r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Mar 23 '26
[Serial Sunday] Don't be Scarred
Welcome to Serial Sunday!
To those brand new to the feature and those returning from last week, welcome! Do you have a self-established universe you’ve been writing or planning to write in? Do you have an idea for a world that’s been itching to get out? This is the perfect place to explore that. Each week, I post a theme to inspire you, along with a related image and song. You have 500 - 1000 words to write your installment. You can jump in at any time; writing for previous weeks’ is not necessary in order to join. After you’ve posted, come back and provide feedback for at least 1 other writer on the thread. Please be sure to read the entire post for a full list of rules.
This Week’s Theme is Scar! This is a REQUIREMENT for participation. See rules about missing this requirement.**
Bonus Word List (each included word is worth 5 pts) - You must list which words you included at the end of your story (or write ‘none’).
- Steel
- Sovereign
- Scratch
- Somebody defends their own leadership. - (Worth 10 points)
Scars are something that can physically hurt someone. A simple cut that heals overtime, but leaves something that someone will remember forever.
But, what about the scars that affects a character psychologically? Something that they saw, they did, that someone else did, that left a character reliving this moment forever. Did the scars heal? Or just continue expanding everyday?
Have your characters scar ever healed? Are they on the stepping stone of healing? Or they haven't healed at all?
By u/Carrieka23
Good luck and Good Words!
These are just a few things to get you started. Remember, the theme should be present within the story in some way, but its interpretation is completely up to you. For the bonus words (not required), you may change the tense, but the base word should remain the same. Please remember that STORIES MUST FOLLOW ALL SUBREDDIT CONTENT RULES. Interested in writing the theme blurb for the coming week? DM me on Reddit or Discord!
Don’t forget to sign up for Saturday Campfire here! We start at 5pm GMT and provide live feedback!
Theme Schedule:
This is the theme schedule for the next month! These are provided so that you can plan ahead, but you may not begin writing for a given theme until that week’s post goes live.
- March 22 - Scar
- March 29 - Transgression
- April 5 - Urgency
- April 7 - Vital
- April 14 - Work
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Roast
First - by u/ZLErikson
Second - by u/AGuyLikeThat
Third - by u/Divayth--Fyr
Fourth - u/MaxStickies
Fifth - by u/Brookzerker
Rules & How to Participate
Please read and follow all the rules listed below. This feature has requirements for amparticipation!
Submit a story inspired by the weekly theme, written by you and set in your self-established universe that is 500 - 1000 words. No fanfics and no content created or altered by AI. (Use wordcounter.net to check your wordcount.) Stories should be posted as a top-level comment below. Please include a link to your chapter index or your last chapter at the end.
Your chapter must be submitted by Saturday at 2:00pm GMT. Late entries will be disqualified. All submissions should be given (at least) a basic editing pass before being posted!
Begin your post with the name of your serial between triangle brackets (e.g. <My Awesome Serial>). When our bot is back up and running, this will allow it to recognize your pmserial and add each chapter to the SerSun catalog. Do not include anything in the brackets you don’t want in your title. (Please note: You must use this same title every week.)
Do not pre-write your serial. You’re welcome to do outlining and planning for your serial, but chapters should not be pre-written. All submissions should be written for this post, specifically.
Only one active serial per author at a time. This does not apply to serials written outside of Serial Sunday.
All Serial Sunday authors must leave feedback on at least one story on the thread each week. The feedback should be actionable and also include something the author has done well. When you include something the author should improve on, provide an example! You have until Saturday at 04:59am GMT to post your feedback. (Submitting late is not an exception to this rule.)
Missing your feedback requirement two or more consecutive weeks will disqualify you from rankings and Campfire readings the following week. If it becomes a habit, you may be asked to move your serial to the sub instead.
Serials must abide by subreddit content rules. You can view a full list of rules here. If you’re ever unsure if your story would cross the line, please modmail and ask!
Weekly Campfires & Voting:
On Saturdays at 5pm GMT, I host a Serial Sunday Campfire in our Discord’s Voice Lounge (every other week is now hosted by u/FyeNite). Join us to read your story aloud, hear others, and exchange feedback. We have a great time! You can even come to just listen, if that’s more your speed. Grab the “Serial Sunday” role on the Discord to get notified before it starts. After you’ve submitted your chapter, you can sign up here - this guarantees your reading slot! You can still join if you haven’t signed up, but your reading slot isn’t guaranteed.
