[Brandon Stark: Part 1, Chapter 1] "In these tumultuous times..."

[Brandon Stark]

Chambers by Brandon Stark, on Flickr

Brandon entered his chambers in a manor house outside the capital. Though the master of court intrigues in the capital, he still needed to get away from the tiring politics of the capital for once. He sat down at his desk, picked up his pen, dipped it into the ink, and began writing a letter. The latest developments in Nocturnus meant that something larger was brewing, and Brandon had to write to the Resistance, reassuring them of their allies in the war to come.

"To Vladivus, Lord of Shadowmere, and nominal leader of Free Nocturnus, 

In these tumultuous times it is my duty..."

Suddenly, the door opened, and a man wearing a typical Avalonian courtier's clothing, clutching a letter, entered. Brandon looked up to see it was Kevan, the lord of this manor, and also one of Brandon's oldest and most trusted friend. Kevan bowed. "Lord Stark." he said.

"I'd have appreciated it more if you'd knocked first, but anyways, that aside what news do you have for me?"

"This is my manor, so my rules. Anyways, well, there is news from Nocturnus, which seems to be your focus right now. Around a month or so ago, Black Spire forces captured a fortress near the Mitgardian border guarding one of the only roads in Nocturnus. Mortag Keep, it is called."

A little annoyed by Kevan's statement, along with the fact the he was reporting unnecessary information to him, Brandon replied. "And what significance does this 'Mortag Keep' warrant? Surely it is just another keep that we don't have to care about. The Black Spire's been conquering fortress after fortress lately. While worrisome, as of now, I can't really do anything about it."

"You see, our spies tell that a map leading to the Necromancer''s Helm was in that fortress. The Necromancer's Helm makes the Elemental Helm that Revolword loved so much look as powerful as the water people go around trying to sell who claim it has magical properties. It is capable of raising vast armies of the undead."

Brandon was taken aback. If the Elemental Helm had done so much pain and destruction to the lands of Historica, what could the Necromancer's Helm do? But then, was this whole "Necromancer's Helm even real in the first place? "Normally, I'd dismiss it as stories to scare little children, but I've seen enough to believe you. Continue, if you will. The council and I would be interested to know of this 'Necromancer's Helm' that Raavage covets. If this be true, it could determine the fate of this war, which will also determine the fate of Historica itself."

"But my lord, none of our spies have been able to pierce the Obsidian Spike. In fact, we only learned of this from the Nocturnian resistance."

"It looks like we should turn our armies toward Nocturnus. Once this is over, the only spike Raavage will get is the one his head will be mounted on. Three years ago, I didn't come to the aid of my fellow countrymen at Abyssian. It is time I make amends for that. How many forces do we have?"

"But my lord, you could not have done anything then. Lord Artorious had promised exile of any one of us who left Avalonia. You could not have risked your livelihood then. But, right now, we have around 6,500, if the Council allows to use the Avalonian army. Otherwise, it is 500."

He sighed. The memories of the First Nocturnian Civil War pained him. It came so quickly, after a time when Historica was only beginning to heal. He was also angry, angry that so many of his fellow countrymen had perished at Abyssian, fighting for a cause that was still getting defeated. "Send a raven to my father, and another to Lady Elisabeth of Drond's Fields. Alric is my father's overlord, and we will definitely need their help in the wars to come." 

"...- Brandon Stark, Lord of Dragonstone, friend of Free Nocturnus"

"Also, Kevan, can you get this message to the ravenry? Tell them this is from the Master of Laws, and is an urgent message that will need the fastest raven. As for now, I will be leaving. I'm heading west. There are a few people I need to see. The storm is coming, and we will need many allies." 

"Yes, my lord. I will see that it is done. And safe journeys to you."
 

Edited February 21, 2017 by Brandon Stark
Added tag

[halixon]

This is very nice! I like how neat everything feels! That's also some really nice light rendering! 

[Grover]

Is there a way to get the picture bigger or zoom in?  I want to see more detail but it is difficult to see.

I like the small vignette.  I wish I had more skills with LDD, but there is a steep learning curve and I only have so much time for learning new software.  The lighting looks really good on the render, and I had to look twice to see if it was an actual model or not.

As for suggestions, the devil is in the details.  I could suggest that you add a few things, such as gold pearl 1x1 round plates or the gold rings (from LotR) to the dresser drawers to serve as handles.  It seems from the tapestries that you're aiming for more of a lordly estate, and in the previous posts, you have mentioned that Lord Stark did not want for money.  If you were going for a more spartan appearance, I wouldn't change anything, but a more noble domicile should have more fancy and detailed furniture and items.  A canopied bed might help with this as well.  Of course, if the spartan approach of Lord Stark denying himself luxuries to keep himself lean and ready for battle fits what you have perfectly.  I like to consider all the things that one could take away from a model, either obviously or subconsciously, which can color the character of your sigfig.

