We built this Kingdom on Rock 'n' Stone!

Today is the first of the projects many updates which we'll be posting right here in the update log! We hope that you'll keep following the project to check out news and additions to the site as we progress with the build, of course the site is a work in progress so if you have any suggestions or ideas I'll certainly pass them onto our head builder!

Levelling out the playing field...

First thing that we did was of course plan out the city, our head building Skube is a keen artist and so he prefers to do all of his plans on graph paper by hand rather than using software or ingame prototypes. Unfortunately I currently don't have any scanned images of the layout of the City but we're hoping to upload them sooner or later onto the project in another update.

Anyway, back on target we then found our location and started the beautiful and painful Terra-forming process. To begin we started by levelling out the ground, although personally I prefer constructing my builds on un-sculpted terrain to give a more natural feel the sheer size of the City needed some ground work in place. Once we'd levelled out the ground a little we began the process of planning out the city districts on the actual build using simple shape outlines along the ground to indicate wall and building locations.

[i.imgur.com/0lzVD.jpg]

Once we were ready we began construction on the walls. Not normally the general method of building a city where you start at the middle and work your way out we decided on our city boundaries and then chose what we'd fill it in with. A strange way of going about it however with careful planning beforehand we knew we could pull it off... maybe...

[i.imgur.com/B2Wt8.jpg]

That's all we have for this update on the build, the area has been flattened out and we've now walled up the entirety of the City. Next time we'll be going over the Imperial District, a raised section of the city that overlooks the coast and the lower city quarters. See you next update for more!

Nature Calls!

Today was another day of building, well at least some building was done... Now that the walls are all in place and we've flattened the land for construction plans, our chief builder, thought the city needed a little nature. Now I have no idea why the "War Nation" that is the Zardonian Empire have such a keen interest nature and horticulture but I digress. "Trees", he shouts; "It needs trees". So that's what we did...

Planting the foundations of success...

Now with our chief builder being the way he is we couldn't just go out and plant the trees... on no, that's far too simple. Instead he went and made his own, the Zardonian Pine. Once the basic trees were made, we made a few different copies to keep it looking natural it was time for the WorldEdit to help us out. So he went around the base of the uppertown which at the time was a bare cliff face, smoothed it out a little and began pasting his tree empire into the city. Hope you enjoy the latest developments of the city and we're keeping on target with our Christmas Holiday goal!

[i.imgur.com/mPdxf.jpg]

Burning Your Inheritance

So we were looking at our creation and realised, "we have a lot of space here". We wanted our city to feel like a city, in both its aesthetics (looks) and its function, so we wanted every building in the city to have a purpose and have a reason for being there. In so many projects we see people always leave out the interiors of their builds and just focus on the exterior look... we wanted purpose, so that's what we got!

It's not betting unless you lose...

So we had this structure that we weren't quite sure what we wanted to do with it. Ideas of an embassy were passed around but one idea in particular grabbed our attention, a casino. On the server we have a number of cities but we've never built a casino where members can go and foolishly waste their money... so it had to be done to keep the balance of the world (people were just getting too well-off!).

After its construction we began on the interior, and a little addition to the exterior in the form of a very nice pathed eagle design on the floor (the symbol for the Zardonian Empire). Soon we had the casino ready and constructed, and once the city is completed it will be open for people to drink away their worries and burn off their existing fortunes.

[i.imgur.com/38R9J.jpg]

Selling goods and crap

The project has been going in an interesting direction over the last few days in regards to the fact we've put pretty much no organisation into it, now I'm no civil engineering expert but I'm pretty sure they don't build Casinos as their primary concern when constructing a city but I digress. Today we thought, "every good city needs shops", so with our goal set down we went about construction on the city market building...

Highway to shopping disaster...

Well we knew what we were building and we knew the style we were going to build it in, now came the time we actually needed to construct it. With it based on a similar style to the Compound Tower on the server we were looking for an interesting courtyard design, with a large impressive tower shooting upwards. No idea what the intentions we had for the tower, because nobody is going to be renting a shop on the 5th floor but still.

Once we had the base of it designed the rest was pretty straightforward, we built a typical U-shape enclosed area allowing for our sealed off yet accessible courtyard area to be made. After a few tweaks here and there we came up with a floor design we liked and represented Zardon well... then after the tower was complete the only thing left to do was make an Update Log about it!

