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

[Grand Master Belial]

Wonderful work there!

[Spaced Hulk]

++ Pict Capture: Aradial, Master of the Sword Bearer's Third Battle Company ++

“I was eight years old when I first saw that ship. Eight years old, on board a Mass Conveyor bound for Mars. The transport crept sluggishly past her at high anchor above Caliban, on it's way to the system's Mandeville Point. She was simply....magnificent. An apex predator, you could actually sense the speed and violence emanating from her. Back then she was the flag ship of an entire expeditionary fleet, preparing to take the Emperor's message to the stars, the living embodiment of mankind's ambition and manifest destiny.

That was ten thousand years ago. Before Horus set the galaxy aflame, before the Scouring, before the destruction of my home world. For ten thousand years I languished in a stasis cell on Mars, awakened only for the surgeries and indoctrination that changed me into what I am today. For ten thousand years I remained oblivious to the fate of the Imperium, as naive as a child even as I was transformed into yet another savage weapon for mankind's arsenal.

All that time, the ship continued it's crusade into the darkness, fighting wars and enemies beyond my imagination. What are the chances then that we should finally be reunited here, at the very edge of the void, as the galaxy once more burns around us.

Sadly, it appears time has not been kind to either of us.”

- Attributed to Primaris Captain Nathanial Su'Mars, now named Aradial, Master of the Third, upon arrival at the Mire system and the discovery of the wreckage of the pre-heresy First Legion battle barge, the Forlorn Hope.

* * *

Born of Caliban during the later years of the Great Crusade, the warrior who would eventually become known as Aradial was amongst the very first Primaris to be created. Although a perfect candidate for Legion recruitment in his youth, he was instead selected to undergo training by the Mechanicum, dispatched to Mars itself for induction into the Machine Cult. Unfortunately the Horus Heresy erupted before his arrival at the Red Planet, and the boy named Nathanial Su'Mars (a Calibanate nomenclature which translates, quite literally, to Nathanial of Mars) found himself on board a Mass Conveyor stranded in the void. With the ship's life support systems failing, the passengers and all but essential crew were frozen in stasis for the duration of the conflict.

As the warp storms abated in the aftermath of the Heresy, the Mass Conveyor was able to continue it's journey and finally arrived at it's destination. However, after a decade of civil war, the Red Planet was a shadow of it's former glory, and so the entire passenger roster remained in stasis for several years, caught in a tangled web of bureaucracy and forgotten cargo manifests. Eventually Nathanial, and many of his fellow aspirants, would find themselves the property of a Magos whose name would one day reverberate throughout the entire Imperium: Belisarius Cawl.

Conscripted into the Primaris program, Nathanial spent the next ten millennia in either surgery or stasis hibernation. Nevertheless, when finally awakened at the onset of the Indomitus Crusade, he would quickly prove himself to be a superlative warrior and tactician, rising to the rank of a Captain of the 45th Assault Company within the space of two decades. Fighting in some of the fiercest conflicts of this new age, the plaudits and battle honours he earned were inevitably accompanied by countless scars and serious injuries. Nathanial suffered his most grievous wounds at the hands of the Daemon Prince M'Kachan during the Second Siege of Badab, resulting in his left eye, arm and shoulder blade being replaced with advanced bionic prosthetics. He was still recovering from these injuries when the 45th was dispatched to the distant world of Mire, to reinforce the surviving members of the Sword Bearers Chapter.

* * *

* * *

As expected, he found the Captain in the shadows of the observation deck. Restoration crews had yet to reach this area of the Forlorn Hope, instead prioritising more essential systems, and so it remained cold and dark, with only basic life support enabled. The blast shields were raised however, allowing those inside to view both the ongoing work to the ship's superstructure and the dull grey orb of their new home world. The Forlorn Hope was trapped in a stable high orbit above the Mire, her warp engines and propulsion units seemingly crippled beyond repair, and so the uninspiring vista of the dead world was now the only view she would ever see. A sad end, Lieutenant Schaeffer thought, for a ship which had once sailed majestically through the heavens, travelling the entire length and breadth of the galaxy.

He knew the Captain thought the same, which is why he was unsurprised to find him here. When not occupied with either combat or the responsibilities of his office, Aradial, newly appointed Master of the Sword Bearer's Third Battle Company, could invariably be found watching the restoration, lost in his thoughts and memories.

“Reminiscing again, my Lord?” Schaeffer spoke quietly, regretful of the need to break his Master's reverie.

