Children of the Everqueen

[Davariel]

Hello TGA, and welcome to my plog! 

I'm a longtime painter and modeler (and an occasional gamer too) whose chief interests are High Elves, Brets and Mordheim. I've mostly focused on my High Elves over the past year or so, starting a smaller Avelorn contingent, but I was getting a bit burned out by how long it took me to finish even a handful of their crazy detailed minis. Looking for something I could paint up more quickly to take a break, I soon fell in love with the gorgeous Sylvaneth models. The fact that they'd tie in nicely with the Avelorn HE I'd been painting (seeing as they're both Alarielle's followers) was just icing on the cake!

So I took the plunge and ordered a start collecting box... 

My first unit of dryads. Sixteen felt like an awkward number, so I split them into 10 and 5 with 1 left over to convert a branchwraith. 

Also painted up the branchwych:

Thanks for reading!

[Lysandestolpe]

These are very nice all around! I can tell you've been involved in building and painting for a longer time. When even the base has the level of detail as the models without distracting the latter, you know you've made a homerun!

Can't wait to see more!

[Ademo]

They look great - the bases really make an impact! Mind sharinv your wood recipe? I like the tone of it alot.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[elfhead]

Looking good! Would love to see some of your high elves too. I've still got some handmaidens and white lions lying around to make a forest themed warband for my old high elf army. 

[Routasydän]

Looks brilliant  Love seeing all different seasons represented by Sylvaneth, especially liking the green summer ones, so different from my own autumn stuff.

[Davariel]

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

@Ademo - The wood recipe is pretty much taken straight from the back of the dryad box! The dryads were painted using a Gorthor brown base, Agrax wash, Baneblade brown drybrush and lastly a light Ushabti bone drybrush to finish. On the Branchwych I started from a Rhinox hide base then drybushed with a 50/50 mix of Rhinox and Gorthor, then just drybushed Gorthor before doing the other steps as on the dryads. Gives a little more depth to characters and other special models (watch this space) but not enough to be worth doing on all the rank and file. 

@elfhead - Ask and ye shall receive! (your elves are amazing, by the way)

Sisters of Avelorn: I originally bought the Phoenix Guard kit just for the bits (I prefer the older metals... of which I have all of 5 ), but I had the Sister parts lying around after making a Mordheim Shadow Warrior band. So I figured I'd kitbash the two together. I was so happy with how they turned out I started an entire sub-army. 

I was particularly pleased with how the shared fire motif tied the two kits together. 

This is Celandra, a wood elf spellsinger painted in a more Asur like scheme to represent an Avelorn mage. I figure she's a more wild sort of mage, casting spells from natural instinct rather than formal training. 

I originally bought two boxes of Eternal Guard so I could use their heads on High Elf archers, figuring I could do something with the bodies later. Turns out they make perfect Avelorn spearmen with a few tweaks.

The white cloaks go a long way to making them look more like high elves IMO. 

My BSB, Galandar, son of Galdrad. One of my more extensive conversions; I had the Corsair banner lying around and wanted to make a more dynamic BSB with it... things just kind of escalated from there.

 

And a pic from the other side showing off the banner a bit better:

Lastly he's not from Avelorn but he's a conversion I'm proud of so I figured I'd chuck him in... Teclis! (based on a 40k shadowseer). I always loved Teclis' fluff - the passage in the 7th ed book about how he walked into the sky during the battle of Finuval Plain and proceeded to rain magical death down upon an entire druchii army had a huge impact on me when I started my high elves back in '09 - but his official model was so awful it looked like he could barely move his arms, let alone cast a spell.  So naturally when I saw the shadowseer, I knew what I had to do. 

Anyway I've spammed enough pictures so I'll leave things there 

[elfhead]

your avelorn force looks awesome. I love armies with lots of kitbashes. I think i might one day buy some eternal guard to use as spearmen. But I guess j should paint what I have lying around. I already have the exact same sorceress to turn into an avelornian mage:) the bsb looks great, full of movement

[Davariel]

Got the last five dryads from the start collecting box done. Went for a slightly darker bark tone (though I'm not sure you can tell from the pics... ), and sprinkled some elf bits throughout to differentiate them from the first unit. 

I'm huge on building a background and story behind my armies, and I knew I wanted to link this army to my high elves thanks to their shared link with Alarielle. I see these guys as part of a clan of Sylvaneth that came to coexist with a kingdom of aelves during the Age of Myth (hence the elf bits), which led to their societies and destinies becoming entwined... more on that later...