[i.imgur.com/RfkTw.jpg]

Hold Up... something's missing

So another few days building and ità à às been a while now since the last update on this page so letà à às have a look at whatà à às new. On the server we love a good story and to us the lore of the city is as important as how it looks, for that reason we thought weà à à d spice up the city a little with a good old fashioned disaster. Using a concept we already use on the server called the Corruption we decided to create a district of the city with a theme, the theme of siege.
Emergence hole, just ain't big enough...

The idea is that the city has been assaulted in a Gears of War esque style where the hordes of Corruption have collapsed a section of the floor from which they have risen to attack the city. In response to the invasion the Zardonian Military have sealed off the city doors to the area preparing their own counter-assault. Conjuring the weapons of war called Trebuchets they aim to claim back the city district.
[i.imgur.com/y331P.jpg]

Bloodlines as complex as the Da Vinci Code

Right well another day has come and gone and really not much building was done, so i'm sorry to say this update is really about some lore and information about the background of the build rather than a specific building that we've constructed. Really the question is then, what's this all about? Well hold on to your hats as we venture back in time to the founding of the Zardonian Empire.

More Nobles than the Queens party...

Let's start at the very beginning, out of the roleplay side of things on the server we wanted a city that had a bit of difference about it. We already had Camelot which is considered the "good" empire and we also had our good pals The Corruption which are obviously perceived to be the "bad" guys in our story, with Zardon we wanted to blur the line a little bit and make the decision between good and evil a less straightforward one. BOOM! An idea was born, the Zardonian Empire was created by nine Noble families... the bloodline of the Kings.

The Empire was forged by these families in order to govern themselves, free from the "War-Tax" of the Camelot Empire during their battles with The Corruption. Of course with their accumulated mass fortune the group of Noble families began construction on the grandest city in known history. With great towers and spanning walls their aim was to make the perfect defensive city, allowing them to watch as the world around them shifter with change and war... as they remained unaffected. Anyway that concludes today's short update which I hope you enjoyed, sorry that there are no new builds out but we'll be back to building in no time for you guys.

To end off the update for those who care, below is a list of all nine founding families:
- Boyd
- Eliott
- Campbell
- Graham
- Johnstone
- Armstrong
- Bannerman
- Dewar
- Forsyth

[i.imgur.com/ghY8p.jpg]

Anything from the trolley?
Well today we've begun pushing into the city and actually began the construction on the higher town, unfortunately it's not quite complete so i'll save the update on that for another time. However there is a new building in the city that is complete and that's the hotel... unfortunately it is situated in the district which has been attacked but oh well!

Rooms from luxurious to sh*te...
During the construction of the "attacked district", of which we are still in the process of coming up with a catchier name, we needed to choose the buildings that would have the unfortunate consequence of their location. Of course for the irony we chose a church to be the centrepiece of the district as cliche'd as it may be, but we did have more space to fill.

Using the same style as the rest of the city we went about making the city (or at least one of) inn. As a pretty simply build it did require some work especially with the cliffs around it which I'll go into. Using a basic courtyard style the build is box shaped with the central courtyard as its main feature. The roofs and columns were all designed beforehand and then constructed as the build went along eventually producing the final piece.

An interesting point is that the cliff behind it and the trees you can see on it are all man-made. The cliffs were build after the building so that it could be sat right into them with no space and the trees were added afterwards using our own Zardonian tree design mentioned in an earlier update. Anyway I'll stop this update around here so thanks again for checking out the project and I'll see you next time for more!

[i.imgur.com/Y1bRN.jpg]

Can you tell what it is yet?

Another day of building and I came onto the server to see what progress had been done on the city ready for me to write the update, and what was lying in wake for me wasn't quite what I was expecting. Of course I was awaiting construction on High District to be under way and therefore imagining I would see some houses or something built... instead there was something else that's pretty cool. A Lions head?

More roar, less claw...

I had to admit when I first saw the creature head embedded into the cliff behind it, my first thoughts was that it was a Monkey but I have confirmation from our chief-builder that it is most certainly a Lions head. BUT OF COURSE, nothing is simply here on the server oh no, there has to be a story behind every build and the animal facade is one of these builds. So sit down and strap in for the story, explaining in folk law how the Founding Families came to begin construction of their city...

