Paired Concept Art & Short-Story Contest - WarCraft IV: Atlas of Destruction

[AIagremm]

Curious.

 

[Kyrbi0]

... and curious-er.

Well, since things are totally dead around here, lemme do the UNTHINKABLE and try to get things going with a WIP! Hopefully some more of you will follow suit (lol, "inspired by my great example"), rather than just sit & take notes (ha, as if ).

Thinking of Aboraz brought her back to that time so long ago, when she first strove to find a place among the Ophidaes, the Serpent's Own. Unlike other clans, where proving oneself in battle or mastering the mystical arts assured entry, the Ophidaes prized subtlety and cunning most of all; the only ones worthy to worship the Scaled One were those who could be more cunning and more subtle than His children.

Each member of the Ophidaes held a truebond with a particular child of the Scaled One; anything from the lowly grass-snake to the rare and mighty anaconda. This link was forged in the ruins of the ancient Troll garden-city of Aboraz. She remembered well the ritual; being clothed only in snakeskin and being bitten by the tester's ceremonial serpent. As the venom rushed through her body, her vision began to fade and her limbs grew cold... That is, until they thrust a special carved mojo amulet around her neck, keeping the poison from reaching her heart. She was told that unless she found and bonded with a snake-familiar upon which to place this amulet, she would succumb to the poison within days.

Finding the familiar she had named [snakename] had been no small feat; the musurana had the size of a boa but the venom of a viper. Crooning prayers and walking back and forth, she had mesmerized the snake into a receptive state; and then, communing with spirit of the snake as a sister, had convinced her to share her true name. This name she would forever keep sacred. Exiting the ruins of Aboraz with her new amulet-adorned familiar wrapped around her arms... That had been a moment of great pride in her life. She was determined that it would not be her last.

(Still working on some of the proper names)

 

[AIagremm]

That's pretty good. Not much to see, but promising.

 

[Dragonson]

So, wait, I was intrigued by this when I first saw it but I dismissed the thought of joining because I didn't think I'd have the tme. Is there some talk of an extension going on, or...?

EDIT: Bonus question: If I'm feeling extra insane today and sign up as a single-man team, and then manage to mae a finished entry by dec 10th, can I compete?

 

[Deleted member 212788]

I have to drop out. My teammate decided to quit so I can't really do anything. Good luck to the rest of the competitors though ^^

 

[Kyrbi0]

So, wait, I was intrigued by this when I first saw it but I dismissed the thought of joining because I didn't think I'd have the tme. Is there some talk of an extension going on, or...?

EDIT: Bonus question: If I'm feeling extra insane today and sign up as a single-man team, and then manage to mae a finished entry by dec 10th, can I compete?

There's not been talk of extensions, but we still have 2 weeks from today to do it. 2000 words ain't that bad.

Bonus Answer: Sure thing. : )

I have to drop out. My teammate decided to quit so I can't really do anything. Good luck to the rest of the competitors though ^^

Aw man, sorry to hear that. Is there no one around who could pick up the slack & throw some art together?

Also, don't forget, you can go as a one-man team... Sure you may not be able to 'art' as well, but if you've already written stuff up it might be worth taking a hit in the 'art department' so as to stay in the Contest.

 

[Dragonson]

There's not been talk of extensions, but we still have 2 weeks from today to do it. 2000 words ain't that bad.

Bonus Answer: Sure thing. : )

Ah, noice. Glad to see that the old 'you must have joined before X to participate' rules are no longer in effect.
Anyways, it aint exactly the writing that's got me worried. I'll make my deciscion on joining when I've determined whether I can produce some art that I'm satisfied with within the timeframe or not.

Cheers!

 

[Celaquil]

There's not been talk of extensions

Err...

I move that this contest be extended, preferably a month but I can bargain
with weeks. For my part: I won't make it if we don't.

 

[Kyrbi0]

My bad.

 

[Vinz]

@Kyrbi0 most of the contestants are crossed out. :[

 

[Celaquil]

Me and Daenor would really, really, really like an extension for this contest.

And it would seem like everyone else might want it too, as there is little in
form of WIP's and such. If we are to have any contestants at all submit
anything, we'll likely have to extend it.

 

[Kyrbi0]

Me and Daenor would really, really, really like an extension for this contest.

