Tradition.

1. The passing down of elements of a culture from generation to generation, especially by oral communication.
2. a)       A mode of thought or behaviour followed by a people continuously from generation to generation; a custom or usage.
   b)       A set of such customs and usages viewed as a coherent body of precedents influencing the present: followed family tradition in dress and manners. See Synonyms at heritage.
3. A body of unwritten religious precepts.
4. A time-honoured practice or set of such practices.
5. Law Transfer of property to another.

A true international community of fellow hobbyists and adepts of chivalry, the Round Table of Bretonnia just passed into its fifth year. Though a mere infant in human years one can safely say it has matured throughout the generations of gamers on the warped time dimension we call the internet. One can even say it has begun on its windy path to be a tradition for everything Bretonnian. Like good cheese it can only get better with the years, hopefully unlike cheese it will not ever go bad. The fourth definition is the one I'm personally gunning for. To celebrate each new year, a new literature competition will arise to celebrate that theme that unites our interests: Bretonnia.

This is an account of the Battle of Saint-Lorian in the year 431 after Gilles the Uniter. Though not one of the lords in the game nor a warrior in the field, I find that the truth must be revealed from the shadows of legend and time. Contrary to popular tale we did not withdraw to gather our forces nor did we have a heroic stand of which the bards ought to sing, we did not control anything: we just lost. We were butchered, slaughtered and put to the sword by an enemy thought to be far inferior. How we managed to yield this battle -the unceasing vanity of our general for instance or the cowardice of his advisors and the arrogance of our upper class- is shrouded in the mists of time now, the grim fourth ten-year since these events now passed. But I can  no longer remain silent, though my words mean nothing to most. But even if just the one reads this, even in pure disdain, I pray to Her kind goodness that he at least won't repeat the mistakes we made that day.

Participants have until Monday the 30th of November 2009 to upload their specific entry for the competition. Upload your submissions to the ‘Literature' section. Choose ‘Anniversary Literature Competition 2009' in the category.
(NB: If you haven't send in a story before this, you should ask Robert de Giselles the clearance to send in new material).
If you want other members to proofread the first draft and listen to their opinions in order to build the strongest story, you are free to do so in The Hall of the Bards. Keep in mind though that only the submissions to the 'Literature' section count and you can't change your submission after sending it in (until after the competition).
Don't forget that you can read last year's entries in the ‘Literature' section in the ‘Anniversary Literature Competition 2008' category.

The Rules

1. Each member can submit at most one submission.
2. Your submission must be related to Bretonnia and be set entirely in the Warhammer World.
3. Your submission must be a new one: i.e. you may not have submitted it to the literature section here or on another website in the past. Plagiarism will not be tolerated!
4. The story should at least be one page (+/-1000 words) and at the most three pages (+/- 3000 words) long.
5. Please use a standard font (Times New Roman 12, Calibri 11 or use the default font styles in the Editor when sending in the article), standard interpunction and interlines.
6. It should be a stand-alone short story with no ties to other stories.
7. Judges will be Administrator Robert de Giselles and Moderators Gisoreux de Ponthieu and Uther Di Asturien.

Here are the four criteria the Judges will base themselves on to grade your submission:

• Creativity (20): how creative and fresh was your story? Did it enthral the reader or was it more like a newspaper article? Another damsel-in-distress story or a true ballad of heroism? Does the story have a certain depth or is it a walk from point A to point B?
• Readability (10): How well written was your piece in fact? Was it a smooth read or was the reader's experience hampered by too many interpunctions, degradations and so on?
• Consistency (10): Does the entire story add up or is the reader lost in the many contradictions? No plotholes or does the character's colour of hair change with every page for example?  Is the usage of tenses correct or does the writer change between past and present?
• Correctness (10): Is the story conform with the rules set out for the competition or did the writer choose his own path at his own risk?  

 The Staff of the Round Table wishes you the inspiration of the muse and good luck.