Encounter at the Forgotten Monastery

[MassEditor]

Anfauglir's lieutenant, Samarkand, reached the old monastery just before dawn. Needles of light from the rising sun revealed the ruins as he approached, its crumbling walls a testament to the destruction Nocturnus had suffered for as long as anyone could remember. Abandoned many years ago, it was a perfect place to meet an old friend and an ally to the Nocturnian resistance.

Fortunately the journey was uneventful, though long. Only a few small patrols evidenced the Black Spire's increasing chokehold on the Darklands, and they were easily skirted. Samarkand had ridden almost without stop to the monastery, he placed such importance on this meeting. He dismounted and left the tired animal to rest in the treeline surrounding the ruins.

Pulling out his sword, Samarkand cautiously left the woods. Upon approaching the monastery a cloaked figure emerged from the entrance. The figure lifted its hood and Samarkand instantly recognized the beautiful Avalonian woman underneath. She smiled and then spoke.

"You still know how to take a girl to a beautiful place. Things haven't changed a bit, have they Samarkand?"

Samarkand sheathed his sword and relaxed. It had been too long since he had seen her.

"If my memories still serve me well then it was you, Hexana, you chose to meet here. Of all the lands in Nocturnus, I don't think you could have picked an uglier one. These colors give me a headache!"

"Oh, I forget how much you Nocturnians love your dark caves and foggy swamps, but there was little alternative. Hand soldiers are patrolling the roads, and there are few places his spies do not stalk. At least here we can enjoy some privacy."

Samarkand looked away. In the distance he could see the great Rakarth Mountains, where Anfauglir's rebellion was staging against Raavage and his crony, the Covenant lord Senurhem. It was only a matter of time before their hidden redoubt was no longer safe, either.

"Unfortunately, Hexana, we cannot enjoy it together for long. It is pressing that I get back to my men. I do not haste our departure, but Anfauglir parted several nights before myself to meet with Lord Vladivus and Lord Mortis of the resistance. I take grave risk leaving my men leaderless in the mountains."

Senurhem returned his gaze to Hexana.

"You said you found something of great importance - what do you have?"

Hexana opened her side pack and revealed a piece of ragged parchment. She handed the scroll to Samarkand, who could see terrain features and a written language he could barely make out. Hexana could see he was intrigued.

"It's a map, but to what I don't know. From the look in the Hand commander's eyes when I took it from him, though, I figured it was pretty important."

Few things surprised Samarkand about Hexana nowadays, her past feats were so great. She had fought in almost every battle - and on almost every side - since the Revolwood wars. She even served for a time with the prestigious Shadowmere Assassin and Intelligence Guild. But Samarkand could tell instantly that the captured map was more than just the usual intelligence exploit.

"How in Historica did you come across this?"

"Six days ago I stumbled across a Hand patrol. At first I thought nothing of it, but then I noticed the leader - by his uniform, a full-fledged field commander. These guys usually don't leave Raavage's side, so I knew something was up. I followed the patrol and that night snuck into the tent the soldiers had set up to house their pig-commander. The idiot had a case chained to his wrist, so I figured he had something he didn't want to share. Unfortunately, his screams when I removed the chain alerted the camp and I had to leave in a hurry. My horse fled in the panic, so I had to walk here the rest of the way. I think that deserves a pat on the back, wouldn't you say?"

Samarkand laughed.

"Indeed, that was quite the story! I cannot say for sure, but from what Anfauglir has told me, this map appears to show the location of the artifact Raavage is looking for. This piece, it is told, would allow him to raise an army of the dead. I must show this to Anfauglir at once, he would know for sure. Hexana, if we can get to the artifact before Raavage we may have a chance in stopping him, and your name will be heralded across Historica! This coup ten-thousand soldiers could not accomplish!"

Hexana stared impatiently at Samarkand.

