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"CHOOSE YOUR OWN SAGA" CONTEST 2019
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https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/zsukrat-elemental-shepherd
The "diplomatic mission" to Cupra Las seems to be going well, in Mila's mind. Aldren and Otila are catching up, Aldren is getting the information he needs from the captured gnoll, and Mila is enjoying the sights of the city. The two stay in the capital for some time, perhaps a week or so, and Mila has been succeeding at hiding her pyromancy from the gypsy queen and her agents...or so she believes. Somehow, Otila figures out that Mila is a pyromancer, and just as Aldren is saying his goodbyes to the gypsy court, Otila suddenly prevents Mila from leaving. Aldren and Mila are deeply confused, but Otila explains that Aldren has brought a dangerous person with illegal powers into her realm, and therefore Otila is obligated to arrest Mila. The captain protests, and even puts himself between the girl and the queen's guards. But Otila manages to convince Aldren that this is the law, regardless of personal feelings or the merit of Mila's character. Regrettably, Aldren lets Mila be taken in, promising that he will have her freed soon, that this whole matter will be solved in time. Mila panics and lets loose her fire, but Aldren with a heavy heart suppresses her outburst. The girl is escorted to the dungeon, tears rolling down her face, hurt by the complacency of her mentor.
Something in the dungeon's walls suppressed Mila's magic, and she plopped against the wall weeping, frightened and alone. But not alone for long, as she heard the scraping of claws coming from the cell next to her. She peered into the dark and saw the gnoll painting the wall with bits of crushed charcoal. Mila looked around and saw most of the creature's cell covered in images of jagged claw marks, strange otherworldly beasts with massive antlers and tusks, and a familiar symbol much like the mark under her arm. The gnoll seemed to take no notice of the girl, painting away like an artist sitting comfortably in their home. Mila crawled cautiously towards the bars separating their cells, and without taking her eyes off the gnoll she pointed to the emblem on the far wall. "That symbol, what is it?" There was no response from the creature, only continued drawing. "I have the same one, see." Mila pulled back her sleeve to reveal the brand. "What does it mean?" Still nothing. She gave up trying to converse with her cellmate; for all she knew, it didn't even know what she was saying. She crawled back to her spot away from the bars, hugged her knees into her body, and put her head down.
"Maq'dahv," came a guttural sound from the next cell almost like a growl. Mila lifted her head and peered into the darkness. The gnoll was still facing the wall, but one clawed paw was pointing at the mark. Mila crawled back over to the bars. "Maq'dahv, what does that mean? Why is that symbol on my arm?" The gnoll simply replied again, "Maq'dahv." "Please, what do you know about it? Tell me! Do you even speak Thesgali? Ah, this is pointless. Why do I bother? I doubt you can even understand me." Mila threw up her arms and sat back in her spot. "By all the spirits, my little Nah'bur never cried as much as you, and he was a loud one!" came a voice from the other cell. "Is that how cubs are brought up in these lands, always crying? You'd think their mothers had left them all on a mountaintop." Mila sat up with a jolt. "Wait, you can speak Thesgali? Why didn't you say anything? And I don't always cry." "Oh, now she understands," the gnoll scoffed. "Took you long enough. Even for being the Heir, you're quite the slow learner. Well, I suppose, humans aren't gnolls; might take them a little longer."
"Hold on a moment! What do you mean "being the Heir"? Heir to what? I'm just a farmgirl from Praeda. There's nothing special about me." The gnoll turned its head towards Mila, its green eyes filled with boredom. "Don't look at me like that!" Mila shouted. "I get enough of that look from Aldren." "Ah, the centurion. The one who left you here to rot in a dungeon." Mila's eyes flashed with pained anger. "He didn't leave me here to rot! He's coming back! He'll get me out of here. I know he will." "You really think that, little pup? I could smell it on you when they threw you in here. I know someone who walks around with that same scent, the scent of abandonment. But he didn't wait around for someone to take him in; if he had done that, he'd be dead." "Aldren didn't abandon me! He just needs to talk things out with the queen. I'll be out in no time." "You know, where I come from, matters like this are resolved quickly. Your kind are so much slower than us, and not in a good way. We take our time when we have to, and we hurry up when it's necessary. With humans, the urgent things take too long, but the meaningless things are quick to be finished. So tell me, how soon did it take your captain to side with the queen? A few minutes? A few seconds?"
