“This ends today.” Despite the thunder from the iron basilisks and the screams of dying man and horse alike, his final gambit bellowed through the din. As he awaited his foe's retort, the young Emperor Maximilian IV unclasped his burning cloak. Bloody mud caked his pauldrons, and he tore them away with trembling arms; they served little purpose now.
This is an Exclusive Story for supporters of Matthew J. Fromm
Become a paid subscriber to get access.- Gain access to my current and future Exclusive Stories
- Unlock commenting on Exclusive Stories
- Help sustain my future in writing on Vocal
By supporting a creator you are helping sustain the future creativity of independent writers, poets, journalists, & dreamers.
Payments from subscriptions will go to the creator, and will automatically renew each month. Approximately $2.30 of your monthly contribution will go directly to the creator. The remaining goes to Stripe and Vocal to cover transaction and platform costs.
You can choose to downgrade to a free subscription at any time, at which point you will no longer be charged. Payments are unable to be refunded. Learn more.
About the Creator
Matthew J. Fromm
Full-time nerd, history enthusiast, and proprietor of arcane knowledge.
Here there be dragons, knights, castles, and quests (plus the occasional dose of absurdity).
I can be reached at [email protected]
Keep reading
More stories from Matthew J. Fromm and writers in other communities.
Comments (16)
Upgrade to see comments and join the conversation
Become a paid subscriber to get access.Oh I read this and just realised I hadn't commented, I have no idea why not. Probably got interuppted by a cat or a snack or something. I am so sorry. So well done and completely all encompassing. You are the master of the battle scene,
love this
Different to my usual reads, but captivating none-the-less! Good job!
I enjoyed this!
Oooo, I was not ready for it to end even though I knew it was just a snippet. That had my heart racing. Loved it!
Very good
You have truly mastered the fantasy genre, and it's hard to capture a battle scene to begin with, but to manage it in this short a word count is just genius! Great story!
Great story. You smoothly packed so much great detail and imagery into a short short. Your action is fluid and balanced. You are highly skilled at this. 😎
Bloody hell! Phenomenal! I nearly fell of the sofa, I kept leaning forward! Compleyely taken in and the ending line, as well as the horse is utterly devestating. You've got me hooked on this here fantasy thing! 🤍
There's something very visceral about this.
My heart broke for Tegujyn's horse 🥺💔 This was an excellent story for your own challenge!
👏👏👏 That was quite the ride. I'm starting to think you were reincarnated from that era 😅. The language flows so naturally. Well done.
THIS WAS EPIC!! You did a good job building up your characters despite the word limit. I'm already invested in Tegujyn and his backstory.
Definite dark fantasy vibes. It had me on the edge of my seat and even had me wanting more.
A compelling scene, carefully seeded with details that suggest a wider and deeper world is about to be revealed.
I really enjoyed this story. Why recuse yourself? The best story wins.