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Thread: Tale of the Week 292: Leap of Faith - Submissions Thread

  1. #1
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    Default Tale of the Week 292: Leap of Faith - Submissions Thread


    Creative Workshop Competitions - Check out our sister competitions here on TWC! << Picture of the Week | Tale of the Week | Writers' Study General Competitions | Graphics Workshop Monthly Competition >>




    Leap of Faith


    With thanks to Commissar Caligula_ for the use of his Game Picture of the Week 100 submission. Please rep him by clicking on the little green cross. You may find more of his works here in his gallery.


    Keywords
    Jump
    Agile
    Distance
    Danger
    Believe



    Rules - PLEASE READ
    • The title and picture are there simply for inspiration, you do not have to use them if you don't want to - besides the keywords everything else is up to you!
    • Each theme will have a number of keywords that have to be used in your submission. They can be used in any way, but please place these words in bold so they can easily be seen by the competition organiser(s).
    • When using the keywords you may change singular nouns into plurals and vice versa; and you may change the tenses of verbs. No other changes are permitted.
    • The submission must have a minimum of 200 words. The title counts towards this minimum, but footnotes, explanatory notes, and other supplementary texts do not. The submission must also have a maximum of 500 words INCLUDING all titles, footnotes etc.
    • The submission must be placed in a spoiler.
    • The submission period will last at least two weeks. If we have three entries after two weeks, voting will begin. The submission period may be extended at the discretion of the competition organiser(s).
    • If you are a contestant you are honour bound to not read other contestants' writings until you have submitted yours.
    • If your entry is found to be substantially similar to another entry your submission will be disqualified. This is at the discretion of the competition organiser(s).
    • Contestants are not allowed to directly advertise their stories or ask for votes. If this is discovered you will be disqualified. Posting "Please vote for my entry in TotW" is NOT allowed. However, posting "Please vote for your favourite entry in TotW" is not only allowed, it is encouraged!
    • This thread is for submissions only. If you have any comments or questions then please post them in the commentary thread.
    • Please note that all rules including word count and key words will be strictly enforced. Rule breakers will be disqualified from the vote.


    AwardsEach winning story will receive 1 Writers' Study Competition point. This point will be added to the total number of points you have won from TotW and other Writers' Study competitions, and recorded in the Writers' Study Hall of Fame. When you have accumulated enough points, you will be awarded the appropriate Writers' Study Competition Medal.

    • 6 points - bronze medal
    • 12 points - silver medal
    • 24 points - gold medal



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  2. #2
    The Wandering Storyteller's Avatar Protector Domesticus
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    Default Re: Tale of the Week 292: Leap of Faith - Submissions Thread

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    1715

    Near the Coast of Florida, Cape Carnival



    Rodrigo Santaras watched from the main deck as the man of war thrust through choppy waves. Not a single shred of light was to be seen in the advance of the storm. Many of the square riggers at the top of the foremasts were reducing sails. Others sailors rotated the ropes as they unfurled the topsails, letting the old sails drop. He felt the ship jerking and jumping into the air, almost about to capsize. A section of the crew was checking the lashings on the boats that stood at the center of the ship. Two crewmen hauled the boats in, to make sure they were not leaking or moulding. Being the Captain’s first mate had its advantages. He had worked hard through years sailing as a boy during the sack of Panama. Hatches were battered by crewmembers. The sound of gunports was closed, the clicking and clacking of the small wooden ports slamming them, never to be seen again. “What’s the news on the topsail? The storm’s picking up quite a barrier to us. We might not make it.” Rodrigo said to the sailor who spun the wheel, roaring.


    'I agree on sir, the foremast doesn’t seem it’ll like survive another storm. The Philippines were worse than this, the ocean would never run out of storms! The distance to get to land is far! The sailor replied back. Droplets of rain began to join together, splashing onto the deck. A gust of wind blew through the ship, causing sailors to fall down and slip. The ship creaked, with the wood groaning, large swells of ocean water crashing onto the closed gun ports. Under the careful supervision of his orders, Rodrigo had made sure that the ship would be able to batter the storm. The clouds showed no sign of darkening. He wondered if Isabella would have shown her this much anger with the way the storm was reminding off. Isabella had objected to his career in the Indies, and that had soured relations; so much so that Isabella swore to leave him instead for Norandos, the most rotten man he could ever find an enemy. Ubilla had promised him to provide a share of the gold to invite Isabella back, but even he knew now that was beyond a fool’s hope. It was a danger now he considered his predicament in this storm. Only God would deliver him into the Kingdom of Heaven. He just needed to believe.
    The wilderness showed no signs of settling down; the broad wind blew heavy, removing his wig. Rodrigo held his cross dearly; legends had told of the serpents and sea beasts that inhabited these very waters, who would within an instant pluck a sailor and sink them down to the murky depths. The clouds began to darken; the light was considerably thinning away in the silver lining, like a black shroud descending over the sky. He needed to be more agile.
    Last edited by The Wandering Storyteller; May 14, 2019 at 06:28 PM.





















































  3. #3
    Swaeft's Avatar Drama King
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    Default Re: Tale of the Week 292: Leap of Faith - Submissions Thread

    Submission period extended by one week.

