[Community Writing Project] 世界の闇 - Darkness of the World

STATUS UPDATES: Hiatus is over! Chapter 10, 11 and 12 are out! Also, please check the chapter reservation section - the chapters reserved by me are main story chapters, from this point on. Everyone else can also take part in the main story, but we'll have to get on skype and juggle ideas - if you're unable or unwilling to do that, you're free to make your own chapters for your own characters like normal.

We have a google docs file to write chapters now! Please write your chapters there before posting them here - it's also a good place to give/receive feedback! PM me for the link.

Sorry for the atrociously long wait for my chapters, I ended up writing far too much and decided to place most of it on the back burner until later...



~If you want to view a specific chapter's post, you can go straight to it using the chapter navigation section in this post.

~Feel free to write in the style you're most comfortable with but please maintain third-person, past-tense. It's too confusing to switch back and forth each chapter.

~Don't introduce someone else's character without explicit permission from them. PM is fine, you don't have to do so publicly or anything.

~Please be respectful of other writers and try to have as much fun as you can!



Hello, everyone! I'm Masayoshi, founder of 'Project Erakuni' and 'Project Sekai no Yami'. It's nice to meet you! ^_^

This is my second community writing project and I plan to make this one successful, unlike the last.

Last time we found a lot of shining talents and diamonds in the rough and I hope to find even more talented and resourceful writers this time around.

I can't say I'm a great writer myself... but I do love writing and try to improve with every single chapter I write.

Writing with everyone here has improved my own writing tremendously - it's all thanks to you guys that I've improved so much!

Although, in my opinion, I'm still the least skilled writer currently on this team. I have so much more to learn!

Well, enough about me - I want to know more about YOU!

Feel free to introduce yourself if you're interested in joining and please don't hesitate to ask any questions you want! ^_^

At this point in time, writers will be given a very limited leash - write pretty much anything you want, as long as it vaguely falls under the genre of medieval fantasy!



I've failed to explain this for so long and I figured it's about time to do so. This project is rp-like in nature but it follows a 4-act plot which each writer slowly works toward in their own way. Each act varies in length, but the goal is to write a grand total of 100 chapters, not counting the prologue and epilogue.

Each writer writes 1 chapter at a time, then it rotates to the next person. The exception to this is that I write every 10th chapter, to keep my own plot going and on track. You don't have to continue the previous chapter's story, but doing so can get a team plot going.

For example, Complete Horizon and JustGiveMeLove (2 of the writers on this team) have teamed up and are actively communicating and building their own subplot together!

We hold chapter reservations ahead of time to keep writing organized and so that people have plenty of time to write and relax. The reservations are made by making a post in this thread, but be sure to check the current reservations in this post's Chapter reservation section first. It's updated daily, so it's not likely that you'll miss it!



These aren't entirely accurate but hopefully they make you laugh, that's the intention here ^_^:

Prologue: The world is vaguely introduced and the plot is barely hinted at so all we know is that the British are coming - wait I meant demons.

Chapter One: 'Shuusa' and 'Kanst' are introduced and flip some guards the bird as they leave the town without a hitch.

Chapter Two: Shuusa and Kanst begin searching the area for castle ruins and Shuusa is now his pussy hostage until further notice.

Chapter Three: 'Yuurei' is introduced and fights Shuusa but he rekt her group and leaves after telling her she's a helpless puppy.

Chapter Four: Shuusa and Kanst fight an old man wizard in the ruins who kicks their asses, reads a book and then leaves after showing he was a little girl all along.

Chapter Five: Yuurei stalks some wounded morons and gets groped by some knights in front of the supreme general lady.

Chapter Six: 'Elgaraf' is introduced, hears rumors of a formidable general, leaves the town and decides to meet the general in person because the villagers here are douche canoes.

Chapter Seven: Elgaraf enters the capital then goes to the palace and spars with the general but loses and sees a self-entitled little bitch standing outside the palace gates.

