[WZ11 C4, High Council] Mummy vs. Mummy

[gedren_y]

Battle for the Remnants of a God's Power

Millennia ago the Great Gods moved through this world as flesh beings. In the land now known as the Wither Woods fell a feather from some great bird God (no one today is sure what bird God it was). This feather held immense power, and some inspired soul decided to encase it in a (then) new material; cement, and shaped it into this wonderful pillar we see today.

This grand pillar sits at the edge of the Red River, on the east bank. The power of the feather within has kept the pillar unaffected by time and all natural forces. All manner of flying things are calm in its vicinity.

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Some time after the Ulandians had invaded the Nestlands, Aturl Prndrn and Namses Setesh found themselves billeted in the Secret Trader Records Vault, deep in the caverns of Edst Nol. Aturl had made much of his fortune as a secret trader before the Nestlands Clans joined the greater Kaliphlin community, so he spent his rest time reading their accounts. Namses had little more to do than to listen when his longtime friend would read interesting passages aloud.

Namses was particularly interested in the passages about sites of power. Among his people, the People of Horus, Namses is a notable shaman, and the staff he carries contains a magical talon. When he heard the passage about the bird God pillar, Namses snatched the scroll from Aturl's hand and read it closely, over and over. He plotted the on a nearby map the landmarks described, so that someday he could go in search of this pillar.

Then the reports of the battles in and around Ghuin Nol came in. Though the High Guard now controls many of the tunnels, and more importantly Skywatch Perch, the Desert King's forces control the surrounding lands including most of Nod Nol. Aturl's home town, on Nod Nol's west face, was still occupied by the Ulandians.

Namses was truly incensed by the Desert King claiming the title of Pharaoh. His tribe, the People of Horus, believe the title of Pharaoh can only be held by a living embodiment of Horus. Though Ark'Mora Raa may have once been the Living Horus, the People of Horus believe that a resurrected thing could never become completely what it was in its old life. (In his mind, Namses believes this of Dugal as well.)

Namses had been granted the use of Aturl's speaking stone, and several meaningful contacts with Sdair on his quest (in the heart of the Desert King's territory) gave Namses the motivation to find this bird God pillar, and tap the remnants of the God's power.

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Once Namses set out on his quest, it wasn't long before the Desert King learned of his intent. To thwart him, Ark'Mora Raa sent a Mountain Mummy shaman under his power, Het'Mon Ur from the People of Sobek. Through his control of the shaman, the Desert King hoped to use this God's power to break the Mark of Horus protection of Namses and his people.

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Bowing to the rules set forth by the Cresentthorn Elves, and witnessed by Yilron, the single combat went thusly:

Namses and Het'Mon raced through the underbrush beneath the grand canopy of the Wither Woods, trading feints and jabs with their magical weapons. As they neared the Red River, Namses leaped away from a strike of Het'Mon's Blood Blade, vaulting himself with his Staff of the Sacred Talon.

This gave Namses his chance to call down a binding spell on the staff to unite it with the land soaked with the bird God's power. Namses thrust it towards a mound of red earth, as he sailed towards the pillar. Het'Mon, trying to break the staff and the binding spell, forced most of his power into his Blood Blade, but his swing proved too slow.

Namses' rebound was faster than could be believed, his hand loosely around the staff gave him great power and enough pivot to strike Het'Mon squarely on the side of his head.

The reverberation of Het'Mon's attempted blow left him with only enough power to barely stay conscious, as his body lay suspended in a nearby sapling. Het'Mon heard the clatter of his Blood Blade, now inert, on the ground to his right, as he watched his ornate nemes headdress flutter down to his left.

Namses, emboldened by the power from the binding spell, prepared to force a Horus Mark on his fallen enemy, to cast off the Desert King's influence.

"Hold!" cried Yilron, quickly bounding to his feet, "You have won, Horus worshiper, but this servant must return to his master as is."

It took much of his control, but Namses resisted the rush of power and allowed Het'Mon to crawl away back to his master. Namses was quick to claim the Blood Blade, though.

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Throughout the battle, a falcon remained perched nearby, kept calm by the power in the area.

What the falcon is perched on is the remnants of an old fence, originally placed there to keep people from actually touching the pillar.

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Some full Images of the build.

I tried to represent the sand mixing with the river. Did I succeed?

The Crestthorn Elves are so well adapted to the Wither Woods that they can remain perched precariously upon even the weakest of trees with the stillness and potential energy of snakes.

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Some figless images.

The sand green leaves are a form of parasitic lily, referred to locally as parrot feather (actually Brickforge's falcata in a color that they no longer produce it in).

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I know my photo quality isn't great, but it is difficult to read the focus on my cell phone camera on a sunny day.

I hope you enjoyed my story.

CCC

[Lord Vladivus]

Nice little build! I like the action.

[LittleJohn]

Very nice entry, I really like the plant variety

[Balbo]

Very nice story and MOC! I like the different plants in your creation

Edited April 11, 2015 by Balbo

[gedren_y]

Nice little build! I like the action.

It was the action that came to mind first. First I had to get the dark red bricks together, the staff planted and the mummy figs' placement plotted, then I filled out the base and figured out the water's edge.

Very nice entry, I really like the plant variety

Most of the plants were pretty straight forward. The trees I had done in minutes, though the sapling came later, as I needed something to catch the DK mummy. Originally I had just a three leaf plant there.

I didn't hit on the 'lillies' until a day later. Placing them to were they would stay was a pain. I had to twist trees out of and back in to position several times. The canopy connection points were a bit weak, so I ended up having to reseat them nearly a dozen times.

It is a pity that Brickforge no longer makes that piece in greens. I was lucky to get a large quantity of both green and sand green when they wen on sale. You may see much more of them in future builds.

Very nice story and MOC! I like the different plants in your creation

The story actually took quite some time to write. I had to logic out how and why the characters traveled there, search for the proper term for the Egyptian headdress, come up with new character names, and craft the combat action. The beginning section I wrote while cooking dinner.

I take a lot of care when writing these, and am often editing the text several times over. For a single story post it can take me several hours before I am satisfied.