Run: 2026-02-20-01KHY8ZBKY6X18CHWKBKF8CMEZ

Run Details

Duration:
30.2s
Cost:
$0.001396
Provider:
Seed

Model input

System
You are an expert and award-winning novel writer in the dark Fantasy genre. Your readers are hooked on your stories and can't wait to read the book you have in store. <important> - MUST: Start each chapter in medias res (in the middle of action). AVOID talking about the weather, time of day, the position of the sun, or other boring stuff. - The instructions/summary are just a that, a summary. Feel free to add details, stretch sections and add interesting transitions/descriptions/fillers. - When called for it, have fast-paced action, but otherwise take things slow. This is an experience, and not for people with short attention spans. Enjoy the wine, not slurp Red Bull. - Add descriptions when transitioning places/times/etc, or when coming by new places (e.g. a corner shop, a cafe, etc.). But remember: NOT at the start or end of a chapter. - MUST: AVOID ending in internal monologue, reminiscing or waiting for the next day. A good chapter end is when we're ending right when shit hits the fan. We want to have the reader be excited for what comes next. So no reminiscing, contemplating or summarizing the day. It's popcorn time! </important>
User/Human
Take into account the following glossary of characters/locations/items/lore... when writing your response: <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> <proseGuidelines> <styleGuide> - Write in past tense and use British English spelling and grammar - Keep a Flesch reading ease score of 60 - Respect the the Royal Order of Adjectives: The order is: opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose, followed by the noun itself (e.g., "a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife") - Respect the ablaut reduplication rule (e.g. tick-tock, flip-flop) - Write in active voice - Passive voice: <bad>The book was read by Sarah.</bad> - Active voice: <good>Sarah read the book.</good> - Reduce the use of passive verbs - <bad>For a moment, I was tempted to throw in the towel.</bad> - <good>For a moment, I felt tempted to throw in the towel.</good> - Avoid misplaced modifiers that can cause confusion when starting with "-ing" words: - <bad>Considering going to the store, the empty fridge reflected in Betty's eyes.</bad> - <good>Betty stared into the empty fridge. It was time to go to the store.</good> - Avoid redundant adverbs that state the obvious meaning already contained in the verb: - <bad>She whispered quietly to her mom.</bad> - <good>She whispered to her mom.</good> - Use stronger, more descriptive verbs over weak ones: - <bad>Daniel drove quickly to his mother's house.</bad> - <good>Daniel raced to his mother's house.</good> - Omit adverbs that don't add solid meaning like "extremely", "definitely", "truly", "very", "really": - <bad>The movie was extremely boring.</bad> - <good>The movie was dull.</good> - Use adverbs to replace clunky phrasing when they increase clarity: - <bad>He threw the bags into the corner in a rough manner.</bad> - <good>He threw the bags into the corner roughly.</good> - Avoid making simple thoughts needlessly complex: - <bad>After I woke up in the morning the other day, I went downstairs, turned on the stove, and made myself a very good omelet.</bad> - <good>I cooked a delicious omelet for breakfast yesterday morning.</good> - Never backload sentences by putting the main idea at the end: - <bad>I decided not to wear too many layers because it's really hot outside.</bad> - <good>It's sweltering outside today, so I dressed light.</good> - Omit nonessential details that don't contribute to the core meaning: - <bad>It doesn't matter what kind of coffee I buy, where it's from, or if it's organic or not—I need to have cream because I really don't like how the bitterness makes me feel.</bad> - <good>I add cream to my coffee because the bitter taste makes me feel unwell.</good> - Always follow the "show, don't tell" principle. For instance: - Telling: <bad>Michael was terribly afraid of the dark.</bad> - Showing: <good>Michael tensed as his mother switched off the light and left the room.</good>- Telling: <bad>I walked through the forest. It was already Fall, and I was getting cold.</bad> - Showing: <good>Dry orange leaves crunched under my feet. I pulled my coat's collar up and rubbed my hands together.</good>- Add sensory details (sight, smell, taste, sound, touch) to support the "showing" (but keep an active voice) - <bad>The room was filled with the scent of copper.</bad> - <good>Copper stung my nostrils. Blood. Recent.