Bloody Beginnings

So, after that dramatic (pretentious?) opening, it's time to go into some more details. I'm building a small Blood Angels force, based around the remains of the Third Company after Tycho's death. WIthin this framework, I'm also hoping to explore and develop on my favourite unit within the Codex, the Death Company. 

This idea came to me when the last Codex was released. Some of the rumours suggested that there would be a spiritual split within the Chapter, between those who saw the Black Rage as a flaw, and those who would see it as a gift and a weapon from Sanguinius. Although this obviously was something that never quite materialised, the idea stuck with me. With the new releases, and a lot of point drops, I realised I could throw in all the things I wanted without making the army massively ineffective, and so here we are!

Below are the first things I have to work with. I also have about 30 extra Death Company from the last release, and 10 or so Sanguinary Guard. I'm planning to pick up a new Sanguinary Priest, some Rhinos and a Vindicator or two. I'm going to go with what feels right, more than stick to a list, but there will be lots of Death Company. Lots and lots of Death Company...

I've also gone and built my first model, and where better to start than with the new Captain of the Third. There's a little tidying up to do with regards to gaps, but he's basically ready to go. It'll be interesting to paint some gold, especially as I'm not planning to use any gold paint...

'Ah, but rage. Rage is our legacy'

'Sing, goddess, the wrath of Akhillus, the ruinous wrath that brought on the Achaians woes innumerable, and hurled down into Hades many strong souls of heroes…'
Fragment of The Ilyad. Eighth Century B.C. Poem, composed by the Blind Grekian.

'And so the Angel took flight next to the Master of Mankind. He slew the daemon and the heretic, and punished those who had failed the Imperium. Soon, he was to be left with the Great Betrayer, unto which he was rent, throttled by his most beloved brother. Even in death, Sanguinius never left his children. He became part of us, our genetic core altered by that most traumatic ending. 

They call the Rage a curse. Ah, but rage. Rage is our legacy. A final gift from our dying father.'

Sanguinary Priest Erino Callaphen, 'Ruminations on Loss'.

The Twice-Pierced

'I was there on the day Lasker took his second pilgrimage on the Thorns. The Chaplains of the Third and Fifth hoisted him unto those spines, while Master of Sancity Farri began the chants of Knowing. Evek stayed up there for what seemd eternal, while even his Astartes biology began to fail him, the poison washing through him like a tidal wave over and over. His left eye began to disolve within his head, pus seeping out of the socket. But only silence came from him. Silence until the fourteenth day, when he turned to me and whispered one sentence.'

'I am ready.'

'Fourteen days. Unheard of. Impossible. Transhuman biology can only take us so far. It was only the sheer will of Lasker that kept him alive through...that. His single eye looked at me when the Apothecarion carried him away. It was an eye filled with knowledge and wisdom.'

'The wisdom to fight the Shrine War. The knowledge of how he would die.'

Brother-Chaplain Teruis Hpolian, Crimson Shrikes Adeptus Astartes.

'It is with regret that I must report the death of Chapter Master Lasker during the Drop Pod Assault on the Tower of Aleph. Reports suggest that Shrike scouts triangulated the position of the Ethnarch to the 72nd floor of the tower, and that a potential decapitation of all rebel command structure would be a possibility. Lasker, taking this chance, ordered a targeted Drop Pod strike into the tower. Lasker, along with five pods of veteran Shrikes, fell into various locations of the structure, and almost immediately into heavy rebel resistance. Lasker's pod, containing himself and Squad Espehren (see pic-record above) smashed into the top levels of the tower, and began the short hunt for the Ethnarch. They instead, from vid-capture, found massive and deadly resistance in the form of Traitor Legion (cross-ref - Black Legion) Terminators, with the warlord known as the Terran-Born at their heart. 

What can only be described as a titanic, yet one-sided battle erupted. Lasker bludgeoning through Terminator plate like paper, while the blades and bullets of the Black Legion tore Squad Espehren to peices. At the last, it appears the Terran-Born and Lasker took to personal combat, wherein Lasker met his death at the end of Ravensbane. 

