"GOL'BURGER - Brighten up your day!"

Franchise restaurants are hard to maintain, especially when they become one of the most popular fast-food services in the country! Thomas Alden grew up enjoying Gol'Burger's delicious hamburgers and fries growing up. Now, he's an adult in his thirties that has inherited a seat at the Board of Directors and a significant amount of shares in the company. With this comes great responsibility as his decisions will affect the company's future.

As Al Ray, the Chief Executive Officer of Gol'Burger, gets older, the world begins to change drastically. The FDA is beginning to implement and enforce new standards of practices regarding quality of fast-food chains around the country, putting the company's future at risk. The Members of the Board need to think of new ways to adapt.

What will you do in this privileged position of power? Will you flounder, find a way to rise above the noise, or become a victim to the strange forces in the background of the company?

Submitted for EndMaster's Crisis Contest 

Original Publishing Date: August 1, 2024

Corruption, complacency and conflict has eroded the once great Roman Empire. Split into two, and then diminished to the Italian Peninsula, Roman citizens, Christian and pagan, believe that the world as they know it is about end. His Holiness, Pope Leo, previously drove back Attila the Hun, called the Scourge of God by most west of the Danube River. The world believed that was the end of the Hun Invasion. They were wrong.

Eight years later, Attila still continues his conquest of the world, now having subdued all of Africa and the Eastern World. With the sacking of Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire has collapsed into anarchy as the Huns and their subordinate tribes pillage and plunder the countryside. With no other obstacles in his path, Attila is once again free to attack the Western Roman Empire.

The alarming speed of the Huns' conquests and reports of new total war tactics terrify the west. Strange tales of hordes of vicious animals, warriors with the strength of ten men and demonic sorcery plague the imaginations of the Roman forces charged to protect what remains of the Empire. Before, reports of the Huns' savagery were already running rampant. Now, all forms of apocryphal tales are accepted as fact.

In a final desperate stand against the forces of darkness, the leader of the Christians, Pope Leo, has organized what remains of the bravest and most cunning soldiers of the Roman army to launch a covert mission to save the people of the West. There is no other way; Attila must be destroyed! Possessing otherworldly insight, Leo has been given he knowledge necessary to guide his chosen men, and you among them, to fight to the threat that seeks to end not only Rome, but the entire world. Will you defeat Attila's ambition to destroy the world, or will you be just another victim?

Update Notes:

Addressed the variable glitches that led to some of the content being blocked off. Fixed the issue and made some other edits.

France - Summer 1415 AD

The country of France faces a point of crisis. King Henry of England, fifth of his name and hope of the House of Lancaster, declares his intention to conquer France, stating it is the will of God. Charles, sixth of his name and known as the Mad King, is poorly suited to deal with the rising threat and relies on the strength of better men. To the shock of the French court, Henry and his army arrive safely in Normandy despite coastal defenses, leaving Henry to freely begin his siege of the port of Harfleur. Charles, furious and frothing at the mouth, threatens his lords into compliance to answer English aggression.

Command the destiny of Jean the Younger, heir to the Valois-Alençon dynasty. His father Jean the Elder, named the "Wise" and Duke of Alençon, is ordered by his liege to lead a portion of the French army to counter the English invasion. Little Jean wants to his father in action, drawn by the romantic, medieval desire to see the glory of battle. But, there is one problem: Jean is only a six-year-old boy! Nevertheless, he dreams of glory, being the son of one of the most powerful men in France.

Will you bind Jean's actions to history, guide him to a greater future or doom him to obscurity? His fate lies in your hands.

A1: Agamemnon has so far seemed like a character who doesn't possess much in the way of honor. He probably also has more interest in gaining victory over his enemies as he has a lot to prove with Achilles' absence.

A2: Mortals rarely get one over the pantheon, as Diomedes himself points out. He probably has developed a sense of caution after the last battles he had with Olympians and wants to reassure the gods that he has no real quarrel with them in order to mitigate any reputational damage he may have sustained from them. Prudence is almost always rewarded in protagonists, with haste punished. Brash action usually lands a hero in traps and careful thinking leads a man to actually solve his problems. For instance, Odysseus is a good example about how prudent action leads to success in both the Iliad and the Odyssey.

A3: That is very hard to judge, especially as the centuries roll on and more stories become forgotten in the public consciousness. For many, a hero like Achilles will stand the test of time and like one of the mightiest men of Greek mythology. In some ways, a man's deeds can seem more impressive depending on the context of the event that he is in. However, Glaucus gives a good example with Sisyphus, who was so sneaky that he tricked the gods on multiple occasions, not even going into his other deeds, and so much so that they became so salty about it and punished him with the famous boulder in the Underworld. He's an extremely impressive character, and few would be able to reach that level. Other figures of mythology certainly earn their due, but it's very much a matter of perspective in my opinion.

