Khorne

Okay, I will look into it tomorrow or during the weekend and send it via PM to you.

Thanks! I like reading and seeing how many people follow along with the storyline . Looking forward to those tales and builds of yours ! Like I said somewhere before, we currently have Christmas vacation in Belgium so I have a bit more free time, so I will upload the final pieces in rapid order. Mostly because I also want to have this finished before the start of 2024. As said, the story is finished, the goal has been reached. The following Interlude and then an Epilogue I will post on Saturday are merely to tie up some loose ends. The length of these will be kept to a minimum. Interlude III. - Bitter Morning Emilien ruffled through today's papers as he sipped his coffee. Like so many of his countrymen, his morning ritual existed was to visit one of Granoléon's many coffeehouses and have a coffee and pastry to start the day, while reading the newspapers or socializing with other intellectuals, philosophers or artists. Unlike the bourgeoisie living in the better-of parts of the city, Emilien frequented coffeehouses in the poorer districts, where the Force Publique wouldn't dare show its face and he was thus relatively safe from harm. "Excusez-moi, mon camarade," a Heraclean loyalist interrupted Dorée's morning, seemingly out of breath with a face that ran red. "I have urgent news." "Speak freely camarade, we are all equals here," Emilien replied and awaited the man's tidings. "News from El Oleonda, Emilien. Nicolas ...," he paused, "Nicolas has vanished. Taken. We don't know. There are only rumors. It's probably been a while now. You know how slow news reaches us from the front." Usually quite the rhetorician, Emilien was left for words. Nicolas was one of his staunchest supporters. Part of the movement from the early days. "That is ... certainly ill news," he solemnly stated - his mind racing. "Is there any notion whatsoever on possible whereabouts or how it happened?" "Like I said, camarade: only rumors. It seems he was taken away at night, but we don't know for sure by whom. El Oleonda is a hornet's nest... Perhaps the Lotii turned on him, maybe it was the Carnites. The imperialists? There are tales of a splinter cell having emerged as well. Maybe a falling out that has turned violent? The fog of war makes it unclear. I'm sorry, Emilien." Emilien pensively dismissed the follower. He rubbed his temples and rummaged through the papers in front of him once more. News of El Oleonda was hard to come by and most of it was biased to put Oléonese leadership and military in a good light. He'd hoped to find some trace of his friend in the articles, but it was to no avail. The closest thing to a clue he could find was a headline that read 'Red Front collapses - heathen dogs run with tails between their legs'. The messenger might be wondering who the perpetrator was, but inside Emilien knew where to look. It did not bode well for the movement and the future. The morning left a bad taste in his mouth and stomach. Worse and more bitter than any strong coffee could.

Thanks, that is a really nice comment! I also meant I was "glad" to have done it the "long way" instead of staying with the original idea of doing it the short way with only 4 MOCs. That way, the stories had more time to breathe. I don't have any concrete stories as of yet with the characters, but I was planning on using them again in the future. I just don't know the setting yet. Thanks, NOD! I'm happy you liked the builds and stories! I like your conclusion, it is mostly that sentiment I was going for! Good or bad is indeed in the eye of the beholder and all characters act on their own motives that they view as "good or noble". Regarding the end, don't expect any sudden plot twists . Nicolas is really going to a prison. That was the original setup of the storyline all along, so I won't change anything there . Thanks, Kai! I appreciate the comment.

