Shadow Blades Characters Backgrounds

Chapter Master Causen

Causen was inducted into the Shadow Blades almost half a century ago, being placed straight into the Shadow Company. Over the years he proved himself a capable warrior and tactician, climbing the ranks within the chapter rapidly, first becoming a sergeant, before taking up the mantle of the Assassin Lord. During the battle of Durin IV he was the only survivor other than Librarian Solaris, and after Orion’s death, became the Shadow Blades Chapter Master.

In battle he is a terrifying sight, his sacred claws tearing through armour, hide and flesh with ease, guided by his developed battle skills. He fights with a calculated efficiency, a great many foes having been felled by the Claws of Durin, wielded in his hands. He is also a master tactician, able to coordinate all of the forces of the Shadow Blades from the front line, pulling off daring but successful attacks on heavily defended enemy positions. He is a truly fierce opponent to face on the field of battle.

Chief Librarian Solaris

Solaris was inducted into the Shadow blades almost a century ago, already a master psyker. Few, even within the chapter know of his origin, but none doubt his allegiance to the Emperor. His mastery of the warp matches that of the greatest of the Space Marine Librarians, Librarian Tigarius, able to call elemental forces into existence from nothing, flipping battle tanks with a twist of his wrist, or summoning flaming infernos capable of melting through anything but the best armour. In spite of this Solaris has not naturally developed the gift of foresight like many other psykers.

He is a master warrior in combat, his skill rivalling Causen, wielding a shimmering swordstaff capable of tearing daemons to pieces, named Kerberos.Through this blade he can siphon his warp powers, slaying great warriors outright, tearing their souls from their bodies in one vicious blow. Solaris has been credited the slaying of many great Chaos Lords and Daemons, a true warrior mage of battle.

Solaris’s talents are used to assist the Shadow Company, and he leads them to battle alongside Thanatos, the Shadow Blade’s Assassin Lord.

Master of Sanctity Dazreth

Dazreth was one of the original Chaplains assigned to the Shadow Blades Chapter, recruited from the Ultramarines. He was a fiery god of battle, all enemies faltering underneath his deathly gaze, even the worshippers of chaos losing their stride. He bears the ancient suit of Terminator Armour Aegidios to battle, its battle scarred plates a testament to his history. In 983M41 Dazreth was overrun in battle, covering a Space Marine withdrawal from an Ork infested jungle.

Ten years later he returned to the Shadow Blades, slipping back within their forces to assist an overwhelmed strike force. He strode straight into a tide of Orks and challenged the Warboss in battle, crushing his overlarge skull into the dusty earth upon some forgotten world. The remainder of the Orks fled under Dazreth’s vicious assault, and were systematically hunted down.

It is not known how he survived his ‘death’ but he has fought alongside the Shadow Blades, supporting the Shadow Company ever since, never faltering in battle.

Assassin Lord Thanatos

Assassin Lord Thanatos was appointed to his position after Causen’s elevation to Chapter Master. He is an expert tactician, wielding the Shadow Company as if they were an extension of his own limbs, able to undertake any objective, no matter how unlikely the chance is of succeeding.

He is an expert of sleight of hand, able to infiltrate enemy positions, before commanding the Shadow Blades to break from cover, mockingly close to enemy defences, before charging from position himself, leading his personal bodyguard at the head of the attack.

He bears the Assassins Tools, a magically imbued blade, which strikes down the greatest foe with ease, a Storm Bolter of exquisite craftsmanship, and a mantle, capable of injecting chemicals into the bloodstream to heal even the most serious of wounds.

Solaris Pt 1 (Teaser)

Without much further ado I give you the prologue to the story of Librarian Solaris’s training, and his fall from grace (or is it?).

