Authors face off through their characters! Follow along & vote each round. |
Thank you to Elfin Dragon-finally published for her assistance with this prompt. -| The Prompt |- As all the applicants gathered near an entrance to the Forest of Sorrows, awaiting instruction, the Guardians prowled around the edges of the group, alert for trouble. The thunder of hooves signaled the arrival of a newcomer and many were surprised to see the Elven King himself. "My thanks to you for daring to take on this challenge. Your courage is commendable. It is rare to see such a diverse group gathered in one place, ready to work towards a single aim. I know Gulon would be honoured with such a show of support." The king ignored the few raised eyebrows and awkwardly shuffled feet. He knew well that not all were there for altruistic reasons. The Elixir of Life was a powerful motivator, and to many, the thrill of adventure was sufficient allure. He cleared his throat and continued. "The first tasks lies deep within the Forest of Shadows itself. We believe that in order to free Gulon from his imprisonment, we need a small amount of the blood of a dragon-wolf. Due to the nature of the beast, the blood will need to be fresh, so the creature will need to be captured alive. Guardians will be on alert around the forest perimeter and making regular patrols along known paths. If you require assistance in withdrawing from the challenge and removal from the forest, please attempt to find a Guardian and alert them. If you manage to capture a dragon-wolf, make your way to the forest perimeter and alert a Guardian." The king took a moment to survey the crowd again, and his gaze lingered on the women and children. He knew better than to judge by appearance alone, but could not deny he felt some reluctance to see them face the dangers of the Forest of Shadows. "Good luck, and I wish all of you a safe return." -| Information |- There are many dangers hidden in the Forest of Shadows, not least of which is the effect it has on those who linger within. Sadness, anger and other dark emotions begin to build, increasing the longer one is within the Forest. There are all manner of creatures within the forest, although most are dangerous and aggressive, due simply to the nature of their habitat. You may feel free to be as creative as you wish with these. The dragon-wolf is a large wolf with feathered wings. It can breathe fire. It is large enough to carry a person on its back. It is unknown how many reside within the forest, however they are solitary creatures so you are unlikely to see more than one at any time. There are a few paths through the forest, some which are patrolled by Guardians and some which are overgrown and haven't been used in a long time. There are large areas of the forest that are not accessible by existing paths. Where you venture in the forest is up to you, but do not assume that there is safety even on the patrolled paths. You should submit a story (up to 3,000 words but there is no minimum word count). Your story must include both your character(s) and the character(s) of your partner in some way, but does not need to include all the characters from all the auditions, only those of the person you are paired with. Your story must explain how your character(s) achieve the task they have been given (capturing a live dragon-wolf). The task must be completed within the story you submit. You will receive another part of the prompt each round. The deadline for round one entries is 11:59pm WDC time, August 15 -| The Pairings |- Because we have an uneven number of entrants, one of the 'pairings' is actually a group of three. I appreciate this means more work for these three, so Brett, Jenn and Smee, you may choose to use both partners' characters, or just one, I'll leave that up to you. Weirdone-Back in the games with Richard and Lila Hobbs Paul D with Volton chris-the-awesome with Fortune and Edwin MacTíre Taibhse GhostWolf with Braedanne Sara♥Jean with Alasse Sirfalas Jeff with Eldon The Run-on King PDG Member with Saninthos Vixey Todd with Lady Onyx Smee with Aris T'ellorn Only one writer from each pairing will go through to round two. |