"Shut up, you dumb mutt!" Mila could feel her hands getting hot, and soon the whole dungeon was glowing with a scarlet light. Mila looked down to see her fists clenched and covered in flames. The gnoll nodded. "Good, your magic does work in here. Now come on, pup. We have to get out of here before the guards come back. Put your hands up to the bars."
"Wait, wait, wait. You wanted me to get mad?" "Of course. Have you found any other way of lighting up your flame?" "Well, I mean, not really." "Alright then. Now let's stop wasting time. Put your hands on the bars, quickly!"
Mila stepped up to the cell wall and lifted her hands. She stopped halfway. "What is it now?" the gnoll asked impatiently. Mila looked her neighbor in the eyes with suspicion. "Why should I help you escape? You're a gnoll, and gnolls are the enemies of Thesgal. I've been training for months to fight creatures like you. How do I know you won't stab me in the back once we make it out of here?"
The gnoll exhaled heavily and ambled over to the far wall of its cell. It put a clawed paw on the mark and closed its eyes. The symbol began to glow with a green light, and the gnoll whispered a single word, "Tla'rosh." There was a rumble like an approaching avalanche, and the stones around the mark burst out into the world with a loud crack. When the dust settled, there was a massive hole in the wall, big enough for the both of them to flee through. The gnoll turned to Mila, green eyes glowing with magic. "You have questions, Heir, and I have answers. If you want me to share them, then you must come with me. Now!" A shout came from somewhere above them, and the sound of ironclad footsteps echoed through the walls. Mila faced the bars, lifted her hands to them, and summoned the hottest fire she could. It did not take long for the bars to melt into a puddle of molten sludge, and the girl dashed through the gap into the gnoll's cell.
Without looking back, the two ran out into the daylight and straight on into the nearest bazaar. "My name is Zsu'krat, by the way," the gnoll barked. "Mila," the girl replied. "Thank you, Zsu'krat." "Don't thank me yet. We still have a city to escape."
I'll be back on later for #63 for you before the end of the night is my goal. Be back later!
Markus ran towards the sound of Aisha’s voice while the angel followed suit behind him, he ran into the middle of a clearing were he saw the princess walking around a tree stump.
She kept leaning her head closer, to stare at it, giggling then backing away walking around and repeating the processes.
“What are you doing Aisha?”
Aisha turned around to answer Markus, but the moment he saw the dull gaze in her eyes and saw a flash of metal he leapt onto her and tackled her to the ground without a second thought, the moment he did he heard a slashing sound from behind and he felt blood splatter everywhere. A body landed before him and he stared in pure horror towards the upper half of the angel he had trusted a minute ago.
“Run.”
He grabbed the princess and ran.
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Aisha was angry towards Markus, she had finally managed to get some time alone with the two of them, she even had to go to some other plane to do it, and he spent all his time talking to that angel he found on the side of the road. As she was scouting ahead looking for some nuts or berries she caught sight of a piece of red cloth, resting on a tree stump. She turned around to tell Markus excitedly, but when she saw him engrossed in conversation with the angel she turned around and stormed off into the clearing. The moment she grabbed the cloth she felt a dark presence loom over her, she shut her eyes in terror and then… It was gone and so was the cloth. Although the cloth was gone she couldn’t help but find herself fascinated by the tree stump, there was something, mysterious about it, something amusing. She kept walking around the stump but something was wrong, something was telling her this wasn’t right. Of course Markus was not here, so she called out to him, she couldn’t tell what she had told him but she knew he would come, so it came as no surprise to her when she heard his sweet voice from behind her. So full of concern with a hint of ire, he was like an orphaned kitten always worried and scared of all who came close to him, afraid they would hurt him. It was at that moment that she saw a flash of light from behind Markus. Then he tackled her to the ground and she saw a handful of razor sharp claws rip the dreadful angel in half, no she didn't like how Markus payed attention to the angel and not her but why did she find joy in its death? What was wrong with her? Being carried by Markus through the woods a thought appeared into her head, was she bewitched? She raised the pendent given to her by her late mother and as she observed the crystal she was horrified to see that the clear jewel had taken on a blue black hew. She was under a spell, and a dangerous mind affecting one at that. As she tried desperately to regain her state of mind she failed to notice the ground approaching at full speed.
