A Dark Song - Kobrakei's painting log - Darkshroud

[Kobrakei]

'Space Marines are not the noble heroes sung of in legend, as much as the Imperium wants them to be. They are murderers. Killers bred for one purpose, the extermination of life. The House has seen this time and time again. It was the murder-lust of your Corpse-Emperor's sons that led humanity back into the dark ages of now. And yet, Juriakon, scion of Corax, you are that rare creature. An Astartes that I find fascinating. I would piss on Inquisitor Isut's offer, but for your presence. My Knights will walk with you alone, Master of the Laniidae'

 

Knight-Baroness Oula Sammanta, Pilot of 'Omenstrider', Matriax of the House Erritian. Spoken at the Red Concord. 

 

 

Master of the Laniidae. First of the Thorn Wreath. These titles belong to the Captain of the First Company of the Crimson Shrikes, a position currently occupied by Faaial Juriakon. A resolute warrior, Juriakon has led the First for fifty-two Terran years, and brought naught but victory to the Shrikes. 

 

 

 

Juriakon deployed exclusively with the Laniidae during the Shrine War, using the teleport homers carried by the Scouts of the Tenth to bring instant and cataclysmic assaults upon rebel mortals and later Traitor legion elements. Yet Juriakon's greatest achievement is one that took place away from the battlefield. During the first meetings with the ancient Knight House of Erritian, Inquisitor Judia Isut, the leader of the Imperial battle group assigned to the Shine War found his efforts to recruit the House's allegiance were met with blunt refusals. In the last meeting, known as The Red Concord, Isut believed that a show of force was required to show the House that the power of the Imperium was not to be ignored. A request for a Crimson Shrike escort was granted, and the honour guard was led by Juriakon himself.

 

 

The House was not moved by this overt display of force. A lesser opponent may have been coerced by the terror of the war-plated transhumans in their court, but the Matriax of House Erritian was not moved. The House was brutal and merciless in combat, and their warriors were nobles in name only. Matriax Sammanta met the Shrikes with only a deep cackle of disgust. The Shrikes bristled at this insult, and for a few tense moments it seemed that the room would be filled with slaughter and the sound of bolters. However, Juriakon was not only famed for his leadership of the Thorn Wreath, but for his abilities as a wordsmith. He had written treatises and lectures that had spread around not only his Chapter, but among the whole of the Astartes brotherhood. He requested that the Matriax engage with him, crone to Marine. Sammanta consented to this, and they retreated to her private quarters for one day and one night. No record of their talks are kept, but after they returned to the court the Matriax pledged her support to Inquisitor Isut, with a special note exclaiming her respect of Juriakon and the Shrikes.

 

 

Seen here wearing his Terminator war-plate, and carrying the relic blade 'Termination Shock', Juriakon placed himself and the Laniidae under the command of Ryylo Koridas, providing the anvil to Koridas's hammer-blow of rapid strikes from his company. Although the Knights of House Erritian were in essence an independent force within the Imperial battle lines, the respect shown to Juriakon meant that he and the Laniidae were nearly always supported by at least one Knight, the sound of merciless laughter broadcast on loudhailers as the Knights began their attacks.

 

 

Addendum - After the House of Erritian was destroyed on orders from Inquisitor Isut, Juriakon was reported to have spent ninety-nine days in mourning and etched the House symbol into his left grieve. It appears that the respect given by House Erritian was mutual.

[JeffTibbetts]

As mentioned elsewhere, great stuff as usual. I'm scared to take characters in Term armor because they can't do a Sweeping Advance. :( 

 

Have you played any games with the new Raven Guard formations yet? The Raptor Wing is fantastic. 

[Kobrakei]

I haven't yet. I only tend to get games in at 1500 and as much as I'd like to throw some of the Formations around, I always worry I'm spending points on rules rather than bodies. I think once I finish my Scout squads (not long to go on those...) then I'll be looking at running a Pinion. I have been running the Raven Guard chapter tactics, warlord traits and relics, and they've been fun and make me play a bit different to before. So many chances for shenanigans! The Raptor Wing looks awesome, but I'd need another Stormtalon...I'm sure I can be convinced :P

[hushrong]

Nice new addition! I am also digging the fluff!

