"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old, you have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle Earth stands upon the brink of destruction; none can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom. Bring forth the short story, Writer," Elrond says, motioning to you and several others.

Several writers step forward with works that you can see are clearly stories to be reckoned with. As one begins to set his story down on the pedestal, a screaming brute of a man randomly falls from the sky into the middle of the Council, drawing stares from everyone.

"Am I late!?" He asks, brushing himself off. A dark-clad elf sitting in the corner pinches the bridge of his nose, frustration marring his fair features.

"Hadar, you weren't even invited," he says in a slightly miffed tone, sizing up the muscle-bound warrior with eyes of hard emerald.

The man, who you can tell is most likely from the far eastern reaches of Middle Earth from his unusual garb, adopts an indignant pout. "Says who? I thought ALL of the free peoples would be welcome!"

At this moment Lord Elrond holds up a hand for silence. "It seems, in our haste to find good writing, that we have overlooked the less-focused-upon regions of Middle Earth."

He looks pointedly at the screen and a laugh track plays.

The dark-armored elf, revealing himself to be named Caledorn, also looks at the screen.

"It would be great if we could find some books about the Ice Men of Forochel, wouldn't it Lord Elrond?" He speaks in an over-emphasized tone.

Elrond flashes the screen a fake smile. "That's right Caledorn! For three easy payments of $14.99, you could-"

Caledorn elbows him painfully. "Wrong ad," he whispers through bared teeth.

"Right," Elrond replies, laughing nervously. "TO SHOW YOU THE POWER OF FLEX TAPE, I SAWED THIS BOAT IN HALF!"

He produces a model boat from the folds of his robe as Aragorn himself rises from his seat, giving the screen a bewildered look.

"Why do you have a boat?? And what are you all looking at??" He asks, looking past the camera. The two elves continue to stare with frozen smiles, Elrond occasionally motioning to the boat.

CUT!!

Ahem. Since they clearly can't do this right...

Welcome one and all to the Distant Lands Writing Contest!! As those of you who read my stories know, I really like writing about characters or locations that are usually neglected in fanfiction. Sure, I love a well-written AU from time to time, and there are some REALLY good Legolas fictions too (Festering Darkness by @Silvan_Elleth or Where Shadows Breathe by @Stars_Alight are great examples). But it's truly difficult to find stories that leave the boundaries of Gondor, Rohan, and Mirkwood. That's why I've decided to start this contest!

Depending on how many entreants we get, there will be 3, 4, or 5 rounds. Each round will focus on a particular geographic location and/or race in Middle Earth that's rarely written about. Your goal, should you choose to accept the challenge, will be to write a short story/one shot (The length of which will most likely be flexible) about the given setting.

There will be awards (Which are still currently being determined, though I'm in talks to get the first place entry featured in a podcast! I might also be willing to make covers for the top several entries :) ), and I may choose to have different award categories if we have enough entries!

That being said, I'd like to get as many LOTR writers involved as possible! Tag anyone you think might be interested, I'm hoping to have AT LEAST 15 contestants before I start this.

The following chapter will be for those who wish to enter! Head on over if you're interested!