Harrow'e'en on Ophatran Secundus

 

Excerpt from Esoteric Pilgrimage Destinations of the Gothic Sector, Volume 7, by Adept Matthias Laetorius. 

The attentive reader has likely deduced that the citizens of Ophatran Secundus celebrate an unusually high number of holidays, some of which can be traced to the pre-industrial era of the planet, or even to Holy Terra. One such event is Harrow’e’en, celebrated in ancient times as a harvest festival and tied to primitive ideas about the nature of spirituality. Harrow’e’en now coincides with the traditional yearly arrival of the Emperor’s Tithe Fleet, and is celebrated a day before the first voidship docks with the orbital stations above Ophatran Secundus.”

The arrival of the interstellar voidships cause many  citizens of Ophatran Secundus great concern. The local Ministorum Preachers teach that the veil between the Empyrean and reality is at its thinnest on Harrow’e’en. Hostile warp entities are said to cling to the ships and make their way to the planet surface on this day. Pious citizens  practice reciting prayers and charms in the preceding weeks to protect themselves. They must put their warding phrases into practice if they happen to meet the ‘Spirit of the Warp’ and its attending procession as they go about their daily business.”

 

 

Within each neighborhood, a particularly pious citizen dresses in a fearsome ‘Spirit of the Warp’ costume, and is accompanied by members of the Adepta Sororitas. The Sisterhood round up and test citizens who happen to be outdoors, to make sure they can recite their prayers correctly. Successful recitations are awarded a purity seal, and those who have neglected their duties are taken to be chastised and re-educated. In some districts, children that successfully recite their prayers to the Spirit’s entourage  are awarded fanciful costumes and roam the streets, seeking out citizens for the procession to round up.”

28Mag Downtrodden Challenge - Lucinda, Adept of the Holy Guild of Wax Reclaimators

 

Lucinda heard the faint gravitic motors of the cherubs in the darkness. She had barely made it back to her station before the graceful drones started placing their candles in front of the fresco. Struggling to catch her breath, Lucinda mouthed a short prayer and began scraping the accumulated wax. 

 

As a hereditary member of the Holy Guild of Wax Reclaimators (a sub division within the Terran Adeptus Administratum), Lucinda's hopes for advancement from the dank and dreary lower crypts depended upon her efficiency and dedication. 

 

 

 

A mere fortnight prior, Lucinda had finally caught Adept Mendecia dripping wax remnants on her recently cleared banisters in a duplicitous and vile plot to defame her and tarnish her record. The nearby and long neglected Crypt 24, sub level V, had no traffic. No one would find Mendecia's corpse before the vicious rodents that lurked there scattered her remains...

 

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This was my entry for 28Mag's "Downtrodden" challenge. From their site:

"Whether called to the service of an Inquisitor, a Rogue Trader or a Magos of the Machine Cult, toiling endlessly at a task that has lost all meaning or purpose, or indeed carefully completing a thankless duty that is nevertheless critical to Imperial society (sanitising public vox-units?), this challenge is about bringing some identity and personality to those countless billions of grey-clad drones, the numberless masses of humans that work to keep the Imperium running far away from the endless wars of the Dark Millennium.

Submissions to this challenge should depict a single broadly human non-combatant character – not a servitor or an abhuman; we want to see faces from the faceless masses of humanity – and detail

a) who they are

b) what department or function they serve."

I wanted to set mine up to incorporate what has become known as a "Grillet Box" (after the artist credited with coming up with the idea). It is essentially a box or container that has built in scenic items or textures so it can serve as a backdrop or storage unit. 

Here's some WIPs:

Lucinda is a Fireforge zombie villager with a Statuesque head and some greenstuff and plasticard. The torso required cutting to get the right twist, along with four different arm parts. The cherub is an old plastic christmas ornament- I'm sadly running out of them. I used two on my Omnissiah build.

 

The build is mostly composed of Hirst Arts blocks and some 3D printed parts.

 My inspiration for the mural is a Gothic period fresco found in the Castello della Manta in Italy. It was pretty fun reading about the region, and the fresco subjects- nine women representing the "Nine Worthy Women". 

Pretty happy with the way this one turned out, although I need to finish the other side of the box :)