Yloquen Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 (edited) The Royal Archives - Dragon Riders The idea behind this is to build on the world of LEGO Castle and also experiment with this form of presentation. This one is not a MOC, though the same can be done for MOCs. That's all for now, I hope you enjoy this, and if so I might make more ... Edited July 27, 2008 by Yloquen Quote
The Bricksmith Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 This is a good idea, adding some story along with the work is a great combination. Good job. Quote
Sandy Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 (edited) I'm loving this! The official LEGO website only gives a simple, rather clichéd background story to the Castle-theme, so it's great to see someone expanding on that! The photography and the presentation are really cool and fitting for the theme, as well. Edited July 27, 2008 by Sandy Quote
Francis Marion Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 Excellent story! I really hope you use this model of dragons for future MOCs and/or vignettes or whatever else you want to use it for. I might actually try to use this to explain the dragon attacking my castle... I'm really surprised Dragonator hasn't posted on this yet... very unlike him Quote
Shoc Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 (edited) Interesting little story thing, which could be expanded on, and nice photography! I'm really surprised Dragonator hasn't posted on this yet... very unlike him He's not necessarily on all the time. Like I am. It's half past six in the morning where he is! :skull: Edited July 27, 2008 by Shoc Quote
Francis Marion Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 It's half past six in the morning where he is! Regardless, I think that his "Dragon Senses" or something would wake him up and force him to get on Eurobricks... Quote
Shoc Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 Regardless, I think that his "Dragon Senses" or something would wake him up and force him to get on Eurobricks... Hahaha. My Dragon Sense is tingling! No offense Dragonator, if you do read this. :skull: Quote
Francis Marion Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 No offense Dragonator, if you do read this. Oh, he will, I'm sure of it Quote
iamded Posted July 27, 2008 Posted July 27, 2008 A fantastic summary, Yloquen. Great presentation to go with the great story, I hope to see more from you! Like the 'giant trolls' or something. What about the black dragons as well? ~Peace Quote
Yloquen Posted July 28, 2008 Author Posted July 28, 2008 (edited) Thanks, I'm glad you like it. I myself am a sucker for such snippets of information that build the background of some fantasy world - like books of concept art and explanations. I'm loving this! The official LEGO website only gives a simple, rather clichéd background story to the Castle-theme, so it's great to see someone expanding on that!The photography and the presentation are really cool and fitting for the theme, as well. I remember reading that LEGO did not want to create too much background story to go with the castle theme, so that more is left to the fantasy of its fans. Me, being a fan decided to add a bit, though I couldn't find almost anything to ensure continuity between their story and mine :) I know there is a map, however I couldn't find it, if anyone could point out a link, that would be useful ... A fantastic summary, Yloquen. Great presentation to go with the great story, I hope to see more from you! Like the 'giant trolls' or something. What about the black dragons as well?~Peace Unfortunately I don't have a black dragon. I have a big troll though, so I might make something about him. Edited July 28, 2008 by Yloquen Quote
Dragonator Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 (edited) Oh a dragon topic! I love these things!! I'm looking forward to a very long, in-depth discussion. Hope you don't mind. Regardless, I think that his "Dragon Senses" or something would wake him up and force him to get on Eurobricks... I was wondering why I woke up with a headache... (Funniest thing I've read all day by the way. That and the bit about Dragon Senses tingling, now that was hilarious! Man I must seem insane to some of you! Maybe I am... ) Go Dragons!! Yloquen, welcome to the world my Fan club! Your our most recent member, be proud! Once your in, its addictive. Take a pamphlet, sit ye on down, and have fun! This is great, I love it when I see people doing Dragon promotion work! Excellent indeed! Soon they will rule the world once again!!! (Oh, I must say now that I usually get a bit carried away when talking about dragons, and will, steering away from my usual calm and solemn self, most likely use far to many exclamation marks and act like a total fan boy. My views are also pretty, um, radical sometimes, so if I step over the line and cause offence, please tell me immediately, as I most certainly do not intend too. Right, explanation over, on to dragon talk!) This is an excellent piece of writing, well laid out and with some excellent photos and story. Anything about dragons is amazing in my book! We all have different ways of interpreting dragons, how we see them, how we think they would behave etc, and I enjoy seeing what other people think of these great, noble creatures; whether they think they are simply dumb