Post by Radical Tropicon on Apr 21, 2012 18:18:50 GMT -6
Well, being a part of the staff now, I'm not sure that I am eligible for this contest.
However, I did have a lot of fun writing and entry for it, so regardless of eligibility or not, here is my entry:
Legendary
Brilliant golden light surrounded him, cutting him off from the rest of the world. The light filtered through him, causing a tingling sensation mixed with a steadily overwhelming feeling of power. The light grew brighter and brighter as he felt himself grow stronger. He did not want this feeling to end, this feeling of limitless potential.
But all good things must come to an end, as they say. The light faded away, and the Skylander was reminded of his limitations.
A silent crowd stood before him, full of familiar faces covered in expressions of glee, approval, and even slight indifference. The Skylander stood as still as a statue under his colleagues’ full attention while he stared off into the distance behind them. Years of practice standing before crowds had taught him the essentials to defy stage fright.
A familiar, disembodied voice interrupted the silence before it became uncomfortable.
“Skylanders, I present to you...Legendary Wham-Shell!” With Master Eon’s proclamation, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause. The former king of crustaceans gave a small smile as he waved to his allies.
Wham-Shell was glad that his comrades were happy for him, and he knew that they all thought he deserved this honor for his deeds.
He also knew that Master Eon only gave him the status of a Legendary because he chose not to kill the Troll King when he had the opportunity. Years of hate and anger urged every fibre of his being to end the Troll King’s life, to finally deliver the vengeance he had wanted to bring for so long. All he had to do was swing his mace and all his torment would end.
But would it? Even if the Troll King was killed, Wham-Shell’s people would still be lost, possibly never to return. There was no point in finishing off the Troll King anymore. There was no point for Wham-Shell’s revenge.
Then the memories of what he had done to the trolls began to resurface. The destruction, the pain, the utter pointless violence Wham-Shell brought upon the trolls paralyzed him. Wham-Shell wasn’t a hero of Skylands, saving the world from evil forces. He was a monster, destroying any troll for no reason other than pointless vengeance.
Upon this realization, Wham-Shell could not kill the Troll King. He stood back as the king was imprisoned as a statue and cast out of Skylands. It was after this that Master Eon declared that Wham-Shell was worthy of becoming Legendary, and the ceremony was held shortly after.
--
“Worthy,” Wham-Shell thought. “I am worthy of nothing.”
The crustacean sat on the shore of the Ruins, his eyes fixed on the ocean. Wham-Shell’s mace sat discarded in the sand beside him. Schools of fish swam peacefully under the surface of the ocean, while the Arkeyan Weapon Master remained as still as stone on his pedestal. The atmosphere was soothing, to say the least.
“What troubles you, Wham-Shell?” A soft voice said quietly, adding itself to the serene setting. Wham-Shell turned to the voice. Dazzling blue eyes full of concern met his while soft blue feathers gave away who his new companion was.
“You are getting much better at sneaking up on people, Whirlwind. Has Cynder been teaching you her shadow tricks?”
Whirlwind smirked. “I’m afraid not. I would think that my rainbow attacks would give my position away in the dark.”
Wham-Shell remained silent, continuing his observing of the sea. Whirlwind’s look of concern returned.
“Seriously Wham-Shell, tell me what’s wrong.” Whirlwind said as softly as she could. A few moments passed before Wham-Shell gave a heavy sigh.
“I do not deserve to be a Legendary. I spent most of my career as a Skylander destroying trolls and bringing ruin to their empire out of sheer hatred for what they had done to my kingdom. I did not need a reason to lay waste to any troll outpost or village I encountered. I went out of my way to bring pain to those people. How Master Eon has allowed me to remain a Skylander for so long baffles me. Then he awards me the greatest honor we can ever receive! He is either blind, or a lunatic, if he thinks that I, a murderer, deserve such a gift.”
Whirlwind remained silent for several minutes, her eyes studying her tortured ally.
“Then we have the worst part.” Wham-Shell continued. “All those years of destroying trollkind, all those years of war and bloodshed...all those years, I could have been searching for my people! So many of them died during the invasion, but there must have been survivors! Swept away by the currents to who knows where, but they must be out there! Finding them as soon as possible should have been my top priority, and it was my responsibility as king to do so!”
The frustration Wham-Shell felt radiated off him, his anger at himself clearly evident to Whirlwind. She felt terrible for the pain her friend was going through, feelings of her own past struggles stirring up inside her.
In an attempt to comfort her friend, Whirlwind rested a paw on his shoulder.
“I failed them.” Wham-Shell said quietly.
“No, you haven’t.” Wham-Shell turned to look at his friend, a question in his eyes.
“You can still go look for them. I’m sure they have been waiting a long time for the day their king would return.” A smile had formed on Whirlwind’s face as she spoke, while Wham-Shell’s frustration slowly melted away.
“What of my duties as a Skylander? I cannot abandon Master Eon and the others now that they I have been given the honor of becoming a Legendary. I would be gone for years, decades even, to try and find my people. I cannot leave knowing I would be abandoning my friends and allies like I abandoned my own people.”
Whirlwind simply smiled, picked up Wham-Shell’s mace from the sand, and handed it to him. Reluctantly, Wham-Shell took it.
“You would not be abandoning us,” Whirlwind said, “because we know you will return to us, whenever that may be.”
Wham-Shell observed his friend for a moment as he digested what she had told him. The answer was obvious now of what he must do, and Wham-Shell had to do it, for the people he had neglected for so long.
“Thank you, Whirlwind.” And with that, the king of crustaceans strapped his mace to his back, and descended into the depths of the ocean.
