Collect Build Paint Play: Harbingers of Spring

[awcamawn]

Hello all. I just got started with wargaming, collecting my first models back in February, and figured I should start a thread to document my progress. These forums have really been an invaluable resource for someone trying to wrap their head around the hobby; there's lots of wisdom to soak up and so many talented artists to be inspired by, so thanks!

I am really looking forward to exploring all facets of the hobby, and have been working on the lore for my Wanderer Host, the Harbingers of Spring. Ever since I gobbled up every bit of Tolkien I could get my hands on as a kid I have really loved reading lore for all manner of games. When I dived into the lore while researching AOS I became inspired by the Beastclaw Raiders, seeing them as the perfect narrative foil for the Wanderers force I wanted to put together. An out of control force of nature that devours all in its path and leaves an arcane permafrost in its wake, disrupting the sacred weave and cycle of seasons? Well that's gonna get a Wild Hunt called on you every time. It has ever been the duty of the Aelves of the woods to protect the forest during winter, when the Sylvaneth become drowsy or dormant altogether, so dudes who spawn something called "Everwinter" are pretty much their natural born enemies. There is certainly a little bit of Don Quixote in my Wanderers' pursuit of a powerful Alfrostun, but they march with a hope they have not felt in nigh 500 years and a fierce joy burns in their heart as the realms echo to their Everqueen's resurgent song of vengeance. They will see this anathema to everything Alarielle stands for destroyed or die in the process, only then can they return to Ghyran and prostrate themselves before their Goddess, seeking atonement. At some point I may hash all this WiP fluff out into proper narrative form, but that is where the story leaves off, with our heroic Wanderers bringing their Wild Hunt, and glorious spring, into the dark heart of the Everwinter.

I've completed the collect and build stages of the hobby as outlined in the Getting Started with AOS book, and now I come to the stage that is very exciting to me but also fills me with dread. I knew I would struggle with painting as I have never been all that artistically inclined and have rather shaky hands, but painting my first models was nevertheless quite a lot of fun. I feel like I learned a lot while working on these guys, and while the paint job is still somewhat messy it's about as good as I can do with my current level of skill. And sorry if the photos are less than stellar quality! I will look into getting some sort of photo app for the next round.

Here they are, my first models, complete. An eternal warden flanked by two of his sisters at arms:

With every footfall, they return life to the dead lands touched by Everwinter. Their magics and the waystones they lay repair damage to the weave and bring Spring, and balance, back to the realms. I want to show this by having small plants sprouting up at their feet through the deep snow, and I used some laser cut paper plants I picked up to accomplish this. I'm happy with the result, but if anyone has any tips or alternatives for this sort of thing let me know. I think I've heard of aquarium plants being used in modeling miniatures?

I'm going to be moving on to the rest of the unit, at least for now, but would love any tips or critiques for moving forward. I do have quite a bit of trouble with the detail work, as can be seen in my huge clumsy edge highlights. Regular highlighting seem to really be my achilles heel right now though, I never seem to know when and where to stop (ie it never seems to look quite right until the highlight color is essentially just another full coat over the base color). 

My fully assembled collection is as follows, with my WiP fluff names for each unit:

• Nomad Prince Finarfindel and his trusted hawk Arvegil
• Waystrider Lord Ereinion
• Wayfinder Celedhros and his Hunting falcon Cuthalion
• Waywatcher Athradir
• Spellweaver Yavanna
• Shadowdancer Aredhel
• The Sisters of Twilight on Ceithin-Har (Heroes out of time who survived the End Times by some 'just as planned' scheme of Loec, who also faked his death!)
• Sisters of the Thorn (5) Coven of the Springtide
• Sisters of the Thorn (5) Retinue of the Evenstar
• Sisters of the Watch (10) Oath-Sisters of Sun-In-Shadow
• Sisters of the Watch (10) Fire-Bearers of Ghyran's Grace
• Waywatchers (3) The Eyes of Loec
• Waywatchers (3) Forerunners
• Wardancers (5) The Legerdemain Clique
• Wardancers (5) Heirs of Doriath
• Wardancers (5) Cadre of Vernal Wrath
• Wardancers (5) The Shadow's Mantle
• Eternal Guard (10) The Legion of Rectitude
• Eternal Guard (10) The Amaranthine Phalanx

3 models down, 80 to go! I started the collection based on the Waystone Pathfinders battalion from Grand Alliance: Order and added units from there based on the rule of cool. I find listbuilding addictive and feel this collection gives me a good amount of options at all game sizes. I'm particularly excited to create a Loec themed Hinterlands warband with some wardancers, waywatchers, and the shadowdancer (and mixing in sisters of the thorn and the watch as well as some of the other heroes for variety).