Lasker's body was later found by Shrike scouts, laid out in the open on an altar of obsidian, his armour repaired, his wounds cleansed. An audio-log found by the body and confirmed to be the voice of the Terran-Born contained only the following message - 

'We return this warrior to you unblemished. This is our gift to those we honour. This is the way of the Old Legions'

The Shrikes have recovered from this blow with surprising speed. Indeed, the rapidness of their response would almost suggest that Lasker had his succession prepared in advance, although this can only lead myself to believe that the Master of Shrikes knew he was going to his death. 

Addendum - The Ethnarch was believed to never have been within the Tower of Aleph. Indeed, sightings seem to confirm with 85.0192% accuracy that he was within a different system at the time. This leads to the question of how the scouts of the Shrikes were led to believe the Ethnarch was within easy grasp. We must begin to expand our information sources and create a web that covers the whole sector, my Lord.

Fate is what we make

'A third eye, turned from the light. A House betrayed. These are the things that the Thorns have shown me, the things that will lead to my death. All I have now is time to make glorious the Shrikes in the eyes of the Emperor. All else is folly.'

Evek Lasker 'The Twice-Pierced', Chapter Master, Crimson Shrikes Adeptus Astartes.

+++Futher exload incoming+++

+++Thought for the day - A man makes his own fate+++

The Death of House Erritian

'The woe of our House cannot be contained within our walls and our hearts. The Primordial Annihilator has come to wage war upon us through your actions and your subterfuge, and they have taken my son. I will unleash my Knights, and they shall bring death and pain to the Great Foe. But hear this, Inquisitor. Your words of alliance are but piss and ashes to me, and my humours would be greatly settled by seeing you strung from Omenstrider's chassis. These words are not threats.'

Knight-Baroness Oula Sammanta, Pilot of 'Omenstrider', Matriax of the House Erritian. Spoken at the Red Concord. 

'The Knights of House Erritian are a callous bunch of inbreds. And they are entirely nessesscary to the Shrine War. After the Ethnarch is dead, I shall be glad to sign the order that brings them to heel, and if they will not, if they snarl and claw like an unbroken dog, I will have them put down. They may have sailed the waves of history since before the Dark Age, but I will end them, and I will feel joy.'

Inquisitor Judia Isut

Above can be seen the Knight-Errant Hzon Easu, controlling the machine known as 'Martyr Blue'. This Knight, along with the brother Knights 'Celestial Indigo' and 'Cerulean Invective' were deployed to the Kerrishian System to provide short term super-heavy support until the forces of the Mechanicus could translate into the sector. In this, they were more effective than even the Astartes of the Crimson Shrikes, and the blaring horns of the Knights were greeted by the Kerrshian PDF as the sound of doom for the foe. However, as with the Knights of Old Earth, Esau and his brothers were only interested in personal honour, and frequently would leave Imperial forces open to counter attack by rebel infantry formations, seeing them as little more than ants and with no promise of glory.

To the Imperium, the continued existence of the the Knight Household of Erritian was a mystery. Formed in the Dark Age, before the rise of the New Man known as the Emperor, the House was notorious for its insular nature, refusing to choose between the traitors and loyalists of the heresy, and only involving itself in Imperial affairs where the future of the House was in jeopardy. This led to rumours that dark and insidious forces were at work within the House, with the Knights being accused of both fleshweaving, and strange rituals to honour their dead. The only thing the House would say on these matters, if indeed anything was said, is that the House is all, and that all brother and sister Knights must return to the House. 

Martyr Blue' was the only survivor of the three Knights from the War. 'Cerulean Invective' was destroyed by a Great Brass Scorpion, while 'Celestial Indigo' broke formation during combat against Black Legion traitors, striding into strange coloured fog. After three days missing, and only receiving strange, gut-wrenching static when attempting to fix the Knight's location, 'Celestial' was declared lost. 'Martyr Blue' was, after the War, detroyed along with the rest of House Erritian after their home world was invaded by Raven Guard and Angels of Porphor Adeptus Astartes under the orders of Inquisitor Judia Isut to bring the Household under the yoke of Imperial control. Rumours that this action was rather to annihilate the Knights rather than install Imperial rule are spoken in the dark corners of the Inquistion.

