From the Dark they came - The Badab War

[malcharion]

That's a really good thread ! Not enaugh badab awesomeness down here and you correct this just right ;) !

Those Carcharodons looks great there is a beautiful savage atmosphere around those models, particulary the terminator.

The howling griffon is very impressive too ! Love the head. Keep it comming brother !

[Dagoth Ur]

Death in the Void

Red stars span the horizon, daubed in blood and hung by the sinews of the fallen. The Aether is filled with the screams of those that betrayed His light. The spiteful Locus is crushed by cyclopean maws. The lamenting child is rent asunder by great claws. The Tyrant's own are herded into the dark and massacred by the dozen. An iron palace, fashioned in the likeness of a thorn crown burns beneath a dark sky, the earth weeping and cracking as its plasmatic heart bursts.

Astropath Vilyitch, Recordings of the Badab War

http://i.imgur.com/6SRvD6l.jpg?1

The Paleskins were vicious and cunning. They came out of nowhere, their ships shielded by some ancient technology we did not understand. The Howling Griffons, Guillaume's filthy ilk, had already waged a savage, astro-naval war against us, which left us exposed. Our intel had told us that the enemy forces were too thinly spread for such an attack, that Culln had no means of executing a hammer-and-anvil strike.

Well, suffice to say that the intel was wrong. I noticed as much when the dreadclaws made contact and begun cutting up the hull with their magna-burners. Our veterans had swiftly taken hold around the breaches, ready to blast the enemy apart for this madness. To our surprise, this was no simple raiding assault, but a full-blown, heavy spearhead attack. Wave upon wave of terminators embarked, armoured in ancient patterns of armor. I recognized the elegant Tartaros-pattern, since our forefather, the White Scars favoured it and had given my chapter a full five suits painted in our green and yellow livery. I also saw the fabled Cataphractus pattern, for the first time in my hundert and twenty years of service even. Massive, sloping shoulders and an engine that roared louder than a land raider.

Death had come aboard the Bellicon.

http://i.imgur.com/4qHV2Fx.jpg?1

Those pale Astartes were brutally efficient, wasting to time or energy on battlecries and honorable conduct. Their claws tore into our veterans like scalpells into bare meat. Searing plasma enveloped our positions, forcing us to abandon them. Viscera splattered the walls and the morale of our mortal allies was swiftly broken, leaving is exposed to their fire-hail. We had no choice but to retreat into the core-areas of the ship. Many reports reached our comm-officer, most veteran forces had decided to do the same apparently.

The enginarium was our only hope, maybe the narrow space would provide us with an advantage.

Blue light danced across the walls as we holed up around the plasma-coils and took aim. We did not hear them comming, the roar of the enginarium had masked the thrum of armor. We only saw the giants rush at us, stroboscopic light dancing across their plate in epileptic patterns. They came at us with wild abandon and cold, calculated fury. We never stood a chance.

http://i.imgur.com/z8TjblT.jpg?1

I would find myself a captive of the battle. This might be due to my position as comm-centurion within the Tyrant's Legion. They dragged my broken, bleeding frame to the bridge, where everything reeked of brutal death and massacre. In the half-light of the buzzing lumen-lamps, cast against the dark of the void, stood a towering giant in terminator armour of a wholly unknown pattern. His fists were clad in an unholy union of chainfist and powerclaw. His black lenses betrayed nothing of his mind.

"Speak" Was the only thing he bellowed.

http://i.imgur.com/rO4zhHC.jpg?1

-----------------------------

Hey folks, back with a new terminator I have already finished and sealed the whole unit, but will be releasing them piece by piece as I have currently nothing else to show.
 
@Venomlust: Glad you like the Griffon. I adore the anvillus pattern backpacks and ordered 30 a few weeks ago from GW.
 
@Dosjetka: The painting was actually surprisingly easy. I primed everything in light grey and then did all the parts that I wanted in VMA Fire Red and shaded with VMA Mahagony. Then I did the yellow(Not sure on the paints atm, but I am working on a tutorial). The yellow was shaded with orange and brown washes to give it a warm tinge, then sponged with brown and black. Finally everything was sponged with runefang steel. No masking, no nothing. Glad you like the marines
 
@bloodhound23: You see, marines have always been something very barbaric to me. No matter if regal chapters/legions such as the Blood Angels/Ultramarines/Dark Angels or filthy savages such as the Carcharodons/World Eaters/Space Wolves, everyone needs an appropriate mix of barbarism and feudality. Glad that came through with the Griffon
 
@Vairocanum: Thanks mate! I had the figure for eternities and didnt know what to do with it. Then I slapped a cadian rebreather on it and voilà, rest came on its own.
 
@malcharion: Ahh, the grandmaster of the Space Sharks himself! Thank you very much for your compliment, your work was very inspirational for me
 
Thats all for today folks, more terminators in the very near future! Hope you like todays update, C&C is, as always, very much appreciated

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Impressive.

[Tyberos the Red Wake]

Love Tartaros, love the tattoos, love the Terminator poses. It's all about how you angle the head and then have the body somewhat match the gaze, since the limbs aren't super posable for Terminators compared to power armor.