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Markus barely felt the pain in his shin, but when his foot gave out under him he knew he had been hit. He barely managed to turn around in order to catch the princess in her fall, as the ground met his back. He moved his head close to her highness and whispered into her ear.
“Cut through the bushes on your left, you'll find a stream, follow the stream and you will come to a selesnyan garden, ask them for help they will know what to do.”
“But… But what about you?”
As he brushed the dust off his cape and drew his sword he gave her his best smile, he could feel his shin now a nasty cut.
“Don’t worry i’ll just take care of the mess over here. Then i’ll catch up with you.”
“But… ”
“No buts, besides have I ever failed before.”
The princess opened her mouth to reply, then stopped and gave him one last tearful glance before turning around hiking up her skirt and running into the forest.
The grin left Markus’ face instantly replaced by grim determination. He stabbed the tip of his sword into the ground and stabbed his shield to his arm, then he drew his longbow. He stood perfectly still, tense, waiting for his enemy to show up, he had one shot and although he was confident it would punch trough armour, he knew he only had one shot. After that… With his leg done he wouldn't last long. He drew his arrow in preparation…
The moment the vampire appeared he let loose, and watched the arrow fly straight into its chest. With dismay he saw a shot that would kill a normal human do nothing but stop the assassins lunge. He threw down his bow, pulled out his sword, raised his shield and waited.
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Aisha looked on in terror as the vampire charged Markus, she was helpless as she saw him trip backwards. As the vampire knocked the sword from his hand, ripped the shield from his arm and stabbed his claws into his chest. She was helpless, useless she could do nothing more than watch ast those around her were killed trying to protect her. It was at that moment that Aisha saw a soft light sinke int her and felt a warm sensation cover her. She stood up faced the vampire and pointed at it, suddenly a beam of light shot out of her palm and hit the vampire head of. It recoiled and shrieked in terror, but then as the light dissipated it snarled at her and hissed. It was at that moment that Markus grabbed the vampires leg and pulled it to the ground, he pulled out an arrow and stabbed it through the vampires chest. The vampire had an expression of pure shock on her face as it disintegrated into the wind, leaving nothing behind.
“So dad was right… Wood trough the heart does… Kill a…”
Markus slumped to the ground and Aisha cried out to him.
Continuation of the lore:
They arrived at an abandoned warehouse at the edge of the market district. If what Lucasha said was true, Kaan's clone had to hide around here somewhere. Why did that clone have to cause such a mess in the first place? Shouldn't it have basically his personality? Kaan shook his head to get rid of those thoughts, they were only a hindrance right now. Suddenly Lucasha stopped and he almost ran into her. "What is it? Can you hear or see him?" Lucasha indicated for him to be quiet. Now Kaan could hear it as well, a silent voice chanting something that sounded like spells. "You go to the left, i'll get him from the rear", Lucasha told him and was gone in a second. Well, for that he'd have to follow the voice at first, since he had no clue how Lucasha was able to locate the clone so accurately. However, it didn't take long for him to get closer and see the room the chanting was coming from. While he was sneaking around, he caught a glimpse of Lucasha who was doing the same on the other side. Apparently she wasn't as good at locating him as he initially thought. She raised her hand and Kaan saw her fingers count down from three. When she counted to one, both of them rushed into the room, Kaan with his blades ready and Lucasha already focusing her magic, but the room was empty. On top of that, the chant had stopped too, so they stood in a dark, completely quiet room.
