Cave Fables -- An unofficial writing contest

Discussion in 'Fire Lotus Tavern' started by grnarrow, Jan 3, 2014.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Balec Fares deCani

    Balec Fares deCani Avatar

    Messages:
    1,343
    Likes Received:
    4,015
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Aw, crud. I missed the deadline. Well, just for fun:

    Tikal was a mouse who used to live in a large cave known as Allobriar. There were all manner of creature living here, some of which Tikal had never seen before and still didn't know the name of. When Tikal arrived, barely alive, they welcomed him and assigned him work that was difficult and barely manageable by a small mouse. Tikal recovered and grew healthy and strong in the company of this cave, but missed his true family and only became close friends with the other mice.

    The Allobriar group worked efficiently fighting off threats and gathering food and healing each other. It wasn't a comfortable life, but it was stable. Time passed, food became scarce and attacks from dark fiends grew worse until the community decided it was time to relocate. The group was too large to travel together so they were divided into squads, each of which would try to discover new cave with food and protection to call home.

    Tikal had always preferred the company (and smell) of other mice and was sad that he was the only mouse in his squad. Times were hard and they barely managed to scrape by with each creature helping as they were able; the bird catching flying insects for them to eat and the spider stringing webs for them to climb. Tikal found cracks in rocks just large enough for the group to spend the night.

    After many months, Tikal came across a scent that was at once familiar and long forgotten. He followed the delightful aroma to discover a nicely furbished cave with comforts of home. A mischief of mice had made their home in this spacious cave. Sunlight flowed in through various openings too long and narrow for predators, but large enough for copious seeds from the plants above to fall through. Moss grew on the north wall and small fish could be seen swimming in a pond. Most of the seeds collected on a ledge over the pond, but regular gusts of wind blew the seeds into the pond where the mice quickly retrieved those not eaten by the fish. Tikal had found paradise.

    The other mice, who also had known the torments of the world above, not wanting their paradise broken, refused to allow entry to Tikal's companions. Tikal alone was invited to stay. Secretly, Tikal wanted to be rid of the strange smells and customs of his squad and convinced the others that they, too, would find their homes soon if they kept searching. Tikal lived in bliss with his kindred for many days. Until, one day, a thundering herd above shook loose a hail of pebbles which piled on the edge of the ledge. The seeds, blocked by the pebbles, no longer blew into the pond. The mice grew hungry and fled or looked at each other in a new light. Tikal's final memory was that of being eaten alive by the larger mice in the cave.
     
  2. Balec Fares deCani

    Balec Fares deCani Avatar

    Messages:
    1,343
    Likes Received:
    4,015
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Link

    No wonder I was confused. Well I really wrote it just for the challenge and fun, so no regrets.
     
  3. grnarrow

    grnarrow Avatar

    Messages:
    304
    Likes Received:
    625
    Trophy Points:
    43
    The judging was difficult, as we had about 30 entries exhibiting a range of admirable qualities, but after much deliberation I’m happy to announce the winner of the cave fable contest:

    Trapper wins for the entry “No Way Out”!

    Not only did this piece adopt the recommended Aesop-esque style within the milieu of a subterranean culture, I also felt that its lesson would be very poignant for a people who might often be facing situations involving a last desperate chance for survival.

    Of course it is up to Portalarium to decide what, if anything, to do with the entries in this thread. It was my hope that we could collect enough Aesop-esque fables of appropriate style and substance that the devs could gather them together into a book called “Cave Fables”, which would appear somewhere in-game. Perhaps on the shelves of a Cataclysm scholar’s library? Or for sale among the wares of a trader of antiquities?

    If I were putting together that book, I would include the following entries (in order of their submission):
    No Way Out” by Trapper
    Lost in the Dark” by tekkamansoul
    The Three Walls” by Sindariya
    The Spider and the Ant” by Miracle Dragon
    The Horse and the Fox” by Fox Cunning
    The Old Man and the Fox” by Fox Cunning
    The Turtle and the Bat” by ArcanumVeritas

    Although the other entries contained some excellent writing, they had at least one characteristic which I felt would exclude them from this specific collection, whether that was because there was no clear moral or lesson, or because it didn’t have a subterranean setting or deal with concerns pertinent to underground living, or dealt with specific characters or locations rather than generalized, universal characters and settings. Some entries stuck me more as short stories, or the kernels of short stories, rather than fables. Again, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some excellent writing.

    I particularly want to give an honorable mention to some of the other entries that struck me:

    The Fire of Men” from thradia
    Although I would label this an origin story more than a fable, I thought it was very interesting and well written. Almost inspired me to hold a contest of origin stories.

