Stargazing

[gedren_y]

This map of the Eslandola claimed island chain known as incorrect map of La Sombra includes some very small notations. The farthest southwest is not a single island, but a grouping of vulcanized granite plumes jutting from the sea floor. Most of these plumes do not even reach above the waves, which makes sailing in this area treacherous.

Of the plumes that reach above the waves, a number of them are covered in very porous limestone. The only geologist to study the area, out of Trador, suggests that there may have been a limestone shelf that covered the area at one time. Anecdotal evidence from local tribes people seems to confirm this hypothesis.

(full image used with permission by Maxim)

Only one of these granite plume islands is of sufficient size that a person may lay comfortably. Here we see Lady Valentia Cantoni, research assistant at the Midori Observatory near Nova Terreli. She is here to observe the Talonid meteor shower. This is a rather lonely assignment, and Valentia wishes she could have joined Solas Midori in Stedor for the Aluthian Pulse, and the Day of Blood celebration.

To get to this little spit of an island, Lady Cantoni chartered a whaling vessel out of Trador, then she had to suffer a long dinghy ride because the captain of the vessel wouldn't come near the granite plumes. Having been dropped off well before sunset, Lady Cantoni had quite a wait before the sky lit with meteors.

It will be well after sunrise before she will be retrieved.

Seen here is an uisge bottle, sixty years old at least, but it has long since been emptied of the fine drink. Something else is now contained within, and it is sealed with wax impressed with the Corrington Royal Seal. (OOC: I'll let the Corrington leadership decide what to do with this.)

(An overall shot of the build.)

A slightly better view of Lady Valentia Cantoni.

You can see here that the area sees a lot of debris from shipwrecks.

The crows nest here is believed to be from a Mardier ship.

The mast section here is older, having been warped by sun, sea, and time.

This looks to be the bottom section of a coat rack.

A native spear, a rapier, and that "Corrington" bottle. How they got to their positions is unknown.

Common in these parts are those little conical shells, though the pale blue is rarer than most.

The remains of some unlucky island native, still holding on to his cudgel, and a butter churn. It would be unwise to open that!

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Several more detail shots can be found in this Flickr album. I do apologize for the lack of clarity in some of the images.

What do you think?

Edited January 23, 2017 by gedren_y

[Elostirion]

I always appreciate your storytelling alongside the MOCs. Great job.

The MOC itself holds some very creative ideas, and has a great overall appeal - I like that. However I have to admit that your photography takes away a lot of the quality from the MOC, unfortunately. The pictures are really blurry, which distracts from the great LEGO model. I assume those are cellphone-pictures? Maybe stabilizing the cellphone with some kind of tripod might help?

Edited October 28, 2016 by Elostirion

[Bregir]

Should the honourable Lady Valentia bring the sealed bottle to a Corlander Outpost, I am certain she will be rewarded accordingly. And perhaps we will find out something about its contents! :O

Nice build, with some interesting parts usage, especially for vegetation. The story is, as always, fascinating and I like the story about those islands and their geological origins.

I tend to agree with Elostirion that working on photography would do a lot to improve the presentation, but on the upside, it isn't obvious when you are looking at it from a phone in a moving car. ;)

Edited October 28, 2016 by Bregir

[blackdeathgr]

3 hours ago, Elostirion said:

I always appreciate your storytelling alongside the MOCs. Great job.

The MOC itself holds some very creative ideas, and has a great overall appeal - I like that. However I have to admit that your photography takes away a lot of the quality from the MOC, unfortunately. The pictures are really blurry, which distracts from the great LEGO model. I assume those are cellphone-pictures? Maybe stabilizing the cellphone with some kind of tripod might help?

Exactly that! Created with love 

[gedren_y]

Thanks, guys.

I put a lot of thought into my storytelling, so to read that you enjoy it is much appreciated.

Lady Valentia Cantoni will be in King's Harbor soon, to turn over the bottle. Whether the Corrington officials reveal its contents or not, will be up to them.

Yes, it is a cell phone. I'm limited to natural light, and by outdoor conditions. My platform and backdrop have their own limitations. Additionally, this build couldn't be tilted, so the camera needed to be in some odd positions for some shots. I will try to use a mounting for my cell in the future for the shots I can. Thank you for your advice.