world building “Burn brightly in Life, Shine eternally in Death” - a Soulblight WIPlog

[Macarian]

Introduction to the Shard

When the great Dragon Dracothion formed the Realms it was a cataclysmic process. Titanic energies were unleashed as vast tracks of land were molded into place. It was unavoidable that some parts of creation would break apart, flung into the void like the sparks from a blacksmith’s anvil. Most of these sparks died out into the void or became the first morsels of magic to be eaten by the Dark Gods. But some stabilised, hanging between the Realms in the Aetheric Void as minute islands within a vast Ocean. These Shard-Realms are as diverse as the realms they come from, often mixing magic of different Realms. Many are small and sparsely inhabited, if at all. A few, such as Baettomel’s Shard however, are the size of continents and home to many species and civilizations.

Named after the Celestial Cartographer who first discovered her, Baettomel’s Shard was created from the magics of both Aqshy and Shyish. This dual nature is reflected by the people living on the Shard. Fiery passion and independence are tempered by a reverence for tradition and the finality of death.

 

“Burn brightly in Life, Shine eternally in Death” ~ Popular saying, used both to wish Good Luck or say Farewell

 

A brief history of the Shard

The Shard is tethered to both Aqshy and Shyish through 2 Realmgates. During the Age of Myth colonists from both Aqshy and Shyish came to the Shard. From Aqshy came Humans, Ogors and Aelves. They built the great city of Aldranyte at the center of the Shard. From Shyish came a dynasty of Soulblight Vampires and their Orruk thralls. They founded the City-state of Lahmessos in the mountainous regions. For many years these great cities stood as beacons of civilization, science and magic as the rest of the Shard was explored and colonised. There was harmony and peace until of course, the Age of Chaos came.

Though spared the initial onslaught, Aldranyte was the first city on the Shard to come under siege. Warbands and Demons had claimed the Realmgate in Aqshy and began to cross the gate into the city. Here they were met by the combined forces of the Shard, the living and the undead fighting side by side. For a time, they held the invaders at bay but their defeat was inevitable. A cabal of Chaos Sorcerers corrupted the Realmgate. Where once warm winds flowed, icy blizzards began to blow. Those who were touched by the wind found their lifeforce drained. The mortals, once energetic and passionate became lethargic and uncaring. Though the vampires were unaffected they could not stand alone against the renewed assaults. They abandoned Aldranyte and retreated into the fortified halls of Lahmessos. As the forces of Chaos laid siege to Lahmessos, they rampaged across the Shard. The surviving mortals were forced to live nomadic existences, constantly hunted by Blood Hounds and worse.

This reign of terror and horror did not break the Shard-dwellers. Not once did the followers of Chaos set foot in the Sanguine Halls and they paid a toll of souls in battle for every day of the siege. Resistance mounted in the plains at the edge of the Shard as well. At first, only scattered embers smouldered but over time those embers lit into a blaze of rebellion that formed the Fire Kingdoms. One day, the lightning from Azyr touched even this distant realm, ending the Age of Chaos. The battles fought during the Realmgate Wars would come to shape much of the history of the Shard.

But that’s a story for another time…

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Hey everyone and welcome to my new army project. I am aiming for a 2000 point Soulblight army with some Undead friends. Here I will share the lore of the army and the world I am working on as well as pictures of the Vampires and other Undead. I hope you like it

My first miniature for the army, a count-as Fellbat which doubles as a test for the colour scheme and base. Quite happy with the result but I would like feedback to improve if you have it!

Spoiler

Thanks for looking!

 

Edited May 7, 2020 by Macarian

[Macarian]

The Guild of Spellhunters

As befits a place born of cataclysmic and volatile magic, the Shard has always been home to unstable and unbound spells. Since the early days of civilization Spellhunters have made a living from hunting down rogue spells before they reach civilized lands. As can be expected, the work is extremely dangerous so the earliest Spellhunters banded together as a Guild to cooperate and preserve magical knowledge over the Ages. These days their services are in high demand as the effects of the Necroquake are felt keenly in Shyishan parts of the Shard. 

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Hey everyone, as I am waiting for the shipment of miniatures for the army proper I went into my pile of older miniatures and put together a Necromancer Spell Hunter: 

Though not necessarily part of the army he is part of the same world. As a Spellhunter he is a kind of Bounty Hunter who traps Rogue Endless Spells before they do damage to civilized areas. I really like the miniature and I hope you guys do too

Also, my order just shipped so I hope to get to work on the first actual miniatures for the army this weekend!

