Fables ✧ Lore Prompts - Oct 16-31

[bezel]

fables main adopt page ✦ fanclub ✦ discord server ✦ past prompts
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! current prompts here !

- Open from 10/16 - 10/31 11:59pm ET -

You can earn a max of 2 entries for this raffle!
* be sure to add a note or paste in two forms if you are doing two of the same prompt, so i don't accidentally miss it

raffle prizes: 6 mystery fables, 2 for each area
made by myself, alphanea, and molotov!

*new rule going forward, you will not be able to win a prize if you won one from the previous prompts raffle.
you are still free to enter for fun, just won't be inluded in the raffle!*

INFO

Welcome! This thread hosts bimonthly (ish) worldbuilding & character development prompts for fables.
All casual, no competition. Entries have a chance to win raffle prizes such as customs or mystery fables. If you feel inspired, give it a shot!


GUIDELINES

✦ ! Follow CS and the main adopt rules.
✦ ! Writing and images are to be created entirely by you.
✦ Please post complete forms only! WIPS and replies/discussion posts belong in the fanclub or discord. Marking is ok
✦ You can draw & write about your fables in any form (human, as other animals, turned into pebble by a malevolent magical entity) and in any world or time period.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

✦ There are 2-4 prompts available most times; 2 for worldbuilding and 2 for character development.
✦ One complete prompt = one entry into the raffle. You can earn 2 raffle entries max, and win one prize max.
✦ Prizes are raffled between all entries complete before the deadline.
✦ All are limited to winning a prize every other raffle (ie. no back-to-back wins).
✦ Non-owners can participate by developing a world that fables could live in or making art/writing about an NPC fable within their world.
✦ All prompt/prize suggestions welcome!

[bezel]

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ghost hunting

WRITING - [250 words minimum]
ART - [lined fullbody/equivalent effort minimum]

Your fable has triple checked that they have the correct address - yes, this is certainly the right place.
The dark shadow of a hotel looms over them. It’s clearly seen better days, but the grounds are impressive despite their aged appearance.
They're in search of an adventure, and rumor has it that this whole place is haunted.
Maybe they will find more than they expect to…
Where do they choose to explore?

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The Hotel
Your fable goes to knock on the towering door, but before they can it opens of its own accord. The dim light illuminates a small bellhop, who seems hesitant to let your fable in, but takes their luggage and steps aside wordlessly while gesturing down the hall. Faced with a lavish interior, twin staircases, and endless doorways, your fable doesn’t even know where to begin!

The Garden
Deciding to scope out the garden, your fable is admiring the rosebushes and topiaries when they spot the groundskeeper and trot over.
“Don’t you step near that lake, now,” the figure mutters, focused on sweeping leaves off the footpath. “Stay on the paths.”
Sure enough, a small lake is tucked beneath willow trees, its surface shimmering. How did they not notice before?
When your fable turns back around to question them, the groundskeeper is gone.

The Woods
Beyond the garden lies the edge of the woods, dark and rather uninviting. The trees rustle in the autumn breeze.
Leaning against one of the trunks is a fable dressed in thick clothes, a hound at his side. Your fable expects him to warn them, but instead he steps aside to reveal the entrance into the woods.
“If you find one of my lost hounds, send them back to me,” he pauses, thinking. “Or not. Up to you.”
What a strange fellow - but no time to dwell on it, daylight is waning!

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Code: Select all

[b]prompt:[/b]  ghost hunting - (hotel/garden/woods)
[b]entry:[/b]

[bezel]

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past prompts

WORLDBUILDING
An old story known within your world - The kind of story that everyone seems to recognize but few know the origins of.
An old piece of art that is important within your world - This could be the art itself, recognizable symbols passed through generations, illustration of an old story, etc.
Field guide - Write a field guide for your world that includes descriptions of a few things that someone could expect to see out in nature (animals, plants, trees, minerals, etc).
Identifying species - Draw a few of the common animal/plant species that live in your world’s environment.
Butterfly effect - What small action had a large effect on your world?
Before & after - What happened here? How did things change?
Biomes o’ plenty - Give a description of at least two different biomes in your world.
Landmarks - Draw at least two different landmarks that can be found in your world.
Mysterious tales - What’s an example of folklore within your fable world? Beliefs & customs, myths, fairy tales, cryptids, etc!
Gold rush - Is there a material naturally occurring in your world that is valuable? What is its importance?
Visual magic - Draw an example of how magic looks within your world - the magic itself or its effects on things.
Holidays - Are there holidays/any kind of day of celebration in your world? How did it begin?
Relics - Draw or write about a relic that exists in your world. What is its history and significance?
End of an era - Something in your world has recently come to a close. What was it?
Bird's eye view - Draw part of your world from an unusual and new perspective.
Unusual weather - What is a weather phenomenon that occurs in your world?

