book_title stringlengths 1 96 | author stringlengths 3 58 | genres listlengths 0 8 | tags listlengths 0 12 | chapter_title stringlengths 1 990 | text stringlengths 0 2.62M |
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2d6 | Robert Bevan | [
"comedy",
"fantasy"
] | [
"humor",
"short stories",
"Caverns and Creatures C"
] | Nymph-O-Maniacs | "I was thinking," said Julian.
"Well maybe you should stop," said Tim, stomping through the woods ahead of the group. Whatever was on Julian's mind, he was sure he didn't want to hear about it.
"Maybe we could take up trades," said Julian. "You could be a tailor's apprentice or something. You've got nimble fingers. W... |
2d6 | Robert Bevan | [
"comedy",
"fantasy"
] | [
"humor",
"short stories",
"Caverns and Creatures C"
] | Chapter 2 | Under the cover of darkness, they approached the cottage. Greta was humming softly and Tim was weeping openly.
Wearing nothing but a coil of rope, Cooper took his position below the window of the room Greta and Tim were in.
Dave nakedly walked around to the other side of the house and stood outside the kitchen window... |
2d6 | Robert Bevan | [
"comedy",
"fantasy"
] | [
"humor",
"short stories",
"Caverns and Creatures C"
] | Chapter 3 | When Cooper woke, his mind was clear and his vision focused. He looked down at his hands. They weren't covered in shit. He was in a bed much too large for him. The polished wooden bedposts were as thick around as he was. Each had a sconce attached about five feet above the comforter, holding a torch. The dim, flickerin... |
2d6 | Robert Bevan | [
"comedy",
"fantasy"
] | [
"humor",
"short stories",
"Caverns and Creatures C"
] | Chapter 4 | Cooper lay on the bed for what might have been minutes or months. Time was murky in this place. Panic eventually gave way to boredom, and he thought about having a wank, but he didn't know whose bed he was in.
He was just drifting off to sleep again when he heard a sound which did not come from his own body. It was a ... |
2d6 | Robert Bevan | [
"comedy",
"fantasy"
] | [
"humor",
"short stories",
"Caverns and Creatures C"
] | Chapter 5 | Cooper's sensory deprivation was so complete that he even started to doubt his own existence until he felt cold stone beneath his feet. He dropped to his knees and pawed at the ground, looking for a clue as to which way he should proceed.
The dilemma was solved when two torches burst into life on a wall directly in fr... |
2d6 | Robert Bevan | [
"comedy",
"fantasy"
] | [
"humor",
"short stories",
"Caverns and Creatures C"
] | Chapter 6 | Cooper awoke to the warmth of the sun on his face. No, that wasn't quite right. It was still dark, and this warmth was liquidy. He opened his eyes to discover a stray dog pissing on him. He sat up and spit out the dog piss that had run into his mouth.
"What day is it?"
The dog didn't answer. Instead it sniffed at one... |
2d6 | Robert Bevan | [
"comedy",
"fantasy"
] | [
"humor",
"short stories",
"Caverns and Creatures C"
] | Chapter 7 | P.S.
Julian paused to glare up at Cooper.
"What?" said Cooper.
Julian continued reading.
P.S. When I find a way out of here, I'm going to set a trap with some weapons I found. Keep to the left against the wall and you can avoid getting stabbed to death.
"Oh shit," said Cooper. "Sorry."
P.P.S. Apologize to the dwa... |
2d6 | Robert Bevan | [
"comedy",
"fantasy"
] | [
"humor",
"short stories",
"Caverns and Creatures C"
] | Chapter 8 | "Duck," Dave groaned as consciousness flowed back into his mind. His face felt like a gorilla had slammed it into a brick wall, and he was surprised he could speak at all, or even breathe for that matter. When his vision cleared, he saw Julian and Tim standing over him. Tim's face was already a bruised and beaten mess.... |
2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious | Shannon Hale | [
"comedy"
] | [
"Marvel",
"superheroes",
"humor",
"The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl"
] | Chapter 1 | The night was as cool as glass. Streetlamps cast orange cones of light onto the pavement, but everything in between them was darkness. Darkness so thick, you could gnaw on it.