 

Very rarely do you see an upward angled head, it works great for a model that may have noticed an enemy, or is looking up from a fresh kill to see enemy drop pods or flyers incoming.

[Dagoth Ur]

The Pale Nomads

And on the darkest of days, His angels had descended upon the sinful, yet neither were they glorious nor where they of wholesome form. Instead, death in its purest form had descended. Pale, shrouded in ash and with eyes the colour of ink, the nomads from the stars had executed His will with impunity and with little mercy they slaughtered men and women, young and adult. Only the boys, not even old enough to know their lot in the world, had been taken as prisoners, nay, spoils of war. I know what they did to them. They made them into ones of their own kind. I shudder to think that such creatures like the pale nomads can be created from the human body and mind. It is on that day I had truly learned to love and praise the Emperor, all hail His glory. I learned to love Him, not because he was a kind god, but because I had witnessed with my own eyes just how horrendous His divine ire was.

Solbuk Kane, Survivor No. 79 of the Ahelak Massacre, executed for heresy

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170513_222406_zpsdswoejnm.jpg

////////PICT-CAPTURE_43581//BADAB_WAR//CARCHARODON_ASTRA////////

////////KAIRAKAU_PURARI//KAITOA_HAKUAI////////

Hakuai, he who bears the name of the silent bird, he who kills with no sound. I remember when he joined our Kairakau, our band of veterans, when he had become a Kaitoa, a warrior. Brooding soul, always staring into the darkness of the void, longer and with a more intense fever than most of us did. We had seen his immense potential with the blade and offered him many of our vaunted hoari, our swords, and yet he declined. The combat knife he had been given as he ascended into the ranks of the astartes was all he desired to wield. A simple thing it was, solex-pattern, not particularly old and not with a distinguished record, and yet Hakuai saw something in it. For seventy-eight standard, terran years he had reaped his bloody toll across the stars; Kine, Eldarin, Nehkrona and even the filth of Lorgar's children. It was upon Badab-Primaris that I witnessed his most impressive kill yet: A terminator of the Mantis Warriors. Hakuai had found himself trapped in a corner, no path to the left or the right and his Kairakau was too occupied with fending for their own lives. The viridian moloch had raised his massive fist, and then the Kaitoa struck, burying his knife deep in the renegades eye. With a jerking motion, Hakuai had twisted the enemy's head to the side, snapping his neck and crushing skull and brain in the process.

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170513_222321_zpsmzscvjfg.jpg

////////PICT-CAPTURE_43582//BADAB_WAR//CARCHARODON_ASTRA////////

////////KAIRAKAU_PURARI//KAITOA_HIRIWA////////

Hiriwa, he who has argent eyes, he who speaks auric words. He had been Kaitoa before I had donned the plate of my brethren for the first time. Kalant IIC, situated in the deep void of the outer rim, was his homeworld and, like most of the inhabitants of its polar regions, he was born with silver irises. Not the shiny white and grey of overly lit worlds, but a true silver, like shiny pools of quicksilver. I enjoyed his company very much, since he usually only spoke when he had something of importance to say. Hiriwa was indeed not a friend of mindless chit-chat, and so it was difficult to compile much about him for this little diary of mine. What I know is that he had an immense love for all things written. Though not a psijic, he spent most of his leisure time in the vaults of the voidwalkers, learning as much as he could about our past and the tales of the Imperium of man. In our Kairakau, he was the man who lobbed around the heavy guns. While trained to use everything ranging from heavy bolters to plasmatic weaponry, he usually favoured the heavy flamer, particularly the phaistos-pattern. It was a malevolent weapon, prone to overpressure and clogging, and yet Hiriwa knew his way around it.

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170513_222343_zpshqwyeeps.jpg

////////PICT-CAPTURE_43583//BADAB_WAR//CARCHARODON_ASTRA////////

////////KAIRAKAU_PURARI//KAITOA_AHI////////

Ahi, he who wields the sun's ire, he who owes a life. Youngest in our Kairakau, one of the less expirienced Kaitoa in our Taua, Ahi still had the fire of youth burning in his chest. He had waged war at our side for nearly three decades and had learned quickly what it meant to be Kaitoa. In his first battle as part of our Kairakau, he had abandoned our side in favour of gunning down his prey. This had left our side exposed and Mumu, an expirienced Kaitoa in his own right, paid with his life for this mistake. Ahi still bore the scars of his collective beating with shame, as tradition and law demanded. His life was now indebted to Mumu and every accolade he would collect, would be ascribed to the dead Kaitoa. Yet, as I said, Ahi had quickly learned that the Kairakau always stood before anything else, except the Void Father. When all else fails, your family is the last thing that will uphold you. Upon the frozen wastes of Enok-IV Ahi had saved Hiriwa's life by taking a las-cannon shot to his shoulder for him. The flesh around his cybernetic replacement had still faint scorching marks, a sickly, blazing pink upon pale meat. As a gesture of respect and gratitude, we had allowed him to bear Mumu's favoured weapon; a plasma blaster of the venerated Ryza-pattern. Ahi had treasured it since then, carefully maintaining it before each and every battle. He would die upon Badab-Primaris, his limp body worn as a standard by the Tyrant's forces and his weapon plundered by one of the Astral Claws. The Kairakau had not given up until both were reclaimed and each renegade in sight was punished. Miraculously, Ahi had survived, hanging to the last few tendrils of life, until we had given him his final absolution. We forgave him for his misdeed, vowing to never forget him. Now, each one of us bears one of Ahi's scrimshawed knuckle bones, declaring them tapu. Untouchable.