The Founding Families: Folklaw Tale
This was the final straw. Years of constant war had left the city dry, both physically and financially. Yet still those dictators, blind to the suffering of their people, demanded money, ever raising the taxes to higher and more ridiculous heights to fuel their lust for war and violence. Those who sought to bring sense to this corrupted place we dealt with severely and injustice flowed through the city like a raging river of malice. The lords had had enough. They fled to ruined society of Camelot in search of a new homeland. But they weren't the only ones to escape with the same intention. The lords wandered for many days, till they came upon a forest. Mighty oaks towered through the forest canopy, the leaves awash with the colours of fall. Suddenly the skies darkened around them. A mighty shadow swooped down from the heavens and landed with an earth shuddering thud, the sun gleaming off it's iridescent plumage. The eagle eyed the lords. "Thou who hast travelled far in search of thy homeland, answer my question and thy search may be eased", the eagle spoke in a booming voice, o But knoweth this, should thou answer unwisely or attempt to mask the truth, thou shalt return to the dirt from which you were once born". The lords take it in turn to answer; all but one answered wisely, the other having lied.
"Thou hast shown ill in thy methods. Leave now or I shall carry out the punishment that I had set" The lords beg and plea for another chance and eventually relinquishes, "Should thou wish to attempt to gain forgiveness, venture forth to the great mountain to where the waters roar and tumble from the skies, but help from me thou shalt not receive", with that the eagle took to the skies and disappeared over the skyline in mere seconds.
The lords eventually came to the roaring waters. Before them towered a gigantic waterfall. But over the thunder of the water came a more terrifying sound. The growl sent shivers down the soul. The mountain lion pounced onto a boulder and cast a wary eye on the lords. "Fair lords", the lion spoke with a feminine voice with a slight sense of allure,"knoweth that your past actions have cast an ill opinion on you, but there is some virtue to you so you have been given this gift of a second opportunity to prove yourselves in these tests of agility and strength". And prove themselves they did. The one that had answered the evil with an ill answer excelled at the trials.
Though the lords had proved themselves, the mountain lion could not shake the bad omen that clung to that that one lord like the foul stench that follows death. "Though thou hast proved them but you must venture to the fiery summit of this here mount to meet with the wise one. I cannot help you any further on your journey".
At last the lords made it to the summit of the mountain, where the rocks burned in fierce flames and flowed across the ground like daemonic tongues. "Who dares come to this place of purity with such a cloak of malice?" The voice echoed off the strewn boulders that littered the creator. Without warning, some of the boulders came to life, or at least they looked like boulders. The dragon came to life before them. "Answer me now or forfeit you lives!" The lords told their story and for a while the dragon sat and pondered its decision. "I shall guide you to your promised land where you shall prosper, but on one condition", the dragon's gaze fell upon the corrupted lord, "This one's heart is black and tainted so cannot go with us." In an act of outrage, the lord drew his blade and lunged at the dragon and plunged it, right up to the hilt, deep into the dragon's chest. With one last death throw the dragon slumped to the ground, the embers in its eyes going out. The dragon lay dead
The lords looked on in disbelief; in horror at the callous actions of their companion. But that lord spied something of value in the glowing abdomen of the great lizard. He withdrew his blade from the dragon's chest and in one skilled movement, cut a great gash in the dragon's flesh leaving a gaping chasm into the belly of the beast.
He threw his sword to the side and plunged his hands into the open maw of the abdomen, pulling out a glowing heart. He held it above his head in triumph. But it was not to be. The heart cracked, then burst with explosive force. The tainted one was thrown of the mountainside and fell into the valley below. As the fires died down the other lords rushed to see what had become of the evil one but there was no trace of him left here. All that was there on the ground where he had stood only moments before was half of a heart. They picked it up and with that they left, vowing never to return to this place. As they walked past it, a unusually smooth boulder glowed softly....

[i.imgur.com/NhPd6.jpg]

Everything looks good: Touch wood

Ok so maybe it's a little late to be making Halloween themed titles but I was running out of puns and I needed one that was loosely related to trees (which is the hollow bit). Anyway back to it, it's been another few days and the server co-owner has been hard on building the city and getting bits and pieces ready. So there has been progress this week you'll be glad to hear and we've actually pushed on right into the mountains now in the high district and it's all slowly coming together thanks to some great work.

