Aurore

A few new parts showed up this weekend, mainly from the recent Botanic sets. Including the magenta and purple pirate hats!

The catalog available on the japanese version of the LEGO website shows a remake of SW Leia's Yavin celebration outfit, which makes an excellent medieval-fantasy lady. The torso print looks only slightly updated compared to the 2012 version, and her hairpiece is a dark brown version of the elaborate braided hairstyle introduced for Padme in 2019 (item 48212). The same Yavin set also introduces an interesting printed version of the neckband with medal.

New Elementary's analysis of the new parts from the upcoming Ninjago wave shows some interesting parts for medieval-fantasy adventurers (in addition to the dragon cutie and the ball): - A grappling hook on a long rubbery whip-like part (high-res picture here) - A frying-pan-like helmet (I have to admit it: I love this one!) (bottom-right part of this high-res picture) - Pretty shoulder armour (right here) - A trans-bright-green left arm (Vidiyo's Slime Singer introduced the right one) - Quite a bunch of nice recoloured hairpieces. Also noteworthy: a recolor of the small foliage piece in bright light yellow/cool yellow. More hues for autumn foliage!

Congratulations to the winners! And thank you to all participants and organisers, it has been an amazing contest that spawned so many great builds to admire!

The baby dragon mould that comes in the next Ninjago wave is awesome!

The upcoming Ninjago wave comes with a new baby dragon mould that looks perfect! Too bad it only comes in sets I have otherwise absolutely no interest in. There is also an intriguing part that looks like an Eye of Sauron, a few interesting minifig parts, and probably other things I have not noticed right now since I have not even finished my first coffee.

Sympatik Brick - 1 point MKJoshA - 1 point Zilmrud - 1 point

Glad to see the voting deadline extended! Dan Church - 1 point Kahir88 - 1 point Socalbricks - 1 point

@Eyrezer Thank you very much! Yes, the headdress is the one from a SW Jedi Consular. @socalbricks Thank you so much! I did not expect the parts for the Phoenix to look so good together, and even if I really dislike the colour red I have to admit I enjoy this minifig!

After a few years of making custom minifigs, I have come to realise that minidolls are by far superior. The are way more realistic and expressive, and on top of that their elegant figures are a perfect match for the setting of my storyline. So here is an improved version of my main characters, from left to right: - Grog, Goblin Guard of Embervale - Evrart, Captain of the Guards of Embervale, - Alrune, Necromancer and Governor of Embervale, - Dresghar, Cultural Attaché of Embervale, with Rex the Tarasque Cub. Much better, right?

#2. Carnival in Varlyrio Let's celebrate the end of winter the Varlyrian way: with grandeur, extravagance, and a full week of breathtaking festivities. The Phoenix The Lady in Black The Queen of Cards

My entry: GOH 10 C: Ethereral Castle (Chronicles of Embervale Ep.05) - Guilds of Historica - Eurobricks Forums