http://i.imgur.com/XzObllq.jpg?1

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////////KAIRAKAU_PURARI//KAITOA_TOMAU_IKA_KIHUA////////

Tomau, he who is steadfast and dependable. Ika, he who was slain. Kihua, he who is a revenant. Tomau Ika Kihua, he who bears three names. I was born in the deep void, far beyond the outer rim, on a space station, its name long since forgotten. I have served my taua for two centuries, a Kaitoa for nearly a century. What is there to say about me? I am a master of the close-range engagements, especially narrow corridors and trenches, or so my lord would have me believe. My weapon is my most prized possession, an ancient  umbra-pattern bolter that I have extensively modified to suite my needs. Perhaps my most distinguishing attribute are my three names. My first name, Tomau, was given to me as I was inducted into the Kairakau, before that I had been nameless, only referred to by my number, Inductée 23.956. This name was given to me for my refusal to abandon those of my blood and my refusal to bow befor ethe enemy, forward was the only direction in my eyes. Were it not an insult, I have no doubt my brethren would call me the Iron Warrior. Ika, the slain warrior, was the moniker I was given by my old squad after Trenzalore-Prime, a brutal battle against the Nehkrona, unliving metal creatures of the galaxy's foul past. Their incadescent weapons had ruined my body, flayed my flesh and scarred my mind, and yet I returned. After two decades of extensive bio-reconstruction, gene-therapy and physiological training, I had returned to peak performance, my refusal to bow, to be relegated to the logistical units, my refusal to be forgotten, was what earned me entrance to the Kairakau and the admiration of my brethren. Finally, Kihua, the revenant, the haunting spirit, the name given to me by the shade-lord. The Red Wake. Tyberos. As we returned to Trenzalore-Prime, nearly half a century after I had returned to service, my Kairakau had the privilege of fighting in the shade-lords own force. This is where I had caught his eye, with all my ire and cold hatred mustered against those that had made me suffer. My squad had encircled the Nehkrona lord, a foul creature of living metal and heretical lore, and be it by skill or by chance or even faith, I had struck down the tech-beast with my shots and severed its head. It is then that the shade-lords voice, usually soft spoken, but then so wild and heroic, had echoed across our vox "All hail the Kihua! All hail the revenant! All hail him who returned from the grave!". We had served in Lord Tyberos force ever since, which is what brought us to Badab.

Loyal brother, defiant dead and revenge that had returned from beyond the grave.

This is who I am.

http://i.imgur.com/DzXlUto.jpg?1

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////////KAIRAKAU_PURARI//KAITOA_TATARIKI_TAWHAKI////////

Tawhaki, he who is the the lightning and the thunder, he who leads into the fray. He was my Tatariki, my leader, and I served him gladly. It was he who spoke for us in the great council, it was he who stood behind us and we stood behind him. I remember how he had welcomed me into the Kairakau, with open arms and a smile upon his gaunt face. As a ceremonial gift of welcoming, he gave me a power-dagger, a rare and unusually specific weapon. Jokingly, he had admitted that my long hair and patrician features lent me the appearance of a smug thief, so he thought it only fitting to gift me a shank. Then I was not sure if that was meant as an insult or a compliment, but now I understand that it was both and yet more; it was honesty. Tawhaki had cultivated a culture of unfiltered honesty in our Kairakau, where we could speak our minds freely and decide as one. We all appreciated this mindset, there were Kairakau which were ruled by an iron fist, and this forged us into an unbreakable chain. I dread the day he leaves us, for that would mean losing someone truly irreplaceable.

This is the tale of the Shade-Lords host, his very own taua.

This is the tale of the Badab War.

--------------------------------------------

Hey folks, back again with a unit of sternguard built for my carcharodons army Two of them, Ika and Hakuai, were built as a homage to Nurgling's own Astral Claws sternguard squad, as it is probably THE unit that made me interested in the badab war. Currently, I have quite a few things on my paint station; the sternguard unit, a terminator librarian and an almost finished contemptor. The parts for my own Tyberos are on the way, should be here any day now, and then later (When the funds start flowing again), there will be at least two more contemptors, a leviathan, a ton of terminators and a bunch more sternguard (Maybe even some droppods). I am not too worried about the rules that come with the 8th edition, as this project is primarily a petproject meant solely for my own joy.
 
@Bjorn Firewalker: Thanks man!
 
@Tyberos the Red Wake: Thanks mate, glad you appreciate the posing and the thought behind it that much In my mind he was standing in the midst of a slaughtered unit of Guardsmen and just noticed an Astral Claw or Mantis Warrior just a few feet up the hill.
 
