ANNIVERSARY COMPETITION: RESULTS AND FULL ENTRIES

[Jubal]

10th ANNIVERSARY COMPETITION: RESULTS AND FULL ENTRIES

The results are in - a little late but better late than never! All of the entries we got for our 10th anniversary competition, on the theme of Exile, are here, and the announcement of the winners of course! Entries were judged by two judges (Jubal and Bigosaur) independently and on two separate metrics, the effectiveness of the piece and its response to the theme, for a total potential score of forty. The quality was extremely high overall - no entry scored below 32/40, and just five points separated the top and bottom scores. There could, however, be only one winner and one runner up, and they were...

THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER, with a massive score of thirty-seven points out of a possible forty, was PHOENIXGUARD09. His space-fantasy origin story impressed the judges both for its effective, powerful storytelling prose and its effective construction of an Exile's origin story. Phoenixguard will win copies of Son of a Witch, Empires of the Undergrowth, and Escape from Biostation, a poem by Jubal on a topic of his choice, and a custom SoaW skin created by Jubal!

THE RUNNER UP, with a solid thirty-five out of forty score, was TUSKY, whose short animation sequence of a man staring into a barren, smoke-filled wasteland and lamenting his bitter reward proved an evocative enough to just narrowly pip some of its competitors to the second place spot. Tusky will win one copy of Empires of the Undergrowth, one copy of Escape from Biostation, and one poem to be written on a topic of his choice.

But of course, everyone gets one of the biggest prizes, and that's the showcase of all the entries! From suffragettes to space flight and song to strategy game, there's a fantastic range of pieces here and we do encourage you to check them all out!



All The Entries

THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER:

We had a home once.

In all the vastness of the known multiverse, we had a home, one singular pocket of existence in which every factor was conducive to the formation of my people. A place where we grew, loved, created and thrived. My people were considered great builders, the finest in all creation. We built structures, on scales barely imaginable, from dwellings which towered above and beyond any natural feature on any number of the worlds we discovered, to the most minute adaptations in the smallest of organsims which populated those worlds. Our mastery was absolute, and so we travelled, always seeking further frontiers to explore and to improve, to make more like our home.

As we travelled, our home grew more distant, and my people began to grow weary of creation. Our home, that place of light, love and laughter became a place where we fought and destroyed, tearing down the creations of others to further the goals of oneself. It is the way of conflict that it escalates, and each advancement requires further expenditure of power in order to overcome the enemy. For my people, that advancement, or more specifically, the power expended to obtain it, spelt doom.

We were not as alone in the stars as we thought. Truly, we had known for millennia of the many and varied forms of life which populated innumerable worlds across the breadth of creation, but ever were they of lesser stature than ourselves, such that many of our people at first viewed them as something to be improved upon and taught, moulded into something greater. In more evil times, some viewed these beings as potential tools and weapons, mere collateral damage in the what became the war among the stars.

We did not know, nor even conceive that there were beings active in the cosmos with power that matched our own, let alone exceed it. Not until it was too late.

Drawn by our reckless use of power like moths to a flame, they fell upon our home out of the void, scattering my people across the stars. The lights of our world dimmed, what little laughter there was left, died. The hammers stopped ringing in the forges, the wars ceased and creation halted. Our home was lost to us. We were exiled.

I found myself on a new world, and harboured the survivors of my family, all the while dwelling in uneasy peace with some few others of my kind, who themselves took residence in other regions on the same world. With only small touches of power, we aided the extant creatures of this world, granting them knowledge and culture. My family took residence in the great forested mountains, and the diminutive peoples which dwell there called us the Ri-Foraoirse, the Forest Lords. They served us, as they would, though we asked of them nothing.  When the Sidhe arrived, themselves seeking to escape a something which threatened their home, we agreed to shelter them and asked of them no price.

Deep in the woodlands, we began to build something like home, but as it was in the beginning, that wholesome light-filled place of music and life. Hidden away, to safeguard our creation from any and all outside threats, we shared our new home with the Leathe and the Sidhe and all was well. Even the revelation of the sickness which dwelt in the core of every Sidhe was something which could be solved, with the creation of the Gealai Aisling, a safe place for the Sidhe to go when they grew weary of existence.

Then word reached us that our enemy had found us and that my estranged kin were being hunted and killed for their power, which while only used in small touches as required, over millennia had accumulated. Deep in the forest, we will be safe for a time, but all know that our time is short and this time there will be no escape.

I am a dreamer, an artist, a king and a father. I am known as Mor'Righ-Glas to the Leathe. I lost my home and soon I fear, I will lose my life.

I am an exile.

THE RUNNER UP:

THE OTHER ENTRANTS:
These are in no particular order.

HanSolo - The Exile (Poem)

Spoiler

The Exile

Hat on head, gloves on hands,
The exile should have fitted in
Amongst the gentlemen gathered that day.
Yet even the lowly miner,
Capped and coal-dusted,
Smirked and stood taller when spying them.
The crowd was packed tightly,
Save round our exile;
An untouchable halo of space marked them out.
Did they regret
Entering that hall of men?
Did they wish they'd remained exiled outside?
They bore no sash
Of purple, white and green
To announce their exile from that hallowed hall.
Indeed, those colours
Never adorned their breast.
Yet the same desire burned there nonetheless.
One hundred years
Have passed,
Since that exile walked into the voting hall.
Her daughters are exiles
There no longer
But are still absent from other halls still.

