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Oh my! Awesome stuff here. I love the idea of people plotting in the bath-house as well as the execution - full of lovely details all around together with a true Kaliphinian/Barqan feel I believe I mentioned this before, but I think you should work on your punctuation, as it's sometimes difficult to follow the story (I see that others have noted this too), which is a real pity as it's very intriguing and really wanna see where it goes! I'm a non-native Eng-speaker too, so I do appreciate the effort - don't give up!

@LordBevis Welcome to GoH, and in particular to the best Guild! You chose wisely I've been reading your posts and must say: in what you wrote, I see a lot of myself when I started here on GoH. I also gave a lot of importance to things like chronological order, make your story fit into the bigger picture, organisation in general and so on. So, while it's definitely a good thing that you do think about all this, my advice is that you don't worry too much. With time you'll find a way to make everything fit. After all, the only thing everyone expects from you here, is that you enjoy what you do So HQ's words are wise: just start building what you're interested in, the rest will come. Sooo ---> nice to see your sigfig - hope to see some builds from you soon. Long live the Avalonian Dragons!

hehe thanks, J. I'm glad you got involved in the story, I awlays fear it's too long or boring for people to read. Good point about the angle, it came up to mind at some point of the building process, then I must've forgotten or something. I need to keep in mind for next time. Thank you Zoth, I'm really glad you like the roof, as I wasn't sure at all about it. It's also very good to know you're reading the story along! Thanks, Bas! I'm happy someone mentioned those little details about the figs! As fot the lightning, I've got 2 lights (the set I got is very similar to the one you sent me the link of); thanks for the tip about sunshine, it sounds really attractive. I do need to try out different combinations and stuff, so to increase the chances that I end up actually enjoying taking the pics, which for the moment it's miles away from reality.. As for the camera, I'm afraid I'm well past the age where I ask for a birthday present The good thing about it is that I can simply make myself such present. The bad thing about it is that my birthday was actually 3 days ago and I haven't done it No, seriously, funny how this friend of mine said the same thing; he's off to Brasil for a while and offered to leave his Reflex to me - it may well be a good occasion to practice a bit with it, then maybe, who knows, I might look into finding a second-hand one. What you reckon? I thought as models get 'obsolete' that quickly, I might actually be able to find a good one (at least for my purposes) at a sexy price.. Thanks Kai, good to hear you like that wagon - the design is very simple so I was a bit unsure; I reckon it worked well, apart from when it came to having that white stripe on a white background for the editing.. I see you point about that med.Df, I was expecting it to blend better with the rest, it needs more experimenting. Thanks Muakhah! I felt lucky this time to have the challenge fit perfectly with my story and I'm happy you noticed that! I'm also glad you mentioned the link to the official lore - I find it nice when people manage to weave their stories together and in fact, this was a good occasion for me, as dealing with a character who partially lost his memory isn't always easy.. Thank you, ZG. I assume by 'DC' you mean Derfel Cardan? Or am I completely misreading your comment? Good point about the patch of brown - I thought about it, but then left it as it was; I should've used some green or something..

hahaha very nice! I like the story/idea behind it as well as the execution. That type of roof is eeally attractive (I don't recall having seen it before..) - simple and effective. My fav bit must be the figs though Which part have you used for the bottom part of the marquee?

