Henjin_Quilones

To update this thread and get it active once more, the Royal Cartographer's Guild of Albion is pleased to announce every settlement listed in the Royal Registry of Historica's Locations of Note: Barqa, Kaliphlin (@Gideon): Port City Mpya Stedor, Kaliphlin (@Maxim I): Port City Sionnach, Avalonia (@de Gothia): Port City Dalig Ulv, Mitgardia (@MKJoshA): City Mophet, Kaliphlin (@adde51): City Zamorah, Avalonia (@Zilmrud): City Trifork, Avalonia (@Bregir): Port Town Osgard, Avalonia (@MiloNelsiano): Port Town Euosmos, Mitgardia (@Gunman): Port Town Estolad, Kaliphlin (@Adair): Town Daydelon, Mitgardia (@soccerkid6): Town Belynia, Avalonia (@Simon_S): Port Village Thorshaven, Mitgardia (@kabel): Port Village Khadira, Kaliphlin (@Muakhah): Village Kashgar, Varlyrio (@narbilu): Village Helenia, Avalonia (@mlongworth): Village Shadowmere, Nocturnus (@Lord Vladivus): Hamlet Burrium Aqua, Avalonia (@Kerntechniker): Hamlet There are lots of settlements that have been started and never finished to the point of becoming a registered hamlet, even though many have more than five builds; they just need to fulfill one or two of the required categories to make it. If you go back and update your post to meet a new level of settlement (which is what you are supposed to do, rather than making a new post) let me know so I can acknowledge it, since I will not be poring over this thread looking for any new edits. Tagging me in a comment at the end of a post for your latest barn, for example, would be a good way of letting me know you think you finally have a hamlet. This is a time for rebuilding, so get building your settlements! Your people need a functional place to live. Builds for Book III Challenge I will count for this task, if they apply to any of the categories. Please note that typically Challenge builds do not count.

Excellent build, LJ! I love the various hues in the brown-ish family going on here, each delineating a separate section of building. The market stalls are also quite nice, and the posing is also convincingly realistic. One thing I notice that I don't love is the variation in tan tooth plates you have as a border on one of the medium nougat/dark flesh? building with the dome. I think it would have looked better with all one size, probably the small teeth (the 1x2 plates with teeth) so that they did not interfere with the arches. However, the build is great all around, especially the base it sits on and the vegetation. Lovely seeing more of your builds!

Of course you can! I encourage everyone to build the settlement in microscale first (or last, either way) to give an overall sense of scale and placement. You could also re-build it later if you make significant additions like a new castle, or something, since micro takes fewer pieces. My own is just about finished, actually.

I love these small character vignettes! The higher ceiling on the new one looks great, and I love the continuation of the window style. They are rather simple builds, but so very effective. Now let's see the rest of the family, before they all die in feuds...

My own plan is to build my entire settlement in a single microscale build, and then build the different sections in minifig scale to meet the requirements of Task 4. It seems like that is your plan, too, so it sounds good to me! As far as it being officially claimed, you do need to meet the minimum requirements of a hamlet first (in minifig scale), but once you have done that (it is five particular builds, like agriculture, military, and three others) your settlement will be on the map wherever you want it to be, and you can add the rest to level it up to a city (if you want to) as slowly as you please. I also have two kids at home, with a third on the way, so I understand the slow pace!

@MiloNelsiano, nice looking fig and welcome back into the guild you never left! I like the helmet, actually, especially if you have a bunch of them and outfit a squad or two with them. There is really no reason why particular helmets should be outlawed here, unless they are too obviously sci-fi in styling. But in a fantasy setting like ours, a helmet in all black without any buttons or levers or hoses is fine by me. @Zilmrud That is a good question, not a newbie question. At one point, the time period of the map you showed, we Avalonians claimed a chunk of land delineated by strict outlines. In those days, the whole stretch of land along the border with Mitgardia was claimed, and you would not be able to place a settlement there without the permission of one of those builders. Those days are gone. Most of those builders are also probably gone. The only map you need to concern yourself with is the one in the first post of this very thread, which is up-to-date with the only officially claimed settlements, as built for Task 4 (also in the first post). Thus, with the exception of the coast near Mitgardia, where Osgard, the capital of Oros, is situated, the whole thing is able to be settled. Pick a spot and start building, and once you meet the minimum requirement for a hamlet, you can claim a particular location to be your personal settlement. In the new system, there is plenty of room all over the map to fit just about anything someone could want, because your city could be close to another person's city without there being any issues (especially near the border with Mitgardia, where there are valleys and mountainous ridges left and right separating everything). I hope that helps. @Niku, great to have you back!

