Young Writers Society

Still accepting.


"The Trance, a place magical, fabulous, and dangerous.

It is spoken of in all myths, religions, and fables: Heaven, Hell, the Realm of the Gods, the Nether Worlds... all are, ultimately, pointing towards this. It is said that, in this magical place, where you can walk on oceans which is actually the sky to reach a building constructed atop a gaseous planet, everything is interconnected: space, time, distance, all are meaningless, but one and the same. Therefore it is reasonable to assume that, by walking within The Trance, it is possible to get to any world, at any time, in any place.

Walking through The Trance is beautiful, but not all can survive the wondrous journey, and very few indeed can make it through unharmed. Stay too long, and you will be trapped, unable to leave. Move through it too hastily, however, and you may end up in a completely different place, perhaps into the welcoming arms of danger.

Ultimately, the only way to make sure you don't die in it is to move through it, and gain experience. Try not to die horribly... the world needs you.

Because, you must know, not everyone can travel through The Trance. Indeed, very few are aware of its existence. Most live their lives blissfully, unaware of the conflict raging every day, in all days. A conflict had in whispered words, games of chess spanning the multiverse, and the occasional blade in the dark.

Only a few have been blessed... or cursed... with the ability travel through The Trance and see its effects. They are known, appropriately, as The Trancers.

Who are the Trancers, then? Their origin is unknown, but scholars assume it traces back to the very roots of the world: Gilgamesh, Achilles, Odysseus. They have always existed, and continued to exist through history: Napoleon, Amerigo Vespucci, Hitler. The Trancer's past -- and future -- is muddled and confused, filled with questionable individuals and great heroes alike. They have always shared one common trait, however: great ambition, and innovation, prowess, beyond the common man.

And, of course, The Trance. To them, it is seen as silvery-white tendrils, present pretty much everywhere. It can act as a tell-tale sign for danger, as well: the more present it is in the material world, the physical realm, the more likely it is something serious is about to go down. More experienced Trancers will be able to detect shades of color in the tendrils, and draw emotions, feelings, even thoughts from The Trance.

The Trancers have always, thus, been quite powerful individuals. Once their mortal lifetime expires in one plane, nothing stops them from -- if they have achieved such greatness to deserve it -- being reborn, through The Trance, it another dimensional plane. And in The Trance, time is meaningless, so who can tell how long you've been alive for, if you travel often?"


"And yet, the life of a Trancer is not as great as you would make it out to be. Imagine, possessing such knowledge: it binds you, prevents you from leading a normal human life. You cannot make close aquaintances with any normal human, for fear of your secret slipping. And if you slip, they will find you. And if they find you, everything dies. Everything, but you. And you will live with the scars of the death of innocents on your mind... for ever. Most Trancers have known this pain, which is why they hesitate to connect with the outside world when not on business.

But, if you are so callous as not to mind the moral and mental pain, there is another, much more real danger, that all Trancers must face.

Them.

They are terrible... and as old as us, at least. Where we, despite our questionable past and characters, have always served a greater goal -- justice, and order -- they are chaos, and darkness. They know no rules, no limits. The fabric of reality itself is a toy for them to play with, and this is not acceptable. We must stop them, fight the fight we have always fought, since the dawn of time itself, and until everything is dust.

Who are they, specifically?

We're not sure. We've faced them plenty of times, and even came face to face with their higher ups at times. We know they call themselves an order, a fraternity, of sorts. They profess themselves as bringers of freedom, and liberty. We know this is a lie: the only freedom they bring is that of lawless, mindless destruction. We believe their original founder was one of us, a rebel, who grew weary of his existence. We do not know for sure. We know they are powerful, at least as powerful as us. They operate on a scale we cannot comprehend fully. Despite our difference, at a core we are still human, with our faults, passions and virtues. They... we do not know. We do not understand."





"We must stop them.

For about a hundred years, their activity has been quiet. Unusually so. Before I go on, however, I must stress something to you: time, as a linear, logical concept we understand, does not exist here. Not in The Trance. Events are interconnected in a completely different manner. It is rational, in a way, but it is not at all times clear.

So now, then, events have been stirring. There is a disturbing pattern of events playing out.

I have seen the Trails, the tendrils of The Trance. They speak clearly. In 2013, the world is faced by what is proving to be a dangerous economic crisis. In Judea, Jesus dies, crucified by the Romans. In Germany, Hitler rises to power. In Italy, during the Dark Ages, innocents are slaughtered and knowledge burned by the Inquisition. Other events have been connected, odd events. There is a pattern, of sorts, we are sure. Our job is to unravel the threads, and see the full picture, understand this pattern. Only then may we stop Them.

Our numbers are lacking, however. Those who are skilled enough are occupied throughout history, scrambling to maintain the order we have fought, and sacrificed, for. Their ranks grow. We need recruits. And so, we call upon you: you all have been identified as potential Trancers. The Trails speak clearly: you could be humanity's last hope.

Will you join us? Or will you sit back and passively watch as They engulf the multiverse in darkness?"



"Congratulations, we now assume you have decided to enlist in our cause. A noble choice indeed.

We will need you to file out a brief bio for yourself, so that we may get to know you better. Once that's done, you will be directed to our headquarters, where you will be de-briefed further. From there, after a preliminary training period is passed, we will embark on our first mission proper. That, however, comes later. First, we must see if you can survive the training..."


"Where are our headquarters? It's a massive building complex of white glass and stainless steel, one of the largest by modern day Earth standards, in fact. Why have you never heard of it? We wouldn't be so foolish as to set it in Earth, or any other planet, of course. It's set straight into the center of The Trance -- or so we like to think. I'll show you some reference pictures for you to get a better feel of the place, while we travel to it.


This is our Launch Pad zone, where we run communications, and prepare Launches, known as Walks by our older members, through The Trance, so we may reach any place, or time, required. See that bridge? That's where we Launch (or Walk).


This is our rec building, where we can relax (not very often, as of now). It's also where we hold official, Trance-wide communications, and where our (very rare, and very special) guests stay.

And this is where you will stay. This is our recruit's building, complete with training rooms, dormitories (each your own), several bars and cafeterias, and so forth. And sorry, most pools are ornamental here. In fact, you may not want to swim in them... we didn't put them there, The Trance did."


"I'm sure you have more questions. Once we reach the rec room, they will all be answered. Good luck. You'll need it."