The Lost and Forgotten: Building the II Legion

[ANGRYMARINE]

Gotta say this is a great project you have going on here, spent most of my day yesterday poring through this thread and I was thoroughly impressed!

 

And then I saw that you had that fire in your house and was like "OH :cuss that sucks hard", but I'm glad you didn't lose everything, that has to be the worst losing all of that hard work and well spent money but I'm glad you didn't lose everything!

 

The rules look solid and I love the theme. Keep up the good work!

[Unknown Chronicler]

As always you have created inspiring work and it drives me ever onward to finish that campaign book for your legion! :D

[Athrawes]

Why, create new characters when you can just keep redesigning old ones. Every Version of Raiden (as my avatar on the table) has been an improvement over the last, but there always seems to be little bits and details that keep bugging me. So, with the release of Garro, a beautiful character model, i decided to hack him to pieces to create another updated version of my Praetor.

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/38f8800e-e172-41fb-bf8d-21547f52bcfb.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/2c3113d1-c827-4ebe-856c-2a5f58e703c2.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/6f084e4d-1e9f-43d3-aa0c-da0cfcf64fb9.jpg

There are still lots of things to fix, but this should give you a good idea of how the model will turn out when finished. Still to do: Straighten out Iron halo, add details to the scabbard, add his plasma revolver, sculpt his Legion crest, add psychic hood, create his base. His head is Garro's and is just a place holder until I dremel out his collar, so that I can use both head from the previous version as I'm still rather fond of them both.

There is a chance I might use a new helmeted head. I'll stil give it the lightning-bolt horn from the previous version but I'd love to hear suggestions on which helmet would look good on this model.

The new marines look beautiful, can't wait for a full army shot with the Leviathan and all the other goodies!

A full army shot should be coming pretty soon, I'd like to finish up a few more models first though!

Man Athrawes, your painting skills have so totally improved over the years. Awesome, really good.

Hope I go that way too.

On the Volta: You could at least shave the upper legs down and then add the extra plate, so it won't look too thick anymore.
And about your GS-Skills: Are you kiddin me? They are already good and if you want to improve, do the same as you did on you painting skills. Practise I am looking forward on the next gen of Volta

Oddly, enough the thighs on the terminators have been filled down by about 1/3. It does look bulky on the model, but that is kind of what I was going for. As a way to change up the Cataphractii silhouette.

These are beautiful Athrawes, and really refreshing to see grey Astartes too!

Grey is a tricky color to make look good, and I think it has helped my Legion stand apart from the cannon Legions, while still "fitting in"

Personally I thought that your Volta looked fine

Thanks, I'm glad someone else does haha.

Gotta say this is a great project you have going on here, spent most of my day yesterday poring through this thread and I was thoroughly impressed!

And then I saw that you had that fire in your house and was like "OH that sucks hard", but I'm glad you didn't lose everything, that has to be the worst losing all of that hard work and well spent money but I'm glad you didn't lose everything!

The rules look solid and I love the theme. Keep up the good work!

The fire was terrible, but no one was hurt, and at the ned of the day, they are just toy soldiers. I'm glad you are enjoying my project!

ColdWinter

As always you have created inspiring work and it drives me ever onward to finish that campaign book for your legion!

Thanks mate, I always look forward to see what cool new artwork you and the Forgemasters churn out!

[Dark Rage]

Looking awesome.

[SalvationOfReason]

As much as I cringe to see you "hack up" such a nice model, I know you'll do it justice. The pose is pretty solid, if a bit more static from the previous incarnation.

Helm-wise, one of the white scars mk IIs (without the topknot) with the added lightning bolts, horn, etc, might fit the bill. Significantly brutal in aspect for a praetor, with a few shared thematic qualities to other models in the army.

Maybe one of the new 1k Sons helms, heavily modified?

[marine7312000]

Well I figured out the sword blade on this one.

 

I'll have to take a look back at the previous versions but I do like this one.

[depthcharge12]

The real question that should be asked here is: "Will he have bishounen hair?" :P

 

On a more serious note, I feel like he's missing something and I can't pin it down. I know he's still a WIP, but I feel he needs something in that giant space under his crotch. He does have the officer's command half-skirt, but there's a giant space between his legs that looks a bit odd.

 

Just something to look into! I personally like the hanging belt on the back with the sword scabbard. All sorts of cool.

[Athrawes]

Raiden is nearing completion.

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/abc68185-8565-4078-aadb-3768be17549f.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/4e012136-30ae-4827-ac72-914b8e503015.jpg

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/74ead789-5833-437c-bf2f-57e7e8d172d2.jpg

He is almost finished. The head is still a placeholder I think. It's a step in the right direction but definitely needs to be redone ,I'm not very good with hair as you can tell. The hair is based off the first character sketch done for Raiden by Ibrahem. I always liked the look of the hair slipping out of his bun in the sketch.

