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Flint13

By Flint13
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KrautScientist Veteran

KrautScientist

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Alright, let make the first attempt regarding those short-ish warband/company profiles I talked about earlier. Maybe these could be linked to the respective entry in the first post as well, making for easier navigation if someone just wants to browse through the various warbands in seach of inspiration?

 

I will also endeavour to rework this thread whenever there are huge changes in my army (or whenever I actually manage to finish one of the unpainted models shown below). Anyway, here goes:

 

 

Khorne's Eternal Hunt - the World Eaters' 4th assault company

 

http://eternalhunt.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/world-eaters-symbol-colour1.jpg

 

You fools! Your gods have blinded you with visions of glory and power, of a golden future that awaits you in their service. But our lord has shown us more than you could ever imagine. There are no empires awaiting you. In the endless cold between the stars, there is only the hunter and his prey. And those who were once the former and are now the latter. All that remains is the hunt, for only the hunt is eternal.

 

Lord Captain Baltus Lorimar, of the World Eaters’ 4th assault company

 

 

Khorne's Eternal Hunt is what remains of the World Eaters' 4th assault company. Due to the actions of Lord Captain Lorimar at Skalathrax, the company has managed to survive the sundering as the legion as a fairly coherent fighting force. Now the legionnaires fight a losing battle to keep the madness that has engulfed their brothers at bay. They desperately cling to the sense of honour and martial pride that damned them to begin with and worship Khorne by hunting for the worthiest prey that the galaxy has to offer. But at the end of their hunt, all that awaits them is either death or madness.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/5/19/715081-Army%2C%20Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Khorne%27s%20Eternal%20Hunt.jpg

a part of the World Eaters' former 4th assault company, now designated "Khorne's Eternal Hunt"

 

 

Lord Captain Baltus Lorimar

 

master-of-the-hunt-02.jpg

 

Baltus Lorimar has been the 4th assault company’s commander ever since the days of the Great Crusade. A divisive figure among the officers of his sundered legion due to his actions at the battle of Skalathrax, Lorimar has nevertheless managed to stay in command of one of the biggest World Eaters warbands, and one of the few still managing to maintain some kind of discipline and order.

 

Born on the blasted plains of Europa in the aftermath of the Unification Wars, Lorimar was indentured into the growing Legiones Astartes as part of the tithe the Terran clans had to pay to the Emperor who had defeated them. He became a legionary of the XII Legion, quickly rising to the position of a line officer during the Great Crusade. When the legion was reunited with its Primarch, Lorimar had been stripped of his command and incarcerated by Valna, Captain of the War Hounds’ 4th assault company, because he had refused an Imperial noble’s order to execute a squad of abhuman auxiliarii after a battle. Once the Primarch came across Lorimar during his inspection of the legion flagship, he freed him and offered him another chance to prove himself. This act made Lorimar fiercely loyal to Angron, and he would continue to follow the Primarch unquestioningly, even as his fellow legionaries grew more and more wary of the Red Angel. Lorimar later won his captaincy in the fighting pits, killing his former captain Valna and taking command of the 4th.

 

During the latter days of the Great Crusade, the 4th fought in the Eastern Fringe at the side of the Word Bearer’s Piercing Gaze Chapter. Lest the 4th evade the corrupting influence of the ruinous powers, First Chaplain Erebus of the XVIIth tasked the Chaplain of the Piercing Gaze Chapter, Belzas Azalon, with introducing warrior lodges and the covert worship of the Primordial Truth to the 4th assault company. Azalon brought Lorimar into contact with the Cult of Cron, a warrior cult the young captain eagerly adopted in order to provide his company with an identity and a code of martial honour.

Once the 4th was reunited with the rest of the legion, Lorimar was very pleased to see that a similar warrior culture had begun to form all across the legion, with the legionaries accepting their Primarch’s gladiatorial origins and cobbling together a mongrel culture from it.

 

The Heresy itself went by in a red haze, with Lorimar, like many of his battle brothers, growing more and more into a frenzied madman. He and his company were on their way to madness and damnation until the Skalathrax campaign. During the Long Night of Skalathrax, Lorimar suddenly came to and realised, in a terrible moment of lucidity, that the actions of 8th Captain Khârn were about to shatter the legion and wipe out the company he had sacrificed everything for.

 

In a move nearly unprecedented for a World Eaters officer, Lorimar and the remains of his company withdrew from Skalathrax before the battle was over. While Lorimar’s actions saved a substantial part of the company and made sure it would continue to function as a fairly coherent fighting force, they also earned him the disdain, if not enmity, of many of his fellow officers, who still refer to him as “Lorimar the Craven”.

