Monthly Writing Contest - Winners Announced!

[Hawk]

Wow! That was entertaining to read! I like being introduced to fantasy cultures like that. I also liked how it sounded like a diary entry.

[crazyflight]

Thank you very much! I'll work on it more tomorrow.

[Hawk]

I really sometimes wish I had more time to write, because I have a very hectic schedule, so maybe even if I am a judge, I'll still write using the prompt just for fun.

[Bananaman]

Um.... hi. Here's my story:

Spoiler

Blame Them

I used to have everyone, everything I needed. Now my only company is one of the only silvian alphyns that wasn't taken and sold by the magi. I am the last of my tribe because the rest of them are allied with magis. What can I do without my tribe? I am young, defenseless, and vulnerable to the dangers of Silva Forest.

It would be a wonder to be able to make it alive with a spear that is too heavy and a silvian alphyn hatchling. Jaarilun will quickly grow and supply me with food. I just have to wait a few weeks for him to grow, which is much harder than it seems. Luckily, I know my way around this forest. I am Linaarua, the princess of a tribe that will never again exist.

As I wandered through the forest near my shelter, I spotted a dying telvian panther. It was most likely the careless mistake that a magi didn't release it to the Raza Jungle, its home. I slowly approached it, with Jaarilun at my side. The panther growled and unsheathed her claws. Though she was weak, she could put up a fight against a young centaur and an alphyn hatchling. When I was close enough, I put my hand out. She stared at it, sniffed it, but she then licked my hand and nuzzled it. I had made another friend in the Silva Forest.

I couldn't get this panther home-I would have to scale the Alasre mountains and go through Arkene- but she seemed to get along well in the forest. She was fast enough to catch small animals, and she got used to the different tastes. My alphyn was almost grown up, he now hunts for small mice and such. With my bow and arrow, I can take down larger, non-magical animals like deer and the occasional bear. I just found another deer. But as the deer stared at me, I couldn't take my fingers of of the string.

Jaarilun and the panther, whom I just named Komanea, seemed mesmerized by this deer's gaze. I had found a chestnut kirin, an extremely rare and sacred animals. The gods would punish me severely if I let go and shot the kirin. I walked up to it, and it seemed unafraid. It then walked away, seeming to beckon me. I walked toward clearing, where I found a whole herd of kirin. Hopefully one would be my friend.

According to tribe legends, finding a kirin will give you luck. It was luck that I needed to survive without a tribe to take care of me. A herd of kirin seemed like enough luck to me. The kirin seemed to welcome me, even though I had two fierce predators at my side. They let Komanea and Jaarilun were let into the clearing as well, but they seemed to be watched intently. Although I would have to get meat by myself, the kirin showed many leaves and roots that could be eaten, and I remembered each one distinctly. I stayed there for a short while. As I left, one kirin, an autumn kirin shown by its colors, followed me. I pointed to the rest of the herd that was moving from the clearing. He stood still and followed me when I stepped back. My father always said that I had a bond with animals. Is this what he meant?

My companions have definitely proved themselves to be useful. Jaarilun is almost an adult, and Komanea has gotten much better. Fortunar, my kirin, uses magic to protect me. The protective spells that he uses have seemed to ward off any threats. I heard yelling from a distance- human voices. My partners heard it too, and they had irritated faces. We tried to back off, but they found us first. "A kirin! I have to get my hands on that thing!" "Let's get it!" The other one said. They ran toward us. Jaarilun and Komanea attacked quickly, rushing them and snarling. Komanea scratched one magi on the shoulder, a deep gash that would take a while to heal. Jaarilun bit the other one's neck- a fatal wound- but the magi used a spell that sent Jaarilun flying toward a tree. Luckily, Fortunar used a spell that made Jaarilun hit the ground gently. The magi died, while the other one rushed back where it came from. Jaarilun couldn't walk, so I had to carry him. I blame them.

It's tiny so far, but I will constantly edit the story.

[crazyflight]

It sounds good!

I edited my post. I now have more than I thought I would. I hope I don't cross the limit. That would be bad...

[Dauntless]

Username: Symbol7890
Why you think you’d be a good judge/prior experience?: I have a lot of writing experience and know how to judge writing. recently I won an award on a world war 2 poem (I got 3rd place) and One of my writings was chosen to be in the paper. I have no favorites and judge farely. I read slowly so I can understand the story easier and notice every little detail.
Example of your writing(a link or links): 25-tea-house/115420-the-true-soul.html? ... #p12215916
25-tea-house/120161-the-dragons-of-cele ... logue.html
Why do you WANT to be a judge?: Reading and writing is my pashion and This is a great oppurtunity to see other peoples writings. Reading there writings gives me an idea of there personality and there feelings. when I read someone's writing I can feel what the characters feel and I enjoy it very much.
Secret Smiley(found in this post):

[LightningRip]

UPDATE!!

