans. Duncan was a hansom, tall and strong man. His long light brown hair held the redish tint of his mother's hair. He was clean shaven and stood tall in the saddle. His cousin Angus rode beside him. He was a large man with a mass of red hair and beard. He was not a bad looking man but one could hardly tell with the beard.
So it came to pass that he came down from the Highlands with four of his clan to meet with the father of his bride to be. For the King had chosen families of various clans to be the ones to give up their daughters for the good of Scotland. The King had selected the families that would give up the brides. The soon approached the farmstead of one of the McNally Clan's families, the lowland clan that he was to take a bride from. As they approached Duncan saw the Head of the Family, one Cirus McNally standing before their humble home with his wife and two daughters.
The Knight and The Elf Princess
Tanner Maximus had followed his king to the shores of the Elven lands. He was an Eldrich Knight, skilled with the sword and bow yet one of a few gifted with the ability to tap into what was called by humans the Soul of the World. A force that if properly wielded could produce wonderous things and do things no other mortal could. He and those like him became the Eldrich Knights. The Knights of the Elders that long ago flurished but had since almost died out. The Soul of the World was not strong as it had been once in the lands of the humans.
Some thought that Mankind had squandered the powers that it had granted and that the world began taking back its power to keep it from the humans. But there was a little left and Tanner was one of a few that was still able to tap into it. When he reached the shores of the Elven lands that power began to increase with in him and the small band of Eldrich Knights that he lead. He began to learn things in his mind as if the world itself was teaching him. Things that he and the others needed to keep secret for the time being.
Tanner and his fellow Eldrich Knights had sworn an oath the the King. They would fight for him and defend him as long as he did not go against their code.
During a battle away from the main army's advance Tanner and his knights found a detachment of Elven Warriors. He offered them a chance to surrender, but they refused and the battle was joined. Some of the Elven Warriors died, others ran off to fight another day, but one continued to fight Tanner. He was good at fighting. He put Tanner to the test and was proving to be a hard opponent. His knights stood back, knowing Tanner did not want any help, a matter of honor one would say. Tanner fought with honor and when he was able to disarm his opponent he offered the mans sword back to him to continue the fight or not. The same was true about the Elven warrior who inturn did the same to him.
It was rare indeed to find an opponent that also had such honor and fair play. They battled for some time and the Elf made a mistake that lead to him being serverly wounded. If he did not get help he would die, and Tanner knew that in the humans camp he would not get the help he needed, and he was not about to leave such a warrior to die on the battle field. He picked him up and put him on his own horse and rode off in the directions those that fled went. He had heard there was some sort of encampment not to far from them. Perhaps they had a healer among them. What he had heard of these healers, they could heal the most grevious of wounds, bringing those at death door back so that they might fight again.
It did not take them long to find the encampment in a forested area. As they approached it the civilians ran in terror, trying to hide, thinking that they were going to be murdered. Tanner dismounted as he had his men stop and hold their position. He eased the wounded warrior off his horse and carried him forward. He had learned the language of the Elves from prisoners and called out in their language, "Is there a Healer here among you. This Warrior needs immediate attention or he will die."
A Pirates Tale
John looked from the Quarter Deck out at the ship they were catching up on. He used his spyglass to get a better look, "Ah a nice Fat Spanish Merchant ship." he chuckled. Putting down the spyglass he went to the railing and yelled down at the men. "Look alive lads, we have a fat prize before us. To your stations. Mr. Andrew, full canvas. Hoist the Colors!" The black flag with the skull and crossbones rose at the Missinmast and the crew scrambled for their positions. Gunners were preparing the cannons, the marksmen were taking up their positions.
The Sea Raven was a fast ship and could easily out distance and manuver the fat merchant ship. As more canvas was raised, the ship leaped forward closing the distance between the two ships. "All guns ready Captain." came the Gunner's Mates voice. John smiled as he had the helmsman turn the ship slightly so that they would begin to come up on the right side of it.
"We'll give them a broad side and then cut across their wake and give them another on the other side." He called down to the Gunner's mate. "Reload and be ready to pound them."
"Aye Captain!" the man yelled back up to him.