Martyr Blue Painting Complete.

I've spent the last two weeks painting Martyr Blue on and off, spending about 30 mins to an hour a night over two weeks getting the armour panelling finished. As of about 12.30 this afternoon, I glued the last shin plate in place, and could finally say I'm done with the painting! He's been a surprisingly easy model to paint, and most of my hardships were with the mixture of armour plate colouring, which I think I've got in a nice ratio so the blue is the dominant colour, but both the black and silver are in a good proportion too.

Presenting Martyr Blue, Foehammer, The Walking Inevitable, Knight-Errant Hzon Esau of the noble House Erritian

This proves to myself that even the biggest project can be tackled if taken in small steps, and that hobby time, even if limited, can be super productive even in short bursts. There's no way I would have thought I could have done Martyr so quickly two weeks ago until I got started, as a model this size can be very daunting. 

So, what's next? Well, I need to finish basing him, and after that transfers (you can see where they will be going due to the gloss varnish on the plating. And after that, well, I've ordered some weathering powders from Forgeworld and they'll be used to make Martyr look like an ancient machine from before the dawn of the Imperium. If anyone does have some good advice or guides they'd be willing to share, that would be great as this will be a new painting experience for me.

The next update should have both the finished model, and some background into both Martyr Blue and House Erritian, looking at their role within the Fourth Shrine War and their relationship with the Imperium. Let's just say it's...difficult.

Martyr Blue WIP

Over the last few days I've been working on my Knight, Martyr Blue, as I was concerned I had had a lull in painting and wanted something different to have a go at. Unlike my Shrikes who are cleaner than clean, I wanted my Knight to be as grotty as possible yet still able to function. The Knight house in my background are an ancient order from the Dark Age, and try to have as little to do with the Imperium as possible, meaning that their machines are relics from a time long gone, and I wanted to represent this with some real wear and tear. The armour plates on this guy will be weathered with powder, but not to a huge extent, as House Erritan believe that the colours of the house are sacred, but that the machine that carries them is just a tool. 

I'm aware that the amount of grime will possibly be a massive no-no in some eyes, but having tested the fitting of the armour, it does get cut down due to the amount covered. Also, this is still heavily WIP. With that said, any C&C will be greatly appreciated.

And finally, a little treat to myself. I've never had the room to put any kind of display cabinet in place, but after some recent rejigging within my house, I've managed to get the following in place! There's nothing like having your finished work within a display cabinet, even if it's only your own :P

Tangent Diagonal

'I watched that Astartes bird fall from the sky like its wings had been clipped, dropping faster and faster. The thing I remember is the noise. There was none, just silence. About fifty metres from the deck, the damn thing kicked its thrusters in, dropped into a hover outside a rebel-held building, and just starts shredding everything moving inside. That's the thing about Astartes weaponry, it's the sound of death, pure and cleansing. It fired off four missiles into the remains of the structure, and before the explosions had even dissipated it was gone. 

I know our flyboys are crazy, but that Talon did things that should be impossible...'

Eleam Ilisdur, 38th Joturn Dragoons, Militarum Tempestus.

Above can be seen the Crimson Shrikes Storm Talon 'Tangent Diagonal'. This Talon was piloted by Alekine Tobor of the IIIrd Company, and mostly deployed with its sister Talon 'Avalanche Rampant'. Tobor was a master of the famed combat technique, the Corvusfall, whereby a Shrike pilot will climb to cloud level or higher and cut all power. The Talon will drop, being manouvered to resemble a damaged or out of control craft until the fighter has nearly crashed, at which point the Astartes pilot will use the Talon's superior thruster tech to control the descent as close to base level as he dares, the Marine's enhanced biology keeping him conscious throughout the G-stresses involved. This provides the element of surprise which the Talon will use to strike at its target using Skyhammer missiles and assault cannon. After the attack, the Talon will boost back to combat ceiling to scout its next target.

During the Shrine War, Alekine and 'Tangent Diagonal', in conjunction with 'Avalanche Rampant' were responsible for over 35 confirmed enemy heavy armour kills. After the destruction of 'Rampant', Alekine was tasked with enemy light armour and infantry disruption, the sound of howling afterburners being the last thing many rebels would hear. 