You mention Lord Stark writing, so I could suggest a white feather in one of those new ink well type clear pieces (the 1x1 tile with the jumper in it that's in a few of the new Elves sets) to add a bit of detail.  Perhaps toss a dog with a bone and dish in as well?  A lot of medieval houses had dogs and cats to keep down on rodents and other pests.

It's easy to nitpick others' work, however.  It is a good design with a lot of possibilities to read into or not, as you want it to be!

[Lord Vladivus]

Some nice details- I like the windows!

 

I'm glad Free Nocturnus can count on your support!

[TitusV]

as people have said before, this is a very neat build!  my favoured part is the window, though the furniture is also very nice. If I may give you a tip: (though it counts for both LDD and real life images, it is especially important for LDD) try to get the image occuppy as much of the image as possible. We're nothing with a grey border, we like to see details  just my 2 cents

[en_zoo]

nice to see your much waited first build, Brandon! though I'm not a fan of LDD, I find it pretty nice ^^ I second the others about wanting to be able to zoom in a bit more.

also, nice story. I'm really curious to see where it goes!

[soccerkid6]

Quite an elegant interior in its simplicity. I really like your bed design, and the windows with wall hangings look quite nice

The dresser on the left looks a little bare without anything on the top two shelves, perhaps a few more little furnishings there would fit in nicely 

[Brandon Stark]

On 12/21/2016 at 8:26 PM, Windusky said:

This is very nice! I like how neat everything feels! That's also some really nice light rendering! 

Thanks!

On 12/22/2016 at 0:46 AM, Grover said:

Is there a way to get the picture bigger or zoom in?  I want to see more detail but it is difficult to see.

I like the small vignette.  I wish I had more skills with LDD, but there is a steep learning curve and I only have so much time for learning new software.  The lighting looks really good on the render, and I had to look twice to see if it was an actual model or not.

As for suggestions, the devil is in the details.  I could suggest that you add a few things, such as gold pearl 1x1 round plates or the gold rings (from LotR) to the dresser drawers to serve as handles.  It seems from the tapestries that you're aiming for more of a lordly estate, and in the previous posts, you have mentioned that Lord Stark did not want for money.  If you were going for a more spartan appearance, I wouldn't change anything, but a more noble domicile should have more fancy and detailed furniture and items.  A canopied bed might help with this as well.  Of course, if the spartan approach of Lord Stark denying himself luxuries to keep himself lean and ready for battle fits what you have perfectly.  I like to consider all the things that one could take away from a model, either obviously or subconsciously, which can color the character of your sigfig.

You mention Lord Stark writing, so I could suggest a white feather in one of those new ink well type clear pieces (the 1x1 tile with the jumper in it that's in a few of the new Elves sets) to add a bit of detail.  Perhaps toss a dog with a bone and dish in as well?  A lot of medieval houses had dogs and cats to keep down on rodents and other pests.

It's easy to nitpick others' work, however.  It is a good design with a lot of possibilities to read into or not, as you want it to be!

Thank you! I admit that the room is quite barren, but I intended this to be like the "guest room" of the manor, as Lord Stark's chambers are inside the Great Keep in Albion. The drawer could have had some details though. And though Lord Stark isn't really "spartan", he is more modest that most lords.

On 12/22/2016 at 3:17 AM, Lord Vladivus said:

Some nice details- I like the windows!

 

I'm glad Free Nocturnus can count on your support!

Thanks! 

On 12/22/2016 at 8:45 AM, TitusV said:

as people have said before, this is a very neat build!  my favoured part is the window, though the furniture is also very nice. If I may give you a tip: (though it counts for both LDD and real life images, it is especially important for LDD) try to get the image occuppy as much of the image as possible. We're nothing with a grey border, we like to see details  just my 2 cents

Thank you! This is one of my first times trying the rendering software, and I didn't zoom in close enough. I'll make sure to zoom in more in my next build. 

On 12/24/2016 at 4:57 AM, en_zoo said:

nice to see your much waited first build, Brandon! though I'm not a fan of LDD, I find it pretty nice ^^ I second the others about wanting to be able to zoom in a bit more.

also, nice story. I'm really curious to see where it goes!

Thanks!

23 hours ago, soccerkid6 said:

Quite an elegant interior in its simplicity. I really like your bed design, and the windows with wall hangings look quite nice

The dresser on the left looks a little bare without anything on the top two shelves, perhaps a few more little furnishings there would fit in nicely 

Thanks!

[de Gothia]

A clean and smooth moc! The windows are my facourite!

 

as other have said, some more details would be great!

[Brandon Stark]

On 12/26/2016 at 0:11 AM, de Gothia said:

A clean and smooth moc! The windows are my facourite!

 

as other have said, some more details would be great!

Thanks de Gothia! I will try to add other details in the next interior I do.