Introduction: Anuar of Peregrinus - also, where's Erudhalion/Erland?

[Gabe]

Hello again all. I know i've been absent for a long time, but book 3 sounded so exciting that i couldn't resist coming back!  For this book, I will be changing my main character, but won't be abandoning Erduhalion entirely, as I still want to tell the story of Erudhalion/Erland's journey with Runa Hoskuldottir (for backstory, see this thread ... yeah it's old i know ). My new character, Anuar, will be showing how things are getting on at home in Erudhalion's absence.

 

Anuar has been Erudhalion's chief political decoy for years, but is as unlike his lord in temperament as he is alike in appearance. Anuar has spent most of his adult life sequestered in Erudhalion's main palace in Peregrinus, where he has led a pampered life and has grown used to idleness. He is vacillating, retiring and philosophical in temperament, and would rather spend the day in the library than seeking action or adventure. Although trained in combat as part of his duties, he has no enthusiasm for the martial arts, and is a mediocre fighter at best. However, he is dutiful in carrying out his professional obligations, which have taken on a new seriousness  since Erudhalion's disappearence during the Kaliphlin civil war. The high priestess Nammuat, who is a political power in Peregrinus in her own right, has persuaded Anuar to step into Erudhalion's persona on a more or less continuous basis, until he can be found. Nammuat fears that in the current climate of political instability, Peregrinus could easily become embroiled in destructive struggles for power without a strong, visible leader. The problem is, Anuar is none of those things, despite looking like his employer. Nammuat intends to do whatever it takes to ensure that Anuar becomes convincing enough in his new role to stave off political turmoil or worse - if he can survive long enough! 

 

 

Meanwhile, in Mitgardia, Erland, Runa and Olaf the cat have arrived in Stedvik, a small village at the mouth of the Greywind river where it empties out into the Bay of Storms. Although the summer is not long past, Runa is surprised to see that ice has already formed into hard packs on the water, and snow lies thick on the ground. This is not natural weather she thinks, something is clearly amiss. The travellers are quickly hailed on arrival by Oftrygg Ramussen, the headsman of the village, and an old friend of Runa's father.

'It is fortunate that you are here!' he exclaims. 'Without an icesinger, we might have been cut off from our trade routes to Pikesteel Mountain! The river is already frozen solid, as you see.'

Runa smiles. 'I shall soon clear that' says she, 'but whether it will stay that way is another matter. When did the weather turn? This snow is heavier than anything i have known this time of year'.

'A week ago, the storm came suddenly from the northwest' replied Oftrygg, 'The winds were as bitter as if they had been sent express from the great frozen wastes themselves, and we were hard put to it to bring our boats ashore before they froze in the bay! It doesn't feel entirely natural... and i worry also about the mountain too. The bad weather came from that direction, and the dwarves there might also have been caught unawares. A few days ago we heard rumblings and crashes in the distance, as if there was a great battle raging up there!' 

Runa looked troubled as Erland came up the jetty to join them. 'My dear, i must turn aside from our journey to help clear the Greywind of ice, so that the trade route to Pikesteel Mountain is kept clear. This the icesingers have always done.'

'But of course' said Erland, 'and i shall come too. You may face danger on the way, and surely the river barge will need crewing?' 

Oftrygg looked relieved. 'That would be most kind, Erland, and would free up another villiager to tend to our ships and our flocks.' He then turned to Runa, a quizzical look in his eye. 'Your betrothed is a fine man, but i don't believe i've met his family, and i know all the major clans within a hundred miles! How did you meet?' 

