The Darian Crusade, Fiction and Painting

[chaplaincliff]

I will be updating the opening post as things progress with my crusade, I will not be removing an content other than this opening paragraph I have been building this crusade for almost 4 years now and I have been contemplating the fluff for a while, recently I have played with making a fun Khornate Black Templar crusade, and i have managed it, the story will unfold as i write the fiction but the progression will hopefully be realistic, I hope you all like the fluff so far and I always like to hear helpful critiques, especially as I only write fiction for fun and am in no way good at it.

so Without further adu;

THE DARIAN CRUSADE

R 121653Z 30164994.M41 TST ASN-A00012000027 ZYB

FM DARIAN/MALICUS SUB-SECTOR/WASICAN SECTOR/SEGMENTUM PACIFICUS

TO DEPARTMENTO MUNITORIUM

CLASSIFIED //N7292.29//

REQUEST FOR ASSIST 0001

SUBJ: CHAOS INCURSION

A. ADEPTUS ASTART DEFENSE RELEASE IMPERATIVE FOR IMPERIAL PLANETS (PUBLIC LAW 109-364)

B. HIGH LORDS OF TERRA REGULATIONS (HLTR)

C. ADEPTA ASTRA TELEPATHICA COMUNICATION MANUAL, AATINST M7292.29

1. THIS REQUEST FOR ASSIST CONCERNS THE CHAOS INCURSION PRESENT ON DARIAN/MALICUS SUB-SECTOR/WASICAN SECTOR/SEGMENTUM PACIFICUS

2. COMPOSITION OF ENEMY

A. CORUPTED TROOPS PRESENCE

(1)DIVISION STRENGTH CORUPTED IMPERIAL GUARD

(2)5 IDENTIFIED UNREGISTERED HIGH LEVEL PSYKERS

B. UNCONFIRMED DAEMON PRESENCE

(1) UNKNOWN NUMBER OR PRESENCE OF DAEMON ACTIVITY/POSSIBLE PSYKER HALUCINATIONS OR CULTIST TRICKS

C. CHAOS MARINE PRESENCE

(1) 5 IDENTIFIED SQUADS WITH MINIMAL HEAVY SUPPORT

3. PLANETARY GOVERNOR REQUESTS ADEPTUS ASTARTES ASSISTANCE IMMEDIATELY/NEARLY ALL COMMUNICATION LOST/PLANET FALL REQUESTED IMMEDIATELY UPON ARRIVAL

4. IMMEDIATE PLANETARY MILITARY RELEASE AND CONTROL AUTHORIZED

5. FALCUS ERIANT/GOVERNOR MILITANT/IMPERIAL DARIAN

SENDS

BT

NNNN

R 121653Z 30172994.M41 TST ASN-A00012000027 ZYB

FM CALIN/MARSHAL/BLACK TEMPLAR CHAPTER/ADEPTUS ASTARTES

TO FALCUS ERIANT/GOVERNOR MILITANT FOR IMPERIAL DARIAN

CLASSIFIED //N7292.29//

RESPONSE TO ASSIST 0002

SUBJ: CHAOS INCURSION

A. ADEPTUS ASTART DEFENSE RELEASE IMPERATIVE FOR IMPERIAL PLANETS (PUBLIC LAW 109-364)

B. HIGH LORDS OF TERRA REGULATIONS (HLTR)

C. ADEPTA ASTRA TELEPATHICA COMUNICATION MANUAL, AATINST M7292.29

1. RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR ASSIST/CHAOS INCURSION PRESENT ON DARIAN/MALICUS SUB-SECTOR/WASICAN SECTOR/SEGMENTUM PACIFICUS

2. BATTLE BARGE SIGISMUND’S FIST AND ESCORTS EN-ROUTE

(1)ETA: 7 DAY TST

3. PLANET FALL COMENCING UPON ESTABLISHED ORBIT

4. PLANETARY MILITARY COMMAND AND CONTROL SEIZED UNDER ADEPTUS ASTART DEFENSE RELEASE IMPERATIVE FOR IMPERIAL PLANETS (PUBLIC LAW 109-370 A)

5. GERENT CALIN/MARSHAL/BLACK TEMPLAR CHAPTER/ADEPTUS ASTARTES

SENDS

BT

NNNN

Chapter One

Beginning of a Champion

Stories to be Told

Vows to be Taken

30182994.M41 TST

Darian Crusade

Chapel, Battle Barge Sigismund’s fist

It was black.