Squirrel Girl perched atop a streetlamp, twelve feet above the quiet suburban street. Not the kind of place where you'd expect to run into a la... |
2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious | Shannon Hale | [
"comedy"
] | [
"Marvel",
"superheroes",
"humor",
"The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl"
] | Chapter 2 | Doreen smelled the nutloaf the moment her dad took it out of the oven. She snapped her math book shut, scurried out of her room, and took the flight of steps down in one leap.
"Dinner—"
"Here!" said Doreen.
"…time," finished her father.
Maureen came into the kitchen, wafting a plasticky odor of paint. And beneath t... |
2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious | Shannon Hale | [
"comedy"
] | [
"Marvel",
"superheroes",
"humor",
"The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl"
] | SQUIRREL TEAM SIX | Tippy-Toe
Aliases: Tip, T-Toe, Missus T, The Right Paw of Justice
Rank: Captain
Bipedal Height: 1′0″
Identifying Features: Pink bow, clever eyes
Special Skills: Genius-level squirrel intellect, languages, paw-to-claw combat |
2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious | Shannon Hale | [
"comedy"
] | [
"Marvel",
"superheroes",
"humor",
"The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl"
] | Chapter 4 | Fuzz Fountain Cortez
Aliases: Bibi Peluchita Furbi Cortez, Furbullet
Rank: Lieutenant
Bipedal Height: 0′10″
Identifying Features: Patched black-and-brown natural camouflage
Special Skills: High-speed pursuit, leaping, tracking |
2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious | Shannon Hale | [
"comedy"
] | [
"Marvel",
"superheroes",
"humor",
"The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl"
] | Chapter 5 | Chomp Style
Aliases: Charles Monroe Styles, The Mouth
Rank: Corporal
Bipedal Height: 0′8″
Identifying Features: Overlarge front teeth, muscular head, short tail
Special Skills: Demolition, infiltration |
2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious | Shannon Hale | [
"comedy"
] | [
"Marvel",
"superheroes",
"humor",
"The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl"
] | Chapter 6 | Speedo Strutfuzz
Aliases: Strutto Speedfuzz, The Centaur
Rank: Sergeant
Bipedal Height: 0′9″
Identifying Features: Extra-long whiskers, missing third claw on left paw
Special Skills: Recon, communication, cavalry |
2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious | Shannon Hale | [
"comedy"
] | [
"Marvel",
"superheroes",
"humor",
"The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl"
] | Chapter 7 | Big Sissy Hotlegs
Aliases: Big Sis, M. Squee Cisneros, Rabbitsbane
Rank: Sergeant
Bipedal Height: 1′5″
Identifying Features: Red-furred paws and legs, large size, muscular tail, burn scars on haunches
Special Skills: Paw-to-claw combat, demolition, heavy weapons |
2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious | Shannon Hale | [
"comedy"
] | [
"Marvel",
"superheroes",
"humor",
"The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl"
] | Chapter 8 | Chive Alpha—
"Hold up," I said, looking all around. "Where's Chive Alpha?"
Cortez leaned in. "She shed that name again."
I twitched my tail in frustration. Recently a squirrel named Sour Cream and her children were abducted and nearly roasted alive by a dastardly human villain. Sour Cream's children had collectivel... |
2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious | Shannon Hale | [
"comedy"
] | [
"Marvel",
"superheroes",
"humor",
"The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl"
] | Chapter 9 | TO: [Undisclosed Recipients]
DATE: Friday
SUBJECT: The Creatures that Stalk Our Halls
If you see the canine or the feline hybrid in our secret base, don't shoot at them with your plasma guns! Give them a hug! If you do try to shoot them, you might end up our next mauling victim. HAH! "MALL"-ING? That's crazy wha... |
2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious | Shannon Hale | [
"comedy"
] | [
"Marvel",
"superheroes",
"humor",
"The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl"
] | Chapter 10 | Frankie: Some creepy cat thing scratched up my car! I never liked cats before, but now I hate them!
