The Ridiculously Random Contest I

[Dae314]

Intro

Hello! Welcome good people of Kametsu to the first attempt at this Ridiculously Random (and ridiculously quickly planned) Contest. First, I want to give a shout out to Koby whose post in the random talk thread (you can see it if you scroll down a bit from that link) has marked the 1000th post in the thread everyone loves. Ok... maybe not everyone loves the thread or Koby's post just yet, but you will once you find out what it has kicked off. This iteration of the Ridiclously Random Contest (yes I made up the name in 5 seconds; do you like it?) is entirely funded by the good people of the random talk thread. We have worked hard for the past 20 posts in there to come up with a set of guidelines and funding for this contest to celebrate the random thread's 1000th post milestone. So now you have some idea of why we're doing this, lets talk about exactly what we're doing.

Theme

This contest's theme will be..............

........

..........

Um... we didn't really agree on a theme before the 1000th post now did we . We need to plan this better next time people. Well... it will suit the random nature of the random talk thread to just name a theme right here right now so...

This contest's theme will be Fairy Tales! I like fairy tales, don't you? So many great books and movies have come out of this genre, but people think fairy tales are just for kids. Fine... maybe they are, but you can make them for adults too, and that's what we expect you to do. Write us a fairy tale. Make it exciting and funny or dramatic and heartbreaking. Write about knights and wizards (or fairies too o.O) and tell us about all the quests and lessons that your hero learns along the way.

The basic requirement for a story to be considered a fairy tale are that there must be a "hero", there must be a "villain" whom the hero must thwart, there must be a bit of magic somewhere. Other than that the details are completely up to you.

I'm starting to talk in circles here, so lets move on.

Rules

1) This contest is open to all members of Kametsu forums.

2) Entries should be in the form of a short story. I'm not going to say exactly how short short is, but you know should know when you've written too much. Our judges have lives to live too you know. Don't let this deter you from writing a nice story though. If you need 1000 words to tell your story then by all means use 1000 words, but at least make it interesting if you write that much.

3) Entries are limited to 1 entry per user. If you write multiple entries, your first entry will be taken as your only entry.

4) This contest is open 72 hours from the time this thread is published. The time remaining will be updated by me occasionally, and it will appear on the bottom of this post. If enough people request more time, the time can be extended.

5) Entries should be your own original work. We're not going to go Googling your composition to see what comes up, but take responsibility and don't copy someone else.

6) More rules may be added in the future.

Prizes

We currently have a prize of 55,000 Gil tax not included for the top entry (donors correct me if I'm wrong). This value is subject to change if we get more donations before the contest closes so keep an eye here.

The prize is made up of promised donations from all the judges. When the winner is chosen, he or she will get gil sent to them from each judge based on how much they agreed to donate.

Judging

Judging/funding will be provided by:

1) Dae314 - 3k

2) lemmingllama - 2k

3) Leviathan - 2k

4) Koby - 23k

5) Mute - 10k (not judging)

6) Yuri - 5k

7) DrumRoll - 10k

If you want to be a judge, all you need to do is pledge a donation to the prize. By donating to the contest, you agree to send your donation to whoever is picked as the winner. You also get a vote in the judging of the pieces. Judges are allowed to participate in the contest but a judge cannot vote when their piece is up for judging. It is not mandatory that any judge participate in the contest. Currently, the minimum amount you need to donate to the prize to be considered a judge is 2k gil. Donating more does not change your standing among judges, each judge only gets 1 vote. Donating more just shows your appreciation for this event and helps make things more exciting . If a judge happens to win, he or she gets gil from all the other judges and keeps his or her donation.

The judging process will happen like this:

1) After the contest has closed, a small number of entries (this number will depend on the number of entries we receive) will be picked out as "best".

2) Assuming there are more than 1 or 2 entries to pick from, the entries chosen will be organized randomly into a tournament pattern.

3) At each "level" of the tournament judging, judges will cast 1 vote for each pairing of entries (voting for the one they think is better). The winner from each pairing will move on and face the winner from another pairing. For example, if 4 entries are chosen (e1, e2, e3, e4). Then the first vote will be e1 against e2 and e3 against e4. If e1 and e3 receive a majority vote then the next round of voting will happen for e1 against e3.