[JeffTibbetts]

I ran a Raptor Wing and Shadowstrike Kill Team in a 1,000 list and I was very impressed with both. I didn't take any models I didn't want to at all. No 'tax' here for most Raven Guard players, as we're probably already taking scouts, Vanguard, speeders and Stormtalons. You really should get a second one. They look great in your scheme and I still love that piece you wrote about the Shrike talons doing dead drops straight into battle. I can't shake how cool that image is, and it's my fervent hope your fly boys taught my Eagles that trick at some point.

[Kobrakei]

Nice new addition! I am also digging the fluff!

 Thanks! I liked the idea of an Astartes that was a diplomat as well as a warrior. Plus getting more references in about House Erritian is always fun for me.

 

I ran a Raptor Wing and Shadowstrike Kill Team in a 1,000 list and I was very impressed with both. I didn't take any models I didn't want to at all. No 'tax' here for most Raven Guard players, as we're probably already taking scouts, Vanguard, speeders and Stormtalons. You really should get a second one. They look great in your scheme and I still love that piece you wrote about the Shrike talons doing dead drops straight into battle. I can't shake how cool that image is, and it's my fervent hope your fly boys taught my Eagles that trick at some point.

 

Yeah, that list you ran looked fun. I do struggle to find a balance between troops and my other choices, and tend to stick ruggedly to three Tac squads as a core. I'm starting to experiment with Scouts though, and finding them pretty useful. I have some Speeders that need paint as well, so who knows in future That second Stormtalon wouldn't go amiss, but I really need to get my vehicle painting back in order as I keep putting it off and the more I do that, the more I get overthink it. I'll probably end up painting all of the army's vehicles in one go at this rate

 

And please feel free to do that bit of fluff. Would be sweet to see someone else's take on that tactic!

Edited March 9, 2016 by kobrakei

[Kobrakei]

'The Ethnarch attacked our brothers. He attacked the Imperium and defied the laws of the Emperor. His greatest crime though was to strike at our existence. Every member of the Tenth Company was born on Kerishian. From there they were molded into the future of the Shrikes. The children of this world have returned home, and they have come clad in wrath.'

 

Captain Thraam Yercik, X Company, Crimson Shrikes Adeptus Astartes.

 

 

 

 

Above can be seen pic-captures of Scout Squads Neestoi and Grusis of the Crimson Shrikes Chapter. These small units of Tenth Company recruits were added to the counter-attack forces of Captain Koridas at his request, allowing for infiltration and recon deep within enemy lines, and the creation of a location beacon matrix to guide in drop-podding and teleporting elements of the strike force. 

 

 

The world of Kerishian Alpha-Seven, as well as being a prominent Shrine World within the sector, was also the main recruitment world for the Crimson Shrikes. Feral gangs of youths, abandoned or orphaned in the bustling cathedral-metropolises of Kerishian were forced to survive via guile and stealth, and in some cases outright violence. This makes them ideal candidates for Astartes recruitment, exceptionally so in the case of the Raven Guard - descended Shrikes. The chosen would be taken to the home world of the Shrikes and put through the trials of Corax. Not all would survive these trials, and in some cases the entire crop would be lost to the mega-flora and fauna of the stalk-jungles. However, those that passed would be accepted into the Chapter, where their training would begin.

 

 

The Ethnarch bringing his campaign of ruin and horror to Kerishian left the Shrikes with the only option available to them, and led to their direct involvement with the Shrine War. After the death of their only other recruitment world in the Black Deep Atrocity, the Shrikes' future was under immediate threat. To the Tenth Company, sons all of Kerishian, the war was a just action, even with the faint memories of their life before the Chapter. The Sergeants of the Scout squads were required to not only lead, but to temper the rage of their charges in the battles that followed.

