Challenge VI: The end of an era, the beginning of another

[Kayne]

After hunting down the Hand in the swamps near Nocturnus, Kha was exhausted. His sister had died defending Starbowl from Victor’s elemental, and the pain was still fresh. Watch Sal, his passion is strong. The last words Aran said to him as she died. They burned in his mind still. What is it that she meant, he had thought. In the following weeks, it was clear. Saladus was consumed with vengeance, the only thing that he lived for it seemed. Growing up human, with the elves of Aridesti, Saladus had always seemed to be barbaric to the others. Kha knew that it was his humanity that made him seem so to the elves. The longevity of the elves, the lifespan of hundreds of years had bred in a patience, to some it seemed indifference. The Aridesti were a little different, the customs of their people held vengeance as a sacred rite after the death of a loved one. Still, their countenance was not that of the humans. And Saladus was a human in the land of elves. He was a brother to Kha, long before he married Kha’s sister, but still he did not know him like Aran did. Watch Sal, his passion is strong.

Now, after traveling from one end of Kaliphlin to the other with Saladus, he had seen a darker side to Sal. The vengeance had driven him to cruelty. Truth be told, it was deserved by those bastards of the Hand. Still, that side of Sal scared him.

Kha looked around at the harsh land they found themselves in. Behind them stood the Tower of the Hand, its jagged spires looked like claws reaching for the heavens to tear them down. Here on the borderlands near the Rakath Mountains, the desert met the twisted nightmare landscape of Nocturnus and Kha thought it appeared as if some disease affected the land tainted by Nocturnus and he could see where the infection stopped. The carnage around them was a result of the vengeance Sal so desperately sought. “Where to now?”, Kha asked. He knew the answer before he even asked the question, and said it in his head as Sal responded.

“We continue to on to find Victor. I cannot rest until he is dead” Watch Sal, his passion is strong.

As Kha looked around, he could see a shelter of pines near the base of the mountain. The large needle covered branches seemed to want to hide the ground beneath from something watching from above, so thick were the branches. “Over there, we can find shelter for the night under those pines.”

As they walked across the barren land towards the mountains, Kha could see that there was an abundance of life near the base of the mountain where the pines stood. It was certainly not like Kaliphlin to see that much green life, and it seemed to mark the change in Guilds as well as anything could.

As they entered the shelter of the pines, they were met by a woman dressed in brown spun wool. She was carrying a staff, and Kha noticed that she had pouches and poultices strung along her rope belt.

“Our apologies for disturbing you ma’am….” Kha began politely.

“No need to apologize Kha, it is you whom I seek.” The woman began mysteriously.

Kha loosened his sword from its scabbard, a nervous habit from his many years on the road. Kha saw Sal look up sharply at this.

“And you as well Saladus.” She finished. “I am Ravenna, a Druid of the ancient order. It has been many years since Historica has been this threatened as it is now from Revolword. In this time of need, we came together again.”

“I thought the Druids died out years ago?” Kha felt a strange affinity with this Druid, but needed some answers before he could trust her.

With a gentle smile, Ravenna began. “That is what we needed everyone to believe. It is best for us and the realm that no one remembers us. People like Revolword and the Hand do not seek us out and try to usurp our power, because they don’t know we are here. Yet, we have always been around and have had our hands in play for years. We have learned over the centuries that we are better set to help shape and guide from without, than to take direct actions in the directions of the Realm. However, now we have been forced to act. Many of my brothers and sisters have already met with others from the 4 different Guilds and the pieces have been put into action. Elon Chorian, deGothia, General Grimm Vexus, Darecold, Legonardo and Erudhalion Sansael are leading an attack on Victor’s stronghold at Dawn. Others are leading raids across the countryside on Hand strongholds. And then there’s you two.”

Kha looked at Sal and could see a glimmer of hope there. Kha knew what Sal was thinking, this was his chance to get into Victor’s stronghold unnoticed and seek his revenge.

“What is it that is left for the two of us? And more importantly, why all of this coordination? Is Victor really that strong?”