Beau: Yeah well cats probably hate you too!
Frankie: Jump in the lake, jerkwad!
Beau: Same to you, gorseface!
Frankie: Um
Beau: I meant horseface
Erin: I saw that cat beast on the news! Creeeeeepy.
William: It's d... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 1 | "The wise man judges the new by the old." —SOPHOCLES
"The value of life is measured by its beauty and not by its length." —PLUTARCH
"The times do not wait." —THUCYDIDES |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Greece, 480 B.C. | Proud Xerxes, Emperor of Persia and King of Kings, invades Greece with a million soldiers. He leads thousands of ships and is helped by dozens of allies, among them the charming Queen Artemisia.
Against him stand a few Greek fighters and two determined men - Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans on dry land, the per... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Prologue | [ Fifty eight years earlier ]
[ Babylon, 538 B.C. ]
Cyrus the Great, ruler of all Asia, grasped his gilt scepter and swept the landscape before him with a direct and focused gaze. He beheld the endless plain of Mesopotamia watered by the imposing river Euphrates. In the distance, a few miles away to the right and lef... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Athens, 514 B.C. | The music of kitharas could be heard in all the neighborhoods of Athens around the Acropolis, in all the narrow streets, in all the one-storied and two-storied houses. In every garden, in every temple and in every grove of sacred olive trees. The procession of the Sacred Veil of the great Panathenaia festival was about... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | ARTEMISIA | [ Sardis, city of the Persian Empire ]
Are you sure?"
"Yes…"
"It's expensive" the merchant murmured, looking with distrust at the girl standing before him. "It's only for archers and wrestlers."
"And me" she answered arrogantly, and commanded her nursemaid to take out the daric, the golden Persian coin that glitter... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 6 | Dust and choking heat. The air was like the air in a blacksmith's workshop. As the sun climbed higher in the sky, foreheads were moistened with sweat and faces turned red from the burning rays.
And from excitement. Thousands of people were crowded together under the rock where the Persian fortress and the headquarters... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 7 | The bull bellowed frantically. Tied with five thick ropes of braided strips of hide and with a forged chain around its neck, it was dragged by ten men while several more goaded it on the rump with sharpened canes. The uproar and the dust kicked up by the maddened brute covered the whole of the little valley, because on... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 8 | The tenth bull had been sacrificed. The hour was approaching rapidly. Luckily her hands had stopped trembling. As the sun sank into the west, as the pits filled up with blood, the girl felt her body dry out and the beating of her heart slow down while her mind relaxed. It was not just that she was getting used to the s... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 9 | First they heard the horn from the top of the fortress, from the city's watchtower. It was a strident, shrill note that stopped the hearts of the people gathered there.
Then, before time could erase the piercing note of the horn, they heard the noise of galloping horses, metal clashing on metal and men's voices shouti... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 10 | They moved with what little strength they had left in their stunned bodies. Their legs trembled from fatigue and from the trauma of the slaughter they had seen. They ran desperately, striding barefoot over fallen bodies and around those who were kneeling, about to die, without noticing the cuts on their soles from the ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 11 | The idea was simple. Simple and hopeful. Mostly, though, it was the only idea they had. The girl knew from studying the works of Homer and listening to singers recite his verses, that for Greeks the greatest sin was to insult the gods. The inside of the temples was sacred, with everything that word implied. Asylum coul... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 12 | The girl ran up to the first dead soldier. She quickly examined his helmet, his breastplate, his leggings and blue cloak. Then she looked at the other soldier. His breastplate was pierced by an arrow and so was his helmet. No, that wouldn't work. The first one was better, his gear was in better condition.
