The Swordsmen
As the Sunset Guard fought through the Soul Wars and more and more warriors were Reforged, the Flaw manifested first in a physical affliction. All those that emerged from the Anvil of the Apotheosis did so as albinos, their skin and hair white as many of the gheists they battled. By the time the Era of the Beast was closing, the physical effects of the Flaw had intesified and actinic light leaked from the eyes of every member of the Stormhost. Unable to remove that affliction, the Sunset Guard had embraced it and more and more warriors started to take to the field of battle without wearing their masks, to better strike fear in the hearts of their enemies.
Here comes the second set of Ironsoul's Condemnors, fully converted to make sure they look different from the others.
What I did was repositioning the arms, replacing the heads with Vindictors' ones and the maces with blades from the Vindictor spears and a sword from the Cities of Sigmar Battlemage kit.
Ironsoul's shield ended up on another warrior so I gave her a Vindictor shield.
Finally, I clipped the pegs from underneath the models' feet so that I was able to swap bases around. All these combined completely altered the sense of motion in every model, making them look completely distinct from the uncoverted counterpart.
Since I was at it, I've also used small gryphons from the TOW Emipre Mansion and Empire General to make Dagger, Shield and Hammer deployment markers for Warcry games. The weapons come again from the Vindictors (blade), the TOW Empire General (hammer) and the TOW Empire State Troops (shield).
Teandra Honouris
Teandra not only venerates Sigmar, but the maker Grugni as well, an act of gratitude for all the smith-god has sacrificed for the cause of order.
Namestes Thunderheart
Tales are told and songs are sung throughout Azyrheim of Namestes' exploits.
Sannus Swiftsteel
Sannus dispenses sage advice to his younger companions even in the heat of battle.
I've painted the deployment markers as statuary, matching the grey and green scheme I've used on my Stormvault terrain set and on the bases of the Stormcast.
With them done, Lightiningfist's Last Survivors are worth 990 points in games of Warcry and I'll probably take them to an event I'm attending later in October.
Lightiningfist's Last Survivors
The Sunset Guard was one of the smallest and latest Stormhosts of the First Striking. Comprised of those who had died while wielding the magic of the Realms against Chaos, the majority of its warriors hailed from its Sacrocanct Chamber. Because of their connection with the Realms, during the late years of the Era of the Beast, the Sunset Guard mages felt that something was amiss with the fabric of reality. Determined to correct this imbalance, they led the entire Stormhost deep into the eastern Great Parch. And there they were as Skavenblight erupted into Aqshy. In a single instant, only a handful of warriors remained.
It fell to Knight-Incantor Lestia Lightiningfist to lead the survivors in a gruelling flight from the Gnaw, and by the end of it only a single Sequitor retinue was with her as they reached the relative safety of the Adamantine Chain. There, they discovered the Sacrosanct Chambers had been recalled to Azyr. But with the souls of their comrades lost forever, their presence at the Anvil of the Apotheosis was pointless. So it was they swore to remain in the Realms and avenge their Stormhost.
I finally got to paint Xandria Azurebolt and one of the Ironsoul's Condemnors sets I had since I attended Warhammer Fest back in 2023.
I decided not to convert them as I might use Ironsoul's Condemnors in games of Warhammer: Underworlds, while Xandria Azurebolt is a rather cool model and I didn't feel like converting her, except for giving her a sculpted base from Ironsoul's Condemnors. Still, I've painted them in the same colours as my Silver Tower Knight-Questor, only adding some blue for the more arcane bits.
And of course, I've given them new names and a a different background to use them in games of Warcry.
Lestia Lightiningfist
The Knight-Incantor has proven many times over that she would risk everything to safeguard those under her command.
Sequitor-Prime Kelena Fulmor
Kelena is a a reserved and melancholic soul, not given to zealous oratory.
Kallean Brightmace
Kallean battles the enemies of Azyr with a savage ferocity.
Balian Pharos
The agonies of Reforging have left left their mark upon Balian, yet although striken by spiritual torment, he fights on.
I have another sprue of Ironsoul's Condemnors and a few bits to convert them and bring Lightiningfist's Last Survivors to a full 1000 points Warcry warband.
The Bloodworks
On its way from the Sanguinal Refineries to the Cranic Furnaces the mixture of promethium, blood and daemonic ichor travels and is stored and stabilised in a network of Haematic Plasma Regulators and Condutis. Much like the other Belochian structures claimed by the servants of Khorne, this machinery is slowly turning into organic structures, the conduits ever more resembling blood vessels while the plasma coils contract and beat like cardiac muscles. The tanks and heat vents' sides bleed from never-healing wounds on their flanks and skulls are tossed around, often piled into impromptu altars to the Red God. The reek of blood clings to the air, as does the faint echo of a laughter coming from the Skull Throne.
