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Hi there people of the BnC! I've been lurking for quite a few years and have mostly enjoyed the WIP section of the Forge. I subscribed to Conquest as it launched in France last year and have started painting after finally coming up with a color scheme and name for my diy Chapter the Void Cuirassiers. Time permitting I may write a little backstory for the chapter, but first a little backstory on me ! I started Warhammer 40k in 3rd edition and remember the transition to 4th and the introduction of the new plastic terminators and plastic space marine multipart captain, which were the last miniatures I bought. I sort of dropped out of the hobby and moved on with my life but my collection was waiting for me at my parents house and I thought I'd return to the hobby when my kids would be older. Unfortunately, my parents house burned down in 2013, and as the fire started in my old room... almost all my collection was lost. My father and uncle somehow managed to salvage a few minis though (I may post pictures of those later). Now my eldest is 10yo and Conquest was a great opportunity to get back to the hobby. The idea is to stick with what is included in the conquest series, so miniatures may take some time to get finished as I don't have all the paints necessary. Aaaaaanyway, (sorry for the long read), here's my first test model, a sergeant based on the easy to build intercessor sergeant from Conquest, with weapon and head swap (salvaged from my old burned down minis) a focus on the chapter emblem, representing a cuirass (may need some highlights but as I already said, I don't have all necessary paints yet and the terrain from conquest at this point (I never had this much terrain when I was young!) those were sprayed with a cheap silver paint followed by a black spray and a wash of nuln oil a few experiments with barrels from left to right : silver spray and nuln oil followed by agrax earthshad, red spray + nuln oil and agrax with details in retributor gold + agrax, same as the first three, abaddon black + leadbelcher drybrush ammo boxes following the conquest painting guide Feel free to comment and point me in the right directions if you see room for improvement (and there is plenty!)

Warning: This topic is going to be a heavily narrated trip down memory lane. It is intended as both a personal voyage as well as taking others with it. Of course I am exaggerating. Hi everybody! I am WBRBloom. If anyone ever wondered this screen name is also as old as time, and derives from the Ad&d Ravenloft scenario 'When Black Roses Bloom'. But this is a Warhammer 40k forum, innit? So let's get to it! Our story begins back in the far away 1990. Little WBRB was almost at the end of grammar school (grade school across the pond), it was summer, and he and his family were returning from a day at the beach. They all stopped at a very big super market, one of the biggest back then in Greece, to do some Sunday shopping before heading home. It was about a month before schools started again, and the holiday (Christmas) TV ads were still far away (this is very crucial). The new games were still a few months away from being announced. As he usually did, little WBRB wandered off to the toys aisle. He browsed the G.I. Joes a little bit (they were now being replaced by scale models rapidly), and he was never really interested in car toys and such. He then moved further down the isle, towards the board games. Nothing he hadn't seen before, Ghost Castle, Mysteries of old Peking, the usual. And then, he saw it. HeroQuest. Deep inside another dimension, face battling barbarians and evil magic. HeroQuest. On a quest for adventure in a maze of monsters. It was a wall of HeroQuest boxes, an endless wall of HeroQuest boxes. The rest were history. To speed things up, WBRB got his hands on one of those boardgame copies, played it and killed orcs and goblins, but since he was already involved into scale models he also noticed the painted miniatures that adorned the inside of the box and he learned a (very) basic way on how to paint miniatures that was included at the back of the quest book. Apparently, there was this company that designed the miniatures, called 'Citadel', and it made more games than HeroQuest. Enter 1991 (yeah, things in Greece tend to have a year delay), and Space Crusade. Space Marines. Chaos Space Marines. Genestealers. Orks. Gretchin. Dreadnoughts. Oh my.. It is now 2003. WBRB, fresh out of his Navy service and having one of his first jobs, one that allows him for some disposable income, decides to start actually collecting, and playing, Warhammer 40.000. He had found about that game a few years back, in 1995 or 96, when an older friend of his introduced him into the hobby stores that sell it. He was fascinated but never had the money to buy/play it. But now seemed like the best moment. He went into one of the local hobby stores and browsed around a bit. He picked up the 3rd edition rulebook off the shelves, and looked at the different armies. He remembered an old diorama he had seen in one of the White Dwarf magazines, one called 'Horus against the Emperor'. It had Sanguinius at his feet and Horus was wearing a red terminator armour with dual lightning claws. Scattered across the spaceship's bridge, were the bodies of red armoured space marines (Khorne Berzerkers, he found out later). He wanted that. He liked Chaos. He liked the underdog, the villain, the bad guy. He wanted to be that bad guy so badly, that he did not hesitated any further. Grabbing a few more things, a blister pack saying 'ABADDON THE DESPOILER' the Chaos Space Marine codex a squad of Chaos Space Marines, some paints and a couple of paintbrushes, he walked towards the cashier. These models still exist to this day. Abaddon, painted and stripped a couple of times, has only seen battle a few times back in the day. But the cost of him being the same as a Land Raider, deterred the writer from using him anymore, only on specific missions. He now awaits undercoated, with some basic colour added, to be painted and used as a normal terminator (he will probably be dipped in acetone before long and stripped, then re-painted): I wanted his sword to me reminiscent of the original colours of Drach N'yen, but also have a little bit of its own character. The Chaos Space Marines have been all built, converted or scattered along the four winds of Chaos. I will eventually post pictures of all my infantry units, but I cannot possibly find the original marines from that box (although I do know they exist). Instead, I am leaving you with the pictures of the Hand of Death, one of my original dreadnoughts, painted back in the day. This must be one of the most active units in my army. It has been in almost every battle played since 2003. The banner is freehand (not my best work though). More stories to come.

