The CHALLENGE chugs on!

[jseah]

Final count is 5861 words.

https://www.fictionpress.com/s/3238329/52/A-Hero-s-War

[Cuthalion]

Spoiler

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sorry about the bad quality not near scanner

[Glass Mouse]

Status for the week November 30 - December 6


Glass Mouse passes with seven mini portraits and 993 words of novel.

Lycunadari passes with five photos and an elf mechanic.

Cuthalion passes with three birds, a pair of glasses, a sheetful of shapes, and a dude and his mug.

Artman77 didn’t upload anything (again).

LeSwordfish passes with 727 words of RP, 335 words of novel, and 498 words of other writing.

jseah passes with 5861 words of A Hero's War.

celtois passes with a face, a donut, a kettle, a guy, a sorceress, and a nose.


Thus, Artman77 FAILS this round!

Glass Mouse, Lycunadari, Cuthalion, LeSwordfish, jseah, and celtois PASS this round!


Current standing:

Spoiler

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Glass Mouse
Current run: 267 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

Lycunadari
Current run: 152 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

Cuthalion
Current run: 3 weeks
Longest run: 21 weeks
Themes: -

Artman77
Current run: -
Longest run: 13 weeks
Themes: -

LeSwordfish
Current run: 23 weeks
Longest run: 5 weeks
Themes: -

jseah
Current run: 24 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

celtois
Current run: 13 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

This week's theme (December 7 - 13), chosen by me, is Breaking and entering.

Next week's theme is chosen by Lycunadari - let me know in PM or this thread, and I'll include it in the next status.

---

So... My post-NaNoWriMo plan crashed and burned immediately, huh. Here's hoping I get some proper creative time after the holidays!

Are you planning to use it? I have a new version I could replace it with (adding attack ratings to delineate benefits of the resources to the mercenaries).

Not for my sake. I haven't played D&D for ages, so I'll just use it to glean cool ideas from, anyway. The specific numbers don't matter.

which isn't really fair to suggest to you with children and baby - though perhaps you could train them to take dictation?

Ooh, I knew those little critters had to be good for something!

How much does acting count? Next week I'm acting in a play (of which no, there likely won't be a video.) It's about an hour long, i'm one of the lead roles and it's consumed a lot of my time for the past few months - given that I can only claim this once, how would you feel about me treating the play as part/all of my challenge for the week? It would take a lot of stress off me. The play is performed on two nights and we have a set of tech runs on a third - how about calling it three days worth?

That sounds reasonable. Honestly, considering the amount work that goes into a play, I’d be fine with calling it a full week.

Break a leg up there!

[jseah]

I started a programming project for the game idea notes I listed. =D

[jseah]

6345 words for chapter 53.

https://www.fictionpress.com/s/3238329/53/A-Hero-s-War

Also, do people like, remember to post to this thread when they get subscription emails? I notice my post here on Sunday night tends to provoke a bunch of uploads...

[LeSwordfish]

The updated subscription page rather than an email but yes, basically.

Anyway, as discussed this week I was in a play! It went well. I can even provide video proof soon^TM

[celtois]

I don't get subscription emails, so that tends not to be a factor for me.
I just tend to post Sunday evening in my timezone which I think is substantially later than Sunday evening in your timezone

In any event, arts! I've been playing around with colour, different mediums and various shading techniques this week. Oh, I'm also building a website, thus the logo. I'll probably submit the rest of the design work for the website once its more complete.

Spoiler: Arts

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http://dizzyartist.deviantart.com/art/Scitter-Logo-577907298
http://dizzyartist.deviantart.com/art/Landscape-1-577906500
http://dizzyartist.deviantart.com/art/Abstract-1-577906339
http://dizzyartist.deviantart.com/art/Abstract-2-577906196
http://dizzyartist.deviantart.com/art/Pastel-577905990
http://dizzyartist.deviantart.com/ar...ct-3-577905808

[Glass Mouse]

I'm so sorry about the lateness, guys! I finished an exam assignment at 4 a.m. last night, crashed, and only just got home now today. I literally haven't had half an hour to sit down and do the status since, what, noon yesterday. So, slightly delayed...
Status for the week December 7 - 13!


Glass Mouse passes with four portraits and a 544 word scene of characters breaking into a store.

Lycunadari passes with four pretty plant photos and two sculpture photos.

Cuthalion passes with an owl, two birdies, a landscape, a suited-up dude, three sheets of face, a sheetful of poses, and a giant chicken god.

Artman77 is out due to disappearance.

LeSwordfish passes with one play performance.

jseah passes with 6345 words of Hero's War

celtois passes with three abstract shapes, a landscape, a scitter, and a pastel abstract.


Thus, no one FAILS this round!

Glass Mouse, Lycunadari, Cuthalion, LeSwordfish, jseah, and celtois PASS this round!


Current standing:

Spoiler

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Glass Mouse
Current run: 268 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: 1 week

Lycunadari
Current run: 153 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

Cuthalion
Current run: 4 weeks
Longest run: 21 weeks
Themes: -

Artman77
Current run: -
Longest run: 13 weeks
Themes: -

LeSwordfish
Current run: 24 weeks
Longest run: 5 weeks
Themes: -

jseah
Current run: 25 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

celtois
Current run: 14 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

This week's theme (December 14 - 20) has not been chosen yet, so it is up for grabs.

Next week's theme is chosen by Cuthalion - let me know in PM or this thread, and I'll include it in the next status.

---

Also, do people like, remember to post to this thread when they get subscription emails? I notice my post here on Sunday night tends to provoke a bunch of uploads...

Aha, so we have you to thank for doing reminders! Honestly, sometimes even I forget until Lycunadari's PM pops up to remind me that "oh right it's Sunday, time to get my quota in!"

Anyway, as discussed this week I was in a play! It went well. I can even provide video proof soon^TM

Glad to hear it went well! I never asked what you were doing - is it a play we'd know?

