Loyalists of the XIV: The tyrant's ruin and rival's fall

[Barabbas Sogalon]

“Legion and Emperor... that is all... there is. No need... for Primarch.

Voice and clarion call... tyrant's ruin... rival's fall... Such is the way... of the last... Warlords of Dusk.”

- Old Tamhais, former Spear-Lieutenant of the XIV Legion, after the exile of the Last Judgement

Old Tamhais

Once, Rukon Mak'Tamhais was a child soldier in the Albian armies fighting against the Emperor. Recruited into the XIV Legion, the Dusk Raiders, he proved himself in the Panpacific as a bringer of red handed justice and a charismatic and honourable warrior having the respect of his men. At the beginning of the Great Crusade he was serving as commander of 1st Squad Tartaros in the 4th Cohort led by then Battle-Captain Sogalon,”the Lion of Albia”, a man said to embody the best and worst of Albian traits. Now known as Rukon Tamhais and holding the prestigious rank of Spear-Lieutenant, he turned Tartaros into a unit dedicated to protecting their Battle-Captain as he fought tirelessly in the name of Cohort, Legion and Emperor. His actions earned him many honours and as the Crusade went on he became something of a hero among the Dusk Raiders, Champion of 4th Cohort in all but name. Like his brothers, Tamhais had taken great pride in being fatherless and viewed the Legion's continued successes despite not having a Primarch as a sign of their superiority over their weaker cousins. When the XIV eventually reunited with the fourteenth son, Tamhais was among those disgusted by Mortarion, Barbarus and its inhabitants; in his eyes they would only serve to pollute the Legion ranks. The Dusk Raiders became the Death Guard, the majority of the 4th Cohort reorganized into the 8th Battalion of the 7th Great Company and Tamhais resented being put under the command of “the whelp” Nathaniel Garro. He fell in battle years later, protecting now Lieutenant-Commander Sogalon from hideous xenos and only the efforts of a young Barbarusan named Barleti kept his broken body from dying. Life as a Contemptor changed Rukon Tamhais. Locked inside a metal hulk he had to watch the Legion as it was twisted into something unfamiliar and the old ways died with him unable to act. Gone was the honourable warrior from Unification, replaced by a bitter and hateful killing machine; a symbol of the grief felt by countless Terrans after the Primarchs took charge of the Legions. When he now spoke he was either cursing the current state of the XIV or lost in the past. and by the time of the 8th Battalion's exile there was nothing left of the man his fellow Albians once called brother, only bitterness. Old Tamhais was among the betrayed on Istvaan III, but for him it was a relief, to finally be able to let out decades of suppressed rage at those who destroyed his Legion. He was the one who named Sogalon the last Legion Master of the XIV. Towards the end of the battle he gave his life a second time after carving through entire companies and took many traitors with him when his core detonated. It is said that he died laughing.

Edited March 22, 2015 by Barabbas Sogalon

[Argent aquila]

WOW.

 

 

wonderful back-story, this character is by far one of my favorites on the website.

Somethin' about him just, connects with me.

[recon0321]

Hey grey? Or white?

[deathspectersgt7]

    !!!!!!!

[Unknown Chronicler]

Good to see some loyal Death Guard and they look superb mate! How many points do you have so far?

[Barabbas Sogalon]

@ Argent aquila: Thanks, glad to hear it. I will build a model in the near future to show how he looked as a Dusk Raider.

 

@ Recon0321: It's grey. I wanted to do something different and took inspiration from the old Index Astartes picture of the pre Heresy Death Guard.

 

@ Deathspectersgt7: Thanks!

 

@ ColdWinter: Thanks a lot. Not sure about the points, I think it's somewhere between 1500 and 2000 if I add the stuff that is assembled, but not painted yet. Always aiming for more.

[Barabbas Sogalon]

Not sure what to do with myself in these post-exam days, so I tinkered a bit.

1st Centurion Vitor Gorek, a character I have planned to build for over a year, but couldn't decide on the right parts until yesterday.

Sergeant Guder Lorkan, vox operator and second-in-command of 3rd squad Charon

[deathspectersgt7]

Gorek !!!! Always feel sorry for radiomen prime targets. 

[Pearson73]

Great Centurion, nice dynamism in the contemptor too!

[Barabbas Sogalon]

Thank you, brothers!

Since squad Charon are trench fighters I figured a few improvised weapons are fitting. Here is the first batch, the one to the right is supposed to be a metal bar with concrete at the end.

[lokkorex]

Vitor Gorek just reeks of badassery and kickassitude!

[sockwithaticket]

Oh yes, trenchers, this is going to be good.

[Barabbas Sogalon]

@ lokkorex: Thanks. The Commander's right hand man can't settle for anything less.

@ sockwithaticket: I'm a WW1 nut and have dreamt of doing this for a long time.

Charon has a new member

While the glue tried I had an idea about giving one of the marines a trench gun based on a scout shotgun. We will see how that goes.

