Kabal of the Frozen Talon

The Kabal of the Frozen Talon is a relatively small kabal, still gathering strength from even the most basic of beginnings.

The Frozen Talon was once known as the Kabal of Cold Fury, though it's current archon (Lady Ahtalia Tyrantslayer) was not always a member of it. Once a member of the Trueborn belonging to the Kabal of the Crimson Talon under her father, when her brother seized control she was chased away into the depths of Low Commorragh. For several years she was something between a mandrake and one of the Parched, hunting any foolish to wander the ports alone until she ran into Bhariss, another Trueborn, who showed her that she could have more.

Under Ahtalia, Bhariss and several enslaved mandrakes stole both warriors and equipment until she started trying for harder prey, meeting her match when trying to ransack a hangar belonging to the Kabal of Cold Fury. Their archon, Lord Kor'vin Vontahl, saw promise in her reckless bravery and absorbed her warband into his kabal.

During her service in the Cold Fury's Trueborn, Vontahl pledged his small kabal to the Cult of the Seventh Woe within a week of their discovery of the Tyranids. A supporting raid saw Ahtalia take down a Hive Tyrant with no assistance, afterwards earning her the honorific of Tyrantslayer after the battle. This was all the sign she needed to become aware of his weakness, and much later took control after a failed raid against the Black Legion.

Since taking control of the kabal, she has strengthened it by absorbing the Kabal of the Moonless Night after arranging for the death of its archon. This has allowed her to renegotiate her standing with the Seventh Woe, and now they stand as allies rather than having the Frozen Talon subservient to the Wych Cult.

There will probably be more to come, but I'll be putting up my story Rise of the Tyrantslayer up as well.

Awesome work on both. I can't wait to see more.

I second Xelkireth. This is one of the best Eldar fluff pieces I've come across.

Physical Description
The warriors of the Frozen Talon are very much the same as most Dark Eldar, though have their own unifying factors.

Like all Dark Eldar they are tall and lithe, preferring speed and guile to brute force. They are generally fair skinned, though any outsider would be considered unlucky to learn such. It is here where the similarities end.

A member of the Frozen Talon will most often have their hair chemically altered into a bright, cool colour, generally to reflect which sybarite or dracon they follow. A firm favourite throughout the entire kabal is a light purple, with light green taking second. Lady Ahtalia Tyrantslayer has snow white hair, though it is a natural colour rather than chemically altered or a sign of age. The only other defining feature is that each warrior has an ice encrusted talon tattooed on the back of each hand.

Most kabalite warriors will embark on a realspace raid fully armoured with helmet fixed firmly in place, a trait they believe makes them seem much more fearsome when approaching a wounded and defeated foe. Their armour is a very dark blue bordering on black, with icy blue gauntlets, shinguards and breastplate. Metals are generally left bare, the better to display blood both crusted and fresh. Weapons are given a blank grey casing over the metal, though most will also glow a royal blue.

Hmm, I like those colours. Always liked bright blue, I used it on my craftworld eldar. Just make sure you fix the bases.

The text seems very nice too, really cool!

Saintspirit wrote:

Mmm, I like those colours. Always liked bright blue, I used it on my craftworld eldar. Just make sure you fix the bases.

The text seems very nice too, really cool!

Thanks, it really fits in with the picture I had of them ever since I first started Dark Eldar. Bases are low priority though, I really need to get the models actually painted first. Not to mention the Skaven I just realised I need to paint...

I don't want to sound pushy, but have you considered adding a star-field to the black of your color scheme?
The black does make a great contrast to the blue, but it also looks very empty. Stars would really make that Raider stand out in a big way.

Anyway, do you plan on adding Mandrakes to your army like your fluff describes? I am very interested in how you would paint them.

Spanna uv Komor-AAAGH! wrote:

I don't want to sound pushy, but have you considered adding a star-field to the black of your color scheme?
The black does make a great contrast to the blue, but it also looks very empty. Stars would really make that Raider stand out in a big way.

Anyway, do you plan on adding Mandrakes to your army like your fluff describes? I am very interested in how you would paint them.

I don't know about putting stars on there. I mean, it's a nice idea and I'd love to, but what you're seeing there is the absolute limit of my painting skills. Maybe after a while, when I'm happy enough with my skill to at least feel like I'm not going to completely botch it...

Mandrakes are a yes, although they'll be taking a backseat to things I'll be using more often in game (Scourges, Venom, etc). I do have a soft spot for them, and the models are incredibly gorgeous. I even won a game in 4th ed thanks to their wacky deployment rules. Gotta love being able to move up the field unmolested, only to reveal at the last moment to fleet into the enemy's deployment zone to win a recon mission!

I really like it, and Iagree its great, but I don't think one just becomes a mandrake, you have to have had your soul ripped out by Slaanesh or something like that.

Urien_Rakarth wrote:

I really like it, and Iagree its great, but I don't think one just becomes a mandrake, you have to have had your soul ripped out by Slaanesh or something like that.

Bhariss wrote:

For several years she was something between a mandrake and one of the Parched

Ahtalia was never a mandrake, she just acted like one to survive ie, hunting lone travelers in Low Commorragh and barely communicating. The fact that she has white hair has nothing to do with it either, it's just a coincidence.

Glad you liked it though.