The Oresteia (Modernized)

HAXX0RZ | historical | Complete

All three of the great Greek Tragedians have written plays about the bloody chain of murder and revenge within the royal family of Argos. Yet theirs is in fact not a story of tragedy, but rather one of redemption. As they move from darkness to light, from rage to self-governance, from primitive ritual to civilized institution, their spirit of struggle and regeneration becomes an everlasting song of celebration to be heard throughout the ages. Forming a discourse set against the emergence of Athenian democracy out of a period of chaos and destruction, the Orestian plays are compelling stories of the tensions between our obligations to our families and the laws that bind us together as a society. In the beginning, we witness how a king's decision to sacrifice his daughter and turn the tide of war inflicts lasting damage on his family, culminating in a terrible act of retribution. In the aftermath of regicide, we behold how a son must set out to avenge his father's death by committing a most egregious sin. In the end, the sinner is tormented by supernatural powers that can never be appeased, but ultimately finds redemption and ends the curse on his house once and for all. Woven through all of this is the story of a friendship so close that it elevates itself to brotherhood - Where the blood of the covenant is shown to be indeed thicker than the water of the womb. In this very brief twelve-chapter modern rendition of the Orestian plays, I have chosen to place my focus mainly on the lives of the characters Orestes and his best friend Pylades. The chapters, each around 2000-2500 words, are split up evenly between them in first-person narrative. I hope that you will come to enjoy reading this heartwarming story, but more importantly, that you see how the conflicts portrayed in the story, whether human or institutional, are still much very relevant to our societies today. Note on Sources: The details of this story is very loosely based on The Oresteia by Aeschylus. And I mean very loosely. Other sources that I referenced for detail and inspiration are Mythology by Edith Hamilton, Electra by Sophocles, and Iphigenia in Tauris by Euripides. You may also find that I have quoted some of these works, and others (such as Shelley's Ozymondaeus), without citations (average of 1-2 such quotes per chapter). I did this because I do not have the ability to describe certain scenes nearly as well as some of those writers. If you read a particularly beautiful piece of prose here, chances are it's probably stolen lol. Also, I wrote this during the summer between my high school senior year and my college freshmen year. It was the summer of 2020, and being quarantined apparently gets my creative side out lol.

15.05 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:30

Prometheus

H F J Ballard | historical | Complete

A loose retelling of the story of Prometheus. They say that with the wheel and money the greatest thing man got was fire. The god we got to steal this funny red-orange burning wood or (pot) was tired of being comfortable alone and cried for cold men down below, and so he stole the warm-lit red orange glow& or tried or did, but all he got, for his effort was caught.

21.63 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:34

My Gentle Alpha

LAJistics | historical | Complete

Alea was once a soldier. However her life came to a tragic end during a mission. Lying in the target's desolate hideout, her body broken and mangled looking at the corpses of her comrades. She wished she could have one more chance to live. It seems something answered her wish! But when Alea opened her eyes again she soon understood that she was no longer in her original world. Follow Alea along her journey in this new world, where she has some "big" changes to accept about herself. Though I'm sure that her fiance will help her accept these changes. https://ko-fi.com/lajistics patreon.com/LAJistics

16.25 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:42

On the Subject of Death

S.nuffles | historical | Complete

Matthieu de Laval, a Capitaine in the Holy European Legions lies in hospital. After a heroic last stand at a stronghold along the Ninth Holy Crusade's front line, he escaped, missing his left arm and most of his Company. Despite a short-lived respite in the form of his nurse, Andrea Moretti, he is soon assigned a ceremonial position in rural former France. With a spare set of clothes, a toothbrush and a sidearm, he arrives in the sleepy mountain town of Melone, still skeptical of his new, Vatican subsidized life. There he meets a young girl, C閘ine Allard, the baker's daughter and the town's youngest Deathseer. As a shepherd of the dead and traveler of the many worlds along the Great Tower's spiral staircase, C閘ine Allard knows death intimately and more importantly, the truth behind immortality and salvation. As the war continues, the Great Tower destabilizes and the worlds fall into disarray, in turn only worsening the casualties of the Ninth Holy Crusade. C閘ine pleads for his help in its repair, and he begrudgingly obliges. Brushing close to death once more, yet in a completely different sense, Matthieu learns the value of such myths as immortality and eternity and distills them into a letter. On what, exactly? Well, it isn't very creative.