They stood completely still for a few seconds, until a bright light appeared in the middle of the room and they had to avert their eyes. Within a moment, Kaan felt a spear pierce his stomach and fell to the ground. "Trap", he managed to say, as he felt the spear being pulled back. Thanks to his warning, Lucasha was able to dodge the incoming attack and jump back. Slowly, Kaan's eyes adjusted to the brightness and he saw his clone standing close to him, accompanied by a bunch of magic spears. Lucasha on the other side had a serious expression and he could see that she was concentrating on his clone's mind. The clone lifted an arm and the spears shot towards her. Kaan quickly reacted by creating swords to block the spears. The clone immediately shifted his attention towards him, apparently surprised that he wasn't unconscious or at least incapacitated. The mage used his remaining focus to create new weapons that would attack his clone, all while lying on the ground and clutching his stomach. He knew he couldn't last long like this, but he had to trust in his companion even though he had just met her. She was still concentrating solely on the clone and seemed to blend out everything else around her, but she couldn't overcome his strong will. Then Kaan knew what to do. He quickly created a small needle, just enough to hurt his clone, and sent it into the clone's neck, causing him to lose his focus for a second due to the slight but sudden pain. That was all Lucasha needed. With one spell, she forced the clone to his knees and bound him by using ropes hanging from shelves around her. Kaan calmed down as well, but as the adrenaline rush ended, he felt the pain from the hole in his stomach much more than before. Despite the pain, he collected his thoughts and created yet again a clone of himself, but this time a simple shell. A few drops from his elixir of immortality allowed him to transfer his existence into the new shell, leaving his old body as nothing but a pile of dust. Refreshed and without pain he got up and looked at the astounded Lucasha. "How... What did you just do?". Kaan smiled. "That's a secret, but first we should think of something else... Now that I caught my clone, how am I going to prove that i'm innocent?"
I originally planned on doing much more, but i just didn't have the time. And since today is the last day of the contest, I won't choose another number.
@BorosPaladin here is what number 35 is:
Your creature ran into trouble!
Your creature ran into:
Your creature appears to have survived the battle. Congratulations!!
Your task: Create a colorless creature with defender that has greater toughness than its power.
There is no lore added, continue with your ongoing story with the creature above added to the lore please!
You have unlocked
"Impervious to lethal damage!"
You can use this as many times as you wish on a creature you control that may run into creatures in the contest should the creature your creature fights be powerful enough to destroy your entry, use this and your creature will survive the battle!
Your task: Create a card granting indestructible to a permanent somehow.
There is no lore here, please continue with your ongoing lore! (If you wish!)
Guys I did something I never do: I literally forgot to post the rules to my own contest. The crazy thing is, everyone followed the rules anyways without the rules posted! That is both nuts and cool at the same time! I also forgot to put the rewards. There is a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner for the contest. here is the results!
3rd place winner is @Beastakles with Inceptive Edict!
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/inceptive-edict-1
Congratulations! Please post 4 cards in pm to me you would like for me to favorite.
2nd place winner is @ASubtleGhost with Drag into Oblivion
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/drag-into-oblivion
Congratulations! Please post 5 cards in pm to me you would like for me to favorite.
1st place winner is @Vardrus with Vretiel, Gatekeeper!!
https://mtgcardsmith.com/view/vretiel-gatekeeper
Congratulations! Please post 6 cards in pm to me you would like for me to favorite.
I'm giving you guys one more favorite then I normally do because I had made a mistake and not added the rules and list of rewards to the beginning of the contest, and for that I apologize to you guys that was my bad!
The lore and the stories everyone provided was great. I enjoyed reading them all, and when I first wrote the numbers all out, 75 looked like a lot, but when the contest came to life, it was moving so fast that I was worried I hadn't wrote enough for you guys to create cards for. Thank you so much for participating in this, and this type of contest is still newish territory for me. I will work on another Saga one at some point, but it will be much more organized having learned a great deal from this contest and the Out of this World contest (which that wasn't intended to be Saga like, but it ended up being that way in the end which was very cool!)
Lots of props to everyone who entered, it was a blast!
@Corwinnn, please close this contest!