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/a0df91de-2103-4cc2-a0aa-5e15582b123d.jpghttp://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/322506c7-8869-4dd4-839d-e84d9d046f37.jpg

Looking awesome.

Thank, I'm glad you like him. I feel like he is really coming along compared to early versions of his model.

As much as I cringe to see you "hack up" such a nice model, I know you'll do it justice. The pose is pretty solid, if a bit more static from the previous incarnation.
Helm-wise, one of the white scars mk IIs (without the topknot) with the added lightning bolts, horn, etc, might fit the bill. Significantly brutal in aspect for a praetor, with a few shared thematic qualities to other models in the army.
Maybe one of the new 1k Sons helms, heavily modified?

Garro is a fantastic model for conversions, just wait till you see the one I'm using as my Thousand Sons Praetor.

Well I figured out the sword blade on this one.

I'll have to take a look back at the previous versions but I do like this one.

Thanks friend, the stormcast eternals have a been a great source of 'lightning bits'.

The real question that should be asked here is: "Will he have bishounen hair?"

On a more serious note, I feel like he's missing something and I can't pin it down. I know he's still a WIP, but I feel he needs something in that giant space under his crotch. He does have the officer's command half-skirt, but there's a giant space between his legs that looks a bit odd.

Just something to look into! I personally like the hanging belt on the back with the sword scabbard. All sorts of cool.

i see what you mean, i'm just not sure what to put there, I know i didn't want the leather straps because it didn't really make sense with the half robe. Maybe the belt strap? I'll have to think about it but honestly, the gap looks big on these pictures but your eye isnt (hopefully isnt) drawn to the space when you hold the model in your hands.

[dogfender]

So at what point does big papa come in and stomp them out of existence, and for what reason?

[Kelborn]

Well, that was explained earlier. Pretty cool and reasonable story. Don't ask me where to find, think it's on page 7 or so? ^^" Definetely on the first pages.

[MikhalLeNoir]

So at what point does big papa come in and stomp them out of existence, and for what reason?

Huh? It is all in this thread....but okay going through 40 pages is kinda...

 

Well they get stomped out cause big e has no choice. Maybe use the board search for "fall of madrigal". In short: The Lightning bearers had a device and opened the hell on madrigal. They never betrayed big e which is for me the most important point.

 

 

@Athrawes: The new Raiden is cool except for the head but that is my personal taste. Don't like the face of Garro. Wished you took another one.

 

But that aside: cool conversion.

 

 

@Kelborn: You lurker ninja'ed me. Burn in the fires of Olympia!!!

[Athrawes]

So, I just couldn't rest knowing how much I hated the hair on that version of the head, redid the hair. I think this is much closer to the sketch. Now just to decide whether I want to resculpt the jaw and mouth, yuck.

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/35b7bf01-9e47-4f73-8dc3-50f8a1145eb8.jpghttp://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/322506c7-8869-4dd4-839d-e84d9d046f37.jpg

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/1b21f5b6-74d3-4155-90b9-1df609e7b64a.jpg

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/ad02e04f-e0ea-4d3c-bc7b-2b5f5a2a823e.jpg

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/771b7d4a-ea92-4fac-acb9-12b386de37e7.jpg

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/2c7beac3-5546-4c38-beca-92981a7b0add.jpg

 

@Dogfender: Pretty much what Kelborn and MikhalLeNoir said:

 

It's near the beginning of the thread but the sparknotes version is that The II Legion experimented with the webway, and accidentally created a massive Warp breach threatening a whole subsector. The Emperor ordered them to destroy their own worlds for the greater good of the Imperium but after years of purging orlds during the Great Crusade at the Emperors order, and wishing to create something meaningful for humanity, Icarion their Primarch refused, seeking instead to correct his mistake and save his worlds. The Emperor was forced to wipe them out world by world to stop the Warp Breach from spreading

[Pearson73]

Nice work with the greenstuff, Raiden's looking ace.

[Thrillhouse]

Yeah, he looks great. For some reason i love the bolt on his scabbard. Details!

[dogfender]

LOL thank you, loved the attitude to go with it. Because searching for something I have no clue about in 40 pages will make it easier than asking people who have been stalking this page.

 

 

Anyways, keep up the fantastic work. Very imaginative and your sculpting is superb!

[Athrawes]

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/035e7fbf-690d-4cc1-9985-e0f506b7ba54.jpg

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

 

May all of your heathen false-religions be illuminated by the purity of Imperial Truth.

[Daemon2027]

Im so glad you redid the hair cos the first version looked like a really bad wig! Second version is much better.

