Week 8 - The Models mentioned in the Fairy Tales

Hello models!

The time has come, we reached our last week! 2 months of producing stunning pictures and going through tough challenges has made you real models. You've shown to us that you are creative and that you can shine in any situation. And who knows, maybe you will be part of the big legends told about models...

Who will be Eden Eternal's Next Topmodel?

Give us Feedback on the Event!


Edited Photo

"Fairy tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."



We grew up with them and admired the brave princesses and heroes that overcame difficult times to eventually live in happiness. In a way, all of you did the same so invite us to see your own little story. Our eighth photo theme is: Fairy Tales


Challenge

The world of Eden Eternal is full of little wonders. You have seen a lot of them and used them to get a good photo. Why don't you share some of them? Your Challenge:

Tell us an Eden Eternal Fairy Tale!

Remark:

• For the Photo you can either use an exisiting Fairy Tale or even take a picture that represents the story you yourself wrote
  
• For the Challenge the maximum length of the Fairy Tale is 1500 words. Your program should be able to count the words for you.
  

For further information on the single categories, please make sure to check here:

Eden Eternal's Next Topmodel


This thread is for everyone entering edited Screenshots (Editing them with Photoshop or something comparable) and their Challenge entries.

All entries must be submitted by Sunday, 12/30/2012 11:59pm PST (8am GMT). Every entry edited or entered after this deadline will not count!

Click on the Headline to see our opening video!!!

Photo:
The photo is based on "The Little Match Girl". I just changed some things because my character is a guy.
Sadly, I think you'd only get the picture if you know the fairy tale. It's a really good story but very sad. You should read it if you haven't:
http://shortstoriesshort.com/story/the-little-match-girl/
Note: There are some typos on that story.


[Full Size]

Challenge:

The Test of the Bane Prince “Grandpa! Grandpa! Can you read this for me?” Exclaims a young anuran while holding an old rotten book and running towards Librarian Conan. “Oh boy. That book. I can’t read any of its words, all the pages are blurry and torn.” Says Librarian Conan. Then an old man wearing a brown hood came, “Let me help you.” He said as he touched the book with his fingertip. The book suddenly became new as if it was freshly written. Librarian Conan was in shock. “Read it! Read it!” exclaims the young anuran. Librarian Conan just tried to ignore the magic and started reading the book for the eager anuran. “Once upon a time, there was an evil prince that lives in a mausoleum deep inside the deserts of Arid. It was believed that the prince brought back the dead to life to become his servants. No one has ever seen him. Anyone who dared travel the desert only end up getting beaten up by the undead servants. But one day, two strong warriors, Kane and Roger, were able to reach the mausoleum. They beat up all the guardian servants inside. And alas, they reached the chamber of the prince. The two kept their guard as they can sense the power of the prince. “I am not going to kill you. In fact, I’m going to reward you.” Said the prince who appeared in front of them out of nowhere. The warriors looked at each other after hearing what the prince has said, as if they’re making sure that both of them really heard the same thing. “However, the reward you will receive will be based on how well you do on the test I will give you.” Continued the prince. “And what’s the test?” asked Roger. "It is a simple test of greed." The prince then showed two treasure chests - a small one and a big one. “Each chest contains different amount of gold. Pick one and it’s yours. And if you make the right decision you will be rewarded more.” The two were quiet until Roger said “I guess I'll just pick the small treasure chest.” The prince smiled. “Then it’s yours, you may exit the mausoleum now through this door behind me, it will lead you to a short cut to the exit. You will find your other reward on the way.” Roger was so happy but still couldn't believe what's happening as he picked up the smallest treasure chest. He then quickly ran outside the prince’s chamber leaving the other one. “Now, there’s only one treasure chest left. Looks like you don’t have any other choice.” The prince said to the one warrior left. “I still have a choice.” said Kane. “Hm?” The prince wondered. “I’m not interested with your gold and rewards. I am here to stop you! You’ve been harming a lot of the people I protect. People in my village are starving because your servants are attacking and scaring off the merchants from other villages. My choice… is to kill you once and for all!” “Hm Hm Hm!” The prince laughed after hearing what Kane said. “You are something." Said the prince. “You passed the test.” “What are you saying?! I did not play your game!” Said Kane. “Exactly” The prince said. “The first warrior picked only the smallest treasure chest not because he is not being greedy. But because he knows it would make him pass the test and therefore get the additional rewards.” “A typical human response when given a choice by someone generous - they act all unselfish but in their mind they’re really hoping to get the best reward for it.” “Humans are instinctively greedy. He had the chance to kill me but instead he exchanged the safety of the people for money.” “But you. You showed no interest in riches. So as a reward, the real reward I was speaking of, I am going to leave your people alone. I cannot promise the same for the other warrior, the door behind me isn’t really a short cut. The path it leads is cursed. Whoever enters it will live all his life looking for treasures, but he’ll be destined to never find one. As for your reward, you will not receive any gold, but you will receive something better.” And after that, the prince disappeared in thin air. Kane was left speechless, he just exited the mausoleum through the main path. There are no servants to be seen, as if they too have disappeared with the prince. Kane went back to the village, empty handed. But to his surprise, all the villagers are rejoicing, the women came to hug him and the men came to cheer. “So this was the reward he was talking about.” Kane thought. “I’ll never exchange their happiness for gold.” “Hold on, how did you know about what happened?” wondered Kane. “An old man passed by and told us everything. We checked the desert and we indeed saw that there are no more undead servants patrolling around.” Answered one villager. “Oh. An old man? Who was he?” Asked Kane. “We couldn’t recognize him, he was wearing a brown hood. He quickly left after telling us the good news. Must be some wanderer?”” Librarian Conan stopped reading the book and looked at the old man but he was no longer there. He then looked at the young anuran and its eyes were ever so wide. The young anuran then spoke, “I - I saw him disappear in thin air.” The two came to their senses after hearing the Aven’s bell. Pirate Roger came back to Aven again... still hoping to find some treasures.