[deathspectersgt7]

Looking good, how about the shot gun from the IH breachers kit.

Edited March 21, 2015 by deathspectersgt7

[Pearson73]

Nice work, loving the improvised weapons!

[infyrana]

Lovin the stick on a brick !

 

Did you ever get to do Crysos ?

[recon0321]

Always wondered the death guard upgrade heads is it a bare head with a mask? Or a mask over a Helmet?

[infyrana]

I believe they are masks over helmets.  Sadly, for the very same reason you've no doubt asked, they look like they are too skinny at the helmet area for a marines' head to be inside.  It's one of the main reasons I dislike them - though everytime I view this thread I keep wanting to buy a few :)

[Barabbas Sogalon]

@ Deathspectersgt7: Thanks. I will check that one out.

@ Pearson73: Thank you.

@ Infyrana: No Crysos Morturg yet. None of my attempts felt right and I'm still having this tiny hope that FW will see reason and give him an official model.

I love the Death Guard helmets. They make me think back to the artwork in Collected Visions that made me love the Death Guard all those years ago.

Now, a picture of my easter challenge, completing the last three Cremators. I really hate these things.

This means that after Warden-Centurion Shabraste (undercoated two days ago) I'll finally paint the Cremators, almost a year after I built them.

[Barabbas Sogalon]

Warden-Centurion Shabraste nearing completion.

[infyrana]

Awesome stuff, makes me wonder just how many of the Typhus model gets purchased - a few I've seen are converted alongside the unconverted, it is a great model for sure.

 

How's the rest of your DG coming along ?

[deathspectersgt7]

Coming along nicely.

[Barabbas Sogalon]

@ infyrana: The army is growing slowly, but surely. It will get some more infantry when I finish building squad Charon and there is also the Cremators from last year and a few Grave Wardens I should see about painting. The Lieutenant-Commander himself is underway now that I have a clear vision of how he will look and managed to dig up a few more parts for him. And I need to find room to assemble the Knight. All this depends on me get distracted with other projects or not, which tend to happen a lot up here.

 

@ deathspectersgt7: Thanks!

 

I'll finish Shabraste tomorrow, hopefully with a better picture.

[Barabbas Sogalon]

"We are already in hell, brothers. You better get used to the stench."

- Hebran Shabraste during the Bleeding Twins, assault on Fortress 77

Warden-Centurion Shabraste, 1st Great Company

Warden-Centurion Hebran Shabraste was counted among First Captain Typhon’s most trusted men at the time of Ullanor. Once called “a stubborn bastard best suited to filling graves” by his superiors, the grim Barbarusan lived his life between the trenches and excelled when tasked with killing the enemy in their holes. After an especially bloody assault he was named the Horns of Typhon’s Company. No one ever doubted his loyalty. An old soldier and a member of the Seven Pillared Lodge, Shabraste had fought alongside Mortarion in the war on Barbarus, at the time nothing but the son of a dead man, and his devotion to the Primarch bordered on fanaticism. He later earned his place in the 1st Great Company, becoming one of the foremost Grave Wardens and an instrument of death that obeyed his master without question. He was a model Death Guard, prevailing where all others fell and claiming victory in the name of his Father. But as the Crusade went on, Shabraste grew more and more disillusioned with both the Emperor and the Primarch until he reached a point where began to despise them, finally tired of fighting other men’s wars. In his eyes Mortarion had become a tyrant just like the ones he had overthrown on Barbarus, the Emperor being no better. Others in the Legion never learned of his views, for he rarely spoke to his brothers; the Barbarusans were all indoctrinated and the Albians were too distant. When the Last Judgement was exiled, the First Captain handpicked Shabraste to lead forty veteran Grave Wardens sent with the Battalion and act as his representative with the exiles. Shabraste, who cared only about the killing and not Legion politics, was a poor choice and led to Typhon later sending Lodge-Speaker Nikoman to the 90th Expedition. The Warden-Centurion and his men spearheaded the 8th Battalion’s assault in the opening stages of the Bleeding Twins campaign by carving a tainted path through the first three fortresses and were soon involved in a long war of attrition that ended with the fall of Fortress 107. Shabraste’s service in the following years was exemplary. He remained aboard the Wrath of Albia during the Istvaan III Atrocity and was to be given command of the 8th Battalion now that its loyalist elements were sent to die on the surface, therefore he was present when Moritat Gurthor executed Nikoman and ordered the Destroyer Company on a purge of everyone loyal to Mortarion. Shabraste, seeing no reason to follow the Primarch any longer, sided with the deranged Gurthor and participated in slaughtering their former brothers like cattle. Hours later the two were the highest ranking members left in the Last Judgement.

Edited April 20, 2015 by Barabbas Sogalon

[infyrana]

Excellent stuff, I like it!

 

If you don't mind the asking, how did you achieve that aged metal look over his power pack please?