A gentle breeze travelled through the air, passing between the intertwined branches and making the last leaves of autumn rustle and fall to the ground in a graceful swirl of orange and red. Night had befallen upon the sleeping world, peaceful and quiet. The silver moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the figure of a handsome young man in the midst of the forest. The sound of crunched leaves was heard with every footstep, and though the moon's light was barely enough to distinguish the shadow of the trees, the young man made his way swiftly through the forest, as though he had done it a hundred times.

Upon approaching a small clearing, he pressed his trembling gloved hand on his chest, as though wanting to suppress the fierce beats of his heart. His eyes, used to the darkness of the night from his numerous nighttime wanderings, quickly scanned the open space before them. He drew in a sharp breath, his muscles tensing. She was not here.

He walked further into the clearing, making himself visible, in case she was waiting in the shadows like she often did. He was not wrong. In fact, a mesmerising woman with dazzling hazel eyes and long brown hair flowing in the breeze appeared from the trees. She was carrying a lantern, who's orange glow illuminated her pale face, but for whatever unknown reason, the light had not revealed herself earlier on to her passionate lover. The sight of this woman brought tremendous joy to the young man - his features lit up with a glowing warmth and his lips split open to reveal a full hearted smile. By the way his entire body trembled with excitement, one would not doubt that this man was feeling something very close to euphoria.

He hurried towards her, kneeling down to kiss the pale fingers loaded with rings of all sorts he had pressed his lips on so many times. He stood up, and gently slid his arms around her shoulders. They were cold, abnormally so, but he paid no notice.

“You're early”, he whispered tenderly in her ear.
“You are too”, she replied back in the same loving tone, but if one looked carefully, the shadow of some cold amusement passed through those hazel eyes, normally so warm and kind.

The woman stared into the young man's eyes, her gaze full of softness and adoration, and the couple stood there, transported to a haven of their own. But slowly, very slowly, to the point where the young man couldn't notice the change, the woman's gaze changed. The warmth was replaced with harsh coldness, the glittering tears of love were replaced with a kind of indescribable hatred.

The young man never had the chance to noticee the change. His body was slowly turned into stone, the adoring gaze ever imprinted upon his eyes.

After having made sure her task was well fulfilled - which meant checking that every inch of the body had been turned to stone, the woman left, without even glancing back at the man she pretended to love.

★ weekly 1 - worldbuilding

weekly info
part 1: 544
part 2: 317
part 3: 1049
part 4: 1356
extra rambling (no proof given as it's really just a chaotic mess): 701
total: 3266 (no rambling), 3967 (with rambling)

part one (544 words)
Atoll City, on the surface, seems like it shouldn’t have been built. However, look deeper and you’ll find the true nature of these people.

The citizens of Atoll City have a culture geared towards the scientific process and engineering things that seem impossible. Everyone here needs to do the next best thing. There is fierce competition in schools, and becoming a highly celebrated scientist, or engineer, or inventor is to become the pinnacle of society.

Atoll City also is a multicultural city - you’ll be able to find a mixture of different people from different backgrounds, all in this one melting pot of a city. While these people have their own small communities to remind them of home and their heritage, there also exist communities filled with many different people.

There are never any “true” traditions followed by the citizens of Atoll City - each person brings their own unique culture and heritage to the city, allowing different festivals to be celebrated at different times. Despite this, there are always constants on the calendar: New Years is always celebrated with the utmost vigour. The celebrations for this include reviews into new scientific research and breakthroughs, brand new engineering projects that have been built, and a look ahead as to what has been planned.

But while it may seem that this city is built on academic honesty, you’ll find that there are always bad apples among the bunch - more so than anyone wants to admit. Academic backstabbers and cheaters, raising themselves up to high academic standing off the work of others. Scandals are breaking almost every day, revealing those who have cheated and lied to the top. But that is still only scratching the surface of this city filled with complicated people.

