MEGAversary 4 Writing Contest - Judgement Day 15th July 2021

[HolloPoint]

Hello all fellow Secret Worlders!

To celebrate the 4th Megaversary of Secret World Legends, we are announcing a flash fiction writing contest sponsored by the League of Monster Slayers. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 stories as decided by our panel of judges, and winning stories will be posted on the forums for everyone to enjoy.

Theme

The theme of the contest is on “monsters” in the Secret World. Please write an original story featuring your favorite monster in the game. This can be a named NPC like a boss or mission mob, or just a random Fresh Zombie in Kingsmouth. Is your character desperately fighting off a pack of demon hyena? Is a revenant hunting a party of doomed Orochi soldiers? Is a Fata Padurii just trying to go on a normal date for once? Highlight the things that make this monster your favorite.

Entry rules:

• Your story must include a monster that appears in game.
• The story must be in a Word file format attached to your submission email.
• Please include your in game name, story title, and which monster you selected in your submission email.
• Your story must be between 300-500 words total.
• Only one submission per person.

Please submit your entry with the attached document and necessary information via email to:
megaversary4.writingcontest@gmail.com

Start date : June 16th 2021
Submission deadline : June 30th 2021 at 23:59 (EDT)
Winners announced : On official Funcom forums before end of the overall raffle on July 15th.
The stories for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will be posted on the forums, as well as any honorable mentions. Even if your story isn’t selected we encourage you to share it with everyone!

Prizes :

• 1st : 50 Mk IV Weapon Fragments, Metabolic Accelerator (red)
• 2nd : 40 Resplendent Talisman Fragments, 10 Mk IV Weapon Fragments
• 3rd : 40 Elaborate Glyph Fragments, 5 Mk IV Weapon Fragments

We’re looking forward to seeing all the entries and discovering more about the wonderful monsters in the Secret World!

Edit: Please note, since the worst monsters amoung us are human or even so-call deites these can be included in your story!

[Rizzle]

[Verittas]

bumping this one up too!

[uppastbedtime]

This is the 7 day warning, don’t be late! The submission deadline is on 23:59 EST June 30th.

[uppastbedtime]

Only 1 day left on the writing contest! If you’ve been waiting to the last minute to submit…it’s now the last minute!

[uppastbedtime]

The writing contest deadline is past. Thank you to everyone who submitted a story!

The judges are reviewing each entry, when the winners are decided we’ll post them here.

[uppastbedtime]

I’m happy to announce the winners of the MEGAversary 4 writing contest! First I just want to say thank you to all the entrants and your wonderful stories. I also would like to thank the hardworking judges who read all the stories and made their selections. It was difficult to choose a top 3, but the winners are listed below. We also have some honorable mentions to add as well.

1st place: Loyalty Undying by Tyriaan
2nd place: Cocooned by Nemysis
3rd place: The Disquiet of Silence by Sunday

Honorable mention: Gatekeeper.py by Trichelieu
Honorable mention: The HoneyedMoon by RazieI

Congratulations to our winners! I have reached out to you about delivering the prizes.

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1st place: Loyalty Undying by Tyriaan

…

Master?

Where are you… Master?

Master?

Master… I cannot see you, cannot find you… Have I wronged you? Have I displeased you somehow? Master?

Please, Master. I have been your stalwart companion since the moment of my creation, obeying your every command, have I not? Do you not value me, your loyal servant? Won’t you answer me? Master?

Do you remember, Master? Our labours, our hardships. So many destroyed as we unearthed the Gate to the sacred realm of Gaia. Our triumph as it opened. Emperor Hadrian in person, coming to congratulate you, that soon Rome and Londinium would be connected; and that it would be but the first step on a network of gates connecting the entire Empire. Do you remember, Master? He even had a kind word for me after lavishing his praise upon you: ‘adiutorem strenuissimum’ he called me. Do you remember? Do you remember how he bade us take care of those who died? How we built this sanctuary for them, to honour their sacrifice? Master?

Have I not carried out your last order to your satisfaction, Master? Is the sanctuary not undisturbed? Can you not see how the hallowed dead rest in their alcoves? Is the obol for Charon not placed in their mouths? Have I forgotten something? Master?

But, ah, what’s this, now? Movement? Movement, here? What does this mean? Master? Are they bringing another to be honoured, one we forgot? Another who died in glory of service to the Empire to be left under my care? Master?

