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

[Pyromancer]

Great Squad. The use of plastic bits, as well as MkIII mixed in with the MkII is really great, as well as the painting which is superb, and the fluff which adds a nice element to the models. Keep up the great work!

[recon0321]

Looks great

[Flint13]

They look great all together, Barabbas!

 

The little individual squad honors and badges are still what do it for me.

[Barabbas Sogalon]

Many thanks to you all. I'm quite proud of the squad as it took some planning to make every legionary unique.

 

Anyone interested in knowing what the Bleeding Twins campaign was? I should have a small piece about it ready soon, before I get started on the Siege Breaker.

[Flint13]

That campaign sounds either gross, awesome or both. Get on it!

[infyrana]

Many thanks to you all. I'm quite proud of the squad as it took some planning to make every legionary unique.

 

Anyone interested in knowing what the Bleeding Twins campaign was? I should have a small piece about it ready soon, before I get started on the Siege Breaker.

 

As with Flint's comment....

 

...so yes, and yes please ? :)  Will you have a Breacher squad to go with your Siege Breaker, or just a gathering of Medusa's ?

[Barabbas Sogalon]

I will add a few Breachers at some point and probably a Medusa too, though not sure about the latter. Somehow my old Imperial Guard army killed my motivation when it comes to painting vehicles.

[GrandMagnus]

Nice Barabbas! That squad looks great, some brutal deathguard.

[Barabbas Sogalon]

THE BLEEDING TWINS [000.M31]

 

What is now known as the Bleeding Twins was a nine month long campaign fought with the purpose of exterminating the Akateri Hierarchy on worlds Four-Forty-Nine and Four-Forty-Ten. The Imperial forces were comprised of elements from three Legions, the Death Guard, Emperor’s Children and Night Lords, along with the veteran Army soldiers of the Boruzian Grenadiers. The campaign name is believed to be a reference to the blood staining the muddy battlefields in such amounts that one of the Boruzians said it looked like the earth itself was bleeding.

 

The prelude to the campaign lies in the discovery of two small planets in close proximity to each other by the 440th Expedition. Not long after, the Twins’ rulers made themselves known to Mankind. The Akateri Hierarchy was populated by a hybrid species of human and unidentified xenos, resulting in tall humanoid creatures with pale yellowish skin and glowing eyes whose society was recorded as being highly militaristic and technologically advanced. It is unknown what exactly happened between the two sides, but the Imperial emissaries ended up executed and the ships annihilated in a short matter of time. The Imperium’s responded by declaring a thorough cleansing of the worlds; nothing of the abomination that was the Akateri Hierarchy would be allowed to live. The first to answer the call was the 23rd Company of the Emperor’s Children led by the charismatic Centurion Markus Apokalian who brought a force of veterans capable of countering any threat. But it would be the 8th Battalion of Death Guard 7th Great Company under the uncompromising leadership of Lieutenant-Commander Sogalon that ended up as masters of the campaign, their dark reputation for purgative operations already known across the Expeditions. With them came the Boruzian Grenadiers, an old Imperial Army regiment from Terra that made the regimental name a byword for both discipline and extreme ruthlessness during the Unification Wars. Last to arrive were Captain Aliksandr Saevus of the Night Lords and his 26th Company, specialists in scorched earth warfare. No one knows how and why they got involved considering that the VIII had gone rogue years earlier, but the Imperium’s desperation in making the Akateri an example might have played a part.

 

Fighting started with the Night Lords’ sabotage of all communication between the Twins, replacing it with a non-stop vox-recording of a man being burnt by phosphex, before the Akateri fleet were destroyed by the III Legion ships in a one sided battle. An orbital bombardment directed at heavily populated areas reduced great swathes of both worlds to ash followed immediately after. Only then did the extermination force make planetfall. While the Night Lords were unleashed on the populous marble cities of Four-Forty-Ten, did the main assault find place on Four-Forty-Nine where the Akateri Overlord’s seat was protected by a continent-spanning network of fortresses and trenches and a massive army of well-armed soldiers. The 8th Battalion showed no quarter in the bloody ground war that soon erupted, their relentless march tearing down fortress after fortress with the Destroyer Company serving as the tip of the spear. The terrors of Old Night had come to Four-Forty-Nine and transformed the once verdant world to a hellish battlefield under a poisoned sky. A staunch traditionalist, Lieutenant-Commander Sogalon made frequent use of the Dusk Raiders’ way of attacking when twilight was at its darkest until the smoke-filled sky and thousands of fires left it useless. Meanwhile, the Boruzians prosecuted their own war against the Akateri fortifications along the front opposite of the Death Guard, sending in their armoured forces and infamous veteran infantry to strike the enemy like a spear intent on carving out the heart. The Grenadiers served with distinction at the triangle of Fortresses 46, 47 and 48. Centurion Apokalian of the Emperor’s Children, who viewed the enemy as tainted mongrel only fit for extinction, divided his Company between executing precision strikes on fortresses and supporting various parts of the XIV Legion forces, he himself fighting close to Commander Sogalon at the chaotic frontlines where he bested several elite Akateri swordsmen. Veteran-Sergeant Barleti of the XIV was reported saying that the III had the worst of the campaign, not being able to clean their armours between fights. The Akateri proved to be formidable opponents with their sophisticated kinetic weaponry and stubborn defence, making the Imperials fight for every single meter of the red-soaked ground, but in the end could not hope to stand against the dark arsenal used by the Death Guard.

 

The war on Four-Forty-Ten took a completely different turn. Captain Saevus of the 26th had always been known as a master strategist with an artist’s approach to war, so there was no surprise when he declared to make the Akateri’s demise a masterpiece. His legionaries started by crippling all supply lines to the marble cities and destroying any pool of vital resources, and then spent the first month burning down everything between the individual cities. The first city fell after exactly one month and eight days when Night Lords arriving by drop pods massacred the inhabitants and put it to the torch, leaving behind a burnt shell filled with charred remains. From this point on, cities fell daily. In some, Saevus let his Destroyers run loose, while others were stricken by slow-killing gas developed in the Death Guard’s laboratories to specifically target the Akateri. The most heavily populated city was blanket bombed with phosphex and the fleeing citizens gunned down by legionaries just outside the walls. Countless other atrocities are known to have taken place, but not recorded. The mightiest stronghold on the planet was the first to have its supply lines cut and the last to fall in a full-scale attack that left nothing standing, other than a ruined plaza where the VIII Legion’s symbol was created with burning corpses. With the severed head of the local tyrant taken to be placed in the Company’s “memorial” for lost cultures, the Night Lords finally joined the battle on Four-Forty-Nine. Captain Saevus was absent during the latter stages of the campaign, his men saying he was “lost in the dark mood”, and temporary command passed to his equerry Kaltiim Jebra.

 

The Bleeding Twins campaign ended with the siege of Fortress 107, which was breached after two weeks of constant fighting. The brutality of the 8th Battalion’s final assault owed much to Dusk Raider’s Albian influences, carving through enemy after enemy among phosphex ravaged ruins like the red hand of the Emperor’s justice they were always meant to be. It all came to a close when Commander Sogalon, flanked by the veterans of squad Tartaros, stormed the throne room and cut down the Akateri Overlord with a single blow of his engraved Albian longsword. Another war of purgation was over and the 8th Battalion could add another black skull to the scroll of victory. When the Imperial forces departed, they left behind two lifeless orbs stained with the blood of countless dead as a symbol of the Emperor’s wrath.

 

Fate of the 8th Battalion’s allies:

 

Centurion Markus Apokalian and the 23rd Company went on to fight several campaigns with the 847th Expedition before joining the rest of III Legion shortly after the Cleansing of Laeran. He is believed to have met his fate on Istvaan III.

 

The Boruzian Grenadiers continued to serve alongside the 8th Battalion until the latter was called to Istvaan III. When the Heresy broke out, the regiment became isolated from other Loyalist forces and sat immediate course for the Sol system, razing several worlds loyal to Horus on the way. During the Siege of Terra the massed might of the Grenadiers suffered heavy casualties in preventing the Boruzian front from falling to the Traitors.

 

The Night Lords 26th Company is not mentioned until the Dropsite Massacre where Captain Saevus killed Turga Ko’shtan of the Salamanders in single combat. Sometime during the Heresy, they broke all bonds with both Legion and the Warmaster and undertook a campaign of scorched earth throughout Loyalist space. These Sons of Nostramo resurfaced at the Siege of Terra where the Company was confirmed to have been wiped out, though the body of Captain Aliksandr Saevus was never located.
 

[geektom]

Wow! Great stuff!

[Flint13]

Very nice! You put a lot of work and effort into this, and it definitely shows.

[Barabbas Sogalon]

Glad you like it, and I hope the addition of the Night Lords turned out well.

 

If this Nurgle like cough I've got gets somewhat better, expect both the Siege Breaker and the Lodge Speaker to be finished by the end of the week/early next week.

[Argent aquila]

Awesome work!

 

More please?!?

[Barabbas Sogalon]

Have done some minor changes to the first post. Thoughts?