Pitch black, black as the soul of Horus, or maybe the Armour of the Templars, yes that sounded better, armour, my armour, Power Armour provided by the Mechanicus, granted by the chapter, blessed by the Emperor. the black turned red, well not exactly red more like molten steel, or lava fresh from a fissure in the rock. this red started at a point beyond the horizon and grew upward as if burning the sky, burning it into a radiant sunrise, but as i looked down to the ground, a vibrant green grass was pocked with blast craters and traitor's bodies, dead or dying, the wounds of war festering on their flesh, the stink of burning promethium permeated the air as if the smell is the air itself. The cries of the men were muted echoing softly back and forth as if my ears were filled with wax.

As I strode through the field I saw a small number of my brothers lying on the field, the most worthy of men, left to rot on this lonely planet, far from the love of their family, far from those who adore their sacrifice the air turned cold as their dying breath left them. I bent down to a brother who was reaching for me, I gave the final benediction as was taught to us in the first days of our training in the chapter keep, that is when the cross on his chest started to glow. The glow grew as his form was lifted off the ground, what was before me was not his form anymore, but that of our father the Emperor, beside him and to the right was his praetorian our Primarch Rogal Dorn and Sigismund the first Emperor's Champion and first High Marshal to his left.

The Emperor then spoke to me, His words where great though I remember them not, there meaning struck me to the core however, as if he spoke straight into my soul, his meaning was simple, I was to lead my brothers into combat as his hands and voice, i was to take his banner as his son Sigismund did at the behest of our Primarch, this call struck me to my core, the meaning was so deep I was jarred from my dream, if you call it that, it was a vision, if i have the right to say so, a vision provided by the Most Holy Emperor.

Kifus finished his recitation of the speech, the master of sanctity, chaplain Chandish stood from the stool he was sitting on in the corner of the chapel on the Sigismund’s Fist. Chandish pulled his cruzious from it scabbard at his wast, despite the obvious weight of the staff his symbol of office seemed comfortable in his hands, at this the chaplains swung, stopping centimeters from the chest of Kifus. the chaplain nodded in approval, "good brother, you have excelled in this first test of many, that of trust in those in your chapter to be the most loyal and honorable to you, to protect you and never bring direct harm to you." Chandish lowered the weapon deactivating the powerful field. “You are about to enter into a brotherhood more revered then any other in the whole of our glorious chapter, you have been selected to continue a tradition begun by our Father the Emperor and given to the first of your line, the High Marshal Sigismund the first Champion of the Emperor, and greatest of Black Templar. Are you Ready Kifus, Are you ready to become a Champion, The Emperor's Champion, the first Champion of the Darian Crusade?” Looking Chandish Square in his eyes, Kifus solemnly nodded, “I will stand for my brothers and protect the honour of the Emperor, Dorn and Sigismund.”

The procession was solemn and slow, The Master of Sanctity led the entourage, followed by Kifus and then a number of servators, each carring a piece of the Armour of faith before them, heads bowed in subservience to the glorious relic. Brother Initiates lined the passageway, their Neophyte charges standing in reverential quite at their masters sides.

As the procession continued the lights dimmed as the neared the end, the dome of the Primarchs. this chapel was the glory of the both Marshal Calin and the Master of Sanctity Chandish. The dome rests at the base of the super structure, just behind the armoured prow of the mighty vessel, as the Champion and his companions entered the Dome the splendor of it hit all in attendance once again, the Loyal Primarchs in all their glory Ringed the room with mighty splendor, as if these avatars would come to life themselves.

As kifus entered the dome he looked up, the armour plates were retracted from the crystalline dome, the lights of the stars and the blueish glow of Darians moon was all that lit the chamber. His first step in the chamber was met by a choir of young acolytes singing the praises of the chapter and the vows of the Champion of the Emperor in praise to the Father Emperor. As Kifus passed a Statue of a Primarch a young Acolyte reminded him of the aspects of the Emperor they each represented and thus the aspects of the Emperor he must live, passing Corax and Vulkan, Guilliman and Khan, Manus and Russ, Sanguinius and El'Jonson, and finally Rogal Dorn.