 

Wait did the II legion really fall because they believed in a big fat man giving gifts and the Emperor thought this was to radical?

[ANGRYMARINE]

Im so glad you redid the hair cos the first version looked like a really bad wig! Second version is much better.

 

Wait did the II legion really fall because they believed in a big fat man giving gifts and the Emperor thought this was to radical?

 

Well obviously Russ knew that in the near grimdark future Logan Grimnar would have a Santa Sleigh to deliver gifts to children of all sorts. And when he heard of his brother's disbelief he had to kill him.

 

On a completely different note, are you going to compile the rules you have for this legion so far anytime soon?

[MikhalLeNoir]

Indeed he is. Look for the Forge Masters Sanctum Thread. They make a codex for the lightning bearers.

[Athrawes]

Icarion's End

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/commission__a_primarch_s_end_by_saint_max-d9oiuos.jpg

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/Screen%20Shot%202016-01-19%20at%204.58.31%20AM.png

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/Screen%20Shot%202016-01-19%20at%204.58.45%20AM.png

 

http://i1088.photobucket.com/albums/i327/nickfayette1/Screen%20Shot%202016-01-19%20at%204.59.26%20AM.png

 

Icarion’s Fall

 

The Sage's world burned around him. The Wolves last act of suicidal cunning had seen the Io Orbital Plate crippled. Doomed to fall gracelessly from the heavens onto the world below, covering its surface in atomic fire, and chocking its once beautiful skies in darkness. Even through the storm, he could sense the malice ebbing from the tear in reality.

 

It would have sickened him had he still the capacity to feel. The last few weeks had robbed him of that, and so much more. Besides, in a few short hours, either way, the tear would become immaterial. This world was cracking apart. Even if the invaders left this moment, with peace in their churning hearts, this world was doomed, and the tear would die with it. 

 

He opened his eyes, though he couldn't remember closing them. He was no longer alone.

 

The warrior across from him stood impassive. His form radiated violence, but his posture conveyed unease. That was surprising. Of all the things he expected to see in the warriors eyes, contempt, fury, even sadness, unease was not expected. Even the thought that there was some arena in which he was anything but dominant rang as a falsehood, sat poorly against the backdrop of the world in which they both found themselves.

 

The shared Silence lasted for several minutes. Finally the Sage spoke.

 

"Do you remember, when it was just the two of us? When the Favored was still bound to our father's side, it was our brotherhood alone, together. Do you remember?"

"I remember."

"And yet-"

"And yet."

 

"It was always going to be you." The sage continued, "He would never do this himself, it's not his way. He spent millennia behind the scenes positioning pieces. He is unknowable, even to me. We talked he and I, our conversations were long, and yet I only ever skimmed the surface of him."

 

The warrior shifted uncomfortably, speaking up as emotion compelled him.

 

"You knew." It was an accusation, bitter with hurt. " You saw this?"

 

"No." The word was heavy. The ache of it brought unknowing feeling back to the Sages heart. 

 

"But those eyes of yours, you once told me-" The Warrior struggled, as he always did, with the right words, "the things you have seen."

 

The sage, sensing the Warriors unease, interceded before the thought could be finished.

 

"If you are looking for absolution from me, a concession that this was unavoidable, you will not find it here Warrior."

 

"I have to do this." The words sounded week, and the warrior loathed the way they tasted coming from his mouth. Weakness should have been all but crafted out of a being like him. And yet, his engineered intellect fumbled at this moment for the strength at the core him, that the Warrior once found so much comfort from. To his shame, he hid behind the words, as he spoke them, knowing they were untrue. "I am not like you." He said with a harshness he no longer felt. "I can't draw an arbitrary line in the sand and say 'no further.'"

 

The Sage chuckled darkly, not in derision but in sadness. "You are exactly like me, Of all the others, you know me the best." 

 

The Warrior said nothing. After all, he couldn't find it within himself to disagree, even though a quiet part of him cried out to. Sighing, in an all too human fashion, The Warrior began to draw his blade and stepped closer.

 

The Sage nodded to himself, knowing what must come next. "I will not make it easy" he said, " but then nothing about our lives was intended for ease. You must know this, Warrior,  that as you have come for me, he will one day come for you. This warning is my last gift to you."

 

Before the Warrior could respond, the Sage was in motion. Wings of lightning arcing from his back.

 

A world burned, and two brothers hearts broke.

 

++++

 

Ibrahem has finished his final piece for the II Legion project. This illustration depicts the Final moments of the Primarch Icarion, at the culmination of the Siege of Madrigal.