One thing I'm interested in doing over the course of this project is make each unit unique, so that the second unit of eternal guard I paint looks distinct from this current one. I want to show that these are the elite remnants of a much larger force that set out from Ghyran at the start of the Age of Chaos to lead a Plaguehost away from the realm of life and into a centuries long game of cat and mouse across the realms. They represent aelves marshaled from all corners of Ghyran, from ancient glade kingdoms of aelves each with their own heritage and legacies. What are some good strategies for giving some personality and flavor to individual units without the army looking like a complete mishmash? Can I get away with painting each unit of Wardancers a different color by tying them together with some detail, like a matching weapon glow? Or is the idea more the opposite - using details and trim to differentiate units with the same base colors?

To begin I'm following painting guides for what color schemes to use but some of the units in my collection have few if any such comprehensive guides. Any advice for a newbie in the process of choosing paints and creating a scheme for a unit from scratch?

Thanks for reading!

[Nin Win]

Basing in the exact same way will go a long way to help tying the customized stuff together.  As will a common colour or two.  Like painting any wrapping around weapon handles the same colour.  A couple things like that and bases and everything should fit well together.

As for paints, most acrylic miniature paints are pretty solid these days.  I like Vallejo, Army Painter and Reaper, but that's more to do with the dropper bottles than anything else.  Colour schemes involve a bit of theory.  I imagine if you search youtube for colour theory you'll find a few short videos that cover the basics in general and then you can apply things to miniatures.

It's also totally okay to just use a premade colour scheme even if it's from another army or even another game.  Warhammer TV also has some really great painting videos if you want to either stick with GW's paints or find rough equivalents.  Their whole system of painting works really well and you'll probably find a colour scheme on something that you like.

[awcamawn]

Thanks for the tip on color theory, checked out some videos and this was exactly the concept I wanted to learn more about. A refresher on some of those grade school art class concepts plus an introduction to some of there more abstract and complex aspects of color theory was really useful for me.

And while it should have been obvious, looking at color schemes from other armies and games and adapting those was not something I had considered. Will give me a reason to check out Duncan's many 40k videos I had previously overlooked. Thanks!

[Davariel]

I like the background you've come up with for your force so far - it's always great to see the different things that inspire people in the AoS lore! The idea of an aelven army in constant pursuit of their foes is a nice touch, almost reminds me of Moby ****** a little. 

The pictures don't seem to be working for me though - which is a pity as I'd be interested in seeing them 

[awcamawn]

Thanks! I really love the comparison to Moby ******, the frostlord Prince Finarfindel (Prince Ahab?) is in pursuit of is definitely his white whale.

And thanks for pointing out the images were broken, should have that fixed. Being my first models ever you weren't missing too much, but I hope to look back fondly at these photos in six months and see how far I've come.

[awcamawn]

Round two of man with shaky hands struggles to learn to paint - I've finished my first-ever unit, and then some!Originally hailing from the northern reaches of Thyria in Ghyran, the proud remnants of the kinband of Eternal Guard known as the Amaranthine Phalanx march to restore the natural order by bringing Spring's bright dawn to the lands touched by the curse of Everwinter and Alarielle's vengeance to those responsible.

As a comparison, these five models represent my first forays into painting. The skin, particularly on a couple of the faces, did not come out as smoothly as I might like.

...and here's a couple angles on the half of the unit I painted second. I still have lots of room for improvement but I think the skin for one turned out a bit better here, less blotchy at least. There's going to be lots of skin to paint when I get to the wardancers, so I'll need all the practice I can get!

But the brave aelves of the Amaranthine Phalanx do not march alone! An elite cadre of Waywatchers treads hidden paths far ahead of the main host, their peerless skills as scouts and rangers proving indispensable to Prince Finarfindel in leading his people's centuries long diaspora out of Ghyran. Seasoned by hundreds of years of guerilla warfare as the Wanderers were harried and pursued by the fecund hordes of Nurgle, these elite and shadowy marksmen have come to be known only as The Forerunners.

Now these were a blast to paint, but only one of the paint jobs is mine. Got together one weekend with a couple of artistically inclined friends who wanted to try their hand at painting some Warhammer minis, and I was not going to argue! We each grabbed a model and went to work, and after a couple hours I had a completed unit of Waywatchers, based and all. Having a different painter on each model really gave them some much needed individuality despite being the same pose.

Every other weekend or so I plan to do a painting day with some buddies if they remain interested; in fact here's a couple stags for my first unit of Sisters of the Thorn that me and a friend worked on this past weekend:While I sat there studiously following the official step by step scheme from GW’s digital Wood Elf painting guide my friend painted an awesome pink and white variant. I promptly based it with lots of roses seeping blood with some model train flowers and Blood for the Blood God, and plan to make it the mount of the unit champion. Will need to come up with a name for her like The White Witch or The Lady of Thorns or something. Not sure if I can get these contrasting schemes to fit in one unit, will need to get the rest of the stags and the riders painted and see how it comes together.

