Lord Buckethead

8. The Lotii Connection - Task 1 - Lotii Shophouses Will be licensed as a medium residence in Port Raleigh.

Port Raleigh hosts a sizeable Lotii community, many moving to the new world in search of a more prosperous future. With them they bring aspects of their culture, perhaps most notably their unique architectural style. It is a credit to the Lotii immigrants that Port Raleigh now features some of the most beautifully designed and tranquil gardens and teahouse in the new world. These Lotii buildings stand very distinct from more orthodox Corlander architecture, giving the Lotii quarter of the city an incredibly foreign atmosphere. However after some time and given the increasing urbanization of the Lotii quarter, the architectural styles of the two communities have begun to fuse, giving rise to an interesting and rather unique form of building; the shophouse. The streets of the Lotii quarter are now lined with these long and narrow buildings of the most colourful varieties. The bottom floors feature intricate mosaics, unique to each shophouse which contrasts with the uniform terracotta roofs. Thus each shophouse is unique in its own right, though they all still clearly belong to the same architectural family. Their namesake comes from the twin roles that these buildings serve. They are first and foremost a residence for their owners, being deceptively large they are well capable of housing entire families comfortably. However they also serve as businesses for their inhabitants. Featuring a front room that can act as a shopfront, each dwelling on these streets is also a vibrant place of business. The rise of this style of building has given the Lotii quarter an even more unique ambience that cannot be felt anywhere else in the known world. G'day everyone! I'm back again hahaha. Have been wanting to build for a while and got around to it. Have a couple of loose ends to tie up story wise and will definitely get around to them but this build was inspired by a recent trip to Singapore and I figure this is a great way to incorporate it into our little world. I loved walking down the streets seeing all the different styles of shophouse and wanted to do my best to recreate it. I've never been an immensely technical builder but that's something I'd like to slowly change. I used a lot of techniques I haven't before and must so I really like the outcome. It could of course be improved and I'd love if you guys could help me out on that front. I'd like to put a lot more effort into learning techniques so that with every new build I can slowly improve. And with that in mind, I feel the GoC challenge is perfect. I love the spirit of it and would be very grateful to you guys for helping me improve. This is for category 8: The Lotii Connection. That aside, I hope to be back for a bit longer this time, there's definitely quite a few things I'm keen to try out. It's also been great trying to catch up on all that's happened over the past couple of year. There's a lot and I haven't nearly covered it all but you guys have smashed it. Some really great stories!

