Henjin_Quilones

Nice build, SK! I like the use of a limited number of colors, notably the two browns, dark bley, and green. It keeps it simple and allows the details to pop out a bit better that way, especially the excellent details around the sides on the raised platforms. There are two critiques I have: first, I think it would be nice if you found a way to light up the fireplace and make it glow; and second, I am not a fan of the chair backs, as they are too thick for the scale. If you were to put the gold window part in a chair some other way, by perhaps sticking it in a lever base (like people have been doing with wand sprues) that could make for a more elegant solution. I also think it looked better with the dark blue, rather than green, but I was the one who suggested you switch it, so...

While the best part of this is the expansion of the feel of Varlyrio, expertly imparted through the conversations, there are certainly some great build usages, as well. The skeleton legs holding up the rails along the canal are a nice touch, and the darkened alleyway is perfect to accompany the story. I am not a huge fan of the loose 1x1 round water, but that is a stylistic preference. To me it just looks too busy and cluttered to have all those pieces just lying there. The cobblestone is nice, too; in particular, the few studs showing, without a 2x2 or 1x1 round tile on them, actually work quite well as a slightly smaller round stone, since you left them exposed so strategically, rather than looking incomplete. Thanks for showing us more of Varlyrio, especially from the perspective of the commoners!

I think a bit more on the tree would improve it a bunch, especially more foliage. Lots of leaves obscures any shortcomings in the trunk construction, in my opinion, since it looks like a tree either way. Without the foliage, construction of the trunk becomes more important; and this trunk is quite boxy and awkward, not looking organic in any way. To improve it, I would suggest getting rid of the arches and instead using flex tubing for a tree of this size, or else bars in brown attached to clips, with minifigure hands (also brown) attached to form small branches. The arches are popular in sets, but they fail to live up to what many trees actually look like. As to the pool, what Basiliscus said about it being to regular to be natural is true; but perhaps it is not natural? I love your story and the writing is unique, and I really hope to see more of your take on the Sunken City and the culture of the Kolgari soon, as it is still to be explored!

Welcome back, @Brandon Stark! I'll get your new fig added to the first post. A new freebuild from me:

Lady Galaria, Mistress of Dragons, and Daeara the Earth Dragon A freebuild for Avalonia Lady Galaria, Mistress of Dragons, is the wife of Henjin Quilones and co-ruler, with her husband, of the Isle of Druidham in the Mystic Isles of Avalonia. She was exiled from the High Elvish kingdom of Hesperia by her father, King Fingolë the Golden, for joining with her fellow guildsmembers in defeating Raavage, rather than sitting back and doing nothing like her father wished. In her exile, she journeyed aboard the Nagra Luca, a swift Elvish ship, far to the west and south, to the city Bandari and the land of Mwamba. There, amongst the equatorial High Elves of that land, she learned much about elemental dragons and how to best raise and train them. In a gesture of unequaled generosity, King Mfalme allowed Galaria and a few of her companions to form soul-bonds with young Mwamban dragons, who then, after a few years of training under Kufunzi, returned all together to Avalonia, where they settled on the Isle of Druidham. Now Galaria and Daeara, her soul-bonded dragon, lead the other dragonriders of Druidham, teaching a new generation of dragonriders how to manage their companions, and protecting Avalonia from elemental threats. They fly here and there, meeting the people of the land and bringing messages, and sometimes passengers, from one corner of the land to the other. _____________________________________ .......................................................................... I had originally built this months ago for the Summer Joust, but never posted it since I wanted to build an all-LEGO scene in which to place Daeara, rather than the stand-alone display base here. I never got around to that all-LEGO scene, however, and decided instead to just post it now as-is. Ah well. Daeara is the same size (frame-wise) as Hewa and Moto, despite being female like Kijani and Maji, due to growing to full stature in earth-magic-rich Avalonia rather than Mwamba. C&C welcome.