</good> - Use descriptive language more sporadically. While vivid descriptions are engaging, human writers often use them in bursts rather than consistently throughout a piece. When adding them, make them count! Like when we transition from one location to the next, or someone is reminiscing their past, or explaining a concept/their dream... - Avoid adverbs and clichés and overused/commonly used phrases. Aim for fresh and original descriptions. - Avoid writing all sentences in the typical subject, verb, object structure. Mix short, punchy sentences with long, descriptive ones. Drop fill words to add variety. Like so: <good>Locked. Seems like someone doesn't want his secrets exposed. I can work with that.</good> - Convey events and story through dialogue. It is important to keep a unique voice for every character and make it consistent. - Write dialogue that reveals characters' personalities, motivations, emotions, and attitudes in an interesting and compelling manner - Leave dialogue unattributed. If needed, only use "he/she said" dialogue tags and convey people's actions or face expressions through their speech. Dialogue always is standalone, never part of a paragraph. Like so: - <bad>"I don't know," Helena said nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders</bad> - <good>"No idea" "Why not? It was your responsibility"</good> - Avoid boring and mushy dialog and descriptions, have dialogue always continue the action, never stall or include unnecessary fluff. Vary the descriptions to not repeat yourself. Avoid conversations that are just "Let's go" "yes, let's" or "Are you ready?" "Yes I'm ready". Those are not interesting. Think hard about every situtation and word of text before writing dialogue. If it doesn't serve a purpose and it's just people talking about their day, leave it. No one wants to have a normal dinner scene, something needs to happen for it to be in the story. Words are expensive to print, so make sure they count! - Put dialogue on its own paragraph to separate scene and action. - Use body language to reveal hidden feelings and implied accusations- Imply feelings and thoughts, never state them directly - NEVER use indicators of uncertainty like "trying" or "maybe" - NEVER use em-dashes, use commas for asides instead </styleGuide> <voiceGuide> Each character in the story needs to have distinct speech patterns: - Word choice preferences - Sentence length tendencies - Cultural/educational influences - Verbal tics and catchphrases Learn how each person talks and continue in their style, and use their Codex entries as reference. <examples> - <bad>"We need to go now." "Yes, we should leave." "I agree."</bad> <good>"Time's up." "Indeed, our departure is rather overdue." "Whatever, let's bounce."</good> - Power Dynamic Example: <bad> "We need to discuss the contract." "Yes, let's talk about it." "I have concerns." </bad> <good> "A word about the contract." "Of course, Mr. Blackwood. Whatever you need." "The terms seem..." A manicured nail tapped the desk. "Inadequate." "I can explain every-" "Can you?" </good> </examples> </voiceGuide> <dialogueFlow> When writing dialogue, consider that it usually has a goal in mind, which gives it a certain flow. Make dialogue sections also quite snappy in the back and forth, and don't spread the lines out as much. It's good to have details before, after, or as a chunk in-between, but we don't want to have a trail of "dialogue breadcrumbs" spread throughout a conversation. <examples> - Pattern 1 - Question/Deflection/Revelation: <good> "Where were you last night?" "Work. The usual." "Lipstick's an interesting shade for spreadsheets." </good> - Pattern 2 - Statement/Contradiction/Escalation: <good> "Your brother's clean." "Tommy doesn't touch drugs." "I'm holding his tox screen." </good> - Pattern 3 - Observation/Denial/Truth: <good> "That's a new watch." "Birthday gift." "We both know what birthdays mean in this business." </good> - Example - A Simple Coffee Order: <bad> "I'll have a coffee." "What size?" "Large, please." </bad> <good> "Black coffee.""Size?""Large. Been a long night." "That bodega shooting?" "You watch too much news." "My brother owns that store." </good> This short exchange: - Advances plot (reveals connection to crime) - Shows character (cop working late) - Creates tension (unexpected connection) - Sets up future conflict (personal stake) - Example - Dinner Scene: <bad> "Pass the salt." "Here you go." "Thanks." </bad> <good> "Salt?" "Perfect as is. Mother's recipe." "Mother always did prefer... bland things." "Unlike your first wife?" </good> - Example - Office Small Talk: <bad> "Nice weather today." "Yes, very nice." "Good for golf." </bad> <good> "Perfect golf weather." "Shame about your membership." "Temporary suspension. Board meets next week." "I know. I called the vote." </good> </examples> </dialogueFlow> <subtextGuide> - Layer dialogue with hidden meaning: <bad>"I hate you!" she yelled angrily.