Derfel Cadarn

Great interesting story and moc. I like the use of both dark tan and tan for the ground as it helps break up the empty space. It's not easy creating a Desert as there are not many features you can put in apart from sand. Great job.

Great scene LD, you have captured the ruined and crumbling look and feel rather well. The snot technics work well here, as does the use of sand green for moss. Nice work once again.

Well you know I love this and it's the sort of build that would fit well in my current story/setting. Really great work on the colors and textures which help give it that spooky feel. Most awesome!

Thanks guys, most appreciated. With this part I really wanted to start getting things moving and building up to something. Chapter 1 is drawing to a close with only 2 mocs left now, so I needed to start setting things up for its climax. I was always going to have Artorious featuring in this story as its really all about the time leading up to him becoming ruler. Then I figured why not add in Owain, who was a character you may remember from the whole Revolword saga. So it gives me a chance to flush out his back story as well. Once chapter 1 is finished I will take a break then start working on Chapter 2 which I have some great ideas for. I also hope to star bringing in a few cameos of other members characters in chapter 2. Glad to hear you are enjoying the story, that's actually proving to be the hard part lol

The Dark Isle Saga Chapter 1: Grim Hollow Parts 4 & 5 Sarlina had succeeded in finding a way to read the secrets of Haldur's Scroll. At Raven's Retreat, she had been given a special vial of liquid that once poured on the Scroll, would reveal its mysteries. Taryn had not really believed the legends and was still not sure of it all. He loved the idea of a peaceful Avalonia but believed it should and could be achieved by the doings of men, not some ancient magical nonsense. He knew Sarlina had always been keen to try and make a change to this land but he now began to see signs that perhaps things run a little deeper than he thought with Sarlina. Taryn wanted Avalonia restored with a new ruler and a united land of Historica where men of each kingdom marched alongside each other as brothers. Sarlina on the other hand, seemed as though she wanted just a restored powerful Avalonia that ruled all, hinting that it would come at the cost of other kingdom's lives if it had to. And so a hint of conflict had appeared between these childhood friends, although neither really knew of it then. Taryn just assumed that Sarlina was just over excited after her recent discoveries and that she would soon come back to her senses. So the two of them made their way back towards Grim Hollow where Sarlina led them to an old ruined cottage on a hill known as the Lonely Lodge. The Lonely Lodge: Located on a small hill north of Grim Hollow village. The cottage had once been home to an elderly woman who had been struck down by an illness and so lived her life in solitude. One stormy night, the cottage was struck by lightning and burned to the ground, killing the old women inside. However, legend says that the women was really a witch who once lived in the village. She was cast out by the villagers and went to live in the cottage where she rained curses on the villagers below untill she was killed in the storm which had been an act of the gods. An interesting legend but the truth will never be known. Sarlina and Taryn climbed the hill and approached the remains of the cottage. Sarlina stopped in front of the cottage and scanned the area with her eyes. "This will do perfectly" she smiled, then ducked under the doorframe and into the ruin. Taryn followed as Sarlina walked towards the fireplace then turned to face him. "You know the legend of this place?" she asked Taryn. Taryn nodded. "Yes, a powerful witch supposedly once lived and died here." he replied. "Burnt alive she was" Sarlina spoke, "her ashes now lie entwined with the earth, her power still remains." Taryn shivered and pulled his cloak tight about him. He could not help feeling they were being watched. "Maybe we should do this somewhere else" he questioned, "something doesn't feel right." "Nonsense Taryn" she laughed, "This is the perfect spot. Havn't I always told you to trust me?" she smirked and pulled Haldur's Scroll from her pouch. "Time to make a change Taryn, lets see what secrets this holds!" She unrolled the scroll and placed it flat on the ground. She then grasped the vial and removed the lid, holding it just above the scroll. Taryn watched as Sarlina stood motionlessly, poised and ready to spill the vial's contents on the scroll. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then emptied the contents over the scroll. The strange liquid had a reddish tinge to it and it soaked the scroll, coating it in a glossy finish that seemed to glow. Within seconds, as if by magic, writting began to appear on the scroll. Faint at first but growing ever bolder, more and more writting appeared. Sarlina had been right, this truely was Haldur's Scroll. Sarlina laughed with happiness. "I knew it" she shouted, "this will change everything!" She raised her hands and shouted in triumph at the sky. But, it was at that moment, the enemy charged. Taryn had sensed something was wrong and he had been right. Two fearsome warriors came leaping over the wall with weapons drawn, shouting their battle cry as they ran to inflict slaughter. Taryn reached for an arrow and turned to shoot but it was too late. The first warrior was already upon him and knocked Taryn's bow aside with his shield then brought the pommel of his sword down hard upon Taryn's head. Taryn was stunned by the blow and fell backwards against the fireplace. The two warriors were both battle scared veterans, fearsome looking with no remorse in their eyes. They stank of Ale and charged like a bull towards Sarlina. It seemed they were not concerned with Taryn. Sarlina had a few seconds more warning than Taryn and she clumsily managed to turn and draw her sword just before the first warrior reached her. However, she was still caught off guard and was no match for the strength of the fearsome brute rushing towards her. He leapt at her, bringing his sword down from high in a crushing blow. Sarlina held up her sword and tryed to parry his strike but the sheer force of his attack sent her flying to the ground. She stared helplessly up at the warrior who stood grim faced above her. She twitched in fear and tears welled in her eyes, she knew she was dead. The second warrior stood over Taryn while the first glanced down at the Scroll and gave a sly smile. They then lifted their weapons as they prepared to strike the killer blow. It would have surely been the end for Taryn and Sarlina if it had not been for another young warrior who had been secretly watching. Sarlina shut her eyes waiting for her end to come but it did not. A third warrior sprung from behind the tree and with incredible agility, leaped over the wall at the brute standing over Sarlina. He turned towards the new attacker and went to raise his sword but the new warrior was just too fast and brought its sword down straight into the brutes neck, cutting deeply and letting loose a rush of blood. He grimaced in pain and sank to his knees as his sword fell from his nerveless fingers. The second enemy warrior rushed towards the new assailant, flailing his mighty war axe violently. However, any good warrior knows that an axe is useless and clumsy in battle. Once swung, it can't quickly be reversed and that small gap of time is all the new assailant needed. The second warrior swung his heavy axe down towards the new warrior who easily stepped aside and back swung their sword deep into the back of the enemies spine. He stumbled, then fell down, lifeless. It had all happened so quick, within the space of a few minutes. Taryn and Sarlina were waiting for death but they had been saved by this new warrior. Sarlina stared at the warrior as Taryn began to stir and pull himself up. The two of them, in shock and relief, gazed at their saviour who stood with a triumphant look upon their face, a face full of confidence, a face of a young woman. "Forgive me, but I did enjoy that." the new warrior said, then let out a triumphant shout. She bent down over the bodies of the two fallen warriors and gazed upon the markings on their shields. "Yes, I thought as much." She turned and grinned at Taryn and Sarlina "Arn't you two lucky I turned up when I did." she laughed. Sarlina pulled herself up. "Who are you?" she asked wearily. The warrior smiled. "My name is Ariella but everyone just calls me Ella, so you may do the same." Taryn stared at Ella in awe. She was a beauty, with a look of caring and kindness that warmed the heart. She was of average height with an athletic physique. She carried no shield, instead choosing to wield two swords with which she was as deadly and quick as a viper. "We are in your debt" Taryn spoke in wonderment. "I cannot thank you enough." Sarlina nodded in agreement. "Yes, we owe you our lives." Ella sheathed her swords and smiled. "Thankyou, I'm just glad I got to you when I did." She looked around then turned back to Taryn and Sarlina. "Now we really must get going, as there will be more like these coming." Taryn looked puzzled. "Why, what do they want us for?" he asked. Ella looked down towards the scroll in Sarlina's hand. "Its that thing the're after, not you." A look of concern crossed her face. "They have been watching you two for a while now, waiting for you to unlock the scroll. Now they are coming for it and we must get you to safety." "Who?" Sarlina demanded. Ella frowned and walked out from the cottage. She turned back to face Taryn and Sarlina. "Lets just get moving and I will explain all in good time. We must get to Darkmire Mill, my brother is waiting their with a small group of men who can help protect us. Its a long walk but we can stop for a rest at Hangman's Watch, its on the way." And so a weary and shaken Taryn & Sarlina followed Ella towards safety. Hangman's Watch: Located half a days journey west of Grim Hollow Village. The tower was once a lookout post that kept watch on the western borders of Grim Hollow. It gets its name from the many hangings that occured at this site. Enemy soldiers captured trying to attack the borders were often hung from the old trees that overhang the tower. Many evil souls have been sent to the afterlife beneath the looming tower and the locals steer well clear of it. They could see the tower from quite a distance, its dark silhouette splitting the skyline in two. It had been a long hurried walk with the constant fear that there may be more dark warriors following close behind. Ella had kept a fierce pace that the other two had struggled to keep up with and they were