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Nocturne, the deadly shadow


The Golem

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"Commander, we found a dead body on the docks during our patrol. A duardin miner. Someone slit his throat."

Isilde Brumehaut looked up with weariness at the subordinate who came to deliver his morning report in her office. Another concern that added to the pile of problems she had to solve. If the victim had been murdered at the docks, the territory of the aelf privateers, then it was probably a settling of scores...

"I can already hear the countless recriminations of the miners' syndicate," said the commander with a sigh. Do you have any leads on who did this?
- I don't think the duardins will make any noise this time, ma'am. The murder was signed. With a card marked with the symbol of a dagger.
- A card? The same as the others?
- Yes, ma'am. It was Nocturne. Again.
- What about the corpse?
- We have checked. Like the other stiffs, he had a black mark on his chest. The eight-pointed star."

Isilde fell back into her chair with a slight relief. Not only had a chaos cultist been killed, but representatives of the miners' syndicate would keep a low profile at the next Conclave meeting, embarrassed by the fact that a member of their race could have given in to the promises of the dark gods.
All in all, this day was off to a pretty good start.

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Between the strange climate of the realm of Ulgu and the bay with its sea air, the free city of Port Stellis is regularly wrapped by fog. A blurry shadow creeps through the misty streets, invisible to everyone. And when the mists recede, revealing the starry sky, a camouflaged silhouette walks on the rooftops of the city, furtive and intangible, before passing through a wall and disappearing like a ghost...

This shadow, which all the inhabitants know from stories and legends, is known as Nocturne. No one knows who this character is or what his or her real name is. Nocturne has been roaming the alleys of Port Stellis for years and no one has ever been able to see it. Even its existence is questionable. But one thing is certain: people die, murdered by Nocturne, who always leaves a card marked with the symbol of the Shadowblades beside each body. And each of the victims, from the first to the last, regardless of gender, age or race, had a dark secret: they worshipped the chaos gods. An unholy tattoo or a strange mutation was always hidden under the clothes.

It did not take long for the authorities in Port Stellis to understand that the city was blessed with a kind of guardian angel who was protecting it from chaotic corruption with remarkable efficiency. The rumour spread quickly and soon everyone knew that the Shadowblades of Azyrheim (or at least one of them) were watching the citizens of Port Stellis. Any chaotic deviance would be punishable by death. And no secret can resist a ghost killer who is able to blend into Ulgu's mists, change appearances as if they were only illusory masks and penetrate walls as if they didn't exist....

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So today, here is another personality from Port Stellis: an Aelf assassin from the Shadowblades faction.

In order to convert a tad the assassin's mini, I replaced his hooded head with a warhammer 40K eldar harlequin head (didn't need to buy an eldar kit, I just bought the head from a bits seller on the internet). I think the mask is more fitting for an Order assassin. And while I was at it, I slightly repositioned his left arm so it wouldn't hide his mask.

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Now that I finished painting this masked killer, he will join his comrades in future battles. Because Nocturne doesn't just wander around the city in batman mode, looking for chaos worshippers. Sometimes, the soldiers of Port Stellis who fight to defend their city against monsters think they see an elusive shadow sneaking from one enemy to another, as if it were dancing, leaving dead bodies in its trail, all stabbed with surgical precision...

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I didn't think the assassin model could get any better, but your conversion proves otherwise - very cool.

I really like how Port Stellis is coming along so far. Great job developing a setting that fits right into the mortal realms but also has a distinctive character. The Star Ocean idea in particular  is very creative.

Looking forward to the next instalment!

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