Basiliscus

Fantastic entry all round. Firstly, the photography is impeccable, and your photo editing really adds value to the MOC (the banner particularly). The temple is pretty cool, very good sense of scale. My favourite part is the guardian though...very well done! Good luck in the contest. It's good to have you in our guild!

Lovely work. The story is excellent. Your dialogue is very believable! A shame that you had to salvage it - even then it's still excellent! This will get Kaliphlin Guild some great points. Good job!

I have finished my story and posted my entry. SI-mocs - please can you tell me if it will be included? I was only 30 mins late, honest! :) Anyway, it's 3am here and I haven't slept or eaten for nearly 24 hours, and I am starting to hallucinate (LoL) so I need to recharge! I promise I will comment on other entries tomorrow. Hope you all get your entries finished, and we can maximise the points for the Kaliphlin Guild!

Thanks for all the replies guys. Just to let you know, I have finished editing the story now (I only did it this way to get my entry in ASAP). If you haven't read the story already, feel free to do so now. It should help the pictures make more sense! I am tired now, so I will comment on other entries once I am recharged! Over the coming days I plan to take more detail photos of this MOC, so I will add them to the thread when I have done this. Good luck to all who enter!

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been posting much but it's been a mad rush to get the Challenge 3 entry finished. I posted it at 00:20 on Sunday local time (i.e. 20 mins after the deadline would pass here in the UK). Can anyone tell me if this will affect my result or disqualify me? I am going to write the story now...