This is my entry for Category 10 C of the Final Anniversary Contest: the castle of Embervale...or rather, one of its counterparts somewhere in a different plane of existence. THE BUILD Inspired by the excellent game Monument Valley, and by the no less excellent art of David Umemoto. THE STORY Warning : it's long. Very long. Way longer than the previous episodes. So long I'm thinking of putting it in a spoiler section. Previously, on the Chronicles of Embervale: Thyrulnë the Fair, court mage and mother of Alrune d’Embervale, sent a banshee to her daughter to deliver a macabre present. Scuffled ensued and Alrune ended up stunned by the banshee’s wailing. Days later, she is still unconscious. Chronicles of Embervale Ep.06 - Confusion Featuring… Alrune The Lady of Embervale, necromancer Other beings Alrune was confused. She could think, she could move, but she could not feel. She was wearing her lace nightgown, but she could not feel the usual itching of the collar. She was breathing, but she could not feel air in her nose. She could not even feel her own weight as she moved forward. Forward, but where? High spires, sleek arches, brightly-hued vines on grey stone walls – it looked like her castle. But something was off. She did not recognise this archway, precisely. She extended her hand to reach a nearby pillar, and touched it. It did not work the usual way. She could not pass her hand through it, but she did not feel the cold and roughness of the stone under her fingers either. Maybe it was a dream. She closed her eyes – which did not impair her vision – and tried to concentrate on the energy flow in her body…or rather, in her currently non-corporeal envelope. First observation: there actually was an energy flow. Second observation: she could manipulate it. Deduction: magic worked, it was not a dream. Yet it proved unusually tiresome to create a comforting little flame dancing in her palm. She realised there was no other usable energy than her own, as she could not draw anything from the world around her. Turn left. All right. First, she needed to keep her mind occupied. Occupied with some useful train of thought, that is – otherwise, it would soon trick her into panicking. Go up the stairs and turn right. She decided to task her mind with finding out where she was. Not from a geographical point of view, of course, but from a cosmological one. She reckoned she was in some kind of spirit state, in a plane of existence where she could manipulate her own energy, but that did not allowed magic in the same way the material plane did. Which left several plausible options as for which plane of existence this was. She was most probably merely disembodied and haunting her good old castle without being able to interact with it. She could have travelled a little farther, among hungry ghosts and restless spirits. There was also a slight chance she had ascended to a plane of enlightenment from where puzzled superior beings observed the deeds of humanity. Turn right again. And, of course, she could not rule out the possibility of being in a plane about which modern scholars had not even theorised yet – or that she had not heard of. Cross the bridge. She could also…wait, what bridge? There was no bridge in her castle of Embervale. It occurred to her she was following an irresistible urge to go on moving forwards, but she had no clue where she was heading for. Nor why. She forced herself to stop. There is something behind you! She quivered and looked back. There was nothing. Of course there is something! Still behind you – only, the other behind now. Before she could think about it, she was moving again. Faster. Now it is following you. And other things are flanking you. Flee! Great. Now she was scared, had invasive thoughts, and was chased by hungry beings. She forced herself to stop once again and did her best to maintain inner peace. She could see her chasers now, pallid humanoids with empty eyes and crooked mouths. She cast a shield, a translucent, opaline sphere glimmering around her. No! That silly shield is going to attract them like a beacon! You need to move forward – this is the only solution. The creatures around her hissed. Indistinct, larger figures were gathering behind them. She struggled with herself to disregard them, and to evaluate her situation as coldly as possible. Grey stone, grey arches, everywhere. And mist. A dense, opaque mist that was flooding the whole scenery and blocking the view. Forward! See the light over there? It means safety. There was indeed light, a clear, bright light that pierced the fog, and she was drawn to it like a moth to lamplight. Unfortunately, her chasers seemed to be attracted the same way. They were now a whole pack, surrounding her, and irremediably moving in the direction of the light. Go with the flow! Don’t worry, the light will take care of everything… She struggled to evade the crowd. Creatures screeched and yelped when the shield touched them, but there were so many moving in unison that she could not oppose them, no more than driftwood could oppose the rising tide in the material plane. The shield was standing firm, but her self-control was failing. The creatures terrified her. The inexorable movement terrified her. The light fascinated her. Come to the light. She focused her attention on the light. It was appealing, yet cold and harsh – not unlike the inner voice she was desperately trying to silence… Trust the light. It was so familiar... The light, the voice… Magic, it was magic! Cold-blooded magic. Or, more precisely: necromancy. From the other side. No! She was being invoked like the helpless errant spirit she currently was. But this shall not happen – she refused to end up possessing a corpse, subjected to the will of the invoker. She cleared her mind as best as she could and turned inwards. No! She gathered all her remaining energy. Lowered the shield. Took aim at the light. NO! And let everything go. … The world turned to a silent, endless, empty white.

The Mario "Dry Bowser Castle Battle Expansion Set" set (71423, announced for August 1st) includes a recolor of the new fern part...in dark bluish grey! So useful for architecture details! And also a recolour of Peach' castle's roof part in green.