The distance closed and he could see the crew of the Spanish ship preparing to fire back. But they did not have the cannons he did and the ship was slow. He would pound them good then close and board her. Then the fighting would become up close and personal. He laughed and drew his cutlass. As they began to come along side of the ship he yelled, "Fire." Fourteen cannons on the Starboard side fired as one. The cannon balls tore through hull and railings and main deck siding, sending splintering wood everywhere and slicing into men's flesh They fired back but again they did not have the guns nor the expert gunners he had. Most missed and those that hit did little damage. The helmsman spun the wheel and the ship turned towards the Spanish ship and crossed behind it and came up on its Starbord side and again he gave the order and the port side cannons fired ripping the man deck to pieces. Then he closed the distance between the two ships.
"Boarding party. Grappling hooks away." Ropes were thrown over with grappling hooks that caught and the men pulled the ships together. With a blood thirst cry the crew of the Sea Raven surged over the Railings to the deck of the Spanish ship and engaged it's crew. John followed cutting down one then another that sought to cut him down. Sharpshooters took out officers, the helmsman and those with muskets trying to kill his crew.
The fighting was fierce and soon the deck ran red with slippery red blood. Finally John made it to the Quarter Deck where the Spanish Captain fought and engaged him with his blade. Back and forth the two of them went, the ring of steel filling the air. The Captain of the Spanish Ship was a good swordsman but so was John, perhaps a bit better. He also knew a few tricks and before long he disarmed the Captain and placed the point of his cutlass to the Captains throat. "Order your men to surrender, and you and they will live."
The Spanish Captain gave the order and the fighting stopped. The Spanish crew was rounded up and placed int he middle of the main deck along with their officers, to be guarded. The rest of the Sea Raven's crew began to remove the cargo, which was indeed a rich one that had been headed to Spain. There was also another surprise waiting for John in the Captain's quarters. A lovely woman with long raven black hair and dark eyes. With her were two other women that were her servants. "Well now, what do we have here?"
Hunter and the Thief
The Hunters: A group of men and women trained by the Roman Catholic Church to kill Vampires, Werewolfs, and any in human type of being that they deemed as spawns of the Devil. Formed when the church was in its infancy, the Order was made in secret and kept that way throughout the centuries. These men and women were trained in every aspect of ways to kill every creature that the Church sent them after. They trained hard and trained with every weapon that was made, from simple daggers to guns as they were invented.
Many of the hunters prefer the older weapons as they like to get up close and personal when they kill. Others like getting the job done quickly and less messy, so as not to have to have a clean up crew come and try to keep the population from know that these creature really exists. To the normal human the creatures of the night and myth and legend were just that and what the movies portrayed them as. So much was not known about these creatures and what the movies made them to be was mostly lies. Mostly. There were those that wanted nothing more then to live in peace and not even be known about. But the Church saw them as evil and wanted them dead.
Those of the Church in charge of the Order made sure that only the best were bred to make the perfect killing machine. Men and women were selected to breed and their offspring were trained almost from birth to be the killing machines for the church. They did as they were told no questions asked. Well most of them did. Some saw things a bit differntly though they did not let their superiors know this.
There were three ranks to the Order of Hunters. Sparrow being the beginner, one that had to prove themselves so they could be promoted to the next rank of Hawk. These were the more experienced hunters that went out in small groups to hunt and kill. Then there were the elite, the Eagles. They were the toughest and the bravest and the most deadliest. One could tell their rank by a ring each wore bearing the symbol of the bird that represented their rank.
The year 1805, Venice Italy. A young man, attending the University was walking along one of the canals when a figure ran into him. Both of the men stumbed and fell. Behind the one man that had been running was five other men, each carried a wooden spear and swords. Both men got to their feet as the other five attacked the one, trying to run him through with their wooden spears. The man was quick, and it looked as if he was faster then the other men that were trying to kill him. The Student tried to stay clear of it all but one of the men with the spears was able to run the man through the side and the bloodied spear pierced the side of the Student, greviously wounding him. He fell in to the canal as he passed out.
