Of Iron Bone And Ceramite Skin: A Look Into The Spyrehead Faiths Of The Imperivm

A few months back, I made a small group of Arxite pilgrims for the Pilgrym Project. A few days before I finished them and sent them to Peter(PDH), I had a trip to Iraq. I am very interested in religion and the Shia sect of Islam in Najaf got me intrigued. I was born in Iraq but lived in the west for most of my life so I never got into the culture too much. After coming back to my home country, I was appalled and depressed by the situation there. One of the things I did was visit some of the richest mosques in the city and I learned a great deal about this minor sect in Islam. It got me thinking to actually incorporate my knowledge of Shia faith into my Arxites.

After further thought, I decided to extend the Arxites as a small sub-sect of another minor sect of the Imperial cult. I am currently calling it the Spyrehead Faith as I do not really know what to do with the name. Their main book that they follow is known as the Arxus Dedicatum.

Last 3 pictures were taken without permission, if there is any problem contact me to remove them!

Arxites Ascend The Daylight Stair(Courtesy of btwnbolterandme)

When I was bored in school, I wrote a few paragraphs about the Spyreheads. After a bit of tweaking, here is my interpretation of these shrine-headed pilgrims:

The Faith
The pilgrimage to Terra attracts all manner of faiths, from fanatic imperialists to radical xanthites. One faith within the imperial cult has been of significant interest. The Spyreheads are a section of the Cult Imperialis that emphasizes the veneration of spyres, cities and architecture. The spyrehead faith is a human phenomenon that has occured in every city or hive. The faith fetishisize spires and thus build miniature replicas of hives for them to wear. The Spyreheads tend to be harassed and oppressed by the other more dominant sects of the Imperial cult. This has developed a sense of submission in the Spyrehead faith where they must obey the laws of the land and never doubt the reward after death.

Ascend the Celestial Stair! by John Blanche
Behind the Chandelite, a Spyrehead climbs the
eternal stairs of Terra. An illuminator at the right
draws the glorious cathedrae for rememberance
 and embracement......

Arxvs Dedicatvm
All the Spyreheads have one belief in common. The scriptures of the Arxvs Dedicatvm. The Arxvs Dedicatvm was said to be a long lost book that was suppressed by the Imperial Creed and only the Spyreheads have the knowledge to unlock its true meanings. The imperial cults base their beliefs off many different interpretations and re-writings of the Emperor's Word and the Spyrehead cults are no different. The Dedicatvm tells of the Spyrehead's unconditional love and veneration for imperial spires and architecture as symbols and saints of the Arch-Apicem's glory and beauty.

Villar by Wayne Barlowe

Turris' Altar
All Spyreheads have a traditional place to go to during their pilgrimage in Terra. Spyre-47vb also known as "Turris' Altar" is considered an especially holy place for the pilgrims. Its history was one of tragedy and suppression. Turris, who is known as the Arch-Saint, has become a martyr among the Spyreheads. He was a religious missionary who discovered the Arxvs Dedicatvm and spread the word of the spyres. He was later executed for heresy against the Imperial Creed elevating him to the status of a martyr. With this fame and grievance among the Spyrehead, a large spyre was built in memory of him. His millions of followers now arrive from every corner of the galaxy to embrace the massive tombstone of the Arch-Saint.

Notredame in Paris, France

The Rituals

Most of the Spyreheads are extremely submissive to their deities, the spires and the Arch-Apicem. Their rituals vary from the embracing of buildings and coffins of past saints to the self-mutilation that they endure. Their incense is easily recognisable, masking the scent of blood, sweat and decay with concrete, oil and metal. Especially holy or martyred Spyreheads become saints. When they die, they will be given honorary funeral rights and build a spyre dedicated to them. This symbolises the divine ascension and reward for being an 'Arch'.

Saint Edwin, Ancient Terran figure. Said to be one
  of the earliest examples of Spyreheads in human history.

