Prelude: What Lies Beneath

[Rogue Angel]

Prelude: What Lies Beneath

A Prelude to Challenge IV

Deep beneath the broken wastelands of Western Varlyrio lie the subterranean caverns where the Kogari dwell.

 

When the Kolgari immigrated underground during the Great Cataclysm, they lost the sun as a source of nourishment for their trees and plants.  The Kolgari were able to use their ancient sorcery to summon up a new source of magic to sustain life.

 

Some Kogari say the magic draws from the areas around to collect in orbs of bright concentrated magic.  Others say that portals have been opened to another realm that exudes light and magic.  Whatever the method, the magic has fostered life in the caverns, but it has also altered the plant life in many ways.  The most striking change has been the bright hues of pink and purple foliage. 

 

Dalnas Moonflame is the MaidenLord of the Andassi Shrine, which sits near the Mashana Rift.  She is flanked by two Blade Mages as she surveys her domain. 

 

Her thoughts return to the high priestess as she starts her journey back to the Temple of the First Ring.  Dalnas' former service as Queen Lord of the Kolgari meant her wisdom and counsel were highly sought after, and the High Priestess had sought her advice.  Their conversation was troubling.
 

High Priestess:  The Rego is as cunning and manipulative as ever. He has been pacing the blame for the assassinations of the Guild Ministers at our feet, and the Queen is falling for these lies.

Dalnas: Or worse yet, she is knowingly playing along with the deception?

High Priestess: The Amancios are covertly supplying the rebelling lords throughout the Guilds with mercenaries and gold to fuel the fires.  We must decide whether we are willing to actively show our support for the alliance with the Guilds. 

Dalnas: In this case, indecision or delay will be the same as supporting the rebels.  You are correct - the choice must be made.

Dalnas thoughts return to the present.

Through our seclusion, we have been insulated from the effects of the past year, but we cannot sit by in feigned ignorance.  We must break our isolation and risk our very way of life to help those that cannot protect themselves.

 

Click here for full-rez pictures and below to see the build lit at night.

Spoiler

 

[Garmadon]

Just wow!  I've got to say, that black base was absolutely brilliant!  The trees, flower buildings, and pathways have some great color for the subterranean caverns and really shine against the black   Some great complex shaping in there too, especially with the main structure!

[Kai NRG]

Really like the creative shapes and colors of this MOC, particularly the flower petal shaped balcony and the round doorways underneath!  So many purple leaves too... but the golden pathway is probably my favorite part!

[zoth33]

Wow this is visually stunning.  The colors play off each other and aren't to cluttered or clashing.  The use of light blues with the white is really an excellent choice for this build.  The gold pathways really work well too.  You've got enough trees and grass pieces in there to make it look alive but not to much to make it to cluttered.  The vegetation everywhere looks amazing especially those large plants with the air balloon pieces, those look awesome.  I like the use of tan with the purple leaves for the trees.  Excellent story, are you going to expand on this?  The figs are amazing too.  How did you get so many of the hoods with the elf ears?  I know they are from the elves line but I can only find one or two on ebay.  Great job.  

[Grover]

Awesome!  I was wondering when subterranian Varlyrio would start showing up.  This is an awesome build.  I really love the use of the unusual colors.  They need to hire you for the Friends line, where they use these colors against lime green and other really god-awful palette choices.  I like that you are able to use these colors in an interesting and non-offensive manner, making the setting look internally consistent and bringing to life a new color palette that is purely fantasy.  Can't wait for more!

[Eoin Wallace]

Those colours are amazing! and nice lighting too

[W Navarre]

What a great fantasy look you have achieved! The first look kind of takes your breath away because of the nice bright colors, well done depicting the Kolgari underground! 

[Basiliscus]

This is simply stunning - as others have mentioned the contrast between the drab black and bright purples and pinks is striking. I live the figs too, they are exactly how I imagined the Kolgari. Can anyone tell me what the headdresses are that the blade mages and big priestess are wearing? I don't recognise that part.

Nice story too!

[Rogue Angel]

4 hours ago, Basiliscus said:

 Can anyone tell me what the headdresses are that the blade mages and big priestess are wearing? I don't recognise that part.

They are from the Elves sets. I believe they came in 3 colors - magenta, azure and lavender.

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=25564pb01&idColor=157#T=C&C=157

[Henjin_Quilones]

5 hours ago, Rogue Angel said:

They are from the Elves sets. I believe they came in 3 colors - magenta, azure and lavender.

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=25564pb01&idColor=157#T=C&C=157

Yes, there are three. The magenta has medium dark flesh ears, while the medium azure and lavender have light flesh ears. Very useful for those of us who like to use flesh-toned elves. 

[Basiliscus]

18 hours ago, Rogue Angel said:

They are from the Elves sets. I believe they came in 3 colors - magenta, azure and lavender.

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=25564pb01&idColor=157#T=C&C=157

Thanks for the information!

[The Stad]

I love how you tend to work on such a grand scale, yet don’t skip over the finer details. This is a very impressive MOC, with some really cool colors and nice variegation of oversized, subterranean flora. Nice work on the story too, most intriguing.

[Gideon]

Lovely build overall and great details  The colors really stand out too.

Can’t wait to see what this challenge will be

(This reminds me of the indie game series Avernum, which also takes place in subterranean caverns where magically altered plants makes it possible for a realm of exiles from the surface to thrive) 

[soccerkid6]

Gorgeous use of color. It's amazing how well the shades of purple and pink look against the black ground
Great choice to use gold tiles for the pathways too!

[Sympatik Brick]

Hi! I wasn’t a Guildie in 2019, and I am discovering now this amazing work. I’m working on a figbarf with Kolgari people… and my main character have the same head and hairs than Dalnas Moonflame.

I am searching for more information / builds / history  around Kolgari’s people! If anybody have links to share… builders to follow… Thank you to MP me!

 

[Exetrius]

On 11/24/2023 at 10:30 AM, Sympatik Brick said:

Hi! I wasn’t a Guildie in 2019, and I am discovering now this amazing work. I’m working on a figbarf with Kolgari people… and my main character have the same head and hairs than Dalnas Moonflame.

I am searching for more information / builds / history  around Kolgari’s people! If anybody have links to share… builders to follow… Thank you to MP me!

 

This is so beautiful about the Guilds: even after years the builds and stories continue to inspire! I don't know anything about the Kolgari myself, but all mentions of the Kolgari are to be found here: https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/search/&q=Kolgari&type=forums_topic&nodes=145. Hope you find something interesting! 

[Sympatik Brick]

Thank you!

It’s how I found this topic. But there are some topics where the pics are not visible! And most of the time Kolgari are mentioned but not illustrated!

 

[jtooker]

Great job depicting this exotic part of Historica! All the purple trees tie an otherwise chaotic scene together well.