Welcome to Gaia! ::

Starts: 12/17/25 @ 12:00 AM EST
Ends: 12/22/25 @ 11:59 PM EST

For centuries, the cerynei thrived in a land far away from Kawani, the forests and valleys teeming with life of lush vegetation and prosperous herds of deer-like soquili. However, over time, the lands began to dry out and become prone to frequent wildfires. Sixteen years ago, the cerynei came to Kawani after a particularly large wildfire swept across their homelands and rendering it nearly uninhabitable, forcing them to find a new home. Since then, the cerynei breed began to thrive once more, increasing in number and integrating back into the general soquili population. It was a new era of prosperity...

... but not all cerynei had been willing to leave. A few cerynei stayed behind after the Prince led the mass exodus to Kawani, holding on to hope that their ravaged homelands still had a chance to recover. They'd lived there for too long to leave it behind, unable to let go of the legacy they'd built.

In this RP contest, I'd like you to write me a story about a cerynei who stayed behind. Why did they stay? What struggles did they face? Did they regret it or were they able to find some semblance of a normal life?

• The cerynei you write about does not have to be based on any of the prizes, but can be if you wish.
  
• Your entry is not required to be used in canon RP if you win a prize.
  
• If you win a prize elsewhere or wish to withdraw your entry for any reason, please spoiler or cross out your entry instead of deleting it.
  
• Please keep your entry limited to 750 words or less.
  
• I will choose first, second, and third place winners. The remaining prizes will be raffled off between entrants!
  
• Because there is a raffled segment to the contest, staff who are eligible to win event freebies may enter, but cannot win the judged portion. You must still write out an entry even if it will not be judged.

[size=18][b][color=#A12D16]Only ash remains...[/color][/b][/size]
[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Preference List:[/b]

[b]Entry:[/b] 750 words or less.

1. You can only win one freebie soquili and one freebie damiliar during the event.
   
2. You may co-own a Soquili prize, but the prize will count as both your and your co-owner's Soquili freebie for the event.
   
3. You may gift a specific person your prize, but the prize will count as both your and the other person's Soquili or Familiar freebie for the event.
   
4. You can only win one prize from this game.
   
5. You may edit your post up until the game closes.
   
6. Proxies are not allowed for this game, sorry!
   
7. Late entries will not be accepted. No exceptions!
   
8. Deleting posts will result in disqualification from the game.
   
9. Staff may enter but cannot win in the judged portion of the game.
   
10. All other usual Soquili rules apply.
    
11. Feel free to PM me or @ me in #ask-the-staff on Discord if there are any questions!

Only ash remains...
Username: Nefarious Muse
Preference List: 2, 10, 6, 5, 4, 9, 8, 1, 3, 7

Entry: The fires still roared in the Natural Buck Cerynei's Mind, or did it? Heat rushed from every side, alone and separated from everyone else known, It was a maze of flames and it roared and crackled as it consumed the trees. The fire seared at his fir, heated up the tips of his antlers and it felt so real and for a moment he was truly afraid. Then he woke up from his nightmare with a start, his head popping up and his mane laying long the tines of his antlers. He could swear he could still smell the smoke as his eyes cleared into awakening. It was a dream.. A bad one.. Back then, when the fires raged many left, many felts nothing would be the same again. This one however shared the same hope that the Prince did, That through fire, new life would be born. Their land would recover, he just knew it! But if everyone left, who would care for their lands and foster it into a new age? No matter how few there are that stayed, he will never leave his home, it is theirs to care for, his to foster into living. He saw the fire as a tragedy but at the same time, does fire not forge things into a better form if crafted right? All the minerals now in the soil, it is only a matter of time. His plan was to find seeds, find ways to help the place recover, no matter how long it took, no matter if he was alone he would help replant and create a future for all of his kind. This is Home! Life may not be normal for now, and finding food and shelter may be trying, but it was worth it to save his home. Why he stayed, his love of his home keeps him tied to these ashes of memory.

Only ash remains...
Username: Nori Ishida
Preference List: 1, 8, 2, 4, 5, 6, 3, 9, 10


Entry:
Though the trees were now bare, the stallion still had the habit of keeping to the woods at night, or what was left of them. The fires had burned long and hot, but this forest was ancient. Many of the trees were centuries old, thick and solid. The fires had taken all life out of them, but their skeletal remains still stood, tall and looming. He took comfort in the closeness of their carcasses.

At the sound of rustling behind him, The Burned Stallion turned his good eye to look towards a pale mare curled up on the ground. The corners of his mouth turned upwards ever so slightly as his mate stood and turned her glowing eyes towards him, a more obvious smile gracing her soft features. Try as he might to return her smile, it was harder to do as each day passed. Her eyes had not always been full of fire, as they were now. Though she still retained most of her vision, her eyes had been permanently damaged by the long-burning flames of the Great Fire, and he was the one who had convinced her to stay. His own wound and loss of his left eye were nowhere near the payment he felt he owed for endangering the lives of his clan, all of whom had stayed to follow him.

His clan were the Tree Tenders, steeped in knowledge of the forests passed down through generations of arborists. They knew all the secrets and cycles of the Cerynei woods. The Burned Stallion was the leader of the Tree Tenders clan, and when the fires came, they all looked to him for guidance. He recalled stories his great-great grandfather had told him of other Great Fires in the past. Though the wildfires cause catastrophic destruction, wiping out entire grazing fields and razing young forests to the ground, there is always rebirth after the flames subside. Though it was true that the Great Fire sixteen years ago was the worst in Cerynei history, The Burned Stallion knew the fire was necessary. The pines that thrive in the Cerynei lands need fire in order to seed the next generation. The extreme heat causes the seed pods to burst, scattering seeds to sow the next great forest. The seeds lay dormant in the ground as the ashes redeposit vital nutrients back into the soil, creating a rich substrate for new growth. He knew the forests would survive the fire in the end, he promised them it would.

The Burned Stallion knew it could be years of living in survival mode before the forest was mature and lush again, but it had already taken much longer than he expected. New growth had begun in tucked away canyons and valleys, places that were initially more protected from the flames. The fire eventually found every nook and cranny, but some places were burned for shorter periods of time, so had recovered quicker. But it was not enough. The trees that populated the vast forests the Cerynei called home had still not started to grow. He and his mate scoured the lands daily, searching for some sign of recovery, and other scouting parties spread far and wide in search of the same. He hoped that when they reconvened later today, somebody would have good news.

As the fiery-eyed mare approached him, she nudged the side of his neck and sighed. “Don’t frown, my love. Today will be a good day.” All the separate scouting parties were meeting today, at the heart of the Cerynei lands. At the edge of this forest was a sizeable plain that bordered the Home Valley, where his clan would meet today. One last stretch of land left to search, one last chance for hope for his people. His stomach was in knots as they started off through the skeletal trees.

Hours later, the trees began to thin, the sun had risen high in the sky, and The Burned Stallion’s brow was furrowed with anxiety. As the charred trunks of the old forest dwindled and disappeared, the pair of Cerynei suddenly stopped dead in their tracks. The Burned Stallion’s jaw dropped as he gazed open-mouthed upon an infant grove of long-leaf pines. He turned his good eye to look at his mate, who beamed back at him, tears silently falling from her eyes. Their wait was over, the forest was returning. He could bring hope back to his clan, and perhaps the Cerynei who had left could finally come home.