“The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery.”
— Anais Nin
What is a world without a little mystery? I set the challenge and people certainly delivered! I was so impressed by the standard of all of the entries, and pleased that so many people took the time to come up with such creative ideas.
Challenge
Write or create something which describes a mystery and how people try to explain it.
I've not judged a challenge like this before, so I took some time to consider the two parts of the challenge, the first was to describe a mystery and the second how people try to explain it. I looked at each element separately and the winners are the ones which did (what I think is) the best in both of these categories.
Everything is, of course, subjective. You can find all of the entries in the
Mystember article, along with the rules and other details. Feel free to let me know which one was your favourite in the comments!
Special Mentions
These are ones I thought were worthy of special mention. They really stood out to me as having something unique about them. I've written a little something about each one, in no particular order...
The Hadymaar Brotherhood
by Koragath
There's nothing like a bit of political intrigue. This is grim and mysterious in the best way!
Void World
by Tankium
Excellent mystery. I love all the different theories which are thwarted by their inability to get a scientific hold on the planet.
Phadoyan Eel
by LittleRaider
I love the different ideas and how one group of people see the eels as a curse and others see them as more of a fact of life.
Ruins and Renewal
by Escritora Novata
A beautifully scripted mystery. I love how the narrative pulls you through and I am left wondering whether this is a sinister mystery or something more kind.
Winners!
Try as I might, it wasn't possible to pick just one winner, so here are the three winners!
Great Beasts
by Pandora 9
I love everything about this! I want to know more about each of these creatures and I love all the theories behind where they came from (particularly the idea of them being the Old Gods).
Report #5193
by Demongrey
A true mystery indeed! I really want to dig deeper into this character and why she is doing all of these things. I love the range of ideas about who she is and what she could be doing.
Spirit Rock
by Solstice
"it gives you questions you never knew you had" - I love that so much. Excellently written mystery, and now I really want to visit Spirit Rock!
Congratulations everyone! "Report #5193" by Demongrey, was also one of my favorites! I also loved the one by Tillerz, "the Shadebound Apparition". Mystember was an awesome challenge! I really enjoyed it, as we had the chance to read some great mysteries :D It was a beautiful and inspiring challenge!
Do you enjoy a good old-fashioned circus? If so, check out my project for Spooktober 2024, here:Spooktober 2024
And if you find that intriguing, you can always visit my world of Kena'an for more tales of fantasy and magic!