Competition more or less closed.
Here's what we have for entries so far. This is a quick copy-paste job of all the Desert descriptions. I pulled out the excess cathedral ones, since it looks like the Desert has won the vote. Please tell me if I missed anyone's entry.
Re: NEW ROOM COMING - PLEASE VOTE HERE & writing contest
« Reply #2 on: August 28, 2009, 09:40:38 PM » Quote
A sprawling, nigh-endless field of red sand, broken only by the occasional rock or the thin branches of a lonely Joshua tree. Oases (oasises?) dot the otherwise barren wastes, small pools of life-giving water, patches of blessed green in otherwise oppresive red. The days are scorching, with winds whipping the gritty sand into deadly storms, and the nights are freezing cold. Travelers are reccomended to bring water.
Re: NEW ROOM COMING - PLEASE VOTE HERE & writing contest
« Reply #3 on: August 28, 2009, 09:42:19 PM » Quote
>[description] >> The rolling dunes of the desert wave out infront of you, a hot wind blows past. Ahead is endless stretches of rough sand, blinding sunlight -- And a slow and painful death, if you enter the area unprepared. There are safe spots, the occassional oasis, but they are difficult to navigate in the everchanging dunes.
Re: NEW ROOM COMING - PLEASE VOTE HERE & writing contest
« Reply #5 on: August 28, 2009, 09:51:54 PM » Quote
Coarse grains of sand lie underfoot and the desert winds whip them up against one's skin. The abrasive feeling of the grit is but the simplest and earliest warning to those who dare venture forth through this wasteland. Over the horizon the air ripples with heat and the sky holds but a single wispy cloud that hovers high in the air and the sun taunts those along the borders to dare cross the sands.
Re: NEW ROOM COMING - PLEASE VOTE HERE & writing contest
« Reply #6 on: August 28, 2009, 09:52:08 PM » Quote
Stretching from horizon to horizon without end, the desert lands of The Keep is home to various wandering tribes of men and various beasts of mystical propertions(sp?). Once a great Kingdom in and of itself, a curse ravaged not only the once great realm of men, killing thousands and laying waste to crops; but the very soil itself, eroding it far faster than what nature had desired. All that is left is this end result, a land of red sands and achingly hot sun. Weary the traveler to traverses this land, for the single one step will cause harm that would kill all but the greatest of heros.
Re: NEW ROOM COMING - PLEASE VOTE HERE & writing contest
« Reply #7 on: August 28, 2009, 09:53:28 PM » Quote
The desert stretches out as far as the eye can see in every direction. One might find an oasis or two amongst the sea of sand that could provide some kind of shelter, and sometimes rock outcroppings, mesas, and the rare but occasional ruin provide some protection from the sun. There is in some places signs of life, even outside an oasis there's some cacti, some barely alive shrubs, an occasional buzzard in the sky, and a few other desert creatures, but not much. Who knows what else might be lurking in the ever shifting dunes?
Re: NEW ROOM COMING - PLEASE VOTE HERE & writing contest
« Reply #14 on: August 28, 2009, 11:29:48 PM » Quote
Desert
Stretching away to the endless expanse of horizon ahead is little but parched, arid land. The days are hot and dry, the nights bitterly cold and windy in this hostile land that rebukes all but the hardiest of travelers. Granules of sand and the occasional stone offer no shelter but to the natives of this environment, among those the scorpions and lizards that scurry across the coarse grains that sometimes blow across the bleak landscape. There seems to be little respite in this land with air so dry that it scratches the throat, but an oasis is apparent through the haze. However, is it real, or just another illusion of this deadly, sandblasted place?
Re: NEW ROOM COMING - PLEASE VOTE HERE & writing contest
« Reply #16 on: August 29, 2009, 09:37:55 AM » Quote
Desert
A clear and blue sky is the only thing of note in the expansive wastes. The arid, dry land stretches on far beyond what the eye can comprehend. The air is impossibly dry - what little winds offer no refreshing breeze, serving only to kick up grating sand and shift the dunes and landscape ever more. There is no hint of life, no single blade of grass, no scurrying, hard backed creature digging hopelessly into the scorched earth for some feeble shelter against the oppressive heat.
Re: NEW ROOM COMING - PLEASE VOTE HERE & writing contest
« Reply #17 on: August 29, 2009, 11:00:11 AM » Quote
DESCRIP FOR DESERT>>>You are now leaving urban society. Welcome to endless plains, and silent unpredictability. Should you venture far enough in these barren lands, take caution to whatever may come your way...
Re: NEW ROOM COMING - PLEASE VOTE HERE & writing contest
« Reply #24 on: August 30, 2009, 12:44:15 AM » Quote
The unblinking, unforgiving sun stares down out of a cloudless sky, blasting away any hope for the relief of rain for the scorched earth and withering life below. The grounds cracks open like split skin, while the hot wind howls across it's scarred surface like a wailing spirit lost to roam the trackless deadlands for eternity, tearing at the scarce vegetation and any unfortunate exposed flesh and bone that it encounters . High above the vultures circle, watching, waiting, for the inevitable end to any journey began into this noman's land. But there, just on the horizon, past the tearing wind and shifting dunes, through the shimmering heatwaves you see it, just barely, like a promised kiss from a phantom lover, so tempting, and so far away the sheen of the sunlight reflecting off of.....water, now all you have to do is survive long enough to savor it's saving embrace. A scorpion crosses your path and somewhere beyond the dunes a jackal calls. You take the first step, just one foot in front of the other, is all you have to remember.....
Re: NEW ROOM COMING - PLEASE VOTE HERE & writing contest
« Reply #25 on: August 30, 2009, 01:09:06 AM » Quote
The desert - Sun. Sand. Wind. And heat. Well, during the day, anyway. A barren, but ever-changing, plane of wind-tossed particles, drier than old bones in forgotten places, stretches before you, all the way to the horizon, where you can see some mountains, faded by distance... but they're far, far away, and the desert is very, very large. Here and there, you see the shimmer of heat-haze, or a cactus, or a scurrying lizard, and in places few and far between, the gleam of sun off of water. The night, while livelier, is far more chill, the sun's resplendent intensity replaced by the moon's silent watchfulness - and the fear of a scorpion's sting, or snake's bite.
Re: NEW ROOM COMING - PLEASE VOTE HERE & writing contest
« Reply #26 on: August 30, 2009, 01:35:08 AM » Quote
Desert-
Expansive sands plagued by blinding, skin-grating storms; a broiling sun and desolation are what come to mind when one thinks of the word: Desert - an environment that claims its victims without exerting great effort or offering much fancier than a few poisonous creatures and prickly plants. Such is for livelier environments and Desert is old and patient. Desert is where one might imagine things go to die, not to thrive; rather it is one of hard packed earth or rolling dunes and yet people do- weather-beaten structures are testament as well tribes who have adapted and may be glimpsed on the move with their lives on their backs, alright technically on their backs and the backs of beasts made of knees and spit in well-beaten fur bags. Desert may hold hidden gems of lush grass and pools for the parched that we often call mirages, but somewhere may be hidden what you seek.
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