“Always, brother.” Aradial slowly turned away from the view port, a faint smile creeping into his grizzled features. In the darkness, his artificial left glowed a deep, sinister red. “How goes the war in the dark?”

“Slowly, as always”. Now it was Schaeffer's turn to smile. “The Xenos prefer to hide rather than fight. But when they do fight, they are tenacious”. The lieutenant glanced down at his battle worn Mark X plate. He had been leading purgation teams, clearing the outer planets and asteroids of the Mire system of Hrud invaders. It was an ongoing operation, which Third Company had been undertaking ever since their arrival nearly eighteen months before. “I see the repairs are progressing well.”

“Not well enough, I'm afraid” Aradial sighed. “The Tech Magi have confirmed our earlier assessment. The drive units were indeed catastrophically damaged, she will never leave orbit again. Like us, she is tied to this dying world for the rest of her days. I must confess, it still saddens me to see her so broken, so vulnerable.”

“Not that vulnerable, my Lord”. Schaeffer motioned to the activity outside the view port. From this position, they could see teams of servitors hauling macrocannons into their emplacements. Slowly but surely, the battered hulk of the Forlorn Hope was being turned into a heavily armed defence platform. Utilising the supplies and labour the Relief force had brought with them, and scavenging every usable weapon and piece of equipment from the wreckage of the Sword Bearer's fleet, the Mechanicus were fortifying the Chapter's new base of operations to an impressive degree. There was even talk of eventually constructing an entirely new Orbital plate, an immense weapons array with the Sword Bearer's former flag ship as it's hub. The Forlorn Hope might be crippled, Schaeffer thought to himself, but it's days of service to the Imperium were certainly not over yet.

Much like the Master of the Third himself. Schaeffer had fought alongside Captain Nathanial throughout the entire Indomitus Crusade, and had witnessed first hand the injuries inflicted upon him by M'Kachan. That he had survived at all was a testament to his resilience and stubborn refusal to admit defeat. But in some ways his spirit seemed to have been weakened more than his body. There was a melancholy about the Captain now, an undeniable sadness that only seemed to abate when in combat.

Perhaps it was caused by the pressures of his new rank, Schaeffer mused, or maybe the result of finding their new Chapter so close to extinction. If they knew the cause of the Cataclysm perhaps it would aid the recovery of both the Captain and the Sword Bearers themselves. But the survivors of the original Chapter remained tight lipped about the events of the previous centuries, and if Aradial had been made privy to the information, he had decided not to share it with his fellow Primaris.

Or perhaps, Schaeffer though, the Captain simply disliked his new name. Like all the high ranking Primaris officers, he had changed it when he accepted his new command. Why this should be required by the so-called Choir of Angels, as the upper echelons of the Sword Bearers were known, the Lieutenant had no idea. Yet another strange custom in a Chapter that seemed even now, with their numbers so gravely reduced, to be utterly devoted to retaining it's secrets.

“Well Lieutenant,” Aradial's voice broke the silence, and Schaeffer realised he had himself been lost in thought. “I presume there is a reason for you to have returned from the outer worlds so prematurely”.

“Yes my Lord” Schaeffer spoke quietly, stepping closer to the Captain even though there was no one else on the observation deck to overhear them. “I believe we may found something out there, something important.”

“What do you mean brother?” The curiosity in Aradial's tone was unmistakable.

“I'm not completely certain, my Lord.” Schaeffer lowered his voice even further. “But if I'm right, it may shed some light on exactly what happened here, and why our new brothers are so reticent to talk about it.”

* * *

++ Pict Capture: Lieutenant Schaeffer and Master Aradial, former veterans of the 45th Primaris Assault Company, current commanders of the Sword Bearer's Third Battle Company. ++

* * *

Thank you for the kind words brothers As you can see, I've completed my first model for my ETL vow, and decided to indulge in writing some quite extensive background for him. My thanks to anyone who takes the time to read it all!

In addition, as the thread has just reached 800 replies, I've been taking a few more pics of my current progress to mark the occasion.

First of all, here are some additional pics of the completed Lieutenant Schaeffer:

And also my first completed Intercessor Squad:

Next we have one of the original surviving Sword Bearers: Orpheus, Third Company Champion:

And finally we have my recent indulgent purchase:

Sorry Stobz, I'm beating you on this one so far (on the other hand, you are currently painting a Titan!, which makes my current bout of productivity quite insignificant ). As you can see, I built him pretty much stock, although I did replace the right shoulder pad with a sculpted DA pad to avoid any of my amateurish freehand. If I can finish my current ETL models, he'll be my next vow.

