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Author Topic: Boisaire AR 2 (November 2015) Taijitu Writing Contest!  (Read 8907 times)

Offline bigbaldben

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Boisaire AR 2 (November 2015) Taijitu Writing Contest!
« on: November 06, 2015, 08:48:43 PM »
Boisaire AR 2 Writing Contest: "Discovery"
Contest Opens 12 Boisaire AR 2 (November 6, 2015)
Contest Ends 6 Orose AR 2 (November 30, 2015)

Topic:  new "technology" is discovered in your nation.  "Technology" here is defined as pretty much anything - from fire to wheel to flight to time travel - it does not have to exist in RL.  Note the words "in your nation."  That applies to your Taijitu worldbuilding nation, unless you do not have one.  If you don't have one of those, use your NationStates nation.  If you don't have one of those either, consider this your first story for your new nation.  :)

Rules:
1. MINIMUM 500 words (b/c of prize structure); NO MAXIMUM - however, I'm not going to read 10 novels - at least not very intently - so let's try to keep it within reason!  Story will be cut/pasted into MS Word to do the word count.  You can use the *abbr* tag to post or you can do multiple posts to get around the word limit here on the forums. 
2. Must be posted in contest thread (this thread you're reading now!) by 11:59:59:59 pm US Eastern Time, November 30, 2015.  You also may NOT edit after that time!
3. Doesn't necessarily have to be a short story.  Can be in the form of poetry, song, comic, whatever.  Keep in mind, however, that this is a writing contest, so your work will only be judged on the basis of the writing.
4. OPEN TO ANYONE Future contests, if any, will have a post requirement, so why not just join in the Taijitu forums now?   ;D
5. Story should be stand-alone.  You can/should use your existing nation, can use existing characters, etc., but entries should be able to be read by someone unfamiliar with your nation.  If you need explanations of something crucial about your nation and can fit it into the word limit, more power to you.
6. Story does NOT have to include dialogue or any other writing device. Use any style that you think will suit your story.  I want you guys to have as much leeway for creativity as possible.
7. ONE ENTRY PER PERSON
8. Oh, must be in English.  Sorry. :(

Judging:
I will be the sole judge for this contest.  I'm doing that mainly for convenience this time 'round.  If this is a success, I may ask different people to help judge in a particular contest.  I believe I can be an impartial judge, and will do my best to fulfill that duty.  Originality, creativity and ease-of-comprehension will all be considered. 

Prizes:
Number of prizes will depend on number of entries.  Hopefully this will motivate you to motivate your friends to enter.  That said, I do reserve the right to disqualify any entries that I feel, for whatever reason, were posted just to get us to a higher prize structure.

1-2 entries, 0 prizes.  I'll still pick a winner, for bragging rights.  :D
3-4 entries, 1 prize: $50 to the winner. 
5-7 entries, 2 prizes$75 to the winner, $25 for second place
8-10 entries, 3 prizes$100 to the winner, $50 for second place, $25 for third place.
Over 10 entries, 3 prizes$125 to the winner, $75 for second place, $30 for third place, $5 for fourth and fifth place.

Prizes will be paid out via Paypal at the conclusion of the judging.  If you don't have Paypal or if that makes it really onerous for you to receive your prize, we can work something out.

Offline bigbaldben

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Re: Boisaire AR 2 (November 2015) Taijitu Writing Contest!
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2015, 08:50:37 PM »
Please post only ENTRIES into this thread. 

Post any questions or concerns in THIS THREAD:
http://forum.taijitu.org/college-of-the-creative-arts/aquaire-ar-2-writing-contest!/


Offline bigbaldben

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Re: Boisaire AR 2 (November 2015) Taijitu Writing Contest!
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2015, 09:34:09 PM »
 :D

Offline Bustos

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Re: Boisaire AR 2 (November 2015) Taijitu Writing Contest!
« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2015, 02:41:19 PM »
So sorry...I know this is WAY belated and in the end winning/losing doesn't even matter since I'm going to be the only entry.  I wanted to at least show what I was working on.

The Official Story...

After the formation of the Allied States, Dr. Pasteur Galt, an apothecary, left and traveled the Cefnor Basin.  He began his quest for creating a collection of recipes to create medicines.  In 1787, he published a book called, De Materia Medica (On Medical Material).  It expanded into several volumes that he further published over his lifetime.  The volumes covered a wide range of plant and animal material, their properties, proper preparations, uses, and recipes for medicines as well as poisons.

