#dawnbringer crusade

[ladymirdan]

The city might have been founded but I still got myself two coins like a champion.

And now my warband got a city to harass for the next time.

[butterscotchbeluga]

Not sure if I intended this to be a full redesign/modernization of the Warhammer Steam Tank or simply a "spiritual successor" for the Mortal Realms, but regardless - This is my design for the "Ironweld Steam Tank.

A mobile & reliable war machine who's turned the tide of many a battle for the ever-expanding Dawnbringer Crusades. Though requiring regular maintenance & incapable of traversing more rough terrain, these mechanized beasts more then make up for it with their heavy armor, inbuilt Ironweld Great Cannon, & engine-powered transportation. This marvelous creation serves as a monument to human & duardin ingenuity, craftmanship, & cooperation towards a unified home within the Mortal Realms.

I've actually had this drawing done for awhile now, but procrastination will forever be my enemy.

[cam2d]

Freeguild Steelhelms for my Greywater Fastness army! These models were a ton of work but I'm so, so happy with how they came out. Thanks to Games Workshop for the preview copy.

[farsight-the-char]

Painted models for the coming Cities of Sigmar/Dawnbringers.

The Underdogs. The Mortals. The Madlad Bringers of Hope.

Dawnbringers before the end of the Year (Probably Autumn/Winter.)

[cursed-40k-thoughts]

Is Ushoran in any books?

In Fantasy? He’s in the Rise of Nagash books a good bit, but those books are almost completely de-canonised at this point due to the numerous errors it makes in portraying Nagash’s history. He’s also in the Blood of Nagash books intermittently (these are worth reading).

He’s not in any AoS novels yet, but you can read about him more broadly in the Flesh-Eater Courts Battletome, and the crusade book: Dawnbringers IV: Mad King Rises.

[gardensprincess]

I wrote a synopsis of the beginning of age of sigmar for a fren

I’m forcing you to read it now

In the beginning the world exploded

And magic brought back 8 entire flat earths each based on each kind of magic

Hysh: The realm (flat earth) of light

Ulgu: the realm of shadow

Chamon: the realm of metal

Ghur: the realm of beasts

Ghyran: the realm of life

Shyish: the realm of death

Aqshy: the realm of fire

Azyr: The realm of heaven

As well as the aetheric void and a bunch of other sub realms we can talk about later

After the world exploded a few funny friends were still kickin around somehow

One of which was Sigmar Heldenhammer, who for all intents and purposes is British Zeus. He hit his head on a rock and died kinda but woke up in azyr and thought “huh, I guess I should build a city” and so azyrheim was built, from here humans kinda appeared and started populating the other realms slowly through grueling pilgrimages called dawnbringer crusades, where they literally DRAG A FUCKING CITY ALONG A LEY LINE

In between Ulgu and Hysh, a few other gods were still hoppin about

Tyrion and Teclis, the twin gods of light

Malerion(formerly malekith), the god of shadows

And the only gods to canonically fuck: kurnoth and allarielle, the god of the hunt and the goddes of life

They were huddled around the sorta dead sorta captured body of the chaos god of excess, slaanesh, who ate all the elven souls from the world that exploded. Slaanesh didn’t do that tho that was Archaon, we’ll talk about him later. Anyway slaanesh ate all the elven souls cuz they were hungy and the elven gods didn’t like that, so they cut slaanesh open to retrieve the souls

But just before the do, malerions mortal mom, morathi, pops out of slaanesh and is immediately mad she’s not a god.

But they use her survival to help take out elven souls from the tummy of slaanesh

The first souls sucked and telcis hated them and was gonna kill them all but they fled to the depths of the seas and became the idoneth, the sea elves

After that malerion and morathi were like “you suck” and took a bunch of souls out and they become umbraneth, the dark elves

Morathi also took the opportunity to start slowly eating a bunch of souls herself to become a god, which we’ll get to in a few millennia

The other gods thought that was very rude and kept salvaging souls

Next came the kurnothi and sylvaneth, wild and wood elves (wood elves are mostly trees) which kurnoth and allarielle decided to take care of

Finally teclis and tyrion took out the last of what they could and made the lumineth, the high elves.

Back in not space there are a bunch of frogs and lizards in ships, they aren’t important yet

Meanwhile the dwarven gods get no lore except a few sentences, grungi is helping sigmar with a special project, and grimnyr fuxking exploded

During this time a bunch of cool stuff happens in the age of myth

But the good times can’t last and the gods of chaos figure out “oh hey, people are still alive???” So they break reality and start subjugating the mortal realms

Khorne, the blood god

Nurgle, the plague god

Tzeentch, the magic squid man

Slaanesh is still being help via her cock ring in ulgysh (I’m not kidding)

After a few billion years of this (not really) sigmar and grungi finish their special project and make the stormcast eternals to kill chaos, this is using souls stolen from nagash, the god of death and he’s all bad

Nagash and his most not loyal followers start fuckin with both chaos daemons and the other “good” guys and invent skeletons, ghosts, ghouls, and vampires

Meanwhile orks appear out of nowhere and there are goblins piloting majoras mask moons, there’s also rat men

Congratulations that’s the base knowledge. I’m so sorry I went too hard

[hunters-hobby-log]

Painted up some quick and dirty empire guys last night.