Yes, they are: 6334630 / 76861 (the red one) and 6408305 / 100659 (the blue one). 6,52€ and currently in stock here in France.

@NOD Thank you very much! So glad you enjoyed their advice... @LordDan Thank you so much! I had initially taken the photos against a plain backdrop, but tended up liking the result way more with brickbuilt scenes! @Grover Thank you very much! The HP nurse hat/hair combo is definitely one of my favourite elements of 2022... @Simon_S Thank you very much! Adding the parts list was a second thought, but the aim is definitely that it may be useful to others!

@Grover Thank you so much! I was wondering if anyone would notice the (indeed) phases of the moon! Alrune's skirt is from the SW Kaminoan minifig (Taun We from set 75333) @socalbricks Thank you very much! I think that torch design is going to be rather widespread within Embervale Castle... Evrart's torso is from the Sinister Strange minifig (set 76218) @Simon_S Thank you very much! The lighting was a pain, but I'm really glad on how it ended up!

The terrain was definitely improved! I really like the new version, by the way, with a slight layer of soil beneath the grass. Also, I had not noticed Lady Gwenllian's expression in the old version...but it's absolutely perfect for her in that setting!

And also non moulded "animals": new printed fish-in-a-bocal and cricket-in-a-cage/lantern/thing.

That's a really nice way of introducing your little corner of Avalonia! The story sounds nice too. And the terrain of the windmill is particularly beautiful! You also really have a talent when it comes to naming places. I absolutely love the sound of those names "Dandelume" and "Nhymride"!

@Eyrezer Thank you so much! I initially intended Alrune's kin to be drows but I did not manage to find enough appropriate LEGO parts. I have kept the initial concept I envisioned for her mother though, and she's definitely not a nice lady. The banshee's hairpiece is from a Nexo Knights Harpy. @T-86(swe) Thank you very much! The statue coming out of the wall gave me a hard time, as I had the concept in mind but could not manage to actually build it (I initially tried with hinges). @A_Forest_of_Lego Thank you so much! @Frike Thank you very much! I used mainly regular jumper plates for the offsets. I'm an absolute fan of the half-cylinder part and need to experiment more column styles with it! @Kai NRG Thank you so much, I'm so glad you enjoy the lights! The LED string I used was definitely not cooperative. I should have taken a photo of the build with lights taped all over it...

@zoth33 Thank you very much! The Bone Demon's skirt piece is great and I wish I had found more torsos that look nice with it! @Kai NRG Thank you so much! The printed tiles (and the bottle) behind the innkeeper and Alrune's skeleton picture are from Briquestore.fr. @socalbricks Thank you very much! At first I had taken the photos against a plain background, but I'm glad I eventually decided to use MOCs instead. And I still hope one day I'll finish the build used as the background for the innkeeper... @Ecclesiastes Thank you so much!

Wait, what? I had an idea for category C that I have not not even started because it would take too long to complete by the end of february...I guess it's time to build it now!

Well, I think the Evil Queen's dress may definitely be interesting for Castle builders. Perhaps Mulan's outfit as well for asian settings. Depending of how they look in person and wht their connection points are, the crowns of both queens could make nice props too...