Erland and Runa looked at each other and exchanged an amused smile. 'Funny you should mention that' said Erland, 'It's quite a tale. Lets go inside and we shall tell it to you over a mug of ale'. And with that, the trio turned their backs on the ice and snow, for now, exchanging them for the comforts of the fireside, Olaf padding along at their heels.

~~~~~~

Hope you have enjoyed my builds and (somewhat sketchy) storytelling! Hopefully I can add to it before too long. C&c welcome 

 

[TitusV]

Great to have you back Gabe, especially with two wonderful intro builds!

Dark red and medium blue is a lovely combination, especially with the golden details all around - they make for a very Kaliphlinite feeling!  As I've said in the intro thread as well, that window is just gorgeous  

The second build, being completely different, looks great as well. Though I'm not completely sold on the tower's horns, the excellent house makes up for that! Especially the long and low roof is stealing my attention, nice job!

[TheLordOfBricks]

Great work! Such great colors on the first build and such great textures on the second! Keep it up! :)

[Henjin_Quilones]

You do a great job of capturing the feel of both Kaliphlin and Mitgardia here. The Kali build is especially clean and precise, which is lovely, especially the color choices. The Mitgardian build is also great, with the snow and all of the brown. I like the tree, and unlike Titus, I do like the spikes on the tower, although I can see how it makes it look a bit orcish. The extended roof used as a shed is excellent, though. Great work, and glad to have you back building in the Guilds!

[mccoyed]

Love the colors in the Kali builds. Lots of great details in there and you managed to fill it with texture without making it look too busy. I really loved the Mitgardian build, though! A ton of great stuff there including the disconnected pieces, the roof hutch for storage, and the small boat!

[CaptainAaron]

Wow, great snow work there, especially where it is sliding off the edge of the roof. It makes me cold looking at it. I also really like the color and texture in the cottage walls. 

[The Last of Nergoue]

Looking good!  i really enjoy the vibrant colors with the first build and the house on the second one is very well done.

[W Navarre]

I agree the ice and snow is awesome!  Also the roof is sweet, well done on both MOCs. 

[zoth33]

Both Moc's are great.  The interior on the first is nicely done with the white arches and the check boarding on the bottom part of the walls and floor.  The tower and the hut are wonderful.  The snow is done so well especially on top of the hut its the first thing I was drawn to on the build.  The ground work is fantastic too.  I also really like the way you did the tower with the horn pieces and the door really stands out.  Great job.

[Basiliscus]

Really nice introduction builds @Gabe! The Mitgardia one is my favourite, the lower of the buildings has some beautiful textures on it, you've added a lot of detail into a confined space. I love the assymetry too.

Like @TitusV I think the horns look quite Orcish on the tower, but it's a minor point. Your snow is very well sculpted and very natural.

I love what you're doing with the story, I'm curious to see how the story of Anuar and Erudhalion will pan out. It reminds me a lot of the Akira Kurosawa film Kagemusha, if you haven't seen that check it out, might give you some plot ideas!

[de Gothia]

Great to have you here again Gabe!!!

 

Love the mocs! The snowy Mitgardian moc is really eyecandy. The waterway opened to the dock. The lower building´s roof and the snow on it!! 

[Gabe]

On 9/1/2018 at 12:39 AM, TitusV said:

Great to have you back Gabe, especially with two wonderful intro builds!

Dark red and medium blue is a lovely combination, especially with the golden details all around - they make for a very Kaliphlinite feeling!  As I've said in the intro thread as well, that window is just gorgeous  

The second build, being completely different, looks great as well. Though I'm not completely sold on the tower's horns, the excellent house makes up for that! Especially the long and low roof is stealing my attention, nice job!

Thanks Titus! Funny, the horns on the tower seem quite divisive! I added them almost as an afterthought, as the tower needed an accent to break up the brown walls.  I thought it called out to the horns on the helms as well (Not traditionally very Norse, i know!).

On 9/1/2018 at 1:41 AM, TheLordOfBricks said:

Great work! Such great colors on the first build and such great textures on the second! Keep it up! :)

Cheers, glad you like my builds! 

On 9/1/2018 at 2:36 AM, Henjin_Quilones said:

You do a great job of capturing the feel of both Kaliphlin and Mitgardia here. The Kali build is especially clean and precise, which is lovely, especially the color choices. The Mitgardian build is also great, with the snow and all of the brown. I like the tree, and unlike Titus, I do like the spikes on the tower, although I can see how it makes it look a bit orcish. The extended roof used as a shed is excellent, though. Great work, and glad to have you back building in the Guilds!

Thanks Henjin for your comments! Yeah, i can see the Orcish similarity now, although that wan't what i was going for at all! I like them too, i think it gives the tower quite a unique feel. I don't really want to stick too closely to one style of architecture or another either - this is a fantasy world after all. 

On 9/1/2018 at 3:34 AM, mccoyed said:

Love the colors in the Kali builds. Lots of great details in there and you managed to fill it with texture without making it look too busy. I really loved the Mitgardian build, though! A ton of great stuff there including the disconnected pieces, the roof hutch for storage, and the small boat!

Thanks McCoyed! I'm glad to hear that you didn't think the palace interior looked too busy, i mucked around with the colours quite a bit in the hope of avoiding that outcome. Thanks for your kind words! 

On 9/1/2018 at 7:38 AM, CaptainAaron said:

Wow, great snow work there, especially where it is sliding off the edge of the roof. It makes me cold looking at it. I also really like the color and texture in the cottage walls. 

Cheers CaptainAaron!

On 9/1/2018 at 7:44 AM, The Last of Nergoue said:

Looking good!  i really enjoy the vibrant colors with the first build and the house on the second one is very well done.