“Not yet, but the powers that he could unlock with the Helm are limitless. His elementals are childrens toys compared to what power is available. Control of the elements has many manifestations, the elast of which is automating them as elementals. Giving life, taking life these are the real powers, but we do not believe that Victor knows this. As for you two, I am bringing you through the carnage directly to Victor. That is what you want is it not Sal?”

“It is, and I will gladly accept any help you can give us. However, in preparation for Victor I would like to learn from you what it is he might be able to do with his new power. Might I learn from you as we travel?”

Kha had not seen Sal so receptive in nearly month, not since Aran-Salath had been killed by the Hand. This was the Sal he remembered, cunning, smart ready for action. Something nagged at him though, why the sudden change. Watch Sal, his passion is strong.

They traveled all night, and Sal was attentive to everything Ravenna had to teach. As the day dawned bright and clear, Kha felt that today really would be the day that Historica changed.

The heroes from across Historica gathered outside of Victor’s stronghold and prepared for the assault. The castle on the borders of all 4 guilds seemed to have sprung from nowhere. No one remembered having seen it before. But how could they all have missed something so large!

The assault on the main gates was intense and led by Rellik Nam of the Hand.

Inside, Kha, Sal and Ravenna had made it into Victor’s throne room. “So, this is the rabble that has come to stop me? You send a distraction to the front gates and distract my forces so that you can take me out…..hahaha. This may be the best entertainment I’ve had in a while!”

“Victor, the Druids have gathered and orchestrated this coordinated effort against you. You may find that you powers are subdued and your elementals gone,” Ravenna smiled as she informed him of his predicament.

“And now you will die bastard! My wife fell to your thugs, and while I have systematically removed them, you are the focus of my vengeance!” Kha heard the anguish in Sal’s voice, but there was something else too. It seemed as if Sal spoke with hope as well. Watch Sal, his passion is strong.

Sal, launched himself at Victor and in a spray of gore, his twin blades ripped Victor’s body into several pieces that fell into the glowing portal in the center of the room. Sal, slowly stood up from the ground and looked at Kha without any emotion in his eyes.

“Now Kha, it’s time to bring Aran back to us.”

“What are you are talking about Sal? She’s gone there’s nothing you can do!” As he was speaking, he saw Sal crossing the room to the throne. In a frozen horror, Kha saw Sal lift the Helm of the Druids and place it on his head.

“You see Kha, Ravenna taught me all about the powers of Druids last night. Victor was a fool, he sought conquest and supreme power through his elemental bullies. But, the power in here that cannot be stopped is that of life and death. With this I can bring Aran back to life!”

“Sal, you didn’t listen to me, you only heard the words I spoke! The power of life and death is not to be toyed with!” Ravenna looked desperate and started to approach Sal but stopped abruptly as if frozen.

“The power of life and death. You see I did listen, and I know that I can remove your life if necessary, or just suspend it as I am doing now. I don’t want what Victor wanted, and I don’t want to hurt you. I just want my wife back, and I will not allow you to stop me.”

“Sal, you still aren’t listening. When you play with these powers, things change. She won’t be what you remember, and it will begin and unraveling of the line between life and death that will blur those lines across Historica!” Ravenna was desperate, but Kha could see that she was powerless to move.

“Sal, please….for Aran don’t do this!” Kha pleaded.

“For Aran, I am doing this.” Kha watched in horrified fascination as Sal slowly put on the Helm and sat in Victor’s throne. Watch Sal, his passion is strong….

Just some shots of the interior build to show the size and how it is held together, along with the LED's and underlighting.

So, here is the end of GoH challenges....I wish I had more time to do more. But, at least we have another round coming!

[soccerkid6]

The micro build is excellent, I like how the gatehouse matches the full size one

The actual gatehouse looks great, it is a realistic size and well-detailed.

Using the sports baseplates works very well in the throne room and the curved wall and light up effects are superb

One of my favorite stories so far too

[Kayne]

Thanks SK! I wanted to make sure to pay attention to the details enough to match the life-size with the micro build

[Brickington]

Great set of builds! I love the lighted brick addition!

[SkaForHire]

Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes. I really like the story, and all of the builds were excellent, I loved that you showed us how you worked the behind the scenes magic in the last build. This is one of my favorite so far (and all have been really good!).

[Legonardo]

really cool idea, nice too see me again :)

good luck!