beasts of little importance ( Death to anyone who thinks that), to whether they think they are the smartest, most intelligent beings ever to roam this Earth, and should be worshipped and praised for there greatness (anyone who thinks this is most definitely a true fan boy. Bit like me really. ). Indeed, there will always be conflicts in view, but it is fun to debate them. Now, with my radical outlook, let's have a nice little look at some of what you've said shall we, and see what we agree and disagree on... Perhaps this could become a fun discussion of our interpretations? I haven't had a good, in-depth discussion on dragons in ages! It's almost as if nobody cares... This looks to me, from first glance, as an excellent summary of dragons in relation to the current fantasy line. Of course, there is always a need to adapt anything to fit into a different situation, for example in a scenario where other breeds of dragons are present, such as in the EBRP, where we have three breeds represented by the different types of Lego dragon. There is so much that can be said about dragons, indeed one day I would like to sit down and write a ton about them, such as about how once they lived in cities greater and more beautiful than anything seen by man, etcetera, etcetera. In the meantime, let's talk about your particular interpretation of a very controversial part of dragon society, dragon riders, and contact with humans. I most certainly agree with what you are saying in the entire first paragraph. Well done indeed! The particular breed of dragons you are detailing is very faithful, and enjoy the company of humans immensely (although they used to more enjoy the company of another mysterious race of beings, at least they will do in the EBRP, but more on that at a later date (you know, I say that a lot )). You have a gripping style of writing, right from the first sentence I liked it. I like your idea of "The Dragon Oath", seems very Eragon-like almost, but a bit different, which I like. I particularly enjoy that you have named the riders "companions" in a couple of places, rather than masters etc. This is what I truly think of as a bond between a dragon and a human, one between equals (with the dragon being dominant, of course ). What do you think about breeds? As I see it, in terms of Lego, there are three distinct breeds, the classic dragons, or 'Draco Migrus' as I have called them in the RP, the Viking dragons, or the 'Draco Famen', and the newer dragons, which I named the 'Draco Creber'. These names are translations from Latin for different forms of dragons, so I thought they might be suitable. Now riders, they have always been a difficulty. You see, I view dragons as a free beings, which can make there own choices, and have such superior intelligence (remember that little book about a certain Hitch Hiker's Guide? On the scales of intelligence, humans were 3rd, dolphines were second, that was right, but dragons should have been first, he got that bit wrong. ) that they have no need to answer to humans (of course, this is not saying they are beyond mistake, and some dragons are smarter than others. Some are just plain stupid sometimes, which I really hate to admit, but there is always a downside to any species.). However, I believe that dragons have always been a lonely and solitary race, and crave to share there knowledge and experience with someone of another species altogether. Now, looking at your second paragraph, I think your first statement is a little limiting. Certainly there are many other types of dragons that are able to befriend humans, and all dragons are intelligent enough for air-combat etc, that comes naturally. They certainly need no training from humans, in my opinion. As I think you are meaning this particular document to be in reference only to the current fantasy line dragons, and not any others, I think it fits fine, however if it were to be applied to a wider grouping, then it is a little limiting. Just my thoughts. I'm starting to ramble, so on to the next bit. Paragraph three doesn't really mention dragons, so we'll skip that and move on to the fourth, and most controversial in my opinion, paragraph. I, personally, do not like the second statement, where you refer to these dragons as having "abandoned all wisdom" and "embraced the chaotic nature that is inherent to all dragons". Oh dear (I'm sorry, wrong answer, time for our next contestant. ). Well, to me, this seems a little wrong, no offence is meant at all, but I don't think this seems right. IN the context of the fantasy era line from Lego, I guess it is, but I like to think a bit more in depth. For example, I do not think that the dragons are abandoning wisdom at all. No, there is always a better explanation. At one point, we all thought that perhaps the dragons had been tricked, and were being used against their wills by the sorcery of an evil wizard. There are other options however. Perhaps the dragons see that what the so-called evil-wizard is fighting for is a good course, and so join with him to try and show that feeling. The wizard is only evil in the eyes of the opposing side remember, to him and his followers, the crownies (in this case) are in fact the evil ones, and he is fighting for good. Then there is of course the promise of gold and riches, which no dragon, and me as well, could ever resist. It's just