MrBear Posted February 14, 2015 Author Share Posted February 14, 2015 Work has continued a bit, I've mostly been working on the metals but I've also started on some other details aswell. More to follow during the coming week hopefully... http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0305_zpsa5e242ff.jpg Updates looking great Mr bear. Nice mix of FW and GW parts Thanks Grizzly_bear! Mixing parts is to make them a bit more varied and individual, glad you like them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathspectersgt7 Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Coming along nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radiation Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 That guy is awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly_bear Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Work has continued a bit, I've mostly been working on the metals but I've also started on some other details aswell. More to follow during the coming week hopefully... http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0305_zpsa5e242ff.jpg Updates looking great Mr bear. Nice mix of FW and GW parts Thanks Grizzly_bear! Mixing parts is to make them a bit more varied and individual, glad you like them! Exactly like all marines are meant to be brother Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augustus b'Raass Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 That guy DOES look like a boss. I'm always astonished by the use of that helmet. I hated it at first sight, but others somehow make it work super well with their models. Nice job, MrBear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrautScientist Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 That guy DOES look like a boss. I'm always astonished by the use of that helmet. I hated it at first sight, but others somehow make it work super well with their models. Nice job, MrBear! This. I can never get that helmet to work for me either, but that makes your achievement all the more commendable ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flint13 Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Sweet! His helm looks like a teeny portcullis. I approve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother-Chaplain Kage Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 If there's ever been a helm crying out for the NL skull face paint, it's that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBear Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share Posted February 16, 2015 Not much news to report regarding painting, I'll do some painting tonight and tomorrow night and hopefully there are some changes worth taking a photo of after that. FW have finally sent a message telling me that some minor goodies are on their way though so I should be able to start modelling Second Claw sometime next week... Coming along nicely. Thanks deathspecter! I will try to keep him on track. That guy is awesome. Thanks Radiation! Glad you like him. Exactly like all marines are meant to be brother I'd say that chaos are the ones that more than any other marines should look really individual considering their general situation but I agree with you brother, once upon a time I tried to make my old loyalist chapter look at least a bit individual aswell. That guy DOES look like a boss. I'm always astonished by the use of that helmet. I hated it at first sight, but others somehow make it work super well with their models. Nice job, MrBear! That guy DOES look like a boss. I'm always astonished by the use of that helmet. I hated it at first sight, but others somehow make it work super well with their models. Nice job, MrBear! This. I can never get that helmet to work for me either, but that makes your achievement all the more commendable Cheers fellas! I'm not very fond of the original helmet myself to be honest, I think it looks a bit 'busy' with that grill, horns, skulls and the arrow on the forehead. But I was trying a couple of different helmets for him and none of them felt right so I thought: 'Well... I might aswell try to do something with that one while I'm thinking. At least I can't make it any worse' I was a bit surprised myself when I was finished with it, there was a certain something about it that made me decide to go with it for the captain. Sweet! His helm looks like a teeny portcullis. I approve! Thanks Flint! You're right that there's something medieval about his helm, I first thought about 'Bane' when I saw it but I can definitely see the portcullis now that you mention it. If there's ever been a helm crying out for the NL skull face paint, it's that one. That's interesting brother, I hadn't considered a skull face since he's got so many skulls on his armour already. It could look really, really good though so I think I will be pondering about it for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBear Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 Time again for an update on the progress. Things have been a little bit busier at work than I expected so not quite as much done as I would have wished but here goes anyway... http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0311_zps5a3b7bed.jpg Taking photos at night during the winter is not the best idea there is as some things looks a bit... 