There is the less desirable side of Atoll City. The part that no-one wants to see. The part that everyone wants to cover up. Filled with many shady characters and academic outcasts. The Modified is the name for many groups of people made in lab experiments or tested on by unethical rogue scientists, all in the name of advancing science and technology. Anyone who has superpowers, or anyone who has anything that’s unnatural or uncontrollable. These people have abilities many consider to be scary or unnatural, but above all: uncontrollable.

In the Underworld of Atoll City - also known as The Slums, you will find many criminal gangs and rogue scientists willing to do what you want for a price, or to further their own ambitions. These characters are very shady, and can very easily be asked into doing more shady work that might not fall under the purview of the government, or even be legal. The culture here is vastly different to what you will find on the surface - one filled with backstabbers, people willing to turn you in at every step, and people willing to resort to violence at first resort. Despite this, the friends you do make here can remain very close to you. In this harsh world, these people have developed a true sense of community and show their genuine colours, as opposed to the shallow pleasantries on the surface.

The primary language of these people is English, and it is the de facto language of Atoll City. However, many are multilingual.
Atoll City, on the surface, seems like it shouldn’t have been built. However, look deeper and you’ll find the true nature of these people.

The citizens of Atoll City have a culture geared towards the scientific process and engineering things that seem impossible. Everyone here needs to do the next best thing. There is fierce competition in schools, and becoming a highly celebrated scientist, or engineer, or inventor is to become the pinnacle of society.

Atoll City also is a multicultural city - you’ll be able to find a mixture of different people from different backgrounds, all in this one melting pot of a city. While these people have their own small communities to remind them of home and their heritage, there also exist communities filled with many different people.

There are never any “true” traditions followed by the citizens of Atoll City - each person brings their own unique culture and heritage to the city, allowing different festivals to be celebrated at different times. Despite this, there are always constants on the calendar: New Years is always celebrated with the utmost vigour. The celebrations for this include reviews into new scientific research and breakthroughs, brand new engineering projects that have been built, and a look ahead as to what has been planned.

But while it may seem that this city is built on academic honesty, you’ll find that there are always bad apples among the bunch - more so than anyone wants to admit. Academic backstabbers and cheaters, raising themselves up to high academic standing off the work of others. Scandals are breaking almost every day, revealing those who have cheated and lied to the top. But that is still only scratching the surface of this city filled with complicated people.

There is the less desirable side of Atoll City. The part that no-one wants to see. The part that everyone wants to cover up. Filled with many shady characters and academic outcasts. The Modified is the name for many groups of people made in lab experiments or tested on by unethical rogue scientists, all in the name of advancing science and technology. Anyone who has superpowers, or anyone who has anything that’s unnatural or uncontrollable. These people have abilities many consider to be scary or unnatural, but above all: uncontrollable.

In the Underworld of Atoll City - also known as The Slums, you will find many criminal gangs and rogue scientists willing to do what you want for a price, or to further their own ambitions. These characters are very shady, and can very easily be asked into doing more shady work that might not fall under the purview of the government, or even be legal. The culture here is vastly different to what you will find on the surface - one filled with backstabbers, people willing to turn you in at every step, and people willing to resort to violence at first resort. Despite this, the friends you do make here can remain very close to you. In this harsh world, these people have developed a true sense of community and show their genuine colours, as opposed to the shallow pleasantries on the surface.

The primary language of these people is English, and it is the de facto language of Atoll City. However, many are multilingual.

part two (317 words)
Atoll City - Central
This captures how the central city looks - very modern, and almost futuristic, in a sense. There are tall skyscrapers, and there’s a beach nearby (this city is set on an island, after all) for the local residents to go to. Also, there are lots of skyscrapers. We love skyscrapers.



The Slums
The Slums are a dusty place that’s generally not very pleasant to live in. They’re confined to a small area, and are densely populated. They’re a little more grim than the pictures show - there’s a lot more black, but these were the best photos I could find. The roads are very narrow, and the city is very visible from here with their tall skyscrapers.