Recently I've started playing Kill Team relatively regularly and that motivated me to get back to this terrain project. These are all relatively small pieces made with a combination of bits from the Sector Mechanicus kits I assembled in the past, plastic piping and even a plastic container for toothpicks.
The strainght pipes are cut to the same length as the gantries of the Hanging Ways, just like the original Thermic Plasma Conduits. The curved one is only a few centimetres smaller than the angled walkways I stil have to assemble, but I couldn't find anything of the exact same size. The veins crisscrossing them are sculpted with greenstuff.
The ladder going up the vent is made using cleaned up sprues.
The Thermic Plasm Regulator is converted exactly like the Sanguinal Refinery, with bone spurs from the Ogor Mawtribes range, Khornate symbols and trophies and also the horns with dangling skulls from the Black Orcs banner.
Finally I had the hatches from the STC Ryza-pattern Ruins to which I simply glued some skulls. They're the only pieces that have not been smeared with my home-made texture (coffe grounds and PVA) to represent the wounds on the sides of the structures.
The palette is essentially the same as the other pieces. However, this time I've used an iron mica effect enamel spray for the undercoat rather than Leadbelcher spray, resulting in slightly darker tones.
As always, every piece is perfectly sized to match the others, either to join at ground level or to sit on top of larger pieces.
Barrels and blasts
"So uncivilised!" Xal'ar'ap scoffed, its green tongue darting out between every word. "Staging a heavy cavarly charge during an underground siege..."
"Typical of Khornates and Pantheonites", quipped Vyzorak watching as Umbra, Ghargon and Shërbëtor took their places at the head of the column and disappeared down the largest tunnel leading to the Aetheric Bastion.
"And what are we to do in order to show them Tzeentch's superiority?" asked the Changecaster.
"They'll provide the distraction we need. While they get all the attention, we'll use the blastpowder bombs we recovered from the Wolfram Industries at the grot camp you mentioned."
"Did I tell you they fight for the Boltbreakers?"
"Then we'll make sure nobody sees us as we really are, and plant some of the Wolfram corpses on the battlefield."
"Blaming another enemy for your actions, Lorehoarder?"
"You're not the only schemer, Plotgibber", came Vyzorak's reply amidst a growling laughter.
The grots were camped around one of the outer structures of the old Stormfort, a massive rockgut troggoth shambling around, idly kicking up black ash.
Vyzorak had tasked the Tzaangors to act as sappers and assigned a small escort each to Kleok and R'tefcar. They were waiting, at the end of opposite corridors, for the rest of the Coven to provide a diversion.
It was up to Vyzorak, Xal'ar'ap and Inklineilis to provide that, and hidden under layers of glamours that made them look like Wolfram Industries' mercenaries, they launched themselves at the grots.
As the grot camp descended into a bedlam of high pitched screams and multihued fire blasts, the sapper teams advanced carefully, least a sudden movement triggered the volatile charges ahead of time.
Xal'ar'ap and Inklineilis had despatched half of the grot and pinned the rest in combat, though Zirithinion had fallen under their spears.
Vyzorak channeled all the sorcerous power he could into his staff and managed to smash aside the troggoth while Thalamyr took care of a grot and their squig snuffler. The way was open for the sappers.
But as the sappers prepared to close the distance to the Stormfort walls, the rest of the grot showed up, dangerously close.
Iridios and the Blue Horror Vyzorak had bound to his service leapt forward, blocking the mouth of the tunnel the grots were coming from while Kleok reached the first steps of the Stormfort.
But R'tecfar was held back. Though he and Ocladius dispatched a grot fanatic, the Loonboss stopped the Tzaangor from advancing.
Daemons and Acolytes continued to trade blows with the grots, their line holding firm.
Vyzorak and Talamyr rushed forward, pushing the Loonboss away from R'tecfar.
The two Tzaangors reached the battlements almost at the same time, lit the fuses and jumped away squawking for the others to run for cover.
Then the charges detonated, debris and oily smoke mixing with the Howling Abyss' ashes.
As the grots dispersed, the Coven of the Purple Flame moved onto the breach, tossing a couple of the Wolfram militia corpses into still burning fires.
As they entered the Aetheric Bastion, Vyzorak prayed to Tzeentch for the rest of the March forces to have been equally succesful. If not, they'd soon be inside an abandoned Sigmarite stronghold surrounded by enemies.
***
This time, I played The Fall of Snagglewart challenge battle from the Tome of Champions 2020. I have to admit the dice rolling I did for the grots was terrible, turning what should have been a difficult scenario into a rather easy one. I guess Tzeentch was smiling upon the Coven of the Purple Flame.
