Mike S

In real life the expense to make a perfectly smooth wall would usually be more than the one who commisioned the building could afford. But with enough workers and time, the stone could be perfectly squared to interlock with each other examples being the pyramids and the Solomon's temple. As this is a fantasy world, resources and time can be fudged so that it would be perfectly reasonable for a wealthy landowner to have meticulously constructed buildings given the building is not put up in a rush such as my Aden's Gate build which is taken longer than I expected to build.

Nice chairs! Lief looks like someone who is involved in intrigue behind the scenes...

Nice build! When do we get to find out what is killing these people?

Nice portal effect! Can't wait for the next update!

Nice build with a very unique style! Sir Gunman looks very relaxed...

It is a bad idea to compare your builds to others in terms of worth. If your only incentive is to get a big "wow" from everyone, you will burn yourself out very quickly. While it is always nice to noticeably impress others, your first order of business is to be pleased with your build yourself. Lego is an art and like a painting, everyone has their own "taste" so while a build might be awesome to one, it will not be so to another.

Does that mean we will be getting a Witherwoods Battle update soon?

Nice looking walls and bridge! I really like the width of the gate!

Nice build! I think we all missed your cheese slope walls.....

Part 5: The Age of Restoration As the magic essence was dispersed by the wind, Willa began losing her power. With her power weakened she began to lose her hold on Basil. It was not long before the two were at each other's throats and their realm forgotten from their minds. One of Basil's generals, Cedric the Bull, stepped in to fill the void and being trained for war, he set his eyes on the realm of the Royal Knights. A new king sat on the throne of the Royal Knights, Leo the Strong. This is the first surviving detailed account of the King and his family. King Leo's wife was Queen Leonora and they had two children- Prince Edward and Princess Storm. Cedric the Bull set up his base camp on the site that Cedrica stands today. At that time however there was nothing there but part of a sprawling dark forest that stretched as far as the eye could see. King Leo's Castle was located several days march to the south, in the city of Kaligem. After seeing Cedric's bravery and strength on the battlefield as Cedric attempted to lay seige to Kaligem, King Leo invited him to participate in the annual Tournament of Retribution. Cedric bested all King Leo's knights and was crowned the champion. As a reward, King Leo offered to give Cedric the land where his camp stood, giving him a title, and building him a castle if he swore fealty to him. Cedric was in good spirits for winning the tournament, so he accepted King Leo's offer and in the years following, the two became close friends. Cedric named his castle Cedrica and from that time on the town that grew up around the castle grew into the great city it is today. It was around this time that the Black Falcon's began rebuilding their holdings in the north that the Black Knights had destroyed so many years before. The Black Falcons had changed over the years and now they kept to themselves nearly forgotten by the rest of Historica as they made their lives again in the rugged northlands.

Great build! You're softening me up on these brick built creatures....

Great entry and lovely presentation! This mini-challenge sure is inspiring some great ideas....

Part 4: Historica's Age of Darkness and the Samurai Wars Majisto's reign just like the rulers before him abruptly ended as well. It appears that a massive volcano erupted and that magic essence saturated the area now known as Nocturnus. This further confirms my suspicions that a great magic well must lay deep beneath the surface of Historica. The ash from this eruption covered the sky above many of the populated areas of Historica creating an artificial darkness that lasted for years. Many of Historica's inhabitants became crazed during this time, even the king of the Royal Knights succumbed to madness. One of Majisto's female students of magic whose name was Willa, also became crazed and manipulated her lover Basil, who had become insane as well taking the title of Bat Lord, to take over all of Historica. I suspect that being exposed to too much magic was the cause for their insanity as it seems to be the cause for many magicians going mad, the latest case in point would be Viktor Revolword. All sorts of weird contraptions were seen during this time and it was a time of terror for those who had kept their sanity. Two of the most notable devices seen was Basil's flying platform and Willa's flying Dragon ship. Any of the formerly majestic buildings that Willa and Basil took up residence in began to decay and became desolated ruins unrecognizable of their former beauty and filled with deadly traps set up for Willa and Basil's unsavory amusement. While Willa and Basil rained terror down on Historica, a few areas were isolated enough to escape their insanity. One of these areas was what is now known as the southern Rakath mountains. Here a couple of samurai warlords fought a series of wars that came to be known as the Samurai Wars. In the end, the wealthy Shogun Gi-Dan triumphed over the inferior and ill equipped army of Chief Kendo, thereafter declaring himself emperor.