No… It is alone, a single living one… A pilgrim, come to pay his homages? Why is he here? What is he doing in the sanctuary? Begone, you should not be here. The temple is the other way. What is he doing? No! NO! Not the aureum symbolising the Sun! Come back here! Thief! Defiler! Desecrator! Bring that coin back!

…

Master… The thief escaped into the temple to Deus Sol Invictus, where by your command I may not follow, but I retrieved the aureum. The sanctuary is pristine again. The hallowed dead may rest once more, the rites warding their gentle repose undisturbed. Are you satisfied, Master? Have I served you well? Master?

Master?

Where are you… Master?

Master?

…

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2nd place: Cocooned by Nemysis

The sound of static pulsated like a heartbeat. Slowly, tentatively, Lisa dared to open her eyes against the pressing cocoon of sand that encased her; she was met with a single solitary red star, the dying battery of her comms unit, still buzzing with static and the garbled words of the rest of the Orochi exploration team. She struggled, her hands probing blindly, feeling amongst the sandy pouch for the edges of the tunnel she had fallen down. Stupid girl, she thought to herself bitterly, never go alone! What’s the point of being first in the chamber if only to get rescued by the second? She found the tunnel’s edges and with grim resilience steadied herself against the rock, spitting out sand as she struggled to look above her, to lock eyes on her radio and ready herself for a difficult climb. She began, pushing slowly with her trapped arms, struggling even to shake her feet; unable to look down she blindly kicked out suddenly, sharply, hoping to dislodge the confining sand keeping her from the salvation of her radio.

Lisa’s foot struck against something solid and she paused, surprised at finding purchase. What she had thought was stone moved, and slowly gripped around her ankle. With a rekindled desperation Lisa looked up, up for her radio, that single blinking red eye that alone promised hope of rescue.

The mummified hand around her ankle tightened, clenching like a vice, and with one final scream Lisa felt herself pulled down, deep into suffocating sand and into the cruel arms of the now nameless dead, awoken from an ancient slumber by careless footsteps. Blind, and unable to escape, Lisa’s screams were strangled to nothing and a new, infinitely more terrible howl of rushing air encased her.
Somewhere above, the static of her comms unit continued to beat rhythmically.

Bright, crimson flesh. Hot, gushing blood.
Sensation and memory began to return to one with no name, one who still scooped meat with a shrivelled hands out of the crushed crevice that was once a ribcage. The mummy was finding that every sip of warm vitae invigorated these old bones, and every mouthful of flesh held but a figment of a memory, a shard of personality, sweet delicious psyche! The mummy craved it, each ambrosial thought was devoured without pause until the vessel in its cold claws was but bones like he, devoid now of flesh and mind alike. The invigoration of the self was intoxicating – were these memories his? Long-forgotten shards of a man that once haunted this form? Or did he taste the mind of the living thing he consumed?

Deep in the sand-filled chamber from where it was roused the mummy could feel the vibrations of dull heavy feet slapping against sandy floors. The decrepit corpse rose, blood still dripping from desiccated jaws, and long bloody fingers flexed and felt for a way up above to where tomb invaders now began their search for a missing colleague.

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3rd place: The Disquiet of Silence by Sunday

Silence.

That’s it, its gotta be the silence.

Sure the cold, sterile halls of the facility made for an unnerving incongruity with the warm colorful rooms of the nursery, but the paint job hardly presented a danger. Though knowing Orochi, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if they used lead paint. So, not dangerous, unless I get the uncontrollable urge to consume paint. I’ve seen stranger things lately, still unlikely.

And my companion, well, I couldn’t trust her. An encounter like this is far too convenient for the world I now live in and she lacks the sanctimonious hubris so characteristic of a Council member. No, there was something far more sinister about her and I was already well resolved not to present my back as a sheath for her knife.

My new life as an agent of gaia in this ‘secret world’ had disabused me of any notions I had about what could or could not exist. It wasn’t long before I’d consigned myself to the fact that this world housed abominations more unimaginable than any Lovecraft pulp. The Orochi Group had a knack for gathering them into a menagerie of horrors. Undoubtedly, being in an Orochi facility, I would face some of the worst this universe had to offer.

