Summer Camp 2024: Reading Challenge

Oh shit, the reading challenge!

— me, a few minutes ago

Another year has slipped by, leaving July firmly in the past and taking August out with it! Seriously, where has this year gone? Summer Camp this year was actually insane for me - 72k words of writing whilst sick for some of it and then on holiday for an entire week - and I didn't actually have time to read much until we got a fair ways into August.
And then I promptly forgot to actually record anything I liked as life got busy. My partner and I are trying to look at buying a house (as a millennial: what?!), my work is extreeeeemely busy as the game we're working on (no, I can't tell you yet..) gets ever closer to being done, and there's just been a lot of family stuff, campaign shenanigans, and the like.

Fair warning! All of the following was written pretty much over 2 hours from midnight to 2am whilst I'm already extremely sleep deprived and also dealing with Very Loud Tinnitus. It might be a little weird compared to usual!

Summer Camp Reflections

First, before we jump into the 10 articles, a quick reflection on SC itself. Summer Camp is always one of my absolute favourite events on WA. The prompts always drive me to do interesting things that I would've otherwise not thought to do, and the many things conjured up for SC have added some interesting spice to my campaigns. Indeed, my players recently rode the Iceflows (SC 2019) from the Tower of Sathelis (SC 2022), meeting up with the partner of Kailuva Sikuvael (SC 2023) in the process, to eventually travel to the Heartforge of Iskaldhal (SC 2018). They've been theorising madly about campaign events and how they might connect to places like Kyöpelinvuori (WE 2018), and one of them is currently putting on a persona of a totally-not-a-pirate who once travelled with Soarin' Sally's Privateering Band (SC 2020).
I cannot wait for the new things from SC 2024 to influence this game and the next one. Over the course of this summer camp, I introduced one of Istralar's icecaps (Ascirthe) and set up some potential big campaign stories in Proclamation of the Crown and Words of the Silent. They're already hearing rumours about Ascirthe in-game, now. I explained the Dirge of Worlds, which is pretty much entirely foreshadowing and campaign relevance. I hinted at some fun things in the very existence of Iconoclast Shroud, which should definitely worry them (hi, players). Vithriciulë is something they've been tentatively aware of for a while; this answers some of their questions OOC, and raises so many more.
Queen Valdis and her Widower Knights? They're the direct fault of my players. The party accidentally gave her WAY too much power. Lukasade is also their fault, though far more positively. Theiket and the rest of my party found Lukas Falkenrath in a coffin asleep in his cute vampire PJs with a teddybear and decided to keep him, so now this artsy, flighty, easily-spooked bard is a mainstay in the party's town and things like lukasade now exist. They're also responsible for Tyreos, who is the result of a major two-year campaign arc - and the first Shard of the Void to be fully repaired in the game's history. And obviously, Perci V. Fauxx is one of their allies! Perci is the leadership ally of Ashlyn Alarian, played by the lovely Count Drakin.
Inlára was introduced long-ago in my game but never named, only termed as 'the snow elven language'. As Azsire has become more of a mainstay in the party, it's now been built out into a proper little conlang. All of the dwarf-related articles this SC - from karstivers to the Stonesworn and the Ancestors' Descendants etc - are largely because my players are currently going to be dealing with a lot of dwarven shenanigans thanks to the aforementioned visit to the Heartforge, so I wanted to set up more lore in that area. Same for the rest of the Iskaldhal articles, like Sárezket and the the Jurisaudra.
Everything with the Arriusi? That's setup for later, and expanding on the general lore of the Medimian Empire and its influence over Valathe. I haven't actually written much about Valathe aside from its westernmost reaches, so I'm trying to remedy that.
...
Oh, you're wondering why I haven't talked about the denture in the room.
Look. Dreams are a huge part of my current campaign's lore, and will likely always be significant. However, Reverie and Teeth? are... special. If I hinted at any campaign events around them now, it'd spoil them for my players. Let's just enjoy the absolute fever dream insanity of those pieces, and my players can be ill at ease with the knowledge that at any moment, I could inflict teeth? upon them. :)
Now! I promised a reading challenge, didn't I?