As the others have said, excellent recap!

Part 3: The Age of Magic and Dragons As I am sure you have noticed by now, the earliest records of Historican history are rather devoid of any non-human creatures and magic. In fact it seems that the earliest nations of Historica had no knowledge of magic but relied solely on brute strength for their accomplishments. I have thought about this for some time and have concluded that magic must be the source of the wide variety of life we see in Historica today. The origin of this magic has eluded me but I continue to search. If I was to give a general area of magic's origination, I would have to say it first originated in what we now know as Nocturnus. It is my theory that magic essence lies buried deep beneath the surface of Historica and escapes through fissures that open up and perhaps Nocturnus' surface is the thinnest in Historica hence the major concentration of magic essence. At the start of the Age of Magic and Dragons, the four Guilds still have not been established but we can begin to see the framework from which the Guilds will later be formed. The Black Knights dominated Historica for some time, but their reign was soon abruptly ended by a force from within their own ranks. A man named Majisto became the first recorded human to harness magic becoming the first Wizard of Historica. It was not long until Majisto had usurped the throne of the Black Knights and had replaced their banners with the banners of his newly formed order- Dragon Masters. It is at this time that we first see dragons appear in the records of Historica. Whether Majisto created them or summoned them, it is unknown. Majisto however did attempt to control them but whether he was successful at this remains unknown as well. Meanwhile in the west, the nations of the Black Falcon, Crusaders, and remnants of the Black Knights that had refused to acknowledge Majistos reign all mingled peacefully together, merging cultures. A new unnamed Crusader king rose to the throne who decided that the Crusader name no longer fit his Kingdom as the last crusade had ended many years before he was born. He sent forth a royal decree throughout his realm declaring his kingdom the land of the Royal Knights. It is rumored that this king could trace his lineage back to the House of Crown. One can tell the varying cultural influences of the time in the architectural style of this unnamed King's castle which appears to have influences from the Black Falcon, Black Knight, and Dragon Masters as well as the native Crusader style. While this age was a relatively peaceful one, skirmishes did occasionally break out between the Dragon Masters and the Royal knights along the border of the two realms. Skirmishes also broke out between the thriving Forestmen settlements of the Mistic Isles and the two realms as well.

Welcome Siedna Ruadh! I am looking forward to "visiting" your settlement of Ruadh and its artists' community soon... Great intro btw!

Part 2: Expansion to the East and West With expeditions venturing farther into uncharted lands, it was not long until the Crusaders encountered other clans previously unheard of. The first new encounter of the Crusaders was a clan of forest dwellers who became known as Forestmen. This clan lived in the part of Avalonia now known as the Mistic Isles. Out of the eastern badlands now known as Nocturnus, a new nation was unveiled as the formidable Black Knights entered the famous Tournament of Retribution held by the Crusaders each year. They were rumored to have a formidable fortress where their leader resided. The legendary Black Monarch was rumored to be a ghost but as only a select few of the Black Monarch's knights were allowed in his presence, the truth remains a mystery. A rumor soon started thereafter that the Black Monarch himself had spoken great insults against the Black Falcon nation. The Black Falcons in response thought to defend their honor and declared war on the Black Knights. It was at this time that the Black Falcons built their first ship. Also around this time, it was rumored that a solitary Black Knight encountered a the Black Monarch's ghost who warned him of an impending Black Falcon attack. The knight was able to warn his comrades and they successfully defended against the Black Falcon attack. Meanwhile the Crusaders accused the Forestmen of stealing their gold. To the furtherance of the chaotic events of this time, a group of Forestmen kidnapped a Crusader princess from the Crusader King's Mountain Fortress in revenge for one of their clansmen having been imprisoned. Like the Black Monarch, little is known of the Crusader King as no records survived of him other than the a fore mentioned reference of his fortress. Other notable exploits of this time was the building of the Black Knights' warship- The Sea Serpent. It was the largest ship of its time. It sailed north to the Black Falcons homeland and laid waste to their lands. After this, there is little surving records of the Black Falcons. Also another threat emerged from the north after the defeat of the Black Falcons. A rebel group calling themselves Wolfpack began raiding Black Knight territories. In response to this new threat, the Black Knights built the Black Knight's Castle.

