BONUS!!! BIG RASCALS WRITING CHALLENGE - Mythical Gods

Come join us as we put our writing skills to the test! Big Rascals Writing Challenge is a BONUS segment that we will be doing monthly along with our Book Club Podcast. 

We are all aspiring writers and need all the practice and help we can get. Please let us know what you think. Leave a comment and give us feedback. 

Feel free to join the challenge with your own short story as well. The next Prompt will be a Lit RPG Short Story that must include a ITEM DISCOVERY, LEVEL UP, and BOSS BATTLE. Send it to bigrascals.podcast@gmail.com and we will pick one to read for our next episode.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:10

Welcome to Big Rad School's Writing Challenge. This time around, we're doing um Derek's prompt. Derek, what's the prompt?

SPEAKER_02 0:20

Today's prompt is making our own myth using gods, monsters, and magic to explain some kind of natural phenomenon or why the universe is the way it is. Cool. Yeah. That's that. Let's start us off. I'd love to. I definitely did not go as crazy as I did with the last writing prompt. I I had really fun writing the crow story.

SPEAKER_03 0:46

That that kind of turned into a short story rather than just a little prompt. So I kind of held myself back. This is very short.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

So hopefully you guys don't think it's garbage. But hey, if it is garbage, let me know in the comments and let me know how to improve it. I know I'm not the best and I want to get better. Alright, mine is titled The Love of Two Gods. Alright. Laurelyn, the shining goddess of warmth, light and life and life, loved the living things of the earth. She loved the people who meandered on its f on its flat face. From the heavens above, she shone and smiled and gave warmth to all with her golden affection. The people of this world froliced and ate as they wished. Laralin's light seemed never fading, and for what seemed all the people's lives she never set. But Telperion desired to witness the living things of the earth, for he wished to show his love for them as well. He would let loose his hound Tolmir across the heavens, causing Laralin to chase him to put him back on leash. While she went, the heavens darkened, and the people of the earth began to fear exceedingly. The golden light of Laralin was all they knew, but they were not completely abandoned. The cold silver light of Telperion gleamed for them, although faintly compared to the goddess's glow. His light made them fearful and hide. Some would be struck with slumber and hibernate until the return of Larlin, which she always did, and chased off Telperion, but he would still watch from afar. He was covetous of the affection Larlin had of the people. Every day they would wake from their slumber and gamble about in their inner light and eat, day in and day out, but when Telperion brought on the night, they would seem to make themselves inanimate and hide. Telperion said to himself these people do the same again and again. How bored they must be. They may fear me, but from afar I shall send them wonders to have them revere my majesty. Talperion did possess grandeur, for his silver mantle flowed like the foam of waves, and his voice like the sound of rushing waters. He fancied himself a wonderful creator, but that may be his only flaw. He created great tidal waves that were truly an awe to see. However, they rushed the shores of the people's lands and overtook more than their fair share. This caused the people to scream and wail, and some to be swallowed up into the seas. They began to move further away from the waters. Laralin became irate by such things. She grew hot, causing the extra wet places to dry up. To her dismay, this made the people sweat, thirst, and faint from exhaustion. Telperion would allow his hound Ptolmir to bound too close to the earth, and this would cause great excitement. It made the earth shake and rumble. The people panicked and some fell into the cracks of the earth. They looked for all the high places that were least affected and clung to the mountain tops. Larelin displeased caused the roots and plants to extend and hold the earth together and subdue Tolmir's bounding force. However, this also caused thorns to sprout to the earth, so that the earth may be held all the better, but they afflicted her precious people. These efforts to change the earth for the better only seemed to be hurting the people or be hurting the inhabitants and brought death to them, for the existence of which brought even the bravest of the people to quivering shakes. The people's fears moved them to now moved them to now assemble sturdy houses, mighty walls to stop the sea, axes to bite and repel the thorns, means of flight to escape the earth shakes, and shields for when Laurelan's heat became too great to bear. Laurelin scolded Talperion, curse you. My people have been changed. They no longer see me as the glowing love that I am. Confound your meddling or face my wrath. Talperion looked upon the people from his far seat in the heavens before answering, and gained new wisdom. But look at them, my dear, and see how much grander they have become. They now create for themselves. They create as the gods do, admittedly in much lesser fashion, and see what great things they have made. Why, some even have been able to skim the heavens in order to escape Ptolmere's playful bouts near the earth. Lurlin seemed somewhat cooled by this explanation, for truly, the people no longer just froliced and played, but now they became industrious, accomplished, and all the more impressive in reaction to both of them vying for their affections. But the death, oh how it pained her to see death grasp some of these people and the sorrow that spread from it to the others. If only none of them had died, then I could put this all in the past, Laurelin grieved. Perhaps it's the death that gives their lives meaning, Telperion suggested. Perhaps, Lurlin pondered. From that day on she seemed distant, and Telperion more nearer. Death seemed beyond both their comprehension at the time, and neither could fully label it entirely good or wholly evil. Although their opinions would have changed if they investigated Tolmir's area of the stars, the Hound of Heaven would collect the souls of those lost to death and playfully bring them to his domain. There you would find the lost people as mere skeletons dancing and happy to be unburdened by the flesh, and there they would be rubbing Tolmir's belly and be getting licked on their faces and singing and dancing and doing all that they loved in life with the greatest audience that there was, the Hound of Heaven.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

