Lure of the Gods - Part 2, Valkia the Bloody.

She was a blade given wings, a living decree of slaughter cast into the sky by Khorne. Valkia the Bloody soared above the warhost, her form clad in dark, rune-etched armour that clung like a second skin, her spear held low as though she might at any moment plunge from the heavens and skewer the unworthy. Her wings beat in slow, thunderous strokes, scattering the air with the stink of iron and old blood, while around her wheeled a shrieking flock of furies—daemonic wretches whose clawed limbs stretched hungrily toward the world below. Valkia’s gaze swept the marching host with cold disdain. She felt no pride, no warmth, only the measured anticipation of violence yet to come. These warriors were offerings, nothing more—coin to be spent in the great tally of skulls. If they died well, she might remember them. If not, they would vanish into the endless anonymity of the slain.

From her height, the army revealed its true shape: not a single force, but a writhing mass of rival hungers bound together by conquest. To the east marched a host marked by impossible colours and shifting forms, their armour shimmering with hues that hurt the eye—a warband sworn to Tzeentch, their ranks unnaturally ordered, their banners flickering as though caught between moments. Beyond them, vast and grim, advanced the core of the invasion—a great host pledged to no single god, its banners bearing the mark of Chaos Undivided, marching beneath the iron will of the warhost’s unseen master. Around and between these pillars drifted other cults and lesser warbands, flickers of movement and colour that even Valkia’s keen sight could not fully unravel. She cared little for them. Let them scheme, let them bargain and betray. In the end, all would feed the same red end.

Her attention sharpened as motion broke the rhythm below—a violent, surging force that even from the sky could not be ignored. There, a wedge of daemonic cavalry tore across the field, Juggernauts of Khorne pounding the earth with each thunderous stride. Brass hides gleamed like fresh-spilled blood in the sun, their maws belching fire, their horns carving furrows in the ground as they charged. Upon their backs rode heavily armoured warriors, chosen of the Blood God, their forms rigid with purpose as they drove onward without pause or mercy. An unfortunate band of undivided marauders strayed into their path—there was no slowing, no warning. The Juggernauts crashed through them, bodies breaking beneath iron-shod hooves, men crushed into the mud as though they had never been. Valkia watched, and for the briefest moment something like approval flickered across her features. Not for the dead, nor for the riders—but for the purity of it. The charge did not falter. It never would.

*****

The Lure of the Gods continues apace and a vaunted legend of the Chaos Wastes arrives in the army.

I have had this miniature since she was released in fine cast, way back around 2011-12(?).

She's been dug out and based, pulled off that base and rebased, and then most recently pulled off another round base and added to this 30mm square base, to use in The Old World.

Her Shield disappeared a long time ago, but I feel she looks better without it to be honest.

Her Spear and open hand are taken from an Elf kit, a Dark Eldar maybe, and that's about the extent of fixing her after years of languishing.

There is however, a metal pin sticking up through the base up to her bent knee to keep her together on the thin resin section.

Again I don't think that's bad for an almost 15 year old Finecast Miniature.

Painting followed the same scheme as.the Marauders from he last entry, and the flames from the Word Bearers Praetor I posted a bit back.

Her wings were an experiment with shades over a Pallid Wych Flesh basecoat.

Starting closest to her arms, I began with Seraphim Sepia, then wet blended it into Carroburg Crimson and ending with Druchii Violet, again wet blended on the wings.

A better photo of her spear and the colour mixing on her wings.

Tabletop wise, because she isn't in the game, I field her as the following:

Valkia the Bloody - 250 points.

Exalted Champion, Heavy Armour, Mark of Chaos, Daemonic Mount, Hellforged Axe, Spellshield and Enchanting Aura.

The Hellforged Axe gives her a bunch of extra attacks which are magical, flaming and have Armourbane. The Daemonic Mount gives her the flying ability and an extra couple of attacks.

The Spellshield gives her a ward save against magical attacks and spells, and the Enchanting Aura gives her Always Strikes First.

Everything is very fitting for her lorewise and fits the feel of the old character. She's just a little spendy at 250 points by herself, but such is life.

She's a hit hard and hit first character and if the enemy is still standing afterwards, then she can tank their attacks pretty reliably.

Currently I am working on a unit of Chaos Warriors, I may decide to work up a second unit of KHORNE Marauders as I have the models, or even one of Furies if I can get ahold of the models reasonably.

Out next Element Games meet up isn't until mid May, so I'm hoping to have a few more units finished before then.

The march of Chaos continues ever onwards.

Until next time, have nice day...

Lure of the Gods - Part 1, Khornate Marauders.

