TSCHAA The Homeschool Magazine May 2021
2021 CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST WINNERS
A NOTE FROM TSCHAA This publication features the winning stories from TSCHAA's 2021 Creative Writing Contest. The stories contain the original text by the author; they have been formatted but not edited. Due to a tie, two stories have been featured as the middle school winner.
TABLE OF CONTENTS The Magic Elevator
3
The Almost Forgotten Necklace
7
The Enchanted Dagger
11
The Girl
15
The Curse of the Fallen Prince
19
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." - Benjamin Franklin
The
Magic
Elevator Charleigh Jarest - Early Elementary
I
t all began on a sunny day in April. I walked outside my door, and saw a sparkling trail of fairy dust. I had to see what was at the end of it. I followed it, and it led to a magic elevator. I stepped inside, and it felt like home. I sat down, the door closed quietly on its own, and the elevator started to spin. The spinning stopped, and I opened the door. I had been taken to a snowy forest in Iceland. I started walking and walking until I found a treasure box. When I opened it, I found a diamond necklace that I hoped my parents would let me keep forever. I started to get
3 - TSCHAA
hungry, so I began to walk back. My magic elevator had a grilled cheese and french fries waiting for me along with a rainbow crown to wear. I ate and then explored more of the forest. After a while, I packed my treasures in my treasure box. Just then, a friendly gray wolf appeared and led me back. Before I stepped into the elevator, I thanked the wolf. The magic elevator took me back and when I stepped out, I saw the moon above my house. I put my treasures away and smiled. I went up to bed. I will dream about where the magic elevator will take me tomorrow.
"I will dream about where the magic elevator will take me tomorrow."
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The
Almost
Forgotten Necklace
M
Mia Kelso - Elementary School
cKenna Fisher was walking down the stairs of her small cabin, when she saw her two year old plott hound, digging up the dirt and snow outside. “He’s gonna get it this time!” She thought in anger. Without any breakfast, she ran outside in her blue slippers and a bathrobe. “Diesel! I’ve told you to stop digging up the yard! Look at this mess!” She was not happy. She turned to take the dog inside, when a shiny object caught her eye. She bent down and gently lifted the object out of the snow. She brought it inside to wash it off and look at it more clearly. After washing and carefully
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drying it off, “it’s a diamond locket!” She exclaimed. She opened the necklace very carefully. She pulled out a picture of a beautiful, young couple sitting on a bench, in a rose garden. “This is beautiful! I wonder who it belongs to?” She said as she set the necklace down and went upstairs to get dressed. When she came downstairs, her dog was smelling the locket and pacing around the room. “Diesel, can you smell the owner of this necklace?” She asked, staring at the dog, after a few minutes of thinking, she packed a small bag of clothes and food, then put Diesel on a leash, and headed out
into the snowy forest. Not long after they left, Diesel caught a scent and started running. “Slow down!” McKenna commanded. He kept running until it was nightime. “You’re a wild one.” McKenna said as she laid down to sleep under a tree. At five in the morning, she awoke to Diesel nudging her to get back on their journey. She had forgotten they were in the woods! She grabbed an apple out of her bag and started walking. She looked back at Diesel, and tossed him a piece of ham she had in her bag. Diesel caught the scent and they were off. They followed the scent for an hour or so before they came to a small cabin. Mckenna knocked on the door. Then an old woman opened the door. “Can I help you, dearie?” She asked.
McKenna explained about the diamond necklace. The elderly woman told McKenna that her name was Edna, and brought McKenna inside for tea. “May I see it?” she asked. McKenna gave her the locket and Edna opened it. “Oh my! This is the necklace I received from my husband before he went to war!” She exclaimed. “Thank you so much for finding it! I lost it thirty years ago! I never thought I’d see this again! I almost lost hope that I would find it!” she said as she stood up to hug Mckenna. “Happy to help!” McKenna said with delight. “Woof!” said Diesel. “We couldn’t forget you, bud!” Mckenna said. After saying farewell, Mckenna and Diesel set off to return home
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“This is beautiful! I wonder who it belongs to?”
The
Enchanted Dagger
L
Reagan Wyatt - Middle School
ong ago, in a world older than ours, three revolutionists were charged with destroying a very important artifact: an enchanted dagger. This dagger had been locked in the wicked King Benedikt’s castle for many years until an elf named Tréthal and his band of outlaws had recently raided the castle and stolen the dagger. Destroying the dagger would forever unravel the spells that the king had worked on Alverndell, his kingdom. Two elves were chosen to undertake the mission of destroying the dagger: Cleanther, an elfman skilled in the arts of magic, and Eilwynne, an elfgirl with keen
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instincts and navigating skills. In our world, Eilwynne would be somewhere between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. A donkey named Inglebert, who was originally ordered to stay behind but had obstinately followed, was accompanying the two elves. Cleanther, Eilwynne, and Inglbert were now standing at the edge of a forbidding forest. The only trees they could see were tall and gray, angular and twisted. Wisps of sickly mist were twisting themselves around the ankles of the rebels like the spirit of a snake. “This, my friends, is the Caligwood,”
Cleanther announced. “I’ve heard that all sorts of nasty things live in there,” Inglbert whispered. As if to emphasize the donkey’s point, a chorus of eerie sounds arose from within the forest and then died away again. “Well, if we’re to destroy the dagger, we have to do it in there,” Eilwynne said. “The Caligwood is the core of King Benedikt’s dark magic.” The company stepped into the forest, moving cautiously at first. Eilwynne noticed that the trees bore no leaves, and yet no fallen foliage littered the ground. The mist was thicker now; Inglebert fancied that he could feel it pulling at his fur. There were noises of creatures skittering about on the ground, sometimes a little closer that the travelers liked, but none of these beasts were seen. The owl that always sat perched on Cleanther’s shoulder was flying from branch to branch, thinking she might find something worthy of supper. “Did you see that white thing?”