Istralar in SC2024

A Small Sidenote on Respect

Before we continue, it's perhaps time for a moment to discuss how to respectfully interact with other people in the community.
Most importantly: critique is something that should be asked for, not given unwanted. There's been a lot of unwarranted criticism given in the community lately, and I've seen friends be quite upset over presumably well-meaning comments that really weren't looked for.
Please, be mindful (demure, even) when commenting on other people's work! There's a lot of energy put into these articles, especially in the big contests like Summer Camp. Critical comments can entirely kill people's vibes.
Speaking of critical comments: the Discord's moderators are there to enforce rules, not to be silent recipients of hateful tirades that get deleted with great haste. I don't know why some folk feel it necessary to respond to some of the Discord mods with absolutely vile behaviour, but it keeps happening.
If you've been dinged about a rule, perhaps take a moment to breathe and be kind in your response. We're not paid. We're not WA employees. We're just trying to keep the space nice and accessible to everyone, and we'll happily talk with you if you're not happy with how something's been handled.
On this topic - to the judges that are sharing rubrics or discussions on how they do their judging, I appreciate you SO much. I've heard rumour of bias in judging and that just makes me sad.
Summer Camp is such a challenge for competitors and judges alike; I hope we see more rubrics and structured judging appear to help both sides in future years!

Han's Last-Minute Reading Challenge

I swear, one day I'll plan a little better for these. As per usual, please don't be upset if you haven't had something included here. I had over 900 notifications and read every single one of them, so naturally, a lot of things blurred together in my brain. The pieces I'm listing here are some of the ones I liked, but by no means are all the ones I liked.
If you're looking for incredible work to look for outside of what is posted here - please, have a wander around some of the other reading challenge articles, or look for wonderful things to read yourself! There are so many incredible writers on WA. I think we all know the likes of Rin, Nnie, Mochimanoban, Amélie, Qurilion, Theiket, Emy (Serukis), Ademal & Barron, Oneriwien, TJ, and so many more wonderful names, but it's always good to explore more! I'm finding new worlds pretty much every event to gasp over. It's so good.

Prompt

A building considered a refuge against the world

The Brillish Cheese Caves by Emy (Serukis)

Some of the shelves that the cheese wheels are stored are made from the remains of shipwrecks that littered Bril's craggy coastline.

Sometimes, an article doesn't need to be particularly fancy to stick with you. This piece from Emy is pretty much perfect, in my mind. It conjures up an image of dark caves lit by candlelight and accessed via mazelike tunnels that open up to shelves upon shelves of that glorious cheese. As someone who grew up going to many different cheesemaking places (some of them involving caves, too!), I just love everything about this.
I'm also a huge fan of the historical details tying something relatively mundane back into the overall story of the world, with the town hiding there. I can't say I'd want to be hiding in caves myself, though! Great alternative to war, but man, the danger of it might actually be as high as the war itself.

Cheesebeard by CrazyEddie

Since that tragic day Dwarves from all over the mountains are telling the Legend of Cheesebeard and his Beardcheese...

Continuing the cheese theme, we have a wonderfully disgusting piece from Koria. Eddie had a fantastic summer camp and I struggled to choose which article of his to highlight here, but it's gotta be this one - after all, I helped encourage him to write it! I'm a fan of adding weird to worlds, and this is a fab example of how to do just that. We learn from this a lot of context around dwarves and their beards, and we see in Mr. Cheesebeard here that it does sometimes go a bit too far. Being so filthy that you figure out you can turn your gross cheese remnants into beard moisturiser is absolutely disgusting and equally hilarious, and I genuinely worry for how that would've smelled on hot days.
For once, I'm glad the protagonist of this story didn't survive the telling. That beardcheese really doesn't need to spread!

Prompt

A myth about food

Prompt

An animal or plant that feeds on decay

The Kaharan Vulture - Guardian of Souls by Tyrdal

To my dying days, I will ask myself - had my life been worthy enough to balance the scales of judgment?