[recon0321]

I like the new look it gives a nice break down

[Barabbas Sogalon]

Siege Breaker Isearg

The 8th Battalion’s Heavy Support Company is responsible for bringing tanks, artillery and veterans armed with the most powerful weapons to the battlefield, and the Siege Breaker is as its commander capable of delivering unrivalled amounts of firepower. Targen Isearg was born on Barbarus as the son of an original Death Guard and grew up with the tales about how Mortarion cast down the warlords. He is first mentioned in a footnote concerning the Legion’s earlier battles after reunification, serving as the second-in-command of an autocannon squad. His greatest moment was the Trench-war on One-Thirty-Three-Six where he was responsible for breaking the month long stalemate, losing three fourths of his company in the process; a price paid willingly to ensure victory over the tyrants. Isearg was afterwards given the position of Siege Breaker in the 8th Battalion. Focused and utterly ruthless, he is a firm believer in the Legion’s doctrine of superior firepower and has a preference of bombarding his enemies with phosphex while the Heavy Support squads relentlessly mow down anyone in their paths. Loss of men is of no concern as long as their sacrifice ensures victory. Isearg’s lethal expertise was essential in breaching the walls of Fortress 107 during the final battle of the Bleeding Twins. He is among those deemed loyal to Mortarion before Istvaan III.

[deathspectersgt7]

Looks good. like the use of the  Sternguard kit.

[Pyromancer]

Mold line on the TH!

 

But other than that the models is looking great. Mix of bits is excellent as always. 

Edited February 8, 2014 by Pyromancer

[Argent aquila]

In a word, wonderful.

 

Love the background too!

[Barabbas Sogalon]

Thanks, brothers! That mold line annoys me, but I was already on a point of no return when I discovered it. Nothing to do about it now.

A view of the heraldry on his shoulder.

The Lodge Speaker is next and should be done in a few days.

[recon0321]

Looks great!

[Flint13]

Little volkite pistol looks pretty awesome!

 

They look pretty good in green. If I had one tiny criticism, I wish the coils were a tad brighter and more "energetic."

 

Keep up the awesome work. 

[Barabbas Sogalon]

ORGANIZATION OF THE VIII BATTALION, VII GREAT COMPANY:  THE DESTROYERS

 

The Destroyer Company is the 8th Battalion’s speartip and most powerful weapon dedicated to a single purpose; executing the death sentence of entire worlds. In a Battalion specialized in extermination, the Destroyers are true exemplars of the Last Judgement’s role in the Legion and masters of their craft. Marching forth in rank upon rank of blackened armour, they are known to leave behind nothing but ashes and the agonized screams of their victims. They are the dark and uncomfortable side of the otherwise so glorious coin that is the Great Crusade. The commander of the Company is the mentally unstable Moritat Trabakhal Gurthor, a heartless killer universally despised by his Legion and beyond. Killing worlds is sport in this warrior’s dark mind with the results to be savoured like fine wine. The legionaries under his command have access to the most terrifying weaponry ever imagined by Man and Gurthor would unleash them on whatever target without a second thought. The Destroyers’ way of war is the human race at its darkest; phosphex rains from the sky, the ground burns in chemical fire, the air chokes with gas from the laboratories of Primus Medicae Sarpaten and bodies are ravaged by rad poisoning. Nothing is to be left alive.

 

In addition to the regular Destroyers, the Company have several specialized squads named Incinerators. These legionaries carry flamers filled with chemical munitions along with phosphex bombs and excel in clearing out fortifications, xenocide and purgative operations. Because of the hazards associated with chem-munitions, each Incinerator is issued a non-standard helmet with improved respirator to keep the toxic fumes out. The helmets, unofficially known as “Sogalon-pattern” after the Battalion-Commander, have also been used by other members of the Destroyers. Attached to the Company is a group of Grave Warden Terminators under the command of Veteran-Lieutenant Hebran Shabraste, who is notorious for his fatalistic view on the universe.

 

The Destroyers’ high attrition rates are only rivalled by the Heavy Support Company, but where the latter loose men to enemy action, does the former fall victim to the effects of their own weaponry. It is no secret that the most frequent guests at the Primus Medicae’s slab come from this part of the Battalion. Only the Moritat himself seems to fight on forever, but even he has had most of his inner organs replaced by the Terran Apothecary. The warriors filling their ranks are recruited from a special stock of Barbarus born, since only the most cold hearted and savage with a complete disregard for the suffering of themselves and others can truly embrace the way of a Destroyer.

 

The Company is not sent to the surface of Istvaan III, instead remaining aboard the Battalion’s flagship.

[infyrana]

Nice fluffy bits there   I really like the Destroyers (having 10 in the line to build, along with some grave wardens and a moritat!), they feel very fluffy for DG and add a nice challenging element to an otherwise standard lineup.

 

It's a shame their mortality rate was so high due to their choice of weaponry, not really a group of marines that would last their life long age for us to really feel for.

 

Are your marines staying loyalist, and will they have a future beyond Istvaan III, or undecided to keep it in reason ?

Edited February 11, 2014 by infyrana

[recon0321]

Awesome brother

 

So the incinerators were they they marines with the cadian respirators? In games terms how do they work?