Master of the Laniidae

'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.

Squad Veun, Chaplain Beserides

Time for some quick WIP's

Meet Squad Veun and Chaplain Beserides

I found my old metal jump pack Chaplain and decided he needed to go into the army as it's such a lovely, evocative model. I also threw in some mark IV jump packs from the Sanguinary Guard kit as they look great, but didn't want to go overboard. The new Assault Marine kit is really nice, and really had a blast putting these guys together.

The Knight twins are getting there too. The shoulder plating is much further on than when this was taken, but I've put them aside for a little while so I don't burnout. They're very straightforward to paint, but they just take ages get nice flat coats of colour.

And finally, I do actually get some games in with the Shrikes. This was back in May against my friend's very red Tzeentch daemons. Was a cracking game, and he had me on the back foot for most of it. The Shrikes fought hard, but fate was not to be on their side this day (I lost by 2 vp's!). Always fun to have a close game though. I really must get the Rhinos and Drop Pods painted as well!

House Erritian Progress

Time for a small update on my two Knights I'm currently painting. Cerulean Invective's carapace is comeplete, while I'm chopping through Celestial Indigo's at the moment. The painting's been stress free, which is always surprising for a model of this size. I've shaded the metal on the carapace of Celestial with Nuln Oil, but Cerulean has been shaded with both Nuln Oil and a subtle point wash of Typhus Corrosion, for reasons that will become clear...

Cerulean Invective. I really enjoyed painting the window port and it's the best gem effect I've ever cranked out so pretty chuffed with it!

Celestial Indigo. I liked the idea of a diagonal stripe running across the top, and hopefully the effect's not come out too bad. It's a little ropey in places, but nothing that distracts the eye so I'm tempted to leave as is instead of constant neatening and potential for mistakes.

These guys should really be painted by the end of next week or the start of the one after. Then all I'll need to do is transfers and weathering with powders.

Jackylwalker

A little preview of what is coming next.

'A hunter creates the conditions for the kill. But a killer will only concern himself with the slaughter. We do not hunt. We prey.'

Knight-Gallant Yudzen Korbas, Midnight Hurricane, The Great Attractor, Jackylwalker. Pilot of 'Cerulean Invective'.

Celestial Indigo and Cerulean Invective walk!

After telling the tale of Martyr Blue, and exploring the strange history of House Erritian, I've been toying with the idea of making more Knights. Specifically, the other two Knights mentioned, Cerulean Invective and Celestial Indigo. With the release of the new Knight kit, and after a bit of internal Back and forth, I took the plunge, and now have two extra Knights to paint! I'm looking forward to really getting stuck into these, and they should be done quite quickly thanks to having painted Martyr Blue first.

Quick family photo in the meantime! Cerulean is the Gallant, while Celestial is going to be a Warden. That pot of Nuln Oil was full when I started, so it's lucky I had a spare!

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

Productive days and The War Escalates.

So, with the (relatively) lovely weather we're having, I've spent a productive day getting models sprayed and prepped for future painting. There won't be much actual work put into the below, but I just wanted to show how the army will develop over the months and years. But first some WIP's of my Sternguard, which I really need to finish but just seem to be avoiding!

They seem a little washed out here, but the robes look really nice in the flesh. I really do have to get a decent camera and soon! They just need the arms and weapons completing and they'll be ready to go.

Next, a few little additions to the Shrikes' motor pool. The Rhino with the Stalker front is the personal transport of the Captain of the 3rd, and not because I forgot to actually put it on my Stalker at all....

And a small pile of bits and pieces that will be getting a lick of paint sooner or later. This includes a Contemptor, two Thunderfire Cannons on which the Techmarines have had arm swaps to try and make them look different, and my new Captain armed with the Teeth of Terra and storm bolter. The Marines will eventually be a Devastator unit, but I'm not in a rush for those just yet.

My Knight in his current state. Two washes of Nuln Oil give a nice look to the metals, which will then be drybrushed with Leadbelcher and Ironbreaker, before pinpoint washes with Typhus Corrosion in joints and bolts that wouldn't move much. The armour plates will be a mix of Stegadon Scale Green with highlights, yellow and black hazard striping and bronze edging, which will have Nilkanth Oxide washed over. The intention is to make this Knight look like a machine that has existed for over fifteen thousand years, which also leads me to ask...anyone have any good weathering techniques? Never done it before but I think a small amount would look really good on the plates.

And finally...

The horrors of the Ethnarch in the Fourth Shrine War have lead to a sector-wide charnel house of death and pain. The weeping and terror of mortals on every planet have created a heady musk of fear that draws dark beings from a time long forgotten. The Pleasure-Flayers of the 3rd legion translate into the Kerishian system...

House Erritian

'For over fifteen thousand years our House has endured. We have seen the mistakes of your Imperium. The kinstrife of the War of the Fallen Son, through the battles of Thor to the current days of the Fall of Man. We endured, and we prospered. And now we are in our darkest hour. Your conspiring and your treachery have brought the great usurper to our doorstep, and threatened our homeworld. We must unleash our greatest paladins to bring ruin to this horror. But be aware, son of the Corpse-Emperor, do not mistake our assistance as compliance..'

Intercepted transmission

Knight Baron Qzu-Lau, Frost-Breaker, Jade Serpent, Star-Render, Lord of the Knight House Erritian.