Hope you like the update folks! have a nice day C&C is, as always, very welcome!

[deathspectersgt7]

BAD ASS as always . Very gritty and great story to go with them.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Are you using actual Maori words to describe the Pale Nomads, and giving them actual Maori names? (They remind me of Mando'a, the language of Mandalorian warriors in 'Star Wars'- which makes sense, considering Jango Fett's actor is of Maori descent.) If so, who provided the translations?

[Dagoth Ur]

I usually always use either an online dictionary or name list in Te Reo, though as I don't speak the language I can make no claim that the names are 100% accurate. It would make sense that the Mandalori have a streak of Maori in them, seeing as they are both fierce warrior cultures. Hope that helps :)

[Dagoth Ur]

The Maw of the Void

 

 

His armor was ancient, impossibly so; a creation of ages long gone by. His weapons were carnage incarnate, devices that not even the Flesh Tearers could envision. He and his men reeked of blood and violence, but lacked any of the heat associated with such things. Indeed, his eyes were cold, like the deepest sea, and every movement was measured and controlled. The Red Wake knew that he was forged to kill, to strike down those that opposed the divine Emperor's rule. Yet still, his voice was soft, just loud enough to be heard and unpolluted by any accent or disfigurement of speech. That same voice visited untold slaughter upon the Badabians. I still shudder at the things I have seen then, in those blighted years.

 

Lord-Commander Carab Culln, Chapter Master of the Red Scorpions

http://i.imgur.com/aQs7678.jpg?1

[Vairocanum]

Tyberos looks MASSIVE, can't wait to see you paint him up! The quote from Culln was a good read too!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Idea: drill three holes in the chest of a Marine or Chaos Space Marine model. Impale that Marine upon Tyberos' lighning claws, and pose Tyberos with his arm slightly raised, so the Marine is being lifted off his feet. Add bullet holes on the Marine's back, so it looks like Tyberos is using him as a meat shield.

[Dagoth Ur]

KAITOA TOMAU IKA KIHUA

 

 

Tomau Ika Kihua, henceforth referred to as Tomau in this document, was one of the advisors of Shade Lord Tyberos present during the various meetings between the different chapter masters and lords of the Badab War theater of war. Tomau was noted for his willingness to converse with other, non-chapter affiliated personnel in both high and low gothic. The veteran was present during the final assaults on Badab-Primaris and, to our knowledge, has survived the critical meltdowns caused by the overloading of the various plasmatic cores and generators in the depths of Badab's hives. We hope that he will help us facilitate contact and conversation with the isolationist chapter as we deliver the gift of Lord Guillaume.

 

Iwein Bantrych, Apothecary of the Howling Griffons Chapter

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170524_225527_zpskftgsfid.jpg

 

Pict-Capture 273//Badab-Primaris: Of note is Tomau's full set of mark VI warplate. It is minimally modified with molecular bonding studs on the right shoulderpad and honorifics on the left shin and chest. Several ritualistic markings can be observed upon his armor; a cultural marker widely employed by the chapter and, curiously, even found among the remnants of the ancient, xeric tribes of pre-unification Terra. Their importance is unknown to us, but we assume that it is some form of deed record.

The phenotypic markers are quite intriguing as well. The unnaturally pale skin, inky eyes and black hair points to the genetic heritage of Corvus Corax, lord of the Raven Guard or +++DATARESTRICTED+++. The angular facial structure certainly points towards the later.

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170524_225942_zpsa6mosvwo.jpg

 

Pict-Capture 274//Badab-Primaris: In this image, you can see the chapter's common symbol: the Carcharodon Carcharias, or the great white shark. Apparently, according to the research of various Magii Biologis, this was an aquatic predator of pre-starfaring Terra and was probably exterminated by the nuclear fires that devoured Terra itself eventually. The great beast is surrounded by painted waves and teeth, perhaps some kind of maw?

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170524_230022_zpsjvkpkyfw.jpg

 

Pict-Capture 275//Badab-Primaris: Tomau is armed with the Ulysses-Umbra pattern bolter; a pattern of weapon commonly found in the hosts of star-bound chapters and the retinues of rogue traders. The pattern is ancient, dating back to the early days of the Great Crusade and are rarely produced these days. The maintenance is difficult, as is the tenacious machine spirit. Yet for all its misgivings, the Ulysses-Umbra is very much coveted by the Astartes, as it offers a lightweight weapon which can be fired one-handed with considerable accuracy and has the penetration force associated more commonly with the Phobos pattern bolter.

Tomau's possession of this gun not only indicates the vast ressources his chapter must undoubtedly hold in the outer rim, but also the technical prowess of the techmarines and mechanicus priests attached to the fleet. Certainly, the Nicor is very well armed. 

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170524_225955_zps1om5qddz.jpg

 

Pict-Capture 276//Badab-Primaris: Perhaps curious for an Astartes loyal to the God-Emperor upon terra, Tomau's warplate sports a fully functional Anvillus pattern backpack; an often forgotten remnant of early Crusade technology. Considering the Carcharodon Astra's prowess in boarding assaults and void-warfare, it is perhaps not surprising that the stabilising properties of this pattern are much desired, despite its increased off-bleeding of energy.