Thanks, Niku! The first step is rebuild and strengthen. We shall see what the future brings, but hopefully not another book of civil wars! I am glad you like the lighting! It is funny that everyone loves the lighting so much, because when I was shooting the build late at night in my basement using lamps (as opposed to during the day outside in the shade, as is my normal custom) I was certain my pictures were going to be bad! Nocturnus will not be utterly forsaken, no, but our attention is not to the east right now, but to the west! And I don't know if @de Gothia would approve, but I love the idea of an old, grumpy Lord de Gothia, too, one who has lived through it all in Historica and become just a bit soured by all of the war and death. But still lovable and even pleasant at times, and full of grumpy-old-man humor and sarcasm. Just make sure you stay off of the lawn of his castle! Glad you like it! Thanks! Yes, there is an ambiance to it that is kind of nice. If you read my reply to Titus, it was kind of an accident. I modified some of the minor details of the story (like time of day) to fit the pictures I had. Thanks, Garm! I had the dragon and fireplace built for something else that got abandoned, but thought they would work pretty well here. The chandelier was a last second addition to the build pre-photography. Thanks, CF! I tried to include as many officially declared members of Avalonia as I could given my parts and time. You don't have to build a ship, though you could if you wanted to. If you did that for the challenge, you would want to show it being under construction, though. Thanks, Brandon! The floor is done with 2x2 tiles placed on top of 1x1 round plates and turned to be at an 45-degree angle to the stud grid below. The walls have to overhang onto the floor, with an anchor further back, in order for the gap at the edge to be hidden (otherwise you end up with awkward triangle gaps along the walls). I am sorry I did not get your fig in there, as I was quite rushed getting everything together at the end. I know I missed at least two others from the Avalonia first post, too, quite by accident. I was in a bit of a crunch, trying to build this and photograph it in about five hours of work, so I missed some things that I had meant to include. I only work in fleshie, so I had to adapt them to my world. I did the same for the final challenge of Book II, as well. It works better for some than others, admittedly. @Grover's Lady Gwenllian is less recognizable, for example, since I do not have a fleshie face with just the original LEGO smiley face on it, nor the proper burgundy hairpiece. I did what I could. I tried to hold back on the bells and whistles of building, in order to facilitate speed. It fits, though, since the halls of Druidham are only freshly erected since Henjin got back from visiting Bandari (and Mwamba in general) and have not been fully furnished (or finished) yet. The lighting was done with an overhead bulb on the ceiling of my basement LEGO area, roughly right over the build, and a table lamp with an adjustable neck positioned to shine at roughly 45-degrees through the lattice windows. There are some trees on the other side of the window, pink and purple in foliage, that the light was shining through to give it some of those glowing hues. It was not well-lit, honestly, but I set my shutter speed to be slow (compared to usual for me, at least) to let more light get on the exposure. Then I played around a bit in my very simplistic photo editor (it came standard with Windows...) and lightened up the pictures and adjusted hue and saturation of colors. So you are right, it was not sufficient to just have the light through the windows, but it was not much more complex than that, either.

This looks great, ZG, especially the bright colors of the terrain and the door. It is unusual (but splendid) to see such bright colors used in a realistic (i.e. not magical or fantastic) setting, but it works very well here. Another olive tree or two might have helped, but I think it looks pretty good as it is. Great to see some more of Varlyrio!

I'll try to pull the knife out of my back...I guess you truly are a Varlyrian!

That's easy...pick Avalonia!

As a long-time Nocturnian, you would not have to abandon Shadowmere, Lord Vlad, or his story. You can continue to build that up and develop it as you see fit. Perhaps he becomes a major player in the re-stabilization of the Darklands, or something like that. For the purposes of Challenges, though, you would have to choose one of the four active guilds for your builds to be scored. You could, for example, join Avalonia, and at some point have Vlad explore his maternal heritage more deeply and spend some time among brighter forests that are not inclined to eat you at every step, while still maintaining his home back in Shadowmere. A sunny Avalonian meadow is probably not the best place for a half-vampire to live long-term, after all. Or Vlad could flee the Darklands entirely, like so many refugees after Raavage's ravages have done, and seek a new life in Varlyrio, or Kaliphlin (though that is only slightly less chaotic than Nocturnus, what with the Desert King and all, and even sunnier than Avalonian meadows), or even Mitgardia (especially if Vlad does not like any sunshine on his meadows at all for half of the year). Whatever you choose, we are glad to have you around! I hope you can get your bricks back soon.

