SarahJoy

Great build. I really like the groundscaping and your color choices, and I love the shallow waves along the shore!

Nice, clean build. I like the contrast between the smooth walls and the cobblestones, and that little tower roof is great!

Crisp, elegant build, with just enough detailing to keep it from looking plain. I agree that smoother edges on the base would be prettier, but it's a lovely build overall.

Feeling a refreshing draft through your tights -- doesn't actually make you cool.

Ruadh has long hosted merchants and traders from across the guilds, with some of the finest artisan goods from some of Historica's most reputable trade marks. We welcome all goods or services that fit well with the Ruadhi concept; please feel free to PM me.

Wow, that chariot design is fantastic!

Great vegetation, and that skeleton is very cool!

Nicely done with the building. I really like the landscaping and the rock work.

Beautiful, rich, lush landscaping! Love it. In regard to the photography: I personally prefer the first photo, because the shadows give a sense of depth, drama, and richness to the scene. That said, I think the second photo fits better with "LEGO photography expectations", because more build details are easily visible. Which is better? It depends on your goals.

Love the soapbox platform built into the trunk of the Joshua tree, and the sword strapped to the back of that guy is a really nice touch. The base is so appropriate -- long live the High Council of Kaliphlin! It's not meant to be sneaky at all. Ruadh remains neutral, while mccoyed and I are working a collab where a renegade group of Ruadi minotaurs are fighting for the High Council. It's no different than Berigora supporting the High Council, while Gabe is building for Ulandus.

Note to readers: if you're rushed for time, you can skip to the last paragraph. Siedna: Ah, good, we're all here. Council members, as you can see, we're joined today by Lady Akantha, at the invitation of the Alikos elders. Matteus: Okay, let's get straight to business. Ruadh must choose a side in this conflict. Look, I know y'all don't want to get involved, but we may not have a choice in the matter. The best defense is a good offense, right? Euphemios: That my be true in battle, Matteus, but I don't believe it's the best course of action for our community. Siedna: You'd prefer we remain neutral, then? Euphemios: The Tauri of the Alikos are not bloodthirsty like you humans! We wish only to follow our ways in peace. Together with the Atelier, Siedna, we have formed a prosperous and just community. Why would we leave it? Doing so would leave Ruadh exposed, and put us at risk of capture and slavery. Themis: Euphemios, you old coot, you know some of the younger Tauri are restless and eager to see the world, just like you used to be, before your muzzle turned gray. (Turning to Siedna) He's right, though. The Alikos will remain neutral. Siedna: Noted. And what of the merchants, Kristin? Kristin: As Euphemios said, Ruadh has been prosperous for us. Our success lies in following the Kaliphlin ideal of trading with all, equally and fairly. So long as it's profitable. (Grins for a moment.) Siding with a faction means, at best, loss of trade with the other factions. (Looks somber.) Look, Ruadh has been a place for many to start anew. Look at the Potters -- they came here from Mitgardia to escape strife. Why would we wish to bring it here? Why jeopardize a good life and good profit? Siedna: Thanks, Kristen. Seamus? Seamus: Regardless of the official Ruadhi stance, the Atelier must remain neutral. Sure, we train our artists to be good in a fight, but that's brawling. War and soldiering are another thing entirely. (Matteus nods in agreement.) More importantly, if we took sides, Ruadhi artists across the Guilds would be vulnerable to political attacks. In other lands, our welcome is dependent not just on our talents and geniality, but our disinterest in politics, local or guilds-wide. Siedna: I agree. Now, Lady Akantha, you've been rather vocal, working to persuade Ruadhis to side with the High Council. In fact, it seems you've been surreptitiously recruiting since you arrived in Ruadh. We'd like to hear your arguments. Lady Akantha: I wish only for the Tauri to continue to have the right to follow their ways as free people. The Desert King once enslaved us as beasts of labor. The Ulandians have subjugated an entire race;who is to say the Tauri will not be next? Only Flagg and the High Council have left us in peace. If the Tauri of Alikos remain neutral, they might be left alone, but what about their brethren throughout the Guild? Who will fight for them? What will happen to us if Ulandus or the Desert King prevails? We must protect our freedoms! And Ruadhi, as friends of the Alikos -- how can you risk them falling into slavery? Euphemios: How can you talk of fighting to protect our ways? Do you know nothing of our history, girl? As slaves we were used as beasts of war! And you suggest FIGHTING to protect our freedom to stay OUT of conflicts? Lady Akantha: (voice raised): Sometimes compromises are necessary! Surely you realize the ends justify the means! Euphemios: We WILL NOT have our culture compromised by lure of your exotic beauty, you hear me? We WILL NOT -- Themis: (inturrupts) Enough, Euphemios! (more calmly) Captain Corydon? What's been the mood in the Brute Squad? You'd know better than most how the younger 'Taurs are leaning; perhaps you could fill us in. Captain Corydon: Most of our troops agree with the Alikos elders, ma'am; they want to protect our home and our ways. There are few, what did you call em? Restless ones, eager to follow Lady Akantha. Siedna: And what are our defensive capabilities, Captain? Can we afford to lose anyone? Captain Corydon: Actually, ma'am, our troops have more than doubled, between new recruits and newly re-enlisted members who want to defend us. The Brute Squad is stronger than ever, ma'am, and more than capable of protecting Ruadhi peace. Those that want to fight for the High Council, well, to be honest, ma'am, I'd rather let 'em go. Don't want folks who don't really want to be here. Siedna: All right then. Lady Akantha, thank you for speaking with us. Council, it seems we're all in agreement. (Matteus rolls his eyes but remains silent.) I move we remain neutral and shore up our defenses. Short of closing the city, there will be spies and intrigue, but no violence or destruction will come to Ruadh. I also suggest we allow Lady Akantha to gather what forces she may. Active Brute Squad members must seek permission from the Captain to be released from their duties, so we don't become weak. All in favor? (A chorus of "aye" and hands raised.) All opposed? (silence) Ruadhi city council members, left to right: Captain Corydon, Brute Squad representative; Matteus Ruadh, founder; Siedna Ruadh, founder; Seamus Gallach, Atelier representative; Euphemios, Alikos Elder; Themis, Alikos Elder; Kristin Eriksdottir, merchant representative. ____________________________________________________________________________________ I'd like to claim UoP credits for: - Trade and Law: Governing Body (approved) Constructive criticism always welcome!