-ends smiley abuse-

ANYWAY, I would like to let everyone know about the new prizes that have been added!! 1st-3rd overall prizes are not ready yet, but the following HAVE been gathered(they are linked in Post #2).

Best 1st Person POV - SB Direwolf
Best 3rd Person(note: if no 3rd person story received, this prizes will not be awarded and the creature will be saved for future contests) - 2nd gen Ice Kraken
3 honorable mentions - one of each color adult dragon turtles(will be awarded randomly to each honorable mention, you don't get to choose which one)
and last but not least, this month's Random Prize is a 2nd gen Ornamental Penguin of the Icebeak family.

The other 3 prizes are, again, not ready yet but will be added soon.

Other things:
@Hawkclaw and Symbol7890: Thank you for applying! I will save your forms, and when the Judge application deadline is met(midnight CST on the 20th), I will let you know if you were chosen as a judge or not. You will also receive a PM before that time with a sample judging test. This will be what I look at to decide who will be chosen as judges.

@Hawkclaw's question: Yes, I will be choosing 2 judges to judge alongside me. They will be the judges every month, unless one quits or needs a temporary replacement. In the future I may decide to open up two more judging spots, but I'm not going to go past that many(5) and I'm going to stick with 3 for now.

@Crazyflight and FIRE: So far so good! Thank so much for entering and I wish both of you the best of luck! Don't forget to check the word count before you give me the final entry, and when you do, post it in a new post(or quote the edited one) and say that your done editing so i know for sure and don't miss your story by accident!

ALSO!! I am considering changing a rule so that competitors may enter more than one story. What are your thoughts on this? Yes? No? What should the limit be - bumped up, or unlimited? Keep in mind, though, that in order to give everyone a chance to place, if the limit is bumped up, competitors may only win one prize(no matter how many stories are entered by them!!)! This excludes the Random Prize, as it is the only one not determined by how your story does. I am creating a poll for this that will run until midnight CST on the 20th. If you have any comments or suggestions, feel free to post here and discuss it!

NOTICE:
ALL contest entries MUST be submitted(the final version) by Saturday the 27th of August. Late entries will not be accepted! No exceptions, sorry. Judge applications will be accepted until midnight CST on the 20th. Judges will be announced no later than the 22nd, and the final results will be posted no later than the 31st. You can expect to see trades pop up with prizes for you soon after. Banners(well, only one right now) have also been added to Post #2. If anyone has any banners they have made, all are welcomed, just post them here with their code. ALSO! We will be accepting suggestions for September's theme as well as upcoming themes, so if you have an ideas, fire away! Same if you have any questions.

I hope everyone has a wonderful time writing their stories and/or reading the entries.

[Hawk]

Thanks for answering my questions, Lightningrip. I look forward to the PM!

[crazyflight]

This cleared up a lot, thank you!
I will most definitely let you know when I'm finished with a new post. For now, I'm just writing about 1,000 words each visit. I shouldn't pass 10,000, but if I do, then I will cut some parts out. Thank you so much for doing this!

I think that competitors should only be able to submit one story. It allows them to only focus on doing one thing, and make it better. Also, there is too much stress in not finishing both and having to do them and it gets complicated! Even if there was a rule like that, I would definitely stick with only one entry. Next month, I am definitely judging it!

[Sukki]

I don't know if it was mentioned, but if poetry is accepted, here is my three-piece entry!

It has 319 words - it is truly short, and 100% improvised. I hope it will do.

Spoiler

He was the Naga
He was the faint sound you would hear
When you would run through the jungle
He was the hiss that would hide
Behind the creaking of a door
He was the tainted beauty
Of an insidious poison.

And as I walked through the jungle, I felt the lurking of oneself - I felt the chills up my spine. He was the Naga - he was the killing silence, he was the viper hiding under each of my steps, he was misery - anytime, he could strike, never warning.

He was the Centaur
He was the strenght and the freedom
Flying away from the duties
Loyal to his only liberty
He was the strenght that broke all chains free
And left behind traces that lead to freedom.

And as the wind arose did the flowers in the fields, standing upright towards the sun - standing high in pride and respect as he - he was the Centaur - would arrive - just as proud and loudly, and I coudln't help but want to ride with him towards my freedom.

And she...

She was the mermaid
She was the beauty and the beast
She had the voice of a godess
And the body so is
Imprisoned in the scales of a magnificient fish

And to me, she was suffering - she who would've liked to, like the Centaur, run towards the freedom, and break the chains of her scales - and if she couldn't walk to the men, she called the men upon her, in an eternal lament that would break the heart of the sea and open it's waves wide, yet the revealed path she couldn't walk.


They were three
They were one
They, together, were me
Because I had become them
Through the fear and hope and pain
They had become life
And we the magi
Would live the fantasy
Within us each
The Ally.