I like it. Thanks. The Hound of Heaven.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

You have your two fantastic names, Derek. Well, I had a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02 7:18

Actually, I can't take credit for those because Laurelin is the name of the golden tree of Valinor in the Silmarillion, which was first the sun before the sun was created for Middle Earth. And Telpedion was the silver tree of light in Valinor, which became the light of the moon after the two trees were consumed by Ungoliant. Now Tolmir, that that is my name. I think I got it from the root word of Tolsir. I think it's was it Polish or Finnish, which meant like drunk by the moon or moon moon drunk? Because I'm using it for a werewolf character in one of my books.

SPEAKER_00 7:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Cool.

SPEAKER_02 7:55

And since I was like, oh yeah, he's a dog, you know, and he's in the heavens.

SPEAKER_03 7:58

Yeah, make him the moon hound. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. It was almost like scripture-like. Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 8:06

It was good. Thanks. It was poetic. Oh, thanks. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:12

All right.

SPEAKER_00 8:13

Okay. Are you still needing time, Jeff? Should we go? Okay. Yeah, go find it. I don't need time. But it is the order. Okay. So. Um, man. I came up with an idea that I like so much. I think I'm gonna write a book about this. Oh, yeah. And this is kind of just the start of the book. I that's great. I was like, this idea popped in my head of I really am fascinated with the underworld in Greek mythology. I also misunderstood the assignment. I thought we had to write something within Greek mythology, so all mine is based off of that, which I do actually love. And so I'm fascinated by the underworld. And so I did a lot of research, not a ton, but some research into the underworld, and found out that there's five rivers in the underworld. And I thought, ooh, you know, it'd be cool is if say somebody dies, this hero, this warrior dies, and he's mistakenly sent to the underworld. And his whole purpose is that you know, he's he's certainly deserves a better fate than being damned into hell. And so he has to figure out a way to escape the underworld. So this is kind of the start of that. Um kind of bear with me a little. I've I had a I I didn't know where to stop, so I just kind of went and it just stops, kind of like at the end of a chapter. So I did also leave a lot out that I wanted to kind of get in there. So um also let me know if you think this might be a good book idea and if this is a good start. So um, anyways, book one, an angel in hell. Bericles woke with a start, grasping at his face, where he expected to feel an arrow protruding from his eye socket. Nothing was there. He frantically felt around his face and couldn't find anything. He was almost certain that an arrow was heading for his eye right before he blacked out. Was he mistaken? Bericles finally noticed his surroundings and realized he was not on the battlefield anymore. In fact, he was in a place so strange that it was beyond anything that he could imagine. As far as he could see, it was nothing but dark, jagged, rocky terrain. Everything seemed to be burning and smoldering, yet the darkness kept any light source at bay. The sky, if you could call it a sky, was a mass of dark swirling clouds with flashes of purple lightning throughout. A faint memory flashed into Pericles' mind of a philosopher that described the underworld in a similar manner. Oh, with a wave of realization, Bericles knew he was dead. Once again, he reached up to his eye and felt around for any sign of the arrow. Still nothing. Where am I? he said aloud. The memory of the philosopher came back with more clarity, and Bericles could almost hear the words of the old man. More beautiful than I can describe, a place of eternal bliss, Elysium, where the virtuous and the heroes of this world reside in the afterlife. This is certainly not Elysium, Bericles thought to himself. It came together in his mind. He was in Tartarus. The voice of the old philosopher forced its way back into Pericles' thoughts once again. The forever dungeon of the Titans and their demons, a place of eternal torment, Tartarus, where those guilty of immense hubris betrayal or defying the gods reside in the afterlife. Baricles fell to his knees, sobbing into his hands. O mighty Zeus, he cried to the sky, Father of the gods, great and powerful one, why hast thou damned me? Why hast thou forsaken me? Did I not perish in battle for a noble cause? Was I not faithful to the gods? Was I not faithful to my wife and my child? What manner of action has caused me to be placed in such a wretched place? There was a screech in the near distance, and Pericles looked up with a sharp intake of breath. His cries had attracted a creature of sorts. It was a black, bat like demon creature with ethereal glowing eyes, flapping its way towards Bericles. He desperately looked around himself for a means of defense. Nothing. Pericles looked back at the creature and was able to make out more details. It was at least as large as himself and had long, formidable talons. You should run, Pericles thought to himself. His feet rooted to the spot. He stared at the demon creature. Run, you idiot, he yelled aloud. Breaking out of his revelry, Bericles turned in the opposite direction and ran for his life. The demon screeched again. Pericles could tell that the creature was getting closer with every flap of its wings. He did not dare to look back. It felt like he was running in mud. His body felt heavy, and his breathing was labored. There was no sanctuary in sight. It was hopeless. The demon would catch Pericles in no time. The demon clawed at Bericles' shoulder, digging into his flesh. He cried out with a surge of adrenaline. He desperately increased his speed. He could not maintain this speed for long. He was going to die. Die? Vericles thought. How could I die again? Just when he had this thought, he heard someone call out. Over here, said the voice. Without hesitation, Veracles diverted to the direction of the voice. He could not see anything. Right here, said the voice again. Bericles saw a man waving from a hole in the ground just a few steps away. The man disappeared down the hole, and Pericles prepared to dive in it. But the demon was on him. Grabbing him by the same shoulder that was slashed, he felt the talons dig into, dig in, and his body weight started to lighten. The demon was trying to lift him, but Beracles was not called the bear of Olympias for no reason. Bericles wrenched at the demon's leg and at the same time dragging his body weight down, he tore himself free. It felt like his shoulder was ripped to pieces. No time to examine his wound or even react to the pain. He dove down the hole. Book two The Burrow. Bericles entered a miserable burrow. It seemed to have been attempted it seemed to have been attempted to be made into a home, but failed in sense of the word. The demon screeched furiously for it could not enter through the hole. It can't get in, said the man. Are you sure about that? challenged Beracles. I'm sure, the man said dully. Name's Hermitius. Hermitius was a depressing man of small stature. He had an ethereal slit across his throat. I am Bericles, son of Codiocles, Bericles said proudly. Never heard of either of you, Hermitius said derogatively. So, Bericles said, ignoring Hermitius and pointed to his throat. Is that how you died? You sure are a smart one, Hermitius said, sarcastically. And let me guess, you died of natural causes and not by the arrow in your eye. Wait, how do you know about the arrow? You really are dim, Hermitius said, rummaging around the burrow and pulling out a glass shard. He handed it to Pericles. Look for yourself. Pericles held up the reflective glass and gasped at what he saw. The back end of a ghostly arrow stuck out of the front of his eye socket. He turned his head and could see the front half of the arrow protruding from the back of his head. He winced as he reached up to try and feel the broad head arrow point. Once again he felt nothing. He then remembered the wound on his shoulder and tilted the glass to examine that. There was no wound. Bericles probed around his shoulder and felt nothing out of the ordinary. He still felt pain. You can't be wounded down here, Hermitsius said. But I bet you're still feeling it. Bericles nodded. You can't be wounded, killed, or die, Hermitsius continued, but you can be tortured. And that demon out there, that's pretty much his whole purpose. What did I do to deserve this? Bericles said to no one. So are you some kind of royalty? Hermitius asked. I was a general, Bericles said, for the royal army of Pollux. Why do you ask? I heard your prayer to Zeus. You pray like royalty. Bericles just stared off into space. Hermitius continued. So you think the gods made a mistake? What do you mean? You sounded like you were surprised to be sent here to Tartarus. I am surprised, Pericles said, raising his voice. I was a good man. I do not I do not deserve this. I'm innocent too, Hermitius said with a laugh. I'm serious, Pericles said. I did everything I was supposed to, even down to dying in battle for a noble cause. Noble for who? Your king and queen? I'm sure all the people you slaughtered thought the same thing about their cause. You don't know what you're talking about, said Bericles. Maybe you're right. I for one am here I I for one am where I belong. What did you do what did you do to deserve Tartarus? Hermitius snorted and shook his head. I'll spare your innocent ears. If you're truly as noble as you say you are, then I don't want it corrupt you. That bad, huh? Bericles said in disbelief. Oh you have no idea, Hermitius said with an evil grin. The two men sat in awkward silence for a while, neither making eye contact with each other. Every once in a while you could hear the distant screech from the demon outside. Hermitius broke the silence. So what are you gonna do? You can stay here longer if you want, but that demon is not going anywhere. Sooner or later you're going to have to deal with it. You're serious, Bericles said in disbelief. Look, I'm sorry, Hermitius said with a shrug. There's nothing I can do for you. Bericles stuck his head out of the burrow out of the burrow hole and saw the demon flapping around nearby. How am I going to deal with that? Bericles asked in frustration. All right, but this is the last thing I'm going to do for you. Hermitius rummaged through his things again, pulled out a stone-tipped short spear, and tossed it to Bericles. Bericles caught it with his deaf hands. You are a general, Hermitius said. You should know how to use it. Thank you, Pericles said with a look of determination. He turned and crouched below the burrow hole, ready to spring out and fight. Wait, Hermitsius said. Bericles looked back, waiting. Go talk to Hades, Hermitius said sheepishly. I believe you. Hades will have no choice to hear your cause. How do I find Hades? Pericles asked. Hermitius proceeded to give Bericles directions, none of which made sense to Bericles, but hopefully it will become transparent as he continues on. Thank you once again, Bericles said. I am I am in your debt. Hermitius shrugged and turned away. Baricles nodded and bounded out the hole. Well, that's all I have right now.