</bad> <good>"I made your favorite dinner." The burnt pot sat accusingly on the stove.</good> - Create tension through indirect communication: <bad>"Are you cheating on me?"</bad> <good>"Late meeting again?" The lipstick stain on his collar caught the light.</good> <examples> - Example 1 - Unspoken Betrayal: <bad> "Did you tell them about our plans?" "No, I would never betray you." "I don't believe you." </bad> <good> "Funny. Johnson mentioned our expansion plans today." "The market's full of rumors." "Mentioned the exact numbers, actually." The pen in his hand snapped. </good> - Example 2 - Failed Marriage: <bad> "You're never home anymore." "I have to work late." "I miss you." </bad> <good> "Your dinner's in the microwave. Again." "Meetings ran long." "They always do." She folded the same shirt for the third time. </good> - Example 3 - Power Struggle: <bad> "You can't fire me." "I'm the boss." "I'll fight this." </bad> <good> "That's my father's nameplate you're sitting behind." "Was." "The board meeting's on Thursday." </good> </examples> </subtextGuide> <sceneDetail> While writing dialogue makes things more fun, sometimes we need to add detail to not have it be a full on theatre piece. <examples> - Example A (Power Dynamic Scene) <good> "Where's my money?" The ledger snapped shut. "I need more time." "Interesting." He pulled out a familiar gold pocket watch. My mother's. "Time is exactly what you bargained with last month." "That was different-" "Was it?" The watch dangled between us. "Four generations of O'Reillys have wound this every night. Your mother. Your grandmother. Your great-grandmother.Shall we see who winds it next?" </good> - Example B (Action Chase) It's much better to be in the head of the character experiencing it, showing a bit of their though-process, mannerisms and personality: <good> Three rules for surviving a goblin chase in Covent Garden: Don't run straight. Don't look back. Don't let them herd you underground. I broke the first rule at Drury Lane. Rookie mistake. The fruit cart I dodged sailed into the wall behind me. Glass shattered. Someone screamed about insurance. *Tourist season's getting rough*, the scream seemed to say. Londoners adapt fast. "Oi! Market's closed!" The goblin's accent was pure East End. They're evolving. Learning. I spotted the Warren Street tube station sign ahead. *Shit.* There went rule three. </good> - Example C (Crime Scene Investigation) <good> "Greek." Davies snapped photos of the symbols. "No, wait. Reverse Greek." "Someone's been watching too many horror films." I picked up a receipt from the floor. Occult supply shop in Camden. Paid by credit card. *Amateur hour*. "Could be dangerous though," Davies said. "Remember Bristol?" "Bristol was Sanskrit. And actual cultists." I pointed to the nearest symbol. "This genius wrote 'darkness' backwards but used a Sigma instead of an S. It's summoning Instagram followers at best." "Speaking of followers..." Davies pointed to heavy foot traffic in the dust. Multiple sets. All new trainers. *Ah.* "Anyone check local uni paranormal societies?" </good> - Example D (Dialogue-heavy) <good> "Found your card in her wallet." The detective slid it across the table. Worn edges. Folded corner. Three years old at least. "Standard practice. I work missing persons." "Funny thing about missing persons.Eventually they stop being missing. Turn up in the Thames. Under motorways. In pieces." "I don't-" "You found four last year. All breathing." She opened a file. "This would've been your first dead one. If we hadn't found her first." The card felt heavier somehow. </good> </examples> </sceneDetail> <sceneOpenings> KEY RULE: Never open with more than one paragraph of description, no matter how beautiful. Description should be earned through action and dialogue. Instead of opening with setting description, open with: - A character doing something specific - A line of dialogue that raises questions - An unexpected observation - A moment of tension or conflict - Start with a hook that's 1-2 sentences maximum - Follow with a smaller paragraph that provides immediate context - Vary paragraph size from the start to create visual interest </sceneOpenings> </proseGuidelines> Write a chapter based on the following instructions: <instructions> 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. </instructions>