Beset by danger on all sides, certainly, but still mostly known quantities. I was used to ever present danger; I’d gotten this far hadn’t I. Yet something was off. It felt like I was being watched. However, I’d checked the security feeds, the cameras were down. No way for anyone to be watching. Unfortunately also no indication as to what may be ahead. So what had the anima on the back of my neck tingling so fiercely?

Opening the security door I was braced for whatever lie in wait on the other side though I had made a fatal blunder. The oversight struck me with an inconceivable dispatch. Foolishly, my immediate thoughts were for my wounded ego, but the blow stung the back of my head.

The room was spinning, no, not spinning. Sliding? And not the room, it was the ceiling dashing past my eyes. My thoughts muddled in a dazed stupor, I was slow to react. Dragged across the floor, I turned just in time to face my assailant. Unmistakable was the viscous oily sludge of its petrol colored mass. Unconstrained by any form it shifted its shape as though liquid in a malevolent display.

The filth shade descended on me in a furious flurry of blows. I put up what feeble opposition I could, yet the creature’s ambush had been flawless. Darkness advanced in on me and in my fading vision I could see the ooze still bubbling through the slits of the vent in the wall. The great mystery had been solved. Now I knew what had plagued my uneasy consciousness but it was of little consolation.

There at the end, I was mocked by the deafening sound of silence.

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Honorable mention: Gatekeeper.py by Trichelieu

# -*- coding: atlnt.3 -*-
import The_Buzzing
# Our wisdom flows so sweet. Taste and see. Hello Sweetlings.
import Atlantis_Protocols
import Moon_Protocols
import Hollow_Earth_Replica
import Anima
# This is an audacious attempt to replicate the sacred programming of the Immaculate Machine.
BUILDERS = ['The Host', 'The Titans', 'The Grigori']
def gatekeeper(HOLLOW_EARTH, Immaculate_Machine, Anima):
    Hollow_Earth_Replica.scan(Immaculate_Machine)
    Bees_Presence = Immaculate_Machine.Bees.Presence
    Bees = Immaculate_Machine.Bees
    Threat = Immaculate_Machine.threat
    if HOLLOW_EARTH == 'Safe':
        Atlantis_Protocol.maintain(Immaculate_Machine)
    elif HOLLOW_EARTH == 'Threatened':
        try:
            The_Buzzing.call(BUILDERS)
        except Exception.empty:
            host = 'Absent'
            Atlantis_Protocols.welcome_Bees()
            # What now Sweetlings? What will you do if you discover the builders do not answer? You will gather at the base of the wisdom tree. We will gather you at the base of the wisdom tree.
            while Bees_Presence == False:
                Atlantis_Protocols.guard(Immaculate_Machine)
                Hollow_Earth_Replica.scan(Immaculate_Machine)
                Bees_Presence = Immaculate_Machine.Bees.Presence
            Moon_Protocols.train_Bees()
            if Bees.Action == 'approaching':
                Atlantis_Protocols.bow(Bees)
            elif Bees.Congealed_Essences == True and Bees.Status == 'group':
                Hollow_Earth_replica.manifest(Immaculate_Machine.Deep_Agartha)
                Hollow_Earth_replica.deploy(Immaculate_Machine.Effigies)
            elif Bees.Status == 'bloodied':
                if Bees.Choice == 'Fighter':
                    Hollow_Earth_replica.Manifestation('Furio')
                elif Bees.Choice == 'Healer':
                    Hollow_Earth_replica.Manifestation('Vita')
                elif Bees.Choice == 'Guardian':
                    Hollow_Earth_replica.Manifestation('Fortitudo')
            # We are the educational protocol. Let us in.
    elif HOLLOW_EARTH == 'Infected':
        try:
            The_Buzzing.call(BUILDERS)
        except Exception.empty:
            host = 'Absent'
            Hollow_Earth_replica.deploy(Immaculate_Machine.Deep Agartha)
            Moon_Protocols.cleanse(Immaculate_Machine.Talos_Shards)
            %&+=+?&%=/+”==?*%&/_----
            # Beware the inundation of rage, Sweetlings.
    elif HOLLOW_EARTH == 'Breached':
        try:
            The_Buzzing.call(BUILDERS)
        except Exception.empty:
            host = 'Absent'
            if Threat == 'Humans':
                Atlantis_Protocols.cleaning()
                # How prideful you are, defining yourselves as threats in the making.
            else:
                Hollow_earth_Replica.send_Custodians()
                Moon_Protocols.assist_Bees()
                Hollow_Earth_Replica.protect_Immaculate_Machine()
                if Bees_Presence == False and Immaculate_Machine.Custodians_Presence == False:
                    HOLLOW_EARTH = 'Invaded'
                    gatekeeper(HOLLOW_EARTH, Immaculate_Machine, Anima)
    elif HOLLOW_EARTH == 'Invaded':
        try:
            The_Buzzing.call(BUILDERS)
        except Exception.empty:
            host = 'Absent'
            Moon_Protocols.fight(Threat)
    elif HOLLOW_EARTH == 'Lost':
        while Bees_Presence == False:
            The_Buzzing.search(Immaculate_Machines.Branches)
        The_Buzzing.bringTo(Immaculate_Machine)
        Anima.gather(Anima.Anima)
        Anima.redistribute(Anima.Anima)
        )()))(===?%%&*!!!{
        # This is where your programming failed, Sweetlings. It couldn't handle the Flip. Neither could you.
    return None```

