HSS: Shadowmere West Gate

[Lord Vladivus]

A bleak sun rises over a black citadel, and two Kaliphlinites approach the West Gate of Shadowmere.

The gate, however, is currently shut.

A voice, sharp and growling sounds from the crenellations above the gate. "Halt, and move to one side".

The voice came from a leopardman watch officer atop the walls.

The Kaliphlinites duly moved off the road, and to one side, puzzled by this request.

The gates swung open, revealing a mighty werewolf, none other than General Fenrir Bloodcloak himself, marching forth at the head of a line of Shadowmere Guard.

The guard were mainly comprised of spearmen, their livery of red and black distinctive.

To one side, accompanied by their bodyguards, were Lord Vladivus of Shadowmere, and Sir Beorthan of the Trifork.

Vladivus: "So, we have an accord? Shadowmere will send trade representatives to the Trifork? Nocturnian forged armour and weapons will certainly aid you."

Beorthan: "Aye, especially if they are as well wrought as your warriors have equipped here. They are certainly a force to be reckoned with, if not exactly living!"

Vladivus: "Heh, not all of my troops are raised from the dead back to the living, although it certainly makes life easier. Look."

A line of human troops in a blue livery marched by, their armour and weapons dull, but the edges keen and eager for blood.

Beorthan: "Who are they? Not in the colours of Shaowmere?"

Vladivus: "They are Black Falcons, led by Eothain the Mad. After the death of his brother, Eothed the Mighty, at Strangeholt Tower, he has sworn fealty to me, and not the Black Spire. These troops head to Abyssian, to bolster the loyalist Nocturnians."

Vladivus: "Come, let us follow them to the gate, and I will bid thee farewell."

Beorthan: "Indeed, this is proving to be a prosperous alliance."

Vladivus: "Farewell then, I shall send scouts with you to ensure safe passage back through the Kelra Labyrinths, although I am sure you and Cassius would be able to handle most of the challenges within!"

Beorthan: "My thanks Vla..."

The two Kaliphlintes who had been stood outside of the gate as the troops filed past, approached, causing Beorthan to trail off and eye these newcomers with interest.

Kaliphlinite: "Hail Vladivus, I am a follower of Masa of Kaliphin, and this is Lysus the Leander. We seek the Aslanic Temple within your walls."

Vladivus: "Welcome, you may pass." To Beorthan: "Farewell my friend, safe journey!"

With that, the Kaliphlinites wntered the citadel of Shadowmere...

... And Beorthan of the Trifork left.

A vendor sells iron swords, forged by Nocturnian dwarves...

... Whilst a Shkyklyk vendor sells fish by the barrel.

More sinisterly, a hooded figure wielding a large axe prepares to perform an execution on the Death Sands.

Overview:

Front overview.

Rear overview.

EDIT: Bonus picture of the Black Falcons:

So, my biggest moc to date!

C+C Welcome! And thanks to Bregir for the use of his sig-fig!

Edited September 6, 2014 by Lord Vladivus

[IenjoyLego89]

Cool build :) I really like the black falcon and the story works really well with the posing :) the walls are very well done as well :)

[Kayne]

Alright, well this was a nice surprise to wake up to this morning! Very cool build, and a great addition to your storyline going on here. I really like the flow of the story, how it ties together with some of what you've been having going on, but also ties in the current political situation in Nocturnus and some of the recent events with Masa. It really makes the GoH world feel more dynamic that way. As for the build itself, my thoughts are as follows: The landscape out front of the fortress looks very Nocty and I think you did a good job of making it look bleak and dying without it being just a solid dark tan plate. The fortifications look good, especially since they are all black, you added in some textures, etc to make it not a bland wall. My two suggestions on the build would be to maybe make the wall 'thicker' in some spots. It seems to be about 1 brick wide near the door which in reality would be easy to knock down in a siege. Second, would be the door. While the door itself looks nice, I am not a fan of how it fits into the doorframe. The opening mechanism makes it stick out to far into the frame in my opinion and the opening at the top under the arch also seems a bit off. That being said, a great build and very happy to see this from you!

[MKJoshA]

Great build! Black is such a hard color to photograph. It always looks better in person, but you've done a fantastic job with it! I love the story and the way you continue to make allies throughout all the guilds. I'm looking forward to more!

[Alfadas]

Awesome build, and story! Really like the road, with all it's cracks. Also love the ballista, the tower and the prison. So, basically everything! Awesome work!

[Lord Vladivus]

Thanks guys!

