Into the Thornwood, part 1
The Greylord entered the grand hall, hurrying across the marble floor to a large table, covered in maps and troop deployments.
“Supreme Kommandant Irusk,” he began, bowing. It was a risk to address Irusk while he was deep in thought, but as with all audiences with the Khadoran military leader, he knew his time was brief.
Irusk kept his head bent over the maps, rolling his eyes up to the intruder. “What do the Greylords of the Thornwood require now?”
Given that Irusk led all three of Khador’s great armies with so many thousands of men, the fact that he knew the Greylord had come from the Thornwood was remarkable, a reminder of the genius that stood before him. The Greylord continued “We have unearthed a great Orgoth ruin in the south-west. The artifacts we have recovered are remarkable, but continued excavation has been hindered by-”
“The Cygnarans, yes I know. And the Cryxians advance now as well.” Again the Greylord was caught off guard by the knowledge Irusk had.
“Correct, sir. If we could receive the aid from a Warcaster with a small battlegroup, it would-”
“Impossible. All of the Motherland’s warcasters are otherwise engaged.” Irusk continued studying the maps and altering pins that marked troop deployments for a push southward.
At this an orderly came in from a side door and hurried up to Irusk, silently holding a salute, waiting for acknowledgement. A small sigh escaped Irusk.
“Yes, what news?”, the Supereme Kommandant finally turned from the table. The orderly came closer and spoke in hushed tones. Irusk’s eyebrow raised. They Greylord found it hard to believe that anything suprising ever occurred to Irusk, but clearly it had. Irusk turned back to the Greylord.
“I stand corrected. A warcaster has become available and will be assigned to you at once. Kommander Zoktavir will be reassigned to the 5th Border Legion in support of your efforts.”
The Greylord’s eyes widened in horror. “Sir…Supreme Kommandt, I…we…I thought he was dead. After what happened at Fellig, I mean…”
“Clearly that is not the case, the Sergeant has just informed me the Kommander has returned and is ready for battle.” At a different place and time the thought of the Orsus Zoktavir being “ready for battle” would have brought a laugh, but not here.
“Sir, perhaps the Butch- uh, Kommander Zoktavir could displace another warcaster and we could make use of them instead.”
“Do you now know how many requests for warcaster support High Kommand receives? You should be gracious to the motherland for loaning you one of it’s most vital assets. Instead you try to bargain for another.”
“Many pardons, Supreme Kommandant, I meant no disrespect. The stories of Kommander Zoktavir’s…actions, are well known. We do not wish another tragedy in the Thornwood.”
“With all of the Doom Reavers the Greylords’ control, I do not see how adding a reknown warcaster could prove unmanageable.” Irusk’s eyes bored into the Greylord, issuing a challenge to the Covenant.
“Yessir, thank you sir. Your time is appreciated.” The Greylord offered a shaky salute and hastened from the room.
“Sir, this is a risk.” The sergeant spoke quietly to Irusk once the Greylord had left.
“Indeed, but less of a risk then allowing Zoktavir anywhere else. Perhaps a return to the 5th Border Legion will help ease his mind.” Irusk offered, turning back to his table. “Make it so, sergeant. Send orders at once. And Sergeant, the Kommander’s battlegroup should be limited to start. ‘Jacks and Doom Reavers only, no Winter Guard. And perhaps the Covenant should send a Ternion, if they are so worried about the implications of his presence in the Thornwood.”
Noghannan has issued a painting challenge: a 35pt playable list in the month of August. I do not stand a chance. Nevertheless, the point of a challenge is not so much to win as it is to try. I decided this is an excellent change to get more of my Khador forces painted. I got a 15 pts painted way back when for the Journeyman League. By doing Khador for the challenge instead of my main Cygnar force, I stand a slightly better chance of finishing as I won’t be worried about getting them as nicely done as my Cygnaran forces. I also decided to go with the 5th Border Legion color scheme, since Thornwood green is a much easier color to basecoat with than Khador Red. As one more aide to helping me compete in this challenge I went with as few models as possible, while still having a reasonably playable list. 14 models to paint in a month…
Kommander Orsus Zoktavir – 5th Battle Legion
eButcher +6
– Kodiak 8
– Spriggan 10
– Beast 09 11
Doom Reavers 6
– Greylord Escort (UA) 2
Greylord Ternion 4
As seen above I’ve decide to write a bit of fiction to go along with it. A fiction-challenge to go along with my painting challenge. I’ll also be talking a bit about my list choice, which certainly was effected by model count for the painting challenge, but nevertheless, there are some interesting things to note about this group.