4) I will be arbitrating this process, so I will announce the initial line-up (this is agreed on by all the judges) and winners of each round. In this thread. However, judges will privately send their votes to me.

5) This process is mostly open, and judges independently can choose how they wish to vote (so they can make a post here and open their vote to the public if they want). However, the length of this process will depend on how quickly we can get the votes done.

Closing Words

This was a pretty last minute idea so we weren't able to get too much funding for it, but I hope that it can still be fun and we get some nice entries . I hope to do this again (maybe with a bit more planning xD) at various milestones in the random talk thread . As it stands, it looks like 2000 might be the next one, but the future is up for debate. If this contest is at least moderately successful, I'm sure that we will be able to redo it in the future . Have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you have to offer!

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Extension requests have been made, considered, and implemented. I need to end the contest after this though. Judges, please be ready. Voting will happen in this thread as it's explained above.

Contest ends on: Sunday, May 13, 2012 6:04PM PST

0 hours remaining.

[Koby]

Well hell. Don't want to make the prize ridiculous so I won't donate a whole lot.

I'll donate 23,000 gil to make the current amount 30k total.

[† Mute point]

I don't want to be a judge, but I'll throw another 10k into the pot.

[Dae314]

Thanks guys. I should've added that if people want to donate but not judge then you can. Donating gives you the *option* to be a judge. It's completely up to you whether you want to take that option or just donate to make things more interesting. Also, judges carry the responsibility to give me their votes in a relatively timely manner so we're not waiting here for weeks trying to get the judging to happen.

Koby, do you think you could do me a favor and give the contest a bit of publicity? It doesn't need to be huge, but I get a feeling that there's a lot of people who don't look at Blamb. If we need to, I can extend the time the contest is open till 72 hours after whenever you make a move.

[Leviathan]

Hey can a story with the genre "Supernatural" be considered as a Fairy Tale?

[Dae314]

Hey can a story with the genre "Supernatural" be considered as a Fairy Tale?

Magic + hero + villain = story acceptable for this. If you can make a story that feels like a fairy tale using supernatural then go for it.

[Dae314]

Once upon a time in the far away land of Atlini there lived a prosperous king, Dareic, and his queen, Melildor. The land was not plentiful, but it was not scarce. The kingdom did not have the largest army, but they also did not have the most enemies. The Atlini banner featuring the silhouette of a soaring falcon across a red sun soared proudly over a modest castle. The kingdom of Atlini had nothing any other kingdom could desire, and Atlini did not have the power to take any more than it needed. Thus, peace and modest prosperity had reigned in Atlini for many generations.

However, that was all about to change. It started with the queen becoming pregnant. While normally this would be a cause for celebration, a strange event happened as the pregnancy began to unfold. A blood red star began a month long journey across the sky not long after the queen was confirmed to be pregnant. This was the first of many signs that this child was not going to be just any child. After the star had faded from the sky, three travelers from a far eastern country arrived and requested to pay homage to the king and queen. They explained that they had followed the star that had pointed them across the deserts in order to see the fulfillment of an ancient prophesy in their country which said, “And on those days the sky shall be painted in blood hailing the coming of a conqueror that will unite all the lands under the sky.” After leaving rich gifts of oil, silk, and gold the travelers left to return to their country with news of the new conqueror. Although disturbed by the foreigner’s prophesy, the king and queen resolved that no matter what happened they would raise their child as best they could. However, these signs and prophesies did not fail to reach the ears of the wicked. The great warlock Kaishan, who had been an advisor to Dareic’s father before he was caught performing experiments on Atlinian citizens for his dark magic, took great interest in the child. The blood of this chosen child could be used for some very powerful dark magic, and Kaishan wanted the child for his own experiments.

