Jump to content

=][= THE IRON GAUNTLET - The Final Challenge =][=


Recommended Posts

gallery_60566_6038_112036.jpg

Brothers and sisters! Gauntleteers and brethren of B&C! I bring you the FINAL CHALLENGE. There are but a handful of members who are still in with a chance of gaining the coveted IRON GAUNTLET. These intrepid fellows have braved four challenges prior to this, over many months. I do not doubt that many who began the IRON GAUNTLET way back in March have burnt out or otherwise succumbed to the vagaries of procrastination, memory and plain old lack of time and inclination.

But still!

We have a clutch of brothers who have their eyes on the prize - the right to call themselves bearers of the IRON GAUNTLET. It is a privilege that only one person in the past has been honoured with, the fact that we will see several earn this accolade is nothing short of something worth celebrating!

The series of challenges, begun with this year's Liberalia Martiale, will be slated to end - thanks to slightly iffy scheduling on my part over the year - around Christmas.

As usual, this last challenge will be open to everyone, not just the final few Gaunleteers that have survived 2017. As such, if any member would like to participate in this fifth challenge, all they need to do is make a vow:

I, <your name>, of the <Chapter/Warband/Regiment name> take up your Challenge. I vow, before my brothers and sisters of the B&C to complete THE FINAL CHALLENGE and submit it to the Liber before the deadline. I vow to support my fellow challengers to the best of my ability. May the Emperor/the Dark Gods/Brother Argos himself curse me if I fail.



The Final Challenge
* Bronze: Write a story about your organisation that is between 1000 and 1999 words in length;

* Silver: Write a story that is between 2000 and 2999 words in length;

* Gold: Write a story that is 3000+ words in length.

-> Duration: Sunday 17th September 2017 - Sunday 17th December 2017 (3 months) 24th September 2017 - 24th December 2017 (3 months)


Good luck and have fun. And remember, with three months available, I will be a teeny bit disappointed if our Final Few don't attempt a gold rank... :wink:

Finally something I can participate again. ^^

 

Seems like I'll cover the downfall of my Imperial Sons during the opening of the Great Rift.

 

I, Kelborn, of the Imperial Sons take up your Challenge. I vow, before my brothers and sisters of the B&C to complete THE FINAL CHALLENGE and submit it to the Liber before the deadline. I vow to support my fellow challengers to the best of my ability. May the Emperor and Brother Argos themselves curse me if I fail.

I, Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch of the Dawn Blades, do swear in full view of the fratri and sorori of the Liber, to complete the Final Challenge of the Iron Gauntlet. I have completed the previous four and I. Will. Not. Flinch. I vow to provide assistance to my fellow Gauntleteers and seek to achieve the maximum possible goal. May the Solis-Imperatior, the Primarchs Ferrus and Vulkan, and Brother Argos himself curse me if I fail.

 

How do a junior apothecary, a mad tau scientist, and space-fish heads fit together? Wait to find out! I have worded this to be as ambiguous as possible, so you just have to read it and preserve the mystery!

I, NovemberIX, of the November IX  have taken up your every one of your Challenges; as have I vowed before to my brothers and sisters of the B&C to complete Challenges the First, Second, Third, and Fourth so shall I complete The Final Challenge and submit it to the Liber before the deadline. I vow to support my fellow challengers to the best of my ability. May the Emperor, Brother Argos, and the Fires of Time themselves curse me if I fail.
 
 
An Excerpt:
 

 

 

... Espion wasn't prepared for what he saw. The land around him looked like nothing he'd ever known, thousands of shattered pillars of stone impossibly standing. The air had a strange quality to it, it was thick, emollient,  almost viscous. He couldn't see much further than 100 or so meters, but overhead a giant parent planet could clearly be seen nestled among a violet hued sky full of stars.  Racking a bolt into the chamber he prepared to move from the dolmen, to see what could be found...

 

I've waited for an opportunity like this.

