I've finished my Callidus Assassin in record time for me, taking under a week to complete! She was the easiest of the Assassins, due to mostly being one colour with some highlights.
And this obviously means that I've painted all four Assassins! I never set out to complete all four, but after I painted my Culexus the bug bit and I couldn't not go for it. It's been a fun project, and it's nice to see something completed personally. I might even run them as an Execution Force in game one day, who knows?!
Anyways...
Execution Force 'Testament Unwritten'. Kill Ratio 2763:1. Lethality Vector Primus.
I've painted my third Assassin from the new kits, the Eversor. This means I've nearly completed an Execution Force, just needing to paint a Callidus, which I'll be picking up next week.
'The Ethnarch attacked our brothers. He attacked the Imperium and defied the laws of the Emperor. His greatest crime though was to strike at our existence. Every member of the Tenth Company was born on Kerishian. From there they were moulded into the future of the Shrikes. The children of this world have returned home, and they have come clad in wrath.'
Captain Thraam Yercik, X Company, Crimson Shrikes Adeptus Astartes.
Below can be seen pic-capture of Scout Squads Neestoi and Grusis of the Crimson Shrikes Chapter. These small units of Tenth Company recruits were added to the counter-attack forces of Captain Koridas at his request, allowing for infiltration and recon deep within enemy lines, and the creation of a location beacon matrix to guide in drop-podding and teleporting elements of the strike force.
The world of Kerishian Alpha-Seven, as well as being a prominent Shrine World within the sector, was also an the main recruitment world for the Crimson Shrikes. Feral gangs of youths, abandoned or orphaned in the bustling cathedral-metropolises of Kerishian were forced to survive via guile and stealth, and in some cases outright violence. This makes them ideal candidates for Astartes recruitment, exceptionally so in the case of the Raven Guard - descended Shrikes. The chosen would be taken to the home world of the Shrikes and put through the trials of Corax. Not all would survive these trials, and in some cases the entire crop would be lost to the mega-flora and fauna of the stalk-jungles. However, those that passed would be accepted into the Chapter, where their training would begin.
The Ethnarch bringing his campaign of ruin and horror to Kerishian left the Shrikes with the only option available to them, and led to their direct involvement with the Shrine War. After the death of their only other recruitment world in the Black Deep Atrocity, the Shrikes' future was under immediate threat. To the Tenth Company, sons all of Kerishian, the war was a just action, even with the faint memories of their life before the Chapter. The Sergeants of the Scout squads were required to not only lead, but to temper the rage of their charges in the battles that followed.
'Space Marines are not the noble heroes sung of in legend, as much as the Imperium wants them to be. They are murderers. Killers bred for one purpose, the extermination of life. The House has seen this time and time again. It was the murder-lust of your Corpse-Emperor's sons that led humanity back into the dark ages of now. And yet, Juriakon, scion of Corax, you are that rare creature. An Astartes that I find fascinating. I would piss on Inquisitor Isut's offer, but for your presence. My Knights will walk with you alone, Master of the Laniidae'
Knight-Baroness Oula Sammanta, Pilot of 'Omenstrider', Matriax of the House Erritian. Spoken at the Red Concord.
Master of the Laniidae. First of the Thorn Wreath. These titles belong to the Captain of the First Company of the Crimson Shrikes, a position currently occupied by Faaial Juriakon. A resolute warrior, Juriakon has led the First for fifty-two Terran years, and brought nought but victory to the Shrikes.
Juriakon deployed exclusively with the Laniidae during the Shrine War, using the teleport homers carried by the Scouts of the Tenth to bring instant and cataclysmic assaults upon rebel mortals and later Traitor legion elements. Yet Juriakon's greatest achievement is one that took place away from the battlefield. During the first meetings with the ancient Knight House of Erritian, Inquisitor Judia Isut, the leader of the Imperial battle group assigned to the Shine War found his efforts to recruit the House's allegiance were met with blunt refusals. In the last meeting, known as The Red Concord, Isut believed that a show of force was required to show the House that the power of the Imperium was not to be ignored. A request for a Crimson Shrike escort was granted, and the honour guard was led by Juriakon himself.
