Night Lords 33rd Company - The Mongrels of the Eight

[MrBear]

Time to get back to the primary reason for this plog, Night Lords. Some more minor work has been done on the three final guys of Fourth Claw, very much to do still but there is a good chance that I can have them finished by the end of the week.

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0910_zpskc2vtnid.jpg

 

And regarding the SoH and the positive feedback, time for some replies:

 

 

The SoH looks great man! You should totally join the Heresy with the XVI Legion as your dudes! You know you want to...

 

Part of the ship, part of the crew. Part of the ship, part of the crew. Part of the ship, part of the crew.

 

 

I do plan to "board that train that knows no brakes", biggest question is what I'm going to do there. SoH are strong contenders, only thing that makes me hesitate is that the Blood Angels got tons of nice bits while some of the SoH-parts are a bit 'meh'. Planning a FW-order sometime this month though so it might very well tip over to SoH by then. 

 

Just don't fall slave to that 30k baloney. I was thinking about doing something similar with Loyal EC set in the 41st.

 

 

No worries mate, I still have plenty of things I want to do with my NL. I'll reach a point in their story soon where a 'pause' might be right though, I've been painting them for close to two years now so some variation is perhaps needed. It would be interesting to see your take on the EC either way. 

 

 

It would be cool to see some "alternate history" space marines, but I think you'd do some Heresy era Sons of Horus justice. Either way the choice is yours, just go with what you feel is right.

 

 

Alternate history could probably be both fun and interesting to do but I'm hardly very knowledgeable regarding the 'proper' Heresy so doing a good work on an alternate one would be hard. Worth thinking about though so even if the OTL 30K is most likely I might change my mind on that... 

 

 

Oooh! Dormian Heresy? Looks cool.

 

Thanks mate! It's probably 'Dornish" Heresy rather than Dorninan though as AFAIK the SoH becomes that timeline's version of the Black Templars instead of keeping their colour scheme, so an alternate of an alternate Heresy in that sense. I kept the details rather vague so that people could interpret things the way they wanted, probably just a one-off piece of background any way. 

[MrBear]

A decision has been made. After giving the matter some thought and taking the three HH (sort of) test models I've made over the year and photographing them together, the choice of legion has been settled. 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0914.JPG_zpsyakhqkkd.jpg

 

The BA isn't half bad, and the early era VIIIth legionary would be interesting if not for the cost of an entire army from FW. That being said the SoH got so much positive comments and just looks better than the other two. Combined with the fact that my over-active imagination already have started to work on a possible background for a SoH-force that pretty much makes the scales tip over in their favour. There will be quite a 100+ £ order to FW sometime later this month and not only for this but some NL-stuff aswell, there are still plenty of things coming up for the 33rd. 

[deathspectersgt7]

The SOH rocks . Watch for the ETL this year I have 13 new Chapters coming.

[MrBear]

It's truly a time of wonders, I've managed to keep up with my own estimates for once! The last three guys of Fourth Claw are finished in time!
 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNoNPxdPbWA

 

 

Sgt. Eremul muttered a curse under his breath as he crouched slightly on the fire step, it sounded as the cultist bastards were preparing for a charge and that meant that he would have to hope that the God-Emperor would protect his head as he took a quick look. Preditcably enough the sight of him made them unleash a torrent of gun fire, all of it going wide. Amateurs, he thought with a sneer. Proper soldiers would have had snipers waiting for any fool showing his face. He heard the sound of a long-las going off and nodded with satisfaction, the snipers he had placed were doing their job. ”Steady boys.” he said to his men. ”We're going to get some visitors soon and I want you to give them all a proper Vicard welcome before we send them down to hell.” According to the military text-books he'd read when he'd became a non-com that sort of speech should make them cheer and smile. Because he'd been a Sergeant for ten years and understood that the authors of those books were idiots that had never shivered in a muddy trench trying to defend their homes he wasn't the least disappointed by the muttered respones he got instead, in his experience they were about as good as he could expect.”You know the drill,” he continued. ”When the whistle blows you'll run to your fire-positions and blast away.”

Just as he said that the cultists' chanting seemed to reach a crescendo and they roared. Time to justify that sad handout they insist is a proper pay, he thought and put the whistle in his mouth. He could feel the nervous looks his men gave him, wondering why he wasn't already blowing it, the seconds seemed to stretch out into an eternity but he kept calm. When he blew it and stepped up to fire his rifle he was unsurprised to see that the emeny had barely managed a third of the distance. They didn't reach much further...

 

As his men dropped down into their trench again they were smiling and cheering, no one in his section had suffered more than a minor burn and they had easily killed dozens of their enemies. Eremul allowed himself a slight, almost paternal smile, they had done good and deserved to see that he was satisfied with them. Then the look-out called out a warning and he had to get them ready again, apparently the enemy was trying again. As he stepped up on the fire step again he could see an even bigger bunch of them charging at the trench, but there was something else aswell. He could see a handful of armoured giants running at impossible speed towards him, firing thunderous guns. Cultists were falling in droves but nothing seemed to stop the giants, instead each shot they fired seemed to kill one of his men. Before he knew it one of them made an unbeliveable leap and landed in the trench just a few meters from him and his men were falling like grain to a schyte. With a roar he tried to shake the shock and leaped at the attacker but the giant bastard moved faster than his eyes could register. Suddenly he stopped, what seemed like, mid-air. He tried to understand why when the giant almost gently put him with his back to the gound and pulled a sword from his stomach. He tried to speak but the titan in front of him slowly shook his head, the light quickly dimmed and with a last thought of confusion Sgt. Eremul left the world behind.