Also, I passed you for now but will need documentation eventually :)

[LeSwordfish]

It isn't, no - I'm a member of the university society that performs devised pieces - ones written by the other members of the society. (That's where the playscripts I've posted here are headed.) As I said, video will come to you once it's got to me.

[Artman77]

Ugh. I want to be all: "I am Artman! Hear me roar!!!" because I legit have art coming out of my ears. The problem is I'm just not online that much. So in reality I'm all: "Meh." and "Ugh." I don't mind being kicked out for a bit, I know it's probably sad to write "YOU FAIL this round!"

If anyone wants a theme: Legendary

[celtois]

So I hurt my wrist on my dominant hand. I'm going to check to see how many pieces I got done this week but I might have to admit defeat.

[Glass Mouse]

So I hurt my wrist on my dominant hand. I'm going to check to see how many pieces I got done this week but I might have to admit defeat.

Nooo, that sucks.


But thanks, because this reminds me: I've just decided not to bring my laptop when I'm going away for the next handful of days. I will be back on Wednesday where I'll also make the status post for this week. There's no need to change anything else just for that, so as long as you all upload as per usual, no problem, we'll just have a delayed status post :)

[jseah]

3843 words for Hero's War.

[LeSwordfish]

773 words RP, copied in a rather incoherent mess.

Spoiler

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Ludo had spent most of the previous week watching, and sleeping in a quieter corner of the chapel during the day.

Moving as silently as he could, Ludo scrambled down the mast and crossed to the edge of the Sow nearest to the Dragon. If they were travelling tonight... was there a route from his position that would allow him to board the Dragon. Could he see any good hiding spaces on board- was the cargo hold closed now?
Ludo - who had malingered at an amateur level for most of his life so far - decided that this was suitable, and returned to the chapel to make up for his missed night's sleep the previous night.
"Difficult to hide on board." Ludo opined to Adelbert. "They'll be using all the space, so there might not be room to hide. Might be easier to pick it up at the blockade and see how it gets through or around... but what if they stop partway? And how will I know when to check?"

"We know they're not sailing tonight. Maybe we'll be able to see when they load it next?" Ludo looked around for vantage points or convenient locations from which to watch the docks. Did either the chapel or the Sow have windows overlooking the docks. Failing that, maybe the rooves...
Leading Adelbert with a gesture, Ludo wandered northwards along the docks, looking to get as close as possible to the dragon before it was obvious what they were there for: instead peeling off back into the town before suspicions were aroused.
Ludo glanced along the row of boats, trying to see the hull he recognised as belonging to the Dragon.
"I shall just have to see about getting it there myself then." Ludo said, with a wry smile. It was his turn to deal and he started to spread out the cards expertly again. "And who lets a little thing like a blockade stop them?" This was said with no malice.
Spoiler
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"I think the Dragon is the ship we want." He muttered. "It was the one last night, they seem very cagey about taking on crew, or how business is... They mentioned being stopped by the blockade but perhaps they're putting the goods ashore elsewhere. Or perhaps they're just not stupid enough to say what happens when they get stopped. Perhaps they're bribing their way through."

"The way I see it, we should be following the trail of goods through the ship. Is it possible to get a room overlooking the docks? Where are they loading the goods from? When they unload them, what happens? That sort of thing."

Ludo set off walking towards the docks. He wanted to see what it was like there, and he could be reasonably sure it wasn't too busy at this time.
"I can only hope." Ludo said, laughing. "Bastard owes me twenty gold."

"When's the next time the Dragon sails?" he asked idly. "Might be i'd have a few letters for Putbad. Some work for a discreet crew."
Ludo was savvy enough now to just shrug when the men were cagey about their business. Just making conversation. He was starting to suspect he knew everything he needed to at this point anyway.

Playing a few more hands before asking any further questions, Ludo made some enquiries about Klammenberg and Udolf. He wasn't hopeful, since the man had left by coach, but it was possible he'd stopped in at the bar.
Ludo sat down and joined them. "Ah, a man after my own heart."

He joined in the game cheerfully, trying not to get too grand a victory as best he could. "I assume you're locals? How's business, these days. I imagine the war is shaking things up quite a bit."
Spoiler
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Ludo nodded at Adelbert as he entered. He'd found himself getting far more into the spirit of the adventure as he investigated. It seemed simple, in a way that the library or saving Beatrix hadn't been.

The Dragon seemed a good place to investigate next, and if there were crewmembers here now... Ludo shifted his coinpurse into his hand, puffed himself up a little, and strode over to the group.

"Would you gentlemen mind another player?" He dropped the purse onto the table with a clink. "There don't seem to be many games around."
Suspecting that the situation called for a greater degree of delicacy than could be provided with a pistol - even a needle pistol - Annie moved off to find Mouse and Joss.

"Spooky's giving the perforated bugger a spooky once-over. Reckon we should be searching his house. Any luck in 'ere?"

363 words of character background:

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Trooper Darla Pietchovky grew up a scavenger and ganger in the hives of Scintilla, before being forcibly recruited to a guard regiment by means of one of the periodic conscriptment sweeps. Pietchovky's mechanical skills came quickly to the attention of her superiors during training, and she was reassigned to act as one of a wide group of technological menials serving as field mechanics for the tanks of the nineteenth Scintillan Cavalry

After nearly five years of grinding trench warfare and minor repairs on artillery vehicles, Darla spotted her opportunity to escape. With an Ork attack cresting the nearby hill, Darla was forced, at whip-point, to repair the main gun of a hellhound flame tank. Instead, she sabotaged it, causing the tank to detonate as it reached the enemy, while she made her escape. A pict-skull captured the sabotage however, and Darla was run to ground in an abandoned farmhouse which she had prepared with mines and tripwires. She was offered the choice between reassignment to a penal legion or being dragged from her stronghold at considerable cost to imperial life, and she reluctantly chose the former.

