Contest (closed) Hidden in Plain Sight - ZOOM IN!

[KnowledgeKeeper Elvina]

Greetings, watchers of distant paths and seekers of hidden detail!

There are many who look upon the outskirts of a city and see only roads, stone, and endless forests... but the careful eye sees far more.

A forgotten stairway winding upward.
A blade left standing in silent vigilance.
An arch stretching across the land, shaped by craft or by nature itself.

The world of Elvenar is filled with details easily missed by hurried travelers… and today, I invite you to slow your steps and test your powers of observation.

Your Task

Start: May 28th, 2026
End: June 2nd, 2026

Study the OUTSKIRTS of your city and find:

• The number of flights of stairs
• The number of swords
• The number of arch-shaped crossings*

*Both natural and constructed arch-shaped crossings count.
Notes: Only fully visible objects count. Expansion zones do not count as a valid area, so decorations there are invalid.

Spoiler: Example

Stairs: X
Swords: X
Arch-shaped crossings: X

A Practical Reminder:
Messages are hidden until the contest ends, so your choice will remain unseen until the reveal.

Prizes

The keenest observers may find more than hidden details among the outskirts…

• 12 winners will each receive 250 Diamonds!

Winners will be randomly selected from all fully correct entries after the contest ends.

Rules

• Open to all Elvenar US players (with no moderation duties).
• One entry per player.
• Missing prizes must be claimed with Support within 7 days of the announcement.


“The smallest details often hide the greatest truths… provided one takes the time to notice them.”
— Elvina, Keeper of Lost Knowledge

 

[KnowledgeKeeper Elvina]

Greetings, keen observers!

Our team has completed its review of every stairway, sword, and arch-shaped crossing, arriving at the following counts:
• Flights of stairs: [6]
• Swords: [3]
• Arch-shaped crossings: [6]

However, an interesting situation has arisen: no entry matched all of our current findings exactly.

Before we determine the winners, we would like to share our findings with the community and give everyone a final opportunity to review them. If you have found any fully visible stairs, swords, or arch-shaped crossings that you believe were overlooked, please reply below and point us to the specific object so that we may review it.

After all, this challenge was created as a fun test of observation rather than a strict examination. Perhaps our team missed something. Perhaps one of you spotted a detail that escaped even the sharpest eyes among us. Let us compare notes and see whether we can uncover every last secret hidden in the image together.

The screenshots below show all objects identified by our team.

Once any additional observations have been reviewed, the findings will be finalized and the winners will be selected from the entries that came closest to the final verified results.

The sharpest eyes may yet reveal one last secret.
— Elvina, Keeper of Lost Knowledge

 

[KnowledgeKeeper Elvina]

Our current findings:

Spoiler: Stairs: 6

Spoiler: Swords: 3

we might consider this third one and not the one beside it

 

[KnowledgeKeeper Elvina]

Spoiler: Arch-shaped crossings:

 

[iamthouth]

You're missing a stair (2) on the stone path.

And two obvious ones top centre.

At low quality, it is impossible to call your no. 1 a set of stairs.

 

[LadyWanda]

These are my findings: for the archways where I found 7:
3 arches in fore grounds
1 to the right far side inside the mountain
1 behind the vestige of eternity where the statue stands
1 at the end of the bridge walkway
1 at the top to the screen at the edge of the lake that looks like a key hole.

Thank you for letting me know I found the 6 stairs and 3 sword.
LadyWanda