Ed's Heresy Kill-Teams: Custodians and ruins

[Battybattybats]

@Battybattybats, I did consider Queen Mechanika actually! I loved her imperious expression but I felt the body itself wasn't really detailed enough to make the purchase worth the effort. I hadn't come across the Reaper one before, but I have to say it suffers from the same issue. In terms of the noblewoman's look, I rather like the idea that in the more fashionable areas of the Imperium during the late crusade, things like Art Deco are becoming much more trendy at the expense of the traditional gothic- "Daddy, skulls are so last milennia" and so on. Needless to say, the Heresy puts paid to that...

 

Edit: Forgot to say, the arm holding the book comes from the WHFB Luminark kit; here. It's a handy little bit, as are the heads, which one day will end up being used for somebody with night-vision goggles...

 

@Olis, in my head the Rembrancer is a former Imperial Army officer who fought alongside Skitarii and Knight Houses for some time, hence the fascination for the secrets of the Machine Cult. I figure that he'd have a fairly decent knowledge of technolinguis etc; he's already got onto the pilgrim trail afterall!

 

I'll have more pictures for people on Monday; I'm away for the weekend but I left a part-built servitor-steed with greenstuff curing, so when I get back it should be in a fit state to show my progress.  While I'm here, a quick question for people as regards the valet tucked in the luggage servitor; I had originally been planning to paint his face metallic, but it occurs to me that China Doll style might be just as decadent, better fit the idea of the noblewoman as a spoilt brat, and also be considerably more creepy into the bargain. What are people's thoughts?

On Art Deco, good call there, as it would explain the cool Triaros Armoured Conveyer of the Mechanicum.

 

Ah the Luminark! Thankyou!

 

As for the Valet's face, a china-doll would be very creepy. I was picturing more the bluish-white of the recent Harlequins for an unpainted porcelain or cold-marble look, but then talk of art-deco has me remembering the Tom Baker Doctor Who story The Robots of Death so maybe even silver with a green wash like the more silvery of the Robots of Death robots might be interesting.

[GhostMalone]

Ummm creepy China doll face hell yes with a cracked missing eye why the hell not

[Dantay VI]

As long as it doesnt start looking like Chucky :P

[GhostMalone]

I was thinking sorta like this

 

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y524/Taron_James_Beer/Mobile%20Uploads/EGCAcj7JYUWDv_j0Ha0EH0XNCHjnd6WaWNsfxaJDKFrhRziqbbSwnTkpI2dzsUs0NKB61A40AiIZ9yygqn3viilIP5f8BcY6gabV1chwXvGKd6GrI7nbEZtDLn__zpshx6apbfo.jpeg

[Kriegsmacht]

...That's creepier than Chucky...why did you do that? I enjoy sleep. :P lol

[Battybattybats]

I was thinking sorta like this

 

http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y524/Taron_James_Beer/Mobile%20Uploads/EGCAcj7JYUWDv_j0Ha0EH0XNCHjnd6WaWNsfxaJDKFrhRziqbbSwnTkpI2dzsUs0NKB61A40AiIZ9yygqn3viilIP5f8BcY6gabV1chwXvGKd6GrI7nbEZtDLn__zpshx6apbfo.jpeg

Ah, that has the pale marble coldness i was thinking of. Nice!

I support Kurama's suggestion.

[EdT]

Thanks Kurama, that's exactly the sort of colourscheme I was thinking of! I'll paint up a test head sometime soon and post it for people's thoughts.

Now, a little segue; I've gone back to visit my parents for the weekend, and while I was here I thought I'd take advantage of my mum's sillhouette machine, which I've found hugely helpful in recent projects for producing little bits of printed detail I can either use as a stencil or paint over for subtle relief. It was a fruitful session, and gave me the detail I need to finish off my Thousand Sons Barque amongst other things. I also used it for a small side project that's more relevant to what I'm currently working on.

With the majority of the pilgrims now constructed, my thoughts are naturally turning to the scenic base they'll go on. The majority of it will be dusty rocks, sand and perhaps the odd bit of rusty machinery, but I felt it'd be good to have a small roadside shrine on there too, acting as a waypoint for the pilgrims to mark their progress. I pondered a lot about what form this shrine would take; I wanted something that really emphasised Mars' antiquity but also its technological heritage, so something man-made, ancient and incomprehensible seemed like a good avenue to go down.