Darla is sullen and grim, with a certain light in her eyes only when discussing matters of technology, particularly those explosive. She is lean and muscled, and her hands are very much at home with the axe and short dagger she has carried since youth. A bulky Mind Interface Unit sits in a mess of scar tissue on the back of her neck, with a set of wires stapled to her right arm allowing for connection to a port.

Darla is frequently accompanied by Mikhael Kudlinski, a burly mute man, once a member of the same gang, long ago. Mikhael was remaindered to the regiment not long after Darla for striking a superior officer, and the precise nature of his relationship with the sullen woman is hard to ascertain. Mikhael seems strangely devoted to Darla, while she seems barely to notice him, save for when her latest bit of repair or tinkering requires a second pair of hands, usually rattling off quick fire complaints and technical jargon while he stands placidly holding the required tools to hand.

Thats 1136 words so far... will sort out the rest tonight.

[celtois]

Wrist is going to take sometime to heal. Yay repetitive strain injuries.
So I'm going to have to drop out of the challenge for the time being. Best of luck to all of you on your art.

[Glass Mouse]

Apologies,

I thought I could get my hands on a non-phone device once I got back, but it proved difficult, and with Christmas eve tomorrow (big deal here!) I won't get to a laptop tomorrow anyway.

The status post will be up when it's up, probably during the weekend, definitely before Monday (when the regular schedule resumes). Sorry about the delay.

Hope you're all having a good time with your respective families, good food and plentiful gift harvests.

I also hope your wrist heals up soon, celtois. I'm sorry to see you go.

[Artman77]

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

(Since I won't be back til Monday...)

[jseah]

I probably will reach 1.5k on Sunday, but in the mean time, I've been working on an RPG game for the last two weeks. I hope to get a small and probably buggy test scenario (without art assets) out soon, although I doubt I can make it by 26th when I shall have to switch over to writing if I want to post my chapter.

So, is that going to be valid? It's mostly been infrastructure building as I'm using python Tkinter (yay reinventing the wheel), and while I don't have the skill to make art or sound assets I can probably buy those online. (I have already got an SFX library and am eyeing an icon library specializing in fantasy games)

[jseah]

Proof of concept for Tensei Simulator (temporary name) is compiled! (Don't ask why it's named that)
https://www.mediafire.com/?pf9bnk6kw22qdxx refer to my signature for link

It's almost certainly full of bugs, given it was made to test the game concepts.

Spoiler: Usage

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Use arrow keys to navigate, Z to confirm, X to cancel
On main map, Z enters area, X brings up options menu (config, save and load aren’t implemented, sorry)
On battlemap, Z edits actions for the selection character, X brings up battlemenu (use that to end turn after setting actions)
The command prompt window also serves as the turn log as there’s no combat animations. Or any art assets at all really.

[Glass Mouse]

And we're back in business! Oh laptop, I'll never leave you again…
Status for December 14 - 20!


Glass Mouse passes with three drawings and 781 words of writing.

Lycunadari passes with four pretty city photos and two gemsona portraits.

Cuthalion didn’t upload anything for the week.

LeSwordfish uploaded 1136 words of RP and character background writings.

jseah passes with 3843 words of Hero's War.

celtois is temporarily out due to wrist strain.


Thus, Cuthalion and LeSwordfish FAIL this round!

Glass Mouse, Lycunadari, and jseah PASS this round!


Current standing:

Spoiler

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Glass Mouse
Current run: 269 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

Lycunadari
Current run: 154 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

Cuthalion
Current run: -
Longest run: 21 weeks
Themes: -

LeSwordfish
Current run: -
Longest run: 24 weeks
Themes: -

jseah
Current run: 26 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

This week's theme (December 21 - 27) was never chosen.

Next week's theme is chosen by LeSwordfish - let me know in PM or this thread, and I'll include it in the next status.

---

@Cuthalion, I just realized that last week I counted some pieces uploaded on Monday the 14th as belonging to the preceding week. You didn't protest then, but please let me know if those pieces should've been counted for this week instead.

So, is that going to be valid? It's mostly been infrastructure building as I'm using python Tkinter (yay reinventing the wheel), and while I don't have the skill to make art or sound assets I can probably buy those online. (I have already got an SFX library and am eyeing an icon library specializing in fantasy games)

Um. Huh. I've considered it before since I sometimes fiddle with programming projects in my free time. I haven't found a good measuring stick.

Maybe something like 10 lines of code = 1 piece? Would that work?

[jseah]

Um. Huh. I've considered it before since I sometimes fiddle with programming projects in my free time. I haven't found a good measuring stick.

Maybe something like 10 lines of code = 1 piece? Would that work?

Lines of code is probably not a good yardstick as it's language dependent. Also it's probably closer to 50 or 100 lines of code = 1 piece, at least in python.

I think programming projects, especially if you're just doing infrastructure or logic, isn't very artsy anyway. If I write code for say... a event scheduler for my company, that's not in the spirit of the challenge.

On the other hand, if I do things like code monsters, items and skills for my RPG, or create an algorithm for generating beautiful mandelbrots, that's more like it. But then again, you run into problems like deciding difficulty as the engine determines how difficult it is to make a monster.
In Tensei Simulator, a monster, plus it's drop items plus attached skills, is perhaps 15 to 30 minutes work, depending on how complicated the monster is, of course boss monsters take a bit longer.

[Cuthalion]

@Glass Mouse I actually didn't upload anything until, I believe, Tuesday. So I missed the deadline, even though I did them last week. Those were the peafowl-polar bear. So for this week only count the peacock watercolor and past.

