Hoshi No Mizuumi- The Lake of Stars

[Erynlasgalen]

An old story once said, before the sands and dust took over the Kaliphlin lands, there were magnificent lakes that dotted the landscape. The largest one, Hoshi No Mizuumi, was home to a highly intelligent race of people who made their homes within the rocky islands that crisscrossed the lake. As their population grew, they built sturdy walkways over the lake to help carry their citizens from one island to the next.

The people of Hoshi No Mizuumi worshiped the stars and planets and devoted their lives to learning everything they could about them. They knew their home held great power, so philosophers, magicians, astrologers, and alchemists flocked to the area and filled the city with large libraries of information.

For reasons unknown to us and lost in time, their city was suddenly abandoned. Was it the creeping sands of the badlands, dwindling resources or something more sinister that drove them to disappear from their home they worked so hard to build?

The years have passed; the lakes have evaporated and turned to sand, and the mighty walkways of the ancient city has crumbled and decayed under the elements. Only a small portion of Hoshi No Mizuumi remains and this is one of the locations that the brave citizens of Kaliphlin have made their temporary home.

The city has long been looted and taken of its valuable treasures and gold, but the real wealth is still contained within the many scrolls and books left behind by its ancient citizens. With the help of Professor Tobias Felix Montiger III and the Monks of Gorou, the People of Kaliphlin hope the scrolls and writings will uncover the secrets of destroying Victor Revolword before it is too late.

Thanks for taking the time to look, more photos can be seen over on my Flickr stream here---> http://www.flickr.co...s/erynlasgalen/

Comments and critiques are always welcome!

Edited November 9, 2012 by Erynlasgalen

[Torgar]

Incredible! I like how aged this looks and the amount of activity going on, well done!

[Niku]

And another nice build from you.

The stone work is great, having an entrance it adds a lot.

Good luck.

[Zach Mills]

I didn't realize the people of Kaliphlin spoke Japanese!

Loving all the little details in here. They really bring the scene to life.

[Hyler Talliwell]

Very nice. The overall feel is great, and the architecture is extremely well done.

[Andy D]

This is an incredible build! The overall feel is of a very old, massive structure. I particularly like he rock work.

Andy D

[Rast]

super sweet MOC. I i like the map men! great tent aswell.

[Kai NRG]

I love the minifigs around the map, the tent also looks excellent! Love the break in the bridge, it looks very realistic! My only (slight) criticism would be with the water, the change of color almost seems too abrupt. Maybe some more trans-blue would fix that? Great job anyways, though I'm not a fan of sand green you've used it well!

[Kayne]

Very cool Eryn! The mountainside, the dilapidated bridge....all excellent. The minifigures activity, placement and diversity really add to this too. Mikel and you have really come out strong for Kaliphlin again!

Not sure if it will make a difference, but your tag reads Kaliphlin Challenge IV, but this is Challenge V

[soccerkid6]

Great work on capturing an ancient/ruined effect The landscaping is excellent too as are the figs going about daily life

[Erynlasgalen]

Thanks for all the comments guys, glad you liked it!

I didn't realize the people of Kaliphlin spoke Japanese!

It actually all came about because of the walkway, intially I didn't have anything over it, but the drop off from the top of the mountain to the walkway just threw everything off. I went through my inspiration file to see if I could come up with something, and was amazed how well the Torii gates translated over the to Kaliphlin color scheme. I just ran with it from there and a new Kaliphlin civilazation was born.

My only (slight) criticism would be with the water, the change of color almost seems too abrupt. Maybe some more trans-blue would fix that? Great job anyways, though I'm not a fan of sand green you've used it well!

The water is actually the one part I of the whole thing I am not 100% happy with. I wanted to do trans clear over the top, but the tiles were way out of my budget. I tried trans blue tiles, trans round plates, and normal plates, and it turned out either too shiny, or too rough looking. One day I will find a solution for it!

The leaves and cheese are the new olive green that just came out, I intially tried using just the dark/regular green and it brought too much brightness to the mountain. I think the mix of the two worked well to give it a more aged look in the end.

Very cool Eryn! The mountainside, the dilapidated bridge....all excellent. The minifigures activity, placement and diversity really add to this too. Mikel and you have really come out strong for Kaliphlin again!

Not sure if it will make a difference, but your tag reads Kaliphlin Challenge IV, but this is Challenge V

Doh! Thats what I get for rushing things! Thanks for catching it, I've got it changed over now

[monsinjor]

This looks very nice, the broken bridge instantly reminded me about the broken bridge/road in Dragon Age: Origins.

Great work

[Mike S]

So many great details! The weathered bridge is awesome and I like how you included the newly dug graves. Also the tile roofed tent is a great design.

[kabel]

EG this is just so beautiful and I also love the story. I really think that most women on these here boards are just superb builders. Somehow their mocs always look so much more interesting than mocs done by guys. I don't know why, but you can always tell a woman's moc! So although I don't really like "friends" I sure hope it's getting more girls and women into building mocs!!

[Wedge09]

Really nice MOC, good story too :thumbup:

[de Gothia]

This is stunning! Well done! So many details to look at and to take inspiration from!!

[Rogue Angel]

Great MOC Eryn! The bridge definitely has a ruined look, and I love the two toned cavern interior. I also really like the withered palm tree and the canopy over the foodstuffs. Good work!

[robuko]

Beautiful detailing and presentation Erynlasqalen - again! The minifigs really add a sense of narrative here, I would like to know what is happening in all those discussions. I gave a lot of thought to Torii as well, but I thought small ones would be too hard to photograph and a big one would be too dominant, you have done it very nicely here. I like the colour use, you really have a gift for choosing a good palette. For me the lake works well as a very placid one - my only critique is that I have never heard mizuumi (water-sea) used for a lake, as far as I know a more common usage would be hoshi-no-ko for a big lake or hoshi-ike for a small one - but of course, we do things as we like in Kaliphlin!

[Erynlasgalen]

my only critique is that I have never heard mizuumi (water-sea) used for a lake, as far as I know a more common usage would be hoshi-no-ko for a big lake or hoshi-ike for a small one - but of course, we do things as we like in Kaliphlin!

I'm going to have to blame the translation on Professor Tobias, he found a wonderful scroll in the cavern called "google translate", but the damage from the elements must have made the scroll illegible! The name does have a pretty ring to it though, LOL

Thanks again for all the comments guys!

[Infernum]

Wow! This build is simply fantastic!