Opennovellacontest26 قصص

In the elder days before mortal kings etched their borders into stone, before time was measured by crowns and conquests, when Elven Folk shared the world with mortals under treaties older than memory, there came upon our people an age of quiet sundering. It was a time when Giants still walked the high places, when Dragons passed like storms along the horizons, and when Elven Folk shared the world with mortals under treaties older than memory. Yet even then, doubt found root. In those days there arose among mortals a whispering hunger, seeded by those who wore borrowed faces. The Changeling Wizards, who fed fear as if it were wisdom. Convincing mortal kings, the magic of the elves no longer served them. What had once been shared truth became superstition. What had once been kinship became a war of wills. From that hour, the old goodwill ended. Thus the space between our peoples widened, until the old paths closed and we were pressed back into the frost-bitten heights of our ancestral lands. And what would happen next would leave the old world in the silent throes of AN UNEASY REALIZATION THAT ALL WAS NOT AS IT SEEMED... A time when love and acceptance became fear and those fears bred greed. Greed bred forgetting. And forgetting became blame. But in that age arose two souls. One born of mortal blood, one of mortal grace. Who chose to stand where others turned away. Alvaro, and Daniela of the western shores, whose names the stone itself remembers. ─ᛰ─ ONC Prompt 78 You begin to realize that things are not as they seem. 🎏 Author Comment: This tale has been designed and written for younger readers but it can be enjoyed by all.

In a dark Benedictine Abbey, high in the cold mountains of Helvetia, where stone and earth remember older laws than kings, a legendary weapon rests in silence. It lies within the Kloster Einsiedeln, a mountain abbey sworn to the Cantors of the region of Oath Fellowship, its fresco painted walls with tales of a history that is much different than the truth it conceals. For generations, the weapon has slept beneath legend, its purpose misremembered, its history softened into a heroic myth. But weapons do not forget. When the lies that bound it begins to unravel, and the abbey's sealed records stir, old borders awaken. Wolves who once feared only the glint of steel begin to fear something else as the weapon reveals what it was never meant to be. Not an instrument of slaughter, but a measure of law. What rises in its wake is neither hunter nor monster, but something the world has not known for centuries. The Wardens of the Limes. Some weapons are forged to kill. Others are forged to decide. This weapon requires HEIRS. And Miteinander; working together. Or it won't work at all... The surprising heirs of the weapon, rivals since childhood, staunch upholders of the lies believed throughout family generations, must now overcome, to step into their chosen destiny. "They stand at the Threshold." ✠ ✠ ✠ ONC26 Prompt # 1. Two rivals discover they're the chosen heirs to a legendary weapon that will only activate if they work together. Some Historical references: The Kloster Einsiedeln Abbey was first founded as a Benedictine monastery in 934 CE on the site of a former hermitage. Its origins, however, date back to approximately 835 CE, when the hermit monk Saint Meinrad first established a small cell in the "Dark Forest" of the region. LIMES definition: Latin. Originally meaning a path or boundary line. A limes (plural: limites) was a fortified border or frontier system of the Roman Empire.

He feared that his dream would become a reality. And when it did, he hated himself for being the cause of her ruin. .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ˚☽˚.⋆ .𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅ Just a random night in Hugo Moulin's life and he comes across the woman he could possibly dedicate an entire love serenade to. But when she accuses him of trapping her and ruining her life, what can the man do? Good for him, for he soon realises that this miserable situation was nothing but a dream. A dream with absolutely no meanings. But what's going to happen to this guy when he finds clues that point out about the existence of the woman in reality? And what's going to be his reaction when the woman turns out to be the one person he had vowed to be wary of for the rest of life? Was she real? Or just a fever dream? Or maybe just an enemy who had been eating up his thoughts? Or....what if...he was just losing his mind? #ONC2026

Usually, after-work suggestions from coworkers mean drinks and karaoke, both of which Opal normally declines in favor of a good nap. Finding herself in a creaky house surrounded by candles and spiderwebs? That should have been her first red flag. The ghost of the house realizes someone can finally see her and suddenly promises are being made to help a sister move on. The sister? A cop with her own vendetta. Opal is dragged into a cold case for a ghost she'd rather not be able to see because apparently, normal life was too much to ask for. Between late nights, dark corners, and dusty old documents Opal finds herself talking to the dead whether she likes it or not. Either they'll find the answers, or they'll be adding to the ghostly population.