Full size:

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj585/Sparkz12/snapshot_20121225_113024edit_zps626bbb41-1_zpsf5aeaa62-1_zpsbc2e64f7-1_zpse3126195-1_zps649a443e-1_zps89b27538-1_zps65fd75da_zpsce01d762.jpg

Entry:

Midas of the Golden Touch:



(both are my characters)

Challenge:

CURSED

Once upon a time in the magical land called Eden Eternal, there lived a young girl who woke up one morning to find she was dead. The announcement pronounced it clear as day in gold letters for all to see: “HaeNa is dead. We mourn her loss.” This surprised the girl for she still felt very much alive. Deciding it was probably just a glitch in the system, she resolved to go about her day as usual.

It was when she went shopping in Aven that she first began to notice that something was really wrong. She could not set up shop to sell things and she could not buy things from others. From there, she began to notice other problems. She could not pick up items. She could not gain experience. No matter what she did, it was not recorded. When she tried to speak to people, they did not respond and acted like they had not even heard her.

***

Several hours into the day, the girl grew frustrated at her lack of progress and inability to communicate with others. “Please, can’t anyone hear me?” She cried out in despair.

“I can,” a small voice whispered back.

The girl looked around but could not see the person the voice belonged to. “Where are you?” She asked. “Please talk to me.”

“Down here,” the soft voice came again.

The girl felt something soft rub up against her leg and looked down into the greenest eyes she had ever seen a cat have. Those eyes were the exact reason she had decided to keep the pet when she had found him starved and wandering alone. Drawn into those eyes, she asked in awe, “You can speak? But you’re my cat!”

“Well, you see I’m not really a cat. I've been cursed and you've been cursed, which is how you can now hear me,” the cat explained.

“Cursed!?” The girl exclaimed. “I haven’t been cursed! There’s just a glitch in the system. I’m sure it will be fixed once the reset happens at Midnight.”

The cat shook his small gray head. “That is what I believed at first. Imagine my surprise when I woke up one morning to find I had been transported into the body of a cat. I thought it would all return to normal the next day but I have been this way now for three months. You found me a couple of weeks after it happened and I have been with you ever since.”

“Truly?” The girl asked. “Where is your real body then?”

“Sleeping,” the cat replied. “Forever sleeping until I can find a way to break the curse and return to my own body. Unfortunately, I do not know who cursed me, why they did it, or what I need to do in order to break the spell.”