I present the personal guard of the Sorceress Lenora, a powerful ally in Haydn's dawnbringer crusade.

These fellas are painted up to match one of my partner's first minis.

[chaos-snakeboi-journal]

Concerning The Recent Histories of Aqshy, Ghyran, and Their Hated Dawnbringer Crusades #5

Chapter Four: On the Short Reign of The Brute

I recall my first impression of this history being one of disbelief on having first read it. Indeed, it and the third very nearly convinced me that there was naught in The Recent Histories of the Dawnbringer Crusades that might affect me anywhere near to the future. However, my persistence was rewarded by the future volumes, and I consider this one now with fresh eyes.

We open on a brief epigram on the nature of sacrifice by Prime Commander of Hammerhal, Katrik le Guillon. My experiences in the War for the Salvation of the Prime Dominion proved the truth of her words, that war cannot be fought without sacrifice. When forces come together for the good of all, it strengthens your chances to win the war, but it weakens your heart. It opens it to break. Your allies will stand beside you, and they will die, and if you're lucky you will too.

The introduction to The Recent Histories of the Dawnbringer Crusades: Book Two: The Reign of the Brute concerns the struggle of the Twin-Tailed Crusade against the mighty Troll-King Trugg, a battle which seems eminently laughable to me. We shall see in future chapters why my faith in the Troll-King's weakness is misplaced, but it still seems to me that the Dawnbringers were far less equipped for the battle they faced than would an equivalently sized horde of Darkoath. “March boldly into the murderous wilds!” exhorts some distant Azyrite scriptorium monk, a sentiment I find laughable in the face of what is to come for them.

The opening narrative essentially restates the ending of The Harbingers, but expands its scope. So many Crusaders are being recruited that even in Aqshy, some of the city's defenders doubt anyone will be left in the city for defense. This Hanniver and Toll are a dour couple, and if this undertaking causes even them to express doubt, the stakes must have seemed dire indeed. I, of course, regard their caution as cowardice, but one can hardly blame one's lessers for expressing doubt at a time like this.

The initial phases of the war seemed, from Aqshy's point of view, to be a phenomenal success. Under the command of Fist Marshal Tahlia Vedra, their progress seemed invincible. Her progress seemed opposed only by her marching partner, Pontifex Zenestra, head of a cult so foolish and stupid I dare not even commit their name to further paper. Soon their steel was put to the test against a horde of orruks, over whom they triumphed.

Yet as ever, their plan to abandon their cities proved foolish – their walls abandoned, they were immediately besieged by a force of the Blood God's finest, and their precious commander had to flee back to their citadels and pray there was anything left. How humorous.

Next, we rejoin the grot swarms deep below the earth. Here, they have found the presence of a mighty monster – the great Troll-King Trugg (Here called Troggoth King, seemingly by Braggit's own recommendation – likely an old grot word) resting in his cavern. He was partially awakened by a surge of energy from Alarielle's lifeswell, but was taken to full lucidity (and unspeakable, savage anger) by the belligerent howling of the Rabble-Rowza.

Trugg's rampage is speculated to follow along the great leylines and geomantic nexuses, first steering him and a horde of other trolls clean through twin Fyreslayer lodges, ever-doomed are they. This process left a single survivor, which as I understand it makes him a new Grimhold Exile? This survivor, Thul, crosses the Adamantine Chain to warn of the great troll march.

The next page concerns the near-complete takeover of the abandoned Aqshy crusade by the dreaded Pontifex Zenestra. Seemingly more concerned about the welfare of her army's wheels than she is the purging of heretics and greenskins, I have my suspicions she is not who she appears – like an agent of the Great Changer, in the way she commands fanatical devotion while convincing her servants to do the most foolish acts. It is very bold and conniving.

It is here in the narrative that I recall growing concerned about the might of this Troggoth King Trugg, for it is said he faced against mighty empire of the Clotting River Tribes and soundly thrashed them. Even one of their loosed Khorgoraths was no match for the Troll-King, its body shattering on its horns like a corpse presented as a trophy. Yet my heart swelled, for though the mighty king may have been what felled the Tribes of Burning Blood, his unstoppable might was still aimed now towards the Dawnbringer Crusade.

Suffice it to say, the attack on Trugg in the open field was utterly doomed from the start. Though offering an impressive first showing, this Marshal Malchon who challenges the sinister wisdom of Zenestra failed his men and his family in a stunning failed assault. These victims were outsmarted by a horde of grots and overpowered by a barely-awake mountain. Now Trugg's horde marched towards Trucebreak, where the rest of the crusade waits by Zenestra's side.