The House was not moved by this overt display of force. A lesser opponent may have been coerced by the terror of the war-plated transhumans in their court, but the Matriax of House Erritian was not moved. The House was brutal and merciless in combat, and their warriors were nobles in name only. Matriax Sammanta met the Shrikes with only a deep cackle of disgust. The Shrikes bristled at this insult, and for a few tense moments it seemed that the room would be filled with slaughter and the sound of bolters. However, Juriakon was not only famed for his leadership of the Thorn Wreath, but for his abilities as a wordsmith. He had written treatises and lectures that had spread around not only his Chapter, but amongst the whole of the Astartes brotherhood. He requested that the Matriax engage with him, crone to Marine. Sammanta consented to this, and they retreated to her private quarters for one day and one night. No record of their talks are kept, but after they returned to the court the Matriax pledged her support to Inquisitor Isut, with a special note exclaiming her respect of Juriakon and the Shrikes.
Seen here wearing his Terminator war-plate, and carrying the relic blade 'Termination Shock', Juriakon placed himself and the Laniidae under the command of Ryylo Koridas, providing the anvil to Koridas's hammer-blow of rapid strikes from his company. Although the Knights of House Erritian were in essence an independent force within the Imperial battle lines, the respect shown to Juriakon meant that he and the Laniidae were nearly always supported by at least one Knight, the sound of merciless laughter broadcast on loudhailers as the Knights began their attacks.
Addendum - After the House of Erritian was destroyed on orders from Inquisitor Isut, Juriakon was reported to have spent ninety-nine days in mourning and etched the House symbol into his left greive. It appears that the respect given by House Erritian was mutual.
This guy isn't part of the Shrine War story as such, but I didn't really want to open a new log for him. Fun model to paint, and came together pretty quick. My favourite part surprisingly was painting the pillar behind him, which had a variety of techniques applied and all worked very nicely.
'The Black Legion returned Lasker to us with whatever they consider honour, as if the word had any meaning from those that betrayed Humanity in the name of their foul gods. We honoured them in return with the subtle knife in the night.'
- Captain Ryylo Koridas, III Company, Crimson Shrike Adeptus Astartes
After the death of Chapter Master Lasker and the realisation that the Shrine War, at least for the Shrikes, would be mainly Astartes vs Astartes combat, the newly promoted Captain of the Third Company Ryylo Koridas requested the remainder of the Chapter involved in combat operations in the sector divert their attention to Kerishian Alpha-Seven in order to reinforce the battered Third, and formulate new tactics aimed at de-stabilising the Traitor Marines' grip on the city of Ikartian.
Koridas had been promoted from with the Chapter's First Company, informally designated as the 'Thorn Wreath'. Turning back to his former brothers, Koridas requested that a number of Vanguard squads within the First be placed under his direct command to assist in counter-Astartes actions, and equipped accordingly. Along with the Third being resupplied with Marines from reserve companies and Scouts from the Tenth, this allowed Koridas to change the methodology previously employed by the Third. Whereas the Company had previously only used guerrilla warfare as a fall-back when squads were below strength or cut-off, now this became the standard tactic used to ensnare Traitor Marines into ambushes and asymmetrical warfare. Indeed, many PDF troopers still involved within the conflict on Kershian noted that although before they had seen the Shrikes engaged in many actions, they almost disappeared from mortal eyes, with only the remains of annihilated Traitor Marines being occasionally found by forces as the Imperial battle-line slowly crept forward.
Koridas can be seen here alongside Vanguard Sqaud Ithcal. Squad Ithcal acted as Koridas's retinue for the majority of the campaign on Kerishian, and were armed specifically for destruction of power armoured foes up close. As can be seen, the weapon of choice in the unit was the lightning claw, a weapon that required an archaic fighting style, but proved utterly deadly in the hands of Ithcal.
Koridas himself is armed with an ancient blade drawn from the relics of the Shrikes, known as the 'Unkindness'. This massive blade would be enough to kill even a fully armoured Astartes without power, and can cut through even Tactical Dreadnought Armour when turned on. Koridas also uses a plasma-based jump pack, providing more height and boost to any leaps made and also allowing a devastating arrival into close-combat.
'The thrice-accursed Tyrant of Badab once said that big guns never tire. However, he forgot one thing. It is not the size of the gun that is fired, but where the gun is fired from. That is what your enemy should truly fear.'
Sergeant Velo Orestes, III Company, Crimson Shrikes Adeptus Astartes.
The Crimson Shrikes' famed guerrilla techniques throughout the Shrine War were not just limited to the more adaptable units such as Tactical and Sternguard squads, but were taken on board by all Chapter brothers engaged in the conflict, even spreading to the heavy weapon specialists of the Devastator squads. With the Shrine Worlds being sprawling urban megastructures encompassing millions of inhabitants, long range weaponry such as the lascannon and missile launcher were less effective due to rate of fire and limited short-range armour penetration. This led to Squad Orestes utilising a mix of multi-meltas and grav-cannons. Notoriously short ranged, the weapons could be brought to full effect due to the infiltration of Squad Orestes into the various shattered buildings and facilities found during battle. Indeed, the only sign of any imminent attack for rebel forces was the sight of the squad's armorium cherub, a fact that led to the construct being known as the 'Child of Vengeance'.