"I just pray for peace to find its way to Nocturnus and all of Historica. I tire of the soldier's life, of death and hardship. I want to live the rest of my life in tranquility - with you, Samarkand." Hexana grabbed his hand. "Do not think I have forgotten our nights together."

Samarkand reached in to embrace her. They held each other for several moments before he spoke.

"How could I forget the best moments of my life. When this is all over, I promise we will be together. Forever. We'll get a nice little place in the mountains, away from all these colors."

Hexana laughed. "As long as you let me have that flower garden we talked about."

A rustle in the nearby woods caught Samarkand’s attention. He did not hear the twang of the bow until the arrow had already found its mark. In front of him, Hexana moaned and fell into Samarkand’s arms. For a moment time slowed as Samarkand held her, oblivious to the dozens of black arrows that were now falling all around them.

Quickly he picked up Hexana and began to run. Samarkand had covered only a short distance before he was struck in the leg, causing both to tumble to the ground.

“Samarkand, I cannot survive this wound – you must leave me here.”

The words struck Samarkand like a cold hammer.

“No! You’re coming with me even if it means my death. You’re not-“

Hexana cut him off.

“This map has to reach the resistance, with or without me.” Hexana coughed, and began to breathe slower. Samarkand could see the light fading from her eyes. “You made a promise that we would live together forever, once this was all over… stop Raavage, and make sure this is really over. You shall find me in the afterlife, and then you can fulfill your promise. Don’t let a lady down…”

With those words, Samarkand watched the last trace of life leave Hexana’s body. Hazily he stood up, narrowly avoiding the axe swing from a Hand soldier who had neared to finish them off. More were following closely behind, and Samarkand killed nine before unsheathing his sword, his wrath was so great. Two dozen more were quickly dispatched. The second wave of soldiers witnessed the slaughter and briefly recoiled.

Their hesitation allowed Samarkand to reach his horse and escape, soon leaving the pursing foot soldiers far behind. Still clutching the map in one hand, he turned and could see Hexana lying near the monastery. Samarkand saw a group of Hand soldiers approach her martyred body before he turned a corner and lost sight of her forever.

Several troops were already pilfering through Hexana’s equipment when an officer wearing ornate battle armor approached. He kicked the soldiers to the side and ordered them executed on the spot. The commander reached down to pick up the empty map case and tossed it furiously to the side. Silently, he signaled a group of mounted Hand riders to follow Samarkand. Bandages on one arm betrayed a grievous wound, as if a hand had been recently removed.

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A full shot of this MOC and a few other angles:

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About this MOC: Greetings again! Sorry if you guys have seen some of these pics already on Flickr - I got snagged by life when I tried to get the story and other pics finished for GoH. In any case, thanks for checking it out! Feedback is of course welcome!

Edited November 20, 2014 by MassEditor

[Tomsche]

Delightfully creepy!

[Slegengr]

This is really nice, ME!

The tiled walls with ruinous holes are very nice, as is the general ruined feel of the structure. The landscaping has a marvelous balance of foliage, rocks, and color, especially the autumn trees contrasting the deep green foliage. That sand green pool looks great, as does the nearby fallen tree! The story is very intriguing and leaves me sad but wanting more. The only thing that bothers me is the vast expanse of plain, flat plates around the structure. A few rocks, elevation variation, or color variation would help this out.

Brick on, ME!

[Saint]

.... speechless !!!

I salute you , this is great !! :drool:

grtz Saint

[Jorrith]

WOW! Definatly love the story, but that build... The last pictures are just jawdropping! Brick on ME!

[Gunman]

Awesome work once again ME! Amazing building.

[Jakorin Swiftsword]

Well done!

[mccoyed]

Slow. Clap. One of the best and most unique combinations of build and story in your impressive ouevre. Just top notch yet again! I really like that the story is a tragic romance between an unlikely pair. Just enhances everything else.

[Mr Greeble]

Beautiful, fantastic work.

