Word Bearers colour scheme at Calth

[Dosjetka]

Hello all,

 

Simple question for you folks: did all WB paint their armour in the new crimson/black colour scheme by the time they arrived on Calth to wreck havoc or did a part still have the old grey colour scheme?

[Noserenda]

They did indeed, the Ultramarines mentioned it as odd before it all kicked off :)

[Kol Saresk]

Hello all,

 

Simple question for you folks: did all WB paint their armour in the new crimson/black colour scheme by the time they arrived on Calth to wreck havoc or did a part still have the old grey colour scheme?

As Noserenda already said, the answer is most likely yes. Calth is somewhat unique in that respect. And the primary reason for why is because the Word Bearers who went to Calth were pretty much the most fanatical zealots for the "new way" that they could find. According to Argel Tal, that was their downfall as they were so hungry for the power the warp offered they were disobeying Lorgar's word and thus their punishment was to be sacrificed in the battle of Calth, albeit unwittingly.

 

This all said, there is a picture of an Ashen Circle in Book 6 I believe, that has an Ashen Circle from the Unspeaking Chapter who was colored as mostly black iron. So it could be said that there are alternative schemes out there other than black and red.

 

Sorry if my post is confusing, running on empty.

[apologist]

As a general rule, the members of the XVIIth Legion would have been wearing crimson during the attack on Calth. As always, though, there's enough gaps in the story and space for you to have some Word Bearers in a different scheme if you particularly wanted to.

 

Noted as the most fanatically obsessed with the Ultramarines, the Word Bearers who were sent there were drawn from lots of different Chapters. Many wore 'false flag' markings to disguise and artificially inflate the apparent number of legionaries present. In concert withg the variety in appearance between Chapters within the Word Bearers, there's lots of narrative space for your Word Bearers to wear crimson, grey, or whatever colour you like. 

 

+ Ninjad! Sorry Noserenda and Kol Saresk, I'm mostly repeating you! :) +

[Dosjetka]

Great, thanks for the information, folks. I'm guessing this can all be found in Book V: Tempest?

[Herald of Ultramar]

I don't have Tempest to quote, so I can't say what's there, but it's also mentioned in Know No Fear:

 

 

The other is XVII Legion, a Word Bearer. His pattern is the current Mark IV, the Maximus, built for Imperial supremacy. Its fixed frontal armour and angular helm are familiar. Its colours are not. Dark crimson, with gunmetal edging. Company symbols and squad brands lacquered in dark shapes, almost indecipherable, as if they have been erased or are yet to be painted. Where is the plasma-etched grey of the old scheme?

[apologist]

Great, thanks for the information, folks. I'm guessing this can all be found in Book V: Tempest?

Yes, that's right. Relevant passages:

 

 

 

The Word Bearers force present at Calth was intended in the earliest stages of the battle to fool the Ultramarines Legion into thinking that the entire Word Bearers Legion had been committed to the muster, while in reality the majority of the Legion was in the process of assaulting a number of worlds across Ultramar.[...] t is thought that as many as 20,000 of the Word Bearers Legionaries deployed at Calth were bearing false colours, with small detachments noted as bearing the ciphers of all known chapters of the Word Bearers.

 

 

 

By the time of the Battle of Calth, the arterial red and abyssal black first worn by the Serrated Suns Chapter had become widespread throughout the Legion. Also almost entirely supplanted was the use of ancient Colchisian runic script [...] replaced with distinctive esoteric geometry.

[Kol Saresk]

@Apologist: Great minds think alike. :P

[Dosjetka]

Stellar. Thanks folks, deeply appreciated. :)

[DuskRaider]

In general, the Word Bearers as a whole had adopted the Serrated Suns livery as a tribute to the Chapter's sacrifice by Calth, however that doesn't mean all Legionnaires bore the crimson. I'm sure a case could be made for some Chapters still bearing the Legion's original Storm Grey, be the red a reward for faith to the Eightfold Path, or simply because they haven't had the chance to repaint their armour (or don't care to).

[Soldier of Dorn]

I'd say, as most have already iterated, that the majority of the Legion at Calth and throughout the Shadow Crusade would have by that point already painted their armor crimson. That's the way I'm planning on going, anyway... ;)