'flat' but it's a fairly decent picture all things considered. So, what do you guys say? I'm still contemplating Brother Chaplain Kage's suggestion about painting a skull face on the helmet, would it be 'over the top' considering all the other skulls and bones or do you think that it would fit in nice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augustus b'Raass Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I saw your pick and thought 'this guy could benefit from a terror marking' and then I read your comment about Brother Chaplain Kage's suggestion. So yeah, I second that. :tu: Looking mighty fine brother. I didn't even realize the helmet missed his horns - and now I see how you've made it work :d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helterskelter Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Thirded. This guys pretty damn cool. The gun sight glass is perfect from what I can see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flint13 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 +10 points for such lovely lens glass. +10 more for a scope on a storm Bolter :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBear Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 I saw your pick and thought 'this guy could benefit from a terror marking' and then I read your comment about Brother Chaplain Kage's suggestion. So yeah, I second that. Looking mighty fine brother. I didn't even realize the helmet missed his horns - and now I see how you've made it work Well brother, some helmets work pretty fine with horns but this one just plainly doesn't. Getting rid of them didn't just fit my philosophy to have fairly few horned helmets, it actually made this one a viable choice and a somewhat unique head for the big guy. Thirded. This guys pretty damn cool. The gun sight glass is perfect from what I can see Thanks helterskelter, I'm pretty pleased with the progress so far and the glass might not be 100% perfect but it looks pretty sharp up close irl so I'm happy +10 points for such lovely lens glass. +10 more for a scope on a storm Bolter Thanks Flint! While I can take credit for the painting I can't do the same for the idea of the scope on the storm bolter. It's from the sternguard set and comes attached to the weapon from start, I'm keeping those extra 10 points though... And speaking about painting... Since everyone that has said their opinion regarding the terror mask has been in favor of it we're going to see the Captain with one. I will have a couple of busy days ahead of me at work but I think that I should be able to show some progress regarding that bit sometime during the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBear Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 An update again, life has been quite kind so it's a day or so earlier than I first expected it to be done... http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0325_zps52e0cf99.jpg Would this 'terror mask' be in line with what you imagined? The eye lenses and the shading and highlights of the mask doesn't really show in this photo but the general shape of it should be clear enough. Having finished his 'face' I think it's a pretty fair chance that I can manage to have this guy completed (painting and bakground) sometime during the next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augustus b'Raass Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 This is exactly what I was talking about. Well done mate. Excellent work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flint13 Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 His teeny portcullis is suitably terrifying. Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBear Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 Thanks fellas! Glad you liked the terror mask. Me and free handing doesn't exactly go hand in hand, it's in fact my second weakest skill (sculpting is the weakest...), so it took some time to get it right. Because of that I've had a somewhat lazy weekend when it comes to painting and have mostly just been drinking a few ales and watched the cross country skiing world championships (where the damned Norwegians are ahead of us!). There has been some painting though... You might have noticed the space marine helmet dangling in a chain, I thought that it was time to get that done at least. First I was thinking about a Dark Angel helmet but I since a few of my more ancient paints had dried up I went with another chapter instead: http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0346zoom_zps0ae1e50a.jpg I chose the Blood Angels as I was fairly certain that I could pull it of. When it was done I was pleasantly surprised, it went better than I had thought (even though the red is a bit brighter in the picture than irl). I might have to start painting the sons of Sanguinius sometime in the future, the gods know that my Space Hulk terminators needs to get painted one day. Only trouble is that I will probably have forgotten how I painted this helmet by then! That's far into the future though. I hope to do some more painting on the Captain in the coming days and to start modelling 2nd claw if my FW package arrives when it should... C&C is always welcome of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augustus b'Raass Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Nice helmet. Looks just like the original Blood Angels red of the 'Eavy Metal team. You know, during its 'red period early '90s. :tu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother-Chaplain Kage Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Would this 'terror mask' be in line with what you imagined? Awesome! I'm glad you went with the idea, and that it turned out well. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flint13 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Hehe that Blood Angel helm is so *spot on* 90's 'Eavy Metal it's scary :D You have exceptional lens painting skills. I must learn your secrets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBear Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 No photographs today, I've finished the base but that's not much to give the camera a go about. Besides, as he's fairly close to being finished I think I will save further photo updates until later this week when he's hopefully done. There is mostly patching up small mistakes and giving the armour a final highlight on the 'to do'-list, and his full background of course. Nice helmet. Looks just like the original Blood Angels red of the 'Eavy Metal team. You know, during its 'red period early '90s. Hehe that Blood Angel helm is so *spot on* 90's 'Eavy Metal it's scary Thanks guys! I've been in the hobby since the 90's but I was stricly a fantasy player between 96 and 00 so the Blood Angels didn't show up much on my radar back then. I had to flick through my old WD's for a comparison and the similarity is a bit eery to be honest. Would this 'terror mask' be in line with what you imagined? Awesome! I'm glad you went with the idea, and that it turned out well. It was a good idea mate, excactly what he needed! he would have looked a bit plain without it. You have exceptional lens painting skills. I must learn your secrets. I don't know if there are so many secrets to learn to be honest, this was the first time I ever done blue lenses so it was a bit of an experiment. But if you want to know what I did... 1. Watered down Kantor Blue over around 2/3rds of the lense 2. A thin coat of some old Ultramarines Blue over the bottom half of the Kantor Blue. 3. Hoeth Blue over much of the previous layer 4. Some Drakenhof Nightshade next to tie them together a bit 5. A 50/50 mix of of Hoeth Blue and White Scar in the bottom of the lense 6. The small white dot in the upper part of the lense Something like that anyway, I didn't make any notes at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBear Posted February 24, 2015 Author Share Posted February 24, 2015 No hobby progress this day I'm afraid, 10,5 hours between leaving for work and getting home again is a little bit too draining for getting anything done afterwards. Even so, there are some positive things to report: http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0349_zpsfaec7cd7.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0348_zpscd3709e6.jpg Yes, FW has delivered some nice little things. Looks like 2nd Claw and the Sorcerer will be put together sometime in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBear Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 So here we go, late as usual.... I have a really good explanation this time though as I was laid low by a rather nasty cold that didn't leave any energy for painting and/or writing. But having recovered things are now back on track! And it's a BIG update this time, be warned of a massive amount of text! ”I awoke in a dark chamber, tied to a chair. There was a single light burning on the table in front of me that allowed me to glimpse my surroundings and from what I saw, I understood that I was onboard a starship. As I tried to assemble my thoughts and plan my course of action a door opened to a dark corridor and a giant of a man entered the room. It was clear that he was an Astartes but not from the Chapters guarding the Imperium, nor from the Chambers Militant, as the bones of dead martyrs hung from his barouque armour. He wore no helmet and unlike any other heretics I have seen, his scarred and lined face still had a look of age-old nobility to my eyes. His flesh was pale as the finest marble, the eyes were black pools of darkness and his head was crowned by hair as white as snow. During my years in the Emperor's service I do not think that I have met anyone who has felt as ancient as he. Sorrow and anger, self-loathing and pride, those feelings and many more all seemed to radiate from him in a bewildering mixture as he leaned towards me and spoke in a deep voice: 'Inquisitor, I am glad that you have awoken. There is much for us to discuss in the coming nights.' God Emperor... I sometimes wish that I had never woken...” Testimony of Inquisitor Lector Sult, Ordo Hereticus Honored bretheren of the Ordo Hereticus, I bring to you this report regarding the 'incidents' on Sobek III with a special focus upon the abduction and eventual return of our esteemed colleague, and my former mentor, Lector Sult. The primary content of what I have to report has come from the testemonies of Inqusitor Sult with some further observations supplied from the Imperial relief force that responded to an astropathic distress call from Sobek III. In order to try to verify much of this information I have had to spend a substantional time in our archives as many of the sources have been classified to such an extent that none but a full