This contest is closed.



The year is 3045, interplanetary travel is common and like many people you're no stranger to shuttling across the galaxy. The problem? Common doesn't always mean safe and your shuttle just crash landed on an uncharted planet. Disoriented and possibly hurt you and the other passengers don't know it yet but you've just become participants in an ongoing battle: Welcome to Witch Wars...

An IMPORTANT note about story length. Please read BEFORE you do anything else

At minimum please provide 3 complete sentences per round that are relevant to the task being presented. At maximum please feel free to write as much as you want but note that you don't need to write the same amount for each round. I know life happens, inspiration bubbles and then fizzles, or you just feel blocked but still want to play along it's 1,000,000% okay to not write a novella every round.

For those of you who are interested in what the contest will entail in more detail please check out the round previews that I've provided. These basic guidelines will not change and will let you know if you're interested before you enter. Please note these don't give the full details of each round, so you can read them and still be surprised.

Round Previews

Round 1: Crash and learn
In this round you'll be introducing your character and declaring your allegiance to one of the four witches who'll train you in battle.

Round 2: Resident Evils
When this round opens I'll let you know more about the witch you selected and what your first challenge is.

Round 3: Animal magnetism
When this round opens you will find out how well you did on your challenge and whether or not you've earned a familiar.

Round 4: Battle Royale
In this round the final battle will commence and you'll need to suit up.

Every round will last 72 hours.

An important note about judging: Story writing contests are notoriously difficult to judge and therefore in addition to announcing an overall winner who will receive a banner there will be participation banners for everyone.

For Round one please provide the following information about your main character. The basic look and traits of this character should be kept throughout the contest.

1. Name

2. Age

3. Character occupation (note that you can list “none” or “student” instead of a job if you want)

4. What's your character's personality like? (This should be a mix of traits that are both good and bad)

5. Your first memory after the crash, which witch you're pledging your allegiance to (you have to select one of the 4 listed) and your first impressions...

The Witches

Agnostia


Cybella


Martine


Caradawn

6. A number between 1 and 10 (you can select the same number as another contestant)

7. An image of your Fashionista or your boyfriend if you want a male main character (note that your main character does  not have to be human and can be an alien). Keep in mind that you've just crashed on a planet and so your look needs to reflect that OR your story needs to contain a logical reason as to why you don't look disheveled.

Complete entries are mandatory as they help move the story forward. If your entry is incomplete you will not be able to move forward.

Round one is going live at 5:00pm EST on Thursday it will be open until 5:00pm EST on Sunday.

Last edited by Dare (13/08/2017 at 22:47)

Name
Leeza Blighty

Age
286

Character Occupation
Student and carer

Personality
Selfless // determined // smart // emotionally strong // considerate // puts on a front // smart // pacifist // usually calm, but if pushed over the edge she loses it // a worrier // timid

Story Time
Her breathing became quicker yet shallower as the seconds passed. Beads of sweat began popping out of her skin and her whole body trembled. I stood helplessly as she gasped for air, knowing there wasn't much I could do to help. Bending down slowly, I grabbed her hand and began whispering reassuring words into her ear; "It's okay, I'm here." and "It'll pass, don't worry."

I'm used to dealing with my ma's panic attacks. She's had them a couple of times a week for the past 24 years now, so I guess I'd have to get used to them. It's difficult... but I don't blame her. She can't help having seen the things she's seen.

Both of my parents were soldiers in the intergalactic time war, though not through choice. Anyone between 350 and 1200 was sent off to fight, with those refusing left facing the death penalty. That just left the students and the pensioners behind; the economy is still recovering. I can't even begin to imagine what happened off our planet; only that the people who returned were devastated. Ma came home with a missing arm and PTSD. Believe it or not, she was one of the lucky ones. My pa... well let's just say I've not seen him since.

A few minutes passed and silence fell in our small shack. We sat awkwardly for a while before ma asked for some water. In the kitchen (if you could call it that) I inspected a glass standing on the side. It seemed clean enough, so I turned the rusted tap and filled it, before returning to the other room. Tears trickled down ma's flamed cheeks. Setting the water down, I wrapped my arms around her. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be like this. I'm sorry." Gently, I rocked her and silence crept into the room once more.

"You're late for school."
"I don't care." I murmured, still holding onto her. "You're more important."

* * * * * * * * * *

An hour later, ma was in bed and I was on the shuttle. Except, I wasn't heading to school. I'd already missed half of my lessons so I didn't see the point. No, I was on my way to Simmi's. Please don't lecture me of how dangerous Simmi is, I've heard it enough from my friends. Well, ex friends. It turned out if you don't have money people don't want to know you. Sure, Simmi asks a lot from you; I don't exactly like where he puts his hands either, but it pays decently and that's what I need. I'm saving up for a cortical op. It's amazing what they can do nowadays; if ma can get one of those they can remove all the memories about the war and she'll get better. Possibly. Hopefully.

The cries of a baby distracted me from my thoughts. It seemed an odd occurrence, hearing a baby cry. Poverty was high and most people couldn't afford to have children, so this sounds was almost refreshing. Little did I know that the cries were actually foreshadowing the events that were about to follow.