She quickly ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | THEMISTOCLES | [ Athens, Greece ]
Dozens of voices sounded together, high up on the rock of the Acropolis, before the sanctuary of Athens. The eighteen-year-old youths of the city were giving the Ephebic Oath.
I will fight alone and with others
and when die I will leave my country
stronger than I received it.
I will willingl... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 14 | After a day of wild celebration, going from one wild symposium to another, and a night of debauchery, going from one hetaera to another, the six hundred youths of Athens who had been sworn in the day before were lined up with all their military equipment at the northwest gate of the city's wall and, singing military hy... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 15 | Two years rushed by like the waters of a spring high in the mountains. Spear, bow, sword. Tactics of war and the art of making camp. Survival in the hot sun of summer and the freezing cold of winter, without any equipment because their armor was in the cave they used for storage. So the months of their isolation in the... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 16 | For the first thousand yards the whole group ran together like a pack of wolves falling hungrily on their prey. The eighty pounds of bronze armor seemed like a light sack and their feet flew over plants and branches, stones and pits. Besides, the first thousand yards were the easiest. They were still in the cleared val... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 17 | Someone else might have given up. Not him. Not the young man nicknamed mule, not the personification of stubbornness and perseverance.
Biting his lips, he picked up his sword and spear from the ground and started to run towards the thick forest. His bronze breastplate was an unbearable weight, it felt like a tombstone... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 18 | He sat without moving and watched the water in intense frustration. The large lake was an insuperable obstacle. His mind was paralyzed, he had fallen into a languor in which scenes from his childhood played before his eyes, sights he had seen in the Agora when he was going to his teacher's house and even earlier, in st... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 19 | He used the spear to push the boat, sinking the point to the bottom of the lake and poling steadily and firmly. The raft started to move towards the opposite shore. At that slow speed, though, it might take hours to cross the distance of half a mile.
While pushing on the spear with all the strength he had left, he rai... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 20 | Lambrias was hanging from the vertical cliff like a bunch of grapes from a vine. His hands gripped an outcropping of rock and his body swung a hundred feet above the water of the lake. The path had crumbled away underneath him, pulling him with it. Lambrias's hands were trembling uncontrollably from his desperate attem... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | XERXES | [ Susa, capital of the Persian Empire ]
The summer heat in Susa, capital of the Persian Empire, was unbearable. The place was bare of trees and the low shrubs and rocks heated up under the burning sun. The Choaspes river ran near the city, very close to the emperor's complex, but the coolness brought by its waters was... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 22 | The men in the hall of hearings were standing upright in a line with their heads bowed, waiting for their king to call them near him and speak to them. The first was Xerxes' aged uncle, the wise Artabanus. The second was his advisor Mithrates and the third was the general Mardonius, his childhood friend and commander o... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 23 | Two guards approached swiftly and held him tightly by the shoulders. A third held his head steady, pressing the temples with his open palms.
Without wasting time, the leader of the Immortals reached out his hand to one of the two censers, took the metal tongs with which the lighted coals were stirred, and without hesi... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 24 | The two of them stood there. Uncle and nephew. They stood alone on the porch and watched the river running slowly before the great palace.
"I want you to do something for me, Artabanus" murmured Xerxes.
"To a god and to a king, no one says no."
The king's swarthy face lighted up with self satisfaction at his uncle's... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 25 | And yet Artabanus's suspicions and his fears for his nephew's health dissolved like a cloud of dust in a strong wind. It was Cyrus. Undoubtedly it was Cyrus, founder of the dynasty of the Achaemenids. He recognized him from the painted reliefs on the palace walls. He stood over the bed and his words fell like great roc... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 26 | Shall we call our own Mages, great king?"
"No. It is not necessary..."
