Write a story about a character on a quest, trying to "prove themselves."

Posted in Adventure on Oct 26, 2022

Submissions are closed

Sorry, we are not accepting submissions for this prompt as it is not part of an active contest. Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy Prompts account.

Or create a new Reedsy account:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 30 stories

“The Wrong Name (Too Many Colors)” by Adriana K. Maxwell

Submitted to Contest #16

Bounce. Pick up one. Catch.He had the wrong name. “Ethan” was supposed to be strong.Bounce. Pick up two. Catch.Or maybe he was just the wrong person. Perhaps if his mother had given him his own name, instead of an Old Worlder name, it would have better. He could have made his own meaning.Bounce. Pick up-Madik!He almost said a swear word he learned from his visit with the Masari. He hadn’t, he had stuck to his mother’s own “exasperation word” of “I don’t like” but he almost had. Maybe his people were ri...

0 comments 0

Read story

“The Words I Can't Write (Literally)” by Lily Kingston

Submitted to Contest #16

Where I’m from, my village has this little ritual that has labeled us crackheads to the rest of the world. When a child is born, they are chosen by a weapon. The more destructive the weapon, the more praise the child gets. Afterwards, the adults smoke crack. It’s a jolly day. Not for me, though. I was chosen by a pen. At first, my parents didn’t even want to teach me to write. They didn’t want to encourage my use of the pen. Instead they jammed swords and bows and bazookas into my tiny baby hands, just hoping they would stick. They didn’t. B...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Cuts” by Renée Chatelain

Submitted to Contest #16

I’m a really good guy, through and through. It sounds a little self-conceited, but I really am. But in my family, that’s not good enough. You don’t meet people like me around here anymore. I don’t expect to meet someone like me either. If I’m lucky, maybe another nice person will cross paths with me. Almost everyone I’ve met here have deep cuts, even the children. All I have are the tiny paper cuts of white lies on my fingertips and forearms––consequences of little formalities and camouflages of sorts. Some people have long...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Homeward Flight” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #16

It might not quite be on a par with “The cheque’s in the post” or “You look lovely in that outfit”, but it’s fair to say that the phrase “You have nothing to prove” is not always uttered with a surfeit of sincerity. Still, I don’t have anything to prove, thought Joan Hayden, as she sat in the little lounge that was so carefully designed to stop people feeling nervous and uneasy that it had the opposite effect. All of the soft grey furnishing and rounded corners and pictures of not quite abstract autumn...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Kubanda Umlilo” by Vivien Leanne Saunders

Submitted to Contest #16

By the sun who warms us and the river that sweetens the land, raise your hands and we shall name the faces of the stars –Silalela Sifunda Ukithi SiphilaWe listen We learn ...

8 comments 8

Read story

“Fire Bearer” by Lana Pine

Submitted to Contest #16

“I’m ready, Master, I’m ready to begin my training,” Mako bowed to the High Counsel, silently praying that they would agree. The Grand Master looked at him, and very evenly said, “No” “But, why?” Mako burst, “I’m 13 years old, Master. I’m the only Bearer not to have started training, and with the Varick Hoards attacking more and more, I need to know how to control my...

3 comments 3

Read story

“Understand, Please” by Azton Burke

Submitted to Contest #16

this story is based on the series called Wings of Fire My talons clanked upon the ground. A dragon of night, such as I, blended in with the dark area around me. I was 10 years old, a young adult in dragon years, but that meant nothing to my size. I was about the size of a four through seven old dragonet, depending on who you asked, and it... It really sucks. I've always been told that I'm a girl and so I can't fight. I believed it to be true: until one night I met a dragon named Jackal, who usually dwelled within the desert but had traveled ...

5 comments 5

Read story

“The Treasures” by Raven T

Submitted to Contest #16

Kara’s hands were sticky. It was a thing she noticed absently, rubbing the sludge between two palms as she surveyed the tunnel. Half of it was wax, fallen from her candle. The other half, she didn’t want to think about. She noticed it, just as she noticed that there were three open doors, branching off, that there were ornate fixtures on the wall, now devoid of their torches, that there were bats squealing somewhere above. Then there was the dungeon vault, now behind her, cold and inky black.She pinched a bit of slime off her palm and tossed...

1 comment 1

Read story

“NO PAIN NO GAIN” by SHYAMALA BHUVANACHANDRAN

Submitted to Contest #16

Krishna was sitting sad, with his head down and his two hands, holding his cheeks. His wife, Meena, was very much moved by his gloomy appearance. She went on to comfort him.“See, my dear, our forefathers have long ago advised us, not to hold the cheeks in two hands, even if you own and your sailing ships have been wrecked and shattered. So, therefore, hold your chin high and think positively. I don’t know what is bothering you. If you are suffering from physical pains, think of your mother. No pain is sharper than a mother’s labour pain befo...

