Prelude: Northern Conversation

[soccerkid6]

A group of various Mitgardian lords and leaders meets in Daydelon after hearing reports of Queen Ylspeth's new edict.

Glorfindel quickly got down to business: "All of you represent different groups of Mitgardians. How do they all feel about these new regulations on taxes, public entertainment to be funded by the nobles, and grain from Avalonia?"
There was a moment of silence as the council members considered their replies. Karsten and Glorfindel had already discussed the issue with each other before the council.
And in the end it was Vagn, a wealthy merchant, who spoke up first.

"Meddling with Mitgardian business, that's what this is! Never trust governments to get involved with trade, it always ends up costing you more than it gives.
And ultimately this 'free grain' is just being paid with by our own taxes! Not to mention these taxes aren't just going to the crown, but into the pockets of those tree loving Avalonians!"

Lady Alsnotr of the Strong Shield clan quickly responded: "Even if the grain is being paid for by our tax money, surely it's advantageous to receive grain before our tax payments are submitted? Many of our smaller clans and villages are struggling to maintain their food supplies, and we'll need good stocks prepared to make it through another tough winter."

"You all act as if this sort of thing hasn't been done before," put in Brigor, an aged dwarf of Hradcanny. "Edicts on food, trade, and taxes were common place enough when we had a King in Cedrica; why should our Queen be any different? No, it's the inclusion of these public spectacles that makes me wary. What is Ylspeth trying to distract our people from? She's practically forcing nobles to put on these events with her tax requirements."

"Surely she could just be looking to brighten the common folks lives?" Ovarr asked. As a well-known hunter and trapper, the young man was far from wealthy and passed through many small villages and towns during his expeditions.

"Whatever our suspicions of her motives, we have no choice in the matter currently," stated Drottin Manaor, Mitgardia's Prime Minister and representative of parliament.
"Though it may not be in our best interests, we are in no position to defy the Throne of Cedrica. Mitgardia badly needs some years of peace to regain strength."

"I'm afraid Drottin is right, for now we will have to watch and wait to see how our new Queen handles Historica. Those of you with concerns are welcome to summarize your thoughts in letters which I can include in our next official correspondence with our representatives in Cedrica." Glorfindel sighed as he sat back in his chair. When Ylspeth had been inaugurated the country rejoiced, for it brought some much sought stability to the lands. And while many of the common people were excited by the promise of entertainment, the current sense of discontentment and suspicion among the nobles and wealthy was hardly encouraging.

Edited December 19, 2018 by soccerkid6

[W Navarre]

This is a really elegant and awesome scene man!  

[Exetrius]

Solid work! Very effective use of the relatively new 1x1 round plate with bar in the chandeliers! 

[Kai NRG]

I really like the raised ledge around the walls of this room - did you get that from actual medieval architecture or is it something you came up with on your own?  It's definitely effective for letting us get a good look at the furniture/details that are up against the wall!  Brown pillars against the dark brown wall also look great!

[TheLordOfBricks]

Nice! Loving all the details here, a well composed scene. :) Keep it up!

[en_zoo]

awesome job, SK! Love the atmosphere as a whole. I've never thought of separating the two main browns into actual sections - good choice. I also like the idea of that kind of step coming up to the walls. Finally, really nice to read your story!

[mccoyed]

Great interior. We're really getting some wonderful ones lately.

[Spader]

As usual, your stain glass and Nordic architecture are unrivaled. 

[Basiliscus]

A really nice interior scene here, love those chairs and the overhanging arches at the top. The ledge round the edge of the room is a nice touch too.

Green is an unusual interior colour choice, and I think it works really well for the tablecloth and floor because of the inclusion of the gold edging.

The story was nice too, I liked the different opinions of the characters. Looking forward to the challenge announcement now!

[MaasEffekt]

I love this interior, and colors! Congrats! Very nice!

[The Last of Nergoue]

very nice scene. the slope above the fireplace looks really good!

[zoth33]

Really nice job, I really like the columns with the arches.  The table and chairs are great.  The plates on the walls give it a nice wooden board look.  The fireplace is very creative too.  Nice story to accompany the scene too.  

[Henjin_Quilones]

Nice build, SK! I like the use of a limited number of colors, notably the two browns, dark bley, and green. It keeps it simple and allows the details to pop out a bit better that way, especially the excellent details around the sides on the raised platforms. There are two critiques I have: first, I think it would be nice if you found a way to light up the fireplace and make it glow; and second, I am not a fan of the chair backs, as they are too thick for the scale. If you were to put the gold window part in a chair some other way, by perhaps sticking it in a lever base (like people have been doing with wand sprues) that could make for a more elegant solution. 

I also think it looked better with the dark blue, rather than green, but I was the one who suggested you switch it, so...

[OrangeGareth]

Cool background details!

