He has been kneeling before the Loom for too long. His head is bowed, listening to the sound of shears snipping and shuttles moving along theads. His knees ache from contact with the hard stone floor. The three beings standing over the Loom pay him no attention.

He has been kneeling there for too long. Nonetheless, he knew with a predator's instincts that he should not rise. He should not leave. The first time he turns his back on the Fates could easily be his last.

Above all, he should not speak to them. At least, not until they speak to him.

Why do you kneel, bat-god?

Their voice makes him shiver. He is very careful not to look up.

"I await your orders, O Inexorable Ones."

Yes. Why do you kneel?

"I kneel because one must bow before one's lord, or the closest equivalent."

We are not your lord. We are Moirai. We have selected you to be the agent of Fate.

He doesn't bother contradicting them. The difference is irrelevant.

"What would you have me do?"

The arena was, is, and will be ready. Gather the gods of America, Camazotz. It is time.

His teeth clench when they say his name, a gut reaction to his identity being named, being known. It's a moment before he takes in what they are saying.

"Ah. Yes, about that. Before we continue, I think it's only polite to tell me a couple of... details. Details like how, precisely, you plan on endowing a single being with the power of an entire pantheon. You know. The little things."

Khepri.

Camazotz frowns. He recognizes the name, and the memory of its owner leaves a bad taste in his mouth.

"The Egyptian bug? The one with the sun?"

Khepri, the scarab of the morning. God of light. Life. Rebirth. He is all but dead- and we have appropriated his husk, trapping it so he cannot revive himself as he has done for all these millennia. The gods will battle, and the arena will gather the blood and power of the fallen. The scarab husk will draw this power from the earth, and grow in power until one remains. Khepri will be consumed by that survivor, and they will be reborn, with the power of all the fallen. They will reshape the world so that the gods can never be forgotten again.

"That's a pretty sweet deal. Except for the whole "one survivor" thing. These beings won't want to risk death. How will you convince them to join?"

That is your problem. Gather them. Tell them the truth.

Camazotz smiles, black lips pulling away from too-sharp teeth.

"Well, I can give it a shot. After all, my former... clients have assured me that I'm quite persuasive."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to my very first task for a Games! Let's get down to business.

Option One: The Day Job- What does a deity do when no one worships them? Write about a day in your tribute's life, shortly before they were contacted by Camazotz. Do they interact with mortals? Do they work in a field related to their divinity? The entry must end with the tribute receiving a message or a visit from Camazotz regarding the Games.

Option Two: Last Supper- Camazotz and the Fates have decided to give a last meal to the tributes on the night before the bloodbath. Every tribute is present, in addition to the Gamemakers and Camazotz. This is the closest thing to a social task in these Games. Remember, your tributes are all volunteers!

That's right: this is a two-part task. Finish reading before sending me hate-mail.

The first entry, whichever option you select, is required. I will score it with the rubric discussed in the rules, and that will be your first score.

The second entry is optional. It will not be scored normally. There will be no point penalty for rushing this entry or even not doing it. HOWEVER, sponsorships will only be given to those people who have submitted a second entry. Moreover, the scored entry is completely irrelevant to the sponsorships; I will only consider the second one for that regard. The sponsorships will be selected based on which entries appeal most to me, based on factors like witty/realistic dialogue, interesting characters, appealing plots, etc.

It doesn't matter to me whether you pick Option One or Two for scoring. If you send two entries, be sure to tell me which I need to score and which to consider for sponsorship.

ONCE AGAIN: DO NOT SEND IN TWO ENTRIES IF YOU CAN'T/WON'T WRITE BOTH WELL. THE SECOND ENTRY WILL BE USED FOR SPONSORSHIPS AND NOTHING ELSE. IF YOU SEND ME TWO TELL ME WHICH TO SCORE.

There will be five sponsorships awarded.

+1 point for the best quote

+1 point for the most creative day job

+1 point for the best interaction between gods at the feast

Bonus points go to scored entries only.

Due date: Sunday, February 8, 10 PM GMT, 5 PM EST