Chapter X. - Sunny side up Somewhat concurrently with Lysandre and Andromeda's meetup, an Oléonese prison barge left the coast of El Oleonda and took to the high waters, en route to Tarzout in Guelph. The ship was an older decommissioned warship, stripped of most of its valuables and weapons, which had been repurposed on newer models. The wood creaked as it crawled its way home amongst the waves and the interior was damp, rather unkempt for a ship and smelled foul. Most of the interior had been modified for the transportation of prisoners. There were hardly any markings on the ship, it had no name or a logbook to speak of. The records were scarce and not open to prying eyes. To most, the ship didn't exist. A black ship to run the Kingdom's most unwanted criminals and traitors. Once the ship would arrive to Tarzout, most of the prisoners would be put on a further transports to prison sites across the peninsula, while others with minor punishments or who had little information on them would be put to work on public projects and infrastructure. Some of them would be offered the choice to serve in one of the penal units to repent for their anti-royal behavior. It was hoped they'd learn some proper values there. Hope that is in vain, most likely. None of such were options for Nicolas Pierrot. As the right hand man of Dorée and chief head of the Brigade Rouge, he was bound to be a source of intelligence on the movement. Agents of Section XIII would make sure they'd extract every bit of information out of him in their fight against the plebeian anti-socials of the Society of Héracles. The belly of the ship was hardly lit, safe for some moonlight seeping through the grates at night, or some sunlight during the day. An officer of the Force Publique walked amongst the prisoners, who had all received prison garbs. He bellowed a speech that he most likely had uttered a hundred times before, word for word: "Listen up, scum! You are here because you all have wronged the State and thus our King. Now, you belong to the State in order to repent and pay off your crimes to society. In his unending kindness, King Phillip saw it fit to grant you all a one-way ticket to the beautiful sunny lands of New Oléon. Now, I'd say that is most magnanimous of our Lord and I like to believe you all concur. As such, I propose you all sing his praise by chanting the national anthem!" The guard raised his lantern to take a look at the downtrodden, glaring faces of the prisoners. He smirked evilly. "Please do put your souls into it, lads! Lack of enthusiasm or participation is rewarded with added time to your sentence. An excellent opportunity to show your loyalty to great Oléon even more so!" "Well then, allons-y (FR: let's go)! Let's put some culture in you, dogs!" ----- Two posts for today, to make up for not having posted for a long time and because I liked the contrast of "culture" and "location" of chapter IX and X. So, Nicolas has been captured and Lysandre will be rewarded, which largely marks the end of the story. I still have some interludes and an epilogue left to tie into the main story, but thanks already to everyone who kept on following, despite the long breaks in between builds! My first iteration was very straightforward and was only about four vignettes, I think. It was only: arrival, the way there, capture and the prison ship. The story evolved along the way, but I'm glad with the result.

Chapter IX. - Civilization After the small incident with Haji, who then joined the party of hunters, the trip back to Fort Arltrees went smoothly. Or at least as smooth as a trip through a war-torn island could go. Danger and even the cold grasp death and the embrace of Hades were still lurking around every corner, but at least the worst was behind for Lysandre and his Gendarmes. The weary soldiers returned to the settlement in the dead of night, stirring as little commotion as possible. The men returned to their barracks to tend the horses and get some well-earned rest, while Lysandre changed into civilian clothing and slipped away. He met up with lieutenant-colonel Andromeda in one of Fort Arltees more "public" public houses. The lieutenant-colonel raised an eyebrow at the sight of the flamboyant captain. "That's your idea of civilian dress, Lysandre?", Andromeda remarked, making sure she did not mention his rank. Lysandre merely chuckled and waved away the sneer. "I might not be of the highest or most ancient nobility, I still am part of it. If it is not us who bring culture to these plebeians, then who will? This land will be civilized." Andromeda ignored Lysandre's reply and went straight to business. "Is it done? Were you able to deliver the package? I hope there weren't too many bumps in the road?" "Everything is done as stated in the briefing," the captain answered. Leaning in closer, he spoke in a more hushed voice: "The package was delivered to one of your black ships off the coast, ready for transport to Guelph. They are bound to leave soon, if they haven't already." He leaned back again. "My work here is done, I believe." Andromeda nodded. "Excellent. I will return to Guelph as well then, to follow up on this case. You did well. I shall write highly of you in my report. Is there anything else you wish to discuss?" The captain rubbed his chin and scratched his head. "Our party picked up a straggler along the way, a Monomontachi defector. Masterfully skilled with the blade. He could be an asset to our cause. I'd like to recruit him into my troop. However, like I said: officially he is a Monomontachi. I'd need the proper paperwork in order for the bureaucracy to be satisfied, if I were to take him as one of my own." "Consider it done," Andromeda replied as she took out a small notebook, "name and surname of this man?" "Not sure." "Not sure? He has a name, right?" "Just write him down as 'Haji', first name," Lysandre paused to think, " 'Australis' last name. And if it is not too much of a hassle, you can transfer Manaaki as the dedicated scout to our unit." Andromeda gave a stern look, but obliged. "Don't push it." She got up in a quick fashion and made ready to leave. Turning her head, she gave the captain one last order: "Forget this ever happened, understand? You were never in the jungle and you found nothing." "I will forget, like I forgot about our previous encounter, Andromeda," Lysandre playfully answered, but the sly smile on his face quickly vanished as his eyes met Andromeda's ever sterner growing complexion. She grunted in anger. "Can't say I remember. It mustn't have been really memorable. You'd do well to mind your place and manners. You're playing with fire." As she barged out, Lysandre could only wonder what would happen to Nicolas Pierrot next. He could've asked, but he knew better than ask about Section XIII's murky affairs. While the Gendarmes were often derisively called the "King's Gardeners", he knew his work was only superficial in weeding out crime in the realm and paled in comparison to XIII's dark business.