CHARACTER
Expressions of love - How does your fable show others they love/appreciate them? What makes your fable feel loved/appreciated?
Your fable and something they adore - This could be another fable, a location, an object, anything!
Precious possessions - What are a few items that are important to your fable? These could be sentimental items, prized possessions, or just things they use frequently.
What's in their bag? - Your fable may not carry a literal bag, but a similar idea - draw a few items that are important to them and their everyday life.
Theme: Jams! - Find a song that relates to your fable and let it inspire your art/writing. If not a song, maybe a poem, sound, etc.
Recipes - Sugar, spice, and everything nice - what would the “recipe” to make your fable be?
A fable of many faces - Draw the many expressions of your fable. Do they show emotion strongly, or not so much?
Not limited to faces - body language works too!
Uh oh, that’s going to leave a scratch… - Whether it was an accident or not, your fable is in a sticky situation.
What happened, and how do they deal with the fallout? Do they own up to their mistake?
Creature feature - Include another fable or creature of some kind interacting with yours.
Summer days - What do your fables like to do during the summer (or hot weather in general)?
Medieval faire - To go alongside the CS summer event, your fable(s) visit the medieval faire!
Invitation - Your fable suddenly receives a mysterious invitation to a distant land they’ve never heard of for a week of celebrations. Do they choose to attend, and if so how do they prepare?
Formal/festival wear - Draw your fable dressed in their best - the kind of thing they would wear to a ball or similar event
(or if they don’t wear clothes/accessories, how they would style their fur and such).
What haunts you - Something is haunting your fable.
Stressed out - How does your fable deal with being stressed or in a high stress situation?
Mood lighting - Draw your fable with dramatic lighting to convey an emotion.

LONG PROMPTS
Void - Something within your fable's world has changed lately. They hardly noticed at first; shadows seemed darker than usual, nothing special. Then the shadows started to spread, stars twinkling in the darkest corners. While out on a walk, your fable decides to take a shortcut through an especially gloomy area, but they lose their footing, tumbling into the darkness... Oh no! The world has a void infestation, and your fable fell right into it! Lost in an endless void, with only the faintest starlight in the distance - how will they escape?
Tapestry - Your fable is traveling through a crowded area when they feel a sudden movement beside them and see a shadow dash away. Someone's stolen an [important item] right off of them! Your fable tracks the thief through winding pathways, eventually stumbling upon a hall lined with many old tapestries. The scenes within the tapestries shimmer and sway, as if they were windows to other living worlds. One of the tapestries has a rippling surface, a tiny image of the thief disappearing within… does your fable follow?
Adventure Your fable is prepared for their big adventure! ✔️ Knapsack with snacks and assorted trinkets ✔️ Compass that probably points north ✔️ Treasure map leading them to what is certain to be unimaginable riches (or at least that shady fable in the alley said so…) As your fable looks out at the horizon, they realize there’s just one problem - the endless miles of sea between them and their destination, with no land in sight. How does their adventure go?

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example entry

prompt: world - art
entry:


The picture is a depiction of an event that caused the formation of herd harte. The great storm significantly reduced their population and territory aside from a small area - it is said that this was due to the efforts of one fable, parting the biting winds and rain with their great antlers to protect their family.

[Exitium]

Mark

[Ucanthandleme]

Mark, this is such a great idea!!

[koegami]

mark!

[elderling]

An old story known within your world
392 words


Many creation myths have come and gone with the passing of time, but the one I recount to you now is the oldest telling of this tale, passed down through centuries of storytelling.

It is widely known throughout the world of Ilwydar that the once upon a time, the world was empty. Devoid of the flora and fauna you are used to today, Ilwydar was a dry rock, spinning through the stars without change. One day, a comet struck the earth, splitting into seven pieces that in turn struck seven different parts of the world, breaking open great chasms that created the seven continents. Many speculate that the comet was the essence of magic, allowing for Ilwydar to host life within her realms, while others claim that the comet itself was the egg from which The Seven were borne and it was the dragons that carved rivers and mountains into her rocky hide.

