[Freebuild] Embervale Advent Calendar 2025 - Winter Village

[Aurore]

Many things change...but some do not. Starting tomorrow, the 1st of december, I'll update this topic daily with a small build or minifig.
The theme for this year is (quite simply) Winter Village, and I'll let my main GoH characters comment on the builds: Alrune, the elven Mage-Governor of Embervale, her uncle Dresghar, and Evrart, captain of the guards.
 

Due to… well… life not always going according to plan, this year's calendar will not be as ambitious as last year's. But I hope you'll enjoy it anyways! 

 

 

      
 

   

 

      

      

    

  

    

 

Edited December 24, 2025 by Aurore

[T-86(swebrickLUG)]

Great to see this tradition continue! Im 100% sure that I’ll enjoy the calender equally much, even if your ambition/time-possibilities might be more limited this year. Hope all is well with you!

[Grover]

Oh yay!  I am excited to see the builds for this year! 

[Aurore]

@T-86(swebrickLUG) & @Grover Thank you so much for your enthusiasm! 

[williejm]

I’m looking forward to some wonderful things, as usual, from this. I’ve been busy putting together my Lego animal advents for my nephews, so that kicks off tomorrow too! And yes, there is a smowl. 

[Aurore]

28 minutes ago, williejm said:

I’ve been busy putting together my Lego animal advents for my nephews, so that kicks off tomorrow too! And yes, there is a smowl. 

Excellent! I'm really curious to see your animal selection for this calendar...by now your nephews should have almost all existing animals, right?

[williejm]

4 minutes ago, Aurore said:

Excellent! I'm really curious to see your animal selection for this calendar...by now your nephews should have almost all existing animals, right?

Not far off it! Some replays happen most calendars, but Lego for sure isn’t releasing new animals quickly enough (and don’t start me on the B&P prices!). Have raided the vaults for some this year though.  Plus am dividing it into six specific ‘zones’, with four things from each.  

[Umbra-Manis]

Wooo calendar time! I look forward to it every year.

[Seagull King of Vaughan]

I remember reading last year’s calendar, very excited to see the new one!

[Aurore]

@Umbra-Manis Thank you for your support! I hope you'll do one too!

@Seagull King of Vaughan Thank you very much! I hope you'll like it.

@williejm The zone organisation sounds promising! 

Edited December 1, 2025 by Aurore

[Aurore]

 Day 1. Embervale pier

Alrune - "Fresh mountain air, sassy birds and a lingering smell of winter spices. Home, finally!"

 

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Edited December 1, 2025 by Aurore

[Frike]

Glad to see you back with another advent calendar! Super excited to see Alrune and friends again.

[Aurore]

@Frike Thank you very much!

[Aurore]

Day 2. The quay

Dresghar –" I can only congratulate myself for having connected Embervale to the realm’s fluvial communication highways. We are now fully open to the world!"

Alrune - "And I can only wonder how you convinced me to make it easier for loud, opinionated strangers to invade my little patch of peace.”

 

 

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Edited December 3, 2025 by Aurore

[GeoBrick]

Oooh... At first I thought it was an open-air scriptorium, but know the scene might make sense as a registry for foreign louds.

[zoth33]

Great to see this again.  I really look forward to seeing these.  Off to a great start the dock looks fantastic especially with the snow effect and the gull and rat.  Great job again.  

Edited December 2, 2025 by zoth33

[Aurore]

@GeoBrick Exactly! So glad this is understandable.

@zoth33 Thank you so much!

[Aurore]

Day 3. Alrune and luggage

Alrune - "How sweet! This ‘cursed’ compass that leads its owner to certain doom is pointing right at my own castle."

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Edited December 4, 2025 by Aurore

[Kai NRG]

It's that time of year again!  I'm loving what you've revealed so far, really great use of the new clear tiles for ice patches.  Great little desk and I really like sideways logs on the dock, very effective technique.

I'm curious, how much extra work do you find it to create a build that divides into these various sub-assemblies?  You do it really well, with each part looking great on it's own.

[Aurore]

@Kai NRG Thank you very much for your feedback!
For the sub-assemblies, it was way more complex last year - where each scene was like a puzzle and each day's mini-build had to complete the rest. The third scene in particular really required additional effort for all parts of the base to properly connect to the rest.
This year's scenes are basically dioramas, with a base and daily elements that populate it. The only extra effort is to identify daily elements that are interesting on their own while not being too huge (spoiler : I failed. There are a few mini-builds that are way bigger than mini-builds should).

[Aurore]

Day 2. Dockhand and luggage

Dresghar - "Weren't you supposed to travel light, darling? This is going to cost me a fortune in tips!"

Alrune - "All ten volumes of the Unicornomicon, with a dedication from Lich King Thagrasel himself - I could not leave that behind!"

 

 

 

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Edited December 5, 2025 by Aurore

[GeoBrick]

Not the usual coin, appearantly? Or is this the native currency of the (not so?) tranquil realm Embervale?

[Aurore]

2 hours ago, GeoBrick said:

Not the usual coin, appearantly? Or is this the native currency of the (not so?) tranquil realm Embervale?

Good eye! I have (quite arbitrarily) decided to use these coins as coppers in Embervale, and the ones with the dragon as gold coins. I'm missing something for silver though...

[Aurore]

Day 3. Desghar and 'souvenirs'

Alrune - "Travel is supposed to broaden the mind. But you mostly broadened around the waist from all those 'diplomatic gifts', Uncle."

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Edited December 6, 2025 by Aurore

[Aurore]

Day 4. Embervale banner

Dresghar - "Per pale argent and sable, a raven displayed per pale sable and argent."
Evrart - "A raven, sir? I've always believed it was a falcon."
Alrune - "You're both wrong: it's obviously a bearded vulture!"

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Edited December 6, 2025 by Aurore