[jseah]

3849 words

Spoiler: Hero's War

Show

Morey stood in the middle of the road, blocking the way with arms spread.
"Out of the way, boy," the man seated at the front wagon of the convoy growled, "I don't care if you're the Hero or not. "
"Not unless you leave them here," he nodded at the cages in the wagon.
The man frowned and signaled the guards around him. The six knights quickly came forward and surrounded Morey, weapons ready to draw and spells ready to cast. Almost at once, a motley group of twenty people emerged from the thick wet forest around them, weapons at the ready.
The major difference was that the group's weapons radiated magic. Certainly not the sort of thing a bandit group could afford. And there was strong magic there, spears and arrows that fairly glowed in the unseen. There were even some wands.
What was worse, the weapons and armour only made themselves known when the group approached. Suppression of magical signature was an advanced technique, even worse when considering that it was used on an alchemy enchantment. So not only did they have a powerful alchemist, but one who could also perform complex techniques.
The alchemist appeared from the forest, behind a wall of people carrying magical defensive shields. An alchemist on the battlefield was useless if there were other people to activate enchanted items for her, but here she was anyway. She was carrying a staff, a charged steel staff that was far more complex than any enchantment had a right to be.
The knights gulped. True, the enchanted items wouldn't let one of the ambushers fight a knight, they didn't have enough on them, but there were a lot of ambushers. There was some calculation as they weighed their magical power against the inevitable barrage if they had to fight. They still had the advantage, if small.
They took a step forward to the boy who was surrounded then stopped. A glow of magical power entered their range and rapidly built into the full signature in the characteristic manner of entering the concealment range. Another girl stepped out of the forest behind the convoy, sealing off the route back to the city.
She was flanked by four helpers, each carrying a preposterous three steel staffs, all of which were fully charged.
That was more than enough power to force a way through the guards at a gate, much less a mere six knights. The titanic well of power alone could squash them like a bug. And the girl had black hair and black eyes. A pure blooded Tsarian, clearly of the summoner clans judging from the fist sized green crystal hanging on an ornate necklace clutched in one hand. If that summoning stone wasn't fake, it was clearly Greater rank at least, possibly even Ritual.
Morey nodded gratefully as they dropped their weapons.
The convoy leader frowned, "should the Hero be stooping to robbing travelling merchants? What will the people think?"
"The people I care about aren't people like you," Morey growled, "get off your wagon now and give me the keys or we'll start killing. "
The convoy leader sighed and got off his wagon. Morey nodded at the rest of the wagons as well and the drivers gathered at the head of the convoy, made to sit separately from the surrendering knights. As the wagon drivers passed him, Morey and a few followers padded them down and retrieved any key that looked like it belonged to the wagons.
Morey dropped the keys into a rough pile and a single pulse of magic distorted their shape into unusability.
"Cut the slaves out of their cages and and toss the cages," Morey gestured the rest towards the wagons, "we'll keep the wagons and Rekis. This lot can walk back. "


One month ago
Morey wiped away the sweat rolling down his cheeks and onto his neck with a damp cloth. It didn't do much good.
This country seemed to be hotter than Inath, even if the position of Selna still said they weren't near the equator. Perhaps it was the lack of trees and slightly sandy soil but the rays of the sun continued to beat down on him mercilessly. No kind breeze came along to ease his suffering.
Being a Hero didn't save one from the elements.
"The plantation is just up ahead," Etani pointed at a row of black specs jutting up from the ground a long way down the road.
"Let's stop over there for today," Morey panted, "we need to refill our water and rest. Perhaps we can make better time to this ruin if we can get enough Rekis to ride instead of a just pull a cart. "
Etani looked up at the sky, seeing the Little Night about to begin. She got a reluctant look on her face but one glance at Ereli and Nal dissuaded her from pushing further forward. Even if they were just sitting in the cart taking turns driving, Ereli was lying against the folded tents, her limp body with a consistency approaching melted butter. Nal also looked flushed and had spent the last few hours staring into the distance, her small body was more sensitive to the ravages of heat and light and despite consuming the most water out of all of them, it just sweated out of her skin like a wrung cloth.
For all her stoicness, Locoss didn't look too comfortable either.
Reki riders met them some distance away from the plantation when they approached close enough after the Little Night, their incomprehensible shouting and face concealing cloths made Etani ready her hammer. But a revived Ereli began to speak rapidly with them in native Tsarian, which neither Morey nor Etani understood. Locoss seemed as if she understood it too but her normal silence meant that it made no difference.
The riders suddenly looked very interested in Morey and chattered animatedly amongst themselves. Ereli probably just told them he was the Hero.
"This is the domain of Duke Zain, we've crossed over into northern Illastein," Ereli said then paused as one of the riders gestured, "uh, Allawi Zain. Allawi is something like a Duke in Inath. He's a very important person anyway. "
"Ah," Morey nodded, "can you ask for permission to stay with them tonight? And if he'll sell us some water. "
After some moments, Ereli nodded, "they say that they are Zain's liegemen and can't make the decisions for him, but they are sure the Allawi will welcome the Hero and ask you to proceed with them so we can talk to him directly. "
Morey nodded again and their little cart trundled forward, flanked by the six riders.

