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Hey CYS!

We're keeping this issue of the CYS Monthly Gazette slightly leaner as many of us are invested in the current Prompt Contest, but there's still a bunch of amazing content here!

After a bit of forgetfulness on my part, a promised interview is finally being published, as well as one for an up and coming newcomer.

Thank you to all the staff members who continue to show their support with their amazing work: RKrallonor, Suranna, Yummyfood, Anthraxus, Benholman44, Mystic_Warrior and Will11. We'll be keeping with the format of uploading article text in the replies. If you have any more suggestions for improving our format, or have any ideas for future articles, let us know in this newsletter thread or others.

The pictures here are clickable! If you want the slideshow of this article, here's a link.

Stories_Unwritten, Questions Answered? by Anthraxus

Beyond the doorway, I could hear little but the sounds of ceaseless battle. The clacking of keys, visceral name calling, and cries of challenge met by pervasive silence. A figure suddenly staggered in, obviously in the middle of positioning pieces in a perilous performance of penmanship prize fighting. I quickly availed myself of the opportunity to ask this audacious newcomer some questions about themselves.

They had already made waves by submitting storygames to two of EndMaster’s prompt well before the deadline. They eyed me suspiciously as I hurled my queries at them, but were finally won over. Before returning to ceaseless crusade of commendation collection, I was given answers, although those may only serve to deepen the mystery around this featured new author.

AX: For a relative newcomer you have made quite an noteworthy introduction. How did you find CYS, and have you come here from some other writing site(s)?

SU: I found it quite nice, thank you! It is a good site for writing and reading. I did not come from another writing site, only Google.

AX: You have made a fair number of statements about the recent charge lead by Special_Olympic to shake up the Wardens. What inspired your engagement in this intra-order conflict?

SU: After I made an a message told me to look at the Newbie Central forum. There was a post about wardens; I realized I am a warden too! But sadly it is not a good thing, they are the lowest ranked order. I was thinking, if we cannot be the best order, I alone shall be the best of them. SpecialOlympic does not lead the charge, he only thinks he does. It is better for him to be the meat shield that everyone else targets as I carve my way through the unsuspecting soldiers.

AX: You have already released twice as many entries for EndMaster's Fifth Prompt Contest as many entrants ever do, and have taken on a third prompt. How are you able to maintain such productivity? Do you have tips for others on seeing projects through to completion?

SU: I am not very productive, everyone else is just unproductive. I cannot give them advice that will work if they do not want to put in the effort to self improve.

AX: What draws you to writing storygames? Do you write much in other formats? Have you been published?

SU: I like writing storygames because I can explore different formats. One day I want to write a book, but only when I improve my writing skills a lot. Unfortunately I do not have publications. Only in school magazines if that counts.

AX: Most of your engagement on the forums has been focused on the contests and the Warden War. Have you looked at things like the Review Club or other forum features?

SU: I know there is a Review Club, it is good. I appreciate the review for my story. Maybe after I finish writing I can join (however it is my opinion that storygame writing is faster for commendations). I have not requested a review for my works, but I am thinking to in the future.

AX: You did not take part in the recent 24-hour storygame contest. Do you prefer to focus on just one project at a time, or was it something about the format that did not appeal to you?

SU: I use a lot of editing time for my stories otherwise I make many mistakes. Even my normal storygames have mistakes ! But it is a good idea, it is helpful to some people like the old wardens who are sadly without the focus or willpower to work on their story longterm.

AX: We know your feelings about the Wardens. What do you think about the other Orders? If you could change your Order, would you and to what?

SU: I am confused, I was told the order cannot be changed? It was told to me when I made a post in the newbie forum. It's okay, I will still choose. The Marauders are the highest ranked but the title involves stealing and killing. I prefer the Architect name, they build worlds with their story, it is most similar to my username. Sages are fine but if the Wardens rise they are the next to fall. That is why I select the Architect order.

At that Stories_Unwritten, warring Warden and the most productive newbie to grace the site in quite some time exited, ready to return to work their third entry in EndMaster’s contest.

UNSENTSORED by Suranna

Editor’s Note: The editor-in-chief would like to apologize to the readers for the delay in publishing this interview. The delay was caused by negligence in properly securing the interview materials from unproductive noobs. The thieves were under the influence of recurring psychotropic visions caused by acid-dipped marijuana cigarettes. The Editor-in-Chief takes full responsibility for this mistake and this publication is committed to staying accountable. Please enjoy.

