[OL-FB] Under heavy rain

[Keymonus]

Somewhere in the jungle, El Oleonda, May 624

Rain was falling on El Oleonda. The violent storms that had flooded the island's southwest had finally ended, and water had finally returned to the riverbeds, but cloudy skies and heavy showers were still taking the place of the endless summer of New Haven Seas. It was not like the cold rainfalls of Eranos woods, slowly soaking your clothes and freezing you to the bones: instead, the large, warm drops seemed to hit the ground violently, almost with anger.

Everything in the defensive position was still, apart from the rain. No other movement could be seen, no other sound could be heard. The position seemed completely abandoned, but this could have easily been a trap: on El Oleonda, every little imprudence could be paid with the life of someone... yours, most likely.

That day, however, there was no trap waiting for them. The trenches were filled with rainwater almost to the rim, and weeds had started to grow on the earthworks. One of the chasseurs moved closer and closer, while his companions prepared to cover him. At the end, with a silent prayer, the man stood up. Nothing happened.

"All clear, General! There's no one here! This place seems abandoned!"

Tristan advanced, followed by the rest of the unit. After the return from the rescue operation in Neuburg, Tristan's unit was taking part in the search operations into the jungle, between Seawatch and the Great Northern Bay. And, once again, they had stumbled across an abandoned Lotii position. Apart from occasional skirmishes with bands of Lotii stragglers, this was all they had found up to that moment: trenches, well-positioned batteries, warehouses... all completely deserted. The enemy had retreated after the Battle of Seawatch, but how far remained a mystery. Well, now they could move a little forward the line on the map, and mark a new site for the engineers recovering abandoned artillery pieces.

Tristan didn't understand. From a position like that one, a company of soldiers could have repelled a regiment, allowing an ordered retreat of the rest of the army. They were distant enough from Seawatch, and the Coalition forces had not pursued the enemies that far. Still, the commanders had not managed to rally their soldiers. But why? Was everyone still in panic, after the defeat and the attacks from Du Pont's Tigers? Or was that place considered unsafe for some other reason?

In any case, they wouldn't have found any answer in that place, this was clear. There was no point in remaining there, standing under the rain. Tristan ordered his men to set up the camp, but also to double the usual number of sentries, just to be safe. He would have also ordered not to light a fire, but with the tropical rain, unfortunately, this seemed completely superfluous... If the Lotii had abandoned that place in haste, it was better not to lower the guard.

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Overall view:

I don't know if or when the Lotii will be removed from El Oleonda in Era III, but I still want to "use" them for this storyline. As with the reconnaissance operations before the Battle of Seawatch, only isolated patrols or individuals will appear, and nothing about the real plans of the Lotii commanders will be defined.

[evancelt]

That rain effect is so cool! Nice work

[NOD]

Very interesting story! The flooded trenches in the rain are well built. I also really like the medieval cannon.

[Yperio_Bricks]

Nice moc and story! The rain filled trench looks great. I guess you used trans bricks to fill the trench?

[Jeff of Clubs]

Love the flooded earthworks effect you achieved! Keep on your toes out there, gentlemen!

[Keymonus]

Thank you guys! In my last builds I experimented a little with water effects... I wasn't sure about the rain effect, but it turned out quite well!

On 5/13/2024 at 8:47 PM, Yperio_Bricks said:

I guess you used trans bricks to fill the trench?

Yes! With 1 layer of bricks, the result is the one you see (water, but still a little muddy), while with more layers it looks more like clear water (and also becomes too part-intensive)! 

[Captain Braunsfeld]

I like that rain effect very much - congratulations! 

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

The rain effect is incredible... it's the first time I've seen it in a MOC!

[Keymonus]

On 6/19/2024 at 8:27 AM, Captain Braunsfeld said:

I like that rain effect very much - congratulations! 

Thank you!!! I’m happy you liked this little MOC! Ideally the bars should be like 1 brick longer, but I’m very satisfied with the result!

On 6/19/2024 at 10:55 PM, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

The rain effect is incredible... it's the first time I've seen it in a MOC!

Thanks!!!