The dream always ended the same way: with the salt-spray of an ocean I'd never visited and the warmth of a hand I couldn't quite grasp. He never had a face-just a silhouette cut out of the moonlight-but his voice was a low rumble that vibrated in my chest. "Find me," he'd whisper. "Before the clocks stop." When I woke up, the silence of my apartment felt like a physical weight. I checked my pulse, my skin still buzzing from a touch that didn't exist. I told myself it was just stress. I told myself that "Thorne" was a name I'd probably seen on a billboard or a dusty law book. But then I saw him.

Maeve Raines has seen golden strings since her teenage years-thin, luminous threads tied to people's pinkies, binding them through choice, emotion, and consequence. Friendship. Betrayal. Belief. Obsession. Love. Everyone has them. Some have many. Having only one is rare. Having none is impossible. Except Maeve cannot see her own. Now in her late twenties, she lives a life that demands silence and observation. Her secret stays hidden, pressed between unanswered questions and the letters she writes to the Fates-quiet confessions meant for powers she isn't sure are listening. Over the years, she has learned every shade of gold that exists and memorized their meanings. There is nothing left about the strings that should surprise her. To the world, she is someone else entirely. She goes by Juno-a name chosen, not given. A name she wears like armor. Under that name, she drifts. Watches. Learns how lives knot and unravel. Until she meets Theo Mercer. Her neighbor is gentle, reserved, and marked by something she has never encountered before. He has no visible strings. Not one. The absence unsettles her more than any bond ever has-because she knows what every shade should mean, and yet he fits none of them. Theo knows nothing of fate or golden threads-only that being near Juno feels fragile, like something he shouldn't expect to keep. What unfolds between them is not loud or dramatic. It is slow. Measured. Built from shared glances, half-confessions, and the quiet comfort of being understood without explanation. And for the first time, Maeve feels something she cannot categorize-a pull, a burn around her own pinkie whenever she turns away from him. Still unable to see her string, she prays-desperately-that if it exists, it will not be the worst kind. The color of love that never gets to stay. To the Fates is a quiet, tragic exploration of destiny misunderstood, love interrupted, and the cost of seeing what others cannot.

A series of murders, a school magaine and an obnoxious collegue in the way. Suspicious letters pop up in the magaine Zoey Tan heads, she is forced to find the perpetuator who has landed her in the trouble. When the perpetuator proves to be more than just trouble to her, things take a deeper dive. When his low-key persona slips, Yuvan Tejas desperately tries to re assemble it and protect those who shelter under it. When murder dots the city and the murderer seems closer than he thought possible, tides turn. Together they discover a truth that shakes their worlds.

After discovered the opposition power and their fragments identity, Scarlet Bright and Lithanine "Lilith" Diesel continue their journey, discovered a new friend, Lucin and Lilith just discovered the new power. And not just that, Lilith will find new fragment identity soon or later. This story was Al-generative chat and edited by me to keep the fixed plot.

Vincent is having an amazing morning. The most popular guy in the office has given him a high-five, a pretty girl has offered him a coffee, and he's been invited to join the frisbee team. It's almost like they've confused him with someone else. Someone popular. Someone fun. Someone about to bring Vincent's life to a shuddering halt. My entry for ONC2026 based on this writing prompt: 77. Everyone in town remembers you differently, as if everyone has lived a different version of your life. Cover design by @elicatucci

Maya Seymour closed a painful chapter that left her helpless in grief, named Foxer Klein. After three years of searching, Elliot healed the girl's heart that needed closure and a new beginning. But Foxer came back. Alive.

"Hello and good whatever time of day it is! It's me, TinyOctopus, coming at you with fresh content." Cameron has heard those words dozens if not hundreds of times. The problem? He's in love with the gamer who goes by TinyOctopus but he's always known her as Brooke, his best friend since middle school. After a long day dealing with 'the customer is always right' he's content to curl up with a bowl of nachos and watch her play and dream that one day he'll have the courage to tell her how he feels. After one of the worst shifts of his life, Cameron falls asleep mid-stream. When he wakes up he's most definitely not at home and everyone in sight is strangely... obsessed with one person. Enter the farmer and with a sinking feeling Cameron knows exactly why this valley looks so familiar.

