http://slow.writerscafe.org/AnthonyHJ The original writings of author Anthony Hart-Jones en-us Copyright 2026 WritersCafe.org 1775390627 WritersCafe.org RSS Generator 15 More than a century after the Collapse, an event that brought humanity to the brink of destruction, two angels walk the ancient streets of Rochester. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1686344/ This is a story I wrote this week, inspired by the Pathfinder game I play in. Arith is the creation of another player, but I find his current fall to evil fascinating and wanted to explore it. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1412738/ "The code. Give me the damn code..."The voice in my earpiece was panicking. With maybe thirty seconds to go until every alarm in the building went off, I didn’t blame him, but I was still trying to make sense of his words.“What code?”“The console’s asking for .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1312677/ Maybe a little brutal, so don't read if you're sensitive to violence against women. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1306309/ The third tale of Jack Flint, title to follow (when I think of one) http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1305771/ “Oh wow... It’s a church....”I ignore her sarcasm, trying to focus on getting the door open. There’s a question-mark over whether I should be here right now, but I am not sure that I care too much about that. I was invited, so I came. Yes, I was invited to come during the.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1301665/ Walking the streets of Diar, I’m amazed by just how dark it seems. I grew up in cities where magical flames lit every corner, even though half the inhabitants had excellent night-vision, but there are shadows in this city so deep that even my enhanced eyes cannot penetrate the gloom. When I fi.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1301035/ “As the challenged party, you may select the weapons.”I stared at the man in the stupid tail-coat, wondering if he was as moronic as his costume would suggest. It was 2013, not 1813, and I was probably more familiar with the protocols for duelling than he was. In his arms, he had a case .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1300565/ It had been one of those mid-summer days when the clothes stick to your back and the air barely moves. I’d come to Rome looking for blue skies, but wandering around without a cloud in the sky had sent me running from shade to shade in hopes of avoiding a headache.In the end, I’d bought a.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1299947/ The first movement of Beethoven's 'Sonata quasi una fantasia', the one everyone calls 'Moonlight' for some reason, was playing gently in my earpiece as I watched my target leave the crowded nightclub. Others in my profession swear by sedatives, dosing themselves up with valium to keep their hands st.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1298279/ I don't write poetry, I always said I don't, but I did. I feel soiled... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1297973/ I am Mentathiel of House Katilas, a respected diplomat from the southern kingdom of Vyska and scion of a lesser-known house.Except that I am not.I am whatever men need me to be to put them at their ease. I am a pretty face (though not always my own) and a sympathetic ear. You would be forgiven for t.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1297969/ We left the party together a little after midnight. Since we were headed in the same direction, she asked me to walk her to the tube station and I couldn’t really say no.I was dressed as a vampire, in a dinner-jacket that was a size too small and a cape that had cost me five pounds in a charit.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1259724/ A short story about the number three... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1135769/ Flash fiction written for a contest. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1131802/ Contest entry, written for the Nude Writer's contest. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1116109/ Her name was Emma, a fiery red-head who had put him in the hospital once.  Something about their first meeting had set them on this path of mutually-assured destruction and it had only escalated from there.  It had never quite managed to be homicidal, but they had both got carried away bef.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1112092/ Written some time in 2001 or so, back when I had access to student film-makers and lots of student actors. It's not great, but it still strikes me as something I should rework one day. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1105996/ The ranger Berric watched the man traipsing around the tiny hut, sniffing at bundles of twigs and tossing them into the fire-pit.  With each addition, the temperature rose and the cloying scents of the smoke grew thicker. More than this, he started to realise, the smells became more nuanced. &n.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1082134/  Edmund remembered hearing the sun making light of his pain as theyrode, more than once singing a fast-paced song about the knight whofell off his horse which only made him more determined not to do so,but he felt that it was a friendly mockery born out of some imaginedsense of camarade.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1041478/ Edmund thought back to his history lessons; the original War of Dusk had been fought five centuries ago, on the other side of the Western Sea. A cult to a dark god of slaughter and madness rose up in a small city whose name had been stricken from all records, spreading corruption and fear until they.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1041477/ Edmundwoke to a dark blue sky, a subtle golden glow just breaking over thehorizon with the hues of Roland's Gem, a padparadscha sapphireset into the pommel of their founder's holy sword. The memory of hisdreams faded quickly, as dreams are apt to do, and soon he was leftonly with the impr.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1041475/ Itwas a week before Edmund was ready to begin his journey, a fact theapothecary ascribed to the potent poisons that had nearly killed him. As the first to survive the ordeal without a paladin's powers, nonecould say how (or even if) he would recover from its effects and manywere glad to se.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1041473/ The Sanctum of the Order, theinnermost temple of the fortress belonging to the Order of Morning,was more impressive than Edmund could ever have imagined. In hismind's eye, he had seen a grand hall of stone and gems that rivalledany lord's manor, one-hundred yards to a side and lit by a thou.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1041461/ An unfinished story of paladins... It's long, but worth a look. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1041381/ An old one. I must have been 19 or 20 and someone asked me to write something in the style of a Hong-Kong Blood-Opera. It's rough around the edges, but I still kind of like it http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1041379/ There are those who wonder why I don't write poetry. They say that a writer should be adaptable, that someone who writes in so many media should have no trouble with poetry. So here's why not... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1041375/ The 6 o’clock train from Chatham slowly pulled away from the station, sending up clouds of steam as the fireman retracted control rods from the miniature reactor and the enriched Uranium core pushed the boiler straight back up to its working temperature.Deep inside the system, agents perf.. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1031445/ http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1031444/ An old story I wrote when fleshing out a fantasy world. It is just a tiny thing, but I keep wanting to expand it. I probably never will though... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1031443/ A pagan response to the Book of Revelations. It's not meant as sacrilege or an attack, just a shift of perspective. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1031441/ As Jack watched her walk through his door, he knew she was going to be trouble. She was the kind of woman he used to dream of, the whole package, but he had learned his lesson. He didn’t even wait to hear what she had to say…“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t toss you .. http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1031437/ Two heroes return home from a glorious battle. A glimpse at the events after the traditional ending... http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/AnthonyHJ/1031436/