Kayne

I say go for it....if this next challenge is anything like the last(which was a popular choice), then there should be a lot of room for creative freedom and you can probably fit your free build in to fit it. Sadly, my free build right now is not Historica related....so I cannot make it fit. I am branching out from my staple castle builds to attempt a Legend of Korra theme. But it should be done pretty soon so that I can start on challenge 4 when it is announced.

As much as I would love the joust, I know that the quality of others builds surpassed mine. There is no way in good conscience I could have voted for myself!

I totally agree....the stories and builds were all extremely entertaining and inspiring. I agree, that the other challenges, while fun did start to blur together a bit. Whereas the Guild Leaders did an amazing job of giving structure to this challenge, and at the same time allowing for far more creativity.

Wow, there are so many good ones to choose from! 11.) Cara = 2 points 4.) Erynlasqalen = 1 point 7.) zcerberus = 1 point 15.) gabe = 1 point I wanted more points to hand out! *EDIT* I can't count to 5, time to go back to preschool!

Wow! One of your best builds so far! The tale is well-spun, and the feel of the different scenes are very intriguing. Great entry!

This looks fantastic! The scope of this build is great, and I really like how real the vegetation all feels.

Awesome entry! The story and build are great, but your presentation just put this one at the top for me. The characters are very easy to connect with, and that made the story fantastic.

Another really strong Kaliphlin entry! I am liking what my fellow guildmembers have done to rally together here!

Great entry Robuko! The adventure theme in here is amazing!

And the two time champion goes for the three-peat! A great entry gabe! Kaliphlin is proud!

I saw this build about an hour ago on Flickr and loved it! Now, with the entire story it is even better! Great job, and way to help Kaliphlin!!

Alright....it took some dedication after the destruction of the kids, but my entry is posted now. The Rise of the Lich

Galarud: I tell you, things are crazy these days... Barkeep: Oh yeah, more so than before? Galarud: Well, Lord Dextrus commissioned Saladus and the Nahtämatu to seek out the Water Crystal. Not sure why, something about the High King needed it for unity. Anyway, Saladus chose several of us to go with him to find this mythical crystal. I was skeptical, I have to say. I've heard the crystal stories since I was a kid, but I never dreamed that there was any truth to it! Barkeep: Humph....children's stories often hold more truth than most would like to acknowledge. That would make the world a scary place! Galarud: Yeah, well Saladus has always dealt in the shadows, so he says he already know where the crystal is. I asked him why he hasn't gone after before, and all he said was that there was no money to be made by finding it until now! So, we set out to the edge of the Great Escarpment and enter the Ruins of Mägi Linnus...another children's story, or so I thought. Galarud: The mummies were crawling all over that place... Barkeep: Doesn't Saladus keep a pet mummy? Galarud: Yeah, though he treats him like a brother. Praise to the Desert Lords that Saladus didn't bring him along this time...I think he knew it would be tough on him. We battled through the mummies and deep under the desert. It seemed that the dark tunnels stretched through eternity, and I felt the despair of that dank air more than I care to admit. Finally, we reached the crystal chamber. There was a sarcophogus before the crystal, and Saladus warned us that there was a legendary guardian that kept the crystal. Most of us didn't care. The way the eerie light in that cavern reflected in the crystal put most of us into a frenzy. I can't explain it, but it wanted to be found.... Galarud: Next thing I know, this 'thing' rises from the stone. Saladus called it an earth golem...I tell you, that was the first time I was ever happy to have that elven witch that Saladus keeps with us, than at that moment! She pulled some sort of energy out of the earth and destroyed that golem. Barkeep: The elven magic draws from the desert. They have powers that are spoken of only in the deep of night. Galadus: I can see why, that was eerie. But it saved us all. At that moment, as the Golem crashed to the floor it hit the sarcophogus and knocked it open. The darkness that fell on that chamber was the darkness of eternity. Then light slowly returned as out of the sarcophogus rose a pillar of flame and smoke. In the center of it was a hideous creature. Galarud: It was a Lich lord....Saladus told me it was the spirit of Sonuja Al Katma. He says he intensified the power of his own magic enough to thwart death. {Silence} Barkeep: So...what happened? Galadus: Umm...I'm not exactly sure...it all seems a bit fuzzy. Barkeep: You mean you turned tail and ran? Galadus{blushing}: Well, anyone would have. But not Saladus and that elven witch. I'm not sure what happened in there, but they came out with the crystal. Barkeep: What did he do with it? Galadus: I assume he gave it to Dextrus Flagg....but I think he may have struck some foul deal with that Lich. There is a gleam in Saladus' eyes now that wasn't there before... FYI....the picture I posted of the Ruins entrance is from a free build from a couple of months ago and should not be considered for the challenge. It is only in here for context!

