Cave Fables -- An unofficial writing contest

In the horrible cultural razing that was the Great Cataclysm, much was lost of our ancestor’s literature. Only so many books were carried into the caves and caverns where the terrified survivors sought safety, and fewer still withstood those dank environs over the long years. But in that desolation was also the birth of a new, if scant, literature. Literature which spoke to the hopes and fears of that desperate time. Among these precarious treasures were countless fables that sprang up, informing and enlightening each new generation, helping them to cope with their dark and dangerous new subterranean world.​

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Little was written down, for there was little on which to write. Because of the scarcity of writing materials, these moral tales, told around fires and at the bedsides of children, were stored only in the mind and transmitted only by the spoken word. Though their form was fleeting, their importance was incalculable.​

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But in the fullness of time, as our ancestors returned to the surface, many of the lessons taught through those fables were no longer so relevant. New fables and stories began to take their place. Though some fables that originated in the caves are still with us -- I am thinking particularly of “The Drowning Donkey” and “The Spider and the Bat” -- their form and substance have been altered so much over time as to be almost unrecognizable compared to the originals. Most of the fables once told in the underground places simply began to vanish.​

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Recognizing the inevitable decay of this oral tradition, one bard of scholarly bent, Cardimus, endeavored to collect and record these fables. Though originally transcribed as “The Fables of Cardimus,” today they are more commonly and simply known as “The Cave Fables.”​

-- from Fendel’s “History of the Cataclysm, Volume 4”​

What’s going on?
[edit: The contest is now over, and was won by Trapper for the entry "No Way Out"! Though the contest is over, you are still welcome to post your fables to this thread.]

It’s your chance to write a fable! And maybe win a prize!

I’m running an unofficial contest for aspiring writers and fans of storytelling, which I hope will generate a series of fables for Portalarium to collect and put in a book that will show up somewhere in-game. My hope is that we’ll get at least 10-15 good fables that will eventually make up a book called “Cave Fables”. These fables should be ones that would have been written during the time that humans who survived the cataclysm were forced to live underground.

For the purposes of this contest we will define a fable as a very short piece of prose fiction, generally containing anthropomorphised animals, objects, or forces of nature, which contains some sort of moral or life lesson. The characters can also be humans or mythological creatures. Creatures from lore of New Britannia would be especially appropriate.

The moral or lesson should be something that people forced to live underground would want to teach their children. It might be a general moral like ‘do not be a glutton’ or ‘share what you have with those who have less’, or it might be some useful lesson for survival, like ‘don’t build a fire in a cave with no airflow’.

The moral can be explicitly stated at or near the end of the fable, but it can also be implicit in the story as long as it is fairly unambiguous.

How do I enter?

Anyone who has pledged to Shroud of the Avatar is eligible. To enter, just post your fable in this thread.

Entries should be 100 - 500 words long (not including the title). You can post fables shorter or longer, but anything outside of the 100-500 word range will not be considered for the contest. Yes, I will check word counts. You can submit up to two entries. You can post more fables than that, but only the first two fables posted per person will be considered for the contest.

We do not yet know if or how Portalarium will accept crowdsourced writing for use in the game, or what sort of compensation, if any, they will offer. By submitting a fable, you should consider it an offer to Portalarium to use the fable in the game without any compensation to you.

Submissions as part of the contest will be accepted until 9:00 PM Central Standard Time, on Saturday, January 11, 2014.

No editing posts after submission, so be sure to post your finished work. If a post has been edited at the end of the contest time, it will no longer be considered for the contest. After the winner is announced, feel free to edit an entry if you think you can improve the fable for Portalarium’s benefit.

How/What do I win?

I will pick a winning entry and post the winner by Noon CST on Monday, January 13, 2014. I will judge the entries on a vague range of features that may be somewhat arbitrary and possibly capricious. The winner will be gifted by me his or her choice of one of the $10 Prosperity items (or any of the other $10 items) available in the SotA addon store.

Any other guidance?

The most voluminous source to check out would of course be Aesop’s Fables. This is a good place to get the feeling for what a fable is as a literary form. It should be short and punchy. Primarily focused on plot. No flowery prose. Although you should consider following the style of Aesop’s Fables, don’t focus too much on the substance. Many of them (I think) make for poor stories, especially the ones that seem to be some sort of political commentary. Many of them seem to about convincing slaves or the downtrodden that are getting what they deserve, and should be happy with what they have. Those that have a more timeless lesson are probably the ones you are familiar with, like the “Tortoise and the Hare” and “The Ant and the Grasshopper”. Those are the kinds of fables that you should strive to emulate.

