Post your submissions here.

I didn't actually submit this because I couldn't find a cartel, but it's short and probably wouldn't have placed anyway. Oh well, was good practice! (Also I wrote it in math class.)

This is what Onyxart would have probably submitted, if Crylia wasn't boycotting the event

That pink and ribbony horridness is mine! <3

a scuffed mandolin bearing the stories of the road

Scuffed and battered, a mandolin discarded here tells the tales of its travels in its blemishes and bruises.

This mandolin must once have been proud and shining, its cherrywood body buffed and polished to a fine sheen, since in a few spots that gleam is still seen. However, most of the mandolin's surface is now scuffed with a variety of blemishes, each bump and bruise telling a tale to the observant eye of the mandolin's many travels, the roads on which it was carried and played, the weather it has endured and withstood, and the trials it has survived. A smudged spatter of several colours of paint on the top of the mandolin's bowl-shaped body clearly were picked up while its owner was painting something; careful examination shows the streaking resulting from an attempt to wipe the paint off before it dried, not entirely successfully. Below this, a gouge running diagonally across the instrument's back looks to have been carved by a blade of some sort, suggesting a day of danger in mortal combat. A bruise on the instrument's face reveals very fine grooves left by sand, perhaps a sandstorm in a visit to the desert; below this, a progressive wearing of grooves below the mandolin's sound-hole speaks of countless strums, suggesting the instrument has shared its voice in a lifetime's music. The fretboard is blotched and the neck slightly twisted by water damage, and coated in a fine patina of the dust of the road, though it's clear someone's made tiny adjustments to the frets to let the mandolin be played despite the warping of the neck. A notch missing from one of the tuning pegs is in the shape of an animal's tooth, though it's impossible to tell what kind of animal it was. Through all this history of danger and merriment, the instrument has been cared for, not to keep it from showing its history in its lines and bruises, but to ensure its song is just as sweet as ever it was in its youth, though perhaps deepened in timbre by some of the changes, lending its merry tune a note of the wisdom of time and travels.

wood 80 redtint 10 pearl 10

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a bountiful platter of edible wildflowers

Resembling an unusually shiny patch of wildflowers, a platter rests here beckoningly.

The jumbled profusion of colourful wildflowers that make up this platter are so bountiful and flamboyant that the platter itself is all but invisible beneath them, along with the small layer of simple brown cake that serves as the ground in which the flowers appear to grow. Closer inspection reveals that some of the flowers are indeed real flowers, sugared to give them an extra sheen and a sweeter flavour, but building complexity in the platter with their variety of subtle tastes. Cheerful pansies in a variety of colours sprout seemingly at random around the platter, their seemingly smiling blossoms gleaming with their subtle glaze, while violets and lavenders cluster amongst them with their deeper, more sombre colours and more musky flavours only slightly enhanced with a sugar coating. Showy and grand in the centre of the platter, a single rose of deepest red stands tall, held up by its candy coating, lending a fragrant aroma and a sweet, subtle flavour to the dish. Arrayed between these candied blossoms are more blooms fashioned from pastry and buttercream frosting, carefully piped into a startlingly realistic depiction of stately orchids in whites and blues, the festive spray of snapdragons and yellow freesias ringing the central rose, the rustic and coarse appeal of humble dandelions perched in narrow gaps between other blooms, and a ring of tulips in shades of wine and indigo encircling the other flowers in sombre vigil.

Smell: With a mix of the beautiful aromas of roses, lavenders, pansies, and other flowers, and the enticing sweetness of sugar and buttercream frosting, this platter promises an unusual juxtaposition of simple and subtle flavours.

Taste: An initial impression of simple, sugary sweetness is quickly replaced with complex undertones of the subtle, musky flavours of edible blossoms, hinting at their enchanting aromas.