The Persian Mages of the royal palace were not needed to explain anything. The meaning of the vision and the oracle's prophecy were clear for all to see. Everyone knew that the olive is a tree that does not grow in Persia but grows in abundance in... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | "The Gates of Fire" | [ When the Earth was Hidden ]
The news reached Athens in advance of the official ambassadors. Sailors on Phoenician ships, mercenaries from Thrace, textile merchants from Egypt, porphyry exporters from Phoenicia, exiled Greeks at the court of the Persian king. They were all talking about the terrible gathering of the ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 28 | Halicarnassus in Caria, was not the largest city on the shores of Asia Minor. Nor was it one of her greatest trading ports. There were many cities that were greater and more important. Miletus. Ephesus. Sidon.
But Halicarnassus was the most familiar to Themistocles. He had never visited it in all the forty years of hi... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 29 | He hadn't managed to learn much about the current situation in Halicarnassus. The satrap Lygdamis, who was of Greek descent but a subject and friend of the Persians, had died the year before. Since then, the royal house of the city lacked a head and it was embroiled in quarrels and brawls. There was no heir because Lyg... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 30 | Let me give you some advice, cousin…"
The voice that was heard in the royal hall of symposia with its colorful stones and gilded fountain, was not hoarse or heavy. It was not an old man's voice, like the voice of Sindos. It was as soft as light fabric fluttering in the breeze, tinkling and musical like the water of th... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 31 | The dinner was not going as expected. His cousin, even though she had Greek blood in her veins, had become the most loyal subject of the king. It was not just her appearance that told him: her eyes ringed with black kohl, her eyelids smeared with powder of oxidized copper, her eyes dilated with solution of belladonna, ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 32 | He looked at the stars and thought about his life. Themistocles considered himself a lucky person, blessed by the gods. He hadn't been born an aristocrat, nor was he descended from noblemen, but he had lacked for nothing all his life. His father was a knowledgeable man, shrewd and circumspect. Although he came from a p... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 33 | The shapely figure stood upright next to two large couches. Lower down, on a wooden table decorated with ivory and terracotta, there were figs, walnuts, honey and sweet grapes, and a delicate amphora full of wine from Samos with two silver cups.
Farther back, the doors to the balcony stood wide open. The light veils h... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 34 | Themistocles felt as if one of Zeus's thunderbolts had fallen next to him. He forgot all of his witty replies. His eyes started out of their sockets, looking at Artemisia.
"What kind of game is this?" he asked, stunned.
"It's not a game. Our house has governed the city for three generations. I do not wish to put some... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 35 | Hours later when their bodies fell apart, soaked with the juices of love and the liquids of pleasure that had come many times for both of them, the sun had not yet risen over the horizon. The sea had just taken on the rosy color of dawn and the room was filled with pale light. Most of the lamps had gone out.
Artemisia... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 36 | Days later, on the way back from Sardis, Themistocles was surprised to find that instead of thinking about the terrifying mass of the army he had seen, he kept thinking about Artemisia.
Her moist eyes as she writhed in pleasure and her moist body that he pierced like the hard bronze ram of a warship. Her soft, full li... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | This is Sparta | The two naked boys turned and twisted energetically. In this competition all holds, all kinds of kicks and blows and every move was allowed. Their immature but hardy and muscular bodies were full of lacerations and old scars from their struggle for survival during their harsh education. And this was its peak: wrestling... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 38 | Bare walls without ornamentation. Whitewash and a statue of the goddess Artemis. No decorations, no carpets, no couches with comfortable cushions. Wooden stools without backs and a long table fashioned from pine boards smoothed with a thin layer of wax furnished the official banqueting hall where the Spartans honored t... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 39 | When Themistocles and Cimonas opened their eyes, it was still completely dark even though it was summer and the nights were short. Trumpets were sounding from one end of Sparta to another, announcing the new day and summoning the people to rise. In Athens people got out of bed before sunrise too, although not for the s... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 40 | They met Cimonas just outside the barracks. It was a day of training, a typical day for the Spartans that is, and Leonidas believed that allowing his Athenian guests to watch the exercises would serve two purposes: it would raise their morale to see the famous Spartan infantry in action, and it would also impress them,... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 41 | Melegros approached his exasperated king, trembling with anxiety and also with fear. In twenty years with Leonidas, the old attendant had learned that no one, for any reason, interrupted military exercises.