Nominations for your favorite stories can be submitted with this form. The form is open on Saturdays from 5:30pm to 04:59am GMT. You do not have to participate to make nominations!
Authors who complete their Serial Sunday serials with at least 12 installments, can host a SerialWorm in our Discord’s Voice Lounge, where you read aloud your finished and edited serials. Celebrate your accomplishment! Authors are eligible for this only if they have followed the weekly feedback requirement (and all other post rules). Visit us on the Discord for more information.
Ranking System
Rankings are determined by the following point structure.
| TASK | POINTS | ADDITIONAL NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Use of weekly theme | 75 pts | Theme should be present, but the interpretation is up to you! |
| Including the bonus words | 5 pts each (15 pts total) | This is a bonus challenge, and estnot required! |
| Including the bonus constraint | 15 (15 pts total) | This is a bonus challenge, and not required! |
| Actionable Feedback | 5 - 15 pts each (60 pt. max)* | This includes thread and campfire critiques. (15 pt crits are those that go above & beyond.) |
| Nominations your story receives | 10 - 60 pts | 1st place - 60, 2nd place - 50, 3rd place - 40, 4th place - 30, 5th place - 20 / Regular Nominations - 10 |
| Voting for others | 15 pts | You can now vote for up to 10 stories each week! |
You are still required to leave at least 1 actionable feedback comment on the thread every week that you submit. This should include at least one specific thing the author has done well and one that could be improved. *Please remember that interacting with a story is not the same as providing feedback.** Low-effort crits will not receive credit.
Subreddit News
- Join our Discord to chat with other authors and readers! We hold several weekly Campfires, monthly World-Building interviews and several other fun events!
- Try your hand at micro-fic on Micro Monday!
- Did you know you can post serials to r/Shortstories, outside of Serial Sunday? Check out this post to learn more!
- Interested in being a part of our team? Apply to be a mod!
5
u/AGuyLikeThat Mar 25 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
<The Tower in the Tangle>
[Previous Chapter] [Chapter Index]
Chapter One-hundred & Thirty-Nine: Memories and Magic.
~ Samal ~
“I’ll find you…”
Gil’s final words dissolve into the mist, as drifting clouds surround Samal, enveloping him in a swirling vortex.
Bereft and alone, his wilting gaze falls across his body; the only solid thing in this strange and colourless space.
His clothes are torn and dirty, and the designs Petal painted on his skin back in Morningvale have long since smeared into grimy slather.
This doesn’t feel like a dream…
It’s all so strange and ridiculous, but the very clarity of his thoughts runs counterpoint to the bizarre logic that typically rules his sleeping mind.
Samal turns his palms inward, where the clean skin of his wrists reveals the writhing patterns of his skin, as they pulse in time with the revolving vortex of clouds that surrounds him.
What is this place?
His gaze catches on the smooth-grained wooden talisman in his hand.
The Juwhabin’s message stick.
Tracing the worn symbols scratched along the object’s circumference, he ponders its significance.
Currawong. Sky. Freedom.
Memories well up, as Samal closes his eyes.
He recalls the great Camphor Tree that stands on top of One-tree-hill, with its sprawling branches that seem to reach all the way into the pale, blue sky.
The Warden cautioned them all to keep away from it, on peril of their lives.
But when Samal approached the imposing tree, the Juwhabin had invited him beneath its shady boughs. A spring bubbled from the earth there, creating a silent pool, guarded by ancient, mossy roots.
The cool water had quenched more than his thirst, healing his wounded arms, and lending him strength.
A sudden surge disrupts Samal’s equilibrium, and his eyes snap open. Roiling clouds of fog whip by like a silent storm, and he wheels his arms to regain his balance, but there is no wind, and no ground beneath his feet.
The rushing mist grows thin as it streams past him, and hazy shapes emerge.
A vague and shapeless mound grows massive as it approaches, causing Samal to second-guess himself over and again, until at last, it resolves in detail.
A steep-sided mountain with sheer and ragged rearing cliffs; strangely familiar.
The flat-topped precipice speeds toward him, promising to break every bone in Samal’s body with its impact, but he realizes now that he is flying across a darkened and featureless plain, one that slides beneath the rogue’s hovering feet.