A more modern source to check out is the Google Books preview of "Fables" by Arnold Lobel.

You may also want to check out the wikipedia page on fables and contrast that with the page on fairy tales (which is not the subject of this contest).

I’ll show my own examples of what I’m looking for in a following post. These are not to be taken as examples of good writing. Just something to give you an idea of the flavor of what I’m looking for.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with. Good luck!

 

The Mouse and the Toad

There was a mouse and a toad who lived near each other in the same cave complex. Each day when the mouse went out to forage for food he returned carrying not only food, but also a rock, which he deposited in his cave. When the toad, sitting in his own cave, would see the mouse pass by carrying a rock, he would call out and make fun of the mouse. “Why do you waste your time and energy carrying rocks? Silly mouse, we are surrounded by rock!” The mouse ignored the jibes of his neighbor and continued to collect a rock on every trip. One day a cry went up across the cave complex, “Weasels have entered the caves! We are under attack!“ The mouse ran into his cave and pushed the rocks he had collected up against the entrance, sealing himself in. The frog hopped frantically around the tunnels searching for enough rocks to seal his own cave, but before he could collect any the weasels were upon him and made a meal of him. The mouse stayed safe in his cave until the weasels moved on.

 

The Badger’s Cave

A young badger decided it was time to find a wife. Knowing that he would need a suitable dwelling to attract a bride, he set off from the home where he had been raised, scouting the passageways connecting the caves that made up his clan’s town. Upon finding a promising spot in which to excavate -- not too close to other dwellings, yet not so far apart -- he began to dig. The rock in that area was softer than usual, and the digging went quickly. Soon the badger had a sufficiently-sized cave, but he realized that with a little more effort, he could have a larger cave and attract a more desirable wife. Encouraged by the ease of carving through the soft rock, he continued to dig and dig until he had a long hall, a soaring ceiling, and many side rooms. His cave was bigger than any in the community, and he thought, “Surely I will get a fine bride, and my cave will be the envy of everyone I know!” Having completed his excavation efforts, he rested in his immense cave, musing on his choices for a wife, and anticipating the envy of his clan. Just then, a tremble shook the ground, and the soft rock crumbled, falling in upon the young badger and crushing him. Instead of a wedding, he had a funeral.

 

I hope the silence is the sound of people busily working on their entries!

 

Five Gold Coins

By Badear Scourge

The town of Penshire was never more prosperous than when Kobold Pete ran the general store. Kobold Pete, known for his many years of trading near the northwestern coastline, had taken to paying five gold coins for a single rat pelt!

The townspeople of Penshire were aghast with disbelief, but they did not complain as the town was filled with an equal share of both rats and greed. Day and night they killed the rats for their pelts in return for easy coin. Yet Kobold Pete never decreased the bounty and never delayed payment.

Years went by and whole generations had come to enjoy the seemingly endless supply of Kobold Pete’s generosity. Local craftsmen stopped building to become rat hunters, while others used the income to find new opportunities and new lives abroad. Penshire had become like no other town in the realm, with an economy anchored by one man’s unexplainable need for rat pelts.

Until one day, Kobold Pete was no longer there. The townspeople, holding their backpacks overflowing with rat pelts knocked on his door, but there was no answer. They look through his windows but there were no signs of life. They call out his name, “Kobold Pete! We have more rat pelts, where is our gold?!” but there was no reply. The town’s economy instantly fell to its knees, chaos erupting as entire industries ceased to function, and commerce stopped flowing.

And in this mass of confusion some people began to think more deeply on the subject of “why” Kobold Pete would give five gold coins for something that seemed so useless and “how” Kobold Pete could sustain such an operation for so many years. But it was too late for thinking, and the next sound the townspeople heard was a great grinding roar!

Out of the ground, Kobold Pete emerged riding a five story tall Rat Pelt Juggernaut, steaming and kicking, whirling and pounding, whooshing and bashing all that was the town of Penshire. The townspeople that survived the massacre, still caught in their own stunned disbelief abandoned the town to its destruction. Kobold Pete and the Rat Pelt Juggernaut were never seen again.

Known title variations:

Kobold Pete and the Rat Pelt Juggernaut
The Rat Pelt Juggernaut
Rat Pelt Pete

 

A Bird and the Boll Weevils

A hungry Bird searched for food one day, having not eaten in quite some time. Soaring low above a cotton field, he noticed two Boll Weevils and thought to himself, "What fortune, I will have a wonderful feast now." He descended upon them and stated, "I will have both of you for my supper, and you are well aware that you cannot run from me. But I am not a merciless creature, I will allow the two of you to decide which is eaten first and which is eaten second." The Boll Weevils looked at each other, and began to plead their case. The larger of the two stated, "Everyone prefers an appetizer before their main course, since I am larger you should eat me second." The smaller of the two stated, "You are already so hungry, Mr. Bird, surely you wish to eat the larger of us first." They debated like this for quite some time, neither agreeing to be eaten first. Finally the Bird exclaimed, "My mercy has limits, my hunger is about to overcome me!" And with that statement he grabbed the larger of the two and swallowed him whole. In his haste for a meal he did not realize that the larger Boll Weevil was too large to be eaten whole and it was now lodged in his throat. As the Bird lay dying he remembered a truth he had forgotten: Even in desperation, always choose the lesser of two weevils.

 

No Way Out

Two wolves ventured into a cave for shelter during a storm. The rain was so heavy it washed the dirt away and caused the rocks from the top of the mountain to slide to the bottom, closing the mouth of the cave. Two days passed and the wolves were exhausted from attempting to dig their way out of the cave. One turned to the other and said, "We must go further into the cave to see if there is another opening." The other wolf replied, "I do not know if there is another opening, you can go if you wish but I will stay here and continue trying to dig." Reluctantly the first wolf began to walk further into the cave. As he could not see, he could only feel his way along the walls and floor. He traveled for many hours when he came upon the sound of running water. A river! Finally he could have something to drink. He noticed large branches and logs on the side of this underground river. The only way they could be in this cave is if there was an opening large enough to let them in. After determining which way the river was flowing, he began to walk upstream. Eventually he came to a wall. As he could go no further, the opening was obviously under the water. He sat down, hungry and tired. How far was the opening? Could he make it on one breath? Was there another place to breathe between here and there? Could he make it, or would he drown? He could stay here for awhile, there is no food to speak of but plenty of water. Maybe he could catch a fish or two in the river? Maybe he could live here for a little while, there are worse places to live than a cave.

At that moment, he heard the howl of his fellow wolf echo through the walls of the cave. He had heard it before, the howl of one who knows death is upon him. It had been almost three days and his friend had no water. How could he even find his friend now? He was not sure of the path he had used to get to this place. No, it was too late. "One thing I know, it is better to die on my feet than to live on my belly," said the wolf as he clenched his jaw. And with that, he took a deep breath and plunged into the river. Darkness still surrounded him, he swam straight ahead and hoped it was the way out. He reached another wall and glanced upward, is that a light? Yes, that must be it! As his face broke through the top of the water he breathed deeply. He made his way to the bank and collapsed. He was exhausted, tired, bruised and weakened, but he was alive.

When there is no way out, the only choice is to go further in.

 

To Bell a Cat

Zippy Zap, his friends called him Zoomy, Jumped atop the great Cat. It twisted and turned, bucked and bronked as Zoomy strung a small bell. Quickly tying a secure knot any sailor would be proud. Leaping away, the now very mad Cat was easily evaded.
News of Zoomy's deed quickly spread, long before he arived back to his home, the Mousy Cave. All the Mice cheered and rejoiced as cheese, bread and small pieces of tack were shared and passed all around. Even a very pretty Mouse giving a sweet grape to Zoomy, with a quick doting wink, she ran away thus stealing Zoomy's mousy heart.
As Zoomy ate the good food and rested, he looked for and found another bell and some tangled twine. He threaded and threw the bell over his shoulder like a mouse rucksack, and began to march out of the cave. All the mice asked and even yelling, what are you doing? He told them about another Greater Cat that he saw. Well we must discuss this, one of the Leader mice said, just like we all did before. We must decide if it's worth doing and who must go do it.
Zoomy continued his walk out of the cave, stating "We are Mice" and you should know as well as I, Mice always Vote the same way.