Chapter Eight: Elgaraf meets with Yuurei then sees the baker lady's Kentucky Fried Husband before they meet up again to talk and then part ways.

Chapter Nine: A dude in a cabin raises a slimy black blob while some old hag kills an entire village and then Kanst touches her while grinning and she joins his group to go kill more peeps together.

Chapter Ten: Shuusa and pals get thrown in jail because Barbaricia's 'soooooooo popular', only for him to bust everyone out five seconds later. Kanst picks up a chick in the dungeon and Shuusa kills some dudes on their way out. Then, not a single damn guard stopped them or raised an eyebrow as they snuck out of town... how stupid can they be?!

Chapter Eleven: Shuusa and pals camp in the forest. Barbaricia goes missing inexplicably, Shuusa goes to find her, Kanst ditched everyone literally right after he left camp, and the chick Kanst picked up in the dungeon slept by a log the whole time.

Shuusa met Yuurei again, but this time gets owned by her and forced to rely on Barbaricia, who was oh-so-conveniently nearby. Everyone at this point says 'let's all leave each other alone, mmkay?' and so they live happily ever after... Or did they? The chick Kanst picked up in the dungeon was actually a cranky bitch. She decided that they were both basically worthless murdering pieces of shit, stole Kanst's staff and ran out on them after insulting them in while she trapped them in barriers as soon as they got back to camp.

Chapter Twelve: Shuusa and Barbaricia are basically alone now, and the pair left the forest. They spy on some guards, and after hearing all he wanted Shuusa tried to kill the guards but took it up the ass from them instead. The guards left after throwing a few explosives to wound Barbaricia's 'bombshell body' (lol). Wounded and needy, Shuusa and Barbaricia went on their journey to the east instead of the north because warm forests with with trees and elves > icy mountains with blizzards and dragons.

Chapter Thirteen: Kanst walks through the grand canyon, finds a really big penis joke, asks sparky a bunch of questions, uses the ghostbuster 3000, and enters a spoopy portal. Aether follows him and an awkward silence is all that's left.



See the 'Character Profiles' section if you want to submit a profile, since there's more information there about what profiles should look like.

Also, this list is being reworked due to the strange flow of events in the first 5 chapters.

There is no 'main character' per se, but some characters are more plot important than others.

Current Roster:

Characters:
Atria, 'Supreme General of Thorns'
Elgaraf
Kanst Avero
Shuusa
Yuurei
???
???
???
Barbaricia Acrussio
???
Irica
???
???
Aether
Etheria
Evathaniel
Garua
Yorokobi
Erica
Wei
Kazumo
Solica Lunira Ethos
Katsuryoku
???
???
???
Wanda
???
???
Renmara
Tereth
Elsarm
Jiamong Laozhi
Song Fon
???
Strich Unbedachte
???
???
???
Krasivaya Shedevr
???
???

Organizations and Groups:
'Thirteen Rose Thorns'
'Sages of Equilibrium'
'Advents of Imbalance'
'The Hitobashira Clan'



@masayoshi
@yanker-7487918
@leonard267 (Our resident non-writer, as his title implies ^_^)
@rosaehl-6146139
@complete-horizon-4579257
@justgivemelove-9645460
@spikedpikes-7014049
@the-equalizer



