As a grand tragedy of epic proportions, the Horus Heresy novels are notorious for the diverse array of themes woven into the narratives, not least of which is the burden of command and the horrific choices faced by leading characters as the galaxy descends into the madness of civil war.
When I originally envisaged my Dusk Raiders project, I knew I wanted to capture the halcyon days before the fall, when the Legiones Astartes were reclaiming the galaxy for humanity and the Imperial Truth, before many were tarnished by the discovery of their gene-fathers, and began the irrevocable transformation into the tortured legions we know today (both loyalist and traitor alike).
I also knew, however, that I wanted the project to have a poignant element, an unmistakable sense of foreshadowing to accentuate the bittersweet taste of foreknowledge. In the case of the Dusk Raiders, this came in part through the general lore of their fall to Chaos under Mortarion, but I wanted something a little sharper and more personal. Hence I decided early on, that my force would be led by Ullis Temeter, the ill-fated Captain of the 4th Great Company, doomed to die in the arms of the redoubtable Huron-Fal on the killing fields of Istvaan III in chapter 9 of Flight of the Eisenstein.
Ullis Temeter and Huron-Fal became two of my first, minor kitbashes using the Legion Praetors from Forgeworld and two simple head swaps. As I am not a fan of unhelmeted models (partly due to a dislike of painting faces, partly because of ‘rule of cool’), this consisted of a Cataphractii Helm from Games Workshop’s plastic set, and the Mk.III helm with transverse plume which comes with the Rapier Laser Destroyer crew (a trick I later repeated for my Legion Moritat, the Ash-Maker).
Putting together Ullis Temeter’s command squad was much more of a slow-burn project, as I needed to pull together several disparate sets of parts, such as Forgeworld’s Legion Command in Mk.III warplate, a set of Volkite Chargers, left-over resin torsos from my Legion Destroyer squads, sheathed and unsheathed (power-) Gladiuses from Pop goes the Monkey (not to mention their Mk.III Dusk Raider pauldrons), and a few other incidental bits and pieces (such as grenades, laurels, etc.). The crowning glory would also be a custom decal from Fallout Hobbies, featuring the Dusk Raider’s seal, with some additional flourishes.
Bringing all of these elements together was an absolute pleasure, and has left me with a force that really echoes the sentiments I was hoping to capture, as well as continuing to harken back to the Rogue Trader -era schemes (juxtaposed with the Vision of Heresy Death Guard artwork) which were the inspirations for this project. It also encouraged my other creative passion, writing, and a small narrative piece that stands as the introduction to this project, and others which link to it.
So, without further ado I present to you my good and dear friend, Ullis Temeter, Praetor of the 4th Company of the XIVth Legiones Astartes Dusk Raiders…