As Kifus approached the statue of brilliant yellow marble quarried from the depths of Terra herselfan honor guard of 10 Sword Brethren Encircled Kifus each with a Servitor at his side, Chandish held the Black Sword and Calin the Helm of Faith, all were ready for the ceremony to begin.

As the songs silenced and only the hum of the engines could be felt or heard a bell of ancient naval origin was rung and heard throughout the ship.

The first brother came forward with the lower torso, “do You Brother vow to stand firm as a foundation for those that may need it, to support the crusade as this piece of your new Armour will act as the foundation in it's own right?” Kifus looks to his Brother in Arms “I will lead us from despair to hope, from faith to slaughter.” the Sword brother nods and signals the servitor, “so be it brother.”

the Second Sword Brother steps forward bearing the greaves of the suit, speaking, “do you Brother Kifus, Vow to keep the chapter moving ever forward on this great crusade, to always defend the future of mankind and to not stop until the end overtakes you?” Kifus took a step forward and saluting as the old traditions of Terra hitting his closed fist to his chest he responds, “I vow as Champion of the emperor to move always forward, never back.”

again and again the Armour of Faith is presented to Kifus he takes a vow on each item presented and then the piece of Artificer Armour is assembled slowly encasing Kifus in solid adamantine.

As the entire suit is assembled two items remain, the sword and the helm, both are ancient tools, passed from one champion to the next always recovered, always repaired, always blessed.

Marshal Calin stepped forward holding the helm aloft before him, “this helm has seen many a war, many foes have died to the bearer of this helm, many enemies have wished for the head under this helm, but that is the fate of one blessed to fight as the Emperor's Champion, to live a life of valor and he honour, and to die in glorious battle by those you hate the most. Do you Kifus swear to live and die by all of the oaths you and every Champion before you have made?

Taking the helm in his hands and examining it as if for the first and last time, Kifus looks up the Marshal, "I Kifus, vow to protect, serve, and if the emperor calls for it, die, for the sake of chapter and thus the Emperor." The last man in the Circle, Chaplain Chandish comes forward a sheathed sword in his hands, present it to Kifus, "this, Kifus, is the sword of faith, it will strengthen you and your resolve, wield it rightly, and true, this last and final vow you shall take to become the missing link our crusade has long been without, the emperor's champion." continuing with his statement Chandish stepped closer to Kifus and handed the sword to Kifus pommel first, Kifus grasped the blade by the grip, yet Chandish did not release the sheath. "do you, Kifus, as the emperor's champion, vow to uphold the honor of the emperor through service and sacrifice,will you accept any challenge no matter the cost for the betterment of the crusade, will you suffer not the unclean to live for they are the embodiment of heresy and must be cleansed, and will you abhor the witch, for they are the gateways through which chaos flows? will you Kifus, do this for the crusade, the chapter, the Imperium, and the father emperor?"

looking the master of sanctity right in his eyes Kifus repeated back the vow “I, Kifus, as the Emperor's champion, vow to uphold the honor of the emperor through service and sacrifice, i will accept any challenge no matter the cost for the betterment of the crusade, i will suffer not the unclean to live for they are the embodiment of heresy and must be cleansed, and i will abhor the witch, for they are the gateways through which chaos flows. I Kifus, do this for the crusade, the Chapter, the Imperium, and the Father Emperor." at this the chaplain released the blade, looking up at the stars in the panoramic view, Father Emperor, I dedicate this brother marine to you as your champion, guide him and protect him, lend him your strength as you have done in the past for the Champions that fought in your name." looking back down the chaplain proclaimed in a large unearthly voice, "it is done, the new champion has been hailed and sealed, we are now ready for battle and victory.”

looking at the entirety of the crusade in this grand hall all together marshal Calin Smiled for the first time in a long time, “Break open the wine, fire up the galleys, tonight we dine, for tomorrow our enemies must die!” a great cheer erupted and was silenced once more as the chapter echoed the sentiment of their own Marshal.

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

So let me know what you all think!

[Brother Christopher]

It was fun to read, though from times to times a bit confusing, just like modernists' stream of consciousness (sorry, I'm being tormented with modernistic literature). I particularly liked the beginning, it was somehow comic. Black like Horus' heart, nope! Black like the armour... yeah! IT SOUNDS BETTER!!

 

However I'm looking forward to seeing some photos of your army, brother...

[Adeptus-Alaska]

Maybe I'm just a hopeless fanboy, but that was awesome! I always feel a sense of pride in my chosen army when I read fluff like this.

keep up the work and we need pics! also it would be cool to punctuate this thread with more fluff to intro new members of your crusade..... I might do that too!

[Firepower]

:eek

 

That whole first paragraph is only three sentences... :teehee:

 

Edit~ Ok, four. Missed a capitalization error and mistook a period for another comma :sweat:

[chaplaincliff]

I have edited out the old pictures that no longer are what my crusade looks like, I have really revamped the army in the last 6 months, so I will get a full army picture within the next week or so(by the 6th of august)

 

I know there is a want for fluff, so here is a bit of a fluff up date on characters in the crusade, some of the primary players in the fluff of the crusade;

 

Marshal Calin

Master of Sanctity Chandish

Emperor's Champion Kifus

Chapter Banner Bearer Servel

Crusade Banner Bearer Illian

Apothycaries Loren and Toren - twins

Brother Initiate Forstead (Initiate Trainer to Yaltod)

Neophyte Yaltod (Neophyte to Master Forstead)

Chief of the Ship Grix (human master of the Sigismund's fist, the flagship of the Darian Crusade)

[chaplaincliff]

update on the crusade, I have my model of Castellan Draco done I used a good bit of reaper master series paints with him and I loved them, the are really nice to work with, smooth, easy to mix, and I love dropper bottles now.

I still do not stand up to the excellent quality of painting shown here, but I am working on making every mini better than the last.

[philsminions]

I still do not stand up to the excellent quality of painting shown here, but I am working on making every mini better than the last.

 

You and me both! ;) That's one of the greatest aspects of this hobby...progress with time. Now, if I can just get the time! At least you got yours modeled up...most of mine are still in bits and pieces. Keep it up!

[chaplaincliff]

So with all the models I have been completing and the subtle change to my army that has occured in the last couple of months I will be posting some more pics and some good updates on the fluff in the coming weeks, I have started the heretical task of slowly converting the darian crusade to khorne (only slightly) the idea is that they were lost in the warp and forced to see the 'light' as it were, some templars are not to far from khorne worship anyway.

anyway, first thing I have to post is an initial Idea for a crusade shield;

the templar crosses signify the emperor, dorn and sigismund and their role as the founders of the templars, the red and blue slash is signifying the rescue of the mechanicus forgeworld on darian, and the mechanicus symbol is obvious, the green background is not my favourite as i look at it more, i will edit that to a more brass like color if i can to fit in with the look of the crusade colors.

[Arthanor]

Nice story you have there, brother! I very much like the idea of a vow for every piece of the armor of faith, maybe I'll try to work something like that in my fluff too. And very nice use of our vows in the champion's vow, that was well done.

 

It was nice to see you army and the improvement between your Draco and the pieces from earlier. What's on the painting station now? Half the year has gone by.. :P

 

The badge is nice and the use of a green background would make it stand out a lot from other badges (which often restrict themselves to red, black and white, like mine). Copper could work too, maybe a greenish (ancient) copper? The symbolism otherwise is very interesting. It's cool to see what people come up with!

 

Looking forward to more!

[chaplaincliff]

well I am working on my next vow for the ETL, though it is nowhere near complete, I have the chaplain and a marshal for your viewing pleasure;

the chaplain, not sure what his expression is saying here, but whatever it is it is saying something I like!

and the marshal, the cape i am still working on, I am thinking of doing a strip and re-do if I cant fix it soon,just a bit splotchy and my free hand needs some work.

my new crusade emblem courtesy of dirt diglett.

and last of all my 7 month old son already well on his way to the plastic crack addiction like his daddy!

so that is all the update i have right now, but more fiction is on it's way soonish, as i have just got an inspirational bug today...

