Crossing the Veil Story Contest -- 200k in prizes! *CLOSED*

What is your favorite kind of spirit?

Elves/Fairies/Elementals	18.5%	[ 10 ]
Extraterrestrials	3.7%	[ 2 ]
Dragons	5.6%	[ 3 ]
Ghosts/Poltergeists	3.7%	[ 2 ]
Deities	7.4%	[ 4 ]
Angels/Spirit Guides	29.6%	[ 16 ]
Vampires/Werewolves	9.3%	[ 5 ]
Thought Forms/Mythical Entities	3.7%	[ 2 ]
Demons	14.8%	[ 8 ]
Animal Totems	3.7%	[ 2 ]
Total Votes:			[ 54 ]

[Whispers of Wonderland]

INTRO

With the upcoming Halloween season and the thinning of the veil between our realm and the spirit realm, I thought it fitting to create a writing contest that embraces the spiritual energy of this time of year. Magic is all around us. All we have to do to see it is to wake up and look, and it will flood into our lives. Especially during this season.

If you would like to donate a prize to this contest, just PM me and let me know.

[Whispers of Wonderland]

PROMPT

So, here's your prompt: Write a story about something to do with the spirit realm ((it can take place on Halloween or not, that's your choice)) and include a method used to contact the other realm somewhere in your story. This can be done by means of magic, divination, prayer, materialization, dreams, or anything that allows the protagonist to successfully make contact with the spirit realm. The story can be light or dark, the entities can be good or evil, it's your choice, but make sure the story is about contact with these beings.

[Whispers of Wonderland]

DEADLINE

It may seem slightly obvious, considering that I stated that this was a Halloween-based contest, but I'm setting the deadline for your entries to be on or before midnight of October 31st, Central Time. I won't be extending the deadline for any reason, so please make sure you get your entries in on time. You have over a month to do this, so that should be plenty of time.

[Whispers of Wonderland]

PRIZES

And now for the part you've all been waiting for! The one, the only, the PRIZES section! What are you going to get for participating in this contest?

Grand Prize: 100k gold + Handmade Rune Set or Personal Psychic Reading. ((You will have to provide your address if you wish to have the Rune Set shipped to you. The Psychic Reading can be done over e-mail or PM if you can't reveal your address.))

First Prize: 50k gold + Memphis the Mermaid* This will probably change due to Gaia pulling Memphis out of Phin Phang this month, so her value has skyrocketed. Unless this changes before the prizes are distributed, we will probably simply sell Memphis and distribute the gold accordingly.

Second Prize: 30k gold

Third Prize: 20k gold

Total Prizes: 200k gold + 75 gaia cash + $50 USD

[Whispers of Wonderland]

RULES

1.Follow the prompt.
2.Double space your paragraphs so it's easy to read.
3.Use default fonts when posting your entry. Don't use any fancy fonts or colors.
4.1500 word minimum – No maximum word length.
5.Multiple entries are allowed, but you may only win once.
6.All winning submissions will be featured in our company's newsletter ((and credited to the writer, of course.))
7.You may edit your entry up to the deadline, but after the deadline, it's final.
8.No plagiarism. Period.
9.While we love fan fiction, we'll have to hold a contest for fan fiction later. No fan fiction is allowed in this contest. Be completely original.
10.Submit the entire story, not just one chapter.
11.No entry fee!
12.Follow the Gaia ToS.
13.Be considerate of other participants. If you are discourteous to others, your entry will be disqualified.
14.All entries must be at a PG-13 level or lower.
15.Either post your entry here in this thread, or PM it to me. If you PM it, use the subject, “Crossing the Veil”.

[Whispers of Wonderland]

INSPIRATION

Websites

http://www.squidoo.com/spiritguide/
http://www.alchemymagicandthesupernatural.blogspot.com/
http://www.talkingtospirit.com/

Movies and Television

Ghost
Charmed
The Sixth Sense
The Lovely Bones
Haibane Renmei
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Doctor Who
Star Wars
Pocahontas
Brother Bear
Mulan
Thumbelina
Harry Potter

Books

Anything written by Jerry and Esther Hicks
Illusions by Richard Bach
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
One by Richard Bach
A Course in Miracles
The Tao Te Ching
The Bible
Any other sacred text
The Emerald Tablet
The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Music

