The writing challenge ended today, and I have to say, I am very impressed with the creative ways that you found to use the required elements. (Which, by the way, were a horn, a fire, a cloak, a lion, and a medieval setting.) Anyway, without further ado, here are the stories!

Ariel-
Princess Zya glanced up furtively, her green eyes darting about. Her heavy blue cloak rippled behind her as she sprinted across a wide stretch of field, then somersaulted into a crouch behind a tall, wide maple tree on the outskirts of the field. Letting out a long-held breath, Zya peered around the craggy trunk of the tree, then immediately jerked back, breathing hard.  
The lion had not left.
He prowled about, shaking his huge head, his golden mane swooping about his face. He looked as if he was waiting for something. And Zya knew it was herself. She rested her head against the tree, looking up at the lush green leaves which filtered the soft moonlight onto the ground. She didn't know what to do next. A soft growl came from nearby, and Zya pressed a hand to her hammering heart, shaking her head in exasperation. She was supposed to be a fearless, brave, and valiant sword maiden, not a cowering, trembling little princess! Setting her chin, and straightening her long, white skirt, Zya was about to risk coming into the lion's sight when she saw something. A little, bright flicker of light which vanished as soon as she saw it. Was it really there? Zya knew it would be better to go see where the light was coming from than risking getting devoured by a savage lion, so she moved towards the light's former location. It was near a cave that Zya had seen a couple months ago, as she rarely came out into this field. It was a good distance from the field, so it took Zya several minutes to reach it. Once she had, though, she saw that the light she saw was emitted from a torch. A handsome, dark-eyed young man of about seventeen or eighteen was holding the torch, standing at the entrance of the cave. He held a horn in his hand, nearly ready to blow it, when he gave a little yelp of surprise to see a white-clothed young woman stepping out of the shadows.
"Sister, you always give me such a fright!" he exclaimed. "I was about to blow the horn to summon you!"
Zya said teasingly," Well, good knight, there was no need. The lion did not get me this time, nor shall he ever."
He rolled his eyes. "Come, Zya. There is an escape route through here. We must get you safely home."
Zya laughed fondly at her brother as he grabbed her hand and tugged her out of the cave.
And the lion is still prowling around outside in the field, mulling over in his mind how he shall next time capture the heir to the throne.

Hanna R.-
Sequoia lifted her two fronts paws up on the large boulder, before leaping up onto it with feline gracefulness. The steep mountain-side stretched down before her to a hazy, tree-screened view of the valley. She could dimly hear horses and unicorns neighing down on the plains below; the ring of unsheathed steel, and the clank of armor. The army was preparing for war down there. Ruth walked down the steep, rocky slope behind her at a slower pace and came to stand beside the boulder where Sequoia sat, gently running a hand over her coarse fur. Sequoia wished she could speak the humans tongue. Or Ruth could speak the language of the Great Cats like Daniel could. Ever since Daniel had gone away Sequoia had been unable to say a word to the human she had grown up with; the girl who had played with her, and fed her as a cub. The one who had saved her life, and brought her to Daniel. She could see the hilt of Ruth's sheathed sword peeping from under her dark brown cloak, but King Triumph would never allow a girl to follow his banner into such a bloody conflict—unless, of course, that girl was a lioness. How she wished that she could tell the young man-cub how much she meant to her, just one last time before she left—perhaps the last time. Ruth sat down on the rock and wrapped her arm around the lion's neck. Sequoia twisted back to lick her cheek. Suddenly a horn sounded from the valley. Ruth stood up as the large cat leapt to her feet at the sound—the King was calling his troops to the battle. The Enemy had come. Even high on the mountain, Sequoia could feel the breeze coming from the dragon's beating wings, gentle but menacingly warm, ruffling her fur. The huge monsters themselves were already visible as dim shadows, plunging towards the valley; perilous, deadly. Above them, drifting in surprisingly peaceful circles, were the birds of prey—waiting to be fed, like a dog waits by his dish for his master to feed him. The flicker of flames rose up beneath the swooping dragons, and an orange blow sprang up in the trees. Sequoia jumped down from the rock, and turned toward Ruth. Her yellow-green eyes met her dear girl's sky-blue ones, a last time, before the lioness turned and bounded down the slope, towards the danger and turmoil of the valley below.

