++ March of the Legions: XVIII Legion ++

[Castiel]

"Revenge ... REVENGE? I'll show you revenge, traitor scum! I am fire! I am ... death!"

- Kor'Vesh, during the boarding of the Battlebarge "Karalias' Faith"

 

Been watching the Hobbit have we? :P

[Zujara]

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af182/Zujara/Legions/xviii1_zpscdb5d02e.jpg

 

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af182/Zujara/Legions/xviii2_zps1d30b5e6.jpg

 

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af182/Zujara/Legions/xviii3_zps8abbf92d.jpg

 

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af182/Zujara/Legions/xviii4_zps5688dc91.jpg

 

http://i1006.photobucket.com/albums/af182/Zujara/Legions/xviii5_zpscd210bb8.jpg

 

Centurion Ashurn commanded a small force tasked with aiding Imperial worlds in need and were absent from the massacre at Istvaan V. Too small a force to oppose the traitors in a direct battle, he spent the Heresy commanding hit and run attacks to gain some measure of revenge.

[KBA]

Well, brothers, I might not finish this one on time. The heat went out in our house and for the last couple of weeks, it's been too cold to sculpt anything with the green stuff being so hard the tools barely making a dent in it. I will try, but it's gonna be REAL close if I make it.

Last couple of weeks?? Damn, BCK, hope things are turning up. I think I'd die if that happened here, so that's cool you're at least in Texas. Same boat for me timewise. Not a lick of paint on mine yet, but hey, there's always that easy-out, make-up month in the future! Seriously though, this one might be failed.

[Slips]

Yeah, hopefully things shape up for you; though consider that you would literally die if you lived here and heating was off for that long, so you DONT got that going for you, which is nice...

..I'm actually pretty glad now that I got goaded into finishing my MotL Entry in a single day by fellow frater

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

The winters are usually very mild here, but the temp has hovered in the mid 40s for the last few weeks. We have a few space heaters, but mostly I was fully dressed until I went to bed. My room has the dubious honor of being the hottest one in the whole house regardless of season, so that helped a little bit.

 

And then it was 74 today. *shrug*

 

I think I can finish up the sculpting tomorrow by using my little putty oven to speed up the curing time and painting shouldn't take too long.

[apologist]

Sorry to hear about teh heating ,BCK – seems somehow unfitting that it should occur during Salamanders month!

This one may be a little snug for me too. I've got a couple of hours tonight to get him painted, and then I'm away from the painting desk until February.

Still, a bit of time pressure never did the Astartes any harm, did it? :)

[EdT]

My fire extinct, my forge decayed
By the side of my bench, my old vice is laid
My anvil and hammer lie gathering dust
My powerful bellows have lost their thrust

Hearts now cased in steel

To a blacksmith’s prayer I will kneel

 

Those burning sparks, they scorched the dirt
They lit the sky and fell to earth
I smelt and forged, fused and bent
I dug the core, now my years are spent
Hearts now cased in steel

To a blacksmith’s prayer I will kneel

 

- Traditional Nocturnean folk-lament, M31, origin unknown but believed to be Terran.

 

 

"Some say Istvaan was a punishment. Others, that it destroyed all we hold dear. Yet the Canticle of Immolation teaches us otherwise. We face a test; a Time of Trial more difficult, and more demanding, than any other. It is right that we face this ordeal alone, without our father. For only through recourse to the inner fire can we forge a new Imperium from the ruins of the old."

H'shedar, Lieutenant, and last survivor of, 42nd Company, XVIII Legion

[Kor'Vesh]

Zujara and EdT - awesome stuff, two greens that are completely different to anything I've seen before this thread and I love them both. Awesome work!

 

The saurian-hound is a great addition EdT, and the fluff - now THAT is a real Salamander right there!

[Flint13]

Oh that is absolutely lovely, Ed. 

 

The snow base makes me super happy. 

[Carlson793]

Thought I'd go for an early point in the XVIII^th's history: that moment, after years of secret training with the Emperor, that Primarch Vulkan was revealed to the Legion he would soon command...

 

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/Carlson793/image1_1.jpg

 

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/Carlson793/image2.jpg

 

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/Carlson793/image3.jpg

 

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/Carlson793/image4.jpg

 

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/Carlson793/image8.jpg

 

 

Pride in the Legion

 

Since my youth on Titan, I have longed to represent my home planet, to prove the resilience and strength of the children of the ringed world. I was recruited in secret into the Legiones Astartes, and when I learned I was to be part of the XVIII^th, my pride knew no bounds. The XVIII^th...the Saturnyne Rams. As the years have passed, I have collected souvenirs of my home and its symbolic animal, images and icons from throughout history to remind me of where I came from, and for what I would be fighting.

 

And finally, after long weeks and months, I will add my own work to my collection. It has been a labor, but soon I will bear upon my armour a fitting tribute to this, our Saturnyne Legion.

 

It is not my first attempt. With each iteration, I have waited for a sign, something to tell me that my work is complete. The sign never comes, and so I begin again, the old metal returned to the flame to be reborn. Yet something tells me that this will be my last attempt; that soon I will have my sign. I can feel it as I step back from the anvil, look down upon the nearly finished icon. There has been an air about the flag ship today that has nothing to do with our arrival in the Taras Division.

 

Outside my forge, footsteps approach. I hear the scraping squeal of boots as Orasus slides to a stop at the door.

 

“He found Him! The Emperor found Vulkan! Our Primarch is coming! He’ll join us after we reach Antaem!”

 

My shoulders sag in a sigh of greatest relief. If ever there was a sign that my work was compl…

 

"He's sent word ahead. He’s been going over our progress with the Emperor. After our next action, we'll be moving to the Nocturne system."

 

A new world for the Saturnyne Creed to flourish on.

 

Orasus leans back through the doorway.

 

“Oh, and rumor has it Vulkan is not a fan of the ram iconography. He wants us to replace them with drag…on...“

 

I can feel his eyes staring through me at the forge, at the masterwork which lies there.

 

“Oh… Um…” He looks at me. “Bad timing?”

 

…

 

…

 

I hear the XVI^th is set on that whole ‘luna wolf’ motif. Perhaps a transfer is in order...

[Slips]

I'm at maximum Likes :(

[Carlson793]

I'm at maximum Likes

S'okay, Slips... I'll add that down as one on my off-site tally . I've had to post low-res decal sheets (as opposed to my hi-res originals), so I feel your pain.

[depthcharge12]

http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac316/treacyjohn2/a2f6e30eca182b5ae1d1ee1357a50786_zps61c02a6f.jpg

[Millicant]

Malik Eyrkin was often at the forefront of assault formations. Eschewing his shield in favor of a heavier weapon, he covered his squad-mates as the group advanced. Malik was often seen as the first to hit the enemy line, smashing his way into the area cleared by his flamer with the thunder hammer. His last campaign was against a xenos species which was exterminated by the Salamanders prior to the compliance of 94-24. A small human colony was threatened by the xenos. Before even making contact with the surviving humans, the XVIII Legion and its auxiliaries purged the xenos. Malik was lost during the fighting, presumed dead.

This is not up to my usual standards, unfortunately. I have more/better fluff and more painting to do, but I ended up having to knock this out in 2 nights (so about 3 hours). I plan to follow up with a little more high-quality presentation.

[apologist]

Sjorisar, he-that-is-called Temesgen

 

And just as it was recited in the Woeful times, the same was told in the time of Stone. And just as in the time of Stone, it was told that what was eighteen would become divided in seven portions; one each for the cities of the Land. And the ram would be split into seven portions likewise, one each for the cities of the Land.

 

And the portions of the ram would be transformed into the spirits of fire. And the spirits of fire were giants. And the giants were known then as Salamanders.

 

– Folk-myth of the Acerbian sea-gypsies –

 

 

 

'The XVIII Legion Astartes. Ah, what can be said of the sons of Nocturne? Humility. Nobility. Dignity. These three – perhaps alone amongst the Astartes – are the virtues of the Salamanders. And yet... what man could come to admire such devilish faces, such flashing eyes, such burning wrath?

 

Yes, better they become a warning. Better they become the devils in the dark.'

 

 

 

+ inload decrypt: Non-standard occulobe endemic in VI, VIII, XVIII genesperm.

+ Intergration: Terran-descent 3%; Fenrisian 40%, Nostroman 41%, Nocturean 98%* [*failure of synth-join equatable to Legion rejection].

+ Analysis: additional tapetum lucida layer provoked; low-light vision improved substantially. Successful infra-vision uptake in all successful integration. Thickened layer reflects carmine eyeshine; substantially pronounced in specimens showing melanchromic reaction.

+ Additional: Nostroman and Fenrisian phenotype shows high integration, but low pheomelanin reaction reduces effacity and visual effects – consider failure/altering recrutiment?. Specimens exposed to Nocturnean spore photoproduct endemic to recruitment planet show semi-permanent cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer formation; <spec.> a result of selection pressures on local population? </spec> Formation is exacerbated by non-standard melanchrome of Legion XVIII; and inhibited to nil by that of Legion VIII. Breakdown of melanin chains can take upwards of two decades <spec. based on initial suggested trends> removal from spores.

+ Action: None necessary: psychological impact on hostile human populations substantially improves Compliance projections. Non-standard melanchrome renders XVIII Legion specimens virtually immune to low-level visual radiation damage. Casualty ratings substantially (ca. 3% lower vs. rad-phage weaponry) lowered; recovery ratings (ca. 17% faster) than comparable Legio VI/VIII specimens; lower only than X and XIV (both ~5/15% ~19% respectively).

 

+++

 

Remember Sjorisar! Hold him high in esteem! Pillar of Terra, strength of the Emperor, eye-seeker of reknown.

 

Remember Sjorisar! As we bathe in fire; as we blacken and smoulder; remember Sjorisar!

 

Sjorisar Spear-caster! His name be remembered for ten thousand lifetimes even as we burn it away.

 

Stand forth, Sjorisar Spear-caster. Divest yourself, step forward in the baptismal flames.

 

Gone is Sjorisar! Remember Sjorisar!

 

Stand forth, Temesgen! Stand forth fire-borne! Hail Temesgen! He-that-was-another-and-is-now-Temesgen everafter!

 

Hail Temesgen of Themis! 

 

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

Welp, another cold front rolled in last night and temps are back the 40s, so there's no way I'll be able to finish on time.

[Carlson793]

Damn... sorry to hear that BCK.

[Brother-Chaplain Kage]

It took me too long to decide what to do. I probably could have finished before the heat went out otherwise. There's supposed to be someone coming to look at it and hopefully repair it on Monday.

[Phalanx Warder]

Oh how I long to be apart of this momentous effort, but time is no longer my friend. instead I get to look at your efforts from the graveyard shift and wish!

 

My compliments to you all.

 

Phalanx Warder

[Slips]

Oh how I long to be apart of this momentous effort, but time is no longer my friend. instead I get to look at your efforts from the graveyard shift and wish!

 

My compliments to you all.

 

Phalanx Warder

The month of the VIIth Legion shall be glorious indeed!

[Phalanx Warder]

 

Oh how I long to be apart of this momentous effort, but time is no longer my friend. instead I get to look at your efforts from the graveyard shift and wish!

 

My compliments to you all.

 

Phalanx Warder

The month of the VIIth Legion shall be glorious indeed!

 

indeed (eyes the driver of my Gleave)

[Ezeriel]

Sor'thir, the Vengeful Flame

Sor'thir was part of a small fleet far from the rest of the legion when the call to Istvaan arrived. So it was that the fleet arrived too late and was spared the fate of those in the first wave. Him and his brothers watched as the rest of the legion were slaughtered both on the planet and in space. The fleet barely escaped and eventually met up with other survivors and would go on to hamper the efforts of the traitors for the rest of the Heresy.

After the Heresy, he did not return to Nocturne to help rebuild the legion but joined other small bands in the Scouring to purge the traitors from Imperial space. Him and those of the XVIII that joined him fought any and all traitors they came across, but were particularly zealous when confronted by any members of the VIII or XIV legions.

[Grotsmasha]

++ Subject: Veteran Ben'tyre Shen ++

++ Status: Loyalist, XVIII Legion ++

++ Location: Deceased, Istvaan V ++

++ Time-stamp: =]DATA CORRUPTED[= ++

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ben’tyre Shen fell to his knees in the dust, disbelief in his eyes, despair in his twin hearts. A mere 500 paces distant, the Primarch, his Primarch had fallen. They had fought day and night without respite, the Night Lords had been relentless in their assaults. The XVIIIth had suffered an extreme amount of casualties when the newly revealed traitors opened fire with their first barrage. The Salamanders had been assaulted on all fronts, and from within by presumed Alpha Legionnaires in XVIIIth Legion armour, from afar by Iron Warrior barrages and up close and personal by The Night Lords.

But now, it all seemed for nought. Vulcan has fallen. 500 feet of brawling melee, brothers and foe, wiped from existence in one massive barrage. Ben’tyre watched and waited, looking for Vulcan to rise. He did not.

Slowly, legionnaires on the peripheral of the explosion began to rise, beginning the fight anew. A flame ignited in Shen’s chest as a Night Lord began to stir before him. He would pay, they would all pay. Ben’tyre launched from his knees, up and into a run, he was onto the Night Lord before he’d regained his feet. Activating his power fist, Ben’tyre pummelled the legionnaires’ helm, blow after blow until the faceplate, and bone and flesh beneath was nought but ruin. Looking up from the brutality, two more Night Lords had begun to advance on him, smiling beneath his helm, he snatched a krak grenade from his fresh kill and hurled it at the closer of the two. Still recovering from the blast, the Night Lord took the blast full on in the chest, his torso disintegrating leaving his limbs to fall to the dust. Three rounds hammered his mkIII plate as the remaining Night Lord opened fire. Drawing his incinerator pistol, Shen doused the Night Lord in super-heated promethium, not enough to put him down, but enough to allow Ben’tyre time to regain his feet and charge anew.

He would not die this day. He would not cease until Vulkan was found, until not a single traitor stood.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

[Twisty]

Takon´dwa

Captain of the 17th company XVIII Legion, The Grey Dragon of Skarokk

http://i.imgur.com/XLDWYcC.jpg?2

Terran born and as stubborn as the ram he bore in the early year of the crusade, Takon´dwa served for many years as a line officer before he was forced to take command during the Taras campaign. Picking up the hammer of his fallen captain he and his company held the line against the Orks for three days until Vulkan arrived with reinforcements.

http://i.imgur.com/aktzYUS.jpg?2

When Vulkan announced the reformation of the legion Takon´dwa was skeptical at first but soon began to respect and love Nocturnian culture, and spending a year traveling between the settlements he learnt their ways. It was in the sanctuary city of Sarokk that he earned the title "The Grey Dragon" after taking part in a traditional drake hunting challenge. Competing against three other Astartes and a dozen veteran hunters from the settlement he not only brought back the largest drake, but one whose scales where as pale as ash. Gaining the respect and admiration of his fellow contestants for bringing back such a rare beast, they named him honorary member of Clan Sarokk and "The Grey Dragon".

http://i.imgur.com/hPvj2mF.jpg?3

Tarok´dwa was last seen leading a charge towards Vulkan´s last know position on Isstvan V. His cloak was later seen decorating a World eaters Land Raider at the siege of Terra.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally managed to get this guy finished, but he was a real pain in the butt to photograph

I didn´t realize until i was writing down the back story for him that his cloak and all the other scaly bits should be grey/white. I had the idea for his title in my head during the entire painting process based on the fact that his hair is grey but for some reason I never thought about making his scales grey as well, I might go back and change that some day. Until then I´ll just say that he only uses the grey cloak during special occasions and ceremonies.

[Castiel]

http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg605/Castiel25/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150131_163604_zps4e3b832a.jpg

http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg605/Castiel25/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150131_163614_zps65f1e694.jpg

http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg605/Castiel25/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150131_163623_zps3be8079f.jpg

http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg605/Castiel25/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150131_163631_zps121955fe.jpg

http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg605/Castiel25/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150131_163647_zps1cdb52c6.jpg

http://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg605/Castiel25/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20150131_163552_zpsc438baa3.jpg

 

Commander Na'vash of the Salamanders 3rd Chapter, 6th company stalked across the black sands of Istvaan V. His once pristine armour was scuffed and battered from the assault into the lines of the traitors, and the field on his storm shield was flickering temperamentally. The blade of his sword crackled as the blood of traitors cooked off its surface. He was in a black mood, and his rage burned hot. Bad enough that Horus and his whelps had turned their backs on the Emperor, but this cowardly strike by their supposed "allies" that had crippled the Imperial strike was nothing but an act of gross cowardice. He grunted as he slammed a traitor wearing he colours of Lorgar's accursed Word Bearers off his feet, the strike sending the marine pinwheeling away, his limbs spasming as the shock from the protective field overloaded his systems. With barely a thought he ran a World Eater through, letting the marine slide contemptuously off his blade. He had arrived on the surface via deepstrike with a full 20 Firedrakes behind him, and now only 6 remained with him. The wealth of equipment and experienced brothers he was leaving behind on this cursed world sickened him. A flash of light and a grunt from over his shoulder followed by another light blinking out on his visor told him that another of his brothers had fallen to the lascannon of an Iron Warrior. A scrum of Sons of Horus appeared before him, and he broke into a lumbering run, the fastest Cataphractii plate ever got. He hit them like a bowling ball, broken marines brushed aside and falling pierced by his blade, bludgeoned by his shield or trampled under his boots. His remaining brothers charged in, their hammers, making short work of the remaining whelps of the Archtraitor.

 

A voice broke through on the vox " Commander, Thunderhawk Nocturne's Fire landing at your position imminent. Prepare for emergency extraction. Over"

 

"Roger that," he replied, spearing another Son of Horus. "Firedrakes, extraction imminent, prepare yourselves."

 

The Firedrakes broke in different directions, clearing a space for the Thunderhawk to land. A few scattered loyalists managed to join the growing cordon, a thin line against the traitor masses. Downwash from the hawk blew across them, and the hammering of guns from above punished the traitors around the landing site, giving the loyalists precious seconds to embark. Na'vash was last on board, slashing a last traitor in the garb of the Night Lords to the ground contemptuously. He pulled off his helmet as he embarked, turning to spit a gobbet of acidic saliva onto the corpse of the last traitor to fall to his blade, his red eyes burning. The drop ramp lifted and the Thunderhawk broke for orbit, chased and rattled by traitor fire. Na'vash looked around at the motley crew in his dangerously overloaded transport, mostly Salamanders, but with the occasionally Raven Guard in amongst them. All of them were slashed and battered, looking exhausted from the fight on the surface. They looked to him for some for of guidance as the Thinderhawk finally cleared the range of the traitor guns. "We will have vengeance." he promised, before stalking to the cockpit to be appraised of the current status of the XVIII Legion. Grim, he suspected.