That's it for now. Another article(s) would go more in depth about my concepts of the spyreheads and an account from a certain pilgrym in the daylight wall.....

Thank you Gregory Wier for correcting grammar and punctuation :)

Servitora Crania: Practicing to draw servo skulls

One of my favorite thing about 40k that AoS doesn't have is servo skulls. Something about these morbid memento mori are creepily cute. I was really first seeing them from one of the dated 40k rulebooks where they were sporadically recurring withing the pages of the rules and I just loved how they looked. When I then bought the Inquisitor's Sketchbook I knew I had to dedicate a page to my own sketchbook for these ugly mugs.

All inspired and shamefully ripped off from John Blanche's awesome sketches:

Closer shots of each skull:

It would also be good practice with ink painting. My winsor and newton inks take forever to arrive where I am so they will remain colorless for now....

Mustii Scabbes Sump Muties- Done

The Mustii Scabbes: 

Feral mutants under the command of a "healthier" human. Their skin is bloated, pustulant and scab-ridden. All of them outcasts since birth from the underhive above. All raised by their giant mother-rats. It was a time of flooding within the damp Sump and the children, with their remaining human intellect, decided to kill their rats to where for warmth and comfort. One of them, Ygraesse, has found a rusted and broken autopistol "Slingerre" in their tongue. Through this he has kept the band under a form of strict discipline. Bashing them if the go out of place and if needs be shooting them.

Now nomadic and roaming the Sump in search for tools to aid for their survival. Using techniques of camoflage within the water of the sump to ambush prey. They have gained a reputation for their mutations that gives them extreme blood loss only to quickly dry from their regenerative ability. These scabs gives them a sort of "armour" to protect them from the harder blows of a blunt knife. Their ifamy was gained for their swift strikes and what they leave behind, with the waters turning red from their hunts...

I have finished these guys a few days ago but I just got the time to post this. Here are my sump mutants, the mustii scabbes. Known for their haemophilia and quick regeneration abilities. Their flowing blood solidifies and creates a scab-armor of sorts. Anyway here they are:

Ygraesse the leader. He is the one that keeps them all in their place. Under the whip of the pistol and the lead of the bullet, they call this ancient and feared piece "Slingerre". He is the eldest with thick beared and scab-covered face. He sports a pouch from a fallen ganger and the rags of a drowned preacher within the shallow waters of the Sump. Hanging from the waist is one of the legs of his mother-rat to  show his band who's in charge...

 Flaegelle was born with an elongated body. He is elastic and from that his skin sags. He has made a flail with barbwire from a long forgotten Hive War that took place during the first settlers of Sapria IV. His flail carves through his skin but thanks to his lack of response to pain, he uses it freely and can keep a few feet away from the enemy as he unties the wire to hit them a longer way away...

Braegge, the unidentical twin brother of Flaegelle. His stump hand is an effective shield and can be considered the other tank of the group along with Pectyrre. His weapon is a club with barbwire from the same area that his brother made the flail. Getting in contact with his angular weapon is not recommended...

Remme is what is known as a 'Gasherre' by the mutie band. One of the two who posess a sharp weapon made for stabbing or slashing.  His head has nail stuckdeep within the brain. This may explain his more sinister and sly fighting style. He tends to work alone and can consult Ygraesse about about ambushes that the gang can inact.

The other half of the 'Gasherres'. Ianne is the more sadistic out of the gang. His twitchy nature and berzerk fury has given him the name of 'Butch' by the other Sump gangs. He has a rope which he addictivly chews on and that could be used by Ygraesse to drag him around.

A spawn that escaped from a portal from the warp. No thought, the hand-rat was recieved by the Mustii Scabbes as a pet and it seems to have found it's place for living. It has a reputation for hiding in sleeves only to pounce on the face of who every is scavenging the clothing...

We aere Faemillie...