I realized I listed out but never showed any pictures of the whole army, so here's a pic with my journey into Warhammer laid out, showing what I've painted so far compared with what's left. I've got a ways to go!

Moving forward I want to focus on becoming more efficient with my painting; the Waywatcher I painting looks pretty good despite being painted in just a few hours, while it probably took me as long or longer just for the base coats on any of the Eternal Guard models. I need to find the happy medium and where the diminishing returns start kicking in and use my time better. If anyone has any tips for getting more efficient as a beginner painter, I would love to hear them! Any general CC appreciated, and thanks for reading!

[awcamawn]

Hey all, finally have another update! It's been slow going, more though inefficiency than lack of motivation, though distractions certainly played their part. Anyone else find themselves poring over army list options and dallying on forums when they should be painting?  Nevertheless I'm well on my way with my Trial of Warlords reddit painting challenge:

The Retinue of the Bloodrose

Mayqueen Olenya, Herald of Spring, and the loyal retainers of her household, who are equal parts bodyguards, handmaidens, and coven members. Their sorcerous guile brings blossoms and new growth erupting violently through layers of cursed frost, bringing Spring to lands long lost to the cycle and protecting the Deepwood Host from the deadly bite of the hated Everwinter.

My friend painted the unit champion for me while I worked on another model following the GW interactive painting guide for Wood Elves. I decided to run with the idea of the unit champion looking unique and being an important figure in the fluff for my army. I'm happy with the result but let me know if you guys think it clashes too horribly and maybe I can paint the second unit all in pink! Still need to add a design to the banner I'm thinking of using it to tie the Mayqueen more into the rest of the unit. Had a lot of fun adding some skulls to the base from the awesome new citadel skulls box and then having plants growing out of the eye sockets and such. I swapped the normal banner topper for a normal staff head. I learned quite a bit putting these together and painting them, but I have so much more to learn so any tips are appreciated!

 

Prince Finarfindel of the Wild Hunt and Waystalker Athradir

Call the Wild Hunt! Alarielle's will be done. Winter is almost ended... and Spring is coming.

Some group shots of everything completed so far:

And a half done unit of Sisters of the Watch:

Just need to paint the other five then base them. Unfortunately you can see where I accidentally melted with plastic glue some of the detail of a couple of their armored skirts during assembly, a rookie mistake that I didn't notice until I went to paint them. I usually learn lessons the hard way like that, these were some of the first models I had ever assembled and I just dove in and learned as I went with the assembly process. Any suggestions to doctor those spots up a bit are welcome, but luckily they aren't as noticeable when you aren't looking at them from miniature eye level as the bow partially obscures them.

Getting into this hobby is turning out to be a pretty large scale long term project and it's really pushing me to improve my time management skills. Hopefully I can start to make faster progress now that I'm getting a hang of the basics of painting. Although Total Warhammer II is out next week...

[awcamawn]

Phew, finally finished this unit of Sisters of the Watch. Getting to a finished white for their cloaks that looked ok was probably the most challenging and frustrating experience I've had in my short time painting. The white in particular still looks a little sloppy, but I'm happy enough with how they came out overall. Don't think I'll ever paint anything white ever again though!

Fire-Bearers of the World-Ember

A counterpoint to the sorcerous Bloodrose and her coven, the Lady Ara and her fellow bearers of the Sacred Flame are likewise dedicated solely to the enacting the will of the Everqueen but instead represent Alarielle in a Warrior aspect. They shall burn away the minions of Everwinter with the fires of Ghyran's grace! Spring comes!

Over a couple weekend sessions painting with a couple friends, I also managed to complete a unit of Wardancers. 

Heirs of Doriath

Death to those who oppose the Everqueen! The glades shall be restored!

I've been plodding forward with progress on the army over the past couple months I hope to continue to increase my pace. I've noticed that the 'painting days' I've done with my buddies are a lot of fun and finishing a model from start to finish in one day is immensely satisfying. One thing I noticed in trying to batch paint the unit of Sisters of the Watch is that I made really slow progress and got distracted multiple times. Part of this I think is that batch painting may be nominally more efficient but drastically increases the time it takes to get any one model finished, which means I never got that rush of endorphin and satisfaction from a job done. I think with my next unit (probably another Eternal Guard) I may focus on one model at a time so that I keep getting that feeling of success that motivates me to move on to the next one. Anyone have any thoughts on the pros and cons of batch painting vs focusing on one at a time?

[awcamawn]

Finished the first 'test' model for my second unit of Eternal Guard, The Sunshields of Cirioth. Painted using the scheme from the How to Paint Citadel Miniatures: Wood Elves ibook.

[Lysandestolpe]

Looking great, dude!