 

Matt woke with a start, his eyes glistening in the pale stream of moonlight flowing through his window. A foul stench was in the air as he threw on a shirt, and pulled up a pair of trousers. Quickly he stepped around the remainder of wrapping from his 8th birthday, whilst he could hear his parent’s voices, speaking in a wavering tone in the kitchen before a deep resounding voice pierced the confines of his room. He crept to the door, and carefully peered out into the dark passage way. It was as still as a tomb. Again he heard his parents, their voices pleading with the unknown guest. He had made up his mind within seconds, walking into his father’s room from where he retrieved his father’s operational Lasgun. His father was a guardsman on leave from the local Planetary Defence Force, an officer, high up in the force. Silently he cocked and shouldered the rifle, confident due to his compulsory military training, and trod back down the corridor. Not a noise escaped his feet as if he were walking on a layer of air. The deep voice began again, this time with an urgent rasping quality to it. Their guest was becoming impatient. Matt nudged the door into the lounge room open and peered around into the kitchen. With a start he stumbled backwards into the wall, and knocked a vase which was standing on a pedestal, which fell with a sharp clattering noise to the ground. His parents were on their knees in the kitchen, knelt before an eight foot tall human being. But it was no human being. It was armoured in a great black armoured plates trimmed with a metallic golden, and great ribbed horns protruded from its helm. Its eyes glowed a deathly red. It was a Chaos Space Marine of the Black Legion. Death had come to his world.

In seconds the traitor Marine was upon him, lifting him off his feet and bodily threw him into the lounge room. He landed with a crack, feeling one of his ribs break, as the Lasgun clattered to the ground beside him. The first Marine strode towards him, drawing its corrupted bolter into its black painted hands.

Quickly Matt scrambled to grab the rifle beside him, and, securing his grip on its trigger, quickly brought it up to his shoulder to aim at the monstrosity. The rifle cracked twice as the laser bolts impacted with the Marines helm, but it continued on, shrugging off the impacts as if they were insignificant. As it reached him it backhanded the weapon out of his grip, dislocating his arm in the process before levelling its bolter to his face. Matt felt power rise up in him, and almost in instinct he raised his off hand, before the power surged to his finger tips, and leapt out at the heretic in great arcs of lightning. The Chaos Marine was lifted off its feet for an instant, before it was thrown across the room, collapsing straight through the opposing wall.

He felt the power die down within him, as he turned to the kitchen and roughly cracked his shoulder back into place. Quickly he drew the Lasgun from the floor again, and hurried towards his parents who were shaking on their knees.

‘Matt, we have been marked for summoning. You know what you must do.’

‘No, I can’t do it. I can save you,’ Matt replied, his voice shaking as his eyes welled up in tears.

The standard operational procedure for a marked civilian was to kill them, so that they would not be able to perform the summoning.

‘Matthew, there is no hope left for us, the best you can do now is save yourself,’ his father replied, also beginning to shake, as his mother burst into tears.

Matt threw the Lasgun to the ground and turned to his mother.

‘I can’t do it…. I cannot kill you.’

The tears freely streamed down his face now, impacting the floor with soft dripping sounds.

‘Then save yourself. Run. You know where the nearest bunker is. At least do that for us,’ his mother replied through the sobs.

‘But I can save…’

At that instant the front door collapsed as another two Chaos Space Marines entered, and quickly advanced upon him, kicking the Lasgun out of his reach. The second, picked him up in its hand, and threw him across the lounge into the wall, which he felt crack behind him upon the impact. He tried to lift himself to his feet as the traitor bore down on him, raising its bolter to his skull.

Then suddenly he heard everything, the scraping noise of metal on metal as the trigger on the Boltgun was pulled back, the buzz of the electric lamp in his room, his mothers whimpers in the kitchen, and a noise he could not place. It sounded similar to that of wind, but almost as if particles were being pushed out of the way, rather than around something.

Then it impacted.

A silver teardrop shaped object fell straight through his lounge roof, impacting with the ground to an ear-splitting boom as the wings fell down, and a single silver armoured Marine leapt out, bearing a mighty glowing halberd. In one motion it speared the Chaos Marine bearing down on him, whilst letting off two bolts with its Storm Bolter, decapitating the other Marine across the room. Quickly it turned to Matt, before seeing his parents in the kitchen, and ruthlessly, brutally let off two more bolts.

Matt screamed out, and launched himself at the Marine as both of his parents exploded in a gore of blood and bone as the shells detonated, tearing their flesh to pieces. It reacted in an instant, backhanding him with his armed Storm Bolter, which threw him once again to the ground, and he blacked out.