Looks good, Rogue! I love all of the cameos in the build, placed there for us to discover. The market area is well-built, with lots of stalls and wares, as well as a bustling amount of activity. Is it possible for merchants to avoid this island and go straight to the Varlyrian mainland, to get around what are inevitably higher costs of doing business through the middle man on Tradesmeet Port? I think it might be worth my while to sail an extra two days to make more money in one of the larger markets, especially if I can negotiate some trade deals with the leading cartels families. Also, I'm pretty sure we Avalonians no longer have a monopoly on tights, since your Venice-inspired courtly families of Varlyrio are almost certainly clad in calf, thigh, and cheek-hugging garments as well. It's no wonder Avalonian tights would not find much of a market there, then, since your people already have all the tights they need, at a lower price. One last note: Supano better watch himself standing so near a crateload of Nocturnian pumpkins and and a tableful of pumpkin pies...

Asking questions is good, and highly encouraged! Folks around here are pretty happy to help out when you get stuck or confused. Reading the first posts in the guilds, as well as the new member guide, is a good way to avoid asking silly questions, but undoubtedly you'll have questions.

@adde51, that is a very nice intro build you have there, and the backstory for your fig is great as well! Glad to have you in the Guilds! I am sure Gideon can send aid from Barqa to Mophet if Tabib ever needs any help.

@Peter S, welcome to the Guilds! Your establishment looks like a great place to stop, should Henjin Quilones ever need to visit Barqa.

Of course! I think you'll be enchanted by our forests, if you ever leave the eastern plains.

An Avalonian Council Prelude for Challenge I The rise of Queen Ylspeth has meant many things in Historica have changed, mostly for the better. The surprise move to open up trade to Varlyrio has caught many off guard, but the lords of Avalonia have not been caught sleeping. Being the closest to Varlyrio, they were best situated to take advantage of the situation. Henjin Quilones, the Master of the Druidi Order in Avalonia, as well as a personal friend of Queen Ylspeth, was given advance warning of the changes and accordingly summoned as many lords of Avalonia as he could quickly find to his personal island in the Mystic Isles, Druidham, carried by dragonback to expedite the meeting. The early light of morning streamed through the windows of the hall, only freshly built and sparsely furnished. "My Lords, and Ladies, of Avalonia," Henjin began. "Thank you for coming here this morning. It is early, I know. There is tea and some steeped Kaliphlin bean-drink coming from the kitchens shortly, but I did not want to keep you waiting, nor did I want to waste any time getting down to business. I hope you will forgive the hasty discourtesy of my bare hall when you hear what I have to say. As you know, the civil wars have left our land, and the lands of the other guilds, devastated; many of our cities lie still in ruins, others mourn their lords, their menfolk, their children; our money has been spent raising armies and feeding troops, rather than raising bridges, building roads, and feeding our people." "Furthermore, the lands to the east are in utter ruin; the darklands of Nocturnus have not seen the light of hope brought by Queen Ylspeth. The wounds left by Raavage have yet to even begin to heal. Those lands, by the will of the Queen, are closed to us for now. Venture there at your own peril, and any trade there is a risky proposition at best, a death wish at worst. The inhabitants of Nocturnus must be allowed to heal, to rebuild, to recover some sense of normalcy, but we cannot be the ones to give it to them, as outsiders. They must find healing and a new leader from within." "If the East is closed to trade, what of the West?" asked Conrad the Sly, a scheming look already forming on his face. "My spies have informed me that there are rumors that the Queen wishes to rebuild Varlyrio and open it to trade with the mainland. Is this true?" Henjin nodded. "I have it from the queen herself that it is so. That letter over on the side table was delivered before dawn this morning by an eagle messenger, informing me of her decision to enhance the trade between the fifth Guild and the others. That is why I summoned you here at such short notice this morning." "I noticed," grumbled Lord de Gothia of Sionnach, warming his old bones near the fire. "I never even had time to get out of my pajamas and get dressed, before I was being hoisted onto the back of a dragon by some Elf with spiky pauldrons and orange hair. Dragons. Huh. Back in my day, the "Flight of Dragons" was just a metaphor, and we rode horses like normal people." "My apologies, My Lord, if Rider Elbyria treated you harshly," said Galaria, the Mistress of Dragons, and Henjin's wife. The Elf had sent out her dragonriders with haste at dawn to gather the lords, but she knew that her riders, all Elves, were the very model of courtesy. She herself had brought several of the attendees. "It was early, that was all," muttered de Gothia. "It is early still. Next time I'll send my sons. I'm getting too old to be traipsing about like a lad on errands at all hours. But Henjin," the old lord continued, "what does this mean for us? How does this affect Sionnach, or Hamanne, or Lesser Burren?" "I'm glad you asked, My Lord de Gothia," answered the Druid. "As I was saying earlier, we have spent our money on war for a long time; how would you like to make money, lots of money, perhaps, by being among the first to have strong ties to the Varlyrian markets? If we can get our ships outfitted quickly, assemble quality Avalonian goods, like your cider, Conrad, or your steel, Abrecan, we can corner the market in the Far West and use the money we make to rebuild our lands and aid our people. Avalonia can prosper again, even more than before the wars, if we leap on this opportunity. We must rebuild, and we must ensure that the next generations of Avalonians can thrive in peace." "I would love to expand the influence of Hamanne outside of Avalonia, and allow my people to prosper in the process," said Abrecan Foxley, nodding to Henjin's words. "Let's get our ships loaded, and set sail for Varlyrio, to make the money to repair our cities." "Sionnach's wheat should find an eager market abroad, and we have had a bumper crop these past few years despite the wars," added de Gothia. "Our farmers will benefit tremendously with this new market! I'm glad I got myself out of bed now. Forget that Kaliphlin bean-drink, I must get back to Sionnach quickly, to get my sons working on this at once. Mistress Galaria, where is my dragon?" "The dragons and riders who carried each of you here are waiting outside on the courtyard," said Galaria as the guests moved towards the door. "May fortune smile upon us as we begin this new era of rebuilding and prosperity! Many thanks for coming, Lords and Ladies!"

