[center][color=black][h1][u]The Twelve Labours[/u][/h1][/color][/center]
The first of the new series of Labours begins. For those of you who are just dropping in and have no idea what this is, take a peek at [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/79563-the-twelve-labours-an-introduction/ooc]The Twelve Labours Introduction Thread[/url] (it's a quick read, I promise).

For those of you who participated in the first iteration of the Twelve Labours, you may be interested to know that the new series will have a distinctively different thematic orientation - born both out of necessity and also because even my sadism has limits. Each task will less focused on mold-breaking and more on exploration with different forms of narrative - it should become evident what I mean by that once you take a peek at the first task below.

Let the First Labour commence. [u][b]Submission ends at Objective Midnight, February 12th.[/b][/u]
[h2]Entry Rules:[/h2]
	1. Jaffar's (left) thumb.
	2. Follow the [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/531-fundamental-rules-of-the-guild/ooc]standard guild rules[/url].
	3. Obey the Dark Lord Sauron's [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/77197-moderation-policy-in-the-rp-sections/ooc]rules[/url] [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/85368-moderation-policy-for-forum-contests/ooc]as well[/url] (just to cover all the bases).
	4. Follow MY [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/79559-the-twelve-labours-rules-standards-and-conditions/ooc]rules[/url] too. Let it never be said we did not warn you.
	5. Send your entry to [@Terminal] by February 12th.
	6. Be sure to include whether or not you want your story to remain anonymous! I will add your name only if I am given your permission!
	7. Any explicit/mature material must be kept off-site. I will only post links to them with NSFW notices.
	8. I reserve the right to simply toss out any story if it does not possess a basic modicum of good sense and taste. Do not make me.
	9. All stories must adhere to a certain standard of quality expected of good storytelling.
	10. You must use your own characters. Preexisting characters from franchise settings may only be alluded to.
	11. If your setting is borrowed from a franchise, make sure to include a disclaimer and credit the original inventor of the setting used.
[h2]Prizes:[/h2]
All winning entries will receive a forum trophy as well as a unique, custom forum title which they can activate and deactivate at their leisure. Additionally, winning entries of particularly exceptional quality will be awarded Challenge Accolades.

All winning entries will also be saved to a public archive, a link to which will be permanently available in my signature! I personally post in the [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/forums/1-news]News[/url] and [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/forums/41-roleplaying-discussion]Discussion[/url] subforums of the guild to congratulate and announce the winners as well. As a reminder, unless you specifically give me permission to include authorship of an entry, every posted story will remain anonymous (awarded trophies can also be hidden in your user profile, so you will not show up if people are examining the trophy groups).
[center][color=black][h2]The Twelfth Labour[/h2][/color] [img]http://img04.deviantart.net/811d/i/2007/091/6/b/leo_by_corinazone.jpg[/img]
[quote=Anansi the Spider]"Silly man, with your bones beneath your flesh! Where is the use in that? You would do better to wear your armor over your skin, like me."[/quote][/center]
[hider=The First Labour][center][color=black][h3]The Twelfth Labour[/h3][/color]This [color=black]Labour[/color] will [color=black]task[/color] you to set aside every [color=A9A9A9]character[/color] you have made to date. [color=8A2BE2]Summon[/color] your [color=FFA07A]drive[/color] and sup on [color=2F4F4F]impetus[/color]; the entirety of your work should be [color=FA8072]novel[/color]. You shall be [color=black]tasked[/color] to [color=800000]create[/color] something [color=00FFFF]unique[/color] - take [color=0000CD]heed[/color], for they will be [color=AFEEEE]precious[/color] beyond [color=4682B4]knowing[/color] but [color=556B2F]subject[/color] to the most [color=DC143C]precarious[/color] of [color=D8BFD8]circumstances[/color]. How might you [color=BC8F8F]armor[/color] their [color=CD5C5C]hearts[/color] and their [color=D8BFD8]minds[/color] against the [color=black]adversity[/color] that shall [color=191970]befall[/color] them?[hider=The Challenge][color=black][b]Create the character of an invulnerable, mythical entity, and write an appropriate mythological legend of either a tragic or moral slant around them. The legend must end with their death.[/b][/color][/hider][/center][/hider][hider=Clarification of the Challenge Parameters]This section exists specifically to ensure there is no ambiguity or ambivalence in what, precisely, the challenge requires of each participant. If you have any specific questions which are not addressed here, please send them to [@Terminal] for resolution.

For [color=black]The First Labour[/color] of series two, I have asked you to write about the legend and death of a mythical, invulnerable entity.

Q. I have to set aside every character I have made to date?
A. You are not to use any character you have already employed in the past -and- must also set aside those who you have already come up with in your mind and have been patiently waiting their turn. Every character featured in your story should be a brand new entity rendered from scratch.

Q. The new character must be invulnerable?
A. The dictionary defines 'invulnerable' as an adjective meaning "Incapable of being wounded, hurt, or damaged." and "Proof against or immune to attack." There is a degree of nuance to the word which I will leave to your own interpretation. Bear in mind you will have the burden of establishing the exact fashion in which your character is invulnerable.

Q. I have to write a mythological legend?
A. Your story shall not be told contemporaneously - it has likely, by this point, been distorted and corrupted by centuries of oral tradition and exaggeration. This is not to say your story cannot be told in the present sense; it should be that there are fantastical and/or otherwise legendary aspects present in the story which would normally be reserved as unbelievable hogwash or bald-faced lies. This point of clarification is more of a suggestion as to the aesthetic presentation of your story than a hard and fast rule, and I will be unlikely to fail an entry for not adhering [i]to this point alone[/i].

Q. The legend must be of either a tragic or moral slant?
A. Like all good legends, either something spectacularly awful happens or else the listener is imparted with a questionable aesop. Or both. The story should either be tragic in its telling or else serve to elucidate a particular object lesson.

Q. The legend must end with their death?
A. They were probably asking for it by being invulnerable anyway. Do the impossible. Be creative about it and leave behind studious notes. I shall not be as strict about this as I was during the original First Labour, but let it nonetheless be known that I will be neither impressed nor amused by clever (read: unclever by dint of being trite) subversions of this point. On the upside, unlike in the original First Labour, their deaths need not be unpleasant per-se.

Q. How long can my story be?
A. As long as you feel is necessary. I will read any and everything submitted, irregardless of length, and write a review on it. Do not let the short three-day judging period dissuade you. If you have a 800,000 word brick for me, I will take it. Similarly, extremely short stories are also welcome. It is entirely possible for segues as short as three paragraphs long to clear the challenge.[/hider]

[hider=Credits]Thanks again to [@mdk], and the entire RPGC crew for helping with scheduling for The Twelve Labours!

Great thanks to [@mahz] and the other members of the [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/staff]guild staff[/url] for helping to renovate the guild and enabling the features that allow us to reward contestants and to advertise our presence.

The brilliant image of the Nemean Lion up above was made by CORinAZONe on DeviantArt, whose profile can be viewed [url=http://corinazone.deviantart.com/]here[/url].[/hider]