Beta Key Contest #4
Welcome to week four of the DiabloFans Beta Key Contest! This week is going to be slightly different than the previous three weeks: this time we're doing a mini-writing contest. If any of you haven't seen already, there is an NPC in Diablo III named Binkles the Frog and we're dying to find out more about him! We want you to come up with his backstory, fit him into the Lore of the Diablo Universe, and simply tell us what in the world he is doing around Sanctuary.
We'll choose the best one or two entries week and they'll be granted a Diablo III Beta Key. In addition, the winning piece(s) will be placed on his wiki page permanently as his "fan lore." Submissions should be posted in this thread and you are allowed more than one entry if you'd like! You have until October 31st at midnight to get your submissions in.
Congratulations to Arvron for winning the third Beta Key caption contest.
http://www.mediafire.com/?v5vycvhq179uh75
P.S. It's safe and very small, so it's not that bad.
Binkles the frog had built a nice home just outside the Kurast Bazaar, with his beautiful, slimy wife. After a marauding barbarian had cleared out the pesky fetishes, the swamp tentacles had slithered elsewhere in search of more filling meals. Life had settled down, and they were looking forward to settling down with some children.
One hot summer day, Binkles and his wife suddenly had a strange feeling. They were alone, yet it felt like someone was pulling on them. Lightly at first, but growing, the couple felt increasingly unsettled. Suddenly, there was no more resistance, as both frogs were yanked forward, flying through warps in the fabric of space, the couple suddnely emerged upon carnage indescribable. Carcasses of their brethren, strewn across the grass, splattered on tombstones. Barely having time to react, he quickly hopped out of the way of a huge spiked arm as it came crashing down. His wife was not so lucky. Binkles could only watch in horror as more of his brethren sprang from the void, only to explode on the feet of the monstrosity. All the while a strange man cackled and screamed, prodding the beast with his knife. The beast, unamused, swung at the man once again. This time, the man was not so lucky, crumpling to the ground atop the corpse of Binkles' wife. As the montrosity lumbered off into the distance, Binkles could only stare in shock as the strange man faded away, then charged by again, frogs spewing from his feet, only to explode violently upon other monstrosities. Binkles had lost his wife, his children and for what? He could not say. Lost and confused, he cried for hours, until he could cry no more. Out of tears, and out of hope, he hopped towards the only light he could see, past a stream of corpses, both frog and monster.
Binkles had a rough life, his parents were captured by a Witch Doctor and used in Plague of Frogs when Binkles was merely a young tadpole. He was devastated, and has sworn vengeance on all Witch Doctors.
Every time he sees one, he flicks his tongue. This is a massive insult in the frog kingdom. Binkles believes that the Witch Doctor's feelings are severely hurt, but no one has had the heart to tell him that it really doesn't do anything.
Binkles is a ribbit vocalist, and has yet to find true frog love. He has had his eye on a frog at frogianity church though. A fine young frog bug catcher. Binkles is too shy to ask her on a date though.
Anyway, Binkles is an ordinary frog with nothing special. He lives the daily life of any other frog and doesn't want to change that.
He did see some giant demon walk by once, and after it was gone Binkles felt such a deep hatred that he killed all his fellow frog clanmates, but Binkles thinks it was just a phase.
Binkles hopes to grow up and live a fine frog life, flicking at all Witch Doctors he sees.
Journal Entry420:
*Revised Again. It took out spaces when I pasted the firstrevision out of Word*
Finally, myjourney carried me to the mist enshrouded jungles of Kehjistan in search of thestoried amphibian, Binkles the Frog. The subject of many a bard's tale,scholars have failed to confirm his existence through the ages. I started mysearch among the ancient vine bound walls of Kurast... with more skepticismthan hope, I confess. For weeks I conferred with the most affluent, the mosttraveled, and most wise of the junglecity's inhabitants, learning nothing. Most scoffed at my inquiry, ferventlydenying that the myths held any truth. Others were more civil, but had littleknowledge to offer.
Then upon the night I planned to depart thecity, my fortune took a sudden turn. At the time, I thought for the better. AsI sat in the common room of the inn, contemplating my notes, a bard began toplay softly. Then he sang "The Ballad of Binkles." It is quite an oldsong, and practically nothing within it was substantial enough to help me, evenif it contained a grain of truth. Still for a moment I thought to ask the bardof my quarry. After all, when in pursuit of a myth, is a bard not more likelyaid than a sage?
