I knew my Easter Egg would be subtle, but so subtle that nobody noticed it at all was beyond comprehension...

Sorry about the slow beginning- I was simply trying to introduce the characters as they were, what motivated them to go on the journey, and create a broad-stroke background of an entire galaxy that is differnt than ours. Researching the various bosons, then having to create not one but two new ones, with their own unique properties and be realistic about it... It took a while to get the science out of the way, but it had to be done to get the rest of the tale in perspective for the ending.

Er...perhaps someone will soon discover it and enlighten us all

I was being too harsh. Fact is I read too much Bernard Cornwell, and have come to expect great beginnings and punchlines from every one of his works, an expectation that I have extended (unfairly? ) onto your work, along with Edorix's and Afty's (can I call him that? ).

I see your point. Star Wars novels enjoy the insurmountable advantage of not having to put in any background info at the start at all: Readers knew all about that universe already.

EDIT: Edorix, I kinda feel bad about not voting for you, so here's a little somethin' somethin' I got you... Enjoy!

[This message has been edited by GeneralKickAss (edited 10-03-2010 @ 06:30 AM).]

Afty would say that's not in the spirit of the competition... but thank you! I think that's the second warstory chapter that has been dedicated to me in my time here.

Quoted from Terikel:

Having a spaceship land in Britain is fine, but a spaceship that melts when in contact with water, putting that in Britain? Have you not heard of rain? And fire is but heat more than the fuel can handle- wood burns at a relatively low temperature- much lower than that generated by passing through the atmosphere. Had Xing hit a cloud on his way in there would have been no tale. Those two irritated me, but luckily the tale itself was so gripping and so enthralling that it more than made up for it.

You make a good point about the cloud, but remember Xing would have known all along what the properties of water were and carefully avoided such things. I could argue weather prediction is one reason his next destination was somewhere so much drier. I do not agree that fire is nothing but "heat more than the fuel can handle" - first, what is heat? Heat is energy. Is energy visible? No. Xing called it "carbon plasma" - I consider fire to be a substance, and so Xing knew that it was, "plasma" being a hypothetical fourth physical state.

The ending was deliberately anti-climactic. Firstly, the theme I tried to convey subtextually at the end was how small we all are; thus the end had to seem unimportant/disappointing in parallel with life.

Don't get too wrapped up in my petty irritations.

This is worth repeating:

Quoted from Terikel:

the tale itself was so gripping and so enthralling that it more than made up for it

Aye, my thanks for that; but folks have a knack of swallowing compliments whole and then being left with criticisms which must ultimately be swallowed too; so I justify myself and make them palatable.

My original idea was going to be set in pre-discovered North America. The main character would be a Bear that is worshipped but hunted by a Huron Tribe. Eventually they capture and kill it. Soon after it is revealed that the Bear was actually a human being in a virtual reality machine, the machine has acquired sentience however and turns murderous - using the environment in the VR to kill it's victims, in this case - the tribe. It gets some kind of satisfaction from murdering Humans like any serial killer. But after writing half a dozen pages I scrapped it for seeming too complicated and not sci fi enough.

Still sounds epic though.

*Reminder*

Voting is still open. It closes in one week.

Here're the scores so far:

Edorix: 2 (Romulus and Afty)
Terikel: 2 (Edorix and Me)
Afty: 1 (Terikel)

Nickel voted for Afty as well.

Terikel: II
Aftermath: II
Edorix: II

This could be cool if people stopped voting now. Then the Skaldic votes would come into play, and each Skald gave to a different, which would end in a three-way tie.

We all win.

Cool, eh?

An interesting development indeed!

I'd prefer a single winner... ME.

Selfish, selfish...

Afty has the lead by a single vote now.

Two more days to go....

For those who have yet to vote- DO SO!

*Reminder*

Voting closes tomorrow.

Edorix: III
Terikel: IV
Afty: III

We need two more votes to flush out the double-whammies...

Not so; a draw in second place is fine, and it certainly suits me.

Hah, I thought I had stolen victory and the votes would dry up last minute!

Voting closed?

Voting closes when Thursday is no more, anywhere.

(What a poetic way of saying when I wake up on Friday morning... Maybe the next Joust should be poetry..)

Voting is now closed.

The Joust is over.

Broken quills and spilled ink litter the desktops where the entrants fought for well-earned glory and the prestigious title of Champion. The battles were epic, worthy of a saga themselves, as the voice of the readers were heard one by one. It was a difficult task to vote this time, as all three pieces were praised for their quality and depth. Yet the readers made their voices heard.

Here are the results of the Readers' Jury:

Edorix and Terikel raced neck-and neck, first Edorix leading, then the Old One catching him before the young reigning Champion pulled ahead, only to be caught once again.

Then Aftermath jumped ahead, catching three votes in a row to take the lead from both of his rivals. Edorix pulled in another vote, bringing him up to equal Aftermath and leave the Old One to eat the dust in their wake.

Then, in the waning hours of the Vote, the Old One surged forward to meet his rivals, tying the vote at 3-3-3 until the tenth and final vote was cast. Mythic Commodore had the honor of breaking the three way tie- casting his vote for Terikel Grayhair.

Now the race is finished, and the Joust complete. Terikel Grayhair has successfully regained the vaunted title of Champion of the Sepia Joust.

Thanks to the Readers for their input, and to the writers for creating these masterpieces into which we can delve for pleasure and entertainment.

Congratulations mi carandd! I gladly cede my title of Reigning Champion to the most worthy challenger. *bows, flourish, the metaphorical bardic harp is passed to the ancient berserker*.

Congrats, amico mio (I've gotta use another language too to sound as cool). It was so close... but you pulled ahead at the last breath.

[This message has been edited by GeneralKickAss (edited 10-15-2010 @ 09:42 PM).]

Congratulations again Terikel! I enjoyed it a lot and will definitely look to enter the next Jousts!

Thanks, everyone. It was a close one this time- very, very close.

In a couple of months we'll start the genre selection of the next one.