BLACK LEGION CHAMPION SโVrah Vssilisk – the Venom Eye
“๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐; ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐.’
Entombed within the depths of a Space Hulkโ The Sin of All Things – SโVrah slept.
It drifted aimlessly, without direction, lost to infinity. The Children of the Eye happened upon this macro conglomeration, a misfiring warp drive, plunging them back into real space within scanning distance of the Hulk. A boarding party found seven Astartes Sarcophagi, with only one remaining operational.
Upon awakening, the surviving warrior found himself completely alone, save for the guns of Black Legion upon him. S’Vrah had a single question to ask before meeting his end.
โWho won the war?โ
SโVrah had operated within a covert cadre of the VIIIth Legion, deployed in advance of the primary fleet during the drive toward Terra. Tasked with deep-territory recon, terror tactics, and intelligence gathering, he was conditioned for a war of shadows.
His integration into the Black Legion was driven by necessity rather than loyalty. Donning the Black and Gold of the only legion to arise from the ashes of the Heresy, he took to his new life with admirable ease. S’Vrah had never shared the cruelty of his peers, seemingly untainted by Kurze’s affliction.
Subsequent interactions with surviving warbands of the VIIIth Legion have done nothing to shift his perspective; S’Vrah disdains his former brothers, possessing no desire to rejoin their ranks or seek their camaraderie. Operating as an adept assassin, saboteur, and master of psychological terror, he directs his focused malice as a precise weapon, avoiding the self-destructive tendencies of his parent legion.
Every October I paint a Night Lord. Last year I had the pleasure of converting a DMS miniature – unfortunately no longer for sale – for my Black Legion project. Not all who take the oath of the black legion are totally committed to Abaddonโs cause, but are alliances of convenience, or survival.
The Ezekarion, those members of Abaddonโs closest war council, were drawn from all the legions, not just Sons of Horus. This opens up the entire Chaos range for me to recontextualise – to dip in black and gold and fold them into my host.ย
When painting this character, I had the image of him being frozen, alone, cast adrift in the void. A Lone survivor of a war long lost.ย
#spacemarine2 has been a wonderful reference point for what I want to do with the armour.
Iโd like to throw it out there to the community to paint a night lord alongside me this October. F*ck #orktober – this time of the year belongs to the 8th.
If you would like to learn how SโVrah was painted, we have an exclusive Halloween special available on the Patreon right now. Sign up for the ยฃ15 tier, and you gain access to EVERY Black Legion tutorial to date, as well as a library of Heresy Legions, pdfโs, theory, material studies – a generational wealth of painting knowledge, ready to explore