16.04 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:41

Voracity - Book One

Camelboy | horror | Complete

NOT ACTUALLY COMPLETED Can't figure out how to remove the "Completed" tag :P Update 02/29/24: Working on chapter 12 Voracity - A low-fantasy romance steeped in pain, misery, and an internal hunger bent on consuming the most sane of us all. Thomas is a gentle person, too innocent for his own good. He's kind, thoughtful, and caring. Tragedy befalls the compassionate man and he's torn from his peace by the violent, strangling grip of anguish. Can he remain the kind-hearted man he's always been, or will he slip into dark depths occupied only by those with cracked minds and wicked thoughts as he embarks on the journey of a lifetime, or does he even have a choice? The story is a bit of a slow burn to start, but I promise you'll be rewarded for sticking around. I hope you enjoy Thomas's journey through the dark as he slips into madness.

28.11 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:23

Darkest Reflection (Lovecraftian Horror)

DWinchester | horror | Complete

[June 2023 Royal Road Magazine Contest Entry] This story is a work of Lovecraftian horror set in the 1920s, detailing the inexplicable happenings at the Bergen Estate, and the only one Josephine can turn to for help is a 200-year-old vampire. Though she has thwarted many smaller evils, and is not without her own powers, sometimes only a monster can hope to defeat another monster.

6.30 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:43

Life of a Lich

EldritchPotato | horror | Complete

My life was overtaken by one purpose that killed me, but I made peace with that. The problem was when I suddenly found myself in an alien fantasy world. To make matters worse I'm a walking corpse wielding unholy magic and enemy number one for the holy crusaders who guard the kingdom from creatures like me. Now I have to figure out how to survive in this world and what my purpose is now, well that part is easy at least, I'm going to rid this world of one piece of filth at a time. Who would have thought the heroes would be worse than the villains? Warning: This story contains explicit violence and content which some people may find offensive. Reader discretion is advised. Life of a Lich will be updated every Tuesday and Thursday. Chapters are released early on my patron.

27.53 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:45

Ants and Eldritch Horror

LittleCreepy | horror | Complete

If Cthulhu can be summoned by humans who are so far beneath it, why can´t humans be summoned by ants? The answer is, they should be. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I´ve been wasting my time away on Tumblr and stumbled upon a nice Idea. This is the extrapolation of the question; how do ants see humans and how would you react to a bunch of ants chanting your name? Would you give them sugar if they ask nicely? Would you be a benevolent higher Power? Or something way darker and more sinister than you could imagen. As this is the first story, I have ever written, I could do with some feedback. Thanks The picture is from Ants Australia - YouTube. Just tell me if I should take another picture.

2.62 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:44

Other-Terrestrial Episode 1 - "Leviathan"

NolanConrey | horror | Complete

The Sapient Union city-ship Craton, twenty-five light years out from Sol have an encounter with a terrifying life-form. The giant entity, known as a Leviathan, has been asleep for deep ages of time, but now . . . they may have woken it up. Other-Terrestrial is a hard sci-fi story with cosmic horror elements.

15.57 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:53

Artistic Slashing - A LITRPG Novella

GhostImageArt | horror | Complete

Betty Jewel, A simple artist taking a tour of the Highlands takes a wrong turn and finds herself in a new world. Now she's lost, alone, and surrounded by aliens. Oh, and she just got the Slasher class. That can't be good... right? I will be publishing this work on Amazon under the name C.J. Danvers

26.86 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:54

Noirceur

Denwa Macska | mystery | Complete

Mutated, despised, hunted and sentenced to death  this is life as Salia knows it, and it catches up with her when she and hundreds of others are captured to drown in the vastness of the sea. But water doesn't forget, and just as the last hope threatens to fade, a way out reveals itself that requires only one sacrifice: Humans.Destruction can be so simple.Until Salia realises that revenge will never bring peace.

