22 replies to this topic

[rogueang]

Deep in the Eastern Swamplands of Moruth, resides one of the ancient oaks of a past age.  This oak has survived the great plagues that have beset the lands of Nocturnus under the watchful eyes of the Elven clans.  Different clans have inhabited the oak over the years, and the current clan in residence is the Rustling Leaves Clan of Avalonia.  The Oak has long served as a meeting point with the inhabitants of Nocturnus who need the assistance of the elves.  Over the past centuries, Nocturnus has fallen into darkness, and the ancient Oak has been forgotten by the Nocturnii.  It is quite a site to behold for those few that happen upon it.



The fortress built into the heart of the tree, was built in the style of Old Dallaenus, as shown on the exterior of the fortress.



The swamps long ago flooded this land, and the Ancient Oak is the last remnant of richer, healthier times.  The surrounding land is populated by indigenous swamp species of flora and fauna.





Once the land became flooded, the elves built a pier beneath the Oak, to allow access to the fortress.  There is a stairway up to the fortress that can be raised in times of trouble.



The first floor is where guests are seen and issues addressed.  Varis has traveled to the Ancient Oak, so that he may ascertain the situation in Nocturnus, and the recent activities of the Drow.  He is currently meeting with one of the Dwarven clans, a representative of the Reptilians, one of the Minotaur tribes and an Orc Warlord.  The minotaur bodyguards are awaiting their leader in the entry room.



The standard of the Rustling Leaves Clan adorns the wall in the entry room.



The Orcs and Dwarves also brought contingents, who await them in the antechamber.



Varis is meeting with the various representatives, discussing the potential alliances and actions that may be undertaken.



Altaris, the commander of the fortress, watches as the discussion ensues.



The 2nd floor of the fortress consists of living chambers for the elven inhabitants, and provides access to the balcony.





The balcony has a small garden, with a statue of Dallaenus, the great Elven Lord who founded this fortress.






The Ancient Oak has provided a great outpost for the Elves, from which they have been able to once again establish tentative ties with the inhabitants of Nocturnus.  The Elves hope to reverse the present course of death and destruction that runs rampant among many of the lords and ladies of this land, and someday eradicate plague that is the Drow from this world once and for all.

I have a high-rez (kinda) folder on Flickr since Brickshelf appears to be down.

Edited by rogueang, 29 January 2012 - 04:40 AM.

[SkaForHire]

Wow. I love your elf designs, and I personally really dislike elves in general, so that is saying a lot. I was hoping you would have made top 5 with your tower, I think this is just as quality. Your uniqueness has no equal so far in these competition. Keep up the great work. I love how the scene is set up!








On another note, this creation is well worth my 500th all-time post! :)

[Niku]

You have done a totally elf organic structure.
I love it, I was going to comment other embassies threads and guild buildings, but I am glad seeing your first. All compliments for you.
And the interior is also great.

[robuko]

Hot dog, you`ve done it again!  Amazing!  Very original, beautifully detailed interior, nice story and posing, great parts use.  Wonderful build.

[Niku]

This building deserves a bump.
As I saw that commenting on other threads, kind of put it far from the top.
Greetings.  

[rogueang]

Lol!  Thanks for the bump Niku.  

Thanks for the comments Ska, Niku and Roboku!  I had wanted to build a tree-fortress, and figured I could make it work as an embassy.  I am so glad to be finished with this challenge! I enjoyed building it, but it's been taking up all my building time for the last month and a half.  There's always something to add, or improve, so I figured I would post it once I got all my foliage from BL.  Now I get to see what everyone else creates (and there are some great Embassies already.)

[Evil Stu]

Wow. So much detail! Stand out points for me are the roofing, integration of guild/clan colours, local foliage, interior detailing and the 'underwater' scene too. Excellent work all round!

[Gabe]

Wow, stunning work Rogueang! I love the cascading effect at the top of tree in particular. The crazy plant life in the swamp also looks amazing, and the interiors are top-notch too. I am also building an embassy in the Moruth (yet to start actually - lol), this will be hard to top!

[Damaximus]

Really great Embassy!!!!

I also like your vegetation and minifigs!


Even it is quite symmetric for an old tree, it's absolutely not disturbing, so very great job with the Oak


One question: I see a dwarve, minotaur, some elves, a normal guy and some kind of I don't know what it is. Who is that sitting minifig?
=> never mind: a reptilian where you found him?

Edited by DaMaximus, 29 January 2012 - 09:27 AM.

[Derfel Cadarn]

This is a very original and interesting moc! I love it! Great design and you have added so many nice details. Not many people choose to add interiors(I'm guilty of been lazy here) but this is the second very well built interior I have seen from you and it looks excellent. Great idea and execution, another great Embassy from Avalonia!

[kabel]

Yeah, brighten up those damned lands of Nocturnus, curse all them creepy villains that try to spoil Historica with their arsenic breath! I really like the story even more than the build, which itself is pretty cool, especially the underwater construction got me smiling. But dude, the story is what it really makes it awesome!!