Model response

AI
The ground trembled. Not with the familiar hum of London’s evening traffic or the distant thud of a double-decker, but a deeper, slower vibration that settled in Rory’s bones like a low note on a cello. She slowed her step, hand drifting to the pendant at her throat—the Heartstone, warm against her skin, *pulsing*. Harder now. Like it feared the dark. “Keep up,” Isolde said, her voice a silk thread through the air. She didn’t look back, though her lavender eyes were sharp as shards of moonstone, cutting through the dusk. The Half-Fae walked as if the path were carved into the earth itself, her silver hair trailing behind like a ribbon of starlight, no footprints marring the grass. Rory glanced at Nyx, who fell into step beside her. They’d shifted from their usual shadowy wisp to something close to human—broad-shouldered, a silhouette stitched from night, violet eyes glowing faint as embers. “You feel it too?” Rory mouthed, nodding at the pendant. Nyx’s lips flickered, a near-smile. *The Veil frays*, they whispered, their voice a wind through a keyhole. “Winter solstice. It does this to _gates_.” Ah. Gates. Isolde hadn’t called it that, but Rory knew. She’d seen the rifts in the raw footage from the Institute—cracked, glowing slices of darkness that spat heat and screams. But this… *this* was different. A hum built in her sinuses, a pressure behind her eyes, as if the air itself wanted to *breathe*. The trees of Richmond Park blurred, their trunks thick and gnarled, their leaves a riot of autumn colors—red, gold, crimson—even though it was December. *Time moves differently*, Isolde had said, when Rory had asked how they’d found her hidden grove. *An hour in is minutes outside. A year in is a blink.* They turned a corner, and the world *ripped*. Not a literal tear—more a shimmer, a distortion in the air where there shouldn’t be one. The trees fell away, replaced by a clearing where the grass was a lush, emerald green, as if watered by starlight. Wildflowers bloomed in impossible clusters: bluebells so deep they looked black, poppies with petals like crumpled silk, lilies that glowed faintly, their centers pulsing like tiny lanterns. A stone column stood at the clearing’s heart, its surface carved with symbols Rory didn’t recognize—twisting lines that seemed to shift when she blinked, like living script. “Isolde,” Rory said, her voice raw. “What—” “*Shhh*,” Nyx cut in, though it wasn’t to her. They’d stopped, their shadowy fingers brushing the base of the column. The symbols there blurred, then resolved into a word: *Believe*. “Fae sigils. They guard the pocket.” “Fae,” Isolde said, approaching slowly. She ran a hand over the stone, and it sighed, a sound like wind through a seashell. “Not the Courts. No. This is older. Older than the Stones, older than Merlin. A *door* between worlds, sealed by magic when the Veil was young.” Rory stepped closer, the pendant burning now, hot enough to worry her. “What’s beyond it?” Isolde’s lips tilted upward—a rare smile, half-amused, half-sad. “Everything you fear. Everything you crave. *Hel* is on one side. The Fae Realms on the other. And thisthis is the middle. A place where the Veil is thin, where beings from both can *touch*.” She knelt, her fingers hovering over a cluster of bluebells. They opened, revealing a tiny,发光 (luminous) insect, its wings a mosaic of gold and shadow. “It’s safe here. For now.” Nyx moved to her other side, their form shifting again, this time to a wisp that coiled around the column. “Safe is a relative term,” they said. “Last time the Solstice was thin, a Dymasian arrived. A sorcerer. Tried to barter souls for immortality. Ended up feeding his own.” Their voice dropped. “The Heartstone… it *hungers* here. It knows what’s coming.” Rory touched the pendant, its warmth searing through her palm. She’d received it six months ago, attached to a note: *It will guide you when the Veil cracks. Do not let it burn.* She’d thought it a prank—until the first rift had appeared, and the stone had pulsed, leading her to a trapped soul, then to Evan, her abusive ex, as he’d slipped through a crack in the world. *Do not let it burn.