Run: 2026-02-17-01KHMQFRD5VEHY0N1TD09PHD7R

Run Details

Model:: Mistral Small Creative
Test:: Bad Writing Habits
Scenario:: Fantasy: entering an ancient ruin
Duration:: 8.3s
Cost:: $0.000548
Provider:: Mistral

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 air inside the grove was thick with the scent of damp earth and something sweeter—like crushed petals and honeyed wine. Rory stepped through the standing stones first, her boots sinking slightly into the mossy ground, the Heartstone pendant warm against her collarbone. The moment she crossed the threshold, the world behind her blurred, as if seen through warped glass. She turned back, but the path they’d taken was already gone, swallowed by a curtain of ivy and silver-barked trees.

Nyx slipped through after her, their form flickering like a candle flame in a draft. The shadows here clung to them differently, deeper, as if the grove itself recognized what they were. *"This place remembers,"* they murmured, their voice a breath against Rory’s neck. *"It remembers the old magic."*

Isolde followed last, her silver hair catching the dappled light like a spider’s silk. She moved without sound, her bare feet leaving no imprint on the loam. *"Walk softly,"* she said, though her voice carried no warning—only the quiet certainty of a woman who had seen this moment a hundred times before. *"The grove listens."*

The trees here were not like the oaks and elms of Richmond Park. Their bark shimmered with an iridescent sheen, shifting between deep emerald and violet as the light touched them. Their leaves, broad and veined with gold, rustled without wind, whispering in a language just beyond understanding. Rory reached out, brushing her fingers against one. The leaf trembled, and for a heartbeat, she swore she felt it *breathe*.

*"Careful,"* Nyx warned, though they didn’t stop her. *"Some things here are alive in ways you don’t yet understand."*

Rory pulled her hand back, but not before the leaf curled around her fingertip, cool and damp, like the inside of a mushroom. She exhaled sharply. *"Right. No touching."*

Isolde smiled, a slow, knowing thing. *"Oh, but you will. You all will. That is the way of this place."*

The deeper they went, the more the grove seemed to shift around them. Paths that had been straight moments before now curved, leading them in directions they hadn’t intended. The standing stones—ancient, moss-covered, carved with spirals and symbols that made Rory’s eyes ache if she stared too long—marked the edges of the clearing, but the clearing itself seemed to expand, revealing more of itself with every step.

A stream cut through the center, its water so clear it was nearly invisible, reflecting the sky in a way that made Rory’s head spin. She crouched, dipping her fingers in. The water was neither warm nor cold, but *alive*, humming against her skin like a plucked string. When she pulled her hand back, her fingers were dry, as if the stream had never touched her at all.

*"It’s testing you,"* Isolde said, watching her. *"Deciding if you’re worthy."*

*"Worthy of what?"* Rory asked, standing.

Isolde didn’t answer. Instead, she tilted her head toward the far side of the clearing, where the trees parted to reveal a structure Rory hadn’t noticed before—a circle of smooth, black stones, each carved with the same spiraling symbols as the standing stones. At its center stood a pedestal, and upon it rested a dagger.

Not just any dagger.

The Fae-forged blade.

Rory’s breath caught. The weapon was slender, its edge curved like a leaf, its surface catching the light in a way that made it seem as though it were carved from moonlight itself. A faint glow pulsed along its length, in time with the heartbeat Rory suddenly realized she could feel in her own chest.

*"That’s—"* she started.

*"Yours,"* Isolde finished.

Nyx let out a low, amused sound. *"Of course it is."*

Rory hesitated. The air around the pedestal thrummed with energy, like the moment before a storm breaks. She could feel the weight of the grove’s gaze on her, the trees leaning in, the stream holding its breath.

*"Take it,"* Isolde urged. *"It was made for your hand."*

Rory stepped forward, her boots silent on the moss. The closer she got, the colder the air became, until her breath misted in front of her. The dagger’s glow intensified, casting eerie blue shadows across the stones. She reached out—

—and the moment her fingers brushed the hilt, the world *shifted*.

The grove vanished.

She was standing in a vast, amber-lit hall, the air thick with the scent of roasting meat and spiced wine. Demons in fine silks lounged on cushions, their laughter rich and deep, their eyes gleaming with hunger. At the far end of the hall, a figure sat upon a throne of blackened bone—a prince, his face sharp and beautiful, his smile sharp and cruel.

