Full Plate Posted February 12, 2016 (edited) Solitary Council Chapter I: The Tranquil Meadow Chapter II: Old Bagshaw's Residence Chapter III: The Poacher Chapter IV: Making Camp Chapter V: Solitary Council Chapter VI: Escaping Home Chapter VII: Waylaid Chapter VIII: Archery Practice Chapter IX: Honour the Fallen Bonus Landscape: Avalonian Countryside It was a sunny day, but down in the forest it was still dim. The extensive canopy overhead was not letting much light through, giving the woods an eerie atmosphere. An old man was mumbling to himself while making his way through the underbrush. Although vegetation was heavy the man seemed to move through it with both ease and speed, deftly avoiding having his robe snagged by twigs and branches. The man was short, but surprisingly nimble. The staff in his hand used to move plants out of his path, rather than to support himself on. - 'Ho ho! You all just grow and grow!' he exclaimed suddenly, only to go straight back to his muttering. The old man kept on moving, his grey, matted hair swaying as he moved. The man left no trail after him - all plants moved back into place as he passed, neither broken nor bruised. As he moved onwards, the forest grew brighter and brighter. - 'Ho ho! Here we are!' As the man spoke, he broke through the edge of the forest and found himself standing in a great, circular meadow, in the middle of the forest. In the center of the meadow stood three huge trees, surrounding a peculiar stone formation. The man stood there for a while letting his eyes adjust to the light and taking in the full view of the place. He then began to slowly head down a small path towards the center of the meadow. On his way he stopped by a smaller tree growing out of a big tree trunk. The trunk seemed to have been sawed off previously and parts of the former tree was lying in the meadow, almost overgrown by now. - 'How are you this fine day? Recovering well I can see. Ho ho ho! You will be back to your former glory in no time.' The man's face turned less cheerful as he turned his eyes to the decomposing parts of the old, broken tree. - 'The earth will clear the corruption... But where did it come from this time...?' he asked himself quizzingly. After a few moments contemplation the man turned and walked up to the stone formation. - 'You have anything to tell me today?', he asked. 'We shall see.' The man put his staff aside and lay his two hands on the surface of the stone. - 'Ho ho! Cold as always', the man exclaimed and then closed his eyes and went silent. A couple of minutes passed before the man opened his eyes and removed his hands from the stone. - 'Silent little bugger, aren't you? Or perhaps you just don't want to talk to a surly old fart like me? Ho ho ho!' He turned to look at the huge trees. - 'Well, how about you then? Got anything to say?' The man stood silent for a short while and then turned towards one of the trees. - 'Mountain avens are blooming?' he asked, looking slightly surprised. He walked over to the base of the tree. The tree’s bark was completely white, and its leaves had a pale green shade. The man bent down and examined one of the many white flowers blooming by the tree. - 'Ah yes, they certainly are, and quite a few of them. Looks like the icy man-beasts are back. Ho ho ho! They sure made a mess of the world last time!' He looked up at the tree. - 'Well, someone will deal with it', he stated. 'And if not, it’s just the end of the world. Ho ho!' The man walked over to a dark tree bearing blood red leaves. - 'Looks like your heather is still growing in abundance. Well, I have no idea what that means, and I hope it stays that way! Ho ho ho! Who knows what those goblins are up to? Well, I guess I should look into it...' Lastly he turned to a tree with a golden canopy. - 'Anything from you? … No? Well, good for you! We can’t have chaos in all corners of the world all at once now, can we?' He examined the rock formation. - 'Well, grumps here still won’t talk to me, so I guess we’re on our own. Ho ho! I do hope you all help your brother grow back now. You need him as much as he needs you. And I need you all.' He picked up his staff and started back towards the forest. - 'And see what you can find out about this horrible corruption. It seems to resist the earth’s cleansing quite well.' As he passed the small tree growing from the stump he spoke to it shortly. - 'I only did what was necessary. I'm sorry it caused you such pain...', he said shaking his head. 'I'll be back to check on you soon. Until then; grow well!' And with that he was off into the forest. - 'Ho ho! This is getting interesting!' *** Yay for loopy monologues! Hopefully it was too weird to be boring, but not too weird to be understood Concerning the build, I’m not so happy with the white tree. Think it would have looked much nicer with some blacks and browns thrown in, but I wanted a purely white one for story purposes. Also wanted tan bark for the tree with orange leaves, but sadly I have no droid arms or bars in that color. Time to hit bricklink again Thanks for watching, hope you enjoyed it! C & C always welcome Edited June 6, 2017 by Full Plate Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Greeble Posted February 12, 2016 FANTASIC trees. The flora around here is crazy! I enjoyed the dialogue, actually. It's hard to write a short story like this about legos! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Graham Gidman Posted February 13, 2016 Man, your trees are something else. Amazing job! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Steward Posted February 13, 2016 Amazing trees!! I really want to try making them that way sometime, but I don't have the parts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