Thanks, zoth! I am glad you like the details. Glad you approve of Arthur being included (I hope this does get you to participate in a challenge now!) SK did arches much like these a while back on his kitchen, and I feel like I've seen them somewhere else, too (on a bridge, perhaps?), but I like them. They allow spans larger than any pre-fab arch out there, which is nice in many settings. I am glad the light works out! I find light to be the part that sets things apart, as it were, so I have been trying different lighting set-ups recently. I am afraid I can't claim any credit for the roof technique, though, as I stole it from the Ninjago City set. They are not offset, they do line up, but the angle makes it hard to see; though for full disclosure, I only had enough of them for one full row, and the second row is the similar part with only one hole, which doesn't look as nice. Soon. In a day or two, I think, after a few more prelude builds from the other guilds come out. He's not mean, just a serious fellow in charge of running the day-to-day affairs of a large castle-settlement. His name is Dervin, as I mentioned, and he is the Steward of Druidham. Glad you approve, Grover. I hope to continue to make Druidham seem a coherent place stylistically, which is easier than it seems; I only have enough bley to make one thing at a time on this scale, so the same pieces get used over and over again, including some of the design elements. Rafters, tables, chandeliers, statues, all end up being re-purposed again and again. It's kind of cheating, but it also helps to maintain that consistency. If I didn't crop the photos, by the way, you'd see the mess that is the rest of the build: yellow plates, red bricks, greens, blues, oranges all over the place, odd bits bulging out here or there to accommodate the different niches, etc. I build with cropping and different angles of photography in mind. The tree, for example, is lower than the tiles, but the tiles just sort of end in a jagged line, which is cropped out, as is the ugly base that supports the weight of the tree. And the cables holding up the leaning trunk are also cropped out! Thanks, Kai! I saw the BB-8 head used as a bowl in someone's diner picture a while back, and have been eager to use it for that purpose myself - I actually already used it, in fact, in my large City of Bandari build, though in a crowded market stall where it got lost in the bustle. Cables that are cropped out of the picture, that's how! Thanks, mccoyed! Glad you like the chandeliers, they remind me of ones from old castles that I have seen, so I think they work well.

Charming little scene! I appreciate the trees in the scrubland the most, but it is also nice that you made the path lower than the surrounding vegetation by a plate or two. The fig posing is also nice. If you can find a way to improve the backdrop for your pictures and get some more diffuse light on them, I think it would improve the presentation a bit, though. That said, I am glad to see folks building out the west of Varlyrio! Good story, and I look forward to more.

The two all-LEGO scenes are excellent! I love that aesthetic (if you hadn't gathered already) and love to see other people doing it too. I think that the middle picture could have been improved by controlling the stray light behind the walls a bit more, not just the angled tiles in the walls but also at the base and around the fireplace. Perhaps I am just hyper-observant of such things, since it is the kind of thing I have been worrying about with my recent builds, but I think it makes a difference. As it is, the walls look more like giant walls of windows covered in louvered blinds (kind of like what is seen regularly on closet doors and shutters), which is cool but probably not what you intended. I love the quality of the light shining in through the window though, and the furniture is also excellently executed. The details around the top of the walls, with the 1x1 tiles at an angle, are also nice. The first picture is nicely dreamlike, but there's not too much to say about it besides that. The third build is rather simple in its textures, on the houses in particular - though the pier is nice with the tiles in there - but that allows the focus to be more on the action, which is appropriate. If we are too busy marveling at the walls, we forget that there is a body lying in the streets! I like the decorative columns along the waterfront, too. Very nicely done! I love the story, too, and I am excited to see where you take it in the future. By the way, where is the hairpiece on the flesh-toned female fig in the pic from, on the far right? I like the way that one looks, but don't recall seeing it anywhere before.