 

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Davarus looked up from the mortal lying at his feet, he had seemed to know what he was doing unlike most of the Night Lord's so called 'allies'. The clumsy bastards are barely worth using as cannon-fodder, he thought. Not that there were many of them to use though, there should have been more of them but the cultists they had interrogated on the matter where vague on the whereabouts of their fellows. Those that were where they were supposed to be hadn't been very enthusiastic on charging the Imperial trenches but a few strategic demonstrations on what they could expect if they didn't had settled the matter.

 

Davarus was happy to let the surviving cultists stream down the traverses on his sides, that was not where he was going. If the dumb fools wanted to runt into designated kill zones he wouldn't stop them. Instead he climbed out of the trench and followed the sound of bolter fire ahead of him, unsurprisingly finding a roaring Andarr charging a command post. Typical feral-worlder, he thought and snorted. His 'brother' had numerous las-burns on the front of his armour showing how unsubtle his approach to warfare was. Well better him drawing their fire than me.

With the mortals' focus on Andarr he had no trouble flanking them though and while the PDF had dicipline there wasn't much they could do when caught in a crossfire and they started to fall. Some sort of Commissar was trying to reinforce the command point though, screaming 'encouragments' to his troops as they charged forward. Terrified as they were, their aim was terrible but there was enough las-fire in the air to cause Davarus to dive into cover behind some supply crates. He grinned wide and felt his hearts pump adrenaline through his veins. He wanted to roar with laughter, this was how life was meant to be lived, on the edge. There were moments when he could lament his dead mother and siblings but at times like these he could have killed them ten times over himself for this feeling, he was a demi-god let loose upon the world. The older Night Lords might sneer at such thoughts but he couldn't care less, they'd be dead long before him anyway.

Just as he contemplated whether to charge the enemies head on or not, someone else ripped into the mortals. Barandas had caught up with them and was schyting the PDF down with his bolter.

”Trying to keep all the fun for yourselves brothers?” he called out over the vox. Daravus had to fight back the temptation to spit when he heard his brothers voice. That nasal, staccato accent was pure 'High Fangs' nob and those greedy blood-suckers had been hated by everyone else on Osrung Secundus. He'd learnt to tolerate Barandas after Sergeant Glotka and Camon had made it clear that he, as an 'aspirant', could choose between his new 'brother' or a slit throat. Davarus might not be a genius but it would have taken a special kind of fool not to make the same choice as he did.

He made good use of Barandas' covering fire nonetheless and charged the remaining enemies, firing his bolter and slashing wildly with his combat knife and with Andarr doing the same it took mere seconds to eliminate the mortals. They roared their triumph together and even Barandas joined in.

He's enough of a bastard after all that I might grow used to him in the end, he thought. Not that I would cry if someone would shoot him in the face. Only fools go into combat without a helmet. Not that such a thing was likely in the short runt though as they had just broken the final PDF resistance in their sector. Won't be long now, Daravus thought. We'll soon have this whole thrice-damned world ground into the dirt. Vicard III was facing a very dark night indeed.

 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0924_zpsgcggwb19.jpg

 

 

I only managed one 'decent-ish' picture of this trio I'm afraid. I can try to take more later if anyone wants me to but I guess that this one shows the most important things anyway. From left to right we have Andarr, Barandas and Davarus.

 

C&C is of course always welcome. 

 

 

The SOH rocks . Watch for the ETL this year I have 13 new Chapters coming.

 

Thanks mate! 13 Chapters though?! Anyone ever told you that you're mad? (In a good way  )

[deathspectersgt7]

Great Fluff Davarus has to be my favorite.

[MrBear]

Next thing planned for the Mongrels, it's time to get a little bit more... tainted:

 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0929_zpsszu3xwbg.jpg

 

 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0928_zpsiszd3vdx.jpg

 

 

 

Great Fluff Davarus has to be my favorite.

 

Thanks man! He's my favourite aswell, that's why he got chosen as the pov for the fluff :-)

[Dantay VI]

The DA helm looks really cool on the raptor

 

Not keen on the Mr Piggy helm Top left though

[MrBear]

Busy, busy, busy... All work and no play makes MrBear a dull boy. Barely nothing beyond a base coat has been done with the Raptors due to my work, but with the upcoming Easter holidays though (10 days without teaching) that state is bound to be changed. 

 

There is something else to report though:

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0930_zpsyxpge92d.jpg

 

It took it's sweet time to arrive but the postal service brought me some shiny new plastic crack  today. Anything special you might ask? 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0931_zpspceaxvgs.jpg

 

Most of it are regular upgrades for the BaC-marines but there are some things that are a little bit more exciting:

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0932_zpsllvo0m4m.jpg

 

What's that sound? I think I hear a "CHOOM" echoing from somewhere in the future... 