Central Interchange Station
No, I did not put way too many photos of London Bridge station on there- what do you mean it’s too much? You don’t know how deep my train/transport obsession goes- *sobs* Anyways, I present to you the central interchange station of Atoll City! This is very heavily based on some of the major London terminus stations - specifically, London Bridge (in terms of platform layout), and Kings Cross and St. Pancras for the architecture!

This is a grandiose central railway interchange station, with the architecture of many classic British railway stations, and So. Many. Through platforms! No bay platforms exist here. It’s great for efficiency, and there’s a train departing every few minutes.

(Also, please just pretend the DLR is a suspension railway, it's the closest I could get)



Suspension Railways
Not really a place or anything, but SUSPENSION RAILWAYS. This can’t be a Skylar-city without a signature public transit system, and so I present to you: The Atoll City Suspension Railway system! It’s a suspended monorail system, which allows for connection particularly between the upper skyscrapers when going down to ground level might be a very big hassle, and walkways haven’t been constructed yet.

part three (1049 words)
From: Laura Simmons
To: Rayna Kemp

Dear Rayna Kemp,

I know this is going to get me in a lot of trouble, and I know that you might be in trouble for this too. However, I believe you are a genuine enough journalist, similar to myself, that you’d be willing to take the leap and reveal the truth.

Our fellow citizens have been living a fantasy for far too long. They believe the government’s lies and I believe that attached to this email is all the proof you will need that there’s a greater power at play here.

I know I’m taking a risk with this, but the truth must come out, and I hope you agree with me.

Kind regards,
Laura Simmons
Freelance Investigative Journalist

2 attachment(s)
project_excision.pdf
shadows_message_transcript.pdf


[TOP SECRET - PROJECT EXCISION]

ABSTRACT
Project Excision is an operation to ensure the abolishment of the criminal underworld that exists in Shanty East (“The Slums”). This project will involve the criminal trials and imprisonment of criminals and criminal gang members, and rogue scientists who operate in The Slums, alongside the extermination of all Modified peoples. Project Excision also aims to shut down, and later heavily regulate, genetic modification and handling of other mutagenic agents to prevent more so-called “superhumans” from appearing.

This document will outline a brief history of the so-called Ethics War, to which Project Excision is the solution to this war, before discussing the present-day issues that Project Excision is attempting to solve.

THE ETHICS WAR
The so-called “Ethics War”, as it is known in popular media, is the name for the ongoing conflict between successive governments of Atoll City and the rogue scientists working in the Slums, researching on human test subjects.

The technology developed by these scientists to be able to genetically modify all cells in an adult human’s body to have the same genetic mutation was once considered cutting-edge technology. In 2027, the first applications of this technology was considered with a trial on cystic fibrosis patients in South Seas Hospital. The technology proved effective, and has slowly been making its way through to wider use, not only within Atoll City, but across the world.

This technology then became used for more and more unethical experiments, with these scientists using unwanted children from upper-class families or those found orphaned in the slums. These scientists soon began attempting to engineer so-called “superhumans” in much the same way as they did to the cystic fibrosis patients.

Numerous superhumans were created, before the 24th Government of Atoll City discovered this research, and shut the labs down in 2030. The shutdown was public, with it breaking as a major scandal over news networks and independent papers. The 24th Government then proceeded to take a few of these superhumans to see if their abilities could be understood and controlled.

Sadly, the 24th Government could not complete its research as not only did the superhumans prove to be incredibly volatile and unstable, but also, the research was discovered by an investigative journalist and leaked to the public. This called into question the ethical standings of the 24th Government, who were forced to call a snap election.

The 25th Government then proceeded to shut the research programme started by the 24th Government concerning superhumans down, and began its crackdown on rogue labs conducting these experiments.

