[DAV ALL SPOILERS][OC] Time To Be Storytellers: The Dragon Age Weekly Writing Prompts- The Black Emporium Challenge
Good morning everyone! Welcome to the writing prompt thread for the Dragon Age series. I hope everyone has fun and lets their muses fly free and they have an excellent weekend!
GUIDELINES FOR THE WRITING THREAD
As always constructive criticism and interaction is always welcomed and encouraged on the thread. Drama and negativity is not welcomed. This is a thread for engagement and interaction and a creative space for the fandom.
Feel free to add prompts to the linked doc above. Whether it’s a specific pov, a line of dialogue, an AU of sorts, a theme choice or whatever strikes your interest. Label it, then add the prompt.
Due to limits on reddit, and to make the thread easy to read, word limit is 1500-1800. Please do not put your writing in multiple posts. It makes the thread hard to read. If it goes beyond the limit, please link it to A03, Google Docs, etc. Please keep all visible content SFW. ANY CONTENT THAT CAN BE CONSIDERED NSFW MUST BE PLACED IN GDOC OR ON A WEBSITE AND LINKED-This Thread is To Be SFW If you are unsure about something, then put it in a doc and link it, just to be on the safe side.
4 prompts- 3 plus freeform.. Every now and then there will be Challenges, or Themes. Every 5 to 6 weeks will be Catch Up Weeks. If you are interested in a specific prompt, challenge, or theme to appear, please don't hesitate to PM me on Reddit or Discord. Also, the prompts are for any character set in the Dragon Age Universe, in any form of media. Ranging from Original Characters, to an NPC in the game or comic, or anything that happened in the books.
MOST IMPORTANT: PLEASE HAVE FUN! Make us cry, laugh, growl in frustration, cover our faces in secondhand embarrassment, snicker, or awwww at the disgustingly cute fluff. And I want to continue to thank everyone for their part in making this an awesome place to indulge our creativity.
With Dragon Age Veilguard out, the thread is allowing stories pertaining to Veilguard’s story and companions. Please continue to make sure all DAV stories will be appropriately spoilered, or linked offsite, for those who have not yet played the game and do not wish to be spoiled. Please take care with this.
Welcome to a new challenge- The Black Emporium Challenge. In the past, I have used a prompt about an item invented for a challenge. Well, now I’ve created another item, so it’s only fitting for there now to be an official Black Emporium Challenge. It’s been a while since the first challenge has been posed, and now it returns with another! Below are two challenge prompts and a bonus freeform. a
The Returning Challenge- The Aspersorium of Zinovia, named after the famed mage who had visions of the future, and was the consort of Archon Valerius.
Codex Entry: It is a large font, made out of white stone. It is three feet tall, and the bowl at the top is circular around, around twelve inches wide and the water is about a foot deep. The water feels cool to the touch, and is enchanted to activate when three drops of lyrium are carefully dripped into it, clockwise. The lyrium activates a spell that has been officially lost to history- we do not have a name for it now, we simply know this spell gives you insights and visions of alternate futures, pasts, and presents- where you see someone else in your place, making different decisions, choices- where you see different consequences. Be very careful when using this. Visitors who have used this for long periods of time, have been known to go insane or simply die from the fumes that the lyrium gives off when it is being dripped into the basin.
Second Challenge Codex Entry Is it called *The Arca of Heroum*. A letter from the owner, the mysterious Xenon the Antiquarian, was found addressed to Rook, the leader of what is known as The Veilguard, that defended Thedas against the Risen Elven Gods. Not much is known of the item itself, except only the description and what it can do:
Item Description Standing in front of you is a large white wooden cabinet, about eight feet tall and about eight feet wide. Only room for two people maximum. The outside has words carved into it, language unknown, wrapping around the cabinet in a spiral manner and the two doors to open it are black, compared to the rest of the coloring. When you open it, the wording lights up in silver like spark and when you step inside, the doors shut on their own. An unknown spell, lost to time just like the one that powers the Aspersorium, activates. The spell won’t end and the cabinet will not reopen until whatever event you witness is finished. According to reports, Rook was said to have witnessed past events related to the Warden of the Fifth Blight, as well as to the Champion of Kirkwall, and The Inquisitor.
So here’s the Challenge: In the first prompt, Your Warden, Your Hawke, or your Inquisitor has come to the Black Emporium and sees this item. Curiosity takes over and they take a look. Your Warden sees a different Warden instead of themselves, your Inquisitor sees a different Inquisitor, Hawke sees a different Hawke, etc. They see a different path play out.
In the second, your Rook has come to see the Arca of Heroum. They decide to take the risk and see what’s all the fuss about. Write about how they and a chosen companion get to witness an event of the Warden/Hawke/Inquisitor’s life. Write out what they witness and how they react.
Bonus Prompt: Freeform: If neither challenge speaks to you, then feel free to freeform with the Black Emporium as the central component