[Davariel]

The Birth of a Kingdom

It was during the distant days of the Age of Myth that an aelven prince named Delthas and his people were first driven to wander the realms. What forced them from their lands, or from whence they came, history has not recorded. For many long years the aelves walked the breadth of existence. It was a life fraught with peril, for in those early days the realms were wild and untamed. All manner of savage peoples and strange beasts beset Delthas and his people, kept at bay only by aelven grace and martial skill. For decades they searched for a new home until at last, when it seemed no hope was left, they came to Ghyran, and the lands of the Sylvaneth. 

The aelves were stunned. This was a place lush and verdant beyond imagining. Many wished to settle the moment they emerged in Ghyran, but Delthas refused. Drawn by some strange calling that seemed to touch his very heart, the prince led his people south through lands unmarked by any path. It was only when they came to a great forest, its boughs alive with a mystical wind, that Delthas knew he had found the home he had been searching for. 

The only surprise was that it was already inhabited.  

All the lands between the mountains in the west and the silvery river that flowed to the east were the domain of Clan Thardir, and like most Sylvaneth they were little inclined to trust outsiders. Undeterred, Prince Delthas led his people deeper into the forest, knowing all the while he was being watched. The truth of what happened next, none can say for certain. What legends survive tell that as the aelves approached the massive oak at the heart of the forest, Delthas walked into the woods alone and vanished. Three days later, he returned with a Sylvaneth woman of unearthly beauty at his side. The prince declared that he had that he had fallen in love with the strange woman, and together they had reached an accord with the Sylvaneth. The aelves would be allowed to remain, so long as they respected the ways of Ghyran, and their peoples would learn to coexist. Delthas' people settled around the base of the oak and began to build a new kingdom, named Thardeia out of respect for the Sylvaneth. Or so the legend goes. 

Though much is lost to myth, one thing is certain: the destiny of the aelves and the Sylvaneth clan would be entwined ever after… 

 

So that's the first bit of background for this army! Really liking the freedom AoS allows for worldbuilding, there's just so much space to come up with cool ideas (which in my case means doing something much like WFB's Avelorn... but oh well ). 

And just so this post isn't all text I'll drop a picture of a kitbashed branchwraith too:

[HadrielCaine]

Fantastic work. I love all the conversions and painting. Very natural combination of parts and dynamic poses.

[Davariel]

@HadrielCaine Thanks mate! 

So... Tree-Revenants. When the Sylvaneth got their release it was this unit that most caught my eye (and in such an awesome release that's saying something!), so it was natural that they were the first thing I bought after the SC box, $65 AUD for 5 models be damned. You might say my expectations were high!

And having built and painted the box... they didn't disappoint. At all. In fact the kit is so awesome I immediately wanted to buy another so I could play with all the different options, which is something I can't always say about recent GW kits. I liked the models so much I just built them as is and didn't do any conversion work despite having several ideas - I foresee a lot more of these guys in my future!

Thanks for looking!

[HadrielCaine]

Lovely! They're such good models. I did my first unit the same. Straight out of the box first time for me in like ten years with GW models. If ever! I'm running three units now and they're great fun. 

[Davariel]

Kalsha, Daughter of Summerhold

In brighter times, before the coming of Chaos, Thardeia's capital of Summerhold was thought strange even by the standards of the Mortal Realms. A colossal oak taller than most towers, Summerhold had been shaped into a city of breathtaking awe by aelven magic and the tree-songs of the Sylvaneth. Hollows were opened through the knotted old oak, the tree itself using its branches to guide towers of aelven design into its canopy. Great halls were carved from wood and blended seamlessly into bridges and stairways of stone, and within the tree's upper boughs nestled the palace of Thardeia's royal line. 

Yet it was not the wondrous fusion of oak and stone that visitors found most disconcerting. No, that honour was reserved for the people who lived within, for Summerhold was both an aelven capital and a Sylvaneth sacred site. Within its halls mighty Treelords ruled alongside Thardeian nobles, and dryads lived in harmony with aelves. Even the Lord of Clan Thardir himself, the Elder Treelord Ludanhu, would spend entire seasons at Summerhold in council with the Prince of Thardeia. It is not natural or common for Sylvaneth to mix with outsiders in this way, and many of the other clans dismissed those who lived so closely with the aelves as eccentric and naive, if not something worse. 