4 comments 4

Read story

“Promises” by Carmen Vitae

Submitted to Contest #16

Genni had made a promise, and she never broke a promise. Raven, her father, had told her that his word was the most valuable thing he owned. Genni was a toddler at the time, and took it to mean that a good word would help their family have money to eat. She had promised her father that her word would be golden. That promise was never broken. Her brother had lent her his jacket when it had gotten unnaturally cold one day, and Genni had promised to return it without a single stain. She had gone to great lengths to keep it that way, a...

1 comment 1

Read story

“Chaos at the hardware store” by Margaret Davis

Submitted to Contest #16

CHAOS AT THE HARDWARE STORE Nobody believes me but I’m big and strong, taller than a giant,stronger than superman. I can jump high and touch the sky if I want to. I can do this cause I'm a lot like my hero, Tigger. You know Tigger-Tigger from Winnie the Poo, yeah, I'm like him. Nooooooo, I’m not orange with black stripes, I don’t have beady eyes and, I don’t have a tail, but I sure do bounce around a lot. Like Tigger, I'm bouncy, pouncy, flouncy, and sometimes, I get in trouble because I move too quickly and kn...

2 comments 2

Read story

“The Girl and the Dragon Scale” by JACOB BJORNBERG

Submitted to Contest #16

There’s a saying in my village: “Any sickness will have a cure.” I think most people took it in a more figurative way. However, I was almost certain there was some truth to that saying. At least, I hoped there was. If only because there was once a time in my life that I really needed a miracle cure. My dad was sick and wasn’t looking to get better. I had no choice but to ask everyone in town until I ended up making a deal with the world’s most dubious merchant.“Flora, I’m glad you came.” The sleezy, buck-toothed merchant grinned. “I heard yo...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Taking A Chance” by Alexandra Spivot

Submitted to Contest #16

Taking A Chance Chance awoke to the ear ringing sound of the war gong. He threw back this blankets and clambered out of his whale of a bed. As he ran out of his room, he grabbed his bow and quiver. The palace halls were swarming with guards running to their posts. Ducking under arms and weaving around the chaos, he ran across the court yard and into the kings thrown room. “Dad! Dad I am ready to fight! Where are the humans?” Chance looked around the room and his stomach flipped. The entire elf council was sitting around the big ta...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Enna Feather and Felicity Curry, Two Brave Chickens” by Jane Marple

Submitted to Contest #16

Enna flipped the pages of the newest C.H.I.C.K.E.N (Courageous High-flying Chickens Kill Evil Necromancers) magazine, marveling at the heroic chickens with her scaly claws. C.H.I.C.K.E.N had published another story featuring her favorite undefeatable duo; Albert and Amelia Egghart. They had an amazing repertoire and superpowers! Albert had incredible strength and could lift up to 100 pounds, while Amelia was a light speedy chicken who could fly! “Hey Enna, would you like some of these worms? They were just delivered by Instachicken tod...

0 comments 0

Read story

“Greener Pastures” by Shelby Yocum

Submitted to Contest #16

I have come to several conclusions about myself over the last few years. Some I’m proud of, some I would like to bury in the back yard for the dog to piss on.While I am completely self- sufficient, I don’t necessarily want to be. But I do. It’s like trying to balance a see-saw in the middle of my head. I enjoy the ability of being able to accomplish these things from the everyday mundane to the supreme success of the out-of-the-ordinary classification of a modern day female. These activities do not warrant much praise from me after initially...

0 comments 0

Read story

Load more stories

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story around the theme: Be careful what you wish for.

Novel – 79 stories

Write a story that involves love at first sight.

Romance – 88 stories

Write a rags-to-riches story.

Novel – 20 stories

Write a story in which characters are warned not to go into the woods.

Mystery – 98 stories

Contest #16

Enter our weekly contest!

This week's theme: Once Upon a Time

$50

Prize money

315

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 22:59 - Nov 22, 2019 EST

Won by Vivien Leanne Saunders 🏆

Title: The Sackcloth Liar

View details

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

We'll send you 5 prompts each week. Respond with your short story and you could win $250!

Menu

CONNECT

BLOG

APPS

TOOLS

ABOUT

Write a story about a character on a quest, trying to "prove themselves."

Submissions are closed

✍️ 30 stories

“The Wrong Name (Too Many Colors)” by Adriana K. Maxwell

“The Words I Can't Write (Literally)” by Lily Kingston

“Cuts” by Renée Chatelain

“Homeward Flight” by Deborah Mercer

“Kubanda Umlilo” by Vivien Leanne Saunders

“Fire Bearer” by Lana Pine

“Understand, Please” by Azton Burke

“The Treasures” by Raven T

“NO PAIN NO GAIN” by SHYAMALA BHUVANACHANDRAN

“Promises” by Carmen Vitae

“Chaos at the hardware store” by Margaret Davis

“The Girl and the Dragon Scale” by JACOB BJORNBERG

“Taking A Chance” by Alexandra Spivot

“Enna Feather and Felicity Curry, Two Brave Chickens” by Jane Marple

“Greener Pastures” by Shelby Yocum

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story around the theme: Be careful what you wish for.

Write a story that involves love at first sight.

Write a rags-to-riches story.

Write a story in which characters are warned not to go into the woods.

Contest #16

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

315

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: