Prompt

The Dark Brotherhood is in need of agents and members who are strong, not weak. With the recent rise of The Collective, it has become clear to the Dark Council that agents who conspire for our downfall operate from within our ranks. Effective immediately, all must undergo the Seven Levels of Hell as a true test of loyalty to the Brotherhood, for we must purge The Collective scum.

You are whisked away from your Clan's territory to the Dark Ascent on Arx, where you are informed by the simulation administrator the test will be administered in four phases, with some breaks provided in-between. You are warned that failure in the simulation will have repercussions on your physical body for failure to prove your loyalty and worth to the Brotherhood. The first phase consists of the both the First and Second levels of Hell. As you take your place in the state-of-the-art simulation pod and the chamber seals, a thin purple gas begins to fill the air and your eyelids get heavy for a moment before closing.

Welcome, to the First Level of Hell: The Test Of Wit

Your eyes open. You are alone. There are four walls all around you, each bearing a bunch of simple white tiles that all have a small a black diamond in the middle. The room you're in is 15-meters wide by 15-meters long, with the walls 10-meters tall. A moment later 4 tiles on the walls located on each side of you slide open to reveal large open-ended pipes, which thousands of gallons of Mustafarian lava start spewing into the room from. A single tile opens in the roof, to reveal your exit to the Second Level of Hell.

You have no weapons or armor, and none of your equipment; just rags for clothing.

Your objective is to write, as creatively and witty as possible, a fiction depicting how your main or alternative character (the one you choose will be used for all Seven Levels of Hell competitions) escapes this seemingly inescapable situation. The room is not black and white, with more to it than simple tiles.

Use your imagination, this is a creativity building fiction!

Fiction Rules

• Entries must be a minimum of 500 words with no maximum using the prompt above (x1 CoI will be awarded for every 500 words written - minus the title, ID line, repeated prompts, etc.)
• Adult content is allowed and will not be penalized if included, but any entries containing content above a "PG-13" level should not publish their entries (uncheck "Publish Entry" in the submission page).
• Entries must be submitted in .pdf, .doc, or .txt format using the submission box on the Brotherhood website.
  • No GoogleDoc links, please download as a .pdf using "File" -> "Download as" "PDF Document (.pdf)" and submit through the website.

Scoring

Each participant in a sub-competition will earn a point towards the overall fiction series, with placements 1-5 earning bonus points for placement. Entries will be graded according to the Voice Fiction Rubric.

• First Place: 6 points (5 bonus points!)
• Second Place: 5 points (4 bonus points!)
• Third Place: 4 points (3 bonus points!)
• Fourth Place: 3 points (2 bonus points!)
• Fifth Place: 2 points (1 bonus point!)
• Every placement/participant beyond 5th: 1 point