The draw-backs are mostly mitigated by the hit-and-run tactics of the chapters, not unlike the Raven Guard and their Successors; though the Carcharodon Astra seem to favour much more brutallity in their way of war.

 

----------------------------------------

 

Hey folks, finished one of my sternguard veterans The current week and the comming two will see only sparse updates, if at all, considering that it is exam week right now and my hands are full with papers and books. Hope you still enjoy the small update. Edit: Dang, just noticed that I missed the wax of the purity seal.
 
@Vairocanum: Thanks mate, the mass was exactly what I wanted, as I see Tyberos as some antediluvian, aquatic beast; a leviathan if you will. The official figure was way too weedy for my taste
 
@Bjorn Firewalker: Good idea, already had something like that in mind with a mantis warrior, a big issue was how cluttered the figure appeared then to be. It also obscured several of the surfaces I planned to do some tattoos on, so I ultimately dropped the idea :/
 
Now, before I leave y'all again and retreat into the depths of lurking, have a lil' sneak peek:

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170524_225745_zpsp35bfgep.jpg

 

Have a nice day! C&C is, as always, very welcome

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Is Tomau's model based on that of an Emperor's Children Noise Marine? The respirator mask is quite distinctive.

[Vairocanum]

Tomau looks great, I really like the fluff behind his armor and wargear! Looking forward to seeing the color pictures for the contemptor!

[Reyner]

That Space Shark is amazing, love the use of the Warp Talons head too :D 

[malcharion]

Still a pleasure to read your background add as well as your models

Your take on tyberos is great and made him look massive, you've made a really good use of Typhon !

Good painting work on Tomau and ... Hoooo by Rangu's light ! What is that !? This contemptor look gorgeous !

 

--8th Company transcription--

+++ CYPHER : Oblivion's Predator: [..Hemiodon..] code access/ +++

 

++Request of immediate pictures-data transfer for Chapter strengh evaluation.

Need more intel concerning the Contemptor void brother involving in the Malcharion subjugation at 21PM this day.

OVER.++

 

"Solitary contemplation offers the best opportunity for revelation."

Beyond the Veil of Stars, Chapter III, Verse XI---

 

[Dagoth Ur]

The Shade Lord Rises

 

 

Beyond the stars we were cast; without love nor care. We, who most eagerly awaited our father's return. We, who formed this legion. We, who were its blood and bone. Very well then, we shall do as ordained, for it is not in our blood to refuse. However, this will be the last order we shall take from the Raven Lord for we, the true XIX^th, will shed our feathers and cast away the sable that was put upon us. The XIX^th shall return to its true colours: the ash of burnt bone and the grey of a murky night. The Pale Nomads shall reave their bloody toll in the outer rim, where not even the Warmaster's own dare to gaze.

I am Arkhas-Fal, Shade Lord of the XIX^th legion, and let this be my decree.

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170526_011200_zpsybugdebc.jpg

 

This war has worn us down, broken our argent and blue warplate like husks, depleted our stockpiles and left us with more geneseed than we could ever implant in a century's time. Our enemies were manifold and tenacious; the Fire Hawks and their brazen hunger for glory, the Minotaurs and their wild battle-lust, the Red Scorpions with their meticulous planning and scheming. Yet none fought like the Maw from beyond the Ghoul Stars, nobody left such a sanguine wake behind themselves like the Carcharodons Astra.

Curious what kind of thoughts can visit one in the heat of battle. My muscles ache with lactic fire and my terminator armour does its best to stabilize my shivering gait. I cannot dissapoint the Tyrant; he is everything that is left to me. On the seventh sub-floor of hive-generator Mancanus we would find our enemy. The Space Sharks. He was humongous, downright titanic in his warplate. It was an eclectic amalgam of various patterns. I could see cataphractus in it, the familiar slope of indomitus shoulders and even a mantilla-pattern helmet. Its fists were encased in thick ceramite; small, broad hooks protruded from the upside and on the inside of each palm two chainblades purred gently.

Centurio Kahnar was below its feet; his chest was splayed open and all the guts removed by some horrendous force. As we, terminator squad Nehk'ar, approached its vicinity, the broad helmet snapped up. There was a malevolent intelligence behind these shiny, sable lenses. An intelligence far too calculating and cold to be simply described as violent. Those were the eyes of a predator, the gait of a leviathan unchained.

Its claws sprung upon, like razors being unsheathed, and then it was upon us.

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170526_004828_zps7gvyuobc.jpg

 

Kantukh was the first to fall, his lightning claws hopelessly outmatched by the esoteric armaments of the Carcharodon. The fin-like blades slid gently into his warplate, with only the merest crunch and incinerated Kantukh's inside. I could hear him gurgling and screaming over the vox. From the shadows descended even more of this brute's kind, armed in similar armour and all bore claws of ancient, long lost patterns. Skulls and helms chattered against their grey plate, there were even some medals of the Tyrant's own legion. This could not stand, and so squad Nehk'ar threw itself into battle. I lost sight of the towering Carcharodon, the first one we had seen that is. My shield was heavy and yet it offered good protection against my enemies claws, even if my arm threatened to give in every time the slab of ceramite echoed with a bell-like clang.