Edited March 31, 2016 by kobrakei

[JeffTibbetts]

The helmets really change the overall look in a good way, and the red torso and helmet look awesome. You've done a great job varying the poses on these guys, despite the fact they all have bolters. Incidentally, I like the way you've done those combi-meltas. 

 

Do you have any intention of running CC scouts or snipers at some point? I don't really care for bolter scouts, in terms of game stuff. 

[Kobrakei]

Thanks Jeff. I was unsure of how to model the helmets, but I saw Augustus's Scout conversions and knew that was perfect. It just makes the profile sleeker instead of that squat Scout look you get with the normal heads. The Combi Meltas are just the Sternguard ones attached hand and all. The fist isn't that much bigger than a Scouts's so it doesn't look out of place.I do have some sniper scouts, but I think I'm going to do some Scout bikes for my army. I'm not a huge fan of sniper rifles, and these will be getting a couple of Storms for transport. They're very bare bones, but ten bolter shots in the right place make all the difference. In my first game five of them with a Storm captured an objective on T1 and then held it all game in cover and throwing out plenty of wounds. Not bad for 110 pts at all!

Edited March 31, 2016 by kobrakei

[JeffTibbetts]

Those are the Sternguard ones? Wow. They looked custom. And yeah, LSS are great. I've been leaning towards CC scouts, myself. I like the way they look and they're basically the same as marines in melee.

[Kobrakei]

I know right? I was shocked how well they fit too. Was a bonus as I wasn't looking forward to cutting away at scout bolters :P LSS's are so underrated, 55 pts for one with a Multi-Melta is such a good investment.

[JackDaw]

Finally caught up on the Shrikes, after months of being a terrible hobby-bro and forgetting to comment. It's a glorious army. Glorious. You know I'm a sucker for thought and story put into armies and the Shrikes strike some chords close to my heart. Wonderful stuff Kobrakei, keep it coming.

[Kobrakei]

Thanks Jack, it's certainly fun to look back at that first Tactical Marine and then to see how far it's all come. Honestly never thought it'd get this far! 

[Knight of the Raven]

Lovely scouts! These helmets look good and are certainly cheaper than Forge World's cadian respirators pack!

[Kobrakei]

Thanks! They certainly look better with the Scion heads. Again, inspiration/direct stealing came from Augustus's Imperial Fists.

[Kobrakei]

A little bit of a divergence with this post. I've painted my third Assassin from the new kits, the Eversor. This means I've nearly completed an Execution Force, just needing to paint a Callidus, which I'll be picking up next week. Again, as with my Vindicare, this doesn't really fit into the Shrine War narrative, but I didn't want to create a new thread either, so in here he goes

 

'The Arterial', Clade Assassin, Eversor Temple.

 

Edited April 10, 2016 by kobrakei

[Draakur]

I think I said the same thing the last time I commented in this thread, but again - I rarely post anymore, and only really spend time on the forums looking for and indulging in a very specific kind of content, but your thread is one of the few I've followed enthusiastically over recent years, kobrakei.

 

What you've done with the Shrikes is nothing short of awesome and inspiring, and is a perfect example of the kind of approach to this hobby that I really love and wish I had the time for myself. Great modelling and painting, great fluff/writing and sense of narrative to your force and your little part of the universe, and overall very creative and individualistic. Being able to read through and enjoy threads like yours keeps the 40K geek alive in me somewhere, and for that I am grateful :)

 

Bravo - a thousand times, bravo.  

[Kobrakei]

Wow, that's pretty humbling! Thanks for the comment, I'm glad I've helped to inspire you :)

[JeffTibbetts]

There's something superheroish about that assassin. The red's certainly different, and he fits in visually with the rest of your army. Nice work, as always.

