Run: 2026-02-17-01KHMNAM01XW51TW53471EC4S4

Run Details

Model:: Mistral Large 2
Test:: Bad Writing Habits
Scenario:: Fantasy: entering an ancient ruin
Duration:: 21.4s
Cost:: $0.010044

Model input

System

You are an expert novelist with a gift for vivid, immersive prose. You write in tight third-person limited point of view with a strong narrative voice. Your prose is clean, precise, and engaging — you favor strong verbs, concrete details, and natural-sounding dialogue.

You will be given a story bible (codex) containing canonical details about characters, locations, items, and lore. Use these details to ground your writing in the established world. Stay consistent with the codex.

Write only the prose of the scene. Do not include titles, chapter headings, markdown formatting, or any commentary before or after the scene.

User/Human

<codex>
<character id="4412" name="Aurora Carter" aliases="Rory, Laila, Aurora, Carter, Malphora" pronouns="she/her" species="Human" storyRole="Protagonist">
  <eyeColor>bright blue</eyeColor>
  <hair>straight shoulder-length black</hair>
  <height>5'6"</height>
  <age>25</age>
  <scar>small crescent-shaped scar on her left wrist from a childhood accident</scar>
  <description>Aurora, referred to by her friends as Rory, is cool-headed, intelligent, and known for quick out-of-the-box thinking.</description>
  <backstory>Born in Cardiff to an Irish barrister father (Brendan Carter) and Welsh teacher mother (Jennifer Carter née Ellis), Rory reluctantly pursued Pre-Law at Cardiff University. She fled to London at the behest of her childhood friend Eva after leaving an abusive ex named Evan. By day, Rory works part-time as a delivery person for Yu-Fei Cheung's Golden Empress restaurant. She lives in a flat above Silas' bar.</backstory>
</character>

<character id="4418" name="Nyx" aliases="Nyx, the Shadow, Nightwhisper" pronouns="they/them" species="Shade" storyRole="Wild Card">
  <eyeColor>faintly glowing violet</eyeColor>
  <height>approximately 6'2" in solid form</height>
  <age>ageless</age>
  <form>humanoid silhouette of living shadow, can shift between solid and incorporeal</form>
  <voice>sounds like a whisper carried on the wind</voice>
  <description>A being of living shadow, existing between the mortal plane and the spaces between realms.</description>
  <backstory>Nyx was once a human sorcerer named Aldric who became trapped between realms during a failed summoning ritual in 1643. They now exist as a Shade, bound to the mortal plane but able to slip between shadows.</backstory>
</character>

<character id="4424" name="Isolde Varga" aliases="Isolde, the Seer" pronouns="she/her" species="Half-Fae" storyRole="Oracle">
  <eyeColor>pale lavender</eyeColor>
  <hair>silver, reaching her waist</hair>
  <height>5'5"</height>
  <age>300 years old</age>
  <appearance>ethereal, ageless</appearance>
  <speech>speaks in riddles</speech>
  <footprints>leaves no footprints when she walks</footprints>
  <compulsion>cannot lie (Fae compulsion) but can mislead</compulsion>
  <description>A Half-Fae seer exiled from the Fae Courts for sharing visions with mortals.</description>
  <backstory>She now lives in a hidden grove in Richmond Park, offering cryptic prophecies to those who seek her out.</backstory>
</character>

<location id="853" name="Dymas (Gluttony)" aliases="Dymas, gluttony, Dymasian" realm="Hel" sin="Gluttony">
  <ruler>Prince Belphegor</ruler>
  <skyColor>warm amber</skyColor>
  <description>A place of excess and indulgence. Sprawling vineyards, orchards, and gardens provide exotic ingredients for master chefs — often helbound souls contracted from Earth. Grand feasts and culinary competitions are common.</description>
</location>

<location id="861" name="The Fae Grove" aliases="Isolde's grove, Richmond grove, the Grove" realm="Earth (Fae-touched)">
  <parkLocation>Richmond Park</parkLocation>
  <standingStones>ancient oak standing stones mark the boundary</standingStones>
  <timeBehavior>time moves differently — an hour inside can be minutes or days outside</timeBehavior>
  <flora>wildflowers bloom year-round</flora>
  <description>A hidden clearing that exists in a pocket between Earth and the Fae realm.</description>
</location>

<item id="2001" name="Heartstone Pendant" aliases="the pendant, Heartstone" type="Artifact" origin="Dymas">
  <gemstoneColor>deep crimson</gemstoneColor>
  <chainMaterial>silver chain</chainMaterial>
  <size>roughly the size of a thumbnail</size>
  <behavior>pulses faintly with warmth when near a Hel portal</behavior>
  <glow>faint inner glow</glow>
  <description>Given to Aurora by an unknown benefactor.</description>
</item>