This Zenestra is a curious character. With only a token few words, she drove this Malchorn from the edge of despair at a humiliating loss and into a frenzy of suicidal devotion. As his men fell to blades guided by their own terror, Malchorn gave his life in a suicidal attack at the center of their defenses. However, the cold reality of battle is that heroic gestures are not the be-all, end-all of conflict, and scores of trolls and armies of goblins still pursued the rest of the crusade as they fled eastward.

At the very last, this mysterious Pontifex created a great sorcerous weave – a “wheel” of eight “spokes” that burned all grots and troggoths caught within to flames, but healed and empowered the fleeing Dawnbringers. Surely this is no scene of Chaos sorcery, and their mighty spiritual purity remains so. Especially in light of her command that her soldiers surge forward and be willingly buried under a mountain crushed by her mighty “blessing”. Ever thus to the Great Wheel, indeed.

The final passages regarding the Aqshy Crusade call it the Crusade of Fire, a fairly archetypal name but one I'll use nonetheless. The final passage speaks of the horrific dangers of the Great Parch (which sounds frankly rosy compared to some places in the Bloodwind Spoil), and of the legendar endurance of the marching soldiers of Hammerhal Aqsha. The book strikes me as propaganda, which it may still be, but I can safely it is an illuminating and even-handed propaganda piece, remaining incredibly honest about the terrible costs of their previous battles and the perils the Crusaders faced along the way. Although it may seem soft to those of use who march below the banner of Chaos, this was the most brutal struggle of many of these men's lives.

Finally, the book speaks at some length to the known history of Trugg the Troggoth King. Written of only fleetingly, under strange names such as 'Old Stoneshatter' to the Khazalid and 'Grampa Charlie' to the Ironguts. Mostly seen in Ghyran, its appearance in Aqshy was an unclear anomaly to me – it passed through a realmgate, but where was this realmgate, and how was it led there?

On its back is a great realmgate of its own, built by druids in a long-ancient past while Trugg slept beneath Androceia (a land my research has availed precious little about), seeking to protect themselves from Nurgle's plagues. However, the gate they built was limited in utility – it could not serve as a portal to anywhere except the fringes of the realms, where their energy is focused through the strange gate. Trugg's current form is most affected by the damage wrought to the leystone in the Age of Chaos – given to great Ghyranite elements of regal beastliness, he grew horns and his own natural vines and plants.

Overall, Trugg is a terrifying entity, not just for its strength and size, but for the terrifying focus of life and fire that flares in a rage on its back. Whether healing its already impossibly-dense form, or casting flame on Trugg's enemies, he is a force to be reckoned with, nearly resembling a sorcerer in his own way. That he is loosed on the Mortal Realms now after centuries asleep bodes ill for us all.

[xkeyon]

Cathay in Age of Sigmar

Since we don't know what the Old World is doing for Cathay & Kislev I am supporting the idea of them being in AoS in a Kragnos like situation for Order though for Cities & another Grand Alliance Order army that the Dragon Child connects to the most. In the previous End Time story the Dragon Emperor evacuated Cathay survivors so could use something like this where he sacrificed himself to allow them to escape, maybe some magic got them to Mannslieb/Yueyin the moon not blown up & where there mother is from where they then ride out the storm and one day reach the Mortal Realms during the Age of Myth. During it they didn't join Sigmar's pantheon for not wanting to get into the God talk but became close allies and helped fight off the God-Beast and make their own mini Empires each taking on Emperor or Empress. Then the Age of Chaos happen and all communication got lost until present day when Dawnbringer Crusades run into what's left of their empires and have agreed to honour the pacts of old and help them, at least in the Realms they call home. Miao Ying = The Dragon Empress of Ghyran, really her personality war like Alarielle would work well together. Zhao Ming = The Dragon Emperor of Chamon, setting up good relations for his Empire with as many Sky-ports for Trade feels so right. Yuan Bo = The Dragon Emperor of Hysh located on either Aurathrai or Oultrai, being Tyrionic nation maybe he starts to work more for Tyrion and play into a nostalgic feel for days he can't remember. Li Dao = The Dragon Emperor of Aqshy really I see him recreating his relation with the Monkey King with Fire Lodges where both help and Yell at each other. Yin-Yin = The Dragon Empress of Ghur with how really Competitive is Ghur works to this with working with Idoneth Deepkin, having her city forces join in on their raids. Each Dragon gets its own Model and maybe GW makes Sprues for Free Guild troops. Their Cities would all use the same Sprues as I am thinking a little realistic but positive where it can capture some version of Chinese/Eastern Asian feel, just each City goes with an appropriate colour scheme.