 

Ever since, the 4th has been just as threatened by the corrupting influence of chaos and the madness of the Butcher’s Nails as every other World Eaters warband. To combat the effects of this decline and in order to keep the madness at bay, Lorimar used the ancient warrior codes of his company to formulate an ethos strictly based on honour and martial pride: His company embarked upon an Eternal Hunt, endeavouring to kill the strongest warriors and run down the worthiest prey.

 

Even though the 4th has remained a fairly large and coherent force, the legionaries always have to fight against the encroaching madness, with infighting and rampant frenzy all too common within the company. So far, Lorimar has managed to quell these uprisings with an iron fist.

When not on the battlefield, the Lord Captain is given to bouts of dark brooding, filled with resentment at the ruination of his legion, with disgust at the depths to which many of his former brothers have sunk, and with burning hatred at Khârn, whom he considers the destroyer of the XII Legion.

 

 

 

 

The Eternal Hunt

The 4th assault company is, above all else, a hunting party. While many structural features of the company's pre-heresy incarnations remain in place, the force has been geared towards the pursuit of prey that is worthy in the eyes of Khorne. Towards this end, the company has been organised into different arms, with each specialising on a different way of running down its prey. Among the company's main formations are:

 

  • The Huntsmen: the 4th assault company's foot soldiers
  • The Harriers: the company's dedicated corps of jump infantry
  • The Hounds: the company's corps of bikers
  • The Teeth: those members of the company who have taken to wielding long range weapons and providing heavy fire support
  • The Lost Brethren: those battle brothers whose physical or mental corruption makes dangerous to the rest of the company

Beyond these main arms of the company, there are several specialised formations with more arcane features. Some of these make use of daemonic allies while others harken back to the World Eaters' gladiatorial traditions. Among these specialist formations are the "Brazen Hunters" or the "Gladiatorii".

 

The company is commanded by its corps of officers, now labeled "Huntmasters". Each of these warriors is a veteran of a thousand battles, armed with the best wargear and filled with the burning desire to run down his prey or perish in the attempt.

 

 

Some notable Huntmasters and Dramatis Personae of the 4th assault company:

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/3/570411-Bardolf%2C%20Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Huntmaster.JPG

Huntmaster Bardolf, Lord of the Huntsmen

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/1/3/570412-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Charun%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Daemon%20Weapon.jpg

Huntmaster Charun, Lord of the Harriers

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/8/13/527022-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Huntmaster%2C%20Khorne.JPG

Huntmaster Stian Gul, Bearer of the Horn of Leires and Apostle of War, and Huntmaster Deracin, Keeper of the Forge

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/5/7/610593-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Lord%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Jugger%2C%20Juggernaut%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Khorne%27s%20Eternal%20Hunt.JPG

Huntmaster Valkar, the Scarred One, Lord of Chains and Master of the Brazen Hunters

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/3/19/595196-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Gladiator%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Khorne%27s%20Eternal%20Hunt.JPG

Vorl Dustwalker, Arena Master of the 4th assault company, accompanied by his coterie of Gladiatorii warriors.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2014/4/2/599698-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Dark%20Vengeance%2C%20Dreadnought%2C%20Helbrute.JPG

Ancients of the company: Brother Marax the Fallen, Brother Khorlen the Lost and Brother Khoron the Undying, Ancient of Rites

 

 

Resources and allied forces

 

Daemon engines

 

Due to the technical genius of Huntmaster Deracin, the 4th assault company can field a selection of monstrous daemon engines filled with the powers of the warp. Some of these vile contraptions, such as the "Hellrazor" or the "Wargrinder" pattern Blood Knight are unique to the forces of Khorne's Eternal Hunt.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/9/6/534840-Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Counts%20As%2C%20Daemon%20Engine%2C%20Decimator.JPG

Wargrinder pattern daemon engine/battle automaton

 

The Blood Wolves

 

Legionaries of the 4th have been seen to work in concert with a detachment of former Space Wolves Astartes, naming themselves "The Blood Wolves". Cross-referencing with available data suggests that this minor traitor warband has connections to the sundered Great Company of Einar Longbeard. The Blood Wolves seem to be under the command of an individual called "Joras Turnpelt", ostensibly a former Space Wolves officer.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2013/7/19/518408-Army%2C%20Chaos%2C%20Chaos%20Space%20Marines%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Khorne%2C%20Khorne%27s%20Eternal%20Hunt.jpg

Blood Wolves Astartes. Individual in Tactical Dreadnought armour rumoured to be traitorous Astartes Commander "Joras Turnpelt"

 

 

Urash's Marauders

 