Melegros' white head turned leaned towards the king's rich braided crest and he began to whisper furiously in hi... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 42 | Leonidas laughed. "What kind of a joke is this?"
But the ambassador remained serious. "It is that which is requested by my lord and King of Kings, the Emperor of Asia."
"A little dirt and a little water, that is?" asked Leonidas, as soon as his laughter had subsided. "Did you come all the way here for a little dirt a... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 43 | Leonidas smiled for a long time. Then he looked away from the Persian. He looked first at the three respected elders of the city council who waited, standing a little farther back, for his decision. Then he turned and looked at his men, standing motionless in the lines of their phalanx like armored statues.
At an almo... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Come and Take Them | Besides the Thessalians, Thebes and the city of Argos that sided with the Persians out of long-standing enmity with Sparta, all the other Greek cities agreed to participate in the war effort. They sent soldiers and ships, and they swore to the gods to hold to their decision with all their might. The ships would gather ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 45 | The first line of defense, a narrow pass, was a hundred and twenty miles north of Athens. It combined all the advantages. To the east lay the sea and to the west was the high mountain of Kallidromo, impassable for a large army. Between them there was a strip of level ground, half a mile long and two hundred feet wide, ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 46 | A chorus of shouts came to their ears. Almost the whole Greek camp had climbed up on the wall or else the slopes of the mountain and was looking to the north, towards the depths of the plain. A large plume of dust rose from the low hills at its end. Just at the edge of sight, black dots moved in lines like great, super... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 47 | Then followed four days of waiting, with tentative moves by the Persian infantry and harassment from mounted archers who galloped up to the wall, shot a few arrows and then returned to their camp. The Spartans did not shoot back. They couldn't be bothered. Guerilla warfare was not warfare for them. They had not learned... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 48 | When he heard those words Leonidas clenched his fists to break his rage, as he had been taught to do in his training ever since he was a small child. For a Spartan, there was no failing worse than treachery.
Without saying another word, he strode firmly to the wall, the gaze of all his men fixed on him. He climbed the... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 49 | That same evening sacrifices were made to Ares, god of war, to bless the Greek fleet, and to Hades, god of the underworld, to accept those who would travel with the boatman into his kingdom. Then the Three Hundred ate their scanty dinner together, each drinking a cup of watered-down wine so as to have their heads clear... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | The Gates of Fire | The waiting was over. Early in the morning, before dawn, the Three Hundred and their allies from Thespies got up from the ground, washed their bodies, arranged their hair, polished their shields and helmets with sand, rubbed them with oil, put on their clean tunics, offered libations to the gods and their ancestors, an... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 51 | The structured formation of the Three Hundred advanced to the middle of the field of battle. Suddenly the shrill sound of the pipes accompanying the martial hymns was silent, and the phalanx stopped.
Before them stood the first units of Persian fighters, consisting of the best of the nations participating in the campa... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 52 | Rage. The thick cloth coverings of the imperial tent shook under Xerxes' voice. It was not the delay. It was not the failure of his plan. It was not the six thousand dead and wounded men in a single day.
It was the humiliation.
Xerxes had never felt that unpleasant emotion before. His army had always been victorious.... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 53 | "Wars are not won by repetition" Leonidas was saying at the same moment.
"What do you mean?"
"Wars are won by surprise. Tomorrow we will not draw up on the field of battle. Now the Persians know our tactics. Their generals will have studied our movements and taken their measures."
"So we're not going to fight?" Dien... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 54 | The next morning the Spartans did not gather their phalanx, did not raise their spears or go out before the wall. The Persian scouts looked for them in vain from their raised lookouts.
The sun was high in the sky but the area in front of the Spartan wall was still empty. Even the gate with the sliding wooden door at i... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 55 | He looked at the yellow cloth of the ceiling with the intensity of a priest before carrying out a ritual. His gaze motionless, his lips pressed together, lines of thought on his forehead. Not a word had come from his mouth for some time.
