The candle flame flickered defiantly, yet another battle with the shadow of night. Trapped in an endless stalemate it fought, defending its world from darkness. Its world was a small stone room. Its battlefield, an old wooden desk. A tired scroll lay in no mans land, fog of war masked its words as they slipped into shadow. The tale that hid within this scroll was mighty. A tale of lands forgotten. A tale that was fading silently into the night.

The heavy wooden door creaked wearily as it opened to the starry night; a floodgate. Unleashed, hordes of icy chills mounted upon cold steeds of moonlit air swarmed the room. The armies of shadow scattered, their war encroached. The weary candle flame faltered and choked, a defiant last stand to an unknown foe.

A moment passes.

An icy breath glides across the silenced battlefield, dust unsettled by its eerie passing. A tired, forgotten scroll awakes from the depths; released from a dusty façade of time-worn terror. The etchings appear slowly at first, inky treasures of hidden lore. Tales of honour. Tales of worth. Tales of heroes and forgotten souls.

The scroll unfurls, a magical presence of wonder. Idyllic landscapes breathe from the parchment. Great oceans brought to life by a myriad of swirling colour. The endless kingdoms stretch to eternity, enveloping a new world in awe. The scroll speaks of a legendary world, a faraway land of magic and mysticism. A land where one may shape a destiny; where one may become a hero.

You close your eyes and breathe softly. Welcome, dear traveller, for it is now time for you to write your own tale...

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Author Guidance for This Story

Each chapter should be a piece centred around a microcosm of the world, using an extended metaphor or personification.

This first chapter is about a scroll lying on a desk covered in dust. The battle between light and dark is shown through the candle and the shadows. The dust is unsettled by an icy wind.

Further chapters could be about anything; a lake with a tower on its shores like a princess and her guardian.. or two trees on opposite sides of a stone wall, as a story of unrequited love? Or anything! Objects in nature that could be so much more if a pinch of dreams are added.

Enjoy.

updated Oct 26, 2008 by Tomu86