Forces of the World Eaters' 4th assault company have been accompanied by auxiliarii seemingly belongin to a coalition of traitorous elements calling themselves "Urash's Marauders". This loose alliance of troops seems to incorporate elements of several heretical cults and deserted regiments of the Astra Militarum, such as the Cult of the Gear, the Kerberos Brigade or the 12th Meggidon.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2012/10/31/426663-Chaos%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Lntd%2C%20Lost%20And%20The%20Damned%2C%20Marauders%2C%20Paintjob%2C%20Renegades.JPG

Traitor Soldiers belonging to coalition of heretics dubbed "Urash's Marauders"

 

Knight Titan support

 

Several reports indicate that the forces of the 4th assault company have been supported in battle by a Knight Titan sporting XII legion heraldry and markings. While the truth of this matter seems to be hard to ascertain, further reports from razed imperial worlds point to an individual referred to as "Knight Captain Harrowthorne". At present, there is no further information as to the truth of any of those rumours, although the presence of such a "Fallen Knight" could also be a very cunning piece of archenemy propaganda.

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/7/30/732618-Baron%20Harrowthorne%2C%20Chaos%20Knight%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Daemon%20Knight%2C%20Imperial%20Knight.jpg

Individual referred to as Knight Captain Harrowthorne

 

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2015/10/4/748504-Chaos%20Knight%2C%20Conversion%2C%20Daemon%20Knight%2C%20Harrowthorne%2C%20Imperial%20Knight.jpg

Knight pattern warmachine, designation "Gilgamesh"

Edited by KrautScientist
Allart01 Veteran

Allart01

Posted
Posted (edited)

++ Drakon of the XII Legion, The Tyrant of Numida.

Extract from "The Apocrypha of Parlesk, Prophet of Merula Prime" (Officially Declared a Heretic and Purged 999.M41)

 

"Every document containing the original name of the beast now known as Drakon was deleted from the imperial archives millennia ago.

Some scholars of the Inquisition speculate that he may have been Solomon Barsk, sergeant of the XII Legion during the dark times of civil war known as "The Horus Heresy".

The available information about him is mainly taken from the many war reports that mention him, and from the interrogations conducted on some World Eaters and many cultists belonging to the sect of the "Bloody Hand" captured by Lord Inquisitor Lorren Von Hekt as a result of the disaster on the world Numida and during the Thirteenth Black Crusade.

Taking as true the words coming from the forked tongues of those renegades, we learn how Drakon decided to follow Siegemaster Skath of the 16th company, where Barsk used to serve, after the fragmentation of the XII Legion on the demonic planet of Skalathrax.

The warband thus formed took the name of "Merciless", and was described by a number of imperial reports as intent to subject other factions from the original World Eaters, perhaps under indication of their Daemon Primarch himself.

Over the centuries, Drakon rose through the ranks of the Berserker warband to become one of Skath's favourite lieutenants, whose bloodlust would eventually lead them, in M35, to the system of Numida in the Segmentum Obscurus.

It is not our intention, in this report, to examine the details of this terrible conflict, which lasted for twenty-three years, but by the eighth year of the war, the situation began to slip from the hands of the leader of the Merciless, and it was his favorite lieutenant who challenged him for the right to command the warband.

The fight took place accordingly to the traditions of the old Legion- both fighters were unarmoured and had two chainaxes- and ended with the victory of Drakon, who, still stained with the blood of his former master, led his men into a frenzied massacre that wiped out utterly every imperial presence on the planet's main system, Numida Primus.

Many civilians bowed to him in order to keep their lives: the best among those were recruited as servants and warriors, forming the sect known as the "Bloody Hand" that still operates at the side of his lord.

The others were used as a labor force for the bloody regime that was established by the man who became known as "The Tyrant of Numida."

On other planets in the system, tough, the defenders had not yet surrendered.

Fifteen regiments of the Imperial Guard were founded in neighboring systems and sent immediately in the meatgrinder of Numida, followed by two companies of the Adeptus Astartes.

This only served to reignite the slaughter enacted by Drakon and his men, which finally resulted in the outbreak of multiple demonic raids in the planet of Numida and also in those close to it.

The system was essential in the production of resources for planets around the Eye of Terror, and the Imperium could not afford to lose it that way: after twenty years since the outbreak of the first war, the command passed to the Lord Inquisitor Lorren Von Hekt, which reached the system with five regiments of Imperial Guard, a titan legion, two hundred Grey Knights and a whole chapter of Space Marines.

Although this counteroffensive proved enough to break the lines of the heretics, it took three years to the Imperial forces to finally lay siege to the capital of Numida Primus.

On that occasion, the Tyrant decided to unfold his last weapon: he gave to Khorne the millions of souls belonging to the remaining citizens of Numida, whose brutal deaths violently tore the veil of reality to allow the infernal legions to swarm the planet's surface.

