My Name is William Cushing: Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court I was born in 1732 in Scituate, Massachusetts, in a world still firmly rooted in its Puritan past. My father, John Cushing, was a respected justice of the Superior Court, and from him I learned that law was more than statutes and rulings—it was the safeguard of order and the protector of liberty. My childhood was shaped by books, quiet study, and long conversations about justice and morality. By

My Name is Gyges of Lydia: Founder of the Mermnad Dynasty I was not born into the noble Heraclid line that had ruled Lydia for generations. My father, Dascylus, served at court, and through him I learned early how power flowed between nobles, priests, and kings. Yet I also learned how fragile that power could be. King Candaules, the last of the Heraclids, grew careless with both his throne and his judgment. His pride in his wife’s beauty would draw me into a moment that chang

My Name is Tobias Lear: Personal Secretary to the President of the United States I was born in 1762 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in a world framed by salt air, shipyards, and the steady rhythm of the Atlantic. My family valued education deeply, and from a young age, I found myself drawn to books, languages, and the belief that knowledge could lift a man toward any calling. My path eventually carried me to Harvard College, where I graduated ready to serve a nation that had on

My Name is Zarathustra: Prophet and Seeker of Truth I was born among the tribes of ancient eastern Iran, in a world filled with competing gods, wandering warriors, and rituals that shaped every part of life. From a young age, I sensed that something in our belief systems felt fractured, as though the universe whispered a truth far simpler and far greater than the chaos around me.   Early Life and the Search for Wisdom My childhood was filled with questions. Why did the gods q

My Name is John Thomas: Judge of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts I was born into a world of order, duty, and the sober expectations of New England life. From my earliest years, I understood that law was not merely a set of rules but the binding fabric that held together a people determined to govern themselves with fairness and restraint. Though I never sought fame, my life in the courts of Massachusetts placed me close to the great turning points that gave rise to the firs

My Name is Artobarzanes: Eldest Son of Darius I I entered the world at a time when Persia was still reeling from the chaos left by Cambyses II and the deception of the false Smerdis. My father, Darius, did not rise to power through gentle inheritance but through the blade and the boldness of seven men who risked everything to restore order. I was raised hearing those stories, and though I admired his courage, I also learned early that the throne of Persia was never secure, ne

My Name is Richard Henry Lee: Senator of the First United States Congress I was born into a world that seemed destined for upheaval. My family, old Virginia stock, carried a sense of duty to the colony and later to the rising nation. From an early age, I watched my father and uncles speak boldly of liberty and justice, and I learned quickly that a man’s voice could shape the course of events. My education was a mixture of private study, reflection, and the sharpening of my th

My Name is Darius I: King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire I was not born expecting to rule an empire stretching from the shores of the Aegean to the valleys of the Indus. Yet fate often chooses its own path. I began my life as a member of the Achaemenid royal family, serving loyally under Cambyses II. When unrest and confusion swept across the empire after his death, I stepped forward to restore order. My ascent was not peaceful. I defeated pretenders, quelled rebellions, a

My Name is John Lansing Jr.: Delegate of New York and Reluctant Architect I was born in Albany in 1754, a city that carried the sound of merchants’ carts, the sharp tongues of politicians, and the steady pulse of Dutch families who had lived there for generations. My own family was part of that old heritage, and from a young age I learned what it meant to balance civic duty with personal honor. New York was still a British colony in my youth, and the winds of independence had

My Name is Astyages: Last King of the Median Empire From above, where the sweep of time appears as a single long tapestry, I look back upon my life with the clarity that only distance can bring. I was the final ruler of a proud empire, the Median kingdom that stood between the ancient world’s shifting powers. My reign was marked by prophecy, fear, ambition, and the unexpected rise of a young Persian who would reshape history—my own grandson, Cyrus.   Heir to a Growing Empire