Equipped with targeting devices and extra armour plating, heavy-weapon carrying Marines are capable of delivering accurate and withering amounts of firepower to a localised area, suppressing enemy movement and breaking apart armoured columns. In the case of Squad Orestes, various members can be seen with extra-sensory equipment such as pic-cams and auspexes to enable total superiority over an area.
Squad Orestes's most notable achievement during the War was to hunt down the Daemon Engines known as 'The Scarlet Octennial'. Believed to be eight ++Redacted++ of the War God, Khorne, the Octennial tore through civilian centres on Kerishian Alpha-Seven, their rampages killing and maiming hundreds at a time. Squad Orestes were deployed into a vast urban maw wherein the Octennial and the Shrikes were involved in a Terran-month long hunt for each other. The Octennial were finally destroyed, but at great cost to the Shrikes, as seven brothers were killed during the action, including Orestes himself.
'The death of mortal flesh is not enough in these times of celestial horror. The only assured victory is the annihilation of the soul'
Biblio of the Culex, Chapter XX, Verse CVII.
'Knives in the night are one thing. But to deploy this monster, this aberration of Humanity, is not a step even I would have considered. This is the work of the Culexus, and that which it hunts will die screaming as the darkness reaches out with cold, dread hands.'
Inquisitor Judia Isut.
Subject Theta-Theta-Kappa, 'Sibilant in Jade', as seen in the hive city of Doonwrech.
Deployment order ++Classified, level Alpha-Epsilon++
Targets ++Unknown++
Notable kills ++Black Legion Traitor Psyker - Code Name 'Vermillion Hexatude'++
Current status ++MIA, believed curren....
++WARNING - WARNING - WARNING++
++UNKNOWN INTRUSION++
++AUTO-SERVITORS DEPLOYED, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FLEE++
'There is only one way to see that a war is truly won, and it has ever been thus since the first time Man picked up weapon against Man. It is the brutality of close-combat, of sword against sword, that confirms the kill.
The Asymmetrical - Julion Griess, M30.
'The noise those jump-packs make, well, it goes through you like wind on a cold Hel-Winter night. Course it does, it's got to get an Astartes into the sky. The first few times, you could hear the platoon collectively shudder. They started shuddering to different sounds soon enough though. The sound of sorrowful chants and chainblades. The lads were scared, because they knew they'd yet again witness what the Shrikes had done to the rebels...
There are some things that you don't ever leave behind'
Platoon Commander Yeter Kysadrix, Itenyrs IV PDF, post Shrine-War.
Above and below can be seen pic-capture of Assault Squad Veun of the Crimson Shrikes III Company, led by Sergeant Oris Veun.
Even within the role of the Adeptus Astartes as shock troops, Assault Squads have a reputation as line-breakers beyond compare. That close-combat is still the most effective way to cripple enemy morale in an age of planet-killers would be shocking if one had not witnessed the ferocity of transhuman melee. Jump-packs are routinely used to speed the Astartes into close-quarters engagement, and also to provide attack vectors that would ordinarily prove impossible without prior planning and execution. Most Chapters use chainswords, although some of the more ferocious (cross-ref Flesh Tearers) will use the heavier, less-common chainaxe. Regardless, the effect is the same - weapons ,that when used by mortals, are notorious for lethality become terrifying in gene-enhanced hands.
Squad Veun was joined throughout the conflict by III Company's Chaplain, Ptesr Beserides. The honour of being accompanied by such an esteemed figure within the Company, along with the hypno-suggestive, almost mournful chants of Beserides resulted in Squad Veun becoming almost unstoppable within their assigned role. Mortal enemy combatants would either retreat, or be slaughtered under the blades of Veun. The squad had the highest kill ratio of all Shrike units until the insertion of Traitor Legion elements into the War, after which they dropped into guerrilla warfare methodology, using rapid Stormraven deployment to decimate supply chains and sow confusion within enemy lines.
