[Results] Start the Story!

[Venerable 2,967]

Well, what snazzy stories have the winners written? I won't take up any more of your time - check out the winners of "Start the Story" right here!

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First Place: @Volturo
Entry:

Spoiler

She was supposed to see him graduate. 
 

She was supposed to walk him to school every morning and be the arms he leapt into after a long day.
 

She was supposed to teach him how to ride a bike, how to drive a car, how to tie a tie for his first job interview. 
 

She was supposed to read to him every night, and tuck him into bed until he became “too old” for it. 
 

She was supposed to embarrass him in front of the girl he liked by telling her how much he talked about her at home. 
 

She was supposed to be the one he came to for comfort, for times when he made mistakes, for an endless supply of love.
 

She was supposed to watch him laugh, cry, and grow.
 

She tried really hard not to, but this was all she could think about as she peered into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Those pristine white walls and bright lights were a constant reminder of the darkness enveloping her. She couldn’t bear to watch as his tiny chest struggled to rise and fall and machines pumped oxygen into his body. No matter how much it hurt, she needed to stay strong for him.
 

In a twisted way, this miserable place was the only constant in her life at the time. As unwelcome as it was, it was home to the only person left in her life. She had gotten used to the routine here, stepping out of the elevator and greeting the receptionist half-heartedly, and then checking in with the nurse to see if there had been any improvement. Of course, the answer was no, just like it always was. 
 

Today, however, the doctor said it was finally okay for her to hold him for the first time since the day he was born. Words are not sufficient to describe the elation that filled her in that moment. What she didn’t know was the reason behind his decision -- he knew that they had run out of time.
 

Clutching his frail body in her arms, she wanted to tell him that everything would be okay. He would be okay. He had to. She needed him to. But even she knew, in the bottom of her heart, that there was nothing she could do but hope.
 

With every passing second, he was losing his health. He was doomed, and the Universe didn’t seem to care. 

All She said was: “Amen”.
 

 

Second Place: @calebj_2014
Entry:

Spoiler

Shric Skullbreaker was your average Kobold, good at mining, a decent at trap setting, a good strategist. Not amazing at anything, but good enough to try anywhere.
That fateful day he was working on a pitfall trap, deep in the mines of Falzuk, under the mighty Cratkor peaks. He was getting on with digging the trap, not falling in, rigging some rocks above the trap to be triggered when the trap is. There was a little rumble from up ahead.

"What're you doing?" he shouted, aware of his predicament if things were to change. "Nothing Shric" came the reply, "just mining some large mineral seam." This seemed to satisfy Shric who returned to his work. He finished, the trap was set. He moved onward, downward, into the dark. "Hey, where are you?" he asked. No reply came. "Hello? This is not funny." Nothing. He strode forward angrily, cursing the mining Kobolds for insolence and indulgent behaviours.

Maybe he was too preoccupied about cursing out the miners, perhaps he was thinking about other things, but he didn't seem to notice he'd left the small, cramped mining tunnels and emerged into a large chamber with 2 large exits and a pile of treasure.
He stopped. Why was it warm? Where was this light coming from, where are the walls? He snapped back.
"What the-"
"Who dares awaken Eda the Eternal?" Boomed a hissing voice from somewhere out of sight. At that moment, Shric realised that the light wasn't sunlight. It was a giant eye of yellow, looking straight at him.
"Um... terribly sorry your majestic dragonness, I was merely looking for some miners who were working ahead of me"
"Would these be them?" asked Eda, pointing to some half chewed bodies.
"Um... yes. I believe that would be them"
"And you know what happens to anyone who awakens a dragon right"
"Sadly, I do not wish to experience that today" said Shric, as he began to turn, race back to the safety of the mines. But Eda was too fast. She grabbed him by the tunic and pinned him under her claws.
"Why should I save you, puny Kobold?" "Because I can't do anything to harm you?". Eda laughed. "No, for you can get your tribe, and together you can cause me immense pain. I don't see any way that I can let you go and feel safe. Pray to your Gods, maybe they can save you." The claws constricted, stabbing, ripping skin, bones, muscle, organs. Unstoppable.
With every passing second, he was losing his health. He was doomed, and the Universe didn't seem to care.

All She said was: "Amen".

 

Third Place: @Lose
Entry:

Spoiler

Pain. Anger. Rage. Disappointment. All of these emotions whirled around in John's head while he was laying on the uncomfortable bed of the hospital. Nobody really expected things to escalate this far -- what seemed like a simple headache a month ago snowballed into so much more.

 

Doctors gave John two weeks to live. It had been four, and John was exponentially in more and more pain as the time ticked away. But nothing was given to remedy it. His family put their trust in the spirits up above, in this "heaven" place John kept hearing about. It would be nice to go there. 

 

Instead of painkillers, John's family firmly believed in the spirits; especially Deiy, their goddess of health. She was always the nicest of the gods, the one people put the most trust into. They put so much faith in Her, that John had no choice but to go with on it. He hoped that this "goddess of health" could do Her magic, because it sure as hell wouldn't be pretty if She couldn't.

 

John prayed to Deiy, to the Universe, to and about anybody and everything he thought might help. And at first, it seemed to be working. John was getting better physically, and doctors changed their mind about him dying -- he was expected to make a full recovery. All was going well, until midway through April.

 

Everything started deteriorating at such a sudden and unexpected rate it was as if some otherworldly force had been angered. The doctors realized the only option was to put him into an a coma and hope. John was put into the coma, and what he saw there worried him.

He saw Deiy, just like how the drawings described her. And she started chanting -- the death chant. John was effectively dead at this point. He felt the pain increase, despite being in a supposed coma, and Deiy kept on chanting. John tried to beg her to stop, tried to wake himself up, tried to do anything to stop the pain. Nothing worked. The so called "caring" god didn't do anything to save him.

 

With every passing second, he was losing his health. He was doomed, and the Universe didn't seem to care. 

All She said was: "Amen".

 

No consolation prize was awarded this time. 

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Don't forget to congratulate the winners!

 

[Person_Random 4,991]

Welp, we don't have any contests here for you, but we do have a heaping load of prizes for some of the best writers from Start the Story. Read on for some amazing pieces and even juicier prizes - oh, and don't forget to congratulate the winners!

[Files 40]

Well, Congrats to the winners

im bummed i wasnt in the winners but.. we always get another chance

 

@Venerable my feedback?

[Noblesse 34]

anyone plz tell me where i can post my ideas for the game.. this contest is bascially started just now  like 2-3 days back and i cant find the docs form or in game  link so that i can represent my ideas

[Lose 881]

";pse" strikes again  

[ThePhantomTank 10]

did you receive my entry? or was it disqualified? because i copied & pasted the story in the google form and posted the link there too..... also, Congrats tothe winners!

[Venerable 2,967]

On 4/19/2021 at 6:44 AM, ThePhantomTank said:

did you receive my entry? or was it disqualified? because i copied & pasted the story in the google form and posted the link there too..... also, Congrats tothe winners!

I received your entry, don't worry. However, since you copy-pasted the story in the Google Form, the overall presentation got destroyed. I still judged on the basis of your overall writing and grammar, ignoring the lack of proper spacing or line breaks.

The Google Doc link which you provided did not grant me access to your story. Next time, please remember to allow anyone with the link to at least view the document, if not edit.