Here! Deadline met! ^^

Previously Book III - Challenge II Laesonar's Saga Episode 10 - Bread, Water and Drums The wheel squeaked loudly as Laesonar turned it to pull up the bucket. Armin was in awe looking at the plants all around the well. 'How does the vegetation grow back so quickly in this place, Mr. von Jeff?' 'It's the soil of great Avalonia, master Paladin, as you might've heard.' 'Well, I surely didn't expect such a quick growth! It hasn't been long that the water is back!' 'Speaking of which, my Lords, I don't think I've thanked you enough yet for bringing the water back to the lake.' Having quenched his thirst, Laesonar pulled his face out of the bucket and some water dripped on his neck as he replied to the old man. 'Actually, Mr. von Jeff, you have. Around a thousand times. And it wasn't even necessary, we're happy to help.' 'That's right. We're happy to see the natural balance restored. We should now look into the fish disappearance and...' 'My Lords!' A voice reached them suddenly. 'Sir Humborth, good day. Any news from Albion on this fine day?' 'I do bring news actually, my Lords. Through Albion, directly from Cedrica. The Queen wishes for every Lord in Historica to organise an occasion, with all kind of celebrations. She'll reduce taxes to all those who do while having Avalonian grain brought to all those in need. The costs for the latter covered by the royal treasure.' The unexpected news brought a moment of silence. Jeffrey was the first to break it. "Well, we don't have much to celebrate with. Nor that many people. We've barely just got the water back and Laelariel doesn't even have a lord at the moment!' Armin thought out loud. 'It sounds like a Bread and Circus strategy. It makes me wonder. What do you think, Laesonar?' The half-elf seemed dazed, his eyes closed. 'Laesonar, is everything all right?' 'Hhmmm... yes. I am... remembering something.' He paused. 'The Queen... the red haired, you mean?' Sir Humborth was taken aback by such question. 'Oh, er... yes. That would be her. How do you...' Laesonar lightened up. 'Right. I remember now. What charm! We definitely can't ignore the polite request of such charming lady! Let us get ready for the feast, Gentlemen!' Again, a moment of silence. Again, Jeffrey broke it first. 'Ahem... Master Half-elf, you met the Queen before?' 'I certainly did. Sir Humborth's words brought back memories. I cannot tell how I got there and why, but I definitely remember having a drink with her. She wasn't interested, unfortunately.' This time the moment of silence lasted longer, everyone speechlessly looking at Laesonar, while he plunged his face back into the bucket to drink more. An uncertain smile slowly appeared on Armin's face. 'Laesonar, you... chatted the Queen up?' 'As I said, my friend. But you know my memories aren't exactly.. well.. chronological. But let us not waste any more time, shall we? Mr. von Jeff, isn't a lake full of water a good enough reason to celebrate?' 'It certainly is, my Lord, but..' 'And Sir Humborth, when exactly is that grain to arrive?' 'Oh, er... a cargo from Albion with an escort from Cedrica should be here in two days, but..' Laesonar was walking fast towards the city centre. Everyone snapped out of their astonishment and followed him. 'Where are you going now, my Lord?' 'Back to the city hall. I'm pretty sure I spotted a drum there, the other day.' 'A drum, my Lord?' 'Yes, a drum. No drum, no party; am I not right? It'll be bread, water and drums.' TASK I – Bread 'Well it looks like we got this grain and bread into the right place at the right time, the city was really in need!' 'We did indeed. The Queen will be happy. But where's the captain? I haven't seen him for a while now...' TASK II – Water and Drums 'What's with the facial painting?!' 'I always do that when I drum. It gets me more into the rhythm, if you know what I mean.' 'Oh.. Sure, I guess.' TASK III – Plot? 'So, captain... Are you enjoying your new position?' 'Yes m'Lord. Thank you, m'Lord.' 'Now, let's see. You'll hand this one over to my man in Albion, while this one... This goes to you-know-who directly in Cedrica. Make no mistake.' 'No m'Lord, of course not.' 'You'll make sure not be seen.' 'm'Lord, I've never been, m'Lord.' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yesssss! First time ever I manage to meet a deadline here on GoH! I'm glad So there are a couple of things I'm not satisfied with, I'll start with those. I hadn't planned those roofs from the beginning, they turned out to be much bigger than I wanted and almost exactly squared I chose dark tan for the 'beach' as I thought it'd go well with Rb, but it gives the lake a very murky aspect, which wasn't my intention. The water effect can't really be seen in the pic (there are actually 3 types of blue under the trans tiles), I guess I need something bigger for that. Finally, Rb legs aren't a good choice on a Rb terrain... With the rest I'm relatively satisfied with. I was interesting in seeing how I could go from cobblestone to dirt, the result is decent, I reckon. As for the photography, I got myself a soft-light set, which enabled me to take nice shots with a low ISO. Unfortunately it also created quite a lot of shadows, which I didn't know how to avoid and which I had to eliminate manually when editing (it can be seen with a zoom in on the main pic ). Yet I reckon it's been an improvement. In case you're wondering what that link is, Laesonar actually met the Queen It's offcial lore, as you can check here, in particular 'Part VII: At the Grand Griffon Tavern', pages 192-194. Credits to @Henjin_Quilones for the story and @TitusV for the full recap, as you probably already know. C&C most welcome as usual, thanks for reading ^^ NOTE TO THE JUDGES: the build for Task I is on a 18x22 base. The one for Task III is a 16x30. Both are separable from the bigger one, which is 64x64 minus the base of Task III (see extra pic below).

Lovely. I like all of the arches and the architecture all around. I also enjoy that you've been consistent with your previous builds of Mophet (palette, architecture in general and that red decorative line in the upper part of the towers). I'm in love with the black oil cargo!

Always a pleasure to see your city expanding Say, where is Kashgar located exactly?

Really nice design. Well done!