This brought the war to a stalemate, nothing more than an everlasting battle: the more blood was shed, the more demons were added to the endless ranks of Drakon; doing so, the war fed on itself.

Von Hekt was persuaded to declare the planet perditas and to proceed with Exterminatus and the damnatio merioriae of the conflict from the annals of the Imperium.

However, in later centuries, some videologs confirmed the presence of Drakon at the head of a great number of raids around the Eye of Terror.

He was declared dead twice from as many Assassinorum agents, and also by the chapter master of the Spears of Sanguinius, who claimed to have personally pierced the traitor's two hearts at the end of a furious melee: nevertheless, each time Drakon returned at the head of his troops, to drive a massacre even more terrifying than the last.

His presence was confirmed in the Dominion of Fire, as well as in several Black Crusades, including that of Doombreed.

He also led the spearhead of the assault on Armageddon, after conquering this right and the new name of "Angron's Chosen" for himself and his warband in the fierce gladiatorial fights that took place before the war, defeating a number of other World Eaters commanders.

Apparently, a hundred years before the outbreak of Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade, Drakon went into a haunting quest within the Eye of Terror, led by demonic visions sent to him by his true master.

This culminated with the discovery of the axe Bloodfeeder, a powerful artifact containing the essence of a Bloodthirster who fell from Khorne's grace eons ago.

With this weapon in hand, he re-emerged just in time to lead his legionaries to the massacre in the Cadian system.

The Inquisition and the Spears of Sanguinius are still hunting him." ++

 

 

I apologyze about my english, there may be a few mistakes in the text.

 

@Kraut: Great models, I particularly like your termie lord and renegade wolves.

Edited by Kharn the Bloody
Relict Veteran

Relict

Posted
Posted (edited)

/ ACCESSING ARCHIVES /

/ SEARCH CATEGORIES: XII LEGION / III ECHELON / LXXVII BATTLE COMPANY /

/ ERROR: ALL RECORDS SEALED / EXCOMMUNICATE TRAITORIS /

/ OVERRIDE: [AUTHORIZATION CODE REDACTED] /

/ PROCESSING /

/ ACCESS GRANTED /

/ SEARCH CATEGORIES: HORUS HERESY / NOTABLE BATTLES /

/ PROCESSING /

/ MATCH: ISSTVAN III ATROCITY [RECORD AVAILABLE] /

/ MATCH: ISSTVAN V DROPSITE MASSACRE [RECORD AVAILABLE] /

/ ERROR: ALL RECORDS EXPUNGED / TRAITORIS PERDITA /

/ ERROR: ALL RECORDS EXPUNGED / TRAITORIS PERDITA /

/ MATCH: SHADOW CRUSADE [RECORD AVAILABLE] /

/ ERROR: ALL RECORDS EXPUNGED / TRAITORIS PERDITA /

/ ERROR: ALL RECORDS EXPUNGED / TRAITORIS PERDITA / 

/ ACTION: DOWNLOAD ALL AVAILABLE RECORDS /

 

 

XII Legion "World Eaters"
III Echelon
LXXVII Battle Company "Iron Devourers"
 
http://s22.postimg.org/xi3u2awox/photo_7.jpg
 
ORDER OF BATTLE
SHADOW CRUSADE
 
COMPANY COMMAND FORMATION
:HQ:
Centurion-Captain Voss
Terminator Bodyguard Squad - 100% Combat Effective
 
COMPANY ELITE FORMATIONS
:Elite:
I Terminator Siege Squad - 50% Combat Effective
II Terminator Assault Squad - 50% Combat Effective
III Terminator Assault Squad - Destroyed [Ref: Isstvan V Dropsite Massacre]
I Contemptor Dreadnought Talon - 33% Combat Effective
II Contemptor Dreadnought Talon - 100% Combat Effective
III Contemptor Dreadnought Talon - 66% Combat Effective
Destroyer Cadre - 70% Combat Effective
Apothecarion Detachment - 100% Combat Effective
 
COMPANY TACTICAL FORMATIONS
:Troops:
I Tactical Squad - 100% Combat Effective
II Tactical Squad - Purged [Ref: Isstvan III Atrocity]
III Tactical Squad - Destroyed [Ref: Isstvan III Atrocity]
IV Tactical Squad - 100% Combat Effective [Reconstituted - Prev. 52nd Battle Company]
V Tactical Squad - 90% Combat Effective
VI Tactical Squad - 75% Combat Effective
VII Tactical Squad - 100% Combat Effective [Reconstituted - Prev. 52nd Battle Company]
VIII Tactical Squad - 30% Combat Effective
IX Tactical Squad - 100% Combat Effective
X Tactical Squad - 100% Combat Effective
 