Jaidyn-
Alay sat down, defeated on a hard rock on the side of a giant hill, muttering, "Martina and her gang can't go on like this forever."
Martina was Alay's enemy, whom she did not like one bit. 
And now, she has killed Alay's best friend and pet unicorn, Arainy.
"Oh, how I wish she was still with me!" Alay said, thinking about Arainy.
Alay wrapped herself tighter in her red velvet cloak.
Martina had killed Arainy in a fire, and right in front of thre poor, tied up Alay. 
The only reason Alay was on the hill, was because she had escaped. 
She took out the horn- that was crumpled up in the fire that Arainy was burned in. She tried blowing what was left of it, but it was no use. She couldn't blow it. Then she remembered something.
She had once heard a tale about an old lion, that had once lived on the hill of rock slid. And that's where she was!
She ran to the other side of the hill, and there, she saw the lion.
She went over to it, and petted it's silky main.
" Hey pretty,"Alay said to the lion.
The lion just nodded it's head.
" Can you help me?" Alay asked.
The lion nodded her head yes.
" Which way is home?" Alay asked.
The lion pointed with her paw.
" Thank you, lion!" Alay sobbed into her giant beast's fur.
Then after saying farewell, Alay set off for home.
THE END!

Ellen-
He pulled his cloak closer around himself as the rain went from a light drizzle to a heavy down pour. Even though it was a crusader's cloak made out of heavy cotton, it didn't warm even a part of him. The fire he had lit not three minutes ago was dead but the wet ashes still hissed as if mad with rage. He knew that walking to the nearest house was his only option, no matter how far it was. He got up and started walking, not sure of the direction. As he walked he thought about the past few days. The days had changed his life forever; the days that seemed like a blur and a bad dream. If they had just taken his horn he wouldn't have minded that much, but his lion? No, this was unbearable. It was injustice. The wrong he had done was not by any means the wrong that deserved this punishment. Stripped of everything and left to die. What could he do now for the King? He didn't have anything except the cloak he took out of a horse's saddle bag. Where could he find Nyaz, his faithful and true, four-footed friend? Where was his horn, that was his father's dying gift to him? What would become of..........her? Sweet little Rowena, the baker's daughter, whom he had adopted as a sister. He would never see any of those things again. They had taken everything from him. His life purpose now, was to find them again.

Lily Miller-
(This is part of my series Kindom Legacy, so some parts may not seem to make sense) Cecilia Collingwood ran through the streets of Azorath. As temporary ruler she wasn't allowed to roam freely through the trademarkets and barrels of the town, but this was important. Her red cloak hid her face as she warned people, the beacons were lit, war was upon the Collingwoods. "ODIS!!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!!! YOU NEED TO GET TO SAFETY!" She searched for the orphan and his sister, but couldn't find them. She pushed through the merchants and townsfolk as her screams filled the air. Where was the boy? He could be anywhere! She stood there in the streets as warm tears fell down her face when she heard. the voice of her brother Edward. "There she is, bind her hands, we don't need anymore trouble from the rebellious queen." She cried and screamed out of shock and misery. "But Odis, Edward! I must get them to safety! I can't let them die!" "Do not speak to me of that forlorn orphan and his ill dying baby sister! I have seen you Cecilia, out here in the streets, talking to villagers! Giving them food. This rebellion must end Cecilia." Edward turned away and led them to the castle.

"You are to not leave the palace until war. Even in battle we can scarcely trust you." The golden haired nineteen year old took his sister to the thrones and they sat there until battle. The two siblings talked as they waited, they stopped as they heard the trumpet call. "They are here." Cecilia rushed to the balcony. The entrance to the city was surrounded, the warriors were on lions. "Call for Aurora and the others, we need their armies." she ordered Edward. She turned to the city "PEOPLE OF AZORATH! WE HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED! GET YOUR WEAPONS! PREPARE FOR WAR!!" She ran down to the armories for weapons and armour, but the search was interrupted by a loud, explosive noise that shook the kingdom and that was the last thing she remembered. 

