Orphans of the Ossuary

Not all orphans in the Imperium are so lucky to be raised at a Schola Progenium. Only those whose parents were servants of the Emperor get that kind of high standard education. But the Dark Millenium grants plenty of opportunities to produce orphans, of course. Lots of them. Each place deals with the issue in their own way. Local orphanages, Family/Clan/Warband self-regulated nurture houses, tribute to the Dark Lords [comment under scrutiny of the Holy Inquisition]... Most commonly the different pious Orders of the Ecclesiarchy manage to run institutions devoted to that purpose. The Order of the Ossuary is no exception. They raise abandoned children and educate them in the sacred rites of their ministry, for they assist the monks in their duties. When they reach adulthood, the survivors can leave the Order or remain within it to perform menial works. Only former combatants can become monks and full members of the Order, but there are a lot of different assignments that can be allotted to these servants, for the Emperor rejoices in all honest work.

These minis are from the Black Crab 2nd Kickstarter by most awesome Andrew May from Meridian Miniatures. Having backed the first one, my whole attention was dragged onto this new range as soon as I had a glimpse at them. They share the same creepy vibe, the unsettling looking, the atmospherical feeling that got me the first time. The KS was called 'Necropolis scum', but I thought I had to tie them somehow to the first batch, so that's why I came up with the idea above.

OK, enough words, let's hit the pics.

Caretakers of the convent

Father Ombud takes care of the children. Here alongside two monks

Orphans get initiated in the basic rites of the Order

There are not only monks and servants around the convent. Beggars of all kind look for charity. Sometimes security measures have to be implemented, as not everyone comes as a friend.

I love the Venator-like mask. Right, the blind guy who provides security

The kickstarter provided two stretch goals, but the decision was easy to make, it was a no-brainer. Mischiefs on a pole. Or at least I decided to show them that way. First one calls for the mental image of a witch. So the signs on the pole say (in proper High Gothic)  'Psychica' (quite self explanatory), 'Vates' (foreseer) and 'Magi' (kind of magician/witch).

The other guy was more difficult for me to read as a miniature. If I had to tell, I'd say he's a living sign, heading people in the right direction. So I figured he was kind of a snitch and his sentence was that. The sign reads 'Dum Lingua', 'Long tongue'.

Not that creative, but I'm happy

Here you can see the minis alongside the ones from the first KS:

Finally a family shot:

They of course work both for gothic sci-fi and fantasy and they are a treat. I know I really need to build an ossuary for these!!

The Order of the Ossuary

I backed the Black Crab Miniatures Kickstarter last October. Andrew May is a guarantee of success and job well done. No second thoughts, as soon as I saw the minis I knew I needed them. The KS ran smoothly and I got my minis a few weeks ago. Being just three of them, I have slipped them between my current projects, eager as I was of painting them.

From the upcoming Terramortis range by Meridian Miniatures

 No point in taking WIP pics, so...

The Ghost of Christmas past, the Ghost of Chris... Ehm. No. Sorry, my mistake

The colours used in the original pics (and original lovely art) were dark red and black. I tried a different scheme, all in blues and greys.

And checkers, of course. I cannot paint without checkers

I used quite a limited palette, as I wanted to give them some uniformity. In my mind the concept of some weird cult took shape immediately. In my Rogue Trader Warhammer 40,000 setting I can easily see them as strange monks taking care of old relics. This is how the Order of the Ossuary was born.

Also known as the Order of the blurry pics

The Order has the venerable mission of collecting bones and relics of fallen Imperial heroes, in order to keep and venerate them. The monks themselves are former servicemen who were severely injured but didn't earn martyrdom. Declared no longer fit for active duty, most of them bearing horrendous scars or burns, some of them seek for a life of contemplation and service to the Emperor in other ways.

They are more charming than you believe. He's actually smiling behind the mask

They are a common view on battlefields once the fight is over, assisting medical services in retrieving bodies with Ministorum priests and clerks who help to record the deeds of Imperial warriors all over the galaxy. They determine who behaved heroically, became martyrs of the Imperial cause and deserve the honour of being preserved.

Look at the numbers on the bones on the three minis. I bet for the most macabre puzzle ever

Once the bodies are properly dealt with, the bones or other suitable items can be used as relics. They go under proper Ministorum consecration rites and then are incorporated to Ecclesiarchy banner poles, shrines all over the Imperium, taken to battle by Imperial Preachers or Adepta Sororitas or whatever other use is considered appropiate. The ossuaries of the Order ar quite well known, and even turn themselves into peregrination sites for the common people who just want to pay their respects for the most humble Guardsmen.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Order of the Ossuary (if you come with a better name I will gladly take it under consideration, I'm simply making up all this stuff as I write).

The amazing thing about these minis is that they can fit into a number of sci-fi settings (specially 40K, of course)...

No heroic bones in sight, brothers

...as well as fantasy!

Yup, the Stormcast Eternals really messed up with our bussiness

I'm enormously delighted with the minis. If there are more of the like incoming, I'm definitely in. The only thing that really bugs me about all this is... that I need to build a friggin' ossuary now!! :P