both tired. The trio finally came upon Hangman's watch and Ella led them down the small path towards the old tower. Ella drew her swords and scouted the area. "We are safe for now." she said calmly, then gazed up at the old tower. "Such a violent history this place has." she spoke softly then turned to Taryn and Sarlina. "You may rest for a short while then we must get moving again. The enemy won't be far behind so we must get to the safety of my brother." Sarlina put her hand on the scroll reassuringly. "Well they won't be getting this." she said defiantly. Ella laughed in amusement. "Do you really think you can stop them? You would already be dead if I hadn't saved you. I don't think you realise how much trouble that thing is worth!" She shook her head. "Silly girl." Taryn sided with Ella. "She's right Sarlina, we were nearly killed back there, for that old scroll. I don't see any good coming from it, we should just get rid of it." he proclaimed. "Exactly!" Ella said. "It should be destroyed." A look of anger crossed Sarlina's face. She had finally found Haldur's Scroll and revealed its secrets and she believed she could now achieve her dream of a restored Avalonia. Now all that was threatened because of this new upstart warrior. She looked Ella straight in the face "No!" she snarled. " I will not let you do this. Don't you see, the scroll contains the knowledge of the ancient ones. We can harness their power to restore Avalonia to glory and destroy our enemys." Ella sighed and shook her head. "I know the legends and I also know that our ancestors left that Scroll as a last resort, only if all else failed. The ancients never really wanted us to use those powers, it is to ourselves that we must look. That is what they would have wanted." Sarlina laughed " There is no one, we have no hope, it is to magic that we must look." Sarlina gripped the scroll in her hand. " I have the power to restore this land to greatness and its in my hand, why should I risk that for your belief in men?" Ella drew her sword and pointed towards the distance. "Out there, my brother awaits and with him, a fine group of warriors stand ready and waiting for my cousin to return with his warband. The finest warriors ever assembled in Avalonia are ready to fight for this land and bring peace and prosperity back to its people." Sarlina smirked "Really now" she scoffed, "It sounds more like a hopeless last stand." she laughed and held the scroll up. "This will restore our land, not your so called war band." Ella stared at Sarlina for an instant, her face unreadable, then she lowered her head and smiled. "We'll see" she spoke softly. The three stood there quietly. Taryn had been watching the confrontation closely and found himself caught between the two. He loved Sarlina, she was his friend since childhood and they had been insepparable. But during these last days he had begun to sense a change in Sarlina and for the first time he felt a distance forming between them. Then there was Ella who he had known for all but a day, yet in that small time he had grown to like very much. She shared the same dreams as him and she had given him hope. For the first time in his life, Taryn felt that maybe things were not all lost, that there were a group of people who were going to change things and fight for what was right. He wanted to be a part of that vision. He turned to Ella, breaking the silence. "Who is this cousin you talk of?" he asked. "Artorious" she smiled. That was the first time Taryn was to hear that name and he looked puzzled. "Can he fight, can he lead?" Ella nodded. " All that and more she smiled. I would follow him into any hellish dimension and know that I would always return safly with him by my side." "Is that where we're headed" asked Taryn grimly. "To Hell?" Ella turned and faced him, drew both her swords then smiled. "Not while I still have these in my hands." And with that she turned, lifted her cloak's hood over her head and began walking back up the little path. "Time to make a move." she spoke. Taryn turned to Sarlina. "Lets get going then, the quicker we get to the safety of her brother and his warriors the better." Sarlina was still angry "This is all a waste of time Taryn, she has it all wrong." "We don't have a choice" Taryn replyed. "Who knows what is out there following us. At least we can get somewhere safe if we follow Ella." Sarlina scoffed at that. "Safe? For how long?" She glanced up to where Ella was waiting. "We'll follow her to meet with her brother, learn what we can from them, then slip away. I won't let them destroy this scroll and I trust that you will make the right judgement and follow me out of there." Sarlina placed the scroll back in her pouch and looked at Taryn. " If you care for me as much as I do for you then I know you will make the right decision." she gave him a kiss on the cheek. " Lets get going then." Whats worse than one beautiful woman? The answer, two beautiful women! Taryn was stuck, drawn to both of them and left knowing that one day he would have to choose. Never an easy task for a young man. And so the trio left Hangman's Watch and set out towards Darkmire Mill and the knowledge that they would be met by the saftey of Ella's brother and his band of Warriors. "So we head for Darkmire Mill?" asked Taryn as they set of down the path. "Yes" replied Ella. "To the safety of my dear brother...Lord Owain." To be continued...

