Come one come all! and sit around the fire!

Cool mead is on tap, and roasting spikes are available for your marshmallow needs.

Once you're all settled, please listen to five expert story tellers spin their tales.

Then choose, which is best! and the narrator(s) shall be showered in prizes...

Alas my poor slave-sister Kathryin is off looking for gems - otherwise she'd tell you quite the story....

Kaliphlin Story Time: Myths, Legends and Lore mini Challenge.

Go forth and build a story, or a snapshot of your story*. It maybe be about some long lost myth of the creation of Petrea. Or a Legend of your SigFig's rise to power. Or about the Lore of Kaliphlin guild.

It can be from eons ago, or just last week's Tavern crawl.

*must actually write a 50 words or more story.

Judges: Kaliphlin guild - via poll (I'll create a separate thread later)

Meh. Let's let's let anyone vote - Lest people say Mitgardia is more democratic than Kaliphlin!

Open: to anyone, including foreign guilds. Though good luck convincing the judges

Prizes:

Undisclosed number of battlepacks from Dex's personal stash (based on entries):

Deadline - March 11th STOE (Some Time On Earth)

Entries:

(In order of posting)

Rasputin Jones (robuko) - Holy Order of the Mad Monks

There is an ancient tale, or maybe it was not so long ago, of how the Holy Order of the Mad Monks was founded, and how the great temple and its vast catacombs came to be.

It began one enchanted evening in the Eastern badlands, not too far from Qarkyr. Rasputin (no relation) and his sweetheart Isabella were walking back to the village of Arrakheen after a day of talk and laughter, fruitlessly hunting for scorpions, when Rasputin stumbled over a smooth and shiny stone.

Suddenly around them, the sands swirled and parted, and the head of a great beast rose from the sands. "Who dares disturb my slumbers?" roared the beast.

Isabella trembled with fear but she would not be intimidated by the monster. "We are Isabella and Rasputin. Who is it that addresses us?"

"Are you pure of heart and deed?" boomed the great voice.

Rasputin blushed, and calculated his odds. What was the downside? "Of course we are, our honour is unimpeachable!"

"Then today is your lucky day! Only the pure of heart may enter the Cave of Wonder. Great treasures, great riches await the pure of heart, but be careful what you take. Everything has a price"

And they saw that the beast's tongue was a staircase down into a cave. Now, Isabella was of what passed for a rather wealthy family in Arrakheen, but Rasputin was the poor son of a camel herder and the thought of treasure tempted him greatly. If he was a wealthy man too, then maybe Isabella's father would look upon his suit more favourably. Driven by greed and his desire to win acceptance, he entered the cave, and Isabella followed. Down and down and down they walked, until the ground flattened out, and they saw a golden glow at the end of the tunnel. They walked towards it and found the source of the light was a cave filled with riches that sparkled in the depths.

Isabella thought the giled cavern rather nouveau and gaudy, but Rasputin was bedazzled by the classy bling. A vast horde of treasure, gems, gold, and legendary artefacts surrounded them. They stared and stared.

And jumped with fright as a golden statue of a bygone hero greeted them.

"Wotcha! Roll up Roll up to the Cave of Wonder, all genuine treasure and historical wotsits of great importance. Fancy a ruby, Love? Goblet of Holy Water, Sir? Blessed with some big old crystal of something special, innit, you'll live to seven hundred after one sip. Everlasting lamp, pet? Genuine, used once, it is, be sorry to see it go, but plenty more out back in the stockroom. Impenetrable Helmet of Acathansus White, him what fought the dragons? The Key to Dokodemo Door? Takes you anywhere in a heartbeat, dunnit, even Mitgardia, brilliant piece of work that, Samurai wrought. Tell you what," and his voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, "I can do you a special deal matey, 3 for the price of 1, how's that? Now, what takes your fancy?"

Isabella had an eye for the real deal and she exclaimed with delight, "Oh Ras, look! The long lost diadem of Rowena Ravenpaw! Mummy would love it! And a time turner dagger! This place is loaded!"

Rasputin gaped in awe. "We'll take them, Old Hero! We'll take your Dokodemo doorkey, we'll take the Holy Water, and we'll take the time turner dagger!" They would live 700 years, with power over time and space with this trinity.

"Right Guv, a very shrewd customer you are, I can see. But," and his voice dropped to a whisper again, "you know there's a price, right?"

"Name it" said Rasputin in a hushed tone.

"Well, not to put too fine a point on it, your excellency, but the price of immortal life and mastery of space and time is not, in fact, our cheapest deal this week. It would have to be," the statue cast his eyes at Isabella, who was still thrilling at the tiara, "It would have to be your good lady there."