    The First Dippy” from Fireangel
    In a sense, another origin story, but clever and funny for those who know what the Dippy Bird is, and its association with one of our beloved devs.

    Path of the Avatar” from Gabriel Nightshadow
    Excellent as a short story. Would have made a great fable if it used generic characters and fit into the underground setting.

    Empty the Pit” from Skalex
    Humorous, scatalogical verse. Made me chuckle, and gave me a reason to use the word “scatalogical”.

    We had many other excellent entries, and I’m sure other people have their own favorites. Everyone who entered is to be commended. I hope you all enjoyed the creative process, and I hope the community has enjoyed reading these submissions. I also hope interested authors will continue to post more fables to this thread, so that Portalarium has a rich vein to mine from if they should decide that a “Cave Fables” book will make an appearance somewhere in New Britannia.

    Thanks again for entering, and keep writing!
     
  4. Gabriel Nightshadow

    Gabriel Nightshadow Avatar

    Messages:
    4,466
    Likes Received:
    9,297
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Congratulations to Trapper :D There were many excellent entries! Thanks to gnarrow for taking the time to hold this unofficial contest! Hopefully, Portalarium will include at least some of these entries in a "Cave Fables" book in the game. Time to edit my entry to improve it for Portalarium (had to edit out a lot of my original draft to get it in under 500 words) and perhaps write another fable for this thread ;)
     
    Jambo, Kuno Brauer and Doppelganger like this.
  5. grnarrow

    grnarrow Avatar

    Messages:
    304
    Likes Received:
    625
    Trophy Points:
    43
    The OP in this thread stated that "Submissions as part of the contest will be accepted until 9:00 PM Central Standard Time, on Saturday, January 11, 2014. " The Noon on Monday time was the time by which I would announce the winner. The community spotlight article apparently put in the wrong time as the submission deadline. Sorry about the confusion.

    But submission are still welcome, even encouraged, as that will give Portalarium more choices for fables that will potentially appear in a book somewhere in the game world.
     
  6. tekkamansoul

    tekkamansoul Avatar

    Messages:
    958
    Likes Received:
    1,401
    Trophy Points:
    105
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    SF
    Cool! This was fun.
    Unfortunately I got the flu and couldn't submit my second :(
     
  7. rild

    rild Avatar

    Messages:
    1,220
    Likes Received:
    2,485
    Trophy Points:
    125
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Great work, everyone! I started one but didn't finish. Thanks Grnarrow for getting this together, and to Portalarium for supporting it! I hope to see more of this kind of stuff in the future.

    And gratz Trapper! :D
     
  8. Trapper

    Trapper Avatar

    Messages:
    74
    Likes Received:
    94
    Trophy Points:
    8
    I enjoyed everyone's fables a great deal. Thank you to grnarrow for sponsoring this competition; it is things like this and folks like you that make this community an exciting thing to be a part of.
     
  9. Deathblow

    Deathblow Avatar

    Messages:
    213
    Likes Received:
    126
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Orion Nebula
    Cheers! Trapper.
     
    Gabriel Nightshadow and Skalex like this.
  10. Fox Cunning

    Fox Cunning Localization Team

    Messages:
    797
    Likes Received:
    1,645
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Wiltshire, England
    Cheers! I enjoyed reading the stories and hopefully we'll see them in game someday :)
    And, congratulations to Trapper!
     
    Gabriel Nightshadow likes this.
  11. Sindariya

    Sindariya Avatar

    Messages:
    2,634
    Likes Received:
    7,681
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Female
    gz trapper and yeah I got recommended for the book. My confidence in my englsih skills increases.
     
  12. Gabriel Nightshadow

    Gabriel Nightshadow Avatar

    Messages:
    4,466
    Likes Received:
    9,297
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    (This is a rather long fable, but perhaps may be of some interest to readers.)

    The Little Girl and the Dragon

    Young Esmeralda grew restless living in the caves and decided to do a little exploring on her own. While the others in the camp took their afternoon nap, she grabbed a torch and ventured forth on her own, exploring a newly discovered tunnel. After many twists and turns in the tunnels, she soon became lost. A sudden gust of wind caused her torch to go out and Esmeralda found herself alone in the dark. She became very afraid.

    Suddenly, she had an elderly female voice calling out for help. Esmeralda followed the sound of the voice. Rounding a corner, she soon found herself in a large underground cavern lit by luminescent plant life. Esmeralda was startled to see that the voice belonged to a giant red dragon!

