Blissful Brushes Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Here exists the last surviving transcript of the interrogation of Captain Cato, of the 14th Company, the 'Exiles' of the Luna Wolves, later Sons of Horus. 0.144.007M31 Terra, The Imperial Palace, Khangba Marwu Interrogation Room Alpha Subject: Captain Lucius Aelius Cato, Legio XVI, OC 14th Company. +++ Record begins. +++ “Start interview”, a vox-horn in the corner of the room rasped as a shadowy figure entered the interrogation room, his bulk obvious being covered by a dark set of robes. “What is your name?” he questioned his charge, an even bigger man, stripped down to a loin cloth, hands chained to the table, legs chained to the chair. As this man looked up for the first time the interrogator got a feeling of how mortal men felt in the wake of an astartes war. Stripped of his armour, starved with hunger, wounded, he was still defiant, still unbroken, and still one of the most terrifying beings that he had seen in the flesh. Oh, everyone had heard the legends: they could take bullets without flinching, rip apart man and machine alike; but to see one in the flesh, it was all brought home at once. The only reason that this interrogator, this Inquisitor was still alive, was because the astartes had not deigned to kill him. In a voice, surprisingly soft, yet laden with authority and menace the astartes replied. “I am Captain Lucius Aelius Cato of the 16th, who are you?” He asked curiously. The interrogator leaned forward, a crest upon his chest becoming visible in the light, displaying a stylised ‘I’, the symbol of his order. “I am a servant of the Emperor and the Sigillite, I am Inquisitor Luis de Aliaga, and you are not Captain anymore, Cato, you are traitor.” Cato snorted shaking his head. Ignoring this interruption, Aliaga pressed on, “what I am here to establish, is how you fell from the light of the Emperor, how did over one million astartes forget their oaths to mankind and fall in with the madman that Horus has become?” “We betrayed nothing. There was nothing to betray, we had already been betrayed.” Cato said bitterly. Shocked, Aliaga asked, “how can you even say that?” Bitterness was once more strong in his voice, “I wasn’t at Isstvan, Three or Five, none of us were. We were long ago cast from the light of Horus, before he even became Warmaster. I have not seen my father in over ninety years, you think that I would break my oath to the Emperor, because of a father who cast me out?” “I don’t believe you.” “Let me speak to the Lord Dorn, he knows I am true. I fought for the Warmaster and the Emperor for over two centuries, they have taken my blood, my youth, and the lives of my men. The Emperor showed me gratitude, respect, so to did Dorn. What has Horus shown me in return? Only the next world to bring to compliance, I owe the Warmaster nothing. Dorn is more my father than Horus.” “The Lord Dorn is busy, I will suffice, he will hear the recording before judgement is reached. Start from the beginning.” +++ Record ends. +++ +++ Record begins. +++ “I have been there since the beginning, from Terra,” the captain said, his face suffused with pride. ‘I was there at the rebirth of the company, and I was there when the 14th was restored to the honour rolls in the Imperial Palace. I am Lucius Aelius Cato, former champion of the Second, captain of the 14th, the exiled Sons of Horus. The inquisitor paused, wondering how best to frame his next question without causing offence. Despite the fact that Astartes were born mortal their training, their longevity and survivability had dramatically distanced them from the human genome: they were a race apart now, whether they wished it or not. This, combined with the tight bonds of brotherhood that formed within the Legions made sensitive topics potentially dangerous, even to an armed Inquisitor facing a bound captive. “Why were the Fourteenth known as the ‘Exiles’?” The Inquisitor tentatively asked. “Why are the Fourteenth know as the Exiles you mean. We still survive, no matter how few of us remain.” Cato said, leaning forward into the light, revealing his aquiline face, displaying a nobility that was lacking in many of the legions. “The Fourteenth are known as the Exiles because they turned.” “Turned? What do you mean?” “World 07.06, about a year after Horus took command, back when I was still in the second. Ridge Alpha 24,6 was the lynchpin in the line. If it was broken the greenskins would have cut the spearhead in half. The 14th were strong in defence, that was why Horus gave it to them.” Cato shook his head, “but they ran, we never found out why.” “Me and a few squads of the Second closed the gap, just. Out of the full 14th, eight stood their ground, the rest ran, and most died in the rout. I took one hundred brothers into the gap with me.” The bitterness in his voice at this point was clear, even to a mortal. “I took thirteen away, eighty seven sons of Terra dead for a coward. We held until the second wave arrived, but the campaign was over for us, most of us couldn’t stand, let alone fight.” “And then? Astartes aren’t known for running, or mercy for that matter.” The inquisitor asked, his tablet forgotten on the table as he listened to Cato’s reminiscence. Cato laughed, a deep bass rumble, “Tarik had to be pulled off the captain, Kreedan, once the rest got back to the ship. Horus summoned us; the survivors and the cowards of the fourteenth... +++ Record ends. +++ Welcome to my Luna Wolves 14th Company. As many will see, the fluff is a large part of this project, I'm hoping that by the time I have the army complete, there will be a complete back story provided, complete with the little twists and turns that will hopefully keep everyone (including me) interested. Worry yourselves not, it is not entirely a wall of text. For my non luna Wolves power armoured beings check my sig ;) http://imageshack.us/a/img28/2699/t00v.jpg My current proxy Praetor - an experiment in wet-blending I did a while ago, not sure what general opinions of it are, I'm reasonably happy for a first try, but I think it could be a lot better. http://imageshack.us/a/img856/7163/lw7t.jpg The army as it stands, a lot of work with regards to painting, and another 40+ models left to build. http://imageshack.us/a/img189/8069/0ybj.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img571/2199/zzng.jpg These are the WIPs of the sergeant, pretty chuffed with it, needs a bit of tidying up though. C&C is always welcome too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordie Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Awesome. I love the fiction so far. Your painting is also really good, I especially like the weathering, it's noticeable but also subtle. Really looking forward to how both the army and the story progress. Lupercal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olis Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Neat background piece, brother, even if only in need of a slight tidying up. ;) The weathering on the models is very nice indeed and the wet blend is not half bad at all. I can certainly see the effort to push yourself here. Keep it up. :tu: (Btw, the link in your sig, the FB one, isn't working.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blissful Brushes Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Planetary Designation: 22.04 "Kaevacha", Southern Peninsula. +++ Record begins. +++ All animals possess one basic survival instinct: the fight or flight response, this is a response to danger on a primal level. This is what I feel now; heightened to a level incomprehensible to an un-modified human, a non-astartes. After all, I was born for war, bred to fight and trained to kill. I possess the robust physique of an astartes, the unique equipment of the legions. All to kill in the name of the Emperor. There is no fear, it is anathema to me. There is a roaring in my ears, it is the sound of war. It comes in many forms: the staccato wine of small arms fire; the deeper boom of bolter fire; the deep thud of artillery. Most of all, however, war is screaming. The sound of men being unmade in the most brutal way possible, being rent limb from limb by beings wielding blades the length of a human as if they were made of matchwood. It should horrify anybody, instil their flight response to the fullest. In me and my kind it does not: it instils the fight response and floods the body with adrenaline. This is my purpose in life. "10 seconds." A vox-horn chimes in the hull of the land raider, breaking through my reverie. With a feral grin befitting anyone sired by Horus I draw my axe, checking its edge on my thumb, knowing it will be sharp, that it will never let me down, even when my sire and liege lord had. This is it. The ramp drops with a clang. And I'm through. Back into the crucible of war. Screaming incoherently I charge forward; my command squad barely able to keep pace. "Good hunting brothers, kill for the living!" I yell, barely hearing their roared reply. I shimmy away from the first blow, a panicked swing from a bayonet, while simultaneously cleaving the housecarl from shoulder to groin; taking out my anger and bitterness with every blow of my axe. My renowned skill as a champion of the legion was nothing compared to my butcher's rage. I fight like this for what feels like forever, my body tiring as surely as the sun is setting, screaming with