[awcamawn]

Progress continues, as certain as Spring is Coming. The Sunshields are ready for war! Someone pointed out that their flag resembles the Brazilian flag and now I can't unsee it (not the initial intent)! Maybe these Aelves originally hail from some Jungle/Rainforest glade kingdom of Ghyran from the age of myth, before the diaspora of the Wanderers? Love the possibilities AoS offers for storytelling, and I'm pretty stoked for Malign Portents. I painted a Sister of the Thorn over a couple sessions painting with friends as well.

PS Based on some feedback I decided to go back and clean up all the edges of the bases in the army of overhanging snow and then paint them all with black base rims instead of the brown I was using before. I do think the black base rims give a more 'modern' sort of look. It's subtle but was an easy fix.

[Nutty]

These look great. The 'new' bases look really crisp with those clean black rims. I'm not sure who said it first; but "bases & faces" are the key from taking miniatures from 'ok' to 'good'

 

As for batch painting vs individual models: I personally batch paint my 'grunts' by undercoating, basecoating, & washing them in big batches. And than I detail them in smaller groups or individually.

 So you could (for example)

- undercoat an entire unit

- basecoat all the green, leather & metal parts

- wash greens with greenshade/camoshade, wash metals & leather with earthshade/nuln oil.

- leave the whole lot to dry.

- complete models on an indivudual basis.

 

For me the basecoating stage is pretty boring and definitely a stage where you can save time by batchpainting. Washing everything at the same time makes sense to me because the wash takes time to dry.

Than you can pick out the details and do the fiddly bits (which are usually fun to paint) per model.

 

 

[awcamawn]

Thanks for the feedback! 

I think the method you describe will be the way to go, taking advantage of the efficient nature of batch painting by getting the less exciting and more time consuming stuff done all at once and then finishing off all the fun and satisfying details one at a time or in small groups. Plus then at least you've got the basecoats on there so it's not quite as shameful if you put the unfinished unit on the tabletop for a game.

[Thundercake]

this is a cool thread, we can see you painting getting cleaner, crisper, and better as time goes on!

[awcamawn]

My 'Nomad Warqueen' finished. It was my first real attempt at a conversion, and while I think the head swap and most of the added bits look OK, the right hand axe-for-spear swap went badly from the start and then worse when both sides of the spear snapped off several times while painting. The skin tone also ended pretty flat after having to touch up my initial work too many times from mistakes, and overall I still need to work on making sure my paint is always thin enough (particularly with metallics).

I could continue to fiddle with her and try to fix the skin and the rough conversion work, but I feel I've been bogged down in working on her for long enough. I'm more than ready to take what I've learned and move on to something/anything new, and to finally get Queen Aredhel the Braybane to the tabletop (before Malign Portents ends). C+C most welcome.

[AthlorianStoners]

Those doves are a lovely addition, really adds a lot to the model!

[awcamawn]

I got a few more Sisters of the Thorn finished, completing my second unit of 5 of them.  Also painted an old Glade Lord on Elven Steed model for a 'jousting tournament' as part of a local narrative campaign. Most of my hobby time recently though has gone into writing a submission for a story contest for the same narrative campaign, which I now present here. It's a bit long, but I hope y'all enjoy it! (P.S. FYI 'Hirestel,' AKA 'The Realm of Hope,' is the custom setting for the campaign)

 

“Springtide”

 

Of The Fall of Doriath: 

The Dawn of the Age of Chaos

 

The aelven King’s face was grim as he took in the reports of his scouts and the tidings of the messengers that gathered in his command pavilion. “The God-King himself is on the run, my lord. It is said he was stripped of his weapon by the Enemy and forced to retreat. A terrible defeat was dealt to the marshalled hosts of his Great Alliance at what is being called the Battle of Burning Skies. The armies of Azyr have been swept aside and scattered to the winds. Sigmar heads for the gates of his own realm, with word that he plans to seal the realmgates behind him ‘ere Archaon approaches.”

A human messenger stepped forward, a priest bearing the sigil of the twin-tailed comet, “What your scouts report is regrettably true, your grace, Sigmar makes for Azyr, but is not without plan. He sends his servants forth to every realm with this message: Chaos has poured into the realms in legions uncounted. The gates of Azyr must soon close if anything that the united peoples of the realms hold dear is to be preserved. All those free and good peoples of the realms he urges to join him in Azyr, where we shall marshall our resources once more and prepare for our vengeful counterblow.”

The others in the tent spoke as the King’s gaze fell upon them in turn, “My lord, the stronghold of Oakenbrow Clan Erith’or has fallen, and it’s last noble sylvaneth defenders forced to flee. The waywatchers report that the vast tallybands of that siege march now upon Doriath, and are but 3 days hence.”

“My king, the realmgate atop Mount Anvil has been seized by an unholy alliance between the rat-men and a daemon-lord of the blood god. Khorne’s legions pour through the breach and have turned the streets of the numerous nearby human kingdoms into rivers of blood.”