Thanks for looking. As always C&C are welcome

[deathspectersgt7]

Great  Update Brother .

[Greenz]

I always look forward to “Story time with Spaced Hulk”!

 

Awesome write up about Aradial, and I absolutely love how he’s linked to the Forlorn Hope. I’ll be anxiously waiting to see what happens with Schaefer’s discovery

 

I’ve got to say, your painting skills are improving all the time brother! Excellent freehand on Schaefer’s shoulder pad, with the skull and Roman numerals.

[Grand Master Belial]

I agree with Greenz. Both your painting and writing are better every time. Can't wait to see your next update. 

[Achinadav]

Love, love, love Orpheus! Casual pose with the sleek legs and shoulders as a great counterpoint to the bulky torso and MKII helm.

[Interrogator Stobz]

Sorry for not checking in here for a while, they all look awesome SH. If I ever need inspiration for conversions and kit bashing this is the thread. :tu:

 

I got the Hound done first :P

 

Carry on Sir

:tu:

[Spaced Hulk]

Thank you brothers, appreciate the comments and encouragement Time for an update (of the non-Primaris kind for a change!)

++ Vid Capture: Gideon, Second Lieutenant of the Sword Bearer's Third Battle Company. Subject recorded whilst leading purgation teams through the abandoned asteroid settlements of the Mire system ++

Another mewling Hrud-form emerged from the shadows, it's spindly, elongated limbs and clawed digits reaching out of the dark towards him. Instinctively, Gideon stepped backwards, narrowly avoiding the alien's deathly embrace. The Hrud's entropic field was most potent at close quarters, prematurely ageing both organic and inorganic matter at an exponential rate. Without looking, Gideon knew that the coarse white fabric of his robes would already be yellowing, and that particles of rust would be starting to form on the steel plates of his power armour.

Prolonged exposure would see the ceramite shell encasing him become weak and brittle, as would his skeleton. Muscles and sinews would atrophy, and eventually the flesh itself would begin to slough from his bones, his body fighting a futile battle against the one enemy it could never defeat – time itself.

Raising his boltgun in one hand, Gideon fired a three round salvo, two shots to the alien's torso and another to the head. As the mass reactive bolts detonated, the Hrud simply disintegrated. Large chunks of chitinous flesh fell to the floor amidst a deluge of foul black blood and shards of cartilage.

As he stepped over the rapidly dissolving remains, the vox bead chirruped in his ear.

“Trouble, Lieutenant?” The voice of Hellblaster Sergeant Kroll was instantly recognizable, as annoyingly calm and measured as always. “Do you require assistance?”.

“Negative Sergeant, target eliminated. Finish your sweep.” Gideon snapped, mentally cursing his superiors yet again. As one of the few surviving original members of Third Company, he had been tasked with leading a kill team of 'new-bloods' through Mire's xenos infested asteroid settlements. It was relentless, demanding work, and while these so called Primaris Marines were proving to be both skilled and resilient, they crucially lacked experience. Not for the first time, he realised he missed his brothers. His real brothers.

Bolter in one hand, blade in the other, Gideon strode into the darkness once more.

Time, after all, was always against them.

* * *

Vid Capture: Zadkiel, Interrogator Chaplain of the Sword Bearers Chapter

"The Cataclysm changed Zadkiel, as it changed all of us. For the Chaplain, his once unshakable faith and conviction became melancholic self doubt, punctuated by bouts of almost uncontrollable rage. Fiery oratory and impassioned belief became a cold, merciless logic. He is a study in contrasts now, and it widely said (although never within earshot) that it is not a single warrior who now inhabits that graven armour, but two equally tortured souls."

"No-one knows the identity of the skeletal remains that adorn Zadkiel's wargear. In truth, no-one has ever dared ask."

"The last of his kind, Zadkiel bears the Scipione Redemptionis, the immense two handed crozius arcanum that serves as both his mark of office and a brutal instrument of war."

* * *

Alone in the cockpit, Gideon disabled his inter-squad vox bead, and activated the Thunderhawk's long range communication array. The Primaris were all occupied, either examining their discovery or replenishing ammunition and munitions from the gunship's armoury.

The holo-feed took several minutes to resolve, but eventually the projector blinked on, casting the image of his recipient on the deck in front of him. The resolution was blurred and distorted, partly because of the distance involved, but also due of the degradation of Mire's communication networks. Nevertheless, the grim holographic figure now standing before him was unmistakable.