My hammer, however, could barely land a single hit. Those Carcharodons were nimble, undoubtedly their servos must have been overstrained by some borderline heretical procedure. I grew angry, I grew callous. I was fully aware of my impending death. We all expected to die here, to die for Huron. Not out of loyalty, but out of a lack of alternatives; or at least so was my outlook. Barich was the next to fall, his head wrenched from his body with furious force. The Carcharodons fought wilder with each second passing, as if the smell of freshly spilt blood enticed them, yet still there was this precision so atypical for a berserk.

Ilja died as he threw himself into the deadly embrace of one of the terminator's claws. He had been the most ferocious of us all, the youngest, still so eager to prove himself. He died how he had lived, roaring and covered in viscera. His death left only me and veteran-sergeant Faruhk; the situation looked grim for my compatriot. His leg was injured.

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170526_004656_zpsedikdmfd.jpg

 

My hammer made contact with the Carcharodon's shoulder, not the first time, but it was not as effective as I hoped. The armour was layered in that place, even reinforced with molecular bonding studs, and the most my weapon did was disintegrate only one layer at a time. My enemy seemed to hold me at distance. Much to my chagrin, I knew that he could've finished me off by now, yet for some reason he didn't. I did not care, admittedly, it was a welcome chance for me to try and take one of them down, to sell my soul dearly, my blood for auric coin.

Faruhk's gurgling scream pulled me out of my battle-trance and, to my shame, in my bewilderment, I broke eye-contact with the enemy to observe what happened. The beast, their leader I assumed, had broken up my sergeant's breastplate like a fruit and the chainblades within his palms were scattering blood and guts everywhere. I was sure that not even his progenoid had survived this assault. Finally, the reason for my enemy's reluctance became apparent: they had saved me for their lord. It slowly turned towards me, the garish, migraineous arcs of the plasma reactor made his tattoos dance, and the blood upon his claws vaporized, leaving only thick dollops of clotting viate within the chainblades. The dirty and the clean, the brutal and the elegant, the devourer and the leviathan.

I held my shield tight to my chest. My doom had finally come. I was ashamed that I could not embrace it as I had imagined. The leviathan was fast.

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170526_004744_zps07w8p9qb.jpg

 

My shield had been torn from me, my arm detached from the elbow downwards. My hammer was a broken mess. Yet still, it prowled around me, each and every step measured with its megalodonic weight, I was without weapons, with no means to shield myself, still I could not accept death. Not like this. I threw myself at the leviathan, unsure what it was that I desired to accomplish. Maybe it was just frustration? Who knew. My roars of hatred soon turned into screams of pain. The claws had come down upon me, one severing my right leg, the other impaling me through my guts and keeping me aloft.

"Wh-who are you?" The fire-hot blood curdled upon my lips, turned sour and rancid as it mingled with acid "Tell me who murdered me and my kin?"

The leviathan gently cocked his head to the side, as if contemplating his answers. Behind the black lenses, in the light of violent arcs, I could see eyes; black and deep, the concept of mercy utterly alien to them. They reminded me of the Raven Guard, yet while those were harsh and cold, these were soulless. The eyes of a nocturnal hunter; a monstrosity that did not belong in this age.

"I am the Shade-Lord of the Carcharodons Astra" Its voice was astonishingly soft, measured even "I am the death from beyond the stars."

"I am the heir to the Pale Nomads."

"I am the slayer of countless heretics, renegades and xenos."

"I am Tyberos."

With those words the chainblades bit deep into my flesh and my thread was cut.

---------------------------------------------------

 

Hey folks, here is my Tyberos all finished up I realized that in the pictures, the yellow cables seemed quite washed out, so I may have to return to them at some point, but right now I am immensely happy with him. Here is a size comparison between him and a regular plastic Tartaros terminator, just so you can see how massiv he is

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp194/hodoalmir/_20170526_003930_zpsur9imuuk.jpg

 

@Bjorn Firewalker: Actually, it is the unhelmeted head from the Chaos Space Marines Raptor/Warptalon kit. I just shaved down the horns and sculpted on some hair. I chose the mask for its sleek, predatory design

 

@Vairocanum: Thanks mate, the contemptor is nearly finished, just missing a few details and I need to buy some runelord brass for the base.

 

@Reyner: Thanks mate, appreciate it!

 

@malcharion: Thanks, fellow Space shark Thank you for the compliments! Actually, the idea for my Tyberos came to me after seeing your own take on it. I was very torn between if I wanted to do something big, heavy and lumbering (So to play upon the aspect of the Leviathan) or to go with something more sleek and swift (So to play upon the aspect of a quick, hungry shark). Your's fit nicely into the second category and while I found it to be very beautiful, I wanted to explore the first category, now that I had seen the other option.

As for the Contemptor...

 

--+++SCRAPSHUNTERABORT+++ transcription--

+++ CYPHER : Maw of the Sable Cold: [..Nicor..] code access/ +++

 

++Request granted. Please stand by as the pict-feed is prepared.