“Reports are thin, sire, but it would seem that bright Verdantia has fallen to the machinations and treachery of the Changer of Ways. Only one aelven survivor were we ever able to find, and her words were little more than babbling madness.”

The King’s eyes narrowed as the dismaying reports continued. Never before had so many kindreds of the proud and independent tribes been gathered from across the realms in one place. Their camps spilled and stretched out beyond the bounds of the great and beautiful city of Doriath, the strongest bastion and most ancient home of the Asrai people. Though he now could claim to command greater strength of arms than any king or warlord in the history of his people, war was on his doorstep on all sides and everywhere his numbers were as nothing compared to the endless legions of the dark powers that now flooded Ghyran from every corner.

As the last of the scouts and emissaries finished giving their accounts, The King turned and spoke to aelf upon his right, “Bladesinger Aredhel, my lady, you have been quiet in all this, yet your counsel has ever steered me well. What say you to our plight, to these many ill tidings?”

Aredhel straightened to her full height; she was tall, even for an elf, pale of skin and broad of shoulder. She was a born warrior, herself a queen of noble birth, and the chosen High Bladesinger of the trickster deity Loec. For an age of the world she had been nearly a constant companion to the King in the Woods, his bodyguard as well as his consort and closest counsellor. Her voice was low and melodious as she spoke, “We lack the strength to hold the city for much longer, my king; sooner or late we shall be overwhelmed. I cannot, and do not, counsel prudence in this matter. A new age has begun, an age of darkness and Winter. Our people must adapt, or fade from this world. But I, for one, will not be so quick to run and hide behind the cloak of Sigmar, not while the Everqueen still draws breath. For while Alarielle still fights, our place is here in Ghyran, defending the forest and the land from ill, as was sworn by our ancestors to Lord Durthu himself so long ago when the world-that-was was yet young. So this I say to you, my king, pull up thine roots and those of our people! Have the strength to cast aside our way of life and our very homeland and by so doing you may yet secure hope, that the seeds of the Asrai can flourish and grow once more in the ages of the world yet to come. It may seem unthinkable; to abandon the beauty of fair Doriath will count among the greatest sorrows in the long history of aelvenkind, but all other roads lead to sorrows greater still. Though our valor might make the glory of the Fall of Doriath worthy of song, none would be left to sing it. If, across the realms, all noble enclaves of civilization must soon become islands amongst a storm of chaos, doomed to fall, then let us march ever one step ahead of the storm! Go forth, my king, go forth and meet thine enemies. If we are to be hopelessly outnumbered, then let us fight in the manner the Asrai have always fought best, not in headlong battle but rather on our own terms. We shall stalk the shadows around the legions of chaos, cutting down their warlords and burning their supply lines before melting away once more, and the servants of the dark powers will know fear. The Kindreds have united here under your banner, and we are awaiting your word! Give it, and we shall cut a swath across Ghyran and sow terror amongst our enemies. If we can make our way to the Everqueen and join our forces with Hers, then by Her will we may yet defend Ghyran long enough for aid to arrive from one of the other gods.”

The King in the Woods nodded thoughtfully, “What you say is true. Doriath cannot stand alone for long, beset on all sides by the darkness. But ah! Aredhel, always with a mind turned to warfare and tactics! Your strategy is a sound one, to be sure, but what to be done of the many innocents in my charge, those whom I am sworn to defend? As the shadow of war has spread, many and more refugees have taken shelter here in Doriath, and the many kindreds that have rallied to our banner have brought with them their peoples as well. What of the many tender hearted aelves who may sooner strum a harp than a bowstring? Such a campaign as you describe would hold only death and despair for them. If the Asrai are truly to survive, then we must endeavor to preserve more than simply our ways of war, which we must remember are merely a means to an end. And if there is hope that I may secure a life for some of our fair folk, untainted by the grasping reach of chaos’ corruption, then that is a chance I must allow for them.”

The King turned then to the priest of Sigmar, “Go and tell your God-King that I will lead my people with all haste to the gates of Azyr, that all my kinfolk and those in my care who wish to live free of the threat of chaos may live and prosper in the celestial realm. I shall not deny nor begrudge them that chance. Once the innocent have been safeguarded, however, I will call upon all those proud warriors willing to face the darkness of this new age beside me. We shall then become Wanderers, though not lost, and at home only in battle. We shall go wherever we are needed, doing all that we may to turn back this shadow that has fallen upon the land. And we will see the will of the Everqueen done. Mark my words, Aredhel, the oaths of our ancestors are Eternal, never to be forsaken. By our blood Ghyran will be defended. And our Enemy will know Fear.”

 

The Age of Chaos had begun.

 

………...