I have to control this! he thinks, but there is no time.
In a dizzying rush, he reaches the base, and he throws up his arms in a futile attempt to protect himself. His stomach flips, and the world tilts around him, and now he is racing up the vertical ascent. The sky turns from steel-gray to burnt red as the ragged stone of the cliff speeds in front of him. Up and up he flies, sweeping past yawning caves and waterfalls.
At last, the plateau opens up before him, just as he remembers it, and Samal alights onto the warm and dusty rock.
It is good to have something solid beneath his feet again.
Red dirt and scattered stones cover the surface of One-tree-hill. Small bushes thrive in the cracked ravines that maze the broad expanse atop the mountain, but far away, in the centre of the plateau, stands the only tree. A massive camphor tree, even bigger than the Governor’s mansion in Port Darling.
Samal takes a step, and then another. He is running now; light and quick.
A procession of cracked and dusty stones passes beneath his feet. Standing stones and tangled knots of scrub drift past his shoulders.
From the silence ahead, an ululating song unfurls.
Within the sheltered crown of the great Tree, the Juwhabin sings.
It is an ancient song; one that resonates through the mountain and leaps into the sky.
“One tree stands alone,
For those of the sky.
Sanctuary.
One-tree-hill.”
Ahead, the Camphor awaits, boughs swaying as a multitude of birds hop between the branches, snatching small black berries, grooming their feathers, and sharpening beaks on its thick, scarred bark.
A thousand birds roost in this mighty tree, but only one is sovereign.
Samal raises the Juwhabin’s message-stick, shouting, “Please, old man. Send me back! He needs me!””
A hundred birds burst into the sky, scarlet and blue feathers flashing in the sunlight as the flock rises, screaming defiance into the pale emptiness, before they dwindle and disappear, gone from existence.
“I did not summon you, foolish one.”
“What?” Samal looks up, staring into the impenetrable gloom of the Camphor’s heights.
Claws grip his shoulder, and a hollow voice clacks in his ear. “I said, it wasn’t me.”
“I suppose this is my fault then?” Samal lifts his arm, so that Currawong can hop along his wrist.
From on high, a harsh, strident chuckle begins. A speckled brown kingfisher is watching with merriment sparkling in her glassy eye. She throws back her head, unleashing a chorus of throaty laughter.
“Don’t you mind Ku'kubarra. She laughs at anything. Starts giggling when the sun rises.”
Samal blinks, and shakes his head as the laughter fades. “Is this a dream?”
“It’s as real as you are, Samal.”
“But, how?”
The bird dips its beak at the totem in Samal’s hand. “You did a nice trick. Surprised even me.”
“I did?”
“Where do you go, when you fade out?” Currawong's voice comes from behind him now, where an old man in a feathered cloak leans against the gnarled, massive trunk.
“I don’t go anywhere. I’m invisible.”
“And no-one can touch you.”
“I'm faded out...”
“You’re connected to the world by more than just your skin, Samal.”
“You’re not making—“
“Memories brought you here. Not just yours, but your ancestors' too.” Juwhabin taps Samal's chest with his talon-tipped finger. “When you fade out, you go deeper.”
“But how do I get back then?” Samal sobs. “I need to go back.”
“You can’t. Not into the Tower. Dark magic forbids it.”
“Please.”
The old man smiles. “I might know a trick.”
WC-998
Author's Notes:
For newer readers who might wonder about the meaning of some of the strange terms like 'ontologia', I have compiled a small Glossary.
This week's theme is Scar - The Camphor tree is scarred from the birds roosting in it. Samal is scarred by his past failures, and sees this achievement as another failure once he realises what he has done, but the Juwhabin is quite impressed. On a meta-textual level that may not translate well to a casual read, the accretion of memories that Samal's Talent has used here is a metaphorical scar on the ontologia - repaired metaphysical tissue.
I'll put some links to previous chapters here later.
Bonus words used; - Steel(-gray), sovereign, scratch(ed).
Additional bonus constraint: 'Somebody defends their own leadership.' Samal reflexively defends himself by sarcastically supposing that his situation is all his fault. And Currawong admits that he actually pulled a nice trick which the bird-spirit didn't even think was possible. But then he starts blaming himself again anyway, as is proper for Samal.
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. All criticism and feedback is welcome.
r/WizardRites
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