The General
For Sarah Parker's Election Day: Unofficial Challenge
The General stood resolute over fields sanctified by blood and blade. Fear and death choked the air, and he felt the weight strangle his lungs. Behind, his army waited.
Two paths lay before him.
They could forge on through the darkness. What horrors awaited, even the wise General could not say.
They could turn back. After all, they had already faced such upheaval on this campaign, battered and bruised as his host was.
Tired, the General removed his dented helm. Yes, turning back seemed the obvious choice.
He ground ashes between gauntleted fingers, remembering why they set out on their campaign in the first place. Greed, corruption, deceit…the General had watched his countrymen grow fat under the guise of loyalism. They had delayed their advance, but had yet to truly banish their treachery. And now they came again, playing a different tune.
Yes, they could turn back. But the general had danced with those demons before; he knew they would not change their steps. There would be crusade after crusade, sent forth silken senator after silken senator. The General laughed–had they ever drawn a sword?
Trumpets blared, and the General ushered his courageous host forward off into the unknown.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N:
WC:200. I couldn't bring myself to do anything satirical--it's already been a long day over here lol. Written for Sarah's challenge-details below:
If you've enjoyed this, please leave a like and an insight below. If you really enjoyed this, tips to fuel my coffee addiction are always appreciated. All formatting is designed for desktops. Want to read more? Below are the best of the very best of my works:
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]
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Keep reading
More stories from Matthew J. Fromm and writers in Fiction and other communities.
Boons and Curses
Before him lay his doom. Exasperated, Imperator Valatious collapsed into his chair. Beyond the hide walls of his tent, the evening air hung disquietingly still. He ran his weathered hands through a grease-stained mane of brown hair, uncut since the campaign began.
By Matthew J. FrommExclusive • about a year ago
Comments (7)
Excellent story, and fits well with my challenge
Got pretty pulled in and forgot the premise! Great storytelling!
This is lovely. It's very creative and unique. Well done!
This was a great take on that challenge Matthew, nicely done!
What an amazing micro fiction! Well done!
Awesome piece, as usual, Matthew. I can’t believe you packed in that much context on only 200 words.
This was epic. I love when you go historical fiction. Epic for 200 words, epic for any word count. Just no battle setup is as well done unless it's got Fromm's mark on it! Well done!