Endless Spells of the Harrowmark - part 6

Comprising a pair of shadowy mirrors, the Umbral Spellportal links two points in the forest, allowing wizards to cast their magics at incredible distances. Eldritch sigils can be inscribed into the mist to summon a pair of arcane mirrors, the surfaces of which undulate with shadowy aetheric energy. When looking upon an Umbral Spellportal, those versed in magic see a shadowy reflection of what lies on the other side of its twinned construct; while physical matter cannot travel through the portal, aetheric energy knows no such restriction.

But since any magic can pass through the portal there are more uses for Spellportals than just warfare. Some have existed for years and have become infused with the magic of the Harrowmark forests. Local hedge-wizards use them to communicate and some have made a good living from charging villagers to send messages to their neighbours beyond the woods, especially at times when a skyship carrying letters is late.

~ 🕱 ~

My take on the Spell Portal for the Harrowmark was very much inspired by theempyrean_'s versions on Instagram but I have tried to make it my own by using the colours and textures of the rest of my Harrowmark scenery collection.

~ 🕱 ~

The crystalline spars of the Prismatic Palisade are formed of misery and despair, hardened into a barrier that bathes those on the battlefield in the gloomy light of Shyish.

The desultory beams projected from this barrier confound the aim of all within sight of it. Knowing the impossibility of looking directly upon the Prismatic Palisade, a canny commander will position their forces in such a way as to shield them from the eyes of the enemy.

~ 🕱 ~

This is a fairly quick and simple modification of the Palisade but I'm happy with the effect.

~ 🕱 ~

The finished Endless Spells of the Harrowmark... so far!

Shadows of Commorragh - part 7

Far above the glinting metallic peaks of Commorragh are the Ilmaea, or "black suns," dying stars ablaze with poisoned light that were harnessed at the height of the lost Eldar Empire. Though held in sub-realms of their own, these celestial phenomena provide a near-endless supply of energy to the Dark City. Their twilight hues glint from the hulls of grav-vehicles that swarm from spire to tower, from arena to battleground. Every now and then, a thin solar flare curls from a captive sun out into Commorragh, briefly illuminating the horrors below. Each such flare is reflected from a billion panes of crystal across the Dark City, and yet it will be barely heeded by the teeming citizens, for they know that the suns' claws were blunted long ago. Though a few solar cults still exist in Commorragh, most Dark Eldar view their tame stars with contempt; to them, they are but another resource to be mercilessly exploited. It is said that no starlight can shine upon the Dark Eldar without being harnessed, bled away and eventually snuffed out altogether.

~ 🜩 ~

Five more Drukhari completed for the Shadows of Commorragh campaign! (And a bit of moody photography)











The Kill Team so far, with the small scenery pice I made as a "middle-ground" backdrop for photography, and a couple of objective markers.

Ozuruin (Civilian / NPC / Beastmaster?)

Wildwood Ranger with female Dark Rider head and Wych arms.

Lakbyrn (one of the Parched)

Cairn Wraith / Wych kitbash with a Wildwood Ranger open right hand

Arzomar (Kabalite)

Pretty much just a normal Kabalite with a Blaster, but with a Wych's head.

Tagather (Wych)

Dark Elf Blood Bowl witch Elf with Wych hands.

Morghdrax (Succubus / Wych Cult Hekatrix)

Tenebrael Shard (from WHQ Silver Tower) with a Wych Splinter pistol and an Archon's sword.

Some more group shots.

I really need to get on with making scenery now!

Shadows of Commorragh - part 6

Around Port Carmine lay the war-torn ruins known as the Sprawls. Their bleak streets play host to the Parched, cadaverous Dark Eldar that have fallen from grace and wound up on the fringes of their violent society. These wretches are drawn ravenously to a battle whenever one breaks out, vicariously experiencing the acts of extreme violence and drinking in the bloody spectacle to rejuvenate their wasted bodies. Occasionally they will drag an unfortunate soul who has been fatally wounded into the dark alleyways, where the Parched will fight one another over the scraps of the departing soul.

~ 🜃 ~

Like all his kin, Lakbyrn hides in the shadows of Low Commorragh and preys on the weak.

I have been thinking about using a few Nighthaunt models and adding Wych parts to make some of the dregs of the Drukhari underworld. I remembered I had a butchered Cairn Wraith in my bits box from an abandoned project and set to work on it. I had to cut away a lot of the Wych head, torso and hips to make it all fit inside the cloak but I'm pleased with how sinister he looks! The Wildwood Ranger open hand helps a lot as well.

Endless Spells of the Harrowmark - part 5

Comprising a pair of shadowy mirrors, the Umbral Spellportal links two points in the forest, allowing wizards to cast their magics at incredible distances. Eldritch sigils can be inscribed into the mist to summon a pair of arcane mirrors, the surfaces of which undulate with shadowy aetheric energy. When looking upon an Umbral Spellportal, those versed in magic see a shadowy reflection of what lies on the other side of its twinned construct; while physical matter cannot travel through the portal, aetheric energy knows no such restriction.

But since any magic can pass through the portal there are more uses for Spellportals than just warfare. Some have existed for years and have become infused with the magic of the Harrowmark forests. Local hedge-wizards use them to communicate and some have made a good living from charging villagers to send messages to their neighbours beyond the woods, especially at times when a skyship carrying letters is late.