Thankyou very much Nergoue!

On 9/1/2018 at 11:02 AM, W Navarre said:

I agree the ice and snow is awesome!  Also the roof is sweet, well done on both MOCs. 

Cheers mate, good to see you've made your way to the guilds as well - welcome! 

On 9/1/2018 at 1:26 PM, zoth33 said:

Both Moc's are great.  The interior on the first is nicely done with the white arches and the check boarding on the bottom part of the walls and floor.  The tower and the hut are wonderful.  The snow is done so well especially on top of the hut its the first thing I was drawn to on the build.  The ground work is fantastic too.  I also really like the way you did the tower with the horn pieces and the door really stands out.  Great job.

Thankyou very much zoth for your kind words! 

21 hours ago, Basiliscus said:

Really nice introduction builds @Gabe! The Mitgardia one is my favourite, the lower of the buildings has some beautiful textures on it, you've added a lot of detail into a confined space. I love the assymetry too.

Like @TitusV I think the horns look quite Orcish on the tower, but it's a minor point. Your snow is very well sculpted and very natural.

I love what you're doing with the story, I'm curious to see how the story of Anuar and Erudhalion will pan out. It reminds me a lot of the Akira Kurosawa film Kagemusha, if you haven't seen that check it out, might give you some plot ideas!

Thanks Basiliscus! I think i have heard of Kagemusha, but am not too familiar with the story - i will check it out for sure.  

15 hours ago, de Gothia said:

Great to have you here again Gabe!!!

 

Love the mocs! The snowy Mitgardian moc is really eyecandy. The waterway opened to the dock. The lower building´s roof and the snow on it!! 

Thanks de Gothia, it feels great to be back again. Thanks for your lovely comment! 

[narbilu]

so many detail to compliment you on... wow

The tile work in the interior and the snow in the scenery are particularly pretty. Well done!

[TitusV]

Hmmm, I see. Breaking up brown walls is indeed a necessary thing to do, but maybe continueing the 1x1 round pillars would have satisfied? Or some other, minor detailinig?

[soccerkid6]

Gabe returns!
You're still a master Kaliphlin builder. Spot on architecture and patterns I particularly like the thick walls, and window seat with cushion The various printed tiles and shield on the walls are lovely too.

Naturally the Mitgardian model is super cool The low wooden wall by the dock looks great, and is something I can't recall seeing done before. Neat touch having an actual separate base for the tower, only connected by the lovely bridge
And both roofs are superb!

[Gabe]

On 9/3/2018 at 6:58 PM, narbilu said:

so many detail to compliment you on... wow

The tile work in the interior and the snow in the scenery are particularly pretty. Well done!

Aw thanks Narbilu, glad u like my builds! 

On 9/4/2018 at 6:33 AM, TitusV said:

Hmmm, I see. Breaking up brown walls is indeed a necessary thing to do, but maybe continueing the 1x1 round pillars would have satisfied? Or some other, minor detailinig?

The 1x1 round pillars would not have filled the gap, or given the nice octagonal shape to that section. I'm sure the jumper plates could have been detailed in some other way, but i happen to like my spikes. No regrets! 

19 minutes ago, soccerkid6 said:

Gabe returns!
You're still a master Kaliphlin builder. Spot on architecture and patterns I particularly like the thick walls, and window seat with cushion The various printed tiles and shield on the walls are lovely too.

Naturally the Mitgardian model is super cool The low wooden wall by the dock looks great, and is something I can't recall seeing done before. Neat touch having an actual separate base for the tower, only connected by the lovely bridge
And both roofs are superb!

Thanks for your kind comments Issac! I'm looking forward to building a lot more in both Kaliphin and Mitgardia! 

[Gideon]

Two very nice builds, capturing the respective guilds perfectly
Especially the window and the nice use of printed pieces and stickers stand out in the Kali build.
(I still cannot manage to get any colorful Kaliphlin mosaics to work out, need to look more closely at your builds!)

The smooth shapes of the snow also look very realistic, and I love the asymmetric design of the house with the small details put under the side roof.

[Captain Dee]

Nice builds! And your "somewhat sketchy" story was a good read from my perspective. 

The snowscape is very nicely detailed throughout. I quite like the spikes on the tower - sure they're "orcish" but they really stand out to the point of being a defining characteristic that separates this from other similar snowy builds. They definitely fulfill their intended purpose!

But that interior is absolutely exquisite.  I would rank it amongst my favorite GoH interior builds, ever. Wow. The colors, patterns, everything... It's beautiful. I just want to keep looking at it! 

Keep it up - both the builds and the story. 

[Gabe]

On 9/18/2018 at 5:04 AM, Gideon said:

Two very nice builds, capturing the respective guilds perfectly
Especially the window and the nice use of printed pieces and stickers stand out in the Kali build.
(I still cannot manage to get any colorful Kaliphlin mosaics to work out, need to look more closely at your builds!)

The smooth shapes of the snow also look very realistic, and I love the asymmetric design of the house with the small details put under the side roof.

Cheers Gideon, glad u like them! Mosaics are fun, i've taken a lot of inspiration from Katie Walker and Benjamin Jakobson in the past, they are always good to look at and get ideas from.

9 hours ago, Captain Dee said:

Nice builds! And your "somewhat sketchy" story was a good read from my perspective. 

The snowscape is very nicely detailed throughout. I quite like the spikes on the tower - sure they're "orcish" but they really stand out to the point of being a defining characteristic that separates this from other similar snowy builds. They definitely fulfill their intended purpose!

But that interior is absolutely exquisite.  I would rank it amongst my favorite GoH interior builds, ever. Wow. The colors, patterns, everything... It's beautiful. I just want to keep looking at it! 

Keep it up - both the builds and the story. 

Thanks for your very kind comments Cptn Dee! I'm very glad to hear that story is working for you also.