Zadkiel, the Sword Bearer's last surviving Interrogator Chaplain, spoke first, direct and unceremonious as always. “Report brother. What have you found?”

“Asteroid station Beta267 is clear my Lord. A substantial xenos infestation has been eradicated. We are re-arming and...”

“I do not require a status update, Lieutenant, nor do I have the time for trivialities.” The impatience was clear in the Chaplain's tone, and Gideon found himself relieved that he was not reporting in person. In the blurred background of the holo-feed, a group of dark, hulking figures were partially visible. Zadkiel's apprentices, a new generation of Interrogators being trained to continue the Chaplain's terrible duties. “I repeat, what have you discovered?”

“As you predicted my Lord.” Gideon lowered his voice, mindful of the Primaris brethren in the crew compartment behind him. “He was hidden in the lower levels of the station, amongst a scrap heap of scavenged equipment and broken machinery. It appears the xenos were not aware of his true nature or value.”

The Lieutenant paused, unsure whether his news would be a source of excitement or frustration to his superior. Perhaps a little of both, he decided, although the skull face mask of the Chaplain gave away no sign of his reaction.

“We've found him my Lord,” Gideon whispered softly, “We've found Kane”.

* * *

* * *

Thanks for looking, C&C welcome as always

Edited August 21, 2018 by Spaced Hulk

[Brother Captain Arkley]

Ahh man you never disappoint.

[deathspectersgt7]

Great update Brother. And fluff also.

[Interrogator Stobz]

That Interrogator!

[JJD]

The interrogator is fantastic.

 

 

Im glad to see you back with some new work. I’m patiently waiting to see how you Dark Angel up some Primaris so I can can steal your ideas

[Wrath of Bruinen]

Fantastic work as always, that mace makes Zadkiel look super menacing - perfect Unforgiven

[Greenz]

Excellent work brother! Gideon’s cool, but Zadkiel is where it’s at! That’s a sweet double handed crozius, and he looks as menacing as he is in your write up

[Spaced Hulk]

Cheers brothers, glad you like them!

@ JJD: Unfortunately, there are limited options for making Unforgiven Primaris at the moment, other than simple head swaps, tabards etc. The Primaris Lieutenant is obviously the exception, and it's a flexible enough kit that you can get decent mileage for conversions, for example my Lord Revenant model:

I've also got some of the Kromlech Robed Prime models, which I'm gradually building as Zadkiel's apprentice Interrogators

* * *

Just a minor update today. I didn't have time to paint him for the ETL, but it was too nice a model (and far too expensive to get hold of!) for me to add to my grey plastic pile of shame. Here's the Imperial Space Marine, painted up as an original, Rogue Trader era Dark Angel:

[bevulf]

That Lord Revenant of yours is superb!  

[Spaced Hulk]

Cheers bevulf, I'm pretty pleased how he turned out.

Just a very quick update today, a preview of a new unit I'm working on: Primaris Veterans.

The most experienced warriors of the Indomitus Crusade, formed into elite kill teams and granted full access to the Sword Bearers armoury.

I fancy building some Primaris with a range of different weapons, so going to write my own rules and data sheet.

[egon1six]

I really enjoy those primaris. Where did you find the robed bodies?

[Spaced Hulk]

Cheers mate. They're from Kromlech - really nice sculpts!

[Spaced Hulk]

Time for an update :

Letholdus, the Weeping Angel, Voted Lieutenant of the Revenants, Sword Bearer's Second Company

Personal Heraldry

The Lord Revenant, Master of the Sword Bearer's Second Company

"There are always two. The Lord and his Lieutenant. The Master and his Successor."

Finally, a new (as yet unnamed) Primaris Lieutenant armed with a stalker bolt rifle:

[Spaced Hulk]

Like every member of the Sword Bearer's Second Company, the Intercessor squads of the Revenants are distinguished from the rest of the Chapter by their jet black armour and skull heraldry. Known as the Shadow Guards, these veteran warriors often act as dedicated bodyguards for the Company's officers, particularly the dreaded Shadowcaster Librarians which are key to the Revenants tactics and battle doctrine.

[Othniel's Blade]

The green, bronze, and silver tones perfectly accent the deep black. I'm quite envious.

[deathspectersgt7]

Dam Brother !!!! You are really knocking these out  of the park.

[MaxB]

That is one cool looking squad. All the little conversions and additional decals really work well. Good job.

[Helked]

I really like The Lord Revenant and Orpheus, especially that one (the pose is awesome). Amazing work!