Such criticism never troubled those living in Summerhold. They knew, even if others did not, that the aelves of Thardeia had proven themselves worthy of trust, and wore tokens from their home with pride. Of these none were more vocal in their defence of the aelves than the branchwraith Kalsha. Wearing a golden tiara to mark her place in the court, Kalsha believed her home was the most beautiful place in all the mortal realms, and forged friendships with her peers heedless of their race. As the armies of Chaos ravaged Thardeia and eventually laid siege to Summerhold, Kalsha fought tirelessly alongside countless other heroes to keep them at bay. When after almost a hundred years the final defences were broken and the remaining aelves sacrificed themselves to give the Sylvaneth a chance of escape, Kalsha's loyalty was so fierce that she determined to die with them. It was only the wisdom of Elder Ludanhu that convinced her otherwise. Taking up the ornate staff of a fallen mage she had greatly respected, Kalsha fled to fight another day. 

Since then the realms have grown darker, but Kalsha has never lost hope. Even when others fell into despair she never questioned that Chaos could be defeated, if only the peoples of the realms could unite against them. With the coming of Sigmar's Storm and rebirth of the Sylvaneth, her faith has at long last been rewarded. 

 

Hopefully that wasn't too much for people to read! I've always been big on the stories behind my models, and I'm quite pleased with how this branchwraith came out, and how the conversion hints at a story all its own - but enough talk, more pictures:

[adreal]

Awesome story, I look forward to more stories of your army and the lovely painted models as well

[Davariel]

Already posted these over in the painting challenge thread, but naturally my Kurnoth Hunters deserve to be posted here too. Fun fact: with these (and my ancient, who I haven't posted yet... soon, I promise) I actually have a legal 1000 point army painted. First time that's happened since my Brets way back in 2009 - and they were painted terribly

I've also had a go at building my own wyldwood. I own (and like) the GW kit, but there's not a whole lot you can really do with it. Plus I wanted to play around with the Woodland Scenics tree kits, and a nice simple wood seemed like a good place to start! Not perfect, but it's good enough - after all, you can never have too much terrain...

As always, thanks for looking!

[Davariel]

Elder Ludanhu, Lord of Clan Thardir

Even amongst the Sylvaneth, the Lord of Clan Thardir is old beyond mortal reckoning. For as long as any in Ghyran can remember, he has walked the magical forest of Thardeia, watching over his people and offering quiet wisdom to those in need. Some even whisper that Ludanhu was born of Alarielle's very first seeding, at the dawn of the Age of Myth.

The Elder is revered amongst his own clan not only for his wisdom and compassion, but also because he is the only member of Clan Thardir still living who was present when the aelves first came to their land. Legend tells that soon after Prince Delthas swore a pact with the Sylvaneth, the mysterious woman who had claimed his heart bore him a child - a daughter, part aelf and part Sylvaneth - and vanished almost immediately after. It fell to Ludanhu to honour the pact, and begin the process of binding two peoples together. Under his guidance aelf and Sylvaneth went from uneasy allies to steadfast friends, and Clan Thardir flourished and grew strong like never before.

What happened to the woman, or the daughter she bore Delthas, history does not say. Rather, it is a known fact that Delthas later came to wed a lady from his own people. In time their son succeeded him as Prince, and through him the descendants of Delthas ruled until the Age of Chaos came and the aelves fled to Azyr or died defying the dark gods. Those who doubt the legend question why this son should have been his father's heir, rather than the daughter who was his first child and who embodied the union of two peoples. Moreover, few believe that such a child - born of aelf and Sylvaneth - could possibly have existed. It is a fiction, they say, a child's tale woven to explain how a Sylvaneth clan could become so closely tied with outsiders.

And yet, sometimes a strange mood will fall upon Ludanhu, and an ancient sorrow will flow from his heart on the spirit song as memories long past dance before his eyes...

 

Whew! Been a little while since I posted anything here. Real life stuff has kept me busy the past few months, but things are settling down now and I'm raring to get painting again.

To get the ball rolling I'm posting my Treelord Ancient and the Lord of my Clan, Ludanhu; he's been finished for ages, but my mediocre photography skills struggle with big models -I've tried to get decent shots quite a few times with no success  Still not entirely happy with this pic but it's good enough to post I guess:

On an entirely unrelated note, I painted a Bretonnian man-at-arms as a scheme tester - but I'm not sure if I'm happy with the heraldry on the shield. I can't decide if it needs an edge highlight to give it more depth or not. Let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading; comments/criticisms/etc are all welcome.