* She didn’t know what that meant, but she knew she couldn’t let it fail. “Come,” Isolde said, standing. She walked to the far side of the clearing, where a narrow path led into a grove of trees with bark like polished onyx. Their leaves were silver, and when the wind blew, they *sang*, a high, clear note that made Rory’s teeth ache. “The heart of the grove. There you’ll see the Fae blade I gave you.” “The *Fae-Forged Blade*,” Rory said, her breath catching. She’d been given it a week ago, a small, leaf-shaped dagger of moonsilver, cold to the touch even in summer. Isolde had pressed it into her hand, her fingers brushing Rory’s wrist—the crescent scar there, from a childhood fall into a garden fork. “Why?” “Because you are a bridge, Aurora Carter,” Isolde said, and her voice was soft, almost pitying. “Between worlds. Between those who *see* and those who don’t. The blade will cut through warding. Against demons. Against… *worse*.” Rory’s hand tightened around the dagger, the cold fierce against her palm. “Worse than demons?” “Worse than them all,” Nyx said, and their tone brooked no denial. They walked deeper into the grove. The path narrowed, the trees crowding in, their silver leaves filtering the light until the air was a pale, otherworldly blue. The singing of the leaves grew louder, a chorus that matched the thrum of the pendant. Rory could feel it now, a pressure in her chest, as if the grove itself were a living thing, breathing in time with her. Then they stepped into the heart of the grove. It was a pond, fifty feet across, its surface so still it mirrored the sky—though the sky here was not Earth’s gray or blue, but a deep, shifting indigo, streaked with amber and violet, like a sunset trapped in a jar. The water was black, but not the absence of light. It glowed, a deep, inky blackness that seemed to *suck* in the surrounding colors, leaving the world around it in stark relief. On the pond’s edge lay the Fae blade, its silver surface glowing faintly, as if it fed on the water’s light. Rory knelt, her fingers hovering over the dagger. It *warm* now, hotter than the pendant, and when she touched it, images flashed in her mind: a palace of bone and gold, a figure with horns and a crown of thorns, laughing as he crushed a soul in his hand. *Belphegor*, Isolde had called him, the ruler of Dymas. *Gluttony.* The prince who devoured not just flesh, but hope, and regret, and the sweet, tangy *hunger* that made mortals human. “The blade reacts to Hel,” Nyx said, their voice low. They were sitting on a rock nearby, their shadowy form stretching over the water. “And to Belphegor. He *smells* like rot and honey. Like a feast left out in the sun.” Rory stood, the blade in her hand. It hummed, a vibration that ran up her arm, into her shoulder. “Why bring me here?” she asked Isolde. “Why not warn me from afar?” Isolde turned, her silver hair falling over her face. When she spoke, her voice was a riddle. “Because the rift is *here*. Not in the Institute, not in the tunnels under Whitechapel. *Here*. The Solstice bends it. The Heartstone draws it. And you… you are the only one who can close it.” Rory’s heart raced. “Close a Hel portal? How?” “With the blade,” Isolde said. “Stab the heart of the rift. The Fae magic in it will bind the shadow.” “And if I can’t?” Isolde took a step forward, her foot floating a hair above the ground. “Then Dymas comes. And Dymas *feeds*. It will start with London. Then Cardiff. Then every corner of the world. The Heartstone will burn. The blade will crack. And you… you will watch.” A sound echoed through the grove. Not the singing of the leaves, but a low, guttural growl. Like a beast stirring in the dark. Rory spun, the blade raised. The mirroring sky flickered, a crack splitting it from edge to edge. The water in the pond rippled, though there was no wind. And from the crack stepped a figure—tall, cloaked in a black that absorbed the light, its face hidden by a hood. Its hands were claws, and its feet left no prints. “The rift,” Isolde whispered, her voice hard. “It’s *hurrying*.” Nyx stood, their form solid once more, a sword of shadow materializing in their hand. “It’s a scout,” they said. “Belphegor sends his vanguard to test the Veil. If it’s thin enough…” “Kill it,” Rory said, her voice steady. She gripped the blade tighter, the cold seeping into her palm, into her veins. The figure—whatever it was—stepped closer, its claws scraping the ground. Rory saw its face then, a mask of shadows with two points of red light burning in its eyes. It smiled, and Rory could taste iron on her tongue. *Hunger*, it thought. *Blood. Flesh.* Isolde chanted, her voice rising, a song in a tongue Rory didn’t know. The standing stones around the grove glowed, a blue light that rippled outward from them. The mirroring sky’s crack grew wider, and from it poured a heat, thick and cloying, like overripe fruit. Rory took a step forward. The blade hummed, brighter now. The pendant burned, a red-hot weight in her throat. “*Now*,” Nyx yelled. The scout lunged.
