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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about someone who has been tasked to keep a flame burning, surrounded by total darkness.

Posted in Character on Jan 5, 2024

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✍️ 84 stories

“Beyond the Flame” by Rachel Smith

Submitted to Contest #232

It had been this way for as long as Azuse could remember. Fuel the fire, collect resources, survive. This was all that he knew how to do. The flame was held within a great stone basin, in the middle of what Azuse called, ‘The Known’. The basin was around one and half feet high, one foot wide, and made of a dark grey granite. It was extraordinarily heavy, more so than it should have been given its dimensions - only once had Azuse tried to lift it in a moment of frustration, to no avail. ‘Flame is life, darkness is death’, read the inscrip...

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“Maldomir's Flame” by Matthew Gordon

Submitted to Contest #232

Maldomir stands tall, gazing into his fate.  The dancing orange and yellow flames stare back, burning in a large bowl.   Long have they been lit, for how many years, Maldomir can not say.  Tasked with defending them, he has remained at their side for all that time.  They will remain lit, until he draws his last breath.  Compelled by the ancient magics, his will is not his own.  A punishment for a life of crime.  Damned to a black void, filled only with incompetent beasts and his protected flame for company....

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“Darkness” by Leah Dewey

Submitted to Contest #232

The silence was deafening. I couldn’t remember the last time I had heard another human voice. I watched the crackling fire before me. It moved in a repetitive fashion and seemed always as bored as I felt. I threw on a few more logs to keep the fire raging but it still seemed dwarfed in the surrounding darkness.  I had long since ran out of ideas or things to keep me moving. My mind felt dull and I knew I had already thought all things worth thinking. I was certain they had long since forgotten about me. I was certain that several gene...

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“Burning Bright” by Meredith Tarbox

Submitted to Contest #232

There are things that move within the Darkness. Whether those things are alive is a mystery, of course–the rumor only speaks of the never-ending Hunger of such things. Always shifting, always moving. The Darkness was always present, always aware…and always drawing closer. The Darkness was only ever kept away by the presence of the Fire.The Fire began as a source of warmth; a night-time balm against the cold. It began as a source of Light, in a way–but had never been meant to keep the Darkness at bay…at least, not on its own. T...

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“Susan’s Home” by Damilola Iyiola

Submitted to Contest #232

I discreetly wipe the tears from my eyes with my left hand, keeping my right hand tightly fisted against my mouth so that the noise desperately trying to escape will not. I do not want Susan to hear or see the tears. She is already dealing with a whole lot; my emotions will not help. But she must have noticed because her breathe goes deeper as she stretches her hands towards me. I notice this immediately and reach out my right hand to hers. I will not cry because I do not want her to be sad. ‘Don’t hold it in, I don’t want you to,’ Susan s...

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“Stranded in the Northern Night” by Sarah L.

Submitted to Contest #232

   Darkness sat impenetrable on every side, creeping ever closer each time Riki nodded off. Hours ago she had used the little energy she possessed to ignite a fire in her palm. Just as the sun had started to go down she gathered what kindling she could find, though it was chilled through with cold dew from the snow. Power and energy tugged in her gut as she focused herself on the flame. It took every bit of focus to keep the flames alight.    Riki was cold and tired, after the attack on her ship. She was separat...

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“Wick Aflame” by David Winfield

Submitted to Contest #232

AmbushThe massive hand-hewn spear whistled through the forest in search of its target. With a sickening thud, the jagged steel tip tore through the chain-mail armor, gouging and ripping as it pinned its victim to a damp cedar tree trunk. Embúr, the wood elf, let out a cry of pain as he grabbed the violently vibrating shaft and tried to stop it from moving. His face was a mask of distressing agony as he bit his lip to muffle the sound, not wanting his attackers to find his exact location. He focused and centered his mind, ignoring the gushing...