Anyway, for this update as always i'll be slapping up another picture of our latest adventures and we're featuring another bit of lore about the city. From the start we set out trying to make a living city with histories and lores which is pretty much what we've been doing with it (as well as of course the build work).

Jack and Jill went up the hill...

The Twined Tree
It was a warm autumn day in the mountains of Zardon. The girl and boy ran through the forest without a care in the world. They just ran around dodging the falling leaves, showing off as each tried to be more graceful in dodging. They soon lost track of time and eventually stumbled on the gigantic tree. The leaves of this wooden behemoth were of the darkest shades of ebony and its bark of the. The children stood in awe of this ancient giant. Letting the curiosity get the better of the girl strode up to the tree. The brother could only watch with a worried expression as his sister got closer and closer to the tree. Want to prove how much braver she was than her brother; she began to climb the tree. She called for her brother to join her, but he refused and merely stood there and watched. She climbed and climbed and was almost at the top when disaster struck. The girl, in her haste and eagerness to get to the top and got her foot entangled in the thick ivy that encrusted the entire face of the tree. She wriggled her foot in an attempt to free it from the vines, but to no avail. She was beginning to panic but she did not want her frighten her brother on the ground below, standing in awe of his sister's bravery. She felt that bravery slowly draining from her body. As she sought to pry the ivy of her leg she got a splinter in her finger. She pulled the splinter, which had gone some distance through the skin, free but as she did a drop of her blood fell upon the ivy. It began to move. She first thought that it was just the wind, but the movement of the ivy seemed unnatural. With blood trickling from her finger down the length of her hand, she furiously fought to free her foot from the ivy- tears streaming down her face. But now the ivy began to move more noticeably and started to entwine itself around the girl's leg, then her body and eventually she was swamped by the vines. With a final scream she was consumed by the ivy. Her brother was rooted to the ground in sheer terror. It was only the next morning, when the mother of the children informed a town guard that her children had not returned home the previous evening, that a search party found the boy by the tree- black sap covered his hands. The people followed his gaze to the canopy, un-prepared for the horrific and sickening sight that awaited them there. It was the body of the girl, or what was once the girl. It was as if she had been mauled by some vicious beast, so unrecognizable was she. The boy was taken for questioning as to the events of the previous day, but he spoke not even a syllable. He just stared vacantly into the distance. Soon the people began to believe that he had practised witchcraft, and was sentenced by the High Priest to be hung at the tree in which his sister had met her end. So was it. The boy was hung. Many of those attending the execution wept for the boy, and many a person had wondered if this had been the right thing to do. As the boy's corpse swung gently in the breeze, an unusually thing occurred. The tree began shedding its ebony leaves and, in their place, luscious emerald green leaves and vibrant pink flowers blossomed. It is believed that on his death, the boy's soul joined that of his sister's and merged with the tree, expelling the evil force that had once presided within it. The tree went on to know as the tree of the Twined Souls.

It's been a while, how you been?
Sorry guys about the lack of updates over the past few days but i've been locked away playing Hitman and perfecting my skills of assassination. Anyway, whilst i've had a little time away from the server the building has still trucked on and there are a few additions that we'll be going over in the coming week to keep you guys up to date on all that's happening with the city as we approach its December deadline!

Learning to court(yard)...
So since the last time we did an update the city seems to have reached new heights... literally. Climbing into the mountains between steep valley walls a path snakes up to the Castle. The most grand part of the city. The castle is going to be built into the mountain on which the rest of the city resides, with some overhanging parts and some hidden beneath the rocky mountain surface. Once of the first sights to see once you've made the walk to the top of the mountain is the castle courtyard. This is where the guards are able to sort the Rabble from the VIP's so to say.

Following the same theme as the rest of Zardon the courtyard was completed in no time at all, the only problem we found was finding something to put in the centre. In the end, the courtyard became more environmentally focused with four trees situated in the yard with a centralised cross. Hope you enjoy the progress and more to come in the near future!

[i.imgur.com/bdsIE.jpg]
[i.imgur.com/IKJdT.jpg]