A4: Fate is a important player in the course of events in Greek epics, and the Iliad is a good example. Hector knows he's doomed to die, either because of where the gods are aligned and/or because of the state of those who are to defend Troy aside from him. He has no confidence in Paris and he feels greatly burdened by the task of keeping up the defense of Troy. Once he is dead, Troy will lose an important figure in the war. He knows he only has a slim chance of even being a match for Achilles, who could re-enter the fighting at any time. He's trying to warn his people, but unless the gods hear their prayers and Paris and Helen get their act together, there's no chance of his warnings being worth much.

A5: Hector wants greatness for his son, and greatness for a man is measured by his merit. Scamandrius is the son of and will be compared to his father. Hector prays that his son will be as mighty as him, not just to defend Troy and be admired by them, but also to please his mother. This can certainly read as a tragic instance of bloody repetition, but I think it's meant to be read, at least for the audience at the time, sincerely.

Can't believe I missed this notification in all the shuffle. Congratulations Fresh! Kudos to you as well Ben :)

I know a couple who are more interested in non-fiction, and I think it might have to do with the interest in people. Not all men are like this though, speaking as a man. I generally like fiction for two main reasons, if it can give me a sense of immersion and make me think it's the real world or if it expresses well the heart of the author. Both reasons rely on two groups of people, actual and fictional. I do like non-fiction as well and I'm drawn to it as well because of the people describe in those accounts. When I think of history, I think of the "characters" involved in those events and what they might have been thinking and feeling. I can't imagine I'm the only man who thinks like this, either on a conscious or unconscious level.

Who says the Dark Lord isn't merciful?

Welcome to CYS. We hope you enjoy your stay :)

Paraphrasing Dostoyevsky, men are not piano keys. My interpretation of Ares with his domain being war is that he embodies a certain form of chaos. Most of the members of the pantheon thrive in different styles of order. Ares is different. Conflict is his sustenance and he will do anything to make it appear. In this way, he is similar to men where he feels his purpose is found in opposition to predictability and order. As men will find ways to establish an egoistic purpose, even if it's opposed to an established utopia, Ares knows his purpose is to bring about bloody, chaotic death. The other gods will use war to get to a certain goal. Having someone around who would do anything to bring about a fight and participate in it for maximum carnage is very inconvenient if you're trying to lead mankind to a better state. It's no wonder the other Olympians don't like Ares.

I enjoy the textual illustration of the battles, the details about the motivations of certain warrior (Diomedes being the best example in this chapter) and the details of blood and guts spilling out. It's a fun read. Can't wait to get to Achilles' part in this translation. It's going to be a bloody good time!

A Closer View for Each Page

Link to EndMaster Full Interview

Link to MiltonManThing Full Interview

Special thanks to the members of the CYS Monthly Gazette, including @fresh_out_the_oven, @Anthraxus and our anonymous Mr. Nobody. Also thanks to our guest interviewer @RKallonor and @ISentinelPenguinI for his advertisement! The editorial portion of the staff at the CYS Monthly Gazette (myself) would like to apologize for the delay in publishing this issue. Our previous drafts were stolen by Chinese wizard birds speaking French obscenities. We hope you all enjoy this issue as we enjoy creating it for your reading pleasure!

I love the idea of this award, and well done Circle Guard!

My vote is for Story B as I felt I got a better sense of atmosphere. Kudos to both authors though as they both deliver in the creepy factor, as appropriate for the prompt, which I assume has to do with Hotel California and weed.

Hey everyone!

Here's the word count, plus Fabrikant and Kezmark, all revealed (as of the time asked) if you all are interested in seeing the general progress of the contest as reported to us:

Anthraxus - 7500
benholman44 - 7500
Cat2002116 - 6707
CavusRex - 2576
Darius_Conwright - Secret
DBNB - None
Fabrikant - 3800
Fluxion - 11681
fresh_out_the_oven - 35400
goodnight_a - 197
hetero_malk - Secret
Kezmark - "Between 0 and 3000, depending on how you look at it."
mazdark - None
MadHattersDaughter - "I assure you, I have...words."
MiltonManThing - 4200
Mizal - 6000
MrAce321 - 323
PerforatedPenguin - 1000
RKrallonor - 8000
Sherbet - 30000
Suranna - 700
TypewriterCat - 1-1000000
WizzyCat - 3000

It's still never too late to join in the contest and contribute a great storygame! Happy typing everyone.