Tales of the Red Crusade

                     ++The Threat Below++ 
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"The world of men is dreaming, it has gone mad in its sleep, a snake is strangling it and it can't wake."
-Magus of the Sons of the Abyss
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"Unless sin is swiftly obliterated by seeking the Emperor's forgiveness it grows from a worm into a snake that gnaws at the heart."
-Bartholamus Nursi, Prophet of the Crimson Sigil

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Where is there freedom from the threat of the xenos, heretic and daemonic to be found in His Empire? Surely Holy Terra, seat of His power and the birthplace of humanity? No.
Nowhere in His holy realm is safe from His enemies. I have hunted dire threats to the Empire for more than a century now and there is no sanctuary to be found from such threats. Even on Holy Terra there are more threats than Inquisitors, by a wide margin.

Inquisitor Legatus Augustus Tiberius Vollmer

++0 123 762 M39
I have been on the trail of the Sons of the Abyss for several months now and have found precious few leads on their origins or current base of operations. I have tracked their source back to the planet Necromunda through a series of shipping logs spread across several planets within the Segmentum Solar. My agents within Primus Hive tell me of a cult of the same name in the hive town of Dust Falls and it is doubtful that is a coincidence. Though on the surface they worship the "Emperor of the Stars" there is something unwholesome in their portrayal of Him. Further investigation is needed. ++

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++0 123 762 M39
I'm getting closer. I've identified several safehouses within the Midafrik Hive that appear to be muster points for the Sons of the Abyss. I've placed several operatives within their organization, though as of yet I have received no reports.++

"The dreamer is mad and does not wake."

++0 124 762 M39
I have trouble sleeping. Fear grips me like a neophyte. I have faced countless heretics and cults dedicated to the daemonic, but I have seen nothing to compare to the devotion shown within the Sons. They have an ability to convert and inspired fidelity like I have never seen. All my agents are either dead or have turned upon me. I fear I have become hunted by my own prey.++

Imperial Palace Deep Vaults 1

Few know how deep the vaults of the Imperial Palace truly go. The Vaults of Terra go deeper than the tallest spires of the Palace rise into the air. Deep bellow the shimmering edifices of the greatest fortress of humankind there are terrors beyond imagining as well as wonders that would save the Imperium of Mankind if they were know. Many of these things have been lost and forgotten in chambers sealed by collapsed tunnels, both deliberate and accidental. During the Siege of Terra the access to many of the wonders and horrors were deliberately sealed by both loyalists and traitors alike to prevent their use. Many of the secrets of what lay beneath the Palace were lost with the death of those who knew of their existence. There are many who seek to bring these secrets to light and many who would see them stay lost.

I wanted to make my zone mortalis tiles gritty and dark to represent the deepest levels of the Imperial Palace I wanted them as dark as the Palace above them was gleaming. These represent levels that have hand abandoned since the Siege of Terra. I used a lot of materials that I have been meaning to use for texturing, such as spackle. I really like how it turned out. I mainly plan to use it as a background for photographing my miniatures, but I also plan to use it in games of Kill Team. Here are some wip shots.

Lord Engineer of the Luminarchy

Lord Engineer of the Borealis Block, Dominus Majoris of the Luminarchy, Designate Sikorsky X37.

Dominus Majoris Sikorsky X37 is the Lord Engineer in charge of the Ordo Sinister Borealis Chamber on Holy Terra and it is his charge to see that the psytitans of Ordo Sinister continue to prosecute war against those horrors for which they were created. As one of the ten Dominus Majoris of the Luminarchy of Holy Terra Designate Sikorsky X37 is one of the most knowledgeable beings in the entire Imperium. The Luminarchy is an organization that has existed on Terra in one form or another since long before the Emperor took direct action against the tyrants of Terra during the Unification Wars. The founding of the Luminarch is just as shrouded in mystery and lost to time as the founding of the Adeptus Custodes and shares its origins in the Emperor direct hand. Even in the earliest records of the Emperor's deeds he surrounded himself with the minds of great scientists and it is from these that the earlies ranks of the Luminarchy developed. A body of pure scientific minds without the ritualized dogma that would later become the founding of the Martian Priesthood. The Adeptus Mechanicus barely tolerates the presence of the Luminarchy and in all likelihood would see them destroyed if it weren't for the protection and support of the Imperial Household. It is not unknown for lesser members of the Luminarchy to meet their end under mysterious circumstances while traveling beyond Terra's protection on joint expeditionary voyages with the Adeptus Mechanicus. The Mechanicus are careful to reserve and return any vital data the victims might have been carrying to the Imperial Palace.

Welcome to the Apocalypse!

Hello everyone and welcome to my first major project. I've wanted to do a big project for some time now. I see a lot of my favorite painters and modelers working on large world creating/expanding projects and I have wanted to do something similar. I've found that my favorite ones have been based around ancient, Holy Terra, the seat of Imperial power and the Throneworld of Mankind. I find it fascinating that the birthplace of mankind is both the holiest of planets, but also an irradiated, toxic wasteland.

For my first steps into this holy wasteland I will be creating an army of Adeptus Custodes with Knight House Aurelius allies, as well as a display board to enter them into this year's Armies on Parade.

The board will be a toxic industrial Deathworld landscape and will be built up over a series of "work in progress" posts. The army itself will be presented as each unit is finished rather than in wip posts.

For this first post I present the army in its current state. So far I have finished one Adeptus Custodes Shield-Captain, one Vexilus Praetor, and an Armiger Warglaive.


                                                     Shield-Captain Albertus Armando Freir

                                   Vexilus Praetor Marcus Justinius Gregor

                                   Auric, House Aurelius Armiger Warglaive