Logan Foust

"Napoleon I., whose career had the quality of a duel against the whole of Europe, disliked duelling between the officers of his army. The great military emperor was not a swashbuckler, and had little respect for tradition. Nevertheless, a story of duelling, which became a legend in the army, runs through the epic of imperial wars. To the surprise and admiration of their fellows, two officers, like insane artists trying to gild refined gold or paint the lily, pursued a private contest through the years of universal carnage."

The Man Who Would Be King is an enormously popular story by the legendary British writer, poet, and journalist Rudyard Kipling. In the tale, the narrator—a British newspaperman in India modeled after Kipling himself—meets two ex-military rogues named Daniel Dravot and Peachy Carnehan, who have grand ambitions. They plan to load up on weapons, travel to the remote Afghan kingdom of Kafiristan and—through cunning and military force—become monarchs.