The Roar Before Silence Fell - WIP

[Llagos_Tyrant]

The Roar Before Silence Fell

 

 

To robbery, slaughter, and plunder they give the lying name of Empire;

They make a solitude, and call it peace.

Attributed to the Kalidonaeon, Kilgaccus, by the Historator Takitis, M0.1, Terra

 

 

The imperial regime owes its legitimacy to force, and at no time does it attempt to conceal this nature of being.

Attributed to the Philosopher and Revolutionary Fannon, M1.9, Terra

 

 

The sword was given for this, that none need live a slave.

Attributed to the Historator Lucanis, M0.1, Terra

 

 

Artwork by Richard Wright (From 6th Edition Rulebook, I think?)

 

The wars of mankind across the galaxy, from the rage of the Horus Heresy to the fury of the Black Crusades and unto the dying years of the Time of Ending, have been but the death throes of a civilization so far fallen it cannot understand what it has lost. From the promise and hope of the first years of exploration and the Age of Technology, mankind has fallen to a barbarism so complete it cannot mourn its own fall. Through the Age of Darkness, and into the Age of the Imperium, no glory has borne a resemblance to the shadows of that which came before it. 

 

 

The Emperor, for all his power and might, which are storied, built an empire from the shattered pieces of what came before. He could not know that the pieces would not align; that they would prove to be less than the sum of their parts. When they fell, and He failed, it was not in spite of, but because of His power that hope dwindled. In the aftermath of His Imperial Majesty, there was no equal and the echoes of His coming grew still in the long years of entropy. 

 

 

His works still labour on, broken and bleeding towards as slow a death as they can muster. Heroes have risen, and come, and fallen, and gone, and still His Imperium remains. It is not the pillar of fire and light that He imagined it to be, but the embers of a dream slowly swallowed by an encroaching darkness. And in that darkness, in the last embers of humanitys struggle, the galaxy burns to the chorus of the roar before silence fell.

 

 

Aside

 

2020.9.28.

 

I've always wanted to launch a WIP thread on the forums, but I've never had the dedicated time to work on making it a project that interested me more than simply posting the odd picture in some existing threads, or following along on a challenge, such as Call of Chaos (which I failed last year), or my much more successful efforts through this years 12 Months of Hobby Challenge (thanks Grotsmasha). I knew that if I was going to launch a WIP thread, I wanted it to be something special for me and a place where I could mix in my love of the lore and the hobby, while carving it out as a special place for the narrative side of modelling and gaming as I've loved to see in other threads, of which the work of The Observer, Apologist, Noctus Cornux, Marshal Rohr, Tyrannicide and many others that I've seen and can't recall over the 8 years (wow!) I've lurked and sporadically posted.

 

The Iron Warriors have been my truest calling for most of that, but the Night Lords and Ultramarines have captured me along the way as well. I think I blame Storm of Iron, the Night Lords Trilogy, and the Ultramarines of the Heresy and First Tyrannic War for feeding those fires so long ago. These will be at least the initial forces that Ill be working on painting and converting to a reasonable level, and well see how far that takes me. There will be some overlap in posts here with those in the 12 Months of Hobby Thread, and some of the Liber challenges that are ongoing. Im not sure how far this will go, but Im eager to find out.

 

 My plan is to leave space below for additional Table of Contents to be added later, as I add different Warzones to this thread. I already have two in my head that I want to pursue and should offer some unique opportunities for hobbying and modelling. Who knows how long it will take me to reach there though.

 

Warzones of a Hobbying Mind

 

 

M41-M42 The Llagos Sector

 

Enemies of the Emperor of Man! You have trespassed upon his dominion,

and we are his vengeance come upon you.

Captain Domician of the Ultramarines 5^th Company at the Second Battle of Dracia.

 

 

Come then, and let us test the measure of vengeance against hate.

Unidentified Iron Warrior in response.