COMPANY ASSAULT FORMATIONS
:FA:
I Assault Squad - Destroyed [Ref: Isstvan V Dropsite Massacre]
II Assault Squad - 100% Combat Effective [Reconstituted - Prev. 71st Assault Company]
III Assault Squad - 100% Combat Effective
IV Assault Squad - 90% Combat Effective
V Assault Squad - 50% Combat Effective
 
COMPANY SUPPORT FORMATIONS
:HS:
I Heavy Support Squad - 50% Combat Effective
II Heavy Support Squad - Purged [Ref: Isstvan III Atrocity]
III Heavy Support Squad - Purged [Ref: Isstvan III Atrocity]
IV Heavy Support Squad - Destroyed [Ref: Isstvan V Dropsite Massacre]
V Heavy Support Squad - Purged [Ref: Isstvan III Atrocity]
 
FOREWORD
 
"Simply because I am telling the story does not mean that I will be alive by the end of it.
 
I am Voss, Centurion-Captain of the LXXVII Battle Company, III Echelon, XII Legion. My eyes have beheld the spectacle of the Great Crusade in all its glory and the cataclysm of the Horus Heresy in all its tragedy. Here I speak not as an officer of the Legiones Astartes but as an ordinary man in an extraordinary time. Within this vessel you will find the bloody tale of a Legion broken and a brotherhood betrayed.
 
This is our story."
 
- Inscription found on stasis module, recovered on [DATE REDACTED] at [LOCATION REDACTED]
 
Although this record is compiled mainly from data retrieved from various Imperial archives, it also contains a number of primary and secondary accounts from those turbulent times. These accounts include portions of sworn testimonies, extracted confessions, and recovered battle reports of Loyalist and Traitor forces alike. It is important to note that the most complete and detailed information included in this record comes from one Centurion-Captain Voss in the form of a deep-void stasis module recovered on [DATE REDACTED] at [LOCATION REDACTED]. Some would view the inclusion of this information heretical, however it is my personal belief that the truth, whatever it may be, should not be lost. 
 
The Emperor protects. 
 

A TALE OF TWO TRAGEDIES

The Rise and Fall of the Iron Devourers

 

Numeration: XII Legion, III Echelon, LXXVII Battle Company

Primogenitor: Angron the Conqueror

Commander: Centurion-Captain Voss

Cognomen: [unofficial] The Iron Devourers

Observed Tactical Tendencies: Shock Assault, Close-Quarters Actions [space Hulk Purgations, Boarding Operations, Line-Breaker Attacks, "Forlorn Hope" Objective Assaults], Armored and High-Intensity Warfare, Anti-Materiel Operations, Attritional Warfare

Allegiance: Traitoris Perdita

 

ORIGINS: The Emperor's War Hounds

 

The story of the 77th Battle Company began during the fledgling Imperium's first expeditions to worlds outside the Segmentum Solar. For the XII Legion, it was a time of relentless expansion. Having already cemented their reputation as the Emperor's War Hounds, the XII Legion embarked on an accelerated buildup of its fighting strength when not actively engaged in combat, with recruits drawn from a half dozen recently conquered feral worlds swelling its ranks. Entire new chapters (later renamed echelons) were rapidly raised, appropriately equipped, and relentlessly trained before being dispatched to the forefront of the Great Crusade. 

 

At the time of its birth, the 77th Battle Company was a standard line formation numbering one hundred Legionaries of various specialties, one of several within the 3rd Chapter. Assigned to the 13th Expeditionary Fleet, the 77th took part in a number of campaigns alongside the Imperial Army, its warriors quickly earning a well-deserved reputation for their stubborn courage and frightening savagery. Despite such a reputation, officers of the 77th often showed a level of tactical acumen beyond what was expected of them. Thus when Legion Master Lhorke selected a handful of his best and brightest for secondment to other Legions, among them was a young Lieutenant of the 77th named Voss. 

 

Attached to the IV Legion, Voss spent a decade observing and learning the tactics of the Iron Warriors. In time, he developed an appreciation of armored warfare that he had not known before. Voss watched as the IV Legion ground their enemies - alien and human alike - into dust under the treads of their mighty tank companies and reduced supposedly impregnable fortresses and redoubts to rubble with the thunder of their massed artillery regiments. Voss often hurled himself into the breach alongside the Iron Warriors, his chainsword belching fumes and spitting gore as he demonstrated the XII Legion's prowess in close-quarters actions. When he departed, Voss borne the moniker of "Iron Devourer" and a master-crafted Paragon Blade, both courtesy of his impressed hosts. 

