Monday 30 November 2009

Harkaitz - The Herald of Elazar, Bearer of the Glorious Standard

The stories of Harkaitz, amongst the tribes, are many but in truth very little is known of The Herald of Elazar. He has fought alongside the Daemon Prince’s armies as far back as any mortal memory goes and he has witnessed the rise and fall of a great many champions. Legend has it that Harkaitz is the last surviving member of Elazar’s warband from before his ascension, and that is why he has the honour of carrying the Daemon’s banner. This would make Harkaitz centuries old but within the Realm of Chaos such things are possible. Whatever the truth of things his presence in an army is an omen of a great battle to come. Elazar does not send his banner bearer lightly.
The Glorious Standard that Harkaitz carries acts as a vacuum for the souls of those that fall in battle against Elazar’s armies. Dragged into the Realm of Chaos these souls are subjected to endless tortures for Elazar’s pleasure. The wails and screams of the trapped souls can be heard emanating from the banner in a cacophony of suffering. More disturbing still, faces press against the mortal realm from within the banner. They plead for their freedom before they are dragged back by the daemonic minions for more tortures. The sight of one’s fallen comrades begging for deliverance from the next plane is enough to unman many a foe and the mere presence of the banner has turned the tide of many a battle, the resolve of the enemy crumbling the face of such terror.
After the battle Harkaitz can be seen riding back into the chaos wastes to return to his Prince’s side. His name drifting back into legend until the next time he marches to war.
The Daemonic Steed that bears Harkaitz to war is the subject of a great many legends itself. This terrible beast has been named as Gentza by the tribesmen that worship the Daemon Prince. Gentza was the cruel steed gifted to the then mortal Elazar by Slaanesh and Harkaitz’s steed matches all the descriptions in the tribes’ oldest tales. However, Gentza is said to have sired many offspring and these spawn of the daemon mount are given as gifts to those warriors who earn Elazar’s favour. Some of them wholly Daemonic, others an impure mix of horse and daemon.
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The Glorious Standard (counts as Banner of the Gods).
Unnerving foes and inspiring acts of devotion from Elazar's servants, the banner is a thing of pure chaos. Anguished howls of the fallen echo across the battlefield and promise the ruin of all who oppose the Glorious Host...
The presence of The Glorious Standard has such an effect on the combatants of a battle that the bearer causes Terror. Also, all friendly units within 6” of the banner become Stubborn.















7 comments:

Max said...

Niiiiice

Unknown said...

very well done, virtually seamless! but just a thought; the hourglass (although painted well) draws the eye to the blue used, I think it distracts due to the bright color.

Anonymous said...

He came up tops - well done. I was withholding judgement on the banner when you first posted the WIP, but it came out realy well - seamless blending making it look like the heads are emerging from the fabric.

I really love how you have mastered the snow effect on the base - it could have ruined the whole model if not done properly - well done.

noeste said...

Harkaitz has turned out a great model, hope he was well recieved on sunday!

While I like the hourglass a lot, I think Ricalope might be onto something.. Mayhaps it'd work if you'd add the same blue to the extreme highlights of the tail and other hair on the model, his cloak and such, just very subtle, barely enough to be seen, then you'd sort of "balance out" the blue?
There's no doubt about it being wonderfully painted, though, but with all the gold and so little blue, it becomes very heavy with contrast.

Mordian7th said...

Simply gorgeous model. The colors are subtle but effective and the snow effect is really well done. Awesome work all around, can't wait to see what's next!

Elazar The Glorified said...

Thanks a lot guys for all the great comments. Just a couple of responses to specific points.

Ricalope: Hmm I hadn't noticed that before. I will fix it at some point but it's still got that new mini feeling and I'm still at that point where I'm scared to do anything to it incase it goes wrong. It'll pass once he's died in a few games!

Rogue Pom: Thanks! Glad you think the snow and the banner came out alright. They were two areas that I was very concerned about.

Noeste: Thanks for your comment :) Yes, he was well received. He won the fantasy section of the painting competition but better than that my son won the kids' competition :) I'll be posting some pics in another post in a few days. I didn't get any good ones as the lighting was poor but somebody with a better camera has some so I'm trying to get a hold of them all! It's an interesting solution to the hour glass problem. Might have to give it a go, but as I say he's still in that period of grace where I daren't add any more paint! :D

Again, thanks to everyone for commenting!

Kuffeh said...

This looks great dude, a well painted mini and nice touches to the base. I love the use of purple and green/cream on the minis, its not too strong to bring the eye to only one area of the mini. Nice work.