 

Horus and his Luna Wolves have finished subjugating Madrigals Moon Akira, and with it's destruction the Planetary defensive grid is left vulnerable. In an act of daring, Leman Russ dispatches his own wolves to infiltrate and sabotage one of Madrigals Super-Orbital Plates, destroying its gravetic generators. This vandalism causes the Orbital plate Io to crash to Madrigals surface dooming the world, and laying open the gates for the final invasion.

 

As Madrigals surface burns, Russ confront his once closest brother. Their confrontation escalates as both know there is no going back from what has been enacted. 

 

Horus, at the head of his legion, fresh from the conquest of Akira oversees the final eradication of the Lightning Bearers and seeks out his Brother Icarion. Coming upon Russ and Icarion in a duel, Horus joins the fray, tipping the balance against Icarion.

 

Left open by Horus' ferocious assault, Icarion is struck down by the errant blade of Russ, and so ends one of twenty.

[MikhalLeNoir]

Oh. What happened to Icarions sacrifice?

 

I like the piece. It is really asthounding but I remember another end. When did you decide to change it?

[Kizzdougs]

Wow! I don't really know what else to say...

[Athrawes]

The Sacrifice still occurs, this is it in a sense. I haven't polished the section but the gist is this:

 

During the course of the war, Icarion is focused on trying desperately to seal the breach in the webway; if he could seal off or deactivate the Imperial section of the Webway, it would make the war unnecessary; the Lightning Bearers could surrender and the Imperium would no longer need to destroy the worlds of the II Legion. Understandably, this is the best case scenario to Icarion and what he is fighting for, His Legion is dying to delay the Imperium and buy him time.

 

However, with the destruction of Akira and Russ slamming an orbital plate into Madrigal, the war all but over. Time is up and Icarion realizes this.

 

Icarion at this point is at his lowest, he knows he has failed in every way possible. His legion is spent, his worlds (despite his efforts) have been destroyed. And worst of all, he see that he has delayed the Imperium too long, the Warp breach has begun to become self sustaining, and the Destruction of Madrigal would no longer guarantee sealing the breach. Icarion fears that even the Emperor lacks the ability to stop this massive breach from becoming another Warpstorm the size of the Maelstrom. 

 

Icarion senses something calling to him from the webway. He enters the Webway and has his own personal confrontation with the warp, being shown the future, the heresy, and being tempted by the warp to relent and allow the breach to stablize and promising him a way to save what is left of his creation, giving him the power he requires. He connects with the immeasurable intellect responsible for breaching the Webway and an Idea galvanizes for Icarion. He agrees to the Warps demands, and is allowed to take the power of the webway binding runes into himself.

 

Using his powers and the knowledge he has collected over the last 100 years, Icarion takes these 'sentient runes' which he crafted to to open the Webway in the first place, the Runes which the Warp has infested to break open the Webway; and begins binding their essence to himself. One by one he takes in the power of the seals until his being is bursting at the seems with raw, tainted power. 

 

In a very real sense, he become a living avatar of the Webway he created.

 

Overflowing with the essence of his Webway is how Russ finds him. They talk, and russ is seemingly vindicated. Througout the war, the Emperor has told his primarchs that Icarion has fallen, and is dripping with sorcerous power, and here russ sees icarion pulsing with the power of the Immaterium, sickly light dancing aroundb him.

 

Icarion can feel his mental defenses breaking down, and the insidious powers he absorbed strains to control him. The fight as above ensues, and while fighting Icarion Russ begins to realize just how close Icarion is to the edge. Before Russ can try to help Him, Horus enters the fray, the two of them are able to overpower the Warp infused Icarion and Russ lands the killing blow. 

 

As the sword pierces icarions heart, the runes which bind together the mystic science of the Webway are dispatched and the corrupted Webway fragment endangering the Imperium ceases to exist.

 

When Icarion dies, he dies as the living embodiment of the Webway. The Webway cannot exist without the runes powering it, and while they had been untouchable for the last year, safeguarded by chaos, by absorbing them and tying them to his life essence, Icarion found a way to make them vulnerable, through ending his own life. 

 

He took in the evil he had unleashed, and laid himself bare to Russ and Horus. Dying to preserve the Imperium.

[Daemon2027]

Amazing. I think you've managed to write a really evocative piece, and kept Icarions actions grey enough that despite all his good intent he was also massively screwing up. It may be interesting to write a piece based around his experience in the webway, with the Gods bartering for his soul and his eventual rejection of them.

[Kelborn]

Great job!

 

Although I'm not so comfortable with the idea of Horus joining the fight between Russ and Icarion. I prefer the version in which Icarion commits suicide by slicing his throat. That was more dramatic than 2 vs 1. Although I do understand that with this version, you're now able to link the webway and Icarion.

 

Nevertheless, it's your stuff and as usual, it's really great. :)