The importance of the oasis to the running of the Mokolei Empire is never to be underestimated. They provide critical souces of water among the many essential trade routes of th empire, and more so are a welcome sight for many weary travellers. Historically control of an oasis has essentailly meant control of the trade route it lies upon. Indeed, one of the main reasons the modern Mokolei Imperial family rose to such prominence in the first place was their early recognition of the strategic importance of these locations, and their ability to levarge control over them. While war has not ravaged these lands for centuries, the current rulers have never taken these sites for granted and it is by royal decree that Imperial troops are to be stationed at any oasis around the clock. This serves several purposes beyond maintaing control over the oasis itself however. These guards protect the traders that travel these routes and that are vital to the many isolated pockets of the empire, as it has become common for bandits to prey on these often tired victims. Additionally, Imperial control of trade routes is often used as leverage above the many satraps of the empire, ensuring that it is difficult for one to gain an unfair trade advantage over the other. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Lord Fernsby's expedition was now in a precarious position. Whereas before, their journey was marked by cities, towns and settlements that were relatively close to each other making resupply a simple matter, the expedition was now advancing in to the heart of the empire. As they continued the land become more and more sparse in population, being replaced by endless seas of sand. Having been on the road for several days now, supplies were running low among the expedition. Had it gone on any longer water would have had to be severely rationed. Fortunately for Fernsby, by the good graces of the powers that be, a glimmering oasis was bestowed upon the sights of the expedition sparking feelings of relief and extinguishing a growing sense of anguish. However as they approached the oasis, three large and distinct silhouettes became visible. Initially Fernsby feared the worst...bandits. "Form up" bellowed the company sergeant as the sepoys rushed to formation. "Belay that order" yelled Fersby as he observed the three figures further. They were adorned in elaborate uniforms and their stature did not match that of bandits. These were soldiers, and not just local militiamen. These were Imperial troops. Fernsby ordered the majority of the expedition to hold their position, gathered a small party of officers and sepoys, and approached the oasis. As they got closer and closer to the strangers their figures became larger and larger. Fersnby's previous encounters with Mokolei troops had made him well aware of their impressive stature, however the height and physical strength of these soldiers dwarfed anything Fersnby had seen before, including the famed Corlander grenadiers. The Mokolei Captain paced towards Fernsby, as his entourage maintained their position, evidently sizing him up. He could ascertain that they were foreigners, but from where they came from he had no clue. "Who are you and what is your business here" he demanded. "I am Captain Fernsby of the Empire of Corrington" replied Fersnby, doing his utmost to sound as diplomatic as possible. "My expedition and I are here on diplomatic business, and are making our way to your capital". The Mokolei Captain grunted, "Ha, you have a long way to travel". "Indeed" retorted Fersnby. "Our expedition has been travelling for quite some time now. We are tired, weary and in need of water and rest. Will you permit us to supply and rest ourselves". The Captain adjusted his posture, proudly standing straight and proclaiming "This oasis is for the free and open use by all who peacefully wish to travel our lands", as he gestured his hand toward the glistening blue water and greenery. Fernsby remove his hat and bowed before the Captain, "Thank you kindly, we are much obliged" he replied as he motioned to bring the rest of the expedition forward. As the expedition began to resupply Fernsby continued in conversation with the Captain about his journey and future plans. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Well it's been quite a while and I'm unsure many will remember me but here's a relatively low effort build from me. I've been wanting to build for quite some time now but life has sort of gotten in the way. I've been thinking about how I can continue given some of the restraints I'm faced with. First and foremost my AMRCA of which this is a continuation of the story. I'm afraid given the fact I can't consistently devote myself to lego I can't pretend it would be feasible for me to continue it, as much as I would have liked to. As such, allow me to apologise to @Bregir, @Ayrlego and @SilentWolf who all contributed to it. I know me pulling out isn't fair given what they devoted to it but I just don't see how it could continue. I can't ask you to wait for months (or years as is the case now) for me. Nonetheless I'm still keen to continue the story, which I intend to do through freebuilds. I will probably not interact with the EGS from now on, instead simply focusing on building stuff that interests me and continuing this expedition. Again, sorry to the aforementioned builders, I hope you at least got some enjoyment out of the AMRCA and if you want, feel free to join me on this leg of the journey. On a side note, this obviously leaves some inconsistencies in the overall story for the expedition, but I'll sort all that out later. In short this is sort of like a fast-forwarding of the story. I might fill in the gaps later, I might not. Not really in a position to make promises. Thanks for viewing ;).

I have a question regarding how I construct my builds so that they may be scored. Apologies if it was actually stated in the rules and I managed to miss it. Am I able to use a few small builds to count as one actual build scoring wise. I ask because I have a build that I'm quite happy with for what it is, I just feel it's a little small to count as an actual "entry of sorts". I was hoping to maybe make a few builds of roughly equal size to count as a decently sized build. Would that pass? Thanks.

My apologies, but I think I might actually pull out for this one. I've been inactive for many months, and while I'm trying to get back in to the groove of things now, I still see myself as fairly overextended when it comes to Lego. If I can't contribute builds, then I don't want to be taking up a space that can be filled by another player. Once again, I apologise.

My bad, may I please take Nah-Hu (Nak-Hu) then?

Hey there, I was previously apart of Refnor however I've been absent on Eurobricks recently. Would I be able to switch nations to Isla Sorna? Thanks.