It was also during the 25th Government that the Shanty East (“The Slums”) truly began to develop as a haven for criminals, and with the eventual rise of vigilantes and self-proclaimed “superheroes” in The Slums. The 25th Government developed and implemented numerous policies attempting to crack down on the rogue labs. These policies are outlined in the 24th Government’s reports filed under CRACKDOWN/25/T1/Y2/2032-038. These policies did not work, and only served to further increase the number of rogue labs and superhumans present.

Recently, with the 26th Government has taken power, there has been another increase in the number of superhumans, self-professed “superheroes”, and rogue scientists operating in the slums. Under the 25th Government, there were estimated to be over 1,000 rogue scientists, or rogue scientist groups, and over 7,000 Modifieds. Since taking power, those numbers have risen to 1,200 rogue scientists and more than 8,000 known Modifieds.

AIMS OF PROJECT EXCISION
The 26th Government will aim to continue with the 25th Government’s attempts at ending the Ethics Wars. These aims will be the following:

For increased police patrols in the area, to not only report any suspicious activities, but to arrest those performing extrajudicial justice, rogue scientists performing experiments deemed unethical, and to find and report all Modified peoples.

For more criminal prosecutors, and judges, to be trained in order to expedite the criminal prosecutions process for these peoples.

For the Atoll City Intelligence Service (ACIS) to expand their domestic intelligence operations to also include gathering intelligence from the Slums, particularly those surrounding any Modifieds, rogue labs, and criminal groups.

The 26th Government hopes that these aims will further help in the eradication of these unsightly peoples from our society.


[THE SHADOWS MESSAGE TRANSCRIPT]

Evelyn Mornington -

We would like to congratulate you on your recent election victory. We appreciate you and your party stepping up to form the 26th Government of Atoll City. We wish you all the very best in bringing your vision for Atoll City to life - a vision that we believe in, as much as the other citizens of this city do.

We are willing to provide you with our support and money, should you decide to cooperate with us. If you choose not to, we will have other ways of obtaining what we need through more violent methods.

In order to have our support, we wish for you to eradicate the Slums. We wish for Atoll City to be the perfect utopia, and that can only be achieved by eradicating the slums. We also require that you do not talk to anyone else about our existence. We operate from the shadows in order to provide the best for Atoll City, and our work is best kept secret. If you reveal our existence, we will have ways of knowing, and will silence you or anyone else through more violent methods.

We hope for a prosperous term ahead.

- The Shadows of Atoll City

part four (1356 words)
“Erika, are you sure you want to do this?” Erika heard her guide/supervisor, Cadence Hope, ask her as they stood outside an ambulance. Erika was excited, as she was about to start volunteer work for a charity that provided medical care to those living in the Slums.

Erika nodded. “I am sure,” She replied. “I don’t get how the government can just neglect the Slums. Sure, there are bad people there, but many of them are just outcasts from society. That’s why I want to do it.”

“I’m going to warn you,” Cadence warned, “that this isn’t going to be what you expect of the Slums. Atoll City’s slums are a criminal underworld with-”

Erika sighed. “Isn’t that just like, every city ever? If you look hard enough there’s always a criminal underworld. Ours is just more prominent.”

Cadence shook her head, and Erika felt her heart drop. She had a habit of idealising everything, of having too much faith in humanity, and being a little too optimistic for her own good. She felt as if this might be another one of those moments. “This is different, Erika. The Slums here are where all the Modifieds live, and they aren’t the most friendly. They’re also more medically unstable, which poses challenges to our safety. I need to make sure you’re absolutely willing to do this, as you may be putting yourself on the line for this.” Cadence warned.

“I’m absolutely sure,” Erika affirmed her intention. “I want to help these people. They deserve help from me and not be cast aside, even if they are a little weird.”

Cadence sighed. Erika hadn’t known Cadence long - they’d met a few days ago through the Healthcare Without Divides programme that also ran a division dealing with the slums - but she knew that Cadence wanted the best for her, especially as a new volunteer.

“Erika. Once we go in, if you’re feeling uncomfortable, please tell me. I’ll get you out of there. It’s often hard, going into the Slums to do a thankless job, and new volunteers often find it too much.” Cadence pleaded.