[boardgametoday]

Dawnbringers: Book III – The Long Hunt continues the tale of the Twin-Tailed Crusade

Dawnbringers: Book III – The Long Hunt continues the tale of the Twin-Tailed Crusade #warhammercommunity #AoS #AgeOfSigmar #Warhammer

Dawnbringers: Book III – The Long Hunt continues the story as the Aqshian Crusade pushes into the Great Parch where they must battle the Goretide of Khorne. Old allies from the earliest days of Warhammer Age of Sigmar lore reunite for a grudge match against Khorgos Khul. In Ghyran, the Dawnbringers are beset on all sides by teeming hordes of deranged Ogor Gorgers. And a powerful new Sylvaneth…

[adacatlovelace]

"oh you're a warhammer 40k fan? Name every HAMMER" "okay"

Thunderhammers: Forgebreaker Thunderhead Dawnbringer Urdrakule Doomtremor Foehammer Malleus Noctum Maeker Hammer of Baal Veiksell Fist of Dorn Doom of Traitors Dorn's Retribution Hammer of Cadia Lyssanders Judgement Sunderhammer Undeniable Hammer of Truth Astartes Thunderhammer Lathe Pattern Thunder Hammer Stormbearer Heavy Thunder Hammer Doom of Apostasy Doom of Traitors Dread Maul of Skarbrand Undeniable Hammer of Truth Doombringer Herald's Ram Invincible Leviathan-Bane Mjalnar Rockfist Hammer Hammer of Macragge Wrath of the Abyss Darkstar Falling Glory Aeterna

Thunderhammer with Storm Shields: Armaments of Victory Arms of Tanthius Holy Arms of the Champion Honored Fury of the Veteran Malleus Terminatus Might of the Unforgiving Pride of the First Company Unnamed Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield Arms of the Titan The Shield and Thunder of Lyonis

Daemonhammer: God-Splitter Nemesis Daemonhammer Malleus Argyrum Nemesis Daemon Greathammer Twelve Daemonhammers of the Crusade

Power Hammer: Corvus Hammer Genestealer Cult Power Hammer

Ork 'Uge Hammers: GoffHammer

Hammer(Necromunda) Adeptus Mechanicus Siege Hammer Seismic Hammer Graviton Hammer Mass Hammer Concussion Hammer Exactor Kombat 'ammer Meteor Hammer

Things that are technically hammers by name or title: Sanguinius The Grey Knights Hellhammer Hammercloak Hammerfall launcher Hammerstrike launcher Skyhammer Dreadhammer Storm Speeder Hammerstrike Hammerfall Bunker Hammer of Nocturne Wrath Hammer Class Escort Talisman of Seven Hammers Allslayer Hammer Banehammer Stormhammer Cloud-Hammer Hammerhead Gunship

[ladymirdan]

Gets bullied into doing another run in the Dawnbringer Crusade by the store staff*

Sits down at home and realise I can do almost all of it with boxes from my pile of shame/opportunities.

Me who wanted an excuse to buy more stupid shit:

*it was extremely easy, and they didn't really have to say more than, “I'm doing a run for a second point; you seem fast enough at the building to actually succeed with it”.

[ask-rune-priest-ulfric]

Justifications

Bodies were scattered on burning pyres fashioned into effigies that would please the dark mother. Since the birth of the twins the muses had been increasing their attacks against both the forces of the blood god and these “Dawnbringer Crusades” that the godking sigmar hopes will re-civilize the realms. This now purged outpost was merely the latest example of Sigmar’s failures. The Children were spared, Ishabella never had it in her to harm the young. They had potential that could be harnessed. with the right training these young men and women could become great artisans in war. 

One of the slaangors brought the surviving general to face Ishabella and her court. The look of horror on the man's face said it all. The devastation, savagery, the... artistry. It was beautiful even if he could not see it. “This is your chance to join us general, your men fought hard and demonstrated great skill, we always desire for capable artists in our war against those who would stifle us.” The lord of pain; Alcibiadus inquired. “I would rather die than join you degenerates.” The old general defied. Silence fell over the court for a moment as they considered his statement. The foul purple skinned demon with a massive horn and braid then voiced the verdict. “Fine, we will not strip you of your right to choose your fate, so we shall allow our new followers and the never-born sculptures to make art with your body.”

Six Days past, for six days he bled and suffered as he begged for death, On the sixth day the leader of the warband confronted him, wielding a long glaive, she caressed the general with its edge. She was nearly twelve feet tall, long black hair kept back by an elaborate headpiece fell to her waist behind her, Purplish-Grey skin made her resemble these demons who cavorted around her, but she was still distinctly human, four arms each tipped with delicate looking hands with razor sharp nails played with the dangling jewelry that hanged from her clothing. She was clearly a woman going by her body but her androgenous face hinted towards her past. “Do you have any last requests before I give you a magnificent ending” She asked. Her deep amber eyes locked with the face of the dying general. 

