Short Story Contest #3 - Heirloom

[SilverEx]

Heirloom
Literature works of the Warcraft variety!
Entrants are required to produce a 5000 word or less short story based on Warcraft's Lore occurring AFTER the 2nd game (so no, not during or before the 2nd game).
There is no real theme other than your main character must use an heirloom of some sort to accomplish any task you see fit. This is the only plot requirement other than it having to be based in Azeroth!
Enjoy and have fun!
First drafts to be done 3 weeks after the start date, final drafts to be done 1 week after that.

• Entries must be over 2000 words but under 5000. If your story exceeds this slightly it may still be accepted provided the submission still follows all the other rules below. Submissions that are under 2000 words will not be accepted, no exceptions.
• All work must be the entrants own. No plagiarism of any kind!
• Submissions must satisfy the stated theme and lore requirements.
• All entries must be written in well structured English prose. Any entries not written in good english will be rejected.
• You must have fun while writing your tale!
  

• First Place: 40 reputation points and your entry on an award icon
  
• Second Place: 30 reputation points and an award icon
  
• Third Place: 15 reputation points and an award icon

• TBA
• TBA

Plot Structure	Was the plot exciting and did you genuinely enjoy reading the story? Did it follow a good line or did it make little sense and jump around too much without taking into consideration previous events? Were problems resolved well or in a way that seemed obvious or contrived?	10 Points
Characters & Development	Were the characters memorable and realistic? Could you easily imagine the characters being portrayed or did you have a hard time picturing them and finding them believable?	10 Points
Flow	Did the piece read well? Did you find yourself easily following the plot and writing or was it hard to read and understand?	10 Points
Descriptions and Scenes	How was the overall feeling of the world that had been created, was it exciting and vivid or lacking in detail and attention?	10 Points

• 60 % of the winner shall be determined by the contest's appointed judge(s).
• 40 % of the winner shall be determined by the results of a public poll.

If you would like to enter the contest simply make a post in this thread, stating the information about your entry.​

• The contest shall begin on 4th February and will conclude on 11:59, 4th March 2010, GMT

 

[Kercyn]

That's an excellent competition. I may participate, if I find the time. Good luck to all participants. May Alagremm own us all

 

[Solecompanysole]

I am in so how do i join the contest (first time )

 

[Kercyn]

I am in so how do i join the contest (first time )

Just like that. You just jump in and yell "I'm in losers!" (Well, you can omit the "losers" part).

 

[Solecompanysole]

Just like that. You just jump in and yell "I'm in losers!" (Well, you can omit the "losers" part).

I know its rude to tell the truth

 

[Linaze]

So basically... after Warcraft II and a heirloom must be used?

 

[Panda]

I will judge this.

 

[matyko]

Hm, interesting.

I might pop in and give it a go, if I have the time!

 

[Forgotten_Warlord]

I am in so how do i join the contest (first time )

You just say your in on this thread You have already joined xD

and dang after wc2? does that mean you can't use the doomhammer or hellscreams axe? lol

 

[Solecompanysole]

well i started writing

 

[naitsirk]

I am in... Just need to figure out what a heirloom is... and I need a good Character!

 

[DarkAngelAzazel]

I am definetly giving it a try

Just to see if my knowledge of the english language is good enough

 

[Solecompanysole]

I am in... Just need to figure out what a heirloom is... and I need a good Character!

Thats an item passed from one generation to another!

 

[Crazy Cow]

I am certainly joining. This is the one thing I enjoy, don't need to put a tremendous amount of effort at once to accomplish and can do anywhere.

 

[The World Is Flat]

Alright, Everyone fear my writing skills. but one question What do you mean by heirloom? i know what he word means but i dont understand how i am supposed to impliment it.

 

[Solecompanysole]

Alright, Everyone fear my writing skills. but one question What do you mean by heirloom? i know what he word means but i dont understand how i am supposed to impliment it.

Tip : Someone that passed away wanted you to have item x

another Tip: How can i fear you lol

 

[The World Is Flat]

Tip : Someone that passed away wanted you to have item x

another Tip: How can i fear you lol

1. that is obvious.

2. because i am scary?

 

[Solecompanysole]

1. that is obvious.

2. because i am scary?

Ok good reason XD
Good luck to all (you will need it (no offense, what you didnt think its funny?)

 

[Landmine]

Just a random question, but is there a period of time that the story must follow, or any time after WCII (EX: lets say when the Humans create a space worthy craft, too far?)

 

[Pyritie]

Hm, warcraft 2? I thought "second game" meant frozen throne

 

[The World Is Flat]

Ok, when should i submit my first draft?

 

[HailFireer]

Can it be in Outland too, or strict Azeroth?

And does it have to be Warcraft 3 time, or could it be WoW too. I'd like it to be in Zangermarsh

 

[Solecompanysole]

Hm, warcraft 2? I thought "second game" meant frozen throne

No no the second isnt Warcraft 3 I mean 2=3 is impossible

 

[HappyCockroach]

It's a shame that it must be based on warcraft lore with that Azeroth thing. I'm clueless about it.

