Gabe

Agreed. The standard of entries for this challange is brilliant, both in building and storytelling. Our guild is sure to do well in the final tally! I am also slowly getting around to commentng on all the entries, i'm not even sure if i've seen them all yet... Oh, and i'm sure you are all sick of seeing images of this build, but i just had to share my latest lighting test. Too late to add to my entry unfortunately (plus would pose continuity issues with earlier images), but i thought it looked pretty cool. I often really struggle with lighting in mocs, so i'm always chuffed when a shot comes out particularly well.

A truly unique and poetic take on the quest theme Christoph, lovely work! The technic you incorporated into the flower really stands out to me - i wish i had those kind of skills. The cheese mosaic "no parking" sign is very cool as well. Best of luck in the voting!

Wonderful entry Erynlasgalen, the builds are stunning and the presentation is super-professional! I particularly like your use of colour - the dark blue and gold accents on the temple look so rich next to trans-blue of the water, and i do like that sand green/burnt orange/white combo too. I love your dialougue as well, it really brought the characters to life. Best of luck, fellow guildie!

Great stuff robuko - beautiful clean builds with lots of awesome details. The perspective in the first photo is just gold! I love the tone of your story too - a touch of Prachett maybe? (I lol'ed at the "head of intellegence") Your presentation is great as well, with the old maps - is that an actual book you have photographed for your background? It looks so sweet.

Wow, that is amazing Basciliscus, just supurb work. The waterfall looks great and i especially like the behind shots with the cave and (railed!)spiral staircase! I really like the tower design too - great use of the tyre, it fits perfectly. Best of luck with the voting!

Nice work Kayne! I like the perspective that you told you story from, it's makes for a good read. Your chamber has some great elements and the shot of the elvern mage taking down the golem is a winner! I also like your small bar moc, there are some great details there (like the chairs). Best of luck with the voting!

Just incredible work Cara, and your tale does justice to the creation as well! I love the idea that the only way to the air crystal is to walk on air yourself... The clouds and the flowing staircase are brilliantly executed and the dragon!! I certainly know where my vote is going!

I've got my entry up now too, for what it's worth. It's not as finished as i would have liked, sadly. You shall have to forgive all the spelling and grammatical mistakes too - i'll try to fix them up during the day if i get the chance. (click on the image to go to my entry! ) Best of luck to anyone who is yet to submit thier entry! You can make it... for Kaliphlin!