Artemisia sat and turned towards him, looking him in the eyes. "Can I be of servi... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 56 | The Immortals. The renowned, elite imperial guard. Professional soldiers, terrifically impressive, trained hard in many years of war from India to Egypt. But not all of them. It was only one of their battalions, one thousand out of ten thousand.
They resembled priests at a ceremony. They were wearing their colorful ga... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 57 | With one volley every second, in just two minutes thousands of lead pellets struck the Persian formation and brought confusion and chaos to their lines. If they had worn heavy metal armor like that of the Greeks, the little pellets would not have pierced the bronze and caused wounds or death. But their shields were wil... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 58 | He withdrew, enraged and frustrated, to his apartments, and lay on his bed thinking about the unexpected, unheard of defeat of his enormous army by a handful of fighters for the second day in a row. He lay still while the tears drew lines and made paths over his dark face. Not from grief for the lost Immortals, but fro... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 59 | The Persian camp and Xerxes' tent were far away, four miles to the north. But the Greek camp was right next to the field of battle, behind the slaughter.
The whole triangle spreading out before the little wall looked like a meat grinder had ground up thousands of bodies from every nation and tribe in the last two days... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 60 | The moonlight gleamed on the ornaments as the figures walked hastily up the narrow path between the steep canyons of Mount Kallidromo.
A few hours earlier, immediately after the night's trumpets gave the signal for silence, half the force of Immortals, having in the meantime replaced the huge numbers of men they had l... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 61 | The small boy was still out of breath. The sheepskin he wore next to his flesh was soaked with sweat and the clay amulet hanging on his chest, carved with the form of the goddess Artemis, went up and down like a little boat on a stormy sea.
"Are you sure?"
"It is summer, my master's sheep are still high on the mounta... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 62 | The soldiers advanced slowly. First came the beasts of burden, pulling the severely wounded on makeshift carts, those who had been paralyzed by blows to the head or who had lost their legs or were unable to stand upright. Immediately after them, grabbing each other's shoulders like mismatched couples, came those of the... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 63 | Leonidas was standing upright to the right of the phalanx, in the most dangerous position, the one that was not protected by the shield of any comrade. Next to him and to the left was Dienekes, then the two brothers, Alpheos and Maronas, and then followed, in the first line, all the Spartans that were left of the Three... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 64 | A battle like the angry sea. Like the waves breaking on the shore, taking the boats with them or like a violent tide sweeping everything from its path.
Even before the Persian cavalry reached the Greek's position, they had taken out their bows and shot dozens of arrows. They surrounded the phalanx and urged their hors... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 65 | A short time later, it was all over.
Lifeless bodies of Spartans lay everywhere on the battlefield, pierced by spears, cut by swords, stuck full of dozens of arrows. The area was full of fallen red plumes, red cloaks and red bodies. At a distance of five hundred feet, the earth had turned to mud from the blood. It was... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | The Lion and the Scopion | In the heavy summer heat without a breath of air, humidity covered the coast like a damp veil as she sat on the mountainside and looked at Artemisio. Motionless. Absorbed. Ten miles of sea to the opposite coast was not much, even on a suffocating evening like this one. Neither were the dozens of lights twinkling in the... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 67 | In the tent of Achaimenes' and of the Persian naval council the commanders of the fleets of the more important nations were gathered, those that were participating in the campaign with warships and transports. First came Mervalos, commander of the Phoenician fleet, the most powerful and experienced in seamanship. Next ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | September, 480 B.C. | [ "The Fall of an Empire" ]
[ The Decision ]
A moonless night. And yet their anguished faces were lit up as they stood on the shore of the island of Salamis across from Athens. They watched with fear, awe and anger as their city burned. The shops and houses, the market, the gymnasia and the theaters had already falle... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 69 | On Eurybiades' ship there was clamoring and great passion. Greeks shout and wave their hands even if there are only two of them together. Now there were twenty Greeks talking all together in a space only forty yards long, the length of a ship.
