May I make a suggestion? Instead of five major entries, could we perhaps select 1 major entry and 4 smaller ones? Those five entries are quite a lot to go through and might discourage people who don't know anything about Vardynn from participating.
The added benefit of this suggestion would be that (depending on the five entries we nominate) it would challenge us to be creative to find connections.
Remember: For round 1, each entry has to incorporate all 5 entries somehow.
I'd also suggest that we focus on short entries that can be completed in a week or two, rather than monstrous ones like tribe or metropolis entries. The harder an entry is to write and comment on, the more it drags. Let's focus on momentum and camaraderie.
@Seagazer: Hey, I'm just here for the canapes! Seriously, I don't know enough about Vardynn or Cyhalloi (how on earth do you pronounce that?) to pick the five entries myself.
Let's have a show of hands. Who'd be interested in a project like this? Do you want Vardynn or Cyhalloi?
Seagazer, maybe you could run point on this project and put up a poll?
How about a group project with a theme? We could select a region (I propose Vardynn or Cyhalloi) and then designate 5 entries as essential reading. Each person then writes a short entry which incorporates the five "base" entries in some way. Then for the next round, we each write a short entry which is based on the entries from Round 1.
I think this might be a fun way to revive our team spirit. The limitations would both spur creativity and give people an incentive to read/comment on other people's work.
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Seriously, I don't know enough about Vardynn or Cyhalloi (how on earth do you pronounce that?) to pick the five entries myself. 