“Oh no, how awful!” The girl reached down and picked up her cat and hugged him close. “That’s just terrible!” She exclaimed. “Well I’ll help you find a way to break the curse then!”

“Ahem,” the cat coughed, embarrassed. “Could you put me down first please?”

The girl blushed, “Oh! I’m sorry! I forgot.” She set the cat back down on the ground and he shook himself to smooth his mussed fur.

“My dear girl, you seem to be forgetting a very important detail,” the cat said when he had composed himself.

“What is that?” The girl asked.

The cat sighed, “You have also been cursed.”

“Oh yes, I forgot about that.” Previously excited, the girl became deflated. “That does present a problem, doesn't it?”

“Well lucky for you, I have become much more observant after becoming a cat. I know exactly who cursed you and I’m pretty sure if we defeat her the curse will be broken.”

“Who was it? Who would be so evil?” The girl asked. "I don't remember angering anyone this much..."

“You were cursed by the evil witch Sonia at Soulmor Falls who became so jealous of your beauty and popularity that she could not stand your continued existence in Eden Eternal.”

“Who me? You must have the wrong person.” The girl scoffed. “I’m neither beautiful nor popular.”

“You just do not see yourself the way others do.” Looking down into the cat’s green green eyes she decided to believe what he said, even if it did sound extremely far-fetched.

***

The two companions, girl and cat, set off for Soulmor Falls. The journey was long and arduous for the girl could not buy any supplies. Several times, the girl wanted to give up. However, the cat was always there to encourage her and make her smile. Finally, they made it.

Looking upon the dark entranceway, the girl shook in fear. “Well, I guess we've got to go in there to defeat Sonia. Do you have a plan?”

The cat pondered his answer for a moment and then replied, “Once again, you are a very lucky girl. I have been here once before I was cursed, so I know how we can beat Sonia with just the two of us. First, become a cleric. Just spam heals and holy smite as we run through the dungeon to defeat the mobs. Once we have made it to Sonia, I’ll tell you how you can defeat her.”

The girl had never done something so scary or as exciting as running through the dungeon that day. Somehow, both she and the cat survived. Only Sonia was left. The girl and the cat hid out of sight to discuss their plan of attack.

“I don’t know if I can do this by myself,” the girl quavered. “Can’t we just ask Sonia to un-curse me? Maybe she isn't so bad…”

“No!” The cat whispered vehemently. “We will never have the chance to defeat her if we don’t surprise her from the beginning. If you try to talk to her, we will lose that element of surprise and definitely fail.”

Gathering herself together, the girl agreed to do as the cat told her. “Sonia!” She yelled a battle cry and ran out from her hiding spot.

Sonia’s attacks were brutal, but the girl kept healing herself and kept attacking. Little by little, Sonia got weaker and weaker. With her heals, the girl was always a little bit stronger. Realizing she could not win, Sonia wailed and screeched out in agony.

As Sonia breathed her last breath, an announcement scrolled by in gold letters, “HaeNa is alive. Sorry for the mistake.” The girl’s mailbox dinged and she opened it to find a message apologizing for the confusion and 5,000g as payment for her hardship.

“We did it!” The girl exclaimed, smiling down at the cat. “I never could have done it without you!”

The cat meowed and the girl collapsed beside him, realizing she would never hear him speak again.

“I did not even ask for your name and now I cannot speak to you anymore. I’m so sorry. I promise I’ll try to find who did this to you.” The girl pet the cat’s head as a single tear leaked out of the corner of her eye. In that moment, the cat disappeared into thin air.

The cursed cat had not known, but all that was needed to break his own curse was to have someone sincerely shed a tear for him. He had been a spoiled and selfish man before and no one had cared at all about his disappearance. Being turned into a cat and becoming the companion to the girl had made him kinder and more willing to help others. He had became someone who could touch another's life and make them care about what happened to him.

***

It was several weeks later that the girl was wandering through the market it Aven. Still in a daze after the disappearance of her beloved cat, she accidentally bumped into someone and fell to the ground. About to cry out in frustration, she paused when she saw a hand reach down to help her up. Grasping it, she tilted her head up and found herself looking into the greenest eyes she’d ever seen.

The End.