Note to begin: If you are not familiar with the tale of "Erudhalion and the water horse", then i suggest that you read it as a bit of a prolougue, as it will provide background to one of the protagonists in the tale of this quest. Erudhalion looked about him at the grave faces that surrounded him in his private council chambers. “My dear fellows, captains and holinesses, a month ago we received a most important message from Dextrus Flagg, leader of all Kaliphlin. He had sent out riders to all corners of the south, charging it’s lords and adventurers to bend all their efforts to locating and securing the fabled water gem of Historica. Legend has it that the gem can only be found by a true scion of Kaliphlin, so we must all do our part, for who knows which of us is fated to claim it? At the time I charged you in turn with finding out everything you could about the water gem and where it might be found, and now the time has come to report your findings. Come, tell me what you know!” Commander Barold was the first to speak up: “My lord, our troops have searched every inch of Peregrinus, including its caverns and underground passages, and have found no sign of a secret hiding place for the gem. Nor have we neglected to search the hills of the mountain mummies and the surrounding mountains. Not even the fabled Rakath assasians can tell us anything about the water gem.” Erudhalion nodded at this news. “Very well, Commander, thankyou for your efforts.” He turned to the grizzled harbourmaster. “Lord Meosphen, what news from your ships?” Eocher Mesophin leaned forward on his cushion : “My lord, I sent out ships to scour the coastline and small islands, as well as gather intelligence from every port in Kaliphlin. We even searched the dread isle of Arazi Audax! But no news of the crystal could we find .” Erudhalion sighs. “This is a heavy blow indeed – I expected better news I admit. Still, thankyou for your dilligence Lord Mesophen, negative information is still information of a kind.” He turns last to the young priestess Nammuat. “Come priestess, I pray you have some better news for me? What news from the Valley of the centaurs and the sacred lake?” Nammuat smiles. “No news but a dream my lord. While I was meditating by the sacred lake, an image of a great horse made of water came to me. It dragged behind it in its wake a tiny island with a cave like a mouth at one end. The water horse galloped toward me and as soon as it reached me i was engulfed in darkness.” She paused for effect, looking slowly around the room at the anxious faces that surrounded her. “And yet in the darkness something flickered – a light that slowly grew until I could make out its shape – a small blue gem, deep with the all the blues of every body of water that ever existed. I believe that I dreamed of this crystal we seek and the island that houses it. And I believe that the water horse knows how to get there.” She fell silent, and at once the others raised their voices in objection. “My dear girl!” cried Commander Barold; “You don’t know what you are talking of! Ask help from that trickster? You cannot trust him! We only have two more tasks to set him before he is free of the bottle, and who knows what revenge he will seek once freed? We should only use the water horse in the most direst of needs, not on some wild goose chase for a bauble!” Erudhalion held up a hand to silence him and reluctantly Barold took his seat again. “I understand that asking the water horse to aid us is a desperate measure indeed, and I would normally agree you Barold, but I have faith in Nammuat’s vision – did she not forsee the great storm on the bay five years ago, and save us many ships with her advice? We have no other leads than this and on the orders of Dextrus Flagg, we are bound to follow what leads we have, palatable or not! No, we must ask the water horse for his help to find the water crystal. Make ready my ship, harbourmaster, Nammuat and I shall venture out past the heads before we release him, and then we shall see what he has to say! In reality, the water horse was rather grumpy to be called on by the young Peregrinian lord. After being emptied out of the bottle well away from the coast, it dashed about, creating mighty waves that threatened to capsize Erudhalion’s sturdy cog. When it had spent its pent up fury, the water horse appeared alongside the ship in its bow waves. “What do you want now then?” it enquired sullenly. “You ought to be more grateful” replied Erudhalion, “You are now a step closer to repaying your debt, and have a chance to stretch your legs as well! What we want is this – lead us to the fabled water crystal of Kaliphlin, help us to recover it and bring us home safely again. In this way you may complete your second ordained task.” At this the water horse fell silent. “Ah,” he said at last, “the water crystal? Well well. I have heard of this crystal that you mention. Very old, it went to its long quiescence long ago. It is hidden in an island very far from here, and it is a perilous journey to get there! We must brave the stretch of water known as the Mashhuak gyre or crooked sea, and you know how many ships are lost there! But I can take you by the secret currents through the