Workings and Thoughts

I have done a lot towards the army since last time, Solaris is now almost completely finished painting, and Causen is now a completed miniature. I also have a complete ten man Terminator Assault Squad and the last five men in my Assault Squad ready to spray, as well as the ten Vanguard Veterans finished making and ten Vanguard Veterans with jump packs in the process of making.

Solaris Pt1 (Pt 1) is almost ready for posting, and will be within a few weeks. I have chosen to split it into two parts for a few reasons:

1. It is a really convenient place to split the thing in two from.
2. The piece is aready 13 pages, and I have only reached the second of four training challenges, not alone any of the five missions I will be showing.
3. I am really sick of writing Daemon Hunters and am rearing to get into Pt 5 (Pt 1) (it will also be split into two because it will be really dramatic, and I need to finish this before I finish it.
4. I dont like having to remember seven individual names and abillities for miniatures I don't have or play with.
5. Now I am just ranting, but I'm sure you'd rather read it sooner than later

Dazreth will also be making a showing here very soon with a bit of backstory which is being developed unknown to everyone else right infront of their noses. He is going to be one nasty piece of work...

Anyway, there's the update and I am off.

Solaris Rises

I recently got my hands on my delivery from Wayland Games, an Assault Terminator Squad and two Assault Squads for finishing off almost all of my Shadow Company. They should keep me occupied for a time to come.

On more interesting news I have finished the first design for my Chief Librarian Solaris miniature, picutres of the miniature pieced together are in existance below.

I really like the way it looks, and think this is very close to what the final product will be.

It was pieced together from the standard librarian, terminator librarian, inquisitor lord and assault marines sprues, giving a nice collaboration of pieces. I am still unsure what warp power I want him to be using, but the shockwave is most likely, kicking up a spray of dirt, as well as flattening some grass and some other things. Anyway, enough rambling, here he is

To see a larger picture, click on the image.

Incursion and Drop Pod Pi

After a lot of homework and some painting I have more pictures for you to see. The first is Sterguard Veteran Squad Pi's Drop Pod, and the others are my 1000pt list for the Incursion tournament that our club is running in the near future.

Drop Pod Pi

I am very happy with the way that this drop pod has turned out, after being unsure of what bits I wanted what colour. The metal hinges are some of the only metalic bits in the army. All the hard edges on the wings are highlighted and at the bottom of each wing there is a small image or note. Hope you enjoy.

Incursion 1000pt List

Every single model on the table is completely finished but Librarian Alexio, who will be one of my next projects. It is a fairly hard hitting list, its strength in a maneuverable gunline, and Alexio, a highly capable assault warrior, who when supported by a squad, should take down most other assault based squads.

Sternguard Veterans

I finished the Sternguard Veterans last night before work, and here they are, the first of two squads, Sternguard Squad Pi.

Sternguard Squad Pi

Predicted Apoc List

For the Apocalypse match in January I will be fielding something along the lines of the following force.

Headquarters

1 Chapter Master Causen

1 Masters of the Chapter

1 Librarian Solaris

1 Chaplian Dazreth

1 Librarian Alexio

2 Librarians

Shadow Company

1 Assassin Lord Thanatos

1 Five Man Command Squad

1 Ten Man Terminator Squad

2 Ten Man Sternguard Squads

2 Ten Man Vanguard Squads

3 Ten Man Tactical Squads

1 Ten Man Assault Squad

1 Ten Man Devastator Squad

1 Ten Man Scout Squad

Support Units

1 Five Man Assault Terminator Squad

1 Five Man Terminator Squad

3 Dreadnoughts

1 Ten Man Devastator Squad

1 Razorback

2 Drop Pods

Allies

1 Warhound Titan

10 Legion of the Damned Terminators

10 Legion of the Damned Marines

1 Legion of the Damned Captain

This will be a resemblance of the list that I use for the match... Although I will be up against an armoured company which could be a little intimidating. It will be a lot of fun though...

On a more present note I puchased the miniature that I will be converting into Librarian Solaris today, which will be a nice conversion if it works out right. It is the Librarian holding a staff and a book. The book is going on another Librarian and I am cutting the eagle off the staff to add the sword - to the Antidaemos. I will be making his hand look like he is performing some kind of psychic attack, with maybe lightning bolts coming out of his fingertips, or an orb of energy being summoned... Something of the sort. I have grand ideas.