A great entry LD. Each build is very well built and you have included some great details and nice techniques. The story is good and kept things interesting, your idea of ending it back at where you started was great and shows how much you have improved as a builder. Great work mate

This is a really great entry. I love each build, they are nicely built with many great details packed in. The story is good and works well with the various pictures. A strong entry and some of your best work

This is a great detailed interior scene, very cosy and packed with things to look at. Nice work

Nice! C'mon, who doesn't believe in gnoves???

A nice clean moc, which I always enjoy to see as its something different to what I build. Nice color combos and the use of mainly 1x2 bricks works well here.

Dark Isle Saga Chapter 1: Grim Hollow Part 3 Raven's Retreat After leaving Haldur's Crypt, Sarlina led Taryn through the village and towards the forest outskirts. She set a fierce pace, a look of mischief upon her face.... Taryn follwed keenly but slightly confused. "So are you going to explain where we are headed and what this is all about" he asked? "My dear Taryn, arn't secrets far more fun" she shot him an amused glance. "I guess" he replyed, "But for once I'd like to be prepared for the enevitable trouble you're about to get me into!" Sarlina stopped and turned to face him. Her face was unreadable at first but then she smiled. "You love trouble, it shows in your face, i've seen the glow of joy you get when things turn ugly" She laughed, then put her arm through his and they walked on. "There's so much evil in this land Taryn" she sighed. " We live in dark times but we do nothing to change it, we just accept and carry on with our lives, hoping and praying." Taryn nodded, "Yes, but life is what it is. We make do and enjoy what special moments we can, thats all any man can do." "No Taryn, it won't do, not for me." she retorted. " Avalonia was once a mighty realm, the first land settled in Historica and beloved by the ancient Druids. Our ansestors lived in paradise but they took it for granted and let it be overun and now its lost." Taryn had heard this stories, all of us had. "Exactly, Avalonia WAS, not any more, those times are past, Avalonia is lost. The remaining legacy of our once great land retreated into the Dark Isle. Here we are, look at us now!" Taryn shook his head saddly. "This is all that remains, this is how it is." "Not for long!" Sarlina pulled away and looked at him. " You know the legend of Haldur's heir...Avalonia's heir?" "Of course, just that, a legend." replyed Taryn. "No legend Taryn" she smiled wickedly. " I found Haldur's Scroll." Taryn looked at her in bemusment. Legend says that the mighty Haldur kept in his possession a powerful scroll passed down by the ancient druids. It is said that the scroll contains secret knowledge on how to summon the ancient powers and restore the land. Taryn shook his head, then looked again at Sarlina, not sure weather0 to believe her. "Even if you have found the scroll, there is no way either of us could read it." "Very true." she smiled. "Infact, the scroll is empty, just a bare piece of parchment." Taryn frowned "Oh well in that case I could make use of it myself, need to write a tally of my latest hunting kills." he laughed. "Don't be stupid Taryn!" she snapped. "Just because it looks empty doesn't mean there's nothing there. We just need to reveal it and thats exactly what we're going to do." "We are?" Taryn asked wearily. "There's an old hermit who lives not far from here in an old abandoned cottage. He can help us, that's where we're going, to see Raven." She smiled and walked on ahead. Taryn looked up towards the sky and smiled to himself. "Here comes trouble". Raven's Retreat: Finally Taryn and Sarlina reached a crest of a hill from where they could look down towards the old ruined cottage where Raven had taken shelter. It seemed to be an old farm house, much had collapsed and now lay twisted and overgrown. They walked on down the hill and made their way up to the cottage. "So who is this Raven fellow anyway" enquired Taryn "And whats he doing stuck out here in this crumbling mess?" "I know very little about him, only that he has knowledge of the old ways, or so I was told." she spoke, then stepped carefully over the debris that lay strewn about the place. They came to a door that appeared to be locked, a tree had crashed through the roof, probably blown down during a storm and it had made the remaining roof section very unstable. Sarlina moved forward and peered through a hole in the plaster. "What a shame, there was a time when this would have been a fine home. Now it lies in ruin like everything else." She pushed firmly on the door and it scraped open. "Don't go in there" Taryn warned "Its not safe." Sarlina frowned, then turned to go inside but Taryn pulled her back. "Let me, i'll check it out." he said firmly. Sarlina smiled and nodded. The room was small and damp. Rotting wood littered the floor and birds nested amongst the remaining roof beams. In the corner lay some empty barrels but there was no sign of life. "See, that wasn't so dangerous now was it?" Sarlina spoke sarcasticaly as Taryn ducked back out from the room. Taryn looked at Sarlina, then kicked the door which resulted in a large roof beam come crashing down in a flurry of leaves