[Freebuild & Exetrius Saga recap] Rockwail School of Orphans

[Exetrius]

Rockwail School of Orphans

Rockwail has seen the passing of many kings and rulers, each leaving their own mark in history and on the city. Not all that long ago, relatively speaking at least, the iron fist rule of king Zoroaster took a particularly heavy toll on the residents of Rockwail. Many lives were lost due to his warmongering and exploitation of miners and labor slaves. As a consequence, the amount of orphans peaked during this period.

When Theophraster I, Zoroaster's half-brother, claimed the throne, he sought to repair some of the damage Zoroaster had done. He believed orphans were a key to turn the ravaged economy around, so he built an orphanage and established an education program. His efforts bore fruit, for him and the city. His apparent philanthropy earned him the respect and support from the scarred people of Rockwail, and the word also spread beyond the city. In rough and tough Nocturnus, these 'soft' policies were looked down on by some of the greater Lords, but merchants and craftsmen flocked to the city! Later, despite dwindling numbers of orphans because of peaceful times, Theophraster II continued to invest in the future of the disadvantaged, by founding the Rockwail School of Orphans.

The School of Orphans is not as big as it used to be at some point, but one of its most prominent and remarkable buildings is still in use today, and is maintained with funds from the royal treasury. And somehow, it's the place Exetrius Centario of Zotharith found himself in...

He looked up from his reading material and gazed at the window. He put his book away for a moment and stood up to overlook the square of the Four Virtues. It appeared peaceful, a little quieter during daytime than Zotharith. The sudden thought of home, so far away, made his mind wander between the turns his life had taken ever since the Civil War, the places he visited and the people he met. Before the war, he was just a mage trying to climb the ranks. Okay, maybe not your average mage, but the second son of the wizard ruler, Onicius. Sometimes, he was sent out for a task by the Order of Zotharith, but generally he was around his home city a lot. Once, he traveled to Kyrrath to visit his aunt. That was the furthest he had ever been. His elder brother, on the other hand... Anyway, during the Nocturnus Civil War he joined the 1st Corps of Zotharith, which was hunting down Raavage through the Rakath mountains, and he eventually ended up defeating him. But if that wasn't hard to believe enough, he also got to attend the victory party in Cedrica, with Queen Ylspeth! As well as the legendary Warlords, with some of whom he discussed the future of Nocturnus, in Merodaquinas. No big deal, right? It was hard to fathom. 

After the storm of events, he returned to Zotharith. Luckily, he found his father, mother and sister (who served in the 2nd Corps) in good health. Furthermore, the city seemed to be completely unharmed by the war. It seemed like he would be easing into his old and familiar life again, until a letter from Rockwail came. It was a personal request from King Yurdtroth, the city's new ruler (since Raavage's occupation ended), adressed to Onicius Centario. He was looking for someone to fill the position of Wizard of Rockwail, as well as an ambassador for Zotharith, and had heard of Exetrius' hand in the victory against the Black Spire. Exetrius and his farther agreed that this could be a fantastic opportunity, thus they accepted the request. And so, within a month or two of being home again, he left for Rockwail indefinitely. 

From the letter, it was not fully clear what the position would entail, but that was a risk he was willing to take. Upon arrival, he met with King Yurdtroth. He was not as intimidating as he imagined, on the contrary actually. He soon learned that one of his tasks would be to teach magic at the Rockwail School of Orphans. Of all things, teaching children was somewhat daunting to him, and something he hadn't anticipated. On his first day, the stairs he had to climb to get to the oddly placed school building seemed to never end. An old wizard dressed in blue, which turned out to be the retiring Wizard of Rockwail, welcomed him. "Don't worry, it'll be fun", he said with a smirk. With the old fart's perception was nothing wrong, that much was clear...

The earth sciences teacher, named Ruppert, asked him to come into the class. Still nervous, Exetrius climbed out of the study room.

A little awkwardly, he introduced himself to the three kids in class. But soon, he found himself wondering why he had been worrying at all. The kids were very interested and asked him lots of questions.

This wasn't so bad at all!
 

Spoiler

----
Later than planned, but here is the full build! Mine entrance part here. Figuring out the layout of this build, with the mine entrance, school and blacksmith was a fun puzzle, and I enjoyed putting my limited number of purple, magenta and pink bricks to good use. I'm also glad to be able to give an update about Exetrius. While writing the recap it became clear just how few and far between his backstory is. I don't blame you for never getting into the Exetrius Saga if you haven't. It's a mess, though it has good parts that still hold up, imo. Anway, if you read the recap, click the links and look at the images, that should give you a decent idea of Exetrius. Hope you enjoy! 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Exetrius

[Kai NRG]

Intriguing choice of colors here, really sets a half-dark, half-whimsical tone.  The upside-down window on the top kinda does the same, overall a really neat unique build!

[Exetrius]

On 5/15/2023 at 9:04 PM, Kai NRG said:

Intriguing choice of colors here, really sets a half-dark, half-whimsical tone.  The upside-down window on the top kinda does the same, overall a really neat unique build!

Thanks, Geneva! That was the balance I was looking for: not too dark and not too whimsical. :)

[W Navarre]

I like the style! It reminds me of London. 

[Exetrius]

On 5/17/2023 at 2:52 PM, W Navarre said:

I like the style! It reminds me of London. 

Thank you!  London, you say? Perhaps I've seen a different part of the city... 

