Summer Camp 2025 Reading Challenge

Well, for this year's reading challenge, I'm going to switch it up a bit. For past Reading Challenges, I've used a random number generator to pick articles to read, as I thought that would give writers that I don't follow and maybe don't get read as often a chance to have someone read their work. My thinking hasn't changed on that, but this year, I wanted to read specifically articles from writers that have followed Derkomai or have liked some of the stuff I've written. I'll probably fall back to the random number generator as well, since I think there may not be enough articles from people that have liked my work. Anyway...   The first article I read was from Solomonjack, entitled Stone Castle Glacier. This was really an amazing article, describing in detail the vast glacier arising from the Agriss Mountains. The writing is exceptionally descriptive, detailing the frigid, forbidding landscape of the glacier, flora and fauna, trade, and ecosystem of the area so well that I literally felt cold as I was reading. This was one of the best descriptions of a location in a world I've ever read, without a doubt.   The next article I read is from Wordigirl, and is entitled 4m8r0514. The article describes a set of substances derived from various species of Diffuser Flowers. 4m8r0514 is, of course, ambrosia, and I love the way Wordigirl created the name of the substances from the English word and derived the concept from scent diffusers found in people's homes, then tied it into the spy craft of her W.I.L.L.O.W.I.S.P. organization. This was (as usual) a really fun read from Wordigirl.   The third article is by Worldwildbuilder, about the City of Palynor. The City of Palynor is a large city located at the mouth of the Cazven River, the capital of the Kingdom of Paxolia and home of a Mage Academy and numerous guilds. The city has a large sky-port that is a showpiece for the city and a large river port that is ice-bound during the winter. The city's government is a mayor and council of eight members, three of which are mages, including the headmaster of the Mage Academy. I suspect that Palynor is at the epicenter of a whole lot of interesting adventures.   Article #4 is by kitoypoy, called Bluestar Peninsula. It's about the southernmost region of the Sovranty of Lozar, a swampy, tropical area home to several different sentient species: Gatormen, Kappa, Yuan-ti, Dragonborn, Elves, Humans, and several others. As usual for kitoypoy, the article is beautifully laid out and creative. The included map is really well-done, also. I'd like to include some of the icons from the map into my Realm Studio application.   The fifth article I read is Echochord by Jaxon Lee Rose. Echochord is an interesting concept - a device used by people of ice tribes on the planet Yxil-7 for navigation, weather prediction, and to recall information. Made of a piece of cord and crystals of the mineral cryorite, Echochord is manufactured by placing the crystals of the mineral into specific configurations. Each Echochord is highly personalized for the person that made and uses it and so, they are rarely shared. The crystals emit sounds in response to changes in the environment or proximity to specific features in the landscape. Trained users of Echochord can interpret the sounds to aid in navigation, predict weather, and recall information. I like the ideas behind this; I can imagine tribes of the Steppe People on Derkomai using devices like Echochord.   The sixth article is from Absinthe and is entitled Rail Gun Powered Street Luge. The concept is hilarious, and I have to admit, when I saw the title, I thought of a huge rail gun like the one that was tested by the US Navy. The street luges in the article instead are powered by rail gun rifles "acquired" from the military by "enterprising and creative youths." According to the article, the street luges (like big skateboards) can reach up to 120 kph (nearly 75 mph). You definitely wouldn't want to fall off of one!   The seventh article I read is Flag Families by Paul Norris. The Flag Families are street gangs of the city Burim, each of which adopts a characteristic color. The gangs are mostly made up of disaffected young people, those without a home or whose home is dysfunctional. For those young people, the gang becomes a surrogate family. Occasionally, there are violent conflicts between the gangs, but thus far, no deaths have resulted. Many believe, however, that it is only a matter of time before the fights get out of hand. They also worry that the gangs will get involved in serious crime. As I read this article, I felt somewhat saddened by the fact that street gangs here in the US are already involved in (and are the source of) so much crime, violence, and murders. If only gangs here were as benign as the Flag Families of Burim.   The next article is Chen by The Winter Salmon. Chen is a small, white and black dog owned by Prince (then King) Tao. Chen is usually timid. He hides when he encounters anyone he doesn't know, and it even took time for him to warm up to his owner, but when a vampire khan and his entourage appeared at the gates of King Tao's castle, little Chen stood his ground, baring his teeth and defying a lord of death. When larger dogs slinked away in fear, Chen showed his true bravery.   The penultimate article I read is Khael'dran by Nulcheck. Khael'dran, also known as the Kraken, is an enormous red sea serpent, second largest in the world of Legends of the Dragonguard. The Khael'dran primarily inhabits the Shattered Archipelagos, but ventures into the open ocean. Infamous among pirates for wrapping around their ships and squeezing until the keel breaks, Khael'dran is legendarily called "the Keel Breaker," from which the name "Kraken" was derived. Khael'dran hates pirates and protects his environs from the environmental destruction wrought by them. I liked that this article envisioned the Kraken as a type of sea dragon, rather then a giant octopus or squid, as is usually the case.   The final article I read from the Reading Challenge is Clockwerk Automaton by Tonarus. The Clockwerk Automatons are robotic soldiers. The Automatons take their orders from human officers in the form of four different types of directives: Ranged, Melee, Non-Lethal, and Protector. The most commonly given directive is Ranged, in which the Automatons used various types of ranged weapons to attack enemy forces. As you might guess, the Melee directive tells Automatons to engage in direct physical combat. The Non-Lethal directive orders them to use electrical shock to disable attackers or criminals, and the Protector directive tells the Automaton to impose its body between the person being protected and attackers, sacrificing the Automaton to prevent harm.   Once again, I am amazed and astounded by the creativity and skill of the World Anvil community of world builders and writers. In an age of the rise of "artificial intelligence," I cannot help but think that it will be a long time - if ever - that AI will be able to match the limitless imagination and originality of human writers and thinkers.