[Guest]

seeing some pretty top-notch entries so far !!

remember that this ends in 12am, June 8 at CS rollover, so you have about three days to finish your forms!!

I can accept requests for extensions, but no later than 36 hours before the aforementioned closing date.

[Alckatraz]

How everything has started, for the storyline's sake (does not count to the form)

Name: Chance (alias Thorn)
Pronouns: He/him
Prompt Number: 1
Entry: The dust cloud slowly dissipated, unveiling some beautifully carved columns, blackened by smoke and ash. A keldine was struggling to get up, after he fell accidentally into the cave. A ray of sun crept in through a the hole he made in the ceiling, enlightening some inscriptions on a distant wall.

He approached warily, curious, but stepping carefully, afraid that he had found a temple guarded by dangerous traps. As he was getting closer, it appeared to be only a burned village left in ruins.
The pictures painted on the rocks were depicting a long forgotten legend of an unique tribe of Keldines that seemed to be covered in flowers and vines.

"They must have been some kind of nature deities. I've never heard about such keldines." He wondered what happened to their village and where they disappeared.

Suddenly, he tripped over something; removing the ash covering it, he saw a little wooden box, beautifully decorated. "Only the chosen can understand the secrets of the universe." was written on a side.

Inside, he found some strange cards similar to the tarot ones. For some reason, he felt attracted to them like they were magnetic. The cards started whispering when he touched them:
"We've been waiting for you, Chance... You are the one meant to learn the mysterious practices of magic, becoming the next High Magician."

Caught unawares, the keldine couldn't believe it's ears. He always wanted to prove his abilities helping others.
Without thinking too much, he exclaimed enthusiastically: "I'd be honoured. When do we start?"
"Pick one card"

He randomly chose The Magician. Feeling his body warmed up by an undetectable heat, some moments later he was staring shocked at his new appearance reflected in the water of a stream nearby. A mane of vines and purple flowers was beautifully decorating his neck; his scales and his tongue took the form of leaves.

"Now you are the perfect embodiment of a High Mage, the purple roses are a metaphorical symbol of enchantment; your power springs from them."

Chance felt the magic running through his veins.
"That's how the gods must feel" he thought, on top of the world.
"You must stay hidden. You will know when is the right time to reveal yourself."




Evangeline was walking back and forth in her throne room, trying to keep her calm. The return of Zelophehad was a serious matter. Last time she got lucky, yet, she had a dark feeling somewhere in her soul that he won't be as easy to defeat this time.




Chance rolled his eyes.
"Can I help you?" asked the mage slightly irritated, raising an eyebrow. The arrival of Evangeline interrupted his tarot readings.

But the queen was distracted by the decorated box she immediately recognised, flinching.
"You... I thought... WHO are you?!?..." she said while revealing her flower-covered fur.

Visibly surprised, he took off his cloak and, after the cards told him that she can be trusted, they started exchanging stories.

After a moment of silence, the mage spoke: "Maybe together we will defeat him for good; a legendary warrior and a mage..."

"Are you making new friends, Evangeline?" that terrifying laughter echoed sinisterly. It could have belonged to a single keldine... Zelophehad.
The queen, petrified until then, jumped to attack him, but she missed. The tyrant dodged, pinning her to the ground with a spell. "I'll take care of you now".
Chance stood still in front of him "Let's see what you are capable of. " Invoking his magical powers, he cast enchantments, but the enemy defended.

"As long as you have the Magician's card, no mage is stronger than you" the voice whispered.
Taking advantage of the advice, Chance summoned his maximum power in a spell directed to Zelophehad, hitting him. Disoriented, because of his opponent's strength, the tyrant approached to Evangeline. "It would be a shame if something may happen to her..."
The mage jumped between them to ward off the threat, forgetting about the Touch of Destruction.

Chance felt dizzy and the last thing he saw was Zelophehad, burning in a purple flame until he completely disappeared.




When he woke up, Chance noticed his thorns. "It looks like I absorbed Zelophehad's dark magic which changed my appearance instead of killing me."