The ding of the intercom caught everyone's attention. "Ladies, gentlemen and all others, we are experiencing a few technical issues at the moment. It's nothing major but - " He couldn't even finish his false claims before the whole shuttle started violently shaking. The baby's cries grew louder but they were no match for the sirens that quickly blasted all around us. As I fell this way and that panic surged through my body. I tried to grab on to something that would allow me to stabilise myself but all around me people were scrambling.

As the shuttle tilted dramatically people darted under their seats, desperately searching for their emergency jackets. I managed to stagger over to the toilet, urging everyone I passed to follow me. But their own panic blinded them and they would not listen to me. I knew that when the ground shook it was best to duck under something, but they were too busy fastening buckles. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving them, but I had no choice. As I sealed the toilet door I thought only of ma and how I needed to get back home to her. She wouldn't be able to cope without me.

Even if my little box I was slammed against all walls. The shuttle continued to plummet and screams still managed to pierce through the door. With no sort of warning the shuttle smacked against something and I'm thrown up against the ceiling, before landing back down with a harsh thud.

Once more silence invades the outside area.

Squiggles cloud my vision but I fought hard not to give in to sleep. I lay still for a few moments, mentally checking my entire body for pain. I appeared to be okay.

Suddenly the door was thrown open and a slim figure stood before me. Her eyes glowed like emeralds and her nails hung like claws. Slowly she raised her arm, and without saying a word beckoned me over. But then I blinked, and the figure vanished. Shaking my head, I realised I must have taken a blow to the head. What else would have caused a hallucination like that?

Knowing I couldn't lie next to a toilet forever I pushed myself up onto all fours, and then eventually stood. I swayed momentarily, but soon made it into the main shuttle compartment.

* * * * * * * * * *

The sand beneath me was warm, bringing me a little comfort. As I sat I stared at a shuttle - although you couldn't really call it that anymore. I was battered and scorched.

Walking through the main compartment had been awful. Blood covered every inch of the room whilst bodies were scattered all over the place. Guilt washed over me; I knew I could have done more to try and persuade them to get into the toilet. But the guilt had quickly passed, and as I sat I was full of despair. I had no idea where I was or how I was going to get home. I didn't even have a clue what time it was but I knew ma would be wondering where I was. Ma. What would she do without me?

What would I do without her?

I tore my eyes away from the wreckage and instead looked out on the horizon. In the distance, a small figure stood watching. Only after a few minutes had passed did I notice their eyes were green and glowing.

I quickly climbed to my feet. It sounds crazy, especially as I already knew I'd invented this woman before. But I knew I couldn't sit around that scrap heap forever. With no other alternative I moved towards the figure, hoping they'd be able to offer some kind of assistance.

My Witch
Cybella

Number
6

Last edited by Fashion-Chic (13/08/2017 at 00:43)

1. FarahLeif


2. 29.. okay, 31


3. Courier for the Logallion Legion


4. Fatalistic; Surly; Rebellious; Illiterate; Resourceful; Strong


5. What fresh hellhole was this.. I had to take solace in the fact that at least it seemed a cogent thought - and given the way my head was aching, that was a victory - cuz nothing else on first blush gave me comfort in any way. I precariously pulled myself from the wreckage, not sure exactly what had happened but I could feel the sticky & uncomfortable dampening of what was left of my shirt as blood was obviously pooling around my midsection from some massive cut. I gingerly patted at my waist, realizing I had lost one of my gloves - and a cursory glance of my surroundings did not bolster my confidence that this planet was high on hygiene, I imagined I would soon go as gangrene as my pants.. leave it to the Logallion to keep me color-coordinated to the end.. those bastards loved their conformity.

Drucinna had always been quick to tell me that my pessimistic nature would never serve me well - and this coming from a girl who was fully cognizant of the fact that we were born to serve our declared "betters" and to conveniently be put to death at the age of 30, so that they may harvest our youthful organs for their golden years - but what's to be cynical about that? However, my inner rage was the only thing currently stoking my heart to keep pumping as the situation looked extremely dire. I saw some bodies - or body parts - strewn about, but no other survivors, though I thought I heard some wailing come from over the hill in the distance. I yanked hard and rescued a battered first aid kit from under a seat, it providing not much more than a couple of flimsy bandages that didn't seem to be doing much to assist the abrasions on my face in clotting.

"What's next, bleeding from the eyes?" I muttered, giving myself a tiny chill that ran down my back. I didn't know why.. perhaps my voice sounded so jarring in the eerie aftermath of the crash, it the loudest thing over the pops of metal sizzling. Or maybe it was the feeling I was being watched. Observed. Stalked.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other, ya know.

I tried to stay in professional mode. I was, afterall, the most successful courier in the Logallion in seven generations. Because I would lie, cheat, steal, almost anything to keep away from being reaped by my fellow courier compatriots when they would be assigned to come reap me for the "harvest". I had already survived two years past my prime, I was now 31, but my aurina, the tattoo inked on my arm at birth, remained red, the color the branch flowered into once you hit your twenties. When the leaves turned gold, it was over. It had cost me a lot - in more ways than one - to steal the research to find a way to manipulate one of the Logallion's most prized accomplishments. Something that could only have come from one of the finest minds, meaning not some gutter-rat courier, some walking sack of spare parts.

