Good day, Elyrians, and a Happy New Year to you all!

The Trials of Karcion are a series of community contests - for the community, by the community.

In the months to come, we will be holding a series of competitions to test creativity, wit, skill and determination. Today, January 3rd, marks the third round of the Trials of Karcion.

The prizes are something that we as a community all appreciate: games! The 1st place winner will also be given a personalized icon which they are free to incorporate into their forum signature, avatar, or anything else to immortalize their win.

The ground rules are simple, but are without exception;

• Anyone who wishes to participate in the Trials must be a registered member on the Chronicles of Elyria forums for at least two months prior to the announcement of that round of Trials - in this case, November 2017.
• No NSFW materials, NDA-protected or otherwise exclusive information can be used in any Trial
• One entry per person.
• An entry may only win one prize per series unless otherwise stated.
• Entries must follow the guidelines for User Content Creation and COE Brand Guidelines
• No entry may violate either the Chronicles of Elyria Code of Conduct or Terms of Use
• When submitting your entry, follow the short entry guide (bottom of the post), not including the form and/or sending an incorrect file type may mean that your entry will be disqualified.

With those pleasantries out of the way... on to the Trials! January's Trials include *Turning Over a New Leaf and *Codebreaker!

Important Submission-related Dates!

Contests Open: January 3rd at 5:00pm EST

Window for New Leaf entries: January 3rd - January 20th inclusive

* *Codebreaker has no closing date, as it's a race to the finish!**

A vast plain of white lies before you, broken only by the ragged, twisted, black silhouettes of distant, naked trees. This is the desolation of winter. Life is alien to this place, this time. A malevolent wind brings tears to your eyes and stings your exposed flesh. In the distance, something cold and hungry howls its despair into the empty and unforgiving sky.

A blink in the eye of time. You gaze with wonder over the same vista, altered almost beyond recognition. The dread cold of winter has been peeled back to reveal the tenacious and unending cycle of life. The emerald green grass burst from the deep, loamy soil; grand oaks regain their mantle of leaves; a swathe of flowers in a dazzling array of hues sway in the gentle breeze and caring sunlight.

As the near year begins, many people resolve to turn over a new leaf - they pledge to better themselves in numerous ways, to turn their lives around. This January, we want you to turn over a different kind of new leaf!

Once again, walk a mile in the shoes of a developer. As the winter season begins its upswing into the fresh new life of spring, consider the burgeoning life hiding beneath the frozen soil. What would you like to see growing from the Elyrian soil come the advent of springtime? A hardy root vegetable with healing properties that tastes like the wrong end of a Trison? A delicate and rare bioluminescent flower? A form of seaweed prized for its use in dyes?

This January, design a brand new species of plant you'd love to see in Elyria. In fewer than 1,500 - 2,500 words, describe from root to tip your proposed Elyrian flora. Use as much detail as possible! Images are accepted, but not required. Please do not include more than 4 images in your entry. Entries will be judged for their creativity, originality and their integration into existing CoE lore and mechanics - not on the quality of the writing nor the artistic merit of its imagery. Try to include as much as possible about the life-cycle, ecological niche and relationship with the world of Elyria as you can! Blind us with science!

Guest judge: Lillica, creator of the Meowl!

• 1st Prize: Stardew Valley, Grow Up and a personalized icon to display as a badge of honor!
• 2nd Prize: Botanicula Collector's Edition
• 3rd Prize: Potatoman Seeks the Troof

How Do I Enter?

All entries should be entered in the form of a PDF to [email protected].

Please copy & paste the form below, fill out, and include it in the body of your email! Not including the form below, and/or using an invalid file type may disqualify your entry!

Entry Form

COE Forum Alias:

Domain/Organization, if any, you would like mentioned (if you place):

Title for your piece (if applicable):

Any other information you would like to include:

Winning entries will be displayed on the forums in a winners thread, and all other entries will be shared in another. Entrants to "Turning Over a New Leaf" retain their intellectual property rights of their original work but are subject to the Terms of Service as stated on the COE website.

Our community is filled with some of the best and brightest from around the world. Every day, we see their dedication to truth, clarity and certainty. We see this in the debates that take place in both the forums and on Discord; we see it in the doggedness of our Wiki admins and in the unending helpfulness of so many players to our newcomers. The depth and breadth of knowledge and discernment amongst our wonderful community is almost unnerving.

With that in mind, we've devised a special challenge with which to open the New Year. Below, you will find a series of numbers. These numbers are the key to a secret Elyria-themed phrase. There are no hints, there will be no quarter given.

The challenge is this: using only your wits, divine the secret phrase hidden in the numbers. Post it in the comments of this thread - the first person to do so will land themselves a trio of puzzle games, a personalized icon, and the unending acclaim of their peers!

We have ourselves a winner!

Congratulations Anuvrix!

It was decided that Nimueh was close enough to be (an unplanned) runner up as well! Congratulations to you both!

18, 1, 5 - 14, 5, 4 - 6, 7, 9 - 10, 1, 20 - 1, 12, 14 - 19, 4, 9 - 11, 1, 16 - 6, 6, 2 - 11, 3, 28 - 8, 2, 17 - 12, 1, 14

Will you be the one to break the code and find the secret phrase? If you are, you will be rewarded with the following;

• 1st Prize: Gunpoint, Lyne, Pony Island, and a personalized icon to display as a badge of honor!

Please note: only 1 person can be awarded for this contest - the first to post the phrase in this thread.

The best of luck to everyone who enters - may the best Mann win. Let the Trials begin!