 

Of The Gift of Alarielle:

Six Hundred Years Later, The Age of Sigmar

 

“For his part,” the Everqueen continued, “Gorkamorka understood that real power must always have a price, and that a curse can be made to be far more powerful than any mere blessing. This curse of his, cast upon his own followers in some brutally capricious jest, now sows discord across the realms and makes a mockery of the natural cycle of seasons. It ravages the land and devours all living things in its path. My children grow drowsy and sluggish in the presence of its profane and unnatural frost. Ever did the aelves defend the forest from Winter’s bite in ages past, and so it must be again, but this is no mere Winter’s watch that I task ye with. To restore balance to the land you must walk as one with Spring, to bring its bright dawn to lands long denied it. That is your charge, to root out this curse wherever ye find it; to hunt down these Lords of Frost and slay them to the last. You will be the instrument of my wrath upon these children of Gorkamorka, for his callous arrogance. But the power required to enact my will shall not come without price, and in this I shall not deceive you, as other gods might. Do you then accept this gift, this curse? Do you accept, knowing that doing so your people may forevermore be Wanderers, Aredhel of Doriath?”

At the fore of a reverent host that had gathered in the bright glade before the image of their goddess, a tall aelf with green hair and sharp blue eyes raised her bowed head to meet Alarielle’s piercing gaze. Though the aelf’s face was ageless, in it could be seen the memory of both joy and great sorrow alike. “My Eternal Queen, even now, as the seasons turn in our favor and your wargroves send the servants of chaos reeling across all fronts, even now Ghyran remains in constant threat. The very realms themselves remain on the precipice of darkness, as you well know. I have lived to see three ages of this world, and have borne witness to many defeats, and many fruitless victories. All I have ever desired is the strength to do what is right and good, to see thy will done. To fight to secure a place for harmony, love, and beauty in this harsh world. And to protect those whom I love most.”

At this Aredhel looked away, for a moment suddenly unable to meet the eyes of her goddess. Fury and doubt washed over her and threatened to overwhelm her, as they had for many a dark year. But the grace of the Everqueen was upon her and before her, and recalling some memory through the mists of time she smiled, and wanted to laugh. When her eyes raised once more they seemed to smolder in the light of the afternoon sun. “For such strength we would gladly pay any price that you might ask of us, my Lady Alarielle. We are willing to give up all that we have and all that we are.”

“A willing sacrifice for a willing recipient then, and all the stronger for it,” the Everqueen smiled. Her smile was of the first warm breeze of Spring sweeping over the survivors of a long Winter. She gestured to an enormous figure slumped upon a great altar of stone, “Before us lies the ancient Ur-Stag. Long and nobly has he served the land as the physical embodiment of Spring itself. But all that begins, must end. The time has come for the Mantle of Spring to pass to another, for Spring to go to war, and its power turned as a weapon against the darkness. Restore the Balance. If you accept, then step forth, Bladesinger. I believe you know what you must do.”

Aredhel rose, approaching with purpose. The great beast loomed above her head upon the high stone table, heaving the rasping breaths of the twilight of its life. With a single swift bound the aelf leapt lightly upon the altar. Looking into the eyes of the greatest of all stags she saw nothing but a stoic serenity. Acceptance. Drawing the ceremonial shortsword from her belt she raised it high above her head, and gripping it in both hands she brought it downwards with all her might. The aelven blade struck true, slicing beneath ribs to cut deep into the Ur-Stag’s chest. The beast was silent through it all. With a deftness that would be the envy of the greatest human surgeons of the Free Guilds, the hunter-queen cut free the creature’s heart and drew it forth. Strangely, the sizeable organ still beat as she held it aloft in her hands, blood flowing freely. Her fast had lasted thirteen days and thirteen nights, and now she ate eagerly, tearing fiercely at the heart with her teeth in quick bites. The thing seemed to continue to pulse and beat even as it was consumed to the last. As the last bite slid pulsating down her throat Aredhel doubled over in shock and fell to her hands and knees, slumping over the carcass of the king of stags. For one instant the reverberations of the fey heart pounded furiously in her stomach, reaching a fever pitch. Then, suddenly, she could feel it through her whole body, and her very being seemed to hum with magic and vigour. She could perceive the throb of the energy that flowed in the lands beneath her, undulating and harmonizing with the song that now echoed from her soul. She could feel the warm dawn of Spring that kindled in the hearts of the aelves gathered behind her. Around her came an explosion of flowers of a thousand colors, bursting forth as new growth enveloped the altar until the noble stag rested upon a bed of bright viridian. And when she raised her bloodied face to meet her goddess’ burning gaze this time, her own eyes blazed with a glowing blue fire to match.

 

Spring is Coming

 

……….

Of The Hunt of Hope:

Arrival at Hirestel

 

An aelf wanderer knows where there is a way, and there is one here. She could feel the trickle of otherworldly eldritch energy flowing past her, like a warm breeze through a window left ajar. As the aelf wizard stared intently at the wall of rock before her, long and graceful aelven fingers began to excitedly trace along unseen patterns upon its smooth surface.