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“Son of The Crows” by Jocelyn Keeney

Submitted to Contest #232

"Good morning lad! Wake up! Your training awaits you!" Alexandre proclaimed, attempting to awaken the tired and stubborn boy. Cyrus rubbed his eyes and groaned loudly. He'd hardly slept for weeks and the journey to Chateau de la Foret Sombre seemed as if had lasted and would continiue for eternity. "Alexandre, why was I chosen out of everyone in the whole kingdom? I'm not remarkable or royal, I'm just me! A boring young boy from the village! Not an heir to the throne! Why couldn't someone like that become Corbeau instead of me? Why can't I j...

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“Shadows in the Silence” by Thomas Bernhard

Submitted to Contest #232

As I stepped into the underground facility, the walls, a sterile grey, seemed to close in around me, whispering secrets of forgotten experiments. My footsteps echoed in the hollow corridors, each sound amplified in the haunting silence.  The facility was a labyrinth, a maze of corridors and rooms, each identical to the last. The air was still, heavy with a scent I couldn't place, something metallic. I tried to focus on my task, to remember the importance of my research here, but the oppressive atmosphere was a weight on my mind, smother...

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“A Lucia to remember” by Anna Frederiksen-Washington

Submitted to Contest #232

A Lucia to rememberWith the passing of time, you have the luxury of perspective, and those moments you shared with others long ago take on a different meaning. Usually, it is the nice things we remember pushing the more unpleasant moments behind. I was born in a small rural town in the heart of Sweden. Warm, long summer days and cold, dark, snowy winters. Frozen lakes, skiing and skating, building snow men and watching the snowflakes fall outside my window, imagining the world outside. Traditions were something we held close to us, especiall...

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“Gnashing of Teeth” by L.A. Crum

Submitted to Contest #232

I still vividly recall the day he emerged from the water – a truly beautiful day filled with joy and peace. In a moment years of sadness and heartache washed away, all within the refreshing coolness of about three feet of water.Yet, as he celebrated this glorious moment, I heard it for the first time. It began as a low rumble, akin to the early tremors of an earthquake, but it grew steadily. What was it? Then, a deafening bellow echoed from the depths – just as Reverend Timothy had described it in my youth, only worse. This was not of this w...

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“Stay in the Light” by K.C. Hammond

Submitted to Contest #232

    She lifted the lantern aloft, projecting its glow around her. As long as she remained within the center of its light, she would be safe. Taking long strides, she trudged through the soft snow, leaving two long trenches behind her. Emanating from the darkness surrounding her came the cacophony of snarling growls. The creatures lay just out of her sight, but she could hear them shifting and circling in the darkness. Every few steps, she would come across a large print that had broken across her path. As long as she rema...

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“The Matchbox” by Sena Crow

Submitted to Contest #232

One match left. I gazed at the matchbox as it sat on the ground next to me, slightly illuminated by the emergency candle. Over the past four or five weeks I had committed the physical presence of this matchbox to memory. I traced each line within the design, peered closely at the print and tried to examine each blob of ink, each fraying layer of cardboard, each minuscule imperfection that constituted the box. I had wholly integrated my conscience into the world of this matchbox. I thought myself to be an expert of its landscape, a master o...

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“Aurora's Flame” by Josh Stenseth

Submitted to Contest #232

The light flickered and waved, growing a bit smaller before coming to life again. The crowd huddled around it, gasping as it dimmed and sighing in relief as it grew like a collective heartbeat that kept the flame alive. The small, sickly pale girl who held the flame watched in fascination as it danced and changed shape and color. To an onlooker, it would seem as if she’d never seen anything like it before, an observation that would not be far off. The girl had been abandoned above ground only a few days before and came in...

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“The Sunrise Run” by Alexandria Lucius

Submitted to Contest #232

 Amelia has just been told about the job of keeping the flame going, to add light to the dark. It allows others to know where to go to reach the finish line, a guiding light. It seemed simple, just keep watch, lit the candle and keep the flame lit. She felt this job would be a good for her as she read the job posting. She went up to the building for the interview.   Taking a deep breath, she walked in. The inside was modern with white everywhere. The receptionist's desk was the center of the room. She walked up to the desk a...

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