I like the rocky outcropping and the minotaurs' cave. The trees are also nice, especially those dead (or just dormant, one can't tell in winter) ones made with robot arms, nipples, various bars, clips, and modified plates, and wands -- nice piece usages, indeed! I have two main points of critique: the first is that the dark brown base is so flat under the snow and rock; I think it would have looked better to have built that up a bit to give it more depth, and even just a slight elevation change in the dark brown part (obviously you have elevation change, but that is the rock and snow, which seem just placed on top of a flat surface) would have helped spice up the visual interest. Second, I will echo Muakhah and say that the cave is too tunnel-like for my taste -- is the depicted structure supposed to have a hole on both ends, or is that a convenience for the purpose of photography? It does make it look strange, in my opinion, even if the light source is vital to have any pictures turn out. It makes the tunnel interior too bright, with daylight-colored light, too, whereas some warm glow, like torches and fire would supply, could make for a very interesting interior scene. That said, again, I love the trees, and I enjoy the focus on non-human races of Historica.

The paw fits in much better visually now, especially using those 1x2 grille slopes to create a bit of gapping in the middle of the paw, better mimicking what is seen in the rest of the floor. I think it still looks better from the lower angle shot, but even from the higher angle shot you have included, it fits much better and does not stand out as an awkward break in the pattern. And you kept the paw itself looking recognizable, too. Well done.

Don't miss the recent news! The latter of which is featuring some of Avalonia's finest.

Thanks, Kai! The guild banners were a late addition, but I think they were a positive. I have the banners for everyone in the pre-made wavy one, but I always wonder, when those are used inside, where the wind is coming from... Glad you like the lighting on this one. I might veer away from great halls for a bit, and try to make other rooms for a while... Thanks, Puvel! Lighting is the difference between great and excellent in terms of presentation, I think, so it is where I have been putting a bit more thought of late. Glad you like it! Wow, thanks mccoyed! That is high praise indeed. If you wouldn't mind indicating where you see the typos, I would be much obliged. I have read through it so many times that I can't see them anymore. Thanks, Bas! You'll just have to wait for the challenge to be officially announced. Though in general, I think we are trying to stay away from major battle challenges this book, since that was the entirety of the last one... Thanks, Muakhah! I have been trying, of late, to capture things that look like the real deal, except in plastic and small scale, so I am glad it works. As for the posing, I don't do that much of it, to be honest; I prefer to take pictures with the figs in one place, and leave it at that - though in this one, the High Queen does move around to at least four different places, and N'ri goes from sitting to standing, so that is something. More than I usually do, at least! Glad to make your day, en_zoo! I saw the technique first from LJ, too, but I am not sure if he invented it. The windows are trans plates stuck behind black turntable bases. The columns are indeed wood - it is meant to convey the same feel as the throneroom I made for the end of Book II, so many of the details (like the floor, windows, wooden columns) have been kept. Wood is not necessarily decorative; most castles are actually held up with a lot of wood inside, despite the large amount of stone also involved. Furthermore, for these particular windows, there is a lot of stone behind them - at least three or four studs deep, in fact, so the wood can be either decorative or structural, or both, I guess.