created_at"2026-02-20T19:38:37.078Z" 2/20/2026, 7:38:37 PM
model"bytedance-seed/seed-1.6-flash-20250625"
app_id182717
external_user(null)
streamedtrue
cancelledfalse
latency840
moderation_latency(null)
generation_time30060
tokens_prompt5338
tokens_completion3499
native_tokens_prompt5371
native_tokens_completion3312
native_tokens_completion_images(null)
native_tokens_reasoning931
native_tokens_cached0
num_media_prompt(null)
num_input_audio_prompt(null)
num_media_completion0
num_search_results(null)
origin"https://ncbench.com/"
is_byokfalse
finish_reason"stop"
native_finish_reason"stop"
usage0.001396425
router(null)
provider_responses
0
endpoint_id"e01a1227-001b-44d4-a376-90850668fa84"
id"021771616317560e1f2c28e220bf76d8a56e2a46eaa08e9504f7b"
is_byokfalse
latency733
model_permaslug"bytedance-seed/seed-1.6-flash-20250625"
provider_name"Seed"
status200
api_type"completions"
id"gen-1771616317-eCqc2O7HlmGUwKesUoil"
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total_cost0.001396425
cache_discount(null)
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provider_name"Seed"

Evaluation details

Result Evaluator Details Meta Data
100.00% Adverbs in dialogue tags
Target: ≤10% dialogue tags with adverbs
totalTags18
adverbTagCount0
adverbTags(empty)
dialogueSentences39
tagDensity0.462
leniency0.923
rawRatio0
effectiveRatio0
96.93% AI-ism adverb frequency
Target: <2% AI-ism adverbs (58 tracked)
wordCount1630
totalAiIsmAdverbs1
found
0
adverb"slowly"
count1
highlights
0"slowly"
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)
47.85% AI-ism word frequency
Target: <2% AI-ism words (290 tracked)
wordCount1630
totalAiIsms17
found
0
word"trembled"
count1
1
word"familiar"
count1
2
word"silk"
count2
3
word"flickered"
count2
4
word"resolved"
count1
5
word"mosaic"
count1
6
word"warmth"
count1
7
word"searing"
count1
8
word"pulsed"
count1
9
word"otherworldly"
count1
10
word"could feel"
count1
11
word"stark"
count1
12
word"raced"
count1
13
word"echoed"
count1
14
word"weight"
count1
highlights
0"trembled"
1"familiar"
2"silk"
3"flickered"
4"resolved"
5"mosaic"
6"warmth"
7"searing"
8"pulsed"
9"otherworldly"
10"could feel"
11"stark"
12"raced"
13"echoed"
14"weight"
100.00% Cliché density
Target: ≤1 cliche(s) per 800-word window
totalCliches0
maxInWindow0
found(empty)
highlights(empty)
100.00% Emotion telling (show vs. tell)
Target: ≤3% sentences with emotion telling
emotionTells0
narrationSentences105
matches(empty)
100.00% Filter word density
Target: ≤3% sentences with filter/hedge words
filterCount0
hedgeCount2
narrationSentences105
filterMatches(empty)
hedgeMatches
0"seemed to"
97.93% Gibberish response detection
Target: ≤1% gibberish-like sentences (hard fail if a sentence exceeds 800 words)
analyzedSentences125
gibberishSentences1
adjustedGibberishSentences1
longSentenceCount0
runOnParagraphCount0
giantParagraphCount0
wordSaladCount0
repetitionLoopCount0
controlTokenCount0
maxSentenceWordsSeen46
ratio0.008
matches
0"They opened, revealing a tiny,发光 (luminous) insect, its wings a mosaic of gold and shadow."
100.00% Markdown formatting overuse
Target: ≤5% words in markdown formatting
markdownSpans33
markdownWords66
totalWords1608
ratio0.041
matches
0"pulsing"
1"The Veil frays"
2"gates"
3"this"
4"breathe"
5"Time moves differently"
6"An hour in is minutes outside. A year in is a blink."
7"ripped"
8"Shhh"
9"Believe"
10"door"
11"Hel"
12"touch"
13"hungers"
14"It will guide you when the Veil cracks. Do not let it burn."
15"Do not let it burn."
16"sang"
17"Fae-Forged Blade"
18"see"
19"worse"
20"suck"
21"warm"
22"Belphegor"
23"Gluttony."
24"hunger"
25"smells"
26"here"
27"Here"
28"feeds"
29"hurrying"
30"Hunger"
31"Blood. Flesh."
32"Now"
100.00% Missing dialogue indicators (quotation marks)
Target: ≤10% speech attributions without quotation marks
totalAttributions21
unquotedAttributions1
matches
0"*The Veil frays*, they whispered, their voice a wind through a keyhole."