SPEAKER_03 21:19

So yeah. Sounds like you have a little bit of exploration there of dying for the right cause and knowing if you're dying for the right cause. Yeah. Which I think that's funny. We mine was an exploration on the beauty and ugliness of death and its purpose. Yours seems to show that death has purpose, but make sure it's for the right purpose.

SPEAKER_01 21:45

Yeah. How interesting. I think uh yeah, that definitely could grow up to or grow up. Grow up. It could grow to be a yeah, uh into a a bigger story for sure. There's there's a whole world to explore. Um with a whole bunch of potential um avenues to just explore that story. And I I think I mean one of the key points of Greek mythology and all the hero stories is they all tend to visit the underworld at some point. I mean, Hercules goes to get Cebus, um Odysseus, obviously, we talked about, and Perseus, he goes there. Um, and it's like, yeah, they always have a challenge to face or some kind of thing to learn going there. Oh, it's so it's it'd be cool to delve even more into that.

SPEAKER_02 22:33

Yeah, the the journey to the underworld is always such a great part in the hero's journey because it's it's usually at their lowest point in their journeys because they're physically going down to the lowest place possible, but it's also at their lowest point in their character where they're really trying, where they're feeling very defeated and not on top of anything. Yeah. So it's it's you have a good reason for being obsessed with the underworld. Like yeah, it's always a great set piece and a great place to display um the higher ideals of the narrative you're making. I always enjoy it. And Tolkien did it a bunch in Baron and Luthien. Luthien goes to the halls of Mandos, the halls of the dead, to plea for Baron's soul once more so he can live again. And that's when she's at her lowest because she's lost the one she's loved. It's it's a fearful beauty, the underworld.