~ 🕱 ~

I have nearly finished making my death-forest-magic-mirrors, inspired by theempyrean_'s versions on Instagram.

~ 🕱 ~

I have finally got round to painting a tree-stump, to fill in for a missing tree for one of my Citadel Woods. We have been covering the gap with foresty objective markers, but it has been irking Wailslake. Hopefully this will make him feel better!

~ 🕱 ~

And last night I got carried away with the renewed Harrowmark excitement and started making another foresty thing from my large to-do pile...

The wreck of the sky-ship Gryph-Hound.

I'm going to add a tree to the gap at the front and a lot of arboreal textures and colours to the timbers of the rotting hulk.

Shadows of Commorragh - part 5

Commorragh appears within the Webway to be a composite urban centre on an impossibly vast scale, a hazy, contradictory realm whose dimensions can overawe the sanity of any who approach it. Thousands of starships dock each day at its spires, for the Dark Eldar are a far more numerous species than the Imperium of Man or even their own Craftworld kin fully suspect. The reaches of the interdimensional space around Commorragh are filled with the light-trails of spacecraft that pass between the Dark City and the Webway portals that surround it. Some of these gateways into realspace are small and dim, while those above the largest city-states of the realm are massive and can accommodate an entire pirate fleet with ease. A profusion of thorny dock-spurs juts from every spire and starscraper, holding Dark Eldar and other strangely-shaped xenos spacecraft fast in crackling violet beams of electromagnetic force.

At present, Commorragh is an almost-infinite nest of architectural impossibilities and spatial anomalies. Each of its estates has been overdeveloped to the point that their growth has been forced into the vertical plane, the various regions sprouting upwards like needle-plants fighting for sunlight. Each of the Dark City's spires and starscrapers is linked to its fellows by curved arches and gossamer-like buttresses. Its miles-tall aeries and palaces both reach upwards and downwards simultaneously, spiralling into the depths of the Webway's curved space-time. With every Terran year that passes, the hideous city seeks to spread out over more of the dimension that serves as its foundation.

~ 🜃 ~

I have made a few more Drukari for my Kill Team / warband. Some are more successful than others but the ones I'm less pleased with will still serve as NPC for the campaign.

Tagather - Wych
Converted Blood Bowl Witch Elf

Laryss - Wych? NPC?
Dark Elf Corsair legs and Wych parts from my bits box. I may add some greenstuff to blend in her waist a bit.

Ozuruin - Wych? NPC?
A converted Wildwood ranger with Wych arms and (I think) a Dark Rider head.

Arzomar - Kabalite with Blaster
A standard Kabalite but with a Wych head.

Morghdrax - the new leader for my Kill Team.
Converted Tenebrael Shard (from Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower) with Wych Splinter pistol and Archon sword
(I was not entirely happy with my first attempt at a Drukhari Hekatrix - I felt it was too unbalanced - so Tagazhar may now be relegated to NPC status and Morghdrax will take his place.)

Oil and Blood, Tor Megiddo - part 18 - The Out-Of-Bounds

By the metallic heat
Flames lick thy feet
Oil and blood burn
On them burning wastes

+++

Standoff at The Out-Of-Bounds

The Slipgibbets accepted the challenge from the Stash Riders - it was hard to ignore the corpse left nailed to a ruined building in the False Hope marketplace, with a note written on a bit of scrap metal hung round it's neck on wire! They rolled into the abandoned shanty town known as the Out-Of-Bounds and started hunting for the upstarts.

Kastorax, Leech, Flood, Grub and Penance looked around the dusty ruins.

Beetle, Naga and Hound advanced towards them, passed a shanking but inactive Rustman. Scribble, with his Long Las, took up position on the roof of a tower. Crystal ranged around on their far left flank.

The Slipgibbets ran forward to take cover.

Scribble directed the movement of the Stash Riders by shouting warnings from above.

Crystal and Scribble opened fire at Kastorax.

Kastorax ducked and Leech blazed away at Crystal in return with his heavy stubber!

Flood was hit by Scribble's long-las... 

But he shrugged it off as a minor flesh wound!

Then jumped up and blasted one of the Stash Riders' with a solid round from his shotgun!

Leech was pinned by fire from Crystal and Naga!

And the Stash Riders pushed forward.

Beetle boldly advanced into the open ground, and weathered the (inaccurate) fire of three Slipgibbets!

Kastorax circled round to try and get the jump on Beetle as Penance and Grub both charged the Stash Riders' leader.

Leech jumped out and blasted Scribble!

Scribble went down!

Crystal exacted his revenge and wounded Leech with his hot-shot lasgun.

Beetle knocked down Penance and Grub! Kastorax zapped him with his shock stave.

But Beetle was heavily armoured and ignored the blue-white energy that arced over his carapace, and smashed all-comers with his Chain Axe!

The Slipgibbets bottled-it and slunk away to lick their wounds. Kastorax, Leech and Grub will all have to miss the next fight to recover!

+++

Meanwhile in False Hope... The Ashtown Wasters and The Disciples of the Black faced off.