 

They came south in a red tide, one knot of killers among many beneath the unseen will of their Marauder King, a name spat with reverence and fear around the fire but never spoken lightly. This band called themselves the Gorebound, oath-sworn to Khorne and hungry for the skulls of softer lands. Their furs were stiff with old blood, their shields hacked from a dozen raids, their laughter edged with something feral and expectant. Among the three marauder hosts that rode within the warband, the Gorebound were the most fractious—quick to boast, quicker to draw steel—but even they knew enough to give space to the ironclad Warriors and the King’s chosen. There were hierarchies here, written in scars and enforced in sudden, terminal violence.

At their fore strode Kargun Red-Spear, Deathbringer of the Gorebound, a broad-shouldered reaver whose weapon had been hammered from a looted southern pike and reforged into something brutal and inelegant. He fought from the front ranks on foot, disdaining the saddle in favour of the crush, where his reach could drag enemies down into the press. His beard was bound in copper rings taken from fallen champions, and his eyes burned with a constant, low fury that never quite found release. Kargun did not waste words; he let the tally of his kills speak, and none in the tribe could match the quiet, methodical savagery with which he harvested skulls for the Blood God.

Beside him marched Hroda Chain-Banner, the standard bearer, dragging aloft a pole crowned with a snarling brass rune of Khorne, hung with lengths of chain and skulls that clattered with every step. The banner stank of iron and rot, and men fought harder beneath it, as though the god’s gaze pressed down through its crude icon.

The warhorn fell to Skeln Red-Breath, a scarred marauder whose lungs seemed touched by something unclean. When he sounded the horn, it was not merely a call to advance—it was a bellow that clawed at the mind, a sound that drove men to reckless fury or froze them where they stood. Veins bulged along his neck with every blast, his eyes rolling white as the warband surged in answer.

Close by lingered Yrsa Blood-Whisper, the tribe’s shaman, her presence a tolerated blasphemy in a host that worshipped slaughter above all else. She spoke to the spirits of the slain and painted her visions in arterial red, guiding the warband toward battles where the blood would flow thickest. Garruk trusted her only as far as her visions pleased the god they served.

Behind these figures came the mass of the marauders themselves—bare-armed killers with axes and flails, their flesh marked by ritual scars and fresh wounds alike. They fought not as a disciplined army, but as a tide driven forward by rage and the promise of worthy death. They marched and bickered alongside the other two marauder bands, trading insults and threats that sometimes spilled into brief, vicious duels before discipline—of a sort—reasserted itself. Yet when the Warriors drew near, all three bands fell silent, their bravado guttering in the shadow of those towering killers. And when the skies split with the beating of daemonic wings, even Kargun paused. High above, wreathed in the promise of carnage, soared Valkia the Bloody, consort of the Blood God, her passage a shriek of brass and slaughter. The Gorebound fell to their knees or howled her name to the heavens, exultant and terrified in equal measure. To be seen by her was to be marked, they believed—either for glory beyond mortal reckoning, or a death so violent it would echo in the halls of Khorne forever.

*****

I mentioned at the beginning of the year that we had had a few tester games of The Old World and had quite enjoyed the system and wanted to play more regularly, I also mentioned that one of my Hobby Goals for the year was to get at least 1,500 points of Warriors of Chaos finished and up to snuff for the tabletop so our games didn't look so shit all the time.

Well, this is the first part of the ongoing "Lure of the Gods" series I am starting as I catalogue what units I get finished, or detail any particularly noteworthy builds/conversions/etc which I think may be useful to keep track of moving forwards.

So, what have I actually done?

I have started with this unit of eighteen Khorne aligned Marauder Warriors using the Age of Sigmar Bloodreavers as the choice as i had about sixty of them in my collection (I bought up a bunch of cheap first edition starter sets when Age of Sigmar was first released).

There are eighteen Marauders, because there is a Sorceror on foot in the front rank (second from the left)and there will be either an Aspiring Champion or a Battle Standard Bearer in the gap in the front rank.

Seen from above:

Traditionally most Marauder units have been painted with very pale white skin and blonde hair, these are meant to be the Norse Vikings of Warhammer afterall, but I decided I wanted to try the skin tones to utilise the brilliant flesh colours GW produce now.

Bloodreaver Flesh.

Catachan Flesh.

Guilliman Flesh.

The armour plates Re black and highlighted with Leadbelcher, this will become the standard across the entire army, and then each God Favoured section with has splashes of a colour associated with their deity.

And a couple of glamour photos:

If you look at the Champions Spear wraps, the talismans on the Sorceror and the various straps and loincloths on the models, the spot colour is Sigvald Burgundy, washed with Earthshade.

This gives me a second spot colour which will tie the army together across the different ideas for armour colour I have.

Some closeups of the various ranks:

The Front Rank, with Command and Sorceror:

The Second Rank:

The Third Rank:

The Fourth Rank:

I'll be honest in that I have absolutely no idea if the army I am building will be reasonable on the tabletop.

(Yes it is nice to win, but I'd much rather have a very cool looking army first).

I have a few things coming up for this army soon, so the Lure of the Gods will return.

Until next time, have nice day...