The cloth spread over the riders heads was apparently just a precaution against the sun, one that Morey and his party hastily adopted. Zain met them under a large brickwork house, one of the few in the large settlement that wasn't stained brown with sand.
His sharp eyes and lean muscular body improved Morey's impression of the Allawi dramatically, he had had enough of the lazy nobles in Inath.
"It is good to see you here," Zain said as the servants dragged out a table into the main hall of his residence and brought out a spread of bowls filled with various strange sauces and creams to go with their bread and strips of meat. And clay pitchers of much welcome boiled water, even if tepid. There were no chairs and they stood around munching and drinking as Zain introduced his wife and three children.
"Rumours of a new Hero in the Inath court have been spreading down here in Illastein," after sending his family away, Zain continued in perfectly understandable Inath language, "although I must confess to find myself surprised by your presence. I would have thought you would be up north fighting the monsters? Your legendary command of the battle for Reyk village has been sung by our minstrels all over the land you know!"
"You grace me too much, I-" Morey tried to bow but Zain held out a hand to stop him.
"It is our custom that those with a higher position should never bow to one lower," Zain said, bowing shallowly to him, "allow my indulgence. A mere Alawi cannot accept bowing from one such as you. "
Morey could tell the waiting servants suddenly turn extremely respectful. They had been unsure of whether to treat Morey or Zain with more respect and Zain's nod towards them confirmed that the Alawi was just making the relationship clear for them. Morey settled for a nod and continued, "Your minstrels must have exaggerated my role, Zain, I did nothing but stand at the back and give orders. "
"But it was still a glorious victory against a hated enemy," Zain smiled and called for a servant to bring up cups of expensive wine, "this is the least I can do for the defender of our realm. So, I'm still curious what you are doing here. "
Morey nodded at the tanned servant girl who served him his cup first then offered the second to Zain before the rest of Morey's companions. "My mission is not actually to hunt the monsters. Queen Amarante charged me to find the Sword of Legend in order to end this war and we are tracing down a Tsarian ruin that we think contains clues towards our quest. "
"If you are travelling further south into Illastein, please be careful of bandits," Zain warned him, "they care not for our status and neither will they hesitate to attack the Hero himself. Even if they don't have magic, they use underhanded tricks that have laid low many honest merchants and nobles. If you need a guard, do please ask and I shall see who I can spare. "
"It's all right," Morey reassured him, "the four of them are the best in Inath and I doubt the bandits can be much worse than a zombie army. "
Zain nodded sagely and was about to reply when there was a squeal from behind Morey. They turned to see Nal gagging in tears, chugging down one cup of water after another. Ereli was patting her back with one hand and munching on a illon wrapped piece of Paka meat that dripped with a dangerous looking red sauce with the other.
Morey had earlier been warned off the sauce by Etani, as it was extremely spicy. Ereli nonchalantly took another bite of the probably-lethal quantities of hot sauce while Nal drained a full pitcher of water held by a grinning servant. Morey chuckled at the rare sight of Ereli getting the one up on someone.
It certainly wasn't the sight expected of Inath's elite adventuring party.
Not that there was any doubt about that given the huge amount of magic radiating from the steel plates at the bottom of their cart. Enough magic to flatten the entire settlement ten times over, built up by Locoss when she discovered how to siphon off magic from Ereli's daily strength training.

The light hearted feast continued for another few minutes as Morey and Zain idly chatted while watching Nal challenge Ereli again after Locoss also managed to stuff down an entire piece of meat with sauce. She barely reacted but the slight flush and beads of sweat on her forehead was her equivalent of a screaming fit. Etani kindly offered her a cup of water.
As Morey drained his cup of light and refreshing wine, he reached out for another piece of paka meat, without sauce. The same tanned servant girl, now holding a pitcher of wine, had come up behind him to refill his cup and Morey accidentally hit the pitcher with his arm.
There was a smashing sound, a wave of cold liquid swept over Morey's feet and into his heavy cloth shoes. He looked down to see the pitcher in pieces on the ground and the wine soaking into his shoes. The servant girl jumped backwards but not before Morey saw the blood dripping from where the sharp clay pieces had cut her when the pitcher shattered in her hands.
He was about to ask Etani for first aid when Zain roared behind him, "you clumsy girl! Apologize now!"
Morey jumped a little in shock and the girl immediately dropped to her knees in front of him, pressing her face to the floor and saying something in Tsarian. Her palms pressed down on the floor in an utterly servile position, not caring if any pieces cut her knees or arms.
"What-" Morey gaped and crouched down, sweeping the clay pieces aside with magic. "You don't have to do this, get up," he said, tugging on her arm.
She only pressed herself down further, blood mixing into the spilled wine. "I am really sorry for this impoliteness, Hero," Zain said, bowing deeply to him, "I will make sure to punish her properly. " He snapped harshly at the girl in Tsarian and she pressed herself flatter.
"It is all right, Zain," Morey tried to interrupt but Zain kicked the girl in the shoulder, snapping at her again. She got up and tried to scurry off but Morey caught her arm. That got Zain's attention.
"I said it's all right, Alawi," Morey put on a smile, "she's hurt more than I and it was my fault-"
"No, it can't be your fault," Zain said, bowing frantically, "the fault is mine for not training her properly. I will replace your shoes with my best and punish her severely. "
"Etani, can you get some cloths and bandages, she's bleeding quite badly," Morey held on to the girl's arms firmly, preventing her from running away. He caught sight of her teary face and thought of something, he looked at Zain sharply, "it may be your custom to blame the servants for honest mistakes but it is mine to recognize our own faults. I will not blame her nor look to you for damages. A small matter of spilt wine and a broken pitcher is surely not cause for such treatment. "
Zain's face looked cramped and the room descended into an awkward silence until Etani came back with two servants carrying rags in a bucket of water. Ereli began to boil the water while Etani and Morey carefully picked out the clay shards from the girl's arms. She was crying all the while, trying to refuse them but Morey sternly held on and did not let go.
As Etani expertly washed and dressed the girl's wounds with the sterilized rags, Morey let her hands go when he was sure she wasn't about to dash off.
"Alawi Zain, I am neither harmed nor bothered. These shoes have seen far worse and will be perfectly serviceable once washed," he paused, "if you are worried about damage to my honour or respect, rest assured I do not mind. In fact in my customs, the grace to forgive such minor matters is expected from one who holds power. If you must insist on a punishment, please let her off with just washing my shoes. Any more would make me uncomfortable. "
Zain snarled something at the girl and she nodded, relaxing slightly. "She appreciates your leniency. I will lend you my best pair of shoes and she will have yours clean and dry within the hour. " Morey sighed, wondering if Zain really understood what Morey tried to say. Was this what they called a culture gap? Then Zain glanced at the girl and looked at Morey speculatively, "or perhaps did she catch your eye? I can also send her to your room tonight. "
Morey could almost choke, he didn't understand after all! Did Zain really think Morey was acting nice because he was attracted to the servant girl? True, the childish pink tattoos around her neck were a little bit cute, but sleeping with her under the circumstances would be practically rape!
"Surely not, Zain," Morey sighed, "I meant what I said and do not require anything more. Besides, she cannot and should not consent to such an order. It will be beyond cruelty to sleep with an unwilling girl. "
Zain frowned in confusion.
"That doesn't matter, Morey," he said, "she's my slave and will do whatever I say. If you want her to be willing, I can order her. "