Challenge 3 - Search for the Water Crystal "Above the Falls" - Entry by Basiliscus - Kaliphlin Guild To someone listening carefully, above the usual sounds of the jungle, could be heard the heavy breathing of three men marching through the dense undergrowth. They follow a well worn path, but one the jungle has already started to reclaim, and the explorers are halted now and again while they fight a clearing for themselves to continue their intrepid journey. For these men are going somewhere no human has visited for over a hundred years - the Tower of the Moon. Despite it soaring above the jungle canopy, it is easily overlooked - many who have tried to find it have returned empty handed. That is, if they returned with hands at all. For in this, the deepest and remotest Kaliphlin jungle, many terrors await those who come unprepared. But these men have no intentions of failure. Their secret weapon is the man who leads the others, Tangled-in-the-Grass. He is an native warrior and scout from the Eagle Tribe who live near the outskirts of the jungle. A wiry man in the prime of his youth, his grey eyes scan the undergrowth for any signs of movement. Suddenly, he halts and crouches low. "We are getting close, Lord." whispers Tangled-in-the-Grass, the fear in those words evident for the other two. "How close?" replies one of the others, familiar with this form of address. And so he should be, for he is Bahru Musca, son of one of the most important men in Kaliphlin. "Not far Lord, about 200 paces to the bottom of the waterfall." Bahru nods, and all three rise and continue, although a subtle tension can be sensed in the party, as they sense the approach of their destiny. Almost to the pace, the markers come into sight which signify the entrance to the Tower of the Moon. Within sight of these, Tangled-in-the-Grass turns and addresses the others. "This is the entrance, Lord. Follow the bridge behind the falls, and you will see the red stairs. Climb them to enter the tower," Tangled-in-the-Grass looked up at the structure, as if to emphasise his point. "Will you be joining us?" asked Bahru, sounding uncertain. "No my Lord. I cannot enter that unholy place. You and Tsiri will need to continue alone," Tangled-in-the-Grass replied, and seeing Bahru's eyes narrow at this, added, "I will await for you here Lord, to guide you home." Bahru seemed satisfied with this response, motioned to Tsiri with his sceptre, and started for the bridge. The big Sudite swordsman began to follow his Lord, and as he passed Tangled-in-the-Grass bared his teeth and snarled. Think of it - an Eagle tribe warrior, with the unsavoury facial tattoos indicating how many enemies he has slain, scared of a building made of stone. Tsiri couldn't understand what could perturb such a stalwart figure. Bahru got to the bridge and halted, placing one foot tentatively, then the other, satisfied it would hold his weight. Tsiri waited patiently, humouring the fear shown by his Lord. It was not his place to judge, only to serve. Once on the bridge, Bahru strode ahead, only glancing up once at the tower above the falls. But as Tsiri followed, a deep sense of foreboding entered his mind, and he was sure there were eyes in the undergrowth monitoring their movements. He paused briefly, and noticing the gap between him and his Lord widening, put these thoughts behind him and quickened his pace to catch up. Upon following the passageway through to the other side, Bahru let out a small gasp at the wonder which revealed itself. Inside the cave, a spiral staircase made of the finest red sandstone, ascended up to the ceiling. It was built on an unnatural platform, the base of which matched the bridge outside. But that was not all. Aside from the human wonderments, there were natural features neither of the Sudite men had seen before. Deposits of sediment hung suspended from the roof of the cave, and immediately below more sediment rose up from the floor, as if in a mirror image. "Have you seen such wonders Tsiri?" asked Bahru. But Tsiri did not hear the question, standing mouth agape taking in the beauty in that cavern. As if to give the whole place a sense of unreality, the sunlight shining through the waterfalls gave the place an unnatural tinge, which seemed to play with perspective. There was only one way to go - up - and still amazed by what they are seeing, the two men ascend in silence. At the top of the staircase, where it should collide with the cavern roof, it appears to continue up as if no impediment was there. As the explorers rise even further, they get the sense they are back above ground as the echo of the waterfall disappears and the light appears through red and blue stained glass windows. They keep climbing, all the time without saying a word, keeping their eyes on the path ahead, watching out for dangers. Eventually, the staircase opens out into a chamber, and the two men realise this is the top of the tower. The windows are open, and a pleasant breeze passes through, much needed after the oppressive humidity of the jungle floor. On poles around the chamber are six eagle headdresses, preserved for posterity. Tsiri approaches one and motions to stick out his hand, but stops when Bahru tells him casually, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He goes on to explain their significance, by relating the origin of the Tower of the Moon. Before it was abandoned, it was said that a wizard lived there practising dark arts. Each year, the wizard demanded a sacrifice from the Eagle Tribe, and dutifully, for they feared the wizard's power, they sent a warrior clothed in the resplendent eagle headdress for which the tribe are famed. "So you see Tsiri, it would not be good to our friend outside, who guided us here in good faith, if we dishonoured the memory of his ancestors," Bahru said. Tsiri's mouth motioned to make a reply, but then he stopped, his eyes fixed on something over the shoulder of Bahru. "There it is!" Tsiri shouts, running over to the middle of the room. Before he approaches, he turns to Bahru and sheepishly states, "There is the water crystal, Lord," rectifying the earlier breach of protocol. Bahru dismisses the oversight, recognising Tsiri's excitement. They both stare at the crystal, it's blue radiance sparkling in the afternoon sun pouring through the windows. Bahru's hand extends to pick up the reason they came to this terrifying place. But before he does so, Tsiri asks the question which was missed moments earlier, "Lord, what happened to the wizard you spoke of? The one who inhabited this tower." Bahru stopped, and thought for a moment before replying, "In the bazaars they say his dark magic was too strong for him, and it was his undoing. My father thinks that his magic could not prevent the natural ageing process, and he died naturally," he paused, and shook off a momentary shiver before continuing, "but the Eagle Tribe believe that the life energy taken from each sacrificed warrior allowed the wizard to avoid a natural death. Instead, they told me that one of his experiments went wrong, and he became one of the jungle creatures he so often experimented on." And as he finished the last word in the sentence, Bahru turned and nonchalantly snatched the crystal from its resting place in the centre of the room. As soon as he touched it, a loud roar was heard from deep within the jungle. The timing was too coincidental to be anything else, but Tsiri looked to be toying over a thought, and asked, "Lord, do you think that..." leaving the rest of that question unfinished. Bahru shook his head nervously, and replied, "I don't know. But I don't think we should wait to find out." At that, as if to answer his question, a commotion was heard in the jungle below, and a large object seemed to be crashing through the undergrowth, crushing underfoot everything in its path. Bahru and Tsiri both looked out the window, and saw Tangled-in-the-Grass fleeing along the path on which he brought them all. This brought a scowl to the face of Tsiri, but Bahru accepted it as inevitable. Just then, the crashing stopped, and both men looked to a see a beast with the face of a gorilla, but with a deformed body like no other they had even seen, standing on its hind legs at the edge of the plunge pool, beating its chest. Its intentions were obvious, it was a warning to those who had stolen what was not rightfully theirs. "We need to get out of here before it blocks our only line of escape," said Bahru, as if to encourage his body to comply with his thoughts. Tsiri has no hesitations however, and bounded down the staircase two at a time, with Bahru following after a brief delay. It seemed his body had finally obeyed. This time, no time was spent examining the wonders of the cavern, and upon exiting the passageway between the falls, Tsiri noted that their exit was clear, and stopped to wait for his Lord. But in the time it took for Bahru to catch up, the beast had realised their plan and stood on all fours blocking the end of the bridge. Tsiri looked at its hideous misshapen body, and the thought of its unnatural countenance standing over his and Bahru's dead bodies brought forth a surge of rage inside him. Sword at the ready, he lunged straight for the beast, intending to sell his life as dearly as possible. But the beast had no intention of dying that day either. As Tsiri approached, its massive arms swung for his head, which the swordsman only narrowly managed to avoid. Tsiri now sensed the danger in those evil eyes, and some of his courage deserted him. But before he was left shaking with fear, the beast lunged again, and without thinking Tsiri jumped back and let the blow swing harmlessly through the air. He sensed the opportunity, and while the beast struggled to regain its footing he swung his sword with all his might down on the thick neck muscles, which ripped apart under the force of the impact. As its life ebbed away, the beast flailed and shook, and Tsiri had to release his sword, still stuck in the beasts neck, to avoid being taken down with it. But eventually the wound was too much, and the beast collapsed on the jungle floor close to the bridge. Seizing his chance, Tsiri beckoned for Bahru to follow him back into the jungle. "Let us leave this place Lord, now that we have what we came for," said Tsiri, his eyes falling on the water crystal. Bahru nodded sombrely, his obedience to the swordsman's commands showing the thanks that he would never say out loud. But they had only taken a few steps when Tsiri became aware he was without his sword. As he approached the body of the beast, he realised it was still breathing slightly, and he studied it carefully, trying to discern its origin. Standing there over the helpless beast, Tsiri thought he saw something which he would take to the grave. It seemed that the beast, as it grasped its predicament, shed a single tear. Tsiri knew then that it was like no beast that existed in nature. Only man could comprehend the futility of life. ******************************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************************* ****************************************** UPDATE ***************************************** ******************************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************************* I was bit pushed last night, so here are a few additional photos.