 

Awesome thread!

 

Congratulations on Community Spotlight, grnarrow (and thread participants)!: https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?p=33837

 

Lost in the Dark

Bat, Fox and Rat were chosen to leave the protection of the village to forage for food. Before they left, they were each given a torch from the village Elder.

“Take these, and remember,” Elder warned them with a stern wag of his finger at Bat, “Even against all odds, if you stick together and be truthful, loving and courageous, you will always find your way home safely.”

The three friends thanked the Elder and left.

After a successful hour, the three were in good spirits. They foraged along the great underground river as Fox knew the best mushrooms grew there.

Bat, who always was a little too proud for his own good, asked in a huff, "Who does that Elder think he is, anyway? He treats us like children."
"He looks out for us,” said Fox.
"He only wants us to be safe," said Rat. "He's like a father to everyone."
"Well, I can't stand it, and I hate him," said Bat. Bat angrily flapped his wings and dropped his torch into the river nearby.
"See what you did?" chided Rat. "Now it's gotten darker."

The three continued on. After another hour, they had gathered a bit more food. It was almost lunchtime, though, and Fox was getting hungry.
"Can't I have one mushroom?" he implored his friends. “Just a small one.”
"No," said Bat, "we need to save everything for the village."
"No," said Rat, "we should wait and eat with everyone else."
Fox knew his two friends were right, but his stomach disagreed. When they weren't looking, he scarfed down an entire napkin full of mushrooms in one gulp. It proved too much for him, and he began to choke. He ran to the river for water, and his torch fell in.
"What happened?" asked his friends, rushing over.
"A river monster stole a napkin of mushrooms," Fox lied. "I ran over to get them back, but I was too slow."
"Now it's even darker," said Rat, and the three huddled around the remaining torch's light.

After a third hour, they had gathered barely any more food. It was getting late and it was time to head back. Since Rat had the last torch, Fox and Bat followed him, carrying the mushrooms.
“I'm too scared,” said Rat. “Can somebody else go first?”
“I can't,” replied Fox, “I'm carrying too many mushrooms to carry the torch.”
“I can't,” replied Bat, “I can't see well enough as it is.”
Rat complained, but a loud sound echoed through the caves, startling him and causing him to drop his torch in the river.

“I wish I hadn't dropped my torch,” the three bemoaned.
They were shrouded in the deep darkness of the caverns and were never seen again.

The moral of this story is:
Hatred, cowardice, and dishonesty can lead you astray.
OR;
Never drop your torch.

(entry 1 wordcount 490)

 

The three walls

Three walls made up a cave in a larger cave system. The left wall was full of glimmering, shimmering gems. The right wall was full of extensive, expensive precious metal. The backsided wall consisted of solid granite. From time to time miners came and took some gems off the left wall or metal off the right wall. They once tried to extract some slabs of granite but failed. When the miners left each night the left and the right walls started laughing at the poor granite wall, which was of no use for the people.

One day people came to inhabit the cavesystem. A family set up a camp in the cave of the three walls. They tried to sleep along the right wall, but the metal was too cold, so they put their food at this wall. They tried to sleep along the left wall, but the gems were too spiky, so they hung their dirty cloths on it. The granit wall was warm and solid, so the family decided to sleep there. In the night the left and the right wall started to murmur: "What a disgraceful behaviour to abuse us like that, we can't stand it." The granite wall replied: "Just bear it, it could be much worse."

On the next day a second family joined the cave and behave like the family before. Food on the right, clothing on the left, sleeping at the granite wall. In the night the walls complained again: "How long should we bear this. You should protect us from these people." "I already protect you two from much worse."

On the third day two more familys entered and it became quite crowded in the cave. The right wall was covered in food, so the extensive, expensive precious metal couldn't be seen anymore. The left wall was covered in clothing and dirt, so the glimmering, shimmering gems couldn't shine anymore.

In this night they shouted: "Our patience is gone, we can't stand it anymore. Granite wall you have to move, push the people and all their belongings out of this cave and close the entrance. We don't want to live in this situation anymore." The granite wall sighed: "If I move now, I will not go back even if you beg and plead." The right and the left wall agreed joyfully. The granite wall moved, pushed everything and everyone out of the cave and closed the entrance.