Having been barely keeping up with the hobby for several years, Indomitus reignited my passion for 40k last year, so I decided to try to actually build a force. This time it will be Primaris space marines, but still my beloved 3rd Company of the Ultramarines. The plan is to build the complete company, including officers and attached specialists and a dreadnought, plus a ten-man Deathwatch kill team, and such a project needs a fresh thread, so here I am. In terms of bulding the company, I will be dividing it into combat squads, to avoid becoming overwhelmed or bored, and alternate those with Deathwatchers and officers, so that it will go Combat Squad > Deathwatch > Combat Squad > Officer > Combat Squad > Deathwatch... and so on. This should offer a decent balance between progress and sameness of models. I started an Intercessor veteran sergeant (the 30th anniversary model) as a one-off before I decided to make a full army, so I decided to finish him before doing the rest of the combat squad. If you visit the Ultramarines subforum, you may have seen him, but here he is again with one of the Necrons the 3rd is fighting: The Necron is really just a color scheme test model, not the start of an army, any time soon at least. The rest of Combat Squad Ardias is in progress, with their bodies only needing cleanup: The bolt rifle arms are coming along too, I just need to highlight the black and tidy up everything before gluing them on. Then it's just the other arms, backpacks and heads and then finishing touches. Of course, an Intercessor squad isn't the end of it. I have plenty of plans for all the squads and in particular the command cadre. I don't feel like typing out all the minute details of my plan that I've spent the last nine months overthinking, so for now I will just finish off with something black for now:

In keeping with my other armies I will run a WIP for my as yet unpainted T'au before posting the completed models in my Kavaal Korst'la'sha'is thread. As I work through the list I will try to remember to post any details such as magnetisation techniques, tips etc but expect this thread to progress in fits and stops as I am currently bouncing between DA/AM and T'au trying to clear a massive backlog due to my well known addiction to grey plastic acquisition... So to start with here is the T'au painting backlog... HQ Commander Farsight x 2 (old style) Commander Shadowsun Troops Firewarriors x 78 Kroot x 9 Kroothounds x 8 Elite XV8 Battlesuits x 13 Fast Piranha x 2 Pathfinder x 22 Drones x 71 Sun/Razor Shark x 3 (magnets will be involved at some point) Heavy XV88 Broadside x 4 (New style) XV88 Broadside x 2 (Old style) XV88-2 Broadside x 1 Hammerhead/Devilfish x 4 Skyray x 2 Along with these there is also the need to repaint all of the old scheme models - it may take a while