Expected time of completion: T- Seven(7) Standard Terran Days.

OVER.++

 

Hope y'all like Tyberos, he was really a labour of love and certainly one of the hallmarks of the past few years of figure building for me

As always, C&C is highly appreciated & welcome!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The story you wrote is excellent, perfectly conveying the terror Tyberos' enemies feel.

There's an error: The line "They remembered me of the Raven Guard," suggests the narrator was a Raven Guard member, when the POV is obviously that of an Astral Claw; the line should read, "They REMINDED me of the Raven Guard," instead.

[Vairocanum]

Wow that paintjob is perfect! Awesome weathering, stellar freehand and not overloaded with gore! I also really like the final line of "my thread was cut". Looking forward to seeing more!

[malika666]

Frightening stuff! What can we expect next?

[Dagoth Ur]

@Bjorn Firewalker: Thank you very much for your feedback, I was actually asking myself wether to use reminded or remembered, but since I usually write my fluff snippets at 3 AM, I was too lazy to actually invest much time in finding out which would be more appropriate

 

@Vairocanum: Thank you mate, I'm still working on several tutorials but the Carcharodon one is almost finished. It is a really easy process :)

 

@malika666: Next is either the finished contemptor, another sternguard, more tartaros terminators of a terminator armoured librarian with a sword. Whatever strikes my fancy basically. There will, in time, also be post-Badab primaris marines (Except the captain in gravis armor and the inceptors; can't stand those figures). I'll see what strikes my fancy first after this exam week has ended. :)

[Dagoth Ur]

The Void Beckons

Most of them were born in places which the Emperor's light cannot reach. Bleak suns with silent worlds dancing around them. I cannot fathom what beasts must lurk beyond the Halo Stars; what sort of Xenos stalks the cursed dark. I've seen what things ^lurk in the darker corners of our galaxy, yet the Pale Nomads refuse to even flinch at the very same sight. A cold, heartless void has bred a chapter unlike any I have ever seen. Savage like the Flesh Tearers and yet as disciplined as the Imperial Fists. I wonder what shaped them, what adversity they had to face. I admire them. I respect them.

I'd be a fool to trust them.

Carab Culln's private writings

http://i.imgur.com/3wITs1k.jpg?1

////////PICT-CAPTURE_43596//BADAB_WAR//CARCHARODON_ASTRA////////

////////VOIDSTALKER_WHETU////////

I knew it was futile to run, yet run I did. I had torn down the wall of my makeshift quarters in order to flee. Flee where? I did not know. The rescue pods were destroyed, the bridge was burning and the air stank of death. The psychic pressure was still there; the lightless eyes of some antediluvian predator were looking for me. A psyker, a formidable one even. That was worrying. I was confident enough in my skills to kill a whole squad of astartes, but a squad and a librarian was another question.

Ka'Tun...

The voice was a whisper, so soft that a poet might have described it as silk, but I knew better, It was a knife that glid through water. A crackling noise followed me, like glass bursting, but I needed not to turn my head; I knew what it was, Hoarfrost, remnants of psychic decompression. A cold death in the void it was then. How anti-climactic.

http://i.imgur.com/XoLtthO.jpg?1

////////PICT-CAPTURE_43597//BADAB_WAR//CARCHARODON_ASTRA////////

////////VOIDSTALKER_WHETU////////

The Carcharodon screamed as I burnt him from the inside. It felt good to know that they too felt pain, the silent bastards. I blasted the corpse down the hallway, making sure to create the impression that I had killed him on my way to the destroyed escape pods. In truth, I slid into the half-light of a storage room and cloaked myself in immaterial force. This would hopefully buy me some time to think. I needed to find a way out, to alarm the Tyrant. Was he even aware of the Carcharodons? Who knew.

My breath halted as I heard ceramite boots clanging against the floor. A squad of sternguard veterans it seemed. They took my decoy like a fish bait; with hook and sinker. I could not help myself, but a grin spread across my face. A fish they bore upon their shoulders and as gullible as fish they were. Then I heard another pair of boots, slower, heavier.

Ka'Tun...

The sound of overloaded servos was instantly familiar: Tactical dreadnought armour. Illuminated by turquoise light, an indomitus-clad Carcharodon appeared in the doorframe. His sword was covered in thick blood, yet the prayer scrolls were immaculate. Then it dawned upon me: He could see me, even through the cloak.

http://i.imgur.com/PaMJqHC.jpg?1

////////PICT-CAPTURE_43598//BADAB_WAR//CARCHARODON_ASTRA////////

////////VOIDSTALKER_WHETU////////

My psychic flames harmlessly perished upon his warplate, barely scorching the paint off. So this was the mind I had felt. The predator in the dark. He lifted his hand, the face a pale, unmoving mask with jet-black eyes, and immediately I felt an unbearable weight press down upon me. My servos fizzled and popped, like overexerted joints, and ceramite developed deep scars. My fists were shaking more and more with each passing second. My mind was aflame with horrid pain as they both burst in a fine mist of bonemeal and blood. The cur had simply raised my internal pressure. This was considerable power.

