Tag: Aeldari

3/1-2023 – Debut of the Dragonheart Corsairs

”Ah, it feels great to be out again! It’s no fun at all hiding from those pesky Ork and Tyranids! But nice of them to leave us some useful loot to pilfer,” said Jaxxarath Dragonheart, Felarch of the Dragonheart Corsairs.

”Yes, Felarch,” his first mate Texatar Darkstorm agreed. ”But we seem to have company.”

”What is this you say? Mon-keigh Space Marines? They always spoil the fun! Gather what you loot can and hide! We’ll give them a warm welcome!”

In the Octarius sector, war still rages between the Orks and the Tyranids. Opportunistic warbands from all over the galaxy came to loot the spoils of the ongoing war, coming into conflict with both sides and other forces in the area. The Dragonheart Corsairs, a small band of Voidscarred crewing the Hemlock class escort the Dragonheart, are led by Felarch Jaxxarath Dragonheart and sail under the banner of the Void Dragons, one of the largest Aeldari Pirate Fleets, also called Anhrathe.

On the ground on Octarius, the principal planet in the Octarius sector, Primaris Vanguard Space Marines from the Red Scorpions Chapter had been avoiding Ork and Tyranid patrols for weeks and were in need of supplies. The Space Marines came upon a ruined Ork settlement which had seen recent fighting, but still held a large cache of equipment scattered around the ruins. To the dismay of the Space Marines, they also spotted the Voidscarred of the Dragonheart Corsairs. Wary of these Aeldari pirates, the Red Scorpions Infiltrator Sergeant immediately ordered his squad to fan out and approach in cover. Felarch Jaxxarath was alerted of the approaching Space Marines and ordered his troops to loot and salvage as much as possible while engaging the humans.

The Phobos armoured marines approach stealthily and the swift Aeldari dashed to loot the caches spread around the area before moving out of sight to attack. The Way Seeker tried to outflank the Red Scorpions and unleashed a lightning strike on the hiding Infiltrator Sergeant, but failed to do any harm. Fearing the counterattack, he then summoned a warding shield on himself. The Infiltrator Sergeant used his marksman bolt carbine and bolted discipline to great effect, severely injuring the Way Seeker with a flurry of bolts through the warding shield. The Incursor Marksman climbed up on the ruins on the opposite flank to gain a vantage point and took out the looting Voidscarred Fate Dealer below. The Infiltrator Veteran scaled the ruins on the flank next to his Sergeant and fired down on the Kurnite Hunter, injuring him.

However, the Voidscarred had collected enough loot to proclaim a flawless raid, and deftly switched to counterattack. The brash Jaxxarath bravely charged the Reiver and both fighters cut each other down. However, the nearby Helix Adept managed to save the Reiver’s life. The Shade Runner ghosted straight through the intervening ruins to stab the Infiltrator Commsman in the gut. On the upper levels of the ruins, the Voidscarred Gunner fired his blaster, obliterating the Incursor Marksman taking cover in the ruins across from him. The Starstorm Duelist and the injured Kurnite Hunter fired their shrunken pistols, taking out the Infiltrator Veteran holding a vantage point on top of the ruin.

On her own, the Soul Weaver turned the corner and shot down the Reiver again. As before, the Helix Adept managed to save him. The injured Reiver returned fire with his special issue bolt pistol and took out the Soul Weaver. The Sergeant shot down the injured Way Seeker, before being injured by fire from the Starstorm Duelist and Kurnite Hunter. The Voidscarred gunner finished him with a devastating shot from his blaster.

Laying down suppressive fire and smoke grenades, the remaining Red Scorpions retreated with their wounded, leaving the victorious Dragonheart Corsairs to recover their incapacitated fellows and gather the remaining loot.

”Ouch! That hurt! How interesting! These mon-keigh are something new. Bigger and stronger than the ones we’ve met before. Let’s not underestimate them again. But we got the loot so all is good!” Jaxxarath exclaimed as Shiena Moonbeam, the Soul Weaver weaved her powers to heal him. ”Call for the transport and let’s be off!”

29/12-2022 – Anomalous readings

Koryo carefully made his way towards the end of the ruin and peered out.