Walking in the Air – Written by Howard Blake, covered by many. Take your pick.
It's in the Rain – by Enya
The River Sings – by Enya
Wild Child – by Enya
Flora's Secret – by Enya
Our Solemn Hour – by Within Temptation
Goodnight, My Someone – from The Music Man
The Phantom of the Opera – from The Phantom of the Opera
Someone Searching – by Ginny Owens
Lost Heaven – by L'Arc~en~ciel

[Whispers of Wonderland]

SIGNATURES

[align=center][url=http://tinyurl.com/3jsqlus][img]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l275/Reincarnated_Alphonse/CrossingtheVeil.jpg[/img][/url][/align]

[align=center][url=http://tinyurl.com/3jsqlus][img]http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l275/Reincarnated_Alphonse/CrossingtheVeil2.jpg[/img][/url][/align]

[Whispers of Wonderland]

ABOUT FIFTH ESSENCE

Fifth Essence is dedicated to providing tools and resources for people on their spiritual journey. We create all our items with love, care, and dedication to details. We're here to answer any questions you might have, whether they're related to Fifth Essence or to spirituality in general, and wish you many blessings.

We are represented by a hibiscus flower, which is “hanakotoba” in Japanese, meaning “gentle.” We also interpret the flower to represent a journey, as most hibiscus flowers have to travel a long way before coming to the United States. So, we wish you a “gentle journey” through your life with our hibiscus.

Our mission: We're here to make sure that people have a safe, enlightening, and most of all, FUN spiritual experience. Spirituality shouldn't be a painful issue of trying to fit into a cookie cutter, it should be unique, personalized, and perfect for the person who practices it.


http://www.fifthessence.org/
http://www.fifthessencecrafts.etsy.com/
http://www.facebook.com/5thessence/
http://www.twitter.com/#!/5thessence/

[Whispers of Wonderland]

ENTRIES

Your entries will be listed here as soon as they are posted.

[Whispers of Wonderland]

JUDGING

Judging will be done by two judges, myself and AdventureAddict. We will be judging based on quality, originality, execution, and adherence to the prompt. Any questions you may have about the contest or our company may be directed at either one of us, and we will respond as soon as possible.

Have fun and good luck!

[tonoxtekko]

Oo, this is interesting! I've never giving much thought on the actual realms or veil separating worlds. I may write something for this!

Also, L'arc~en~ciel = heart

[Jamie Winters]

Hey, everyone, I'm your second judge! I'm uber excited for this contest, can't wait to see what you guys come up with! wink

[SecurityOfficer19382]

"Rosa!"

"Rosa!"

"Where are you!"

Sarah ducked under the branch of a pine tree that hung in my way and looked around trying to find her. Which was proving to be even more difficult then I thought it would, her brown hair matched the forest so well it was almost impossible to find here. Which is why Sarah hated to play hide and seek with her, but she still did because Rosa hardly was allowed outside and she was Sarah's best friend.

"Rosa come on we're going to be late for dinner! You win alright!"

Sarah continued to trudge through the undergrowth looking for her, then something caught her attention. Turning slightly she saw a flash of red among the trees, which wouldn't be so odd if it was fall. It was spring and the flowers and trees were just beginning their growth, nothing should be in bloom yet.

Got you.

Sarah walked as quietly as she could and as quickly as she could to where she'd seen the flash of bright red. As she rounded the trunk of an old oak tree she held her breath and turned slightly, there it was again. A smile spread across her lips and she braced herself, after a few seconds she jumped out.

"Found ya!"

But there was no one there, only a red hood that was hanging from one of the tree branches, walking over she picked it up and looked at it. It wasn't hers and it wasn't Rosa's, with a sigh she tucked it into her backpack and continued looking around. After ten more minutes she was about to give up when she heard the sound of someone calling her name.

"S -rah."

She turned towards the sound of the voice and recognized it instantly.

"Rosa?"

"S -rah h -lp."

Sarah took of at a run and as she got closer and closer to the sound Rosa's voice her fears grew and grew. She burst into a clearing and saw Rosa lying on the ground a few feet away from her, at a glance she seemed alright but at a second one she saw the problem. Rosa had here foot wedged in between a bunch of rocks, it looked like she'd been trying to pull it out when Sarah had shown up. With a sigh she walked over and began to help her.

"So how'd this happen?"

"Well I was trying to find the perfect hiding spot and tried to hide on top of those boulders when I slipped and got my foot wedged in here."