[Abu Dun]

A fascinating build which more than succeeds in conveying the idea of an avalonian embassy in nocturnian lands While it may be a bit too symmetrical for an elven building, it feels very organic and and incorporates the structures of the oak very well. What I like the most, though, is the crown of this magnificient tree, which looks amazing

Also, good job on the swamp-creature/plant, it looks very unique and fits right into the swamp, with its lime-green and black colour scheme.

Edited by Abu Dun, 29 January 2012 - 02:11 PM.

[de Gothia]

Wow! What an impressive embassy! Really like that big hanging effect on the tree top you put in! Just love it!!

The interior is also really great! Fun to see that you are building some unexpecting mocs. Like this and your watchtower!  

[rogueang]

Thanks for all the comments!

Stu: The underwater scene was the whole selling point for me on building in Nocturnus.  I figured that I could get some pretty cool architecture for the compound wall in Kaliphlin, and I could utilize snow in a Mitgardian embassy, but I really wanted to do the water scene.  

Gabe: I was really unsure of what to do with my swamp flora until I happened upon those lime green exo-force pieces in my collection, and viola!  Also, those mushrooms pieces were pretty much created for Nocturnus.  I pick-a-bricked the lime green 1x1s a year ago without any clue as to what I would use them for, and it turns out I have a use for them..You better get going on your embassy!  You've only got 15 days left.  Not much time for Bricklink orders, if you need them, which I always seem to I really want to see your Moruth build!

DaMaximus: The reptilian was modeled after I Scream Clone's reptilians on the Nocturnus pages - the head is Bossk from the Slave I (version 3).  I had to shoot the tree about 40 times to get a picture that didn't look too angular, and kept putting foliage over "seams" in the branches.

Derfel: I feel like the exterior and the interior are too different animals all together, as the interior is a completely different building style.  I had to remodel the exterior to fit a substantial interior inside, but I like the exterior better because of it.  With MOCs, I think there are situations where an interior "clutters" the MOC.  It is nice to see maybe 2 or 3 pictures of a beautiful exterior, and that is it.  I felt like by the time I was to my last picture, everyone would forget what my tree looked like, so I added another full picture at the end.

Kabel:  I hope to pursue this storyline, if Nocturnus is OK with it.  There have to got to be some inhabitants chafing under the tyrannical rule of this land.  We'll see what's coming in the future for Historica (could be a good mustering point to invade Nocturnus, just saying.... )

Abu Dun: I really would have preferred to avoid the symmetry with the branches and foliage, I couldn't think of a better way to accomplish that.  My foliage was limited by the 48x48 guideline, which had me worried with 40x40 branches, but it turned out better than I thought.  If I built separate buildings instead of one encompassing the trunk, I might be able to get that arboreal asymmetry.  Definitely might be a future build.

deGothia:  I really wanted to build a tree-fortress, and I figured that if I didn't build it for one of the challenges, it wouldn't get built, or I wouldn't put the effort in that I should.  I've been embracing the whole Elven thing, but I'll have to switch it up soon.  I am really looking forward to my Albion build, but it got pushed to the side due to this challenge.  Maybe I'll start working towards that and my title builds now.

Edited by rogueang, 29 January 2012 - 02:47 PM.

[MikeyB]

Great stuff rougeang!  Varis is a busy elf! (I should finish the Lord Arlindus feast at the Captian's Hall today.)

The canopy of the tree is great. The story line is great.  I am envious of how you seem to incorporate interiors into your builds, even more so after the one I have been working on!  I also haven't found any of the series 6 minifigs yet so I am envious of your minotaurs!

Looking forward to your next build (Albion you say?)

[ZCerberus]

Bravo indeed.

[Otherworld]

This is so magical!    I love the interior

[Captain BeerBeard]

Wow! This is definitely top 5!

[Balthasar]

What an epic treefortress! It has so many great features, the size of the tree, the concept, the roofing, plantlife, underwater scene, and of course a stunning interior. I really love it!

[NiceMarmot]

Wow. This is great. The tree is magnificent. And the interiors are wonderful. I've really got to get better at interiors, and this is an inspiration. I see that I definitely have to order more tiles for floors.  And I really like the roof made of 1x1 round bricks. I am cursing myself a bit, as I was looking at some cheap 1x1 round bricks on BrickLink the other day while filling out an order, and I passed on them because I couldn't think of a use for a lot of them. Oops.

[Doornroosje]

Another great Elvish build! I really like your unique building style. Your interiour is great too. Very nice and original interiour details, I just keep looking at the pictures again and again and keep finding new things.

[I Scream Clone]

Great job rogue! A nicely detailed moc from the Moruth swamplands.

[Palathadric]

I love how green this is! Fantastic! Very neat ideas on this MOC in general. Good work. The buildings of these guilds just keeps getting better.