Imperialist: The Voyage

Ancient African Emperor Moutassim I goes on a voyage and must survive monsters, cannibal tribes and his own murderous crew, while his wife Kelita, acting as Empress regent, gets a cruel baptism in the dangers of court politics, misogyny, magic and war. Will Moutassim return home to his wife in one piece? Will his Empress survive ruling an empire as brutal as Mesigan?

Blurb

Moutassim rocked back on his heels, his mind searching for a response but coming up blank. Women, other than his wife, giving him the cold shoulder was a unique experience. Chewing the inside of his lip, Moutassim looked up for inspiration.

It was then that he noticed the fog slowly surrounding his ship, it's smoky tendrils wrapping around the cog's single sail and blotting out the starry sky. He looked around, but all he was greeted with was more fog, the shadowy outline of his nearby ships growing fainter and fainter until they disappeared entirely.

Where the hell did this fog come from, Moutassim thought in annoyance. Had he been so engrossed in watching Tigrita sleep that he hadn't noticed it creeping in?

Moutassim looked around for his navigator, Soth. And that was when he heard a scream pierce the thick fog.

Published June 7th, 2020

#2 in Guyana stories 02/10/2020
#56 in exploration stories 07/08/2020
#15 in Invaders 07/08/2020
#213 in African stories 02/10/2020
#143 in mercenary stories 07/08/2020
#545 in stories on royal families 05/08/2020

Honourable mention in The Ink Awards 2020