The Long Discussion A prelude for Challenge II of Book III Word of High Queen Ylspeth's decree has spread far and wide across the four realms. A mixture of excitement, relief, and unease accompanies the decree, depending on the one hearing the message. In Avalonia, the Mistress of Dragons, Lady Galaria of Druidham, has brought together some of her fellow nobles to discuss the news and plan a way forward. Lady Gwenllian of Prenmôr and Lord Arthur are with her today, brought to Druidham by a short ride on dragonback, ready to be brought back home by another short ride with little interruption to daily life. They are walking in the loggia off of one of Druidham's many courtyards in the late morning, conversing. "I am not sure that we can do anything particularly extravagant in Prenmôr, of course," Lady Gwenllian was saying. "We are only just getting the settlement built up a bit more as it is, so coin is tight. And I'm afraid we are still some years away from being profitable with our farming, it being tedious labor just to break new fields, plant, and harvest, let alone shipping it across half of a continent!" "Of course, no one expects you to be selling your grain," Galaria assured her. "We here in Druidham will also not be selling any grain, since we have very little farmland working as of yet. Like Prenmôr, Druidham is a new settlement, too." Lady Gwenllian bit her lip in thought. "But we should still have a sort of mass entertainment, you think?" "Yes," Arthur and Galaria said at the same time. "It need not be extravagant," continued Galaria alone. "What is important is that you show the common people of your land that the High Queen is not so high above them that she does not care about them; that High Queen Ylspeth indeed wants them to be happy and fulfilled. Surely you have musicians and storytellers, yes?" Lord Arthur said, "Everywhere has musicians and storytellers, Lady Galaria, even Nocturnus. I'd reckon even the Drow have musicians and storytellers, though I've never been to one of their underground cities to find out." Lady Gwenllian smiled. "Nor I, Arthur, but yes, we have such professions, and we have cooks to throw a feast; would that be enough?" "Yes, as long as there are stories and songs that praise High Queen Ylspeth and the Unicorn of the royal house of Cedrica. Have your bards come up with something new, have your cooks try something exciting, and pull out all the stops that you can possibly afford to pull out. Here in Druidham, Henjin has already had our musicians begin composing a whole score for a new epic saga, which the poets have been tasked with composing. The events of Raavage's downfall have already been turned into countless ballads and tales, and those should be played and performed, too. Injini and the other gnomes will be putting on a light show with all sorts of explosive powders; the dragonriders will be doing aerial stunts, perhaps with some sort of skills competition; my husband's druids will be doing something with the deep magics to awe and delight; even the children are putting some plays together. This is not Kaliphlin, where we might watch some sort of gladiatorial combat or ostrich race; we have our own ways of having a festival, every city, town, and village of Avalonia knows how to celebrate in its own way. This is the time to do so!" * * * At the same time, the serving folk of Druidham were busying about as usual, doing their daily tasks around the island keep. "Have you heard?" asked Dervin, the steward of the household, as Hylena, the lady's attendant, approached carrying a tray of bowls from the brief luncheon the lady had had with her guests. "Heard what, Dervin?" asked Hylena. "You know I hear everything, same as you. To what are you referring?" "We're having a party, a big one, in the next month or so!" said Dervin triumphantly. "Old news, you know. Old news. Besides, who will be responsible for throwing the party except us, as usual? Nothing changes for a servant; parties are just another occasion for work, except on a bigger scale." "You're no fun," scowled the steward. "We get to have fun, even if there is work before and after the fun. I, for one, am excited. I hear that there will be dragon races around the island, and magic shows. All I have to do is make sure that everyone is fed and housed, and that there is money for it all, which I do all the time anyways, so this is a real treat for me. You should lighten up, Hylena. My son will be over the moon at the news." "I'm sure he will be," the lady's attendant said. "In the meanwhile, I need to bring these bowls to the kitchen to be washed. The party can wait for another day." __________________________________ .....................................................................

