Gideon

Yes, that was what I meant.

Great entry, suitable representation for the great kingdom of Oleon! Which program did you do the render in?

Excellent brick-built elephant! This would certainly qualify for credits in the subject "brick-built animals" at the University of Petraea

Great figures and nice clean presentation Welcome! (I prefer cutting away the extra text flickr puts in there however and just keeping what's between the first pair of url - /url tags. )

Nice vig, particularly the minifig posing and the water! I also really like the Norse touch to your writing Regarding the photo, I think the proportions of the build in the picture would be improved if you moved the camera further away from the build and zoomed in instead, right now the front of the build gets "enlarged" compared to the back when you have the camera lens too close to the build.

Nice start, I particularly like that little stone wall. Looking forward to seeing this grow The photography is clean and fairly well lit, which I like but I'd advice you to make sure that you fit your whole build into the frame (if not taking a deliberate closeup shot of some detail in the build of course!)

A classic example of how the brain interprets color? I too thought it was only white bricks illuminated with a "cooler" light for example from a window, as you often see builds being lit by light of different color temperatures.

Fantastic landscaping! Good luck in the contest

Very nice build overall! My favorite part is probably the keep with it’s angled Tudor section

Lovely building, I like the scale of it too

I presented my sigfig with a series of smaller builds I had put together in advance to illustrate my sigfigs backstory when posting him. Actually I did that before even choosing guild https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/79999-sir-gideon-presenting-himself/ As usual in GoH, I think you can come up with pretty much whatever backstory you want as long as it fits in the general setting of Historica and doesn't include other players' sigfigs without asking first.

Thanks for the quick reply! Getting close to being able to start building some again, although I will start small due to severe time constraints. (Off to read the Challenge 1 description...)

Thanks for the recap! Uninformed or stupid follow-up question then: Is the challenge only for Corrington members or is it just that Ch1 is hosted by them for members in all kingdoms?

Hasn’t every guild eagerly awaited the results of Ch V? :)

Found some relevant official lore in the Ch IV wrap-up and one of the Ch V prologues, and did some cutting and pasting to condense it a bit. Also added some tentative lore from a relevant section of the merged Ch V leading entries. Some notes by the editor also [in brackets]. I think an even more condensed version of these texts would be an excellent base for an official canon, and then it is up to the leadership if they want to add something more or make some new changes for the transition to Book III. From wrap up of Challenge IV (https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/106417-book-ii-chal-iv-kaliphlin-civil-war-results-posted/&page=10, by Ska) War is messy, and rarely there is a clear cut winner. We can see the same is here. The Desert King’s forces have shown prowess on the Battle Field, the legions of Ulandus have fought valiantly, and the High Council has scrambled to keep control of what it can. Like Nocturnus, Kaliphlin still boils over. As long as there is a Desert King and a separate High Council, it is unlikely that there will be true peace. With First Centurion still banished to another plane of existence, the Isle of Gorr remains a holdout for Ulandus supporters. There is also a underground resistance on Ulandus proper. The High Council sits in the West, and with many of Nocturnus’ warriors heading home for their second Civil War in two years, the Desert King has lost most of his grip on the Wither Woods and beyond. Rumors of negotiation between what’s left of the Ulandians and the High Council still swell, but it is a well-known fact that during the active portion of the war the two sides could never come to an agreement. The capital has sustained heavy damage, and the Desert King has kept his seat of power at Sultan’s Gate. For now it seems his forces are willing to let things stand as they are. He does not seem interested in gaining a navy to Assault Gorr or Esterbroke, or even marching back to the Witherwoods. This could prove fatal if his enemies can lick their wounds. But perhaps the Desert King knows something that the common man does not, perhaps he is sparing his enemies so he may unite them for a greater cause? There is much more chaos in this world than just Kaliphlin. Cedrica still does not have a King, and it seems that there is only one man powerful enough to take the throne in all of historica… It is suspected that the alliance between the Desert King and the united rebel forces of Nocturnus will come to fruition, as he sets his troops against the Spire in the months to come. The present state of Kaliphlin is in flux. It takes money, men, and will to wage a war; all of which have been spent over the last year. As fall turns to winter, the last of the very few farmers return to their much destroyed fields to bring in a possible harvest, and to avoid starvation throughout the Guild. Soldiers that have survived take temporary leave, as few armies are still standing during the lull. Mercenaries have moved on, many traveling east in hopes to find new sources of coin. The only occupied cities are those of Ulandus, where the DK's main regiments still hold his hated enemy's high seat. Matters of administration are shaky at best, as the West turns to a new Council, the East has mostly pledged to the Desert King, and Gorr keeps hope that First Centurion will return to liberate his lands. On Esterbroke, Petera MacLean has completed a cleansing of Desert King influence by killing all the traitors of the island and firmly asserting Council control of the island. Refugees of the middle-lands of the guild board GEAR ships and sail to the island, thus making it impossible for the Desert King to seed the island to his Avalonian allies. One thing is clear, Kaliphlin has changed, A clear leader has not emerged, and the Desert King's grip on the guild is tenuous at best. Can he become beloved? Will the First Centurion return? Will a High Council Member elevate to sovereign to reunite and rebuild the guild? From intro to Challenge V (https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/144709-book-ii-challenge-v-prelude-the-desert-tournament/, by ZC) The civil war in Kaliphlin had divided the free cities beyond anything they could have imagined. The Desert King promised amnesty to all who would fight with him against the Spire, but the supporters of the High Council and Ulandus had been slow to join the cause. Amnesty was not a large enough carrot and threats were not a large enough stick in the post war Kaliphlin landscape to get even those loyal to the Desert King to bring their spears to aid the Darklanders. The Desert King had promised Kaliphlin’s full support, but the promise seemed empty in the months that followed. Even if the factions weren’t with the Spire, Kalphlin had been weaken enough to deny the Desert King any sort of ability to assist the Nocturnian rebels. The civil war in Kaliphlin had split the loyalties of all, and despite his best efforts, the victorious Desert King couldn’t unit the people against the Spire. The Spire has united the enemies of all the guilds. The Drow in Avalonia, the Algus in the North, and those who oppose the Desert King in the South. [Remains of Ulandus & HC?] Even if the Spire was not pulling the strings of Ulandus or the High Council, the free cities could never stand against a united force of Raavage, the Algus and Drow. No matter what the Desert King [did], the people [were] reluctant to join. [The reason turned out to be the rumors of the King of Historica reappearing, which caused many of the undecided to rally behind the same cause as the Desert King, but not necessarily behind the Desert King himself] From merged Challenge V entries (https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/156661-historica-united-re-released-special-extended-edition-with-titusv/, by HQ & TitusV) Not all High Council troops had joined with the Spire, and many within Kaliphlin chose not to fight at all, as the scars of the civil war were still too fresh; but those patriots who desired peace and the return of the True King to Cedrica bared their blades and fought against those who wished for dissension. In the shifting sand dunes outside of the famed Shifting Oasis, the two armies met, and the High Council soldiers, and the occasional orc, were routed. It was the Barqan fire indeed that won the day, burning through the armor and flesh [of the adversaries]. Led by soldiers of the Desert King, Barqa, Katoren, and Khadira, the armies loyal to the cause of the True King [of Historica] rode off victorious.