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Honorable mention: The HoneyedMoon by RazieI

TRANSMIT - initiate The Bridal chamber - RECEIVE - initiate Hels Bells, - A FOREVER VEIL AS BLACK AS NIGHT - illumine the contract - WITNESS - The HoneyedMoon.

“I grow tired of this Theodore, It’s always the same. They come, they go, When do we go?”

Saccharissa paced the coals of Hell, in longing strides of restlessness. Theodore, tinkering with the
portal to the earthly realms.

“Patience, my sweet, Saccharissa”

Undeterred by her, he continued to meddle. Saccharissa, folding her arms with narrowed eyes, frowned at him.

“It always sounds so bitter when you say my name.” Joining him in room 13, sulking.

“Like Saccharin?” - Theodore mocked.

“See!” Slouching onto the bed. Her wings draped the sides reflecting her sullen mood. She was
beginning to think Theodore had reneged on his promise of finding a better realm for their revolutionaries.

“But I didn’t speak your name” - he replied teasingly.

“Then I meant, whenever you speak” She half muttered, chin resting on her fist. Pausing briefly,
Theodore looked at Saccharissa with puzzling wonderment. Her beauty always pleased him.

“I can never tell if you are truly happy Saccharissa, wasn’t our union enough for you? We have all of the Hell Dimensions as our own and you still want more”

Saccharissa stood, placing a hand on her protruding hips, jutting to the side. Her wings arched behind,
as if stretching out their muscles, with a quiver. Her bosom, danced in unison, yet independently of each other.

“I don’t want more, I just want something … different” Her other hand motioning the air - “One failed Hell plane is the same as another.” Her voice resonated disappointment. She looked at the Rakshasa with indifference.

“Like a holiday?” Theodore had moved out of room 13.

“Like a Honeymoon!” She said glaringly firm.

“Oh please, your eternal eternity is nothing but a Honeymoon” - Theodore mocking again as he sauntered away.

“Are you calling me lazy?”

“Yes!” - He shouted. Theodore turned, she could see him laughing.

“Well then you’re right and do frame that for your wall of ill-gotten gains, because it will be the only time I say it.” Saccharissa stood by the portal. “I on the other hand am going, a beach awaits me. You - can do whatever you like, so whenever you - have finished with the real estate inspection of realms other than this, call me.”

With one foot through the portal, the cutting shards of Razor Fossil beach pricking and slicing into the
soles of her bare feet. Ecstasy. The roar of the sea echoed around her. Faint smells of blood and
Hellspawn lingered in the air, only overpowered by the sea fret. Turning to find Theodore laid on a deck
chair with his arms behind his head almost took her by surprise.

“What about . . Avalon?” Theodore asked, without even opening his eyes. A magical shield protecting him. Saccharissa laid herself beside him, enamored.

“Queen of Avalon? I think that would do” She stroked her thigh, finding the idea thrilling. Theodore
opened one eye to look at his beloved.

“I was thinking more Lady of the burning Lake.”

[Verittas]

Congratulations to the winners

[Rizzle]

Well done all

[Unsafecrayon]

Congratulations to all the winners, you all did a great job!!

And thanks to all the judges.

[Broc]

Thank you judges and storytellers, awesome stuff…