Holde The Tyddes Offe Aequarysse

 Here is the box. A nice finish to the band. A fullstop on  this project. A cool necklace I found in a shop. Tooth and skulls symbolsing death and savagery. They fit nicely but it is time for other projects...

Wot Havve We Haerre?

Holde The Tyddes Offe Aequarrysse

Mustii Scabbes Sump Muties

"We are the Mustiis. The Scabbes!"
- Quote from Ygraesse, Vagabande Chief

Alright after wandering aimlessly in my mind looking for a cool project to do I was stuck with looking at my sump mutant. What could I do? I looked in the Ammobunker and one of the commentors said that he could be part of a feral scavvy gang. I thought and as I looked at the goblins sprue, I took it and clipped off some bodies. Took a few arms form the cultists and there are 4 more mutants done. I then added Agrellan Earth to enforce their name sake.

The mutants were heavily based off the Shuffylnge Doddermenne by Master John Blanche and the color scheme would be similar too. I did like the mouldy and wet look on his sculpted fur for the doddermenne but I only knew a more barbaric look which I think still fits with the bands feral nature.

Some time before I started to build the gang I was putting down ideas for warbands that would be found in the sump Vagabandes if you will. And I wrote down a couple of words that made me gag just thinking about these two words...

The Mustii Scabbes: 

Feral mutants under the command of a "healthier" human. Their skin is bloated, pustulant and scab-ridden. All of them outcasts since birth from the underhive above. All raised by their giant mother-rats. It was a time of flooding within the damp Sump and the children, with their remaining human intellect, decided to kill their rats to where for warmth and comfort. One of them, Ygraesse, has found a rusted and broken autopistol "Slingerre" in their tongue. Through this he has kept the band under a form of strict discipline. Bashing them if the go out of place and if needs be shooting them.

Now nomadic and roaming the Sump in search for tools to aid for their survival. Using techniques of camoflage within the water of the sump to ambush prey. They have gained a reputation for their mutations that gives them extreme blood loss only to quickly dry from their regenerative ability. These scabs gives them a sort of "armour" to protect them from the harder blows of a blunt knife. Their ifamy was gained for their swift strikes and what they leave behind, with the waters turning red from their hunts...

Ygraesse the leader. He is the one that keeps them all in their place. Under the whip of the pistol and the lead of the bullet, they call this ancient and feared piece "Slingerre". He is the eldest with thick beared and scab-covered face. He sports a pouch from a fallen ganger and the rags of a drowned preacher within the shallow waters of the Sump. Hanging from the waist is one of the legs of his mother-rat to  show his band who's in charge...

As I was researching the scavvies online I saw the leader miniature. I have to say that the rags and torn gasmask really got to me. So I thought I would start Ygraesse with a flagellant body. I was thinking of giving him the mechanical look that the orginal model had. However I stared longer at the blu-tacked body and I thought that it would remove the uniformity of the gang. So I chopped the flagellant torso and replaced it with a goblin body. I gave him a flagellant head but it looked too human so I just hopelessly sculpted fur on top and hoped it would look good. I think he looked as if he was part of the gang. Making him dress differently and have a superior weapon would show that he takes the lion's share of loot in every hunt and raid the Scabbes go to.

Flaegelle was born with an elongated body. He is elastic and from that his skin sags. He has made a flail with barbwire from a long forgotten Hive War that took place during the first settlers of Sapria IV. His flail carves through his skin but thanks to his lack of response to pain, he uses it freely and can keep a few feet away from the enemy as he unties the wire to hit them a longer way away...

I was hesitant using that body but after putting that cultist arm on him, I thought it made the mutant look much better. The bent wire also adds to the motion of the base  cave goblin miniature. I thought of his name 'Flaegelle' after the weapon he carries. The word for whip or flail in Latin is 'flagellum'. After some distorting and adding some of Ye Olde Englishe touches, the name was made. A fun thing about the 40k universe is wondering what the language would be like. How is High Gothic spoken? Is it just an amalgamation of Latin and English? I think it is a combination of whatever forgotten and ancient words that the corrupt Sermognosts of the Adeptus Terra have put together. It reminds me abit of the Ministry of Truth in 1984. I may do a post separate to that later...

