Henjin_Quilones Posted September 11, 2016 (edited) On behalf of the Resistance in Nocturnus: Deep beneath the Rakath Mountains, hidden from those uninitiated into the Cult of Kanohau, the god of Fire and Volcanoes, lies the holy temple of Kanohau. Even most Nocturnians are unaware of its existence, or of the race that tends it, for it has but newly made contact with the dwellers of the upperlands. There, in the heart of an active volcano, the lava-born gather each summer solstice, when the sky-fire burns the longest, and offer their gifts to their powerful god. The offerings of food and wine are intended to feed the hunger of the fire-god, who could starve otherwise without the added fuel, and ensure that the flames continue to warm the people of the lava and that the rivers of lava continue to visit their towns and homes. The food and wine offered are taken from the upperlands, plunder from raids to the surface, proof of the power of the lava-born. The entrance to the temple is carved from the surrounding bedrock. The fiery face of Kanohau greets the acolyte daring enough to approach, glowing in its wall-shrine. A bridge connects another part of the cavern to the temple itself, arching over a river of molten lava pouring out of the temple. Here Magmarthan, a queen in her land to the west, beneath a newly-risen volcano, pays tribute to Kanohau, accompanied by her minions. Kanohau especially likes turkey legs and sausages, but fish and sometimes even vegetables are also acceptable tribute. And wine. Kanohau loves wine, but only the dry red varieties, like a nice Cabernet Sauvignon. White wine is for sissy deities, and beer is for horses. Queen Magmarthan is well-aware of Kanohau's preferences and has chosen an excellent vintage of CabSauv stolen from the finest vintner in Avalonia. Within the temple are three shrines. The main, central shrine is to Kanohau himself, while the other two are shrines to Gem of Eternal Fire, said by the lava-born to be the source of all fire in the world, and to Kilahau, Kanohau's semi-divine son, the first king of the lava-born, who was conceived when Kanohau laid with a river of lava. .............................................................................................................................. _______________________________________________________________ This is my entry to the second Nocturnus minichallenge. It was rather difficult to photograph as I designed it with too much enclosed space, preventing light from getting to the middle of it. However, the shrines are easy to remove to provide access to the interior space. I still find myself wishing for a better camera and better photography "studio", as the pictures hardly do it justice in my opinion, but they are the best I can do with my current budget and resources. C&C is welcome. *I have edited the post to include an affiliation; I chose the Resistance for this post because I imagine the lava-born do not like the Drow, being competition for underground space, and they reside in the western portion of Nocturnus under the Rakath Mountains. Edited September 14, 2016 by Henjin_Quilones Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blufiji Posted September 11, 2016 You can build only what you can with what you got and it came out fine sir. I Like the use of the trans orange bricks as holy objects and the lore behind it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
en_zoo Posted September 11, 2016 I second Blufiji: love the lore behind it! ^^ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TitusV Posted September 11, 2016 Nice build, especially the base looks great in my eyes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Exetrius Posted September 11, 2016 Great look with those massive bedrock pillars! Also, very NPU with the brick separator being a lava stream and of course the bionicle mask! Also, great lore with some very interesting bits.. White wine is for sissy deities, and beer is for horses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MassEditor Posted September 12, 2016 (edited) Great entry, I like how the shrine is carved into the mountain itself, as if the entire mountain is a tribute to Kanohau's might. I also really enjoyed the backstory. I love me a good fire-god story to read before I go to bed! About your photography, investing in a decent camera (even just $50-80 bucks, or perhaps less if you don't mind a used one from eBay or your local pawn shop) will make a big difference. Can I assume that you are using a cellphone camera? If so, they are just too limited to do what you need, like setting the ISO or using a timer and tripod together. As far as lighting goes, try shooting outside on a cloudy day or in some heavy shade. That will cut out the shadows and prevent the colors from washing out. All you need there is a white background and an outside area away from neighbors who want to pry in on your LEGO hobby! And if beer is for horses, than call me Seabiscuit, because I love swimming in yeast (or barley, or hops or whatever beer is made from)! Edit: On second thought, swimming in yeast sounds disgusting, and potentially dangerous. For the record, I'm not advising anyone to do so. Edited September 12, 2016 by MassEditor Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soccerkid6 Posted September 13, 2016 Excellent shrines, and the lava theme is nicely incorporated Great use of brick separators, and the border is quite nice too Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henjin_Quilones Posted September 14, 2016 You can build only what you can with what you got and it came out fine sir. I Like the use of the trans orange bricks as holy objects and the lore behind it! I second Blufiji: love the lore behind it! ^^ Thank you! The lore is always fun to write, and I am probably a better storyteller and writer than I am a builder and (certainly) photographer. Nice build, especially the base looks great in my eyes Thanks, Titus! I thought the base really improved the presentation. Great look with those massive bedrock pillars! Also, very NPU with the brick separator being a lava stream and of course the bionicle mask! Also, great lore with some very interesting bits.. The brick separators as lava were my favorite parts of it...I have so many of those things just sitting around (and I never need more than one to actually separate bricks) so I have tried to find clever ways of using them. They will probably be seen again in a future build featuring the Lava-born. Great entry, I like how the shrine is carved into the mountain itself, as if the entire mountain is a tribute to Kanohau's might. I also really enjoyed the backstory. I love me a good fire-god story to read before I go to bed! About your photography, investing in a decent camera (even just $50-80 bucks, or perhaps less if you don't mind a used one from eBay or your local pawn shop) will make a big difference. Can I assume that you are using a cellphone camera? If so, they are just too limited to do what you need, like setting the ISO or using a timer and tripod together. As far as lighting goes, try shooting outside on a cloudy day or in some heavy shade. That will cut out the shadows and prevent the colors from washing out. All you need there is a white background and an outside area away from neighbors who want to pry in on your LEGO hobby! And if beer is for horses, than call me Seabiscuit, because I love swimming in yeast (or barley, or hops or whatever beer is made from)! Edit: On second thought, swimming in yeast sounds disgusting, and potentially dangerous. For the record, I'm not advising anyone to do so. I actually was using a small-ish digital camera that is now some years old. I have never figured out how to really use it beyond pointing and clicking, however, which might be a worthwhile use of my time in the near future to try to maximize its abilities. It is certainly no DSLR camera, though. My problem with this build, at least in part, I think, is that I did not really build with photography in mind, and so it was difficult to get pictures where there was adequate light inside the build and where anything could be seen around the shrines and columns. I perhaps packed my 16x16 base a bit too densely. An interiorly placed light brick, had I possessed one, might have helped. In the future I will try the outside idea, as I can never get the right lighting with the windows, but as I live on a corner lot without a fence, the neighbors will be able to see it... And I am a beer guy myself (I'll drink wine when served it, but seldom seek it out), so that was no knock on the malty, hoppy, yeast-enhanced barley juice. Divinities, however, are fickle beings with strong preferences... Excellent shrines, and the lava theme is nicely incorporated Great use of brick separators, and the border is quite nice too Thank you, SK! Glad you like it. I love lava themes, especially with my small army of Nexo baddies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LittleJohn Posted September 26, 2016 The use of the brick separator for lava is just spectacular Great job with the rockwork as well, and I love how well the massive 4x4 round pillars fit in Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