Each dragon claimed one of the seven continents for their own domain, guiding each pocket of earth to it's fullest potential under their meticulous care using innate magicks we can only dream of now. But these dragons were kind, and they were generous. To every animal that came to live on Ilwydar, The Seven granted them a boon, a token of their love. They granted the residents of Ilwydar with magic of their own, taking some as apprentices. It was a prosperous time, where villages grew into sprawling cities and no creature wanted for anything. This time is marked in your books as Ré Athas Óir, the Era of Gold Joys.

This was the era the Taldrai Fables were borne into. The Fables that saw the True Grief and survived, the fables that witnessed the loss of the Seven. The Fables that set balance back to Ilwydar, ending Ré an Bháis. The Era of Death.

Some on this earth discount the part the Seven played and their existence entirely, so bereft of their absence they wield it as a knife, but it would do you well to remember their names, for they are the reason you are here today.

Fenskull, of icy mountains. Ashoun, of the golden plains. Soltera, of the dunes. Eira, of wintry forest. Sisu, of the valley. Vere of mist and moor. And the seventh of the eastern skies, whose name was devoured in the cataclysm.

Now, turn your books to page 76.


Expressions of love
276 words


Love, to Elphael, is an unobtainable goal. An affectious object possessed only when your mother curls around you, warm fur and sweet breath blanketing you in comfort and safety. A heart devoted to you, walking by your side through the thick brush and dark shadows, leading you to light. So swathed in shadow is Elphael that he's forgotten what it is to love and be loved.

So many memories he's lost to time, the hours spent with another enamored knight curled and resting in tall grass under shaded tree, removing pressed flowers from martial art books to gift a close friend, receiving a homemade meal shared over laughter after your day watch ends.
Once, maybe, he took the initiative to pursue love in earnest, his plan of waiting to stumble over it in his path becoming nonviable, but his memories further from the Cataclysm are memories more obscured. The Hound keeps them safe from the night.

What he knows of love now, is still... wait. No, a moment, recently, his heart beat, once.

Someone was in his woods, no, they were here many times. She. She was here, yes.. no... it cannot be so. Threads of a song echo in his mind, stirring the shadows that swathed his soul in stasis, a song of loving warmth and gentle days. A song so expertly slippery it took root in his heart, and dared to call itself a fact. A song that stays with him with every step he takes, staying by his side.
Despite the recent snowfall, his gaze travels downwards and lands on a fresh set of hoofprints, right next to his own.
He felt his heart beat twice.

[Kitsune.]

big mark :>

[BlueEyedKite]

Mark

[Melonbread]

:D wahoo I love small art and writing prompts; excited to get some development in ^^

1.
prompt: world - art
entry:

A tattered green and gold banner with a white, single-horned fable forcené, almost as if a supporter to a larger emblem despite the banner being relatively narrow. The fabric is dirty and the colors faded, and much of the embroidery is coming loose. Little is known of the ancients that produced it, but its location within an auxiliary fort suggests it might be related to some sort of vassal family or order, and was perhaps meant to be part of a larger triptych: perhaps the coat of arms of a once-important herd or kingdom that had shaped the land into what it is now.

—

2.
prompt: character - writing
fable: Bellamy
entry:

One would be forgiven for thinking that Bellamy loves nothing and is loved by no one—he does not, after all, appear to form or maintain any sort of personal connections, nor has he ever (to anyone's knowledge) left his beloved desert. It's true that he walks alone, often across the wild sands where none may follow, but he is also not much of a recluse: Bellamy is very fond of his fellow fables, and dearly loves to meet and learn about them. It's that somewhat impersonal, but sincere affection that drives him to seek them out in the first place, ask after their matters, and generally give travelers valuable guidance that keeps them safe on an otherwise potentially perilous journey.

Of course, Bellamy is also appreciated and perhaps even beloved by those that he assists, but he is mostly regarded as some sort of benevolent spirit or ghost more than an individual in his own right, so this kind of appreciation is once more somewhat impersonal. The things that make him feel truly loved or appreciated are rather rare: they are the occasions where others take an interest in him as a person rather than the simply symbol of good fortune that the stories on either side of the desert paint him as. He likes being asked about his personal story, interests, thoughts, and feelings. He vividly remembers the one occasion where someone wished him a safe journey; he had never been on the receiving end of the sentiment before, and the simple gesture made him feel loved in a way nothing had before or since.