Saturday, June 23, 2012

1st Place Winner - Talon Nightshade

And here is the first place entry for the contest. It's long, but read the whole thing. You will see why Talon won!

Beyond the eternal sands there is a world. A world that was thought to have not have existed for centuries .A world that could be either a powerful ally..... or a deadly enemy. This world is Mirage. Mirage is built around a great desert and is habitated by many races of creatures, including Snakes, Cats, and Camels, and the occasional Scarab beetle, but they are all brought under the banner of the Purr-sian empire, which is ruled by the great and terrible Sultan. But now there is rebellion, which is rumored to be led by the Spider Queen, Morganthe herself! She is said to have come to Mirage to gain access to the sacred Hunting horn, which was lost thousands of years ago. The Sultan himself has asked you to help him put down the rebellion and stop Morganthe. You will journey across Mirage, to try to get to the Horn before Morganthe, but the only problem is that you don't know where it is! In this Mediterranean/Middle Eastern world, you will confront Morganthe, find out the untold mysteries of the Spiral, and maybe earn some extra cash from some really distressed Merchant Camels, get ready for Mirage!(O by the way, I attached a map of Mirage I drew)

 Highlights of Mirage
1. The Level 80 tower is here, in The Dunes. It is called The Tomb of Isfet (That means Chaos in Ancient Egyptian). It works just like Waterworks and Briskbreeze tower.
2. The level 88 spell quest NPC's are here.
3. This is the next world in the Morganthe storyline and adds 10 more levels to the level cap.

This is what the battle music would sound like, except with a little more background music

This is what the music would sound like if your just walking around, but with more background music.

This is another choice for the Walking around music- ( I personally think this is the best for the walking around music)

Areas in Mirage
The Shining city of Purrsa-(This is a play on words of Parrsa, which was the capital of the ancient Persian Empire. Parrsa in Ancient Persian supposedly meant "the city of the Persians". I would like to think that Purrsa would mean "The city of the Purr-sians". Parrsa now is known as Persepolis, but Parrsa is what the Persians called it.) The Shining city of Purrsa is the capital of the Purr-sian empire, and the home of the great and terrible Sultan. It is beautifully built, and has sustained its purpose of protecting its inhabitants from the cruel and merciless desert. This is the "Commons" area for Mirage, and no Enemies are located inside this area. The city has a library, which sells all of the normal treasure cards, plus astral cards. The city also has an academy of Magic.

The Bazaar- This is the first area with actual enemies. This is an area on the outskirts of Purr-sepolis, a sandy clearing filled with tents and Merchant Camels, which have Merchandise extravagantly priced. This is the "Shopping District" area of Mirage, and the Player can buy gear here and get the crafting recipes for many things.There is also a regent vendor. The place also has Black-cloth-covered Cat enemy's called Desert Bandits and some Shadow Wraiths. They are both part of the Main story-line quests as well as some side quests.

The Dunes- This area is in the middle of the Desert and it is filled with Bandits. There is also a tower with a boss called Dariusss the Poisoner(This is a play on words of the Persian name, Darius) Dariusss is a Balance Snake boss with 20,000 health who does not cheat.

The Oasis- This area is a great lake surrounded by Palm trees. It is also the only surviving element of Mirage's former glory.On the map it is in the center of the world, right in the center of the desert. There is also a small Snake village here, which you help from Serpent cult members. There are 3 minor bosses here, all of them small Serpent Cult members with roughly 12,000 health each.

The Sunken Archives- This area is basically a library of sorts sunken underneath the sands. It is filled with books, sand, and Scarab Mercenary's, Shadow Wraiths, and Serpent Cult members. It is somewhat like a maze of bookshelves. There are 2 bosses here, one a Scarab beetle boss called Khepri the Conqueror( Khepri is the Ancient Egyptian sun god, which is supposed to have been represented by a Scarab beetle), and a Goliath named Goliath Ack'majk'an. Khepri is a Balance boss with 15,500 health and The Goliath is a Death boss with 16,000 health.