What the other walls had forgotten was that the granite wall was an exterior wall and protected them from everything outside the cavesystem. Now they formed an opposing cave facing the outside. The wild animals were thankful for this new cave were the could sleep now. With a spiky wall on the right, to scratch the itchy places they couldn't reach on their own and on the left, a wall durable enough, to sharpen their claws.

Moral: Sometimes it is better to bear an uncorfortable situation to avoid a far worse one.

 

The Lonely Black Bear​

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By: An Corp Wis Weed​

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In a cavern close by lived a lonely black bear,​

Who was troubled by hunger and guilt.​

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For her meals each night, she would descend on the moles​

Who raised crops out of fields they've built​

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The fish had run dry, so the moles did farm​

With-in caves of fungus and moss.​

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The bear was worried for she knew that the crops​

Would not out-last her cost.​

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As time passed by the bear grew thin​

And the moles grew weak from wear.​

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Their claws grew brittle and the dirt went hard​

But still descends the bear...​

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Our claws won't grow!​

They grow from food!​

The bear gets all our food!​

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Our fields are dry!​

The bear can dig!​

Imagine what we can do!​

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The bear descends and hears their cry​

As she claws into the dirt.​

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A field was made as the bear collapsed​

And the moles went straight to work.​

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Now the bear can dig, the moles can farm​

None are lonely or weary.​

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Force is a tool weaker than kindness​

A wise bear is friendly and caring.​

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*** .....Still editing this one. Not sure if moles ever existed in the Ultima series outside of the character named "Mole". I dunno. Har! Har! ***​

​

Killer idea for a thread. ​

Can't wait for Jan. 24th testing!​

 

The Choice

The circle is prosperous in these dark times. Two encroach upon that which is ours. We force their submission and offer them a choice. Placed together with a small white stone... The first to claim the stone lives. In disbelief one friend backs away as the other seizes opportunity. The circle grows by one as we return home. The betrayer rots on the ground still clutching the white stone. Loyalty first...

 

The Spider and the Ant
By: Iazon Paragon

One day, as a sad young worker ant was foraging food for its colony, it discovered a huge spider spinning a magnificent web.

“Oh Mr. Spider, you are so big and free. You do not follow orders or carry food you’ll never get to eat. You can spend your days building such beautiful webs, and stay out as late as you want. Your life is so much better than mine.”

The large spider paused from its weaving and dangled down, gazing all five eyes at the little ant.

“Sweet little ant, my life is not so grand as yours. Why, when a bird pokes its head into this chamber looking for a meal, and sees a big juicy spider and a small puny ant, which one of us would it choose to eat? And which one of us would live to see another day? This freedom of mine you speak so fondly of comes at a price little one, as I am cursed to spend all my days alone, and when I fall asleep at night I have only this web to protect me. You would do well to be thankful for your community. The food you harvest, is it not for a family that shares with you, protects you, and loves you?”

 

Never Trust a Rat

The wintery season was nearly upon the underground denizens, and every creature knew the temperatures throughout the caverns would soon be frightfully unforgiving. Geoffrey the gopher spent his days collecting a mossy fungus that he and the other creatures used to turn into a combustible oil sure to keep their firepits producing soothing warmth all winter long. Although this special fungus could only be found on the underside of stones located in the deepest and dampest parts of the cavern, Geoffrey had work hard all autumn to collect a plentiful supply. One day as Geoffrey was resting comfortably in his home there was a sudden knock at the door. He opened it to the grinning face of an unfamiliar rat. “Greetings kind sir!” the rat exclaimed. “My name is Randall, and word has it that you have quite the stockpile of mossy fungus.” Geoffrey took pause for a moment and then hesitantly replied: “Why yes I do, but why do you ask?” The rat’s grin grew larger, “I have a proposition for you. You see, I have a bountiful supply of food for the winter, but being that my eyes are weak and frail unlike your sharp gopher eyes I am having a hard time gathering mossy fungus to make fire oil. However, I have a map to a special location filled with all the fungus one could ever need! If you’d be willing to venture forth and retrieve some of this fungus for me, I would gladly give you half of my food stocks!” Geoffrey glanced at the map, noting the journey would take at least a couple of days unlike his usual outings that take but a few hours, and it would lead him to a part of the caverns he had never been. Although he felt he had enough food saved up already, the winters can be quite harsh after all and this deal would surely guarantee his food would last until spring. “Alright it’s a deal!” exclaimed Geoffrey. So Geoffrey set off at once and followed the map with absolute precision. He arrived where the map showed his destination to be, but as he searched and searched there was no fungus anywhere to be found! “Perhaps Randall gave me the wrong map, or made a mistake with the location!” Geoffrey thought to himself. He eventually gave up his search and returned home empty handed only to find no sign of Randall the rat and his entire supply of mossy fungus was gone.