Thus, Kaishan plotted unbeknownst to the king and queen, and one night soon after the birth of prince Oannis, Kaishan put the entire castle into a deep sleep. While everyone was sleeping, Kaishan kidnapped Oannis and took him to a stronghold he had setup far from Atlini. When king Dareic awoke, he immediately recognized the powerful sleeping spell as Kaishan’s magic and alerted the guards to search the castle. When they found that Prince Oannis had been kidnapped, the king and queen were lost in grief. Daeric vowed to face Kaishan and return their child, but Melildor would not allow him to throw his life away. The king and queen both knew that Daeric alone could not hope to stand against the warlock’s magic, so Daeric came up with a plan. A lunar eclipse was to happen in 6 months. Kaishan would probably attempt to harm the newly born prince at that time. Before the lunar eclipse could happen, Daeric would search the land for a dragon with which he could ride into battle against the dark warlock Kaishan. Old stories told of the dragon riders of the past who had tamed and mounted the great beasts to ride into battle. Their power was immense, and dragons possessed their own magic and defenses which would allow Daeric to face Kaishan on even ground. Dragons were not like other beasts, although they were treated as such now, dragons had once been a great and flourishing civilization till man came and replaced them. Daeric found an old text detailing an ancient law among dragons that said that if any man could subdue a dragon and force him to yield, that man was entitled to any one request that was within the dragon’s power to grant. All a man had to do to bring a dragon to yield was exploit a small hole in the dragon’s armor located on the dragon’s back at the base of its neck. In that spot was an indentation just large enough for a human to sit in. It was mostly unarmored, and something as short as a hunting dagger stabbed in the right place could cause death. It was the only place where a dragon could be forced to yield.

Thus, Daeric began his quest. He left Atlini with his best men mounted on the finest steeds in the land. Before they left, Melildor gave the king some enchanted arrows made by the castle’s mages. These arrows had green glowing tips which would explode if given enough of a shock. The explosion would be enough to stun a dragon or so the mages thought. They traveled far and wide searching for a dragon to subdue. They found many dragons, but most were far too powerful to subdue and Daeric and his men ended up killing many. The dragons that they did manage to subdue were too proud to yield, and Daeric was forced to kill them and move on. The months passed and slowly, the king’s men either died or lost hope and left his company. The king was forced to spend all his money, sell his mount, and finally sell all his armor in order to continue his quest. Even Melildor’s enchanted arrows began to dwindle in number until Daeric was left with just one to use. Alone, dressed in only modest boiled leather armor and armed with nothing but a sword, a round shield, and a single enchanted arrow, Daeric entered the lair of what he knew would be the last dragon he would face. If he failed with this dragon, he would have nothing left but to return back to his kingdom empty handed or die to claws and fire. Upon entering the dragon’s lair, Daeric noticed a weakly hanging rock in the cave ceiling. A medium sized rock jutting out of the cave floor was positioned nicely to allow Daeric to hide his bow and final arrow behind. From months of fighting dragons, Daeric had learned to predict a dragon’s attacks, and he was confident that he would be able to lead the dragon back to this area and surprise it with the falling rock. If he was lucky, that rock would give him enough time to climb up to the weak spot in the dragon’s armor and force the dragon to yield. If he was not lucky, then he would be dead.

Daeric awoke the dragon and began the deadly dance. Before long, Daeric managed to lead the dragon back into the area where he had hidden his bow. The king evaded his way back to the rock on the cave floor and deftly dove behind it to make it look like he had gone there to evade the dragon’s fire. Daeric knew from past experience that the dragon would then prepare a large blast of fire intended to melt the rock and anything hiding behind it, and so he quickly took his bow, strung his last arrow, and shot the rock hanging on the ceiling. The sight of the flying green arrow stopped the dragon from releasing its flame, and when the exploding arrow hit its target, the rock fell and split throwing large chunks all over the cave. By that time Daeric had run beneath the dragon using the arrow to distract its gaze and was climbing up part of the cave wall to position himself above the beast. As he was climbing, he heard the dragon let out an angry roar and looked down to see that a chunk of rock had pinned one of its legs. As the dragon struggled to free its leg, it noticed that Daeric was no longer behind the rock and was beginning to search for where he had gone. After another minute, Daeric was in position to attack, and so he jumped down on top of the dragon and used the force of his fall to bury his sword deep into the dragon’s back. The dragon thrashed about wildly, but Daeric held on to his firmly planted sword. He fortunately landed close to the dragon’s weak spot, and as soon as the dragon began to grow tired from thrashing, Daeric threw himself at the spot. He quickly got a grip on the dragon’s back and drew his knife and held it poised to strike. The dragon stopped moving, and Daeric waited to catch his breath before asking the dragon, “do you yield?” When the dragon did not reply, Daeric decided to explain to the dragon his circumstances. After telling his story, Daeric again asked the dragon to yield, this time with a deal “so that you are not bound to me forever, I ask only that you aid me until my son and I are safely returned to Atlini.” Moved to compassion, and impressed at Daeric’s fighting skill, the dragon agreed to yield to Daeric only if he promised to release him from bondage when Kaishan had been defeated. Daeric agreed enthusiastically and the dragon introduced himself as Diarai. Diarai opened up his treasures to Daeric, and Daeric outfitted himself for battle. The eclipse was to happen in less than a fortnight, and no time could be wasted. Now clad in strong armor, Diarai took off with Daeric toward Kaishan’s stronghold.