Erika nodded. “I understand,” she said, knowing that Cadence had said this out of a place of worry.

***

Erika sat in silence as they drove through the light side of Atoll City. Things were normal here. People were milling about their days, crossing roads, living their lives. And here she was, setting out to do some… fairly dangerous work.

As they drove out of the central city, and beyond the suburbs, Erika could notice so many changes. More patrol cars, although they were a fairly normal sight in her life.

There were run-down buildings as well. Her current job meant that seeing run-down homes wasn’t exactly out of the ordinary, as it would be for someone who wasn’t a first responder, but the degree of dereliction seemed to increase the further from the centre they drove.

“That’s a lot of run-down buildings,” Erika commented. She didn’t realise just how comfortable her life had been before this point - the buildings here were truly unliveable. Some were halfway collapsed, others splattered over with graffiti, many others still just looking like they haven’t been lived in for decades.

“The Slums are way worse.” Cadence said, as they reached a traffic light and halted. “Trust me, they’re not very pleasant.”

Erika almost wanted to roll her eyes - she knew. She knew the Slums were probably the worst place to live. No-one there had a comfortable life, and for someone from a middle-class and fairly privileged upbringing, knowing it and seeing it were two different things.

“I can’t wait to see them,” Erika replied, a deep note of sarcasm in her voice. “They sound amazing.”

Erika could once again hear Cadence sigh as they passed by shorter and shorter buildings.

“These really aren’t well-built areas, are they?” Erika remarked, noticing the tall skyscrapers that characterised the majority of Atoll City in the background.

“No, they’re really not.” Cadence replied, as they turned a corner.

The small, derelict buildings that they were driving by thinned out, before revealing the Slums that lay behind. A sea of black, and yet also strangely coloured, it was a sight Erika could not quite comprehend.

“So… this is it,” She murmured to herself. “This is what I’ll be doing in my free time now.”

Cadence seems to catch on. “Welcome to the Slums.”

***
Cadence artfully manoeuvres their ambulance through the Slums, the unpaved roads and tight clearances making Erika a little bit more nervous than usual.

“This is so much worse than the East Side made me think it was,” Erika remarked. “It’s a nightmare.”

“You get used to it,” Cadence replied, turning into a large, open space. There was a building there with the Healthcare Without Divides logo painted on the walls. “This is one of our healthcare centres here.” She said, parking their vehicle in one of the marked bays.

Erika opened the door, climbed out of the passenger seat, and shut the door. As she looked around, the smell of abandonment hit her hard. The landscape that greeted her was none like she’d ever seen before. It screamed dereliction, and lack of care and social services. How could anyone live like this? How could the government just ignore these people who needed so much help?

“Erika!” Erika was pulled out of her thoughts by Cadence calling her name. “Erika, come on!”

Erika turned around to see Cadence beckoning her into the building. She made her way there slowly, feeling the rough terrain beneath her feet, being careful not to step on anything dangerous. She’s heard the horror stories of working in the Slums.

Erika made her way into the building, following Cadence inside.

“Erika, this is Nova,” Cadence introduced. “She’s a Modified, so don’t get scared if you see her making random strings of glowing light threads.”

Erika smiled. “Hey,” she greeted, reaching out to shake Nova’s hand. The young woman, who had black hair dyed in blue streaks, light skin, and was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, reached out to shake Erika’s hand.

“Hi,” She said. “I’m Nova,”

“Erika,” Erika replied. “Nice to meet you.”

“Thanks,” Nova replied, fidgeting with her hands. Glancing down, Erika noticed a bright string of light being knotted and unknotted into various shapes.

“Sorry- I- I do that when I’m nervous,” Nova added. “I can’t really control it that well, but I can control it enough to be a receptionist. It usually gives new volunteers a scare.”

Erika kept her face neutral, not sure what to say to that. “What do you do here?”