area, and Tiamat be willing, we shall arrive at the island before the smaller new moon.” "And what is this island? Has it a name?” asked Erudhalion. “It has no name, and appears on no map.” replied the water horse slowly. “And what of the island’s guardian?” cried Nammuat; “The ancient texts speak of the elemental crystals being guarded by mighty beings, but you don’t mention anything of the sort!” “The ancient texts speak truly” said he; “but all I know is that the water crystal needs no guardian other than the island itself. Another thing - I can certainly lead you to the island, and I swear on my salt to bring you home again should you survive, but recover the gem? That you shall have to do yourself – I cannot help you there.” Erudhalion and Nammuat looked at each other, weighing the water horse’s words carefully.” Erudhalion’s mind was full of doubt as he turned back to address the water horse, but his voice rang out clearly: “Very well! Lead us to the island!” The Mashuak gyre is a stretch of ocean that lies well south of Kaliphlin, and few mariners have returned from beyond it, earning its name of “the crooked sea”. Those that do return speak of fearsome storms, unpredictable winds, and even whirlpools and sea creatures! Some say that the sea is actually a giant living entity that suffers none to cross its entre breadth. Having heard all the stories, the crew of “The Albatross” were understandably apprehensive about entering it, but their loyalty to their lord and captain was such that none made any complaint. The water horse could be seen dancing and plunging into the sea ahead of The Albatross’s bow, pulling her behind him. Days passed into weeks, until time itself became so distorted in the twilight zone of the Meshhuak gyre that none could tell the exact date anymore. Many adventures were had along the way and many a narrow escape from one danger or another, until at last came a cry from the crow’s nest – an island, dead ahead! Erudhalion rushed to the bow. “Is this the island?” he shouted to the water horse. “Indeed it is” he replied, “I shall take you to the entrance, but there I must leave you. I cannot enter the island, its magic is too great even for me.” Erudhalion turned to see Nammuat staring at the island intently. “It is exactly as it was in my dream!” she exclaimed. “See the cavern there – the one on the end of the island? That is the darkness that engulfed me.” “Then that is where we must go!” muttered Erudhalion darkly. “Let us prepare the rowboat!” Erudhalion and Nammuat paddled cautiously across the narrow stretch of water between the ship and the island, watching it grow larger as they drew near. The island was almost perfectly oval in shape save for one small peninsula of rock on its nearest narrow end, like the head of a turtle peeking out of its shell, the cavern being its gaping mouth. The other sides of the island were a uniform dashed pebble that quickly rose to well vegetated, shrubby ground. The island even supported some palm trees on the higher slopes, however, no animal life could be seen, not even birds. The whole island felt eerily silent, as if waiting for the two adventurers. “I don’t like caves in general” grumbled Erudhalion, “and I like this one even less than usual! Look at it! Like some giant maw ready to swallow us whole.” “I know what you mean” replied Nammuat, “I wonder if this formation is natural, or if it has been carved in some way? It even looks like it has eyes!” “Watching us no doubt” said Erudhalion with a shiver as they negotiated the cavern entrance. “I’ve changed my mind – I’d rather be inside now, away from the island’s sight!” The main mouth of the cavern was deep, with many moss-covered stalagtites reaching down from the ceiling, like teeth or long bladed daggers. At the back of the cavern, a smaller arch led into a water-filled stone passageway. “Will the boat fit?” wondered Nammuat aloud. But it did, just, and the adventurers pressed on in their exploration. The passage was narrow and winding, and it took all Erudhalion’s skill as a waterman to navigate it. But eventually, just as their lamp started to gutter and fail, they noticed a faint glimmer up ahead.They rowed towards it eagerly, straining to be rid of the dark, and on rounding the final bend in the passage, they saw that they had arrived at a large chamber. Easing the boat gently into the chamber, they saw that the light came from a narrow skylight high in its large domed roof. It streamed down onto an island in the centre of the room, and in the middle of the island, something glittered … “The water gem!” breathed Nammuat, “Look Erudhalion! My dream spoke truly!” “I can see other things as well” muttered Erudhalion “This chamber is a charnel house!” For indeed the island was littered with a great many bleached bones! They rowed up to the edge of the island and beached their rowboat on the shore. At close quarters they could see the water gem more clearly. It sat in the middle of a broad well, an ocean on an island inside another island in an ocean. The gem seemed fired with the light falling on it, and in its depths Erudhalion and Nammuat could see all the many hues and changes of the oceans and seas, rivers and lakes, and even