[Kobrakei]

I think he looks like Spiderman, although everyone else thinks he looks like Deadpool. It was more looking for a decent colour that complimented the dark red without being black, and luckily Dark Reaper worked nicely. I've also been trying to tie all the Assassins together by using similar colours, but swapping which ones are the main ones and which ones are spot colours. Hopefully it'll work, but I'm going to wait until I complete the whole Execution Force and see what it looks like then. Thanks for the compliments as always :)

[Kobrakei]

I've finished my Callidus Assassin in record time for me, taking under a week to complete! She was the easiest of the Assassins, due to mostly being one colour with some highlights.

 

Operative Kyrla Yann, 'Amaranthine Blade', Clade Assassin, Callidus Temple.

 

 

And this obviously means that I've painted all four Assassins! I never set out to complete all four, but after I painted my Culexus the bug bit and I couldn't not go for it. It's been a fun project, and it's nice to see something completed personally. I might even run them as an Execution Force in game one day, who knows?!

 

Anyways...

 

Execution Force 'Testament Unwritten'. Kill Ratio 2763:1. Lethality Vector Primus.

 

[Kobrakei]

++Systems booting++

 

Loading...Loading...Loading...Loadi

 

++Welcome back Inquisitor++

 

++Time since last usage - Three hundred and forty nine Terran day units, sidereal++

 

++Begin Search?++

 

++Enter Search++

 

++Ref: Crimson Shrikes actions - Post Shrine War++

 

++Processing++

 

++Processing++

 

++Proces...

 

'After the grueling campaign on Kerishian and the bitter recriminations after the conflict, of which we shall not speak here, the Crimson Shrikes retreated to their homeworld to rebuild the losses to their Chapter. However, their respite was short, as the event known as The Gathering Storm was soon to break over the Imperium of Man. The shield world of Cadia fell to the power of the 13th Black Crusade, and untold horrors spread across the galaxy, including the world of Unthawele. A distress signal was sent out into the swirling tides of the Empyrium, and detected by the Librarius of the Shrikes, garbled messages mentioning 'The Choir of the Subliminal' and 'The Sons of the Rubric'. The Shrikes immediately prepared for war once more and began a mass transit to Unthawele. As they translated into the Unthawele system, they were hailed by a ship of blackest night, an aura of wrongness haloing the ancient vessel. Ryylo Koridas, Captain of the Third Company, received the hail and gazed in shocked awe at the warriors that appeared in holograph...'

 

Shadow Mantid Vigilator Squad, Adeptus Astra Telepathica Sisters of Silence

 

Edited April 6, 2017 by kobrakei

[JeffTibbetts]

Oh yeah! You're back, man! Wooooooo! Nice looking models. I see the Gathering Storm fluff is up your alley, huh? Pretty heady stuff. 

[Kobrakei]

I thought I'd better start posting again! I think the story direction 40k is going in is really exciting and a well needed shake up. This thread is going to become a bit more of a general Imperial thread from now on though as apart from a few little bits I'm pretty much done with the Shrikes, and there's so many new shiny bits to get stuck into...such as the Custodians I've been failing to paint for a few months now Edited April 7, 2017 by kobrakei

[Kobrakei]

'Ask yourself - what manner of man would create monsters to protect himself from monsters? Your Emperor knows well the answer. He just chooses to clad them in gold.'

 

Attrib. Narthan Dume.

 

Hykanatoi Squad 'Unburdened Light' of the Ten Thousand. Led by Shield-Captain Thramesh Ursus K'trell Obansius Hyresm Erak (157 other names indictative). Pic-captured at the Darragan Severance, M41.

 

 

 

 

Thought I'd try out my lightbox with these guys, and the pics aren't too bad. I need to invest in some daylight bulbs and practice, but I'm reasonably happy. The Custodes were a delight to paint as well. Even though I had to strip the spears and spray coat them black instead of the gold they had been, they weren't a chore at all. I'm especially chuffed with the golden armour, although I can;t quite get the effect right in pics. Ah well! Next up is Voldus, then probably Cypher....