THE BUILD THE STORY Previously, on the Chronicles of Embervale: Alrune met an old friend who passed her an order from her mother. Tasked to retrieve the embalmed heart of an ancient hero, she eventually got qualms of conscience and refused to comply. Chronicles of Embervale Ep.05 - A Wail in the Night Featuring… Alrune The Lady of Embervale, mage Evrart The captain of her guards Grog A goblin guard Seisiri An unwelcome visitor “Sir, Sir! Open the door! Serious matter, I swear!” the squeaky voice of a goblin shrieked. Evrart curled up under his blanket and desperately tried to ignore him. It was the third time this week his insufferable subordinates had come to wake him up in the middle of the night for so-called serious matters. The last time, it was about a nightmare. Not some kind of demonic horse, as he had initially understood, but just a bad dream. And they had waited until he had gathered and equipped a whole squad to eventually spill the beans. The screaming was going on. The goblin even started to bang on the door – and Evrart could have sworn he heard him sob. He came to realise the pesky little bugger would not stop. He begrudgingly left his bed and opened the door, only to find Grog, the smallest, weakest, nicest of the goblin guards, panicking in the corridor. “There’s a ghost with a corpse in the elves’ crypt, sir!” the goblin whined as soon as the door moved. “Sounds regular. Leave me alone!” “But sir, it’s a ghost of the Boss’ mother!” “What the…When did her mother pass away?” “No no no, sir! Not what I said! Not a ghost of her mother, a ghost of her mother!” Evrart sighed and rubbed his eyes. All right. He had no clue what Grog was talking about, but still: it was his duty to deal with intruders. He ordered the goblin to gather a squad. Thinking it a little more, he sent him wake up Lady Alrune and her uncle first. Whatever the Lady's mother had to do with this, it seemed to be a family affair. Then, once equipped, he reluctantly headed for the elvish crypt. He positively hated the funerary complex that previous owners had found tasteful to set up under Embervale Castle, a labyrinth of bleak passageways connecting an absurd number of crypts and vaults. Many of those had interesting architectural features mirroring the fancy ornaments of the castle above, but he found those displays of pride distressing in the cold and darkness of the underground. The elvish crypt was one of the most elaborate parts of the catacombs – and, indeed, there was presently a ghost inside. A bluish-skinned lady with fine yet shrivelled features, whose face displayed a smirk when Evrart entered the room. “Someone, at last! No offence, but hospitality leaves a great deal to be desired in this castle!” “Hospitality is for guests, not for ghosts,” he grumbled while scanning the room. There was something white on the catafalque behind the spirit. “Ghosts?” she laughed – a clear, but eerie laugh that sent a shiver down his spine. “I’m not a ghost, my fair sir, I’m a banshee. I have a present for Lady Alrune d’Embervale, from her loving mother.” She waved a hand at the catafalque and floated aside as Evrart cautiously approached it. A corpse. The thing on the catafalque looked very much like a corpse wrapped in a white shroud – just as the goblin said. As he stared as it, the already icy temperature in the crypt seemed to drop a little more and the Lady of Embervale entered the room. “Your Highness,” the banshee stated in her honeyed voice, and bowed. “Your mother wants you to know that you have greatly disappointed her.” “I always do so, Seisiri," Alrune replied. "Could you be more specific?” “Her Grace had entrusted you with a simple, basic mission. And you failed, if you may be so kind as to excuse such a severe word. But as a matter of fact, you could not even retrieve some helpless heart from a mundane mausoleum.” "This is between her and me. I’m certainly not answerable to an underling, and I’m not going to discuss the matter with you.” The smile of the banshee got wider, and she hovered towards Alrune until their faces were only inches away. The Lady quivered, but did not move and held the spirit’s stare. “Someone else has disappointed Her Grace, ma’am,” Seisiri sneered. “Your Halfling friend, the one she had tasked to ensure you would follow the orders. Her Grace kindly sends you her body: she will make a pretty little undead servant! Her Grace also says you need to be reminded you’re a necromancer, ma’am – it’s not good for you to be surrounded by so many beating hearts.” Alrune turned pale, and she cast a dismayed glance at her captain. He silently folded the shroud aside to reveal the face. And his heart missed a beat when he recognised the corpse: she was, indeed, the friendly, cheerful halfling who had given a book and a letter to the Lady at the summer fair. He nodded sourly. Glowing darts of magic whizzed from Alrune’s fingers towards the banshee, who dodged and burst out laughing. As the elf aimed a second spell, more powerful but hardly better prepared, the laughter of her opponent morphed into a creaky, high-pitched howling. Evrart felt his mind crack like a crashed mirror as the wailing increased. He saw Alrune collapse. He struggled briefly but faltered, and passed out just as three black daggers darting from the darkest corner of the room took the banshee down. ...to be continued ADDITIONAL PHOTOS