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

Evaluation summary

Score	Evaluator	Details Link
100.00%	Adverbs in dialogue tags	(details)
78.54%	AI-ism adverb frequency	(details)
100.00%	AI-ism character names	(details)
100.00%	AI-ism location names	(details)
19.53%	AI-ism word frequency	(details)
100.00%	Cliché density	(details)
100.00%	Emotion telling (show vs. tell)	(details)
100.00%	Filter word density	(details)
100.00%	Gibberish response detection	(details)
0.00%	Markdown formatting overuse	(details)
100.00%	Missing dialogue indicators (quotation marks)	(details)
55.90%	Name drop frequency	(details)
100.00%	Narrator intent-glossing	(details)
91.89%	"Not X but Y" pattern overuse	(details)
100.00%	Overuse of "that" (subordinate clause padding)	(details)
100.00%	Paragraph length variance	(details)
100.00%	Passive voice overuse	(details)
100.00%	Past progressive (was/were + -ing) overuse	(details)
0.00%	Em-dash & semicolon overuse	(details)
94.00%	Purple prose (modifier overload)	(details)
100.00%	Repeated phrase echo	(details)
100.00%	Sentence length variance	(details)
64.56%	Sentence opener variety	(details)
53.76%	Adverb-first sentence starts	(details)
100.00%	Pronoun-first sentence starts	(details)
16.45%	Subject-first sentence starts	(details)
80.65%	Subordinate conjunction sentence starts	(details)
79.83%	Technical jargon density	(details)
0.00%	Useless dialogue additions	(details)
0.00%	Dialogue tag variety (said vs. fancy)	(details)
74.5036%	Overall

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

100.00%

Adverbs in dialogue tags

Target: ≤10% dialogue tags with adverbs

totalTags	11
adverbTagCount	0
adverbTags	(empty)
dialogueSentences	23
tagDensity	0.478
leniency	0.957
rawRatio	0
effectiveRatio	0

78.54%

AI-ism adverb frequency

Target: <2% AI-ism adverbs (58 tracked)

wordCount

932

totalAiIsmAdverbs

found

adverb	"slightly"
count	1

adverb	"softly"
count	1

adverb	"sharply"
count	1

adverb	"suddenly"
count	1

highlights

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

100.00%

AI-ism character names

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

codexExemptions	(empty)
found	(empty)

100.00%

AI-ism location names

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

codexExemptions	(empty)
found	(empty)

19.53%

AI-ism word frequency

Target: <2% AI-ism words (290 tracked)

wordCount

932

totalAiIsms

found

word	"silk"
count	1

word	"shimmered"
count	1

word	"trembled"
count	1

word	"structure"
count	1

word	"pulsed"
count	2

word	"could feel"
count	2

word	"weight"
count	1

word	"gleaming"
count	1

word	"stomach"
count	1

word	"lurched"
count	1

word	"shattered"
count	1

word	"unreadable"
count	1

word	"desire"
count	1

highlights

0	"silk"
1	"shimmered"
2	"trembled"
3	"structure"
4	"pulsed"
5	"could feel"
6	"weight"
7	"gleaming"
8	"stomach"
9	"lurched"
10	"shattered"
11	"unreadable"
12	"desire"

100.00%

Cliché density

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

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

100.00%

Emotion telling (show vs. tell)

Target: ≤3% sentences with emotion telling

emotionTells	0
narrationSentences	67
matches	(empty)

100.00%

Filter word density

Target: ≤3% sentences with filter/hedge words

filterCount

hedgeCount

narrationSentences

filterMatches

(empty)

hedgeMatches

0	"seemed to"

100.00%

Gibberish response detection

Target: ≤1% gibberish-like sentences (hard fail if a sentence exceeds 800 words)

analyzedSentences	79
gibberishSentences	0
adjustedGibberishSentences	0
longSentenceCount	0
runOnParagraphCount	0
giantParagraphCount	0
wordSaladCount	0
repetitionLoopCount	0
controlTokenCount	0
maxSentenceWordsSeen	41
ratio	0
matches	(empty)

0.00%

Markdown formatting overuse

Target: ≤5% words in markdown formatting

markdownSpans

markdownWords

118

totalWords

925

ratio

0.128

matches

0	"\"This place remembers,\""
1	"\"It remembers the old magic.\""
2	"\"Walk softly,\""
3	"\"The grove listens.\""
4	"breathe"
5	"\"Careful,\""
6	"\"Some things here are alive in ways you don’t yet understand.\""
7	"\"Right. No touching.\""
8	"\"Oh, but you will. You all will. That is the way of this place.\""
9	"alive"
10	"\"It’s testing you,\""
11	"\"Deciding if you’re worthy.\""
12	"\"Worthy of what?\""
13	"\"That’s—\""
14	"\"Yours,\""
15	"\"Of course it is.\""
16	"\"Take it,\""
17	"\"It was made for your hand.\""
18	"shifted"
19	"\"Ah,\""
20	"\"The little thief has come at last.\""
21	"\"What the hell was that?\""
22	"\"A warning. Or an invitation. The Fae blade shows you what you fear—or what you desire.\""
23	"\"I don’t want anything from *that"
24	"\"Don’t you?\""
25	"\"The Heartstone led you here. The blade chose you. The grove *called"

100.00%

Missing dialogue indicators (quotation marks)

Target: ≤10% speech attributions without quotation marks

totalAttributions

unquotedAttributions

matches

0	"The leaf trembled, and for a heartbeat, she swore she felt it breathe."

