Warriors of the Herculean, the time has come for us to bestow upon you an offering or a gift of sorts. Because we do have a heart, we at The Cryptic are gifting you with answers to some of your most asked questions.

1) WHAT IS A THEME?

The theme is the very heart and soul of your story. It is the underlying message of what your story intends to share with readers. It is never stated explicitly but it is something your readers should recognize and be able to decipher for themselves. 

Keep in mind that some stories have more than one theme. For the purpose of this contest, we only want ONE main theme. 

EXAMPLES OF THEMES IN LITERATURE:

Hamlet: Revenge.
Pride and Prejudice: Social Class does not determine a person's worth.
Angels and Demons: Religion versus science/Religious corruption.

Your theme could also be a life lesson or something simple like a reoccurring idea. 

2) WHAT IS A SUMMARY?

For the purpose of this task, a summary is a general overview (Without ALL of the details) of your story from beginning to end. Many of you may become upset as you want to keep your endings to yourself. We at The Cryptic understand. For that reason, we are going to change this task just a bit. You are to create a summary for your story WITHOUT giving the ending away. Word count still remains the same. You must still answer the who, what, when, where, why, and how in the story. Make us want to read your story.

3) HOW LONG WILL OUR STORY END UP BEING?

The exact count is to be a secret for now. This is a challenge. If we told you the word count you would have to write is 1k words, many of you would scurry to finish the task. If you are fortunate enough to survive to the final battle round, expect that your story WILL be longer than 1k but no more than 10k words. 

~~ THE STRINGS ~~

You may have wondered about the title of this chapter. In war, there is no such thing as a free gift. In the Herculean, it is unheard of. Your cover is your battle cry that gets the attention of readers. If your cover is unworthy, so are you as a warrior. Because we've been so kind in answering your questions, we are asking for something in return. We have created a reading list at The Cryptic. It is called the Herculean Warriors. You must check out each of your opponents' covers and in THIS CHAPTER vote for your favorite cover and tell us why it is your favorite cover. We at The Cryptic are curious as to which warrior will have the most coveted cover. If you DO NOT vote, it will count against you. Bonus points will be given to the warrior with the best cover. 

We'd wish you the best of luck but luck will not help you. Only your skills and bravery will save you in this round.