Inqusitor is allowed to see what is recorded therein. I must to my regret report that, despite my efforts, the greater part of the truth remains beyond our grasp as many archives are sealed at the order of Inqusitors unknown to me, long dead or both. While I understand the need for information to be supressed lest it's contents lead to heresy and civil unrest I must lament the fact that knowledge useful to our task might be unretrivebly lost. Background: Sobek III is an agri-world orbiting a G-class star in the Adua sector of the Ultima Segmentum. In the lastest census a population of some 350000 people was recorded and a tithe grade of Exactis Prima was set by the Adeptus Terra. The world suffers from semi-regular solar storms wich combined with it's turbulent monsoons makes both intercontinential and inter system communication erratic at times. The main export is a highly productive hybrid grain that is one of the major sources of food for the Hive world of Dagoska, grox and other livestock are also raised in such areas that are unsuited to grain farming. Productivity has been in decline the last four years and the local Arbites have filed reports of suspected sabotage and cult activites, the latter related to a local 'fertility cult' and the prime reason to why Inquisitor Sult was making his investigations. At the time he conducted his work from Luthadel, the prime citadel of the local PDF, due to its location near the archives of the planetary capital of Terris and the military grade communication equipment that was gathered there. His investigation had barely started when contact with the eastern parts of the main continent began to fail. This was at first thought to be due to an unusual combination of monsoon rains and low level solar storms but the last reports that reached Luthadel before all communication broke down seemed to hint at more serious problems. As these eastern townships had been indicated as the source of the suspected cult activities Inquistor Sult made preparations against a general uprising. He believed that the citadel would be the target of a first strike aimed at decapitating the military command structure and ordered the garrison to prepare for combat and that command personel dispersed to different command bunkers as a safeguard. He then put his personal retinue of storm troopers and Sororitas as a reserve to be used as the situation demanded. As logical as these actions might have seem to be at the time we can, with the hindsight that we possess, note that they were not enough. The same night as these orders were executed Luthadel came under attack, but not in a way that had been imagined. Instead of a cult uprising throwing itself upon the walls of the citadel a small group of traitor Astartes infiltrated the complex. Inqusitor Sult's testimony and surviving surveillence photage both identify the attackers as members of the 'Night Lords' legion. They neutralized the guards at the walls and then entered the lower levels of the citadel without setting off any alarms. Beyond their initial elimination of the guards all military installations were left intact, instead it seems like the Inqusitor was the target for their attack. Sult has stated that a secret sensor grid near his quarters alerted him to their presence as they advanced through the citadel and that he prepared an ambush for the attackers. Psychic interrogation confirms this information but the fact remains that the traitor Astartes, seemingly without losses, eradicated Sult's personal troops and withdrew from Luthadel with him in their custody before further formations could attempt to corner them. The quotation at the start of the report is from Inqusitor Sult's testimony and is highly relevant to what happened to him after his capture. He awoke to find himself the prisoner of a traitor naming himself 'Justinan Vorbis', claiming the titles of 'Captain of the 33rd Company, Lord of the Mongrels, the Straight Edge of the VIIIth Legiones Astartes'. As one can imagine, Sult steeled himself in preparation for an interrogation and/or a blasphemous sacrifice but neither of them happened. What followed can not be described as anything else than atypical behaviour regarding traitor Astartes. There were no questions in search for information, nor were there any preparations for any type of sacrifice despite the fact that the denizens of the Warp would value the blood of an Inquistor highly. What followed was instead a bizzare mixture of conversations and torture where this 'Vorbis', without any obvious pattern, shifted between speaking about his history and motives as well as administer 'punishment' for the 'crimes' of Sult and the Inquisition. I will spare you all any detailed descriptions of our collegue's experiences, suffice to say that they were hideous. I have instead included a summary of the claims made by Vorbis with my own commentary. For your convenience I have take the liberty to divide the summary into different sections. Each of these will start with one or more quotes from Vorbis to provide some context. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. ”I am no 'Night Child' of the endless prison caverns, nor was I born into the bloodsoaked darkness of cursed Nostramo. No, I first drew breath in Albia of old, now lost to the sands of time with all it's glories... I am the last of her blood.” Justinian Vorbis claims to have been born on Holy Terra itself, before the very birth of the Imperium, in an area known under the name of 'Albia'. If he is to belived, he was the second son of a 'clan leader ruling a minor Castram-city'. While his information remains uncertain, our archives can verify that such a place once existed. A so called 'Old Albia' is stated to have peacefully surrendered to the God Emperor and it is said that many of it's sons were chosen to serve in the early 'Legiones Astartes. Even though it seems to once having been a state of some importance there are no mentions of 'Albia' after the 31st millenium. This is pure speculation, but it seems reasonable that the emerging culture of a unified Terra slowly eroded the that of previous states such as 'Albia' to the extent that it ceased to exist. Combined with later momentous events such as the 'Siege of Terra' that wrought terrible havoc to much of the throne world, I feel safe to state that while the ancient 'Albians' might possibly have genetic descendants living today, their culture and history is long since dead and buried. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. ”The Legion was... not as I had imagined it to be. Most of my kin had been sent to the XIVth Legion and forged in it a reflection of our homeland and it's ways. Some went to the Xth and though their influence was much dilluted by others their service still brought them both pride and honour. But what of us few that was sent to the VIIIth? We became monsters as much as we became warriors, writing warnings to others in the blood of our victims. No act too grim for us, no atrocity too dark to commit” Inqusitor Sult observed a great amount of bitterness in Vorbis when he spoke about his recruitment as an Astartes. Early Imperial strategy seems to have been aimed towards weakening subjugated realms by taking the most able among their population and use them in administrative and military positions far from their former home, Vorbis was just one of many chosen in such a manner. Some sources mention the XIVth Legion as heavily dominated by Albians and that it's members quickly gained the reputation of being both honourable and skilled warriors, other Albian recruits were sent to the Xth Legion but not to such an extent as with the XIVth. Both formations were nonetheless seen as hourable military forces and either of them would probably have been suitable in social status to Vorbis considering his family's position in Albian society. For some reason this was not what happened, instead Vorbis found himself as a member of the VIIIth Legion. This is very mysterious as recruitment into this formation is believed to have been done almost exclusivly from lawless, subterranean prisons and most legionnaires having been nothing but semi-feral children. Even before the Great Crusade left Holy Terra this Legion was known for it's harsh and draconian interpretation of Imperial justice and there are hints in our archives to how their dark reputation made them shunned by most other facets of Imperial society and military forces. According to what Sult reports it was a near soul-crushing experience for Vorbis to find himself part of such a disreputable force and he claims that political intrigues in Albia is to blame for this as such an event would lower his clan's standing in the eyes of others. While this allocation might seem strange, there are no evidence preserved that gives any credence to such statements. My data-search has however managed to retrive an interesting document that might possibly shed some light upon the situation. It is an ,regrettably, undated report where the 'Xth Legiones Atartes' notes a complaint to the Imperial administration regarding how a shipment of potential Legion recruits, due to a clerical error, have been sent to the VIIIth Legion instead. There are scant details beyond bureaucratical references that are meaningless in our age but it could possibly provide an explanation to Vorbis' situation, providing he spoke the truth to begin with. According to his statements, Vorbis' integration into the Legion was a total clash of cultures. Everything he had learned about combat, honourable conduct and acceptable strategy was unsuited for his new position. For the VIIIth Legion nothing mattered but punishment for those that had been judged and that their actions discouraged future crimes. Together with the other relative handful of Albian recruits he slowly adapted to what was expected of him to do even though he claims to have tried restraining the harshest punishments whenever he found himself in position to do so. Despite being of a different backrground to his new brothers he claims that his talents saw him rise through the command structure in a steady pace, and that he could claim the rank of Captain within 25 years of leaving Terra. Interestingly enough there is some evidence to this statement as a report from the XVIIIth Legion regarding the pacification of the Berthod system mentions the participation of VIIIth Legion forces in the action, among their commanders a 'Centurion Worbiis'. Whether this is a corrupted spelling or indicative of another man remains unanswerable but it provides some possible evidence to his story. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. ”Speak not to me of Nostramo, be that it's very name could be forgotten. It poisoned the father we had sought so long and the joy of our reunion turned to dust and bitter ashes in our mouths. In time that realm of night would poison even the legion itself, robbing us of what little honour we had left.” As the Crusade progressed, more and more of the Legions were reunited with their Primarchs. Terran legionnares were joined with new brothers from their gene-fathers' homeworlds and the nature of Legions themselves often changed when the Primarchs took command. According to Vorbis the VIIIth were among the last Legions to find their 'father', nearly a century after the Crusade had been launched. He claims that he and some others among his brothers hoped for a transformation similar to that of their brother-Legions, that their Primarch would 'lift them out of the shadows'. If this statement is true they were to be sorely disappointed. Konrad Curze, their gene-father, was found upon Nostramo a world of darkness and barely supressed cime and corruption. If the reputation of the VIIIth had been dark before that of the renamed 'Night Lords' grew darker still. Especially when recruitment from Nostramo started, with vicious and brutal criminals joining their ranks. Considering the origin of most of the Legions previous recruits it is not surprising that integration, for the most part went, smoothly with the two groups reinforcing each others' darker habits and spiralling the Legion further into darkness. Interestingly enough, Vorbis claims an unexpected development due to a minor 'culture clash'. The company under his command, the 33rd, would eventually be sent on what can only be described as a 'Nomad-Predation' operation, expected to sustain themselves with new equipment and new recruits as long as possible. The reason to thisis said to be partly the increasing number of Nostramans in the Legion command structure that did what they could to diminish the influences of the 'Old Legion. The greatest factor however, seems to have been a lingustic coincidence. The High Gothic word for '33rd' was apparantly next to indistinguishable in pronunciation to a particulary vile Nostraman insult regarding the 'ancestry' of the insulted and the sexual habits of the persons mother. According to Vorbis it was the kind of insult that not even 'Nostraman gutter trash' would accept and that 'Mongrel' was the most 'polite' way to transcribe it. Thus the status of the 33rd within their Legion became very low and they were known to all as 'Mongrels'. He claims that these two factors were behind their exile into the darkest reaches of space and that they only periodically were in contact with the rest of the Legion. Due to this, recruitment of Nostramans into the company was significantly lower than the rest of the Night Lords and those recruits they did recive were mostly those unwanted by other companies. This state of affairs is said to have continued until the whole Legion was gathered right before Isstvan V and the Night Lords declared for the Arch-heretic Horus. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. ”When the time came to choose it was a choice as bitter as the one the ancient marineer had to make between Scylla and Charybdis... Would I stay true to the distant Emperor who had stolen not only what life I could have had, but also my honor, by turning me into a bloodsoaked creature of the shadows? Or would I remain with the father who hated his own sons and despised what we had become? If I had chosen the first there might have been others to follow me, though they would have been few not lost to the darkness within us. But that was not to be, the choice came much too late to matter... If fate did mean for me this life of bitterness and hate, who was I to fight it? So in the end I chose the darkest of the paths ahead of me and spat upon the oaths that I had sworn.” ”As we stood upon the black sands of Isstvan V, firing our weapons upon those we had once called our cousins, it became clear to me that fate did not lack a certain sense of... irony. Long had I bemoaned that I was not chosen for the XIVth or the Xth, but if so had been the case, and I had survived until that point, I would have been on the other side of the battles in the system and most likely have been counted among the dead. Though perhaps that would have been for the better...” As the Horus Heresy struck the galaxy, the Night Lords had long since been out of Imperial control following the mental degradation of it's Primarch. They were nonetheless welcomed into the expedition force that was meant to subdue the rebelling Legions in the Isstvan system. During the battles at Isstvaan V they showed their true allegiance however and assisted in the massacre of three loyalist Legions. Vorbis supplied some insights to their actions as he claims to have pondered over his personal decision for days before chosing to stand with the rest of his Legion. He offered scant background to his reasoning and Inqusitor Sult was in no mental state to steer the 'discussion' into deeper details but it seems like the many years of battles and the very 'culture' of the Night Lords Legion had taken away any idealism he might once have had. Some researcher have indicated a high degree of fatalism among the members of the Legion and it seems as if Vorbis to some extent suffers from this aswell. Sult's recollections of the