Pectyrre is the shuffling brute of the Scabbes. He is dimwitted and finds a special pleasure in dishing violence to the opponent. His mace may be the cleanest and strongest weapon within the mutants. He was born with an enlarged rib cage which may explain why so many of the damage he takes in the chest gives him no thought. His constant head butting has given him quite the scab on his head.

This was after I ran out of plaguebearer death heads. I thought the next best head would be the flagellant with the stictch mouth, hooked nose and defined brows. Where I see it, the head looks like it is smiling which may be why I though of him as a masochist of sorts. Again his name is a combination of languages with a bit of twisting sprinkled on top. Pectyrre had a chest that stuck out and so I named him after the word for chest in latin 'pectus'.

Remme is what is known as a 'Gasherre' by the mutie band. One of the two who posess a sharp weapon made for stabbing or slashing.  His head has nail stuckdeep within the brain. This may explain his more sinister and sly fighting style. He tends to work alone and can consult Ygraesse about about ambushes that the gang can inact.

I ran out of cool clubs to give them! This guy was the first and his sword was made from two bits. The arm and handle is from one of the skaven in the Island of Blood. The blade itself is from the plague monks kit. Unfortunatle thanks to my crappy memory, I forgot the etymology of Remme's name. Maybe if I spontaneously remember, I will make sure the edit this post...

Braegge, the unidentical twin brother of Flaegelle. His stump hand is an effective shield and can be considered the other tank of the group along with Pectyrre. His weapon is a club with barbwire from the same area that his brother made the flail. Getting in contact with his angular weapon is not recommended...

The guy that started off the warband. His story also was stretched for the rest of the muties. It was my second time sculpting fur trying to do a different style, I covered that up with the one that I used for the Terran ganger from the 'Holi Menne and Muties' post. I have added the Agrellan Earth as a last resort for their name sake and I think it turned out better than expected.

The other half of the 'Gasherres'. Ianne is the more sadistic out of the gang. His twitchy nature and berzerk fury has given him the name of 'Butch' by the other Sump gangs. He has a rope which he addictivly chews on and that could be used by Ygraesse to drag him around.

The head was the last of the last resorts with my lack of bits. The flagellant head is pretty cool but the beard kind of ruined it for me, so I shaved it off and I think it looks pretty legit without it. His name is 'Ianne'. One of the translations of butcer I think is 'Ianius' and since we haven't heard of a human n sounding name yet, I thought it would tie well with the name of 'Ian'.

I spawn that escaped from a portal from the warp. No thought, the hand-rat was recieved by the Mustii Scabbes as a pet and it seems to have found it's place for living. It has a reputation for hiding in sleeves only to pounce on the face of who every is scavenging the clothing...

I must say that this rat was before Braegge even took concept. I was thinking of making a daemon warband where every model would be a spawn but I didn't have the cool chaos bits that you find in the spawn and forsaken kits. I so resorted to taking a rat from the plague monks and giving it a hand from the plaguebearers kit as a head. It is a bit surreal and I found it really creepy. One of the commentors in the Ammobunker said that the natural impulse would be to position the hand flat and facing the ground but putting it side ways somehow made it much more twisted and wrong.

That is enough for now, I will be showcasing a painting next post. I am not that good at painting( I am better at sketching). But I thought it would be a good experience for trial and error to see what works and what doesn't.

Borne on His back is the beaconne...

Penitent. Pilgrim. Burden. Aether. Punishment. Pious. Metal. Censer....

WIP: Holi Menne and Muties

Hello!
My second post and it is time for some content. Pilgrims and mutants.