Fantastic start. As others have said, the pillars at the entrance is genius. Can't wait to see the rest of the entry!

Awesome work Cara, can't wait to see this finished!

Hey all! Sorry for my absence but LEGO time has limited of late. I am making progress with my entry but it will be touch and go whether it will be done in time. Some great finished entries from Christoph and Erynlasgalen. I am hoping to post in the individual threads over the coming days! One thing I will say is - I am proud to have both of you in the Kaliphlin guild as both entries are fantastic! Mikel Kalores and gabe have some great entries going on there. Can't wait to see both of them finished! From what I am seeing so far, Challenge 3 is going to be EPIC! That's a word often overused, but I think in this case is justified.

A fantastic build. The scale is epic! Great job and good luck in the contest!

Nice work de Gothia. Your photography is excellent throughout. I love the foliage interspersed around the chamber, it adds a really old feel to the building. Your story is well-written too. Good luck!

Lovely work. Great story by the way. I really like your guardian! Your minifig posing is great as are your shot compositions. You got some very artistic photos (those in chapters 4 and 6 in particular). Things you may wish to improve: some of your floors are a bit basic studs up designs. You may want to think in future about using a SNOT base, or some tiles to cover some of the studs up (personal preference). A few of your photographs are a bit grainy, but that is probably nitpicking as your photography in general is excellent. Overall an excellent entry and it's clear you put a lot of thought into it. Well done!

Medic!!! - your WIP looks very interesting. A nice level of detail you have included there, the minifig legs are particularly interesting. Keep up the good work! ******************** Since I keep saying I'm making progress, and in the spirit of the GoH, I have taken a few WIP shots of my challenge 3 entry and posted them on Flickr. I've made a composite image so you will really need to go on Flickr and go "Actions --> View all sizes" to really see the detail. Note that "Cuahchic" is my name on Flickr. Here is a preview with a brief description below: The idea here is that our adventurers find a secret temple hidden behind a waterfall deep in the jungle. Above the falls there will be a visible building (as yet undecided). The MOC will be expanded around 16 studs at the back so that the inside of the cave is shown. Still to do: complete the waterfalls, finalise foliage, complete inside of caves behind waterfalls, build terrain above waterfalls, build temple above waterfalls. If I get this finished in time I hope to complete two other scenes: one showing the origin of the water crystal and another showing our heroes preparing for their adventure. Constructive criticism welcomed.

Interesting discussion going on. For me, I am 50/50 on size limitations - I do agree that size limitation is likely to be inversely proportional to contributions, however, like Angeli and rogueang (and many others...) I have spent a lot of time, money and effort on my challenge entries. Therefore, I wouldn't want this to count against me. One thing I would say is - I do agree with the consensus that respect and notoriety are more important than prizes. For me, what I want out of GoH is to be better known as a builder. So things like having good MOCs displayed on the EB frontpage, comments etc are more important than prizes. Although who wouldn't want to win a joust set!