Rasputin considered the proposition carefully for about half a heartbeat. Isabella was a fine girl, he loved her dearly, and he had sworn only this morning that he was hers forever. But that was before he knew about the cave, so it didn't really count. There were plenty of fine ladies, and with the ability to go anywhere at any time, well, he could meet any lady of his choice. "Done" he said. And he drank the Holy Water and grabbed the key and dagger, while the golden statue dragged the weeping Isabella away.

"FOOL!" roared the voice of the great beast. "Only the pure of heart may enter!" And the cavern started to fill with boiling lava. Rasputin was doomed, and worse, Isabella with him, for his greed and treachery!

But no! He saw a magic carpet twitching to escape the molten rock and he hurled himself onto it as the stone crumbled beneath his feet.

The headlong flight through crumbling caverns left Rasputin senseless and exhausted. When he awoke, it was already morning, Isabella was nowhere to be found, and his face was wet with tears.

The magic carpet was real enough, but the knife and key were just a knife and a key. He did live to 700 though, and he spent most of those years digging with the dagger, down through the sand to find the Cave of Wonder again. He never found it. But his digging is what created the catacombs, and the rocks he excavated became the walls of the great temple we know today.

And that is how the first Mad Monk founded the Holy Order.

ps There is a rather interesting story that is told in the Strange embassy below stairs. We all know the current Duke says much that is nonsense. He once told a scullery maid that he owes his dukedom to a clumsy stumble, a hungry statue and a banana. No-one really knows how he got hold of that carpet.

Angeli - Mirage dragon

Mirage dragon is majestic animal, rarely seen in nature. But there was a legend, that one roams the murky waters of the Misty islands.

And there was a story, about youngest of her daughters, a Drow whose name nobody remembers, as she set on the window, watching high towers of Lith My'athar, logging for the power that could never come to her, as thou she had no connections or conspirators to work with.

But one.

A demon lover. A piscodemon demon. Amphibian demon.

And she sent him deep in enemy lands, to search for the dragon, one that could charm any and all...

The adventurest party of amphibian demons searched trough every corner of deep waters, and finally, they spotted him, sparkling in the dark depts.

Demon can not be charmed, and they surrounded the young dragon, and enslaved him, and broth him to the young Drow girl.

And with his powers, she disposed of her sisters, one by one, and taken the throne room. She called her self Valsharess - the queen on Drow language, and started taking one Drow city by the other, and as powerful that she become, she attracted more Drow warriors around her.

Because, it is common knowledge, Drow respect the power, and gladly follow it, secretly wishing it

...and what happened with the dragon, nobody knows... but, in darkest nights, people say that they can see sparkling from the highest tower in Lith My'athar, and sad howl of a creature logging for deep waters. Maybe some brave advanturist would dare to travel deep into Drow lands and save this creature?

Mikel Kalores - Backpacker's guide to Greater Siccus Badlands - Giant Spiders

s some of you may already know, I, Mikel Kalores have discovered an ancient tower north east of Eastgate. To put it to good use, I decided to send a group of workers to repair and clean it up for use again.

The men worked hard and made great progress. John, the foreman helped Ronny make and install a new rope ladder, while Jake and Thomas cleared away brush.

Suddenly Jake yelled, "Fellows! Come look! I think I found a cave!"

The others came running to check it out. John lit a torch and entered the cave. "Well what have we here? Looks as if there is a small passageway that goes deeper underground," he said after he had looked around inside.

"Do you think anything lives in there?" asked Jake.

"Not likely," answered Thomas. "This brush hasn't been touched until we got here. John, may I take the torch and see if the tunnel leads aywhere?"

"Be my guest," John replied. "I hate caves. Just make sure you don't go too far in. I don't want to have to go searching for you in there."

Thomas took the torch from John and entered the cave. Sure enough there was a small tunnel leading deeper into the ground. Thomas followed it for about thirty feet and then it opened up into small cavern. He swung the torch around and gasped in fright. The cavern was filled with huge spiders some bigger than his head. He turned and ran yelling, "Spiders!" all the way back to the cave entrance.

The others had heard Thomas' yelling and having gotten their axes and torches, were ready. Thomas ran up to them pointing behind him. "Giant spiders!" he exclaimed. They waited a bit and then they saw them scurrying toward them; huge spiders bigger than a man's head and one or two nearly half the size of a man. They hacked with their axes and waved their torches and finally managed to kill all the spiders that had followed Thomas.