next parts of his story are hazy as he at the time was in excruciating pain but Vorbis mentioned how he and his men were among those opening fire upon the Raven Guard as they retreated to their fall-back positions. He decribed the massacre and following hunt for survivors apparently without emotion, being very matter of fact regarding the whole operation. Some statements can however indicate that he questioned the wisdom of their actions even though he still executed his orders. As the Legion departed the Isstvan system he claims that the 33rd once more was detatched from the rest of the Night Lords and were ordered to act as an 'harassment force' shadowing surviving loyalists and disrupting Imperial communication and general control in the Ultima Segmentum. As such he says he took no part in the so called 'Thramas Crusade' against the Dark Angels nor was he present at the Siege of Terra. According to Sult he said that he was glad that 'these bloodied hands were not further stained with the blood of the Clans' indicating that he would not have wished to slay his distant kin on Terra. He and his warriors would not reunite with the rest of the Night Lords until they fell back from Terra after the Heresy and established a base in the Ultima Segmentum. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. ”Bittersteel my fellow Captains named me, calling me humourless and rigid. Mocking me for not sinking to their level of corruption. I bore that name with stubborn pride, not giving them the pleasure of protests and I would have worn it still if not for our father. In one of our gatherings he gave us his mirthless smile and called me his ”Straight Edge”. Thus came the title I have used to this night.” ”Our Legion died there on Tsagualsa. No, not when the XIIIth chased us from our home, it died in the same moment as our father. Those years leading up to our flight was just the death throes of an animal that did not have the decency to accept the inevitable.” As a Terran and as someone that did not fully share the philosophy of his fellow captains Vorbis says he was not among the more respected commanders of the Legion, despite his claims of a better than average tally of 'victories'. Nostraman custom seems to have been for men in leading positions to be known by informal titles, sometimes chosen by the bearer and sometime bestowed upon them by others, and Vorbis was no exception. According to him he was given a mocking name by his peers, one indicating how he stod out against most of his brothers. This title seems to have been short-lived though. Despite claiming no close relation to his Primarch he was nonetheless among those chosen to attend their father in his dark chambers and claims to have been given a new title there, given by no other than Konrad Curze himself. There are no other sources that can possibly verify this but he says that the name 'Straight Edge' is related to his disinterest in intrigues and his straightforwardness. Close or not to his gene-father he was present when Curze was assaissinated by a Callidus assassin in his very throne room. He says to have followed the Primarch's order not to interfere, even after some of his fellow captains tried to retrieve Legion relics from the fleeing assassin. This one death fractured what little unity that existed among the ranks of the Night Lords and made them a ripe target for the righteous vengeance of the Imperium. Vorbis says that nothing but habit had kept him returning to their fortress at Tsagualsa after his raid but Sult disagrees, he instead argues that some vestigial sense of honor and brotherhood for his fallen Legion kept Vorbis at their base. As Sult is the one that have met the heretic face to face I am prepared to defer to his interpretation even though this might be an impression that Vorbis have purposely implanted with our collegue to cloud our judgement. What remains a known fact is that a collection of Chapters led by, and descended from, the Ultramarines together with the Imperial Navy attacked this fortress and drove the Night Lords away. The losses of the heretics are unknown but are believed to have been high, a fact that is in some part verified by Vorbis who says that many companies were heavily decimated in the fighting. He claims to have escaped better off than most of his 'brothers' as he was always prepared to leave Tsagualsa on short notice and even bragged of how he took the opportunity to plunder the armoury and stores before making his escape. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. ”Many have asked me 'Why?' with their last words as if that question would somehow stay my hand... The answer would surprise them as anger and vengeance play no role in what I do, they were never more than small embers within me and the passage of time have smothered what little there ever were. No, I murder since that is what I was created for and because the 'Imperium' I helped build has fallen so far from it's ideals that it deserve no better.” ”Do not think me a servant at the call of the 'Black Legion'. I did not fight for Horus nor will I fight for his son. Both of them were flawed and driven by powers to whom no man should listen, they fuel the very corruption that I despise. Then as now I fight the hypocrisy of the Imperium and while I will do that standing at Abaddon's side it is only until the Emperor