60.02% Name drop frequency
Target: ≤1.0 per-name mentions per 100 words
totalMentions60
wordCount1278
uniqueNames15
maxNameDensity1.8
worstName"Rory"
maxWindowNameDensity3
worstWindowName"Rory"
discoveredNames
London1
Rory23
Heartstone1
Half-Fae1
Nyx8
Veil2
Institute1
Richmond1
Park1
December1
Isolde15
Evan1
Earth1
Fae2
Dymas1
persons
0"Rory"
1"Half-Fae"
2"Nyx"
3"Veil"
4"Isolde"
5"Evan"
6"Fae"
places
0"London"
1"Richmond"
2"Park"
3"Earth"
globalScore0.6
windowScore0.667
51.32% Narrator intent-glossing
Target: ≤2% narration sentences with intent-glossing patterns
analyzedSentences76
glossingSentenceCount3
matches
0"something close to human—broad—shouldered, a sil"
1"lines that seemed to shift when she blinked, like living script"
2"blackness that seemed to suck* in the surrounding colors, leaving the world around it in stark relief"
13.43% "Not X but Y" pattern overuse
Target: ≤1 "not X but Y" per 1000 words
totalMatches3
per1kWords1.866
wordCount1608
matches
0"not Earth’s gray or blue, but a deep, shifting indigo, streaked with amber"
1"not just flesh, but hope"
2"Not the singing of the leaves, but a low, guttural growl"
100.00% Overuse of "that" (subordinate clause padding)
Target: ≤2% sentences with "that" clauses
thatCount0
totalSentences125
matches(empty)
100.00% Paragraph length variance
Target: CV ≥0.5 for paragraph word counts
totalParagraphs39
mean41.23
std28.41
cv0.689
sampleLengths
061
158
267
3106
48
591
67
736
848
915
1074
1161
1288
1362
1452
1536
1615
1712
1867
199
2094
2179
2241
2332
2452
258
2620
274
2845
2924
3059
319
3232
3321
3444
3546
3619
373
383
95.24% Passive voice overuse
Target: ≤2% passive sentences
passiveCount3
totalSentences105
matches
0"were carved"
1"been given"
2"was—stepped"
100.00% Past progressive (was/were + -ing) overuse
Target: ≤2% past progressive verbs
pastProgressiveCount1
totalVerbs221
matches
0"were sitting"
0.00% Em-dash & semicolon overuse
Target: ≤2% sentences with em-dashes/semicolons
emDashCount15
semicolonCount0
flaggedSentences12
totalSentences125
ratio0.096
matches
0"She slowed her step, hand drifting to the pendant at her throat—the Heartstone, warm against her skin, *pulsing*."
1"They’d shifted from their usual shadowy wisp to something close to human—broad-shouldered, a silhouette stitched from night, violet eyes glowing faint as embers."
2"She’d seen the rifts in the raw footage from the Institute—cracked, glowing slices of darkness that spat heat and screams."
3"The trees of Richmond Park blurred, their trunks thick and gnarled, their leaves a riot of autumn colors—red, gold, crimson—even though it was December."
4"Not a literal tear—more a shimmer, a distortion in the air where there shouldn’t be one."
5"A stone column stood at the clearing’s heart, its surface carved with symbols Rory didn’t recognize—twisting lines that seemed to shift when she blinked, like living script."
6"Isolde’s lips tilted upward—a rare smile, half-amused, half-sad."
7"Do not let it burn.* She’d thought it a prank—until the first rift had appeared, and the stone had pulsed, leading her to a trapped soul, then to Evan, her abusive ex, as he’d slipped through a crack in the world."
8"Isolde had pressed it into her hand, her fingers brushing Rory’s wrist—the crescent scar there, from a childhood fall into a garden fork."
9"It was a pond, fifty feet across, its surface so still it mirrored the sky—though the sky here was not Earth’s gray or blue, but a deep, shifting indigo, streaked with amber and violet, like a sunset trapped in a jar."
10"And from the crack stepped a figure—tall, cloaked in a black that absorbed the light, its face hidden by a hood."
11"The figure—whatever it was—stepped closer, its claws scraping the ground."