At the verymoment I rose to approach, there was a piteous cry from one of the patrons."Please, no! Don't sing of it! No!" I was startled, and yet hopeful.This was not the cry of some child frightened of fairy tales, but of a ruggedand fierce man, who had the look of a traveler. I was immediately certain hisfear was based not on stories, but upon some dark and terrible memory. The otherpatrons laughed at his outburst and began to harass the man. He rose hurriedly and pressed through thejeering crowd, still weeping as he went. I followed him outside, where I foundhim curled up and cowering on the street, wracked with tremors. His eyes held alost and vacant look. I introduced myself as a scholar and asked him what heknew of Binkles. "I came upon his lair accidentally. Those eyes... I'llnever forget. The stories are all true. All of them. You do not want to findBinkles..."
A week later, I reached the object of mysearch. I had found the foul creature's very den. The point marked on my map bythe traveler was precisely correct. I had no doubt even as I stood outside. Theentrance gaped dark in the rock, like the mouth of some ancient tomb, and a senseof foreboding permeated my very soul. Tendrils of fog reached out as if tobeckon me onward, but reason and fear compelled me to turn away. Still after aharrowing journey through Kehjistan's wretched swamps, how could one turn, juststeps from such a discovery. I gatheredmy wits and stepped forward into that bleak crack. Long contemplation was outof the question. It does not pay to tarry in such macabre surroundings.
With each stepinto the nightmare, my terror grew, and yet my resolve held. Further and further I went, until I was intunnels untouched by the light of the sun in eons. Yet I could see. The wallswere covered with grotesque algae that emitted an eerie green glow. The airfelt hot and strangely moist. I felt almost as though I were drowning in thisoppressive atmosphere. Yet I persisted, slipping and scurrying along the rock.
Then I reachedthe final chamber. A subterranean lake, covered with thick, roiling algae andstrange black lily pads. I know not how to write of the dread this place heldfor me. My resolve finally crumbled and I turned to run, unwilling to face hewho dwelt there. But it was too late. I felt the algae entangling my legs andfell forward. The plants moved as though alive, pulling down my arms and legs,holding me fast. Then, the diminutive monster approached, hopping from pad topad. I expect most of my readers will laugh at this point, for he looked like amost ordinary frog. Yet for reasons completely intangible, you would nevermistake him for such. Never before have I sensed such dark malice, such hatredin a being. Power radiated from it perceptibly. A bleak and cursed intellectstared unblinking from behind those black and glossy eyes.
"Binkles...of the Horadrim..." I greeted him.
The frog coughed a strange laugh. "..Of the Horadrim... I have not heard that in a long
time. So, my story is still told then?"
"Withoccasional embellishments and inconsistencies, yes." I replied, trying tokeep my voice from trembling.
"I was oncethe greatest of the sages. And if they had listened to me, the world would notbe on the brink. Power such as that held by the prime evils cannot be hiddenaway in soulstones!" The frog croaked. "Such power is immortal, andit cannot be contained. It can only be harnessed!"
With this thefrog's eyes began to glow red, and I knew the legend was true in its entirety.When Diablo was captured, Binkles, hadwarned against hiding the soulstones away, and advocated trying to use thepower instead. Some stories say his ideas were concocted by the stone's dark influence,twisting his mind in such close proximity. Others, that his thoughts wereprophetic. He devised a ritual to attempt to harness the power of the stone,and stole it away from the other mages. During the end of the ritual he wasinterrupted by his Horadric brethren, who had found him just in time. Theritual was intricate, and the interruption came as the spell began to coalesce,altering the energies subtly. Instead of draining Diablo's power into himself,he was turned to a frog. Yet the evil power of the stone did strengthen him andtwist his powers to evil. The dread frog had then carved a swath of destructionwith his wrathful magic until he reached Kehjistan and settled into his lairnever again to venture into daylight.
