The Stand on Terra/The Rout on Prospero - Avenged

[Honda]

"Duty is heavier than a mountain. Death lighter than a feather."

+++ ACCESSING LOG +++
+++ CREDENTIALS APPROVED +++
+++ [PICT CAPTURE L9/235-9A-B79X] +++

OD-DAY + 3

Madness had come.

It seemed inconceivable that it had

come to this. A tortured sky, the ground wailing from the hellfire cast down

by dark stars, and soon, a reign of shadows.

It was difficult not to look up, to see what the folly

of pride had born. That brothers would draw swords with vile intent and an
unreasoned malice. Even more disappointing is that the brothers would let their
bile and capriciousness spill out upon their father's house, indifferent to the
ruin that would come.

Anger...hate...deceit, how small the great had become.

The Lakedaemonian stood silently in
front of the marbled Pillars of Herakles, a golden manifestation of the Emperor's

will. Earlier he had removed the bolter from his spear, recognizing that in this time of murder,
knife speed would need to prevail over bullets...light... and rage. His spear
would sing songs to his father, framed in sonnets of light, terminating his
lost children with the finality of a haiku. His blade would overcome all.

Duty demanded nothing less.

[Phalanx Warder]

ohh this should be good!

[NiteOwl]

Is that roman legion bitz from scibor?

 

I am really interested to see where this is going, keep it up :)

[Honda]

Well hello all!

 

I have decided to dip my big toe into the HH pool and see what develops. Given that the two armies I am most interested in are Fists and Wolves/Custodes/Sisters of Silence, I'm going to focus on working out a little fluff, figure out how I want to paint wolves and fists and let FW catch up to my desire. I understand that the first part may be addressed around March-ish and that Prospero is rumored to be sometime later this year.

 

And that's fine as I have a previous engagement for the next few months elsewhere (i.e. Tale of Texas Gamers). So working up individual figures right now will be a nice break. I've decided that should our group decide to get more involved with 30K from a gaming aspect, then I'll most likely leverage my Templars as Sigismunds company as I am (and the thread implies) very interested in Terra. So, I will do some yellow, but the majority of my regular gaming army will remain Templars.

 

However, that won't keep me from take a knee and lifting up my offerings for consideration to the inhabitants of these sacred heights.

 

If you recognize the format of my initial offering, then that would mean you frequent the "+++ In Memoriam +++" thread by M2C, Heathens, Darth P, and Noctis Cornix, which captured my imagination. In fact, I had inadvertently posted this in their thread, not realizing that it was a private thread, so apologies for blundering through the china shop.

 

In any case, as I'm not exactly sure where all this is heading yet, I'm just going to let it flow out and please do feel free to nudge it around should it overflow the banks.

 

@NiteOwl: Yes, the Custodes figure and shoulder pads are from Scibor. The arms are Grey Knight terminator halberds, which married up to the torso fairly well.

 

Cheers,

[Flint13]

I've always wanted to see a blended force of Wolves like the host that attacked in Prospero Burns and Thousand Sons. After those gorgeous templars, I'm sure you can do this project justice. 

[NiteOwl]

Aha thanks! I have the eyes of a hawk.

[Russ Brother 92]

This looks and sounds great - A new follower, gained you have

[securitas]

count me in

[Honda]

For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack - R. Kipling, M2

http://youtu.be/ww5GXbk58R0

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+++ [PICT CAPTURE ZP/912-7N-R23J] +++

Maleficarum chased hate into the gusting wind.

Styrm looked up and howled at the stars, cursing those
that rained fire upon the Allfather.

And then he laughed.

Who could have imagined the random shakes of the Great
Wolf's tail that led to Styrm and his pack being present in the Allfather's
house...and that he would witness the death of the sky.

The ground beneath his feet rumbled like distant thunder,
heralding a storm of blind vengeance.

Raising his head to sniff the wind, flared nostrils
registered a fresh blood scent, causing his lips to slide up long incisors while
a low bass vibrato bubbled up from the depths of his massive neck.

It was time to hunt.

Lifting his head once again, he howled the command
for the pack to assemble. In the distance, the empty spaces filled with the
mournful cry of killers.

[NiteOwl]

This is great! Would love to see him painted :)

[Honda]

 

This is great! Would love to see him painted

 

Oh you will. In many ways, he's a concept figure for me, helping define how I want my wolves to look. My general vision of them is very feral looking, which means plenty of fur and since I prefer soft contrasts, a palette of muted tones for the rest. I haven't settled on a grey yet, though I know I'm going to the darker side of grey vs. a lighter version.