[Grover]

Another very nice build!  Really captures the Mitgardian feel, I think.  The greens and browns are great.  I really like the clean lines and level of detail as well: the green rug/work on the floor, the great windows for chair backs, the side area with the keg, etc., and the tapestry over the fireplace are awesome, and yet there's not an overwrought greebling on the rocks or floor.  Great job!

[soccerkid6]

On 12/19/2018 at 8:46 AM, W Navarre said:

This is a really elegant and awesome scene man!  

Thank you Josiah, I thought it was one of my best CCC builds, so I'm glad you like it so much

On 12/19/2018 at 9:33 AM, Exetrius said:

Solid work! Very effective use of the relatively new 1x1 round plate with bar in the chandeliers! 

Thanks man! John and I got a bunch of those from LUGbulk, and have had a lot of fun messing around with them. Super useful piece.

On 12/19/2018 at 11:25 AM, Kai NRG said:

I really like the raised ledge around the walls of this room - did you get that from actual medieval architecture or is it something you came up with on your own?  It's definitely effective for letting us get a good look at the furniture/details that are up against the wall!  Brown pillars against the dark brown wall also look great!

Thanks Kai! The raised portions are something I took from this inspirational image I based the build off. Just noticed I forgot to link to that in the build description here

On 12/19/2018 at 11:48 AM, TheLordOfBricks said:

Nice! Loving all the details here, a well composed scene. :) Keep it up!

Thank you!

On 12/19/2018 at 4:39 PM, en_zoo said:

awesome job, SK! Love the atmosphere as a whole. I've never thought of separating the two main browns into actual sections - good choice. I also like the idea of that kind of step coming up to the walls. Finally, really nice to read your story!

Thanks en_zoo. While mixing dark brown and reddish brown also looks great, and is something I do myself, for more elegant scenes like this I like to have their use be very patterned.

On 12/19/2018 at 5:55 PM, mccoyed said:

Great interior. We're really getting some wonderful ones lately.

Thank you mccoyed, it does seem to be a golden age for castle interiors

On 12/19/2018 at 10:08 PM, Judge of the Wastelands said:

As usual, your stain glass and Nordic architecture are unrivaled. 

Thank you

On 12/20/2018 at 3:02 AM, Basiliscus said:

A really nice interior scene here, love those chairs and the overhanging arches at the top. The ledge round the edge of the room is a nice touch too.

Green is an unusual interior colour choice, and I think it works really well for the tablecloth and floor because of the inclusion of the gold edging.

The story was nice too, I liked the different opinions of the characters. Looking forward to the challenge announcement now!

Thanks Basiliscus! Glad to hear you mention the carpet as its sideways design took a bit of work to incorporate.

On 12/20/2018 at 7:57 AM, MaasEffekt said:

I love this interior, and colors! Congrats! Very nice!

Thank you!

On 12/20/2018 at 11:31 AM, The Last of Nergoue said:

very nice scene. the slope above the fireplace looks really good!

Thanks, I based that off this concept art. I think it makes a nice change from the typical arched fireplace 

On 12/20/2018 at 11:16 PM, zoth33 said:

Really nice job, I really like the columns with the arches.  The table and chairs are great.  The plates on the walls give it a nice wooden board look.  The fireplace is very creative too.  Nice story to accompany the scene too.  

Thanks a bunch!

On 1/2/2019 at 2:57 PM, Henjin_Quilones said:

Nice build, SK! I like the use of a limited number of colors, notably the two browns, dark bley, and green. It keeps it simple and allows the details to pop out a bit better that way, especially the excellent details around the sides on the raised platforms. There are two critiques I have: first, I think it would be nice if you found a way to light up the fireplace and make it glow; and second, I am not a fan of the chair backs, as they are too thick for the scale. If you were to put the gold window part in a chair some other way, by perhaps sticking it in a lever base (like people have been doing with wand sprues) that could make for a more elegant solution. 

I also think it looked better with the dark blue, rather than green, but I was the one who suggested you switch it, so...

Thanks for the detailed comment HQ! I agree on the dark blue - especially as with that color I could use nexo knight shields for the banners.
The chairs are a bit blocky, though personally I don't mind too much if my backs are a full stud thick sometimes. That said, your suggestion is something I'll consider for future furniture 

On 1/4/2019 at 10:45 PM, OrangeGareth said:

Cool background details!

Thanks Gareth!

On 1/5/2019 at 12:46 PM, Grover said:

Another very nice build!  Really captures the Mitgardian feel, I think.  The greens and browns are great.  I really like the clean lines and level of detail as well: the green rug/work on the floor, the great windows for chair backs, the side area with the keg, etc., and the tapestry over the fireplace are awesome, and yet there's not an overwrought greebling on the rocks or floor.  Great job!

Thank you Grover