 

Table of Contents

 

Free Legions of the Long War; also known as the Heretic Astartes, Slaves to Darkness and the Tyrants of Llagos

7th Grand Battalion, Iron Warriors; Keepers of the Standing Stones

The Talons of Twilight, Night Lords; The Bloodied Choir

 

The Llagos Crusade; also known as Liberation Fleet TU-2020, and the Crusade of His Hand Returned to Redeem in Fire

5^th Company, Ultramarines; Wardens of the Eastern Fringe

 

Edited September 28, 2020 by Llagos_Tyrant

[BadgersinHills]

Very very excited for what you are going to put up here! Love the lore. :) 

[Llagos_Tyrant]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

WARZONE: LLAGOS ... ... ... [M41-42]

The Llagos Sector, the Forgotten Worlds, Eastern Fringe

  

 

The might of mankind has waxed and waned in the Llagos Sector, located to the galactic east of the realm of Ultramar and on the very edges of His Imperiums reach into the Eastern Fringe. From the records that are authoritative, the most extensive of which are found in the libraries of Macragge and Talassar, several systems have risen to prominence only to fall amid internal strife, such as the Xanthene Philocide, or to the warpath of xenos from beyond the Imperiums edge, such as the Korramang Immolation. In recent years, fortune has favored the Llagosii -prolonged stability has built an impressive industrial and population base, and the pre-eminent Confederation of Euripides is eager to position itself as both ally and protectorate to the security of Ultramar from external threats, and its interest in Imperial politics. For much of the Ultima Segmentum however, this inconspicuous and strife-fraught history on the frontier have left the sector as little more than forgotten worlds.

Text taken from Pocket Guide to the Eastern Fringe(M38.392) by Historographer Callia Mane, in service of Navigator House Antarax

 

 

Pyrrhus, youve fought with me from the days we put our oaths to the Emperor. Youve fought with me against more enemies than I can name and saved my life a dozen times over when you could have taken our armies for yourself. You stood with me at Garania against the Primarch, and we fought through the depths of hell and all its legions to reach this place. I swear to you, we will never go back to that hell or the devils that reign there. These worlds will be ours until our last breathes come whatever end.

Audio capture from the Battle of Torgamela (M42.???), former capital of the Confederation of Euripides; Subjects unidentified: possibly ranking Iron Warriors officers

 

 

 

 

Free Legions of the Long War; also known as the Heretic Astartes, Slaves to Darkness and the Tyrants of Llagos

7th Grand Battalion, Iron Warriors; Keepers of the Standing Stones

Would you like to know more? Liber Astartes WIP

Post-links:

• [1] Chaos Lord - WIP, Complete
• [2] Exalted Champion - WIP

 

The Bloodied Choir, Night Lords; The Talons of Twilight

Would you like to know more?

Post-links:

 

The Llagos Crusade; also known as the Crusade of His Hand Returned to Redeem the Lost in Fire

5^th Company, Ultramarines; Wardens of the Eastern Fringe

Post-links:

Edited October 9, 2020 by Llagos_Tyrant

[Ryltar Thamior]

Looking forward to see where this goes. I'm a great fan also of the narrative log / in-universe depth presentation and exploration of a force style approach. And, for that matter, Iron Warriors. 

And capacious historical text quoting as well - something the Heresy books have often made excellent use of themselves. You earn bonus points, needless to say, for being the only other person I think  I've ever seen work Frantz Fanon into a 40k effort. 

All up, a lot of what a log does is it creates and propels a 'feel', a 'vibe'. I hesitate to quite call it an 'aesthetic', although in a certain sense that's what it is, also. 

Most people just go with pictures of miniatures - and that's something, especially if they're well crafted. Although often, in the absence of any further and more directly emotively/intellectually engaging elements, the feel or the vibe that's thus created is "these are my miniatures". Not that there's anything wrong with that, necessarily - it's what the forum's WIP section is for. 

But the addition of some well-chosen flavour quotes , either historical / literary or produced bespoke for the occasion ... it really elevates things. All of a sudden, it's no longer (just) "these are my miniatures". It's that promulgation of vibe, with the miniatures as anchor or even adornment. The best logs manage to transcend all the way up to an effective "step into this story", or "this world". 

I have a feeling, bolstered by taking a look over your still-being-added-to Liber entry and some of the people you've cited as inspiration, that this may turn out to be just such a log. 

Good luck.

