THE WINNING STORY FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT:
Valley of Death
by Crayola, Genny, Raf, Animal Midwife, vetmedhead
It was a night like any other night. You read from your textbook until you thought it would become your pillow. Not wanting to wake in a puddle of your own drool, face plastered to the pages, you turned in. The sheets of your bed felt cool against your skin as you slid in to sleep.
The next thing you know, you wake in the same room, the same bed, but nothing else is familiar. You are surrounded by a surreal forest of twisting vines and thick foliage, impossible shades of jade, emerald, deep purple, and fuchsia. Immediately before you is a handsome man, holding a horn, and a box made of ivory. You know that he is handsome, yet you can't quite hold his image in your mind. He tells you, without speaking aloud, that his name is Oneiroi. Since you are a total geek, you know that is familiar - it was the title of a Supernatural fanfiction you read!!
Immediately you know that this is Morpheus, the god of Dreams, for whom morphine is named. For a moment you see him in his true form - a great winged demon. Just as you feel yourself try to form a scream, a sound that doesn't escape you, the handsome man is before you once again. Wordlessly, he hands you the box and horn, his fingers never touching yours. You look at the items in your hands, and when you look up - he is gone.
This was many days ago. Since then you have learnt from a mischievious Leprechaun, that wouldn't stop following you, that the box contains a small kit of amulets, salts, dried herbs, various instruments for performing little magicks in this realm. He tried to trick you out of them, but failed. He did steal some of the gold coins from the box. Hopefully there's enough left for any dragons and trolls you may encounter. Or if you meet Charon, the ferryman of the River Styx, who takes his fare in coin.
In any case, you come to the edge of the meadow with your untrustworthy companion, to a dark foreboding forest.
The Leprechaun is distracted, so luckily you have a chance without him seeing, to grab a pinch of salt from the kit and throw it over your shoulder. He gives out a cruel laugh and disappears.
Upon entering this forest, you read on a large stone,
"Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I
will fear evil.
For I am beset on all sides by all manner of creatures, shrouded in Darkness, hungry for the flesh of those who walk in the Light."
Shyte, really? Did I really just dream that? Flesh hungry monsters? you think.
Of course you did, you answer yourself with a sigh.
You walk along this forest. Eventually you come upon what you're pretty sure is the Valley of Death. I mean, you haven't seen any brochures, and you don't have your smartphone's GPS, but if you had to guess....this was it.
You had the feeling something had been tracking you this entire time through the forest. Now, it makes its move. You see in your right eye's peripheral vision, the-whatever-it-was, has emerged from the forest edge.
It's a very very old man. What he's dressed in appears quite modern. He looks like a guy that spends a lot of money at REI, but just got lost in the woods long enough for his clothes to be worn, dirty, smeared with black ash and ochre clay.
He speaks with an accent, but you can't tell if it's Scottish or Irish. He goes on to explain that he is a Sage. He admits he followed you through the Forest see what sort of magick you had, because not every creature in this realm is to be trusted. He is old, weak, and needs help to make the journey to his home. He does, however, know much about the Valley of Death. He hopes that between the two of you, you both might make it through.
So you travel through the Valley of Death, the old Sage teaching you as you go along. Here's what you've gathered so far.
First there are the vampyres. They do not sparkle, and when they go to feed their human visage gives way to a creature that resembles a demon more terrifying than Tom Cruise or the great Lord Xenu. The blood of the Fae is their ambrosia, but all manner of creature, magical or not, they may drink. They are only vulnerable to fire, the wooden stake, and the bite of the werewolf.
The werewolves of the Valley of Death stay mostly in their wolfish form, they live for the hunt and have almost forgotten what it is to be human. Careful - they use their human form mostly to find mates they can turn - if you're lucky. If you're not, these seemingly helpful villagers, lost in the Valley, will turn on you and eat your heart out. Really, just the heart.
The Fae, the favored flavor for the vampyr, hides in a dimension that can only be reached though the slick green algae ponds that dot the craggy barren rock from which shaggy shrubbery and tall trees seem to grow. It is easy to fall into these ponds. They are difficult to see through the fetid fog that hugs the peaty dank earth of the Valley of Death. Sometimes you will know that one is near by the sound and smell of sulfurous smoke that bubbles up. These Fae are no Tinkerbells. They will kidnap you and beat you to death, do unspeakable things with your corpse, and then eat you.
Then there are the Wendigos, originally human, but twisted by eating the flesh of other humans, they have been transformed into the ultimate undead hunter.
Really, the list goes on and on. At the end are the ghouls, eating what gnawed rotted flesh still remains from the kills.
...But these are the least terrifying creatures that inhabit this valley.
The Sage stops walking and looks at you. He licks his lips and swallows, moving his face closer to yours. You can smell the dirt on his clothes and in his beard, and something else... a musty, decaying odor. He puts his mouth close to your ear to whisper and you can feel the hairs on the back of your neck stand up as the wiry hairs from his mustache tickle you. His gnarled, claw-like hands grasp at your arms with surprising strength, making it impossible to get away.
"The most terrifying creature in this valley," he rasps into your ear, "the most terrifying creature in this valley is holding your hand right now." He twists your arms up so you can see his arthritic fingers entwined with yours. You want to move your head away from his, but find that you are suddenly paralyzed. His other hand creeps beneath your jacket to entwine his arm around your waist. He breathes heavily into your ear, gasping, "I am a moderator. Fear my wrath."
The item-maker made an item that could seer through anything. Or at least I am assuming that's what happened.
I'll edit. 
