ARBITRACOM's Pencil Drawings

Triple feature today.

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Upon her opened palm, bent gravity and warped light amalgamated into the lengthening shadow of an aurora. In her skeletal hand was, then, a skeleton key: an immense sword, sparking iridescent with the fractal un-colours of her Raum everted. The weapon, until now kept by her sister, the price and the sacrifice.

A deep hum rumbled as she flourished it, incalculable fury translated into deathly grace.

At the apex of this sweeping move, a thin yet furious blaze sparked off the sword's broken tip, crawling down the length of the killing edge like a spill of oil catching fire.

A burning red line, a crimson threshold enkindled by reality's bleeding. Glinting off the setting sun: a shimmer of demise.

Shuuen No Kagayaki (Shimmer of Demise), the Light of Annihilation. The mystical sword kept by Musashi within herself and wielded only by Yamato, true manifestation of her singular wrath reaching across spacetime against all empires who failed to the judgment of history.

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Revision of the new Rangdan Cognivore.



The King's on His Throne,

His Kingdom only a Desert,

though Peaceful it is not!

Wearing nothing but His Mind,

A Snare and a Crown,

A Nimbus and a Noose both!



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And finally, the renewed Rangdan Agri-Colossus, also known as the Animavore, the first Rangdan illustration that started this series.

 
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I don't have a whole lot insightful to say about these, but I love them! :D
 
You, who have lost your memories; now in front of you, stands she whose memories are not her own.

Surtr, the Twilight Aflame.



Surtr from Arknights, a catalyst I made for her banner!
 
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The name "Macrovore" given to one of the Rangdan forms is actually a flawed transcription that stuck due to the appropriately massive scale of both threat and size of the creature.

The actual intended name is Machairavore - the Eater of Battles. Unworld Amalgam, the Coiled Hunt.




"Past a certain point - that is, yes, Empire's point, there'll be no difference between man and beast.

No difference between battle and slaughter, between hunt and butcher, between war and murder.

All just - numbers.

IT has come to remind us this."
 
Some sketches from last night: an Observant of the Office of Accountability, II Legion, and a Moderator of the Conseile Judiciat, XI Legion.








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Truly, we are already aware of the charges of defeatism and unprogressive spirit levied upon our office.

But it is the case that ultimately at the end of every policy cycle, we arrive upon the same dead-end, whereby we are faced with the ultimate matter of Him On Earth, the Golden Hegemon.

To whom is He accountable?

This question is a Damocles three-quarters of a way down to mankind's collective throat.

We are less interested with what the ongoing spiritual and ideological struggle within the XVII represents in particular for that legion and their Genesire, than what it represents in general of the nature of Mankind's self-appointed Tyrant.

For that matter, this issue will come to a head soon to that Legion. We predict with total confidence a violent, physical realignment that will permanently disabuse the XVII Legion institution of their core beliefs, and we are afraid that we have not the capacity to handle the probability blooms resulting from such an event. Our psychohistoric predictions invariably depict a chaotic spray.


Nevertheless, XVII's Sir Lorgar is functionally correct that:

His faculties are those of a God.

His thoughts are those of a God.

His actions are those of a God.


Of course, these He denies in vehemence. And in denial, He completes His feats of Godhood in assuming total inaccountability.

Having denied connection to baseline humanity through the scale of His Imperial Project, He subsumes and supersedes all mortal and material authority.

Yet having denied also godhood, He is also therefore not answerable to any spiritual authority other than His own, which He claims to not want, but nevertheless enforces where it benefits Him.

As we navigate the structures and policies espoused by this growing Imperium, it has become clear that it, and by extension He, for in His Godhood this is what He shaped, has no interest whatsoever in material, transitional, and redistributive justice.

We are left to ask what is it that remains for us and the project of Universal Humanism to do, growing as it does in the belly of this dying beast.

Will we only grow flowers to be put on humanity's new chains?

Or is there a way to butcher and digest this Godhood?

Our inquiry remains.


Nemesis, nemesis, justice unescapable.
 