[also, what was the program you used for the stellar cartography ? ] 

 

[Llagos_Tyrant]

Lord Perdicas, Equerry to the Tyrant Tullaris

 

He swung the mace like a thunderbolt in the hands of a demigod. The boom of its sudden strike, shattering armour and bone beneath it. The sound of it stole his breath away, as it always did, and left him in a kind of quiet. The dimly lit halls of the cargo freighter were still, but for the shadows that danced across the blood slick walls and the corpse riven floor. Sparks from the ruined hulk of an ancient hero sent them bounding in leaps across the ruined meat and splintered armour of rich blue and bitter iron cast about.

 

The quiet was fading with the ringing in his ears. His twin hearts boomed in his chest, and he felt his blood pumping, his heart rate up. He listened to his throbbing pulse and felt the ache of the wounds in his chest and arm as the ichor clot. He tensed his grip on his mace. It was good, despite the cut his arm had taken. If hed been any slower, the golden sword hed smashed aside would have taken off his arm. His vision widened as the blood lust faded, and he saw the warning rune flashing in the corner of his visor. Hed need to visit the Flesh Smiths for muscle weave or regrowth .

 

Trai- He heard the voice and the hacking cough that interrupted it. A shaky hand rose from one of the broken Ultramarines slumped against the wall, his rich blue armour glazed purple in a wash of his own blood. The aquila on his breastplate was shattered and caved into his chest where the mace had struck him and thrown him back into the wall.

 

Traitor the warrior on the floor spat into his own helm. The Iron Warrior turned his head to stepped forward and looked at his broken enemy. The Ultramarines struggle for life was pointless. His legs were limp, probably from a broken spinal cord, and one of his arms was still clutching his bolter where it had been torn off several feet away.

 

The Iron Warrior kneeled before the broken man and set down the mace beside him. I am Perdicas. his deep voice growled. He reached forward and unclasped the Ultramarines helm. The man coughed and spat as Perdicas lifted his helmet away. His face was ruined features, covered in blood.

 

WIP Iron Warriors Lord Perdicas.

 

I ... I am Junios. His shaky hand still spasmed at his side.

 

I dont care. Perdicas said plainly. He turned back to the warrior hed crushed with his mace, the warrior whose golden blade had bit into his arm and chest. But I want you to tell me who he was.

 

Perdicas turned back to Junios as he gestured to the body. The Ultramarines champion wore exquisite armour of the old MK VI kind, adorned with golden braids of victory, honour markings, and white laurels of courage on his shoulder plates. Leather tassels hung from his waist across the floor, and over the bodies of those hed slain.

 

He was He was Gerion.

 

Perdicas had watched Gerion before he could reach him. The bastard had come down the corridor screaming his hatred for the enemies of the Emperor. First, he reached Squad Tetros and cut the four Iron Warriors apart. Dual blades in his hands, one short spatha and one golden longsword, hed moved like water. Each strike flowed into the next, a block became a strike, and a parry became a thrust. The swordsmanship was, in its lethal way, beautiful.

 

When hed cut through Squad Tetros, he carved his way through the manifold cultists who had barred his path. Hed made a slaughter of the mortals that would have pleased Khorne. And after that, he faced one of the Battalions Blade Masters. Crol was a bitter and hateful warrior, a blunt instrument best directed rather than left to his own initiative but hed been skilled   Perdicas could give him that at least. Gerion had cut him down anyway. The warrior had made an art of war his blades were the sanguine brushes with which he painted the world around him.

 

Then Perdicas had waded through the Ultramarines, and come at him from behind. Gerion took the first blow and when the mace struck his arm, it threw him out of his element. Hed fought admirably, even changed his stance and his sword hands to make sure he made use of the longer reach with his good arm. But the sheer force with which his maul struck meant that even when the blows failed to connect with Gerion, his hands took the impact through his sword. He tired and baited Perdicas to strike. Perdicas hadnt even realized until the blade came for him, and he barely had a moment to twist aside and take the cut through the meat, rather than the bone of his arm. 

 

That was when the second blade had darted for his chest. Perdicas didnt even see the blade until it was in his gut. Gerion should have killed him then. He would have killed him then. But Gerions crippled arm fumbled the strike and a killing blow to Perdicas heart merely sank into his belly. Hed smashed the butt of his mace into Gerions face, and then pounded his helmet into the heros, and in that moment of reprieve, he swung the mace like a thunderbolt in the hands of a demigod.