He coughed up blood, his vision beginning to fade, he simply asked “Why?” 

Ishabella smiled, this was her favorite question, she began to speak her tale like the old oracles who once ruled her tribe.

“I was there when the worshippers of the blood god broke into my home and slaughtered all those who wouldn’t join them, we worshipped Sigmar like all good people did, but we were a tribe of storytellers and artists, not wanted by the Goretide. ‘Weak’ they called us as the killed my people, the few who tried to fight back did valiantly buying us time for some of us to escape. But then I saw the woman I loved whisked away in a flash of lightning When I tried to save her. I ran, what I lacked in strength I made up for in speed and cunning.”

“Eventually I found others like me, displaced by the Khorne and abandoned by Sigmar, we became each other's muses in our fight for survival, always striving to make more and better art. It’s not our fault that others don’t see our works for what they truly are. I strive to help bring others under my wing and bring out the greatest potential for all of them. Excess in the truest form in our art. The Dark Mother, Slaanesh remade me into a form that allows me to live how I want, be my truest self. Same for all those in my cavalcade. All my generals inspire each other to make art both on and off the field of battle. They are all beautiful and I love them for this. No one will be denied to chance to be excellent, not if I have to destroy all the forces that oppress and hinder us.” She sang her monologue with such passion that those who followed her cried from the sheer beauty of it.  Even in his death throws the old general finally understood this queen’s reasoning. His death was Justified. 

As the life slipped from the general, Ishabella caressed his cheek and gave him a small kiss on his forehead, as the body slumped lifeless. She heard the sound of thunder in the distance. Looking up She saw what most certainly a reinforcement of stormcast, she wondered if her once beloved was among its ranks. “Girls, it’s time for us to leave, while we may not be ready for them yet, we should at least leave a teaser of what lies in store for them” Ishabella commanded. And just like that The Misbegotten Muses vanished back into the desert sands of Aqshy, knowing soon that the sands shall be painted in the pigments of their oppressors. 

[delilinna]

Dawn and Dawnbringer

(I GOT MORE. This one had art, but I took it away because it wasn't up to code (mites)

Contains: Diluc, Diluc x OC, brief mention of blood, google translate Russian (I'm so sorry), me totally being loopy while I rambled about my self insert

This is meant to happen towards the very beginning of Genshin Impact's story, so have fun with that)

The air of Mondstadt was never still. As the City of Wind, a breeze always seemed to whisper through the windmills, gales could be heard singing over the peaks of cliffs, dandelions rippled across the horizon as far as the eye could see. However, it wasn't often that the surging of a roaring flame joined the ambience. Especially in the dead of night.

In a dark alley, far from the prying ears of patrolling knights or the eyes of bystanders, a plume of smoke drifted into Mondstadt's sky in a dark pillar that was almost invisible in the night. The only thing that made it visible, even for a moment, was a flash of gold and red that was followed by a horrible, muffled scream. Diluc Ragnvindr, owner of the Angels Share tavern, stood in that alley. In his right hand he clutched a heavy claymore, caked in ash and its many dents and notches glinting in the light of his glowing vision. In his left, he pressed the face of a Hydro abyss mage into the side of a stone foundation. Or rather, the ashes of what was once an abyss mage. Diluc heaved a deep, steadying breath as the final of these nuisances for the night drifted away on a sudden gale. He often spent his nights like this, patrolling the back alleys of the city, and eradicating any threat he discovered along the way. He felt the Knights of Favonius were missing a huge blindspot especially near the northern gate, which opened straight to a nearly unguarded harbor. So he paid extra attention to it. This paid off more times than he could ever predict, he thought as he stowed his claymore with a faint glitter of light. The Abyss had been growing stronger lately, more coordinated, more tedious to deal with. Diluc didn't like this at all, he felt there was something happening behind the scenes he had not yet discovered. Diluc ran his fingers through his messy bangs to unstick them from his forehead, and with his free hand he pulled a worn pocket watch from a pocket in his long, thick coat. He exhaled as he noted the time, it would be morning soon. Diluc was used to receiving next to no sleep between his crusade against Mondstadt's enemies and his appearances in his tavern, but all the same he had more than just the Abyss to worry about now. He pondered this as he made his way through alleys towards the main gate to the city, and found himself hoping Adelinde had left out something to eat when he returned.