The powerful Spearsaints are one of the most visible throwbacks to the Revelators' revolutionary past in the already spectacle-loving legion. The elite melee cadre's armament and livery are references to the mercenaries and royal guards of Patmos who chose to cast off their imperial employers and paymasters: in recognition of their service, they are allowed to maintain their martial colours and traditions under the banner of the revolution, and the spears are honoured as one of the three arms of the revolution alongside the dockworkers' harpoon and the farmers' scythe.

Today the long-bladed greatspear is but one of the Saints' preferred weapons, who will regularly also bring a longsword or a cleaver, and a short-range high-impact sidearm alongside. Due to the flexibility demanded of the role, Terminator armour is eschewed in favour of highly-customized artificer suits, and it is only recently that the Saints trialled limited usage of the new advanced Tartaros armour.

The popular name of the unit as the "Mountains" - Troupes Montagne - might mislead observers to assume a simple protective role to these warriors; others compared them, favorably or otherwise, to the black-clad Justaerin Terminators of the Luna Wolves.

In truth, the Spearsaints are as dexterous and flexible as their Legion, pragmatic and adaptable to the rapidly changing situation of a battle, even or especially in the chaos of melee combat, where the XI Legion revels in their talent of inflicting friction and dysfunction against the enemy organization. Due to this the Spearsaints usually deploy as interlocking small formations, rearranging and splitting themselves as necessary and de-emphasizing the overt role of individual unit leaders in favour of coordinated joint action.




A Spearsaint, clad in one of his legion's few Tartaros armour and wielding a horsegutter greatspear, sits mockingly in repose upon the captured throne of a non-compliant monarchy.
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>> And yet you wear a crown yourself!

Indeed Sir, I do, indeed we do, for this is not a universe where humility will always win.

'tis merely the value of appearance, not even skin-deep. No heritage, no divinity.

Just a hat that does not even keep the rain out.

Our crown, to the destruction of all other crowns; after which, we will rid ourselves of ours. That, is a promise.

May I live to see that day.

You though, your reign has been overlong. Cast that off, or be your head taken with it.
 
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Still not satisfied with how the Macrovore's humanoid head looks, but the paper is already a bit too worn, so I've made a full portrait:

Machairavore, Unwar Amalgam. The Coiled Hunt, Eater of Battles.




War is a terminally propagating pattern.

All of them who planted this single flower will for eternity have no choice but to eat its bitter fruit;

Into this fire they will cast their conscience as kindling, and their understanding as oil;

Leaving behind only a vast tearing gulf, empty save for an abyss of regret and the cost of their lies.


Here the rider and the horse is one; within this Coiled Hunt, red in flesh and white in bone, the beast and the spearbearer is the same.

IT turns to face You now, o God-Emperor mine, King of Kings.

With so many eyes and so many faces it has perceived this overtaking Structure.

With so many teeth in its mouth bared and with its tongue so long;

Wrapped around that spear in truedark rendered, its judgment pronounced;

In violence epistemic, the only language You will ever understand.
 
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A Centipede legionnaire, pictured here in a "rounding the corner" position, presenting the armoured continuity of his pauldron, buckler, and leg armour. He carries a FL-FDC (Fabrique Legionis - Fusil de Chasseur) Type 17 "Hasard"/"Nobsbane" heavy automatic shotgun, a hexagonal buckler, and a sheathed power falcata. The pattern on his shield depicts the "Mustachioed Man", a common motif with many variations in the Revelators legion.




Centipedes, Heavy Assault Squad.

In line with the XI Legion's overarching doctrinal focus aiming for the degradation and destruction of the enemy's structural organization and cohesion through spectacle and tactical mischief, the Centipedes stand as one of the premier incarnations of this singular goal. Though not invincible to be sure, they compromise nothing in their effort and mastery of their chosen aspect of warfare.

Whereas the later-formed Colorguards represent the XI Legion's tactical sophistication and refinement of techniques, the Centipedes are simple and reliable instruments of direct assault - a force trained and equipped to strike at the enemy's strongest points. Drawing from the experience of facing Orkish mobs and many other adversaries larger in both size and numbers, the Centipede's promise is to enter and resolve any tactical situation, no matter the magnitude.