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  4. #4
    Alwyn's Avatar Frothy Goodness
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    Default Re: Tale of the Week 292: Leap of Faith - Submissions Thread

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Captain Zhang watched impassively as the yellow icons disappeared from her view, one by one.

    “I believe the rebel fleet is defeated. Prepare to jump,” she ordered.

    “Captain, a jump signature is forming right behind us!” Navigator Wu’s voice was steady despite this surprise, he sounded alert and confident. The Blue Sky was a Sentinel-class warship, with the heaviest armour and the most accurate interceptor batteries in New China’s fleet.

    “What distance?” asked the captain.

    “Just twenty , and a vessel is emerging fast.” replied Wu.

    “We are receiving a signal,” said Communication Officer Li. “They say they’re the Yellow Dragon, they’re ordering us to surrender.”

    The captain’s fingers probed the projection in the air in front of her, rapidly selecting icons to explore options and dismissing each one.

    “We’re not agile enough to evade their fire and we’re too slow to escape, “said the captain. “We could turn to engage them, but that ship is Champion-class. The danger is that they have the firepower to wreck our engines before our main batteries could return fire.”

    The captain turned to Li. “Open a channel to the Yellow Dragon.”

    “This is Captain Chen of the Yellow Dragon,” came the voice from the enemy vessel. “Your position is hopeless. There is no dishonour in surrendering, your crew will not be ill-treated.”

    Captain Zhang responded, “You have a reputation for trustworthiness and your ship has the advantage of mine. My ship would be a valuable prize, but I can deny you this prize and your vessel is not at a safe distance from mine.”

    Wu and Li looked anxious, as their captain made the implicit threat to overload the Blue Sky’s jump engines, which would scatter fast-moving shrapnel in all directions.

    “I have confidence in my firing team, they could destroy your engines before the overload became critical,” replied Captain Chen.

    Captain Zhang said, “Have you scanned the wreckage in orbit around the third moon? Tell me, were your rebel allies fighting warships or civilian vessels, before my ship arrived?”

    There was silence for a moment. Then Captain Chen exclaimed, “They appear to be civilian vessels, but perhaps this is some trick. I joined the rebels when...”

    Captain Zhang interrupted, “I know why you joined. Your mother was killed on a civilian transport which was destroyed by an imperial warship, the White Tiger. The White Tiger’s captain avoided punishment, as he is favoured by the ten corrupt viceroys who serve the Emperor.”

    “If you know this, how can you continue to serve in the imperial fleet?” asked Captain Chen.

    “I am taking a risk telling you this,” said Captain Zhang. “I am only telling you because of your honourable reputation. There is a group of imperial officers who are secretly planning to remove the viceroys. But your rebellion is strengthening the Emperor’s reliance on them! You could join us, your ship could tip the balance. I’m asking you to trust me.”
    Last edited by Alwyn; June 02, 2019 at 06:01 AM.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Tale of the Week 292: Leap of Faith - Submissions Thread

    Submission period extended by one week.

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  6. #6
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    Default Re: Tale of the Week 292: Leap of Faith - Submissions Thread

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Caution


    It is not enough to be agile, you need to believe you can make the jump. Likewise, the danger rests on more than just the considerable distance to be covered. Being a less than stellar athlete, I am cautious and wish to be more mentally prepared before I commit. But time is running out, and each new thought, justified and promising as it may be, grounded in reality as it may be, eats up more of the most previous resource of them all and I risk everything by humoring the loftiest notions.
    The jump has to be made, and regardless of how prepared I may be, it won’t be due to my ambitious examination of my position at the edge of the chasm. It is actually very possible that my thoughts never improved my preparation for it, and may even have diminished my chance of accomplishing it. But I cannot overthink this possibility, because if I do – I see this clearly – another gap is formed, this time in my mind, and there I am faced with another jump to the other side. And precisely because that other kind of leap is one I can avoid just by refusing to go on thinking about it, I cease to think and instead stare idly at the dented edge, hoping it will soon be an image from the past.



    Λέων μεν ὄνυξι κρατεῖ, κέρασι δε βούς, ἄνθρωπος δε νῷι
    "While the lion prevails with its claws, and the ox through its horns, man does by his thinking"
    Anaxagoras of Klazomenae, 5th century BC










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