Worldbuilding Contest *Closed*

EDIT: Added link to a dA formatting guide! Ctrl+F "new" or skip directly down to the guidelines. 

Deadline is now July 31st. I won't be able to read the entries until after that, so that means more time for writing!
However, if I receive 50 submissions, I'm just going to close it for obvious reasons. (It probably won't get to that, but just in case)


Prizes
Satisfaction? /shot

1st place (must have at least four individual deviants submit an entry)
150  
Feature of winning story and any pieces involving this world the winner chooses 
Two (2) colored full-body sketches
A oneshot (2000-5000w) OR a fully-colored chibi OR a fully-colored half-body normal style

2nd place (must have at least eight individual deviants submit an entry)
75 OR 50 and a ficlet (under 500w) 
Feature of winning story and any two pieces involving this world
A colored headshot OR a colored full-body sketch OR two uncolored full-body sketches

3rd place (must have at least twelve individual deviants submit an entry)
25
Feature of winning story and one other piece involving this world
A full-body sketch

Honorable Mentions
Not sure if I will have these, but if I do, they will receive a colored sketch headshot and feature of winning story.

Point prizes may increase. Prize donations are welcome. Donators can also participate.
If there are 10 or fewer participants, all participants will receive a sketch headshot. If there are more than 10 participants random.org will choose the ten who will receive a sketch headshot. 
Anyone who wins anything from me (points, art, etc.) will receive a note, so it's not necessary to watch me for contest updates (unless you want to).




Premise
Niselise, Olix, and Arc travel to multiple worlds in pursuit of knowledge, money, and friendship.

Characters
(pixel image created by Kutori)

The Archivist, nicknamed Arc: An ethereal being, he exists between worlds without a world designation. He's socially awkward, but has a strong desire for companionship. Before he found the other two, he had existed with another being. One day, it disappeared and he took to travelling cross-dimensionally in search of his friend. Eventually, his loneliness got to him and he took on a corporal form so that he could interact with people. He can't stay in a corporal world for an extended period of time without resorting back to his ethereal form, so he began just visiting worlds and recording information about them. If a world discovers the multiverse, he'll visit and see how it works out, but if the multiverse "forces" itself on an unprepared world he'll remedy the intrusion. 

He closed a rip in a world after a trans-dimensional creature tore through it, only to discover an injured Olix after the fact. He took him to a multi-dimensional house to recover and Olix decided to stay. Later, a hole is ripped in another world and he quickly patches it up. Unfortunately, he hadn't realize it was a (wo)manmade hole, which would be considered the world's first foray into discovering the multiverse. He tries to extract himself, except Niselise invites herself along. During this time, Arc had continued to search for his friend, but Niselise insists they all get to explore the multiverse. For the most part, Arc lets the others walk all over him without complaint. However, he will take a stand if he believes they will have a significant impact on a world's history or if he believes he has found a clue to his friend's whereabouts.

--

Olix, pronounced Ollie: comes from the world designated: IR3-2-11, a world thought to be comprised primarily of ocean. Olix was formerly the pirate captain of the Sea Demon. After a particularly daring attack, Olix took his ship farther than any other vessel had gone to escape the authorities. While in the middle of the ocean, his ship was attacked by a trans-dimensional creature. He fell through the portal behind the creature after seeing the rest of his crew perish. Arc rescued him and offered to take him back to his homeworld. However, after the death of his crew he couldn't bear to return to it. He feels intense guilt about his crew, but he is regaining his upbeat personality. It helps that he's established a new crew. 

While Arc might have brought the three of them together, Olix keeps them together. He can be a bit overprotective. If he feels like one of the others is in danger, he's likely to break in guns blazing and ask questions never. He was against the idea of exploring the multiverse, especially if there's no real reward, but he would hardly let Arc and Niselise travel by themselves. Neither has the sense to stay out of trouble. Olix is also very charismatic and charming; capable of talking himself out many situations. He's mostly straight, but he's willing to try anything and anyone at least once.

--

Niselise, pronounced like niece-Elise: comes from the world designated: IR3-2-12, a high tech world that must upgrade its citizens to keep them relevant in a world with rapid technological advances. Niselise has gone through life un-upgraded without detriment. She suspects there was some genetic tampering, but never met her parents and has no desire to. She's smart, often too smart for her own good. She's been known to throw caution to the wind in the pursuit of knowledge, developing a blind spot for danger if there's a chance to learn something. She might find herself in the role of damsel in distress, but she's bright and inventive and could create an instrument of escape Macgyver-style in a pinch. 

Niselise is very aware of her own genius and appreciates anyone who marvels at it with her. Rules of society mean very little to her. They're necessary to control the drones of society, not her. Niselise joined the group last, after she discovered the multi-verse by accidentally blowing a hole in her own universe. Arc patched it up to prevent overflow, but she decided to stay with the group. It was her idea to explore and catalogue the multiverse. After all the adventures they've been on together, Niselise finds herself occasionally struck with bouts of sentimentality toward the guys. She tries to keep the useless emotions to herself, but it's obvious she cares for them.


Logistics
Arc's ethereal form is basically a ball of red light. Arc's corporal form can be injured, but he can't be killed. He can take on any form, but the pictured form is his favorite.
Arc is the only one who can open portals.
Arc can understand all languages. 
Niselise created a device that can translate any language after some exposure to it.
Residing in a multi-dimensional house has adapted Niselise and Olix to most air quality. 

Guidelines
1. It's a story, not a travelogue. The characters should be interacting with the environment not passively observing it. Be creative. Make it interesting.

2. All three characters should be present in the world. They should all enter and leave the world. What happens to them in between is up to you.

3. This is an exploration of your world. Not your novel. Characters from your novel should not have a significant role in the story. Cameo appearances are not forbidden, but chances are I haven't read your novel before and it'll just look like an extraneous detail. There can be exceptions, of course, if your characters are a part of the setting, but it has to make sense. 

4. Stories should stand alone. Prior knowledge should not be necessary to understand your story. It begins with the characters' arrival and ends with them leaving. Don't leave them stranded! Don't permanently kill or maim them!

5. NEW: fav.me/d3n24uj. Make sure you know what a badly formatted story looks like and don't do it. 

You can create your own classification number if you want. Classification can be created by two letters from your username with a 'verse number designation (IR4 is the fourth 'verse) - story number within the 'verse (2 means second story in the 'verse) - last two digits of the year the verse was created (11 means it was created in 2011).


Everything in a Nutshell
Deadline: 11:59 EST, June 30, 2013 11:59 EST, July 31st, 2013
Medium: Prose only, at least 3000 words.
Genre: Any
Content/Rating: Any in keeping with dA's policies
Language: English
Submitting: Comment here with a link to your entry. Unlimited amount of entries. 
Judging: By me on the story, the characters, the world, and basic mechanics.

Questions?