Shroud of the Avatar – Update of the Avatar #142

by GolemDragon · September 12, 2015

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

The Fortress at Hilt in Nightshade Pass
Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 21 Postmortem
Skeleton Decorations
Stone Dragon Statue Decorations

The Fortress at Hilt in Nightshade Pass

Within the Blackblade Mountains, between South Paladis to the west and Midmaer to the east, is the narrow cleft of Nightshade Pass. At its center the winding pass opens up into a bowl-shaped canyon in which rests a shimmering lake fed by icy water flowing down from glaciers hidden higher in the mountains to the north. On the south end of this valley can be seen the tall volcanic mountain of Hilt that gives this region its name.

According to legend, before the Fall of the shards of the shattered moon, there was a great battle between the Gods of Man and the Avatars. It raged all across the face of the world. One of the Avatars saw that they could not win and so, rather than fight the gods, he plunged his blade into the world, desiring to kill that thing which the gods loved most; their creation. The edge of the sword tore through the fertile lands of the world, opening a great and terrible wound which became known as Hellfire Rift. It was here, then, that the gods in their wrath stopped the Avatar and cast him back into the Abyss from which he came. But the damage had been done and the gods, in their wisdom, left the hilt of the blade exposed until such time as some legendary hero from some other legend were to come along and heal the world. That’s what that southernmost peak is supposed to be; the hilt.

It’s on the north end of the canyon, however, that the area’s most interesting feature can be found. Built over two hundred years ago by the Obsidian general Karpasic (during the time depicted in Blade of the Avatar), the fortress at Hilt was created as a conceit for the glory of the Obsidian military power (which didn’t please the Cabal of the Obsidian Sorcerers). Furthermore, according to legend it was where the military discovered, deep below the earth, the wondrous obsidian forges. During its time, however, the excuse of its building was to further fortify and secure Nightshade Pass itself, since enemy armies could not easily travel through the valley pass without using the bridged ford located between the lower walls of the fortress, exposing them to fire from soldiers and mages stationed on the battlements above.

As I began to build this area, I once again carefully referenced Blade of the Avatar, which luckily described this complex fortification in great detail. The images below show my earliest work as I sculpted the base terrain and laid out the many pieces used for the fortress area itself (luckily a mix of existing objects plus all the Obsidian architectural pieces you saw me create during an earlier post). In this first image, you can see me exiting the western side of the pass and gazing eastward into the canyon bowl in dawn’s early light toward the pass leading to Midmaer. On the left (northern) side of the lake you can see the immense statues flanking either side of the fortress’ lower walls. Please note, I haven’t begun to place trees, plants, or boulders which will further indicate scale and detail, so distant scenes like these will seem quite stark for now.

Moving down into the valley’s bowl, this next image shows the view from the base of these statues as one looks up toward the formidable silhouette of the fortress tower itself, rising five tiers above the valley floor. These tiers are reached by a series of switch-back ramps that lead to the courtyard at the very top. The tower bears all the hallmark visual details of other Obsidian architecture, using as its base form the structure used for the Tower of the Shuttered Eye.

While searching for decent screenshots of this area, our new weather system caused it to become overcast and start raining. The images below capture the fortress walls and tower as they are briefly illuminated by flashes of lightning. Eventually you’ll be able to see cascades of water flowing from those huge drain grates to each of the tier levels below them. In the book it describes inner gates that, in the old days, could be raised or lowered to allow each tier to be flooded in an attempt to destroy any enemy forces attempting to assail the fortress.

In the images below I’ve caught a few views of the area from above, which gives you a better idea of the fortress’ layout. In the second image, gained from walking to the top of the central tower of the upper-most shield wall, we see a view of the distant volcanic peak of Hilt rising above the valley’s southern rim. If one could gaze through that peak (if the map were actually contiguous), the treacherous Hellfire Rift would be seen extending southward toward the Bay of Storms.

Turning back toward the fortress’ main tower you can see the unique entrance of Hilt as described in the novel. Eventually the four statues will have differences between them indicating the fact that they’ve been vandalized over the years, and that they once represented four different Obsidian Lords responsible for the might of their armies.

Here’s another establishing shot seen from the opposite side of the valley. This view can be obtained by climbing up the narrow trail that leads south from the main pass on the east side, as it winds its way up toward the base of the volcano toward the overworld map and the Hellfire Rift zone.

And lastly, another view of the fortress’ entrance, this time from the beginning of the eastern leg of Nightshade Pass. I was lucky enough to capture the shattered moon in the sky, so I just had to share it with you…

I’ll post more as I finish decorating the valley and exterior fortress itself. Enjoy!

Scottie ^_^

Hangout of the Avatar ~ Release 21 Postmortem

We had a great Hangout of the Avatar this week, with Richard, Starr, and Chris chatting about Release 21 and providing a sneak peek at Release 22. FireLotus fielded lots of questions and feedback live in the chat-room and from the original post! Here’s the video in case you missed it live:

Stone Dragon Statue Decorations

Want to make a statement and impress your neighbors? Then dress up your property with an epic Stone Dragon Statue, available in the Add-On Store in four lot sizes: Village, Town, City, and Keep! They can also be placed in Dynamic Player Owned Towns.