And it would seem like everyone else might want it too, as there is little in
form of WIP's and such. If we are to have any contestants at all submit
anything, we'll likely have to extend it.

It's true... We haven't had much in the way of WIPs. :<

I kinda feel like we'd be alright (except I haven't talked to my artist-buddy in a bit, so hopefully that's still true ), but an extension definitely wouldn't hurt.

What I would

really, really, really like

is for someone other than me & you to be talking about this, though. For such a big & interesting Team-based Contest, this has surprisingly little traffic. Granted it's still mid-college/exams for most people (myself included), and granted 1/2 of each Team has a difficult thing to "WIP" about (though not impossible), but still...

 

[Pvt.Toma]

The pain of losing him still etched in his mind, a mark that forever torments Arkgnash, the memory still so vivid within his very being. On the fated day of the battle, when all of Archimonde’s forces expected a victory for the Burning Legion but just as victory was so close, Archimonde was defeated by the Alliance through the detonation of thousands of wisps, and sealed the deal of the loss of the Burning Legion. Arkgnash, a doomguard, ran away from the slaughtering of his kins as he knew that with Archimonde gone, so is his allegiance for the Burning Legion. Depending on which doomguard one approaches, most of the doomguards believes that Archimonde will return while some don’t. And Arkgnash is one of those who don’t, simply accepting the fact that he has to move on. Running away from battle instead of staying behind for the slaughter however proves to be his undoing as he dares not to face his kin anymore, even though he knows full well that retreating through teleportation is a common tactic of the doomguards, but the fact that he teleported without even being injured and did not bother to also cast any spells to back up his allies then is a stain on his pride, thus he does not know how to face them, dead or alive.


Abandoning even his most prized possession, that is his set of armor with the symbol of Archimonde and his enchanted longsword, he instead donned a large cloth which is able to masks his whole body, he also snaps parts of his horn off so that his demonic built would not be so easily identified. He had almost abandoned everything that made him a doomguard, including their ways of brutality and cruelty, where Arkgnash instead tortures himself by basking in the nature of Azeroth. Nature, however, isn’t kind to him. Wolves, golems, spiders and every other predator known to Azeroth wants to kill him, but he, due to his own pact, sees that he is not worthy of inflicting injury on others and instead he adopted a lifestyle of a nomad, where he travels around daily and only silently endure any harm inflicted while running away from confrontations. How long will this last, he wonders? Surely this pact must be broken someday, sooner or later.

 

[Daenar7]

I may propose to extend the deadline to the first days of January, so we all can do the stuff during the holidays. I am also very busy and in a very intense period of work/commission/study, though i may be able to do the artwork for the 10th of december, i think it will be a good thing for all of us to have more time.

 

[Kyrbi0]

The pain of losing him still etched in his mind, a mark that forever torments Arkgnash, the memory still so vivid within his very being. On the fated day of the battle, when all of Archimonde’s forces expected a victory for the Burning Legion but just as victory was so close, Archimonde was defeated by the Alliance through the detonation of thousands of wisps, and sealed the deal of the loss of the Burning Legion. Arkgnash, a doomguard, ran away from the slaughtering of his kins as he knew that with Archimonde gone, so is his allegiance for the Burning Legion. Depending on which doomguard one approaches, most of the doomguards believes that Archimonde will return while some don’t. And Arkgnash is one of those who don’t, simply accepting the fact that he has to move on. Running away from battle instead of staying behind for the slaughter however proves to be his undoing as he dares not to face his kin anymore, even though he knows full well that retreating through teleportation is a common tactic of the doomguards, but the fact that he teleported without even being injured and did not bother to also cast any spells to back up his allies then is a stain on his pride, thus he does not know how to face them, dead or alive.


Abandoning even his most prized possession, that is his set of armor with the symbol of Archimonde and his enchanted longsword, he instead donned a large cloth which is able to masks his whole body, he also snaps parts of his horn off so that his demonic built would not be so easily identified. He had almost abandoned everything that made him a doomguard, including their ways of brutality and cruelty, where Arkgnash instead tortures himself by basking in the nature of Azeroth. Nature, however, isn’t kind to him. Wolves, golems, spiders and every other predator known to Azeroth wants to kill him, but he, due to his own pact, sees that he is not worthy of inflicting injury on others and instead he adopted a lifestyle of a nomad, where he travels around daily and only silently endure any harm inflicted while running away from confrontations. How long will this last, he wonders? Surely this pact must be broken someday, sooner or later.