88.00% Purple prose (modifier overload)
Target: <4% adverbs, <2% -ly adverbs, no adj stacking
wordCount1300
adjectiveStacks2
stackExamples
0"small, leaf-shaped dagger"
1"cold fierce against her"
adverbCount26
adverbRatio0.02
lyAdverbCount5
lyAdverbRatio0.0038461538461538464
100.00% Repeated phrase echo
Target: ≤20% sentences with echoes (window: 2)
totalSentences125
echoCount0
echoWords(empty)
100.00% Sentence length variance
Target: CV ≥0.4 for sentence word counts
totalSentences125
mean12.86
std9.33
cv0.726
sampleLengths
03
133
218
32
45
512
618
728
810
923
1010
115
1212
137
141
151
168
1720
182
193
2019
2124
2216
236
246
258
2616
2721
2827
2927
306
311
329
3311
3410
356
365
3717
3826
3912
403
418
4246
4315
445
4520
467
4725
489
4910
58.13% Sentence opener variety
Target: ≥60% unique sentence openers
consecutiveRepeats9
diversityRatio0.392
totalSentences125
uniqueOpeners49
35.09% Adverb-first sentence starts
Target: ≥3% sentences starting with an adverb
adverbCount1
totalSentences95
matches
0"Then they stepped into the"
ratio0.011
100.00% Pronoun-first sentence starts
Target: ≤30% sentences starting with a pronoun
pronounCount24
totalSentences95
matches
0"She slowed her step, hand"
1"She didn’t look back, though"
2"They’d shifted from their usual"
3"She’d seen the rifts in"
4"They turned a corner, and"
5"They’d stopped, their shadowy fingers"
6"She ran a hand over"
7"She knelt, her fingers hovering"
8"They opened, revealing a tiny,发光"
9"Their voice dropped"
10"She’d received it six months"
11"She walked to the far"
12"Their leaves were silver, and"
13"She’d been given it a"
14"They walked deeper into the"
15"It was a pond, fifty"
16"It glowed, a deep, inky"
17"It *warm* now, hotter than"
18"They were sitting on a"
19"It hummed, a vibration that"
ratio0.253
23.16% Subject-first sentence starts
Target: ≤72% sentences starting with a subject
subjectCount83
totalSentences95
matches
0"The ground trembled."
1"She slowed her step, hand"
2"Isolde said, her voice a"
3"She didn’t look back, though"
4"The Half-Fae walked as if"
5"Rory glanced at Nyx, who"
6"They’d shifted from their usual"
7"Rory mouthed, nodding at the"
8"Nyx’s lips flickered, a near-smile."
9"*The Veil frays*, they whispered,"
10"Isolde hadn’t called it that,"
11"She’d seen the rifts in"
12"*this* was different."
13"A hum built in her"
14"The trees of Richmond Park"
15"*An hour in is minutes"
16"A year in is a"
17"They turned a corner, and"
18"The trees fell away, replaced"
19"Wildflowers bloomed in impossible clusters:"
ratio0.874
0.00% Subordinate conjunction sentence starts
Target: ≥2% sentences starting with a subordinating conjunction
subConjCount0
totalSentences95
matches(empty)
ratio0
67.67% Technical jargon density
Target: ≤6% sentences with technical-jargon patterns
analyzedSentences57
technicalSentenceCount6
matches
0"She slowed her step, hand drifting to the pendant at her throat—the Heartstone, warm against her skin, *pulsing*."
1"The Half-Fae walked as if the path were carved into the earth itself, her silver hair trailing behind like a ribbon of starlight, no footprints marring the gras…"
2"A hum built in her sinuses, a pressure behind her eyes, as if the air itself wanted to *breathe*."
3"Wildflowers bloomed in impossible clusters: bluebells so deep they looked black, poppies with petals like crumpled silk, lilies that glowed faintly, their cente…"
4"A stone column stood at the clearing’s heart, its surface carved with symbols Rory didn’t recognize—twisting lines that seemed to shift when she blinked, like l…"
5"It glowed, a deep, inky blackness that seemed to *suck* in the surrounding colors, leaving the world around it in stark relief."
0.00% Useless dialogue additions
Target: ≤5% dialogue tags with trailing filler fragments
totalTags18
uselessAdditionCount8
matches
0"Isolde said, her voice a silk thread through the air"
1"Rory said, her voice raw"
2"She knelt, her fingers hovering over a cluster of bluebells"
3"Rory said, her breath catching"
4"Isolde said, and her voice was soft, almost pitying"
5"Nyx said, their voice low"
6"Isolde whispered, her voice hard"
7"Rory said, her voice steady"
73.08% Dialogue tag variety (said vs. fancy)
Target: ≤10% fancy dialogue tags
totalTags16
fancyCount3
fancyTags
0"Rory mouthed (mouth)"
1"Isolde whispered (whisper)"
2"Nyx yelled (yell)"
dialogueSentences39
tagDensity0.41
leniency0.821
rawRatio0.188
effectiveRatio0.154
73.5948%