These tales are ‘new’, they are not directly derived from other myths and legends, but they must inevitably contain a large measure of ancient wide-spread motives or elements. After all, I believe that legends and myths are largely made of ‘truth’, and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode; and long ago certain truths and modes of this kind were discovered and must always reappear. 
~ Letter 131 to Milton Waldman

Tolkien's legendarium weaves back through the stories and myths of the past, and our fanworks carry forward that weft and warp into the present day. This month's challenge draws on the interconnectedness of millennia of history, art, and story that call back to history and arts that mark profound moments in the human experience.

The Allusive challenge presents more than fifty prompts that are inspired by allusions to art, history, literature, and myth. While the inspiration for this challenge is deep (literally and figuratively!), this challenge provides an excellent opportunity to reiterate that we mean it when we say that you can use challenge prompts however you see fit. Challenges have been a part of the SWG for twenty-one years now, and never once in that twenty-one years have the moderators checked a fanwork for "compliance" or questioned a creator about whether a fanwork fits the challenge it was created for.

So your approaches to this challenge as as limitless as your imagination! You can certainly dive deep and, if you recognize the allusion in the prompt, craft a fanwork that draws on the historical event or creative work alluded to. But it's also okay to simply take the prompt at face value and create something using it that does not reference the allusion that inspired it. You can use prompts literally, symbolically, thematically, or even just include a word or phrase from the prompt in your work. You can use the prompts in ways the mods never imagined when they devised this challenge. And of course if you're feeling extra adventurous, you can combine prompts as well.

You will choose your own prompt this month and can find the Allusive challenge prompts here.

In order to receive a stamp for your fanwork, your response must be posted to the archive on or before 15 September 2026. Today being the August 15, we are in the one day overlap where the new challenge is open but we are still accepting responses to last month's Building Middle-earth challenge. (Yes, you can combine the two challenges into one fanwork and collect both stamps!) If you're new to our challenges, complete challenge guidelines can be found on the Challenges page on our website, and if you have questions, hit REPLY here and ask away!