"What does Zain mean by that?!" Morey snarled, pacing up and down the large guest room.
The four girls were sitting on the edge of the row of four cloth mattresses meant for them. Morey's single bed was at the other end of the room separated by a cloth partition, although his bed was more like a double. The meaning of that arrangement was not lost on him and the unflattering implications on his partymates only fed his irritation. But there were more pressing questions.
"Mean by what?" Nal asked.
"He said that girl was his slave, what does that even mean?" Morey said, "he said that if he ordered her to be willing to sleep with me, she would. Is that even possible?"
"Um," Nal frowned in confusion, "slaves are frowned upon and uncommon in Inath but Illastein is far more hierarchical and slavery is very common here. If he tells her to sleep with you, then she will have to do so? I mean, slaves are the property of their master, that's in the definition. "
The pit seemed to drop out of Morey's stomach. This world was far more dangerous than he thought! "So if he orders her to kill herself, she will just do it?!" he exclaimed.
"Uh, no?" Nal frowned deeper, "Zain can beat, punish or starve his slaves, or even kill them. But why would she obey that order instead of trying to escape, however unlikely? After all, a disobedient slave is made to behave by punishment and threats. "
Oh, whew. "So she's not forced to obey him, except on pain of death or torture," Morey sucked in a breath, "there's no magical compulsion that can force her to sleep with me or even worse, make her want to. The tattoos on her neck is probably just a marking then. "
Nal looked sick and shook her head, "how do you even get these ideas? There is no such magic. Magic can cut off your arm or burn you but it's not a living thing. It can't make you want..." she shivered in disgust, "just thinking about it makes my skin crawl. If you could control people with magic..."
Etani spat out the nearby window. Locoss still continued to look like a life sized doll.
Ereli raised a hand timidly, "actually, in the ancient stories from the Tsar, there have been references to mind magic. There are of course no records of the techniques used and we, the summoner clans, think that these are just legends. But what Morey talked about does exist as a concept. There is even a Tsarian word for it so it was treated as a standalone concept. "
Wonderful, to take so long to discover such a dark side to this society. At least they weren't mind magic slaves or Morey would seriously start wondering if he could join the monsters' side. Now he just had to reconcile his morals with normal slavery, bad enough as it was.
"What is the stance of Inath on slavery? You said that it was frowned upon and uncommon, but that doesn't mean they don't exist, do they?" Morey asked.
Nal frowned at his tone, "slaves aren't sold in Inath. Even if there isn't a law against it, it... just isn't done. Most of the slaves in the federation are owned by Illastein nobles and the few in Inath proper were brought in by merchants from the south. No one respectable in Inath would be caught dead with a slave in their household. "
"So if you despise slavery that much, why haven't you made Illastein get rid of it?"
They gaped at him. Morey continued, "they're part of the federation right? Can't Amarante force Illastein to free their slaves?"
"That's not feasible," Etani said, "my queen may be powerful but Illastein has less reason than most to contribute to the federation. Their southern and most of their eastern border is an open lifeless desert that not even the monsters roam in and their west is the ocean. Their only contact with the monsters is through Kirita's gap which Calva Principality is defending. Our efforts at Reyk village relieved a huge pressure on Calva's north, which means that Illastein is more secure now than ever. "
Nal nodded, "Illastein has only joined the federation because they know that if Inath falls to the monsters, their land is completely indefensible. But their lack of pressure also means we can't push them too hard. "
"And I guess that my position as the Hero can't do anything about this?" Morey asked.
"Um, you might be able to get some of them to give you slaves but essentially, your authority comes from Queen Amarante," Nal explained, "so no, you can't do it. "
Morey thought for a while then asked them, "what about the four of you? What do you think about the slavery system here?"
"Not good. Very," Locoss replied immediately. They looked at her in surprise, that was quite a lot of emotion in that statement.
Seeing that Ereli nodded too, "I hate that people have to be slaves. "
Etani and Nal were less trusting of him though. Nal asked, "why do you ask that? I don't like them enslaving people but this is how it is. "
"None of us like the slavery system," Etani said finally, "but Illastein is not Inath and the monsters are the bigger problem. "
Morey sighed. "What if I freed the slaves?" Morey asked, "the five of us are the best mages Inath can offer. With that huge pile of magic outside, we can definitely make an impact. "
Ereli's starry eyes were painfully naive, she was no doubt thinking of that servant girl and Zain's cruel treatment. In contrast, Nal and Etani were horrified. What made Morey surprised was the reason.
"You can't do that! If the Hero starts attacking Illastein slave dealers, the Inath federation court will..." Etani said incredulously, "you'll be treated like a bandit! And think of what would happen if the status of the Hero!"
"Morey," Nal's arguments were more levelheaded but harder to argue against, "if a symbol like you attacks Illastein, they will very likely treat it as an attack by Inath. The federation could fall apart! And if we start fighting each other again like the wars a hundred years ago, the monsters will definitely kill us all. "