Later he awoke on a bed in some ones home. An elderly man was tending to him and talking to someone. The tone of voice was one of amazement and wonder. The Student, Dante Silva found out why. The wound he had received had healed and had left no scar. Dante sat up and the old man approached him. "It is a miracle that you are alive young man. Yes a true miracle. "
Over two hundred years Later, Dante Silva still lived. He had come to discover, he did not age, he healed rapidly, he moved faster and was stronger then any human alive. He could jump from the ground three stories up or from the roof of a three story building and land on his feet with out breaking anything. He also discovered what he called shifting. He could be in one place and in the blink of an eye a distance away.
He had given up trying to become a scholar and had taken up the trade of being a thief. He found his new abilities helped in this as he was quite acrobatic when he had been a student and now with his enhanced agility and strength he was better then any. He became known as the Prince of Thieves. In his long years in the world, he had come to see a differnt side of it. The Supernatural side if one would call it that. He had encountered vampires, werewolves, changelings, what people would have called faye, and other creatures that was only in myth and legends. It was a whole new world that lived within the normal one.
Now and then there were those that made things hard for the others, as what was called Hunters came and sought them out and killed them. Most of these were vampires and werewolves that had a craving for blood and human flesh.
Dante was on a job. Some rich dude had a very expensive and presious gem locked in a safe in his fancy and rich apartment. Dante was there to releive him of it, and sell it for a good sum of money that would let him live a good life and also do something else. But things don't always work out the way you want them. After cracking the safe and taking the gem, the owner returned way to early from his nightly nightclubing. He had a lovely woman with him and as it was the man saw Dante. Dante ran for the window and smashed through it and sailed across to the roof top across from the building the apartment was. He had thought he had made his escape but found that the man had made the same long leap and was pursuing him.
"Shit. he is one of them." Dante muttered as he ran for his life. The Bastard was a vampire and he was coming on strong. From roof top to roof top they jumped and Dante was not gaining on this one.
Warrior and Slave of Gor
Daniel was on a battlefield on earth, moving through the ruins of a village. He had been in a battle where his entire squad had been wiped out, by the insurgents. They had taken a lot with them but now he was a lone and it was getting dark. He was trying to make it back to his base, but that was miles away. His life expectancy was not good. Suddenly there was a bright light that hit him and that was the last thing he remembered from Earth.
He awoke in what appeared to be a large tent made of colorful material. All about him were the naked forms of beautiful women who were chained together and had metal collars about their necks. He had on a simple tunic like piece of clothing but no collar and no chains. He stood up and looked about him. Was he in some Bedouin's tent? Though it looked like one the women about him were not Arab. That is when he heard the shouts from outside the tent in a language he did not understand or recognize. It was not Arab or Afghanistan, that was for sure. It almost had the tone of Greek, but wasn't that. He stepped over the prone, sleeping forms of the women and peered out of the tent. The sight that he saw stunned and confused him.
Outside the tent was a number of men dressed in Scarlet Tunics and what looked to be Ancient Greek Helmets. They carried swords and spears and a large round metal shield. They were forming up and one was yelling what he assumed was commands. They were on a grassy plain and from where Daniel could see there were others riding hard at them on strange steeds. They looked like Raptors from movies he had seen, only larger. They to wore the Scarlet Tunics and had helms, and equipment like those defending the Camp. In wagons that looked strange to him were other women, naked and wearing collars that were screaming in panic voices.
The men in the camp prepared for the attack, they threw their spears and took down a couple of the riders then the battle was joined with sword and shield. Those on the strange mounts jumped from them and attacked with sword and shield. It was a bloody battle and it did not look good for the defenders as there were more of the attackers and seemed to be better then the defenders. Something in Daniel made him rush forward and pick up a sword and shield from a fallen man. He had trained for fun with sword and shield for martial arts training as well as other aspects of the arts. He joined the men that defended the camp and with a savagery attacked those that were attacking. He was good, and he was able to spin and slash with his weapon, taking down two of the attackers. His tactics were not familiar with those he fought against or with.
He used his skills in the Martial Arts to spin, attack, duck, and maneuver, using his shield to bash and throw off balance his opponents. He also was able to use his legs to knock his opponents from under them and bury his sword in their chests. The ferocity of his attacks turned the tied of battle for the Defenders and they pushed the enemy back until they had enough and they ran for their lives. When the fighting was over all but three of the enemy were dead and there was but five of the armed defenders our of twenty.