Not bad, Toma! I'm likin' the idea of a Doom Guard in exile. Couple of minor grammar issues here & there, but it's an interesting idea. : )

 

[GunSlinger]

Extension plox.

 

[Pvt.Toma]

Not bad, Toma! I'm likin' the idea of a Doom Guard in exile. Couple of minor grammar issues here & there, but it's an interesting idea. : )

Yeah, still working on the grammar.
English isn't really my native language, but that's not an excuse.

 

[Kyrbi0]

So... Knowing about the existence of an extension would be really handy right about now, since we're approaching Zero Hour... I still believe I'll be able to finish (have to check on the artistic side of things, though), but there are many others who, it seems, could really benefit from taking advantage of the holidays...

 

[Celaquil]

Alright, since Pharaoh doesn't seem like he's around to address the matter,
and since I am a moderator, and since the only still active posters in this
contest has all voiced they want an extension, I'll go on a whim here and:

Officially extend this contest to the 31st of December.

Good luck folks, I know I'll make an effort to finish this.
And I hope people will start getting things done when they're
done with their exams, remember, there's an actually physical
prize for this contest! Giddy-up

P.S: This new Barracks layout is going to need some getting used to...

 

[Kyrbi0]

Wonderful. I can stop freakin' out & focus on my finals. Gratzi for the decisive action.

P.S. What?

 

[GreeN!X]

Man, this story is taking way too long to finish. Months of brainstorming and we were only able to come up with this. I guess that's expected when both of us only know how to draw. ^^'

Even when I was still but a young little girl, I already knew my father was insane. Arthur Evergarde, my father, and the current ruler of the kingdom of Lordaeron, was obsessed with Demonology. The whole kingdom is on a downfall yet all he cared about were his tomes and magical artifacts. He did not even notice that his wife, my beloved mother Ariel Evergarde has already passed away. There were also times when he would lock himself in the catacombs where he would perform his strange demonic rituals. Nobody knows the exact reason why he was like this, but mother told me he used to be a sweet and kind-hearted fellow. He only became obsessed because of a strange incident that occurred a year after the Legion's defeat in the Battle of Mount Hyjal. The man was insane, but I have gotten used to that. However, little did I know that he was about to take his obsession one step further.

I woke up at midnight one night to the rancid smell that has enveloped my room. I rushed out of my room only to find out that the horrid smell was coming from the catacombs. Some servants have already gathered around the place. We don't know what it is but my father is definitely doing something weird inside.​

 

[Celaquil]

Evergarde? Humans in Lordaeron?

I hope you intend to explain how the humans managed to re-take the ruined town from
the Forsaken, or Scourge, or whoever actually ruled the town when Wc3 was concluded.
I'd also love some background story on the main character, is she completely made up,
or is she based on the concept of an actual Warcraft character?

Anyway, to help keep the tinder kindling, so to speak, I'll dish out another WIP of my
own:

Spoiler

The rain was beating down on thunderous lighting, as if the skies themselves were revolting against everything. From a bluff, north of Korak’Krom, she could barely glimpse the fading lights of the fires on the other side of the orc town. Battle was joined; the Bristleback tribe was performing their duty well. Drawing the orc guards toward the western side of the village.
“Avia! The storm sisters need you in the skies.” Her sister Zemiya shrieked through the wind as she came flying from the west. She’d come to name her, and all the other children of Serena Bloodfeather her sisters. For although she wasn’t born by Serena, she’d been raised as a Bloodfeather. She spared another glimpse toward the fires, hoping in her heart that Kuhr wasn’t wounded or dead, and then she took flight. Soaring toward the clouds, she was ready to join her sisters, her Stormsisters, to command the lighting to strike at the village bellow, as only true Stormcallers can!