 

Thank you. Perdicas lifted Junios to his feet, holding onto the gorget of his armour with one hand, pinning him to the wall. Now I want you to tell him who killed him.

 

The Iron Warrior punched his free hand into Junios sunken chest. His fist broke through the shattered ceramite of splintered armour, and through the cracked mass of black carapace. Junios eyes went wide as he screamed. Perdicas search hand clawed into the Ultramarines chest. His fingers searched for Junios heart, and when they found it, they ripped and they tore the bloody mass from his chest.

 

And tell your Emperor when you see him screaming through the warp.

 

___________________

 

Notes:

 

Lord Perdicas was built with a Havoc head and mace, some greenstuff to tie the cables in his head to his suit, the backpack of a Lord Discordant, a body from the new Chaos Space Marine kit (can I still call them new if all of my basic Iron Warriors are the old models?), and the combi-bolter of the Chaos Terminator kit.

 

I had some time tonight, so Im trying to get ahead on painting him with lead time for my other vows in the 12 Months of Hobby and for the Liber Challenge to convert and paint a named character. The lore with this post is about twice as long as I had originally intended, so I'll need to work on keeping these lore snippets more manageable for me, and more easily readable for whoever follows. On that note, I feel really out of practice writing, so this will also be a good opportunity for practice.

 

___________________

 

Responses:

 

Very very excited for what you are going to put up here! Love the lore.

 
Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy what I share.
 

Looking forward to see where this goes. I'm a great fan also of the narrative log / in-universe depth presentation and exploration of a force style approach. And, for that matter, Iron Warriors. 

And capacious historical text quoting as well - something the Heresy books have often made excellent use of themselves. You earn bonus points, needless to say, for being the only other person I think  I've ever seen work Frantz Fanon into a 40k effort.

 
 
Thank you! I have really enjoyed how the Heresy books have used historical text quoting and I couldn't pass up the chance. I'm also glad to see someone caught onto the Frantz Fanon reference! There's plenty of historical criticism of empire that could be applied to the Imperium.
 

All up, a lot of what a log does is it creates and propels a 'feel', a 'vibe'. I hesitate to quite call it an 'aesthetic', although in a certain sense that's what it is, also.

Most people just go with pictures of miniatures - and that's something, especially if they're well crafted. Although often, in the absence of any further and more directly emotively/intellectually engaging elements, the feel or the vibe that's thus created is "these are my miniatures". Not that there's anything wrong with that, necessarily - it's what the forum's WIP section is for.

But the addition of some well-chosen flavour quotes , either historical / literary or produced bespoke for the occasion ... it really elevates things. All of a sudden, it's no longer (just) "these are my miniatures". It's that promulgation of vibe, with the miniatures as anchor or even adornment. The best logs manage to transcend all the way up to an effective "step into this story", or "this world".

I have a feeling, bolstered by taking a look over your still-being-added-to Liber entry and some of the people you've cited as inspiration, that this may turn out to be just such a log.

Good luck.

[also, what was the program you used for the stellar cartography ? ]

 

I've definitely been trying to build my forces into a narrative frame that I've tried to carve out for myself, and the narrative aspects of the hobby from modelling to gaming, to just reading Black Library books and the lore in the HH Black books have really left an impression on me.

 

Of course everyone has their own style, and however people want to present their work and hobby is okay and up to them. I just know how I've been inspired by some of the people on this forum (and looking over your threads in your signature I need to carve out time to check out some of yours!) and that's something that I really want to emulate and try to show through this.

 

The program was actually just Paint X on my macbook, with a bit of help in GIMP. I don't have access to photoshop so I've been trying to get used to GIMP but Paint X has a surprisingly great curved line tool that lets you fiddle around with it.  GIMP was useful for final edits and adding text. I tried to make something more of the style of an incredible and fairly recent piece - Anatomy of an Imperial Sector, but found that there was no way I could try to imitate that style and produce good results with unfamiliar tools, and while I wanted to actually post on here. I still miss Photoshop though, so I may look into getting it.

Edited October 1, 2020 by Llagos_Tyrant

[BadgersinHills]

Good work! I love the lore and the model is great. 

[Vazzy]

Awesome work so far! Love how in depth this is all going!