A few weeks ago, two travelers had appeared in the city of Mondstadt. He hadn't met both of them himself yet, but Diluc didn't have to. The entire town was abuzz with rumors, gossip, and tales of what they had both done since arriving in the city. The first of the mysterious women was called Lumine, and from what Diluc had seen from his facade on the sidelines suggested she was not to be trifled with. She had appeared overnight, and in just as little time become a local celebrity. Many sequences of strange events had lead her to lend a hand to nearly every major figure in Mondstadt, from Wagner the blacksmith to (as much as Diluc was annoyed to admit it, even to himself) the Knights of Favonius themselves. Not much was known about the strange swordswoman with golden hair, or the silver-haired fairy who followed her around wherever she went. But Diluc had a sneaking suspicion she wasn't at all the humble Traveler that she claimed to be. And if anything, Diluc had learned to trust his instincts more than anything else these last few years. The second foreigner was... Well, quite simply she was odd. Diluc had gotten a much better look at this one, as since arriving in Mondstadt she had spent most of her nights in his tavern. Almost every night, right as the sun was setting over the city horizon, she would enter the appear like clockwork. She would order the same thing, a glass of sunsettia juice, and then she would find a table far to the back of the room. This table was always open because Diluc's other patrons normally considered it bad seating, as it was further from the action and harder to socialize from. This meant that the stranger had it to herself most nights, and Diluc thought he understood why that would appeal to her. The stranger was widely distrusted by the wider community, unlike the Traveler she was often seen with. While Lumine was considered something of a local hero already, the second stranger was often met with gossip, side glances and deep suspicion. Diluc would be the first to admit he was one of these people who kept an eye on her, for the very first time she had walked into his tavern he had seen all he needed from her. On her left hip, shining like a star, was a Dendro vision. This itself was unusual in Mondstadt, as the city of freedom and song barely had any inhabitants who could be considered scholarly in any way. Not even Lisa, librarian for the Knights, had a mark of the Dendro Archon. But this was only secondary to the real reason everyone was so cautious of the newcomer, for more importantly than the lime green crystal on her hip was it's bearings. There, clear as day, rose the slanted peaks and spikes Diluc had recognized at once as a Snezhnayan vision. Diluc frowned to himself as he took a turn down a side alley, a shortcut he knew quite well.

He didn't know what it was yet, but Diluc was almost certain the second newcomer was affiliated with the Fatui somehow. This suspicion was shared with almost everyone in town, in fact. All but one, interestingly enough. A bard who had recently appeared in Mondstadt himself had approached the Snezhnayan one night, and since then they had become fast friends. Venti seemed to be completely void of all type of caution when it came to her, and through him Diluc had watched the guards of many regular patrons in his tavern start to waver, which only served to raise his guard even higher. The Fatui alone were already a nuisance, but a Fatuus who could worm her way into the good graces of the people of Mondstadt was a dangerous nuisance.

Diluc halted in his tracks, straining his ears. Something had stood out to him over the flow of breeze.

"...don't...struggle...!"

It was faint, in fact if Diluc had been walking much faster he may not have heard it at all over his own footsteps. The voice seemed to have come from somewhere behind him, towards the gate he had just left for the evening. Cursing violently under his breath, Diluc immediately made haste back in the direction he had come from. It felt like far too much time had passed before he could hear a clearer picture of what was going on, and Diluc furrowed his brow as he realized the conflict was moving at an only slightly slower pace to him. He could hear the clinking of blades, grunts of effort, wooshes of air as something cut through it, but most unusually he could hear a sound he hadn't heard before. Diluc hurried his pace even more so, trying to place where he could have ever heard the strange sound before. Well, to be more exact, it was a myriad of sounds. It was like something was rushing through the air with tiny wind chimes streaming behind it over and over again. And without fail there would be an impact, as if something has burst into lighter and smaller pieces. As Diluc hurried, he realized there was something on the ground. A whole trail of somethings, actually. Diluc didn't dare slow his pace, as he felt he was very surely gaining ground on whatever was happening, but he realized as he stepped on a few of them that the trail was made up of dozens of green leaves. As he turned his head to see how long the trail had been going on for, he realized he was watching several meters of leaves behind him glimmer and evaporate into the air. As he rounded the next corner, Diluc suddenly had an idea of what may have been going on.

He was wrong, of course. But his reasoning wasn't far off.

Diluc stopped in his tracks as he rounded the corner. A few meters in front of him, two Fatui agents stood with weapons raised to strike as something apparently went down in the passage in front of them. Diluc could hear blade striking blade, and more of that unusual sound he couldn't place. Even as he watched, the ordeal got stranger.

"Останавливаться! Не сопротивляйся!" One of the agents called in a language Diluc vaguely recognized as Snezhnayan, before he kept to the side to avoid being hit.

This time, Diluc could see what was slicing the air, and by then he did quite literally mean slice. Even as he watched, hiding the majority of his mass behind the corner of a house to avoid being seen too early, a flash of bright green light would have blinded him in the night if he were not already used to such things. As he observed, he realized what he was seeing wasn't a normal spell, but a sword. A sword that had flown over the Fatui agent's head and clinked harmlessly off of the side of the house behind him. Diluc watched as several more flashes erupted from behind the next corner, each growing fainter as the person launching them backed further into the street.

"After her!" The second Fatuus ordered, this time in the common language as he and his associate bolted down the alley.