SUR: How did you find CYS?

ISPI: I was looking for Warrior Cats games and it was the first website that came up. I was so infuriated that all the games were text based that I left a lot of angry comments about how these should be "video games, not reading games" before my first account was banned.

SUR: What inspired you to write?

ISPI: Making up weird shit and relaying unusual information to others is a chronic condition I've had since I was very little. It's simultaneously something that makes me happy and also a little bit like that Kafka story about the guy in the cage.

SUR: What are your favorite type of storygames?

ISPI: I'm a sucker for good stories the same as anybody, I think long stretches of writing where I can kinda save my place and pick up where I last left off are the games I tend to end up spending the most time with, because it means I can play them throughout the day no matter what I'm doing. I do have a soft spot for the bizarre, surreal, and unwieldly, and will tend to stick my nose out for things that don't fit the CYS format as well as other games -- Or rather, maybe they're something else entirely, squeezed into the CYS format, like that one game where a guy tried to transcribe the 

beginning of his interactive theatre play. Gower I think is the only guy who's been really successful playing with the formula in recent years, though MHD an anonymous contestant in the Mod Thunderdome did have that really neat concept for a pinball game.

SUR: How do you get your inspiration?

ISPI: Allah.

SUR: How did you come up with your username?

ISPI: My penguin guy character is technically called a Penguinite, but I mean, visually he's clearly also a penguin. In his original lore, he lived on a massive airship called “The Sentinel” and used it to defend his part of a fantasy world from, essentially, War of the Worlds aliens -- That's a very long 

story, but what isn't a long story is that the I's on either side are there because I forgot the password to SentinelPenguin.

SUR: What is the most absurd piece of information you know?

ISPI: There was a Randomly Walk 5.

SUR: When is Randomly Walk 3 coming out?

ISPI: Motherfucker, there was a Randomly Walk 5. I directed only one story in the entire series, each and every one before and since has been deleted, and I have since renounced my own contribution.

SUR: Do you have any advice (writing or otherwise)?

ISPI: Do not speak of Randomly Walk again, for all our sakes.

WHO WROTE THIS? (formatted by MiltonManThing)

One of our Gazetters wrote this piece outside of CYS. Who is it?

"I feel the thrumming at the back of my mind, thoughts galore, waiting to be explored. My mind yearns to traverse those paths, brimming with mystery and exuding an aura of excitement. Yet, my brain freezes. It thinks about everything but nothing of importance. So many roads to take but it chooses to go back to the roads I have walked upon a hundred times before. The road often traveled is the path of least resistance, so along those paths, my aimless thoughts wander.

Inspiration cannot be reached in such a way. I have combed the ground bare of any seeds of ideas, I have plucked beauty from every flower, described in so much detail that it grows weary and rots. These paths are sullen with boredom. Nothing grows here anymore.

A blockade traps me, thick thorny trees bar my way. Inspiration, my destination, is not even in sight. I cannot move any further lest I kill myself before I arrive. Is there a way if I climb those trees? Or can I dig a ground past this strange wall? It remains obstinately still, glaringly obnoxious. If I had a map, this wall would be known as ‘writer’s block’.

Authors, with the power to 

orchestrate worlds of words and invoke immense emotions in the hearts of their readers, have skills that would transcend the realm of what’s worldly if they are not contained by blocks such as these. Whispered rumors flitting by at midnight has filled my head with sudden solutions.

There was a writer who claimed the only way past the block is to get on a different path. Yet, how can I, when all the roads are sealed off? Is there even a way to find joy in a life that’s so frustratingly mundane?

They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If that’s the case, insanity is running cold in my veins, pulsing to the tune of my beating heart. I examine every dewdrop, analyze each speck of dust, hoping that someway, somehow, I would be able to resume my journey to inspiration.

When I dream, I dream of nothingness. When I wake, I see all that I saw the previous day. Nothing new, nothing that sets my 

neurons alight and humming with the readiness to write. The block hasn’t magically disappeared. I am still no closer to my goal.

So I give up. The faraway land is out of reach, I may as well settle down and write. Each word is nonsense, served on a platter of trash can lids and smoky cigarettes. It doesn’t matter. I write without reaching inspiration, because it doesn’t matter how articulate the words are or how poetic they sound. I just need to explore those ideas I have always wanted to.

