[AoS28 - The Dark Age of Sigmar]

Hi all.

First time posting here, I usually post Inq28 stuff over on Ammobunker but have taken an interest in AoS28 as well, so thought I would post here too.

This is a Leshy, a woodland guardian from Slavic mythology - of course there's some inspiration from Witcher 3 here, but I'm a fan of the original folklore and was determined to put my own stamp on it. You can read more of the background and see a lot more pictures on my blog here

Apologies for the use of a 40k mini for scale, I did not have any finished fantasy human-sized models to hand.

I also wrote a short story as some fluff:

Spoiler

"Do not wander in the dark woods, lest you upset the Old Man"

~~~

Panic. Mad, blind panic. The raw pain in Gunter’s legs was searing as he gasped and wheezed, his lungs pushed to their limit. 

 

He burst through the thick undergrowth into a small clearing, not daring to look back at his black-armoured pursuers. The screams of his dying comrades echoing in his ears urged him onwards in spite of sheer exhaustion. But he was wounded, and his frantic running on tired legs caused him to stumble. He tripped and fell, landing heavily in the tall grass.

 

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Whether he had closed his eyes for a second or for many hours, he did not know. But as Gunter became alarmingly aware that he was regaining consciousness from a sleep he could ill afford, he noticed that the sky began to grow darker. 

 

However long he’d been out, his enemies had not yet caught up with him. Surely, it could not have been that long.

 

Looking up, he heard the cawing of crows, as first a trickle, then a flock, then a great stream of the black-feathered birds fluttered frantically overhead. Suddenly, he felt that he was not alone. 

 

Glancing to his right, Gunter jumped as a huge and terrible figure with the skeletal head of a stag emerged almost silently from the woods beside him.

 

He screamed in horror, raising his arm to shield his face, believing he was now to be struck down by this cruel servant of the Dark Gods.

 

Mere moments passed. Moments that felt like an eternity. And yet no evil deed was carried out. No grim fate befell Gunter at the claws of this fell beast.

 

Shuddering and whimpering, he opened his eyes, lowered his hands, and peered cautiously at the creature before him. It stared back. Calmly regarding and examining the Free Guild soldier cowering within arm’s reach.

 

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The being was the height of a troll. Lithe yet sinewy, with great thick hands and long, clawed fingers; it clearly possessed great physical strength. Its body was covered in shaggy and matted grey hair resembling the bark of an ancient white ash tree, and about its shoulders was a mass of leaves, twigs, and moss.

 

At that moment, the creature reached up and pulled down a piece of this mossy mantle to reveal its true face, smeared with mud and hidden beneath the great-antlered deer skull worn atop its head. 

 

A cunning ruse perhaps? To make the beast appear bigger and more imposing? 

 

Certainly it had worked on Gunter.

 

The creature’s true face had an almost human appearance, though much hairier and with a heavy brow, thick nose and wide jaw. It almost resembled the savage Ogors of the mountain steppes, though not quite as bestial. 

 

Gunter could see in its eyes an intelligence far greater than even the most cunning chieftain of those tribes. Indeed, he sensed that this being surpassed the capacity of his own mind by some margin. He was reminded of the haughty, yet wise and powerful Wizards he’d encountered back in the cities.

 

Lifting its huge arm, the figure pointed a  clawed, gnarled finger, first at a nearby plant, then at Gunter himself. It then made a gesture as if rubbing something on its arm.

 

Around the clearing Gunter heard heavy rustling noises, the sounds of large, four-legged figures moving past at speed. They came from the direction the beast had arrived and were heading towards the massacre the soldier had fled. 

 

The forest was pierced by the mournful howl of a wolf...then another...then another…

 

Many more joined in the chorus. The pack was clearly huge.

 

The beast slowly and silently turned away and began to follow the unseen wolf-pack, but not before a massive bear shuffled out of the woods and came grunting to his side. 

 

As the creature and its bear companion disappeared from the clearing, the wolf howls were joined by new screams....notably more guttural than before, but no less terrified.

 

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