 

Originally, I had been toying with doing them in something like a Hunter Green, just to be different, but then didn't want them mistaken for traitors.

 

Also, as I've been doing the visualization for the terminators, I've pretty much concluded that I'll be scratch building most of this army to get the look I'm after. One of the challenges I think we Wolves players face is how much will our armies just look like grey "Imperial Fists" if we don't do something different. Not to take away from other people's efforts, because we do what we have to in order to have an army, but I came to the conclusion that just throwing a wolf pelt on Mk III armor wasn't going to be enough. I've gathered a lot of the Sabertooth card game art from Adrian Smith and that is my source material.

 

One saving grace is that green stuff is cheaper than resin. :P

[Honda]

"the darkness is my favorite clothing, when I wear it I can show how I really feel and who is the real me"

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+++ [PICT CAPTURE L9/235-9A-B79X] SARAYA NIGHTSONG +++

I can feel their blindness.

It maddens them that they can peer into the Empyrean to witness the wonders and horrors that
haunt all of Mankind, yet here I am, standing before them...

...unseen.

+++

How strange the company I now keep. That's not quite right. They are not a company, more a
restless horde of noble beasts, panting for release. They stare intently at the
surface, seeing the unseen, seeking the vector that would lead them to the
weakest, the lame, the diseased.

The first to fall.

Contrary to the opinion of some of their brother legions, they are not braggarts or fools. They
inherently sense the great danger that lurks below them. Each can feel the
strangeness that causes their hair to prickle, eyes tighten, and a dryness to
well up in their throats.

I feel nothing.

They have granted me a place in their pack. I am almost their mascot, yet I am so much more.
Uncomfortably placid around me, they quickly find reasons to be elsewhere. That
is the way it is with me. That is what I am. I bring discomfort to heroes. I
stir unease in beasts. I comfort no one.

I am the void.

+++

The fall from the stars begins ominously and in silence. No...not silent, I can hear the sound of
deep breathing and snorts as the pack begins to sort itself out, uncomfortable
and anxious to escape their constraints. We are tightly packed, like the
propellant that drives a shell to its target...waiting for
ignition. There is something among them that touches the core of my being, catching
me up in a primal wave of feeling, generated by the proximity to so many apex
predators.

This startles me,
for I am one who feels nothing...yet I still find my thoughts and feelings
caught up with this pack, swept along in their passion, their eagerness.

A growing roar and
vibration signal atmospheric contact. We descend in a blaze of fury and rage, the
manifestation of my Father's will.

If I could, I
would pity those below us. They have unleashed upon themselves a full cup of my
Father's wrath. The wolves I ride with shall encircle this errant herd, loping
along its flanks, a deliverer of its complete destruction.

This calamity will
not abate until their desire for total destruction leaves this misguided civilization, wrought by one of
my Father's own sons, scattered before them, not one stone resting upon
another.

I feel my
heartbeat increase. I am of the pack. I will ride this wave across these wicked
lands and never hesitate, never look back at the ruin left behind me.

For I am my Father's daughter.

[deathspectersgt7]

VERY COOL HONDA!!!!!, I see the Sisters are becoming popular which is deserving.

[Russ Brother 92]

It reads wonderfully - I am enjoying your writing, rather skilled as it is.

[Flint13]

Me too! It's just long enough to be interesting with out dragging.

 

Keep it up Honda! Doing great so far.

[Vazzy]

Excellent....

[deathspectersgt7]

​Oh, And thanks for BAD CO Have not heard that song in awhile .

[Honda]

Thank you all very much, especially the fair lady Flint, for I am a big fan of your thread and in particular, your narration. :)

 

Saraya was a very interesting piece to put together, not the least of which is because she is so petite. She started from a base of a DE Scourge, which seemed to fit in well with a lot of the pics I grabbed while researching her. The downside to using DE is that everything has an edge, point, or blade on it, which is awesome if you are building DE, but I didn't want the end product to look like a DE with a cape. So...that meant filing down the points, removing blades, cutting the edges of the armor lines to produce something that looked more Imperial. Did I mention that she's a small figure? Yeah, that.

 

The other challenge was in finding a suitable weapon. There's one piece of art work of a SoS standing next to the Emperor and carrying a very large sword. I really liked that imagery and what I attempted to model Saraya after. I was grabbing bits from all over and finally settled on a Grey Knight blade, but again, because of the small size of the miniature, I just couldn't stick the GK fist on the end of a DE arm. So that meant cutting the fist part out, drilling through the Scourge fist and then attaching the two sword pieces using a straight pin to brace the whole thing. I think I got it close.

 

From there it was a matter of getting the head posed correctly and then doing all the gs work.

 

She's not perfect by any means, but I think she is close enough that to be identifiable as a Sister. I have no idea what FW will do with the Sisters in a Prospero army, I'd like to think that they'd make them individuals that might grant abilities to units once joined, in which case she'll fit right in. If so, I suppose that I might have to make another or two and that would be fine, but I'll worry about that when there are rules. For now, she'll just run alongside the big wolf squad I'm planning (15-20).

 

Also, although I envision her armor being silver (they are seen in different armor colors), I need to think about the color of her cape and how that can frame the silver.

 

I already know she's going to be a ginger. ;)

 

On the table for next time will either be a Fist or a Blood Angel. After that, most likely another wolf.

 

Thank you all for your support, as you all know, that really helps.

 

Cheers,

[Vazzy]

I think a rich purple would look good with the silver, or a crimson shade.

[NovemberIX]

I'm loving that custode and the sister! Between you, jaspcat and the rest I may have to order some heresy infantry finally.

[Honda]

@Vazzy: Those are two really good suggestions. I had also considered a Hunter Green as I want her hair to stand out, not be Dayglo Orange, and not get lost in "other" colors.

 

I'll have to fiddle with it and see what ends up working. I do really like the purple as that's usually a color reserved for royalty and the sisters do tend to hang out with the King (not Elvis) a fair bit. :)

[Flint13]

Haha, thanks for the praise, I feel like I'm getting to be vaguely internet famous.  The fair lady bit also amuses. I had to work to even get a "sister" out of Jaspcat :P

 

But! I want to second Vazzy, I think a rich, wine-like purple would look aces.  I also have a sort of (very biased) preference for dark blue. 

[Vazzy]

@Vazzy: Those are two really good suggestions. I had also considered a Hunter Green as I want her hair to stand out, not be Dayglo Orange, and not get lost in "other" colors.

I'll have to fiddle with it and see what ends up working. I do really like the purple as that's usually a color reserved for royalty and the sisters do tend to hang out with the King (not Elvis) a fair bit.

Yeah that's what I was thinking haha. It'd be cool to see.

[Honda]

When brothers agree, no fortress is so strong as their common life.- Antisthenes, M1

+++ ACCESSING LOG +++

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+++ [PICT CAPTURE M7/A42-B4-HJ3Q] CYPRIOS HUELGEN +++

I wanted to be here.

I want to be at the breach, to plant my feet in the gap
and defy the tide of hatred that seeks me out because of who I am and what I
stand for. I will not yield, for here, Gibraltar stands resolute.

We have prepared our bodies, our minds, our hearts. The
land that we choose to defend has been sown and now is prepared to reap.

This used to be a palace.

Now it is my father's house.

As cheap iron fractures against a smithy's anvil, we shall break the corrupt waves that dare assault
us, thinking that by their might they would overthrow what they did not earn
and occupy what is not theirs.

Not one step in my father's house.

+++

I walk among giants.

Yet even among these mighty men, I stand out. Much of my
equipment has had to be customized by the artificers, as something in my genome
structure triggered significant growth levels while they were creating me.

My sergeant taunted me continuously during training,
seeking to drive me to failure, stating that I was "as big as gibraltar, bot not as smart."

At the time, I did not know what a "gibraltar"
was, but suspected it was not something I should aspire to. Unfortunately, the
name stuck and among my brethren I am now more commonly known as
"Gibraltar" or "The Rock". So I sought out knowledge of my
namesake from the Librarium and was surprised at what I found.

Now I wear the name with pride.

For I am certain of one thing, if the inconceivable
should take place and all my brothers fall, I will not. I am the gate to
victory, I am my company's foundation upon which our victories are delivered. I
am the embodiment of my father's will.

I am Gibraltar.

+++

A host beyond imagining stands before our gates. The
gates of my father's house.

They threaten our souls, predict our damnation, and demand
our submission. They point, and taunt, and chitter like an infestation. They
seek the Emperor, but not his blessing.

I look at each of my brothers and over us hangs an
unspoken understanding, communicated with a nod.

Not...one...step in my father's house.

[deathspectersgt7]

Gibralter looks Good. Ah Darkside of the Moon memories.