SPEAKER_00 23:28

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah, I I originally was just gonna try and get to the point where he meets with Hades, and um, you know, he has the debate with Hades to try and get him to escape the underworld. But I'm like, I want to hear that. I'm like, how can we get to that? And I'm just I started writing, and I'm like, oh, I can't get there yet. I can't get there yet. I'm like, there's a whole there's a whole bunch of stuff in between. Um I'm like, oh I've already written all this. So I'm just gonna get get as far as I can. Uh it was tough, honestly. But I'm I'm kind of excited. I don't know if there's potential in this, but it was fun.

SPEAKER_02 24:11

Supposed to get our creative juices going. And Orson Scott Carr had a few stories, started as short stories. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:20

All right, Jeff.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

Get something written down. That's the point. Yes. Write something. Except for, you know, like a nasty letter to someone that don't do that. Sometimes. Sometimes they're one.

SPEAKER_03 24:34

The HOA, yeah. Make it a nasty letter. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 24:39

HOA deserves it.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

Justified. I'm stalling. No.

SPEAKER_03 24:44

I'm gonna have to add lib a little bit because uh I've been busy. Don't worry, that makes me feel better with uh because I think wasn't it our first writing prompt or second really I had to add lib. It was our alien encounter. I had to add lib at the end.

SPEAKER_01 24:56

You still did pretty good there.

SPEAKER_03 24:59

Well, we'll see if it makes me feel better about the only one who managed my time poorly. But you got a better excuse. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 25:06

Just had a baby. Yeah, yeah. So congratulations, Jim. Well, thank you. Congratulations. She's such a cutie for sure.

SPEAKER_01 25:14

Yeah, oh yeah, it is. I I I really like to use that as my excuse, but I I probably did have time. I you know, could have used it better. That's all good. Let's begin. Okay. Um, I'm going for a more Celtic style flair. It's just been my jam for a long time, and I love Arthurian uh style legends, but we'll see how this does. Excuse me. The sun reflected a beam of light off the chest plate as the knight weaved through the tree through the grove of trees into a clearing. There was a structure he was looking for. The building was made of wood, vertical wood beams in a semicircle, flat against the base of a large cliff. Seven large megaliths stood straight in front of the building. The knight felt the knight knelt, closed his eyes, and began to pray. Oh great God, I thank you for guiding me along to fine a voice interrupted his prayer, so close to his ear he could feel moisture gathering around his helm. That God will not hear you from here. The knight jolted up, hand on sword, but there was no one nearby. He called out and turned around, but there was no sign of anyone or answer. Slowly returning to his kneel, this time he did not close his eyes. Oh great God was all he could was as far as he got because he was back on his feet, sword fully drawn, staring at a cloaked figure hooded figure standing between two of the megaliths. He spoke again. The voice sounded right by his right by the knight's ear again, though the figure did not move. I told I told I told you that God will not hear you. The knight held his sword aloft, pointing towards the hooded figure. Are you that caretaker of the shrine? The figure stood still as he spoke, his mouth unmoving. I am here to warn you may decide for yourself how to proceed. What do you mean? The knight said, sheathing his sword. May I access the shrine? You may do as you wish. The warning I give you is you cannot take anyone any one of your gods with you here. The knight stepped forward towards the line of megaliths. My god is always watching me, I fear no trial. As he leaned to pass between the giant rocks, he felt a force pressing against his breastplate. Pushing himself forward, there was a flash, and the knight was propelled back into the tree line. He woke up to the voice of the hooded figure repeating in his ear, You cannot bring your god here. The god the knight looked at the cross hanging from his wrist. He stood up and marched back to stand before the rocks. My God will always be with me, he shouted again. He woke he woke to the voice of the figure, repeating the phrase. The knight walked to stand in front of the figure. He pulled the cross from off his wrist and held it up before the figure. In the name of my God I command you to let me through. I have been given a mission from the Lord. I intend to fulfill it. The hooded figure repeated his phrase. Then he added, You must leave behind your God to progress. The knight pushed his hand, holding the cross forward to the edge of the rocks. The resistance appeared around his hand. The sun drew high in the sky as the knight looked between the cross, the megaliths, and the hooded figure. The cross dropped to the ground. The knight raised his hand over his heart. My God is always in my heart. I need no symbol to keep my Lord with me. Upon crossing the lined megaliths, the sun fell from the sky, and a great mist rose up. The knight turned around looking for the megaliths and surround and the surrounding wood. The shrine structure was all that stood before him. Clasping his hands and falling to his knees he attempted a vocal prayer. No words proceeded from his lips. Grasping his throat he could feel air passing in and out. There was only one way forward, into the shrine. The wooden door of the shrine opened up easily before him. Inside was a chair, table, and a candle lit with a green flame. The hooded figure stood at the table, gesturing towards the chair. Sit and you shall speak, the figure said. The knight sat, and just as he looked towards the figure, a his mouth opened, and a winged creature flew from his lips. The knight then gasping, What is happening? Why why am I here? What happened to the woods? The figure said. You cannot bring your God here. He has no power. But you you shall be trapped for your attempt to destroy this place. I came only to take the relic. That is what the church has told me. Well, they must have lied to you then. And darkness closed in around the night. Miles away at a church, a bishop sighed his head. I'm afraid we have lost another knight. He has failed to take and keep his god with him. We must prepare another. That's how I am.