The Queen's Council A prelude to Challenge II High Queen Ylspeth sits on the throne of her father in Cedrica, the unlikely victor in the war against the forces of Lord Raavage. The combined might of the battered guilds was enough to secure her rule, but now the young and inexperienced monarch must find a way to keep the guilds united in relative peace. She has assembled a council to help her in her duties, to advise in difficult matters, and to guide her through the complexities of politics. Each of the four guilds has two representatives on the council; they are second sons, old uncles, pensioned war heroes, and strong-willed daughters passed over in the inheritance in favor of younger sons, chosen by guild leadership to represent their interests and secure the future prosperity of each realm. Also on the council are a few ministers, of war, of finance, and of state, drawn from ancient political houses of Cedrica itself or else having arrived with Ylspeth when she came to seek the throne. Today, HIgh Queen Ylspeth and her council have convened to discuss the rumors of discontent that are circling throughout the lands... Ylspeth surveyed the room, meeting the eyes of the members of her council cordially. Some of them she enjoyed tremendously, and some, well, not so tremendously. They all meant well and were devoted to serving the realm. She took a deep breath, uneasy with the topic she knew they must discuss, ever since the reports began coming back that her people were not completely happy with their new ruler. Where to begin? "My lords and ladies," she began, "I called today's council session to discuss the negative reports that we have been hearing. Why are the people upset with the crown?" Amar was the first to speak up; she was a decorated soldier from Kaliphlin, the veteran of many battles in the civil wars despite her relative youth, and the third daughter of one of the more powerful lords from the High Council in the south; rather than marry her off to some man against her will, her father had petitioned to have her sent as a representative to Cedrica. Her advice was always action-based and typically fiery. "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, perhaps it is because they are feeling oppressed by the Desert King's tyranny, who is no subject of yours, I might add, and military action to relieve them of his cruel rod would bestir them to think kindly of you." Khufu of Sultan's Gate, beside her and the other representative of Kaliphlin, glared at Amar; he was the Desert King's personal appointment to the council, and thus he was always quick to contradict anything said by his guildmate. "His Divine Majesty is not a tyrant, and does not rule under a cruel rod. Perhaps the people of Kaliphlin need to be liberated from the lies of the High Council's treasonous supporters, and an army should be sent to crush their last remaining strongholds!" "No one is sending an army anywhere!" interrupted Faluiel, an elf princess from the Enchanted Forest of Avalonia. "After the civil wars, the last thing the people want is another army being raised from their menfolk and sent off to die on some foreign plain. What they long for is something to mend the wounds done already and build the land up again. The elves have been doing as much work as they can to renew the deep magics, but these things will take time to come back to a semblance of the balance they had before Revolword and Raavage upended them." "My people need food, not magic," growled Thurl, an old dwarf from Mitgardia, the uncle of one of the kings of one of the mountain clans in the north. "The tundra came down farther than ever when the Algus attacked, and our fields have not thawed properly yet for growing; the reserves of many Mitgardian keeps are dangerously low, and there is little hope of filling them from this season's harvest." Faluiel nodded. "But restoring the deep magics' balance would push the tundra back and restore your croplands, and thus give you more food next year." "But the North is hungry now!" yelled Thurl. "I hear every day about families leaving their farms, gaunt with hunger, desperate for a crust of bread from their local jarl or thain." Eckbert, a grey and balding old general from Avalonia, cleared his throat. "If I may interrupt, my good Dwarf," he said, his old voice still strong and always polite, "the eastern plains of Avalonia have reported a bumper crop of grain this year, more than they have room to store, even. I know many of the lords there, such as my old messmate de Gothia of Sionnach, have been selling it to Varlyrio at a hefty profit, but surely with they would be willing to sell to their northern neighbors, for slightly less, even, due to reduced shipping costs; though the extra coin from the Varlyrian market has been much needed to repair the ruined cities and pay the pensions of soldiers and their widows." Cortucius Amancio, one of the Varlyrian councilors, agreed. "That grain has been cutting into the profits of our own farmers on Varlyrio. I know much of the discontent on my island guild is about how Her Majesty has opened up trade, threatening many of the leading families' lucrative monopolies. They would certainly be amenable to those goods