Fazia family members are renowned for being somewhat paranoid, and who can blame them. As such they own a multitude of country residences, scattered across the Varlyrian countryside where they can plot without fear of retribution for their many indecent acts. This is one such country residence, owned by Giuseppe Fazia, heir to the family. It is guarded by one of the renowned Fazia guards, elite soldiers who pledge their allegiance to the Fazia family and to nothing else. __________________________ This will act as an entry into guild challenge 2B as this will not be my sig-figs primary residence. I hope you like my first actual build in GoH and I look forward to building more. By the way my sig-fig is the one in the slouch hat. Thanks for viewing.

The Fazia family is a family renowned in Varlyrio for being at the centre of a web of mercenaries and bounty hunters. While they present a friendly exterior and will never openly double-cross or betray anyone, they are one of the most cunning families in all of Varlyrio, doing whatever it takes to achieve their ultimate goals, whatever they may be. Nothing is below the Fazia's, provided it is done quietly and without a trace. Although the general populace is for the most part unsuspectful of the Fazia's, they have garnered something of a bad reputation among the Varlyrian noble families, and many are hesitant to do business with them. Fazia Family Members Alberto Fazia Alberto Fazia is the head of the Fazia family and is in charge of most of its operations. While still something of a scumbag compared to most ordinary people, Alberto is not as cunning or ambitious as his fellow family members and is much more focused on internal stability of the family, which the Fazia's are not exactly known for, many willing to stab their own family in the back for their own gain. While Alberto still has many of his days to live out, there are whispers that he heavily dislikes the top job, and rumours of early retirement have begun to circulate. Nonetheless, Alberto has managed to unite the Fazia family towards a common goal and for that he is most respected by his fellow family members. Giuseppe Fazia

Well I must apologise, I missed the part about not using the head of our family as our sig-fig and so unfortunately I don't have a vignette of him. I will however post his backstory and pledge my allegiance now. ____________________ Giuseppe Fazia is the heir to the Fazia family, a family renowned in Varlyrio for being at the centre of a web of mercenaries and bounty hunters. While Giuseppe's family is mainly focused on domestic affairs, ministerial roles and such, he is much more interested in expanding the family business to the rest of Historica. Despite their trade, the Fazia's aren't exactly known for their combat prowess, however unlike his family Giuseppe has no qualms getting his hands dirty and while not quite a master, is an adept swordsman.

Well Mesabi walked right into that one. This was a nice story to follow with some great accompanying builds. Should also probably thank you guys for not turning this into a full blown argument as you easily could have done. Best response you could have come up with.

Sorry to hear, but I suppose that's just how it is nowadays. I hope to see you both back building soon, until then best of luck.

With renewed caution the expedition made its way deeper into the crypts. After some time the traps became more and more scarce until the expedition was unhindered by them. Tunnels sprang into every direction from the main stream, the expedition however, elected to stay as one. On the walls they found scribbles of text that resembled that of the Guelphian languages, in some rooms they found catacombs and in others places of worship. One of the scientists guessed that they had discovered one of the rumored underground cities that had been constructed by the indigenous population to shield themselves from Mokolei rule. A pair of Sepoys soon found out they weren't the first foreigners to find this archaeological breakthrough. It was unclear what had happened to the original inhabitants, but it was obvious that they were long gone. To be continued.... @Ayrlego

"Do you see him?" asked Fernsby. "No Captain, just sand as far as the eye can see." Replied Williams. "Hmmmm, do you think we'll make it before we get hit?" "I can't say for certain sir, but I shouldn't think so. The storm appears to be moving quite fast." "Very well then, tell the expedition to buckle down." Ordered Fernsby. _______________________________ The expedition clung on for dear life, anything that wasn't strapped down being blown away by the storm. After several hours, the barrage of sand finally lifted. Some members of the expedition had sustained minor injuries but on the whole the expedition was in fine health. The storm had however uncovered something. _______________________________ This is the start of our continuation of our expedition. I should first apologize for delaying it so long, we were all quite busy. I'll hand it over to @Bregir to continue the story. Thank you for viewing.

Post for events that occur in Tazelft outside of the expedition.