“This?” Nova asked. “Well. This is our centre of operations. We go out into the Slums from here, and… well. You know the rest.”

Cadence smiled. “Nova, this is Erika’s first day here. I was hoping for a light introduction?”

“Oh!” Nova said. “Of course. Erika, uh- why don’t you follow me?”

Around then, Erika heard a window crash. She felt a tug on her arm - most definitely from Cadence - pulling her back, while Nova whipped out a string of glowing yellow light from her hands.

“Wha-?” Erika asked, before shutting her mouth to watch the scene unfold. Some people in black - likely a criminal group - had just burst through the windows, and Nova was fighting bravely.

“And no! We are not shutting down!” Erika heard Nova yell. She didn’t think the woman could be this loud, from her first impressions. “One day, you could need our care, and if you shut us down, then you won’t have any!”

It was around the same time when a masked figure ran through the room, shooting some kind of thing from themselves, and incapacitating the intruders all in one swift movement. Cadence and Nova didn’t seem phased at all, while Erika just stood there in shock and awe, wondering how this could be normal.

“Thanks, Rouge!” Nova said, waving their saviour off.

“Anytime, Nova,” the figure replied, before running off into the slums.

“So… I guess superheroes exist?” Erika asked.

“To an extent, yes,” Cadence replied. “Alright, let’s clean this up.”

◪ Word War 4
Wordcount: 522
Person warred: pixzunami
Win/Loss: Win
Prompt used: Yes, The hidden Cabin of Mangoes was going to win this session of SWC.
Time: 7 minutes
Cabin: Bi-Fi

Stories must have beginnings. That is the way of things. But where do you begin in this story? Do you begin with the priestess, subjected to a gruesome fate? With the mother and son, stranded in a cruel ocean? Or with the boy, whose destiny was written in the stars? All of these tales must be told. So, we will examine all three beginnings. It is up to you to decide which has more import.

Once, long ago, there was a priestess to Athena, serving her goddess in a distant island temple.
The priestess’ name was Medusa.
Ah, yes. You know this story.
Medusa was beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that she caught the attention of the gods. One god in particular.
Poseidon.
As a priestess, Medusa had sworn a vow of maidenhood. But the gods will do as they please.
They were caught in the temple by none other than Pallas Athena herself. Her fury shone like thunder. Poseidon made himself scarce.
Medusa was left to carry all the blame. All the punishment.
And you do not want to be punished by the gods.

Once, in yet another temple by the shore, a boy was raised.

It was a quick fight.

We have given you the beginnings. Yet all stories must have an ending, and will find that ours does as well. When Perseus died, the gods placed his soul in the night sky. Perhaps you can see him now, as the glittering stars depict him holding Medusa’s head in triumph. But did he truly earn his fate? Did any of them? Who really deserved the acclaim and immortality Perseus received? Was it the misused priestess-turned-monster, whose life was repeatedly stolen from her? The persevering mother, who had no say in her own future? Or was it the determined boy who was predestined for greatness? We have told you our story, reader. Now you must decide.

The satin ribbon slipped through Kyra’s fingers, fluttering gently to the floor. The numbness was in her veins, freezing her limbs and making her mind sluggish. How could this have happened? It wasn’t possible. No. Only hours before Nix had been right next to her, smiling. How could everything have gone wrong so quickly?

Nix smiled at Kyra, pulling one of the two red ribbons that were tied in her dark hair and grabbed Kyra’s wrist. Kyra’s gold eyes met Nix’s blue ones–they were shining with mirth, as always. Nix tied the ribbon in a bow and let Kyra’s wrist go.
“What is this for?” Kyra asked, confused.
“It’s a promise,” Nix smiled.
“A promise for what?”
“A promise to find each other again, no matter what happens.”
“Nix, what’s going on?” Kyra asked–Nix wasn’t one for promises. Nix’s expression changed, the warmth fading to be replaced with seriousness.
“My past has caught up to me. But don’t worry, I’ll deal with it quickly and come right back. Promise,” She added, tapping the ribbon.
“You sure you’ll be okay?” Kyra asked softly. Nix smiled. “Of course.”