Week 8 Entry: Three Bears (More commonly known as Goldilocks)



Challenge: 1311 words

LEGEND OF THE ALPACA KNIGHT

Chapter 1: The Girl and Her Duty

Lily hastily walked up the steps and into the Curia Library. Lily sighed in relief as she closed her sakura umbrella. Shaking off the rain from her boots, she carefully scanned her surrounding. The welcoming atmosphere was filled with the scent of cinnamon and aged books. This made Lily feel warm and cozy on the inside and the rain not so much of an issue anymore. She shook her head to snap out of the trance.

- “I didn’t come here to play around.” Lily said to herself as she approached the librarian.

The librarian was an old-aged frog by the name of Conan. His knowledge is praised by the citizens all over Aven. Rumors have it that he was one of the top strategists during the last Great War.

- “Excuse me.” Lily said to Conan.

- “How may I help you girl?” replied Conan, staring at the girl with straight jet black hair and amber pupils.

- “My mother told me that the library contains the legend of the first Alpaca Knight.” stated Lily.

- “Ah yes! You must be the next generation.” Conan exclaimed with a smile.

- “I’ve been awaiting your arrival, chosen one. Follow me” Conan gesturing his hand telling Lily to follow.

The two went to a dimly lighted section at the back of the library. The books here seemed as if no one touched them in ages. Conan searched through the bookshelf and pulled out one of the books with his finger. He handed the dusty book to Lily.

- “This here, is the story of your great grandfather and his accomplishments as the first Alpaca Knight. I must return to my post now, tell me if you need any more assistance chosen one.” Conan stated, walking away.

Lily bowed to the librarian in gratitude and found an empty table to read. She gently blew the thin sheet of dust off the cover of the book with her ruby lips. The words Legend of the Alpaca Knight were engraved onto the cover.

- “Please tell me great grandfather, what my duty is as the next generation Alpaca Knight.” Lily said in her mind as she opened the book and started to read the first page.

--------------------------------

Chapter 2: The Legend

It was another beautiful day in Aven. The Great War has just ended and the races are coming together in hopes to bring about peace to the continent. A youthful man with short jet black hair and amber was sitting on a bench staring at the sea. Behind the man approached a person around the same age. This person was his childhood friend with curly blonde hair and skin pale as snow. Her beauty made her seem like a deity.

- “What do you think you are doing, just relaxing over there all by yourself Markus?” the girl exclaimed.

Unaware of the girl’s presence, Markus jumped off the bench startled, and turned around.

- “Hey Keka, don’t scare me like that. I’m going to have a heart attack one day thanks to you.” Markus replied.

Keka shook her head in disapproval at the lame joke and grabbed Markus by his arm.

- “I’m pretty sure you would be a great help to the Ursuns trying to finish up the roof of the church.” Keka said, dragging Markus along.

- “Hey stop it Keka, I’m not going anywh-“

Markus was interrupted by a sudden scream from the warp portal. A mysterious creature with sheep-like fur came barging through the portal and collapsed in front of the two friends. Keka and Markus stared at each other in bewilderment.

- “Help… us…” cried the beast.

The creature was taken to a nearby medical center ran by Anurans. After receiving treatment, the creature settled down from his state of shock to tell his story.

- “Hello, my name is Riff of the 2nd Alpaca Army Division.” Riff said in an exhausted tone to Keka and Markus.

- “Hello Riff, I’m Keka and this is Mar-”

- “Call me Hero” replied Markus, cutting Keka off.

Keka jabbed Markus on the arm and Markus let out a howl. Riff smiled at the relationship between the two and quickly frowned again.

- “A hero huh…” Riff chuckled. “We could use one of those right about now…”

Both Keka and Markus stopped fooling around and listened seriously to what Riff had to say. Riff explained to the two that shortly after the Great War ended, the Alpaca race was plagued by a new evil. This evil scattered their race all over the continent in various new dimensions. The Alpaca prophecy foretold that only a hero in shining armor would be able to save their race.

- “Surely we can do something to help them.” Keka looked at Markus.

- “Just when I thought I could get some relax time.” Markus groaned.

Markus and Keka revealed their true identity to Riff. They were part of the Holy Knight Militia as Captain and Co-captain of the 3rd battalion during the Great War.