Tyrdal is one of those writers who is very good at evoking tone right from the start of an article. Aran'sha's themeing immediately transports you to twilit nights in a desert, and the paper-texture effect applied to the images used throughout really lend credence to the ancient scroll vibe he's got going on here. Lovely work. You're immediately put in the right mind to read a solemn, awed piece of prose from an in-universe writer about their encounter with the titular vulture.
This piece on what might genuinely be just a normal bird is a really good way to demonstrate the way faithful cultures can see a creature. Descriptions that might otherwise be dry or rote are instead flavoured with the reverence these people hold for the vultures, and see their mundane features described as 'far too wise' and the like. Myths and legends are spoken in the same voice as facts, and the sidebar serves to reiterate that these birds are to be revered through explanations of common sayings and their place in common religion.
I love this, basically. Articles that both introduce a concept and use that introduction to effortlessly show that thing's role in society? Good shit, I adore it.

Svulst by Nnie

Sculptures of forgotten gods are lit by neon laser shows, and cult classic clubs sit next to cultist shrines.

I adore tiered cities. There's one - as of yet unnamed and unknown - that shall emerge from my Kudara in time, actually; it'll be the primary setting for Istralar's second campaign. So, I was thrilled to find Annie's done a piece on a tiered city! And brilliantly so, as well. I love how Svulst has evolved over time, expanding upwards rather than remaining static and gradually plunging its lower levels into darkness.
The juxtaposition of ancient and new is something I find especially intriguing when played with, and I'm excited to see that touched on here - as well as the way that doing so can be a genuine risk to the civilisation above. The Firmament's threat of collapse would've been scary to experience, but I love that it's lead to an almost Kowloon-style layered industrial district.
Also, extreme props for considering how the city's construction would influence even fashion. Oxygen becoming a luxury and a fashion statement is shockingly realistic, and I can picture so easily how that became something to flaunt status.

Prompt

A settlement that's known as a party town or pleasure city

Prompt

A naturally sheltered place

Rada by Rin (Those2Nerds)

They always wanted us trapped.

Rin introduces Rada to us as a beautiful garden, a paradise, in its opening quote - and without hesitating, then shatters that image for something more dystopian. I'm amazed that this article is a summercamp article, honestly; the narrative is brutal and complete in its telling. We are given a tragic look into the lives of folk that have seen every advantage turned into a failing, at no fault of the poor inhabitants. Rada's culture is not touched on outside of brief mention, but this only adds to the oppressive, worrying feel of the article: how can their culture be discussed when so much of their world is consumed by this oppression?
I'm also a fan of the reasons given as to why other societies aren't helping these poor folk. The Emerald Legion seem to be masters of manipulation, and Rada itself sits at the centre of a sphere of uncertainty and bad weather. It's hard to fathom abandoning a world to tyrants, but politics and logistics are both regular justifications in the real world - they'd be amplified a thousandfold in a reality like this. I don't know if Rin intended for Rada to parallel a certain real-world conflict, but man, parallels can certainly be drawn there.
Here's hoping Rada's resistance can escape the Legion's grasp one way or another.

Mirror Gates by Blue Fairy 74

Even if he wanted to, there was no going back.

Oh man, I love mirrors as teleportation devices (as any of my players will gladly tell you, I've got a whole thing about mirrors and symbolism). I love them as Pathfinder's aiudara, in Istralar in varying forms, in Dragon Age's eluvians, and especially here in Elaqitan.
Blue weaves a wonderful narrative around the article through beautifully-adorned quoteboxes to illustrate the process and its dangers, all the while expanding on everything from their history to their inherent dangers in the rest of the piece. I'm especially a fan of the way Blue explains how they appear when activated versus deactivated. Deactivated gates are so easy to miss, unless one has skill; activated gates, though, hold a special mirrored beauty to them. Check out the descriptions here. Blue's very good at creating mental images.
Also, I love that these mirror gates have a danger to them. Teleportation is usually such an easy, risk-free thing. These are a pain to find and use, which is a cost in and of itself, but then you must risk your life to travel within them. Creatures stalk the portal's pathways, and fatigue tries to call you to an early death. Nobody should call these teleportation devices easy. As a sidenote: Blue has written some brilliant stuff this SC. I'd thoroughly recommend having a read if you're in need of new worlds to follow.

