Some army fluff...

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

Been working on it off and on again, as the moments strike and all. thought i would share what little bit i currently have.

 

Here it is, my SHADOW WOLVES OF RUSS!

 

Listen close my Lord, for this tale is one of heroic deeds and mighty wars, of tyrants felled and traitors culled. The beginning of this tale comes at the end of the Space Wolves Legion, when Lord Russ still walked among us, when heroes were made with every battle, when we were truly invincible. The Sons of Russ prowled the stars and entire worlds were caught up in the fires of war, we were the unstoppable vengeance and unrelenting fury of the All-Father. We slew our traitor brethren, the followers of the Fell Star, the Eight Arrows, until they fled to the Eye of Terror from fear of the wrath of Russ and his Wolves.

As a Legion we were mighty, but with this terrible might came great fear from our allies and those we fought to protect. The vaunted Primarch Guilliman of the Ultramarines fixed the worlds of the Imperium while we purged our fell kin, and with his efforts came the true death of the Legions. While the Primarchs argued over the implementation of the Codex Astartes upon the Legiones Astartes, Guilliman won over his brothers through words and force, all with his support, the once great Legions were broken down into smaller bands of warriors. Lord Russ worried greatly over this decision, for his greatest ally against Guilliman’s creation was the proud Lord Dorn, Primarch of the Imperial Fists and the Emperor’s Praetorian, who bowed to Guilliman’s wishes and put his Legion to death promised by the Codex Astartes, giving birth to Space Marine Chapters.

Now Lord Guilliman was noble, strong and pure of heart, but the High Lords of the Imperium he had created were only human. Many of them were great men, but alas, many of them were men of weakness and poor character. Lord Russ saw that his Sons were to broken down into smaller chapters against his will, and he thought long and hard on the matter. He knew that the strength of his Wolves were in their brotherhood, and to break them was to weaken them in a time where their strength was greatly needed. So Russ took the most trusted of his children and gave them this command:

“You are to take command of your brethren, and strike out into the blackness of space. You are to keep a keen eye on this new Imperium of Man, and be every ready to defend it. You are to prowl amongst the stars and protect those this new Imperium would crush in its ignorance. You are bound by no oath of loyalty to this new order, but rather an oath to Myself and the All-Father. You are to champion the weak, to defy the tyrant regardless of who he calls master, and be ever vigilant. Now go, my Wolves of the Darkness, be kin to the Shadows and perform these tasks that I ask of you.”

With these final words our Lord created the Shadow Wolves and sent them out to the void. When a new Great Wolf is crowned, I am summoned to instruct him on the allies he may call upon in times of desperate need. The Shadow Wolves remain ever loyal to the task set upon them by our Lord, and can be recalled to the Fang only in the times of greatest need. If we are to face a task too great for our Chapter to defeat alone, a task so terrible that to reveal our true strength to the Imperium of Man, then we may call upon the strength of a Legion. Then the Legion of Russ will descend upon our foes, and woe to those foolish enough to doubt our might.

---Bjorn the Fell-Handed to the newly elected Great Wolf Logan Grimnar

 

 

The strength and size of the Shadow Wolves is unknown, as packs are assigned to one of the Shadow Companies as circumstances demand. To be assigned to a Shadow Company is bittersweet for a Son of Russ, for while he follows the commands of our Primarch, his saga is ended to the Imperium of Man. The Wolves assigned to join the Shadow Wolves are recorded as killed in action or lost to the Warp, for their existence is a myth, one we deny to any outsider. A pack is usually only assigned to the Shadow Wolves when they perform an action that would draw undue attention to the Chapter, such as culling a Traitor of high rank who still hides among those loyal to the All-Father.