Nix had been gone for a week, and then Kyra had received the news. She wasn’t coming back. Kyra stared down at the red ribbon, standing out starkly on the dull ground. She could still her Nix’s words–“it’s a promise to find each other again, no matter what happens.”
But how could they find each other when Nix was… gone? A single sob escaped Kyra’s lips, and she wiped away a tear, picking up the ribbon. She would keep it, as a reminder of her friend. A reminder that nothing lasts forever. And a reminder that promises can be broken, no matter who made them.
Little did she know, her friend would keep that promise.

✎ critique #2
1290 words total, 744 words of commentary

With a rattle, the caravan finally stopped its seemingly endless travel across the Citylands, and Del stepped out with awe, a fire burning in his nerves that combined excitement at going Up, relief at his incredible luck, and curiosity over his unfamiliar surroundings.

edited:
With a rattle, the caravan stuttered to its final stop in its travels across the Citylands. Del stepped out, eyes wide and a fire burning in his nerves at the delight of finally going Up. He was so incredibly lucky–and relieved–to be standing here.

2 days ago, the carriage had been at the very edge of the Citylands, and although the City was visible in the distance, the surroundings were full of miles and miles of fields, farmlands, and prairie. Now, he was within the heart of the City, center of the known world and home of civilization.

The fields were replaced with miles and miles of marketplace, history, houses, parks, and the ever-bustling populace given to this place. Del had seen it once, as a small child - a census had been collected, and his mother had been invited to an agriplat garden in the city to discuss water rearrangement techniques - but since then, there had been no reason to go, and the caravan fee was costly anyway.

Now, he was in the old center of humanity–and, soon, he would depart to the new one.

Del came from a small, dense pocket of the Cityland that was practically as far as you could get from the city, and still be in the Citylands.

edited: Del came from a dense pocket of the Citylands, practically as far as you could be and still live in the Citylands.

However, Del did have practical skills, and most importantly, he was working on techniques of growing vital crops in stone or water. This had turned out to be exactly the kind of work they needed on the mountain, as dirt became increasingly more costly to send. A week before, Del had been selected. The rest of his family was scheduled to be selected at about the 3-month mark, if space didn’t run out. Sacrificing your space for later meant sacrificing it permanently: it was safer to just go. And so, waving goodbye, Del had boarded the caravan and come to the City.

Del looked up, and went from having his head in the clouds to looking at them. He gasped, for in front of him was what he was here to travel on. A massive wire of metal and rope stretched into the sky, at an angle of about 45 degrees, leading from the secure station down in the city, far over the deadly brashlands, until it stretched into invisibility as it would eventually connected to the brown and green patches near the top of the second-highest mountain. As he watched, the wire seemed to grow more taut - and then a transparent sphere with 20 people inside it shot into the sky along the wire, towards the mountain.

booklover883322 wrote:

(This is from March SWC last year, and it's from the perspective of a Villa in Pompeii-)
I enjoy being beautiful. It’s a privilege that I know that I have.

Frescos and mosaics line my walls, statues bejewel my gardens, and a family laughs and cries within my painted walls.
Today, they cried, and I cried along with them.

Pompeii was a happy place, filled with the prosperous. I was the pride of the family that resided inside me. They owned only the finest things and only commissioned the most talented artists. They had elaborate dinners within my triclinium and relaxed among the plants in my gardens. But now those plants were burned to ash, my glamorous walls preserved underneath the dense layer of ash that rained down from Vesuvius.

The day started off so normal, so benign. Of course, there were darker clouds in the sky, but nobody cared, (replace comma with dash or semicolon) it was probably just a storm. Only the truly paranoid would be leaving at a time like this.
The master of the house was not one of the paranoid, believing that everything was fine. He was going out that day.

“I have some business to tend to.”