 

[The World Is Flat]

Yeah i do have to agree, my story is going to be as far away for warcraft lore without conflicting it.

 

[Aztec_Warrior]

Sweet, I'm in (just to see if english classes are paying off )

 

[Element of Water]

I might actually join this... good GCSE practice.

 

[Coolty44]

Just before I had to back out too

Coolty44 joins the contest

 

[CaoSong]

well I shall have to do a little bit more research on the exact storyline I'm already thinking of... but I'm in ^^

 

[Phoonix]

what you mean by "First drafts have to be done 3 weeks after the start date." i mean... do we have to post first drafts lake a WIP cuz that would be like Massive spoiler to the story you are making. that would be like :/ a HUGE anti-climax no? Wouldn't it be better not to set a first draft deadline?

 

[Azsure]

Hmm, I don't have nothing for this contest neither, well I'm just going to see what's the best story.

 

[Phoonix]

oh and if i was unclear. i'm in eh .

 

[Crazy Cow]

Here we go: Rough Draft, Part One.

Story Part 1

Kahn Stonehoof looked upon the Tauren settlement with disgust. The bull-men never failed to evoke that feeling in him, and he knew his warriors felt the same. The barbaric creatures were so different than the proud Centaur that they were barely sentient, much less worthy of the lands they held. Which was why Bloodhoof and his warriors were here today; to take this land from the undeserving Tauren. The land was bathed in a red light from the newly rising sun, a good omen for the Centaur on this day. The fools had their settlement in a corner, between a sheer rock cliff and a sheer drop into the canyon of Thousand Needles, and there would therefore be no escape from the Centaur marauders. Giving out a war cry, he led his warriors on the initial charge. The attack was unexpected, and the Tauren had little time to prepare as the Centaur smashed through tents, scattered fires, and of course slew savage bull-men. The few of their warriors that stood up to the marauders were cut down by five-to-one odds, and there was little resistance to their attack. That is, until the bellows of their Chieftain rang out in defiance of the Centaur battle cries.
Jerked awake by the combined cries of his people and the war whoops of Centaur, Chieftain Windrider immediatly knew his fears had come true. Ever since stories of entire Tauren settlements slaughtered by Centaur raiders had started circulating years ago, he had feared his peaceful settlement would be next to fall to the brutes. But he gave little time for thought - his people needed him, and so he grabbed his mighty war axe and rushed out of his tent with a bellow. Centaur vermin were everywhere - as well as the blood of his people. Several of the raiders saw him, and abandoning their looting came at him. They stopped when one of their fellows met the head of his axe at chest height, with his severed torso swinging through the air. The cowards were hesitant to come at him, and remained so, until the reason his name was Windrider came smashing down on the back of a would-be raider. Their hesitation was turned into outright panic when his Wyvern, Skysong, clawed another's chest open with glee. Chieftain Windrider had raised him from an egg, and Skysong had never been far ever since. The two had stood together in battle often, and the Chieftain hoped they would do so again after this day. But the size of the raiding party was evidenced when a dozen or more raiders formed a circle, although a wide one, around him and his pet, and a much bigger one with an axe blood-red from lack of washing came to face him. Bellowing a challenge at their leader, Chieftain Windrider attacked the brute head-on while Skysong began ripping through the centaur's ranks. His opponent was obviously more experienced at fighting, as his swings always came closer to Windrider than his own. Barely deflecting the deadly axe of his enemy, he made fewer swings and less deflections, and he quickly began to tire. He jabbed at his opponent, but the horse man leaped to the side and smashed his axe out wide away from its owner's body. Crying in victory, the centaur swung at the Tauren's exposed head - and hit.
Crying in victory, Stonehoof swung at his opponent's exposed head, but instead hit a fast-moving blur that moved between him and his target. His axe was ripped from his hands, and staring at the winged monstrosity the bull-man had tamed with his axe in it's side, he realized the monster would be his last kill. The bull-man himself had recovered from Stonehoof's vicious deflection, and enraged at his pet's death he came at Bloodhoof, swinging hard. Acting quickly, Stonehoof reared up and struck the hilt of the axe hard with his front hooves. Knocking it out of the savage's hands, Bloodhoof realized his defeat had become victory - until the bull-man charged into his gut, snapping something and bowling the Kahn over. The two began pummeling each other with their fists, and as the Tauren took his head out of Stonehoof's gut he realized the snapping sound had been the bull-man's horn. Looking at his chest, the Kahn saw the horn lodged in his chest, but was interrupted in his examination by the Chieftain’s hands wrapping around his neck. He began to choke, and was unable to get the bull-man's hands off. An idea coming to his desperate, oxygen-starved mind, he pulled the horn out of his gut, ignoring the explosion of pain, and stabbed his adversary in the neck.
Celebrating their victory, the Marauders left the burnt remains of the Tauren settlement behind. The vultures came soon after, swooping and crying in anticipation of the feast to come. One landed on the body of the dead Chieftain, but before it could start eating it was struck by a stone. Retreating from it's perch, the vulture backed away and eyed it's adversary - a young Tauren, with a tear-stained but determined face. She threw another rock at the vulture, then went to her dead father. She stood there for a long time, until the vultures returned. She backed up, and looked away as the vultures started to eat - but her gave fell on her father's discarded axe. Despite the beating it received from the Centaur Kahn, it was intact. While it was as big as she was, she picked it up and dragged it off with her into the wilderness of the Barrens.

