You heard it here first! Literally - just now! But it's time to dive in with some details.
WHAT WE WANT:
A new story outlining something that inspires terror across the denizens of the sector. Whether it's a scary monster, a haunting philosophy, or a tale of warning, we want to read stories rooted in lore that would inspire goosebumps across a Ry'nari's hide.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:
1. Who you play/what your character name is.
> Argus, the smallest feracht
2. A name for your horror
> The Foogu, slime monster of Benu Wen
3. A description of your horror, including why it is scary to the sector.
> The Foogu is a massive horror of ever-increasing size and amorphous shape made of viscous, ambulatory slime. Fungus and moss grows liberally upon it, making it impossible to detect when walking in dark forests until you are already consumed. Tales of The Foogu and its rise to sentience are used liberally by W'hoorn parents to make their children mind them and stay close to home.
4. The tale of your horror. In 500 words or less, share the story is if you were recounting it to a friend.
> "Said to have been grown from unstable molecules that escaped from a laboratory of W'hoorn scientists several centuries ago, the Foogu hides in the shadows of forests surrounding Benu Wen. Its slick slime body is often mis-identified as a puddle of water beneath a towering tree or a mound of thriving fungus... Though its true scope is almost unfathomable, blanketing the entire forest floor with its quivering, slithering mass. Rumor has it that unaware spacers lost in the woods are absorbed by the Foogu, its slow-moving body silently surrounding their legs and pulling them into its depths.
No evidence of these abductions has ever been verified, though many of the bodies of lost spacers believed to have gone missing in its territory have never been found either. The theory is that the stolen spacers remain alive within its body in a fully aware, hellish stasis, used as nutrient batteries for the monster's continued existence. Rumors fill the skies that the Foogu is still expanding to this day, growing ever larger and even consuming thoughtless W'hoorn who neglect the skies to stomp about on the ground. Though no definitive proof of the Foogu's existence has ever been found, a plethora of photographs and grainy video footage can be found on the commsphere."
CONTEST RULES:
- Your entry must include ALL required information detailed above.
- One entry per player.
- Collaboration is ok, but only the person who submits the entry can win the prize.
- No stories or creepypastas lifted directly from current Earth culture. Taking inspiration is fine, but the final product should be unique and wholly yours.
- Goes without saying, but no AI generated content. We're on the honor code here - This should come from you.
SUBMITTING YOUR ENTRY:
Entries should be sent as a Pastebin, Notepad file, or Google Doc link to Argus in game and will be shared among game staff for judging, crying, and screaming in terror! (Not necessarily in that order.) Your deadline is 11:59pm EST on October 31st. We'll take a couple days to decide, then announce the winner!
You are welcome, though not required, to use this entry form: https://pastebin.com/nGDPEvBH
WINNING PRIZE
The winning entry will receive a unique item of some kind or a minipet loosely based on their creation, subject to admin discretion. Details about the creature will also be added to our public wiki and the main website, solidifying the fruits of your depraved imagination into game canon forever.
In addition, everyone who submits an entry will receive:
- 25 credits
- A special mask only available through this contest
Good luck and make it weird, folks! As usual, our bodies are ready. The terror's already got my tail poofed up, fluffier than my whole body.
Cowering in fear, but excited,
Your Starmourn Admin Team
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To check out entries from previous years, you can check out the website https://www.starmourn.com/scare_the_storytellers/ or go right to the wiki https://wiki.starmourn.com/Scare_The_Storytellers!