Diluc hurried after them, this time all caution thrown to the wind. Suspicious activity aside, they were trying to assault someone else. Diluc knew that if whoever they were chasing took the wrong turns, she would end up in a dead end. Which, depending on the Fatui's intentions with her, could be very dangerous. But as he followed the fight, having to duck himself under rogue glowing swords, he was hit with a very unusual surprise. Just as he had suspected, the person they were chasing had unknowingly backed herself into a corner. But Diluc never could have predicted who he saw, back to a stone wall and spellbook shimmering in the air before her. Stood in front of Diluc, focussed on 3 fully armed and readied Fatuus between the two of them, was Snezhnayan girl he had been so suspicious of. She looked awful, honestly. Her hair was frizzing, there were cuts up and down her arms, and she had a wild, frightened look in her eye that cleared many of Diluc's reservations about her affiliations on the spot. But all the same, he hadn't been spotted yet in the dark, so he would wait until the last moment. Just until he knew what was going on.

"Давай, тебе некуда идти." The Fatuus leading the group spoke up again in the Snezhnayan language, walking forward and forcing the girl to back further into the alley. "Просто сдавайся и иди с нами."

"нет!" Coughed the girl, heaving from the long chase and the effort of maintaining her attacks. Even as Diluc watched, the vision on her hip glowed so brightly it could light most of the alley all on its own. "I'm not going back, not now, not ever!"

"You can argue all you want, miss Zimanfisa." The Fatui agent sighed, and Diluc summoned his weapon once more as his blades started to glow red with Pyro energy. "But I'm afraid you are coming with us, whether you like it or not."

Diluc didn't give any of the Snezhnayans time to react, this was his time to strike if he wanted this to end quickly. Faster than any of them could react, Diluc had slung his sword and made contact with the shoulder of the agent on his left. They stumbled and collided with the wall of the alley so hard that he was obviously dazed, which gave Diluc a moment to focus his energy on his next swing. The leader had caught on and dived, but the second agent was not so lucky. Quick as a flash Diluc had jammed the pommel of his claymore harshly into the Fatuus' stomach.

"What in the-!" The leader turned to react to the sudden attack, and the girl reacted without missing a beat.

A green, glowing barrage of swords hurled through the air and landed themselves straight into the leader's chest. Instead of cutting him to ribbons like Diluc would have assumed, each burst into a cloud of green leaves as soon as they hit their target. It still looked to him like they hurt an awful lot, but clearly their power didn't lie in their physical damage. Fine by him, Diluc could think of plenty of ways to use the application of Dendro to his advantage. He didn't have much time to consider this however, as the Fatui agent he had struck first recovered.

"Stay out of this!" He growled, raising the massive knives he held on either arm and prepared to strike, but he didn't get a chance to.

"No!" The girl frantically shouted, panicking much worse than before. "Leave him out of this!"

But the agent didn't listen, and made a dash. There was a horrible sound of metal against metal that was so loud it rung in the ears of everyone around to hear it. But sure enough, when everyone's eyes could focus again they only saw Diluc forcing his claymore to exit the body of the Fatuus as he crumpled to the ground, unmoving. The second Fatuus went in for an attack of his own while Diluc's blade was unusable, and Diluc raised his fist to conduct Pyro and repel it, but he found he didn't need to. As the Fatui agent got close enough, he suddenly fell flat out of Diluc's line of site, right on his head. When Diluc looked down, he realized strong, dark roots had sprung from the paved stones beneath his feet, and as he trailed his eyes down the path of them he saw the girl knelt to the ground with her hand outstretched in his direction, staring directly at him as though worried she hadn't reacted in time. This proved to be her critical mistake, as in her haste to protect Diluc she had left herself wide open, and the leader of the Fatui squad seized that opportunity immediately by tackling the girl. Diluc made to advance towards them, but he was stopped.

"Don't you come any closer!" The leader demanded, holding the girl close to his front with one arm and keeping a blade close to her throat with the other. "If you don't surrender immediately, the girl dies!"

Diluc frowned, having to resist the urge to roll his eyes. He already saw how this whole thing was going to end. What the agent had failed to notice in his haste this time was that he was, unfortunately for him, glowing a faint green that pulsed with the crystal on the girl's hip. The girl stared silently at Diluc, hoping against hope that he knew what she was trying to tell him. To her horror however, Diluc didn't at all react the way she had hoped. Instead of trying to subtly ignite the trail of roots the girl had left for him, Diluc charged the agent. He raised his claymore in his right hand, looking as though he was preparing to strike. The Fatui agent, in a moment of panic, immediately took the bait and lashed out at Diluc's undefended chest, but he only managed to graze an arm as Diluc suddenly twisted to grab the agent's coat with his left hand. All at once, the world became a blaze that blinded everyone in that alley. When the inferno had subsided enough for the girl to let her forearm down from her eyes, where it had been in reaction to the pyre, all evidence of all 3 agents had been burned away. And before her stood a very tired, very angry, slightly injured Diluc Ragnvindr.