[ZCerberus]

Sweet build ME!

[Thomas of Tortuga]

You are one heck of a writer. Wow. That story was awesome and fit the build perfectly.

The build, too, is just gorgeous. The trees are great, and the texturing of the monastery is incredible. The photography on the last couple pictures is the icing on the cake for this. If I was joining GoH right now, this build would have me instantly picking Nocturnus.

[Bacon Potatoes]

Lovely work! The foliage in this build is great!

[Kai NRG]

Love the contrast between the dk brown dirt and the light grey rocks, really stands out! The uprooted tree is a great touch as well!

[Kayne]

This was quite a treat! the build is fantastic as is the story. i must say that some of your details are what I enjoy the most. the dead tree lying next to the swamp is but one great example of that.

[Hammerhand]

Really awesome build man, and great story too!

[robuko]

Lovely. Colour, texture, love, hate, tragedy, this has it all. Excellent photography and lighting, as a wonderful build deserves.

[Lord Vladivus]

Wow Mass, this is awesome. I really like the colours, and you've captured the ruined feel perfectly! Fantastic story, love the nods to Shadowmere! Hexana will be sorely missed!

[narbilu]

Awesome... I bow for you m'Lord

[Gideon]

Excellent build! The structure and trees look great (not least the fallen one) and I love the color palette as well :)

And as usual, top notch photography.

[MassEditor]

Thanks a lot y'all, glad you enjoyed it!

You are one heck of a writer. Wow. That story was awesome and fit the build perfectly.

The build, too, is just gorgeous. The trees are great, and the texturing of the monastery is incredible. The photography on the last couple pictures is the icing on the cake for this. If I was joining GoH right now, this build would have me instantly picking Nocturnus.

Thanks Thomas! I'm sure you'd be welcome in Nocturnus any time!

Slow. Clap. One of the best and most unique combinations of build and story in your impressive ouevre. Just top notch yet again! I really like that the story is a tragic romance between an unlikely pair. Just enhances everything else.

Thanks Mccoyed, really glad you liked the story!

This is really nice, ME!

The tiled walls with ruinous holes are very nice, as is the general ruined feel of the structure. The landscaping has a marvelous balance of foliage, rocks, and color, especially the autumn trees contrasting the deep green foliage. That sand green pool looks great, as does the nearby fallen tree! The story is very intriguing and leaves me sad but wanting more. The only thing that bothers me is the vast expanse of plain, flat plates around the structure. A few rocks, elevation variation, or color variation would help this out.

Brick on, ME!

Great advice, thanks a lot Slegengr! In hindsight I agree completely, a little more detail around the monastery would have been nice. My original thought was to keep the area bare so attention really focused on the building.

Excellent build! The structure and trees look great (not least the fallen one) and I love the color palette as well :)

And as usual, top notch photography.

Thanks Gideon, I have to admit photographing this was a real pain!

Edited November 21, 2014 by MassEditor

[Slegengr]

Great advice, thanks a lot Slegengr! In hindsight I agree completely, a little more detail around the monastery would have been nice. My original thought was to keep the area bare so attention really focused on the building.

I do agree with your original thought that the ground should be plain, but it is just a tad too plain (mostly the fact that it is perfectly flat with no details). The ground should be mostly bare to focus the attention on the building, but it looks less realistic and more TLG-ish when only a flat plate is used. I am looking forward to more of your amazing builds and stories!

[MKJoshA]

Amazing as always Mass. Great work!

[Garmadon]

Great job with the texturing on the ruined monastery, MassEditor! The trees, rock-work, foliage, and color choice are all fantastic as well, excellent build!

[kabel]

It always takes a while for you to post something new but I suppose building amazing stuff like this takes some time. So, It's actually worth waiting for!

Anyway, interesting but sad story, overwhelming building skills as always.

[Tuinman]

Great story and the way you took the pictures really add to it.

And your MOC, I'm speechless. Awesome