His wife, Julia, asked, “When will you return?”
Marcus shrugged, “I don’t know, probably not until we eat cena.”

She nodded, reclining on a couch in their cubiculum. “I look forward to your return.”
He nodded as well, walking out a moment later. I followed him through the rest of me, till he eventually emerged into the street, leaving his wife and children inside.

Time passed, and Marcus returned to his house just in time for a meal. The sky had continued to get darker, and the air smelled faintly of smoke, though it wasn’t too concerning at the moment. The family went outside to eat, and when they emerged, the smoke began to rain.

word count: 1557 words

• 406 words

I swung my legs over the side of the stone wall, the sharp edges cutting into my legs.

For a moment I just sat there, soaking in the amber sunlight that filtered through the clouds, lighting up the city below in a gentle golden glow. A smile danced across my lips as I gazed at the twinkling lights, the buzz of people bustling through the streets, even at this late hour, tourists or locals, filling up bags and baskets with all sorts of things.

Our market was one of the most famed in the Ruby Islands, named after the colours of our water, a deep rich red, caused by the iron in our waters.

It sparkled like a jewel in the setting sun, people lining the beaches with their glimmering white sands.

The market was full of stalls, stretching for miles and making up about three quarters of our city. Some stalls had even eventually turned into houses, the owners building around them, brick by brick, stone by stone.

The most common thing they sold was food. There were all kinds, people from the Sapphire and Emerald Islands bringing along some of their produce to sell at our market, even some from Amethyst, an isolated island hundreds of miles from here.

We were famous for our signature food, cardasens, which were soft pillowy buns filled with a paste of cardas, a type of fruit only found in our mangroves, and usually drizzled with a lemon and siratas, a type of nut also only found in our mangroves.

They were also known as mangrove buns.
We also sold lots of fruit and vegetables from all around the islands, my personal favourite being atlasstis, a fruit similar to a banana but a lot more sour and hard. There were some stalls selling meats, the carcasses hanging from rusty chains, flies buzzing around them. Some stalls sold delicious buttery pastries and intricately iced cakes, some selling different ornaments and knitted items. I loved the Cratatian stalls, which were based on the Island’s religion, Crata. They sold little ornaments of the different people we believed our gods had inhabited and statutes of the gods themselves. I had all of mine lined up in my room, displaying proudly on my windowsill. We prayed to them every morning, the whole city staying quiet for twenty minutes, and at the end of that twenty minutes the bells would gong and we would start singing our prayers and chanting in our native language, Malitui.

Another thing I loved about our city were the mangrove houses, which were scattered in between the branches of the mangroves, on platforms just above the water. There lived most of our fishing community and I just loved their houses, which were always strung with glittering fairy lights. I myself lived in one of the underground homes, which were where the poorer people lived. However, in our little dugouts, we had created some beautiful homes, enhancing them with skylights and saving up for materials to build proper safe walls and ceilings. Mine was one of the biggest, with my bedroom between a group of fiercely pointed stalagmites. We had also built a stunning community and we met up every solstice, and we would sing and praise the gods for helping us safely through another season.

Another thing I loved, which I know you wouldn’t find anywhere else in the world from researching tirelessly in school about all the other countries who didn’t even realise we existed was the music.

It seemed so normal to me, but after listening to tapes of music from the other countries, I realised how lucky we were. My favourite instrument was the tocmai, which was made out of mangrove wood and shaped like a bunch of tubes stuck together with some keys on the tubes and some foot pedals which attached to strings like on a violin from the other countries.

The mangrove wood was particularly special, as it was found nowhere else and created a rich deep sound that resonated deeply within me. We also had a lot of rock bands, like the rest of the world, who performed daily in the city square to huge crowds filled with screaming fans.
Our whole city was settled right on the edge of a beach next to the mangroves and the outskirts were nestled between the mountains.
And as I sat on the stone wall, my legs swinging rhythmically, I finally understood what a magical place I was in and how lucky I was to be here.

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