He looked at the five before him, his shield at the ready and his sword in hand. They looked at him, all ready to do battle again, but with an air of not wanting to battle someone that had helped them. A voice of a man from another tent broke the silence. "Hold. Stand Down." he told the men in English. They immediately took a more passive stance and looked at the man that had exited the tent. He wore Yellow and black stripped robes. He approached Daniel raising his hands to show he held no weapon. "Have no fear, no one is going to harm you." he smiled. He then said something to the men in the other language and they began dragging bodies away and collecting weapons and shields.
"I am Jamal, Slave Trader." he introduced himself. "You fought well today, and helped save my precious cargo of slaves and new acquisitions, not to mention my life." he smiled. "Come, sit with me in my tent and we will talk."
Daniel followed Jamal and he found out a lot from their talk. He was no longer on Earth but another world called Gor. The planet was in the same solar system as Earth but on the opposite sided of the Sun where it could not be seen or detected. It was kept that way by who he called the Priest Kings. Evidently the Gods of the world. He was taken from Earth and brought to Gor in one of the Black Ships of the Priest Kings. Ships that were crewed by men, slavers, that went to Earth to select beautiful women to bring back to be sold into slavery. Sometimes men, like him were brought. Not often and usually as slaves as well. But he told Daniel that he was informed that he was not to be made a slave but was to serve another purpose one he didn't know.
Daniel stayed with Jamal for several months, helping guard the cargo of slaves. The men gave him a scarlet tunic and a helm to go along with the sword and shield he now carried. They called themselves Warriors and he found out that Gor had a number of casts. The Warrior Cast was one of the High Casts and were bound by honor and oaths. Well most of them anyways. They visited a number of cities, unlike anything Daniel had ever seen. Tall graceful towers rose into the sky with walkways between them. They were beautiful and not filled with the smog and foul smells of Earth's vehicles. People walked about the cities or rode the strange reptilian animals or other animals to get around. Life there was more like the Ancient Greeks and Persians, where slavery was quite common. Jamal made money on selling his slaves, he learned the distinction of the White Silk Girls and Red Silk girls and of course slaves that were meant for other duties of slaves.
Jamal taught him much including the language that was common on Gor. He learned that the high casts knew of Earth and many spoke English. The life on Gor was simple, but savage at times. Technology was limited in some areas, like weapons but yet there was advancements in medicine that those of earth would dearly like to have, and the architecture marvels of the cities was something that would also be wanted on Earth. He learned this had been the way of Gor for thousands of years. That it had been populated by the people of Earth. They had been brought to Gor by the Priest Kings.
But with all things, their time together was at an end. They had come to the Great City of Ar, one of the most powerful cities on Gor. Here Jamal Sold the best slaves to the Slave Market and in their stay there, Daniel saw and fell in love with the Great Birds called Tarns. They were magnificent creatures, huge Hawk like birds that could be ridden. Many were trained as war tarns and used by cities to help defend them. Jamal made it a point to see if Daniel was right for them, and he found that Daniel had a special ability to bond with animals. He had Daniel trained as a Tarnsman before he Left Ar and had purchased one for Daniel. A going away gift to the man that had saved his life. Daniel named him Midnight, as he was pure black and beautiful.
After Jamal departed. Daniel set out to explore Ar more and found himself at the Great Slave Market of Ar. He descended to the Pens where the slaves were kept in cages. They would be taken up and put on the auction block. But here was also private deals that could be made in the pens. For some reason Daniel felt compelled to purchase his own slave, as he had used some of those that Jamal had and had liked it. Pleasure Slaves were slaves that if trained properly gave their masters great pleasure, and not just in sex, but other ways as well.
As he walked about the pens his eyes fell upon one in a cage. Naked, beautiful, and clearly new to the collar. He could tell she was from Earth. Probably recently brought from there and sold to the Slave Market by another Slaver like Jamal. Something drew him to her and he called one of the slavers over and inquired of the price. Since she was new and untrained, she was not expensive. He paid the coins for her and had the slaver go and engrave a collar with his name on it "This slave belongs to Daniel Knight." Once he had the collar he had the slaver put it on her and give him the key. Then he snapped on a leash to the collar and pulled her from the Cage. He told her in English, "You are now my slave."
Last edited: