Paige's Page: July 2017

Wow, Just simply Wow.
Decorators really brought their A game this year.

So congratulations to all Wizards who entered and without further rambling.

Here are your winners!

Grand Winner

Katie Legendbreaker

Beauty and the Beast

My dorm is based on Beauty and the Beast, specifically the scene where Belle and the Beast meet on the grand staircase for their first true night together. Standing between them, and sitting in front of a grand stained glass window, is the cursed rose that controls the Beast’s fate. What I’ve always enjoyed about this fairy tale, is how it captures the unconditional love between two people that are pushed apart by tragic circumstance. It is this kind of love that we often feel in reality, and with my dorm, I utilized a mostly bright and warm color palette to capture the essence of this powerful love. By bringing the elements of Belle and the Beast's meeting, the servants spending time together and the special rose garden serving as a tribute to the Beast’s love, I aimed to use my dorm as an expression of the most key theme in Beauty and the Beast, unconditional love and friendship.

The first item, the Lantern, was placed atop the Beast’s special fountain garden, to serve as light and warmth for the special rose he is cultivating. This rose rests on top of a pile of magical peat, and once it has reached full bloom, the Beast will present this rose as a love imbued present for Belle. Two giant water towers sit within the Beast’s castle, and they provide the water needed to tend to the Beast’s many gardens. Two white knight chess pieces serve as regal adornments for the castles grand staircase, alluding back to the Beast’s once royal nature. Lastly, an enchanted garden gnome joins the Beast’s ranks of servants, and while his duty is typically to tend the Belle’s special rose, he can also be found lounging with the other servants during downtime.

First Place

Diana AshBloom

Georgic and Merlin, a french fairytale

Once Upon a Time - there was a greedy king who lived in a castle at the edge of a mysterious and enchanted forest. He had a daughter whom he loved more than anything in the wide world, and her name was Alouette. Alouette was not like her father, for she was kind-hearted as well as blessed with a beautiful singing voice. In fact her singing voice was so lovely that everyone in the land had stopped singing because they would much rather listen to her - only one of her father’s knights, her good friend Georgic, would try to sing with her, though he was not especially gifted with music. This made Alouette very sad, for she so desired a singing partner to make lovely duets with. Her father overheard her telling Georgic this and decided to try his hand at finding a singing partner, holding festivals and singing contests for people all throughout the land. However, because everyone had stopped singing in favor of listening to the princess, their voices were rusty and weak and a suitable match could not be found. The king was despondent until one day, when he was riding through the woods, he came across a marvelous singing bird named Merlin who made the most wonderful music. He told the bird of his broken-hearted daughter who wished dearly to find a singing partner and asked if he would sing just one duet with her. Merlin, feeling compassionate, agreed, and followed the king to the palace; but when they arrived, the king betrayed the bird by commanding his guards to lock him up in a cage so that he could never leave. The princess was greatly dismayed by this, and once encaged, Merlin refused to sing. Feeling sorry for him, Alouette asked her friend Georgic to free Merlin and return him to the woods. Unbeknownst to all, this bird was also the favorite singer of a nearby dragon named Volcanor who lived inside the woods. Angry at the loss of his favorite music-maker, the dragon emerged intent on revenge, whereupon he heard the princess’ sonorous soprano. Just as Georgic was freeing the Merlin, Volcanor seized upon the castle and snatched up lovely Alouette before taking her to his own gilded cage in the woods - a tower that reached up to the top of the tall trees.

Racing after them, Georgic took his lantern and rode upon his white steed (white knight chess-piece) after them into the dark, mysterious woods. Once inside, he nearly lost his way, but was saved when he happened upon a good fairy who protected the creatures of the forest. Hearing that he was on his way to save the lovely princess Alouette, the good fairy bestowed on him a sword which had the power to defeat the wicked Volcanor, who had been recklessly ravaging the land - poisoning the mushrooms, destroying trees, and lighting fires everywhere which forced the forest creatures out of their homes. She also guided him to the vine-covered tower (water tower) where his friend was held prisoner. When they arrived, Volcanor was standing guard, threatening to eat Alouette if she stopped singing for him. Georgic unsheathed his sword and challenged the dragon, whereupon Volcanor turned to him and began furiously breathing fire all over the land. However, the forest creatures felt invigorated by Georgic’s declaration and gathered around him - even a (garden) gnome (gnomes are not creatures who like to be seen above land) burrowed his way to the surface, popping his head out of the mound of dirt (peat) he’d created. But just as Volcanor started to charge at Georgic, Merlin flew out from the trees and distracted the dragon with his dulcet melody. Volcanor stopped what he was doing and stared at the bird, entranced by the music. Seeing an opening, Georgic dropped his lantern, unsheathed his sword, and charged at the beast, injuring him and driving him far, far away from the forest. The forest creatures rescued Alouette from her prison and together, everyone heaped water onto the fires, extinguishing them at last. Returning to the castle, the king was over-joyed to see his daughter and knight alive again and, having learned about the terrible cost of green from Volcanor, begged for Merlin’s forgiveness, which was given tohim. As such, they all lived happily ever after. The end.

Second Place

Iridian WillowFlame

Bedtime Story

Third Place

Jonathan DeathShield

Dark Plantboys' Dorm Experiment;
based off the Ghillie Dhu scottish folktale.

The mysterious young wizards of Ravenwood run across the Spiral and have sparked the curiosity of many scholars of countless fields over several worlds; the researchers of the Spiral Geographic Society still haven't been able to find trace or clue to the location or even solid evidence of existence of the world called Earth many of these magical children claim as motherland. Nonetheless the legends of the place and from the place run wild in the mind of many thinkers, recently the renowned scholar [CONFIDENTIAL DATA] known for his excellence in the areas of Life and Myth has taken a particular interest in the culture of an Earth region he now confidently refers to as Spotland, after hearing intriguing stories of this land from the now prematurely retired magus Jesse GreenGlen, he sought assistance from a number of institutions in hope to validate his belief of Earth's existence (please refer to his nine book collection "The Earth World: Where're we standing again?"). He finally found allies among the Unquestionably Deceitful Mythological Truths and in a shocking agreement with Cyrus Drake the Myth professor (also temporarily covering the Life class for the deceased Sylvia Drake until the arrival of new faculty from MooShu), his newly formed Spotland Study Team managed to set up an experiment program among Life and Myth students! Due to their intense connection to nature and legends, the scholar now as Chief Analyzer asserted the most logical choice for the first experiments to be the myth referred as Ghillie Dhu, a shy forest fairy looking like a dark-haired boy especially -or perhaps exclusively- kind to children (presumably younger than himself?)... thus they began to assemble an environment in the Dorms befitting the guardian spirit's natural habitat (or rather what they imagined as it from the short tale they knew) and proceeded to recruit volunteer students to have their memories temporarily erased and be released in a magical simulation to determinate whatever these wizards would be prone to behave as the Ghillie Dhu while in such surroundings unaware of their identity.

As a long and highly elaborated task, the Spotland Study Team left the task of creating the ideal dorm to "just as capable architects" while they handled pressing business in the Fairegrounds. The assembled dormroom possess several magical items for sake of the experiment and countless visual features thought suitable for the Ghillie Dhu across the wide field (the area is much larger than it appears! Or at least they'd like you to think so...). Perhaps the most notable development is the several birch trees believed to be the faerie boy's most favored home, how should he react at the sight of so many? A great many plants and nature elements are included in the zone; though all plant-life draws most of their health through magical channels, the dorm still has huge amounts of Peat around them in order more convincingly imitate Earth's ecosystem. Of course simply isolating the test subject will prove useless to the experiment's goals, thus both an orphanage estate and a small cabin in the edge of the property home to a single caretaker were included in the testing field's design to study the tester student's interaction with other humans... however due to the test subjects being the youngest students, there were no volunteers younger than the Ghillie Dhu-wanna-be themselves so the Spotland Study Team borrowed the ("not as impressive as our recent Wandering Souls project but passable") Golem Puppets from an eon-old academy's public resource archive to act as the children in the simulation while being supplied their energy from an Ink Tank disguised as an innocent Water Tower. Due to the many efforts they applied to this great-scale experiment, the Spotland Team measured no efforts at all to monitor all factors at play during their testing sessions, applying the latest magical devices found in the Chief Analyzer's family attic going back dozens of generations of infamous minds: the Gnowing Eyes that were slotted into a Tropical Garden Gnome's eyes by the estate's cabin to watch every step of everyone's every doing... an old favorite of your curious neighbors who still have trouble taking sneak tours into your home. And the ancient Trap of Distracting Reality which has been subject of discussion between experts of memory-magic for centuries since its creation by unknown sorcerers for unexplained purposes, regardless of its origins the device has long been used to capture the minds of humans by trapping an enchanted Chess Piece in a golden cage... perhaps old-fashioned for the proudly distinguished UDMT but still efficient in ensuring the intended duration of the memory spell; the environment designers cleverly placed the device by the cabin's door even with a lit Fancy Lantern to suggest the nearby presence of an adult who the Ghillie Dhu is not fond of; after all disrupting the device, the memory spell and the experiment all could lead to dangerous consequences. Despite these minor risks, you're welcome to volunteer into this project! Prof. Drake is enthusiastic (as much as he gets, that is) and believe it'll greatly help the school find "greater students than we see thus far"! Just look for dormrooms strangely decorated with forest and estate settings, go in and we'll find you a spot one way or another... the progress is slow but sure, the Chief Analyzer is working to extend the time of experiments but the new duration has yet to be determinated. I hope to see you around even if you don't recall this!

Judges Choice Awards

Judge A

I felt the story come to life in this dorm room. Come on keeps gnomes on hand? Brilliant!

Calamity PixieShade

Hansel and Gretel

Once upon a time there were two brilliant young wizards named Hansel and Gretel. They showed such remarkable skills in magic combat that they were soon sought out by Merle Ambrose to aid in his battle against dark foes in the Spiral. Ambrose told the wizards of a witch kidnapping children on the edges of Hot Fudge Swamp. Their task was to put an end to her villainous ways and to return immediately to Wizard City. Having no map of the spiral Hansel left a trail of bread crumbs to lead him back. Little did he know that they have a tendency to disappear in the Spiral. (Its a good thing most wizards know how to use Quest Helper) After days of exhausting travel through the dessert wastelands (lands of sweet foods you can't eat), Hansel and Gretel stumbled upon a gingerbread cottage right on the edge of Hot Fudge Swamp. Hungry and tired they ran up to the house and began chewing along the candy cane door frames and sugared stain glass windows. Just then a kindly old woman appeared. She invited the wizards in to relax and rest from their weary travels. In the morning Gretel woke alone. Hansel was trapped in a cage. The old woman was a witch! Gretel pulled out her wand and began the fight. They went back and forth for what felt like hours. Eventually gaining the upper hand Gretel cast a meteor shower and hit the witch sending her straight into the oven. Gretel freed Hansel and together they started back towards Wizard City with one less witch in the Spiral and pockets full of sweets. My dorm commemorates the memories of these two brave wizards. We get a view from the exterior as our young wizards saw it, as well as a peak inside.

After traversing the treacherous terrain of the bubbling Hot Fudge Swamp (Peat) we get a view of the exterior of the cottage. We see a walkway of jelly beans and lollipops leading up to the gingerbread cottage. Windows of spun sugar and trees of apples lure in any lost children. Because it is a bad idea to keep real horses in stables made of gingerbread, the witch cast an enchantment and rides wooden horses (knight chess pieces) when traveling abroad. The stables are lined with lights (hanging lantern) for viability. Living next to a hot fudge swamp has some disadvantages and the witch has to go to extra lengths to collect rain water to store it in a (water tower) for her own personal use. In the interior of the cottage. The witch keeps a large cage handy for children who happen to wander by. She also keeps a steady supply of other ingredients encase she is not so lucky. Right now she has a (Gnome) on hand if no children stop by. Her kitchen is also fully stocked for any guests arrive that are a bit under fed. Meals are laid out on the table waiting including salt and pepper shakers (Pawn Chess Pieces).

Judge B

Wonderful emulation of the Three Little Pig's house. Excellent job!

Alex Ash

Three Little Pigs

Known as the three little pigs, these three sibling all live in different homes, one made of straw, the other made of sticks and the last made of bricks. The three pigs lived peacefully in their humble abodes knowing that there was a mysterious cave across the glade but never thought more of it. One day the youngest pig heard many noises coming from the cave he decided to go investigate, as he got closer the noises grew louder. A loud cracking noise came from the cave a startled the youngest, soon after that he noticed a faint shadow from the cave it was something he never saw before, it was a big bad wolf! The youngest pig swiftly ran back to his home but the wolf already knew what to do. The wolf inhaled deeply and destroyed the straw house! The youngest ran to his older brother who lived in the stick house. Thinking that the house would stand the wolfs gust of wind the youngest and middle pigs laughed but the wolf was stronger than they thought both the youngest and the middle pigs ran to the eldest pigs brick house. The smartest of the three knowing the wolf couldn’t blow down his brick house, the wolf gave up and went back to his cave across the glade.

Making this dorm was the highlight of my month. I had so much fun, to start off I used the lanterns as indications so you know when someone is home or not, as seen in the screenshots the stick house has the brightest lamp meaning someone is home. The peat is used a horrifying straw rubble, when the wolf blew the straw house down so much straw was left on the ground and mixed up with the dirt and became peat. Conveniently the Wooden water tower was made of sticks so it was the perfect contestant for the stick house not too tall but works perfectly. I used 3 chess pieces in total they symbolize the three little pigs, I used the white chess pieces to symbolize that they are “good” unlike the big bad wolf. Last but not least the infamous tropical garden gnome! Used in your everyday wizard needs, the tropical garden gnome was enlarged and placed in the cave because he is the big bad wolf! He may look innocent but he can pounce at anytime! Be careful!

Judge C

Superb! The perspective she gave to make the room look so much larger

Brecken Willowheart

"Dwarf Fortress"

Once upon a time, there lived a princess, the fairest in the land. She had hair as black as ebony, lips as red as a rose, and skin as white as snow. Her stepmother, the queen, was jealous of her beauty, and sent a huntsman to kill her. The huntsman instead let her go free, and she took refuge in the home of seven friendly dwarfs. She was safe, and they were all happy....And then she was nearly poisoned to death after being tricked into eating a poison apple by a creepy old hag because she forgot that you should never take candy from strangers. Miraculously though, she was saved by a handsome prince, the queen was defeated, and she lived happily ever after. That was Snow White. The dwarfs were devastated, angry, and resolved. They hadn't been able to protect the princess then, but on that day, they vowed it would never happen again. Never. Again. So the dwarfs hatched a plan. They mined day and night, until finally they had enough valuable gems to bring them a handsome sum of money. With that money, they would build an indestructible fortress, hidden deep in the woods. It had thick stone walls with a heavy, wooden door that could slide shut if they needed to lock down the fort. There were spikes and platforms for enormous cannons along the top of the fortress walls. Each cannon platform had a ladder leading to its top for easy access - except.. for the last one. Unfortunately, they ran out of ladders. But, no one's perfect. Moving on, there were archery targets and a bow, and heavy sacks for combat practice, including a staging area with combat dummies, and many different weapon racks set along the walls for a full arsenal. Two torches sat on either side of another heavy wooden door, which led to the rest of the massive fortress.

To be self reliant, and to be able to withstand longer sieges, they even had their own water tower inside the fort for a personal water supply. Next to the water tower was a supply shelf full of food, potatoes, eggs, apples (not poisoned), pots, and a lantern for emergencies. There is also a table with a chess game. They often play chess, using it to pass the time and to keep their minds sharp and alert while practicing strategy. Oh, if you look carefully, I believe that's a checkmate. Just outside the fort there is a mud pit filled with peat from a nearby marsh, which they planted with thorn patches. They use it for training purposes, crawling through the muddy slime, practicing weaving through the walls of thorns. As the leader of the group, Doc stands inside the outer walls of the fort, ready to defend and alert the other dwarfs of any oncoming danger. He now has the scars of battle, including an eye patch over his left eye. His story is it came from the shrapnel of an explosion set by an enemy. Each time, he tells it with great fervor. Though, admittedly, the other dwarfs never heard an explosion... and last they saw he was training in the mud pit, but never mind that. Beyond the fort there are woods galore, and sunny, blue skies. There are ferns, berries, and mushrooms, all sorts of different plant life. Do watch your step, though, Dopey is a bit trigger happy, so be careful if you find the occasional pile of still-smoking bird. They built a fortress, trained for months, and are prepared for whatever threats may come their way. Yes, if somehow another princess in the same kingdom goes to the same woods who is also running for her life from yet another evil queen because she is also the fairest in the entire land, they will be ready. Admittedly, it's not the most likely event, or the most sound reasoning, but let's just let them change one character flaw at a time. The End.

Judge D

Amazing attention to detail, Using the chess piece as the crown for the princess was genius!

Michael ShadowLeaf

The Tale of Princess Kaguya (a revised Japanese tale)

On one faithful day, a humble bamboo cutter goes into the bamboo forest to discover a baby girl sprouting from a lotus flower. He and his wife raised her as if she was their own daughter. The bamboo cutter soon afterwards finds gold and silk inside the bamboo stalks. Kaguya grew up very fast and eventually she leaves for the capital with her family to learn the mannerism of a noble princess. Word of her beauty spread and reached to the 5 highest nobles in Mooshu along with the emperor of Mooshu. They all ask her for her hand in marriage but were refused. In the end, she learns of her origins and returns to the moon leaving behind her life on Mooshu. The dorm is based on the Japanese folktale the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter/The Tale of Princess Kaguya. The dorm is depiction of her early life in the rural mountains. There she learned the blessing of life and the wonders of nature. The dorm is also a reflection of parts of her life, from her birth to her departure. The bamboo forest is the place of her miraculous birth and is also where the signs of heaven guides her. The house is where her family raised her until they moved to the capital. The mushroom forest and river are the areas of the mountain that she first began to experience the beauty of nature. The dorm is also a reflection of parts of her life, from her birth to her departure. The lunar tablet in the sky represents her distant home that she initially rejected.

The lantern post is used for the windows of the house Kaguya and her adoptive parents lived in. The peat is near the bamboo grove area, and it to show the fertile soil used for the bamboo. The water tower is the main body of the house that Kaguya initially lived. The chess piece used is the white king piece. The chess piece is used as a crown for Princess Kaguya to reflect her position. Lastly, the gardening gnome is the bamboo cutter who finds the baby Kaguya on the lotus flower. The 5 items help bring out the story behind Princess Kaguya and her growth throughout her life. The Tale of Princess Kaguya reflects the life she has left behind in order to live on the heavenly moon, and the sadness and grief she felt when she left is washed away when she takes on her heavenly robe.

Judge E
Details of the chandelier and organ , simply splendid.

Brandon DreamSong
Beauty and The Beast

Taking the ballroom scene from The Beauty and The Beast, my dorm represents the theme clearly as a fantasy tale. I attempted to recreate the scene with items that represent the classic characters from "The Beauty and The Beast" animated original, the Christmas sequel, and the recent live-action film. I include myself as one of the decorations, costume playing the Beast. I also added a garden-balcony to my dorm where the famous rose wilts; which in the screenshot I took of my wizard, Brandon Dreamsong, ONLY the background has changed to a starry night to show that the garden-balcony is outside, like all the Disney films depict. I read in the comments of the Dorm Contest Article it was allowed.

The great chandelier (the bottom of a "wooden water tower" and "domed floor lantern" ) hangs above the ballroom as Belle and the Beast dance around. Mrs. Potts, Chip, Cogsworth, Lumière ("tropical garden gnome"), Cadenza/Forte (harpsichord/pipe organ, respectively. "black queen chess piece" and "water tower." Despite Forte being evil in the Christmas sequel, I liked the thought of giving details into a piano to turn it into a pipe organ), Madame Garderobe, and Sultan watch by and sing the song "Beauty and The Beast/Tale As Old As Time." Idly, the rose wilts in the garden-balcony ("peat") of the West Wing.

Honorable Mentions

Sydney ShadowWalker - Alice in Wonderland

What better Fairy tale is there than Alice in Wonderland, My wizard has painstakingly recreated the mad hatter tea party. The mad hatter is here, the dormouse is right on time, but where is that march hare? He is always late! No matter, it is always tea time in Wonderland!

Emily rose - The Wonderland Tea Party

The tea party in Wonderland is starting don't be late! Check your watches and clocks for the correct date! Run to the forest as fast as you can! It's tea time with the Mad Hatter and friends! Pull up a chair and have a seat! Plenty of tea and unbirthday cake to eat! Be careful, don't sit there! That seats reserved for the March Hare! How dreadful it is to only have one birthday a year! Precisely why we celebrate our unbirthday the other 364 days with cheer! Welcome Alice glad you could make it! Hey that clock's not ticking right why don't you break it! Wait did you hear that?! Oh that's just the Jabberwocky, Snicker-Snack! Why is a raven like a writing desk?! I don't know, but this tea is the best! Don't sleep in the tea pot little Dormouse! Here comes the White Rabbit running out of his house! I'm late I'm late! No time to wait! Grab a cup of tea and fill up your plate! Hello Cheshire Cat glad you could stop by! Oh where'd you go, you're invisible all but your eyes! Now all that's left is a little sneer! Quietly you hear the words echo, "We're all mad here..."

Austin PixieHeart - Rapunzel

I decided to use the fairy tale Rapunzel. It was a hard decision and it took a lot of doing and redoing but I thought this fairy tale would be perfect for the required items. My dorm shows the scene in Rapunzel at her 18th birthday when she was on her balcony and heard a sound out in the woods surrounding the tower. At first she thought it was just an animal but then she heard a voice. Was it the evil hag that locked her in the tower in the first place? Was she back to kill or to free her? Or was it someone else coming to save her? She built up the courage to look out into the woods and she saw a dashing prince looking up at the tower where she was. This is the scene I decorated my dorm as.

Amber RoseFlower -Little Red Riding Hood

Late morning had arrived and Little Red Riding Hood started walking through the forest. Green grass, fresh air - Red loved it all, except when she had to go to her Grandmother’s cottage. Her small cottage was all the way across the forest, where the densely packed trees blocked out almost all of the light. Red and her mother tried to convince the old woman to live with them, but she refused. Her Grandmother was a brave women, but even more importantly she was a smart one, or so we thought. Red trudged along, filling her nostrils with the sweet smells of nature. She spotted the water tower - of course, with the bright lantern attached to it, who wouldn’t? It was the tallest non-tree in the forest and her favorite spot to lay under and relax on the soft peat below it. She imagined that after walking for hours, a quick nap on the cool peat sounded so enticing. The lantern attached to it provided Red with just enough light, almost like a lighthouse in the distance, to guide her through the dense forest to the path around her Grandmother's cottage. As she walked up to the path she spotted her grandmother's new gadget, a garden gnome. This was no ordinary gnome, it was actually a high security camera, used to watch the forest. After checking it out, Red walked up to her Grandma’s open window and placed a beautiful red apple she had brought in her basket for her. Sitting on the window sill was a trophy her Grandma had won in a show jumping competition as a child. The horse trophy was made of white marble and was shaped like a knight from a chess set. Grandma always said it brought her good luck, so she displayed it proudly on her window sill where she could see it every morning as she awoke. Suddenly, Red thought she heard something behind her in the forest. She turned suddenly, but did not see anything. She thought, “OK, well I better go inside and see why Grandma is taking a nap in the middle of the day. She is acting so strange!

Julia RainbowCloud - Jack and the Bean Stalk

Jack knew his mother was struggling to keep them afloat financially, living in a poor cottage. He decided to sell the family cow for "supposedly" magical beans, in hope they would bring good fortune. His mother was furious he'd believe in such nonsense, and threw the beans out the window onto the ground outside. Little did they know, that overnight the magic beans were actually working. Early the next morning, a towering magical beanstalk leading up into the heavens sprouted from the ground. Jack climbed up and found a castle filled with fantastic riches, but guarded by an evil giant. He was able to snatch a golden goose which lays golden eggs, and a fancy magic harp. Currently, Jack just made it back down to the bottom of the stalk, but is being chased by a very angry giant! He must chop down the stalk with an axe before the giant catches him, or all will be lost.

Isaac MoonShard - The Baron

Deep in the heart of Avalon lies The Tower. And deep in The Tower -- The Baron. "He fled from Gobblerton," they say. Others claim he came from Wysteria. But it mattered not where The Baron came from, not for Sebastian the Scarecrow or his friend, the Boar Knight, Lucky. They decided to find this mysterious Tower; they wanted to confront The Baron, to fight him for honour and glory. And so they travelled from Wizard City... Their adventure had begun. In old Azteca they fought off the ancient Aztecosaurs and their arcane magic, in Grizzleheim they wrestled with Lucky's own kin, and in Dragonspye they stopped Malistaire Drake himself - his last words: "To find The Baron, seek out the Red Cap..." And so they did. Red Cap Jack in Avalon. Jack was a vendor of magic carpets; he traded with the Dromels of Mirage. The Wisest of the Red Caps, he was -- ancient, and powerful. "You seek the Tower?" "Aye, said Sebastian the Scarecrow; "We do!" "The come..." And so Red Cap Jack took Lucky and Sebastian on his own magic carpet, and they flew...and they flew...and they flew... Then they came to the Wyrd, and it was weird. Everything was giant! The mushrooms were huge, and the buildings were huge; the trees were huge, and the people were huge! "Why is everything so big?" Sebastian asked. "Ahh..." said Red Cap Jack; "You can blame The Baron. He keeps a watertower in his front garden, and in that watertower water with magical properties. He wanted to eat, but there wasn't enough food! And so he watered the Wyrd with this magical water and stored all the rest in the watertower. Only, the water didn't turn the vegetables and fruit big. Everything was enlarged! Including The Baron himself!" they continued...Until they came to The Tower; and it was massive, just like Red Cap Jack had said. And so too was The Baron, tending to his garden...

Lucas DragonRider - Doctor Gobblerstein's Laboratory

Hidden within an abandoned tower of Sunken City, a new inventor has sprung his home along with a vast array of tools, machines and strange contraptions. Previously, he had read a fascinating tale of a seemingly derranged man who brought a corpse back to life. To follow in his footsteps, this average scientist took the name Dr. Gobblerstein and dedicated his life to bringing a gobbler back from the dead! However, the people of Wizard City soon caught wind of his antics. At one point, a few angry protestors led a riot right to the Doctor's doorstep (and it seems he hasn't cleaned up the resulting mess just yet)! But this wont stop the work that's already begun! With the help of his tiny assistant Gnomegor, the final experiment is ready to commence! When the main lever is pulled, meter boxes roar to life, electricity surges the the lab, and a table in the center is lifted up containing the body of what will become the monster Gobblerstein! A flash of lightning strikes the corpse and when the table lowers, the beast slowly twitches, opens its eyes, and stands up! "ITS ALIVE!!!" shouted the doctor. "ALIVE!!!!!"

Garret LegendCaster -Honest Wood Wizard

Ellie Flower - Little Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Little Red Riding Hood. Her grandma was sick, so her parents sent Little Red Riding Hood to take her grandma some bread and other treats. They packed her a basket and sent her on her way. Little Red Riding Hood's grandma lived in the middle of the forest. It was a nice day out, but as she got deeper into the forest, there were so many trees, there wasn't too much sunlight to be seen. Luckily, there were plenty of tree lanterns lighting up the path. The forest was slightly creepy, with different sorts of mushrooms growing everywhere, but also beautiful with a few berry bushes around. After traveling a long way through a forest with trees everywhere, she finally arrived to her grandma's house for an unexpected surprise.

Jason PearlBringer - Rumpelstiltskin

Ever since my childhood, I have held a fascination and intrigue for stories of both the unreal and surreal. Though these folktales are often mistaken as simple, childish entertainment, most fairy tales, in actuality, contain hidden truths and valuable life lessons. For an adolescent, these tales teach one how to dream, how to paint their own fantasy and to live it as they grow and mature. But enough of this jibber-jabbering - I will tell you how I remember these tales of old. As a wizard and aspiring student of Ravenwood, I am a traveler to distant worlds, hearing stories about brave heroes and learning spells to summon great beasts to aid me in battle. In the world of Mirage, the Sands of Time reveal to seekers of the Spiral’s greatest histories and legends. As I traversed the timeless, eternal dunes of Mirage, Dromel merchants that I would pass by would tell me tales of the ancient and glorious Qhat houses. From the most ancient ruins like Catstantinople to the bustling modern cities like Aggrobah, I found and collected numerous books and scrolls containing these fairy tales and folktales. Rich in unsung heroes, mischievous fae, and the most outlandish magics, these stories came to life when I read them. Literally. One day, however, while reading a legend of a raven and spider, someone bumped into me and dropped the most peculiar-looking orb that I had ever seen, one with the appearance of an eyeball. In picking the orb up to give it back to its mysterious owner, a surge of memories came back to me - my history. I recalled that story that I had heard so long ago, the story of a man called “Rumpelstiltskin.” After all, what could be more magical than turning straw hay into spools of gold and a mysterious being arriving in such a timely fashion? So let me share my fantasy about this long lost fairy tale.

Cody FireRiver - The Imp Prince

My Folk Tale that I choose, is a lesser known one. I based my dorm off the French Folk Tale, "The Imp Prince". I would highly suggest reading it if you haven't, there's a synopsis of the story on wikipedia, (otherwise you might have to search a bit to find it).

Now before I start my paragraphs I would like to add one thing, while I was going through the comments and questions for the contest you commented that we can take a Tale, and make our own version of it. So in my Imp Prince, there's a different ending.

My dorm is representing the final part of the tale, when Furibon calls Gentille to ask his wish, with Léandre hiding in the forest. As you're walking in the forest, you can't miss the trail to the water's edge as it will be very well lit with lanterns. (lantern post) If you do decide to take a hike, or go hiking through the forest, make sure to pack a good pair of boots or an extra pair of shoes! The trail leading to the water's edge can be quite muddy. (peat, enlarged) Once you've reached the water's edge you'll have a great view of the castle, but one might be a little surprised to see wooden towers instead of stone? They're in tough times at the moment. (shrunken wooden water tower, crafted from GH). However make sure you don't come upon two love birds at the water's edge. You don't know who it could be, even a fairy and a hideous man. (chess piece: black bishop, as scars for the face). But please what ever you do don't be a Léandre, and ease drop. (Gnome) Now be careful, and make sure you enjoy all the magic!

Keena NightHunter - Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time there was a little wizard named Red, who lived in a village near the forest.She always wore a red riding hood ,gifted by her grandmother.One day, because her grandmother was ill, her mother packed a basket of cakes and gave it to Red to take it to her grandmother, who lived in the forest. Everyone knows the story so i'll stop here (thinking of poor Paige who have a lots of stories to read). My dorm represents the little wizard Red going to her grandmother's house, in the forest, followed by the hungry Big Bad Celestial Wolf.

Mark BluePyre - Three Little Pigs

In a small forest, three little pigs built houses made out of sticks, straw and wood. However, a big bad wolf wanted to chase the pigs down and eat them for dinner! He huffed and puffed and blew the houses of sticks and straw down to the ground. The pigs in each respective house fled to the pig's house made out of wood to hide from the wolf. The wolf found the third house, made out of wood. He tried to huff and puff, but he couldn't blow that house down. I created this exact scene from my favorite childhood fairy tale, The Three Little Pigs.

Justin Blue - Beauty and The Beast

I tried to decorate the most important details in my decorating:

Looking at picture A, I tried to decorate the room which bell was locked in at the start of the movie and the garden near it. I remember the room was pretty and cozy so I tried to make a little spot in my dorm which reminds that room in the movie, and some part of the gardens which were out of the castle. Looking at picture B, I decorated the BIG PRETTY fire place in the castle of the beast, I added some kitchen tools like the big talking cap of tea lady in the movie, the talking furniture in the movie, and some food, which the furniture are making while they are singing and dancing for bell, and made a tour with windows near it, like it's a part of the castle upstairs, where the FLOWER IS, and from here we go to picture number C:

Looking at picture number C, I decorated bell and the beast near the flower under the snow and the flowers :). As you can see I added some snow raining because at the start of the movie the castle is showed in a raining snowing place and cold. I decorated the flower in the glass box like it's the flower from the movie and added some flowers to show how living their love is, because they also have gotten married in the end, so it looks like a kind of a wedding :). Decorating the beast was hard, because I wanted to show how beastly he was at the start and show his change among him along the movie! At the start I thought maybe I should find a pet, but then I realized that the beast turns to human in the end, so I made a doll of a man which is half a beast and half a man to show that EVERY MEN WHO LOOK UGLY OR HIS BEHAVIOR IS BAD CAN BE GOOD TO AND NO MATTER HOW HE LOOKS LIKE HE'S STILL A HUMAN AND STILL CAN BE LOVED, AND THAT'S ALL THE MAGIC IN THE STORY! THE INSIDE IS MATTER AND NOT THE OUTSIDE, AND THAT'S WHY IT'S A FAIRY TAIL! Because bell could see his human in him and in a magical way he turns to be the men she believes exists behind the beast, so the flower is the symbol of their love :).

Jacqueline Sky - Brave

Jacqueline has found herself transformed into Merida from Brave! She must follow the blue lights in order to find a cure for her mother who has been transformed into a bear after eating a pie that was cursed by an evil witch! She must mount her trusty horse companion and find a cure, repair a torn tapestry and find herself. But she must hurry it looks like "mama bear" is not getting the hang of being a bear at all! All in a days work for a wizard!