15.22 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 17:58

A Haunted Flower [Completed]

GeorgieD | mystery | Complete

Why did no one ever say that the best way to recover from a deadly illness was by solving mysteries with a pretty ghost? Kayden Feronil, one of the empire's most promising cultivators, was supposed to be recovering from a deadly illness. Unfortunatelyor fortunately, since he's bored out of his mindthe remote village where he was supposed to be recuperating is afflicted with its own issues. Hauntings are driving the locals mad. Crooks are trying to take advantage of the fear. As an upstanding imperial citizen, Kayden sets out to unearth the truth. He just hadn't counted on the ghost tugging far too hard on his heartstrings, or the spiraling journey that the mystery would lead him on. NOTE: This will be a short novella for Royal Road Community Magazine purposes

14.74 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:03

Quoth the Catto

Mad Sadie | satire | Complete

A drunk guy has a conversation with a cat. Parody of The Raven by that famous poet dude. A short poem.

0.64 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:12

Oxmoron

TrafficButter | satire | Complete

He died, as all things do. He got combusted, as all things do. He became part of the air, as all things do. He got absorbed by some flora, as all things do. He got eaten, and he's a bull again& As all things do, right? After his sentience whirled around some abstract cycle, Triple-A now attempts to live peacefully, undergoing conversion and transformation as his mind exceeds that of simple herd behavior. He went from wanting to let the grass grow under his feet to undergoing an existential crisis regarding life and death; he needed to squash this beef. Uploads daily at 8:48am EST

2.32 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:13

KI Anthology III

Kitsune's Inkwell | satire | Complete

Kitsune's Inkwell is a small collective of (mostly) fan-fiction writers who have come together to help each other grow. We have monthly Write-Offs to stretch our literary muscles by tackling things that normally would be outside of our wheelhouse.Prompt:Have you ever had that moment when you're listening to the radio and mishear what's playing? Write about a situation where the character does a double-take on what they just heard on the radio...and finds out that they actually heard correctly for once. Requirements:Submissions were to contain only original characters and settings, a minimum of 1000 words up to a maximum of 2000, and have a dedicated plot hook.

9.56 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:14

Reincarnated as a Cheeseburger: A LITRPG

Pillage Your Village | satire | Complete

A young man by the name of Otto Von Peter wakes up on a chilly morning as a beef patty. His life is forever changed, especially after he is bestowed cheese. He must attempt to gain levels in order to survive and traverse the human body. How will he survive? Will his friends help him? Is there a way out? Only time will tell.

2.26 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:14

New Island

fsarbolaez | satire | Complete

A new island rises off the coast after a major earthquake. Soon, small valuable gems are discovered, while the civilians and government begin coming into conflict with one another. However, something primordial stirs deep within the land and under the waves. (Content Warning: Contains foul language, violence, gore, xenophobia, traumatic experience, and moments of allusions to assault, self-harm, and harm ideation)

9.55 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:15

The Job Application: A Retellling.

TealiciousTea | satire | Complete

The first chapter is based on a short story originally written by Robert Walzer in 1914, and translated by Christopher Middleton. It is a retelling for 2021 or the "long 2020" by me. The following chapters are originals by myself.

0.83 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:14

Monsters of Terra: A Compendium

DarenGillingham | one_shot | Complete

Demons, Dragons, ghouls, and gheists. The monsters of Terra are many. I, Nicholas Wolfram shall tell you all about them in the hopes you may avoid the fate of some of my students. Read on, lest a lack of knowledge be your undoing. These monsters are based on those found in The Alchemist Series.

20.83 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:22

The best thing since sliced bread

Wulfrann | one_shot | Complete

The best thing ever invented, you tell me one morning, is sliced bread. "Really?" "Yeah," you say, waving your buttered slice around for emphasis. Your fingers will be smeared with butter, and I know that later, you will complain about it. For now, though, this is a necessary part of your explanation. "I mean, it's obvious, isn't it?" Spoiler: Story Warnings Obsessive-compulsive behavior & Nonverbal shut-down

0.76 Ten thousand words | Updated at 2024-03-29 18:19