[Kayne]

really cool idea, nice too see me again :)

good luck!

Yeah, I made as many sigfigs as I could to still make them recognizable! You may notice that deGothia is never seen head on.....I don't have that face, so I had to fake it!

[Wedge09]

Great work with all :thumbup:

[kabel]

Great build, awesome forced perspective and an interesting story. Quite gruesome, I wonder what happens next!

[Kai NRG]

Great job Kayne, I like the twist at the end of the story and all three builds are excellent, especially the interior! Great micro-build as well, and the behind the scenes shows just how much work you put into this!

[Captain BeerBeard]

All three scenes are great! The micro is very well done.The brick brick adds a lot of detail. I like that you pulled off using the angled wall pieces. I can never get anything going with those. The throne room has a very unique design. I have never seen those parts before. It looks really cool especially with your light effect. Your photo's are great too. Awesome job. :thumbup:

[Mike S]

Nice story! I really like how you tried to replicate the gate in micro form. The gate MOC is really well done and the lighting on the inside MOC is awesome. At first I was wondering where you had found multicolored flame pieces.

[Maxim I]

I really love how you did the walls of the interior scene!!! That's just awesome!!!!

Also excellent stained windows !

And very interesting story as well

Kaliphlin is on a roll!!!

[Gideon]

I really like how you have matched the micro build to the gatehouse, and the moat is really nice! The barrel is a nice detail, but it looks as if it is extremely light?

The lighting in the interior is just wow!

[de Gothia]

This is so nice! The gatehouse is the jewel here! So good looking! The big and grand interior scene is very well fitting for a throne room!

Fun to see my sigfig in your great story! But you lack my head?! I have like 6 copies of de Gothia in different torsos! =)

[robuko]

Excellent entry Kayne. The micro and the gatehouse are superb, I really like the volcanic eruption and the water in the moat. Brilliant use of the LEDs. The posing of the figures in Victor's death scene is superb. I really like the story too fitting into your character arc. I very nearly went down this route too, the resurrection stone gambit but I think it fits your characters much better than I could have done it.

[Kayne]

This is so nice! The gatehouse is the jewel here! So good looking! The big and grand interior scene is very well fitting for a throne room!

Fun to see my sigfig in your great story! But you lack my head?! I have like 6 copies of de Gothia in different torsos! =)

I thought for sure I had that head, but I cannot find it...so you made the cameo's from behind

Excellent entry Kayne. The micro and the gatehouse are superb, I really like the volcanic eruption and the water in the moat. Brilliant use of the LEDs. The posing of the figures in Victor's death scene is superb. I really like the story too fitting into your character arc. I very nearly went down this route too, the resurrection stone gambit but I think it fits your characters much better than I could have done it.

Thanks! I've had that trans orange wing piece forever and finally found a way to use it!

I really like how you have matched the micro build to the gatehouse, and the moat is really nice! The barrel is a nice detail, but it looks as if it is extremely light?

The lighting in the interior is just wow!

No, the Hand is just really strong

All three scenes are great! The micro is very well done.The brick brick adds a lot of detail. I like that you pulled off using the angled wall pieces. I can never get anything going with those. The throne room has a very unique design. I have never seen those parts before. It looks really cool especially with your light effect. Your photo's are great too. Awesome job. :thumbup:

I have like 30 of those angled pieces, and needed to use them eventually. Faslund (David Frank) on Flickr uses them well, so I drew some inspiration from him on this

[Ecclesiastes]

Great stuff! I love the micro with the erupting volcano and you can see the similarity from the micro gate compared to the bigger one really well. Also nice touch of the use of light in the throne room and those wall parts worked out nicely!

[ZCerberus]

I really like the lights in the interior build. I also think the FP build is very nice.

The seige/attack build may be my favorite of the three. Good job on making it symmetrical, yet not symmetrical.

[Rogue Angel]

I like the use of the microbuild, and the little castle is well done. I also like the larger castle, but the throne room is definitely my favorite. The wall pieces worked great, and I too don't remember seeing them before. I also really like the brazier/firepit in the middle, and the design details around the globe. The story is best part though, and the twist at the end is exellent. Great entry!