SPEAKER_00 30:43

Cool. Sounds ominous. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:47

Yeah. A little scary. And I like how you stuck with your Celtic theme because Greg and I seem to be more in the Greek pantheon kind of deal. Which is not bad. Don't interpret that as I'm just glad not all three of us did the same kind of thing. I don't know. I'm just I'm just glad Jeff flew in a different direction.

SPEAKER_01 31:09

Oh, thanks.

SPEAKER_00 31:10

Yeah. Yeah. I like the whole premise of can't bring the your God here type thing. That's cool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:19

I I I think uh, I mean, one of the fascinating things about Celtic history is just how intertwined it became with Christian mythology in a way, where that's like the whole premise of King Arthur. His knights went to pursue the Holy Grail um and go on this great quest, but they encountered pretty much this all the Celt gods and fairies and all kinds of trials. I mean, the Lady of the Lake was basically a Celtic deity. And um, so it was this kind of conflict between the two, and that's always fascinated me between this almost fairy mythological world and the Christian world, which you know has its order while the mythological fey Celtic world is so disordered and chaotic.

SPEAKER_02 32:04

Yeah, yeah, you gotta start playing DD.

SPEAKER_03 32:06

The Fae Realm is just so chaotic, just like you're saying.

unknown 32:11

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:12

Sweet. All right.

SPEAKER_00 32:13

What did good job, guys?

SPEAKER_03 32:15

Yeah. What did you guys think? Do you have a myth you would like to make?

SPEAKER_02 32:18

And do you have any idea how you would make it? Would you focus on gods or would you focus on the mortals trying to defy those gods or appease those gods?

SPEAKER_00 32:27

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:29

Oh yeah. Yeah. Once again, let us know what you think. Um, keep writing, keep sharing that writing, and yeah, join along with us. Um if you have if you want to join us and you want to submit your your prompt or your short story, you can send it to bigrascals.podcast at gmail.com. And we'd love to read it, and you know, we'll feature it if it's the only one for sure. But if there's multiple, then we'll just pick one.

SPEAKER_03 33:06

So but give us a like and subscribe and tell your friends we want to make this a fun community of creators.

SPEAKER_00 33:13

You betcha. Yeah. So cool. Thanks again.

SPEAKER_03 33:18

Yep. We want to close out these ones the same way we do our other ones.

SPEAKER_01 33:25

Keep writing.

SPEAKER_03 33:27

Keep writing, keep writing, and keep writing. Keep writing, keep writing, and keep writing. What was that last thing? Writing? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:37

We're still working on the intro and the outro for this one. Catch y'all later. See ya. See ya.