Child of the Wastes. Dark Elf Shadow Sorceress

The Child of the Wastes

As is the custom with Autarii tribes, on the first night of he Child's  life she was left to survive the cold of Naggaroth's  desolate wastes, North of the Towers. Her birth had taken the life of her mother, and the Child was weak and small. However she did not perish that night, but from then on, the tribes people saw that she could no longer cast a shadow.  The Child was cast out, left for dead a second time.

It s said that her cloak was a daemons gift, in payment for sparing her life on thy first night. By learning the art of shadow she may hide herself from the horrors of the North. With this gift, she is able to pass by norse men's camps and take food, or evade the ebbing tide of Beastman migration. Many have called her spirit, a fell banshee come to take the souls of men to the outer dark.

The cloak she possesses sifts in and out of reality, twisting in the unseen etheric winds that buffet a mans destiny this way or that. If you stare for long enough into the shadows, you may see constellations spinning in wild, furious riot.  You may dream of the dead, or see nightmares stare back at you in silent vigil.

The child is often accompanied by a familiar normally taking the shape of a flock of crows, or a cat. These tricks of the light are but flourishes of her art; like shadows bent into animals with the hand, cast against a cave wall. The creatures eyes are coal black and are adorned with gaudy jewelry that the Child has found in her travels. Trusted company is rare amongst Druchii society, especially North of the towers, and these familiars have offered light diversion for the Child lost in a land of walking nightmares. 

The Child hid for the Ch'Ihll host, as she has done with other warring factions she had encountered. Were Cynath not intoxicated by his mask's talents she would have gone by unnoticed. Catching her by the heel and throwing her into a mirthril shackle, the Bastard prince found a more reliable, if not more co-operative sorceress for his band. Ordering Varakaai and his executioners to kill the witches from the Watch Tower he had stolen to navigate the wastes, Cynath took the Child and bound her to his House's Sigil - an ensorcelled ring only the nobility of Ch'Ihll may wear.

The Child now acts as the Black Prince's compass in a shifting land of dreams and madness. Cynath has found that the dreams of the Dead God of his mask to be more potent around the Child and has taken her as a consort to heighten his delirious visions. 

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The Dread Warriors of Ch'Ihll

The House Guard of Ch'Ihll

Famed for the Black lacquered armour of the Ch'Ihll dynasty, Cynath Ch'Ihll, the Bastard prince, maintains a regiment of warriors in his household at all times. Acting as the Prince's debt collectors, thugs and disposable pleasures, it is never-the-less a great honour to serve as a retainer in one of the noble houses private armies.  

These warriors are drawn from the citizens of Naggarond, Capitol of Naggaroth and therefore of cold complexion. Unlike standard militia raised in times of the Witch King's wars, the warriros of Ch'Ihll are professional soldiery, bound to the Ch'Ihll house. A peculiar trait shared amongst those of the Black house-hold is their distinctive eye colour. It is a little known fact that and Elf's eye colour can change throughout their life, either through extreme stress, trauma, or inner turmoil. The common Nagarothii aphorism is the best liars have black eyes.  The ritualistic bonding to the Ch'Ihll house taints the Elf's eyes a violent carmine that deepens to a royal purple the longer they serve.   

The sigil adorning the Warriors shields is a mocking reference to the slur cast upon the current ruling Matriarch of the house; The Gorgon Queen, Mother of Monsters. Cynath has taken the Gorgon as his personal heraldry for this campaign, a cruel joke to remind his enemies of his dubious allegiance to the Queen and his knowledge of their private vulgarities.

The Household Guard is captained by Khatalha Khela'Mandour. He is responsible for the training of Cyanth's warriors, the maintenance of armour and meating out discipline where it is needed. Khatalha served a commission as a corsair aboard the Kraken's Tempest - the Black Ark that first ferried Cynath across the Old World during his Hakseer. Khathla rose to promnince in Cynath's court when his detachment of Corsairs had run down a chariot manned by Characian lions. In lieu of plunder, Khatalha took the lion's pelt as a symbol of power; a satisfactory return for the loss of an eye. 

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Commission; Mephiston Conversion 5

The design brief of this commission was to update the current Mephiston, moving away from the hammer horror vampiric look while still retaining the essence of the excellent original sculpt. Although we couldn't escape the hood (we needed something to represent a psychic hood), we did decide to replace the cape with flowing script which are lines from the book of Mephiston.

The lava base was made with cork, the colour scheme of which is echoed in Mephiston's NMM sword. I decided to paint his face with a gaunt haunted expression to contrast with the warm colours of the base and armour. I think the lava base works really well with this character; an outer manifestation of the barely controlled rage of Mephiston (paralleled with his psychically attuned sword).

I hope my client is happy with the work and wins many games with this bad boy. 

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