[FB - COR] Hvalfanghimr - A home to many Corries | Character introduction

[Wellesley]

Finally I took some time to write my introduction, it felt to be long overdue.

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Hvalfanghimr - A home to many Corries

On the northern coast of the mainland, the glorious Empire of Corrington, there lies a city called Hvalfanghimr.
It is the birthplace of some outstanding personalities and a key point for connection between the north and the south.

Historically the people here, as in the entire north, were not that concerned about politics and the outside world. They cared more about harvesting what the land let grow, catching enough fish and whales during the three more pleasant seasons to endure the following unforgiving winters.
Though that has changed, once the more traditional people of the north saw the benefits in scientific advancements, experimental research and new building techniques.
Maybe some unsorted eccentric inventors never would have achieved to introduce those new ways, which could have seemed daunting, but the orderly, purpose driven manner of most people in Corrington acted as a gateway, aside of course similar languages and the common enmity towards the Kingdom of Blight, the Empire of Oleon.
From this time on the way for the Corrington we now know was paved. Today we have communication and exchange at a rate, the northern forefathers could not have thought of. Slowly thatch and timberwork are replaced by tiled roofs and stone walls. Bigger ships with more complex rigs sail unto the horizon and the smoke above the cities does not solely stem from heating the quarters, but from tall brick chimneys of factories and on the market places you now can find goods and consumables from all over the known world.

Hvalfanghimr of course underwent this drastical change as well.
Some generations ago you would have found cottages, loosely placed along the shore, which back then was an actual beach. Miles of white and tan sand, only interrupted by cliffs. There was no need for a harbour, the small vessels were just dragged upon the sand. Bigger ports and docks were a rarity in the north.
The mountain range made an exchange of goods via land a slow business. As the trade rapidly increased a need for another solution was obvious. In the far east of the country the distance between both shores is relatively short. Here one the roads was reconstructed into one main trading route, extending the network which already wrapped all the southern cities. This trading route leads to the Krossbølge-Bay, easy to identify on the map for its prominent hook in the north-east.
Hvalfanghimr became the biggest transfer site for the north. The sandy beaches did not longer fit the needs of business cultivating men, so in a big undertaking massive loads of stone from the quarries were brought to the bay. Piers, moles, basin, cranes, light houses, shipyards and all kind of different infrastructures were raised in just a man's lifetime. The delivered stones from the mountain range quarries were of very dark colour, often pitch black, shaping the new look of Krossbølge-Bay, hence called Black-Pier-Bay by the locals.

The northeners often tend to meticulously follow their principles and ideas. Some would call them stubborn. So the subject of their obstinacy may change over time, you can rely on it to still be a characteristic. Were they once willingly neglecting politics and events outside their little world, you can now bet on them to be utterly convinced followers of Queen Annetta. Outsiders were a little bit amused about such enthusiastic frowardness and the northeners even earned an idiom depicting this trait. "Going north with something" For example no matter how foolish an idea may be, if you are absolutely confident and set everything in motion to fulfill your plan, one might say that you "went north with it".

Hvalfanghimr with its typical black pier:

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One of the families from Hvalfanghimr is the line of the Farrensmans. Naturally as far back into ancestry as the Farrensmans can remember, they were a family of whalers. Not really surprising, as the vast majority of men in the north fed on whaling. Jorin Farrensman however grew up in a time with a much broader spectrum of careers. Whaling no longer was a common matter of whole villages, but became a fulltime job for a few men on great tall ships, which could be at sea for several month. So Jorin enlisted in the naval forces, leaving behind his fiancé Luise Keapman. He proved himself clever and worthy in many skirmishes, thus earning the rank of a boatswain's mate, serving aboard the HMS Bulwark, a 74 gun ship of the line. During a great naval battle within the Fourty-Nine Years War he lost his right leg and was given shore leave for a while. This incident saved his life though, as the HMS Bulwark was sunken on her next voyage.
He married Luise and established a boat building business. Over the years he became quite successful and the little business was turned into a big shipyard. They both are also very proud of their daughter, Annetta Farrensman, who studied botany in Belson. She then joined the pilgrims on their way into the colonies. The last letter from Arlinsport, where she worked in an inn, contained her plan to go further east, boarding a ship with destination Spudkirk.

Jorin Farrensman boarding the HMS Bulwark with the grim and determinate look of a young, unexperienced soldier.

Duty on board.

The great battle at sea, in which a splinter took his right leg.

Jorin and Luise Farrensman, years later.

Jorin Farrensman is one of my first three minifigs, he will be responsible for most of the ships I post.