and dirt. "Oh yes, completly safe!" he replyed, then turned and went to walk away but then stopped as he realised an old man was watching them. The old man was standing by a broken cart, his hair was a dirty white and his face lacerated by time. He stooped over a short wooden pole which he used to help keep his balance. The old man stood motionless, watching the two of them. Then slowly he turned and made his way around the back of the house. Taryn turned to Sarlina, "I'm guessing that's our guy?" "Only one way to find out" she replyed, then jumped over the low stone wall and made after him. Taryn followed close behind and they made their way round the corner of the house to find the old man waiting for them by the doorway. Sarlina walked slowly towards the old man. She bowed her head then brushed the hair back from her face and spoke. "My friend and I are looking for a man named Raven who is said to live here, do you know of him?" she asked softly. The man stared inquisitively at her for a few moments then slowly nodded. Sarlina smiled shyly "You're him arn't you? Your Raven?" she asked. The old man once again slowly nodded. His face showed not one hint of emotion, as if he were as lifeless as a stone. He just continued to stare at the both of them, his gaze unsettling. "I need your help" she said fervently. "I happened upon an ancient scroll which I believe to be Haldur's lost scroll of legend" she continued. "But it appears empty and so I need help to reveal what is hidden." She watched his reaction carefully. The old man seemed unmoved by her words and Taryn rolled his eyes and shuffled restlessly. He thought it was all nonsense. Sarlina stood confused, unsure of what to do next. She was about to speak some more when suddenly the old man turned and went inside the cottage, closing the door behind him. Sarlina frowned. "Lets just go" said Taryn quietly, "The man doesn't even speak, its a waste of time." He went to reach for Sarlina's hand but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening again. The old man reappeared clutching a red vial which he then held out towards Sarlina. Sarlina hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took the vial from him. Taryn watched closly, a spark of surprised interest in his eye. "So this will help.....This will reveal its secrets?" she asked. "But how, what is it I must do?" The old man motioned with his staff towards a small pale filled with watter. He tipped the pale over and its contents spilt over the ground turning the light dusty earth a dark color. Sarlina smiled and nodded, "I understand." she said thankfully. "Your help has been most welcome, thankyou." The old man nodded a final time then disappeered inside the crumbling building. Taryn moved closer to Sarlina and they both stared at the vial she held before them. "So we tip the contents of the vial onto the scroll which then reveals its secrets i'm guessing?" asked Taryn. "Exactly!" Sarlina smiled triumphantly, then looked at Taryn amusingly. "You know you should never doubt me Taryn, I knew I was right about this." "I don't doubt you Sarlina, I just worry about you. I want you to be safe, who knows what danger's this scroll could lead to." he said protectively. Sarlina blushed, then embraced him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She gently looked up into his face. "I'm always safe with you Taryn, thats why I need you to help me with this. We have a chance to make a difference and restore this land to its former glory." She pulled away from him and stood looking out towards the far distance. "Avalonia was once sacred, from here we ruled all Historica and lived in harmony. But when the Druids disappeared we abused the power they left us and were cursed with the existance of other tribes and people who came from across the seas. Now we are nothing and Historica has new lands and people, evil, pure evil. But with the knowledge from the scroll we can once again rise up and rid Historica from these other beings and have our sacred realm restored. Once again Avalonia will rule Historica" She spoke enthusiastically and laughed with happiness. "Lets go and make a change Taryn." she smiled and turned to walk. Taryn smiled coyly back, but something wasn't right. He liked the idea of a restored happy peaceful Avalonia but not at the price of other land's lives. They wern't evil, they were just people like himself who had lives and families, the only difference being that they were from another land. Its true, Avalonia was the first land to be settled in Historica and for a time Historica was just inhabited by Avalonians. But those times had past, new lands and people had settled and they had become more powerful. "Surely we should be trying to unite with the other lands and then together fight a common enemy." he thought to himself, "Not to rid the other lands from existance". He shook his head and looked up to watch Sarlina walking ahead clutching the vial in her hand. Taryn figured she wasn't thinking straight, her mind confused with the sudden joy of discovery. He hurried on to catch up with her and the two of them walked on, leaving the old man and the cottage behind them. History tells us that it is Man who causes trouble, that it is Man who wages war and causes death and destruction...but reality was set to prove entirey different. To be continued............

