Watchtower of Legomandias

[robuko]

Following the great success of the Heliotropic Crystal Glass Manufactory, The Petraea General Trading Company has erected a second Heliotrope on the ruins of the Colossus of Legomandias, one of the most Ancient Wonders of Kaliphlin. Signals between this tower and the Manufactory give us more timely and accurate information from the market as to what is in hot demand, and cuts the communication time to the Manufactory by a day. Environmentalists and preservationists are outraged, but the benefit to our crystal glass production schedules from having more accurate market price information overwhelms this outmoded thinking in the view of all right-minded citizens.

I am sure you know the famous site of the new tower, one of the Oldest Remains of Kaliphlin. It was immortalised in verse by a celebrated poet of Qarkyr,

"I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: "A vast and trunkless leg of stone

Stand in the desert. Near it on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown

And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.

And on the pedestal these words appear:

`My name is Legomandias, King of Kings:

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,

The lone and level sands stretch far away". "

Conveniently, the ruins sit on the main trade road between Petraea and the Manufactory. This will allow the PGTC to serve all of Historica's needs faster and at better prices,

Yours Aye,

Rasputin

[Gabe]

Great first photo, very evocative! (Even if the thought of scraping sand out all those tubes gives me the heebies)

[Cij Daoke]

:wacko:

The foot-tower is a bizarre concept!

That's quite clever

[robuko]

Apologies for bumping this, I wasn't really happy with my initial photos and I have revised the ladder. I need the bricks now so just doing some more photos and admin before disassembly. I am just adding some "director's notes" for posterity. I think this disappeared under the flood of towers right before the round 1 deadline, and many far better towers did too.

Obviously, this was a nod to Shelley's poem Ozymandias, which is a meditation on many things, but for me especially hubris and time. The poem refers to the eternal and infallible grandeur of Egypt under Rameses, and look at the sad state of affairs there today, let alone in 1819 after the Napoleonic invasion. The Egyptian reference tickled me as there are many Egpytian builds in Kaliphlin, especialy in the South and East. Ska's subsequent history of Kaliphlin ruling all of Historica thousands of years ago before being brought low by hubris, arrogance, and greed makes it even mroe suitable. I guess Legomandias must be another name for Sultan Satani b'Rack Ji'Fall of the House Satani, the last mighty Sultan. The style of build was a new direction for me, a kind of Lowell sphere effort, and I am reasonably happy with it, especially the toes. The studs give a nice weathered effect. In this I was heavily influenced by the excellent builds from Schfio.

[Angeli]

wow, such a presentation! ;) bravo