 

TRANSFORMATION: The Coming of the Red Angel

 

When the XII Legion was finally united with their gene-sire in the skies above the thrice-cursed world of Nuceria, Voss had already attained the rank of Centurion and assumed command of the 77th. With the coming of the Red Angel, the newly rechristened World Eaters underwent a dramatic transformation. Regarding the organization of his Legion, Angron had little patience for what he saw as the decadent trappings of Terra. From that moment on, ruthless competition was to be the sole judge in the selection of commanders. With the implementation of the Butcher's Nails throughout the Legion, gladiatorial contests became commonplace. Although he never elected for the surgery, Voss proved to be a savage pit fighter, killing at least three of his brother Legionaries who had challenged him for company command. 

 

His authority over the likewise newly rechristened Iron Devourers now firmly cemented, Voss set about reorganizing his company. Foes - alien and human alike - would be annihilated by a systematic methodology time and time again on countless battlefields. Instead of seeking to collar those among his men who had succumbed to the bloodlust of the Butcher's Nails, Voss unleashed them in the form of shock troops dropping directly into the enemy's midst to slay and maim with abandon. The disorganized foe would then be crushed by the armored gauntlet of the 77th's real strength - its roving tank squadrons and its troops surging forth from the holds of their transports. To Voss, war was not the exhilarating affair as it was to so many of his fellow World Eaters. Instead, his calculus of war was a ruthlessly efficient one. 

 

BETRAYAL: The Whispers of Darkness

 

At the time of the Isstvan III Atrocity, the 77th was, in effect, a battalion-sized formation comprised of several specialized units in addition to a permanent line complement of some five hundred Legionaries and an attached armored company. As was the case with the XII Legion at large, a quarter of the 77th - drew mostly from the ranks of its tactical and heavy support squads - was selected to join the first wave assault on the Choral City. When the virus bombing and the subsequent firestorm failed to destroy the Loyalists, Angron flew into a rage and led fifty companies of World Eaters to the surface, intending to finish what the virus bombs had started. Carried within the holds of Storm Eagle gunships, Voss personally led his best assault troops into battle, making planetfall moments after his Primarch. The balance of the 77th would later deploy with elements of the Sons of Horus, Emperor's Children, and Death Guard Legions as the situation planetside devolved into a war of attrition. 

 

It is unknown why Voss, a dedicated and respected officer with more than a century of impeccable service, would turn from the Emperor's light. Although the truth may be permanently lost in the maelstrom of chaos that was the Horus Heresy, rumors spoke of the Warrior Lodges that permeated the hierarchies of the Isstvan III Legions prior to the reveal of their treachery. Perhaps Voss, always a closed soul who shunned the company of all save for the senior command cadre of the 77th, succumbed to the whispers of darkness within the confines of one such foul confraternity. The truth may never be known. What is known, however, is that Voss returned with the other surviving Traitors from the surface a changed man, his armor covered in the blood of his betrayed brothers and his eyes deadened. The 77th had suffered irreparable losses. Most tellingly, it had lost the bulk of its heavy weapons specialists - many of whom Terran veterans - as well as a sizable portion of its armored vehicles and their crews. 

 

MASSACRE: The Iron Devourers Unleashed

 

The 77th took to the killing field of Isstvan V in a much depleted state. With most of its mechanized assets either destroyed or disabled (for there had been very little time to repair the damage), Voss was forced to reorganize his company yet again. What little remained of his heavy support squads were assigned to the lines of defense in the northernmost reaches of the Urgall Depression, while Voss himself would lead his Terminator elite in the anticipated Traitor counterattack. Immobilized tanks were entrenched in fortified positions so they could fight as bunkers, while those that could still move under their own power were relegated to fire support roles for the three hundred or so line Legionaries who remained. As was the World Eaters' custom, all Legionaries - even vehicle crews - carried with them a wide array of chainaxes, chainswords, combat blades, and other edged weapons in preparation of the hand-to-hand butchering that would inevitably result. 

 

As the "Loyalist" reinforcements revealed their true colors, a single red flare shot into the sky from Horus's command bunker. As one, the four Traitor Legions surged from their bunkers and trenches to massacre the retreating Loyalists wholesale. As the warriors of the 77th tore into the flank of the Raven Guard, a terrifying change gripped them as it gripped their fellow World Eaters. For the first time in living memory, the draconian discipline that Voss had painstakingly instilled in his men dissolved in its entirety. It can be said that the hateful pulses of the Butcher's Nails temporarily overwrote all senses, including that of self-preservation. Even the most level-headed veterans of the 77th gave in to the bloodlust, Howling like wild beasts, they hacked at their enemies with groaning chainswords that had long since lost their teeth or pounded on them with battered bolters that had long since fired their last round. Some reports even indicate that the World Eaters, lost to the madness of the Butcher's Nails, engaged in the barbaric act of cannibalism. It was as if some unspeakable darkness within the Iron Devourers, repressed by decades of imposed order, had been unleashed to horrific effect. It was a frightening portent of things still to come. 