I think it's a very nice build, I'm not sure why you're so unhappy about it! If you want it more 'lively', then maybe instead of the plants more tools around, or, even better, more activity for the figs? I guess the palette you picked also calms everything down, but I like it as it is. Oh and those walls are awesome!

Nice little build, J. I love the floor! As you mentioned yourself, I wish there was more variety, given the lenght of the story. One thing I've noticed is that you've changed Asgeir's head (face expression) only once, while he was actually scared for most of the time (same goes for your previous episode, when his sister gets in between him and the father: he smiles in that shot). Your only-LEGO shots are very neat and clean and I like the focus. The story gets complicated here! Guess you got yourself involved with the Varlyrian intrigue? Awesome job, keep it coming!

oh now I see how you did the floor... it wasn't all that mysterious after all! I can see others' point, as you might've left too many gaps, yet it looks cool and goes especially well with the walls. Nice details all around, the make for a great atmosphere. Nice story too, really intriguing. I fear you're gonna need quite a while to explain all that though, now that you've started!

Really nice I wouldn't mind some variations on the wall as well as on the terrain, but the fact that you built it for your son to play with changes everything! Overall, it looks neat, sturdy and playable enough, the interior makes it even better. I also like the story and the idea of turning orphans into knights. That poor Auron got quite the task though.. ! Good to see you popping by with a build every now and again, by the way

yesss, first chapter already.. that's the spirit! The arena is lovely, neat and well-textured overall, though that doesn't surprise, coming from you. Interesting part you've used for the gate (the 'wooden' one, I mean), my fav detail must be those torches - I'm gonna have to copy.. er.. borrow that design Yet the point here is the story, if you ask me. I find it very well written (I didn't know about this skill of yours) and you have me totally intrigued there. So all in all, as I mentioned somewhere else, great to have you around! Your only mistake was picking the wrong Guild, but oh well..

Thanks for specifying, HQ. I'm afraid I don't have much dark red to use (flags etc..), so I'll make do with black and white for now

hahaha awesome stuff here, J.! I checked out the post when you still hadn't fixed the names - much better now You've got quite the intro here! Nice cinematic effect, really intriguing, makes me wanna know what's going on right away. Nice set of vignettes and shots too - my fav must be the one you built for Amalia and Horus, the way you've made the floor is a mystery to me A couple of things I noticed at first sight are in the last pic: is that the wall doesn't look tall enough so I guess simply bigger would've been better, or maybe a more dramatic (and harder to realise) idea would've been to take the pic from lower and closer to the minifig, kind of aiming at it from underneath with the sky/wall/sun behind its head, if you see what I mean. I was also a bit unsure about those houses, because they're pink and because they seem to be too close to be out of focus like the rest of the background. Apart from this, I think I'll leave the critiques to Kai and the others. Most important thing for me though, is that I'm very glad to finally see you around here and with your own saga! I'm sure you'll show us some amazing builds!

Very nice vignette, JoW. The rounded windows fit particularly well. Love the cobblestone once more. Aslo love the story once more! I see you've followed my advice including a link to the previous chapter, which adds continuity You have me very intrigued by the story - keep it coming man

Thank you, JoW. Glad to hear That design is a bit part-expensive but still the best solution I found so far. Let me know how it goes if you use it!

Awesome - really neat and some nice details here!

oh man, I remember you mentioning that a while back! would be awesome! Thank you Grover, I'm glad you follow up on the story! And yes, giving it more light is my next step regarding the photography aspect - fingers crossed!

You truly are, @TitusV!

@Henjin_Quilones quick question: as I understand it from your builds (maybe you also mentioned it somewhere?), the Queen's royal house now in Cedrica has the unicorn as heraldry, which is also the symbol of Historica itself. Does it also have a couple of colours in the banner or so, similar to those of each guilds?

Hey nice job here, HQ! I haven't explored the field of brick-built beasts yet and your dragons seem a good place to start (good that you've put those links!). I had also missed a couple of episodes of Galaria's events, thanks to those links I'm gonna check them out soon enough. As I mentioned somewhere else, this 'elemental' thing sounds intriguing - how many elements have you thought of? The classical 4 at the moment, basing on your dragons?

thanks, HQ! I wanted to use light yellow in the riverbed only but at the end didn't like it and took it off.. As for benders, I actually hadn't planned to keep it going, but you've opened a new sphere of possibilities with your comment (and your dragones..!). Who knows..

nice job here, the roofed stable looks nice. You could've gone for an irregular base, show us a bit of what's all around. however, good to know there are some well trained horses inAvalonia, shoud the need arise..