The air is cold, frigid; it washes over your Ballator like a blanket of despair. The road this year has been a long and grueling one to traverse and many are left feeling worn and drained. Despite the trials, your Ballator strives to find the good, the peace, the joy, in the winter months ahead.
It seems odd to turn nightmares into hope, but your Ballator will try their best…
Prompt One: Starcrossed
“There you are!” a very worried and very pregnant mare exclaims as she waddles towards your Ballator.
Every few minutes, she shudders and seems painful, but her mismatched eyes are only for your Ballator as she searches them over in motherly concern.
“You travelled to The Lowrealm! But you came back! I was so worried about you.” Her sides shudder again, “Look up at the sky!” Your Ballator follows her gaze and notices– The Red Star is smaller. A crimson dot amongst the other stars. Your Ballator just realizes it must be night– perhaps that’s why it seems so very cold now? Your Ballator wonders if perhaps that’s why Star seems to shake like she is?
If your Ballator chooses so, they may Comfort Star by leaning against her for warmth. Draw or write your Ballator with Star on this cold night.
.Please meet a 5 stat minimum for this piece.
Submit your artwork to the DeviantART group. Once the artwork has been approved, please comment it HERE so Star can add 1x Star’s Bridle to your bank account.
Prompt Two: Regale & Puck
A voice calls out behind you and Star and Your Ballator turn in unison.
“Regale!” Star’s voice chokes in her throat as she waddles away from your Ballator’s side, moving as quickly as her overburdened legs will take her.
The two stallions are both thin, their eyes tired. Your Ballator follows Star at a slow pace, listening as Regale assures his mate that he is ok. The Star Touched growths at the base of his horns are still present, but broken at odd angles. The mountain stallion seems uncertain about much, but the Troubadour at his side has a keener mind as his golden eyes flick over to your Ballator; Your Ballator notices the small Star Touched buds on the gilded horns hidden by Puck’s wild manes. “There are no winners here,” he tells your Ballator frankly, “Only reminders that there is always something stronger– we do best to stick together. Come, let’s find who else is stuck in this wasteland.”
Your Ballator has been invited to travel with Regale, Star, and Puck and round up any other lost Ballators they find within The Charred Plains. Please draw or write your Ballator travelling with at least one of the three aforementioned NPCS and two additional Ballators owned by someone other than yourself.
Please meet a 7 stat minimum for this piece.
Submit your artwork to the DeviantART group. Once the artwork has been approved, please comment it HERE so Puck can add 1x Star Touched Christmas Ornament to your bank account.Star
Prompt Three: Owl
Your Ballator’s small herd has not gotten far when the shadows around them seem to shift and a lone mare struggles forward. Like Regale and Puck, the mare has familiar red crystals blooming up from her horns. The fight seems taken from her as she watches your herd warily.
Before your Ballator can call out, the shadows move around her and Owl uses her molting wings to take off. A few members of your small herd, Hannibal’s followers, break away to follow her.
Puck says nothing as he continues to walk, but Regale watches her form retreat for a long while, Star at his side. Star whispers soft and sweet to Regale and after a while, the two follow Puck and the others. Your Ballator brings up the rear, thinking about the loyalty that ties Star to Regale, or Owl to Hannibal…
Please draw or write your Ballator thinking of someone they fight for. This can be family, a friend, a lover, a Highlord, or even themselves in a more abstract way.
Please meet a 5 stat minimum for this piece. A Bonus 50 Denarii will be awarded if you also depict Star’s love of Regale or Owl’s devotion to Hannibal.
Submit your artwork to the DeviantART group. Once the artwork has been approved, please comment it HERE so Regale can add 1x Lover’s Heart to your bank account.
Prompt Four: The Twins
Watching your Ballator’s herd from closeby, Betelgeuse and Antares push their heads close together, closing their normal eyes so only their glowing eyes remain, seeing beyond the reality before them.
In a brilliant flash of swirling red smoke, a creature appears in front of your Ballator and their companions– they are, decidedly, not a Ballator at all!
Confused, your Ballator opens their mouth to speak when the creature says in two voices:
“They awaken now. The Lords have learned and now The Masters can be free. Follow me to them and bear witness.”