- “Don’t worry, he might not look like it, but our captain here is a sturdy fellow.” said Keka, smiling at the worried alpaca.

- “But... only the hero can defe-…” exclaimed Riff.

- “What are you worrying about?” asked Markus. “We’re going to save your race and that’s all that matters.” said Markus, grinning from ear to ear.

The three agreed to meet up by the warp portal in 1 solar hour. When the three of them saw each other again, Riff’s jaws were hanging. The shield and armor Markus had on was like an exact replica of what the prophecy showed. A silver plate mail with a wooden shield with an alpaca crest on it displayed the hero of the Alpaca Kingdom.

- “Hey now that I think about it… doesn’t your shield’s crest look like Riff?” asked Keka.

Riff immediately bowed down in front of Markus.

- “Hey hey now, what’s the big deal?” asked Markus embarrassed, gesturing Riff to get up.

- “You are the chosen one, the one who will save our kingdom, the Alpaca Knight.” Riff said humbly in tears.

- “Now now…” said Keka helping Riff to his feet. “We’ll save your kingdom and make sure your people are safe.”

The three set off on their adventure ready to fight the evil ahead of them…

--------------------------------

Chapter 3: Determination

- “Hey, wake up” Conan said, lightly shaking Lily’s shoulder.

The drool from Lily’s face was starting to drip down onto the book.

- “Uhhh…” groaned Lily rubbing her face.

Lily shot up from the book and looked at Conan, then at the book, then at Conan, and again at the book. Blinking, she started to giggle.

- “I get it now!” exclaimed Lily.

She thanked Conan for everything and stepped outside the library. The rain has just ceased and sun’s rays permeated through the clouds. Lily walked down the steps with pride, holding onto the knowledge of what her great grandfather had accomplished during his journey. She vowed to follow his footsteps and protect this new generation of Alpacas from the upcoming evils. Skipping down the streets of Aven, she bumped into a stranger.

- “Ouch! Sorry mister-…” said Lily, rubbing her head.

Lily looked at the creature. This creature was an alpaca with fur the color of her hair and a rather expensive looking crown on his head. Streaks of yellow gleamed from his body. The royal alpaca nodded at her accepting her apology and continued towards the direction of the library. Another alpaca behind him bowed to Lily and followed the royal alpaca.

- “What an odd bunch…” Lily thought in her head. “Maybe I will help them one day…” Lily giggled, continuing to skip home to tell her new found knowledge to everyone she knew.

The End

Entry

The Sleeping Beauty



I'm pretty sure that "Sleeping Beauty" is a pretty well-known fairy tale, but for those who don't know it or can't exactly remember it anymore, just check this link here:
Story: Sleeping Beauty



Challenge

The Story of Dia & Truth - An Eden Eternal Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Aid. She was mighty fair, with her beautiful red hair, and was widely known for her beautiful peachy skin and gentle personality. She was the the daughter of the King of Aven, however she hated being a princess. All the gifts of primes, accessories, and mats; who needs them?

As she grew older, she learned that she could sense how other people felt towards each other. She could easily tell if two people could be perfectly matched together and could live happily ever after. She spoke philosophies of how “Love is the best thing in the world” and because of this, she became to be known as the Love Oracle Aid. People from all across the world came to the small Aven kingdom, bringing gifts of gold, silver, fame items, charms, and more just to see if they could be matched with their couples. She hated the gifts, but she enjoyed telling people if they could be together or not.

However, in the faraway land of the Devastation Realm, Truth was beginning to stir and wonder if what Aid was doing was correct or not. Truth was the prince of this destroyed land, wandering on his pet dragon searching if love was fake or reality. He was known as the Love Adventurer, always searching, to see if he could find if love was truth. He did not want to believe what Aid was preaching, so he decided to launch an attack on Aven.

One day, Princess Aid was leaving the Market Zone, heading towards the Pier when she saw Prince Truth on his Dragon, attacking Aven. It was love at first sight. Aid did not notice Truth at first, but when she looked him in the eyes, she gasped and knew that they would be happy forever if they were together. Truth rushed off his dragon to meet Aid, however Aid’s father came and captured Truth for attacking his kingdom of Aven. To stop this, Aid and Truth ran away together jumping into the ocean at the Pier and swimming to the free land port of Tranquil Hill with Truth’s Dragon.