1317 words

Spoiler: A random short

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"And so the Evil Empire is conquering your lands. Raping and pillaging their way to here and probably until they have conquered every country in the world," he nodded.
The king standing at the front of the summoning circle nodded. Since the few minutes John had appeared here, he was still sitting in his chair at the center of the huge magical formation.
Classical magic type using formations huh? I wonder if they have non-circle magic too. John sighed and looked up at the king who had hurried down to the summoning chamber when the 'Hero' had declared that he wasn't going to get off his chair until he knew what exactly he had been summoned for.
Somehow this hero didn't seem very much like a hero they expected.
"Rest assured, they won't be able to hold these lands. Empires like these never manage to win the hearts of the people and revolutions sprout up all the time. However powerful they appear now, they'll eventually weaken and break up," he waved a hand, "but that's all too far in the future and no use to you now. You have summoned me to help you in your war I presume?"
"You seem very calm for someone who was just pulled from a different world," the king said.
"This is not the first time I've been summoned to be a hero," the young man said, "be glad that you seem to have built your circle properly. " He nodded to himself. "All right, I'll help you. Your circle indicates I was granted a summoning bonus, what was it?"
The king raised an eyebrow. "We don't know, a hero summoned will always have a special ability of some kind," he said.
The young man sighed and got off the chair, "in that case I don't feel like trying to find out what it is. Come, let's go win your war. "

"And for this reason you asked us to prepare 50 kilograms of silver powder?!" the king practically screamed. That amount of magical reagent was not light on the treasury. To use that much on a magic circle, no matter how powerful, was a waste. Circles did not move after all.
John shrugged and continued drawing his magic circle, chatting idly all the while. He made drawing a ludicrously complex hundred meter wide circle look easy.
"You have accurate maps, so this is the fastest way," he said, "I'm about to teach you to build a weapon that will win your war. So pay attention. "
He added the last few touches on to the silver diagram in the dance hall of the palace, the biggest sheltered area in the entire city. He gestured at the military map that was laid out on the table to the side.
"Your highness, you asked for a hero," John said, "but heroes do not win wars. Weapons do. I have no desire to be turned into a weapon or fight heroically so I'll just give you this instead. Take your pick, your highness. "
"What do you mean? What do I choose?" the king said.
"I mean pick a target," John said, pointing at the map, "you're lucky I didn't need to study your magic system first. So, where is the enemy?"
The king pointed out the areas of the country that had already fallen and were occupied but John shook his head, "no, where are his armies? Where are the towns he draws his food from? Where does he get his weapons from?"
A general who was watching stepped up and whispered to the king. The king pointed at a town being sieged at the front line. "That town. The enemy is there. I still don't see how this helps though? Are you going to teleport there?"
John raised an eyebrow, "I already said that I wasn't going to fight like a hero. No, we are going to destroy them. So they have occupied the town?"
He raised his hands and triggered the circle. A small portion of the circle filled with magic and a spell appeared in the space above it. Then it zoomed off into the distance, heading towards the town.
Below them, on the open space of the floor at the center of the circle, a disk of illusion appeared, displaying a whirling mess of green and brown. It was the land as viewed by the spell as it traveled.
The onlookers gasped in shock at the skill involved, many of the magicians were already pulling out notes and devices, trying to figure out how the circle could perform so many functions at once. John smiled, they had very little chance of figuring it out if they didn't understand their magic well enough.
Presently, a plume of smoke appeared in the distance and the spell zoomed past it. There was a vague image of an army and a burning town but the image disappeared as the camera spell overshot it quickly.
"That was Noten indeed," the general said, "I am impressed. This camera spell will let us plan our operations much better. Indeed, your skill at circle magic is certainly beyond compare, I am sure that we can find many uses for it. "
There was no disagreement from the gathered magicians. You haven't seen nothing yet, John smiled again.
"All right, coordinates locked," John said, his smile turning wicked. Why not be a little dramatic? "Begin power extraction. "
A blast of magic shook the room as the magic imbued into the circle tunneled downwards, turning into a huge tap that extended far below the earth into the leylines deep beneath the ground. Vast quantities of magic began pumping to the surface, collecting into a raw sphere above the formation.
"Form payload. Form seeker delivery. Input coordinates and target form. "
He inspected the circle for the last time and nodded. All good.
"Tracer spell ready. Fire!"
The humongous spell blew the roof off and arced off into the distance. In its wake, another camera spell followed along.
John raised an eyebrow at the general. The illusion in the circle was showing the rippling magical blast was deforming into a teardrop shape, as if it was a giant rain droplet.
The pair of spells sped over the land again, just like the first camera spell. Then as it approached the still burning town in a matter of minutes, the magical blast began to dip towards the ground while the camera spell just slowed down.
The blast plowed into the town and the soldiers around it. Right on target. It dug deep into the soil then exploded, throwing soil, rock and bits of town into the sky. The shockwave of dust and debris scythed outwards into the army surrounding it, shredding the sieging fortifications like so much waste paper. Then the rolling cloud of dust and churning soil engulfed the army and it was no more.
When the plume of dust settled down to earth, the camera showed a scene of utter devastation.
The town itself was no more. The army was no more. The entire land was dug out down to the bedrock and even that was cracked and blasted. Everywhere around the town, bits and pieces of stone that had been thrown high continued to land in a deadly hail. The rare few survivors of the besieging army were left groaning from crippling injuries, and there were no survivors of the town itself.
"What in all the hells was that?!" one of the magicians exclaimed, breaking the silence, "no forceblast is that powerful! "
John shouted over the sudden clamour, "oh yes, it is a forceblast. Just a very powerful one. "
"That town was ours," the general said slowly, interrupting the conversation, "it was their army that was sieging it. "
John raised an eyebrow and shrugged, "oops. "

[LeSwordfish]

Next week's theme is chosen by LeSwordfish - let me know in PM or this thread, and I'll include it in the next status.

Aah! I am defeated by work - I like to think I have the moral victory since I wrote 3.4k words of essay in that same week though. Now i've lost, I'm not going to rejoin until my exams finish near the end of january, I think, so just because i'm quiet for a few weeks doesn't mean I won't be back. I was so close to six months, too!

For the next theme... everyone familiar with Janus? Lets have a twist on the New Year formula, and say Forward and Backward.

[jseah]

Final count is 6140 words. The difference was written on Monday.

Chapter 55

[Glass Mouse]

Status for December 21 - 28!


Glass Mouse passes with seven church and sky photos.

