Kromac strode through the knee high snow, never noticing the chill on his bare skin. He paused to breathe in deep, letting the freezing air fill his lungs, somehow smelling of the cold. He felt an unbidden growl deep within his chest, though he was making no sound. His warpwolf had found the beast they had come for. He let his consciousness slip into the feral's and immediately was able to pick up a snarling at the edge of his hearing. Kromac returned to himself and nodded to the slender Tharn woman at his side. She immediately swung up onto the back of her wolf and let forth a primal howl, answered by her sisters, before loping off into the trees, vanishing from view into the gently falling snow. He tightened his grip on Dusk and Dawn before following her into the snowy veil.
Before long, Kromac was joined by the warpwolf, it's fur plastered against its body as the snow melted against it. They slowed as the snarls grew louder, until they entered a clearing and found what they sought. The beast was chained to a stone held in place by druidic magic, but still it strained against its bonds. He saw motion behind the raging Gorax to see the wolf riders circling the clearing. Expecting them to take it down if the creature made a break for it, he set himself before it and nodded to his wolf, who quickly severed the bonds of the distracted Gorax and stepped back as it leapt at Kromac's throat.
Kromac felt a growl stirring within him again, but this wasn't conveyed from the beast who now watched the scene. This was his own bestial nature struggling to come forth. He normally would restrain himself, but he needed that side of himself for this and he let loose the beast within. His heart stopped for a moment as his body suddenly convulsed, the muscles stretching, the bones growing at unnatural speeds, his face elongating into a savage muzzle. Within the span of a few heartbeats, before the enraged Gorax had even crossed the clearing, an equally ferocious creature stood where Kromac had moments before. He tossed aside his axes disdainfully and answered the Gorax's charge with a challenging roar of his own. The only sound that filled the dead and still forest was the two animals. But Kromac would not let the Gorax swing its claws at him. He leapt at it midcharge and stole its momentum with his own. The Gorax went down in a heap as it found an equally fanged maw at its own throat. In that moment, Kromac reached into the savage mind of the Gorax and pulled it from its frenzy. The beast calmed as Kromac stepped away, pleased that his journey had gone so well and ended so bloodlessly. But now he craved blood and flesh. And so the band set out in search of prey.
So, I've recently decided to go with a winter themed Circle army. Of course, given the typical Circle armour, working in blue is easy as the enamel. The Tharn represent another challenge. And speaking of challenges, I am challenging my terribly weak paint skills to do this. I recently had asked about painting tattoos, because this is the way I wish to bring the blue into the Tharn elements. And part of my inspiration is this fellow:
He has some enourmous and recognizable tattoos while still being fairly simple. Perfect! I can totally paint simple! This is really my first shot at free hand, so here's to hoping it comes out well. Since Kromac is kind of the crown jewel of Tharn models, he is actually going to be reserved for the end of the painting league, the capstone of the project as well as the culmination of what I have learned and practiced on other Tharn in the weeks before.
Oh, and other inspiration comes from another video game character:
http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-01/art/ff7-redxiii.jpg
Yeah, even my wolves are getting tattoos if this works out...
But I'd like to hear suggestions too. The models are going to be EXTREMELY cool. Like, wow, that's cold. But the Tharn are savage and cannibals, as we know. Hell, we have BLOODtrackers and BLOODweavers (one of which will be showing up later in this project!). Should I consider blood splatters on the Tharn? I'm leaning towards it for the Bloodweavers at least (oh damn, I gave away that surprise I guess...)? Tell me your thoughts!
I guess you wanna' see the first list, huh? Well, if you bothered reading the narrative, you will already know it.
Kromac the Winter Hunter (*4)
-Gorax (4)
-Feral Warpwolf (9)
Tharn Wolf Riders x3 (6)
15/15
Yup. Lots of fur here.
Pictures are gonna' be pretty poor for a bit here as I am relegated to just my poor phone camera for now. Next week, I'll be back home with the family and I can try to search out the charger for my actual digital camera. I'm being overly ambitious for my painting skill and pace, so I'll be working myself hard to try to keep up with everyone here.
The winter snow betrays you
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