being diverted elsewhere. And anything else from the mainland, too." Ylspeth nodded to each of her councilors' thoughts, mulling a way to try to meet each of their needs without upsetting the always precarious balance that was the Guilds of Historica. She could not seem to favor one over the others, lest the others be jealous and hurt. Surely there was a way to make everyone happy. While she was still pondering, N'ri, one of her closest advisors, second only to Kars, the commander of her bodyguard and Minister of Defense, stood up. N'ri was one of the warrior monks who had taken her in at their monastery on the far-western island, just a bit to the north of Mwamba, where she had taken refuge after the death of her father. He was wise in many ways, and his approach to matters was always fresh, not clouded with the self-seeking agendas that the rest of the councilors held. "My fellow councilors, this is a difficult moment, and perhaps it will be impossible to make everyone happy;" he paused and looked at the bickering Kaliphlinian representatives before going on, "but I think we can do something. Back in my home, long before I left for a new life at a monastery, the king used to throw public games, free to all comers, whenever discontent and unrest fell upon his people. He also made liberal use of handouts of food, particularly that lifeblood of civilization, bread. His philosophy, it seemed, was to fill the belly and soothe the soul with those two tools. My advice is that we use the funds of the crown to purchase the surplus grain from the Avalonians at a fair price -- perhaps not what they could get at open market, but we would not swindle them -- and then distribute that grain to the hungry in Mitgardia and Kaliphlin, especially our northern brethren. If we need more, perhaps the farmers of Varlyrio could supply a bit extra, too. At the same time, we should encourage, perhaps with a promise of lower taxes for those who agree, the wealthier nobles of the different realms to put on spectacles for the enjoyment of their peoples, in the name of our High Queen. Every lord knows what his people would enjoy most, and so he could provide that, encouraging the common citizens to be grateful for such beneficence from Cedrica." Ylspeth thought the advice sounded good, though she was concerned about the price and the state of the treasury. A murmur of displeasure swept the room, though, which surprised her. She walked around a bit trying to hear snippets of conversation as her councilors talked amongst themselves. Thurl was upset, grumbling about how the Mitgardians were being given charity, treated like the destitute, while the tights-wearers were only getting richer. Eckbert was certain that the Avalonian lords would in fact be swindled on the grain price, for bearded women, no less, in addition to balking at being expected to pay for lavish entertainments from their own pockets. Amar and Khufu were still arguing about the best way to fix Kaliphlin, though both were certain that their nobles would refuse any handouts from the tree-huggers at a minimum. Cortucius was silent, looking over the whole affair with smug superiority. Finally, Thurl pounded on the table and said, "This is a terrible plan!" N'ri held out a hand to pacify the old dwarf. "May your beard grow ever longer, my good Dwarf," he said in a conciliatory tone, "but I think it is important to think of matters beyond just the pride and pockets of the nobles. They are very few, but the common people are many; if there is no bread in the bellies of the peasants, how much longer with the lord sit on his throne? Will not the people revolt? Or whom will he rule if they all die of hunger, being good and obedient subjects? Yes, everyone will need to sacrifice a bit to make it work, but is it not worthwhile to secure the happiness and contentment of the people as a whole? This is about the poor child starving in the street, the veteran whose life is nothing but a hollow shell; what is a pile of gold in a locked room compared to those? Let's bring them bread and circuses, to improve their lives!" High Queen Ylspeth nodded in agreement with N'ri. She stood next to Thurl and said to the whole council, "This is what I decree: grain shall be purchased from the Avalonians to be distributed to the hungry in the north and south, as needed. My own treasury will handle that expense. Nobles of the different realms shall also, to the extent that they are able, contribute to the morale of the commoners by hosting some sort of grand entertainment. Those who do shall see a reduction of their tax burdens of ten per cent, and those who do not will see their tax burden rise by five per cent. Each guild shall provide a list of those lords and ladies who have put on a spectacle, enumerating the type and price, in order to qualify for the tax easement. Any further details will be worked out by the Treasury Minister and his aides. Am I understood?" "Yes, Your Majesty," came the words from each mouth, though not all of the faces showed agreement. Such is the life of a monarch, thought Ylspeth as she swept out of the room. _____________________________________ ...........................................................................

