Enter, and Be Welcome Once More to the Grand Apothecarion

[Elazar The Glorified]

 

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"Enter, and be welcome once more to the Grand Apothecarion, Oleander Koh. The Chief Apothecary is expecting you."

- Arrian Zorzi in 'Primogenitor' by Josh Reynolds

 

 

 

I'm of the very firm belief that the Fabius Bile trilogy by Josh Reynolds (Primogenitor, Clonelord, and Manflayer) are amongst the very finest of works from the Black Library and I'm currently working on my Chaos Space Marine army based around some of the themes of Fabius Bile's 'Consortium' and the Emperor's Children legion. Essentially, my army isn't looking to represent the Consortium of the books but my own ragtag band of hedonists, misfits and deviants who have fallen into the orbit of Fabius Bile (or he has fallen into theirs).

 

I love kitbashing and coming up with some bits of my own fluff so this is just as much an excuse to create lots of little characters as it is anything else, but, I need to get the hobby momentum going as there's lots to build and paint. My timing couldn't be much better as part way through the project, we have the new 10th Edition Codex Chaos Space Marines and the announcement that there's going to be an Index for the Emperor's Children! Can't wait!

 

I'll use this post as a bit of an introduction one and something that I can come back to and amend to as a bit of a hub once more things actually get built and painted!

[Elazar The Glorified]

The Consortium
This seems like a good place to start with some minis for my warband. The warband is a majority Slaanesh warband but when planning the army from the Index, as Fabius Bile has the Mark of Chaos Undivided the squad he was attached to would also need to be Undivided.

 

With the new Codex Marks of Chaos aren’t really a thing anymore outside of Pactbound Zealots - there’s a review of the new Codex on Oath of Moment if you’re interest (shameless plug - sorry!)

A

s I’ve said before, outside of Fabius, the characters for these are my own creations but certainly some of the inspiration from the Josh Reynolds book series is there.

 

Vortalkai The Whisperer - Apothecary - Tzeentch

Tzeentch was one of the more interesting challenges I thought as there really isn't a great deal of Tzeentch in 40k outside of Magnus and his Sons but they seemed like a legion with the least use of an Apothecary nowadays so even if one was formerly a Thousand Sons Legionary he'd probably not be one nowadays as he wouldn't be leveraging the valuable skills he has to those making their base in the Eye of Terror. So I wanted an Apothecary from a Tzeentchian warband and I wanted to avoid the stereotype of him just being a Sorcerer and lean more into the politicking and subterfuge angle of Tzeentch. The Scourged also present an interesting concept with their ability to hear all the lies of mankind but I don’t like their scheme so he’s borrowing some fluff from them but will have his own scheme.

 

 

Vortalkai has aligned himself to Fabius, to exert the subtle influence of Tzeentch over the Spider and his Creations. Vortalkai (and Tzeentch) know that Fabius is too crafty a creature to be yoked but that his influence as the Primogenitor and the Pater Mutatis extends to a great many Cultists, Mutants and Legionaries alike. Vortalkai often presents himself to those 'lesser' beings as the voice of Fabius. Shepherding them in directions that suit Fabius' designs perhaps, but definitely suit those of Vortalkai and his patron. With an impressive aptitude for unearthing the secret treacheries and betrayals of others, Vortalkai is an able student of the apothecarion and, for now at least, Fabius is amused by the scheming of his protégé. Better the devil you know not to trust than the one you don't!

 

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Vox-record from experiment 3412889 Designation - Caprine-Alpha Study
"What did you tell the Primogenitor of our conversation?"
- Response unclear -
"I can tell that you're lying. "
- Distortion caused by drilling noise accompanied by braying screams -
"What does the Primogenitor know?"
"You know, they whisper to me the truth behind all your lies? But no matter, there is no greater way to offer praise to The Great Changer than the making or unmaking of a thing. I shall be incredibly thorough and exacting in my praise through the gradual unmaking of you to ensure there's no detail I have missed.”

 

Gremulus Kron - Apothecary - Nurgle
Formerly of the Death Guard, Gremulus Kron was mostly an excuse to purchase the Plague Surgeon and put him on a smaller base. I love the mini for this so much so nothing special here. He’s going to get some Nurgling friends though.

 

 

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“Hush, hush little one.” Gremulus burbled to the Nurgling as it’s impatience got the better of it. “All in good time.”

 

 

Mararon Shosk - The Exiled Son - Undivided
A Legionary of the Sons of Horus who has refused to take the black of the reborn Black Legion. Originally taken as a prisoner on the Emperor’s Children’s raid on the Monument, Shosk survived as a gladiator, killing for sport in the arenas of Canticle City. A shrewd and calculating mind backs up his brawn and when he was elected commander of a slave revolt he instead betrayed his former legionary brothers in exchange for the protection of Fabius Bile. Alone in the galaxy and hated by all, Shosk is a reliable ally for Fabius Bile because he’s despised and distrusted by all around him.