Lycunadari passes with seven pretty nature photos.

Cuthalion passes with a peacock watercolour painting, some peafowls, a bunch of faces, a lot of horse sketches, and two sheets of fountain pen sketches.

LeSwordfish is on hiatus until the end of January.

jseah passes with 6140 words of Hero’s War.

celtois is temporarily out due to wrist strain.


Thus, no one FAIL this round!

Glass Mouse, Lycunadari, and jseah PASS this round!


Current standing:

Spoiler

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Glass Mouse
Current run: 270 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

Lycunadari
Current run: 155 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

Cuthalion
Current run: 1 week
Longest run: 21 weeks
Themes: -

LeSwordfish
Current run: -
Longest run: 24 weeks
Themes: -

jseah
Current run: 27 weeks
Longest run: -
Themes: -

This week's theme (December 21 - 28), chosen by LeSwordfish, is the Janus-inspired Forward and Backward.

Next week's theme is chosen by jseah - let me know in PM or this thread, and I'll include it in the next status.

---

Lines of code is probably not a good yardstick as it's language dependent. Also it's probably closer to 50 or 100 lines of code = 1 piece, at least in python.

I think programming projects, especially if you're just doing infrastructure or logic, isn't very artsy anyway. If I write code for say... a event scheduler for my company, that's not in the spirit of the challenge.

On the other hand, if I do things like code monsters, items and skills for my RPG, or create an algorithm for generating beautiful mandelbrots, that's more like it. But then again, you run into problems like deciding difficulty as the engine determines how difficult it is to make a monster.
In Tensei Simulator, a monster, plus it's drop items plus attached skills, is perhaps 15 to 30 minutes work, depending on how complicated the monster is, of course boss monsters take a bit longer.

Fair. Since 99% of programming would fall outside the creative groove of the challenge, let's scrap programming as a default option. If someone happens to make a Mandelbrot algorithm or something like it, it can enter as an ad hoc piece(s, depending on size) like Swordfish's theatre performance.

I don’t know how your monster creation works. Are you building on templates? I’m a little iffy about having that kind of creation in the Challenge, but you could probably make the argument.

@Glass Mouse I actually didn't upload anything until, I believe, Tuesday. So I missed the deadline, even though I did them last week. Those were the peafowl-polar bear. So for this week only count the peacock watercolor and past.

Thanks for clarifying

Aah! I am defeated by work - I like to think I have the moral victory since I wrote 3.4k words of essay in that same week though. Now i've lost, I'm not going to rejoin until my exams finish near the end of january, I think, so just because i'm quiet for a few weeks doesn't mean I won't be back. I was so close to six months, too!

For the next theme... everyone familiar with Janus? Lets have a twist on the New Year formula, and say Forward and Backward.

Good luck on your exams, Swordfish!

And that theme sounds much too cool. I really need to get back to following themes consistently again.

[jseah]

Theme: New World


An example of a monster definition in Tensei, including all required status effects, abilities and itemdrops.

Spoiler: Example Monster Definition

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frozen = StatusEffect("Frozen", "Passive", "This character cannot act for a number of turns.", 2)
frozen.target = "Self"
frozen.triggers.append("Turn Start")
frozen.effectstring.append(["skipturn"])

frostbolt = Skill("Frost Bolt", "Active", 10, "Launches a freezing attack that deals 100 damage per level. ")
frostbolt.target = "Ranged"
frostbolt.AI = ["Lowest hp"]
frostbolt.effectstring.append(["makeattack", "noattack", "damage level a * 100 a", "status fixed 0", "endaction"])
frostbolt.statuseffects.append(frozen)

frostfire = Skill("Frost Fire", "Passive", 0, "Counterattacks with a 50 damage per level attack. ")
frostfire.target = "Melee"
frostfire.AI = ["Lowest hp"]
frostfire.triggers.append("Receive Damage")
frostfire.effectstring.append(["makeattack", "noattack", "damage level a * 50 a", "endaction"])

freeze = Trait("Freeze")
freeze.skilleffect = frostfire
freeze.property["Defence"] = 30
freeze.priority = 2

wstone = ItemDef("Winter Rock", 1, "Material", 1)
wstone.form = "Stone"
wstone.traits[freeze] = 1
itemdefinitions.append(wstone)

wwitch = Monster("Winter Witch", 1, 7000, 300, 200, 100, 60, 100, 0, 30, [wstone], [], 0, 3, "Ranged", 10)
wwitch.attackvalue = 20
ff = copy.copy(frostfire)
ff.level = 4
wwitch.skills.append(ff)
fb = copy.copy(frostbolt)
fb.level = 1
wwitch.isboss = True
wwitch.skills.append(fb)
wwitch.actionqueue = ["Skill " + fb.name[0], fb]
res3.bosstypes.append(wwitch)

Obviously I am using a ton of templates here, but of course, I made those templates myself.
On the other hand, I do need sprites and icons for my game, and making those would surely count. (but I have no drawing skill, so...)

In any case, it's not like it would affect my passing/failing, I'm asking mostly as a test case.

[jseah]

Chapter 56 has 6581 words.

https://www.fictionpress.com/s/3238329/56/A-Hero-s-War

[Some Android]

Oh this seems cool. Can I join? I got a blog where I upload my stuff - link. They're just anatomy drawings. I hope those count. Also (as you can see on my blog) I've technically been doing this since Dec 3rd of last year so do I get retroactive points? And do I have to post them here or can they just stay on my blog?

[Cuthalion]

Oh this seems cool. Can I join? I got a blog where I upload my stuff - link. They're just anatomy drawings. I hope those count. Also (as you can see on my blog) I've technically been doing this since Dec 3rd of last year so do I get retroactive points? And do I have to post them here or can they just stay on my blog?

To answer your questions:

Yes.
Yes, they do.
You don't get retractive points, I believe, but keep it up and you'll soon be doing very well.
And they can stay on your blog.