"In this situation we cannot delay. We must leave at once."
Adeimantos, th... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 70 | North of Salamis, along the coast of Athens, the army of Xerxes continued to march all the next day, the shuffling of tens of thousands of feet in the dry ground raising a cloud of dust. That was the sight that made the hearts of the men from Corinth and Sparta sink. They had gathered on the north coast of Salamis and ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 71 | All the commanders of the Greek fleet were on Eurybiades' ship for the new war council the admiral had called. But Themistocles remained on the shore. He walked back and forth on the sand nervously, his head turned anxiously toward the path from the interior of the island.
He was alone. This time he had refused to hav... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | The Trap | The little boat moved silently over the dark waters. Its oars were buried in the water and raised with care because they had to reach the shore without attracting the attention of the Persian outposts. Its keel was rubbed all over with black pitch, and its boatman was naked and covered in dark mud to soak up the sweat ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 73 | No trumpets sounded. No horn was blown. There were low-voiced orders from the officers and quiet nudges from the petty officers. The oars had been dipped in fresh fat to slide easily in the oarlocks. The sails were tied tight to the masts to avoid rustling. No lamps were lighted on the ships.
It was not yet midnight w... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 74 | "It is unbelievable…" murmured Cimonas in a trembling voice.
Before the east turned grey he had climbed high on the island's hill with Themistocles, Aristeides, Eurybiades and Adeimantos and they were looking, impressed, at the arrival of the whole Persian navy.
First the Phoenician vessels arrived from the east. The... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | The Noose Tightens | Themistocles looked at the eastern horizon, where the sun had just risen. Then he turned his gaze to the empty sea stretching out for half a mile before him, in front of the first ships in the Persian armada. He looked at it carefully, searching for the signs the fishermen had told him about. When he saw dark bands beg... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 76 | Artemisia was taking her place on the east side of the Persian formation when she heard the voice of the lookout from the bow.
"Nothing yet, my lady. All their ships are still on shore."
She turned and looked over the mass of Persian ships. Behind her not an inch of sea was visible. The ships were crowded closely, in... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 77 | Xerxes sat on his shining throne on the mountainside and looked at the sea straits with shining eyes. He saw the retreating Greek ships as well, and his mind was already carried away by the brilliant victory and the glory awaiting him.
Next to him, General Mardonius amplified his enthusiasm, trying to increase his sha... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 78 | On his ship, the tallest and heaviest of the Persian fleet, Mervalos looked in puzzlement at the forty Greek ships sailing to the west.
"They are leaving, master" said the helmsman standing behind him. It was difficult for him to hide his joy. "They are running like rabbits!"
The Phoenician admiral did not share his ... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 79 | Adeimantos and his division have withdrawn" said the messenger sent by the lookout on the hilltop.
"Is the Persian formation complete?"
"Some of their ships are still in the middle. All the rest are in position."
"Good…" Themistocles looked at the white clouds on the surface of the sea, where the water was not prote... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 80 | What is happening, Mardonius?"
"They have boarded their ships and started, my king."
"Finally…"
The emperor leaned forward, full of excitement.
The hour he had been waiting for so many years, had arrived.
"Finally…" he repeated and ordered the imperial scribes to open their papyri and record his triumph in detail. |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 81 | From the west end to the center were the ships of Athens, exactly opposite the Phoenician formation. If that broke, the rest of the Persian fleet would break up.
On the east side were the sixteen ships of the Spartans and next to them the ships from the island of Aegina. In the center of the Greek formation were the s... |
300 The Empire | Theo Papas | [
"historical fiction",
"Greece"
] | [] | Chapter 82 | "They are afraid. That's logical" said Xerxes, and laughed out loud. "Fear holds empires together. It destroys armies and fleets."
"That is true, my lord" Mardonius agreed cheerfully. But his eyes remained fixed uneasily on the western side of the Greek armada, where the ships of Athens were drawn up with their rams r... |
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