rain. The pool surrounding the gem was too large for them to simply reach across and grab their prize, but Erudhalion seemed reluctant to swim across the well to claim it. “I don’t trust this water!” he hissed at Nammuat. “See how it glows! Who knows, if I tried to swim across I might find myself filleted like these poor chaps underfoot!” “I agree” said Nammuat gravely, “perhaps we should try lifting it off its plinth with something long? Would one of the oars be long enough, do you think?” “Let’s try…” replied Erudhalion. “And Nammuat? Grab your weapons – who knows what will happen when I take the gem. I don’t see anything around that could be a guardian, but something made this pile of bones. We must be on our guard!” Erudhalion grasped one of the oars in one hand and leapt lightly onto the low stone wall surrounding the pool. He extended the oar as far as he could toward the water crystal. With two hands on the oar it was just too far, but shifting to one hand meant that he could just make it! With infinite patience he started to ease the oar underneath the gem on its plinth, prising it loose. Sweat ran down his brow as he worked the oar completely underneath the crystal… “Nammuat! I think I have it!” he cried. At that moment a great rumble could be felt in the very walls of the chamber. Losing his balance on the wall, Erudhalion teetered on the edge of the pool, and the crystal started to slide across the oar, threatening to fall into its depths. “Don’t drop it!” cried Namuat. As the crystal fell, in desperation Erudhalion batted at it with the oar. The edge struck the underside of the gem, tossing it high in the air, just as another savage, grinding rumble ripped through the cavern. “I can get it!” shouted Erudhalion. He sprang backwards, losing his footing and falling among the bones on the ground. As the gem sailed past his head, he threw out a hand and felt the gem fall into it truly. He gripped it hard to his palm. “Yes! I have it Nammuat! I have the water crystal!” As he turned to face her in triumph, he was suddenly aware that the ground beneath their feet was no longer level – in fact it was listing alarmingly. The waters of the pool glowed and seethed, and the water surrounding the island on which they stood bubbled and started to slowly rise. “Ah, now I understand!” yelled Nammuat, “It is as the water horse said! The crystal needs no guardian but the island itself. And the face at the entrance, do you remember? The island must be alive!” “We are inside the guardian then!” replied Erudhalion with rising horror. “And the island is starting to dive – I can feel it. We must get out quickly if we don’t want to drown and be digested!” Nammuat was already moving towards the boat. “If we get the rope and attach the end to the anchor, we might be able to snag something on the roof and pull ourselves up to the skylight” she shouted. As she reached the boat, another list of the cavern floor overturned the rowboat and sent her sprawling. Erudhalion hastened to assist her. He dived for the boat and wrestled it again to the island. Thankfully the rope was stilled coiled underneath a bench and the anchor was easily retrieved. Nammuat joined him, sighing with relief. Quickly they joined the spare rope to the anchor rope. “Now for the hard part” said Erudhalion through gritted teeth. Wrapping one end of the rope around his waist, he grasped the anchor, took careful aim at an outcrop of rock near the skylight, and hurled it high. And the two adventurers groaned as it clanged uselessly against the rock and fell to the ground again. Again they tried and again, whilst the convulsions of the cavern around them continued. At one point, some of the rising water grasped at Nammuat’s heel. “Ow!” she cried, “The water is hot! Erudhalion, we have to get out of here if we don’t want to be boiled alive!” With one last mighty heave, Erudhalion desperately hurled the anchor skyward, to see it sail clear through the skylight. Cursing, he prepared to pull it back, but it had finally stuck fast on something. He laughed aloud in relief. “At last! I was starting to think we’d never get out of this accursed place! Quick, you first Nammuat. Drop everything you don’t need, speed is of the essence if we wish to get out of here in one piece!” Nammuat didn’t need to be asked twice. With an athleticism that her sedentary profession gave no hint of, she went up the rope like a rat up a drainpipe, and Erudhalion lost no time in following her. As he gratefully hauled himself up the slender lifeline, he took a last look back at the devastation below. The cavern was on an acute angle, the water below starting to steam with noxious fumes and their sturdy boat was being bounced around the walls like a child’s toy. Then he turned his back on it and concentrated only on reaching that small, blessed circle of freedom above them. ~~~~ Well, this is as far as i got with this challenge - i had planned another small build to show the the animated "turtle island" from afar as it breached the water, but no time, alas! Perhaps i shall tackle it sometime soon as a free build. Anyway, i hope you have enjoyed the tale up to this point, and thanks for looking and reading! Possibly to be continued...?