I did not you were already able to edit posts. I can only imagine the amount of time it takes to stay on top of things here . The automated system sounds hopeful! For the photos, I can make a zip-file/WeTransfer with all the icons and stuff I have stored on my computer, so you can upload it to the new website?

Yes, definitely both of the above. There are too many pinned topics right now, with all of the starting information all over the place. There needs to be a clear starting point. Now you have the Quick Start Guide, the Intro Thread, the Master Index, ... Off the top of my head, perhaps there can be a general Lore Starter Guide and a Gameplay Starter Guide. The Lore explains the factions, story and world while the Gameplay guide explains how to build a character, choose a faction, settle land, etc. Regarding the centralization of the pictures: I started doing this with @Ayrlego when we were working on the updated NPC factions. I made a central Flickr account that housed most of the pictures, but as you've pointed out: it's not an ideal solution as it is subject to the rules of Flickr. Having the members of the Court be moderators here could help spread the workload as well, since now only a handful have the power to edit and lock topics and such.

Another fine addition to the district! Great work on the interiors once more, I love how it is so packed. Nice bit of background information as well, with the bit about the Garvian Leaugue. Where's the sailor's torso from?

What a lovely edited effect on the poster. The dynamic pose really stirs the patriotic drum! I would've used a serif font for the titles though, since sans serif type fonts weren't really a thing back then. A serif font like Times New Roman would set the visual more properly in the right time frame. The primer is also really neat. I saw on Flickr a while ago and have always loved the idea and execution.

Thanks! I've been wanting to wrap this up for some time, as there aren't a lot of chapters left, but I changed jobs at the start of November and it has left me with less free time than before - which I hadn't anticipated to be this "bad'. However, holidays are coming up, so I think I'll find some time then to post the final pieces.

Random musing: I went and saw Napoleon (the movie) yesterday. Visually it looked really good, with great sets and costume designs. Very inspiring stuff! As with most Hollywood historical output, you have to take everything with a ton of salt, but I still found it entertaining enough. Not Ridley Scott's best movie, but still good. The battle scenes are nowhere near an actual representation of the actual battles or napoleonic warfare though . Some bold story choices overall, but I found it interesting.

Miroslav's Emporium is another fine addition to this series! As always, a great accompanying story shedding some light on a minor BOBS nation and its custom. These are always interesting to read. I like how the sparser interior and wood decorations fit the "poorer" status of Varcoast as a nation. I like how you made the bottles of rakija, simple yet very effective.

The disappearance of the Lotus and Monomonto rulers (and perhaps the Ghaskin one) has to do with a change in policy that Flickr made some time ago. You can only have a certain percentage of hidden/private images in your photo stream. I think those rulers were on a separate account with almost all pictures set to private, which probably got them deleted and thus severed the deep links. I think I still have most of the pictures saved somewhere, so I could reupload them and edit the new links back into the posts (Lotus and Monomonto - the others I don't know).

Cool! Looking forward to seeing everything unwrap.

Ah yes, lovely to see the next installment! Once again: wonderful job on the interior. Crazy to think all of these buildings are furnished. So parts intensive! Great furniture and details all around. I especially like the ship in the bottle, that's a nice touch. Also very interesting piece of economical history. I was not aware of the oriental silver/gold trade. Ironic how something that has a lot of value in one culture means next to nothing in another one.

No need to change anything, it's definitely coherent with the established background . The usage of the black and yellow flag is an interesting opportunity for some new nuance in the lore perhaps. Maybe these men are royalists in favor of the old ducal ways with a noble caste ruling the city and a return of a duke who could potentially become king of Carno himself, which is why they prefer the golden banner. Flying the gold-black banner would definitely be seen as an act of defiance by the king of Carno and the city-state of Aden. The Essians using the current "official" black and white could be republicans content with how Essen is now and prefer to move forward in a meritocratic manner, whilst obviously never forgetting the past from where they came. Just some random musing here . Limitation can also be a catalyst for creativity. Like I said in my previous comment: looking forward to seeing all of the other stories you will add to this! Perhaps you can write the story in Word or a Google Doc first and then paste it into a post here, so you will not lose anything while posting? That way you can upload the post in one go, instead of partial updates. EDIT I forgot I also made a design for a trade outpost once, way back. Never got around to finalizing the design or building it with actual bricks:

Great, glad you liked reading it! Thanks for the feedback, I've updated the entry on the Hilfstruppen and the Jägers. I've also added @Keymonus's merchant outpost to the index of MOCs.