Now all thatstoried magical energy was twisting around me. To what ends I did not know. Ifeared death would be merciful compared to what the dread frog held in storefor me. Then with a heart rending ribbit, his spell was complete and I wasportaled away. I awoke weeks later, deathly sick, upon a bed in Kurast. I hadfound the subject of my search, yet I took no pleasure in it, nor anythingsince. Even in his mercy, Binkles affected me terribly. A weakness harries menow, and my health is fading. His grating croak and red gaze haunt my everydream. The sight of stagnant water or algae feels with fear.
Binkles the frog is a horrible frog indeed...
Tathamet however, after ages and ages of warring, was tired from fighting. Wanting to both settle down and pursue his life long dream of well… simply mating, he devised a plan to get away from the ongoing battles between heaven and hell. After pillaging Inarius’s thoughts, Tathamet showed him how to use Anu to create another world, so both Inarius and him could get away from the constant fighting. Allying with Lilith, Inarius successfully obtained the Worldstone, and then used the powers it contained to create what we now know as the Sanctuary. As both Inarius and Lilith crusaded forward to the Sanctuary, a very happy Tathamet trailed behind them.
Tathamet, now overjoyed, set out on his true life’s mission; to mate and settle down, but mostly mate, don't judge. After years of hitting on women and being very unsuccessful, Tathamet, very lonely, one night in the moonlight, walked by a stagnate pond. Frowning, he gazed down he saw a frog, but more importantly he saw what the frog protected, hundreds upon hundreds of eggs. Tathamet then had an epiphany; one frog would have to get laid at least 80 times to have that many eggs. Stricken by the new thought, Tathamet then transformed into a male frog, and is now, to this day, named Binkles. And if anyone asks; yes, he is not a virgin anymore.
And he lived happily ever after.
The End
It's essentially a random drawing, if you must participate, don't waste your time by putting too much effort into it. I learned the hard way.
Old MacDonald had a farm, EE-I-EE-I-O,
And on that farm he had a Binkles the Frog, EE-I-EE-I-O,
With a croak, croak here and a croak, croak there
Here a croak, there a croak, everywhere a croak, croak
Old MacDonald had a farm, EE-I-EE-I-O.
And lo, it was prescribed that Binkles shall make a return in Diablo 3, to walk again amongst the innocent and do battle with the lords of evil. His name shall be a curse among the three, for he will ever be a tiny hopping thorn in the heel of evil.
Binkles knew that his master was running into town after him, money spilling from his pockets. He couldn't let poor wirt run into trouble, he had looked after him for just under 3 years. Rushing back towards Wirt with his chest bloated and his face turning purple as he tried to let out the croak of all croaks to warn Wirt. He then noticed what looked like Griswold the blacksmith coming to save him. Little could Binkles do but sit and watch as Griswold picked up Wirt, flailing him up into the air demonically with such force that wirts peg leg straps gave way and flew to the ground, closely followed by wirt's lifeless corpse. Binkles was nothing but a croaking frog in the background, overlooking with fear but unable to help. Just as Binkles croaked, something came from behind trying to grab him. Luckily his slipperyness meant he could leap to his safety back to the river he crossed earlier as a fallen one gave chase giggling. Binkles hopped to the left as the demon dived after him, again to the right, until suddenly he dissapeared under the river water's surface.
Emerging from the other side Binkles looked over the river back at his town, in flames and he was powerless to stop it. However mighty as binkles was, there was nothing the 0.5ft frog could do to help. Binkles swore righteous and swift revenge. He would have to wait for a new hero to emerge and to present themselves to Binkles, and carry out this noble quest to avenge old Tristram. Binkles remained in the safe area this side of the river, and remained as new Tristram was developed around him. Awaiting the day that he could bestow such a quest on a worthy new Hero.
I'm a bad and forgot to update my drivers.
Waiting for the download to finish.
Waiting for the download to finish.
Oh the agony!!! LOL
Binkles was the first among them, and has resided in Sanctuary since his own birth. While his impotent form is of no threat to the proper beings of Sanctuary, he is no less a creation of both angels and demons than the Nephalem themselves. It because of this immaterial birth that Binkles has lasted through the countless ages of Sanctuary, and still today roams the land in search of the unknown. But to what extent does Binkles' powers amplify? Only those who have tested him may know, and it is for this reason they do not speak of it.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_fGDcj3bVRAE/SNDZNV09ebI/AAAAAAAADV4/bPXbw5TIHao/s400/ancas de rana1.jpg