*"Ah,"* he said, his voice like honeyed venom. *"The little thief has come at last."*

Rory’s stomach lurched. She knew this place. She’d seen it in her dreams.

Dymas.

The vision shattered like glass.

She was back in the grove, gasping, the dagger clutched in her hand. It was cold, so cold it burned. She nearly dropped it, but her fingers refused to let go.

*"What the hell was that?"* she demanded, her voice raw.

Isolde’s expression was unreadable. *"A warning. Or an invitation. The Fae blade shows you what you fear—or what you desire."*

Rory’s grip tightened. *"I don’t want anything from *that* place."*

*"Don’t you?"* Isolde’s pale eyes gleamed. *"The Heartstone led you here. The blade chose you. The grove *called* you. Tell me, Aurora Carter—what do you think all of that means?"*

Rory didn’t have an answer.

But the dagger in her hand pulsed, once, twice, as if in agreement.

Evaluation details

Result

Evaluator

Details

Meta Data

100.0000%

Adverbs in dialogue tags

Target: ≤10% dialogue tags with adverbs

totalTags

adverbTagCount

adverbTags

0	"she said, though her voice carried no warning—only the quiet certainty of a woman who had seen this moment a hundred times before [only]"

57.2650%

AI-ism adverb frequency

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

wordCount

936

totalAiIsmAdverbs

found

adverb	"sharply"
count	1

adverb	"slightly"
count	1

adverb	"softly"
count	1

adverb	"suddenly"
count	1

highlights

0	"sharply"
1	"slightly"
2	"softly"
3	"suddenly"

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)

25.2137%

AI-ism word frequency

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

wordCount

936

totalAiIsms

found

word	"lurched"
count	1

word	"shimmered"
count	1

word	"gleaming"
count	1

word	"trembled"
count	1

word	"silk"
count	1

word	"unreadable"
count	1

word	"weight"
count	1

highlights

0	"lurched"
1	"shimmered"
2	"gleaming"
3	"trembled"
4	"silk"
5	"unreadable"
6	"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	79
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	"was that?\"* she"

100.0000%

Paragraph length variance

Target: CV ≥0.5 for paragraph word counts

totalParagraphs

mean

26.43

std

23.66

0.895

sampleLengths

0	80
1	49
2	55
3	69
4	19
5	29
6	20
7	67
8	68
9	11
10	6
11	55
12	4
13	3
14	55
15	3
16	3
17	11
18	37
19	10
20	40
21	11
22	3
23	64
24	15
25	13
26	1
27	5
28	31
29	10
30	20
31	10
32	30
33	5
34	13

100.0000%

Passive voice overuse

Target: ≤5% passive sentences

passiveCount

totalSentences

matches

0	"were carved"

100.0000%

Past progressive (was/were + -ing) overuse

Target: ≤10% past progressive verbs

pastProgressiveCount

totalVerbs

139

matches

0	"was standing"

94.0000%

Purple prose (modifier overload)

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

wordCount

829

adjectiveStacks

stackExamples

0	"vast, amber-lit hall,"

adverbCount

adverbRatio

0.027744270205066344

lyAdverbCount

lyAdverbRatio

0.008443908323281062

100.0000%

Repeated phrase echo

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

totalSentences	79
echoCount	0
echoWords	(empty)

100.0000%

Sentence length variance

Target: CV ≥0.4 for sentence word counts

totalSentences

mean

11.71

std

8.36

0.714

sampleLengths

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

64.5570%

Sentence opener variety

Target: ≥60% unique sentence openers

consecutiveRepeats	4
diversityRatio	0.4177215189873418
totalSentences	79
uniqueOpeners	33

0.0000%

Dialogue tag variety (said vs. fancy)

Target: ≤30% fancy dialogue tags

totalTags

fancyCount

fancyTags

0	"they murmured, their voice a breath against Rory’s neck (murmur)"
1	"she said, though her voice carried no warning—only the quiet certainty of a woman who had seen this moment a hundred times before (say, carry see)"
2	"Nyx warned, though they didn’t stop her (warn, do not stop)"
3	"Isolde said, watching her (say, watch)"
4	"started (start)"
5	"Isolde finished (finish)"
6	"Isolde urged (urge)"
7	"he said, his voice like honeyed venom (say, like honeyed)"
8	"demanded (demand)"

84.7668%