Part 1: The Rise of Two Nations To better understand the present state of the Guilds of Historica, it is necessary to know its history and so I have decided to make an account of my own research. I must note however that my account may differ a bit from that of other prominent scholars of the present time. Before the lands of Historica were named as we know them now, before the land was divided up into the four territories that exist today, there were many Houses. The Houses competed with each other for prominence. The first notable House that rose to power was the House of Crown. The House of Crown established itself near what I surmise must now be present day Cedrica and built the first recorded castle in minifig history- Yellow Castle. But the power of the House of Crown did not last long for there were many Houses all competing for prominence. Although the House of Crown had the support of a few other Houses, the House of Crown soon was overshadowed by several clans invading from the north and the south. The invaders from the north became known as the Black Falcon clan from whom most Mitgardian citizens are descended from. The invaders from the south became known as the Crusaders from whom most Kaliphlin citizens are descended from. It was not long before the two invading armies clashed and all the Houses were forced to chose between the opposing factions. The clashes between the Crusaders and the Black Falcons continued for many years with neither side making any notable gains over the other. Realizing that the war against the Crusaders was going nowhere, the Black Falcons decided to begin fortifying there homeland in the north. It was not long before they had completed construction on Black Falcon Fortress which overlooked the narrow mountain pass to the northern lands. The Black Falcons also began construction of a number of walls at strategic locations for fortification against Crusader attacks. These were nearly always under constant attack by the Crusaders. It seems about this time that the Crusaders began taking to the sea, exploring areas not easily accessed by foot. When the Black Falcons learned of this, they negotiated a truce with the Crusaders. It is not known what the exact terms were, but as it is most likely both sides were tired of the war, it is probable that the Crusaders did not press for any advantage in the terms of the truce. It seems that after the truce, many of the Crusader sea expeditions were sponsored by the Black Falcons until they had acquired the knowledge to build ships themselves. One can only speculate why it took so long for the Black Falcons to build ships of their own but perhaps due to their familiarity with heavy fortification, it took them time to develop a ship that was light enough to float.

There is a lot of controversy in GoH even with minifig creatures. Some people even dislike my use of the yoda head. Everyone has their own preferences and will express them. As long as you have a logical explanation to back up how your build fits into the GoH, I would say go with whatever you want.

Well we have a bunch of Kaliphlin curses that I suspect Mitgardia sends our way... We did beat them in the naval arms race though! Seriously though, I've still got my plans for Aden's gate but I also have a three year old son that has figured out how to reach even my most secure builds so nearly everything I had built toward it is in a state of disrepair. On top of that, three year olds seem to be more interested in trucks and robots than medieval stuff so a lot of my building time is going to stuff for him to play with which I end up having to rebuild often more than once in a day when he takes it apart and wants me to put it back together again.

Not totally sure but it sounded like he was referring to my Drider.... And on another note, it looks like Kaliphlin has finally lived up to its reputation of much conversation, finally passing up Mitgardia in the number of posts.

I picked up the HQ at walmart today for 69.99 plus tax. Not sure why its so cheap compared to shop at home.

Great build! Nice use of the brown fender piece for the bridge! BTW, whats this talk about the next challenge? Did I miss something?

Another great addition to your Chobo builds!

Awesome build! I normally do not like brick built creatures but this one was done really well and has a great presentation.