The girl took a step back, away from Diluc and almost pressing herself against the wall again as she readied for an attack, but it never came. Instead, Diluc fell to one knee, and thrust the blade of his claymore into the ground as support to hold himself up. The girl held her hands up to her chest as she danced from foot to foot, looking panicked as she gave him a thorough look over from a distance. But luckily, the only real injury seemed to be a gash on Diluc's arm.

"A-are you alright?!" She gasped, nearly out of breath from the entire incident. Without thinking she stepped forward to get a better look at Diluc's injuries, only to stop at once as soon as he put a hand out to stop her.

"Keep your distance..." Diluc huffed, slowly regaining his bearings as he confirmed the agents had been dealt with. "I'm not finished with you yet..."

The girl bit her lip, and Diluc could hear the anxious shuffling of her feet even if she didn't move closer to him.

"You're... You're injured...-"

"I will deal with that later." With a deep inhalation, Diluc braced himself on his sword and lifted himself back onto his feet. Once he had regained his bearings, he fixed his fiery gaze upon the girl. "Explain yourself."

The girl's eyes widened with her anxiety. "Master R-Ragnvindr, please, you-"

"Explain. Now." Diluc growled, gaining a better footing every moment. The gash on his arm was superficial at most, and it hurt less and less every passing moment. "I have had enough runaround for one evening."

The girl flinched, and instead of holding her hands close to her chest they flew downwards to clench the deep purple ruffles of her skirt hem. She chewed her lip some more, before she looked up to meet Diluc's eyes (albeit flickering to the side every so often.) "They... They wanted to bring me home."

Diluc's frown deepened, that was both very vague and infuriating. Sensing his annoyance, the girl hurried her explanation.

"I-I ran away, alright?! My father is a very powerful man, he must have asked these agents to tail me-"

"If your father is so desperate to have you returned," Diluc grumbled, using his uninjured arm to help stretch the other. "Why has he enlisted the Fatui of all people? Your story doesn't add up at all-"

Diluc paused, realizing that even he didn't have a pain tolerance so high. He looked down at his injured arm... Only to find it wasn't injured anymore. The blood that had been pouring from him was still staining his coat and would be annoying to clean, but even as he watched what had once been a sizeable cut was shrinking, turning pink and then silver into scar tissue. By the time he had comprehended what was happening, the scar had faded, leaving only the skin of his arm behind. Albeit, with less hair where the cut had once been.

Diluc looked up, and lunged as he saw the heels of the Snezhnayan girl's boots disappear over a railing above him, but instead he had to keep himself from falling on his face. Cursing loudly, he looked down and glared at what had hindered his chase. The same roots that had tripped up his previous attacker had surged in growth exponentially and laced themselves around his boots without him noticing at all. And what's more, he realized he could still feel traces of Dendro energy in his body as the glow of the roots faded into nothing. He ripped himself free of the roots, and looked up at the balcony where the girl had disappeared. Not only had she escaped his questioning, she had healed his wounds and prevented pursuit without alerting him at all. If he had noticed the roots before the healing, he would have reacted first and asked questions later. It was smart of her to keep him talking, he had to give her that.

Diluc fumed at the encounter the entire long walk to his home at Dawn Winery, and even as he climbed into his bed after barely taking the time to remove his boots and coat. The sun had begun to stain the night sky purple and orange on the horizon before Diluc had begun to fall asleep, but he had decided one thing was of the utmost priority the next time he encountered the girl with the Dendro vision as the little sleep he would get before Adelinde woke him up again crept into his mind.

"I cannot let her escape next time."

[farsight-the-char]

Good Looking Dudes.

The finest officers amongst the Dawnbringer Crusades are all trained by the military academies of their respectives cities, but few have hit the books as hard as Freeguild Marshals. Each is a master tactician and a veteran combatant, and they bring these hard-won lessons to bear on the battlefield.

The Relic Envoys who accompany these commanders are hand-picked from the finest squires of the next generation of soldiers. These brave attendants risk their lives to run orders through the heat of combat, bringing their Marshal’s will directly to the front lines.

They also tend to carry some artefact or relic from their family line – particularly morbid mementos may even be blessed with death rites, allowing the mummified heads of revered relatives to whisper advice (or embarrassing anecdotes) from beyond the grave.

Also some nice Variants, inlcuding a proper Warhammer.

[cursed-40k-thoughts]

if I had a nickel for every "this is bad because it's not the empire from whfb" under a model preview for a new dawnbringer crusades kit I'd have enough money to buy an army in australia at MSRP

At this point the people who are still pissy about AoS not being like WHF are the equivalent of a kid sitting in the corner of a sandpit, arms crossed, yelling about how he doesn’t want to play with anyone while the other kids ignore him