The Tomb of Cyrus of Purr-sia- . This is the Tomb of the first Sultan of the Purr-sian Empire, Cyrus.(Cyrus the Great was actually the founder of the real Persian Empire and was the first king of it.) It is said that the sacred Hunting Horn was buried with him. This would be the final dungeon where you would confront Morganthe. It looks like a sandy maze of hallways with small halls with mobs inside. You will find Morganthe near Cyrus' coffin and she will take the horn. You have learned from your travels in Mirage that the horn is a very magical relic that has immeasurable power when it is sounded. She manages to steal it and leaves you to fight some Desert Souls, which are basically Balance ghosts with 20,000 health each, and Dariusss

The Main Storyline- (This is just a note that not all the NPC names have been created yet)
The storyline begins when you arrive in Mirage and are requested by a Court Messenger to meet the Sultan. You meet with him and he welcomes you to Mirage, but also warns you of the rebellion. You agree to help and he sends you to the General of the Purr-sian army to train. You must fight the Purr-sian General and defeat him to prove your worth. After you defeat the General he tells you to go to The Bazaar and help the Merchant Camel's their from the frequent thefts by the Desert Bandits. You eventually help them and find information from the Bandits that the hideout of the Bandits and the Rebellion is in The Dunes. You go there and are asked by the Purr-sian soldiers to help them by collecting their stolen weapons from the Bandits their by defeating them. You later learn that the Leader of the Rebellion is a Snake named Dariusss the Poisoner. You go to his tower and fight him. He manages to escape and reveals to you that he is a servant of Morganthe. His abandonment of the area has dispersed the Rebellion, but when you tell the Sultan and the General this news of Dariusss, they say that you must go to the Oasis to investigate, as the Oasis is the Snake homelands. When you arrive there you find the Snake village there in ruins almost. When you ask the Village Chief what happened he explains that the village has been harassed and looted multiple times by the local Serpent Cult. You give this information to the General and the Sultan and they tell you to investigate on this Serpent Cult by defeating some Cult members and seeing if they have anything on them. You eventually find that some of their clothes are wet and believe that to to be a clue that the Cult member's Head Quarters are inside the Oasis lake.The Sultan tells you to infiltrate it so the Purr-sian army can stop the cult. You get a potion from the Village chief that transforms you into a Snake to infiltrate the Serpent HQ, and a potion to breath underwater. The Cult Headquarters is a Dungeon. You manage to get in untroubled and find that Dariusss is also the leader of the Serpent Cult. He is heavily painted and known as "The Gold Cobra" among the Cult members, but you recognize his trademark Hood markings. You hear him telling the whole cult that how Morganthe will help them and overthrow the Sultan. He then notices you and sets 4 Elite Serpent Cult members after you, Storm Snake mobs with 3000 health each. Dariusss escapes and so do you. You tell the General what you found and he says that when he sent some Soldiers there nothing was found except a Scarab amulet. This is the sign of the Scarab people, he says, who are the keepers of The Sunken Archives. Their loyalties are divided he says, so you must approach them with caution. You go to the Sunken archives and are immediately challenged by a group of Scarab Mercenary's with 2500 health each. You meet with a Scarab loyal to the Purr-sian empire and he tells you that the majority of the Scarab's have sided with Morganthe and Dariusss, who has brought all of his Rebels and Cult members with him. The Loyal Scarab tells you that the Evil Scarabs are lead by a Scarab named Khepri the Conqueror. Morganthe has come to Mirage to search for the Horn, and the Archives is where that information is sure to be. You have to find the information and take it to the Sultan before Morganthe and defeat Khepri and Dariusss. To do that you go around the Archives and search the books, which are in Archive rooms. You get to the last one on the list, and you find the information, but with Khepri with it! You battle it out with him and eventually win and find the information, but need a key for it. The key in question belongs to Goliath Ack'majk'an. You defeat him and unlock the information, which turns out that the Horn is in The tomb of Cyrus of Purr-sia's tomb. You tell the Sultan this information and he tells you you must defeat Morganthe before she get's the horn. You go to the tomb of Cyrus, the first Sultan of the Purr-sian empire, which is a dungeon, and search the tomb for the horn, fighting multiple mobs and minor bosses. Finally you find the Horn, but in the hands of Morganthe! She says she will give you one more chance to join her side, but you say no. She says that its a shame that someone of your power should be destroyed so young, and disappears and leaves you to fight 3 Desert Souls and Dariusss, but this time he has 30,000 health. You defeat them eventually and Dariusss says before dying that not you, Ambrose, or anybody can stop Morganthe now. You leave the dungeon and tell the Sultan the disturbing news. He is shaken, but glad that Dariusss will not trouble the empire any more. He tells you to convey this information to Merle Ambrose. When you tell Merle Ambrose this news, he says that dark times are approaching, but dismisses you back to your study's.