Thanks for the updates! Seems like our beloved Kaliphlin is still fractured and although the open fighting seems to be sparse tension still brews. I will gather these accounts and also try to dig a bit in the history of the Civil War and compile a suggestion for a summary of the situation in Kaliphlin as a starting point for stories in Book III. I think the future of Kaliphlin should be in the hands of the active members, and if we want to restore the creative freedom of the city-state like structure of Kaliphlin of old I think it should be the way to go. Story-wise maybe the best way would be for the Desert King to remain the figurehead leader of Kaliphlin (since that faction won), at least for a while, but that his grip on the land is eroded by the traditional high degree of independence of the regions of Kaliphlin and weak central power. That would in turn be a good starting point to form a new council (suggestion for a new name to distinguish it from the old HC?) to be the de facto ruling body of Kaliphlin. Historica's monarch's loss of influence over Kaliphlin during the vacancy, the position of the DK towards the new monarch and the position of other parts of Kaliphlin etc seems to me as a very good source of good story and build ideas for Book III I agree that a brief official canon is the best and preferrably be presented in the first post(s) of the Kaliphlin Book III thread. All other lore should then be seen as an account of the state of something, but not be mandatory to follow (since there are other versions too ) so we can leave a lot of freedom for more or less accepted stories in the normal GoH way. Of course the major contributors of a certain part of Kaliphlin should have the final say in the canon for that place.

In order to facilitate good and fairly synchronized lore for upcoming Kaliphlin builds, I'd like to resurrect this thread. Quoting below my response to the merged story lines of the top scoring Challenge V entries, would that be a reasonable addition to the canon? Which cities are still supporting Ulandus and the remnants of the High Council btw...?

Great merge of the story lines! Regardless of who the leadership finally pick as the winner, I'd say that this is as good a wrap-up of Book II we will ever get and that I'd be happy to endorse this as the canon A little bit confused there however regarding the events in Kaliphlin, since Barqa was fighting for the High Council in the civil war. But the enemy of my enemy is my friend so I am not surprised that the City Council of Barqa chaired by Lord Gideon voted to support the Desert King instead and turned their arms against their former High Council comrades supporting Raavage. To be honest, the High Council faction now seems to be simply a shadow of its former self when most of the major cities of Kaliphlin now are in control or under the influence of the Desert King. Supporting Raavage probably cost them the last remaining credibility as the rightful rulers of Kaliphlin.... It would also be completely in line with the character of Barqa's leadership to be pragmatic and switch sides to ensure that the trade along the ever so important artery through Historica, the Arkbri river, can flow unhindered again. If we get a break between the anniversary challenge and the start of Book III, I should probably make a small MOC depicting the City Council of Barqa switching sides to the rightful ruler and Divine Pharaoh of Kaliphlin

Great concept and lovely architecture! I also love the subtle forced perspective addition underneath the bridge

I also missed this at the time it was posted, great entry! I think a more medieval fantasy Japanese setting available in the world of Historica would attract some new builders

Great! I’m unpacking my collection in a couple of weeks and now I know what what is on top of my priority list

Great to get to return to this part of Avalonia, and in what a gorgeous way! Welcome back! (I also hope to return to Historica some day)

Should I name my Lego room Île de Zeus or Astrapi then...? (Going to double up the Billy bookshelves on the other side and add 1-2 more glass cabinets for <32x32 MOCs and maybe an official set or two if I don't have enough stored MOCs in the beginning)

I have retreived my bricks from long-term storage now and have started furnishing a room in the basement to become my very own 14 m2 MOCing-studio! Official sets, computer or other useless space-thieves will be kept to a minimum so this time it will be all-in on practical sorting Looking forward to returning to fight for Oleon on the islands of the Brick Seas in a few months!

Thanks! Another reason I think HQ is probably the winner is because he had the same total number of votes (if I havn't missed any...?) and since a couple of those votes were placed higher I can't really conceive of any weighing purely based on this voting which could tip the scale in another direction. But if there are other factors like the overall fitness of the story with the plans for Book III or something else it is of course entirely up to the leadership to decide