Thank you!
zahnib, I hope to make decent, steady progress. Probably take a bit over a month, though.
Zoat and his cat are done. Wasn't easy. Time seemed to slow, bought the wrong basing material, almost had a catastrophe with the dullcote (new can is a little aggressive. saw the rougher finish on the last CAV minis, but thought it was due to the last can blowing a seal. turns out it was the new can, and I nearly frosted these.), trying new things (
GW basing paste, tufts, home-brew snow, all firsts). Anyway, all that is behind me and we can set the scene a little.
++++Log - 099.M42++++
++++Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator Station - Arcadius++++
++++Explorator Biologis Minorum Hestarch++++
Initial findings re: fourth planet of five, Arcadius system. Arcadius IV follows an elongated elliptical orbit around the primary system star. One planetary cycle equal to 18 standard Terran months. Asymmetrical orbit results in two periods of winter-like conditions per planetary cycle broken by a spring and then a summer period. All weather conditions marked Category 2 severity or less- suitable for settlement. Note: scan neighboring systems for evidence of singularity/gravimetric anomalies. Probe data reveals a world rich in natural resources. Abundant mineral wealth and both animal and plant life. Planet flagged for development/exploitation.
++++Evidence of possible Xenos architecture. Dispatch armed contingent to determine level of possible resistance. Request for pacification pending.++++
The keep was quiet. There was little need for anyone, even servants to be around this early in the morning. Jugger Grimlock sat, his four legs tucked beneath his body, before the warmth alcove in the small dining hall. The firestones still retained some of their earlier heat, and glittered with hues of orange and purple. Wondrous things, he thought. Infused with heat from nearly any source, they would magnify and retain the energy, warming the hall for hours. The Zoat thought they cast a pleasant glow, as well. Just in the last year he had become comfortable mingling with the residents of Coreiag Dhuun. He had become accustomed to the bustle of the keep, but still preferred these quiet moments. He set his weapon before him. The odds of him needing it in the days to come were slim, but the long years had shown him it paid to be prepared. The mechanisms within were far too delicate for his large hands to manipulate without causing a catastrophic malfunction. Fortunately, he had other means at his disposal. Holding his hands out in front of him, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the object. Slowly, it rose to eye level, rotating slowly as the casing came free, other parts following suit, until a complex array of parts danced like a shoal of fish in the quiet hall. As he adjusted and checked each item, his consciousness floated beyond the hall to events four years ago.
"You have lead for too long. Your ways are the ways of times past. Stagnation is the fate you would weave for us."
His own voice answered, echoing low in the council-cave. "My ways are the ways that serve us best. Survival. Safety. These are the paths we must walk."
Again, a voice angry, filled with contempt. Triax. A great warrior in his herd. "Fool. Old, weak fool. Those stones you cling to addle your mind, dampen your spirit. You let opportunities slip away. You would have us squatting in these caves, lords of a wasteland, until we finally fade into memory. No longer. We are strong. We can take what we want. We SHOULD take what we want."
"Have we not enemies enough? We are strong, but we are few, and our list of allies short. Beyond the Eldar, who would come to our aid when your ambition leads war to our doorstep?"
"The Eldar? HA! They keep us shackled and cowed like animals. I will no longer beg for scraps from the Eldar table. I challenge. Combat, decisive. For the place of Herd-Thane. Such is my right."
"You mustn't do this. You cannot."
"What say you, Jugger Grimlock? Will you accept this challenge?" Another voice. Cautious.
"No."
Many voices, now. An uproar from those previously silent.
"What, then? You will kneel before Triax? Be less than a slave in the herd? Surely you must fight!"
"No. There is another option." His voice sounded heavy in his memory. Tired. Sad. "Exile. To be Herdless."
Another uproar. Voices of support, voices pleading. Triax speaks again, his voice proud and strong. "Enough! Let it be decided!"
"I will not fight you, Triax. I hereby step down from my position within our herd. I will make preparations and depart before the ascension feast."
"The choice has been made. Farewell...
father."
"What does it do?"
The Zoat's eyes snapped open and the weapon fell from the air, stopping scant inches above the stone floor as his mind reasserted control. An Eldar child stood before him in the low light of the firestones. She was dressed for bed, with a stuffed replica of a megadon tucked under one arm. Her eyes were wide with wonder.
"What?"
"What does it do?", she repeated.
He looked from his weapon, which he was struggling to mentally reassemble, to the child and back again. "Your gun. What does it do?"
"Well, child..."
"Linnara." He had seen her before. Daughter, he believed, of Varlaessa, a member of the House Guard.
"Well, Linnara, it is a weapon of my own design. It fires bolts of plasma infused with dark energy, similar to some of your own peoples' weapons. The effect can be very..."
"What are you?"
"I beg your pardon."
"What are you? Marvannon says you are a baby megadon that doesn't know to stay in it's pen. I think he's wrong, though. I don't even think you are from Mir-Vallaen."
"I am a Zoat. I am called Jugger Grimlock and I was formerly..."
"I like your cat."
The Zoat stiffened visibly. A feline shape materialized from the shadows. Purring its way down his flank, the gyrinx came into the circle of light from the alcove. He sighed. Heavily.
"Thank...you."
"Does she have a name?"
"...I have named
it Kram'agk. It is a word in my tongue which means "sharp pain beneath my tail."
Linnara squinted up at him. He tilted his head to one side and cocked an eyebrow ridge. Her eyes widened and she stifled a laugh behind her hand.
"Oh, Master Zoat, that is so unkind!"
"Yes, well, I did not seek it's companionship. You see..."
"Ahem." A slim figure stood in the doorway to the hall. He was dressed in bright colors, almost garish, and wore a perpetual half-smile. Pucariel, the Mocking Crow. Court Jester of Coreiag Dhuun. "Pardon me,
Master Zoat, but our lord has sent me to see if you are quite prepared for the journey."
Jugger Grimlock stood, the casing of his weapon sliding into place as the weapon came to rest in his hand. "Yes. I will be along shortly. Thank you." The gyrinx stretched and yawned before taking position at his side.
The jester bowed deeply and disappeared into the shadowed hallway. Ghostly laughter seemed to follow him.
"Now, you, Linnara. Enough questions. It is still early. Get back to bed before your mother misses you. There is time enough to still get some rest before tomorrow. There is certain to be much to do."
So it begins. Minor troubles aside, I am pleased with how they turned out and look forward to building their setting and companions.
Thanks for looking!
2020 minis completed: 97
Finished Forge World Elysian Army 
Finished Tau Sept Cadre 
Finished Ork Waaagh | 
Alaitoc Eldar Warhost 
Finished Order of Our Martyred Lady - Sisters of Battle 
Finished Necromundian Imperial Guard Regiment 
Look forward to seeing the Zoat with their ironcrust base all finsihed up
