The Order of the Iron Circle

[MiloNelsiano]

     ‘’I just can’t, Osric.  I wouldn’t have any idea on how to start something like this.’’ Auron looked at his old friend—now his Lord, hoping he would reconsider.

     ‘’You can.  My father said so himself in his final letter to me before his passing.  If you don’t trust me, surely you can trust him.’’

     Auron pondered his words for a moment.  He had missed his friend.  It was good to be talking to him again, but he still couldn’t help the guilt he felt for what had happened to Osric’s brother.  The three of them had always been best friends, and inseparable as children.  After Osfred’s death, Auron couldn’t face Osric or his father, Lord Orys.  When Lord Orys himself had died, Auron regretted his decision.  He would always miss Lord Orys, who had taken him in as an orphan.  He was the only father he had ever known.  ‘’Of course I trust him,’’ he finally said, ‘’and I trust you to, it’s just—‘’

     Osric had produced a folded piece of parchment from somewhere inside his tabard.  ‘’Reconcile with Auron,’’ Osric began to read, ‘’he’s no more to blame for Osfred’s death than you or me.  He understands better than any of us the importance of taking care of orphans.  He understands what happens to young boys that don’t have a father to protect or provide for them.  He is to take care of Oros’ orphans when I am gone.’’  Osric folded the parchment again and returned it inside his tabard.

     ‘’He didn’t say anything about starting a Knighthood Order, though did he?’’ Auron began to pace back and forth, kicking the odd stone while thinking about what Osric was asking him.

     ‘’Would you rather run an orphanage?’’ Osric offered a rare smile, and the two of them began laughing—the first time they had laughed together in many years.  ‘’You know you have my support in this.  I know it won’t be easy, but I’m already giving you a headquarters.  There’s room here for a barracks and armory, not to mention your own private quarters.’’

     Auron scratched at his chin.  ‘’But do you even realize how hard it is for an orphan to become a knight?’’

     ‘’No, I don’t, Auron, but you do, which is why you must be grandmaster of the order.’’  Osric paused for a moment before continuing.  ‘’What would you call the order anyway?’’

     Auron stopped pacing and pulled out the old ugly medallion he always wore around his neck.  He thought back on his mother, who he could barely still remember.  He thought of how she had fled with him as a boy, though from what he never knew, and he remembered her bringing the medallion to a smith to melt down for some coin.  He remembered how the smith had just laughed at his mother because it wasn’t pure gold as she had thought, but iron plated in gold, and he remembered how the smith had melted the gold off the ugly iron circle.  When the smith paid his mother for the gold, he tossed what remained of the medallion to Auron and laughed as he returned to his forge.  The coin had been enough to feed them as the continued to travel, but shortly before they had reached the town of Osgard, she fell sick and died a week later.  All Auron had to remember her by was the ugly iron circle he wore around his neck.  ‘’The Order of the Iron Circle,’’ he finally answered. 

     Osric put his hand on Auron’s shoulder.  ‘’That sounds official.’’  He smiled once again before turning and leaving.  As he walked away, he called back, ‘’Remember, if there’s anything you should need, I am here for you, Grandmaster.’’

     Auron sighed before looking at the building in front of him and shaking his head.

After a few weeks of repairs and cleaning out the inside of the small keep, the Order of the Iron Circle had began to train it's members.

Well, I'm finally posting this build that I've had sitting on my desk for almost a year now.  I'm still a bricklink order or two short of finishing it how I had planned, but my son now wants to build something new, so I think I'll be taking this apart now.  I built it to include an interior (see the spoiler for some bad pictures displaying the inside) so my son could play with it, which he has thoroughly enjoyed.  Hopefully you have too!  C&C is always welcome, specifically on the photography, as I just finished a new setup on my desk.  Still struggling a little with the lighting, but otherwise I really like the new setup.  Thanks for looking!

Spoiler

 

[en_zoo]

Really nice I wouldn't mind some variations on the wall as well as on the terrain, but the fact that you built it for your son to play with changes everything! Overall, it looks neat, sturdy and playable enough, the interior makes it even better. I also like the story and the idea of turning orphans into knights. That poor Auron got quite the task though.. ! Good to see you popping by with a build every now and again, by the way

[zoth33]

Nice job.  I like the keep but I agree with en_zoo on the variation on the wall, maybe throw in some light grey bricks or sand green.  The roof is very nice and I like the battlements on top of the tower.  The story is good, I like the sound of the order of the iron circle.  Good job with the figs too.  

[Muakhah]

Excellent playable build. Solid and sturdy. As others have said variation would have improved it but when you show how it comes apart and is playable it’s awesome! Love the slit windows in the tower. It reminds me a lot of a Templar castle that was in the last couple of episodes of Knightfall. Simple but realistic. 

[W Navarre]

Excellent,  it is so modular, I like that!  I always like MOCs where there are other rooms and details that give them a more complete and engaging feel  .

[The Last of Nergoue]

really nice, although i feel the masonry bricks are a little over used, maybe add some snotted 1x2 tiles into it to break up the masonry bricks. 

[mccoyed]

I actually tend to really like straightforward architecture like this, including the masonry bricks. Uniformity and blocky, squarish aesthetics fit both Lego and real-world fortifications pretty well and it's really easy to go from "highly textured, nicely detailed" to making peoples' eyes bleed.

I think this is well done and the interiors are just a bonus.

[MiloNelsiano]

Thank you everyone for the feedback!

On 1/14/2019 at 11:45 PM, mccoyed said:

I actually tend to really like straightforward architecture like this, including the masonry bricks. Uniformity and blocky, squarish aesthetics fit both Lego and real-world fortifications pretty well and it's really easy to go from "highly textured, nicely detailed" to making peoples' eyes bleed.

I think this is well done and the interiors are just a bonus.

Thanks, I appreciate hearing that. It’s good to know I’m not the only one that thinks greebling  gets out of hand. I agree that the ground in this build needs some work, but I don’t think the building itself needs that much variation. It’s not hundreds of years old, like the castles are that we see today, and any damage it may have received would have been repaired immediately. 

Edited January 17, 2019 by MiloNelsiano

[Grover]

This is a very cool build.  I like the clean lines and especially the interiors.  The dark and light grey colors are great, and they work well with the dark red roof.  I like the use of the slope pieces as well, as I have always preferred them for roofs that are meant to be well maintained.  The raised porch with stairs looks great, and the interiors are a lot of fun.  If you were to improve on this, you could get rid of the vertical lines by overlapping the brick facade bricks, although this would necessitate putting non-facade bricks on the end or somewhere in the middle.  The olive green vines up the side of the building are great, though, and I think really help tie the levels together.  Great job!

[soccerkid6]

Looks like a well equipped barracks! Good call to use dark red for the roofs, and your dormer window technique is simple yet very effective
Clever parts use for the large standard on top. Great that you were able to incorporate a well furnished interior too!

[Henjin_Quilones]

I like how this is nothing fancy, but just a fairly realistic take on a fortress building. I'm not a huge fan of all of the masonry bricks, but they do work here to give it a sense of texture without going crazy on the SNOT techniques and whatnot. Everything seems so functional and practical, and I think that is what I like most about the build, that it's a utilitarian fortress rather than a fancy architectural masterpiece.