I love this! This must be one of your largest MOCs yet, right? I like the liveliness of everything with all the different scenes and figures going about. It's cool that you've added a bit of national flavor to each of the separate warehouses. I also love the stories you've added to the main post. Crazy to think that most of these buildings each have an interior as well! I'm looking forward to seeing this thread progress and read about the different nations' trade posts. Lovely to see people give some love to Essen and stick to the lore The addition of the shield with the oak tree is awesome! Such a nice detail. Would've also been nice if you had been able to include the twin ravens on the gables somewhere. But still, very nice. I like it! Am I correct in assuming you are still updating the post? Currently I only see a introduction, and then it's just loose words and links followed by pictures. I did! I made up the city state as part of my entry in a contest some years ago. I found the part about Carno having different city states interesting and so I created Essen, a rival state of Aden - the current capital city of Carno. Long explanation below, scroll down for TL;DR version. Long version I had the retro fireman torso and I thought they fitted the Carno double-breasted uniform aesthetic, so I decided to go with those. Because they were black, I came up with the "dour" thematic of the faction. A fantasy version of Prussians with Lower German, Swedish/Danish and a bit of Dutch influences - (Baltic) protestant influences, if you will. Militaristic, stubborn and dutiful. The real-life Death's Head hussars are a famous unit, so I decided to use death's head emblems for this faction as well and from there grew the background story with them using it to honor their fallen dukes. And from there came the raven story, which is also a bird from gothic fiction, which in its turn matched the gothic characteristics. You can read more in-depth background here. So in the end, I still needed a name and I settled on 'Essen' because it fitted the general thematic I had in mind. Like you said: Essen is a know real-world city in Northern Germany. But there is also an Essen in Flanders and other places, so it fit the generic Lower Germany/Low Countries vibe I was looking for. Plus, Essen (in Germany) is famous for its gun industry, just like Essen in BOBS. In the lore, Essen is situated in the bend of the river Karn which runs through Carno. From there it is in an ideal position for trade, which is also a source of its income and a means to furnish its army. Thus it sits in the 'S'-bend of the river, hence 'ESS-en'. The exclave of Karnemünde also references the Northern German background of the city, with many villages and cities in Northern Germany having names like this (e.g. Peenemünde) I also liked how the name seemed familiar to Hessen and the dreaded Hessian soldiers from the American Revolutionary War, which linked to the whole "New World" thematic of BOBS. Plus, the Hessians were mercenaries, just like the Essians (sort of) were when they first made their appearance in BOBS. On a side note (some etymologic/nerd expo here): I also made up the river Karn and its name to explain the position of Essen and the geography and name of the nation itself. Coincidentally, "Carno" contains the word "carn" which in Dutch can also be written as "karn". And "karn" in Dutch means "to churn", e.g. "karnemelk" / "churned milk". So I figured it would make sense to add a Rhine-like massive river to Carno - a major vein of trade, so important that the nation derives its names from it. A wild river in parts, hence the name "Karn / Churn" . TLD;DR Essen is a common city place/name in Flanders and Northern Germany and thus fitted the Northern German protestant vibe perfectly.

Looking forward to see the new system changes and what the Court has come up with! Any estimate on launch date? Q1 2024?

Cool MOC! The salt mine under a waterfall is something I haven't seen before and certainly look unique and interesting. I like the addition of the crane on top. Clever build! Overall it is a great scene, with lots going on. A bit of work, a bit of party and a bit of sandcastle building.