to tempting! As for a chaotic nature, that is and isn't true. It is true indeed that dragons are born predators, meant to rule as the dominant species. They will fight, and they certainly enjoy it. However there are of course all the other many dragons who would prefer to talk rather than fight, and who create amazing works of art and write epic tales of noble hero's. Well, that's just some food for thought anyway, make of it what you will. I'm probably going far too deep for what this particular piece of work is intended, so don't think of what I am saying as criticism, but rather as an extension of discussion. I f you've managed to read it all, I'm already impressed! Now, to me, your piece of work is truly outstanding in describing dragons in relation to the current fantasy era line from Lego. Although I have said I don't agree with much of what you have said, remember that that is a more general view; I think you have done an excellent job on this section of dragon teaching, and it is a great piece for people only wanting a general idea of current dragons to read. I will hold it as one of a few select writings on dragons that I truly think are worthy of some well-deserved praise. However in more detailed discussion, I just had to give my viewpoint, as is natural. I hope you can take something from my comments, and perhaps tell me a bit more about what you think yourself. I would love to hear! Right, once again, well done, and I look forward to seeing more! Hopefully you'll be interested in what I've written, but if not, then that's fine, just ignore it as the ramblings of a very enthusiastic dragon fan boy. -ator Edited July 28, 2008 by Dragonator Quote
Yloquen Posted July 28, 2008 Author Posted July 28, 2008 Hello Dragonator. I didn't even know that there exists such a big fan of dragons prior to writing this, so now my work is subject to unexpected scrutiny by an expert on dragons:) Keep in mind that this is mostly impulsively written material and that's why it may not fit well with some fantasy mythos or may even contain blatant mistakes. As to the chaotic nature of dragons I meant two things. First - the dragons that are not bonded to humans are prone to sudden changes of their desires and plans. They live alone and have no one to take into their accounts, whereas the dragons that are bonded have overcome this facet of their character and can live in order and respect it. Second - they are chaotic in the DnD sense - they do not desire order and organized society, and in fact they even hate them, which is the reason why sometimes they enjoy attacking the well organized society of humans. The trolls, being not so well organized are almost safe from such an attack. By the way, I would recommend to you one of the games that explores the interaction between humans and dragons. I'd say it was the main inspiration for my version of the human-dragon relationship - it's called "Drakan - Order of the Flame". Maybe you know it, but if you don't, try it, I think you'll enjoy it. Quote
WhiteFang Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 Yloquen, welcome to Eurobricks! Don't mind, if you could leave an opening of yourself in the "Introduction Forum", so everyone will have a chance to get to know a little more about you. Dragonator is our EB Resident, number one critic on Dragon stuff. He gets rather excited when he see Dragon related topics. I must admit that you have done a very good layout. I am wondering if you had made use of any publication software such as Pagemaker, InDesign or Freehand. I am very pleased by your structure appeal. It's very well done. As for the content, regarding about medival fanastay related stuff, there is no definite right or wrong answer. Maybe, a generic content will be sufficient to everyone's understanding. It's involved in your imagination and your world/recalm that you define. You might find EBRP, very interesting as well, where role playing will be involved by using story writing and abit of pictures to illustrate your story plot. I am sure you will find EB a fun and pleasant place to be in. WhiteFang Quote
Inertia Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 Awesome, I agree with Dragonator in saying that it is a big Eragon-ish... Although I think you did a great job. Choatic Dragons, a bit like Smaug from the Hobbit, are ones that get greedy by stealing gold and other such treasures. And yes Dragonator is our #1 Dragon fan here... Although I'm turningout to be quite a fan myself... :skull: Quote
Dragonator Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 (edited) Hello Dragonator. I didn't even know that there exists such a big fan of dragons prior to writing this, so now my work is subject to unexpected scrutiny by an expert on dragons:) Keep in mind that this is mostly impulsively written material and that's why it may not fit well with some fantasy mythos or may even contain blatant mistakes. Oh thanks. Don't think of your writing as filled with mistakes though, never that, but rather as something with a different opinion to mine. I like it, it gives me something to talk about. I don't expect it to fit in with my view, rather I just want to look at it and see where my views agree with yours, and where they don't, thus making a fun little discussion on my favourite beings. As to the chaotic nature of dragons I meant two things. First - the dragons that are not bonded to humans are prone to sudden changes of their desires and plans. They live alone and have no one to take into their accounts, whereas the dragons that are bonded have overcome this facet of their character and can live in order and respect it. This I can understand, as it is one of the most common views of dragons that I see. Your idea follows the right lines and works great with what Lego is trying to say, and I certainly respect that. However my particular take goes a lot deeper. I have a very unique view you see, in which I beleive that dragons are in fact far more intelligent than us, which is contrary to almost all other types f opinions I have seen. To me, a dragon is a compex being, with immense knowledge and wisdom, and love to talk, create, and do 'civilised' things (of course, never where humans can see). I'm not trying to make out that dragons are big softies however, in fact, it is their fiery tempers and menacing demeanour that I love so much. I certainly agree that in the current time (that is medieval times by the way, not now literally), dragons are very solitary creatures, and do indeed cause chaos. However they have a very rich history, one which gives them good reason to have a certain dislike of humans and human society, well most anyway. There are those humans that they see as being akin with their oldest companions (which I mentioned before but don't actually have a good name for yet ), and these are the ones they chose to befriend. Second - they are chaotic in the DnD sense - they do not desire order and organized society, and in fact they even hate them, which is the reason why sometimes they enjoy attacking the well organized society of humans. The trolls, being not so well organized are almost safe from such an attack. Here I must say that my view greatly differs from yours. In my humble opinion, dragons do infact have a love for society, or at least once did. Right now, they are known for attacking humans and seeking destruction of what we call 'civilised society', but this is not a hate of organised society itself, but rather of humans and their society (in the EBRP, I take a slightly different stance since there is a whole kingdom dedicated to dragons, in which the dragons are in fact friendly to this group, well some anyway, while the other kingdoms still have the usual troubles etc). Long before humans were ever around, dragons used to be far more numerous, and lived together with their loyal and caring 'human-like-creatures-which-I-really-need-a-name-for'. They lived in huge cities and along with their fellow friends, created creat works of art and wrote the greatest of stories. Of course, there society was not perfect, and there were wars. To make a long story short, humans came along and gradually took over, and dragon society almost entirely disappeared, along with 'their friends'. I kind of touch on this in my summary of the history of the Dragon Masters Kingdom in the EBRP. It goes much more detailed of course, but you wont want to hear all that now. This may seem like a weird sort of view to you, but it is what I think dragons truly are, rather than what we think of them. As humans, we come to believe ourselves to be the greatest, and with our biased attitudes deem dragons to simply be another creature of the world. However I am trying t show that they in fact have a unique and beautiful culture which is in itself almost lost to the world. The chaotic dragons you speak of are those that know only a hate of humans, and have never met their fellow dragons nor learned their own beautiful ways of life, being forced to live in caves, remembering only the common history that all dragons know from their eggs. So as you can see, rather than thinking of dragons as chaotic and spiteful, with only one or two exeptions, I see them as a dying race, with dwindling numbers, that is now mainly forced to turn its great energies to violence and killing rather than to beauty and harmony, simply because we humans have stolen everything they ever had. Very different to the idea you've put forward I know, however they do actually tie together; my long and boring explaation simply gives a different explanation for what most humans assume is simply part of a dragons nature. By the way, I would recommend to you one of the games that explores the interaction between humans and dragons. I'd say it was the main inspiration for my version of the human-dragon relationship - it's called "Drakan - Order of the Flame". Maybe you know it, but if you don't, try it, I think you'll enjoy it. That certainly sounds interesting. I haven't played any games in quite a while, although I do enjoy them, I just haven't had time really. I'll look into it though. Thanks for talking, it is a pleasure! I hope my ideas aren't too wacky for you! It has been fun to have a proper discussion about dragons, it unfortunately happens very rarely on these boards, despite my attempts. EDIT: Oh look, more comments while I was typing. Just quickly, don't think I'm trying to force my view on you, I agree that there is no right or wrong answer, as WhiteFang said. But my answer is closest to right, of course. Oh, and you would be great in the EBRP if your interested, hop over and have a look, it's really fun! Right, enough from me for the moment, I don't want everyone to drown in my mindless drivel. Perhaps I do get a little carried away sometimes... Edited July 28, 2008 by Dragonator Quote
