Because of how the sun and moon orbit the Earth, the length of day and night changes as time goes on. In the winter, night falls earlier than it does in the summer. This balance between night and day has been a part of our lives as long as we can remember. In this cycle, there is one point where the two sides even out, which we call an equinox. The Spring and Autumn equinox each happen in their respective season when day and night are twelve hours each. Another way to view an equinox is as the midpoint between summer and winter.

When forced to construct a temple with the Lord of Winter, the Lord of Summer initiated a battle that created a large river, dividing the Temple of Autumnal Equinox into two separate structures. Stories say that there is treasure to be found in the ruins. However, explorers must be careful, for once the Autumn Equinox is over, the rivers will rise and they will be swept away. At least, that’s how the legend goes in The Autumnal Equinox Temple by FireArrow.

Despite the promise of grim consequences that will come with the ending of the Autumn Equinox, you don’t have to worry about your time. You begin with a little over 166 minutes, which translates to roughly two and a half hours. You may be tempted to use this time to explore the absolutely beautiful scenery and design constructed by FireArrow. The small details added to the design make this a stunning display of craftsmanship. The design itself reminds me of Linden’s Sand Castle Island by OkaySamurai, especially the structure of the walls.

You begin the level on one side of the river, faced with a broken bridge leading to the other side. While on the current side, you must locate the moving platforms that will build a makeshift bridge to transport you across the river. Throughout your hunt, you will move boxes, explore underwater, and navigate spike traps. Along the way you might stumble upon some side paths, which contain plenty of treasure for any explorer. Once you have reached the other side, navigating some more traps will lead you to the final finish flag. As with the other side, there are many caches of treasure hidden in the area. You will also find a key, which unlocks a hidden underwater cavern on the other side, provided you have not lost any lives.

Scoring for this level is pretty basic. For every life remaining, you receive 100 points. For every second, one point. Your score multiplier is pretty boring, remaining at x1. With ten lives, 10,000 seconds, and plenty of hidden treasure, claiming gold may be a difficult task. I was admittedly lazy with this LOTD challenge score, earning only 10,664 points. At the time of writing, this puts me at 3rd place. So today I weakly ask, can you beat me? -Colinnn
Staff Score: 10664 (Colinnn)