[Redking]

Nice stuff.  I think an edge on the lion would make it pop a little more.

[Lysandestolpe]

The quality of your work is really high, not just your painting but your conversions and kitbash as well.

I love the look of the lion, its quite medieval style which works well with the theme of the army. I will say this tho, I don't think the edge highlight will do much in terms of improving it. I think you need to redo the lion and centralize the composition on that shield, it is way too high and that's what throws it off. Clearly, if you can paint that, you can paint it again. Especially if you plan on painting half a hundred of them. Perhaps figure out a good system for making it more centralized will help out.

Well done dude, can't wait to see more men at arms and Knights of the Realm.

[Davariel]

Hmm, I think you're right about that lion being too high up on the shield. Knew something felt off, just couldn't put my finger on what.

Maybe I'll try adding a fleur-de-lys to the bottom of the shield to balance the composition out a bit. Can always repaint it after if that doesn't work

[someone2040]

Yeah, adding something to the bottom would definitely help balance it out. You could add some scroll work, or those squigly lines that Wood Elves tend to have, or as you mentioned a Fleur de Lys.

That being said, if he was a rear ranker, I don't think you'd particularly notice in game. It's just when he's the only dude in the shot front and centre, it suddenly becomes prevalent as an issue.

[Davariel]

Small update today; all these leaks about the GHB2 points and the possibilities opened up by allies have made me excited to do something with my elves, so I rebased some counts-as Phoenix Guard conversions I did a while back. Thardeia lives!

[Davariel]

A Shadow in the South

Clan Thardir is unusual amongst the Sylvaneth in that none of its people have yet succumbed to the madness of the Outcasts. None can say why this is so, for the cause of the Outcast curse itself remains a mystery. Some believe that their close bond with the aelves has left them little disposed to the dark ways of the Outcasts. Others suspect the unusually strong life magic that permeates Thardeia has somehow shielded the clan from any sickness.  

This is not to say, however, that no Outcasts dwell within the kingdom. The southern reaches of Thardeia are dominated by gloomy swamps and thick, dark forests, and it is to such shadowy places that the Outcasts flock. Few such places remain in Ghyran, for the jealous touch of Nurgle seeks to claim them for his own. So it is that the swamps of Thardeia – kept free from corruption by the strange magic of the land – offer a rare haven for the Outcasts, and whole bands of Spite-Revenants have made their home in the south, preying on any outsiders who come near.

As for the Sylvaneth of Clan Thardir, they see the Outcasts as both a blessing and a curse. The Outcasts are fearsome warriors, and many times they have appeared unasked for to turn the tide of battle. Even so, their savagery and viciousness make them uneasy allies at the best of times. Many of the clan’s lords are troubled by the presence of such wild creatures in their kingdom, and Elder Ludanhu is troubled most of all. As civilisation returns to the realms, the Elder sees that his clan cannot peacefully coexist with the genocidal madness of the Drycha’s followers. Sooner or later, the tenuous alliance between the Outcasts and Thardeia will break, and when it does, Ludanhu fears the forests shall be stained with blood…

 

Another unit, another bit of background. Are people enjoying these, or should I dial the walls of text back a bit?

Anyway, I actually bought this unit fully intending to make another unit of Tree-Revenants. Despite having some of the most compelling background in all of AoS, I found the Spite Revenant models were a bit of a letdown - they were just goofier Tree-Revenants without all the cool equipment options. Then inspiration struck and I had a few ideas about how to convert and paint the unit, with the goals of differentiating them from the Tree-Revenants and making them look much more sinister.

The results were at least much closer to what I imagined when reading about Drycha and the Outcasts!

And a close-up of the champ -  I think the Shadestalker is easily one of the best individual models in the Sylvaneth range!

[awcamawn]

That Shadestalker unit champion model is really cool, seems bit of a shame you only get one such model in that box. Would be cool if they had included some similar torso/head options for the rest of the unit. The subtle green highlight on the vines and leafs is really nice btw (if I'm seeing that right). Just the right amount of color while remaining dark and sinister.

9 minutes ago, Davariel said:

or should I dial the walls of text back a bit?

Walls of fluff are awesome, IMO, and you've given your army a really cool background. Some inspiring painting and conversions, and fun to read. Keep it up!