Yloquen Posted July 28, 2008 Author Posted July 28, 2008 Dragonator, your views certainly are interesting. And actually what I've written is just an excerpt from a book written by royal scholars. But they might be wrong in their views due to lack of knowledge of the long lost era of Dragon Civilization. And as an interesting twist they might discover some knowledge about it. The idea of another race which the dragons befriended before the appearance of humans is also very nice. You have to think of a name for them though. And some minifig style for representing them :) Quote
Shoc Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 Wow, Dragonator, you're a great arguer. Perhaps I do get a little carried away sometimes... Perhaps... I'm a great fan of dragons too, but I don't think even I could type that much in one post! Anyway, Yloquen, I would be interested to see more of these little "Royal Archive" thingies, the dragon one is very nice! :skull: Quote
Dragonator Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 (edited) Dragonator, your views certainly are interesting. And actually what I've written is just an excerpt from a book written by royal scholars. But they might be wrong in their views due to lack of knowledge of the long lost era of Dragon Civilization. And as an interesting twist they might discover some knowledge about it. The idea of another race which the dragons befriended before the appearance of humans is also very nice. You have to think of a name for them though. And some minifig style for representing them :) Oh be sure, I certainly will. It's a bit of a project for me, which I'm also doing work for the EBRP in, so it is all fun. Eventually I'll work out details and hopefully make some great stories and MOCs depicting the Dragon Civilization, dragons and my other race before humans came along. Then there's all the ones that can be made of once humans arrived! Oh what fun indeed. Really, I am a bit of dragon scholar, I enjoy writing about them, they're just so great! Yes, I'm addicted, so what? You yourself are full of some excellent ideas too, I have enjoyed talking of them with you. I myself would love to see you take part in the EBRP and look forward to seeing what other neat stuff you produce, dragon-related or otherwise! We're a great community here, I hope you find yourself welcome and come to call us all friends. Right, unfortunately I must call it a night, I have to go post Day 9 of Mystery Castle for all my adoring contestants. If you like you should have a read of those too, they're very funny and it is a great game. Perhaps you would be interested in taking part in a future one? We people of the castle forum have all sorts of fun stuff to take part in, so be on the look out! EDIT: Opps, sorry Shoc, I missed you. I wouldn't say arguer, more just someone with a very clear viewpoint. I enjoy discussing it, it's nice to see what others think. Oh and I certainly agree, I want to see more of these awesome little ""Royal Archive" thingies", they're very cool, well laid out, and give a nice summary of what the scholars think. Edited July 28, 2008 by Dragonator Quote
Shoc Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 (edited) EDIT: Opps, sorry Shoc, I missed you. I'm invisible... I wouldn't say arguer, more just someone with a very clear viewpoint. I enjoy discussing it, it's nice to see what others think. Arguing isn't necessarily always a bad thing, I'm a good arguer (or rather 'someone with a very clear viewpoint'), but not at the moment. :skull: Edited July 28, 2008 by Shoc Quote
Francis Marion Posted July 28, 2008 Posted July 28, 2008 How can Dragonator write so much, that's what I really want to know...hmmmm I think I've figured it out! A human could not possibly have that long of an attention span, so he must have a dragon do all the writing for him while he was outside daydreaming about creative ways to kill people, or at least something of the sort. I know I wouldn't have the attention span to write that much, and would have to take frequent breaks, as I had to do reading all of Dragonator's posts. In a confused conclusion, Dragonator might have bribed with a lot of frozen meat and beef jerky (modern marvels ) a dragon or multiple ones to write his responses for him. Quote
NewRight Posted July 29, 2008 Posted July 29, 2008 Nice concept and that story definitely looks like it is worth a read. Great work! Quote
SuvieD Posted July 30, 2008 Posted July 30, 2008 The whole concept seems a borrowed hodge podge of ideas from sorces like eragon and toilkens books. It is often said that there are no new ideas or concepts just fresh workings on older ones. It doesn't really matter though. If you are into it and it leads to cool mocs or more artwork like what you have done I think it is cool. Just don't get hung up on a single idea or ideal. When you begin to trim down life into neat little boxes of the easily explainable you miss out on a broader and richer fantasy world. Quote
tin7_creations Posted July 31, 2008 Posted July 31, 2008 This is very creative. I think it's possible for you to make a whole volume about Lego Castle History, like an encyclopedia (dwarves, trolls etc). Quote
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