I wouldn't say no to an extension to Challenge 3...I am hoping to be completed by the deadline but I think I could do more with an extra week or two. I would say that 2 weeks should be the maximum extension to avoid any unfairness.

Holy moly zcerberus! That's going to be one of the top entries. Great job.

Good to see some WIPs from Kaliphlin! I hope everyone who has discussed entries here can enter something - it would be great to see a good turnout for Kaliphlin. I am making some progress on my entry and hope to enter at least something! Some great entries so far from other guilds and our first entry from Axel. I'm hoping to comment on the individual threads over the weekend. Sorry to hear you can't enter gabe, these builds do take it out of you. However, it does give us mortals a chance to win something!

Greetings from Kaliphlin! I am an active member and builder, having entered the watchtower challenge and a free build so far. I am also hoping to enter challenge 3. What do I like about GoH? First of all, the concept is brilliant. A community build really does add value to the community - before GoH I used to only post when I had a new MOC (as I am not much into set discussions). This has really gave me something to discuss and I have enjoyed getting to know many other members of EB. I love the challenges. So far there has been good variety in the challenges which has been good to see. This has given me a good incentive to build! GoH has been very well organised and the judges have been very open, listening to feedback and structuring things well. I like the separate threads for each guild. The prizes have been fantastic. A real incentive to build! What do I think could be done better? For me, the one thing that stands out is the level of participation from the guild leaders has been variable at best. I realise there is a lot of admin work going on behind the scenes, but it would have been nice to see a little more participation from those in charge. This applies to posting as well as MOCs. Although the prizes have been great and are a real incentive, I feel that more smaller prizes would encourage more participation than one huge prize. The joust set is fantastic but only one person will win it. This might put some people off. As an aside, the prizes aren't really a huge incentive for me personally because like NiceMarmot I am lucky enough to be able to buy a set if I want it. I would also like to admit a fault of my own...I original suggested that challenge 3 should have no size limit but now I am wondering how clever that was! For some challenges, no size limit is appropriate but I would suggest in future that most of the remaining challenges are 32x64 or 48x48 like they do for the CCC. I would say that more transparency for scoring would be good. Not the individual judges scores, but the score for each challenge entry or free build should be made available and that way everyone could be aware of their own personal score tally. Although I have put a few things for improvement, if I had to rate the GoH experience so far I would say 8 out of 10. Considering this is the first of these type of events, and it has been emulated on EB and other sites, I think that is really testament to the vision of those who started it. Finally, I would say that once the year is up then GoH should end. Although I love building castle, I don't exclusively build in one theme, therefore I would like to see this applied to another theme. My suggestions would be Pirates (e.g. the four groups could be Imperials, Pirates, Armada, Islanders) or Sci-fi (but please not Star Wars! I would prefer a generic set up so people use their imagination to create a world). I even think it would work with Town - you could have 4 cities who compete (although whether including Modern Military would be appropriate for EB's ethos remains to be seen). I think if GoH continued for a second year I would need to terminate my involvement because there are so many things from other themes I would like to build! Thank you for giving me the chance to comment on things so far. I hope this constructive feedback is helpful. The main thing is: keep up the good work!

Not sure what the "smell" comments are about...I think it must be some kind of April fools thing on EB because after I posted it I couldn't edit it...weird! Good luck getting settled in the new place mate. I am stoked about GoT, we get it one night after you here in the UK but I really can't wait to see it! Season 1 was brilliant, now I just need to read the books (I have the first four but I am 50% through the Conan collection just now). ***** I am making good progress on the Challenge 3 entry, I've got a long way to go but I did one of the hardest bits yesterday, so I was pleased with that. Although I suspect I will need to use Bricklink a few times over the coming weeks... There have been so many great WIPs so far...I really need to raise my game this time!

I can smell that from here and it smells odorific!!! That looks promising!

Lovely architecture and that's a great idea about how the fire is started! The only thing is...it's a bit small is it not? Other than that, fantastic work!

Wonderful work! Looks very intimidating...!

Awesome work gabe! So many great details: the fountain, architecture, colour blocking, etc! Great minifigure placement too.

Beautiful work. The architecture is fantastic. Good luck in the MOCathlon!

Lovely work mate Fantastic forced perspective build. I've never done it myself but this is definitely an inspiration.