Varlyrio is open to all who wish to build there, and anyone may join, whether they have been involved with the Guilds from the very first day of Book I or just stumbled upon the Guilds today. Nocturnus is closed to any new members for Book III; those already there may continue to build there, but new people should pick somewhere else in the incredible diversity of Historica to live and build their stories.

Stay fleshie! Don't listen to people like Kai and Titus!

Excellent build in Varlyrio, ZG! You have nailed the Venice look, and I could immediately feel the influence of Jonas Kramm's build. You have some great things going on here, like the roof texture on the blue building, the brickwork on both front buildings, and the street-level door on the tan-trimmed building with the inset glass. But perhaps my favorite detail is the basement window in the blue house, so easily overlooked but so lovely to behold. Great work, and I hope you can build this thing up to a full city!

Nice looking chapel, Titus! I like the different levels and the rug on the floor. I think Kai is on to something, though, when she says that one must tread carefully to avoid tripping! Someone needs to go in there and re-set those flagstones to make it safe to walk... I do think it a bit odd to have a barrel of swords and a turkey leg sitting around a chapel, though.

Nice looking army and townsfolk! Now you just have to build some villages and such to house everyone... Glad to have these fine folk in Avalonia!

I like the build, but I agree with the others that the rockwork is too busy when seen all at once. It is not even that there are too many colors, per se, but really that they are so evenly mixed as to jumble together. Perhaps in the future, should you build something like this again, you could create different rock layers, much like what one would see in the American west as a result of the erosion of different layers of sediment deposits. It is just a thought. Welcome to the guilds, too!

Welcome new members! Good to see @Ayrlego, @(Luc)ky Luke, and @Bracari joining the guilds, even if you are going to be freezing your tails off up there in the frozen north. If you want something more temperate and pleasant, come on over to Avalonia for a while, for a nice tree-hugging vacation.

I love the look of the four together, though I will echo Titus and say that the dark green to dark tan transition is very abrupt and too straight. The action and fig placement is great, though, and gives the scene life. I also really like the placement of the vegetation throughout, and the consistency between the different sections. Nicely done!