After settling down, Truth and Aid returned to Aven to preach about love and how it was important. To prevent anyone from knowing their true identities, Aid changed her name into Dia and Truth released his pet dragon back to the Devastation Realm.

Today, they live in happily together Aven by making a small living of selling love potions, love coins, and love skills and preaching about how Love is the most important thing in the world.

“Dia and I traveled the world together. I hope our understanding of love can help more people understand love.”~ Love Adventurer Truth

“Truth and I share Love Stories with those who understand love.”~ Love Oracle Dia

I hope you understand too~

The End.

On the deadline... I hope it counts.

Week 8 challenge (The Legendary, the Invincible, the Heroes, 1498 words) and entry:

-

When the land and its populace are being menaced by any form of scaled, winged, fire-breathing reptilian abomination, whenever an all-powerful wizard develops an unhealthy fixation for the blood of pure, untainted maidens, or whenever a princess is abducted from her bedchambers in the dead of night, there will forever be the duty-bound few who will rise to bring an end to the kingdom’s many troubles. They are the stalwart defenders of the crown, oath-bound to their duties in its service; The knights. The warriors. Elite fighters, one and all. These are the brave souls of which the songs of bards and the ballads of kingdoms draw their magic from, whose unparalleled exploits and deeds have become the staples of children’s stories across the ages. Woven into legend, these icons exhibited almost superhuman qualities and a sort of nigh-invincibility, and an always unflinching will in the face of the most dire adversities. How much of the tales, however, CAN be believed? Have the legends always been passed down with care for fidelity as they spanned the generations? For these heroes of yore, these paragons of duty, honor and loyalty that many a young soul has aspired to emulate, where in their storied past does the line between wistful embellishment and hard truth begin?

I am a scribe, lowly in standing and of no true birthright. My lineage has drawn more disdain than respect in the eyes of my peers and superiors. My duties have always been simple: To observe the exploits of men, the passing of events and to weave them forever into the tapestries of history, lest history, and more importantly, the people, be fickle and forgetful. I have witnessed a great many things throughout my “illustrious” years of service; the rise and fall of kingdoms and of men, and the rare courage and unyielding spirit glimpsed in the hearts of the steadfast knights of the crown, to name but a few. It is because of the latter, however, that I am driven to set pen to parchment for the final time. Whosoever comes upon this document, I beseech you to give voice to the words herein, as I know I will no longer be able to do so, not to honor myself, but to honor the deserving souls whose true challenges and accomplishments have been muddled by the ballads oft sung and heard, and by my very own heavy-handed words.

I have ridden with many warriors, and have written embellished accounts of their deeds, often paying little heed to things that we scribes deem “not worthy of a permanent record.” Such is the way of the scribe, the bard, the taleweaver. Oftentimes, it is the good, the great that will remain, or at times be added into our stories and songs, as the populace, along with the kings and monarchs whom we scribes scribble for, would always prefer the good or great over the flawed and vulnerable. I truly believe this way of thinking must change.

Let me tell you about the Swordsaint, a cunning knight who slew the felhound that terrorized the countryside. The tales would go that she lithely stepped past all of its vain attacks, her graceful form and movement constantly befuddling her foe. This dance would continue as she would land counterstike upon counterstrike with inhuman precision, weakening the beast, and eventually culminating in the coup de grace, a masterstroke thrust through the felhound’s throat. Or at least, that is what I had written.