John saved a few of the spider corpses that had been least mutalated to send to me. "We must let Mikel know at once," he told the others. "The myths are true. Below the surface of Kaliphlin, in the tunnels and caverns, live a giant breed of spiders."

And so that is how I came to write about the giant spiders of myth in my book, A Backpackers Guide to the Greater Siccus Badlands.

Abū Alī al-Ḥusayn ibn Abd Allāh ibn Sīnā (Christoph) - The Myth of Erezhi

Today I lecture about how the Siccus Badlands were created.

In the beginning of time there was harmony.

Sun and Moon lived happily together.

They had seven children.

But harmony did not last.

Sun became excessive and could not restrain himself.

He burnt the land and ate their children in sheer madness.

So the desert came into being.

Moon grieved deeply for the death of their children.

Her tears dropped to the ground and formed small oases in the desert.

From this day on Moon and Sun went different paths

- their definite breakup formed night and day.

How then did the people of Kaliphlin evolve?

In all devastation, the youngest sister and the youngest brother did hide.

The Great Camel Erezhi protected them in his hump.

So two children of Sun and Moon survived.

They became the ancestors of the people of Kaliphlin.

Camels are hold holy today because they help to survive in the desert.

The hump of the Great Camel Erezhi is nowadays known as

the Lone Mountain Erezhi, you know it as a popular postcard motive.

Tell this myth to your children,

yours truth-seeking

Abū Alī.

Tashbaan the Nomad (Brickmaestro) - Taming the Wyrm

"Taming the Wyrm" - Mini Challenge entry:

I, Tashbaan, recently visited my niece and nephew in Barqa while pursuing some real-estate ventures (good pasture land is hard to come by these days with inflation and all the underwater properties from the speculation land market). As they often do, they asked about my travels, but when they quickly became bored with my adventures they demanded I tell them the legend of our noble Fathers, the ancient Wyrm-riders. So I began:

"It was when the waters that once covered our land were divided and the dry land appeared that the wyrms came. They were terrible beasts, many of them could swallow an entire caravan in one gaping mouthful. But soon, our Fathers began to understand the way of the wyrms, could identify their movements and signs. The people became less fearful - even the bravest nomads would travel the sands with their flocks and could lead them to safety on the rocks before a wyrm attacked. When our noble father Tish'rok dared to tame them, many of the community laughed him to scorn. But he was undaunted in his determination to conquer the creatures and saw a future when the wyrms could be used to cultivate the lands. On a bright, hot morning, he set out with his companions to an area known to be common to wyrm travel. He waited patiently with his blade and chain, supposing that he could wedge his blade between the hard scales of the wyrm and fashion a harness to ride it. Soon they felt the tell-tale rumble of a wyrm coming to the surface. Suddenly the wyrm burst forth from beneath a dune Tish'rok's companions were perched on, sending is father tumbling down the other side of the dune. In a single movement, Tish'rok bounded off the dune, scrambling up the mountain of sand cascading down from the wyrm. He even managed to wedge his blade into the beast, quickly wrapping his chain around it. With the blade embedded in it's back, the wyrm picked up speed and began to turn violently. Tish'rok tried to hang on, but, well. . . you know the rest of the story:

Last day to vote!

I will close shop and announce tonight!

and just so I don't superfluously bump...

A late, yet fantastic story by Erudhalion (Gabe) - The tale of Erudhalion and the water horse

This was orignally meant to be an entry for the Kaliphlin "Myths and legends" mini-challenge, but i've missed the deadline, so it's just a free build. A free build that comes with a story! But here's the pics first up, in case you don't want to read the story - it's quite a long one!

Ok, onto the story! *Puts on my storytelling hat*

Many years ago, in fact the year of my 18th birthday, when my father still ruled Peregrinus and i was but a stripling of a lad, the coasts to the east of our fair city of Berigora were laid waste by a series of mysterious storms. The storms were so fierce and localised that they destroyed whole villages with wind and wave, and drove many a passing ship to thier ruin on the shore. Fearing sorcery, my father dispached his scouts and spies, but none ever returned, only rumours of a strange beast that lay cloaked at the very heart of the storm, and was occasionally glimpsed. Survivors spoke of hearing the drumming of hooves in the air, and the shapes of mighty horses within the crashing waves. Within a year, the mouth of the x river and the coast about had become desolated and empty, ravaged by constant storms, a haunted land.

Now, in those days i was a headstrong boy, and the wanderlust that affects nearly all Peregrinians still ran hot within my blood. I had no thought for future rulership or responsibility, but sought out adventure wherever i could. And so i became determined to find out what manner of beast could control the elements like this. Defying my father, who ordered a ban on travel to the region, i set out for the coast.