has been cast down, then I will fight him and his dark gods both until my last breath ” Even without this permanent base of operation, Vorbis' raids have continued to this day. He seems to see it as his 'duty' to fight this war he says he never sought. He named dozens of raids and engagements where his forces supposedly fought the Imperium and all these have been verified as actions perpetrated by the Night Lords, nothing can say wether he was the one that led those forces. It is however likely as all these engagments, including Sobek III, have something unusual in common, survivors. Vorbis makes blasphemous claims to fight for the same ideals as he once did in the Great Crusade, eradicating crime, corruption and most of all religious beliefs. Calling the God Emperor a 'hypocrite and false god' he has made the Ministorum his primary target. He claims that those that fall short of these ideals must be punished but that there must remain witnesses in order for the punishment to be effective. While only a small percentage of the civilian population has remained after the mentioned attacks this is significantly more than other heretical attacks usually leaves. Apparently the 33rd/Mongrels do not operate from the Eye of Terror or the Maelstrom, Vorbis describes them both as 'Havens little used by those who are wise as they are worse than any storm they claim to shelter one from'. He also professes little affection to fellow traitors and even spat when Inquistor Sult dared to mention Abaddon and the Black Legion. The way he sees it, he fights the same enemies as his fellow traitors but does so for different reasons. As the end result would be no different we must not ignore him as a threat. Curiously enough he admitted a respect for the skills and modus operandi of the Inqusition, calling us 'skilled inheritors of the methods pioneered by the VIIIth' with the sole complaint that we use them in service of a 'deluded cause'. Sult used this opportunity to question Vorbis whether the cult activities on Sobek III had been part of his plan which Vorbis denied. He claims that some cultists greeted them as messengers of the gods and liberators from the Imperium but that 'Their crimes were no less than those of their neighbours' and that 'they died screaming the same screams'. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. ”Our time together nears it's end Inqusitor. Do not feel broken over your failures here, we sons of the Night Haunter discovered long ago that there is no shame in defeat as long as there is a lesson learned. There may be less of you now than when we first met but is that not a fair price for the wisdom and insights that you have gained?” When Imperial relief forces arrived at Sobek III, Vorbis and his company was long gone. The planet was thouroughly plundered, anything that could be of use for the raiders had been taken. Population losses was estimated at roughly 91%, both dead and missing. The survivors have all been relocated to temporary prison camps awaiting interrogation and sterilization before being processed to more permanent penal facilities. The Adeptus Terra have started the process of finding a suitable replacement population for the planet but it is estimated that it will take at least a decade before production can begin to even approach pre-raid levels. This will cause severe production problems for the hives of Dagoska unless alternative food sources can be rerouted. At the site of the palace of the Imperial Governor a chilling discovery was made. Vorbis had left the mutilated Inqusitor Sult in a stasis field for the relief force to find. The Inqusitor had lost both his eyes, half his fingers, one foot and had among other injuries also been partially flayed. As he has been given the most advanced medical care available he is now on his way to recovery, at least physically. While several deep probing psychic interrogations and investigations have cleared him from any malign influences and corruption it is clear that his mental wounds will take a long time to heal, if they ever do. It is clear, by their limited numbers, that Justinan Vorbis and his 'Mongrels pose no greater threat to the Imperium than any other heretical warband. However, by his actions he has challenged the authority of the Inqusition in such a way that can not be ignored.Therefore it is my proposal that they are moved to list of priority targets for Inqusitorial actions in the Segmentum. This challenge can not be left unanswered, this stain upon the honor of the Imperium can not be ignored. Your most obedient servant Kalyne Goyle, Inquisitor Ordo Hereticus http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0375_zpsjjpremgw.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0376_zpsea5x93hp.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0377_zpsevol3z4v.jpg http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0378_zpsyxms0ilq.jpg So... that's it for now. I will try to put some guys from 2nd Claw together next and/or a sorcerer, I havn't decided yet. It will probably be after the weekend though as I have some work related things that needs doing. C&C is always welcome of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathspectersgt7 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Great Story and great job on him also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.