Edited May 11, 2020 by Macarian

[Macarian]

Initial work has begun on a Vampire Lord mounted on a Zombie Dragon: 

The idea is to have the Dragon's breath spawn forth a legion of ghostly knights. I am thinking using something of a hard plastic tube to connect the dragon to the base from its mouth. I could then use green stuff to mold flames on the tube. If anyone has any suggestions or a tutorial on how to sculpt fire breath I would be very grateful!

[Tommy]

@Macarian   Cool idea! I know it’s more expensive  than sculpting something yourself (which I can give no advice whatsoever on!! 😁) but there’s a fire-breathing Slaves to Darkness endless spell that might work really well for this... https://www.games-workshop.com/en-IE/Endless-Spells-Slaves-To-Darkness-2019

[Macarian]

On 5/18/2020 at 6:33 PM, Tommy said:

@Macarian   Cool idea! I know it’s more expensive  than sculpting something yourself (which I can give no advice whatsoever on!! 😁) but there’s a fire-breathing Slaves to Darkness endless spell that might work really well for this... https://www.games-workshop.com/en-IE/Endless-Spells-Slaves-To-Darkness-2019

Thanks! Interesting idea, I will certainly use it as inspiration. To keep the dragon up I did have something else in mind. After a trip to the local crafts store I got a wooden rod about 1cm in diameter which fits perfectly in the dragon's mouth. This way I can actually have the dragon flying! I also found some Mortarch Mannfred bits lying around so I've decided he is my interpretation of Prince Vhordrai. I love the lore of this doomed knight but never liked that his miniature is just an unhelmed vampire lord. I think my conversion does him a bit more justice.

Behold: 

Currently I have a little helper holding him up and it will likely need more than a few more layers of glue hold properly.  The spirit host will grow up in height along with sculpted flames to hide the overflow of glue. I am also quite scared about adding the weight of the wings but that's a later concern   

I am really happy with the look so far, what do you guys think?

[Sttufe]

8 hours ago, Macarian said:

Thanks! Interesting idea, I will certainly use it as inspiration. To keep the dragon up I did have something else in mind. After a trip to the local crafts store I got a wooden rod about 1cm in diameter which fits perfectly in the dragon's mouth. This way I can actually have the dragon flying! I also found some Mortarch Mannfred bits lying around so I've decided he is my interpretation of Prince Vhordrai. I love the lore of this doomed knight but never liked that his miniature is just an unhelmed vampire lord. I think my conversion does him a bit more justice.

Behold: 

Currently I have a little helper holding him up and it will likely need more than a few more layers of glue hold properly.  The spirit host will grow up in height along with sculpted flames to hide the overflow of glue. I am also quite scared about adding the weight of the wings but that's a later concern   

I am really happy with the look so far, what do you guys think?

I really like it, although I have to say it looks, ah, well, ya know... But hey you could prolly use it in a nurgle army at this point in time. I can't wait to see the flames sculpted.

[Macarian]

On 5/20/2020 at 4:37 AM, Sttufe said:

I really like it, although I have to say it looks, ah, well, ya know... But hey you could prolly use it in a nurgle army at this point in time. I can't wait to see the flames sculpted.

Thanks, I get what you mean

Thankfully, progress has been made! The Spirit Host has been built and I have begun some small flames to cover up the cutting damage.

Closeups: 

Spoiler

It is a surprisingly stable build and I think it looks really cool already  Let me know what you guys think!

[Sttufe]

Oh man that looks really cool.

[Macarian]

Update time!

The flames are coming along quite nicely after I found a really simple way of doing them here 

Plus, a closeup of the flames:

I love how the model is coming together  However, it does consume loads of Green Stuff, so as I wait for a new batch to be delivered I started work on the next unit for the army:

The Ebon Cohort:

The vampires of Lahmessos are elite warriors devoted in their service to the Red Empress who rules them. They are also a proud race, believing guard duties or policing mortals to be beneath them. And though useful tools in their own right, the average skeleton poses little threat to a determined thief or rabble rouser. To fill this role the Red Empress raised the Ebon Cohort, spirits created from those the Red Empress personally defeated in battle and deemed worthy of continued servitude. These spirit soldiers are used to guard certain places of power or police mortal populations. They are murderous, psychopathic spirits, with a singleminded focus on utterly achieving the task set before them. For instance, when a Chaos demagogue was discovered within one of the mortal districts the Ebon Cohort was tasked with terminating the cult before it could spread further. The spirits sealed the entire district and within a single day, the entire district was systematically put to the sword. Though the lives of many innocents were lost the cult was utterly eradicated before it could spread any further.

Simple but effective conversion by leaving the headplate of. I love how dynamic these models are though I wished they did fit together more easily. I am working on a unit of 20 and they need lots of gap filling. Still great sculpts and I hope you guys like them as much as I do!

Thanks for looking!