 

 

Delupon Baul - The Phoenix Guard - Slaanesh
Once one of the 200 blades guarding Fulgrim, he spent centuries roving across the Eye of Terror in search of the Primarch in his repose. Delupon was a mercenary, a reaver and a raider, fighting alongside warbands in exchange for rumour of Fulgrim's whereabouts or the resources to continue his search.

Now though, he accompanies Fabius Bile. Respecting his rank as Lieutenant-Commander, if not having a great deal of respect for the Spider himself, Delupon guards the Chief Apothecary for Fulgrim. He knows that Fulgrim will look for Fabius when he awakes, so Delupon will ensure that Fabius goes to him. Whether that's to return him to the Primarch unscathed or to deliver his head will depend on the whims of Fulgrim when he stirs, but either way, Delupon is confident his proximity to Fabius will enable him to win his father's favour when he returns.

 

 

The Butcher Kinakh Randar - Apothecary - Khorne

 

 

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Kinakh Randar was a contradiction. An artist possessing the soul of a dancer... but the nails clawed into the meat of his brain and made of him a savage beast straining against its leash. Those two elements of his being might be in stark contrast but neither diminished the other and indeed only heightened them. When Fabius let him loose, the nails burned and his chainblades span and kicked with the clinical efficiency only an Apothecary could bring. Who better to fell a foe than one that had intimate knowledge of all that had built him. Kinakh was less a scalpel making a deft cut and more the bonesaw that removed the whole limb.

Finally, the five of them together - need to add Fabius in next time!

 

Edited May 21 by Elazar The Glorified

[Terminatorinhell]

This is a cool thread... Also funny because I want to make a group of like 13 apothecaries for my loyalist chapter. 

[Firedrake Cordova]

Nice conversions, and I like that you're giving them all background

[Elazar The Glorified]

16 hours ago, Terminatorinhell said:

This is a cool thread... Also funny because I want to make a group of like 13 apothecaries for my loyalist chapter. 

 

4 hours ago, Firedrake Cordova said:

Nice conversions, and I like that you're giving them all background

 

Thank you both! 

 

It's Emperor's Children Index Release Day (making it sound more exciting than it technically is seeing as they're just the same warscrolls from the original CSM Index) but Lucius and Noise Marines seems like a good theme for a post today!

 

Because it's felt rather inevitable that Noise Marines and Lucius would get new minis I've struggled to make piece with them as it's a great deal of effort to convert anything half decent but knowing it'll be invalidated sometimes soon makes it a bit tricky. However, I decided I'd try and build something that I could repurpose when the time comes that these all get new proper kits!

 

Blade-Prince Nicepherous Grycas - Lord of the Weeping Blade Dance, Prince of Envy, Lord of Hubris, 'Little Lucius'

 

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"He fancies himself a swordsman. Like Lucius"

"Don't they all," Bile said.

- Exchange between Oleander Koh and Fabius Bile from 'Primogenitor' by Josh Reynolds

 

I was re-reading Primogenitor and this little exchange between Fabius and Oleander discussing Gulos Palatides struck me with an idea..

 

I didn’t want to make Lucius at all (he’ll join when he gets a new mini) but a warrior consumed by Hubris and Envy in equal measure and trying to live up to the paragon of swordsmanship within his former legion. That could be an interesting character. So, Blade-Prince Nicepherous Grycas was born. Mockingly called Little Lucius by those who see him as a preening imitation of The Eternal - although none have survived using that name within earshot… He’s a duellist always desperate to prove his superiority, driven by the ever-present doubt that if the one he aspires to match ever faced him he’d be shown to be inferior. 

 

There's a beautiful irony in that if he and Lucius ever faced off, should Grycas prove justified in his own self-importance and triumph, he'd be unable to resist revelling in his victory and very soon become Lucius anyway... Hubris and Envy indeed!

 

 

The base for the conversion is the Forge World Captain Lucius. Seeing as Lucius has both of his melee weapons included on the one profile I decided to go for the dual blades approach. One is the power sword from the Chosen kit the othee is a sword from the Myrmidesh Painbringers kit from Age of Sigmar. The face, also an Age of Sigmar piece, is from the Slaves to Darkness Chariot and then his Doom Siren has a combat drug injector added.

 

The Ensemble

 

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The Ensemble, as it was known, was less an organised unit of warriors than it was a loose assembly of Slaanesh's Chosen. Pilgrims drawn from warband to warband, following the Song of Slaanesh. In battle, they grouped themselves around the strongest voices in their choirs, but there's little uniformity to their structure from one battle to the next.

 

Just the Noise Champions to share for today. Noise Champions are an odd mini in that they can take a Sonic Blaster, a Doom Siren, and a Power Fist so they were always going to be fun to model!

 

Noise Champion Telukion - Orchestrator and First Voice of The Ensemble

 

 

Noise Champion Kelios - Second Voice of The Ensemble

 

Edited May 21 by Elazar The Glorified