55.90%

Name drop frequency

Target: ≤1.0 per-name mentions per 100 words

totalMentions

wordCount

797

uniqueNames

maxNameDensity

1.88

worstName

"Rory"

maxWindowNameDensity

worstWindowName

"Rory"

discoveredNames

Heartstone	1
Rory	15
Isolde	8
Richmond	1
Park	1
Fae-forged	1
Nyx	3

persons

0	"Rory"
1	"Isolde"
2	"Nyx"

places

0	"Richmond"
1	"Park"

globalScore

0.559

windowScore

0.667

100.00%

Narrator intent-glossing

Target: ≤2% narration sentences with intent-glossing patterns

analyzedSentences	45
glossingSentenceCount	0
matches	(empty)

91.89%

"Not X but Y" pattern overuse

Target: ≤1 "not X but Y" per 1000 words

totalMatches

per1kWords

1.081

wordCount

925

matches

0	"neither warm nor"

100.00%

Overuse of "that" (subordinate clause padding)

Target: ≤2% sentences with "that" clauses

thatCount	0
totalSentences	79
matches	(empty)

100.00%

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

100.00%

Passive voice overuse

Target: ≤2% passive sentences

passiveCount

totalSentences

matches

0	"were carved"

100.00%

Past progressive (was/were + -ing) overuse

Target: ≤2% past progressive verbs

pastProgressiveCount

totalVerbs

139

matches

0	"was standing"

0.00%

Em-dash & semicolon overuse

Target: ≤2% sentences with em-dashes/semicolons

emDashCount

semicolonCount

flaggedSentences

totalSentences

ratio

0.089

matches

0	"The air inside the grove was thick with the scent of damp earth and something sweeter—like crushed petals and honeyed wine."
1	"\"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."
2	"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."
3	"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."
4	"She reached out—"
5	"—and the moment her fingers brushed the hilt, the world shifted."
6	"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."

94.00%

Purple prose (modifier overload)

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

wordCount

806

adjectiveStacks

stackExamples

0	"vast, amber-lit hall,"

adverbCount

adverbRatio

0.028535980148883373

lyAdverbCount

lyAdverbRatio

0.008684863523573201

100.00%

Repeated phrase echo

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

totalSentences	79
echoCount	0
echoWords	(empty)

100.00%

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

64.56%

Sentence opener variety

Target: ≥60% unique sentence openers

consecutiveRepeats	4
diversityRatio	0.4177215189873418
totalSentences	79
uniqueOpeners	33

53.76%

Adverb-first sentence starts

Target: ≥3% sentences starting with an adverb

adverbCount

totalSentences

matches

0	"Instead, she tilted her head"

ratio

0.016

100.00%

Pronoun-first sentence starts

Target: ≤30% sentences starting with a pronoun

pronounCount

totalSentences

matches

0	"She turned back, but the"
1	"they murmured, their voice a"
2	"She moved without sound, her"
3	"she said, though her voice"
4	"Their bark shimmered with an"
5	"Their leaves, broad and veined"
6	"She exhaled sharply."
7	"She crouched, dipping her fingers"
8	"She could feel the weight"
9	"She reached out—"
10	"She was standing in a"
11	"he said, his voice like"
12	"She knew this place."
13	"She’d seen it in her"
14	"She was back in the"
15	"It was cold, so cold"
16	"She nearly dropped it, but"
17	"she demanded, her voice raw"

ratio

0.29

16.45%

Subject-first sentence starts

Target: ≤72% sentences starting with a subject

subjectCount

totalSentences

matches

0	"The air inside the grove"
1	"Rory stepped through the standing"
2	"The moment she crossed the"
3	"She turned back, but the"
4	"Nyx slipped through after her,"
5	"The shadows here clung to"
6	"they murmured, their voice a"
7	"Isolde followed last, her silver"
8	"She moved without sound, her"
9	"she said, though her voice"
10	"The trees here were not"
11	"Their bark shimmered with an"
12	"Their leaves, broad and veined"
13	"Rory reached out, brushing her"
14	"The leaf trembled, and for"
15	"Nyx warned, though they didn’t"
16	"Rory pulled her hand back,"
17	"She exhaled sharply."
18	"Isolde smiled, a slow, knowing"
19	"The deeper they went, the"

ratio

0.887

80.65%

Subordinate conjunction sentence starts

Target: ≥2% sentences starting with a subordinating conjunction

subConjCount

totalSentences

matches

0	"—and the moment her fingers"

ratio

0.016

79.83%

Technical jargon density

Target: ≤6% sentences with technical-jargon patterns

analyzedSentences

technicalSentenceCount

matches

0	"Paths that had been straight moments before now curved, leading them in directions they hadn’t intended."
1	"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, b…"
2	"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."

0.00%

Useless dialogue additions

Target: ≤5% dialogue tags with trailing filler fragments

totalTags

uselessAdditionCount

matches

0	"they murmured, their voice a breath against Rory’s neck"
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"
2	"she demanded, her voice raw"

0.00%

Dialogue tag variety (said vs. fancy)

Target: ≤10% fancy dialogue tags

totalTags

fancyCount

fancyTags

0	"they murmured (murmur)"
1	"Nyx warned (warn)"
2	"Isolde urged (urge)"
3	"she demanded (demand)"

dialogueSentences

tagDensity

0.348

leniency

0.696

rawRatio

0.5

effectiveRatio

0.348

74.5036%