I initially thought about a heavily eroded devotional statue to a long-dead Magos, and got as far as hovering over the buy button on ebay for this before deciding that £15 was a bit pricey for a bit of scenery; surely I could come up with something cheaper and more original? For a while I also thought about a ruined tech-stupa, but felt that this might be a bit large for the rest of the base.

It then occured to me- what could be more ancient, high-tech and incomprehensible than the monolith from 2001? I felt it was a bit of an obvious reference though, plus visually not that interesting- so something was needed to make it a bit more distinct. Then it all suddenly came together. I started thinking about standing stones, and that made me think of Ogham. The idea of ancient monoliths with incomprehensible symbols carved onto their impossibly durable surfaces by unknown tools seemed very Martian, somehow; I then discovered the art of Theo Kamecke, which is about as Machine Cult-ish as it's possible to get. I realised I had to do something similar.

My first goal was to find a suitable monolith; in the end, I found this plastic toothpick container which was perfect for my purposes. The blue top part fits on the transparent bottom bit, so I can either have two stones or one tall one with a top-piece.

With that done, I then found a nice circult-board pattern to download to photoshop, transferred it into the sillhouette client and printed it out on some sticky-backed plastic (I should definitely get a Blue Peter Badge for this! ). Here's what it looked like when done.

With the design done, I then cut the sheet to be the same length as the height of the toothpick container. The next stage was the tricky part; carefully, I peeled off the background to the design (less work that way, plus it means that the detail is recessed rather than raised) and began to stick it on to the side of the container. Asd you can see, it came in several parts; the trick was to place them in such a way as that everything remained more or less parallel. I used the reverse side of a scalpel to tease everything in position, and if neccesary to make small cuts to ease the fit.

It took an hour or so... but the results were quite satisfying! I added some top pieces to fit the circular recess on the top of the containers, and then secured the vinyl in place with some varnish. The vinyl isn't that thick but the relief will still show up after painting in a subtle sort of way, and will hopefully looked like somebody has carved circuit designs into the monolith.

Paint-wise, I'm thinking about making them a bit like Bismuth; a dull metallic grey, enlivened with an oily iridescent sheen. They should stand out quite nicely against the red dustiness of the Martian regiolith...

[Battybattybats]

That is so cool i am literally dizzy.

And the work of Theo Kamecke i'd never heard of but is magnificent.
Some pieces of BL fiction including Death of Integrity describe Mechanicus banners with sacred circuit diagrams on them so this fits perfectly with that, as well as the whole ancient ruins of Mars stuff.

Superb.

[EdT]

Glad you approve! I'm really pleased with how they turned out; a little fiddly to do, but completely worth it. I like the idea that these stones predate the Cult Mechanicus, are scattered around Mars with little clue as to who put them there, and are basically utterly mysterious; but by virtue of that mystery, they are a natural focus for worship of the Machine God.

 

Interesting re the banners with circuit diagrams on; I was already thinking of doing a barcode pennant for the itinerant warrior to hang from his lance, but maybe either that or a QR code would work as prayer flags for the shrine? 

[GhostMalone]

I'm happy to help mate your work is something I wish I could achieve.

 

You need to do a gallery of all the finished pieces eventually as you just keep topping yourself

[Battybattybats]

Glad you approve! I'm really pleased with how they turned out; a little fiddly to do, but completely worth it. I like the idea that these stones predate the Cult Mechanicus, are scattered around Mars with little clue as to who put them there, and are basically utterly mysterious; but by virtue of that mystery, they are a natural focus for worship of the Machine God.

 

Interesting re the banners with circuit diagrams on; I was already thinking of doing a barcode pennant for the itinerant warrior to hang from his lance, but maybe either that or a QR code would work as prayer flags for the shrine? 

Either or both sound great, pennant and/or prayer flags! A logic diagram would also be a good option. There's plenty of cool possibilities for that.

 

I just ordered those Lizardman parts you suggested, they are coming with some big serpent banner pieces... i think that will have to become a reference to the void dragon :) Serendipitous.

[Skalpynock]

Seconding the logic diagrams on prayer flags. I suppose that they would act as an alternate writing of binaric, in a more aesthetically pleasant form.