Prologue & Chapter One - By 正義
Chapter 2 - by Yanker
Chapter 3 - By 正義
Chapter 4 - by Complete Horizon
Chapter 5 - by 正義
Chapter 6 - by Yanker
Chapter 7 - by Spikedpikes
Chapter 8 - by The Equalizer
Chapter 9 - by JustGiveMeLove
Chapter 10 - by 正義
Chapter 11 - by 正義
Chapter 12 - by 正義
Chapter 13 - The Ethereal Gateway - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 14 - Reserved by - The Equalizer
Chapter 15 - The Grove of Ancient Mystics - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 16 - Guardian of the Grand Seal - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 17 - The Seals Are All Broken - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 18 - The Legacy of Blood and Sin - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 19 - The Devil's Dark Deal - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 20 - The Great Ancient Clan - Reserved by - 正義
Chapter 21 - Ethos, Unbreakable City - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 22 - Princess of Magma and Ice - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 23 - Where a Blaze Meets a Blizzard - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 24 - Melted Ice and Drowned Flames - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 25 - The Vastwood, Part I - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 26 - The Spirit Peaks, Part I - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 27 - The Town of Arden's Decimation - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 28 - Demonic Diplomacy - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 29 - The Ancient Grove of Lost Sorcery - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 30 - Chaos in the Coalition - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 31 - The Trials That Tie The Two - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 32 - The Shadow, The Shadowmancer, and The Shadowless - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 33 - Bitterness and Regret - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 34 - Moving Forward - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 35 - Fusion of Shadows - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 36 - Power of Intent - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 37 - A Solemn Oath - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 38 - The Shadowmaster - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 39 - Revival of Thorns - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 40 - The Dragon's Roar - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 41 - All Seems Calm Before The Storm - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 42 - Reincarnation of an Ancient Evil - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 43 - Reformation of the Devil's Contract - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 44 - The Akashic Record - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 45 - Kanst Avero - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 46 - Immortality Lies Not In History - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 47 - Do Not Forsake Your Lives - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 48 - Apprehension - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 49 - Inaction and Disaster - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 50 - Demonic War of Genocide - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 51 - Hunting the Spirits - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 52 - The Last Elementals - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 53 - Aether's Flight - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 54 - Hunting the Beasts - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 55 - The Last Azismians - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 56 - Hunting the Sorcerors - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 57 - The Last Revomians - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 58 - Hunting the Elves - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 59 - The Last Telarmians - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 60 - Coronation of The Thorny Crown - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 61 - To Hunt The Hunters - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 62 - Hunting the Dragons - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 63 - Protecting the Prey - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 64 - The Dragon's Ancestry - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 65 - The Epiphany of a Dragon - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 66 - Humanity is but one Foolish Race - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 67 - A Dragon Who Would Confront A God - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 68 - The Child of an Orphan - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 69 - A Firebreather Robbed of Power - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 70 - Matchless in Both Life and Death - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 71 - The Grand Spirit's Possession - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 72 - Restoring the Body - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 73 - Remnants of Memories - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 74 - Erakuni's Peril - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 75 - Reality's Cataclysm - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 76 - The Illusion Falls Apart - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 77 - Silencing the Pests - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 78 - The Ancient Guardians of Erakuni - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 79 - A Hostage Unaware - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 80 - 世界の闇 - Darkness of the World - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 81 - The Reincarnated Goddess of Equilibrium - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 82 - The Aberration's Solemn Oath - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 83 - The Steps Taken to Reveal the Truth - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 84 - The Era of Imbalance - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 85 - Ascension of the Heavenly Spirit - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 86 - Grand Deities of the Elements - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 87 - Ambition of the Aberration - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 88 - An Aberration Never Meant To Be - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 89 - Truth and Losses - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 90 - Final Curse of Life and Death - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 91 - A Ghost's Resolve - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 92 - The Phantom of Erakuni - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 93 - Final Will of the Aberration - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 94 - Yearning For a World Without Gods - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 95 - Realization of Nightmares - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 96 - Plight of Hope and Restoration - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 97 - Demonic God and Heavenly Goddess - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 98 - Devourer of The Grand Deities - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 99 - Shatter the Reflections of Destiny - Reserved By - 正義
Chapter 100 - The Fragment of Worlds and The Origin of Fates - Reserved By - 正義
Epilogue - Truth's Horizon ~ Necessary Limits - Reserved By - 正義



I look forward to working with everyone who will join, and hope to make this project a fun and productive one that pushes everyone's boundaries, mine included!

Personally I think the plot holes and stuff shouldn't matter too much - due to the rp-like nature of these types of projects, most of the fun comes from the flexibility and limitless directions you can take the story.