"You are the will of the Emperor. You are the bitter hate of the Lord Commander. You are the fire that the Primogenitors keep close, unleashed upon the enemy. You are the quick blade, the sniper's shot, the hidden hunters. You are the Riven- and worlds will tremble beneath your feet." - Commander Morrigar (later Chapter Master Morrigar), at the battle of Novus Neptu <<<Astropathic duct ready.... Receiving.... ....WARNING...Inquisition Eyes Only...>>> Adeptus Astartes Chapter: The Riven Founding: Ultima Geneseed: [ERROR- Data corrupted] Chapter homeworld: Fleet-based, currently thought to be in Imperium Nihilus Chapter colors: Dark green, bronze trim Chapter emblem: A broken shield Chapter tactics: Urban combat specialty, infiltration/elimination of command elements Summary of Chapter- The Riven are an Ultima Founding chapter, comprised entirely of Primaris Space Marines. Presumed to be descended from the Ultramarines (records are inconclusive/corrupted), the Riven have fought alongside the Ultramarines throughout the Indomitus Crusade. The chapter specializes in urban combat, sending out first wave attacks comprised of infiltrators and saboteurs to destabilize and destroy enemy command posts and defensive emplacements. After the first wave has accomplished its goals, the second wave descends on the target. Infantry-heavy attacks are lead by melee specialist and backed by marine-portable heavy weaponry. The Riven have shown some variance in codex structure, though not enough to be considered fully divergent. Their companies utilize Vanguard specialists in an equal ratio to traditional infantry squads like Intercessors. The Riven's heavy armour is limited (note- possible issues with Mechanicus?), so their heavier weaponry is generally regulated to squads such as Eradicators, Aggressors, and light vehicles such as the Invader ATV. In keeping with their long associations with the Ultramarines, many members of the Riven have received Ultramarine honour badges and commendations. The Riven also contribute to the legendary Victrix Guard of the Ultramarines, sending off the finest members of their veteran honour guard to serve with their brother chapter.

Hey all. I'm just starting up a Leagues of Votann army and thought I'd start up a blog here. In that blog I'll probably post not only my lore and background for the units, but also some battle reports (I'll be taking the Kin into battle next month in a small local league). Here, in this thread, I'll probably just put up pictures of my finished units and maybe some WIPs if I have any unique ideas come to mind. Just as a quick heads-up, my army will be themed around Ironkin, so I may only have a couple of non-bubbleheaded guys in the entire force. Anyway, here's my first completed model, an Einhyr Champion.

February 2025: Thanks for visiting! 2025 updates start on page 20. What you'll find before you is my one and only thread collecting my works in progress in chronicling the travails and travels of my Adeptus Astartes Chapter, the Sentinels. Unfortunately some of my older photos have been lost to the ravages of time and Photobucket, so if you're a new visitor to my pile of shame... Welcome! Feel free to skip to the last page for my most recent stuff, and then backtrack as far as you care to from there! Trust me, it's easier...

"With my own hands I tore my way from hell itself to sate my rage upon you" Hey everyone, have lurked on this site since I was a small lad and I finally believe its time to share with you all an army project of mine, my black legion warband, The Unbroken Vow. I have a sizeable force already but this is definitely ongoing and not just a show case. but for the sake of trying to show you guys the journey so far I'm gonna try and post in the order I built and painted the minis first up the first Chaos space marine squad This was the first squad I painted after first getting back into Warhammer after a long time away. this black Legion army really means alot to me as it helped me get over alot of really hard times a few years ago when I was struggling through some irl trials and tribulations, I always loved the Word Bearers and they will always be my favorite Legion, but I read ADBs black legion books and the themes of renewal and escaping the past really resonated with me personally and I did something I had never thought I'd do, paint an army that is actually on the box! as these models were my first time back their paint is a little wonky but I still love them! The Champion more pics to come soon, once I figure out the best way to go about not making my photos destroy the file size

Hello and thank you for looking. I wanted to start a thread to document the building of my Death Guard Legion set during the Horus Heresy. I have been a huge fan of the setting since reading about it in the 40k 2nd edition Chaos Codex. The harrowing tale of the once noble & stalwart Death Guard marines succumbing to the sick & twisted pestilence of Nurgle just captivated me and I have been a fan of them ever since. Some of these first images are from my heresy30k invisionzone thread which I will recreate here. I welcome any comments or crits you might have.

A bit of lore, as I start on a new project. Got a few bits ordered on the way now to choose a scheme. Keeping in the theme, I might go for a darker red, with black as a secondary colour and golden highlights.