 

That's still a month or two away though. There are the Raptors and one more thing I want to finish for the Mongrels before they've earned some rest. There's also the vain hope that this order, and the Titan background I wrote, could win me some more resin. Not very likely I admit but one can always hope...

 

 

The DA helm looks really cool on the raptor

 

Not keen on the Mr Piggy helm Top left though

 

Man! What's been seen cannot be unseen!  I hadn't made the pig connection before you mentioned it! I'll try to turn the 'animalism' in that helmet into something positive though.

 

The DA helmet kit is a treasure trove for any Chaos player, they're just perfect for that archaic look. I was considering to use more of them but it decided against it, that would have made them look a little bit to similar .

[Wicced]

that's a nice heap of plastic crack you got there

i'm not sold on the SoH, but i know you'll make some great characters out of them, even if they aren't  gonna be midnight clad

[deathspectersgt7]

Looking forward to that. But Dang those Raptors looking Ace!!!!

[MrBear]

I did find both some energy and some time today and some progress was made with the Raptors. Not much I'll have to say but enough to give a rough impression on how they will look.

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0935_zpsktgbgoib.jpg

 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0936_zpsy9horwfe.jpg

 

 

As they aren't part of the company per se I was contemplating painting them in a different colour scheme from the rest of the guys but the will fit in better if they are more Night Lord-ish in their appearance. 

 

 

that's a nice heap of plastic crack you got there

i'm not sold on the SoH, but i know you'll make some great characters out of them, even if they aren't  gonna be midnight clad

 

Thanks for the vote conficedence brother, I plan to mix a little bit more heroics into the mix as the SoH are going to be loyalists (for variations sake) but there will be plenty of rooms for villains aswell.

 

And the Night Lords will continue to get some updates now and then also, got to keep the knives sharp...

 

 

Looking forward to that. But Dang those Raptors looking Ace!!!!

 

Thanks mate. I can only take credit for the posing and head swaps though, the rest is the result of it being an ace kit. 

 

Tell you one thing, it's good to have a holiday coming up when it comes to painting them as that much bronze is going to take a loooot of time. 

[MrBear]

Hi fellas! Long time, no see...

 

I know that I've been rather... inactive these last months. Partly because I had too much to do at work (loads of colleagues being sick, and one of them even being fired due to his behaviour), partly becasue of Stellaris (where my proxy Chaos and Imperium civs have been very busy conquering the galaxy) and partly because the Raptors became something of a chore to paint (all those details!). These last two weeks have been rather nice though so I've found my way back into painting again and as my summer holiday now starts I can proudly say that the Raptors are (more or less) finished!

 

There are a few minor touch-ups to do but I'm getting ready to move on to the next unit in line. Since my 8 weeks of summer holidays started today I'm cautiously optimistic that I can reach a point in the story o the 33rd where I can take a small break and start working on my Sons of Horus as planned. There is only one thing stopping a proper update today, the fact that I'm going away on a 1500km roadtrip to visit some friends and see Iron Maiden. As I will drive off tomorrow morning, there is not a snotling's chance in the Eye of Terror that I can write down a scene that will do the Raptors justice...

 

To give some proof of me actually painting something (and to wet your appetites for the real update  ) I've taken a photo of one of the guys, a fellow named Flavio. 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0954__zpsuotd7jn5.jpg

 

Some touch-ups to do, especially those bone 'fangs' on the jump-pack. They're not as 'flat' as in this photo but I'm not happy with how they look atm.

 

C&C is as always welcome! See you sometime next week for the proper update! 

[Soldier of Dorn]

Good to see you're alive. ;)

 

Flavio looks ace! That Vanguard bit really works well on the Raptor body.

[deathspectersgt7]

Welcome back !!!! If you run into Eddie tell him he still owes  me  a Brew.

[Augustus b'Raass]

Lovely raptors there, Mrbear! 

 

I'm ashamed to say I missed the FW update and everything after that. Plastic crack, you say? That's even worse: resin crack!! Don't breath this!! ;)

[MrBear]

Well here we are, I'm back from my road-trip. I had a wonderful time with some friends I rarely meet and the Maiden gig was 

 

Things aren't quite ready for the promised update though, I have a fairly good idea of where I want to go with the story but I haven't quite finished with it yet. The EURO- championship might have disturbed my concentration a bit to be honest... But since Sweden lost to Belgium yesterday and had to leave the tournament (no surprise given how they played in their first two games  ) I'm feeling fairly optimistic that I can have it finished in a couple of days.

 

One thing I've done though, is to prepare the next claw for painting:

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0955_zpstdpzfnes.jpg

 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0956_zpsafk7zdjg.jpg

 

Most of the poses are still a bit 'rough' as all the guys with heavy weapons are partly tacked together atm. It shouldn't be to hard to see what I'm 'aiming' for though 

 

Good to see you're alive.

 

Flavio looks ace! That Vanguard bit really works well on the Raptor body.

 

Thanks man! Got to say I was feeling quite like as if I was a zombie at the end of the semester though!

 

I was a little bit conflicted about the helmet at first, but as I started to get down to painting the details it really grew on me. It really shows that one never knows what's going to work until it's been tried.

 

Welcome back !!!! If you run into Eddie tell him he still owes  me  a Brew.

 

Glad to be back buddy! Afraid I couldn't do anything about Eddie, Bruce ripped his heart out on stage before I could get near.

 

Lovely raptors there, Mrbear! 

 

I'm ashamed to say I missed the FW update and everything after that. Plastic crack, you say? That's even worse: resin crack!! Don't breath this!!

 

Thanks Augustus! Nothing to be ashamed of, I've been so semi-active here this spring that updates have been few and far between. If anything it's I that have been missing things!

'Don't breath this!' he says. But how else will I see all those nice unicorns? 

[MrBear]

As usual I didn't manage to keep the 'deadline' I put up, being only a day or two late is pretty good by my standards though. With that being said, here is the update:

 

 

 

 

 

Caberel soared through the night sky like the fallen angel he was, feeling the cool air as if it was touching his bare skin instead of his armour. Once upon a time, the mere thought of his armour beeing as much part of him as his own flesh and blood would have made him feel uneasy, but he didn't care as much about mere physical corruption these days. So where the Assault Sergeant of old might have worried, the Champion of the Unbound felt nothing but joy as he and his brothers flew over the plains of Vicard III. The total freedom of flight was simply so far beyond every other sensation he had ever felt.

Let the other bastards fool around in the mud if they like, he thought. I have the sky!

He realised that he and his brothers were not the lone rulers of their realm though as some local avian catched it's prey below them. His eyes registered the almost chirugical precion of the strike, and his ears the terrified scream from whatever small mammal had been taken, before it was ended by claw and beak. It made him smile behind his helmet. There were few things he felt any real regard for, but a fellow predator deserved respect. Others disagreed though, he could sense how Tarcsel wanted nothing more than to tear the 'intruder' to pieces, and he saw his brothers claws flexing. He screeched a threatening sound to Tarcsel, a wordless warning to make sure he didn't do anything towards the bird, nor break formation. His brother growled back, but he didn't challenge Caberel's authority further. He's growing more and more feral by the day, he sighed. He hardly even speaks anymore. It was not uncommon among the Raptor Cults to be honest, quite a few ended up as barely more than spawns. Crawling like beasts, growling and screeching like beasts, and like beasts, not caring about anything beyond the present. It was easy to see that Tarcsel was going to continue down that path, leaving less and less of a once brilliant warrior remaining. Anyone with a heart might have found some pity for someone walking such a path, but if Caberel had ever had a conscience, it had died in the streets of Nostramo Secundus a long time ago. What did it matter to him if others succumbed to their instincts? They could still serve a purpose.

As long as there was someone guiding the pack's movement, and as long as that someone was him, he didn't care about the fate of the others.

 

When Justinian had hired his pack of Unbound, he'd told Caberel that he had no interest in how they followed orders, just that they were followed. Caberel couldn't find anything wrong with that. He couldn't claim to ever have been close to his employer, even when he'd seen himself as a Night Lord first, he had found Justinian stiff and aloof, with a 'holier than thou'-attitude. Ten milennia later nothing had changed regarding that. He had to give the bastard credit for being successful though, from a mercenary's point of view there were few things more important as an unsuccessful employer had little to offer. And there was also the fact that he had the sense to give his troops the freedom to interpret their orders, instead of trying to steer every single detail. When he'd ordered Caberel to find where all the the missing cultists, that should have been fighting in the cities, had disappeared he didn't care how it was done.

It had been messy work to begin with for sure, it had taken them five skinnings before they even knew what questions to really ask, and four more until they had any tangible leads to follow. Not that the pack minded though, the bloodletting had only made them more keen for the proper hunt. Only one thing irritated him about the whole thing, the mountain range they were heading towards was so vast that he'd have to spilt the pack, keeping only a handful around him as the rest went their own ways. Holding a Raptor Cult together was quite a task even when they were all in the same place, split up like this the others could get all sorts of... 'ideas' about leadership. It wasn't too much of a problem though, he was more than willing to demonstrate why he was the pack leader if someone was foolish enough to challenge him. With the mountains coming closer and closer, he licked his fangs in anticipation for the killing ahead.

 

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It was Flavio who spotted their prey first, and roared in triumph over the vox to the rest of them. Caberel wasn't the least surprised, the thin-blood was eagle-eyed enough to spot a hiding ratling from a mile away. Blood-thirsty aswell, always scanning the horizon in search for a fresh kill. He'd been an Angel Encarmine once, or was it an Angel Sanguine? Caberel wasn't sure anymore. Damn thin-bloods, he thought. Breeding and splintering like gutter-clans on Nostramo. Can they even keep track themselves? Not that it really mattered. As they started to dive down towards the badly camouflaged cave, it was Flavio that was leading the way. Caberel had never had any warm feelings for the IXth Legion, but he gave credit where credit was due, they had known what they were doing when it came to aerial assaults. Unlike most other thin-bloods, Flavio would not have shamed the Legion of old, even though he wouldn't have been anything out of the ordinary during the Great Crusade. He crashed into a cultist foxhole like an armoured meteor of death, both he and his chainsword roaring as pieces of the cultists that had manned the defensive position flew through the air. It wasn't the most subtle approach to wawfare that Caberel had ever seen, but it was effective. Before any of the other cultists had even begun to understand what had fallen upon them it was over, and all of them were dead. If he'd been a little bit more cool-headed, he would have thought about taken a prisoner or two to 'interrogate', but the killing had been too sweet for that. It was pretty clear that the cave was important anyway, otherwise they wouldn't have found the cultists guarding it. Others seemed to think the same way as he heard a hissing voice over the vox.

”We enter? No? More prey inside, yes-yes!” It was Frava of course, always eager to 'suggest' what to do, hoping that it would strengthen his position in the eyes of the others. They'd been close brothers once, but something had changed behind Frava's skull-faced visage. Sometimes there was a malicious gleam shining through the lenses of his helmet, and his voice had a barely audible echo aswell, as if two voices where speaking slightly out of sync with eachother. A minscule part of Carabel grieved the fact that he would probably have kill Frava sometime in the future. Most of him wasn't concerned though, in a Raptor Cult the strong ruled, and those with more ambition than ability died swift deaths with the victor eating their gene-seed. The bastard's gene-seed is probably vile enough to make me choke, he thought. He couldn't ignore Fravas 'speech' though, so he gave off an angry screech and stood as straight and tall as he could, before answering his pack-brother.

”We hunt, yes! Into the cave now!” He could sense his brothers' eagerness as they started to move towards the entrance, the prospect of fresh blood strong enough to make them forget their normal unwillingness when it came to spending time on the ground.

 

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Almost an hour after they had entered the cave, they had still not found an end to the tunnel system they were exploring. They had found plenty of 'missing' cultists though, and they had enjoyed themselves greatly with them. Even Caberel had to admit to himself that it was a facinating hunt, almost like exploring a space hulk in a way. No genestealers though, he thought with a smile. It makes tunnel fighting so much more enjoyable when you're the one with the sharpest claws.

If 'fighting' was the proper word for what they had done towards the cultists, 'slaughter' might be more appropriate if he was to be honest with himself. There had been choke points where the cultists could have been somewhat challenging, but Shaizan's flamer had made a mockery out of that. Not Cabarel's favourite weapon normally, as it was useless against armour, and tended to leave few potential slaves alive, but this time he was glad that Shaizan carried it around after all. Shaizan himself was another matter though, he'd become almost as much as an automata as the ghost soldiers of the XVth, barely speaking anymore and taking little initative. Or so it seemed. Caberel wasn't fullt convinced that it wasn't some kind of act from Shaizan's side after all. There had been times when his seemingly 'mindless' actions had taken him out of danger, and put a rival into trouble in his stead. Caberel was keeping almost as much of an eye upon Shaizan as he did with Frava, just to be sure...

 

As they continued further into the mountain he became more and more certain that the tunnels were much older than the cult that was using it, there was no chance that any cult could have dug them in secrecy in just a couple of years. There were something strangely asymmetrical about them aswell, something that almost made his vision blurry if he tried to focus on the tunnel walls. If these tunnels were carved by human hands, then I'm an Ultramarine, he thought sarcastically. Even pre-Imperial tunneling wouldn't have felt as 'wrong' as the chambers they were passing through.

He didn't have much of a psychic gift to start with, but it had grown stronger over the years and he'd learnt to trust his feelings when it came to warp-craft, some kind of power had been in use here before. He felt fairly certain that it was still in use aswell, why else would the cultists be this far from the fighting otherwise?

Some questions seemed to answer themselves though, as he started to pick up chanting voices ahead, and his 'sixth sense' screamed out warnings to him aswell. They were nearing a doorway that radiated 'dark energy' to Caberel's mind, and over the vox he gave his pack-brothers a complex, hissing screech that contained both orders and a warning. The whole pack ignited their thrusters and crashed through the doorway as one, weapons ready.

There were two scores of cultists inside a vast chamber, grouped in a semi-circle around a gigantic chest covered with writhering runes. Some of them were chanting, some were caught in some kind of carnal debauchery, and others seemed to be trying to do both at the same time.

It was not easy to shock a pack of Raptors, but these cultists had succeeded in that unexpected task though, and it took a full second before the Astartes tore into the revelers with chainswords and bolt pistols. Caberel had far from a sensitive mind, but what had been going before his eyes had been unclean enough for him to feel slightly uneasy. Considering how enthusiastically the rest of the pack had killed the cultists, they felt the same.

It wasn't over yet though it seemed, someone arose in the far corner of the chamber. The Raptors turned immediately towards this new threat, and saw that it wasn't a mere cultist this time, it was a fellow Astartes standing in the shadows.

”Brothers,” the stranger sighed in a silk smooth voice. ”Oh, brothers. I know that the mortals were crude and boring, but could you not have let them finish? Just a few more minutes and the ritual would have been done. Now I will have to start all over again.”