 

EXTERMINATION: The Towers of Skulls

 

Upon the conclusion of the Traitors' bloody victory, the XII Legion did not immediately withdraw from Isstvan V. Instead, the World Eaters dedicated themselves to hunting down the Loyalist survivors of the Dropsite Massacre, chief among them the Primarch Corax. Swarming over the wastelands beyond the Urgall Depression like ravenous insects, the blood-crazed Legionaries torn apart their Loyalist cousins wherever they found them. For 98 long days, the World Eaters engaged on an orgy of violence - the 77th was of no exception. While Voss had been able to rally the more restrained members of his company to him [chiefly consisting of those who did not possess the Butcher's Nails], the rest of the company simply dispersed into the horde. Loyalist Legionaries, primarily Raven Guard, were hunted like animals as they attempted a fighting retreat. Some would escape to regroup with their Primarch [a struggle on which much has been written elsewhere], while others were run down and hacked to pieces by the howling World Eaters. 

 

During this period, a tendency that very few outside of the Word Bearers Legion knew or understood began to manifest in the World Eaters. While headhunting had been a longstanding XII Legion tradition up to that point, it became a ritual - no, a religious rite - at this point. The World Eaters tore the skulls from their vanquished foes and built great cairns devoted to, although they did not realize it at that point, the Blood God. Pic-captures taken by Raven Guard reconnaissance teams show members of the 77th covered in gore and bedecked in grotesque trophies fashioned from the bones and flesh of the slain. Other Legionaries of the Iron Devourers carved out their own bloody legends at this time. Primus Medicae Hallin "Bloodletter" became infamous for the unspeakable acts of evil that he perpetrated upon any Loyalist Legionary unfortunate enough to be taken alive, extracting the location of his remaining comrades by chemical means before leaving the survivor eviscerated but still alive.

 

CONQUEST: The Shadow Crusade 

 

By the time the 77th embarked upon the Shadow Crusade alongside the rest of the XII Legion, Voss had managed to rebuild much of the fighting strength it had lost in the Isstvan System. Fresh Legionaries were inducted into the company - the bulk of them from the annihilated 52nd Battle Company and 71st Assault Company. The post-battle salvage and repair effort conducted by the Legion's Tech-Priests likewise largely restored the company's armored assets. On the surface, Voss was ascendant - he had attained de facto command of the entire 3rd Echelon, some 2,800 Legionaries in strength. In reality, his standing within the Legion had been severely weakened - never a popular figure, the events in the Isstvan System had cost him those who were most loyal to him. Where Voss was not able to personally enforce his usual brand of discipline, fractious bloodshed between brothers became increasingly common as the Legion began to turn on itself. 

 

In Ultramar, the 77th racked up an impressive tally of victories on world upon world. The Ultramarines garrisons resisted valiantly but, shocked by the outrage of the betrayal and outnumbered by the combined weight of the XII and XVII Legions, were ultimately destroyed. On Ulixes, the 77th slaughtered every man, woman, and child in the capital city of Appia in the span of a single Terran week after overrunning its defenses. In the void, the 77th's assault marines were honored by the Primarch himself for their daring attack upon the XIII Legion battle-barge Spirit of Espandor. In what was perhaps one of the most memorable battles of the entire campaign, Sergeant Torvan "Void Serpent" led fifty of his brothers into the void. Braving the batteries of anti-ship weapons, Torvan and his men navigated along the armored flanks of the stricken Ultramarines vessel using jump packs until they located a weak spot. Cutting their way inside with nothing more than las-cutters and melta charges, the assault marines slaughtered a path through the engineering decks and manually overloaded one of the ship's reactors before extracting themselves from the doomed vessel.

 

Berthed aboard the XII Legion flagship Conqueror after the Battle of Armatura, the Iron Devourers' fate would be sealed upon the world where their gene-sire had been first found - Nuceria. Deployed to the surface during the two Legions' purge of the world's population, the 77th was caught in the initial fury of the Ultramarines counterattack as the XIII Legion bypassed the battle in orbit in favor of punishing the Traitors on the ground. During the chaotic fighting, Ancient Helvast "Stormbringer", one of Voss's last and most trusted lieutenants, became separated and trapped, his fate forever lost to the dark annals of the Horus Heresy. Voss himself borne witness to the epic duel of the Primarchs as Angron and Lorgar met Guilliman in furious combat. The sight of what came after undoubtedly convinced an already disillusioned Voss of the depth of the World Eaters' fall - he watched as Lorgar wrought a monstrous transformation upon the Primarch whom he never loved but nevertheless honored as his gene-sire. Everything he had fought to preserve - honor and brotherhood chief among them - was for nothing as the World Eaters were damned since the day they declared for Horus. 