Holy cow... *oh2* A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! If i were a judge i'd just hand you the joust right now...

Finished the crystal chamber, yeah! Quick lighting test before lunch - then i'll get down to taking decent photos. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.. ps. Gex, that has to be the cutest gaurdian ever! Loving the blocky style.

Wow, that much extra time? I knew i had a bit of Sunday (Aust EST) to post but i was assuming only until about 1pm... those extra hours certainly could come in handy. (although i'm hoping i won't need them...) Thanks for letting me know Gex! RIght, that's me built out for the time being. Nighty night peeps!

Thanks Cristoph for the encouragement! I need it now i can tell you... at the moment i'm debating whether to head to bed for a few hours sleep or just stay up and keep putting on one more brick, one more plate... We'll get there though, i am determined! Ooh, looks great Kayne, not one gaurdian but two? Great stuff! Can't wait to see the finished article. Ok, another update on the crystal chamber - this time with a lighting test! And yay, it works! All walls enclosed now, next is to plate between the roof beams (should bulk them up a bit more too), extend the entrance and add details and personnel to the floor. Then it should be photo time!

Thanks! I'm hoping that the globe piece will be visible in the end, but i'm not so sure now... anyway, it's a bit too late to be worrying about that now. Cheers NM/Gex! Glad you are enjoying the progression and not just finding it a bit annoying. How is your build going now? Any progress pics to share? Speaking of progress pics, here is my next one: Back wall is up now and pillars set - now i'm thinking about the "spine" of the roof and roof arches, not forgetting the skylight of course. I'm hoping i can get most if not all of that done tonight, as tomorrow will be a somewhat broken up building day and i still need to take daylight pics as well..

Sorry about the WIPspam guildies, this is the last for tonight. All the easy stuff done now, tomorrow i shall have to make some descisions about walls and the roof - i mean to have a skylight, i'm aiming for quite an atmospheric look. I may have to have a false corridor behind the doorway as well.

Thanks fellas, glad to hear that you like what i've done so far! I'm entering into my final building push, which i'll prob only be breaking for the bare essentials over the next 36 hours... I'm aiming to get everything done by Sat arvo Australian EST, cause that's when we've got bookclub (no, i haven't finished the book for this month either! ) So yeah - speed building it is! This is where i'm up to so far on the chamber containing the water crystal: About 5pm this evening About 9pm this evening Early days hours i know, but i'm determined to have the "island" with well, water effects and wall footings in place by bedtime tonight - i can't afford to fall behind schedule now! I'm a bit worried about how this build is going to turn out actually, cause i'm trying a couple of things that i've only ever managed to do badly before... but we shall see i guess!

Right, so i've finished what will probably be my main build for the challenge, although i do have another biggish build planned for the crystal chamber and possibly a micro thing for the aftermath/escape as well... i shall have to see how much time i have left after the chamber i guess. But anyway, here's a nice blurry shot of my just finished "entrance to turtle island" build - hope you guys like it! I'll be taking better photos tommorrow, before tearing this down for my chamber build. I'm a bit sad that i don't get to keep this one for a while longer, but hey ho - onward!

Wow, some amazing entries starting to come in for Kaliphlin! I don't have much time to comment individually atm, but i'm loving Erynlasgalen and Cristoph's entries, fantastic work guildies! I'm very much looking forward to Mikel's huge dio and the final form of Gex's intruiging looking WIP too. I am struggling on with my challenge 3 entry, i'm a bit behind now (blasted work) but i have all Friday and most of Thursday to work on it, so hopefully i should be able to come up with something at least? It's going to go right down to the wire though... Anyway, i thought i'd show you what Erudhalion and his quest partner, Priestess Nammuat, encountered during the hols... not exactly a crystal gaurdian, but fearsome none-the-less!

There is no way i can choose between castle and LOTR as themes... castle to me is timeless, something full of charm and joy. Lego without castle is unthinkable, although i have to say i'd prefer a few years without castle than see a return of the KKII monstrosities. LOTR, on the other hand, is something that if it had come out when i was a child, would have sent me into paroxyms of joy. (Tolkien was my favourite author and i reread his books obsessively as a tot) I am still pleased beyond measure as an adult that these sets are finally happening, but don't feel able to make an evaluation of the theme as a whole until we see (and get hold of!) some more of the sets themselves. tl;dr, castle is awesome, LOTR is awesome, wish we could have both (kingdoms was a fantastic subtheme), but i'm happy with what we have. Can't wait to get my hands on the Mines of Moria and Helm's Deep sets!