 

I, Barabbas Sogalon, of the dreaded 4th Northern Varyags take up your Challenge. I vow, before my brothers and sisters of the B&C to complete THE FINAL CHALLENGE and submit it to the Liber before the deadline. I vow to support my fellow challengers to the best of my ability. May Hel herself curse me if I fail.

  • 3 weeks later...

I, Legionare, of the Viper Legion take up your Challenge. I vow, before my brothers and sisters of the B&C to complete THE FINAL CHALLENGE and submit it to the Liber before the deadline. I vow to support my fellow challengers to the best of my ability. May the Brother Argos himself curse me if I fail.
 

  • 3 weeks later...

I, bloodhound23, of the Violent Gods, take up your Challenge. I vow, before my brothers and sisters of the B&C to complete THE FINAL CHALLENGE and submit it to the Liber before the deadline. I vow to support my fellow challengers to the best of my ability. May the Emperor/the Dark Gods/Brother Argos himself curse me if I fail.

  • 5 weeks later...

So, having at this point doubled the word count for gold and not reached any actual combat, I am beginning to wonder if I’ve fallen victim to some writer’s problem I can’t yet identify. Given there’s setup, a year of in-between sabotage, and when we get to the meat of the story, I’m wondering how much time I should spend on the intervening year, and how soon I should get right to the great big combat encounter.

 

Help, please? I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, editing and story flow wise.

The lesson I learned with writing is to always be ready to cut back, streamline and kill all your darlings. I will fully admit I’ve gotten to the word count a few times only to cut out massive chunks that were either “he thought, he said, he did” or just pure exposition. The other thing I remember from my creative writing class days is to make sure the story fits the format. While that may have to do with the logistics of printing, I’ve found it helps me get back to point one of streamline till every word has specific and important meaning. Also, just because they’re Space Marines, you shouldn’t feel the need to write battle scenes if it doesn’t fit the overall arc of your story. I hope this helps!

After reading your post it's become evident that I've written a 6000 word prologue, forgot to introduce a character, and the kill-team hasn't even deployed (they're on their way there, I promise). I am now considering leaving it as it is for now and moving on to the story proper, and posting the prologue after the story proper is uploaded. Making it 'fit the format,' or at least doing some formatting, may be beneficial. Thank you, NovemberIX.

 

Also, as to killing all your darlings, how literally are we taking that in the context of Astartes? I'm...asking for a friend. *cackles deviously*

I, Cryptix, of the Dusk Raiders take up your Challenge. I vow, before my brothers and sisters of the B&C to complete THE FINAL CHALLENGE and submit it to the Liber before the deadline. I vow to support my fellow challengers to the best of my ability. May the Emperor/the Dark Gods/Brother Argos himself curse me if I fail.

 

20 days. I can do this, easy peasy right :teehee:

How's everyone, as of now? Anyone in need of aid? Apologies go to Lenoch for not responding - I was taking a break at the time of the question. ^_^

 

And, indeed, there are but three weeks to go. Well, less, in fact. If anyone can't contact me via PM, it's because I currently have a full inbox.

@Olis: I concur. Should we post drafts in this forum, this thread, or somewhere else entirely?

 

I have close to triple now (with the 6000 words of prologue, and am looking to get some expert (read: Liber) critique on it.

  • 2 weeks later...
Hey all, I posted the draft for my tale elsewhere in this subforum. Unfortunately copypaste screwed my formatting over as usual, so it’s in a state of exit and fixing, but I’d appreciate any feedback you guys could give in spite of it. Only a few days left!

3123 words. Who knew that organizing 3123 words into something cohesive would take this much effort. I killed a lot darlings, there had been thousands of words describing various concepts and ideas that ended up being abandoned or taken out. The biggest challenge was working in the continuing campaign involving Honda, GAR, Grand Master Iapetus and I, last month we played a game where the Chronometric Chamber played a part, but not the main character of the story who is with the Chamber. No he's being saved for another game, so I had to do some course corrections midway through the story. I'm fairly sure I'll have to go back and do some editing, and links to the events that precede the story as played out by Honda and I. But for now, I'm feeling rather accomplished. Big ups to the rest of the Gauntleteers and Olis for running this challenge!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.