I travelled for several days over the pass into the valley of the centaurs, and thence to the river Undualia, which i followed to the sea. A mile from the river mouth i encountered a high but crudely built wall being hastily repaired by a crew of centaurs and men. They explained that the river had started to behave strangely, retreating well below low tide, a sure sign of a coming storm and inundation. they begged me not to go any further, but i was filled with curiousity to see the land beyond, and continued on.

It did not take long before the weather started to turn ugly... huge, dark, roiling clouds filled the sky, and rain began to lash at my face. The lightening and thunder frightened my horse so badly that it threw me, and galloped in haste back towards the barrier. But although i was shocked by the severity of the storm, i was not frightened... yet! I pressed on until i heard a strange sound... a roar from the coast like the drumming of many hooves. It did not take me long to discover what it was - a huge wave, crashing through the narrow valley inlet, clearing all in it's path! In terror i fled to the cliff walls that enclosed the inlet, desperately climbing as far up as i could. It wasn't far before the cliff became sheer and i seemed destined to be swept from my perch by the encroaching water, but in desperation i found a crack in the cliff face and managed to squeeze myself inside just as the wave hit.

And now it seemed that instead of being swept away, it was to be my fate to drown.. the pressure of the water forced me through the crack like a cork into a bottle, but to my surprise, the crack opened out into first a passage, and then a larger cavern! When at last i struggled, spluttering to the surface of the water, i found i had sustained no worse than a few bad scratches and bruises. But the cavern was fast filling with water from the wave, and i had no way of knowing how high it would get... in the dark, desperately trying to stay afloat, wondering if this were to be my unknown tomb, i prayed in terror to all the gods i could think of that the water would soon receed.

It was by no means soon, but in time, of course, the water did subside... and by following it as it flowed out of the cavern, i was able to find the entrance again. When i emerged from the crack (it was a tight squeeze without the water pressure to push me through, i can tell you!), i fell to my knees in thanks. I have never liked caves to this day.

The scoured landscape that greeted me was a terrible sight. There were no trees beyond the wall left to uproot, but all else was flattened. I thought about turning back, tired out by my ordeal, but from my vantage point i saw that the beach was near and i felt drawn to it as an antidote after the terrible darkness of the cave. The clouds were already clearing, and i felt i had enough time to have a look around before returning.

As soon as i had scrambed down the rocks toward the beach however, i became aware of a presence besides my own. I looked about and could see noone. "Who is there?" I cried, "Show yourself!" At once the water at the shoreline heaved up, and a huge, magnificent white horse sprang from it's crest. "Who tresspasses on my domain?" it boomed in a loud voice. Somehow i found my courage in the face of this strage creature to squeak in outrage, "My name is Erudhalion Sansael, and this land belongs not to you, but to my father and all free Peregrinians! Are you the being responsible for all this destruction? I demand you give me your name!"

The huge horse laughed at this - of course he would not give me his name, to do so for a clearly magical being would be tantamount to making me his jailer! I had some magical instruction, not a great deal (as i am not suited to it), but enough to know that much. In that moment i could see that he meant to kill me eventually, but he was in no hurry - he would toy with me first for his own amusement. "Well, at least i won't die in that damned cave" i thought, and this gave me courage.

"So you want to know my name" boomed the water horse. "Well, if you can answer three riddles, i shall tell you. But beware - should you answer wrongly to any of them, i shall take your life instead!" My heart lifted as i heard this - perhaps i had a chance after all? I had always loved riddles and had a store of my own. "All right" I replied, "but only if you swear on the sacred water crystal that you will keep your word!" The water horse looked doubtfully at me. "All right, i swear" he grumbled. And then he riddled me this:

"I build up castles.

I tear down mountains.

I make some men blind,

I help others to see.

What am I?"

Well, that was almost too easy. "Pretty much every Kaliphlin child knows from the cradle that the answer to that is sand!" i cried, "Try me something harder!" The water horse smiled, making me think that part of his plan was to lull me into a false sense of security. "Alright then, young princeling," he said, "Try this on for size:"

"I live in water

If you cut my head I'm at court,

If you cut my tail I'm fruit,

If you cut both I'm with you

What am I?

My heart sank - this was one i didn't know! I tried to reason it out, recalling another riddle where "head and tail" meant the first and last letters of a word. The water horse sneered at me "having trouble, young Erudhalion? How badly do you want to know my name then, or indeed save your own life?" It took me many anxious minutes before in a flash of inspiration i stumbled on the answer - a pearl! - an earl at court, a pear is a kind of fruit, and and ear is something that is with you!