-Lord Shaszahan

 

What is love?

Tara Turtle looked up into the sky one sunny day and asked, "What is love?" She went home to the pond where her family and friends lived, and saw that many had the same old arguments that they had been having for a long time. Tara asked her mother and father, "What is love?" Tara's mother smiled softly and explained, "Love is a gift, my daughter. Love is a choice." Tara's father calmly replied, "There are all kinds of love, little one. You may love your favorite color, or food, or even a story. That's a bit different than loving your family and friends." Tara thought of all her favorite things to play with, places to see, and of all the other turtles she knew in the world. She cared a great deal for her parents and friends, but lately Tara liked a certain boy turtle very much, named Tracy. Tracy Turtle was very handsome, fun, and Tara always smiled just thinking of Tracy. Tara decided that she must love Tracy. Tara asked Tracy if he would like to be her special turtle, and share her life. Tracy only took a moment to agree, but as soon as he did, Tracy began to act differently toward Tara. He went along with whatever she said, but seemed angry at her. The more Tara tried to please Tracy, the stranger he acted. Tara began to think that Tracy paid more attention to the other turtles than to her these days. Tracy used up all of Tara's food and things she had saved since she was a small turtle, to Tara's dismay. Tara came home to their special place in the pond one day, to find it destroyed. The other turtles blamed Tara, since Tracy had told them it was her fault. The turtles made Tara leave the pond she had always known, and she was very sad, and wandered. Tara's mother and father found her and told her that Tracy had left the pond now, and she could live with them until things got better for her. Tara had cried so many tears while she had wandered that she had no tears left to cry in gratefulness to her parents. Only one friend came to visit Tara turtle when she arrived home at the pond. It was her newest friend, Tori. Tori smiled kindly at Tara, and asked, "Do you have anger at Tracy? He was terribly unfair to you." Tara thought about it, and shook her head from side to side and answered, "No. I never did want anything bad to happen to Tracy. I hope that he is well, and finds happiness." Tara's mother, her father, and her friend nodded, and said in agreement, "You loved him." Tara realized that it was true. She now knew what love was.

 

Four days left! We've got some good stuff already, but keep those entries coming!

 

The Fire of Men

In the beginning the Dragon owned Fire. He commanded Fire to keep him warm when it was cold. When he came upon a great forest, Dragon sent fire to the edge to burn a great fire for him to sleep near. While Dragon slept, Fire worked her way through to the forest, happily exploring.

Soon she began to run out of wood and cried out, “Dragon! Dragon please help me!” But Dragon was fast asleep.

A man hunting in the forest heard Fire and came close. Fire pleaded, “Feed me!”

The man had never seen Fire before and asked, “What do you eat?”

“I eat sticks and wood of any kind,” Fire said.

The man laid sticks on Fire one by one. And soon Fire was burning brightly and feeling satisfied. The man warmed himself and kept Fire fed throughout the night. Together they were very happy and Fire felt comfortable.

Later, Dragon came looking for Fire, but Fire was angry. When it saw Dragon, she rose high and blazed so bright that the dragon shielded his eyes. “You no longer command me!” Fire shouted.

Dragon laughed and took a deep breath, inhaling some of Fire into his great body. Injured, Fire shrank back as Dragon swallowed part of her. The man took the stick that the last bit of Fire was clinging to and backed away.

“You have betrayed me to be with this man. What I have taken from you, I will use against you and all of human kind.” Dragon’s throat began to glow red and he laughed as he flew away.

Fire whimpered to the man as she struggled. “Dragon has taken my power and I am fading. Keep me nourished and I will help you and your people.”

By the time the man got to his village, Fire could no longer speak. He cared, fed and respected Fire and taught the other villagers as well.

Although the fire of dragons is to be feared, the fire of Men should always be respected.