Aware of the danger he was representing, because of the lethal touch, the saviour took the name of Thorn, proudly accepting this curse, as a necessary sacrifice for the nation's freedom. In spite of Evangeline's insistence, he was thinking of leaving, but he asked the card's opinion first:

"Surrounded by darkness, yet enfolded in light,
You cannot be cursed if your heart is bright"

As mage, he learned to interpret every sign. The Magician's card contained roses and white lilies, meaning love and purity. "Evangeline, of course! Her pure love is my antidote."

[800/800]


Extras:

Credits for dividers

[Guest]

forgot to mention this earlier, but the comp will be extended a little more!! new end date will be June 12 at CS rollover

[Guest]

less than 24 hours left!

[Fallenleaf]

Name: Briar
Pronouns: She/her

Prompt Number: 1
Entry: (max. 800 words) "I cant remember when it started.. It's been so many years and they won't go away, they only prosper." Rose Flowers are seen as beauty, Love, and Enchantment. But what about the thorns? Thorns are not enjoyed. The thorns are the opposite of a gentle rose; loss, defense. Briar has always been a true rose, not by appearance, but by her love. She has opened her heart to everyone and everything, she bonds and loves too much for her own good. Her heart often left in shards. Over time, her heart has began to harden. It's ruining her. She's loosing her inner beauty. her good-will. They began to grow over time, first without the thorns. I never noticed it at the time, and no one else did either. She kept loving, only to be rejected and left. Jealousy blossomed and so did bitterness. The vines grew more. No thorns, her heart not completely destroyed yet. A thorn is not a gentle thing, it is pain. She stopped volunteering, and gave up friendships; closing herself off from everyone, even some who really did love her. Can something broken into millions of pieces still be repaired?I'm tired of this. I've been hurt too much. This is it. I have no friends, they are just using me. I can't trust anyone. They grew more and more, like a kudzu vine, coiling and taking over. They were Parasitic. Briar was a shell of her former self. I remember trying to get rid of them. I got a pair of scissors and tried to trim the stems. I was unsuccessful, the stems were strong as Titanium, not even a scratch was left. I even got to the point that I was so desperate to rid myself of those hideous things that I asked the local florist for help which was surprising as unsociable as I was then, nothing helped of course. I accepted that it was just part of who I am, a monster. I was a tad embarrassed at first, but I went into the public for the first time in forever. I had went to the woods a lot, a place where creatures like me would roam. I did hear some gasps and whispers from behind me. I tried to reconnect broken friendships and make things right. Her previous "friends" were obviously a little disturbed in her "New friend" and they were all still distant. Briar woke up one day and found a small flower bud on the stem of one. Were the pieces of her shattered heart being puzzled back together? The thorns remained, but more and more little buds began to sprout. She had regained bonds and people were trying to help her. Some were still scared of her, not just for her large thorns, but they way she had behaved before she disappeared. She was ashamed of how she was then.

Those thorns never left, as you can see. Those Thorns were scars; she would never be the same and things just don't disappear. Problems don't just go away. They serve as a reminder of what we've been through and what we've overcome. But now, These beautiful roses are there. The roses show that something can rise from the ashes. Some people don't pay attention to just the thorns, they can choose to see the beauty of the roses and of course, there's still some that only see the thorns. Regardless, They should judge me for who I am now, not who I was.
[ 584/800]



Extras: (max 500 words OR 1 art piece)



WInner, of course can use the Watercolor art. If they even want to. I promise my art is better than this.
I wanted to try something new, and watercolor was new to me.

[Guest]

closed! no more editing/posting past this point please!!

[Guest]

sorry for the delay in judging, everyone! i hope you forgive me :sob:

i've decided that this kid will be going to Ucanthandleme! i'm running on fumes rn so i can't exactly formulate a proper response but i absolutely adored your entry and i thoroughly enjoyed reading it!!

i'd also like to extend an hm towards akiren and kitsugeist! your entries really popped out to me quite a bit, so I would like to offer you both one unlimited rare myo each, taken out from my own bank! let me know if you'd like to accept this offer so i can fill out the gifting form.

thank you so much everyone for entering! i wish you all luck in future competitions

[kitsugeist]

!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH?? I absolutely accept this gift, I’m really grateful?? And congrats to ucanthandleme and akiren too!!

[Ucanthandleme]

THANKS SO MUCH!!! I will take great care of Helios, congrats to akiren and kitsugeist caswell, but overall congrats to everyone for your awesome entries.