Weekly Update #3 Ok, so going to swap the updates from Thursday to Monday cause CP league is on Sunday and it gives me the weekend to get more stuff done. Right now nothing much. Guardians are done, will get picture after CP is done fully since it was just some minor fixes from last week’s picture. It might be a while since in double checking I can’t find the riders for two of the bikes. I don’t want to take from the new sprues, so will continue looking for a while longer. As a taste I am working on a squad of Death Riders that I’m using as proxy for Rough Riders in my games. Later they’ll allow me to field the DKoK CP. Also did build the Turox to standard for the Strike Platoon CP. I’m hoping to get a game in or two this Sunday. Last Sunday the store was closed due to snow. At least I’ll try and get pictures of the other four finished CPs. Thanks for reading.

A while back I experimented with some new Space Marine paint schemes and found one I liked. I just was happy with the one I had originally chosen. I finally let loose the arrow to land where it may. Now at this point I have a conundrum. Is the red bolter housing too busy; should I go with a more neutral off-black? The squad and chapter markings are going to be red, if that makes a difference.

Greetings frater of the AoD! So after quite a while roaming around the forums, ocassionally contributing and rarely posting any of my projects, I've decided to take the plunge and finally start a thread for my projects regarding the Horus Heresy. The main project is an Imperial Fists "narrative" army, mainly following the story of the 81th Company from the void engagements of the battle of Phall to the desperate defense of the Siege of Terra, reaching to its maddened aftermath. Although some units might have a single iteration, I intend to show the progression of some characters and units through the turmoil and events of the Heresy, be it in the fluff or in miniature form (maybe both). It might also include elements from other legions or armies that join them in their battles, but the Fists should and will be the core of it. Occassionally, however, I might show individual pieces that I might fancy doing, little snippets or scenes from various points in this vast conflict. It might go from a single miniature, to a unit, or a small diorama or scene. For now, I will just dump some pictures of different miniatures and units I have at different stages of progression, from early WIPs to finished miniatures (there are very, very few of them, I must say ). Most of them have some degree of fluff associated, but it is mainly inside my head and I usually can't be bothered to write it down (which is something I intend to change, although being a non-native English speaker might make it a bit complicated ). Maybe hearing your thoughts or opinions might help me find motivation and ideas to finish my ideas, since I tend to start building miniatures or thinking fluff for them just to leave it unfinished for months/years . So, without further delays, my humble dump of pictures, with some anotations to them (to give some insight, but also to keep the mistery where needed): Second squad of the 81th Company, under the command of veteran sergeant Raimund. http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w490/Risollano/00b2347f-6a43-48cc-bd8e-279fcc9b55ba_zpsestwanar.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w490/Risollano/8d765384-e274-4455-acb7-ef8261b3c647_zpszodobr87.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w490/Risollano/20160815_121522_zpsa5o4k3ra.jpg Master of signals, first lieutenant of the 81th Company and commander of the frigate Herald of Liberation, Loctar Dibarion. http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w490/Risollano/Warhammer/Dibarion/1. Front_zpsc8gff9lg.jpg Captain of the 81th Company and member of the Templar Brethren, Caelon Gerhild. http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w490/Risollano/19622257_1449706305097094_1937353334_n_zpsztogvflm.jpg The Siege Breaker. http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w490/Risollano/19622587_1449706495097075_1601353725_n_zpsxc2q0hfu.jpg [http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w490/Risollano/19551155_1449706468430411_712956650_n_zpsrlgmkg3j.jpg A tired man goes to war. http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w490/Risollano/60ef1047-80cc-4b2c-8867-2d330a46796e_zps5prwtin6.jpg I'll be adding more pictures in the following days, still have to take updated pics of some of the miniatures, and recover those from a while ago. I'll also try to start to post some of the ongoing WIPs to ask for the wise advice of this board. Fluff will be added sporadically.