”Those are the nodes that fill our scanners with anomalous readings and hide the enemy movements in this area, Autarch,” said the Ranger leader Haranor and indicated two strange looking objects of Necron design further into the ruins in front of them.

”Then those are the targets. We must destroy them, or at least shut them down. Any enemy forces or other things in the area?” Koryo replied.

”This area is as unsettling and still as the previous. There is an unnatural dread here, brought on by the Necrons and their devices. My men are on the edge, but holding so far. We have spotted a large group of Necron Warriors on approach from the opposite woods.”

”This unsettling horror unnerves every one of our warriors,” Exarch Iiloran Mournsong of the Warp spiders added. ”Warlock Daranael still suffers from some kind of suffocating madness and the Guardians are extremely unnerved since our last skirmish.”

”Farseer Embarath does his best to calm and guide them,” Koryo ensured. ”But we may not be able to depend on them as much this time. A strange form of inertia and exhaustion has stalled our advance and our forces are still far behind. But we must strike now, before more Necrons have time to arrive, even if our reinforcements will arrive in stuttering groups. Move out!”

The Rangers had secured a good vantage point from the tall ruins on the left Aeldari flank, as a Cryptek Technomancer lead twenty Necron Warriors on to the battlefield from the other side of a forest.

The Necron Warriors marched steadily forwards intent on holding one of the nodes. The Rangers were out of range and could not fire their sniper rifles.

The Necron Warriors moved relentlessly closer to the first node, as the Necron Overlord made his way through the forest. Exarch Khirigin Blademoon lead the Moonglow Dire Avengers onto the battlefield and advanced to get the Necron Warriors into range of their avenger shuriken catapults. Farseer Embarath Dreamweaver moved up in support and used his psychic powers to guide their aim. With a timely intervention, Autarch Koryo and the Ghostweaver Warp Spiders of Iiloran Mournsong made a sudden assault, materialising onto the central ruins. The Necron Warriors came under intense fire, with a bladestorm of shuriken from the Dire Avengers, sniper fire from the Rangers, and the death spinners from the Warp Spiders wiping them out so completely that they could not reanimate.

The enraged Overlord advanced towards the Warp Spiders, while the Technomancer retreated into the woods to meet up with the delayed Necron Immortals. The Immortals and the Overlord fired on the Warp Spiders and left only Iiloran and Koryo standing. The two moved further back with their sights still on the Overlord, as Daranael and the Guardians arrived and advanced on the second node. The Dire Avengers and Embarath advanced towards the first node. Dire Avengers defensive tactics enabled them to deactivate the node and revoke it’s targeting disruption and still fire on the Overlord, wounding him. Koryo’s dragon fusion gun failed him, as the Overlord phased through the blast. Finally, the Rangers managed a headshot that even the Overlord’s Resurrection Protocols couldn’t bring him back from.

The Immortals moved through the forest to get in range of their weapons, and cut down Iiloran with their gauss blasters and severely wounded Koryo. Koryo teleported back and away from the Immortals, as the Dire Avengers moved up and the Guardians protected by Daranael advanced towards the second node. Embarath guided the Dire Avengers again and their bladestorm cut down a few Immortals, who immediately resurrect and stood back up.

The Immortals took out all of the Dire Avengers, except Exarch Khirigin. The Guardians and Daranael advanced and deactivate the second node, while fire from the scatter laser and Khirigin hammered into the Immortals, but again they rose back up.

Seeing the many Aeldari closing in on them, the Technomancer ordered the remaining Necrons to retreat, leaving the victorious Aeldari time to permanently disable the Necron nodes.

”Well done!” Koryo exclaimed to his gathered troops after the battle. ”Despite this unnatural dread, we managed to destroy the nodes and the Necron’s stillness effect is already diminishing. Now we can more safely bring in more troops and find the main Necron Pylons and destroy them. I would especially congratulate the Ghostweavers, for their well timed ambush and they are now truly battle-tested and, I think, marked for greatness. Exarch Iiloran has showed that he really is an exemplar of the shrine! But the Necrons have surely taken note of our activities now and will gather in greater numbers. We will need to move swift to avoid being caged in by them.”