Ayrlego Posted July 30, 2018 Six weeks ago.... It had been six months since Colonel Sir Dirk Allcock and his expedition had departed Jameston into the jungles of Celestia. The expedition had discovered much, a vast ruined city deep in the centre of the island, white tigers, countless species of orchids previously unknown to science, yet Sir Dirk could not help thinking it was time to return home. His responsibilities as Governor weighed heavily on him. The Colonial Authorities had of course approved his absence; the Governorship of the Paradise Isles was by all accounts resting in the very capable hands of his own cousin. Yet over the last two months Sir Dirk had become restless. Yes it was definately time to return. His thoughts returned to his current surroundings. He knelt by the edge of a stream to the side of the ‘path’ the expedition was passing on. His scouts reported that just over the next crest, the ocean could be seen. The expedition had reached the eastern coastline of Celestia. Present Day The expedition camped the previous night near the ruins of yet another ancient temple. This temple was the closest to Jameston discovered so far; indeed they were only a couple of days away from the outskirts of the settlement. It was evident that many Jameston locals travelled here for short trips to see the ancient structure for themselves. Some kind of permanent presence was probably necessary to ensure that the ruins were not accidentally damaged mused Sir Dirk. News was filtering in much more frequently as the distance between the expedition and Jameston decreased. There was unrest on the neighbouring Île d'Or, Jameston was hosting a new Royal Society charted with voyages of exploration and war between the Sea Rats and the Grand Duchy of Prio seemed to have been narrowly avoided. In the early dawn light, Cuxi approached Sir Dirk from the temple. The Myzec women had proved herself invaluable in over the last seven months. The vegetation of Celestia was similar to that of her home island of Cascadia, enough so that she was able to teach the Corlanders much more than they would have otherwise learnt. Her knowledge of Myzec mythology and architecture had also provided insights into the ruins they had encountered. Seemingly related to the Myzec, yet also differing in many ways. Cuxi looked at the pensive Dirk, she smiled and said in Myzec, “We are ready to leave this place, yes? Shall we return to your home?” “Yes, lets go home” replied Dirk in the same language. And with that, the expedition set out for Jameston. ___________ I had been planning to build something like this since the conclusion of challenge I; the temple is what I had hoped my Challenge I Cat C entry would have looked something like had I had access to my bricks at the time! The temple itself went through a few different changes, originally I had planned a less symmetrical scene; however, this is what it just kind of became as I went along. I have been building for over a month, probably the only reason I actually finished now was so I could make the Summer Joust deadline on Flickr; where I have entered it into the Meso-American category. Anyway it seems much smaller in the photos, and like most of my big builds I'm glad it's finally over and as usual am not completely happy with the results! The scene with Dirk kneeling by the stream has been on Flickr for a while now, it was something I did with the base I used for the Challenge II intro build. It was meant to be a quick shot for story purposes but also morphed into something completely different! Now Dirk is (almost) back I can actually get onto focusing on challenge II.... maybe...! Some additional images of the temple: Spoiler Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bart Posted July 30, 2018 I admire your skill in colour use, texture creation and greenery. Very nice temple! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roadmonkeytj Posted July 30, 2018 Good work on the temple ... Hope it does well! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kwatchi Posted July 30, 2018 That is a lovely jungle temple. Nice work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LM71Blackbird Posted July 30, 2018 Beautiful build Ayrlego! Terrain work is perfect and I hope the contest goes well! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kai NRG Posted July 30, 2018 Lovely ruined temple Ayrlego, I especially like the hint of color with the dark pink flowers! The scene with Dirk kneeling is also really well done - great job with the vegetation to capture a jungle feel! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fraunces Posted July 30, 2018 Very realistic and neat design. Another great work from you. I wonder however why all the temples in Brick Seas isles are always abandoned Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LM71Blackbird Posted July 30, 2018 22 minutes ago, Fraunces said: Very realistic and neat design. Another great work from you. I wonder however why all the temples in Brick Seas isles are always abandoned Because the natives are giving up their pagan ways in fear of Olean's new priest! (@Ross Fisher) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ross Fisher Posted July 30, 2018 @LM71Blackbird He can be very persuasive... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elostirion Posted August 1, 2018 What a wonderful deep jungle scene, such a lovely temple, and your colour choice and presentation are outstanding as usual. Lovely. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackdeathgr Posted August 1, 2018 Really nice build Ayrlego! I am not completely sold on the reddish brown terrain though as (always in my opinion) it attracts the eye away from the marvelous building and foliage and lacks the detail you have put basically everywhere else. In any case, good luck on the Summer Joust and make our BoBS community proud !!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