When Kaishan saw Daeric and Diarai approaching he panicked. Even a warlock as powerful as Kaishan would have trouble fighting a dragon. Kaishan enveloped his stronghold in the strongest magic he could summon, and locked himself away with prince Oannis, whom he had put into stasis until the eclipse. Daeric and Diarai arrived at the stronghold, and Daeric demanded the return of his son. When Kaishan did not answer, Diarai began pounding the magical fortifications with claw and fire. Kaishan knew that his defenses wouldn’t hold for very long so he came up with an insidious plot. Kaishan emerged from his stronghold and asked Daeric for forgiveness promising to return Oannis if Daeric would come down to talk. Ignoring the warnings from Diarai, Daeric dismounted and followed Kaishan into the room where his son was being held. Kaishan broke the stasis spell and allowed Daeric to take his son into his arms. At that moment, Kaishan betrayed Daeric and slit his throat assuming that the dragon would leave once he found out that he was free from his oath. However, when Kaishan showed Diarai Daeric’s body, the dragon became enraged. Diarai respected Daeric as a cunning and honorable warrior, and so he was infuriated at the underhanded and dishonorable death Kaishan had dealt him. Swearing, “may your murderer be your funeral pyre” Diarai burned Daeric along with Kaishan. Then, following the sounds of Oannis’ cries, Diarai tore his way into the deepest part of Kaishan’s stronghold to rescue the young prince.

On seeing a dragon approaching on the horizon in front of a setting sun, the people of Atlini were stricken with fear and began to take up arms. However, as the dragon approached, Melildor who was standing out on a castle balcony noticed that the dragon held a small bundle in its claws. Remembering her husband’s quest, she quickly told the guards to lay down arms and allow the dragon to pass. Diarai recognized the queen on the castle balcony and went to deliver Oannis to her. Although relieved to have her child again, the queen was confused since Daeric was not with the dragon. Diarai introduced himself and offered to explain everything. Later, when space had been made in the main audience chamber, Diarai explained what had happened in front of the queen and her advisors. By the end of the story, the queen and all the court were overwhelmed with grief and anger. Through tear filled eyes, Melildor thanked the dragon and asked him what could be done to repay him for all he had done. Diarai responded, “Your majesty, it is I who am indebted to you. I failed to honor your husband’s request with all my power. Had I stopped Daeric from trusting Kaishan’s words I may have been able to bring both him and your son back to you. So it is only right that I repay this debt in some way. If it please you, I offer my services as guardian of Atlini and of Oannis in place of Ser Daeric until my services are no longer needed or I am unable to serve.” Moved to further tears of gratitude, the queen thankfully accepted Diarai’s offer. The Atlini banner was changed to be a dragon soaring in front of the red glow of the setting sun. As Oannis grew up, he was mentored by Diarai, and he eventually became a dragon rider himself like his father had been. Together with Diarai, Oannis brought peace and security back once again to the land of Atlini.

[lemmingllama]

Dae, I would suggest that you just make a link to the Lit section and put it in a thread there. Makes the thread smaller and then people can specifically comment on your story without cluttering up the contest thread.

[Xanodus]

I know it's probably nothing, but I guess everything count, eh? Ill donate 5k ^^ Dont worry about judging.

[Dae314]

Dae, I would suggest that you just make a link to the Lit section and put it in a thread there. Makes the thread smaller and then people can specifically comment on your story without cluttering up the contest thread.

That up there is actually the slim version of my story. Initially I started writing a much more elaborate version based on the same plot, but I found out that it was going to take up way too many words ^^;. I decided that after this contest I'd push out sections of the full story in the lit section. I also have another story that I wrote while I was bored in class that I'm gonna put there too .