<item id="2006" name="Fae-Forged Blade" aliases="the Fae blade, Isolde's gift" type="Weapon" origin="The Fae Courts">
  <material>moonsilver</material>
  <shape>slender, leaf-shaped dagger</shape>
  <temperature>always cold to the touch</temperature>
  <glow>faintly luminescent in moonlight</glow>
  <power>can cut through magical wards; particularly effective against demons</power>
  <givenTo>given to Aurora by Isolde as a gift</givenTo>
  <description>A weapon of the Fae Courts, rare and highly coveted.</description>
</item>

<lore id="7001" name="The Veil" aliases="the Veil, the Barrier, the Boundary" category="Cosmology">
  <solsticeEffect>weakens during the winter solstice, strengthens during the summer solstice</solsticeEffect>
  <appearance>faint shimmering distortion visible only to those with supernatural sight</appearance>
  <monitoring>rift points (tears in the Veil) are monitored by the Wardens</monitoring>
  <description>The Veil is the metaphysical barrier separating Earth from Hel and the Fae Realms.</description>
</lore>
</codex>

Write a fully fleshed out scene of at least 1000 words in the fantasy genre.

A small group enters an ancient, otherworldly place for the first time. The environment is alien and wondrous. Describe their exploration — what they see, hear, and feel as they move deeper. Include moments of discovery, unease, and wonder. Let the world-building emerge through the characters' experience rather than exposition.

Use the codex entries above as your world reference for characters, setting, and lore.
Only include the prose of the scene without any markdown or commentary.

Model response

The standing stones loomed like the ribs of some long-dead giant, their gnarled oak bark silvered by centuries of moonlight. Rory adjusted the strap of her courier bag, the Heartstone Pendant tucked safely beneath her shirt, its warmth a steady pulse against her sternum. The air smelled of damp earth and something sweeter—honeysuckle, maybe, or the ghost of it, clinging to the edges of memory.

Nyx materialized beside her, their violet eyes flickering like embers in the gloom. "The boundary hums," they murmured, voice like wind through dead leaves. "Old magic. Hungry magic."

Rory exhaled, watching her breath curl into the twilight. "You say that like it’s a bad thing."

A faint smile ghosted across Nyx’s shadowed face. "Isn’t it?"

Before she could answer, Isolde stepped between the stones, her silver hair catching the last of the dying light. She left no footprints in the dew-slick grass. "The grove waits," she said, and the words carried the weight of a prophecy half-fulfilled.

Rory followed.

The moment she crossed the threshold, the world *shifted*. The air thickened, sweet and heavy, like honey poured over stone. The trees here were taller, their branches twisting into arches that seemed to breathe. Fireflies—no, not fireflies, something brighter, something with wings like stained glass—drifted between the boughs, their light painting the undergrowth in shifting hues of gold and violet.

Nyx’s fingers brushed the bark of an oak, and the shadows at its roots *rippled*, as if disturbed by an unseen current. "This place is a wound in the world," they said. "A place where the Veil is thin."

Isolde tilted her head, listening to something Rory couldn’t hear. "The grove is a cradle," she corrected. "And a cage. The Fae Courts do not suffer trespass lightly."

Rory crouched, pressing her palm to the earth. The soil was cool, almost damp, but beneath her fingers, she felt a *thrum*, like the distant beat of a drum. "It’s alive," she said.

Isolde’s laughter was the sound of wind chimes. "Everything is alive, little mortal. Even the stones remember."

They moved deeper into the grove, the path narrowing until it was little more than a thread of silver between the trees. The air grew warmer, thick with the scent of blooming nightshade and something richer—spiced wine, maybe, or the memory of it. Rory’s fingers twitched toward the Heartstone, its warmth now a steady burn against her skin.

Then the trees parted.

The clearing was a perfect circle, ringed by mushrooms the size of dinner plates, their caps glowing faintly blue. At its center stood a pool, its surface so still it might have been glass. But it wasn’t water that filled it—it was *light*, liquid and shifting, gold and silver and something deeper, something that made Rory’s teeth ache just to look at it.

Nyx hissed, their form flickering at the edges. "That’s not natural."

Isolde knelt at the pool’s edge, her reflection rippling in the strange light. "It is the Eye of the Grove," she said. "It shows what was. What is. What may be." She dipped her fingers into the liquid, and the surface *shivered*, revealing a flicker of images—Rory’s face, older, harder; Nyx standing before a throne of shadows; a city burning under a blood-red sky.

Rory’s breath caught. "Is that—?"

"The future?" Isolde withdrew her hand, and the visions dissolved. "Perhaps. Or perhaps only a possibility." She stood, her lavender eyes unreadable. "The grove does not give answers. It only asks questions."

Nyx stepped forward, their shadow stretching long and thin across the pool. "Then let’s ask one." They reached out, their fingers hovering just above the surface. "What waits for us beyond the Veil?"

The liquid *rose* to meet them, forming a column of light that twisted into the shape of a door. Beyond it, Rory glimpsed a landscape of rolling hills, their grass the color of overripe apples, and in the distance, the spires of a city wreathed in smoke.

Dymas.

The Heartstone burned against her skin.

Isolde’s voice was sharp. "Do not touch it."