[Dark Scipio]

Nice, I espaccally like your wodden box.

[Sir_Isenhar]

I see a young templar neophyte in the making!!

 

You have to train him constantly to be ready for his initiation to the brotherhood!

[chaplaincliff]

I have been busy getting a lot of models ready to go, I have just stripped most of my army recently to go for a more simple/consistent look the total comes to about 75 models that just got stripped most of the ccw/bp variety (as only a templar would) though I just kitbashed a fallen marshal which is just baddass if you ask me.

^plasma guns, melta guns, power fists and one of my two lascannon conversions.

^ccw/bp marines, some are counts as with power swords / axes or chain axes, but I just dont paint the swords as power swords and all is fine.

^ my favorite recent conversion, more of a kit bash really, but required some cutting, a simple model that has a good bit of character, he will be one of my fallen marshals.

^what is a templar army without this guy and his merry band of men?

^and my two banner bearers, the one on the right was a fun conversion, the left is simply a banner bearer, though i will be putting my new crusade badge on that, not sure how that will turn out, but we shall see.

thank you all for your time, and more to come.

[chaplaincliff]

update on my newest ETL vow, I have come a good way on my terminators and the main bodies should be done today.

all the arms and parts are magnetized so I can use these guys however I want to, this has given me so much flexibility in list building I really think everyone should magnetize their armies.

anyway I hope you all are enjoying this and I will get a close up of one of the terminator bodies as it is finished.

[chaplaincliff]

this is my next vow, a command squad from hell, well maybe not there as it doesn't have all of the bells and whistles, just most of them.

I will be attempting to copy the banner from page 7 of our codex, it seems honored enough to be a good representation of what a chapter banner for us would look like.

I will try and keep regular on this, i know i am not to regular with updates, but any encouragement will help me along with this.

[Marshal van Trapp]

loving them and the fluff so far, just have one teeny tiny, itsy bitsy issue to address...

 

Traitor marines in the guise of a templar? YOU HERETIC!

 

::ahem:: there, now that that's out of my system, good going and keep up the good work!

[Marshal Severarse]

It is clear that you are inspired battle brother. Keep up the good work and keep refining your writing and painting. You more than make up for any little mistakes with ideas and zeal!

 

I look forward to further contributions to the Eternal Crusade.

[chaplaincliff]

So I have some progress on my ETL vow, I now have my command squad of doom based, and white and red has been applied, I have yet to do any touch ups until i have a few more colors down to reduce painting time.

I know this isn't much yet but it is bringing the unit together quite nicely.

[Castellan Alaric]

awesome super old plasma gunner models! i have some old bolter wielding dudes myself, lookin good man! keep it up!

[chaplaincliff]

It is now time for another update!

I have got a good bit more done, the leather, velum, the plasma glows on the pistols and plasma guns, and I have started doing touch up's. these guys aren't close to where I want them yet, but I am a lot closer than I have been.

these guys are the normal BP/CS guys in the command squad.

and these are the specialists in the squad, my sarge, the company champ, and the banner bearer.

here is chaplain grimauldus and servitors.

and last but not least marshal calin with two plasma gunners.

thanks again for the comments.

[chaplaincliff]

these are my latest aquisitions, they are wracks from war machine that I have done some conversion work to to make them filthy heretics being executed by my crusade, I will be using them as objective markers, the chains haning from wither side are real chain, and the thousand suns helmets on the base count which objective it is, one, two, or three. these things were pretty easy to put together, I pinned the man to the rack and then just green stuffed the weight to the chain wich is pinched into place around a loop on the model, I like how these guys look, they seem very fluffy with a templar army.

cheers!

[chaplaincliff]

I recently acquired a second hand tri-las predator from a friend, the tank was only primed black but it was covered in way to many chaos bits and upgrades, I managed to break free some of the glue that allowed me to convert the normal predator to what you see now, I moved the slip ring for the turret forward, extended the barrel for the las-cannon, added an advanced targeting system where the other cannon was to symbolized the twin-linked rule, the spikes are all skewers from where I work, and the chain was found at Michael's.

[Honda]

I can not tell you how much I dig those objective markers. They are freaking awesome.

 

Excellent find and work.

 

Cheers,