With that said, I'll gladly sign up, though don't expect too much for planning (I tend to be really bad at planning stuff out)

Thanks ^_^ It couldn't be done without support like yours, really, and I can't wait to read what you'll write ^_^.

Hm... I'm not sure whether I should make it more structured or not, but... I do want their to be an emphasis on the story this time, and not just the characters. Rather, what are the characters trying to accomplish? What are the antagonists trying to accomplish? Things that were... unclear in the last one, aside from Elgaraf's journey, which had very clear-cut goals of becoming stronger, surpassing specific foes, and finding the truth of the world.

I think we all need to learn how to write from you, lol.

Also, what other positions do you want to be a part of? There will be a planning team, a writing team, and a brainstorming team. You can be part of just one, two, or all three if you want.

The last team will be the editing team, but we'll start that process after everyone on the writing team has written at least one arc.

Primarily the writing team, but I'll chip in now and then for the others

I want to participate, but I don't know if I should. I already have a lot on my plate. How much time roughly would this demand on a weekly basis? What exactly would the people on the planning and brainstorm teams be doing? Is it more or less what it sounds like?

It's more or less similar to an RP, except that other people can develop your characters as parts of their character's story(with permission of course), and eventually will lead to a predetermined ending(well, predetermined in that the big picture, i.e. what happens to the world, is already set in stone). The journey that brings us to that end is more of a surprise. More concrete information will be given as soon as I have time to write them up, probably either tomorrow or Wednesday.

It wouldn't demand much time from the other people who aren't writers, and the writers wouldn't have speed expectations or time limits. I prefer high quality and quantity as a package, even if it means sacrificing speed completely. I expect this project to last well into next year, or even 2018 this time, so we'll be very accommodating as far as time goes.

That isn't to say we won't be organized - I do want to have a fair amount of communication, so I'm going to create a skype group for this, and have at least one meeting per month that everyone should come to. Why only once per month? Well, I understand schedules between people don't line up easily on the internet, and even if it's less than once per month, that will be acceptable.

The purpose of the meetings would be to refresh everyone on what's going on, talk to each other about our individual goals as far as planning and writing go, and to come up with new ideas, but also to chat and have fun. We want this project to be organized, but as laid-back as possible so that all different kinds of people can participate.

As mentioned in my message to you, I hope I can help to brainstorm ideas. I was wondering if you are familiar with my style of writing if you want me to write.

Sure thing ^_^. Also, I'm not really familiar with anyone's style here except Yanker's, but as we did last time, the writers are expected to write in their own styles if possible, because another part of this project is showcasing the various talents of various authors, and adds to the enjoyment of the writing and reading experience.

Well, that's all subjective for each individual, but that's how I view it, anyway.

I put you down for brainstorming, since that role doesn't take that much time, and most brainstorming can be done in the thread. If you want to change or add roles, let me know anytime and I can update it. Happy to have you on board, and hope you enjoy yourself ^_^.

Wednesday is when I expect to finish the prologue, and from there we'll move forward.

The prologue has been relocated, and is undergoing editing. It's not done.

I have argued many times with other people in this forum over what a prologue ought to do and I am hoping you would allow me to do so again here. The prologue introduces the setting of the story (though not necessarily all of it).

I can see someone retorting that it spoils the story (some do, see the prologue to Romeo and Juliet) or it would be too long (and boring). However, without exposition, it wouldn't serve its purpose in foreshadowing because this reader doesn't know what is being foreshadowed. It is alright I feel to spoil a little. It gives this reader orientation and understanding of what is at stake. I don't think exposition is boring by default, quite the opposite, especially when it leads the reader to appreciate what is going on.

Finally, if someone can understand the story without reading the prologue then I feel that the prologue is not serving its purpose of informing the reader.

The prologue can be made better by explaining what the black stone is and who the actors in this prologue are. I don't think they will make an appearance until several chapters later. Could you tell me perhaps over a PM what it is and who they are?

I'm sorry to hear your writing has been problematic, and welcome to the project ^_^.