Another family from the city of Hvalfanghimr is the line of the Stienhouwers. First being involved in whaling, an ancestor of Anselm Stienhouwer betrayed the sea for stonemasonry, a profession that should flourish just a few generations later as the country underwent the great adaption of the north. Anselm always was kind of a solitary person. No wonder he would once choose to become the lighthouse keeper of Hvalfanghimr. His nickname totally replaced his actual name and some of the youger generation only know him by the name of "Fjoertoer" Stienhouwer. Together with his wife Elisabeth Stienhouwer, born as Elisabeth Yarntale, he lives near the lighthouse in a small timberwork house. They have a son, Nathaniel Stienhouwer, who recently decided to enlist in the marine, having young dreams of adventure and luxurious life in the colonies. Maybe the monotonous work in one the storehouses helped as well with the decision.

Anselm Stienhouwer loves to watch the stars taking over from the sun.

The little timberhouse and its residents, the Stienhouwer family, from left to right: Elisabeth, Nathaniel and Anselm.

Nathaniel proudly showing his friends his enlistment papers.

After travelling to Belson he books a passage on board the HMS Lipizzana, which, after sailing through the Merlonic Sea for a few month, is now heading east.

Nathaniel Stienhouwer will be my main minifig for storytelling in the new world, next to Annetta Farrensman, as soon as she reappears.

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The names are a mix of Frisian, Danish and Proto-Norse influence.

Hvalfanghimr - whalerhome, Hvalfanger is whaler in Danish, himr is a Proto-Norse root of home
Krossbølge - bølge is Danish for wave, k/cross is a prefix, describing the moody nature of the northern sea
Keapman - merchant in Frisian
Farrensman - seafarer/mariner in Frisian
Yarntale - works perfectly in English
Stienhouwer - stonemason in Frisian
Fjoertoer - lighthouse in Frisian, fire tower would be the literal translation

Influence from other builds:

The home of the Stienhouwers is copied from @AxelE55's Redcoat caribbean port/town.
The goat and the Capercaillie, the black bird next to the pumpkin plant, I first have seen at Brick to the Past.

Sorry for the bad lighting at some pictures, if I'm able to get better pictures, I will switch them. Also I have discovered on the photos that a red tile on the hull of the Orion (she and the green fishing boat are just stage props and don't represent the other factions) is missing:)

Greetings,
Wellesley!

 

[Professor Thaum]

Ouch that's a huge one to digest !

Some pics are really amazing.

I will wait to be on a PC and not on my phone for further comments but I already like this lighthouse very much.

[Professor Thaum]

The crane is also amazing... overall big big stuff and great job

[Captain Genaro]

I really enjoyed this. The builds were really nice, and complimented the story well, but I must admit that the story really drew me in. The story is very well written and creates some very nice lore for your characters and faction. Looking back at the builds, you have created a very nice village, and my favorite part is all the birds. I don't know if they are your own design or not, but they are fantastic and you use them very well to create an ambiance of a coastal town.

[Ayrlego]

A belated welcome to Corrington Wellesley!

I really enjoyed your detailed introduction. It introduces some new lore for our faction and ties in some of the Scandinavian influence we have claimed but never really expanded on.

Your Hvalfanghimr builds are fantastic. The blue and red house has a classic feel about it I especially appreciate and the lighthouse is quite an impressive height! I look forward to seeing more of your characters in the Brick Seas.

[Wellesley]

19 hours ago, Professor Thaum said:

overall big big stuff and great job

Thank you Professor!
The lighthouse and the crane are my two favourites. After seeing pictures of curving the wall with help of the round bricks, I always wanted to build something similar. The lighthouse started as a medieval tower.

 

5 hours ago, Captain Genaro said:

I must admit that the story really drew me in.

That's nice to hear.

 

5 hours ago, Captain Genaro said:

my favorite part is all the birds. I don't know if they are your own design or not, but they are fantastic and you use them very well to create an ambiance of a coastal town.

Thank you! There is one black bird, a Capercaillie, which to 90% is a copy from this diorama. All other birds are my own creation, though the root idea behind them was using hands as beaks, like I have seen at flickr once. I'm especially happy with using the droid legs for the cranes and the heron.

 

2 hours ago, Ayrlego said:

A belated welcome to Corrington Wellesley!

Thank you very much as well for the kind words.

Edited July 16, 2019 by Wellesley

[TomSkippy]

I forgot you never had created a BSB character! Love the build (and all the other builds) and can’t wait to see their adventures!

[Fraunces]

Very much love this build. The buildings are cosy and typical. The backstory pics of the battle are great.. Awesome.

[Keymonus]

Lovely builds! Both the port and the ships you built are very nice, and the photoshopping with the warships adds a lot! Great start, keep it up! 

[Bregir]

Excellent story and ditto, build, Wellesley! I really enjoy the fact that you have built up a history of the place, tied it into Corrington so well, and given each of the characters their own life!

The build(s) is very impressive too, and really show how wide your building reach is. Ships, buildings, advanced techniques, posing, etc.

Some of your pictures are excellent,  and you have done great things with editing, but some of the others are a little dark. I can suggest a cheap tripod for your camera to allow for longer exposure times, which helps in limited light conditions.

 

Overall, smashing introduction to BoBs! Hereby officially your welcome from me and all my characters! Hopefully they will meet at some point! :)