If I'm still the only entry at 6:04, I'll extend the time for another 3 days . However, after that I'm just going to close the contest and declare a failure.

[DrumRoll]

I'll donate 10k, don't mind judging either.

[Dae314]

Come on people I know you can make up a story.

[Leviathan]

Once upon a time in a land far away there was a prosperous country named Velmag. The country was ruled by a king named Norkus. Norkus’s wife had died in childbirth and left him with a beautiful daughter named Nira. The King loved Nira very much and she loved him in return. Not only his daughter, the King also loved all the people of Velmag and worked hard to make them happy. Under the rule of Norkus, Velmag was the most peaceful country in that region. But alas! This peace did not last long.

One day a wizard named Zega appeared in Velmag. With his dark magic he wreaked havoc in the land. Norkus sent troops to defeat Zega but failed. At last Zega arrived in the palace where Norkus with his daughter lived. Zega told the king that he would stop causing havoc if Norkus gave his daughter to marriage with him. Zega also warned that if the king was to disagree with him then he would destroy Velmag. The wizard gave Norkus fifteen days to decide and then disappeared.

The King was now in a fix. He loved his daughter very much but also loved his people. He now had to choose one, either give his daughter to marriage with this wizard or let this wizard destroy Velmag. He called the Royal Mages and asked them their advice. The Royal Mages answered the King that Zega was a very powerful wizard and no one in Velmag was strong enough to defeat him. This answer made Norkus very sad. He then called his daughter, Nira, and asked her about her thoughts on the matter. Nira remained silent for a while and then told her father that she would want to think about this a little more. The truth was that Nira loved Azoth, the prince of Barin, a neighbor country of Velmag. The two of them had been friends from young and Nira had secretly developed feelings for him. That night Nira sent a letter to Azoth telling him about the situation she was in. A few days later, Nira got a letter from Azoth. In the letter Azoth told that he cannot help her anyway but knew someone who could. He told Nira to go to the forest which bordered their country and search for a sage named Reki. He also said that no one but her father was to know about Reki and that only she should go to the forest to search for him.

The next day Nira told about this sage and that only she was allowed to go and search for him. Though the king did not want Nira to go alone, he had no choice but to allow her to do so. Nira disguised herself as a commoner and left the palace instantly. She rode a horse towards the forest. By sunset she had entered the forest and was searching for this sage. Night fell, and Nira started to get scared. She had been searching for Reki for hours now but still hadn’t found him. Suddenly she heard a roar behind her. She turned to see that a lion was standing there. The lion was eyeing her like she was it’s prey. Nira got really scared now and tears started to roll down her cheeks. Suddenly there came a cry “Dhar” and chains came out of the ground and wrapped itself around the lion. The lion started to roar louder than ever now. Instantly an arrow came and pierced the lion. Nira saw in horror as the lion screamed in pain and then slowly fainted. “Do not worry, the lion is not dead, I avoided it’s vital point” said a man’s voice. Nira turned to see who he was and saw a man, not more than twenty five, standing there. He had a beard and hair which he had tied in a ponytail. He was carrying a bow in his hands. “Who are you?” asked Nira, half shocked to see the lion faint and half happy that it did. “I am Reki” said the man “You must be Nira, Azoth told me that he was sending you to me”. “You are the sage, I thought you would be an old man” said Nira, clearly surprised.“Does me being young bother you?” asked Reki while taking out the arrow from the lion. He then put his hand over the lion's wound and started to say some verses and instantly the wound of the lion disappeared “That should do it” said Reki. Nira had been carefully observing Reki’s actions up until now and was impressed to see how he dealt with the lion’s wounds. She had seen only the Royal Mages in the palace cast such powerful healing spells. “So, does that impress you or are you still pessimistic about my abilities?” asked Reki. “No, it’s fine. I am sorry for my comment earlier” answered Nira. “Well, Azoth only told me of your coming but did not give me details. Maybe you should do that. But before that I must take you to my cottage” said Reki as he started to pull Nira’s horse by it’s rein.

