Alright! Our first group assignment. No one is required to participate. I do, however, think it will be very fun. Not only do you get a break from your individual training, but you get a chance to do the teaching.

I'll explain how this is going to work. The assignment will be divided into rounds. If everything works out, the number of rounds should be the same as the number of students involved. Each student will post once each round.

We're going to be using a point system. Each student will start off with ten points. I'm going to appoint a leader for each round. At the end of the round, the leader will have a job to do.

The job is simple. The leader has to go over every post from that round and find mistakes. The mistakes cannot be from his/her post. For every error they find, explain, and correct, they earn a point. For each error they find but fail to correct, they lose a point. That's the only instance in which anyone will lose any points. You do not lose points for making mistakes.

At the end, whoever has the most points will be rewarded. The objective of this is to have each student pass on his/her strengths to the others. If one person suffers in one area, another will hopefully excel in that area and be capable of helping.

Let's begin. If you want to participate, just write up a post. I want all of your characters to wind up in the same place. For your first posts, explain how your characters find their way to a tropical beach. After a certain period of time, I'll post again and we'll move along.


IC

The little man stared at the sky as it darkened. He stood on the cliff overlooking the grassy flatlands. In the sheet of blackness over his head, a white star flew toward the horizon and disappeared. The tiny man, who was no taller than four feet, sighed.

He held a black bag at his side. Something moved around inside and the sack suddenly lit up. The man brought one hand up to his face to shield from the luminous onslaught. "I know you're dying to get free," he whispered to the bag, "but I'm afraid you can't join your brethren just yet." As he said this, he was filled with a genuine sadness.

Realizing that he still needed to complete his task, he reached for the knot keeping the bag closed. He tried to not look directly at the light as he fiddled with the stubborn rope. When he finally got it loose, the object inside took its chance.

In an explosion of light, the tiny star shot out of the bag. The entire field bellow was instantly illuminated. The light-skinned man closed his eyes and covered them with his hands. Before the star had time to escape, he shouted, "Run now! Flee those who seek to capture you. And through this, earn your place among your fathers."

Almost as if it understood him, the tiny ball of burning gas zipped into the distance. The field darkened as he did so. The little star flew upwards once he was far enough away from his tormentor. He tried so desperately to break free from the planet. His force would not carry him that far, though. And so he decided to return to his earthly prison.

Meanwhile, the little man took another moment to observe the star. Then he turned and walked into an oddly placed doorway. He failed to come out the other side.

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