Challenge 6 is drawing to close and looking back on everyone's output I am really impressed! Everyone has continued to get better and better, so it's great to know Avalonia is in good hands. I hope members will continue to build and expand the world long after the final challenge. Myself along with the other Guild leaders will be stepping down as we all have other projects we are working on, plus a lot of us have been absent for a while away. Thanks to Z for stepping in and keeping things running around here. There are two types of people on EB, there are the builders who dip in and out between builds and comment where they can and there are the those that browse the site most of the day, commenting, discussing and organizing. I'll always be a builder, I like to be active when I can but I'm usually building. This is where my future lies in GOH. After challenge 6 has ended, Artorious Rex will step down and head for the Dark Isle and new adventures, which I will share here. However, he will always stay loyal to Avalonia and will be ready to aid if needs be. Looking forward to a bright new future in GOH

I will still be building my story, so I will be around still. However, Artorious Rex has new adventures to go on, so once challenge 6 is over and he has overseen the end of the threat to Historica, he will step down and go in search of new quests. He is still young and a soldier at heart, rather then a ruler. I've got lots of new stories coming up for him! So that means Avalonia will need to elect a new ruler!

Well it was merely a suggestion, once challenge 6 is over you guys can then all decide on what you want to do. It's really all down to you. The only reason we had Guild leaders to start with was to help run the challenges and story arc. Now that is coming to an end, I think guild leaders will be stepping down and going on to work on new projects. So I'm sure you will all elect new leaders or maybe choose not to have a leader at all. Sirens stepped down, ZCerberus covered for me and I think Nocturnus rebelled against their leader a while back lol.

But would Artorious Rex just step down as ruler and choose someone else? Would there be a civil war?

