history vs histories

One of my favorite parts of writing fiction is the historical backstory – specifically, how everyone has a slightly different version of what really happened in the past.

That’s how history works in Real Life. If you ask twenty different people what happened in a historical event, you will get twenty different answers. Even if the facts are beyond any possibility of dispute, you will get twenty different interpretations of those facts.

Like, think about the CLOAK GAMES series. In that series, the backstory is that the High Queen of the Elves conquered Earth on Conquest Day, and the Elves have ruled mankind ever since.

Except, what really happened? Nadia’s heard many different versions of the story in the last nine books:

-The High Queen destroyed the corrupt governments, and brought duty, order, and peace to mankind.

-The High Queen brutally conquered Earth, executed anyone who resisted her, and enslaved mankind.

-The Conquest has brought stagnation and coercive control to Earth.

-The Conquest has brought peace and order to Earth.

-The High Queen seized control of Earth in a day.

-The High Queen spent several decades putting down various insurgencies.

-The Archons liberated their homeworld from royal rule and established a republic, while the royalist Elves cowardly took shelter on Earth.

-The Archons overthrew the rightful government of their homeworld and slaughtered millions, forcing the survivors to flee to Earth to save their lives.

Nadia’s heard different versions of that story from different people. Which one is true? Maybe they’re all true, but it depends on who you ask.

Or maybe Nadia’s going to find out the hard way in CLOAK GAMES: LAST JUDGE.