After traveling around Taijitu, Dr. Galt chose to settle in al' Khem.  His choice based on their very liberal, and almost obligatory, use of a variety of medicines attracted him to settle and set up an apothecary shop in 1784.  Using his time there to continue his research and publish De Materia Medica.  In the capital city Carcossa, he grew very close to the locals.  Married Nae'llara, a woman of the Ser'ev, converted to the Path of Truth, and became involved with their protests and revolts.  For his efforts during the revolts, he was granted the honorary name of Kallisti, after Mount Kallisti.  Kallisti means Life Garden.  He adopted Kallisti as his full name and his family adopted it as their last name.

Supplying al' Khem, during the protests and revolts, required increased production capability and raw materials.  Further supporting them and their allies during the Great War demanded more.  The business acquired chemical factories, built larger laboratories, bought/leased tracts of land, and modernized the medicine production in the process.  His family continued ownership, and his legacy, creating an emerging global pharmaceutical company.  The diversity of Kallisti Health, controlling local and foreign properties, able to create chemical materials, grow medicinal crops, create base medicinal materials, conduct research and development across various scientific fields, produce cosmetics and bath related products, and of course, produce pharmaceuticals for various purposes, led the name to be changed to Kallisti Group by the 1910s.

Officially, no one knows how old Kallisti was when he died in 1873.  Some historians calculate his age between 97-123 years.  The year of his birth is open to much debate.  His family line continued to have long life spans, coupled with the worst held secret that many members of the Kallisti family are drug addicts; conspiracy theories arose that Kallisti had discover medicines that prolong natural life, was a shape-shifting alien, or both.  Some claim Kallisti never died and secret research facilities are said to exist, producing immortality drugs and developing new ones.  Members of the Kallisti family have denied such facilities and/or drugs exist, produced documentation on Kallisti's death, and explained their longevity on diet and exercise.  This has not quieted such conspiracies to this day.

Kallisti's legacy not only lives on via his family, company, and conspiracies but, his name has been used across the Taijitu amongst recreational drug users denoting being under the influence of drugs.  Aside from being a drug maker, this is also attributed to his name belonging to Mount Kallisti, the highest point in al' Khem.  “Hey Bud, you wanna get Kalli or maybe a bit Blue?”  “Dude...I am so Kallisti...You gotta try this.”  And the like.

The Truth?

Kallisti's De Materia Medica was only the journey to his true goal, immortality.  He believed with the right ingredients, a person's life could be extended.  He saw the wonders medicine had provided man, not only cures for ailments, but allowing the human body to become healthier and live longer.

After securing a loan from the Bustos Family, he set up in al' Khem where he heard plenty of legends about a “magical” juice that could prolong life.  He dedicated his life to discovering the recipe of this immortal juice.  Kallisti had made strides into various age slowing and body enhancing drugs but immortality was still beyond his reach.  These drugs and their future developments are sold to the rich and elite while the watered down versions are sold to the masses.

Everything changed when a priest involved in his naming ceremony, told him of a rare plant that only grew on Mount Kallisti and the stories that told of its medical properties.  Not only did Kallisti manage to find the plant, he was able to learn how to grow and produce it in his laboratory.  By experimenting on himself, he discovered how to properly extract and ingest the immortal properties of the plant.  However, it could not reverse the aging process and he had already grown into an old man by the time he perfected the juice.  A juice that one had to keep drinking to keep on living beyond a normal lifespan.

Now behind the scenes, hidden from the world,  Kallisti, along with select members of his and the Bustos Family as well as a certain Khemish priest, continue to produce the immortality juice, for themselves.  To what end, is another story...The Immortals.


Any comments are welcomed (positive or negative).
« Last Edit: December 18, 2015, 02:43:44 PM by Bustos »
Allied States of Bustos (WIP)


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Offline Khem

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Re: Boisaire AR 2 (November 2015) Taijitu Writing Contest!
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2015, 04:36:45 PM »
Love it.

Peoples Confederation of Holy Isles of al'Khem
:tai: Persona :tai: Worldbuilding Guide :tai: Nation of al'Khem :tai: