The Raven that becomes the Night - fluff C&C requuested

[muggs]

Here is some fluff I have written to justify including a Darkwing in my 30k Force - any Scandinavians who could correct my Old Norse would be appreciated!

 

The Raven that becomes the Night – HRAFEN SEM WURCUR NOTT

Hrafen sem vurthur Nott (fenrisian)

aka Noctua 7

 

Designation: Storm Eagle Gunship Kiavahr Pattern – Darkwing

 

The saga of this particular gunship is one of coincidence, luck and some may say fate, a convoluted set of occurrences causing it to fall into the hands of The Rout.

 

Originally manufactured on the XIX Legion world of Kiavahr the Darkwing Gunship was designated Noctua 7 and assigned to the 29^th Company under Captain Torisian during the resupply immediately prior to the doomed Istvaan Campaign. After successfully inserting a number of recon squads, Noctua 7 was en route to resupply at a Word Bearer held Castellum complex when it started to take fire and receive news of the perfidity of their supposed allies and the destruction of the majority of the 29^th Comapny. Deciding to immediately rendez-vous with the fleet, the flight crew made to the nearest Raven Guard vessel – the stike cruiser Shadow’s Blade; barely had they had time to refit and refuel before Shadow’s Blade was destroyed. Answering the call for assault craft issued by Shadow of the Emperor they made their way to the flagship, only to be caught up in its destruction.

 

After the culmination of the Void war above Istvaan, Noctua 7 was taken by a Word Bearers salvage team and taken to the cruiser Sublime Betrayal, along with a significant portion of materiel from the surface of Istvaan V and surrounding void. Sublime Betrayal had taken significant damage and along with other similarly damaged vessels made way to the minor Forge World of Minalto. In a rare instance of the warp not favouring the forces of the Traitors, the Sublime Betrayal suffered significant chrono-temporal discrepancy, arriving three real-side years after leaving for a journey apparently taking them only a few weeks.

 

Unfortunately for them, during those years, loyalist factions in Minalto had staged a coup d’état, ousting the agents of Kelbor Hal with the aid of the VI Legion. Elements of which had recently arrived for refit and resupply, most significantly, Gunnar Digri’s Great Company aboard the vanguard cruiser Star Kraken. On the Sublime Betrayal transitioning in system, Gunnar and the Minalton Conclave had decided to affect an ambush, answering its hails for aid with instructions to make for low anchor and enter the orbital dry docks, the VI legion fleet assets having hidden themselves behind Minalto’s largest moon Gamma 3. Once docked Minalton Magi immediately secured the Enginarium, ostensibly to repair the damaged plasma drives; once the treat of self-destruction had been avoided, Gunnar with his VI legion and allied Minalton elements cleansed the Word Bearers presence from the ship.

 

Thus Noctua 7 entered the Gunnar Digri’s inventory. Noctua 7 was to be a puzzle Ivar Silfrsidr struggled to solve. On taking possession of the vessel, he recognised it to be one of the XIX legion’s famed Darkwing pattern Storm Eagles, and was eager to employ it against the Traitors. Unfortunately, the machine spirit of Noctua 7 was cynical and untrusting and refused all Sifrsidr’s attempts to commune with it. Given that the Word Bearers had been in the process of introducing a warp-spawned data entity to its logic-cores before they were destroyed this reluctance was unsurprising.

 

The breakthrough happened with the finding of the mixed band of Astartes known as the ‘Survivors of the Death of Reason’, specifically the Raven Guard Techmarine Kharl Serpax. Serpax was relatively junior in his role, having only recently rejoined the ranks of the Legion after secondment to Mars and subsequently Kiavahr; with great fortitude he had made the pursuit of the arcane secrets of the Tech Guilds and their assimilation into commonly used Astartes STC constructs the focus of his studies, that and his stint as a Darkwing pilot whilst a Tech Aspirate lent him huge familiarity to the task ahead. On making his first attempt to enter data-commune with Noctua 7 the machine spirit opened up to him immediately – much like a child rushing to a parent’s embrace after a terrifying ordeal – data coursed over the link, from the betrayal at Istvaan V up to the present time, almost overwhelming the young Techmarine. After this first commune Serpax introduced Silfrsidr to Noctua 7, gradually gaining the gunship’s trust until he was able to achieve communion alone, at this point formal induction into the VI legion was made, losing its original designation Noctua 7 and becoming Hrafen sem vurthur Nott (The Raven that becomes the Night). It has to be pointed out that although Serpax held deep knowledge of the esoteric systems employed within the Darkwing Storm Eagle he only revealed the mechanisms to repair such technology, neither the means to fabricate nor replicate, such secrets were not within the remit of Serpex to reveal.

 

Hrafen sem vurthur Nott served as the only example of a Darkwing Storm Eagle in the VI Legion and subsequent Space Wolf Chapter until its eventual destruction combatting degenerate Eldar raiders in 034.M32.

[muggs]

No one?

[Dantay VI]

I actually had a similar idea for the fluff behind my Fire Raptor Night Fury... Both in 30 & 40K

 

The Hawk is seen as a sign of guilt , sent by the Gods to mark a man guilty of a great crime such as murder, but the Raptor, known as Night Fury did not serve this purpose within the Aett.

 

She soared in the heavens as a watcher and a guardian... Originally she was a part of the 8th Legion a flying symbol of death and retribution.

However Curze detested her, for she had a noble heart. He had no need of pretty things and so he shunned her, used her for the most vile of tasks. the killing of innocents. Eventually the Night Haunter grew tired  of her and gave her to Russ as a gift.

 

Russ nurtured her wounded soul and allowed her to soar and fight as a raptor should, swooping from the heavens to strike at the most worthy of foes. She became so devoted to Russ that it was said that you could tell if Russ had taken to the field, for his war hawk could be seen circling the battlefield.... Looking for the most dire of threats sh would swoop and dive always keeping Russ near and using her formidable weaponry to keep any danger to him at bay.

 

She fought at his side, throughout the remainder of the Great Crusade and what came after, never more furiously than when facing the traitorous 8th. Eventually leaving her Aerie in the Fang when Russ had his vision and departed.

 

Often the Wolves will be seen looking to the heavens, hoping for a glimpse of the majestic Night Fury, a sure sign that Russ has returned and vengeance is at hand....

 

How she came to return to the Fang without her master is a story for another time young skjald.... 

 

Just a rough draft of what as going through my mind for my Raptor :)

 

Your fluff is cool too.... Are you going for a traditional grey for your Fie Raptor, or will you go all spec-ops and do one in dark greys and blacks?? 

[muggs]

Cheers Dantay! That's some good fluff you have there too!

 

I was thinking of mostly black with a few grey parts, like it still has its RG paint job, but with the heraldry changed to VI legion.

 

So yeah, definite spec ops theme.

[Dantay VI]

Cool, I fancied getting a second Fire Raptor and doing it a dark spec ops style too.

 

Mine is grey and gold, so a bit flashy for stealth.

 

 

I wish they would do a spectre gunship type mode for FW

[muggs]

100%! I saw a THawk transporter on eBay that had been part converted and had bits missing going for £60 and seriously though about getting it and making a AC 130 type gunship.

 

Unfortunately it ended up going for £300 which was a bit much for me!

 

The fire raptor looks good -  how was it to put together? Easier than the Storm Eagle?

[Dantay VI]

It actually wasnt too bad to put together. A bit f filing and not too much hot-water work required. Quite a few plastic bits from the storm raven kit are involved.

 

Wimngs are heavy as the engines are solid resin. I know some folks drilled out the centre, but I ran pins through mine to help secure them in place, The only bugbear was getting the top section where the pilot is located on properly. Incidentally I only glued the pins into the wings but not the body. It allowed me to take the wings off which helped with painting it

 

Just wash it in warm soapy water and dryfit everything before you start. If you spray prime before assembling remember to scrape the paint off the contact points.

 

I also heard that te later Storm-Eagles were a lot better to build that the eraly ones. But not having built one, I couldn't tell you for sure.

[muggs]

I must have got an early one then, serious warpage and lots of GS filling needed.

 

I had to glue the back door shut because the parts were warped and misaligned (I probably would have done so anyway so no great loss). It frustrated me so much that I left it for the best part of year! I've got it 90% built - I have left off the cockpit and missile pods for painting, but I want to add a few more antennae and sensor domes that could be the stealth dodads. I was thinking of making something a bit like the void generators on the titans - maybe I could make a cast and put it on the part that covers the raven turret?

 

I may get another if the newer ones aren't so bad to assemble, though I do really want a THawk!