de Gothia Posted February 13, 2016 Lovely moc!!! The trees and vegatation are so natural! The story was brilliant!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TitusV Posted February 13, 2016 Yeeeeeees, another Full Plate MOC! I've been lookint forward to this, and IT is even better then expected! Lovely vegetation, great trees but also a Nice rock! Keep IT up! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elostirion Posted February 13, 2016 Well that foliage is just brilliant - the build really seems to be alive. Stunning work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lord Vladivus Posted February 13, 2016 Great trees! Nice story too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gallowglass Posted February 13, 2016 Really awesome trees and foliage! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bricklover Posted February 13, 2016 Them are some awesome trees! Is that guy a descendant of the ents? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soccerkid6 Posted February 13, 2016 Magnificent trees as usual! And that slight path is superb, looks very natural. I enjoyed the loopy storyline as well, this little 'man' is a very interesting character Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blufiji Posted February 13, 2016 What a lively place for a stroll and reflection! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Full Plate Posted February 15, 2016 FANTASIC trees. The flora around here is crazy! I enjoyed the dialogue, actually. It's hard to write a short story like this about legos! Man, your trees are something else. Amazing job! Amazing trees!! I really want to try making them that way sometime, but I don't have the parts. Lovely moc!!! The trees and vegatation are so natural! The story was brilliant!! Yeeeeeees, another Full Plate MOC! I've been lookint forward to this, and IT is even better then expected! Lovely vegetation, great trees but also a Nice rock! Keep IT up! Well that foliage is just brilliant - the build really seems to be alive. Stunning work. Great trees! Nice story too! Really awesome trees and foliage! What a lively place for a stroll and reflection! Thanks guys! Happy you enjoyed it Them are some awesome trees! Is that guy a descendant of the ents? Magnificent trees as usual! And that slight path is superb, looks very natural. I enjoyed the loopy storyline as well, this little 'man' is a very interesting character Thanks! Who knows what that guy's up to Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kai NRG Posted February 15, 2016 Beautiful foliage here, those tree trunks are fantastic (and look like a pain to build!). The different kinds of leaves on the ground add a nice variation to the terrain! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bregir Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) Brilliant build, Full Plate - the trees are so wonderfully elaborate, and the lush landscaping is great too. The whole setting and story has a very Avalonian feel to it. (And that "old fart" reminds me of Tom Bombadil...) There is one thing I wonder no one else commented on: The symbolism of the trees. It seems clear to me that each tree represents one of the guilds. In turn: The white tree: Mitgardia: And the obvious reference to the Algus. The black and red tree: Nocturnus: I am not sure what the thriving heather signifies - perhaps the resistance? The "tan" and golden tree: Kaliphlin: With the civil war over, there might not be much news. Although I wouldn't call it peace and quiet either.... The cut-down, green tree: Avalonia: Supposedly cut down to fight the corruption of plague and drow. As the drow were never fully expelled, there is some remaining corruption in the fallen trunk? Lastly, the rocks in the middle. I wonder if they perhaps signify Cedrica? And the silence is due to the absense of the king? Very much looking forward to your comments or the further story! Edited February 18, 2016 by Bregir Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrickCurve Posted February 18, 2016 (edited) Excellent trees and landscaping. As usual. Although I think the first photo would look better if taken from a lower angle. Edited February 18, 2016 by BrickCurve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Umbra-Manis Posted February 19, 2016 Those trees are insanely awesome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Full Plate Posted February 24, 2016 (edited) Beautiful foliage here, those tree trunks are fantastic (and look like a pain to build!). The different kinds of leaves on the ground add a nice variation to the terrain! Those trees are insanely awesome! Excellent trees and landscaping. As usual. Although I think the first photo would look better if taken from a lower angle. Thanks! Brilliant build, Full Plate - the trees are so wonderfully elaborate, and the lush landscaping is great too. The whole setting and story has a very Avalonian feel to it. (And that "old fart" reminds me of Tom Bombadil...) There is one thing I wonder no one else commented on: The symbolism of the trees. It seems clear to me that each tree represents one of the guilds. In turn: The white tree: Mitgardia: And the obvious reference to the Algus. The black and red tree: Nocturnus: I am not sure what the thriving heather signifies - perhaps the resistance? The "tan" and golden tree: Kaliphlin: With the civil war over, there might not be much news. Although I wouldn't call it peace and quiet either.... The cut-down, green tree: Avalonia: Supposedly cut down to fight the corruption of plague and drow. As the drow were never fully expelled, there is some remaining corruption in the fallen trunk? Lastly, the rocks in the middle. I wonder if they perhaps signify Cedrica? And the silence is due to the absense of the king? Very much looking forward to your comments or the further story! Hehe, I was wondering if someone would comment on this. When writing it's hard to tell if you make symbolism too obvious or too subtle You're pretty much on the mark - the trees symbolize the guilds or areas of Historica, and the center is Cedrica/Valyrio (which I understand to be the center area). About the center stone being silent, I was considering that being because the king is gone, but as I don't have control over the fate of the king so it may or may not work out for the story. Having the vegetation represent events in the world was something I thought was quite interesting. The Algus reference was pretty obvious as you say, but the rest I'm leaving to be revealed later in the story Interesting comment about the old man reminding you of Bombadil I actually thought of him as a mix of Radagast and Bugenhagen from FF7 - similar to Bombadil, but more concerned about the fate of the world, although less powerful. Happy you find it interesting Edited February 24, 2016 by Full Plate Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rogue Angel Posted February 24, 2016 Fantastic tree trunks! I love that technique! Just great landscaping all around, and the story/premise was quite enjoyable. Excellent work! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luckypat Posted February 25, 2016 The trees and the shrubs/plants looks great, well done! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LittleJohn Posted March 3, 2016 Simply gorgeous build, Full Plate! As usual, your trees are amazing, and I really like the rest of the foliage as well Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gideon Posted March 6, 2016 Very nice trees, especially the trunks! Can't help thinking that its quite ironic to use hundreds of axes to build a tree Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