Well those are just my thoughts. I had noticed that people did enjoy picking fights with the Drow etc, it was fun. Shame Angeli is not around at the moment. I just feel that's how things should go as it would make things interesting. If say for example Nocturnus was having a dispute with Mitgardia and people from those lands were trying to out do each other by building mocs humiliating each other, I'm sure there would be a surge in interest. Then it also allows other guilds to react to the situation, like maybe Avalonia stick up for Mitgardia and have a few jabs at Nocturnus, then Kaliphiln decide they want to aid Nocturnus etc. All these little skirmishes and story's provide a great chance for some great mocs. Lets be honest, everyone likes to be proud of their guild and want their guild to be the best and that fuels people to build better and come up with great ideas. The way I see it, once challenge 6 is finished we are left with a clean slate. There is a huge world, there are 4 main powers each with their own ambitions. As in any world, there will be disputes between them. They will not always agree, there will be greedy lords who manipulate and bribe. There will be outlaws who steal from other guilds and cause problems. One guild may discover something and another guild may decide they want it and try to take it by force. There will be wars and some guilds may try to become more powerful. It's all good fun and a great stage for some awesome mocs.

Just been having a look back over the recent comments in this thread, some interesting ideas mentioned. On the topic of Historic accuracy, I always saw Historica as a medieval fantasy realm. Avalonia was based on the classic Arthurian fantasy medieval England style, so there was no way it could have been historically accurate. The real Arthur lived somewhere between 400AD to 500AD and there were no huge towered castles. It was all wooden huts and wooden feasting halls. Knights didnt even exist back then. So I went with the fantasy version we all know rather than historic. It's more fun! I know some of you like the idea of gunpowder and other explosives and firearms but going too far down that route could soon turn Historica into something else. For those who love the Pirate era and theme, don't worry, it's time will come. I love the Pirate theme and can't wait to get started on a GOH style Pirate version. However, that's in the future. So getting back on track. It seems to me that something is missing, some good old rivalry. For so long now, Historica guilds have been united fighting against a common enemy. That will soon be over and things will go back to normal. So, this is where guilds can really get back to competing against each other. If guilds fall out and want to fight battles against each other, I say let it happen! The reason being is that it can generate some good excitement, banter and rivalrys which gets people more involved and building. There are 4 powerful guilds in this land, only in a perfect world would they all get along and swear undying love for each other. This isn't a perfect world, so it's probable that some guilds may get greedy and try pinching a bit more land from their neibours! So I feel that if you guys wanna take things into your own hands and have a few battles with each other than go ahead. Obviously there is a limit, you can't take things too far. For example, I Kaphiln were to say their scientists have figured out how to split the Atom and then go and blow Nocturnus off the map.....that's a bit too far! Lol But seriously, I think some good old rivalrys between guilds, wars here and there, power hungry corrupt lords and landowners. That sort of thing has gone on throughout our history and would be the same in Historica. I feel this would help to get more people building and having fun. Of course, like people have said, you can build lots of mocs based on things that happened in the past. The guild leaders deliberately didnt set down much of a history so you guys can have plenty of freedom building your own interpretations of what happened in your guilds history. Once challenge 6 is finished and out of the way then Historica will have a fresh clean slate for you guys to really start creating your world, this is just the start.

Stunning, beautiful.....just plain awesome!

The thing that jumps out most is the lids, they would make great paneling on medieval buildings!

This whole moc is the sort of thing I dreamed of building when I was a pirate moccer. It's such a fun build full of classic pirate elements. So much to like. As I said on Flickr, truly epic!

A great little build, the stone walls look good as does the neat interior. I was waiting for some mocs to show up inspired by the flash moc on flickr, it was pretty awesome. Nice build

I would agree its the first major Historica war in 100 years. Obviously other battles have been fought in this time but only area specific and none that have really involved more than one guild. Avalonia has pretty much been a wild Ungoverned land for centuries untill Artorious came along. Battles were fought in Avalonia to bring peace and justice back to the realm, but again, that was just in Avalonia. I am currently writting those events in my story, so that will fill in some gaps when it's complete. Basically, Avalonia did have a great ruler called Haldur. He left no heir (apparently), and so Avalonia fell into a wild place. In this time many clans formed and each ruled their own different areas. Outlaws, assassins, robbers, killers and all sorts of nasty things flocked to Avalonia as there were no laws. I expect many famous stories happened in these times, that guild men's could write about. My current story starts near the end of the bad times and leads up to Artorious's arrival.

That's very impressive! So much detail and realism. A true work of Lego Art!