And okay, so this gutter-rat courier wasn't actually the one who figured out how to work around this death warrant. But I was the one who had dared to track it down, to implement it and probably most dangerous of all, to believe in it. To believe in something other than.. what was.. what had always been.

This was some bitter irony, to be so close to finding a way out of the Legion and to crash on some gods-and-graces-forsaken planet. I narrowed my eyes, coughing as softly as I could manage as I took one of my belts to tourniquet my arm and another one to tie some of the fabric to my chest. It made me feel a little more secure, especially as I looked down at my misbegotten shoes. They were worthless for anything strenuous - like trying to escape reaping couriers - which was why we were assigned them. Only what was necessary. The upper caste lived that way too, in a sense. I mean, who were more necessary than us, the Couriers? What could be more necessary than to have a means to prolonging your life?

They really were the selfless ones.

A world away and I still wanted to spit on them.

I sat my broken shoes in front of me, not quite willing to chuck them altogether in case the sands around here heated up or.. or..... I got a glance at a piece of paper that had blown across the site. Some advertisement about a competition or something.. I didn't know, I couldn't even read most of it, gutter-rat and all.. but I sure knew some mutant monster when I saw one and one of the pictures was of.. a.. uh.... that bitch had a spider body! A life-size black widow! I did not want to be running into that thing out here, and that led me to another thought that birthed a twin to my previous spine-chilling. I recalled Yonton, a particularly savage and cruel courier, taunting a spider in the corner of HQ one day. When he was called to reap, he couldn't leave it alone, that one death a day didn't sit well with him. He went over and stomped hard on the spider. Unbeknownst to any of us, the spider was apparently a mother and about a thousand of her babies were somehow hiding underneath her carapace. They shot out faster than shock rays, these tiny things were so quick, they were everywhere in a second, it was overwhelming. Gave Yonton nightmares, he'd wake up screaming he could feel them crawling over him while he slept. Would have given me nightmares too if my entire existence wasn't one already.

Yeah, yeah, Dru, I know, my attitude.

I didn't know what any of this was about but I had a passing thought that I would place my money on the one called Caradawn, if given my druthers, because I was yearning to see the dawn of a new day.


6. #1


7.

Name// DoXa Li Paz

Age// 74 years old

Occupation// Outlaw used to be mechanic

Personality// adventurous, fearless, Impulsive, Imaginative, handyman, ruthless

Story// The Crash landing
How can a simple request end so badly?

That I am banished from home, It was 50 years ago and I still wonder how it went so wrong. Maybe it’s just my character or the fact that some creatures are just too evil.

The point is I have been on the run for so long that my nativity is nowhere to be found replaced by the anger and ruthless bubbling in me.

No one can see that on the outside thought, my kind was created from butterflies when human kind wanted to become living fairies. Some just kept the gene’s after a while it just bothers me that my personality was just like a fairy everything sugar and nice.

DoXa shudders looking outside the shuttle.

She really hates everything her kind stand for and that’s why she transformed herself into the bad woman she always wanted to be, the down side of being on the run she has to change her appearance every once and then or she will be captured.

Positive side the travelling is great or that is what DoXa keeps telling herself after the long journey’s because she misses home each passing day or more like a place to call home.

DoXa huffs and looks outside the shuttle once again even her thoughts bother her.

Out of nowhere the shuttle starts to shake and DoXa looks to all passengers to see their scared faces but DoXa hopes the shuttle crashes she needs some excitement, thrill right now.

So when the shuttle does crash DoXa has a big smile on her face and just when she wants to go skydiving the door the shuttle slams open and DoXa is the first at the door not caring much for all the warnings from the other passengers.

Flying is great but not with butterflies wings but after jumping out of shuttles more than once DoXa knows exactly when to open her wings.

So falling fast through the air DoXa breaths in the air and caught no fresh air slight poisonous it seems before she can breathe in more DoXa put her gas mask on her face. Getting some fresh air in but she needs to change her O2 filter soon enough.

After falling for another 3 minutes DoXa finally opens her wings and due to the air she is thrown up in the air some more but nothing DoXa can’t handle it’s just like a parachute after all.

After she finally lands safety with only some sweat spots on her clothing DoXa looks around the planet where the hell did she land.

She takes the mask off and finds it easier to breathe than earlier so she puts her mask away and starts to walk.

She is walking for a while when a blunt object hits her from behind before she passes out she sees a lady in white and with eight legs who starts to talk to her.

"My name is Martine and welcome to my planet,"

Before DoXa collapse she shudders she hated spiders after all.
With those last thoughts her vision turned black.

Number//4

Last edited by NinaJones (12/08/2017 at 17:59)

Thank you everyone for your amazing and detailed entries. Unfortunately because of the limited amount of participants and the fact it would require me to completely rethink the remaining rounds, this contest is being closed early; I will however make each of you a banner and post it within 24 hours.

Thank you all for your amazing entries; your characters and the stories that you created for them were incredible. I hope that you all like your banners.