"Where is Cecilia?" Aurora asked, she needed her sister at her side, this was true war, not the warrior game they played as children. "I think she is down in the armory." Aurora rushed through the rubble, it hit the castle. "Cecilia? Are you down here? Where are you? Are you alright?" She slowly walked through the halls of the armory, where she found her sister on the floor. Aurora rushed to her sister who's eyes were not open. "Cecilia?" She laid her head to her heart to check her pulse, she was still breathing. Cecilia was alive, but injured. "She is breathing." Edward walked toward his siblings. "They shot with flames. Stop crying Aurora, she is alive."

Great job, everyone! 

Ever since I saw the writing challenge on Hanna's blog, I've been wanting to do one. So... here goes!

The general guidelines are as follows:
-Please post it in the comments when you are done with it. You can make it a couple paragraphs long, if you want. 
-The time period is medieval. Your story may be in a historical country, a fantasy one, or you may choose to not say which it is. 

They can either play a large role, or just be briefly mentioned, but you must use these elements/objects in your story:
-A horn
-A fire
-A cloak
-A lion

Have fun! I look forward to seeing what you come up with! I plan on posting the entries in another post. The deadline is next Saturday, the 14th of November.

"Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants."

 God's fingerprint is all around us. Think of the whales. Scientists are unsure exactly why they sing such complex songs. But isn't this clear in the Bible?

"Let them praise the name of the Lord! For He commanded and they were created. And He established them forever and ever; He gave a decree, and it shall not pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds!"

There's something about singing God's praises. Nothing else is quite like it. Singing captures your whole body, and has a way of lifting your heart. It makes you want to run, to fly. To be nearer to that wonderful God who is pulling you beyond yourself. It fills you with joy. Not merely fleeting happiness, but joy.

"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

And who but God could make such a great and awesome creation? When we look at a painting, we don't wonder if there was an artist. We know there was an artist by the fact that there is a painting. Such design as what we see in creation cannot just happen. God's fingerprint is all around us. In the song of a whale, in a whisper of wind, God's creation is singing His praises.

 “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind."

July hosted a rare event. For one week, all of my Mom's immediate family was in the same state. This is quite a feat, seeing as everyone is scattered from Guam to New Jersey. We had a great time together, and look forward to seeing each other next year. Below are some pictures of some fun things we did together. :-)

  One day we will stand before the righteous judge, and our actions will be weighed. What will we say? Maybe something along the lines of, “You should see my Minecraft world”? Of course not, right? We see how absurd that would be. And yet - is that not how we tend to live? I am ashamed when I stop and think about just how much I am focused on the things of this world. We need to lift our eyes up out of this self-serving mindset, and set our minds on the things above. That’s more of a challenge than it sounds like. It means living every day in service to the King. 

  Recently my Papa gave me some advice that has really changed the way I think about things. It was simply, “Learn all you can.” It seems pretty basic, doesn’t it? But if you really think about it, it is very counter-cultural. Society and our own laziness tells us that our youth is the time to seek entertainment. To do whatever we want, and settle down later, if at all. 
  
  However, in 1 Timothy 4, Paul writes, "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” What part of that gives us any excuse to waste what God has given us? I believe that it would make a huge difference in our lives if we would start viewing everything as an opportunity to learn and serve. And in this serving, God has given a gift. Joy. Overflowing, abundant, Christ-centered joy. Nothing can be better than being a servant. Doesn't that sound like our God? He takes something that others consider menial, and he turns it into something satisfying. 

This past week, my grandpa took me fishing with him. All together, I would estimate that we caught somewhere around twenty fish, even though only six were big enough to keep. I caught about eight or nine fish. Most of them were bluegill, but I did catch one large-mouth bass. (We had to throw him back, since he was pretty tiny. He had a huge mouth, but a tiny body.)

We had a great time, but the best part was spending time with Papa. While the fish were soon eaten, something more lasting came out of that excursion than just a delicious meal. The memories that were created will last for a long time. He is a wonderful Papa, and I always enjoy being with him.

This is a stop motion that my friend Isaac and I made last night. It is about a skateboarder who is quite oblivious to anything happening around him. You may have to watch it several times to see everything that is happening, as it goes very fast. Thanks, Isaac!

Cicadas cease their riot,
Gone is the sun.
Now all is quiet.
The night has begun.

Fingerprints from their Maker
Can be seen all around.
From the moonlight that wavers,
To the leaves on the ground.