As she ascended through the stormy weather, she glimpsed, for the merest of seconds, a shadow in the wind. A bird, a harpy? Whatever it was, it was big. Big and somehow slightly familiar. Her transfixion quickly faded as she heard the screams of her sisters gathering further ahead, looking about she couldn’t see the shadow anywhere, so she moved to join her sisters in their song of storms.
As she fell into formation with her sisters, they started chanting the words of power, focusing their minds in unison to direct the lightning. And when the thunder roared in agreement they rode the lightning down toward the village, hailing the rest of the Witchwings to join them in glorious battle. She reared merely inches from the ground, throwing her daggers at any orc she saw as sparks of lightning cracked and exploded about her. They were doing good time, and thanks to the Bristlebacks, the resistance was at a minimum.
However, as was the way with war, a retaliation came. The guards who’d rushed toward the western walls to defend was returning, and as the Witchwings took flight toward the skies the lightning turned on them. With horror in her gut, she saw her sisters fall as the weather, which only seconds ago was their ally, now snaked about and picked them out from the skies. For a split-second, she glimpsed a Far Seer on a hilltop surrounded by shamans, before the thunder came for her and everything went dark.

If my WIPs seem a little out of synch and confusing, then that's intentional.
I am holding back some vital parts of the story that ties it together so as to
not ruin the plot for anyone who would potentially want to read the entire
thing when I'm finished.

P.S. What?

Notice how the Arena and Challenge sections are now separated from OT?
- They're now under the category "Barracks."

 

[Stalaggcrushyou]

Hey everyone, I'm a bit new to this but I understand I need to post a sort of work in progress type of thing to showcase how my story is coming along.

I am working on a Qiraji Hero and I would like to present a bit of it so that way there's evidence of me working on this.

Tell me what ya think. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YH0qbGYLfEtuPVZ-z9iLdWivXyHHvmeFOMPE96owTQ0/edit?usp=sharing

(Is that suitable for a 'work in progress' post or does it need to be something else?

 

[GunSlinger]

WiP

PROLOGUE

“Gaaaah!”
A scream of a lady pierces the air in the night. Dogs howl and birds fly away at the high pitched sound.
Near the south entrance of a town stands a small house with no signs of life except for one window showing but a faint glow of light from the inside. Through this window can be seen a room almost shrouded in darkness with but a flickering candle, sitting on top of an end table, to ward of the shadows. Beside the table is a bed and on it, lay a woman.
She was breathing heavily. Her face, pale. Beads of sweat rolled down the contours of her face. Her right hand firmly clasped the hand of a man right by her side. He arched over her as he wiped the woman’s head with a small cloth. The woman looked up at the man’s eyes and gave a smile, her lips slightly trembling at the pain and exhaustion but behind the smile was love and happiness. The man returned the gesture and spoke.
“This is it. It’s finally happening.”
She chuckled and replied with a shaky voice.
“I know. I’ve been dreaming of this day since we got together. We’re going to have a baby.”
“I love you so much.” He said, running his fingers through her hair.
“I lov-aaaah!” She howls again as she grabs on to her husband’s hand with both arms.
An old woman soon appears in the room, her right hand holding a candle and on the other a few pieces of cloth. She hurriedly moves at the feet of the bed and puts down the candle and cloths by a table at her left. She kneels and calmly spoke.
“I have what I need. Sweetie, if you’re ready, we’ll start now.”
“I’m ready.” She replied.
Thus, the childbirth has started. After hours upon hours Pain and agony, the sun had soon appeared, bathing the small town with light and warmth, showing the beauty of the town. The waters glistened at the light, the rays of the sun showed the colors of the place, the roosters crowed at the sun, and the people soon awoke from their slumber, but, one family had a different morning.
Back at the house, the young couple heard a sign of relief. The wails of a baby soon filled the room and the young couple looked at each other, each having the biggest smile on their faces, and laughed wholeheartedly. The old woman rose, in her arms she carried the baby, covered in cloth. She walked over the husband and spoke as she did so.
“It’s a girl.” She told the parents with a smile and carefully handed the baby to the father.
“Did you hear that my sweet?” The father spoke as he caressed his daughter’s face.
“It’s a gi-“ The man added stopping as he saw his wife had passed out.
The old woman rushed to the side of the bed and placed her ear on the chest of the woman. After a few seconds, she sighed and got up.
“She’s fine, just exhausted” She informed the husband.
The man also sighed with relief and looked back at his daughter. He felt both amazed and terrified of the baby. Amazed because he and his wife had been blessed with such a beautiful daughter, terrified because she was born into a world plagued with war and also because of what the world might do to such an innocent and wonderful child. He kissed his child on the forehead and placed his head onto hers.
“I love you my sweet, sweet daughter. I will do my best to take care of you, to love you, to raise you to become an amazing person. I swear, as one of the royal guards of this town, I will never let anyone hurt you. I will protect you and I will always be right by your side”