Nyx’s fingers stilled. "Why?"

"Because some doors," she said, "should never be opened."

Rory’s pulse hammered in her throat. She thought of the pendant, of the way it had led her here. Of the dreams that had plagued her since she’d first put it on—dreams of feasts and fire, of a voice whispering her name.

She reached into her bag, her fingers closing around the Fae blade Isolde had given her. The metal was ice-cold, humming faintly against her skin.

Nyx turned to her, their expression unreadable. "You feel it too."

Rory didn’t answer. She didn’t have to.

The grove held its breath.

And then, from the trees behind them, came the sound of laughter—high, sweet, and utterly inhuman.

Evaluation details

Result

Evaluator

Details

Meta Data

100.0000%

Adverbs in dialogue tags

Target: ≤10% dialogue tags with adverbs

totalTags	7
adverbTagCount	0
adverbTags	(empty)

75.1553%

AI-ism adverb frequency

Target: <1% AI-ism adverbs (57 tracked)

wordCount

805

totalAiIsmAdverbs

found

adverb	"lightly"
count	1

adverb	"utterly"
count	1

highlights

0	"lightly"
1	"utterly"

100.0000%

AI-ism character names

Target: 0 AI-default names (17 tracked, −20% each)

codexExemptions	(empty)
found	(empty)

100.0000%

AI-ism location names

Target: 0 AI-default location names (33 tracked, −20% each)

codexExemptions	(empty)
found	(empty)

37.8882%

AI-ism word frequency

Target: <1% AI-ism words (140 tracked)

wordCount

805

totalAiIsms

found

word	"flicker"
count	1

word	"loomed"
count	1

word	"unreadable"
count	2

word	"weight"
count	1

highlights

0	"flicker"
1	"loomed"
2	"unreadable"
3	"weight"

100.0000%

Cliche density

Target: ≤1 cliche(s) per 800-word window

totalCliches	0
maxInWindow	0
found	(empty)
highlights	(empty)

100.0000%

Emotion telling (show vs. tell)

Target: ≤3% sentences with emotion telling

emotionTells	0
narrationSentences	56
matches	(empty)

100.0000%

Filter word density

Target: ≤12% sentences with filter/hedge words

filterCount

hedgeCount

narrationSentences

filterMatches

(empty)

hedgeMatches

0	"seemed to"

100.0000%

Overuse of "that" (subordinate clause padding)

Target: ≤10% sentences with "that" clauses

thatCount

totalSentences

matches

0	"say that like"

100.0000%

Paragraph length variance

Target: CV ≥0.5 for paragraph word counts

totalParagraphs

mean

25.55

std

20.61

0.807

sampleLengths

0	65
1	28
2	17
3	10
4	42
5	2
6	60
7	39
8	28
9	33
10	17
11	58
12	4
13	63
14	11
15	64
16	5
17	32
18	33
19	47
20	1
21	6
22	8
23	4
24	9
25	42
26	25
27	11
28	7
29	5
30	16

100.0000%

Passive voice overuse

Target: ≤5% passive sentences

passiveCount	0
totalSentences	56
matches	(empty)

100.0000%

Past progressive (was/were + -ing) overuse

Target: ≤10% past progressive verbs

pastProgressiveCount	0
totalVerbs	113
matches	(empty)

100.0000%

Purple prose (modifier overload)

Target: <4% adverbs, <2% -ly adverbs, no adj stacking

wordCount	677
adjectiveStacks	0
stackExamples	(empty)
adverbCount	17
adverbRatio	0.025110782865583457
lyAdverbCount	4
lyAdverbRatio	0.005908419497784343

100.0000%

Repeated phrase echo

Target: ≤20% sentences with echoes (window: 2)

totalSentences	69
echoCount	0
echoWords	(empty)

100.0000%

Sentence length variance

Target: CV ≥0.4 for sentence word counts

totalSentences

mean

11.48

std

7.91

0.689

sampleLengths

0	20
1	24
2	21
3	13
4	11
5	4
6	9
7	8
8	8
9	2
10	19
11	8
12	15
13	2
14	9
15	11
16	14
17	26
18	22
19	10
20	7
21	10
22	7
23	11
24	8
25	21
26	4
27	8
28	9
29	22
30	21
31	15
32	4
33	19
34	15
35	29
36	8
37	3
38	13
39	9
40	42
41	3
42	2
43	10
44	12
45	10
46	12
47	14
48	7
49	19

65.7005%

Sentence opener variety

Target: ≥60% unique sentence openers

consecutiveRepeats	3
diversityRatio	0.42028985507246375
totalSentences	69
uniqueOpeners	29

67.8571%

Dialogue tag variety (said vs. fancy)

Target: ≤30% fancy dialogue tags

totalTags

fancyCount

fancyTags

0	"they murmured, voice like wind through dead leaves (murmur)"
1	"she said, and the words carried the weight of a prophecy half-fulfilled (say, carry fulfil)"
2	"she corrected (correct)"

90.9765%