In truth, she was shivering, fearful of the beast as we were entering its den. Of course, I was clearly far more terrified. Then the howling began. Taunting, piercing and echoing within the walls of the den, and eerily resonating within our very souls. This broke me, and I fell to my knees then and there, my panicked stare set to the ground, my hands clutching my chest as the heavy footsteps approached. I was sure that death had finally found me. As I composed myself (somewhat), I found the courage to look up and face my executioner. It was then that I saw the Swordsaint, a young, terrified girl but moments ago, now rushing headlong towards the felhound, sword drawn low, uttering a warcry which rang with equal parts fear and determination. She was swiftly swatted to one side by a gigantic clawed paw. She let out a shrill, pained scream as she was flung across the cave, but held her weapon fast as she struggled to her feet. I could see the blood from what were clearly agonizing wounds on her chest. She screamed for me to run, to save myself. She would fulfill her duty, or she would perish in trying. I could not move. I was frozen in fear, but as the battle continued, the fear was slowly pushed aside by a sense of admiration and gratitude, then eventually awe. I looked on and she would take blow after blow, vainly attempting to strike at the beast’s throat with her flailing sword swings. She never stopped. She was putting up a pathetic fight, but she never stopped. In the face of such a foe, I knew greater warriors would cower in fear, yet here she stood, barely holding her own, far from being invincible, clearly afraid. But she never stopped, for in the name of the crown, in the name of duty, and also to save my life, she would lay down her own. Then, the beast lunged, fangs out, and she fell over herself before it could tear her asunder. Perhaps through persistence, and a measure of luck, the felhound missed its mark, but her blade managed to embed itself cleanly through its throat as she stumbled. There she stood, bloodied, flawed, human. She then too fell to her knees, reduced to sobbing as she took stock of her terrifying brush with death.

One more tale perhaps should be mentioned, that of a young warrior who was tasked by the king to find and slay yet another beast endangering the populace. A land dragon, wingless reptilian creatures of immense power and immensely weak intellect. The tales around this quest would have you believe that he and his entourage found it immediately after they had left the town in which they had made their preparations. This much is true. It also goes that his entourage of 5 villagers were worthless in battle and fell immediately to the dragon, and it was his prowess and cunning that carried the day. This… Was not as true.


As the 6 brave young men exited a town that shall remain unnamed, a streak of flames burst forth from the forest directly at the group. They all managed to dodge, and our warrior quickly took stock of the situation, issued his orders to his comrades to scatter and approach the source from multiple directions. They moved deftly, instantly recovering from the blaze. Rushing into the woods, they caught sight of the scaled behemoth amongst the trees, trudging towards the leftmost member of their party with an almost laughable reptilian gait. Realizing this, the targetted hunter signaled that he would be the bait, and that the rest should make the kill. This was readily acknowledged by all in the group, and the game was afoot. On and on, it chased the bait, and the other 5 with our warrior at the fore, closed the distance. The pursued drew the dragon to a deep river, running alongside its banks, with cliffs flanking it on either side. Atop the cliff on the same side as the dragon and the bait, the rest of the party reached their pre-prepared “log avalanche.” Fate would have it that a few playful children were in the woods earlier that day, and they had ruined the mechanism for letting the logs loose, much to the horror of our warrior and his party. There was a grim hush amongs the 5 men on the cliff, and they looked at their ally alone on the riverbank, looking back at them, expectant of success. Our warrior simply shook his head… The lone hunter nodded his understanding of the situation, turned to face the oncoming dragon, sword drawn. Slowly, our warrior stood up, raised his mace to the sky, screamed his allegiance for perhaps the last time to his lord, and swore he would protect the people with whatever means and strength he had. His men echoed his thoughts, loudly, resolutely, and they slid down into the cliffside to face their foe together…

For lack of parchment, I must end my tirade. The heroes of song and legend are but men and women, flawed, imperfect, as vulnerable as you and I. Their heroism however, has cost them dearly, but it is because they are willing to pay these costs that they are truly deserving of their legends. Not for invincibility, as the bards would have you believe, but for their very human qualities that shined the brightest in their darkest hours.

Here the Results of the final week:

Photo

1. Evil_Vivi
   
2. gizzmo11g
   
3. StephyLeonheart
   
4. rin49
   
5. byleco_byleco
   
6. littlebunny9
   
7. anime1057
   
8. Thizlaoboi
   
9. Baurdus
   
10. Lucy817
    

Edited Photo

1. jeffysaur
   
2. hyunahan
   
3. Kasumilein
   
4. _.Summer._
   
5. waterblade01
   
6. MisterTeal
   

Challenge

• StephyLeonheart
  
• jeffysaur
  
• byleco_byleco
  
• hyunahan
  
• littlebunny9
  
• anime1057
  
• Myorepl
  
• Thizlaoboi
  
• waterblade01
  
• MisterTeal
  

Congratulations to all Winners! Your prizes will be delivered via the Item Mall Inventory Ingame (press I to find them). Please allow up to 7 business days for the prizes to be handed out.