Important Side quests-
The Turtles(Prospector Zeke Quest)- First of all I want to say that Turtles was a band in the 60's according to Wiki Answers lol, but anyway, The quest is basically you finding Turtles across Mirage. They basically look like small stones with a head and four legs lol, nothing like the Housing Vendor turtles :P

The History of Mirage- This quest is given by the Librarian in the Royal Purr-sian Library in Purrsa. The main idea for this quest is for you to search around Mirage for bizarre Monolith-like structures that contain the History of Mirage. The Monoliths are always sticking out of the sand and are animated by magical pictures that fly out and tell the story. Here is the History of Mirage that is written on the Monoliths: "When the Grandfather Tree first created the Spiral, Mirage was a beautiful place, filled with jungles and beaches, almost like a paradise. But it did not stay that way. When the Elemental Titans fought over dominance for the Spiral, many worlds were destroyed during their many battles. But Mirage sustained, even through the destruction. It lost all of it's former glory, but it survived the catastrophic conflict. It became a world covered with sands, a desert that seemed almost endless. The Grandfather tree and the Grandmother Raven had lulled the Elemental Titans to sleep, but the destruction they had caused could not be repaired. The survivors in Mirage of the Titan War were few, but they were strong. They learned to survive in the desert, becoming nomads, roaming Mirage and living off the land. They also learned to become like the Desert, to have the ability to sustain life, and the ability to destroy it. The inhabitants of Mirage were divided into many tribes, their loyalties divided into their own species'. But when the Shadow Web attacked, the Tribes united to repel the foreign invasion. The Tribes united under a Cat named Cyrus to form the Purr-sian empire. The Purr-sian empire defeated the Shadow Web, but what was really important was that Mirage was united. Cyrus took up the crown of Mirage and was recognized as the Sultan of the Purr-sian Empire. Mirage came into a great time of peace and Harmony. But always, the sands whisper of Darkness....."

The Royal Purr-sian Institute of Magic- This is a quest where you meet all the Teachers at the Mirage magical institute. They are not like the Pigswick Academy teachers and are all of Purr-sian origin and teach the same schools as Ravenwood. You are asked by them to ask if they could examine the lesson plans at Ravenwood so they could improve on their teaching. You do this and as a thank you for helping them you get the spell "The Sands", which can either give you a Tower shield or put a Balance trap on you(Card picture is attached :D) and has a 100% accuracy and costs 0 pips.