Fosreddan

'I admired them, the Raven Guard. Even during Isstvan V, when we murdered our fellow Astartes to usher in the new order of Lupercal, some part of me found the Guard honourable even as they were cut down to a man. Lupercal sent the Red Angel to finish that which our Legions combined could not, and this pleased me, for Angron in his rage would be hasty, and easily outwitted by Corax, and then we could turn the Ravens to our cause in time. Had I known that the proud gene-line of Corvus would lead to these thin-blooded Shrikes. I would have slain Corax myself to save his honour.'

Wosnek Fosreddan 'Terran-Born', Traitor Commander, 35th Company Black Legion.

Librarian Hetyrn Kylesa - A war of lies

'Wars have ever thus been won by information. Even in the far history of Ancient Terra, battles were decided by the side with the fastest messenger. The Ethnarch may spread his poison words throughout the sector, but little by little we fight back. Where we cannot strike with the bolter, we Librarians strike with disinformation. Vox-comms being miscommunicated. Orders to attack sites of nothingness. Encrypted messages being altered just enough so doom is brought on the recipient. This is our weapon. This is how wars are won'

Hetyrn Kylesa, Crimson Shrikes Librarius.

Librarians of the Crimson Shrikes are dedicated to a special type of psykic study, that of infomation alteration. Similar to the operations of the Vanus Assassin clade, any Librarian within a Shrike force will be deployed to attack the mind and morale of enemy forces, sowing deceit and error throughout the foe. This is done in a myriad of ways, but whereas the Vanus use their infocytic gifts, Shrike Librarians will instead use their minds. This can lead to Librarians staying in orbit when assaulting less developed or feral races, but in the case of the Shrine War, the Ethnarch deployed complex encryption software and codes. This lead to Librarians deploying from orbit and engaging in a shadow war, physically and mentally breaking both comms equipment and rebel messenger chains to ensure all enemy information lines were constructed of lies.

Below, we can see Epistolary Hetyrn Kyelsa deployed with Squad Alejandro of III Company. Working together, these Astartes fought in the shade, striking communcation lines and altering orders before blending back into the shadows. Imperial estimates suggest these types of actions would have lead to the Shrine War ending within an acceptable two Terran years. This, as we know , was unfortunately not the case due to Traitor Legion interference.

Tactical Squad Alejandro complete

' A war is only fought by two honourable combatants. We consider this an extermination'

Millan Alejandro, Sergeant 4th Squad, III Company

'I have served with honour in the Deathwatch for over 25 years. I have fought the horror of the Tyranid, the war-lust of the Orkid, and slew Hrud as they warped time and reality around my brothers and I. The only thing these lesser races have shown me is that the true abomination of the galaxy is Humanity corrupted.'

Esitk Kires, Deathwatch Veteran, 4th Squad, III Company

So, that's Tactical Squad Alejandro done, meaning I have a legally painted army! I was going to write a nice piece of background about these guys, but, well, erm...I've hit a blank. And that's a little worrying for me, as I wanted the Fourth Shrine War project to be more than just a painting log, but a living, breathing document of the realities of war in the 41st Millennium. I'm sure some ideas will flood through, but right now, not so much.

Also, they aren't quite finished, as transfers are required, and will give them the white so needed to break the colours up, but I'm leaning towards a mass day of application as I find transfers tedious at best! C&C is always, always welcome!

Ravensbane

A short, but important update this time. Below is the second half of Tactical Squad Alejandro, led by Millian Alejandro. These aren't very far from being complete, so soon I will have a legally painted army. All 500 points of it :P

And last night I got itchy fingers and started my Black Legion Lord, Wosnek Fosreddan. He's been a charm to paint, and meant I got to use 'Blood for the Blood God' I wasn't too sold putting it on, but after it's dried it looks really good. I also tried for a flayed skin look on his shoulder which hopefully comes across. I'm most pleased with his chain halberd conversion though, and have called his weapon 'Ravensbane' for reason that will become clear!