Hi there. As I said in the general discussion thread, the awesome work you've all produced for this project has inspired me to try building and painting some of my own models for the Brotherhood of the Lost. If you've ever seen Kizzdougs excellent March of the Legions project for canon 30k, that's kind of what I'm aiming for at the moment (although I'm afraid I'm nowhere near as talented a hobbyist or painter as Kizzdougs though ). So, with that out of the way, here's my first attempt, a warrior of the fearsome XX Legion, the Predators: The xenos skull on top of his power pack is supposed to represent a trophy from Mardum (possibly some sort of carnivorous bipedal reptile?), and I mounted it on top to emulate a tribal headdress. Apart from that and the skull face mask crafted into the Mark IV helm (obviously it's actually a Night Lords helm) I've tried to keep the rest of the model relatively clear to give me plenty of space to freehand tribal markings and chapter symbols. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to get him primed until the weekend (weather permitting), so in the interim I thought I might try to write a bit of fluff to accompany the model, either a piece of short fiction and/or a small character description in the style of Forgeworld's Heresy books. However, I really don't want to step on anyone's toes, so if you'd rather I stayed away from the fluff please let me know. Thanks for looking, hope you like the model!

“Last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship.....” Unknown author, Terra, M2 “Brothers, fellow warriors, We have sat in the shadows and have watched our legion descend into madness. We have endured the uncontrolled rage of our so called father. We have been shunned for our enduring loyalty to the emperor, banished to the corners of the galaxy to seek and destroy terrors that stalk the night. But our loyalty runs deeper, we lay down our lives for a vision vast in its ambition and millennia in its creation. A vision that is threatened by the actions of one who we once recognised as warmaster. It is clear to us now, that Horus has rebelled against the imperium. His reasoning is unclear but our gene father stands by his side, the loyal remnants of our legion lie slaughtered on the sands of Istvaan III. But we will not succumb to this heresy, and we will bring honour back to the name of our legion! We are shunned because we are feared and rightly so, for our fury comes from a deeper well, natural, innate, not manufactured by a fools design. We will endure and we will exact vengeance for those loyal to the XIIth, those murdered on Istvaan. For the emperor!” Endryd Haar. Extracts taken from a speech to loyal members of the XIIth legion under his command. M32. ——————————————— Greetings fellow warriors! Welcome to my new WIP log, I was intending to finish my iron hands and alpha legion projects before embarking on this, but my desire to start a new project has overcome my ability to focus. I’ve always found following what you enjoy in the hobby, rather than forcing yourself to do something you “should” do is more productive in the end! Ever since we saw the first images of betrayal and the models that accompanied the release, I have always wanted to start a world eaters force. The Typhon in glorious blue and white was such an awesome sight to behold! Even before that, I remember reading various index astartes articles about the traitor legions before their fall to chaos. Alas, I was distracted by bringing my 40k iron hands into the 30k universe and more recently by the beautiful metallic alpha legion airbrushed paint schemes. But now I return to what first drew me into the heresy, the XIIth legion. I’m a loyalist at heart (I know, I know), and reading about Endryd Haars background really got me inspired to produce a loyalist world eater force. He has so much character and the mystery of his background is intriguing. He is also a force to be reckoned with on the tabletop..... So this is the start of my loyalist world eater blog, with a twist. I will be using the blackshield rules to represent the force on the table. The Chymeriae rules (option 3: Fleet, fear and rage) really represent them well, still ferocious but subtlety different to their world eater kin and distrusted by everyone around them (no allies). I also couldn’t resist the modelling opportunity of having marines wielding chain axes and shotguns! I aim to slowly build a 2000 point list, which you can peruse here: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/361713-blackshields-endryd-haar/?do=findComment&comment=5472970 The force will be modelled and painted in the time just after Nuceria and the legions reorganisation after the discovery of Angron. So they will be painted in the blue and white of the XIIth legion. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am! Cadmus.