Imposing city wall, and that gate design is very cool. Lots of cool details in the build, like the barrels and wood pile, that make the place look "lived in".

Cool boat, and effectively scary build! My only suggestion would be to angle the boat so that it wasn't square to the base; it'd be more visually dynamic and open up other photo angles to include the action together with the forced perspective.

Beautiful, elegant build!

Love the colors of the base; love the lush landscape! Great figs, too.

Very clean,elegant, and effective build!

Wow. This is stellar. Every bit of the build seems well-thought-out, and the frothy water is awesome.

Great posing with the suspended figure, and the irregular base is very cool!

Excellent detailing on such a small base, and your posing and photography are impressive! Super-action-y!

Beautiful! You've really captured the feel of muddy, reed-y bank.

Great bloody build, and very cool wheel! I also like that the vegetation is growing at the base of the aqueduct, where there's probably a bit of leakage. I actually don't mind that there's no frame around the base. A few trans round plates scattered around the water's edge could have softened the hard angles, but that could have also been a pain to edit!

Great action build! Clever use of elevation changes!

Beautifully detailed interior! Lots to love -- the wall texture, the banners, the floor, the stained-glass window, the decor. Great start to the story, as well.

Nice build! I like the crumbling wall, and the forced perspective shot is really cool. +1 for the siege credit. As for the History credit, personally, I don't have a problem with the History category depicting present day events, so long as they could be considered historically important. However, it is one of the Content categories, so I'm going to grade it a bit tougher: I don't think the story is of "suitable length and quality" (part of the subject description) for the credit, and while only two of the three History MOCs have to show at least three builds or points in time, one angle of a single moment of a single build doesn't really fit the spirit of the category, for me. That said, I think it would be a stellar component of a more in-depth History topic!

Thanks Kai! I picked up a ton of the trans-red and blue dots on a brick wall, and they seem to sneak into a lot of my builds. Thank you! The chair backs are from Altbricks -- the colonnade pieces. Thanks! The story's a bit tl:dr for my taste, but I wanted to consider different perspectives. Thank you! Slowly but surely working out a "look" for my people. We'll see. I'm working with the idea that, like Switzerland, Ruadh and the Brute Squad are formidable enough to be left alone. I prefer that Ruadh (especially existing builds) will not be damaged. However, skirmishes outside the settlement are to be expected, and I imagine, with all the traffic on the Oil Road, intrigues are happening behind closed doors! Thanks for the +1! Thank you! With such a straightforward and small build, I wanted to be sure there was at least some visual interest.