Inglbert murmured after they had walked in silence for what seemed hours. Cleanther and Eilwynne nodded. A sharp breeze began shrieking through the trees. Cleanther pulled the dagger from his cloak. Cracks had appeared on the blade and it was very dull. Its power was weakening. “Give me the dagger,” a hollow masculine voice demanded. “I am the guardian of this forest. If you give me the dagger, all will be well.” A ghostly figure now stood before the travelers. Cleanther clutched the dagger tighter. Suddenly, Inglbert snatched the dagger from Cleanther and, grasping it between his teeth, held it out to the spirit. There was a flash of light that temporarily blinded the elves and the donkey. When they could see again, the three companions saw that the murky forest was now verdant and speckled with spots of sun. They knew that their kingdom would forever be free from King Benedikt’s curses.
TSCHAA - 12
"They knew that their kingdom would forever be free from King Benedikt’s curses."
The Girl Erin Barnette - Middle School
T
he girl tramped through the
snow. With each step she grew more weary with hunger and cold. The girl was exhausted, and longed to rest. But she could not. She must get away from it. The farther, the better. On and on the girl wandered through the snowy forest. She meandered about the endless maze of white trees. It seemed hours that she was lost. At last she could not stand it any longer. The girl collapsed onto a frosty pile of snow, and breathed a sigh of relief. She could rest for now. Her feet tingled as they recovered from the long walk. Her heart beat rapidly as her chest moved up and down, taking in shaky breaths. After a few moments, the girl sat up and removed one of her gloves. 15 - TSCHAA
This was a mistake, as just then an icy gust of wind blew and stung her hand like frozen knives. She put the glove back on, and curled up into a ball. The girl then noticed a shiny twinkle in the snow banks. She trudged over to investigate, and found that it was a dagger. She picked it up and held it tight. After a while she crept over to the spot she had collapsed before. As the girl rested again, reality began to sink into her. All through her walk, she had only been thinking about getting away from it. Now she could turn her thoughts to her family. But thinking about her family made an emptiness swell up inside her. It made her feel alone and icky. And it made warm tears stream down her numb cheeks. After some time, the girl grew sleepy.
Her eyes began to flutter and yawns arrived one after another. She set the dagger aside and fell asleep. No food in her stomach, no blanket, and no bed. No shelter but a bare tree looming over her. And certainly no mother and father to tell her a story and tuck her in at night. No pleasant dream to fill her head while she slept.
And then she woke up. Her eyes flew open, and she slowly stood up on shaky legs. She clutched the dagger. She could feel it out there. It was close. Then she saw it. It was giving off an eerie glow through the darkness and trees. It saw her, too. She cried out one last time. The girl collapsed once more unto the frozen ground.
TSCHAA - 16
"Then she saw it. It was giving off an eerie glow through the darkness and trees. It saw her, too. She cried out one last time."
The
Curse of the
Fallen Prince
L
Benjamin Pilgrim - High School
ong ago, in a land so old it is now forgotten, miners worked deep in the earth searching for wealth and precious jewels for their king. The miners would dig and dig and at the end of the day they would present their finds to King Glencoe who accepted them and paid the miners handsomely. One day they came upon a sparkling metal they had never seen before. Unsure of what to do they reported it to the King, who ordered it to be mined carefully. When they dug it up it weighed almost nothing. King Glencoe had it turned into a dagger. The smith never sharpened it yet it was the sharpest blade
19 - TSCHAA
in the kingdom. He never polished it but it outshone any metal they compared it to. It was Glencoe’s prized possession and he never let any one near it. He didn’t realize it but the cursed and evil metal was corrupting him. Soon Glencoe trusted no one but himself and his land began to fall apart. Glencoe ordered more of the metal, which he named Felendrull, found. When none came he punished the miners cruelly. His son, Lander, saw his fathers greed and knew he must stop it. One dark night, Lander and his guards snuck into the palace in search of the Dagger. Darting past sentries the band of seven crept
through the castle. It was desperate, Lander knew that but he couldn’t let his fathers land be destroyed because of greed. As they turned a corner they met ten men dressed in black and wearing swords, axes, or bows. Sunlanders! These men were deadly fighters from an even deadlier wasteland further inland filled with creatures and men so mean they killed others for the fun of it. The Sunlanders were by far the most cruel, evil and dangerous. They silently drew their weapons and faced Lander’s men. The battle was quick, Lander drew his sword and went straight for the leader, he dodged a slice and sent his own. It was blocked, he felt someone behind him, then everything went black. When Lander woke his guards were dead and his father
was furious. The Sunlanders were dead as well but when King Glencoe saw his son surrounded by dead guards he assumed it was Lander who had tried to steal the dagger. When Lander tried to confront his father about his greed Glencoe became furious and murdered his son. Lander’s last words healed his father; “I do not blame you for this father, the greed has twisted your mind, that is the evil. You, I love, and that’s the one thing stronger than greed.” Lander died in his fathers arms. Glencoe fell to despair, he had the dagger returned to the ground and placed a guardian to watch over it and keep it hidden, and for a time, it was. But the evil only sleeps, waiting to awake and consume anyone fool enough to use its power....
TSCHAA - 20
"Evil only sleeps, waiting to awake and consume anyone fool enough to use its power..."
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EDITOR Dana Caldwell Instagram: @the.writers.bookshelf
Copyright: TSCHAA 2021
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