The creature turns, red mist rolling off of their body, and races off across The Plains. Your Ballator and their herd follow close behind… and The Twins bring up the rear.
Please draw or write your Ballator’s encounter with the spectral creature. This creature must be an existing character owned by someone else from any ARPG other than Equus Ballators (ex. Drakehest, Boucles, Tokotas).
Please meet a 5 stat minimum for this piece.
Submit your artwork to the DeviantART group. Once the artwork has been approved, please comment it HERE so The Twins can add 1x Guardian’s Gaze to your bank account.
Prompt Five: The Highlords
The journey to The Oasis is unusually short, and your Ballator is not very surprised to see both Ares and Aether there– though the sight of a very cowed Hannibal stops them momentarily. Your Ballator’s herd breaks up, followers going to their respective Highlord to join them. Each faction stands in their own section, forming a loose semi circle in front of the waterfall that hides The Crypts below.
Betelgeuse and Antares both weave through the crowd, disappearing beneath the water, their tails intertwined.
Your Ballator catches a glimpse of Owl sheepishly sulking just out of Hannibal’s reach, of Puck whispering frantically to Ares while Phobos and Deimos gowl at her hooves, and finally, they notice Aether bending his head low to touch his muzzle to Regale’s horns. For a moment, the star touched growths glow, but they do not disappear or change in any way. Aether seems resigned.
Standing in between the pledged bands are Ballators who claim no allegiance to one particular Highlord. Looking out, some are star touched and others are not, but no matter what side they chose, if any, all of the Ballators present seem tired, but as if they are waiting for something. Your Ballator shivers, remembering what Puck said about staying together… but where do they stand?
Your Ballator must choose where to stand: With Aether, Ares, Hannibal or with the Unpledged. Please draw or write your Ballator with at least two other Ballators owned by someone else in the same Faction. If your Ballator is unpledged, the other Ballators must also be unpledged.
Please meet a 7 stat minimum for this piece.
Submit your artwork to the DeviantART group. Once the artwork has been approved, please comment it HERE so The Highlords can add 1x Bone Crown, Cosmic Crown, or Solar Crown (you must pick one) to your bank account.
Prompt Six: The Red Star
The Red Star pulses ominously in the sky…
It’s distance does not lessen the effect. The waterfall in the Oasis stops falling, revealing a gaping stone archway, its pillars covered with a sickly algae from an eternity hidden by moisture. The statues around The Oasis crumble– old and forgotten Highlords dying all over again.
The star between Aether’s horns, the flames at the ends of Ares’ horns, and Hannibal’s internum all pulse in time with the Star, the color of each feature a deep and dark red.
Far away, in the distance, the lights of Orodrune burst back to life, but Hannibal and Owl keep their gazes, solemnly but respectfully, on the mouth of The Crypts.
Multiple eyes peer out from the darkness, but nothing else can be seen. The chill from early grips your Ballator by the heart and what hope they had starts to dim under the weight of further despair.
“WE RISE AGAIN…”
The voices are so deafening, louder and more demanding than before. And the world goes dark as Your Ballator passes out– as the world fades black they have the fleeting thought that it sounds like Star also cried out in pain…
Your Ballator’s journey has ended until they wake up. For this last prompt, please draw or write a gift for another Equus Ballator member. This gift must feature and star at least one of their Ballators and must be a separate gift/ entry from any of the other prompts.
Please meet a 5 stat minimum for this piece.
Submit your artwork to the DeviantART group. Once the artwork has been approved, please comment it HERE so The Masters can add 1x Bittersweet Ending to your bank account.
When you have completed all of the prompts, comment HERE to receive the Final Prize of:
- 1000 Denarii
- 1x Corrupted Ghoul Companion
- 1x Star Touched Potion
While not required, a simple doc or stash link to all of your approved entries is helpful. Otherwise, please link all completed entries.
Though smaller, and more permanent, The Red Star twinkles slightly to remind your Ballator that it is there in the sky. Do they dare to drink the potion and hear the Voice of the Masters more clearly? There is only one way to know how things may truly end…
Please stay tuned for the 2020 Advent Calendar for some extra gifts from the EB Admin Team, and join us on New Year’s Eve and Day to celebrate Rejuvenation and the end of Red Star Rising.