rage, screaming with pain as I feel my body failing. I am brought from the brink by a sharper pain: a blade through the back of my knee, and as I fall, one pierces the side of my neck. Never have I fallen so far before. Fell so close to oblivion, to damnation, to despair. I had sought to win back my pride and honour in this war and achieved only more shame. I am a pale shade of the warrior that I once was. I have been brought back, from the threshold, though not by my father. The one who carried my broken body back to the apothecarion was not my father. My exiled brothers saved by body. Most importantly, the one whounderstood when I was brought into his presence after the action, sheeted in the blood of the guilty and innocent alike was not my father. It was Dorn. Rogal Dorn, lord of the Imperial Fists. +++ Record ends. +++ @ Geordie: Thanks for the comment mate, Lupercal may be the wrong call for this company, we'll have to see! @ Olisredan: Thanks, I shall try! Lo and behold, I am ^^ Here's the Vexilla of the III squad of First Century, as shown on the vexilla. The Black stripe down the helmet denotes the veteran century, while the small "I" in the skull of the vexilla shows his Cohort. I have since added some barbed wire, static grass and highlighted and repainted the base rim. http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/841/c7z7.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img7/4362/yvdo.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img856/9549/c8nf.jpg Any Comments/Criticism and questions are more than welcome! -- Blissful Brushes -- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blissful Brushes Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 @Tarvik: Thanks, and there've been a couple of people who've mentioned that, so it's being worked on!! For those of you who are interested in fluff, there are the beginnings of a fairly lengthy story over called "Exile" Having recently started a small Imperial Guard army and being very unsatisfied with the stock Cadian models I examined my Luna Wolves. For the Guard I’ve played about with their proportions to make them a bit less clunky, as a result they’re about 2mm higher. This makes them the about the same height as GW marines, and a smidgen taller than some of the FW marines. As such I started looking around at bringing my marines more in line with the canon - they’re supposed to tower over their human counterparts. So mine now do. This is the test model, The head’s a bit more in proportion, the arms are the right length (though possibly a bit thin, need feedback on that one!!) and the thighs are a bit longer. So, without further ado: http://imageshack.us/a/img200/566/xpf6.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img4/2826/co2t.jpg http://imageshack.us/a/img19/6733/p7y3.jpg If anyone has any questions, comments or criticism it's all appreciated (as long as you're not too mean). -Blissful Brushes- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrannicide Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Dude, you're bona fide legit. Love the work on the shield and helmet armor. A whole army of these true-scaled Legionaries would be stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blissful Brushes Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 @Darth Potato: Thanks for the nice comment! Let's hope that I can manage a whole army of them! Test model is done though now, so just a case of tightening it all up now :) The warriors of the legions are the Emperor's ultimate soldiers. They are drawn from the hardest walks of life while they are still children and turned into super-humans. When I first saw them, hundreds of them, massive in their plate, ranked before their leader it was the first time I felt true fear. It is images like this that are spread by the Remembrancers to demonstrate the glory of the Imperium. What they should show is a single legionary on the field, bleeding from a dozen wounds, his armour cracked, his blade notched, but still able to deliver death on a scale that half a company of un-augmented humans would struggle to match. That is the true grandeur of the legions. Warriors not indestructible, but willing to take such punishment for the Emperor's cause without a thought for their own protection. Never before have I seen such courage and power, nor felt such an overwhelming fear of being caught in their path. They truly are the Angels of Death. Luna Wolves XIV Company, Assault Squad IV. Fully painted, just needs a decent photo from a now non-existant light box...all I want for Christmas... As ever, any comments, criticism or questions are more than welcome!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.