Sword Bearers and the Unforgiven (Updated 1/07/23: Angels Redeemed)

[Spaced Hulk]

Did you think us lost, Inquisitor? Destroyed by the Great Rift perhaps, like so many of our kind? Did the Bell of Lost Souls ring out for us, as one final memorial for all our glory and sacrifice?

We have survived everything unkind fate has set against us. The Hothe Migrations, when the Hrud vermin-forms unravelled time and reality alike. The arrival of the Hive Fleets, when the voracious hunger of the Great Devourer descended upon our realms in an unending tide. Even the darkness of the Mire Cataclysm, when our fortress burned and both our history and future were consumed in the nuclear inferno. Throughout all these trials and horrors, we have stood firm and resolute, as we stand now.

The universe is indeed cruel, and merciless, and unforgiving.

But so are we, Inquisitor. So are we.

So, it's taken over twelve months, but bevulf and Stobz are finally proven right . Despite working on multiple Space Marine armies at the moment, over the summer I had the urge to build and paint a new Sword Bearer model. Partly because of 9th Edition and the new Crusade rules, and inspired by a large number of excellent homebrew Chapters that have appeared online (Apologist's Gatebreakers deserve a special mention), I once again felt motivated to work on my own custom Unforgiven Chapter.

Knight-Veteran Braonan, Adeptus Astartes Chapter 'Sword Bearers'

This new model, Braonan (an Irish/Gaelic word meaning "rain", which seems quite appropriate considering the Chapters water logged homeworld), represents perhaps the closest representation of how the Sword Bearers have always appeared in my imagination. Brutal, battered warriors who fight on regardless despite the hardships they suffer. Knights in unshining armour, guarding the borders of the Imperium without question . He also represents a new start for this project. My loss of motivation was largely due to the disparity in quality between my earliest models and what I'm capable of producing now. I feel that my painting and conversion skills have improved quite dramatically since I first started this log, to the extent they don't really look like the same army anymore. So I'm starting again, one model at a time. My plan is to build and paint a kill team first, then a combat patrol, and then see what happens. I also want to work on the background and lore for the Sword Bearers, tidying it up and making it more cohesive and structured. As I said above, I'm working on other Space Marine projects as well, so I intend to switch between armies/colour schemes to avoid burning out by painting the same scheme over and over again. This means progress will inevitably be slow at times, but hopefully it won't be another year before I post another update .

As always, thanks for looking!

[deathspectersgt7]

Great return Brother. Had to go thru to see what I missed. Finally will be getting wi/fi so I can do more. Not much with phone.

[Gederas]

He's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

 

New model looks awesome man. Totally excellent! :tu:

[Sandalphon]

Great way to come back! - with something that epitomises your intent moving forward.

 

Looking forward to seeing more of them!

 

I too have been on hiatus and many of life's distractions have kept motivation at bay, but seeing these types of projects come back is always encouraging

[Raziel-TX]

Great build and paint job!

[Interrogator Stobz]

Great job as usual Brother, welcome back :tu:

 

You bring minis to life with your posing and modifications.

 

Keep up the Lion's work.

[Galloway]

Looks great, the damage marks and highlights are really well done. Awesome to see these guys back.

 

And the last two lines of you lore snippet are perfection- just right for the Unforgiven.

 

The universe is indeed cruel, and merciless, and unforgiving.

 

But so are we, Inquisitor. So are we.

 

[Master Gabriel]

Hey where did you get that one power sword at the top of this page I realyy like that one on your Primaris Sgt..

 

MGM

[Spaced Hulk]

Thanks everyone, really appreciate all the kind words!

[BadgersinHills]

Yours is the army that inspired me to write a lot of fluff for my army, will be lovely to see more. :) 

[Spaced Hulk]

We were perilously close to death, my brothers and I, when the first Torchbearer ships emerged from Mire's warp jump point. Our fortress destroyed, our leaders slain, our numbers reduced to a mere sixty souls. The Indomitus war fleet brought us much needed supplies and equipment, over a hundred Grey Shield reinforcements and, most importantly of all, fresh reserves of pure, untainted geneseed from the Martian vaults. For the first time in decades we allowed ourselves the luxury of hope.

But how the elation turned sour, and our celebrations became ash in our mouths, when we learnt that this great gift, this treasure trove of genetic material dispatched on the orders of the Primarch Reborn, was to be used solely for the creation of new Primaris Space Marines.

At that moment, every surviving Firstborn son knew that whilst the Chapter will endure and even prosper, our own brotherhood was truly lost.

Considering the nature of our fall, perhaps it is better this way.

From the personal accounts of Balian, Lord of Mire, Master of the Sword Bearers.

ANALYSIS OF THE ADEPTUS ASTARTES

Character Study:

Battle Brother Lorcan, Veteran Intercessor, Sword Bearers Chapter

One of only five successful aspirants, from an induction group of three hundred and fifteen, Battle Brother Lorcan was a rare survivor of the Sword Bearers' initial attempts to utilise Primaris genetic material. Despite the assistance of the Magos Biologis Tech Priests who delivered this new technology, the Chapter's Apothecarion encountered an above average failure rate in their first three Primaris recruitment cycles, with both catastrophic geneseed rejection and unacceptable mutation being the most common reasons for aspirant termination. Although such difficulties were commonly experienced by almost every Astartes Chapter who received the Primarch's Gift, the Sword Bearers appear to have been particularly ill affected, possibly as a result of the degradation of their Apothecarion caused by many decades of misfortune.