The figure moved out into the candlelight, seemingly undisturbed by the weapons facing him. He wore jet-black armour with trimmings of both bright silver and shining gold, a purple mantle was draped over his shoulders, and he nonchalantly held a jagged force sword in his right hand. He was younger than Caberel had expected. Barely a few decades past implantation, he thought with surprise. The youthful stranger's face was smooth and unblemished, save for a god-rune on his left cheek, marking him as a follower of the Prince of Pleasure. Emerald eyes were gleaming with unnatural light above his pearly smile, and long, platinum blonde hair covered his head. Caberel had no doubt that it was a face that mesmerized mortals, the only feeling it woke in him though was the urge to hit it with a power-maul. Hard.

”Black Legion!”, he growled. ” Letting others fight your wars again, for you to stab them in the back!” The screechs and howls over the vox telling him that the rest of the pack shared his feelings.

”Now, now, Raptor,” the smiling sorcerer said in an amused voice. ”No need to get upset. You haven't suffered any losses here have you? My lord called in a favour, your lord answered. So far so good. We never said that we wanted this world, only that we wanted you to help the cultists. It's not really our fault if you never asked any further questions.”

Caberel would rather charge a Baneblade than admitting out loud that the arrogant bastard had a point, but they had been too blind, no one could deny that much. Just as he couldn't deny his curiosity about their motives though.

”What in the Nameless Hells is in that chest, that's worth faking a planetary rebellion over”, he said, and pointed angrily with his sword towards the center of the chamber.

”Oh, not much.” the sorcerer chuckled, and his eyes seemed to shine even stronger. ”Only the distilled souls of the enitre Danayk civilization. All 5 billion, or so, of them. Their priests-kings led them into worshipping the Pantheon, and thought that they could achieve Apotheosis as a species.” He snickered at the folishness the Xenos had displayed. ”Their botched understanding of the Warp ended in a ritual suicide that trapped all their souls in... 'that chest', as you put it.”

That was a statement to make even Caberel shocked. Powers Below! he thought. That many souls could fuel almost unimaginable sorcery, or open massive warp rifts on multiple planets.

It was no surprise to the Raptor that the Black Legionnaire sensed his surprise and continued to speak, even less so that he adressed him by his name.

Think what could be done with such power, Caberel. We both know that your present... employer... would let it go to waste, narrow-minded that he is.” Somehow his smile became even wider than before, and he sweetened his voice further. ”My master have always had a place for... sensible mercenaries, such warriors can rise high in the Black Legion.” He paused slightly. ”Old bloodlines wither after all, so why follow a relic of the past into oblivion? Let us discuss opportunities for your future instead.”

Caberel could feel the sorcerer using his his mindpowers, trying to influence him, probing thrusts in his mental defences. He could probably keep him at bay for a while yet, but he settled for a less straining strategy. So he lowered his weapons and made his voice sound slighty more complying as he spoke: ”Yes, there is much we could discuss.”

The sorcerer's smile was worthy of a barrasal shark, for a second or two. After that, three bolt pistols and a flamer erased it from existance and the Black Legionnaire fell to the ground like a marionette with it's stirngs cut. Caberel's own smile was triumphant behind his helmet.

”Oh, yes,” he said in a dry voice. ”There is much we could discuss. What do you think was your most stupid decision for example? Not using a helmet? Or having the idea that I would be as easily duped as those mortals? I can't really decide myself....” He fired his plasma pistol into the corpse before him to make certain the sorcerer was dead, then he activated his power sword and turned what was left into bloody slices, one could never be too careful in these cases after all. ”Forgive me for not giving you the courtesy of eating your gene-seed, I am afraid it would give me indigestion.”

He looked down on the remnants of the corpse for a couple of seconds, the young legionnaire might have been powerful, but he had been almost as stupid. It was true that mercenaries switched sides from time to time, successful mercenaries only did so when it was both in their interest though, and only when they had a good chance of getting away with it. Justinian might be a 'relic' he thought. But I'll take my chances with him and a whole Company, rather than with a sorcerer who's too arrogant to bring proper backup. The stupid bastard hadn't even considered that the Raptors had strategies prepared for just this kind of standoff. If Caberel ever lowered his weapons, without giving off the right screech first, the others were to fire upon whatever was before them. I guess I can be glad that none of them shot me 'by mistake' though he thought. He shrugged, he still lived after all, and Justinian would have to pay him a suitable bonus for today. He gave off a screech as he turned, and started walking back towards the surface. The rest of the pack followed behind him, with 'that chest' carried by Tarcsel and Frava.

 

 

Pictures then... I don't know how I managed to take such a good picture when I did the 'preview', all I know is that these pictures didn't turn out as good. They are 'Ok' though, so I'll settle for that.
 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0966._zps2qwxsnol.jpg

 

Shaizan and Frava to begin with

 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0968._zpsl9zv96ob.jpg

 

Tarcsel and Caberel then

 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0967._zpswpbfwwtn.jpg

 

You've already seen Flavio once, but this is how the new photo turned out...

 

I've had to do some extra 'final touches' on things like the edges of bases, I always tend to miss doing that before taking photos...

Anyway, these guys might have their sweet time to finish, but they're done now. C&C is of course always welcome. 

[deathspectersgt7]

Man I wish Sweden was close to Michigan. I would like to take on those Raptors With my soon to be Doom Eagles. The Raptors look Great by the way.

[MrBear]

As I seem to be on 'a roll' (well for me anyway) in regard to getting things done, I've taken the first baby steps on the next claw. Nothing much as you can see, but some details should be a bit more visible without those heavy weapons attached.

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0969_zpsf1lf9gsk.jpg

 

 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0970_zpscwe3mim0.jpg

 

 

Man I wish Sweden was close to Michigan. I would like to take on those Raptors With my soon to be Doom Eagles. The Raptors look Great by the way.

 

Distances can be a  sometimes. That battle, accompanied by a couple of brewskis, would have been great otherwise.  

[MrBear]

Progress keeps creeping along at a rather slow speed, it seems as if even during my vacation there are plenty of things keeping me from painting. That being said, there is some small evidence of things being done to 5th Claw.

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0971_zpshkqrcsd5.jpg

 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0972_zps3ycoxxwp.jpg

 

It's all very basic as you see, but I should be able to push them further along during the weekend atleast.

 

I've also started to do some research regarding the Horus Heresy, and a few tomes of ancient wisdom have been delivered to my doorstep by the postal service:

 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0977_zpsno2mqqig.jpg

 

These might steal some time from painting, but as they should give me a better feel for the Sons of Horus I think it's time well spent anyway, and I should hopefully be able to start some work on them in a couple of weeks. Better keep in mind that my estimates on the progress front tend to be... 'poor' though. 

[Chandrian]

5th Claw looks good Mr. Bear! Loving the mix of marks you have going on :P. 

[MrBear]

It's one of these rare 'update'-times again, and as usual, my plans haven't been able to keep up with the wings of time. Plenty pf good (and bad) reasons for that, but I'm not going to bore you with those, we'll go straight to the update instead!

 

 

 

”There were philosophers that said that there is none as patient as a buried man, that he alone was freed from the chains of time. As far as Dalinar was concerned though, every philosopher ever born, and those yet to be born all deserved to be buried alive themselves. The skinning pits are too good for the bastards, he thought. Dalinar usually regarded himself as rather phlegmatic and reasonable, but that didn't normally include having spent more than a day buried under three feet of earth in his powered down armour. No, he decided. Skin them first. Slowly. Then let them see how patient they feel under ground.

The one positive thing he could say about the experience was the fact that he had never before this considered how it could be used on mortals. It wasn't much of a silver lining to be honest, but it was the only one he was able to think about.

 

Oh, the reasons for spending his time in this state was probably good enough to be honest. Not that they made him enjoy the experience though. He had been preparing his Claw for the assault on the planetary capital, then the Captain had changed the plans. Seemingly because Caberel and his freak show had found something in the mountains. Whatever it had been, it had changed their whole operation though. Most of the Claws had been withdrawn back to The Darkest Hour, while those remaining had made short work of all the cultists in their areas. It had been an order that Dalinar and the rest of Fifth Claw had obeyed with grins upon their faces as the cultists had been nothing but troublesome from start. Apparently the Black Legion had planned to use them for their usual kind of treacheries, not that they had needed that explanation, any son of the VIIIth had betrayed 'allies' for far worse reasons than that.

 

He would have been a little bit less enthusiastic for the whole deed if he'd known the full extent of the Captain's plan though. Justinian had decided that without any spying cultists around, it would be easy enough to lure the Black Legion to a parley, and take them out with hidden Havocs. Dalinar wasn't so sure about the 'easy' part to be honest, but there was no denying that the plan had potentially brilliant details. Marines in powered down armour could easily spend a long time under ground for example, and would be neigh impossible to detect. That 'neigh impossible is a big 'if' though, he thought, We'll be easier to kill than a cripple in a murder duel if they spot us. It wasn't that he objected to taking chances, every battle was a dance with fate after all. He objected to unnecessary ones though. That was why he'd challenged Moresh for leadership of the Claw in the first place, that madman's thirst for the 'glory' of close combat had become too much of a threat for all of them. It had been a pity that the Captain hadn't allowed a murder duel in the end, but Moresh was Third Claw's problem now anyway so Dalinar didn't worry about it, he had other headaches.

 

From one second to the other, those problems became irrelevant, as his auspex chose to remind him that there were more pressing matters than the 'politics' within the Company. The information it provided almost caused him to let loose a howling laughter though. Two rhinos?! He thought in disbelief. The stupid bastards really must think that we want to parley.

It almost seemed to good to be true that the Black Legion would walk right into their trap, but Dalinar wasn't complaining. Instead he sent an alert to his Claw, to activate at his command. He swore to himself as they sent their acknowledgements back, they should know that they could be detected that way. That the Rhinos didn't veer off told him that they had been lucky, they hadn't been detected yet. As the veichles were coming closer and closer, Dalinar was prerparing for the strike. His auspex showing him both the approaching rhinos and the Captain's token delegation standing where they were supposed to be. He had memorized the landscape and could picture just when, and where they should strike to get the best effect.

 

With a sense of triumph rising within him, he signaled the others, and they rose from their shallow 'graves'. Eteokles was the first to fire, his lascannon striking the lead rhino in it's left flank, and causing it to slide to a stop. Dalinar wasn't the least surprised, the former Iron Warrior was probably the best shot in the Claw. Not that he particulary liked him, even after ten millennia there was a certain... 'stigma' to anyone leaving their Legion for another. It wasn't like he could blame him much for that though, the IVth were either stiff enough to make one suspect that the 'iron within' acutally had been shoved up their arses, or rage-filled maniacs howling for blood. Compared to those extremes, Eteokles wasn't half bad, he had a rudimentary sense of humour after all. Not that he occupants of the rhino he'd stopped would have any chance to appreciate it though as a krak missile fired by Tamas hit the exact spot as Eteokles and turned the veichle into a burning inferno.

Nice to see a plan going along as intended, he thought. Tamas might be a bit to teathrical for his taste, but there was no denying that he knew what he was doing. That skull at the muzzle is still stupid though, no one is ever going to be near enough to be frightened by it. He was fully prepared to overlook such eccentricities though, results mattered more after all.

 

The second rhino had skidded to a sudden halt in the short seconds since the fiery death of it's companion. and Dalinar could see it's hatches begin to open. Before any of it occupants could evacute it though, Argastes fired his lascannon. It was a bit slower than Dalinar might have prefered , but he'd never considered his brother to be particulary hasty to be honest. It was as if he existed in a parallel time of his own at times. That's why he'd paired him up with Raubin for this ambush, and the latter's missile flew through the air barely the fraction of an instant after Argastes had fired, proving Raubin's superior reflexes. Even so, the result was not as spectacular as when the first rhino exploded. With the missile not quite hitting the same section as the lascannon, the veichle might be effectivly destroyed, but the opening hatches was a clear sign that someone inside it had survived the alpha strike.

 

Time to do our part, Dalinar thought with a grin on his face as he and Hanama readied their weapons. It didn't matter that the plan had gone slightly wrong, after the time spent under ground he wanted to vent his frustration, and if that meant fighting the Black Legion he'd be thankful even for that.

It didn't take long for the first Black Legionnaire to stagger out of the wreck, but it took even less time for Hanama to place a bolter round through his target's left eye.

Dalinar didn't like show-offs, but as long as they did what they were supposed to be doing he could at least tolerate them. Hanama's roaring laughter as he picked off another enemy in the same way was more than a little irritating though. His own opportunity came just a few heatbeats later though, as a champion in ridiculously ornate armour tried to leave the rhino. He roared a warning to Hanama to stand down, and fired his pistol for the first time. The rest of the Company usually ridiculed him for all the effort he had to go through to keep a grav-pistol operational, but the triumphant feeling he felt when the champion instantly collapsed was worth all the jokes, and every single deal he'd had to do with Condeon in his workshop. Nothing more moved within the rhino and he felt an enormous grin split his face, the plan had actually worked better than he'd thought possible. He cared but little about 'glory', and even less for 'honor', but this was a triumph worth savouring. Eliminating their enemies without any losses of their own, and capturing an enemy champion? The Captain will reward me richly, he mused as he mag-locked his pistol to his armour and walked towards the rhino to secure his prisoner.”

 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0991__zpsu9gckgme.png

 

First out we have Dalinar himself, with Hanama at his side.

 

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0993__zpstviwehr7.png

 

Then we have (the less than quick) Argastes, with Raubin for backup

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0992__zpsrlu00keq.png

 

And last, but not least: Tamas and Eteokles.

 

Pretty decent pictures this time, not the best I've ever taken but 'decent' if nothing else. C&C is ofc always welcome. 

 

 

5th Claw looks good Mr. Bear! Loving the mix of marks you have going on . 

 

Thanks mate! I'm a sucker for trying to make every guy look individual so mixing different armour marks is a given. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I should perhaps add at this point that I'm going to put the Mongrels on hiatus for a while after this. I still have plenty of things I would like to add to them so don't worry about me abandoning the VIIIth for good, but I've been working on them for over two years now and need to do something else for a change.

 

I hope to start a new project log sometime soon(ish), with a focus on my planned Sons of Horus, this one will be updated at times aswell though as I won't be able to stay away from my pots of Kantor Blue.   

[deathspectersgt7]

Been awhile . Those Black Legion fools !! :P good to see a post . Once again the fluff and models are great .

[MrBear]

Been awhile . Those Black Legion fools !! good to see a post . Once again the fluff and models are great .

 

Thanks buddy! I've might have been a tiny bit harsh to the Black Legion here  ... I originally intended to include some background that explained why they acted they way they did, but as the Claw had taken such a long time to finish already I decided to skip that part. It might surface again in the future though.

 

As for now, I'm going to start practicing painting Sons of Horus. It's been a couple of months since I did the test model so I want to be sure that I know what I'm doing before starting work on this pile:

 

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m101/The-Bear-in-the-North/SAM_0994_zpsyqa56ahe.jpg

 

I'm pretty likely to invest in the coming Prospero box aswell, and some more FW stuff. Then there are a few character converions in the pipeline, and...

 

I guess I'll be pretty busy in the near future! 

[Brother Dallo]

Curious to see what you have planned for the beakie marine.

 

Keep up the good work, MrBear.

 

Dallo