There were two projects that really struck me back when I was just starting the Inq28 hobby. The Sump Wars and the Pilgrym Project both featuring PDH, Migs and master Blanche himself. The first project gave me the really unclean and heretical part of the 40k universe, filled with gangers, mutants, chaos cultists and rusted cyborgs. However on the other end is the Pilgrym, a little brighter than usual and divine. This was Terra and it was all about pilgrims, custodians and botanical men.

I found that these two projects were juxtapositions of each other. They are contrasting yet still similar. They brought the grim and the dark in both projects and it suprised me how this group of amazing men were so flexible and adapting to these projects. Kudos and respect to them indeed.

So here I am after contributing the Pilgrym with my Arxites( Link goes to the WIP behind them). Wondering inside my mind what to do next. So far I am aimless. I am simply building without a real project in mind, maybe after this chaotic phase I could make a story out of it...

Without further ado, here are the models I am currently making:

A pilgrim. A penitent. He carries the picked skull of his fellow brother after the failed attempt at escaping the Corvii of underhive Terra. A heavy burden to carry yet still zealous over his pilgrimage to ascend the spires of Terra.

This guy was ripped off from Marcominius' pilgrim Tyliff Liederre. I used a flagellant body with goblin arms and a skitarii head. It also contains random bits from my cutting table. I will be adding the sleeve for the robe and a fur pelt around his neck.

Walking aimlessly within the Hall of Penitents. Reciting the psalms of the God-Emperor's Holy book to only himself. Caecus was pious man who has memorised the entire Codex Imperialis. He blinded himself to ensure that he read no other text as the Codex was the holiest scripture he has ever read.

I am in love with making small character. So, I took the plague monks kit and gave one of the robes a flagellant head. The blind folded one seemed the best and I gave him a book borne on his back. The rat tail was removed and I gave him a mechanical hand from the Kataphron kit. I just had to fill up the gaps in between the torso and the arms and I called him finished.

A collegiate from the holy household of Iesua. Grex Symmorre is just another ganger in House Ieusua's private army. He is a master at geurilla warfare and a great marksman when it comes to the secret wars that rage beneath Terra. He has gained many a purity seals for his achievements under the commands of the noble house.

Bunch of boxes that I had lying around the desk. One of them being the cultist kit, I took my favorite model in the box. The one with a hooded gasmask. This model is supposed to be a trial. It was the first time I sculpted fur and purity seals. Think it came out alright. I tried following what Marcominius said where he takes the knife to "shape tiny "worms" in the greenstuff". Worked out well and I am happy for a first timer. I just need to add one more layer of fur towards the back of the neck and it will go to the painting stages.

A cast away orphan from the shallow sewers of the sump. Braegge was left in the sump to die for his atrophies and pustulant skin. In his cries a great rat heard his distress and took him in for care, Treated like a rat while still retaining his human intellect, Braegge scavenged scrap from bloated corpses floating in the waters of the sump. At a time of starvation, Braegge killed his mother rat to eat and wore her fur for heating him in the cold dampness of the sump.

Stolen idea from Blanche's Doddermenne. Instead of a plaguebearer body, I used a goblin body. In my love for realism and childish humor I added a disgusting sack to show that Braegge is a human. Goblin body, cultist club, death head from the plagebearers kit and a tyranid toxic sac. I still need to sculpt one small patch of fur.

The poor child... Inonne's decadent body was strapped in a strait jacket and given neural implants. The implants were made to remove all emotion other than the trait of self-loathing. Very pious and devout in his belief, the mutant spawn will be taking a pilgrimage to the Hall of Penitent. His objective in the voyage, to die and release the galaxy of his taint.

Seeing the Emperor's Will book was really inspiring and I was awe-struck by each of the illustrations found within it. One page showed a giant arcoflagellant with a straitjacketed man in the corner. So I saw my chopped up goblin body and thoughtlessly decided to put a Kataphron head. I added a skull to hang from his waist. I just need to add some layers of greenstuff on the jacket and lock it with a gothic cross from the Terminator's kit. 

Comments & Criticisms Welcome!