However, I did have a lot of fun writing and entry for it, so regardless of eligibility or not, here is my entry:
Legendary
Brilliant golden light surrounded him, cutting him off from the rest of the world. The light filtered through him, causing a tingling sensation mixed with a steadily overwhelming feeling of power. The light grew brighter and brighter as he felt himself grow stronger. He did not want this feeling to end, this feeling of limitless potential.
But all good things must come to an end, as they say. The light faded away, and the Skylander was reminded of his limitations.
A silent crowd stood before him, full of familiar faces covered in expressions of glee, approval, and even slight indifference. The Skylander stood as still as a statue under his colleagues’ full attention while he stared off into the distance behind them. Years of practice standing before crowds had taught him the essentials to defy stage fright.
A familiar, disembodied voice interrupted the silence before it became uncomfortable.
“Skylanders, I present to you...Legendary Wham-Shell!” With Master Eon’s proclamation, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause. The former king of crustaceans gave a small smile as he waved to his allies.
Wham-Shell was glad that his comrades were happy for him, and he knew that they all thought he deserved this honor for his deeds.
He also knew that Master Eon only gave him the status of a Legendary because he chose not to kill the Troll King when he had the opportunity. Years of hate and anger urged every fibre of his being to end the Troll King’s life, to finally deliver the vengeance he had wanted to bring for so long. All he had to do was swing his mace and all his torment would end.
But would it? Even if the Troll King was killed, Wham-Shell’s people would still be lost, possibly never to return. There was no point in finishing off the Troll King anymore. There was no point for Wham-Shell’s revenge.
Then the memories of what he had done to the trolls began to resurface. The destruction, the pain, the utter pointless violence Wham-Shell brought upon the trolls paralyzed him. Wham-Shell wasn’t a hero of Skylands, saving the world from evil forces. He was a monster, destroying any troll for no reason other than pointless vengeance.
Upon this realization, Wham-Shell could not kill the Troll King. He stood back as the king was imprisoned as a statue and cast out of Skylands. It was after this that Master Eon declared that Wham-Shell was worthy of becoming Legendary, and the ceremony was held shortly after.
--
“Worthy,” Wham-Shell thought. “I am worthy of nothing.”
The crustacean sat on the shore of the Ruins, his eyes fixed on the ocean. Wham-Shell’s mace sat discarded in the sand beside him. Schools of fish swam peacefully under the surface of the ocean, while the Arkeyan Weapon Master remained as still as stone on his pedestal. The atmosphere was soothing, to say the least.
“What troubles you, Wham-Shell?” A soft voice said quietly, adding itself to the serene setting. Wham-Shell turned to the voice. Dazzling blue eyes full of concern met his while soft blue feathers gave away who his new companion was.
“You are getting much better at sneaking up on people, Whirlwind. Has Cynder been teaching you her shadow tricks?”
Whirlwind smirked. “I’m afraid not. I would think that my rainbow attacks would give my position away in the dark.”
Wham-Shell remained silent, continuing his observing of the sea. Whirlwind’s look of concern returned.
“Seriously Wham-Shell, tell me what’s wrong.” Whirlwind said as softly as she could. A few moments passed before Wham-Shell gave a heavy sigh.
“I do not deserve to be a Legendary. I spent most of my career as a Skylander destroying trolls and bringing ruin to their empire out of sheer hatred for what they had done to my kingdom. I did not need a reason to lay waste to any troll outpost or village I encountered. I went out of my way to bring pain to those people. How Master Eon has allowed me to remain a Skylander for so long baffles me. Then he awards me the greatest honor we can ever receive! He is either blind, or a lunatic, if he thinks that I, a murderer, deserve such a gift.”
Whirlwind remained silent for several minutes, her eyes studying her tortured ally.
“Then we have the worst part.” Wham-Shell continued. “All those years of destroying trollkind, all those years of war and bloodshed...all those years, I could have been searching for my people! So many of them died during the invasion, but there must have been survivors! Swept away by the currents to who knows where, but they must be out there! Finding them as soon as possible should have been my top priority, and it was my responsibility as king to do so!”
The frustration Wham-Shell felt radiated off him, his anger at himself clearly evident to Whirlwind. She felt terrible for the pain her friend was going through, feelings of her own past struggles stirring up inside her.
In an attempt to comfort her friend, Whirlwind rested a paw on his shoulder.
“I failed them.” Wham-Shell said quietly.
“No, you haven’t.” Wham-Shell turned to look at his friend, a question in his eyes.
“You can still go look for them. I’m sure they have been waiting a long time for the day their king would return.” A smile had formed on Whirlwind’s face as she spoke, while Wham-Shell’s frustration slowly melted away.
“What of my duties as a Skylander? I cannot abandon Master Eon and the others now that they I have been given the honor of becoming a Legendary. I would be gone for years, decades even, to try and find my people. I cannot leave knowing I would be abandoning my friends and allies like I abandoned my own people.”
Whirlwind simply smiled, picked up Wham-Shell’s mace from the sand, and handed it to him. Reluctantly, Wham-Shell took it.
“You would not be abandoning us,” Whirlwind said, “because we know you will return to us, whenever that may be.”
Wham-Shell observed his friend for a moment as he digested what she had told him. The answer was obvious now of what he must do, and Wham-Shell had to do it, for the people he had neglected for so long.
“Thank you, Whirlwind.” And with that, the king of crustaceans strapped his mace to his back, and descended into the depths of the ocean.
I think you did a wonderful job writting this short story! ^_^ (I was a little disappointed when it ended actually... I was sadface cause I wanted to read more... T.T) Overall though your sentence structure and flow was flawless! 
Originally I had planned Eon to be in Whirlwind's place, then I thought of doing Cynder, but I thought Whirlwind fit better. 