Harsh experience from the Legion's early days of marginalization, culminating in the near-cataclysmic struggle to save Pneumogen from the WAAAGH!!! Gruhtzegg Greenklaw, provided the impetus for the development of the Centipede program as a way to integrate and utilize these lessons in the interactions of shock and mass.

Under the direction of then-Premier of the 4th Contingent, Jacobin Magdragal and aided by cross-training with Pneumogenian military, the Centipedes were in their initial form a cadre of close-quarters and urban warfare experts, and though their dicta would expand alongside the Legion's growth, this aspect would still form the core identity of the cadre. Rapid assault weaponry such as shotguns and carbines, as well compact melee weapons such as axes, shortswords, and razorfists are an integral part of the Centipedes' armata, and their trademark set of segmented armour and buckler provides circumspect protection at little cost to mobility and flexibility.

Later study and joint exercises with the Montagnards of Serdyukar augmented the Centipedes with an affinity for verticality and patient ambushes befitting their namesake predator arthropod. Notably, the Centipedes have in recent days inspired their own offshoot: the expansion of the Legion's armada created a demand for troops dedicated to boarding and void action. Centipede veterans in the 3rd Echelon (Mobile) formed the nucleus of what would become known as the Fireflies - true space marines intended for shipborne operations, the formations of which would be standardized Legion-wide. In this, the Centipedes have truly embodied their other common name - the Troupes Myriad.
 
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It is
time


God wept through gouged eyes.

- All those eyes He chose not to see out of - the eyes of understanding, the eyes of humility - the eyes and judgment of history.

And what do I see?

- What do you see?

I see a fear's genesis.

I see a mirror, gleaming, bright, glass burned from the sand of the untime desert.

- A reflection, but it's not looking back. In the mirror I am without face.

I see a light snuffed by a pinch of vast fingers from a vast hand.

- A shadow, yet it's running away.

An effigy.

- A tombstone with my name on it; the grave open, empty, waiting.

A joke.

- A truth.

A mockery of Empire.

- Unity is not real.
- It wasn't real when He demanded it with golden fists and without justice.
- It is not real now compared to unthought.

I see us all.

- Mankind served on the silver platter of hegemony.
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The Rangdan Chronovore, Untime Amalgam, a Mirror Lost. The first of all Rangdans and actuator of their counter-hegemonic responses.
with the lore taken and slightly revamped from the old, old Cerebravore's.
 



Albatross Unit, Guarda Avanti - Combined Assault Vanguards

"Sequere Nostram Ignis" (Follow Our Fire)

Distinctive in their mottled white colours, the Albatross Unit is the Second Legion's first-strike instrument of choice. Their mission profile, reflected in their motto and indicative of the "Combined" in their moniker, is to perform hard and fast opening attacks via aerial or amphibious insertions, paving the way for subsequent Legion units and redeploying and providing rolling cover as necessary as part of the Legion's joint, networked doctrine of warfare.

One of the first 'elite' units with widespread renown in the whole of the Legiones Astartes, the Albatross Unit did not achieve fame for surgical attacks that singlehandedly overturned entire battles, nor from the exceptional nature of their arsenal; rather, their steadfast reliability and irrepressibly flexible nature complimented the skillful execution of their doctrine to earn them immense respect and goodwill from the Imperial military, gradually contributing to the lifting the Legion's status from derisive statements of being overbred Auxilia to acclaimed masters of maneuver warfare.

The Albatross represents thus not only the pinnacle of II Legion's expertise in their chosen mode of land-air-sea warfare, but also their central tenets of humility and professionalism.
 
A refinement of the above sketch:



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As well, I will use this chance to post some earlier drawings related to this project that I haven't posted here:



An earlier portrait of an Albatross.



An Operative of the Serpentarius Unit, Special Task Group.