We're still in the process of setting up, and I'm still working on the first few chapters, so please bear with me as it may take a while before we start doing chapter reservations again.

I'm also pretty busy working two jobs, so in a few weeks I may need to look into finding someone who can manage at least talking with people in the meantime.

Hm... This is pretty much an RP, but it has a few twists - each person writes an entire chapter, and also is able to advance other peoples' characters' development, so long as they have permission.

I call it a "Community Story", but only because I lack an awesome term to use.

It's a good idea to think of this as an RP, though there will be less character limitations, since I aim to open up as many possibilities as I can, and leave most of the story to other people, which creates a very large random factor....

...

Anyway, I've ranted too long. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy yourself! The most important thing about this project is that it should be fun, and I hope you have fun too!

Count me in for this writing project, too. I'd like to write the first chapter I can pick up, but what will that be? In addition, I can help with project management if you need it. call it 'management assistance' or something.

Okay, you're in ^_^.

I can't make any promises for chapter reservations, since I'm still working on chapter 1 editing, and I'm writing up to chapter 3, but I did promise to give Yanker the first crack at one.

You can be immediately afterward if you want, or can talk to him about it.

So, a couple of things. When will chapter 1 be done, approximately? I am just curious so that I can read it the same day if possible. On the other hand, I'm going to be perfectly honest: Your prologue did not impress me. You can do much better than this, and rushing is not a good enough excuse. I've seen you make excellent prologues. I'd recommend fixing this one before you move on.

Chapter one was going to be finished Saturday, and it still might, but...

You want me to change the prologue, which means I can make no promises for an exact day.

Probably sometime between next Monday and next Wednesday.

The prologue will likely have to take its place, I'll probably have it finished over the next few days, and update it on Friday or Saturday.

Prologue - Lifeless: Created by Yanker

Sorry, but this specific storyline has been discontinued, for reasons explained in other posts.

Regardless, this prologue created by Yanker was indeed still amazing. It's really too bad I can't use it, since I don't have any of the files from before.

You forgot to add Rosaehl to the writing team list

Oops yeah. Sorry about that. Been pretty busy, and now my 'best friend' decided I am 'not worthy' of her friendship. But, that's IB drama I'd advise steering clear.

Any suggestions while I'm still making edits to the prologue?

I wouldn't be too worried about it or what other people say of it, because after all this is just something done for fun. However, if you want a proper critique, I would say that you need to work on prose/expression overall.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what to do, but I think the way you describe things and how they happen just does not flow very smoothly, nor does it sound nice to read aloud. There are better terms, better ways of putting things, that will make it read more like a proper story. It was a lot worse in the Shadowblaze Chronicles; that was just dreary walls of text one after another. You've managed to make it a lot clear and concise since then, but there is still much to improve on. To be honest, it reads like the type of stuff I wrote back when I was thirteen or so.

There is no quick fix for something like this, the only way is to read more, and more importantly, write more. I have written so much since I was that age (I'm nineteen now), and my writing is something that I built up over time. To be honest, I stopped reading everything but visual novels when I was sixteen, and now my writing is stuck in a vn/ln/young adult style. I've tried to write adult fiction, but it's blatantly obvious to my adult fiction reading friends that I haven't read enough to write it well.

If you want, and if I have time, then I wouldn't mind rewriting (some of) your prologue in my own style, just to show you a little of what I mean regarding prose and expression.

Like I said, don't think too much of this if you're just writing as a hobby or because you enjoy it. However, if you're serious and you hope to eventually get published... there's a long road ahead.

Also, I just read the world info part, and it's good. Pretty interesting mechanics and stuff, I'm excited to see them in action.

PS: I personally believe that Rosaehl is a better writer than I am, and I would get hyped for her stuff. The only thing is that she suffers from writers block/procrastination a lot of the time.

PPS: Stop looking down on yourself, everyone starts somewhere. I know this feeling all too well, I've started from the bottom in more things than writing. Don't get discouraged; rather, believe that you're capable and slowly work towards it.