First, let me say this was a really hard contest to judge. Every author brought something fantastic to the contest and I fought with myself at every decision until I committed myself to these results.
1st: “The Raven’s Egg” by Aquabeard (100k, 10 vault points and advancement to Part 2)
I’ve had my eye on this one for a while. Hekets seemed to be terribly popular in this contest (see Reflection and Fish). Rib was quite comical, I really enjoyed her personality. The characters were well-developed and their interaction was very organic. One could tell these characters have a long familiar history just from this story and I’m not at all disappointed that the final fight wasn’t an all-or-nothing situation. It’s a story, we’re not killing for XP. It’s okay to live and let live, right?
To the other extreme, this story put me in an interesting situation reading the scenario for my quest. You paid very close attention to the bio, I can tell, because you forced the decision about the Dusk Raven. Knowing that Grim is a collector of birds and cares a great deal for them, you made his relationship with his charr son that much more solid by having Grim commit essentially genocide on a rare species of bird to save Roan. The concept for the toxin itself was very cool. Charr better be careful now. There’s no dusk raven eggs left to save them.
I laughed, I cried, I really loved this story.
2nd: “Reflection” by Peter Gallant (75k, 10 vault points and advancement to Part 2)
Title with more than one meaning. The first paragraph of your story deserves to be quoted and the use of quotes at the end leave the reader with personal reflection. You grasped Grim’s thought process very well and I was pleased that it took every direction that it did. A cautious approach, followed by a protector frenzy, abruptly shifting to shock and disgust that soon turns introspective. The fight was as graphic as it needed to be to get the point across that they were both guilty if either. It may have been the common “kidnapping Roan” theme that people were fond of telling (my poor baby, he’s had a rough life), but it managed to create a very special, very real father-son connection. It made Roan even more real, because very much like a child, you can’t dictate the kind of person he will grow up to be. In the same way, these stories allow the characters to become separate entities from myself and do things that I would not have had them do from my own imagination alone.
Well done!
3rd: “Epilogue” by Tzu (50k, 10 vault points and advancement to Part 2)
Sooo…I got chills. It was cool to see Grim living with his mom, as I find she is an aspect of his life that is all too often overlooked. It’s always a pleasure seeing Nick the Traveler, but giving him a moment outside the cheerful “Saint Nick” demeanor to reflect on his past troubles made his short scene highly emotional. The journey into the Mists was quite an experience for Grim. The idea that every man, woman, child, charr…in Tyria could be completing their own rites to please the gods, I find appealing, and I hope it inspires more people to seek these moments for their own characters. WWBGMLD&KD? (What would Balthazar, Grenth, Melandru, Lyssa, Dwayna and Kormir do?) And as the gods are timeless and see all of us from seed to mists, you are correct that only Dwayna would continue to bless the decision to return for someone who values life as surely as she does.
Very nice!
4th: “Grim Fireside Story” by theflatline (25k and 10 vault points)
It was short, but very complete. Proof that you can fit a whole story into so few words. The character you introduced had attitude, and the fact it was told from first-person perspective was very intriguing to me. I enjoy the concept of music having destructive power and the use of ley lines for delivery. I think you did a fine job of explaining the problem while maintaining the atmosphere created during the dialog.
Good work!
5th: “Six Chimes of the Swan Song” by Crystal (10k and 10 vault points)
Felt like Indiana Jones coping with a frustratingly curious sidekick. Having scenes out of sequence leading to the middle of the timeline, revealing only at the end the purpose for the expedition, worked out very well for this story. It was a very kind sentiment to try to find Roan’s mother, and it’s about time we got to return to the catacombs.
Neat idea!
Honorable Mention (alphabetically by title) Each receive 10 vault points.
“Corruption” by Zarak the Fireraga: Mutation/evolution horror, large cast of familiar faces, the good guys aren’t invincible. Very cool.
“Fish” by SmartBomb: Fish is PEOPLE! Evil heket (what’s with the hekets?) Should be in Tales from the Darkside. Sorry, I found the fish amusing.
“Given Enough Time” by S.S. Kelowna: Memory loss, PTSD, heart-wrenching discovery. Quite emotional.
“The Late Tale of Grim” by Dove: Nick the Traveler, baby white moa and a dragon fight. Awesome.
“The Untolled Story” by Konig Des Todes: Dimension hopping and origins of the Forgotten. Again, about time.
It was really tough to decide. The stories were all really cool. I’ve enjoyed seeing so many people take an interest in Roan’s personality as he grows up in human society, the problems a Charr faces and his rites of passage. Other awesome features of the stories included narratives of side quests and skills from the game. You guys took Grim all over the place. Teaming up with Charr to battle undead, seeking bloodstones, sacrificing himself for a twin soul, saving society from itself, meeting new people, meeting his son (?!?!), battling would-be immortals, and preparing the world for GW2. Romantic, friendly, and familial bonds were explored. You certainly can’t say Grim didn’t lead a full life.
Did you get vault points?
First through fifth will get to choose in order of placement. You don’t have to pick your prizes up right away, but please let me know so I may update the list. Then I will let the honorable mentions know the vault is open and it is first-come, first-serve.
So I’m a Top 3, now what?
The top 3 stories now become the scenario for Part 2 of the contest. Are you an artist? Grab your pencil, pen, stylus, whatever you prefer. Illustrate a scene from one of the Top 3 stories (sketch only, you may color your drawing for Part 3 if it is among the top 3). There will be Top 3 for the Sketches, and for each of those 3 that uses your story, you gain an additional 10k. Plus, Top 3 stories are Mortbane cannon. That’s right, folks, in the biography of Grim Mortbane, your story really happened!
Mortbane 1079 AE Short Story, Sketch & Coloring Contest 
Congratulations on the Part 1 winners. My guesses were correct 🙂 And congrats to all who participated, it is not easy to write a short story, given a specific length, moreover it’s not easy especially if you really like the topic. Good luck to all in part 2. I cannot wait to see what the artists will create.
-Peace
Congratz for the winners 😉 I didn’t make it but maybe next time yeah? 🙂
Congratulations to everyone. I really like how we put our creativity to use here. *smiles* I’d never written a short story before, but really liked the idea of using the GW universe, a novel character like Grim, and my own character, Sylvia, because she has her own backstory too. It was a lot of fun. I’d like to see if we could do more writing-based contests!! *thinks poetry could be good for those mesmer types and grins*
Great job!
I’ll leave a congrats to everyone too. 😀 And I mean everyone, because wow, a whole lot of effort was put into all of these stories. I can’t imagine how to judge something like this, really. Must have been very hard with so much talent to choose from. It was very fun, and I think we all owe a big thank you to Grim, too. 😀
But what am I saying? It’s only 1/3 done! The fun’s just begun! I can’t wait to see what some “real” artists come up with. Drawing, however, is not a skill that I posess. 😛
I think that there will be more works in this part and the last part will have the most works 🙂 Can’t wait to see more 😉