Wow, what a beauty Stormbringer! I love the work on it's spine - looks formidable! How posable is it? It would look amazing rearing up on the that lovely looking rockwork you've got there. :) Glad to hear you are joining the Historica project. If you decide to opt for Kaliphlin, we'd welcome you with open arms! Personally i'd love to see your take on our sandworms, or perhaps give the isle of Arazi Audax a resident wyrm? :)

Genius scene! My fav bit has to be the orange claws cracking open the rocher... makes me wish i had some to nom right now... :D~

Yessss! :D Great news for me. Lets see... i have a week after i get home to finish... if i'm not sidetracked by anything else, i *should* be able to get my entry done, fingers x'ed! Loving Wahil/Basiliscus and Mikel's challenge 3 WIP's, looking awesome fellas. Mikel, your tale is so gripping, i can't wait to find out what happens next! Basiliscus, your waterfall looks so beautiful. <3 Kirk Valentine/Medic's free build looks very promising also. Can't wait to see the end results! :) So i've finally managed to find a place nearby that has internet, although being in the country it's as slow as a wet week. :P So i'll be around the forums for the next week while i'm on hols, but i won't be commenting much. I look forward to posting more when i get back though - Erudhalion has a tale or two to tell of how he and his companion got lost whilst questing for the water crystal! ps. hope you are all doing well! :)

Wow, what a close finish! :o Congrats to Kucuk Kartal on a very well deserved win, and congrats to Lord Damaximus and all of Mypa Stedor for hosting such an entertaining tournament! Waisur will be assured of a rousing reception back in Peregrinus for his efforts, and more to the point (hoho), it looks as though the Evergold system is finally proving itself. Time to upgrade all of our archers i think... ;) That's ok, there's always plenty of room for talented archers in Kaliphlin! She might feel at home in the valley of the centaurs, i'll have to get Waisur to ask her. ;)

Oof, that's a bad mistake on your astronomer's part - i guess he is seeing stars now, right? Glad to hear you are on your way with your builds though, can't wait to see what you come up with! Yeah, i am pretty gutted too, truth be told... i was hoping to look back later on my time in Historica and be able to say i competed in every challenge. Still, i have to put it all into perspective - the main reason that i couldn't complete in time was a dream work opportunity i had to take last week, which was awesome and quite financially rewarding too. It just left me with minimal time for things like sleeping etc, which bumped building right down on my list of priorities. I'm tossing up what to do with what i've got so far - i have enough now for two completed free builds (including the council chamber), but they do kinda tie into two larger story arcs which i am still exploring, sooo... idk. I might wait until i'm back and then decide what to do with them. Yeah, i seem to recall that one of those "sneaky drow" was called something odd like "the MocAthalon"... I did rather overestimate how much i could build last month. Oh well! I'm very much looking forward to seeing your entry Gex/NM, best of luck with the build! Yay, looking forward to seeing your entry Wahil/Basiliscus! Yes, the back-to-back builds sure do take thier toll - 3 weeks of not touching a brick though ought to recharge my batteries. Thanks, i'm certainly looking forward to hitting the beach and unwinding. Best of luck with your build, i'm looking forward to seeing it! I have built most of my "static" gaurdian, but haven't got around to the "awakened" gaurdian yet... i still want to finish it though 'cause i do like the idea behind it. Another for the to be finished pile for when i get back! Good luck with all the Brickworld stuff btw - is it Historica related or something else? Ahaha, alas no; no room in the luggage and my significant other would kill me if i tried! I might take a few "passengers" along for the ride, that'll be the extent of it i think...

Hail and well met Kirk Valentine! I'm sorry to hear of the recent troubles of Avantia, we in Peregrinus are a little too far from you to offer short term material support, but we shall send a team of shipwrights on the next cog west, to help you restore your fleet and harbours. Your technologies sound intriuging, and we would love to hear more about your advances. Yeah, i've been desperately building for the quest challenge this last week - but as of tonight i actually have to admit defeat - sorry fellow guildies, i won't be able to make the deadline. I'm rather bummed about it, but as i'm getting on a plane tomorrow and won't be back for three weeks, there isn't much i can do about it. Best of luck to everyone else working on the challenge - it'd be great to see one of us come away with the points and the joust!