Original Sin looked out at the 8 contestants that remained as they shot through The Hive to its core. It would take one more round, It calculated, before they would reach their destination at he heart of The Hive.
Without hesitation, It sent out a message to the slumbering Champions:
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Ten have been lost ? seven will join them.
For the eight that remain, I have the penultimate test for you. To rule a universe, one must first rule their own. Thusly, the next arena I shall send you to will be based on the dangers of nature ? your earthly domain. Four arenas, four seasons, four elements. Survive or master them, that is up to you. Whatever the outcome, four shall wake and four shall die.
I shall await those four at the centre of The Hive, where their final test shall take place. In the mean time, I wish you all luck in the journey ahead.
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The fizzing chuckle again. It was only a matter of time before the final test ? it was so close. And for the first time in Its impossibly long existence, It felt impatience.
[HEADING=1]ROUND 3: The Elements[/HEADING]
[HEADING=2]The Round[/HEADING]
This round is your standard Ratings War round. No word-limit, just you and your enemy. Oh, and some form of impending doom to keep you two company in the meantime.
You have two weeks for this one.
[HEADING=2]Judging[/HEADING]
Once again, very standard Ratings War style - we're returning from the scoring system of Round 2 to the 3-way verdict of both Round 1 and Ratings Wars past.
[HEADING=2]ARENA 1: Shanks (Armitage Shanks) v Harold Anders (NewClassic)
Summer: Breath[/HEADING]
Storm clouds swirl overhead as an abandoned coastal town lies in wait for the storm that will destroy it. The winds are blowing debris like missiles, the air is stickily humid and tens of minutes remain until the storm pummels what is left of a homely village into a crater of dust.
[HEADING=2]ARENA 2: Beuxhart (Soothsayer) v Carl Grob (pigeon_of_doom)
Autumn: Fire[/HEADING]
A volcanic mountain range towers above two Champions, both sealed within a stone maze. Lava spills out of the range like a wall of fire, stretching as far as the eye can see. Can they find each other before the fire finds them?
[HEADING=2]ARENA 3: Chance Connie (Fraught) v Charles Taylor (Zombie_Fish)
Winter: Sea[/HEADING]
In a sea where the surface has frozen over, two enemy submarines lie in a war that time forgot. They've crashed into one another and landed on the bottom of the sea, power dead and watertight seal broken. The crew are dead bar one in each; the Champions that fight for supremacy of the same sea that threatens to drown them.
[HEADING=2]ARENA 4: Eurania (HSIAMetalKing) v Amelia Rhodes (revolverwolf)
Spring: Earth[/HEADING]
Light shines through the trees of a tranquil forest landscape, reflecting softy off the dew that clings to the leaves that accopany them. But that tranquility is short lived, as the tremors that run deep in the ground grow steadily stronger. You don't have long before an earthquake levels the entire forest with you beneath it.
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You have until the 24th of December to get your entries in. If you have any questions or require an extension, please feel free to PM me.
Otherwise, good luck and good writing.