"None beyond sight, none beyond reach."
- motto of the Serpentarius Unit

The Serpentarius Special Task Group, or the Snake-Eaters, is a specialized formation within the Feather Marshals legion tasked with countering the deployment of hostile stealth capabilities - the hunting of the enemy's own more subtle special forces. Signature to the unit is the GAMAYUN Array - a sophisticated combat network and multispectral sensors package linked to the Ophiuchus bolt rifle, a specialized bolter design firing intelligent guided bolts.



Serdyukar, Regiment de Montagnards.

The Serdyukars or Serds are a flexible light infantry regiment specializing in mountainous and low-temperature combat environments. Adept survivalists equipped with sophisticated climbing gear, protective suits, and often ski and parachuting equipment, Serdyukars are able to exploit terrain thought unnegotiable by other infantries.

Detachments of Serdyukars are often found accompanying Feather Marshals formations.
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Their name is a portmanteau of Serdyukov and Sardaukar.




Sketch of a soldier of the Pneumogen Delvers, stalwart mortal compatriots to the XI Legion, Revelators. The Delvers are a force of heavily-protected infantry adept at Zones Mortalis combat in cramped and hazardous conditions.




An Illusionist Librarian of the XI Legion armored in cuttlefish motif. Illusionists specialize in the manipulation of lights and colours with bright, festive distractions, creating psychic phantom armies and tricks of light to grab the enemy's attention.



Granmestre Erythromarchus, Leviathan-class dreadnought of the XI Legion's Conseile Requiem, depicted with siege claws, hyperviolet incinerator, and Xenocide-era panoptic counter-conceptual array.
 
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A Flugelstahl in adapted Cataphractii armour, armed with the Type 26 "Murglays"/"Deathbrand" Magnetic Stormcannon and Flaresword Gauntlet with integrated Las-Pulser.




Flugelstahl Unit, Guarda Tremefacta - Mobile Impact Force

"Habilis, Agilis, Tremendae" (Able, Agile, Tremendous)

The Flugelstahl Unit of the II Legion Feather Marshals holds the distinction as the only jump- and flight-capable Terminator units in the entirety of the Legiones Astartes.

Terminators of the II Legion were initially outfitted as a typical heavy shock and intervention force. In the period of refitting and reorganization following the reunion with their Primarch, the role of the Terminator-armoured units were slated to be augmented and revised, with key design requirements aiming for supreme flexibility. An ensuing program of joint study and development with the XI Legion Revelators, XIX Legion Raven Guard, as well as the Magi of several Forgeworlds resulted in the first generation of jump-capable Terminator suits with extensive sensory and data integration with the legion's joint tactical network, able to rapidly mobilize and deploy precision ordnance fire into key tactical situations without dependence on teleportarium arrays.

Crucial to the technological breakthrough that enabled the Unit were new powerplants of exceedingly powerful and compact design. These reactors powered the signature winged flight arrays of the Unit, as well as an extensive suite of sensory integration and battle management systems. Instead of the massive shield capacity of the baseline Cataphractii, protection is provided by an interlocking ecology of active countermeasures, electronic warfare systems, and reactive armour.

The very first Terminators to be so adapted into the famed "Flugelstahls" were Cataphractii, and the II Legion then continued to refine and integrate these modifications to the incoming batches of Indomitus armour received by the Legion, with which most of the Flugelstahls in the Legion's prime were equipped.

The Flugelstahl Unit were never deployed lightly - they are the highest step of the II Legion's Escalation Ladder not involving the usage of superheavy assets and ordnance, naval support, esoteric arsenal, or the Primarch himself. Yet the exceptional combination of their firepower, mobility, and protection left indelible marks in those theatres dire enough to warrant their presence; it is hoped, to bring swift resolution and prevent greater loss of life. Thus were their other name given: Peace's Thunder.
 
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Demonic Spoon said:
They're both quite good but I actually found the more faded out and fuzzy outlines of the first sculpture more unsettling for what it's worth. :)
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Thank you! :D

I'm glad you like them both! To be honest I feel similarly regarding the previous iteration, yet at the same time I wanted to bring up more details and strengthen the linework.

It's still a fair assessment however, and I appreciate it! It means a lot to me!
 
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