Nevertheless, by the fourth recruitment cycle the aspirant failure rate had apparently stabilised, allowing for the rebuilding of the Chapter to begin in earnest. As one of the first home grown Primaris to join the Sword Bearers, Lorcan participated in the hard fought campaigns to cleanse the Mire System of xenos invaders, and quickly achieved veteran status. He also became something of good luck talisman amongst his brothers, representing as he did a new future for the beleaguered Chapter.

Although his heraldry is largely indistinguishable from his battle brothers, Lorcan's wargear is evidence of both the trials of his induction and the difficulties the Chapter was facing at that time. His warplate is a hybrid suit of Mark X power armour, incorporating elements of older suits from the Chapter's remaining stockpiles. In particular, it includes a Mark 7 helm and power pack, and reinforced Mark 3 pauldrons. In the past, the inclusion of these venerable armour pieces would have been seen as an honorific or reward, but in Lorcan's case it most likely represents the paucity of the Sword Bearers manufacturing capability and the necessity to utilise every asset they had available.

Despite Mark X plate being touted as one hundred per cent cross compatible with all earlier types of Astartes power armour, Lorcan's wargear actually displays the inaccuracy of these claims. The external Targeter device attached to his battle helm (of the sort routinely used by Codex standard Devastator squads to improve their accuracy) is incorporated due to the inabilty of the helm's integral targeting software to successfully bond with the Mark X machine spirit. In addition, the Mark 7 power pack, although providing an ample energy supply, does have one significant shortcoming when used to power a Mark X suit. The side mounted stabilizer jets, used in zero gravity situations, do not provide sufficient lift to fully manoeuvre the bulk of a Primaris Space Marine. This not only impacts the armour's capabilties in void warfare, but it also precludes the use of the anti-grav harness that allows the user to be deployed as jump infantry.

Lorcan's primary weapon is a standard Mark 2 Cawl pattern auto-bolt rifle. However, this too has been adapted to better suit the warrior's needs, with a back mounted ammunition drum and motorized belt feed replacing the standard issue box magazines. This greater ammunition capacity enables Lorcan to better utilise the extemely high fire rate of the auto-bolt rifle, although it does increase the likelihood of jams and misfires by a small margin. It should be noted that in prolonged engagements, the belt feed can be easily removed, allowing the weapon to operated using standard rifle magazines if necessary.

One final point of interest are the skulls mounted on Lorcan's left pauldron. Unlike in many other Astartes Chapters (cross ref: Executioners, White Scars......), these are not worn as simple trophies or kill markings. These particular remains belonged to Astra Miltarum soldiers of the 421st Terrax Guard regiment, who fought alongside the Sword Bearers during the Liberation of Stranivar. Impressed by the Guardsmen's discipline and courage, Lorcan granted them the ancient honour of Novissima Vultus, or The Last Look, upon their deaths. Their flensed skulls were affixed to his shoulder plate so that the soldiers could see battle one last time, and witness once more the destruction of the Emperors foes. As is customary, the skulls were mounted on the right hand pauldron, rather than the left side which is exposed to more enemy fire, in order to preserve the remains for as long as possible.

[BadgersinHills]

Lovely work! The fluff elevates the great model, wonderful stuff. :) :) 

[Galloway]

As always, awesome model and awesome fluff- you battle damage rocks, and the belt feed is great. Best lore I've read yet for getting old and new armor marks mixed in together; definitely some ideas there to file away for the future.

[deathspectersgt7]

Awesome Brother.

[Inquisitor Eisenhorn]

 Such great conversion work, exactly how I see Dark Angels!  Very inspiring congrats. 

[Spaced Hulk]

The genestealer was insanely fast, even by Astartes standards. It darted across the passageway as a shapeless blur, disappearing into the shadows of the side tunnel even before the salvo of bolt rounds had exploded harmlessly behind it.

Ronan advanced cautiously after the creature, his Tigrus pattern boltgun tracking from side to side as he watched for any signs of movement. In this part of the ancient space hulk, the walls were a twisted morass of pipes and cabling, offering a perfect hiding place for the opportunistic predators. The autosenses of his Mark IV helm, itself a relic from the earliest days of his Chapter, rendered the pitch blackness of the hulk into a stark grey monochrome. At the same time, the feed from his wrist mounted auspex was displayed in the top left corner of his visor display, indicating motion somewhere in the tunnel ahead. Bolter loaded and ready, the Intercessor moved steadily forwards. Wherever the genestealer was lurking, he would find and kill it.