"Only you would do that Rosa."

Rosa laughed and gave Sarah one of her few smiles, Sarah smiled in return then after a few more minutes of struggling managed to get Sarah's foot out of the wedge. They looked at each other and with Sarah's assistance Rosa got off the rocks and they started to head back the way Sarah had come from. They were halfway through the woods when it began to rain, Sarah who was in the middle of a story about one of the kids at their school paused and pulled Rosa towards the shelter of a large tree.

"Geez that came out of nowhere."

"Yeah I'm soaked to the bone."

"You got your coat?"

"No I forgot to bring it this morning, all I have in my bag are my school books."

Sarah thought for a second then remembered the hood she'd picked up earlier, reaching into her backpack she pulled it out and began to shake it. To get the spiders and bugs off.

"What's that?"

"Cool right I picked it up earlier. Here."

Sarah draped the hood around her friends shoulders, then took off her spring jacket and tried to squeeze some of the rain out of it. When she was done she looked it over then slipped it on again.

"How long do you think the rain'll last?"

"Don't know hours maybe."

"Well if that's going to happen we might as well find a cave or something. Don't want to be under a tree when the lightning starts especially a tall one like this."

"I know of a place not far from here."

"Really?"

"Yeah it's my secret hideaway. Come on the rain is letting up slightly we can probably make it before it picks up again."

Rosa reached out and took her hand and started to pull Sarah, who was surprised at the suddenly strength she had. They ran for a few minutes then entered a small cave that was almost invisible if you weren't looking for it. Just as they entered the sound of thunder boomed across the sky and a bright flash of lightning pierced the sky. Sarah turned to watch as it disappeared into the dark gray sky, turning back she saw Rosa rummaging around the cave. After a few seconds she pulled out some wood and a lighter, not one of the plastic ones but a metal one with a dragon on the front.

"Cool where'd you get that?"

"My dad gave it to me."

Sarah stared at her then came and sat down as Rosa started to place the wood in the shape of a tepee. Sarah never had a dad he took off before she was born, so how could he give her a lighter and in the first place why would he? Shaking off these thoughts she took off her jacket just as small flames began to lick at the wood. Rosa sat down across from her, but instead of taking the now soaked hood off she pulled it tighter around her as if she were cold.

"Something wrong Ro?"

"No I'm just a little wet, thanks for the cape by the way it's nice."

"No problem I found it just hanging from a branch. Weird huh?"

"Yeah I guess so."

She went silent which wasn't all that weird for Rosa, Sarah stared at the flames then looked around the cave. The walls were covered with doodles, looking at one of them she saw a name written below it. Robert Wells.

"Hey Ro who's Robert Wells?"

"Huh? Oh just a friend. An old friend."

Sarah turned to look back at Rosa and saw she was staring into the flames shaking slightly, pulling the hood tighter around her she seemed to grow smaller.

"Ro what's wrong you're acting weird."

Rosa didn't say anything and didn't move, after a second Sarah stood up and walked over to her and sat down. With out another thought she pulled her into her arms and stared into the flames, it was what she often did when Rosa thought about her mother. Sarah felt her stiffen slightly then she relaxed and leaned back against her.

"What happened to you? Why are you still here? What attaches you to this place?"

Rosa stiffened and turned to look at Sarah, she simply smiled.

"Oh, so you knew."

"Yeah Rosa's never met her father before and the fact you knew where this place was when Rosa is never aloud out of the house without someone."

"Yeah I can see her memories."

"So you're Robert Wells?"

"No, but I knew him. We met before he crossed over and he told me about this place."

"Huh. So why're you still here?"

"I can't leave."

"Why?"

"Everyone I know, everything that's familiar is still here. How can I leave it all behind?"

"You have to, if you stay here there's no guarantee that you'll be able to leave later. Besides one day everything here will seem unfamiliar you can't stop time. I know that better than anyone."

"You missed your chance?"

"No I'm here to make sure this girl you're using will be able to get through when it's her time."

"Okay, but when you come back to that side, tell me how you got permission."

"Deal."

Sarah watched as the hood fell from around Rosa's shoulder, a second later her eyes closed and her body slumped.When she woke up the rain had stopped and they headed home.

[Whispers of Wonderland]

Nice job, writing this and then posting it so quickly! Thanks for your promptness. I wish you good luck on the contest. smile