'A buttrflight flaps its wings in Neu-Tukyo and a hurricane devastates L'Angelos'
- Ancient Terran saying, based on the teachings of the Mathematica Chao, M2
The Crimson Shrikes Librarius is known for its ability to affect battle and war through the psychic influence of information, using their powers to disrupt enemy deployments and supply lines into a state of chaos before a single bullet is fired. However, among this powerful cabal the head of the Librarius and Chief Librarian of the Crimson Shrikes Brern Wehial is famed for his ability to directly attack the enemy though information alone.
All wars create a local infosphere of orders and commands, movements and reports known to the Adeptus Mechanicus as a noosphere. The method of the Librarius is to insert information into this noosphere, mimicking original orders and commands with subtle differences, whereby it will be picked up by enemy forces and misinterpreted. Uniquely, Wehial's powers allow him to pull information from the noosphere and directly change it. Kill-code and hypnotic controls are weaved in and placed back as a Trojan Horse, working its way through the higher echelons of the sphere until it reaches an intended target. When the time is right, Wehial will trigger the info-bomb, causing untold damage to the local enemy noospshere and anything wired in.
The most famous of these events during the Shrine War is the death of the enemy Reaver Titan 'Severius Gamus' and its slaved Warhound pack. Wehial plucked a small piece of scrap-code from the noosphere whilst in orbit above the planet of Urexes VII, changing only two letters within the code and returning it to the sphere. The code hunted for seven days until finally meshing itself within the info-spine of 'Severius Gamus'. During the battle for the capital of Urexes VII, Wehial triggered the hidden code, immediately off-lining all of Severius Gamus's systems and Warhound slaves. This opportunity was not passed up, and Knights 'Cerulean Invective' and 'Martyr Blue' of the house Erritian made their first Titan kills of the campaign.
Wehial can be seen above. A towering Astartes, even for someone clad in Terminator Armour, he wears a a 'Crusader' type helm and wields his force staff 'Star-Render'. His armour is the colour of the Shrikes' Librarius as per Codex tradition. However, unlike his brother Librarians, both of Wehial's arm are coloured black in instead of the standard left, an honour only afforded to the Chief Librarian due to his place and importance within the Chapter.
'Legend would have it that the Astartes know no fear. A funny tale, almost as if our transhumanity was not enough to intimidate. I feared something once, the same thing most of us would tell you. A small death on some forgotten hellhole, my deeds unremembered. When I was pierced upon the thorns, I saw the manner of my end.
I do not die inglorious.'
Rylo Zelaange, Sargeant, I Squad, I Company, Crimson Shrikes Adeptus Astartes
'Within the first company of the Crimson Shrikes, informally known as the 'Thorn Wreath', there exists a distinct group of elites. Warriors that turn the tide of wars, turning certain defeat into outright victory. They fight exclusively clad in Terminator armour, teleporting into the heaviest fighting in a battle. We know them as the Laniidae.
When the Crimson Shrikes were founded, a cadre of twenty-nine neophytes were initially trained by three veteran warriors of their parent chapter, the Raven Guard. In honour of this, the Laniidae number exactly thirty-two Astartes at all times, never more, never less. They do not fight as per Codex structure, but in loose brotherhoods of between five to eight Astartes. To join the Laniidae is to become almost legend within the Shrikes, and rare is the Captain who was not directly promoted from their ranks.
When a member of the Laniidae is killed, the rest of the First Company will meet and nominate one brother from each squad of the company, for a total of seven potentials. These seven are taken by the Laniidae squad they potentially will join into the wilderness of the Shrikes homeworld. There, the potentials and Laniidae will begin a great hunt for one of the great araknowyms that live within the megafauna. Immune to weaponary that would level a Baneblade, the hunt is long and arduous, and allows the Laniidae to decipher who will be the best fit for the unit. This will not only be at a physical level, but spiritually as well. When the hunt ends, the Laniidae will choose a successor for their fallen brother. The remaining Shrikes (if any survive) will return to their squads, never speaking of their ordeal. The new Laniidae will bcome a darker, morose soul, and some believe that the visions that take place during the First Company initiation ritual are somehow enhanced, telling the Laniidae of his eventual death. Whatever the truth of this, the Laniidae are shock troops beyond compare, willing to throw themselves into battles that even other Shrikes would consider unwinnable.
Squad Zelaange were foremost within the fighting during the Shrine War, taking on missions that other would have considered suicide. The fact that not one brother of the squad was killed is testamount to both the strength of Terminator armour, and the skill and self-belief of the Laniidae wearing it. It is however rumoured that Squad Zelaange were somehow aware that none of them would die during the conflict, and this resulted in their almost suicidal attacks, knowing this would not be their time to meet the God-Emperor. Whatever the truth, the Laniidae are heroes all.'