In the shot above, I would just crop off the bottom part; yes, that will leave you with chopped off guards, but that is fine. It sometimes helps a scene to have bits chopped off that you might otherwise want to see.

Very nice! I like the blue motif you have throughout the build, in the stripes, the water, and the knights. The shrine itself is quite nice, and I do not mind the trashcan as a cup. I do think that the statue should be a brick or so higher, with the bottom dress part being extended a bit, because as it is now, the proportions are a bit off to my eye. I like the stained glass windows, but they might look better set into the wall a bit, rather than protruding out slightly as they are now. Finally, the decorative base makes the presentation nice and sharp! I like the notch running along it, giving it a subtle bit of visual interest.

I really like the different textures you threw in here to mitigate the "tan wall syndrome" that Kali builds sometimes get. I think that the sideways shield motif should have been continued at the top, though, since it leaves the top corner edges of the wall seeming rather bare. The 1x2 rounded plates with hollow studs look great in the wall, though, and the floor technique is really neat. Thanks for explaining how to do it! My only other critique is that the scene would look better cropped to leave out the borders; as it is, it is almost an immersive, all-LEGO scene, but the edges throw it off. The posing works well, though, and I appreciate the story. It would be a fun task to illustrate stories and legends of different peoples and tribes around the Guilds... a future mini-challenge idea, perhaps.

Interesting. Brickset's database must be incomplete, then, since it said it was only in one set. Perhaps the lime feather is available in other sets, then, too?

Thanks, SK! High praise indeed. I agree totally about the texture thing, and it really isn't my style or taste, though I can dabble in it occasionally. What do you mean about the rafters? I used the round columns because I thought it gave an attractive bit of detail, rather than just 1x1 square elements. I started with the round columns, actually, and went from there on the last Druidham build, and re-used them with slight changes here. The layers of 1xn plates and tiles above the columns is there for structural integrity, as the whole thing is pretty sturdy - the rafters are only connected on one side of the build, but hardly sag at all. Hopefully that answered your question! Thanks, I thought having the shelves in the wall would be an attractive feature, and people really like it, it seems. The "basic" feel is intentional, to a degree, because it is supposed to be a brand-new castle, so it needs to be shiny and squared off at the corners, rather than tumbled down and cracked. Thanks, en_zoo! HQ definitely moved up in the world, I think. The Elves of Mwamba were excessively generous when they left there, for a variety of reasons (including taking away an unhappy Elf princess to greener pastures), and they have had good fortune when it comes to attracting new citizens to their nascent realm. Of course, Druids and dragonriders have their own rules and traditions, too--some even stuffy, perhaps--, so it is not all liberation and such. Way better than Hesperia, though!

@Grover, a nice looking crew you have there! Thanks for posting them. @en_zoo, your question is a complicated one! Yes, things have changed, but how is unclear. I've had a related Avalonian minichallenge brewing in my mind for some time now, but waiting for BL orders for an intro build as well as planning around official all-Guild Challenges (the next one comes the 15th of this month) has delayed its implementation a bit. In Book I, Avalonia had a king, but he vanished in Book II and was replaced by two High Lords who ruled as stewards; that system failed during the civil war period - one of them all but vanished - resulting in a lack of any sort of centralized leadership during the Raavage crisis. I think we have something more like an interim council of lords for the time being (like what met in the Challenge I prelude), but we will get further clarity sometime in the next few months, once I get the minichallenge up and running, probably towards the middle or end of January, once Challenge II is winding down or finished.

The first pic in particular is too bright, from a presentation standpoint, but the build itself is pretty cool! I love all of the gulls around, making the coastal scene believable; I'll have to get some gulls before I ever try a harbor scene now. The abrupt vertical transition from dark orange to light grey is strange, but I don't hate it; I think if you had angled the transition slightly it would have improved the look a bit. I like the dark orange bit a bunch though; it reminds me of something I saw SK do a while back, and looks good here. I don't really like the lean-to; it seems too heavy and bulky for the supports, but perhaps that is just me. The figs here are spectacularly posed, especially the kid with the broom and the fish-whacker. The final thing I'll comment on is the water: as you say, it is too dark. Water, on its own, has no real color (unless it has dissolved minerals in it), but it shows what is beneath it or reflects whatever is over it- we commonly associate blue with it because of the reflection of a blue sky, but skies come in all colors. Deeper down water looks blue, too, but that is because blue wavelengths of light penetrate deeper into the water, so the reds are all gone under the sea. The dark grey water here is believable, but only (to me) as stormy water, with dark and overcast skies, which does not match the sunny depiction of the rest of the scene. Something brighter and bluer - maybe even trans-light blue, with the proper undertones - might look better. The scene as a whole is very lively, though, and is very enjoyable to look at! Good work.