@Kayne, I do agree about the gate itself, I definitely found this the trickiest part. As for the thinness of the wall, that's more of a "I didn't think about it enough". Whoops! I'd explain it in universe as it creates a bottleneck, and is to entice attackers to assault this gate, and be drawn into a killing ground between here and the Inner Wall. The defences of Shadowmere are mazelike!

[Yzalirk]

Very nice build LV, Nocturnus never ceases to amaze me!

[Gunman]

Nice one there LV! I like landscaping and the fountain

[Aland1916]

Very nice build and great story. Well done!

[Mike S]

Awesome build! Great to see Shadowmere starting to take shape in minifig scale! The blood fountain, execution square, shop, and armory are all great details that make the build come alive! Also awesome to see Masa's follower and the Leander represented as well as Beorthan of the Trifork. Always exciting to have some interaction coming together for builds.

[Infernum]

Wow! Cool build! Love the way you did the landscape, I really wish I had some of those fancy new plant pieces! The brown and burnt orange section is really well done! The story is very nice, and that ballista is an awesome detail! Great work!

[-Carson Haupt-]

This is greatly done! I love all the interactions going on.

[Lord Vladivus]

Thanks guys!

@Mike, the interactions between different sig-figs is something that I think is great about GoH. I'm slowly building up various people's sig-figs when I see parts on Bricklink stores I'm buying from. The whole world gets tied together through these little interactions- it's no longer a set of builds I've done, or a set of builds [insert other member here] has done, both sets are a larger set of GoH builds with an intertwined story.

@Infernum, I have to say, I totally stole the orange and brown landscaping colour scheme from you, you did a couple of builds with it, and I really liked it!

[SkaForHire]

Really cool, black is so hard to build with and you did it justice with your pictures and breaking it up a bit. Great job!

[LordDan]

Wow this is an impressive build! Those walls are very formidable, and well defended too, with all those guards and a balista. I love how there is so much activity going on, from busy vendor and public executions to visiting travlers, departing legions, and important discussions going on in one build. Shadowmere certainly is an intresting place! :)

[Gideon]

Excellent build! I like that you are scaling up Shadowmere like this, and still keeping the level of detail

The minifig posing, landscaping and both the black and dark gray parts are great.

However, I agree that the gate hinges look a bit flimsy. Maybe if the gate was allowed to swing in only one direction it could be attached without gaps?

I think btw that you've done a good job in photographing the black, which is notoriously hard to do. A small piece of advice is to remove the dust on the build prior to shooting. I use both canned air and a vacuum cleaner with a net.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Gideon

[Scaevola]

My favorite build from you for the moment Vlad! There's so much to like in this build, especially the volcanic fissure, the worn road, and the blood fountain. Keep it up :thumbup:

[gedren_y]

Nicely detailed build, and a well orchestrated story. The Shadowmere is attracting quite a few visitors. Ambassador Neord Bloodmane should be in residence at the Nestlands Embassy in a few weeks.

[Bacon Potatoes]

Nicely done! The story line is a great way to showcase this build and I especially love the helmets on spikes at the main approach.

[Lord Vladivus]

Thank you guys! Mid doing this build, I was half tempted to build it as a ruin, and have Shadowmere destroyed by the Black Spire, as black is horrible to photograph. For the record, my iPhone 5 does a pretty good job- it's able to adjust light levels and the like automatically, so if you keep tapping the screen in different places, you can figure out which focussing gives the best lighting. I'm going to persevere, although I'm not entirely sure how I'll get on if I build Vladivus' tower.

@Gideon, would you believe, I vacuumed the build right before I took photos. What's canned air?

@Gedren, Lord Vladivus awaits Neord's arrival!

Edited September 6, 2014 by Lord Vladivus

[Gideon]

@Gideon, would you believe, I vacuumed the build right before I took photos. What's canned air?

Compressed gas (like this) used to clean for example electronics. Somewhat pricey, but great at getting rid of dust which is stuck to Lego bricks

[Lord Vladivus]

Compressed gas (like this) used to clean for example electronics. Somewhat pricey, but great at getting rid of dust which is stuck to Lego bricks

I know the stuff! Ironically, my dad and I used some (that brand I think) to clean off my old Lego when I tried to sell it going into my dark ages (I didn't sell much other than Bionicles).

[Hammerhand]

Very nice build Vlad, it's cool to see Lord Vladivus's home! I really like the cobblestone road, it looks great.

[mccoyed]

Awww man this build! I don't know what I like better, all these very specifically Nocturnian ideas or the way you present and capture your story in very well conceived and executed photos!

[vitreolum]

Great build, I love the blood fountain. :)