One Against All

[Adair]

A Freebuild for the Guilds of Historica, and a continuation of my story with Adira Navabi. Reference this build:

http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=109756 for backstory.

The world was still. No wind, no birds, nothing. Only the ragged breathing of the soldiers, and the firmness of the mountains beneath them. The dry season had come to Kaliphlin, and the Rakath mountains were no exception.

Adira wiped an arm over her forehead, regreting now her choice of outfit for the day. Sure, it was still cold, but with all the winter-gear she was wearing it didn't feel very chilly. Things got even better after you add in a brisk walk, more like a crawl, up the almost vertical mountain face that had swallowed most of their day into it's sweat-soaked depths. Adira wasn't happy.

Judging from the silence behind her, the troops weren't in the best of moods either. Fattened by the fruits of Berigora, they did not take kindly to such a strenuous endeavor as this. Adira had only been able to obtain several score of them, but she could make do with those, she thought. But with the Desert King patroling all of the lowlands, she had thought it saker to take a rout through the Rakath mountains. So far, she had been right.

A shaodw fell across Adira's path. Absently she wondered which of the men had ventured ahead of her and looked up. A lone figure, wielding a drawn sword, stood at the crest of the hill. The setting sun fell squarely on his chiseled face. That's definitely not one of my men!

The man took a few steps forward, apparently unperturbed by the High Council soldier's evident show of hostility. He looked squarely at Adira and a sardonic smile passed over his face. She watched apprehensively as he raised his hand, then dropped it.

Almost immediately, all along the ridge, a host of Desert King archers appeared, arrows notched. Adira gulped, and a sense of dread started to pool at the bottom of her stomach as her gaze swept over their ranks. Looking into the eyes of their leader, she knew this was no chance encounter. Their on to me! I must be compromised! But by whom?...

Their leader strode forward, a swagger in his step. He wore strangely rustic apparel for a Desert King officer, but he was clearly was Kaliphlinite. At least he's not one of those undead helpers of the desert King, or even worse, from Nocturnus.

The man stopped a few paces in front of her, smiling like one who has his enemies in his hands, and knows it. “Good day, Adira Navabi. I didn't think I would ever come across another of my family fighting against the rightful Ruler of Kaliphlin, but apparently I wasn't the last one left.”

Adira's eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat. Was it Possible? Had the renowned Amir Navabi switched sides? Gradually an anger, fiercer even then the anger she felt for her true parrents, started to fester within her. She felt a rough hand on her arm, and Udgr's raspy voice sounded in her ear. “We are ready to sell our lives for Kaliphlin, at your command. I will help you fight the traitor.”

“That would be most unwise.” Amir said, his smile never leaving his face. “You know all your men would die, little sister, whereas they would at least have a chance at life in the hands of the gracious and merciful Desert King.”

“All we need is your word, Captain.” Udgr said, not bothering to whisper now.

Adira held up her hand, never taking her eyes off of the traitor before her. She knew what she was doing was selfish, and probably in the end, fruitless, but her anger called for no less. “Wait.” She motioned toward the sword in Amir's hand. “You know how to use that thing, do you not? Then show me.”

A shadow crossed Amir's face. “You know the outcome of such a duel, and yet you still wish to fight? And why would I fight you, when I have nothing to gain by it?”

“You have everything to gain by it.” Adira answered coldly. “If I lose, my men stand down.” A vicious smile crossed Amir's face, but Adira wasn't done. “And if I win, you're men let us pass.”

Udgr grabbed her arm. His voice was urgent. “Do not do this, Captain! You know the outcome of such a duel! The traitor Navabi is one of the most renpowned swordsmen in Kaliphlin!”

“I put the decision in your hands.” Adira said, ignoring the goblin at her side. “If you say yes, then we fight. If you say no, then my men will sell their lives dearly. Which shall it be?”

Amir glanced over her, thoughtfully. Finally he nodded. “I accept.”

Adira drew her sword, shaking off Udgr. Now was the time for revenge. Amir had died to justice, now he would die in reality.

Amir made the first move. Stepping forward, he sliced toward Adira's head with lightning speed, then back-handed toward her abdomen. She blocked boith blows with relative ease. He's just playing with me now, testing me defenses. I should as well. I need to find a weekness while he is still warming up.

Adira jabbed at Amir's torso, then made a cut towards his neck. Amir's hand moved lazily to block both, and for a moment Adira thought she saw him roll his eyes. Anger again swelled up in her, and she made a quick lunge at Amir's side.

Amir seemed surprised at this, and was barely able to block her blow. Satisfaction filled Adira, and she pressed her advantage, slicing upward toward his chest.

Suddenly Adira felt a pain in her hand, and her sword was wrenched from her hand. The was a dull thud as it hit the ground a few feet away. Adira looked up toward Amir's face only to feel his blade against her neck. His cold eyes stared into hers down the blade. Adira braced herself for the thrust she knew would come, but it never came.

He jerked his head toward the silent soldeirs behind her. “Order the,m to lay down their arms.”

Adira considered for a moment the possibility of ordering them to fight, despite thye blade at her throat, but then remembered her promise. If there was one thing she had learned from her adopted father, Magdeburg, it was to keep your promises. That was what made him such a successful businessman. Slowly she nodded.

Amir smiled humorlessly, and sheathed his blade. “I considered killing you there, for a few seconds, but in the end decided it wasn't worth it.” He motioned toward the crest of the hill. “Take you're leave, while I am still in a good mood.”

Adira stood motionless, her anger simmering within her. Finally she motioned toward Udgr and Sirhan. “I will not leave unless these two come with me.”

An unpleasant look crossed Amir's face. He glanced over Udgr, and his eyes rested on Sirhan. After a few second he seemed to come to a decision, and he motioned for them to leave. “Fine then, take them with you. It matters not to me.”