    “I mean you no harm, child.”, said the dragon, “Please help me! I can’t move because my tail is trapped under these fallen rocks.”

    Esmeralda saw kindness in the dragon’s eyes and cautiously approached the dragon. She tried lifting one of the rocks covering her tail, but it was too heavy!

    “I need to get help!”, said Esmeralda, “But I am lost and can’t find my way back to camp!”

    The dragon lit Esmeralda’s torch with her dragon breath.

    “Follow that tunnel! It should lead you back to your camp.”, said the dragon, breathing fire in that direction.

    “Thank you, kind dragon!”, said Esmeralda ,“I will return with aid as soon as possible!”

    Esmeralda scampered off and soon found her way back to camp. She woke her parents and told them what happened. They scolded her for wandering off, but eventually believed her story, for she had always been a truthful child. Her father gathered a group of men and followed Esmeralda back. Not sure of the dragon’s intent, the party, which was composed primarily of former soldiers, was heavily armed with swords, spears, and shields.

    When the party saw how large the dragon truly was, they thought it posed a great threat to the camp and should be killed to ensure their safety and to provide them with sustenance. But young Esmeralda convinced them that they should help the dragon instead. After the men removed the rocks, the dragon spoke.

    “I am Nimrei, one of the nine Great Dragons! I became trapped down here in my underground lair at the onset of this Great Cataclysm.”, said the dragon, “Thank you for helping me! In gratitude, I will provide you with fire and show you where to hunt for cave dwelling creatures for sustenance. I will also share with you my knowledge of the old world so you can pass it on to future generations.”

    And so it came to pass, that Nimrei and our people became good friends and helped each other survive these difficult times. Nimrei was lonely no more, for Esmeralda and her friends were enthralled by her tales of the past, which, in time, they recounted to their own children. Indeed, much of the remaining knowledge we have of the old world can be attributed to Nimrei.

    Many years passed. One day, when Esmeralda and her friends, who had now all reached adulthood, went to see Nimrei, she was gone. Esmeralda and the rest of the camp searched the tunnels, but Nimrei was never seen again. We don’t know what became of Nimrei, but we thank her for help and wish her well.

    And so ends my tale, dear children. Did it truly happen? Of that, I am not certain, but I do know that one day, when we are able to return to the surface world, I will write down everything my grandmother, Esmeralda, told me, so that future generations will know about our past and how we survived these dark times.

    Morals:
    Do not wander away from camp because you will probably get lost.
    Do not fear what you do not understand.
    Help those in need.
    Good deeds are often rewarded.
     
    Jambo and Fox Cunning like this.
  13. Malchor2

    Malchor2 Avatar

    Messages:
    14
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    3
    The Squirrel and the Garlic

    A squirrel was chatting with a garlic bulb that had taken root under the tree where he had built his nest. "I am lucky," the squirrel taunted, "because I can come and go as I please, and from the heights of my nest, I can see the whole countryside. You, on the other hand, are stuck under the earth, and see nothing but rocks and worms day after day."

    The garlic said nothing, but endured patiently.

    One day, a great storm arose, and the wind and the rain tore the squirrel's nest from the tree, knocking him to the ground where he drowned in a deep puddle. Though muddy in its earthen bed, the garlic bulb would survive and would grow through the rest of the summer.

    Come autumn, a great wizard happened upon the spot where the garlic was growing. He reverently pulled the garlic from the ground, and, much to the garlic's delight, used it to confect a mighty spell that would save the whole world.

    Just as the high and the haughty are often enough brought down in their own pride, so too, the humble and the lowly often rise up from the earth to do great things.
     
  14. Time Lord

    Time Lord Avatar

    Messages:
    8,336
    Likes Received:
    28,405
    Trophy Points:
    165
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    ~SOTA Monk~ ~Monastery~ ~Thailand~
    Ahhh, and I missed it being a bit new here...

    which reminds me of a story of my own ...hmmm... let me think...

    The Fly, The Flea and The Flue; (a short children's story by ~Time Lord~)

    A Fly and a flea got caught in a flue
    and the flea said to the fly, "so what do we do"?
    Well, the fly looked at the flea and said "Don't look at me",
    he says, "because the only thing to eat in here is you"!
    So the fly went to fly and the flea went to flee as they both flew around in the flue,
    until the fly ate the flea because the flea couldn't see, that the moral of this story is...

    hmmm.. I can't remember now,,, but I think it had something involving a u preceded by and f...

    Ohh ...my memory keeps failing me...:rolleyes:
    ~Time Lord~
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.