The Liber Cluster

[Doctor Perils]

Done and done. The rays were transparent because I asked them to be, because I thought they might look better, but you were right about making them opaque. The Black Falcons did have the borders (that's the reason why I use a very dark grey rather then black), but I've thickened the border a bit to make it pop out more, though it does fill the eye up a bit.

I thought it would be a good idea to add the stripey version to see what it would look like.

I've also included to up-to-date versions of the Blackjaw kindred, one with spikes on the "chin" because the other one looked a bit empty, but I'll let you decide which you prefer, Wade

 

EDIT: here's the link again.

[Teetengee]

Looking pretty good to me. Also, I imagine the blackjaw kindred have some variation in chapter iconography.

[Wade Garrett]

Looking pretty good to me. Also, I imagine the blackjaw kindred have some variation in chapter iconography.

Oh, absolutely. I can see the one with spikes worn by a Patriarch (captain equivalent) as kind of a shout out to the flowing beard of Leman the Wise, showing that you've tempered your devotion to Guilliman/the Lion/Ferrus/Jaghatai etc with Russ's wisdom, thus you are suitable to lead a Circle.

[Doctor Perils]

 

Looking pretty good to me. Also, I imagine the blackjaw kindred have some variation in chapter iconography.

Oh, absolutely. I can see the one with spikes worn by a Patriarch (captain equivalent) as kind of a shout out to the flowing beard of Leman the Wise, showing that you've tempered your devotion to Guilliman/the Lion/Ferrus/Jaghatai etc with Russ's wisdom, thus you are suitable to lead a Circle.

 

I think Olis's review of the whole thread will be great, because of all the information latecomers miss. "Leman the Wise" is brilliant :P

[Nomus Sardauk]

Am I the only one who wants to show the Kindred's lore to everyone in the SW forum just to see their reactions? :D

[Wade Garrett]

Let's see...

 

Corax is a masked trickster god.

 

Leman Russ is a white bearded wizard.

 

Guilliman is an angry red war god.

 

Vulkan is the angry gatekeeper of Hell.

 

The Khan is Oceanic Granny Judge Dredd.

 

Dorn is the Grim Reaper, but he's a coolguy Grim Reaper who punches daemons with his hands of stone that are literally hands of stone so they don't mess with the virtuous souls he's escorting to Paradise.

 

Ferrus Manus is a boisterous snake girl who forgets that not everyone likes to play by tossing mountains around.

 

Sanguinus is a red bearded red haired god of forging and art with cyborg wings who is also kind of crazy.

 

And the Lion is Joan of Arc who is also a lion, protector of hearth and home and also she grants bountiful harvests and watches over mothers and children.

 

So, that's Imperial Fist and Raven Guard successors who WON'T blow a gasket at the Blackjaw Chaplains when they open their mouths.

[Olis]

 

 

Looking pretty good to me. Also, I imagine the blackjaw kindred have some variation in chapter iconography.

Oh, absolutely. I can see the one with spikes worn by a Patriarch (captain equivalent) as kind of a shout out to the flowing beard of Leman the Wise, showing that you've tempered your devotion to Guilliman/the Lion/Ferrus/Jaghatai etc with Russ's wisdom, thus you are suitable to lead a Circle.

 

I think Olis's review of the whole thread will be great, because of all the information latecomers miss. "Leman the Wise" is brilliant

 

:lol:

 

I have to get the Conclusion of the EWC done first (and Ace will need to post up the final, final battle first for me to complete it) and I'm fairly sure that trying to work out which battles were actually a part of the second wave (not the first) will drive me slightly mad. The Third wave is easy, seeing as I kept reposting a list of the work to be done. 

 

Doing the new Summary for the 2.0 thread, however, will require fine-tooth combing the entire thread (probably more than once) and formatting a post so that all the information is presented in a manner that won't send newbies fleeing for the hills. Hopefully. :P

[Ace Debonair]

I have to get the Conclusion of the EWC done first (and Ace will need to post up the final, final battle first for me to complete it) and I'm fairly sure that trying to work out which battles were actually a part of the second wave (not the first) will drive me slightly mad. The Third wave is easy, seeing as I kept reposting a list of the work to be done. 

 

Doing the new Summary for the 2.0 thread, however, will require fine-tooth combing the entire thread (probably more than once) and formatting a post so that all the information is presented in a manner that won't send newbies fleeing for the hills. Hopefully.

I'm working on it in the background.

It's going to be quite big, though.

If I can get the overall thing to be less than 2,000 words I'll be quite pleased.

 

My intention is to have each Chapter involved (everybody except the Eagles of Glory*, Conflagrators* and Black Judges*) playing to their strengths (or at least taking roles they are good at) and doing what they do best while the Lords Inviolate maintain a constant, unshakable presence in all facets of the battle.

 

For what it's worth, this is also probably going to be the first battle the Angels Exultant and Aetheric Swords fight shoulder-to-shoulder in.

 

* Do not despair, they're not being left out for malicious reasons. They've got their own battle that I intend to leave mostly unexplored, to go along with Conn's original vision of leaving some gaps in the lore.

[Teetengee]

-snip-

My intention is to have each Chapter involved (everybody except the Eagles of Glory*, Conflagrators* and Black Judges*) playing to their strengths (or at least taking roles they are good at) and doing what they do best while the Lords Inviolate maintain a constant, unshakable presence in all facets of the battle.-snip-

 

-snip-

I do not want to be a citizen on that planet/ship. Or actually anyone or anything on that planet/ship. Or that planet/ship.

 

 

-snip-

 

For what it's worth, this is also probably going to be the first battle the Angels Exultant and Aetheric Swords fight shoulder-to-shoulder in.

 

-snip-

Yay, sane angels (well mostly)!

[Nomus Sardauk]

So, that's Imperial Fist and Raven Guard successors who WON'T blow a gasket at the Blackjaw Chaplains when they open their mouths.

 

...So should we add something to them so everyone's mad at us? Ya'know, for fairness.  

[Olis]

I've just had a thought. Dangerous, I know, but bear with me. 

 

Does anyone remember me posting up Chapter Master Hellfyre and annotating the image with the line "Just imagine this guy with ebony skin"? Well, iirc, Salamanders only have ebony skin because of Nocturne's sun. So, in the absence of Nocturne's star how does Lord Hellfyre (and by extension the Conflagrators) have skin that is black as pitch? Well... they ritually cover themselves in charcoal or ash or pitch. Simples.

 

However, seeing as they are using ash too, they would not be uniformly ebony. They'd also be grey and white, but the main thrust of this is the whole ritual. Thoughts? 

[Conn Eremon]

Could work, I'd be fine with it. :tu:

 

My own interpretation is that Salamander gene-seed is over-reactive to radiation (in the way all Space Marine gene-seed is to a degree, barring the sons of Corax), and the physical effects can become permanent with prolonged exposure.

 

The unique radiation emanating from Nocturne creates the unique appearance of the Salamanders Legion and later Chapter, but this interpretation leaves room for varying changes in appearance based around other exotic forms of radiation. My Storm Bearers explored that with the idea of "electromagnetic" radiation, which may or may not be a real thing, lending them an appearance borrowed liberally from Storm of X-Men fame.

 

Forge World kind of put a damper on it by saying their appearance is pre-Nocturne, one of the few examples of when I have ignored FW for the sake of a preferred headcanon.

[Olis]

Another thought occurs: They'd still inherit the Salamanders' red eyes. I quite like that idea, actually. Imagine the scene, a Conflagrator is attending the Conclave, spouting off pretty vehemently and regarding his peers with eyes of crimson and an ashen face. It's almost... barbaric.

 

Suddenly, they've become a little bit less human to me. :lol: 

[Conn Eremon]

Two thoughts, both centered around the idea of a symbolic importance of the ash:

 

Like their forefathers, their lost brethren are burned. Only, instead of dropping them into a volcano, it's Darth Vader style and they collect the ashes into the, I dunno, Ashen Pit.

 

Alternatively, they take a page from the headhunting White Scars and it's the ashes of vanquished foes that fill the Pit.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Sound good to me, I see no reason why that couldn't be some kind of Chapter ritual, it works well with their culture anyway. :)

[Olis]

Disposal of dead brothers by cremation sounds suitable to me. What happens with the ashes, though, feels like an open question. Would they use the ashes in rituals? A little dark, I know, but we are exploring a hidden, savage side to the disagreeable Conflagrators. Or maybe they simply use urns? A little pedestrian but strange in its mundanity, given their usual nature... 

[Nomus Sardauk]

Hey Olis, don't the Veteran Conflagrators paint white flames on their armour? Maybe a pinch of the ashes of dead brothers is mixed into the white paint, the belief could be that doing so allows the dead to watch over their brothers and protect them from taint and the witchery of the foe?

Also, this has given me an idea for the place the Conflagrators keep the ashes of their dead;

The Glade of Cinders

Deep beneath the Conflagrators' Fortress-Monastary lies perhaps the Chapter's holiest site, the Glade of Cinders. A vast artificial cavern built into the very bedrock of Cardinalis, the Glade is a vast cemetery filled with pyrophyte plant life, fiery braziers and marble plinths upon which sit the urns that contain the Chapter's hallowed dead, an infernal Elysium of which only a Conflagrator could conceive.

The Glade is shaped like a vast dome, it's interior divided into concentric rings between which trenches full of burning coals bathe the vast chamber in a hellish glow, the higher a marines ranks in life, the closer to the centre of the Glade he will rest. A single causeway known as the Path of Ash runs from the entrance of the Glade to it's centre, bridging the fiery moats between rings. Wide enough for an entire company to stand shoulder-to-shoulder within and lined with the charred corpses of the Chapter's greatest foes tied to the very stakes their were burnt upon, the Path is a grim testament to it's masters' holy work. Finally, at the Glade's heart the former Chapter Masters and High Reclusiarchs slumber before a colossal statue of the God-Emperor sat upon his Golden Throne, forged from the finest jewels & most precious metals and hand crafted by the only the most skilled artisans of Cardinalis.

Between the flaming trenches, the ever-present braziers of flame and the lack of proper ventilation the Glade is mercilessly hot, with it's human groundskeepers unable to even enter without specialised environmental suits to prevent a swift death by heatstroke, meaning only the Conflagrators themselves may enter without concern. Indeed, some Battle-Brothers even use the Glade as a place of spiritual and mental succour, meditating within it's sweltering depths to focus their minds and reflect upon important events & decisions.

[Doctor Perils]

Hey Olis, don't the Veteran Conflagrators paint white flames on their armour? Maybe a pinch of the ashes of dead brothers is mixed into the white paint, the belief could be that doing so allows the dead to watch over their brothers and protect them from taint and the witchery of the foe?

 

Also, this has given me an idea for the place the Conflagrators keep the ashes of their dead;

 

The Glade of Cinders

 

Deep beneath the Conflagrators' Fortress-Monastary lies perhaps the Chapter's holiest site, the Glade of Cinders. A vast artificial cavern built into the very bedrock of Cardinalis, the Glade is a vast cemetery filled with pyrophyte plant life, withered dead trees, fiery braziers and marble plinths upon which sit the urns that contain the Chapter's hallowed dead, an infernal paradise of which only a Conflagrator could conceive.

 

The Glade is shaped like a vast dome, it's interior is divided into concentric rings between which rivers of molten magma flow, the higher a marines ranks in life, the closer to the centre of the Glade he will rest.

 

A single causeway known as the Path of Ash runs from the entrance of the Glade to it's centre, bridging the volcanic moats between rings. Wide enough for an entire company to stand shoulder-to-shoulder within and lined with the charred corpses of the Chapter's greatest foes tied to the very stakes their were burnt upon, the Path is a grim testament to it's masters' holy work. Finally at the Glade's heart the former Chapter Masters and High Reclusiarchs slumber before a colossal statue of the God-Emperor sat upon his Golden Throne, forged from the most finest jewels and precious metals and hand crafted by the only the most skilled artisans of Cardinalis.

 

Between the molten rivers of magma, the ever-present braziers of flame and the lack of proper ventilation the Glade is mercilessly hot, with it's human groundskeepers unable to even enter without specialised environmental suits to prevent death by heatstroke, meaning only the Conflagrators themselves may enter without concern, some Battle-Brothers use the Glade as a place of spiritual and mental succour, meditating within it's sweltering depths to focus their minds and reflect upon important events & decisions.

 

This is very cool in my opinion, though I would replace the rivers of molten magma, because it just seems a bit too gimmicky.

[Conn Eremon]

I kind of agree with Thorn. Perhaps have carved, shallow trenches with softly burning embers to keep the heat and atmosphere.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Done, also should I keep the name as the Glade of Cinders or change it to Glade of Embers?

[Doctor Perils]

Done, also should I keep the name as the Glade of Cinders or change it to Glade of Embers?

I'd say Cinders, as cinders are what remain once a fire has died down, Embers are still smouldering. Unless the Conflagrators have reincarnation or somesuch in their chapter beliefs, I'd say cinders sound more tragic.

 

Embers could be worked in some way into the chapter's recruitment process ?

[Nomus Sardauk]

 

Done, also should I keep the name as the Glade of Cinders or change it to Glade of Embers?

I'd say Cinders, as cinders are what remain once a fire has died down, Embers are still smouldering. Unless the Conflagrators have reincarnation or somesuch in their chapter beliefs, I'd say cinders sound more tragic.

 

Embers could be worked in some way into the chapter's recruitment process ?

 

 

Good point, Cinders it is. Jeez, all this talk about fire terminology is giving me Dark Souls vibes again. 

 

Perhaps the recruitment process for the Conflagrators could be called the Trial of Embers?

[Olis]

Really liking the Glade of Cinders there, SanguiniusReborn. Very thematic - I'll be sure to add it to the Conflagrators post.:tu:

[Nomus Sardauk]

Really liking the Glade of Cinders there, SanguiniusReborn. Very thematic - I'll be sure to add it to the Conflagrators post.

 

Glad you like it Olis, I had a lot of fun creating it. :)

[Olis]

Having slept on the whole recruitment thing, I think just calling it the Trial by Fire might work. Except... it's not strictly about fire. It's just a fight to the death in a series of bouts, first as a free-for-all then as one-on-one duels. No fuss, no muss. The Conflagrators don't want pansies, after all.

 

There'll probably be fires somewhere, as the majority of hazards most likely, but the bulk of the aspirants (supplicants?) would have to fight and die with improvised melee weapons at best. And - a little something I thought of during breakfast - the 'aspirants' would be called anything but that. Prior to the actual fighting, I can imagine chaplain-devotees referring to them as "kindling" or some such, in a half-derogatory way.