“Utúvienyes! High Bladesinger, it is here, my Lady!” the Spellweaver cried, turning to Aredhel with a sly smirk on her face, “It was hidden well, but it appears the last to use it didn’t quite shut the door behind them.” Without looking back at the wall the wizard slammed it with an open palm filled with mystic power. Runes, and markings stranger still, lit on the stone surface and began to glow, and the Spellweaver’s smirk widened into a grin as the sound of stone shifting and groaning filled the shaded vale.

Queen Aredhel strode forward, beaming, flowers of many colors springing up and around at each graceful step she took. “Fine work, indeed, Yavanna. Our trials in the Outcasts’ court have proved to not wholly be without fruit, then. This much at least lines up with what our source had told us. The key to discovering, and unraveling, the secrets of the curse of Everwinter may yet lie in this mysterious, hidden realm. What we know for certain is that a Frostlord of immense power spent a great deal of time in this ‘Hirestel,’ and that the minions of Everwinter remain active there in great number.”

“Then that is all we need to know,” the young Prince Finarfindel spoke up, “say the word and by our blades we shall bring the bright dawn of Spring to this mysterious and fey ‘realm of hope.’”

Smiling at the impetuous fire of youth, the High Bladesinger turned to speak to her chief seer, the Lady Olena Roseblood of the Sisters of the Thorn. But before she could detail her plan to lead a small group of riders to scout this new realm for danger, she was interrupted by a figure appearing from out of the shadows nearby. She had seldom seen the Waywatcher so out of breath before, and might have laughed at the sight if it did not portend the dire news that was upon them.

Athradir, Warden-Lord of the Watch, gasped for breath as he relayed the word from the rearguard, “It’s the Outcasts, Bladesinger, they’ve followed us! The mad queen Drycha herself leads them, a vast horde of darkened spirits beyond count. There is little doubt to their intent. If we are not yet already surrounded, their noose will close around us soon.”

“That old bitter root had caught wind of our hasty exit from her court, then. So nice of her to see us off on what will surely be such a hazardous journey,” Yavanna giggled, a wide grin still glued to her face.

A wry smile lingered at the corners of Aredhel’s own mouth as she answered, “Damn. It was too much to hope that we could pass through the hornet's nest without stirring the ire of that mad one. Quickly then, we shall not spill the bloodsap of any of Alarielle’s children willingly, mad or no. Prince Finarfindel, Lord Erenion, rally the kindreds and bring the host through the realmgate with all the speed that wanderer aelves may muster. Warden Celedhros, Warden Athradir, lead your scouts forth into this new realm and ensure there are no other surprises waiting for us in Hirestel as the bulk of our forces establish a realmhead. Spellweaver Yavanna, Lady Roseblood, prepare a ritual on the other side, unlike this gate’s previous user we have great and powerful need to close the door behind us. Hard. Perhaps permanently, if such is within our means. I shall hold the rear, in the hope that words between queens may yet forestall needless violence.”

Aredhel winked at Yavanna, and the lords and ladies bowed and nodded their assent and hurried off to carry out their queen’s orders. Prince Finarfindel opened his mouth as if to protest, but Aredhel silenced him with a steady hand and a smile, “Not to worry, me and ‘ol Queen Drycha go way back. I’ll smooth out this misunderstanding and be right behind you through the gate.” She squeezed his shoulder. “Now go!”

She watched as the wanderer host spun silently into action. Bright plant growth erupted everywhere under lithe aelven feet as the kindreds of Eternal Guard and Sisters of the Watch and the Thorn maneuvered to file through the gate in ranks, four at a time.

The power of the Springtide, as the aelves had taken to call it, flowed brightest and most readily in those greatest heroes of their kind, though indeed within all the aelves sworn to the Harbingers of Spring and Queen Aredhel’s service there burned an inner-fire that brought forth Spring itself from any land upon which they walked. On sandy desert and ice-blasted tundra alike it came, heedless. It seemed to shift and shape to fit the mood and personality of the aelf who brought it forth. Meadow grasses, flowers, and shrubberies laden with bright fruit. Thick hedge, choking braken, and fierce dark-thorned vines. Trees; Elms and Oaks and Evergreen. Luminous, glistening mushrooms and roses that wept a bloodlike sap. All are Spring’s domain and more.

Erecting Waystones upon the natural ley lines of the land, they had found that the Springtide’s hold over the land could be bolstered and sustained, as well as fortified against corrupting influence. In this way, the lands in their wake were left in an enchanted eternal spring that could last centuries. The energy in these ritual stones seemed to attract every possible adversary imaginable, for even amongst the forces of order there were many that were eager to seize such power and magical energy for their own purposes. As often as not their hunts would prove vain however, as the Spellweavers became greatly skilled in the creative fashioning of such Waystones, which could be as large as a greenskins’ Rogue Idol or carved into a rock little more than the size of a pebble. More than once an incensed beastlord of chaos was driven smell-blind and mad standing right atop such a hidden stone, as the scent of the pure power of Spring filled their senses but they were yet unable to find and despoil the object of their hatred.