Naky93 - Images of Exile (Artwork)

Spoiler

SLiV - Maere, the Thrice Exiled (Poem)

Spoiler

Maere, Thrice Exiled

Maere was a young maiden,
gifted with eternal life.
Created by the god Isfalaem
and destined to be his wife.

She was walking through his forests,
when she came upon a beast
and a boy in sacrifial robes
upon whom it was to feast.

She took pity on the boy
and jumped between the closing gape.
The crunching of her bones
masked the sounds of his escape.

When she awoke from death,
her body bruised and scarred,
Isfalaem was furious
for his creation had been marred.

"Squandering my gift?" he roared,
"You are not worthy of the powers you wield."
Maere replied perplexed:
"What good is power if not to shield?"

But Isfalaem was unforgiving
and tore away her eternal life.
He cast her out of his embrace
and made himself another wife.


Maere became a royal guard
in the kingdom of the west.
Bestowed by King Diodolon
to protect the royal chest.

She was walking through his lands
when she came upon an empty field
where a man was starving
after blight destroyed the yield.

She took pity on the man
who had nothing to be sold
and she led him to a square
where she showered him in gold.

When the King discovered
that she had stolen from the vault,
he had her cut all over
and pickled her in salt.

"Stealing from your king?" he scathed,
"You should respect the crown you defend."
Maere cried distressed:
"What good is wealth if not to spend?"

But the King was unforgiving
and banished her from the west.
And put upon her head
a bounty from his royal chest.


Maere served a old librarian
in the city of Ilbur Rock.
Told by mayor Telos
to keep the books behind a lock.

She was walking through the streets
when she came upon a silent inn
where a girl was slowly dying
as blue boils covered her skin.

She took pity on the girl
and scoured the ancient scrolls.
She cut out the blisters with a knife
and put milk in all the holes.

When she told mayor Telos
of the forbidden truths she had learned
he cut out her eyes
and had all the manuscripts burned.

"Disobeying my command?" he shrieked,
"It is the law of the gods I preach."
Maere weeped defeated:
"What good is knowledge if not to teach?"

But mayor Telos was unforgiving
and threw her off Ilbur Rock.
Condemned by mayor Telos
in a cage without a lock.


Maere sank to the bottom of the seas,
the light dimming from her eyes,
when a shark approached her metal grave;
the god Nerus in disguise.

He took pity on Maere
and released her spirit as a ghost.
She could grant godly powers
to whomever needed it the most.

After ten days she returned
to Ilbur Rock isle.
Before her stood Telos,
leaking pus and bile.

He begged her to save his life
from the plague that had spread
but she continued drifting
and the Ilburian was dead.

After ten weeks she returned
to the western lands.
Before her knelt Diodolon
with a dagger in his hands.

He begged her to save his life
from the rebels that sought his head
but she continued drifting
and the former king was dead.

After ten months she returned
to the forests of her birth.
Before her lay Isfalaem,
hiding below the earth.

He begged her to save his life
from the beasts that he had bread
but she continued drifting
and the creator was dead.

After ten years of roaming
she saw a young man upon a hill.
Before her paced a ruler
elected of free will.

"Tell me what troubles you," she spoke,
and he knew all would be right.
"My people are tortured by a plague
and their crops ruined by blight."

"Even worse is the beast
that I cannot seem to slay.
I have hunted it ever since
my life was saved that fateful day."

Caradilis - The Exile's Lament (Song)

Spoiler

The Exile's Lament



Chorus:
I am running for my life,
I am running to survive,
And I hope I find a haven,
In the universe ahead.


I remember the bombs
When they rained from the sky,
And I'm leaving behind,
Where forever you will lie.

Chorus

I remember the fires,
They devoured the land,
For the heat has been rising,
Through man's own hand.

Chorus

I remember the poison,
In the water and air,
And the governments were certain,
That their war was fair.

Chorus

I remember diseases,
They ravaged the towns,
Driving young and old,
Six feet under the grounds.


Chorus

I remember the hunger,
When the food got rare,
For the fields and the meadows,
Had a long time been bare.

Chorus

I remember the water,
It rose with the heat,
Drowning all those who were left,
And flooding every street.

Chorus

I'm the last of my kind,
My ship sails into space,
For I can't stay any longer,
I must leave this place.

Chorus

Global warming and wars,
Brought disaster and dread,
While we stood there in denial,
And now the Earth is dead.

Chorus

Now without any aim,
I'm without a place to be,
I can never return,
For the Earth has exiled me.

THE NON-JUDGED ENTRIES:

Yes, we've still got two more to go! The judges couldn't resist getting in on the action, and whilst of course we couldn't judge our entries, we've got a couple more links to extra Exile-themed fun for your entertainment and delight. Bigosaur entered the early stages of his sci-fi story After Doomsday - you can check out the draft copy here. Jubal meanwhile, fresh from recently releasing his Whovian adventure game LIFE, took the Exile theme as the starting point for his new game The Exile Princes, a madcap mix of medieval manuscripts, Exilian memetics, and much more! Do check it out!


And that's your lot! Stay tuned for future competitions, and many thanks to everyone who entered, as Exilian sails on into its second decade of existence. Exiles forever!

[comrade_general]

Well done all.

[Caradìlis]

Wow, this is great stuff, thanks for sharing...

[Tusky]

Wow, runner up! Thank you very much. 

Great submissions by everyone too. Well done.

[Phoenixguard09]

Some great stuff there by all.

Congratulations Tusky.

[SLiV]

Great work all! Nice to read all of the submissions.

[Jubal]

Yeah, these were all great Was a hard one to judge, well done everyone!