'Rituals of the Raven Guard and Successors' - Tominas Rotajz
'The true prize of any war is to be able to write history to the terms of the victor. The truth of it ends up in the gutter with the bodies of the vanquished.'
Inquisitor Judia Isut, known as the Black Hammer.
'That bastard Isut used us as a scalpel, a tool to exise the cancer that was the Ethnarch. Only he knew that the blade would break in the process.'
Olunis Varajaisn, Chapter Master, Crimson Shrikes Adeptus Astartes.
'The Fourth Shrine War. An event that resulted in the loss of millions of lives, the death of two planets and the destruction of an ancient Knight house. All of this can be attributed to one man, Judia Isut. His ruthless pursuit of the Ethnarch led the heretic to seek refuge upon Kerishian Alpha-Seven, and Isut played this fortune like a viola.
Knowing that the Crimson Shrikes Adeptus Astartes used Alpha-Seven as a recruitment world, Isut let the Ethnarch take root within the shrine-cities of the world, building his forces and spreading his taint throughout the sector, concealing this from the larger Imperium. A heinous crime indeed, but one that was undertaken as a matter of need. The shadow war had been fought between Isut and the Ethnarch for over a decade, and Isut believed that the time to escalate the conflict into an outright war was now. The Shrikes, elements of Knight Household Erritian and various Astra Militarum regiment were sequestered, while the Scions of Harlens World were requested as the personal combat force of Isut himself. Indeed, Isut was to be seen as an active combatant, leading from the front even in the heaviest of the fighting, free of the need for secrecy and knives in the night.
The initial strikes against the Ethnarch crippled the rebels high command and ability to co-ordinate assets. However, this first wave of success was blunted by the arrival of a Traitor Legion force drawn from the Black Legion, the Sons of the Arch-Heretic. Their guidance and leadership helped the Ethnarch to begin a strong and lasting counter-battle, one that would lead to the death of the Shrikes Chapter Master and massive losses to House Erritian.'
'To hear a citizen of the Imperium talk of the Astartes is to hear tales of descending angels, wiping away the heretic, the xenos, the traitor. These fairy tales suit the majority well enough, and for that they should be grateful. I've seen Space Marines fight up close, and to watch the Crimson Shrikes wage war was to gaze upon Death in its purest form.'
Attributed to Scion Tempestor Uli Honanson, 62nd Harlen World Regiment, post-Shrine War.
'The Ursine...A simple enough epithet do you not think?'
Brother Gyn Wesm, III Company, Crimson Shrikes Adeptus Astartes
Here can be seen pic-capture of Squad Akkirion of the Crimson Shrikes IIIrd Company, led by Loe Akkirion. A giant of an Astartes, Loe was deployed in situations where high-level rebel targets were required to be intercepted and captured where possible. A patient hunter, Akkirion would track his targets for weeks remaining undetected. At the right moment, quickly-adapted ambushes would be undertaken by the squad to secure assets, while leaving a trail of devastation in their midst before melting back into the shadows. However, it has been noted that towards the end of the War, these assets would be more likely than not killed during these extractions. This can be attributed to enemy friendly-fire to prevent rebel plans falling into Imperial hands, however with the horrors the Shrikes endured throughout the war, it cannot be ignored that this may have been retaliatory from Sqaud Akkirion for their lost brothers.
Presented here is the squad's heavy weapons trooper, Gyn Wesm. Brother Wesm can be seen carrying a cut down version of a Multi-Melta, a favoured weapon within IIIrd Company tactical squads. With the role Akkirion were to play, a Mk49 Ryza-pattern short Melta was preferred due to the ease of firing on the move. The pattern is notorious for its extreme short range, even for an melta-class weapon, however this was offset due to Squad Akkriron's tactics allowing for short-range engagaments.
Loe Akkirion, seen carrying a large power maul crafted from the wood of the mega-fauna of the Shrikes' homeworld. For such a large Astartes, Akkirion was famed for his stealth, and indeed was remarked by his brothers to have been a true scion of Corax. Indeed, Akkirion himself would spend many hours in both silent contemplation of his Primarch's teachings, and within the training grounds of the Chapter honing his squad's gueriila tactics. After the War was finished, Squad Akkirion had lost six brothers during operations. However, the bravery and determinism of Akkirion himself was duly noted by his Captain, and he undertook the ritual of 'The Piercing', a trial which he passed. He is currently deployed with the fourth squad of I Company, under the leadership of Sargeant Qilan.