Several hours later, I look up to see myself at the gates of inspiration."

* * *

The first person to correctly guess the author of this work will win an interview by the Editor-in-Chief for the front page of next month’s issue. If you’d be excited to be front page news (in a good way), send an answer in the article thread!

The Fate of the Empire and The Council of Constantinople by MiltonManThing

I debated on what I wanted to write for my next history article and concluded that it only made sense to continue this series of pieces on the First Ecumenical Councils. Though the Council of Constantinople isn’t highlighted as much in the annals of history, it is still a important milestone in both the chronicles of the Church and the Roman Empire.

Desiring initially to be baptized in the Jordan River, Constantine was content to settle for baptism in the city of Nicodemia due to an untimely, deathly illness. The baptism was conducted by the bishop of the area, as was the custom. Sadly, and in a move counter-productive to the Council of Nicaea, that bishop, a man named Eusebius, was a supporter of the Arian Heresy. Arianism would continue to be an opponent to more widely-accepted Trinitarianism that has continued to remain the dominant doctrine of the Church.

Though Arius and his supporters would initially renounce their disagreement on CHRIST’s divinity to end their exile, support from Constantine’s son, Emperor Constantius II, would give rise to Arian influence even to the point of open discussion to replace the Nicene Creed. Trinitarianism was still not wholly supported, and Eusebius’ influence in the royal court was strong. Through underhanded scheming, the Eusebian faction would successfully move to exile Athanasius, the chief opponent to Arius, repeatedly throughout the course of his life. Despite the victory at Nicaea, Athanasius’ strong opposition to Arianism would lead him to be exiled five times. After returning to Alexandria, he would work to attempt to undo all the damage caused in his repeated absences till his death in 373 AD.

Regarding the Roman Empire, the great unifier would ironically position his sons and nephews. This however would not stabilize the territories as intended and would lead to several internal wars. Constantius II would eventually rise to become the only emperor and appoint Julian his cousin as Caesar in the West. The empire would be eventually reunified under Emperor Julian in 360 AD, only to be split again four years later. The constant shifting of administration, the direct support to Arianism from Constantius II and the persecution of the Church under Julian would create an atmosphere of chaos and confusion in the Church. Arianism would flourish in the newly created capitol city of Constantinople and would persist to oppose the supposedly widely accepted doctrine of Trinitarianism. Eventually, the Roman Empire would be united one last time under the rule of Theodosius I, known as “The Great.” After winning two civil wars and stabilizing the country, he would convene with Church bishops to organize a second ecumenical council to resolve the schism between Arians and the rest of the Christian community.

The reason for this focus wasn’t just Christian fervor, but rather also a political concern. The Christian sees of Alexandria and Rome were strongly opposed to the see of Constantinople, which was firmly controlled by the Arians. If the sees would not be united, the two factions would be at war and cause civil unrest between the eastern and western portions of the empire. Theodosius was determined to solve this problem once and for all. Being a proponent of Trinitarianism, the emperor offered to cement the authority of the incumbent bishop of Constantinople if he would affirm the Trinity and deny Arianism. When this proposal was rejected, Theodosius would order the exile of the Arians to return the churches of the east to those supportive of the Nicene Creed.

However, there was still chaos as a bishop would still need to be selected to hold power in Constantinople, and there was much debate on that. After much deliberation on who should lead the council, and after a dramatic resignation by the current leading member, an unbaptized official, named Nectarius would become president over the council in 381. It wasn’t the best start. In contrast to the last council, the divinity of the HOLY SPIRIT would be put on trial instead of that of JESUS CHRIST. Since the Nicene Creed had not addressed the issue of the divinity of GOD’S SPIRIT to the satisfaction of the Church at large and to Arianism’s advantage, it was agreed that the creed needed a revision to confess all Members of the Godhead. Arianism, and related heresies, were officially condemned.

If you’ve never heard of Arianism before you read about it in the Gazette, you can assume the Early Church rests delighted in their work. As for who would become the next bishop of the capitol city of the empire, the council would select Maximus I of Constantinople, nicknamed the “Cynic.” Needless to say, this didn’t please everyone, and many consider this to be an early factor to the division between the Eastern and Western Churches that still exist to this day.