[EdT]

Quick update- the noblewoman's servitor steed has made a bit of progress and now has legs. It's still a way off completion; there's clearly some gap filling to do (which is nowhere near as obvious in person), and I can't reallly do anything about the side saddle until the relevant set of legs get delivered. Hopefully you get a sense of where I'm going with it though. It's based on the ironstrider chassis, of course- I couldn't resist the servitor enmeshed with the machinery!

 

The idea is that the servitor crawls; his arms have been replaced with the front legs as you'd expect, while the movements in his vestigial leg stumps are automatically translated into the movement of the rear leg. I see the noblewoman much more as a passenger rather than a rider, per se; medieval women didn't control their mount while riding sidesaddle and the same is true here. Instead, I imagine you enter a destination and the servitor sets off on its merry way.

 

[hendrik]

 

. I see the noblewoman much more as a passenger rather than a rider, per se; medieval women didn't control their mount while riding sidesaddle and the same is true here.

 

while i like the idea, i do need to correct your ideas on medieval women not riding themselves. there are plenty of accounts of medieval women riding themselves. a famous example is the beautifull mary of burgundy who loved horseriding and died during a falconhunt on horseback when her steed threw her, landed on her and broke her back,thus killing her.... don't think that riding sidesaddle prevents you from riding a horse! it's just a whole lot harder as one of the riders legs gets replaced by a whip, but it is a true art! so instead of just mounting the noblewoman on it, how about sculpting some reins into the servitors mount, and have the noblewoman steer her steed? it's got a more historical precedent for it, and more 'insulting' for the servitor, being steered like an animal...

moreover, you could use the lahmia vampire on a horse to base yourself on ;)

 

[Kriegsmacht]

That's interesting. The position of that servitor seems all kinds of wrong though. Makes you wonder what he did so wrong to deserve such a fate.

Can't wait to see more. :)

[Marius Perdo]

Great stuff, the Martian vibe is really helping keeping me inspired with my Mechanicus board project.

[GhostMalone]

Oh, don't worry- the ground is nowhere finished yet! All that's currently there is the foundation over which the real mud will be slathered on; eventually it'll look like these bases, but on a much larger scale

 

 

Speaking of which, I've been doing a little bit of work on the standing water. It's slow progress as you can only put down a thin layer each time and it takes quite a while to dry; still two or three to go, but it's getting there...

 

 

I've also done a bit of work on the Apothecary. The red and yellow is curretly looking overly colourful; when the hazard stripes go in and the weathering happens, everything will be a little more gritty...

 

 

Everything metallic on these guys will be using the AK True metal; below is a photo of the tube for comparison purposes. You get a lot for your money and a little goes a very long way, which is good as the tubes are quite pricey; the "old brass" colour has probably got the most use so far and the tube hardly looks squeezed at all. Although these paints are probably designed for large scale coverage and work quite well at this, they also do perfectly well for detail work using a small brush, and are at their best when drybrushed on another colour to represent scuffing of paint allowing the metal underneath to show through. As somebody who's used to acryllics, having to use white spirit or another thinner to wash my brush is a bit of a pain, but that's quibbling really; the only other downside is that sometimes washes don't take to it perfectly, but this is pretty rare. I think they're a really nice addition to my paintbox, tbh; and perfect for doing the IV.

 

I know this is while back but do you have a walk through for these bases?

[abraxus]

I love the idea of the steed... the only "issue" I see with it is the current placement of the front legs.  It doesn't seem like they would work all that well connected directly to the servitor's shoulders like that.

[Battybattybats]

The servitor steed looks great.

The servitor could always respond to voice commands as an option.

Or..... could be lead on a leash by some poor indentured worker forced to trudge drudgerously across the desert leading the 'horse' when they are some skilled Enginseer employed to do a task way below their station because they are feudally bound to the Noblewoman.

If the Noblewoman can ride, but feels it looks better to be led instead, that'd be even more appropriate.

[EdT]

@BattyBattyBats, I could quite easily add a servitor leading the steed; I have an armless one of these and he should be perfect, plus it would certainly give  a nice archaic look. Having said that, given the fact that there's already a servitor in there, I would imagine that it would have some guidance systems built in. One to ponder... 

 

@Kurama, no problem at all! I actually did a tutorial on the effect a while back- it can be found here, although on those Iron Warriors I substituted the filler for plaster for a much quicker drying time.