Chapter VIII. - Standoff Lysandre threw his hat towards one of his soldiers and drew his sword. He exhaled and rolled his shoulders, preparing himself mentally for what was to come. The captain knew the party didn't really have time to stop for this nonsense, but the samurai had to go - one way or the other, in order to get some water. And admittedly, he was also kind of excited for the challenge, even though he knew he was hardly the best swordsman or duellist out there. As a child of a noble family of lower status, he never really received proper training in the skillset and would apply what he had learned in the army. Oléon's old blood lines - the proper landed nobility, they were the real duellists and often participated in duels as a pasttime. A sport derived from ancient tradition. The captain braced himself. His opponent squinted his eyes and charged. A flurry of sword slashes came towards Lysandre, which only some of them he was able to parry. Several minor cuts appeared on the gendarme's uniform and a drop of blood fell on the ground. Haji stood tall and boastful in his tactical victory. But it was not over yet. This time Lysandre propelled himself forward and cut away at his opponent, who block most of his attacks with relative ease and determination. Haji was a proper samurai, trained from a young age in the art of proper swordsmanship - unlike the captain. Sensing an opportune moment, the samurai retaliated and pushed Lysandre back, disarming him as he tripped. Haji put his katana at Lysandre's throat. Confident in his win, yet disappointed he was not granted a noble death, the samurai prepared to end the fight. Lysandre cocked the pistol which he had whipped out in the last moment and had aimed at his opponent. He grinned at the samurai, who was angered at this display. "No honour," Haji spat. "Honour gets you killed. I prefer being alive", Lysandre replied as he pushed the katana away and got up. "You're part of the past. We are the future." The captain sheathed his sword and put away his pistol. His action was followed by the samurai. "You're looking for a noble death? Come with us and I can pit you against some of Oléon's finest swordsmen. Or come with us and renew your purpose. Serve a new master, King Philip and lend him your sword. An exquisite skillset such as yours would be a shame to let go off. It's up to you, really." Haji probably only understood half of what Lysandre was talking about, but it seemed enough. Grunting, he stepped aside and let the soldiers pass to water the horses. ----- Thanks! Almost there now! This chapter was a bit too long for the concept I had in mind. I wanted to strive for 3-4 paragraphs per MOC. Next one will be shorter again.

Excellent synopsis, @Fraunces. I concur! This. I can't imagine the time needed to make everything go smooth, plus build MOCs on top of the leadership duties.

Lively atmosphere! Like @Yperio_Bricks said: the posing of the figures looks really great and makes the scene come to life. I also like the texturing on the walls and the use of the arch to make the architecture more interesting. Nice story as well. Everybody can use a good wingman in their lives!

Security forces are hard at work at mitigating that threat though! ... or perhaps a conservative reactionary revolution that turns the kingdom into an empire, with even more power to the emperor. Napoléon III meets Roman Empire. However, it wouldn't fit with the current king's more benevolent character. He's a good guy. The conniving underlings are to blame for any shade on Oleon's shining reputation!

Chapter VII. - Haji The party retraced their steps through the jungle as quickly - and safely - as they could, stopping every now and then to re-orient themselves and make sure nobody was following them. It was a hard march after a short night and the pace was slowed somewhat by the prisoners they dragged along with them. It took Lysandre and his gendarmes a while to make it back to where they had left the horses and some extra men, who were relieved to see their comrades again. "Let's get out of here as fast as we can," Lysandre ordered the troopers, as he mounted his horse. Patting the neck of the animal, he looked at Manaaki. "Do you know a place where we can make a quick stop to water the horses?" In his mind, the Tyree'dee warrior was struggling to find the correct Oléonese phrases and words to express himself, so he merely nodded and motioned vaguely in a direction. It was good enough for Lysandre, who smirked. He had learned to trust Manaaki's knowledge and motivation by now and knew the scout would deliver. The fully mounted party got on their way, trudging through the jungle paths single-file, following Manaaki's lead. It didn't take them long to reach a small pool of clear water. Before they could bring their horses to the water however, a stranger stepped out of the shadows. Armed with a pair of sheathed katanas and brandishing a naginata spear, the individual was clearly a wandering Monomontachi samurai. The gendarmes were quick to aim their firearms at them, but Lysandre motioned them to lower their weapons. He was intrigued by the spectacle. "Who are you?", the captain implored. Yet the warrior remained silent. "Are you alone?" The conversation, or lack thereof, went nowhere. The samurai gestured towards himself with his free hand. "Haji [shame]." He then pointed his spear at Lysandre and grunted in completely broken, heavily accented and nigh-understandable Oléonese "Mori honoraburu [mort honorable; honorable death]". He stuck the naginata spear in the ground, unsheathed one of the katanas and invited Lysandre to strike and engage in a duel. ----- Haha, thanks! I know there's only so much you can say . In the end, it's just a series of 8x8 small MOCs, so there's little new to add. Glad you are following along and like the story and builds! Thanks for the compliments! I appreciate them. I'm always glad to see people are reading and enjoying the stories!