Consume: Sticky sweetness of pastries and frosting soon gives way to a musky, complex assortment of tastes, hinting at the aromas of the many flowers in the platter but more earthy and essential, each flavour contrasting with the one to follow in a surprising journey of tastes that finishes with the reassuringly simple sweetness of buttercream frosting once more.

flower 4 grain 3 eggs 2 milk 3 sugar 2

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a tapestry of the golden-eyed painter's gift

An understated image of a golden-eyed painter drawing beauty from a field of flowers decorates a tapestry here.

A first glance at this tapestry reveals a simple, unprepossessing scene of a woman in a meadow of wildflowers, against a muted, pastel background dyed onto a simple weave of wool and linen. One might easily overlook the tapestry entirely if not for the striking golden hue of the woman's eyes, which draw attention even though they do not seek it. In fact, they are focused intently on the ground before her, upon which grow the simplest of flowers, pale and colourless, humble yet still standing with just enough pride and dignity to hint at the beauty within them. The woman, who is herself dressed in simple travelling clothes with a mandolin across her back, draws her paintbrush across the petals of a blossom on the ground before her, drawing out colours within the petals, rich and vibrant; and something in the subtle shades of those petals not yet painted suggests that these colours are not so much being applied from without as being evoked from within the flowers, an unrealised potential within them unseen by any but the most keen eyes, made manifest by the woman's gentle strokes of the brush. In her footsteps behind her are more wild blooms, already painted colourful and cheerful, almost but not quite gaudy with the colours she has realised in them; and something in their angle and pose suggests that they follow the woman, turning their best beauty towards her in appreciation for the gift she has given them.

cloth 100 redtint 10 bluetint 10 greentint 10 yellowtint 10 purpletint 10 goldtint 5

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an orrery chandelier of the eternally turning skies

In silent mimicry of the progress of time through the night sky, an orrery chandelier here demonstrates the planets, stars, and constellations.

The central stalk and support arms of this unusually wide chandelier are painted black, the better to avoid drawing notice to their delicate gimbals and counterweighted pivots. Instead, eyes are drawn to the slowly circling stars and planets which hang from or are mounted on those arms. Most prominent are the planets, each depicted by a dangling gemstone. Eroee, a small pink beryl, is polished to a bewitching gleam, while Sidiak is depicted as a transparent diamond shot through with incredibly complex striations. A sombre stone the colour of curdled blood represents Tarox, while Papaxi, the largest of the five, is a pale blue sapphire, perfectly round and bright. Finally, at the fringe of the chandelier, a pale ruby of irregular shape marks the border of the arena of sky with its slow revolutions. Contained within its orbit, stars are depicted with sprinklings of diamond and silver dust, with brighter stars of the constellations fashioned from tiny opals, diamonds, and pearls. Though these heavenly bodies are displayed in their actual positions in the sky, they are so cunningly balanced with each other and with hidden counterweights that the whole assembly glides silently, given the smallest nudge by an observer, in complex intertwined rotations that mimic the progress of time through the night sky.

silver 500 iron 100 redtint 40 greentint 40 bluetint 40 diamond 100 beryl 20 bloodstone 20 sapphire 20 ruby 20 opal 50 pearl 50

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a regal throne of the Jojobo jungles

A scene of the jungles of Jojobo, flanked by proud lions and surmounted by Spirit Sun, decorates a proud throne raised on a marble pedestal.

Regal and grand in both size and ornamentation, this throne stands proudly atop a pedestal of several marble steps, forcing anyone approaching the throne to do so from a lower elevation until they ascend the steps to the open space before the seat itself. Flanking the throne on this pedestal are two open spaces where lesser chairs might be placed, several steps below the throne itself yet still above the floor level, suitable for trusted advisors, relatives, or close associates to the person occupying the central seat. The arms of that seat are a pair of proud lions, standing in a pose of guarded strength, intimidating and majestic. These lions are carved from a mix of blonde and dark woods, fitted together so that the contrasts of hues follow the variegations of fur colours between a lion's mane and face, back and belly. Between these mighty beasts is a broad seat of marble inlaid with silver, gold, and platinum, topped with a sumptuously padded, vivid purple cushion. The throne's back reaches high enough that its summit would rise over the head of an igasho; and at that peak, set into the marble, an inlay of gold depicts a brightly shining, stylised depiction of Spirit Sun, so grand and lambent that it seems to radiate warmth. Delicately carved into the marble beneath it, and painted with tints of bright colours, is an artist's imagining of the jungles of Jojobo described in the Book of Aslarn. Gazelles are seen leaping gracefully amongst many-fronded ferns, while brilliant-plumed birds of all sorts perch amongst the trees laden with vines and flowers, occasionally interrupted by a sinuous snake slithering through the foliage. At the edges of the vivid-hued scene, a slender giraffe looks across at a cumbersome, imposing elephant, each seeming to stand near the throne's flanking lions, giving an artistic impression that the lions are emerging from the jungle to ward the throne.

marble 400 wood 400 gold 50 silver 50 platinum 50 redtint 10 yellowtint 10 greentint 10 bluetint 10 purpletint 10 cloth 10

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a carpet depicting a terrain and political map of the Basin of Life

Spread broadly across the floor is a carpet on which the Basin of Life is depicted in muted colours, revealing political and terrain features of tactical import.

This broad carpet is built more for functionality and sturdiness than for comfort, woven tightly from coarse fabrics to a shallow depth that should withstand a lot of foot traffic without wearing or fading. Dyed and painted onto the carpet, and taking up its entire surface, is a depiction of the Basin of Life in muted colours. This is no fanciful or artistic painting, with cartoonish cities and jagged mountains; on this map, true distances and relationships of locations are shown, and colours are used to highlight terrains for their tactical significance, emphasizing barriers like mountains and swamps as well as the passes and safe routes through them. Political borders and contested areas are also indicated with dashed lines, cross-hatching, and abstract symbols explained in a legend at the corner of the map, ranging from sources of fresh water and other supplies on which an army might depend, to suitable locations for ambushes. In contested areas, spaces are reserved with large circles for markers to be placed atop the carpet which would indicate current affiliation or allegiance; a colour key in another corner of the carpet explains the colours associated with the various factions, though it's unclear what manner of markers would be used. Clearly, though, the map could be used with figurines representing military forces to plan out campaigns of aggression or defense, and patterns of wear in the fabric along common routes of invasion such as highways suggest that it has indeed been used for such purposes in the past. Though no effort has been made to give the map any artistic flair, there is a certain pleasing symmetry in the practicality of its depictions, reflecting the aesthetic appeal of the Basin of Life itself without attempting to embellish it.

cloth 80 redtint 5 greentint 5 bluetint 5 purpletint 5

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a crystal necklace of a braided rainbow

An elegant necklace braided from crystalline fibres in the colours of the rainbow perches delicately here.

Six strands of fine crystal fibre, teased out with painstaking care from gems of the six colours of the rainbow, have been braided together to form a cord of twisting vibrancy about as thick as a lady's finger. These strands are long and slender, with no clasp or fastener as the necklace can fit over the head of all but the largest wearers, and so slim they remain flexible enough to conform to the shape of the wearer's shoulders and chest. At the front, six short lengths of transparent crystal fibre are woven through the braid to dangle down, each one terminating in a single perfect gemstone in the shape of a teardrop, repeating the six colours of the rainbow left to right from the observer's vantage.

ruby 4 beryl 4 emerald 4 sapphire 4 amethyst 4

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a shield sliced from the heartwood of a mighty oak tree

A sturdy shield left here looks like a slice of the heartwood of a vast oak tree.

An oak tree as broad across as a large man's chest must have been the source of this shield, since its face is entirely cut from a slice taken from such a tree, its many rings, whorls, and imperfections plainly visible in cross-section. From the outer layer of bark, uneven in shape though approximately circular, through more than a hundred rings to the densest heartwood at the shield's center, the life of the tree can be seen as a tale told in reverse. Here, an especially thin and dark ring tells of a year of bad weather and little sunshine, while there, a warped shape to one side tells of a branch that grew and then was broken off several years later. There are wide rings in sunny years, and places where rot or the burrowing of arboreal animals created scars that were later grown over and absorbed into the tree's inner strength. The shield's surface is given a slight curve, the better to deflect weapons to the sides, by the simple expedient of starting with too thick a slice of wood and grinding away the excess towards the edges. The same technique at the back, hollowing out the center, keeps the shield light despite the addition of a thin sheet of iron to strengthen it and provide a place for leather hand-straps to be attached. While this shield is probably better suited for display than use, since only a coat of clear varnish protects the wood from chips and scuffing, its heft and the resiliency of the oak's heartwood promise it would serve quite effectively against weapons of all sorts in a time of need.

wood 25 iron 20 leather 10

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a cake shaped like a snow-covered, fanciful twisting spire

In the shape of a fantastical, twisting spire, a cake here looks like it has been dusted in freshly fallen snow.

A first glance at this cake does not suggest pastry or indeed food at all, but rather a fantastical castle tower in a snowy winter scene. The twisting spire does not follow conventional principles of architecture; instead, the spindly base of the cylindrical tower sprouts branching turrets at seemingly random intervals in every direction, each of these capped with a conical roof like that found on castle towers. Even the central spire twists and splits as if it had melted slightly and been tugged into fanciful distortions by the hand of a giant child before hardening again. The whole tower, made of a dense and moist cake, is entirely frosted in a white sugar icing reminiscent of snow. To further the impression of a magical wintry scene, a sprinkling of finely powdered sugar has been used to dust the cake with the sparkle of a new, fresh snowfall.

Smell: The sweet aroma of sugar icing is subtly complemented by the lower notes of rich cake, barely discernable.

Taste: A jolt of cool sweetness like a sugary snowflake tantalises the tongue.

Consume: Breaking off pieces from the erratic and fanciful shape of the tower, you savour the taste of a rich cake covered in a cool sweetness that tantalises the tongue like a sugary snowflake.

grain 2 egg 2 sugar 2 milk 1

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a dangling hoop phoenix earring surrounding a fiery ruby

A fiery ruby nestles between the upturned wings of a burnished golden phoenix to form a hoop earring left behind here.

This golden hoop earring depicts a phoenix, its features and feathers etched into the polished metal. The phoenix's torso makes up the bottom half of the earring, while its wings extend out from its sides and curve up and over its head, narrowing until they meet, tip to tip, where the earring would dangle from an ear. In the space between the wings and above the phoenix's head, suspended on slender wires of gold almost too fine to be seen, is a fiery ruby, chosen for an imperfection within the cut that makes the stone's heart seem to contain a seething flame frozen within crystal. Any available light refracting and reflecting from this ruby highlights the subtle, stylised carving of the phoenix, lending them the impression of dancing flames as the ruby's small movements shift vermillion glints over the burnished gold.

gold 2 ruby 1

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a tiara of elaborately intertwined knotwork

Revealing symmetries within symmetries, the delicate knotwork of this elaborate tiara confounds and delights the eye.

From a distance or at a very brief glance, this tiara seems simple and unadorned, as it is made almost entirely of silver without benefit of colourful gemstones. Even the shape seems plain, as the tiara takes the form of a two-dimensional surface wrapped around the curve of a wearer's head. This apparent simplicity is neatly contradicted by the elaborate knotwork that, on closer inspection, comprises the entire tiara. Every inch of the silvery surface is fashioned from elaborate twisting knots and whorls nested within larger loops and weavings. Everywhere one looks there is pattern beneath the seeming disorder: triple-loops within triskelion shapes, sinuous vines embracing structures composed of similar vines festooned with leaves that are in turn woven from still-smaller vines, and everywhere a sense of a dimly glimpsed larger pattern by which every twist and overlap relates to both the largest and smallest details. In fact, though this knotwork is shown on a flat surface as if engraved, a keen eye can determine the tiara's manufacture involved hundreds of strands of spun silver woven together, pressed flat, fused by heat, and the resulting structures again braided through others, patiently built up from shapes almost too small for an unaided eye into the unified whole of this spectacular work of the jeweller's art.

silver 100

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an algontherine insignia brooch embellished with five silver stars

Five silver stars hang from the algontherine depicted against a backdrop of swirls on this gleaming brooch.

The centrepiece of this insignia brooch is a metallic, oblong disc of shining gold, whose flat background is painted mostly black with swirls and whorls of colours evocative of the rippling energies of aetherspace. Raised slightly above this is the impression of an algotherine entity, an aethership of considerable size. The ship's overall shape is sleek and elongated, with a shining smooth torso reminiscent of a dolphin's body, narrowing at both the front and back. Also like a dolphin, the algontherine has symmetrical fins, though more of them than any fish in the seas of the Basin of Life. The largest of these are a pair of wing-shaped fins near the head, and an even larger pair of triangular fins near the tail, as wide as the algontherine is long. All over the ship's surface are small protuberances in the shapes of turrets, aetherholds, and other aethership modules, though these have been arranged in a pleasingly symmetrical way, blending into the ship's swooping lines. Most of the aethership is shining gold, by the simple expedient of letting the metal itself shine through, though a few subtle applications of tints exaggerate the three-dimensional form to make the ship seem at a quick glance to leap off its background of aetherspace. This insignia medal hangs from a varicoloured ribbon, its stripes echoing in straight lines the colours of the whorls and eddies of aetherspace depicted on the medallion itself. A simple hidden pin hides behind the top of the ribbon, allowing it to be affixed to any garment. Further enhancing the medallion, and perhaps suggesting a higher rank, are five small silver stars, each suspended on a very short, slender silver chain of only a few links from the bottom of the medallion.

gold 100 silk 10 iron 10 silver 10 redtint 10 bluetint 10 greentint 10 yellowtint 10 purpletint 10

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a braided bracelet embellished with chimes and finger-rings

Braided elaborately from strands of gold and silver edged with tiny chimes, a bracelet large enough to cover most of a hand rests here, slender chains fanning out to five small rings.

Hundreds of tiny links of gold and silver have been stitched together in a pattern reminiscent of chainmail to make the body of this bracelet, roughly rectangular and designed to rest on the back of the hand. One edge of the bracelet lies at the wrist, where the strands extend out to either side to wrap around and meet in a tiny clasp, which so closely resembles another link in the braided chains that it almost disappears once fastened. From the bracelet's leading edge run five more slender chains each ending in a loose, light ring of gold, sized to slip over the fingers yet so slim that they would not conflict with other rings. Tiny golden chimes with silver clappers dangle from the bracelet at its edges and along each of the finger-rings, positioned to sway and tinkle in a concordant jumble of tones when the wearer sways rhythmically, as during a dance.

gold 6 silver 6

Kharaen's submitted designs, who apparently doesn't have forum privs:

6707 - a cascading waterfall rocker
Commodities: 5 gems, 5 diamond, 5 emerald, 5 pearl, 5 sapphire, 20 bluetint, 30 marble, 5 mistletoe, 15 silk, 100 wood, 5 wakabi.
Dropped: A pebbled rocker serenely sits here, silk tumbling down its cliff-like back and arms in gentle waves.
Examined: Unusually large and wide for a rocker, the pine used to craft this chair still retains its bark, bestowing the construction with a rugged, unfinished look. The bark is thick and scaly, its entirety a pale, bone white that is striated with smoky grey stripes. This scraggy lumber provides the core structure of the rocker, the soft wood molded into an indulgent seat and a tall back with its legs conforming to a curving, hollow box-like structure with a pair of sturdy rockers installed beneath. Thin slabs of pebbled grey rock have been grafted into the back frame and arms of the rocker, their surfaces carved with lesions and protrusions emulous of a craggy cliff. Quartz and labradorite sparsely fleck this rocky surface, hinting at the acquiring of fairly common stone yet enhancing the confection with their glitter and vibrant colours. Tufts of moss appear to grow in every crack and nook of the makeshift cliffside, their colours ranging from vibrant blues, to mossy greens and a hint of pale violets. A plump cushion has been attached to the wide seat, thickly stuffed with wakabi feathers and encased within an azure satin case. The cushion has been painstakingly stitched to emulate the stillness of a step pond, with hazy greys and silted blue weaved in as the rock floor of the little pond. Frills of white lace have been sewn into rippling circles on this cushion, as though the pond had been recently disturbed. The edges of the cushion are heavily frayed with a mottled mix of grey and white silk in imitation of falling, frothing water. The cushion padding the back of the chair is likewise stuffed, its covering embroidered with sky blues, frothy whites and sedate silvers into the lazy falling of a cascading waterfall. Emeralds, sapphires, pearls and diamonds have been lightly shaved and then sewn into strategic places in both cushions, causing the silken water to glitter as beauteously as its muse. Swatches of azure gossamer silk enhance the illusion of falling, ephemeral water as they lightly drape the pebbled arms and back in a multitude of wavy layers and luxuriously pool on the ground, effectively hiding the rocker’s box frame. The rockers that support the weight of the chair are hollow, their sides cut out and the inner surface coated in semi-opaque pearl glass. A bit of water has been placed inside this glass encasement, so when the chair is rocked, the sounds of water swishing back and forth can be heard and complete the illusionary waterfall.

6351 - resplendent white robes embroidered with a lambent harp
Commodities: 75 silk, 10 pearl, 2 stoat, 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 goldtint.
Dropped: A gorgeous robe has been carefully laid here, its pristine silk shimmering with an ethereal beauty.
Examined: These robes have been tailored from snowy white silk, the opaline fabric demonstrating a demure glimmer in but a shadow of light. The garment hangs loosely on the body of its wearer, the soft material plunging to the ground and dragging a few steps behind, offering both comfort without restraint and a distinct clerical feel. The sleeves are loose but not bulky, flowing smoothly over the wearer’s arms with soft lines and few pleats. An ornate silver harp dominates the back of the robes, reflected light causing its embroidery to seemingly glow with a lambent light whilst the strings of the instrument are woven from silk as golden and luminous as Sun’s rays. Luscious silver stoat fur thickly trims the hem and cuffs of the robe, with the hood tailored entirely from the snowy pelts. Golden stripes striate these trimmings, their metallic sheen drawing attention to the garment. Two halves of a pearl egg fasten the hood of this garment, the iridescent clasp nestled within a casing of fine silver and hanging suspended from a silver velvet ribbon slashed with gold.

You, sir, win. Those are awesome, I rather want one of the Jojoba thrones.

I like the scuffed mandolin. It has personality!

The mandolin was my favorite too, but the wildflower platter swept the Serenwilde Craft Fair, while the mandolin was a distant third. I thought the wildflowers platter was a little too flashy and gaudy, but I went with it because I wasn't sure if gaudy might be in this year, and I was trying to cover all bases.

I'm just shocked nobody has made a comment about the subtitle.

I'm impressed, I thought no one could possibly submit a book design, and have a chance to win. The Soulless one changed my mind. You are awesome.

Since the winning design was a Glom, I think it's hard to take the subtitle seriously.


A book won last year.

It's meant that way, sort of.

Ah, I see. So I was already wrong for a whole year without knowing it. O_O

Has a forging design ever placed?

No, because forging sucks.

Less talking, more designs people!