[COR - Era II - Callenge 1 - Cat. B 5] Riverside Pond

[Darnok]

617, Day 14 of the 12th month, In the jungles of Celestia,

7 Days before the Winter Solstice

We have now reached areas of the jungle that Jewel has never set a foot in before. The terrain is rising, when close to the river I can see mountains nearby. The jungle has become even thicker than in the last week, our progress has become very slow.

 

Despite the difficulties and challenges the jungle and its swampy terrain have to offer, we are still following the river - it is still easier this way than in the deeper jungle. The last days have been interesting, for there have been many ponds by the riverside, each more beautiful than the one before. Not only ais the vegetation more colourful close to them, but there seems to be a varied flora and fauna underwater as well. Jewel agreed that we should explore one of these ponds in more detail.

 

Over us the dark green of the jungle opened up to let the sunlight reach the ground, the air was buzzing with all kinds of insects, and there were flowers, orchids and other colourful plants everyhwere:

 

Jewel advised against it, but I could not help but take a jump into the crystal clear water and dive into the world below the surface of the water shining in the bright sun:

 

The experience was fantastic: not only were there many types of sweetwater plants I have not seen before, and different type of fish hiding in seaweed and crevices, but there is also an underwater tunnel connecting this pond to at least one other. I wonder if this is an exception, or rather a common thing? Sadly, I could not continue my studies, since a thunderstorm was approaching and we had to look for shelter.

 

Either way, this terrain feature definitely deserves another letter to the Royal Society!

 

===

 

To the Royal Society of Natural Philosophy,

 

from Reinhard Wolffson on Celestia,

 

I write you once again, for the jungles of Celestia do not stop to to surprise with wonder after wonder. This time I have come across a terrain feature alongside a river - the one that goes into the Brick Sea right next to Jameston. My position is about four weeks east of Jameston, and the river has spread into a series of ponds here.

 

Due to the broken jungle ceiling, enabling the sun to reach the ground, the vegetation is even more varied than in other areas. I only had little time to study this area (ad weather prevented further exploration), but I can provide a couple of paintings of the flora and fauna both over and under water:

 

Something I wished I was able to investigate in detail was an underwater cave connecting this pond to another one:

 

Going by my observations, albeit limited, I assume that there is a whole network of tunnels and caves connecting many of these ponds, resulting in one big ecosystem below the surface of the water. It is unclear what species from the river also live in those caves, and what else is hiding in there. I recommend a future expedition with the purpose of clearing up this mystery!

 

It should be obvious by now that the jungles of Celestia have many wonders for us to explore. My humble observations are nothing but a starting point. Given more time and ressources I am sure the Crown could make significant discoveries and profit greatly from the scientific breakthroughs that would follow without a doubt. It is not up to me to decide this though, but I urge the Royal Society of Natural Sciences to build on what little foundation I was able to build here.

 

For the Queen and Corrington, yours truly,

Reinhard Wolffson

===============================================================================

 

This post is my fifth and final entry for Category B of the Superb Orchid Challenge, in the subcategory "Geography".

If you want to follow the surrounding story of Reinhards expedition on Celestia, have a look at this thread.

 

The whole scene in a wide shot:

 

As usual, there are additional pictures of the build:

Spoiler

 

As always, C&C is appreciated.

[Roadmonkeytj]

I really like this one ... Youve plucked an idea right from my own brain with the split from underwater to above .... Im really getting into the story now too ... Its ashame the deadline is comming

[Ayrlego]

Another great entry and another great underwater scene from you. For some reason the simplicity of the olive green stalks with the green flower heads as underwater plants really appeals to me. Clever detail!

Are you sure you mean 4 weeks east of Jameston? Can you point out on the map where you are? If so I'll add 'Reinhard' Ponds (or Jewel Ponds if you prefer) to the map.

[Darnok]

3 minutes ago, Ayrlego said:

Are you sure you mean 4 weeks east of Jameston? Can you point out on the map where you are? If so I'll add 'Reinhard' Ponds (or Jewel Ponds if you prefer) to the map.

I had planned to add a (handdrawn) map with my Cat.C entry, but if you want to I could post it tomorrow instead. But please do not give them any specific name, "Riverside Ponds" was chosen for a reason.

[Ayrlego]

I can wait - I'll need to completely re-do the official island map at the end of the challenge to incorporate some of the entries anyway - and that will likely take some time.

[blackdeathgr]

A nice entry (both build and story) with nice little details! Great use of the trans clear bricks and as AYrlego said, the olive stalks work nice as underwater plants. If I had to change anything, it would be to add a riverbed by covering the blue baseplate, but that's totally subjective and I can understand that you also wanted to add more depth by leaving it as it is .

[Mike S]

You've got a great thing going here with your story! Superb idea with the underwater tunnel! 

[Professor Thaum]

Nice entry... well thought the underwater scene... and this swimsuit

[Elostirion]

The underwater scene is really, really well done.

Those flowers at the shores look fantastic as well. Really, really nice MOC with some cool photographs.