Prompt

A vehicle that, when introduced, caused social upheaval

Prompt

A degenerative disease

Sleeping Sickness by Alan (Hallucigenia)

The road to recovery can be long and fraught.

Alan's had a bunch of awesome SC articles this year, but this one caught my attention because yeeeeeeees creepy dream things yeesss. Dream conditions are horrifying to imagine. Nightmarish scythe-handed eye-studded mouthy things that attach to the very soul of a dreamer, who may have had no intent to even wander into the Duskscape, land of dreams and nightmares? Terrifying. I love it.
I particularly enjoy the focus put on the long-term effects of the sickness. Someone rescued swiftly may sufffer minimal damage, but delaying a rescue - perhaps because you were distracted by a sidequest - can screw up the person you're trying to save with some pretty nasty side effects that, presumably, can never be gotten rid of. It's a truly nasty illness. This would be a fun one to use in a campaign as a high-stakes time-pressure situation. It also grants some insight into the nature of the Duskscape of Waking Materia. If the nightmares that spread the sleeping sickness dwell there, then what else exists in that realm to grant nightmares to dreaming visitors?

City of Lights by Elspeth87

They may call it philosophy. I call it gibberish.

I think my favourite subtle thing about this article is the page background. When you're looking at the image of Minoran Nights, it feels like it expands to fill the screen because of the background rainbow mimicking it in colour; it's a subtle brilliance. I know that this theme isn't just for this article, but it really does add to the effect. Elspeth brings us yet another gorgeous article, this one characterising a city and its people with ease.
The titular lights not only shape the city's population - as tourists and the like evidently visit to see them, meaning society must bend t serve that need - but also their culture. The night sky has a strong influence on Minoran culture by the sound of it, and this is where it manifests most strongly. The people living here are either here to party, or are here for creative/philosophical reasons. I can imagine that must create a wild atmosphere.
What I also find interesting is that the native people here lost their faith and spirituality over time as their understanding grew, but they didn't let go of it entirely. Those ancient faiths became their modern day perspective on philosophy, which is quite cool to see! It sounds like that view isn't appreciated by everyone in-universe, though, given the opening quote. A shame.

Prompt

A settlement that's known as a party town or pleasure city

Prompt

An animal or plant that feeds on decay

Stack Dwellers by Stormbril

To human researchers and botanists, Stack Dwellers are known as "Little Readers", "Bookies", or "Rivals" -- because the humans wish they could keep up.

They're just little guys. I love them so much. Stormbril takes a break from bringing us heartwrenching tales to instead give us cute lil mushroom guys that, er, rather voraciously tear through libraries. Whilst I do love the little buggers, they'd better stay the hell away from my bookshelves! I do especially like that their nicknames are so cute. Rather than being mad at their destruction, humans have decided to Human^tm and give them personalities and kinship, which is so ridiculously on brand for humans as a species.
Also, I'm reminded of Entangled Life and the music that was made from its mushroomy decomposition.

Feyline Bend by RiverFang

Even with so much on the line, competitors were always waiting, money in hand for the next race, the next adrenaline rush.

Ah, I do love fey and their bullshit. RiverFang, like so many others on this list and more, put out some incredible work this SC; I'm tagging this here because I absolutely adore the concept of a wild adrenaline junkie hangout run by the fey of all creatures. The races that go on here must be absolutely unhinged. The stables are definitely unhinged if they can fit things like dinosaurs, actually, given how big some of those can get. Also love that I can imagine the arches through the racetrack like a videogame - Mario Kart Fey, anyone?
But aside from the gambling and adrenaline, RiverFang also grounds this fantastical realm thoroughly in Isekai. The proprietor's identity may be hidden, but they turned the disaster of the Deadzone into something fun and profitable. RiverFang also makes it clear that the Fairy Kingdom is not entirely places like Feyline Bend, but also that this is certainly not unique in its unsavoury behaviour, which I think is a really good idea. You're setting expectations for the realm in general, then - visitors won't expect debauchery, but they won't necessarily be surprised by it.

Prompt

A building associated with joy and fun

Finally, a special mention to Qurilion for this. Goddamnit, Qu, I love your shenanigans. X)