Adira slowly reached down for her blade and sheathed it. She felt more then saw all of her men staring at her, accusation in every one of their eyes. She tried not to think of what their fate would be. At least they will be alive... Slowly she strode up the hill, followed by her two silent officers. No one spoke. She glanced back to see Amir's eyes on her, condescending and triumphant. Her jaw set and she continued over the rise.

Udgr's voice was at her side. “Do we attempt to free them at nightfall, Captain?”

“No.” Adira answered, her voice hard and her eyes set strait ahead. “They will be expecting that. We continue on to Estolad.”

To be continued...

The build. I'm sorry for the out-of-focus Pictures, but I hope the build/story make up for it. From now on I will mostly be focusing on story, so please stay tuned! My next one should be up in a few days to a week.

Soli Deo Gloria & Sola Gracia!

Edited June 10, 2015 by Adair

[Graham Gidman]

Terrific work!

[Burrski]

Awesome! Love the details on the tree and landscape

[Kai NRG]

Very nice build, your landscapes are excellent! I'm really liking the combo of snow and dk + sand green!

[MassEditor]

Beautiful scene, you are developing an awesome knack for intricate and gorgeous landscapes. The white/dk green/sand green combo is such a pretty combination. The tree is quite nice too, especially with the purple leaf accents. As usual, your story writing skills are top notch and very engaging. Glad to see Adira made it out of Kaliphlin in one piece!

[Garmadon]

Fantastic landscape Adair, the snow works very well with the dark and sand green! The tree and rocks are excellent as well, and nice job with the fig posing

[LittleJohn]

Fantastic work, Adair! As others have already said, the color combos are gorgeous

Really nice tree and story as well

[Blufiji]

The build itself is quite stunning for being on the smaller side, but as I've stated before your story telling is truly excellent.

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Fine story and an excellent base (where are all those different bricks in sand green from?)

Looks great!

[Balbo]

Excellent work! I love the colour scheme and the techniques you used. Moreover the photos are great, too

[soccerkid6]

Lovely landscape Definitely my favorite build from you so far, the colors work beautifully together

[Lord Vladivus]

Nice build!

[Adair]

Terrific work!

Thank you!

Awesome! Love the details on the tree and landscape

Thanks! Glad you like it!

Very nice build, your landscapes are excellent! I'm really liking the combo of snow and dk + sand green!

Glad you do! I might do some more of that later ojn if I can get over my current craze about olive+sand green landscapes.

Beautiful scene, you are developing an awesome knack for intricate and gorgeous landscapes. The white/dk green/sand green combo is such a pretty combination. The tree is quite nice too, especially with the purple leaf accents. As usual, your story writing skills are top notch and very engaging. Glad to see Adira made it out of Kaliphlin in one piece!

She isn't leaving yet!

Thanks! I'm still working on including rockwork, but I have some ideas.

Fantastic landscape Adair, the snow works very well with the dark and sand green! The tree and rocks are excellent as well, and nice job with the fig posing

Thank you! At least I know this color combo is a success, even if some others I've done were not.

Fantastic work, Adair! As others have already said, the color combos are gorgeous

Really nice tree and story as well

Thank you! The story will only get better, I trust.

The build itself is quite stunning for being on the smaller side, but as I've stated before your story telling is truly excellent.

Thank you! That means a lot to me.

Fine story and an excellent base (where are all those different bricks in sand green from?)

Looks great!

Thank you! I got them off of Bricklink, and I just recently more then doubled the amount you see here from the same site.

Excellent work! I love the colour scheme and the techniques you used. Moreover the photos are great, too

Thank you! I'm glad my photography is improving, though I think I can mostly attribute that to my constant umm... borrowing of a relative's camera.

Lovely landscape Definitely my favorite build from you so far, the colors work beautifully together

Great! Glad you like it!

Nice build!

Thanks!

[mccoyed]

That landscape is terrific and unique. Not sure I've seen one quite like that before.

[Adair]

That landscape is terrific and unique. Not sure I've seen one quite like that before.

Thank you! I based the basic design off of some of Halhi 141's designs, and others (mostly on Mocpages), but I think I'm the first to do it extensively in these colors.

[Gunman]

Your landscaping is amazing dude.. Pitty you lose some of the beauty from the dark photography.. Overall cute moc!

[Adair]

Your landscaping is amazing dude.. Pitty you lose some of the beauty from the dark photography.. Overall cute moc!

Thank you! I think my lighting system is failing me, that or my lamp is weak... thanks for the comment!

[Captain Dee]

I can only echo the thoughts of everyone else - the base is beautifully unique in those colors and the tree looks really good. Your storytelling is excellent again and the variety of photos really illustrates it well. Good work all the way around!

[Full Plate]

Really nice landscaping and minifig positioning! Goes very well with the story. Great job!

[Adair]

I can only echo the thoughts of everyone else - the base is beautifully unique in those colors and the tree looks really good. Your storytelling is excellent again and the variety of photos really illustrates it well. Good work all the way around!

Thank you very much! I'm glad you like it!

Really nice landscaping and minifig positioning! Goes very well with the story. Great job!

Thank you! There's a reason my story Pics take so long.

[Ecclesiastes]

Top notch landscaping, the colors blend well together!

[Adair]

Top notch landscaping, the colors blend well together!

Thank you! I just ordered some tree leaves of the same color, so soon I'll be able to do some good color blends above the ground too. ;)

[mrcp6d]

I'm not sold on the lavender leaves, but the landscaping is awesome!

[Adair]

I'm not sold on the lavender leaves, but the landscaping is awesome!

Maybe once I start including lavender in the landscape... thanks!