Very cool build! I really like the flow of the story...feels like the Disney version of Aladdin. I could almost hear Robin Williams voice narrating it!

Got some awesome stuff popping up here in the crunchtime! I hope this means that we can take the lead back! An update for me....I came home from work last night about midnight and went into my Lego room.....My builds are all completely demolished. My minifigs are all mismatched now with different heads, bodies, hands, hair, etc...That is the dangers of having 4 kids under the age of 10 I guess. So, I am going to try to rebuild what I don't have decent photos of and get this together today and enter. First, we're off to baseball games though.

I was just on Target.com and most of the sets are now instock to ship online at the suggested prices that are much more reasonable than Toys R Us! Helm's Deep and The Orc Forge are listed as being released on Wed. May 16 now.

This looks great! This one'll be tough to beat for Avalonia!

Here's a quick update for me on my challenge 3 entry. This is going to be set deep inside the Ruins of Mägi Linnus...a free build I did a while back. Here is the battle with what everyone thought was the guardian of the crystal, an earth golem. Of course the elemental elven magic will make short work of him. I have the other small build done for this as well, and the other guardian battle. I just need to snap some photos and wrap up the story line.

Like a lot of you have said, I will be using the LOTR sets to boost my Castle collection for armies and MOC'ing. I love LOTR, but I have not MOC'ed them at all. Not sure why, and I might some day, but for now these will be to boost my orc armies and also to add some great new pieces and torsos, etc to my armies. As to the Fleshie debate....I don't mind Fleshies at all. Personally, I incorporate them into my normal castle armies. I use Fleshies as elves, I have always just felt that Elves had fairer skin than the humans would, so Fleshies have worked perfectly for that. Now, with this wave I will get Fleshie elf ears to help the look of that! The only issue is that elves do not grow facial hair, so my bearded Fleshie faces have become kind of useless to me...

There is a Target in the parking lot where I work, and every day when I go out to lunch I swing through there looking for the LOTR sets. No luck yet obviously, but the news that it is at TRU is promising....hopefully just a couple of weeks until they hit Target/Wal-Mart. As for Orc Forge, that was a Target exclusive right? It is on the Target website, but I have not checked elsewhere to see if it was available anywhere else.

I definitely did NOT pay $20 for membership in Lego Club. I signed up based off of a set that I had purchased. So---don't pay, buy a set! As for battle packs, there is no definitive answer yet as to whether or not we will see them. Of course, if we do it depends on what type of battle pack we will see as well. Star Wars currently has the 4 minifigs and some brickbuilt vehicle/tree, etc. PoTC had the 5 figs for $15, and was a Lego exclusive. The Pirates battlepack had a Jack Sparrow(like anyone needed any more of those), and a couple of zombie pirates, and imperial soldiers. For LoTR, ideally we would get the Star Wars style battle packs that could be sold anywhere, and include say 4 Uruk-Hai and a small siege engine. Or 4 Riders of Rohan and a small tree set up.

Great build! This will be a tough entry for others to beat!

Nice! Brick-built ostriches are a winner!

Welcome Anturio! Glad to have another member to our illustrious guild. And a well decorated Knight to boot! gabe: That is great news for the guild that you will be able to compete and go for the three-peat!

Yes, you can definitely join at any time we are always welcoming new members! All of the guilds are currently open. Kaliphlin would gladly welcome a new builder to our ranks. We are the southern 'tribe' of the desert and promote learning and commerce amongst many other things.