Level 88 spells+Pets( Pictures of the Spell cards are attached :D)
Balance- Balance students will be asked by Alhazred to come to his classroom and accept the quest "The Scale tips" to be able to aquire the spell Cosmic Balance. Cosmic Balance is a spell that has the ability to either heal the enemy or harm it. It attacks the enemy with 1000 damage and can heal the enemy with 1000 health. It has a 85% accuracy and costs 6 pips. The animation is of a Scale being tested. If it falls on the enemy side it will do 1000 damage. If it falls on your side it will heal the enemy. Balance Students will also be asked by Alhazred to accept the quest "Sunny day" to be able to aquire the pet Ra

Fire- Fire students will be asked by Professor Falmea to come to her classroom and accept the quest "A little Red in the Face" to be able to aquire the spell Mars. It is not a Damage over time spell and destroys 2 blades. It deals 1100 damage and has an accuracy of 75%. It costs 10 pips. The animation is of a flaming warrior on a red landscape surrounded by arrows that have not hit him. He rises from his pose on one knee and points his sword at the enemy and lunges at him. Pyromancers will also be asked to accept the quest "King of the Sky" to receive a Fire Dragon pet.

Ice- Ice students will be asked to come to Lydia Greyrose's office to accept the quest "Its a little chilly" to be able to aquire the spell Frost Dragon. It does 900 damage and removes a shield and stuns. It has a 75% accuracy and costs 10 pips. The animation is of a White and Blue Dragon landing on a plain of ice. It breathes a Frosty mixture of Ice and snow on the enemy, claws the enemy, and then fly's away. Ice Wizards will also be asked to accept the quest "A Horse of Snow" to be able to aquire the Snow Angel pet

Storm- Storm Wizards will be asked to come to Halston Baelstrom's class to accept the quest "Above the Storm Clouds" to be able to aquire the spell Thunderbird. This spell has the possibility to do 1300 damage to the enemy. It has a 70% accuracy and costs 10 pips. The animation is of a over-large Hawk crackling with electricity but still looking like a Hawk. It turns into a bolt of lightning and dives at the target. Diviners can also accept the quest "Not just an Eel" to be able to aquire the Leviathan pet.

Death- Necromancers will be asked to come to Dworgyn to accept the quest "The Three" to be able to aquire the spell Valkyries. This spell does not steal health. It does 1000 damage and has an 80% accuracy. It costs 10 pips. The animation is of 3 woman wearing armour riding horseback and drawing their swords. They charge you as one and then disappear. Death wizards can also get the quest "A Person's a person..." to be able to aquire the Dr.Von's Monster pet.

Myth- Conjurers will be asked by Cyrus Drake to accept the quest "What a Conundrum" to aquire the spell Griffon. This spell does 900 damage and gives a 35% weakness to the enemy. It costs 10 pips and has an accuracy of 75%. The Animation is of a Griffon screeching and landing on a rocky ledge. It glares at the enemy for a few seconds and then leaps into the air to then claw at the Enemy. Myth Wizards can also accept the quest "A Rocky Relationship" to be able to aquire the Talos pet

.Life- Life students will be asked by Moolinda Wu to accept the quest "Spirit of Life" to aquire the spell Life Force. This spell does 1000 damage and puts a dispel death spell on the enemy. It costs 10 pips and has an accuracy of 80%. The animation is of a Glowing blue orb come out of the caster and smash into the enemy. Life wizards can also accept the quest "Part Horse, All Warrior" to be able to aquire the Centaur pet.

Dropped Pets-
Scorpion- This is a pet that looks almost exactly like the spell . It gives a Locust swarm spell at baby and is dropped from Sssyrus in The Dunes. It is a Balance pet. It scuttles like a spider pet when walking and when underwater it slightly floats and moves around using its tail. When Idle it strikes the air with its sting. It dances by bobbing its head this way and that way and twirling around its tail Gear Ideas

Okay, as you can see, Talon's entry was incredible. I think he thought of every possible thing Kingsisle would think of, from the storyline, to new spells/pets, to Zeke and Book quests. He even found music for his new world! I really hope Kingsisle sees this and uses some of the ideas! Thanks for the amazing entry talon! And congratulations on winning! You definitely deserved it!



Thanks Autumn :D

Autumn DreamWalker said...

You're very welcome :)

Benjamin Soultamer said...

Wow. i really do see how much time this guy spent on these. good luck talon on those card packs ^^

Anonymous said...


Anonymous said...

um is it just me or is it a bit unfair that the life pet is centaur?