In battle, the Shadow Wolves come with little notice and strike with no restraint, for the swifter they accomplish their mission the swifter they depart, leaving as little of their trace behind as they can. Unlike a normal company of Space Wolves, the Shadow Wolves don’t wage war with the artillery barrage tanks or snarling assault bikes common to loyalist Space Marines, as the noise and death they bring to the foe also bring the attention of any outside parties. They prefer to use armor that double as transports, so have a ample supply of Rhinos and are assigned a few Razorbacks for the maximizing their firepower. The Shadow Wolves of Wolf Lord Kjaran Coldheart also contain three Land Raiders in their armory, used for cracking the bastions of those the Wolf Lord has come to deliver the All-Father’s justice to. The packs that make of the Shadow Wolves rarely consist of more than a few Blood or Sky Claw Packs, for the actions of the Shadow Wolves often call for more restraint than they currently possess. That is to say that our young brethren have no role in a Shadow Wolf taskforce, for sometimes the brutal savagery common to the charge of these Packs are useful when the usual subtle methods fail, and overwhelming force is needed to achieve an objective. However, the majority of a Shadow Wolf company, much like a contemporary Great Company, is the Grey Hunter Pack. These warriors, while as vicious as and Wolf of Fenris, are tempered in battle and can focus their rage as needed.

The Shadow Wolves of Wolf Lord Kjaran Coldheart are used almost exclusively to purge the ranks of the Imperium of those that twist or forget the All-Father’s dream of mankind. This is a heavy burden for a Son of Russ to bear, but has proven to be necessary in the past. Rebel governors, rouge Inquisitors and corrupt Priests of the Imperial Faith have all fallen to the Shadow Wolves these past ten millennia, all vile foes of the Imperium, yet powerful enough to disguise their actions from those loyal to Mankind. Such is the power of these men that sometimes the Shadow Wolves are forced into conflict with those who are truly loyal, and on these occasions the Shadow Wolves bear this burden by knowing that those loyalists they are forced to destroy pale in the number of the traitors they have sent to their damnation and the Emperor‘s Judgment. In order to distance themselves from the Space Wolves Chapter, to hide their loyalty, the Shadow Wolves often disguise their armor in the manner of their Traitorous brethren. Some packs of the Shadow Wolves will mount horns that emerge from their shoulder guards or helms in this manner, while others are equipped with older Marks of Astartes power armor commonly associated with the traitorus Marines.

 

all i currently got.

 

WLK

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

a few pics of my models:

 

Wolf Lord Kjaran Coldheart

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i65/kieran_m/Space%20Wolves/100e1683.jpg

 

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i65/kieran_m/Space%20Wolves/100e1684.jpg

 

Blood Claw Pack, W.I.P.

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i65/kieran_m/Space%20Wolves/100_1691.jpg

 

Thunderwolf Cavalry Pack

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i65/kieran_m/Space%20Wolves/100e1687.jpg

 

WLK

[Beef]

Loving the models. I like the fluff, for a while it almost read like it was codex material. Only thing i dont understand is why they need to disguise themselves. Suerley if they stay SW;s colour wise/armour wise what difference would it make. As long as they dont take to the field what difference would it make to an untrained eye. they would just assume its another great company. Nobody outside the SW's have seen all the great companies together at once. so any imperial forces would not suddenly think its anything unusual.

[CainTheHunter]

Hey, Wolf Lord Kieran, where did You get right-handed storm shields, or are they conversions? I am struggling to find these for my left-handed chain-fisted Lone wolf.

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

@Beef: the codex like feel was intentional, once i stop being so lazy and actually finish the whole thing i intend to make it look like the old IA articles.

and the two purposes of the disguised Wolves are fluff-wise when they are forced into battle with Imperial forces they dont draw undue attention to the Space Wolves themselves to those few with a trained eye (Inquisition might frown on my Wolves saving a community rather than letting them "clean" it ) more importantly allows me to incorporate my older 13th Company figs (who still have some chaosy bits) into my army and no have to do crazy amounts of fixing. (again, lazy)

and thanks for the props on the models!

@CaintheHunter: it was a conversion as i wanted a chainfist on my WL (after learning how weak the TH is [only shakes Vehicles and S8, while the 2d6 of the chainfist allows me to rip through them most times in a single go]).

 

thanks for reading it all guys!

 

WLK