 

@Hendrik, oh, I know that some Medieval woman rode, and it's entirely possible to control a horse that way should you want to; but my noblewoman's not that sort of girl! As a native of Saros Station in the Jovian system (which, if Nemesis is anything to go by, is home to a bunch of disgustingly wealthy and extravagant plutocrats linked to the Mechanicum), I'm not sure she's even neccesarily set foot on a planet before; really she'd be wanting a nice palanquin or grav-fiacre to convey her around the place, but she's had to slum it.

 

Anyhow, progress on a couple of fronts today...

 

FIrst up, the legs for The Luggage came! I'm glad I was convinced to go for the multi-legged look; I mounted a couple of bits of styrene on the bottom of the servitor and was pleased to find that the resulting gap acted as the perfect socket for the ball joint on the legs, Here's what it looks like now...

 

 

 

Staying on this model, I also did a quick test for the valet's china dolll face. The sanguinary guard model didn't have the best cheekbones for the makeup, and I need to make it a but more circular, but it's a start... I think I might go for a slightly peachier blusher colour rather than the hot pink I tried here; I think it proves the concept has legs, though!

 

 

 

Staying on the paint theme, I also did a tester for the standing stone. it's basically a dull metallic grey with successive layers of interference blue, green and violet to give an oily sheen. As ever, the effect doesn't quite come across the same in a photo compared to real life, but here's one anyhow. I think it should look quite distinct and alien when set against the red sands of Mars...

 

 

 

And finally, the first painted pilgrim is taking shape! Given this guy's nature as an imposter, I deliberately wanted to avoid traditional mechanicum colours like red etc; so I went for the Jedi look instead! It should look quite good when stained with red Martian dust, plus the beige recalls the fact that he's actually a Rembrancer...

 

 

 

[HighGothic]

This is unbelievably cool!!!

[Battybattybats]

Everything is looking great!

I'm sure her mount would have it's own guidance system, but redundancy is one of those key signs of decadent wealth, 'peel me a grape' and all that. So i could see her negotiating:

"Well if i can't have a Palenquin and must ride on that contraption I should at least have someone leading it. You there." she points "Who me My Lady?" says some poor scholar who landed being part of her entourage as a chance to go on a pilgrimage to some dusty Martian Librarium in search of forgotten lore well before he found out her lack of any genuine studious nature and that he was given the position because he 'looked the part' rather than any regard of his great skill, "Yes you, you will lead my Hyppoperambulator through the desert"

[EdT]

"Hyppoperambulator"! That's a perfect word- definitely stealing that... Anyhow, next post will be a slight change of pace; been beavering away at something behind the scenes...

[EdT]

12- The Barque of Neter-khertet

 

 

 

 

At the beginning of the 387,420,489^th minute of their voyage, as the chronometer in his Nemes-crowned helm reckoned it, the Barque of Neter-khertet slipped from the skies above a verdant forest into a world of toppled spires and choking dust that seemed strangely familiar, and Jahandar Arzani heard a voice whisper his name.

 

“…Jahandar …”

 

It was the first sound he had heard in a long time, aside from the howling of the winds. His brothers had long since lapsed into silence and he had not even heard the low hum of their armour for a great while. Somehow, this fact did not disturb him much; they would doubtless be meditating. Curious, and tired of observing yet another world- how many had it now been?- Jahandar awoke his armour’s reactor from its power-saving mode and turned his eyes away from the bleak landscape below to seek out the noise, his muscles and armour protesting at the unaccustomed movement. He could not remember the last time he had shifted his stance.

 

The barque, though, was just as he remembered it. A strange craft on which to wander the cosmos, he thought. It was a small thing really, barely the size of a Land Raider but nowhere near as massive; a golden platform, covered in carvings and esoteric text, dominated by the device in its centre, half life support mechanism, half aetheric magnifier. Jahandar gazed at its occupant sadly. Amenhotep. The exertion of the journey had clearly taken its toll on his master. Amenhotep had not moved since the moment he had assumed the ritual position on the dais, placed the golden circlet on his brow, and floated upwards, his back arched in a silent howl of pain. His cheeks were sunken, his skin leathery like an embalmed corpse, but he still lived; he must still live, Jahandar thought, otherwise our journey would not continue.

 

His master had been right, of course; there was no other choice. Their father the Crimson King might have been content to present his throat to the teeth of the Wolves, but meek submission to death could not be borne, any more than the open treason of retaliation. “We still have friends,” Amenhotep had said, as the ground shook with the impact of their persecutors' orbital bombardment. “We will present ourselves before the Emperor, and the Great Angel and the Khan will intercede for us.”

 

The orbital blockade of Prospero was impenetrable by conventional means, but the sons of Magnus had never been one for convention; one did not necessarily need a space craft to travel between worlds.  The barque was one of his master’s hidden treasures, archaeotech recovered from under the Sigilite’s nose at a great archaeological dig in the sands of Gyptus on Old Earth. Amenhotep, Jahandar and their cabal had spent years trying to uncover its secrets; their decision to flee using the device was a wild gamble born of desperation, although one that had seemingly paid off.

 

Jahandar could not immediately see who had spoken his name. Khamose’s helmet lenses remained dark, his great khopesh resting on his shoulder as it always did, and although Hakor and Ashrat were facing away from him, neither were moving. The mortal acolytes were also facing away, standing but with their heads bowed, as if powered down; Jahandar did not think to wonder how they still lived after all this time without sustenance. By now confused, he reached out with his third eye, lightly brushing the souls each of his fellow travelers. He felt nothing, save dust. Beside him, Iset sensed his exertion and wordlessly offered him his khopesh; Jahandar smiled, and shook his head at the tutelary. Did you learn how to speak, Iset? Jahandar projected; the being cocked its head for a second then offered him the weapon again, as if in apology.

 

Jahandar sighed, and turned away. As he did so, the barque slipped into a new world. They flew above a great river in darkness; the fast-flowing current twisted layers of sediment into what looked like screaming faces. He looked more closely. Those _are_ faces.

 

The noise came again, louder this time.

 

“…Jahandar…”

 

He whirled round, his staff outstretched and wreathed in energy- and saw nothing. All was stillness, just as before; and then with slow deliberation, the figure on the dais slowly uncrossed its arms and sat up.

 

“Hello Jahandar,” Amenhotep said, rising from the dais under psychic compulsion and drifting towards his old pupil, his feet barely brushing the deck, “it is good to speak with you once again.”

 

“Master?” Jahandar croaked, his throat raw with disuse, “how have you risen? We have not arrived on Terra, and I do not know what place this is," he gestured to the inky waters and spectral forms below, "although I can guess.”

 

His master stared at him through sunken eyes. “All in time. Things have changed, Jahandar. I have changed. Yet we still have the same destination, even if the journey is longer than we anticipated. This is usual when one travels through Neter-khertet, the Great Ocean.”

 

He held his pupil’s gaze. “The ancient Gyptos believed that each soul that traverses the Great Ocean arrives wiser, or not at all. Tell me, what have you learnt, these years? We have travelled through many worlds, and you have had ample time to consider what you have observed. You have seen civilisations rise, and fall. You have seen species creep out of the forests for the first time, and then immolate themselves in nuclear fire hundreds of thousands of years later. You have seen Prospero- yes, several times I think- as it was, and now is, and will be. You have seen the infinite majesty and detail of the galaxy. And what was the one constant? What links together everything you have seen?”

 

Jahandar thought for a second. “There was no constant, save change. Species rise, expand, wax and then decay, leaving behind only their monuments- and over time, even these erode. There is only change. Is this the lesson you seek to teach me?”

 

Amenhotep’s desiccated features creased into a smile. “You always were a good student, Jahandar. You always ask the right questions. That is indeed the lesson. Change is the only constant; as the Philosopher once said, the past resembles the future as water does water. You have given me a better answer than the last time we spoke on this matter.”

 

Something about his tone made Jahandar pause. “I do not recall that conversation. Did we speak of this on Prospero?”

 

His master ignored the question. “Change.” Amenhotep breathed, thoughtfully. “Tell me, Jahandar; when they took you from your family on Terra to join the Legion, when you ceased to be human and became trans-human, there must have been those that saw your metamorphosis as a horrific thing. Were they right, do you think? Did you lose your humanity entirely and become something else? Something terrible?”

 

Jahandar shook his head. “Such an argument is understandable, but fundamentally it is based on emotion and ignorance. I have set aside part of my humanity, to a higher calling, but my essence remains human. I am… intimidating to unenhanced humans, but much of that intimidation is due to how powerful I have become.”