The Shrikeborn Warband of the Night Lords Legion Commander: Stained Lord Tovach Carrow Doctrine: Precision terror strikes, aerial decapitation raids, psychological warfare “We are not monsters. We are the memory of justice, sharpened into a talon.” — Stained Lord Tovach Carrow, before the Fall of Virex Spire The Shrikeborn are a feared Night Lords warband known for their surgical terror strikes and Raptor-led aerial assaults, but unlike many of their kin, they are not wholly consumed by madness or daemonic corruption. They are led by Tovach Carrow, the Stained Lord, a warrior who bears the weight of Nostramo’s fall like a chain around his soul. Carrow is a paradox among the Night Lords: a killer who mourns, a terrorist who remembers justice. Once a noble enforcer on Nostramo before its collapse into anarchy, he has never forgiven himself for the role he played in the Legion’s descent. His warband, the Shrikeborn, reflects this duality- ruthless in execution, yet measured in purpose. They strike only military targets, avoid civilian massacres, and leave behind symbols of judgment, not chaos. The Shrikeborn descend from the skies like shadows given form; Raptors and Warp Talons screaming through the air, sowing panic and confusion. But where others revel in slaughter, Carrow’s warriors operate with cold precision, often targeting enemy commanders, psykers, or morale units to break the will of the foe before vanishing into the night. The lightning-shrouded forms of most Night Lords is absent among the Shrikeborn, their dark blue armor only adorned with the trophies of those judged and found wanting. Carrow’s title, Stained Lord, is not a boast, but a burden- a reminder of the blood on his hands, and the honor he strives to reclaim in a galaxy that has long since forgotten it. Origins and Philosophy The Shrikeborn are a splinter warband of the VIII Legion, the Night Lords, forged in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy by survivors of Nostramo’s destruction and the Legion’s fragmentation. Led by Stained Lord Tovach Carrow, a former enforcer and assault sergeant, the Shrikeborn are unique among their kin for their measured use of terror and their rejection of wanton slaughter. Where many Night Lords have descended into madness, daemonic worship, or nihilism, the Shrikeborn cling to a fractured code of honor: a belief that fear is a weapon to be wielded with precision, not indulgence. They strike from the skies with Raptors and Warp Talons, but their targets are chosen with care: command structures, psykers, oathbreakers, and those who spread false justice. Notable Engagements The Fall of Hive Virex A textbook Shrikeborn operation. Raptors under Claw Leader Narvok severed the hive’s command structure in under seven minutes. The Dirgebound followed to execute the remaining leadership. No civilian casualties were recorded—only silence and fear. The Burning of Kharon’s Reach A rogue Inquisitor had begun experimenting on captured Night Lords gene-seed. The Shrikeborn launched a retaliatory strike, eliminating the Inquisitor and his retinue. Carrow personally executed the Inquisitor in a public square, broadcasting the act across the system. The Siege of Varnak Spire A prolonged engagement against a Black Templars crusade. The Shrikeborn fought a defensive war of shadows and attrition, ultimately retreating with minimal losses after assassinating the Templar Castellan. Current Disposition: Mercenaries of the Ebon Word In the current era, the Shrikeborn operate as mercenary allies of the Ebon Word, a Word Bearers warband known for their dark sermons and loyalty to the Despoiler. Though ideologically opposed, the alliance is one of mutual utility: The Ebon Word provides access to forbidden knowledge, relics, and warp routes. The Shrikeborn offer elite strike forces capable of surgical terror raids and precision decapitation strikes. Carrow tolerates the Word Bearers’ zealotry only so far. He forbids daemonic possession within his ranks and has executed several Ebon Word cultists for attempting to “bless” his warriors. The alliance is tense, but effective, a pact of necessity, not belief. The Shrikeborn are currently deployed in the Terraic Marches, a region of blessed Imperial cathedral-worlds and hive-planets, where they serve as shock troops and assassins for the Ebon Word’s crusade against the Imperium’s domineering Ecclesiarchy. Structure and Key Figures Stained Lord Tovach Carrow – Commander and moral anchor of the warband. A figure of mournful dignity who seeks to preserve a shadow of the Legion’s original purpose. Headsman Kordesh – Master of Executions, ritual killer and enforcer of internal discipline. Flaymaster Amathys – Warp Talon leader, a warp-touched predator who retains a flicker of loyalty and lucidity. Claw Leader Navir Xikas – Chosen leader, tactician and executor of Carrow’s will. Claw Leader Sarran Narvok – Raptor commander, master of aerial terror tactics and psychological warfare. The Dirgebound – Contekar Terminator cadre, silent and relentless, deployed for final judgment. Legacy The Shrikeborn are feared not for their brutality, but for their restraint. In a galaxy of excess and madness, they are a reminder that terror can be a scalpel, not just a hammer. They are the last echo of Nostramo’s justice, twisted, bloodstained, but not yet broken.