Avangard, World of Skies Challenge

This Portal is Stable. That means it will be open constantly.

The chilly winds of Fall usher in a new world for you, a world set in the skies...

Wind whistled through the Lavasu’s sails, picking up Fadhi’s scarf and whipping it back and forth across her face. She squinted through the onslaught, picking delicately at the dragonfly construct in her hands with a set of fine tools. Far smaller than the tools she usually employed while working on her airship, but vital nonetheless. The creature’s wing had snapped clean off in an unfortunate encounter with the hull of a ship above. Fadhi, perched in the Lavasu’s rigging to rest after a harrowing day of portal travel, had caught the creature before its fall could shatter its small body.

The construct was less than thrilled by its unexpected captivity. It wiggled and flicked its remaining wing, furiously and ineffectively poking Fadhi with its tail.

With an experienced twist of her wrist, Fadhi secured the new wing. It was less aerodynamic than she’d have liked, but the small creature was angry enough about having its wing replaced. No need to distress it further with modifications more at home on the structure of a racing ship than a rogue messenger construct. She raised the little construct to her face and gave it a scolding look.

“I know you’re not meant to be out here, you little scoundrel,” she said. “Don’t fly so far.”

The construct vibrated furiously in response.

Fadhi sighed, tucking the creature under her arm. Securing her toolset in a pocket on the inside of her coat, she skimmed her way down the rigging. The dragonfly, though repaired, was a lightweight and fragile construct. She took care not to jostle it. It didn’t seem to notice the gesture, instead continuing to focus its efforts on freeing itself.

The crowds aboard the Lavasu were at a low-- early afternoon saw most people in their cabins for a midday nap. A handful of children sprinted by, following a swift rolling messenger construct. Fadhi made her way towards the railing of the ship, adjusting her hold on the furious dragonfly.

She released it over the edge.

The dragonfly jagged back and forth in midair, then shot off into the open sky.

“I said don’t fly so far,” Fadhi grumbled, leaning forward against the railing.

The Soujel hung in the sky some distance away, its hull shining like a jewel in the full sunlight. A handful of small airships ripped across the sky between the Lavasu and the capitol ship, leaving glittering vapor trails in their wake.

Fadhi grinned.

Tonight at the races, she’d show them what real speed was.

Now it’s your turn!

Rewards

Challenge Requirements

For this challenge, you will be taking your very own original character on an adventure to a new world. You will be using the character you registered in our Character Creation Challenge. If you haven’t registered a character yet, follow that link to do so!

Pick one of the prompts below and draw or write your registered character in this new world!

  1. If you are submitting art, it should be a full color piece that shows at least half of your character’s body and a background that matches the prompt you have chosen. Shading is optional.
  2. If you are submitting writing, your registered character should be the focus of the piece. The piece should be at least 1000 words and it must match the content of the prompt you have chosen.
  3. Submit your work to the queue at the bottom of this page. Copy paste the prompt you selected into the submission description. An admin from our team will process your request and grant your rewards. You'll receive a private message when the process is complete.

Prompts

Prompt #1 - Soujel Aircity

Avangard’s population lives solely in fleets of airships that sail the planet’s skies. The largest of these ships is the informal capital, Soujel. The ship is decked in ornate golds and reds, and is visible from an incredible distance thanks to the constant display of lights on its hull. These ships are designed to drift high above the clouds. The skies above the airship cities are always crystal clear. Draw or write your character arriving on an airship. The submission must include your character and a red and gold airship.

Prompt #2 - The Races

Never a day goes by when there aren’t a plethora of airship races scheduled. The ships scream across the sky at incredible speeds, boosted by magic and technology intertwined. Some of the more dangerous races take place in the clouds, down among the jagged rock formations of the uninhabitable earth below. Maybe you could try your hand and win a few gold coins? Depict your character participating in or watching a race. Your submission must include your character and racing ships.

Prompt #3 - The Constructs

The hostile environment of the planet beneath the clouds has prevented life from forming on Avangard’s surface. Instead, Avangard is populated with creatures of an artificial nature. Many airships across Avangard are populated with mechanical attendants that help the citizens maintain, repair, or build the planet’s fleet of airships. They range from small ball-shaped robots made of intricately interlocking gears to unmanned ships with massive energy wings that prevent lightning from striking the aircities. More than a handful of them have escaped across the years to go on chaotic, mischievous, or occasionally helpful adventures across the fleet. Draw or write your character encountering Avangard’s robotic residents. Your submission must include your character and a mechanical construct of your choice.

Prompt #4 - Captain Dahn

Captain Dahn is a cream-colored Paperdemon with heavy, spiraling, iron colored horns. Their wings are magnificent and shimmering, though scarred from many a flight through dangerous skies. Their airship, the Cold Advent, has been plagued by destructive constructs that are eating through the ship’s hull. The constructs have been extremely difficult to eliminate, and Captain Dahn has asked for your help to seek them out and destroy them. Show your character going on Captain Dahn’s mission. Your piece must include your character interacting with Captain Dahn or hunting and exterminating the malicious constructs.

 

Edits

  • 9/11/2021 - Changed reward from Gold to Random Drop
  • 12/2/2021 - Make article more evergreen. Clarify rewards.
  • 10/22/2022 - Simplify instructions, update links.
  • 1/18/2023 - Added guaranteed drop and 4th prompt.

 

Portal artwork by Shyftlock. Badge artwork by BogusRed.

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