As for other user comments/questions:
World Is Flat:
Use your heirloom in any way, as long as it helps your character in some way. An epic weapon, an amulet that protects from spells, a treasure map, etc. It just needs to be a part of the story in a somewhat significant way.

Virtos:
If you can't write 50 words, then go away. This contest isn't for you. As a matter of fact, I'm praying I can slip by with more than 5,000 words, because I will have at least 5,000 words not counting Is, mes, and other two- or one-letter words. That wall of text up there is 1,000 at least.

Phoenix:
I'm pretty sure that your rough draft is just like a WIP picture, to prove it's you writing the story and that you did it during the contset, not before it.

Any comments on my story would be greatly appreciated! Please point out grammatical, spelling or lore errors if they exist, or comment on word choice, storyline, etc.

EDIT: Spell-checked and corrected about 30 misspelled words.
EDIT: The Centaur Kahn and Cairne Bloodhoof share the same name, which is unnacceptable. The Centaur Kahn is now named Stonehoof.

 

[CaoSong]

Hmmmm question, does it have to follow exactly how Warcraft went? Or can it be made entirely your own way as long as it stays within the Warcraft Universe and takes place after WCII?

oh and CrazyCow, 934 is your word-count

 

[Crazy Cow]

oh and CrazyCow, 934 is your word-count

Thank you. I don't have a real word processor ATM, so I rely on Firefox for spell checking and have no clue about word count.

 

[CaoSong]

http://www.wordcounttool.com/ it's helpful when writing stories that have a min and max word count

I counted in total 19 grammar errors (most of them being you putting "Thier" and "Chieftan" instead of "Their" and "Chieftain") but that's all (Liked the story btw)

 

[Crazy Cow]

Thanks once again. I always mix up my e's and i's, so I hope I don't get docked points for such minor errors. Anyway, thanks for the tool, and I'll be sure to +rep you again once I get the chance.

 

[Pyritie]

what you mean by "First drafts have to be done 3 weeks after the start date." i mean... do we have to post first drafts lake a WIP cuz that would be like Massive spoiler to the story you are making. that would be like :/ a HUGE anti-climax no? Wouldn't it be better not to set a first draft deadline?

Just stick it in hidden tags or if you're really worried about it PM the contest host with your WIP

 

[FadedLeveling]

This is something to join!

 

[Coolty44]

Just a question I thought about well writing away. Do we need to be captain obviose when discribing certain things, like say I'm going from the prospective of a person living in a town attacked by the undead, do I need to mention who is leading the attack on lorderon or can I just let the reader assume it's arthas?

 

[Traxamillion]

Why so much time jesus, 3 weeks for a rough draft...

I'm in and I got a pretty good idea.

 

[Aztec_Warrior]

Since it's after Warcraft II, does this mean that we can use dwarven firearms (like 17th century flintlock pistols and muskets)?

 

[Titanhex]

Alright some major questions:

What weight will be put into judging where it comes to following the Warcraft Universe & Lore? I have a fairly great grasp on Warcraft lore and would feel more confident if this was taken into some consideration.

 

[CaoSong]

ugh I suck at short stories... already at 2,552 words and I havent really even gotten into the story yet, dont even have the heirloom item yet >.<;;; too much back story >.<; XD

 

[Traxamillion]

ugh I suck at short stories... already at 2,552 words and I havent really even gotten into the story yet, dont even have the heirloom item yet >.<;;; too much back story >.<; XD

Ya your right its not going to be easy for this contest but that is good for writing in general.

 

[Narrat0r]

I am in.

 

[Adiktuz]

Interesting... might give it a try...

 

[CaoSong]

Ya your right its not going to be easy for this contest but that is good for writing in general.

Yea I have a habit of not being able to keep stories short >.<; back when I first played and beat RoC (before FT came out) I wrote a 216 page story about what happened after RoC ended XP

2,714 words and I now finally have my heirloom item... wonder if we have to have an ending for the story, or if we can just kinda like make it go to a "to be continued" thing >.<

 

[Forgotten_Warlord]

Yea I have a habit of not being able to keep stories short >.<; back when I first played and beat RoC (before FT came out) I wrote a 216 page story about what happened after RoC ended XP

2,714 words and I now finally have my heirloom item... wonder if we have to have an ending for the story, or if we can just kinda like make it go to a "to be continued" thing >.<

I would end it but leave it open

 

[CaoSong]

that's what I meant... I just know that If I have to end it I'll be going over the 5000 limit >.<; (really wouldn't be surprised if I went beyond 10,000) XP