After a while they arrived at a cottage and Reki showed Nira inside it. There wasn’t anything extraordinary about this cottage. There was a bed, a table and a fireplace.There was mirror hanging in one side of the wall. A huge symbol which looked like several pentagrams inscribed in a circle was drawn on the floor. “Um….that’s nothing actually, it’s just a seal I put up to keep away dangerous creatures” said Reki when he saw Nira looking at the drawing on the floor. There were some fruits in a basket on the table. Reki gave the basket to Nira and told her to eat from it. “Now please, tell me why you seek my help” said Reki. Nira then started to tell all that had happened up until now, about the appearance of the wizard Zega, how he had threatened her father, and how her father was in a fix. “And about your love towards Azoth?” asked Reki with a smile. Nira blushed at this “I love Azoth very much and would want no one but him as my husband” said Nira slowly. “Very well, if that is all you have to say then rest assured, I will take care of Zega. You sleep in the cottage and start for the palace tomorrow. There is still five days left before Zega comes back, and when he does he will have to face me” said Reki and stood up and started for the door. “I will stay outside for the night and look out for animals.” “But I thought this seal here….” started Nira but Reki was gone.

The next day when Nira woke up she found breakfast on the table. There was a note in the table too. Nira opened the note, it said that she should take her meal and start for the palace as soon as possible. Nira took her breakfast and then started for the the palace. She arrived at the palace and instantly went to her father. Norkus was very happy to see her daughter and asked her about her search. She gave a brief account about what had happened and told that the sage Reki had agreed to fight Zega. Norkus was very happy to hear this.

A week passed by and the promised day arrived. Everyone in Velmag was feeling tensed.

Norkus with his daughter was sitting in the palace waiting for the arrival of Reki. Suddenly black clouds started to cover the sky. As everyone looked up to see what was happening they saw the dark wizard Zega arrive riding a huge vulture. The vulture landed on the palace garden and Zega descended from it. Slowly he entered the palace and went in front of the king. “So, have you decided?” asked Zega with a smile. Norkus was speechless now. He was powerless against this man and unless Reki arrived there was no way Zega could be defeated. “What is your decision? Will you give me your daughter or allow me to destroy Velmag?” asked Zega again clearly impatient. “How about none of them?” came a voice from behind. Zega turned to see a young man standing there. It was Reki. “You, who are you? How did you enter the palace? My vulture should’ve killed you” cried out Zega. “My name is Reki and that vulture you assigned as a gatekeeper is dead” said Reki with a smile. Zega got angry hearing this “I will kill you” cried out he.“Dhar” cried out Reki and immediately chains sprouted from the floor and wrapped itself around Zega. “Bhang” said Zega with a commanding voice and instantly the chains which had wrapped around his body broke. “You fool, you think you can beat me with such weak magic” laughed Zega while raising his hand towards Reki “Hutashun” shouted Zega. Instantly a ball of fire formed in his hand and shot towards the sage. “Ambur” cried out Reki and a wall of water appeared before him covering him from the fire. As soon as the wall disappeared Reki started to run towards the exit of the palace “I need to get this maniac out of the palace or the king and his daughter might get hit by one of his magics” thought he. “You think I will let you escape that easily? I will catch you and then kill you” said Zega as he followed Reki out of the palace. “Dhangsha” cried out Reki as soon as Zega entered the palace garden. Immediately the soil beneath the wizard’s feet started to shake and a huge hand sprouted from there and grabbed the wizard’s body. “Such powerful earth spell, you are no ordinary sage, no, you are an arch sage” said Zega completely shocked. “Yes, I am an arch sage and the one who will kill you” said Reki. “Don’t be a fool, just because you have me in this position doesn’t mean you have won” laughed the wizard and then started to say some verses. Immediately the hand which had grabbed him crumbled and the sky again started to get covered by black clouds. Then as Reki looked at the sky shocked, a dragon appeared. It was huge and pitch black in color. The whole earth seemed to shake when it landed beside Zega. “So what do you think of my secret weapon?” asked Zega laughing louder than ever. “I anticipated that something like this might happen, so I came prepared” said Reki confidently while raising one of his hands towards the sky, instantly a white staff appeared in his hand. “The staff of Valdar, the staff famed to carry magic capable of slaying the darkest evil, this is my secret weapon” said Reki. Zega was clearly afraid now, he knew well what this staff was capable of, “Burn him with your fire my dragon, kill him before he can use that staff” cried out the wizard. Immediately the dragon opened his mouth and shot out massive fireballs. Reki quickly dodged them and then raised his staff and started to say a verse in common tongue which went something like this:

He who gives power, He who gives might

Bind these evil before me and slay them with your light.