These sort of purgation missions would once have been undertaken by First Company Terminators, the immense suits of tactical dreadnought armour providing far more protection, fire-power and detection abilities than his newly forged Mark X plate. Sadly those days were long past, with the last of the Chapter's precious Terminator armour lost during the nuclear fires of the Mire Cataclysm. So now Ronan and his fellow veterans prowled through the ruined corridors and chambers of the Space Hulk known as “Hellbringer”, engaged in an unrelenting hunt for some of the most dangerous xenos ever encountered by the Imperium.

He arrived at a T-junction, his auspex registering movement heading towards him from the long, winding passageway to the left. With nothing visible through his autosenses. Ronan aimed his bolter down the corridor and waited, watching his visor display count down the distance to the approaching target.

Thirty metres. Twenty metres. Ten. Still nothing was visible.

Suddenly the grilled flooring of the passageway burst upwards just in front of him, as the genestealer emerged from the crawlspace below like a living missile. Ronan had a momentary glimpse of the xenos monstrosity hurtling towards him, of four muscular arms ending in razor sharp claws, of chitinous armour and a drooling jaw full of triangular, serrated fangs.

He opened fire on full auto, emptying the magazine of the Tigrus bolter in a single, prolonged burst. The genestealer simply exploded in a shower of gore and viscera, shredded chitin and severed limbs flying in all directions as the mass reactive rounds tore it apart from the inside.

Even before the bolter had clicked empty, the auspex on his wrist was chiming again, as a second stealer emerged from it's hiding place in the right hand passageway behind him. It had been hiding, completely motionless, amongst the pipes that lined the tunnel wall.

Ronan didn't hesitate. In a single, smooth movement he drew his second boltgun, an exact twin of the first Tigrus, from it's maglock position on his right hip. He had time to fire a single round, aiming the bolter like an oversized pistol as the stealer surged towards him.

The bolt hit the genestealer in the centre of it's viciously fanged mouth. Too close for the round to arm itself and detonate, it simply punched through the creature's skull like a solid projectile, leaving a hole almost three inches wide straight through it's grotesque, misshapen head. As the stealer fell to the floor beside him, it convulsed and spasmed, taloned arms still reaching for him as though unaware it was actually dead. Ronan fired a short, three round burst into the creature's torso, and finally it was still.

The Intercessor reloaded both boltguns with fresh magazines, and then sent a quick vox message to Braonan, his squad sergeant.

“Two more targets eliminated, continuing my sweep.”

The hunt would continue once more.

* * *

Battle Brother Ronan, Veteran Intercessor, Sword Bearers Chapter. Note the skull and half halo insignia in the lower corner of the right hand pauldron, indicating this warrior has passed through the Rubicon Primaris.

* * *

Thanks for the comments and likes guys. As you can see, the third veteran squad member is finished. The twin Tigrus bolters will count as an auto-bolt rifle in game.

Thanks for looking!

Edited October 25, 2020 by Spaced Hulk

[Interrogator Stobz]

Fabulous work Hulk, you smashed the fluff yet again.

[Galloway]

Love the model, and love the story. The symbol for having passed through the Rubicon is a great idea.

[eternal_warrior12]

At least something is going right in this Emperor forsaken year. The Sword Bearers return!!!

[Hantheman]

Amazing work. What colour do you use to highlight the green?

[Chaplain Raeven]

Brutal mini with brutal fluff, I love it! Brother Ronan is a true badass, good thing even a Space Hulk has heroic rocks 

[deathspectersgt7]

Awesome work on him brother .

[Spaced Hulk]

@ Stobz. Cheers mate! It's been a long time since I wrote a 'story' rather than background exposition, so I'm glad it reads ok.

 

@ Galloway: Thanks mate! I don't know if there's an official symbol for Rubicon marines, but I have loads of that skull/half halo decal (it's on the Ultras character sheet that comes with all generic Primaris character models), so for the Sword Bearers at least, I'll be using that one

[BadgersinHills]

Looking incredible! Love the pose. 2 seems more foreboding. 

[Spaced Hulk]

So another couple of months have passed since I last posted an update, but I do have some progress to report. The last two Veteran Intercessors are finished, so I finally have a completed unit for my new Sword Bearers army! There are quite a few pics incoming, so for this post I'm going to forgo the usual fluff and just concentrate on the models.

Battle Brother Darach, Veteran Intercessor, Sword Bearers Chapter

Battle Brother Conor, Veteran Intercessor, Sword Bearers Chapter

Veteran Intercessor Squad Braonan, Adeptus Astartes Chapter 'Sword Bearers'

And finally, here's my test scheme for the next generation of Revenants:

I wanted to keep the predominantly black scheme of the original Revenants, but tie them more closely to the rest of the Chapter. In the Era Indomitus, the Revenants are still the specialist Second Company of the Sword Bearers, but now operate as a Vanguard formation that deploy exclusively in Phobos armour.

On a personal note, this has been a pretty turbulent year for me, with health issues occupying much of my time and attention. However, I'm really pleased with the hobby progress I have been able to make, and am extremely grateful for the support and enthusiasm I continue to receive here. So although it's a little early, I wish every one who reads and follows this blog a very happy new year! Hopefully 2021 will be a better year for all of us.

As always, thanks for looking.

Edited December 29, 2020 by Spaced Hulk