[Llagos_Tyrant]

Lord Perdicas, Equerry to the Tyrant Tullaris

Fleet Action 97.4 post BCCM.M42*, and the boarding of the Iron Warriors Lunar-class Cruiser Trastamara, marked an expansion of Imperial efforts to interdict the flow of supplies from Heretic Astartes outposts in the Benkar Cluster to other warzones and strongholds. As embattled Imperial Guard forces struggled in the Quixote and Terrasto Minor star clusters, the Ultramarines' 5th Company began a concerted effort to stem the flow of Traitor reinforcements, and to strengthen the Imperial hold on the Benkar Cluster.

The battle followed weeks of Imperial agents gathering information on the movements of the IVth Legion, identifying the locations of dozens of outposts and monitoring stations within the cluster. As fighting intensified in other areas of the Llagos Sector, the Iron Warriors began to abandon or withdraw from a number of these outposts whose original purpose was to serve merely as an early warning line for Imperial return to the Sector. Having found evidence of the Ultramarine's arrival, that task was considered complete.

Completed Iron Warriors Chaos Lord, Perdicas.

In the Berrant Carmine system, at Fleet Action 97.4 post BCCM.M42, a strike force of the Imperial Navy, and a boarding party of the Ultramarine's 5th Company launched an assault on a convoy of Iron Warriors transport vessels and cargo haulers, guarded by the Trastamara, and several other assorted Light Cruisers and Destroyers. Having tracked the flotilla through the use of servo-observer craft, the Imperial fleet was able to time a precise emergence from the system's outer asteroid belt to intercept the Traitor craft as they approached a Mandeville Point for warp translation out of the system.

The Ultramarines immediately targeted the Trastamara, while the Imperial Navy engaged the other combat-worthy vessels, and targeted the exposed cargo haulers and transports. In the opening moments of the battle, the cargo hauler Good Omen, and the transport vessel Fairweather Maiden were destroyed. Some supplies were scavenged from the wreck of the Good Omen following the battle, while the destruction of the Fairweather Maiden spilled several thousand cultist troops into the void - these were later identified as members of the 32nd 'Crowborn' Footmen, which had been stationed throughout the Benkar Cluster.

For the Ultramarines however, the opening of the battle marked their strike for the throat of the Iron Warriors force. Diving towards the Trastamara, the Strike Cruiser Swordpoint coordinated fire from the Imperial Navy to weaken its shields for a brief moment, and launched boarding torpedoes. Disgorging a small but elite strike force led by Lieutenant Gerion Tantus and Librarian Scipio Illatar, the Ultramarines fought through the corridors of the Trastamara, aiming to arm demolitions charges at key points throughout the ship.

Initially fighting through the irregular cultist troops with ease, the Ultramarines faced stronger resistance when their Brother Antares, interred within an ancient Contemptor Dreadnought fought with the Iron Warriors Helbrute, the Carrion Knight. Continuing with their mission while the ancients tore through the ships corridors, the Ultramarines found themselves almost overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the 32nd 'Crowborn' sent to slow their advance. Slaughtering many times their number, the Ultramarines eventually split their forces further to assault their target locations for demolitions charges.

Although Librarian Scipio Illatar and the veteran sternguard Squad Honorius made their way to a primary power junction and successfully destroyed their target, Lieutenant Tantus ordered his forces back to the Swordpoint. The Iron Warriors had attacked in force, and he and his men were surrounded.

Lord Perdicas, Equerry to the Tyrant Tullaris, had initially sought to overwhelm the Ultramarine boarding party through the weight of 32nd 'Crowborn' that he could send against them - and delay them from causing any damage in the ship long enough for the Trastamara to reach the Mandeville point at the Beta Carmine system's edge. However, after Lieutenant Tantus' strike team had fractured, he took the opportunity to engage them in force. With his Chosen guard, Blade Master Crol, and line-company Squad Tetros, Perdicas surrounded Lieutenant Tantus and his force.

 

The fighting was fierce when the opposing forces met, with Lieutenant Tantus' easily carving through a number of 32nd 'Crowborn' and Squad Tetros before duelling Blade Master Crol. The Chosen engaged Tantus' guard, and Perdicas fought his way through the melee. After a fierce battle, and each of the bladesmen wounding the other, Lieutenant Gerion Tantus cut the Blade Master down.