Instantly vines came out of the ground and wrapped itself around the dragon and the wizard. Then several glowing arrows appeared in the sky and shot towards them. Instantly the arrows pierced the dragon and the wizard, and a fire started which engulfed their bodies completely. Slowly they burned until nothing but their ashes remained.

After both the wizard and the dragon were dead, the king and his daughter appeared. Norkus immediately went towards the sage and thanked him for killing the wizard. Reki then went towards Nira. “Thanks to you Velmag is safe now, I thank you on behalf of everyone here, tell me what do you want for your service?” asked Nira. The sage immediately took her hand “I want you to be my wife” said he. This answer was completely unexpected. Nira hesitated for a moment and then said “ I am sorry, but I cannot do that. I have already given my heart to Azoth.” “But it was I who saved you from the wizard” said Reki. “It is true that you saved me and I am grateful to you for that. But it was through Azoth that I knew about you. Azoth did not have powers to face this wizard but he sent me to you who had that power. I am sorry but please Reki ask for something else” said Nira. Reki then smiled “Thank you Nira, for loving me so much” and as soon as he has said these words his appearance started to change. The beard and the long hair disappeared and changed to face which Nira knew well. “A..A..Azoth..”said Nira. “Yes, I am both Reki the arch sage and Azoth the prince of Barin” said Azoth. Azoth then explained that he knew about Nira’s feelings toward him and wanted to see how strong those feelings were.

“I started to learn magic when I was only five years old and started to train under the Royal Sage. Soon I learned high class spells. I kept this as a secret from you. When I got your letter I knew that I needed to act. Also I knew that this would be chance to see how much you loved me. Remember the seal you saw in my cottage. It was actually for a ritual which allowed me to change my appearance temporarily. When you left my cottage I went back to my country to get the staff of Valdar and then arrived here just in time to face Zega. Now I ask again, will you be my wife?” said Reki. “Oh, Azoth” said Nira, tears of happiness started to roll down her cheek “Yes, I would want nothing more” she answered.

After a few months Princess Nira of Velmag and Prince Azoth of Barin got married. King Norkus went back to his usual self and kept on serving his people. And just like that, peace once again returned in Velmag.

[DrumRoll]

You should probably extend the time limit on this competition.

I'd enter something but fairy tails, in the traditional sense, aren't really something I can connect with.

But if you extend the time I'll give it a go. I should probably read the stipulations to begin with:D

[† Anras Rune]

wow... I didn't even see this contest til now. Gimme a day or two and I'll enter as well! XP

[Dae314]

Ok... so we've got some more extension requests. That's fine, but if I extend the time again I expect to see some stories =/. I'm willing to do another extension because,

1) This contest gets very little advertising because I feel like advertising this would be considered spam.

2) There's only 2 entries right now, and I do have some promises for entries if I do another extension.

So, we'll give it another 3 days until Saturday May 12 at 6:05PM PST server time.

Judges, please be ready from Saturday for 7 days to do voting. Hopefully it won't take that long, but I can't be on all the time either so I understand ^^;

Currently, it looks like there's only 4 entries so there's no reason to cut down the number of entries for the tournament style vote. We'll be skipping one step of the judging process to accommodate that.

[DrumRoll]

garrr, not sure if I'll be done in time. Had to work overtime recently and am only half finished.

[Dae314]

Final extension:

Moving the time back 24 hours. I start working on Monday so I won't be able to monitor the finishing time past Sunday =/.

Sunday May 13, 2012 6:04PM PST people.

[Dae314]

Um... ya, so I'm about ready to just call this off unless the judges want to call on only 2 entries.

Judges, I'm giving this to you. If there aren't any more entries, do you want to vote on just the 2 entries we have or just call the contest off?

[Leviathan]

Well I don't know how much my opinion counts, but, I as a judge think that we should judge only on two entries (come on, I am contestant too and this was my first ever writing). We just can't call this contest off like that.