 

EPILOGUE: The Bitter End

 

Neither Voss nor his Iron Devourers survived the Horus Heresy. Voss, already an unpopular figure whose Legion had changed beyond recognition around him, fell victim to the internecine conflict that intensified following Angron's ascension. Forced into the fighting pit, Voss nevertheless fought to the bitter end, finally meeting his end at the hands of Baltus Lorimar, Captain of the 4th Assault Company. With Ixion "Ironclad", formerly Secutor-Sergeant of the 77th's Terminator elite, in command, the 77th went on fighting throughout the remainder of the Horus Heresy. After sustaining near-total losses at the Siege of Terra, what remained of the company fled into the Eye of Terror with the other Traitor remnants. There they would brood and fester until Ixion, now a Champion of the Khorne, rallied his corrupted brethren, now known as the Crimson Consecrated, to once more make war upon the Imperium.

 

"One day, when the hateful pulse of the Nails abates and the red veil of slaughter lifts, if only for a moment, you will come to see the ruinous folly of it all. May the hell you find yourselves in be one of your own making."

 

- Reported last words of Centurion-Captain Voss 

 

 
Edited by Relict
GhostMalone Novitiate

GhostMalone

Posted
Posted

Guys bad news my house just got smashed into by a car I've lost a fair bit of resin and damages are in the 50k+ range won't be hobbying for a while

 

http://m.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/outofcontrol-car-crashes-through-fences-carport-and-into-bedroom-of-home-on-kelly-st-modbury/story-fni6uo1m-1227015391935

 

If needed contact LaCroix or brother Molokai as I'll be absent

Forté Venerable Brother

Forté

Posted
Posted

Well I've lost one recast titan and around 500 worth of FW resin.

 

Just tired of the worst luck

Ouch. That's painful.

 

@everyone. Loving what this thread is turning into. Makes me want to work out more fluff for my, more cultured miscreants ;)

Daemon2027 Veteran

Daemon2027

Posted
Posted

At the same time World Eaters would be going to work with the nearest weapon in that situation so good restraint.

 

Did the old lady let her self out of the car in your house? Remind me never to keep my resin by a road facing wall!

Relict Veteran

Relict

Posted
Posted

Man, talk about bad luck... Sorry to hear that and hopefully the insurance claim works out in your favor! :)

 

In the meantime, I shall take up your chainaxe.

 

http://s28.postimg.org/vjs95yk0t/photo_1_1.jpg

Squad Command Section, Aralakh Tactical Squad

 

http://s28.postimg.org/p5y45l8t9/photo_2_1.jpg

Sergeant Aralakh

 

So here we have my first tactical sergeant. I always try my best to make sure that every piece of gear is represented correctly on the model. This one is a bit of a kitbash, with parts coming from six different FW kits. The choice of paint scheme was selected to represent a World Eaters junior officer in the final glory days of the Great Crusade - hence the liberal use of heraldry/markings and brass highlights. I hope you like him. 

 

The group shot represents the command section of a full 20-man tactical squad. The vexilla bearer and nuncio-vox operator were painted back in March as my first attempt at painting miniatures. The apothecary was painted with the second batch as part of my ETL III contribution. Together, they represent my progression as a painter. Appropriate touch-up painting was recently added to bring all the models to a similar standard. 

Flint13 Venerable Brother

Flint13

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I know Astartes blood is supposed to be hyper oxygenated and thus (ostensibly) really bright red, but that look never caught on for me.

 

Other than that tiny quibble, those are gorgeous buddy! I love your goldy/bronzes and your blues are *miles* deep.

 

Freakin sweet!

Relict Veteran

Relict

Posted
Posted (edited)

The crossed chains decal comes in several sizes from the World Eaters decal sheet. My Contemptor wears one on his left greave. As for getting decals on the armor, I do the following:

 

(1) Cut the decal in question down to the smallest size possible. 

(2) Use distilled water to free the decal. 

(3) Dry the decal on a sheet of paper towel. 

(4) Soak the decal in Future brand floor polish (it's basically liquid plastic). 

(5) Apply the decal, then brush a thin layer of Future on top to help seal it in and protect against dust and wear. 

 

Pretty simple. I also add a layer of Future to the sections of armor painted blue - it helps give the blue that extra shine. 

 

EDIT: I can't contribute anything to the Tactica because I've yet to play a single game of... well, WH40K or HH. When the 77th is ready, I look forward to my first game. :P

Edited by Relict
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