 

Imperial records note that Lieutenant Tantus fell thereafter, bellowing a challenge to the encircling Iron Warriors, and amidst the corrupted warriors he had slain. On the part of the Iron Warriors, the death of Tantus goes unrecorded. Librarian Ilatar and his men successfully evacuated the Trastamara, and despite the damage they had wrought inside the ship - and the ongoing duel between the Imperial Navy and the Heretic forces, the Iron Warriors and their supply train translated out of the system, having weathered the Imperial attack.

 

 

Following Fleet Action 97.4 post BCCM.M42, the Ultramarines and Imperial forces began to receive reports of another Traitor Legion that was operating in the Llagos Sector. The Night Lords had come.

*Archival note: Although the Berrant Carmine system, and indeed the Benkar Cluster as a whole, are not beyond the light of the Astronomican, the fact that the Llagos Sector is split by the Great Rift has resulted in measurable time distortion. As such, the measurement of time in the Llagos Sector is based on the chronological decrees of His right honourable son, the Master of Ultramar, the Avenging Son, the Lord-Commander of His Imperium, the Lord Roboute Guilliman.

___________________

Notes:
Thankfully had a lot more time to paint this weekend and finished up Lord Perdicas, and made some progress on a group of Night Lords I've vowed for the 12 Months of Hobby, and for my own goal to complete the small NL force I have for Spooktober. They'll be getting some love on here soon, but I have another Iron Warrior that I've vowed to make a Liber Dataslate for and paint, so that will be a goal before October 15th.

 

The above lore is based on a solo game I played a few weeks ago during some time off, to try out some Zone Mortalis rules, and to actually play a game with my Ultramarines before the codex was invalidated. I'm glad I got at least one game with them in.

___________________

Responses:
 

Good work! I love the lore and the model is great.

Thank you! I was worried the lore might be a bit long. I'm hoping to be able to post more actual WIP shots, and keep the lore to the broader story, maybe interspersed with narrative bits for characters.
 

Awesome work so far! Love how in depth this is all going!

 

Thank you very much!

Edited October 6, 2020 by Llagos_Tyrant

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Excellent work on Lord Perdicas.

[Llagos_Tyrant]

Iron Warriors Exalted Champion

 

Were expecting Id face you with a hammer in hand, Ardanel?

 

Because the IVth Legion is blunt. The IVth Legion is brutal. The IVth Legion is direct, and ugly in its approach to war? Youd be right to think so.

 

We see war for what it is. The thunder of gunfire and cannons, the sweat of warriors, the screams of the dying, and the blood of the unlucky and the heroic. Yes, that is war, and weve fought it for 10,000 years against your Imperium - in the mud, covered in the blood of our own, with nothing but each other and our hate for this galaxy to carry us on.

 

But as youve pointed out, our approach is direct. I dont need a hammer for this. This sword does fine for butchers work. -

Exated Champion Alaric Gorvrang, Champion of the VIIth Grand Battalion, Iron Warriors to the Blood Angel Ardanel

 

 

___________________
Notes:

I had a lot of fun converting Alaric Gorvrang. He was a model I'd had in mind for a while, and getting to finally put him together - and now to be painting him, is really exciting. When he's finished, I'll have a dedicated lore write up for him, and move on to another battlefield of the Llagos Sector.

 

 

On the other hand, I was surprised by how much I did not enjoy painting the above Warp Talons. I kind of think it's due to them being eBay rescues, and my approach to paint over areas that were issues - which turned into most of the model - as opposed to stripping the models and then starting fresh. I'm much more excited to get to painting the other Night Lords I have in mind for this month.

 

I'm interested in building Raptors for Night Lords in the future, but I want to do them with kitbashes. I'm thinking of using regular CSM bodies, and I'm trying to consider what jump pack/wing options could work for them. I've considered some of the below options:

• Wings from Tyranid Gargoyles
• Wings from Possessed Chaos Space Marines
• Wings from Chaos Furies from Warcry
• Jump packs from the Raptors kit
• Single vent jumppacks from the Horus Heresy

Does anyone have any recommendations, or ideas of how the wing options scale compared to the current CSM kit?

___________________

Responses:

 

Excellent work on Lord Perdicas.

 

Thank you!