In a dystopian future, an acidic flood reigns and the only signs of old life lie in the deep. Alex - an outcast with an inquisitive mind and a set of strangely specific skills - must navigate a world where she is shunned from the safety of the domes and stuck in the water. One day, while exploring a set of deep-sea ruins, she is haunted by a mysterious spirit; a spirit that seems to be warning her of something. The problem is, this ancient being doesn't seem to have any memory of its previous life. With a newly-possessed fish at her side, she must now uncover a secret organisation, find out what it means to do and save both humans and spirits from their plans. --- This is my entry for the Open Novella Contest 2026. Prompts used: 93, 86 (I have listed them in the author's note) --- #1 oceanpunk | 19/2/26 #1 explorer | 19/2/26 #1 deepsea | 23/2/26 --- © 2026 | This is original work. Any references to other persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Please do not adapt in any way without the author's permission.

25-year-old Melody Marsh doesn't believe in magic. She might call herself a witch, but her witchcraft is just knowlegde of plants and a skill for healing people. Magic is just a thing of fairytales and legends, she believes. Until one day a massive black dragon appears in her garden, with his dirty, heavy feet right on her precious plants. He's a messenger of the gods and Melody was chosen for a quest. So after recovering from the trauma caused by the mass murder on her plants, Melody follows the dragon on a journey over the seven seas to the world's edge. It's there where she gets the chance to change one regret from her past, but everything has a catch. What's the right decision in the eyes of fate, when fate herself has been looking over Meldoy all her life? ______________ Written for the English edition of the Open Novella Contest (ONC) 2026. Based on prompt 74: You are offered the chance to rewrite one regret from your past, but doing so requires giving up a memory you treasure. The living library awaits your decision.

Cursed storms have been tearing through the port cities, and the constellations are shifting in ways no map can explain. When a stowaway girl is discovered aboard a merchant ship, Elias, the crew's bookish young cook, can't stop watching her. Olive is a mystery in every way. She barely eats or sleeps, and seems determined to get herself thrown overboard every time she opens her mouth. Yet when she somehow navigates their vessel through violent weather, Elias realizes there is much more to her story than he could have possibly imagined. ONC prompt #69: The stars are disappearing one by one and only you can hear their whispers. Percy Jackson meets Pirates of the Caribbean meets astrology (I do not use AI to write my work. I will sometimes use it to research historical details for accuracy but no AI is used to generate creative materials)

One moment, you're a weapon. The next, you're a nanny. And somehow, the world ends in between. Two assassins from rival organizations are sent on the same classified mission-only to discover the assignment is hiding a truth big enough to shatter loyalties, rewrite destinies, and maybe doom humanity itself. Secrets unravel fast when curses bind enemies together, time refuses to move forward, and the last hope for the world turns out to be something no one wanted to trust. As summer stretches on, chaos follows: frozen cities, undead roads, magical bargains gone wrong, and a journey to the edge of the world where treasure isn't gold-but choice. Everyone else sees ordinary people, harmless faces, familiar smiles. But some truths can only be seen by those already broken enough to recognize monsters in disguise. This was supposed to be a normal summer. It wasn't. A story about rivalry, survival, and the dangerous things we become when everything we believed starts to burn.

My ONC Journal 2026.

The Open Novella Contest is back for 2026! Join fellow storytellers and plant the seed of a tale that will blossom into a 20,000+ word novella within 12 weeks! Your epic quest begins February 1st, 2026, so mark your calendars with this date!

This is the report of Lee's adventure in his phone. Lee downloaded the app "Adventure in Your Phone" and got trapped in the virtual world. To escape, he must complete a series of tasks hidden within his own apps.

Santa Claus is an old man in a tattered red coat, limping through a world whose failure to believe in him has caused him to vanish limb by limb. But before he disappears entirely, he has one last round to make - not with gifts, but with letters of apology, delivered to the people whose lives were derailed by a single, cold lump of coal. The greatest burden he ever carried was never the toys. It was his memories of the coal. This is one of my entries in the 2026 Wattpad Open Novella Contest. It is in response to Prompt 79: "A letter arrives addressed to you, written by someone who shouldn't exist."

Rage coursing through her veins was the only thing keeping River Carter alive. It burned with a need for vengeance against one man. Richard Miller. She had a plan. Befriending his daughter to get into his inner circle was part of the plan. Falling for her wasn't. But she fell, and Wendy is either her salvation, or damnation. (Prompt 45. »Kings have honor, soldiers are brave, poets have heart, and all I have is rage!«)