"You are comming with me" Much like the whisper in the void, this voice was gentle and soft, yet a threat of violence lingered beneath it. There is little I could have done to oppose him; the pulsating pain prevented any form of concentration which, ironically, left me completely disarmed "The Shade-Lord rarely takes prisoners. You should feel honoured."

--------------------------------------------

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Excellent work on the Librarian.

[Jüffös]

Man, your painting is top notch, but your fluff pieces are novel-worthy. I've enjoyed lurking and reading all your WIP logs for months now. Keep it up, this is big time entertainment.

 

Cheers,

Yves

[Dagoth Ur]

Kaitoa Kahuai

 

 

Kahuai, veteran of the Carcharodons Astra chapter, is well known to the Ordos of His divinity of Terra, for he has served a full decade with the Deathwatch shortly before the first troubles in the Badab sector. Assigned as leader of kill-team Lumos, his missions largely consisted of recovery tasks. Many of the recent additions to the Ordo Xenos collection of Necron artifacts can be solely attributed to Kahuai's competence and skill. Curiously enough, he would not speak to us or his squad-members of the various xenos he and his chapter had encountered in the void beyond the Halo region. Kahuai would only confirm the presence of Orks and Necrons, the rest, so he said, was more comparable to the things that lurk in the Ghoul Stars.

 

Inquisitorix Manaea of the Ordo Xenos

http://i.imgur.com/oyTb45H.jpg?1

 

Pict-Capture 277//Badab-Primaris: Kahuai's warplate is an eclectic mix of various patterns and thus to be filed under the non-production mark V category. Arms, legs and helm consist of standard mars-pattern Corvus armor, while the shoulders appear to be either metallica or mars-pattern mark II issue. The chest, here partially obscured, is a modified mark VII issue that is given to Deathwatch veterans as a gift of goodbye and features higher density alloys and a carefully wrought, winged symbol of the inquisition upon the breast.

Please note the red stripe upon the helm and its tapered point on the facemask. Even the oldest issues of the Principa Bellicosa explain that such markers are reserved for second in command sergeants and the lower command-echelons. From this it can be deduced that Kahuai is most likely the demi-sergeant of his squad, although, as with many a thing concerning the Space Sharks, this cannot be said for certain.

http://i.imgur.com/8mbrwHx.jpg?1

 

Pict-Capture 278//Badab-Primaris: Like most of his chapter, Kahuai bears little religious insignia or reliquiaries, which seems to indicate a strong adherence to the antiquated concept of the "Imperial Truth". Indeed, only few imperial insignia seem to be incorporated into the Carcharodon Astra's panoply of war; usually only aquilas of various shapes such as the one upon Kahuai's front. Worth of note is the fact that the use of the palatine aquila has also been observed within the chapter. An important if dreaded symbol in the imperial history and only few chapters employ it due to the association with +++DATAREDACTED+++.

The idiosyncratic tattoos on the left shin are covered in grime and scratches, though waves and rays can still be made out. The chapter's librarius is not willing to share any information with us that might help us glean the meaning of such marks.

http://i.imgur.com/ZcMCbGh.jpg?1

 

Pict-Capture 279//Badab-Primaris: It seems that the Carcharodons Astra usually wear their chapter's emblem upon their left shoulder, as laid out by the Codex Astartes and even the Principia Bellicosa, though this does not seem to always be the case, as the opposite has also been observed. The chapter also does not seem to employ the usual squad markings and designations, as seen with Kahuai's right shoulder. This leads us to the assumption that at least part of the tribal markings' function is the designation of rank and order.

However, the issue still remains that such markings rarely repeat themselves across the chapter and if that, then only partially. This symbolic system appears to be quite complex, which begs the question as to why not simpler, more effective means of battlefield markings are used. Again, the chapter is uncooperative when it comes to the exchange of knowledge pertinent to their culture and structure.

http://i.imgur.com/ynN1dnp.jpg?1

 

Pict-Capture 280//Badab-Primaris: Like many of the chapter's veterans, Kahuai's plate includes an anvillus-pattern backpack. Its qualities and possible reasons of preference have been already explained earlier, so please refer to earlier pict-descripts (//276) for more information. The knife sheath shown in this pict-capture appears to be of standard solex-pattern manufacture, which sees wide production all across the Imperium of Man and is one of the most well-known patterns of astartes knives next to the aggar and kheor-pattern. The silver overlays, on the other hand, seem to be handmade and sport a single wave motif, thus an extension of the typical aquatic heraldry of the chapter.

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

Right, another Sternguard Carcharodon finished I am currently in the process of finishing up the contemptors base and another howling griffon to cement my paintscheme and simplify it as much as possible, so that's what you'll probably get to see this week. Also; I will potentially be painting up one or two Fire Hawks Sternguard Marines
 
@Bjorn Firewalker: Thanks mate
 
@Jüffös: Thank you kindly mate, such praise means much to me. Although, novel-worthy I am not quite sure about, considering how many mistakes I have to correct everytime I look at the stuff I post
 
Hope you like Kahuai! Have a nice day. C&C is, as always, very welcome and appreciated.