Lord Buckethead Posted January 16, 2018 Posted January 16, 2018 (edited) While it is true that the Mokolei don't celebrate Merrynight, a national holiday does exist that just so happens to fall on Merrynight Eve. The festivities of Riq'ya, for which there exists no translation commemorate the birth of the first Mokolei Emperor, Jawed I. It is believed that the royal family is descended of the great dragons of old and as such many in the Empire revere them as gods amongst men. Riq'ya is regarded as the day when the fortunes of men for the coming year are decided and when the Emperor may forgive sinners. In some satrapies it is also a day when prayers are arranged for ones deceased ancestors. Riq'ya is widely regarded as the single most important day in the Mokolei calendar and involves many festivals and street parades following the prayers that are meant to herald the new year. The parades often involves the use of dragon costumes and fire, both of which are symbolic of the Emperor, his family and Imperial power. Having resolved the tense situation in Tazelft and having regrouped with the rest of the expedition it was finally time to set off, but before they departed it was decided that Captain Fernsby and Lieutenant Williams should head back in to town to purchase supplies (alcohol) for the officers. Little did they know however, today was the holy day of Riq'ya, a day of major festivals in the Mokolei Empire and so it wasn't long before they found themselves sipping on an ice cold beverage atop a quaint cafe, observing the festivities below. Fernsby: That costume, have you ever seen anything like it before? Williams: No sir, it looks completely alien to me. Do you know what it is. Fernsby: Absolutely no idea, but it would seem that these people worship the creature as some sort of deity, perhaps it is some sort of god. Williams: Perhaps, if so at least it possesses a certain aesthetic quality that the gods of the faith are sorely lacking. Fernsby: Indeed. Lieutenant do you see those performers down there. Williams: Aye sir. Fernsby: What is that man standing on. Williams: They would appear to be sticks. Fernsby: What purpose do you think they serve? Williams: I suppose it is to make him look taller, these people are incredibly short you know As both men chuckled they were approached by a local man, he was well dressed and clearly wealthy. Kumar: Greetings gentlemen, my name is Kumar Ali and I come to you on behalf of his majesty the Satrap Darius. His majesty requests your presence at his palace tonight, do you accept his request? The two officers glanced at each other. Fernsby: We will graciously accept his majesty's invitation, what time must we be there? Kumar: You needn't worry about that Captain Fernsby, a rickshaw will be sent for you when the time is right. Fernsby: How will you know where to find us? Kumar: Trust me Captain we will know, not a thing goes on in his majesty's territory without his knowledge. Good day gentlemen Nobody else stopped going about their business however, here a chef prepares a delicious feast for those that can afford it. _________________________ Thank you for viewing my entry to @Drunknok minichallenge, I would just like to apologise to Drunknok for the late entry, I hope it was somewhat worth it. To be truthful I wasn't going to build an entry due to time restraints but then I saw that the deadline was extended and thought that I may be able to get one out and I did, albeit almost two days late. Edited January 17, 2018 by Lord Buckethead Quote
Professor Thaum Posted January 17, 2018 Posted January 17, 2018 the stilts and the juggler -> excellent the dragon -> awesome nice touche of color with the canopy Quote
Bregir Posted January 17, 2018 Posted January 17, 2018 Great looking entry, LB! I like how you have combined the middle Eastern Mokolei with Chinese festival activities - and your success in doing so showcases why we should not let real world influences be a limiting factor, but instead let it serve as inspiration. The dragon and the rest of the parade is well done and the hanging lanterns a great touch. The surrounding buildings are great too, and I like the staircase and market stall. That you then tie it into the Mokolei expedition is just perfect! I'd suggest you link this build in the adventure topic too, as it is part of that story. I shall be looking forward to seeing what happens in the meeting with the satrap! Will the diplomat and ETTC representatives be joining too? :) Quote
Kai NRG Posted January 17, 2018 Posted January 17, 2018 Great job, very festive - I really like the dragon! The guy on stilts is great too. But I'm wondering how the camel rider will make it under all those lanterns! Quote
blackdeathgr Posted January 17, 2018 Posted January 17, 2018 I LOVED it!!! The dragon is a fascinating moc on its own, let alone all the other little things going on in your build! Quote
Lord Buckethead Posted January 21, 2018 Author Posted January 21, 2018 (edited) On 17 January 2018 at 3:22 PM, Professor Thaum said: the stilts and the juggler -> excellent the dragon -> awesome nice touche of color with the canopy Thanks Thaum! On 17 January 2018 at 5:33 PM, Bregir said: Great looking entry, LB! I like how you have combined the middle Eastern Mokolei with Chinese festival activities - and your success in doing so showcases why we should not let real world influences be a limiting factor, but instead let it serve as inspiration. The dragon and the rest of the parade is well done and the hanging lanterns a great touch. The surrounding buildings are great too, and I like the staircase and market stall. That you then tie it into the Mokolei expedition is just perfect! I'd suggest you link this build in the adventure topic too, as it is part of that story. I shall be looking forward to seeing what happens in the meeting with the satrap! Will the diplomat and ETTC representatives be joining too? :) Thanks Bregir, I remembered a few months back @Mesabi suggested that the Mokolei Empire could be Chinese inspired, while it was already sort of established that the Mokolei were something else I thought that he could be on to something so I decided to mix in some of their aesthetics with the Middle Eastern/Indian culture we had already come up with. I wasn't sure how it would work but I'm pretty happy with it. I will be sure to link it in the adventure topic soon. To be honest I hadn't actually thought about including the diplomat or the representative, it sort of slipped my mind as the adventure hasn't been on my agenda in quite a while, hopefully we can get back into it next month, but to answer your question, yes the representative and diplomat will most likely be joining them for...well it's a secret. ;) On 18 January 2018 at 1:28 AM, Kai NRG said: Great job, very festive - I really like the dragon! The guy on stilts is great too. But I'm wondering how the camel rider will make it under all those lanterns! Thanks Kai, fun fact the camel rider was actually meant to be the guy who approaches Fernsby and Williams (I just wasn't happy with any of the shots that I had with him up there so I didn't include the pictures) so he does make it through but looking at the picture it would appear that there is no way to do so without being clothesline by the lanterns, perhaps he dismounts. On 18 January 2018 at 4:05 AM, blackdeathgr said: I LOVED it!!! The dragon is a fascinating moc on its own, let alone all the other little things going on in your build! Thanks BD, I was actually most conflicted about including the dragon, wasn't too sure if it would fit with the Mokolei Empire, but looking at your comments I'm glad I did. Edited January 21, 2018 by Lord Buckethead Quote
Ayrlego Posted January 21, 2018 Posted January 21, 2018 Great entry to the mini challenge Lord B and a great addition to Mokolei lore - you should add a link to it in the Mokolei entry in Jameis Farstrider's Guide. I love the bustling and lively feel of the scene and the mixture of cultures works quite well (that dragon is fantastic!). Great job! Quote
Elostirion Posted January 30, 2018 Posted January 30, 2018 Such an amazingly cool dragon. Absolutely bananas. I love it. The scene with its general ambience, and especially the houses and market booth are really well built. The paving of the street looks fantastic (never thought of using 2x2 round plates instead of tiles, but in this setting those are perfect). What impresses me most is how you have improved your presentation skills. Fantastic work here! Keep it up! :-) Quote
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