Now the water horse was really angry. He stomped and flared his nostrils, and ominous clouds gathered around him. As frightened as i was, i was also exultant... only one more and i had him! "You have done well, Erudhalion" said the water horse slowly, once he had calmed down. "But i have saved the best for last:"

"What does man love more than life

Fear more than death or mortal strife

What the poor have, the rich require,

and what contented men desire,

What the miser spends and the spendthrift saves

And all men carry to their graves?"

If the water horse was thinking to flumox me with this one, he really had seriously misjudged me. "Aha!" I cried out with relief, "The answer is nothing! Now you must keep your end of the bargin, water horse - tell me your name!"

Well, he raged and he prevaricated and he tried to worm out of it, but eventually he stuck by his promise, and i called on him to squeeze into my empty water gourd, where he lives still, literally a storm in a bottle. The incantation i trapped him with gives me the power to let him out three times only to do my bidding, but after that he is free once more. A few years ago we freed him to wreck a host of pirate ships that were threatening to blockade our harbour and ruin us, but since then he has remained at Peregrinus's lesuire, until next i call on him.

Btw, i promised i wouldn't tell anyone else his name - besides the obvious issues with magical summonings etc, it really is quite an embarressing one for such a powerful elemental spirit! Who knows, maybe that's why he went on the rampage in the first place?

Thanks for viewing and reading! I hope you enjoyed it.

Gabe, you were purposefullly late so that someone else can have the spotlight ... right?

The fire is down to embers, the marshmallows are gone and the votes are in!

First place! Master Story teller is Rasputin Jones (robuko) with a combined 47 points!

Second place! Abū Alī al-Ḥusayn ibn Abd Allāh ibn Sīnā (Christoph) with 41 points.

And by democratic vote - TWO battle packs will be awarded to these fine spinners of words.

Please PM me to arrange for delivery of your Mountain Mummies

Thank you to you and our other 4 story tellers - I thoroughly enjoyed your stories and your MOCs.

And thanks to all the voters!

First place! Master Story teller is Rasputin Jones (robuko) with a combined 47 points!

Second place! Abū Alī al-Ḥusayn ibn Abd Allāh ibn Sīnā (Christoph) with 41 points.

Congratulations to robuko and Christoph! Your winning is well deserved!

Thank you very much, Dextrus, for your hospitality, the evening was wonderful!

And now you even want to donate some archeological treasuries to me . I will study the mummies carefully. And then probably bury them again?

And to all listeners, thank you for listening. I hope you will spread the Myth of Erezhi.

And to all story tellers, thanks a lotto you as well, I thoroughly enjoyed this evening full of wonders!

Yours,

Abū Alī

Thanks Dextrus and the story tellers for a very entertaining evening, we have all learned much about our history and the present, and possibly ourselves.

Thanks especially to the listeners. If any Mountain mummies are feeling the urge to join the Holy Order after hearing our tale, welcome all!

Sorry I didn't vote in time guys. There was really nice work on the myths - although I'm surprised there weren't more entries (like I'm one to talk). Thanks for sponsoring this contest SI-Mocs! Very generous!

Mikel - I really like your tower - nice use of... whatever that round gray piece is. I didn't see an individual post, hence the commenting here.

Sorry I didn't vote in time guys. There was really nice work on the myths - although I'm surprised there weren't more entries (like I'm one to talk). Thanks for sponsoring this contest SI-Mocs! Very generous!

Mikel - I really like your tower - nice use of... whatever that round gray piece is. I didn't see an individual post, hence the commenting here.

Thanks rogueang! The round gray pieces are Dark Bluish Gray Wheel 81.6 x 15 Motorcycle from the Clone Turbo Tank. I didn't post a thread for this yet as I am still not 100% satisfied with it... mostly the landscaping I think. Its one of those projects that I like the basic design elements but the details are not quite up to par so I keep tinkering with. It is my policy not to post a MOC until I am 100% satisfied with it but I wanted to do something for the Myth contest and that was what I had planned to use for the contest, I just wasn't able to complete it to my satisfaction within the time alotted. In fact it might make a reapearance (however with a few modifications or unmodifications) in Challenge 3 to once again support the story.

Congrats to the deserved winners, Rasputin Jones (robuko)and Abū Alī al-Ḥusayn ibn Abd Allāh ibn Sīnā (Christoph)! Beautiful builds and storys, fellas. And thankyou to Dextrus and everyone else who had a tale to tell - it has all been most entertaining and enlightening.