 

Amenhotep nodded, slowly. “Jahandar…" he said, carefully, "I have undergone a second metamorphosis.”

 

There was a rustle, as if of distant wings, and Amenhotep’s desiccated features began to shift and alter like melted wax. His ears disappeared, and his nose began to recede; his ceremonial beard merged with his chin and split to form something like a beak. Suddenly he was towering over Jahandar, who instinctively stepped backwards, his khopesh leaping from Iset's arms into his hand with a single thought.

 

Amenhotep spread his arms wide; Jahandar saw his armour now bore golden feathers. "Peace, my friend. Do not be alarmed. When the snake sheds its skin, is it not the same snake? When the butterfly emerges from its cocoon, is it not a natural and wonderful change?”

 

Jahandar looked on his master with horror mingled with fascination, the khopesh still raised. "What have you done?" he breathed. Amenhotep cocked his grotesquely elongated head.

 

"We all learn things when we traverse the Great Ocean. I was fortunate to have been further along the path to enlightenment than you when our journey began. But you are becoming wiser. The last time we spoke, you tried to strike me down as a victim of the Flesh-Change."

 

Jahandar felt the ghost of a stabbing pain, and dimly remembered looking down to see his master's blade buried to the hilt in his chest. He sighed, wearily, and handed his khopesh back to Iset. "How many times have we spoken, and what has happened to our brothers?"

 

Amenhotep considered the heqa wand in his hand. "This is the seventh occasion we have spoken like this, and each time you grow closer. You will only reach your destination when you have travelled enough to understand the universality of change. That is the lesson that must be taught. As for the others; Hakor, Ashrat and Khamose have comparatively little psychic potential compared to your own. Let us just say that they shall obey your instructions when the time comes."

 

Jahandar smiled grimly. "Seven is a number of ritual significance. Is my journey over then? It has evidently lasted longer than even I had realised."

 

If Amenhtep's avian features could have creased into a smile, they would have done. "Occult numerology was never your strong suit, Jahandar . Your internal chronometer will tell you it has been 387,420,489 minutes since we last spoke. Does that not tell you everything? Nine is my master's sacred number, not seven. We will talk again, you and I, and then once more. Have patience, Jahandar. Let your journey prove enlightening."

 

Amenhotep spread his feathered arms and leapt into the air, laughing, as Jahandar called his name. His master glided in a lazy circle around the barque, before diving into the water below and disappearing into the inky blackness. Jahandar whirled round to stare at the empty dias, willing it to remain in his memory. I can't forget this, he thought, I won't...

 

Presently the barque left the river of souls, and soared above a parched world of mineral crystals and oily pools, some of which burned with a blue flame. The way the fire flickered pleased Jahandar, and he watched it for some time, sighing in disappointment when the landscape below disappeared, only to be replaced with a dusty tangle of ruined stone and broken glass. What had he been thinking about? Nothing important, he concluded; it was easy for the mind to wander in these conditions.

 

Rolling his shoulders to relieve the tension in his muscles, Jahandar glanced over at Amenhotep's recumbent form and then, realising he was still holding his Khopesh, summoned Iset to take it and hold it for him. As the others were meditating, he turned back to look out over the toppled spires of the ruined city below. A thought struck him, and he called up his armour’s internal chronometer. Have we only been travelling for six hours? He thought with some surprise when he saw what was in the display. It somehow feels like a lot longer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Skalpynock]

Everything is looking great!

 

I'm sure her mount would have it's own guidance system, but redundancy is one of those key signs of decadent wealth, 'peel me a grape' and all that. So i could see her negotiating:

 

"Well if i can't have a Palenquin and must ride on that contraption I should at least have someone leading it. You there." she points "Who me My Lady?" says some poor scholar who landed being part of her entourage as a chance to go on a pilgrimage to some dusty Martian Librarium in search of forgotten lore well before he found out her lack of any genuine studious nature and that he was given the position because he 'looked the part' rather than any regard of his great skill, "Yes you, you will lead my Hyppoperambulator through the desert"

I dig it. That could make the staff a guiding beacon for the mount-servitor. It would add an additional level of pressure on the remembrancer, having to lead the steed on a path he doesn't know, but forbidden from admitting it.