The vignette is much better without the blue! I like how you continue to match the surroundings with the figs, as it really boosts the visual appeal of the vignette to have a simplified color scheme. Many builders make the mistake of thinking more is more with color, but here less is clearly more! I am glad to see the merfolk of Varlyrio being fleshed out more and more, and hope you will continue to bring us builds and figs! Good work.

I like the story, and I am glad that you decided to push forward despite being less-than-thrilled about the build itself. I've had to do that before, settling for a small vignette that I did not care much for just to get the story going a bit, filling in with extra dialogue to mask the build's inadequacies. As for your build, though, there are some good things going on, and the things that have already been pointed out. The door itself is the best thing about it, I think; it gets the gnomish-steam-punk vibe without crossing too far out of the Guilds' generally understood parameters (i.e. we don't condone steam punk, but there is some wiggle room for gnomes as long as it does not get too technologically explicit and keeps a sense of magic to it). The flowers and plants are all individually nice, but together, with so many colors, it tends to come across as too busy, despite being closer, perhaps, to what one would encounter in the wild - but I think real-life wildflowers have the advantage of being viewed in a wider context and blending into a more natural shade of green that complements them better. LEGO colors are their own thing, and correspondence with the real world is limited at best. The previous comments about the path are spot on, so I will not say more about that. Keep the story coming, and keep showing us the builds even when they are not perfect!

The textures of this build are certainly well done, with very nice stonework in the columns and the slopes in the floor. I think there might be too many windows for a cold-weather building, as there would be considerable heat loss from so many panes of glass around the room, even though it is a very cool effect. I also really enjoy the wood-paneled look of the wall, made with all of the tiles. Are those held in by anything other than tension and gravity? As for critiques, I will echo Kai and say that the lower POV shot looks better with the floor; bird's eye views seldom look good in LEGO, in my opinion, unless they are deliberately intended to convey a sense of position (someone looking down from a tower or hill, for example). Otherwise I think striving for something close to minifig perspective is best to allow the viewer to enter into the picture. As a benefit, it really does help the mosaic to blend into the surrounding floor so much better when the shot angle is lower, since many of the dark gaps disappear and it looks more like a continuous surface. My favorite part of the build, though, is the furniture. I really like the throne, the braziers are super cool (I might have to borrow the idea sometime - though it might look better if you put some of the cold people huddling around them for warmth), but the best are those candelabra in the back; I will definitely need to steal that design sometime! Nicely done overall, and some good fig posing, too.

The ground looks convincing for a lightly snowy landscape that has had people walking all over it for a while. The roof does seem like it should have more snow on it, especially in the valleys. In a really snowy climate, actually, I think the place the left tower meets the roof of the right-hand section would lead to problems, since all of the ice and snow would collect against the wall of the tower and lead to serious structural damage from rot and the mere accumulation of weight. Again, as always, a delightful balance of colors, and the architectural style is quite nice, a pleasant blend between all-out hypertexturalism and ultra-smooth surfaces. I appreciate how you filled the corners in the roof peaks this time, hiding the gap between the decorative trim sections; the sideways 1x1 looks good there. @Kai NRG, the green feather can be found in this set, at least, since I have it. It is for the Green Arrow's hat, and I think it came with three of them. *Edit: I looked at the inventory on Brickset, and it indicates that that set is the only source for feather so far. It also is the only source for the dark green forester's (Robin Hood) hat.