[Grover]

Oooh, this is so cool.  I love the blue-violet bricks!  I have some 1x2 but that's about it, and it is a fantastic choice for Nocturnus!  It works great with the magenta, and the pink makes a surprisingly good accent color.  The overall look reminds me of the old Haunted House set, which was super cool.  The suitcase now makes more sense in context (it looked like it was part of the shrine in the other build, which was confusing!).  Love that you made interiors!  The classroom looks good, and the use of the CMF baseplate as a chalkboard is brilliant!  The tiles hang on there randomly with a very organic look.  Awesome that it comes apart too.  Huge applause for not only writing up the history but taking the time to link the various threads.  That helps people like me that love to go read all the historical threads, having them in one place! 

[Exetrius]

On 5/28/2023 at 8:04 PM, Grover said:

Oooh, this is so cool.  I love the blue-violet bricks!  I have some 1x2 but that's about it, and it is a fantastic choice for Nocturnus!  It works great with the magenta, and the pink makes a surprisingly good accent color.  The overall look reminds me of the old Haunted House set, which was super cool.  The suitcase now makes more sense in context (it looked like it was part of the shrine in the other build, which was confusing!).  Love that you made interiors!  The classroom looks good, and the use of the CMF baseplate as a chalkboard is brilliant!  The tiles hang on there randomly with a very organic look.  Awesome that it comes apart too.  Huge applause for not only writing up the history but taking the time to link the various threads.  That helps people like me that love to go read all the historical threads, having them in one place! 

Blue-violet? I'm afraid it's just the common dark purple!  Thanks for your compliments, and happy that you enjoy the history and find the links helpful! 

[Grover]

3 hours ago, Exetrius said:

Blue-violet? I'm afraid it's just the common dark purple!  Thanks for your compliments, and happy that you enjoy the history and find the links helpful! 

Oh!  My mistake, it looks like blue violet on my monitor.

[kahir88]

Wao, love it!

I have a fantasy kindergarten in my mind. :D

[Exetrius]

On 6/4/2023 at 10:35 AM, kahir88 said:

Wao, love it!

I have a fantasy kindergarten in my mind. :D

Kind of, yes! Thanks kahir! 

[jtooker]

I like the upside down windows as well as the other third story windows.

[EmHolloway]

On 5/15/2023 at 7:39 PM, Exetrius said:

He looked up from his reading material and gazed at the window. He put his book away for a moment and stood up to overlook the square of the Four Virtues. It appeared peaceful, a little quieter during daytime than Zotharith. The sudden thought of home, so far away, made his mind wander between the turns his life had taken ever since the Civil War, the places he visited and the people he met. Before the war, he was just a mage trying to climb the ranks. Okay, maybe not your average mage, but the second son of the wizard ruler, Onicius. Sometimes, he was sent out for a task by the Order of Zotharith, but generally he was around his home city a lot. Once, he traveled to Kyrrath to visit his aunt. That was the furthest he had ever been. His elder brother, on the other hand... Anyway, during the Nocturnus Civil War he joined the 1st Corps of Zotharith, which was hunting down Raavage through the Rakath mountains, and he eventually ended up defeating him. But if that wasn't hard to believe enough, he also got to attend the victory party in Cedrica, with Queen Ylspeth! I would study at such a school or university with pleasure. You should see where I study now. I have completely lost motivation to do anything there. I even recently started paying for essay, found https://ca.edubirdie.com/pay-for-essay-writing for myself. At our university everything is old, including teachers, material, etc. There is nothing that would raise my spirits. In short, there is nothing more to add here. As well as the legendary Warlords, with some of whom he discussed the future of Nocturnus, in Merodaquinas. No big deal, right? It was hard to fathom. 

After the storm of events, he returned to Zotharith. Luckily, he found his father, mother and sister (who served in the 2nd Corps) in good health. Furthermore, the city seemed to be completely unharmed by the war. It seemed like he would be easing into his old and familiar life again, until a letter from Rockwail came. It was a personal request from King Yurdtroth, the city's new ruler (since Raavage's occupation ended), adressed to Onicius Centario. He was looking for someone to fill the position of Wizard of Rockwail, as well as an ambassador for Zotharith, and had heard of Exetrius' hand in the victory against the Black Spire. Exetrius and his farther agreed that this could be a fantastic opportunity, thus they accepted the request. And so, within a month or two of being home again, he left for Rockwail indefinitely. 

From the letter, it was not fully clear what the position would entail, but that was a risk he was willing to take. Upon arrival, he met with King Yurdtroth. He was not as intimidating as he imagined, on the contrary actually. He soon learned that one of his tasks would be to teach magic at the Rockwail School of Orphans. Of all things, teaching children was somewhat daunting to him, and something he hadn't anticipated. On his first day, the stairs he had to climb to get to the oddly placed school building seemed to never end. An old wizard dressed in blue, which turned out to be the retiring Wizard of Rockwail, welcomed him. "Don't worry, it'll be fun", he said with a smirk. With the old fart's perception was nothing wrong, that much was clear...

Later than planned, but here is the full build! Mine entrance part here. Figuring out the layout of this build, with the mine entrance, school and blacksmith was a fun puzzle, and I enjoyed putting my limited number of purple, magenta and pink bricks to good use. I'm also glad to be able to give an update about Exetrius. While writing the recap it became clear just how few and far between his backstory is. I don't blame you for never getting into the Exetrius Saga if you haven't. It's a mess, though it has good parts that still hold up, imo. Anway, if you read the recap, click the links and look at the images, that should give you a decent idea of Exetrius. Hope you enjoy! 

The school model is well thought out. I have nothing more to add here.

Edited September 30, 2024 by EmHolloway

[Exetrius]

On 9/29/2024 at 9:15 PM, EmHolloway said:

The school model is well thought out. I have nothing more to add here.

Alright.  Thanks!