To accept the aid of the Harbingers of Spring in defending your village could mean the most bountiful harvest in centuries, or an Oak bursting through the roof of your humble farmhouse, or both. To welcome them into a great city would be to invite twisting vines thick as a duardin’s leg to come cracking through paving stone and masonry alike. They kept on the move; their sacred charge required them to. They must live as their quarry did, and the white whale of winter they sought remained ever on the move.

The host had made it fully three quarters through before she felt, rather than saw, eyes upon her from all directions. Malice and shadow hung in the air, and the glade was deadly quiet save for a whisper on the wind. Silently she gave thanks to Alarielle that the Outcasts had always seemed to shun missile weapons - they prefered to get up close and personal with their talons and watch the light fade from their victims eyes. She had seen as much during the bleakest campaigns of the Age of Chaos, fighting alongside many such grief-twisted soulpods under darkened skies and dimming hope. There was a rustling of leaves from all directions and then a great thumping footfall came into earshot. A towering figure crashed through the thick undergrowth not thirty yards away. With a roar it gestured a taloned finger at Aredhel, and a swarm of black-carapaced insects burst forth from the figure’s form and hurtled at startling speed towards the aelf.

Undaunted, the Nomad Queen waited until the last moment before speaking a word of command in an ancient tongue. The was a flash of white and a beating of wings. Striking talons and piercing beaks sent a disoriented swarm of flitterfuries stunned and reeling. When the air cleared five large doves had perched themselves on the aelven bladesinger; one bird upon each shoulder, two more sitting high on her antlered crown, and the largest of them upon her outstretched arm as it chomped down with gusto on a particularly fat insect.

“Ah, if it isn’t the lovely Queen Drycha of the Hamadrithil! But you do know how to make an entrance, as ever. How many centuries has it been now? And may I say, you look ravishing in Spring, my lady.” She gave the Outcasts’ Regent an over-exaggerated bow and could see that her own forces were nearly through the realmgate. Aredhel took a half step back. If she could hold the mad queen’s ire on herself and delay for just a few more moments…

“Well, well, well,” Drycha tasted each snarling word, the ancient spirit taking the aelf queen’s measure, “Aredhel, last daughter of House Iceni. Sworn servant to a dead god. Sworn protector to a dead King. I had thought your ilk faded long ago.”

“Still hearty and well, as you can see,” Aredhel gestured happily to her intact limbs and full set of fingers, “though your concern for the welfare of the old aelven kindreds of Ghryan is noted and welcomed, o wise queen.”

“Yes, and here you are, little more than a wandering beggar—”

“Queen of a whole troupe of ‘Wandering Beggars’ actually—” Just a little further, Aredhel thought...

“—passing like thieves in the night through MY realm, stealing away with MY secrets—”

“We’re on a mission from the Goddess—”

“Ha! So it would seem. Aelves who are blessed —or should I say cursed?— by Alarielle’s power. But can you truly believe there is any escape? Across all the realms you walk with a target on your back for all to see, and leave a blazing trail of flowers in your wake. Wherever you scurry off to, you shall be laughably easy to track. I’ve tasted this new scent of yours now, ‘Bladesinger.’ That power you bear belongs in sylvaneth hands. You may run on for a while, aelf, but someday I will rend that precious little heart from your chest and consume its power for myself.” Then she grinned, a terrible, evil grin. “Unless, of course, everyone else beats me to it.”

Almost there... “Well, it’s sure been a real pleasure catching up and all, brings up such great memories of the old times — but, ah, would you look at the time! I really gotta fly, the whole ‘winter never rests and the eternal hunt thing’ and all. Loving that new spring look! Termárelai, selde!”

The surrounding spite revenants charged from the shadows. A massive swarm of the great black insects smashed into the spot the where Aredhel had been standing, but she was gone.

For a moment she felt the ethereal energy, and emptiness, of the In-Between. Then she was stumbling out of the realmgate and onto the other side. Sliding down to her knees, she gave the awaited command. “Now!”

Several bolts of green and purple fire the size of a gargant’s fists sailed over her head, smashing into the face of the rock just above the gate’s exit. Meanwhile, massive twisting roots split the ground and sent jagged fissures through the rock to either side of the gate. Within moments the whole thing came crashing down in a cavalcade of stone. The passageway of the gate itself popped out of existence and sent many of the nearest Wanderers sprawling in a shockwave of released energy.

“Nice shot, Ladies.” Aredhel rose to her feet as the dust settled, “They won’t be following us by that gate for a while.”

 

Beware ye tyrants

Winter is almost ended

And Spring is Coming