 

[Pvt.Toma]

Sorry but I might withdraw myself from this competition due to Dota 2's New Bloom 2015 workshop thing, alrighty.

Edit 2: Sorry if it was a bit confusing.

 

[Celaquil]

Whoa, what an... Excuse.

-

That aside, who is still intending to actually participate in this contest?

 

[Kyrbi0]

That aside, who is still intending to actually participate win in this contest?

Me. Fixed that for ya. : )

 

[Stalaggcrushyou]

I'm still in it.

 

[Celaquil]

I know we've already added an extension, but today is the 29th and there's two days to
go, I know me and Daenor won't make it till then for a fact (my fault) and until now
we haven't seen even one final entry, sure people could post them during the next two
days but I'm pretty sure other's might actually need another extension.

If not, then we have to drop out, sadly.

 

[Wolffman]

I'm Wolffman, and I approve the message above me.
Most of us need a larger extension, since barely anyone has the ability to work on the month of December, with exams and the holidays.
I myself have had barely any time to work on mine and Gun's character's artwork.
Please, extend the timeline..

 

[Kyrbi0]

I remain, as always, brashly optimistic (perhaps erroneously so) in my team's ability to finish (I can speak more definitely about the writing (my part)... Haven't heard from my team-mate in a bit, though).

That being said, I won't fight against an extension. : )

...
we haven't seen even one final entry...

Oh, we were supposed to turn in early? I strangely figured we'd all post on the last possible day. At least, that's what I was likely to do. xD

 

[Daenar7]

I was ready to post a WIP today but, anyway, extending the deadline to this holiday period wasn't so good, i think. Especially when during these "holidays" you have to study or work like f*ck.

 

[Celaquil]

Oh, we were supposed to turn in early?

I wasn't saying that, I was merely observing the situation,
and you knew that, so I'm guessing you're pulling my leg

Well, if we get a minimum of four entries until the 31st, then
I guess we won't extend the contest. If not, however, I will
provide another extension.

I will be going away for three days now, so come Saturday,
I'll address the matter more closely.

 

[Stalaggcrushyou]

Got a question, are we going to be able to read everyone else's stories at the end of this?

 

[Kyrbi0]

Nope. They'll all be encrypted via an antique German 'Enigma' machine, then translated into braille, carved into a slab of lead, and dropped into the Marianas Trench.

 

[Wolffman]

^ This post made me go "Kek"

 

[Stalaggcrushyou]

I've always wanted a Giant Squid to read my writing

 

[Celaquil]

I am terribly sorry to announce that this contest will not continue, we delayed it once,
and even then we got no final entries. Maybe it was just a little too ambitious a concept
for our current rather diminished community. At a later point I will look into making a...
Less heavy sort of writing contest that won't rely on such intricate teamwork.

Personally I will finish what I started and post it over in Screenwriting, Storyboarding &
Concept Creation. And I would urge everyone who planned to finish this to do the same.

Let's keep writing alive!

 

[Kyrbi0]

I am terribly sorry to announce that this contest will not continue, we delayed it once,
and even then we got no final entries. Maybe it was just a little too ambitious a concept
for our current rather diminished community. At a later point I will look into making a...
Less heavy sort of writing contest that won't rely on such intricate teamwork.

Personally I will finish what I started and post it over in Screenwriting, Storyboarding &
Concept Creation. And I would urge everyone who planned to finish this to do the same.

Let's keep writing alive!

Wait, whuh? This is dying?? We were still totally game for this...

I was indulging my procrastinate nature, though... Guess this teaches me to try & wait until the last (few) day(s)... :<

Well, that stinks. I'll throw out my voice to appeal a reconsideration... But I understand that "talk is cheap", and I'd need to put something forward...

Criminy. :<