Dark Elves Of The Blackroot Abyss

  Hello again, gentle readers.  Im happy to show off the first adversaries to confront my dwarven expedition...  the Dark Elves!  Dark elves are evil hearted elves who live underground, unlike their forest dwelling good natured cousins on the surface.  In Warhammer they are called Druchii, and in D&D they are called Drow.   I have chosen to paint their skin a purple hue to counterpoint their mostly black armor and cloth.

  Below we have some fluff, and of course some lovely pics with more text to accompany.  Enjoy. 

   Emptiness, then the cold stone of his surroundings.  Reality, then hunger, but not his, and then the all too familiar return of distant ghostly wailing voices.  "Feed us!" His cursed sentient sword hungered for fresh souls to harvest.  Alric was disturbed from his meditation, but not by his blade, something else.  His sharp hearing detected two persons approaching his chamber.  By the weight of her footsteps and the swish of her noble robes, he knew one was the Countess Alyza.  The other he knew by the clinking of various vials, even before he smelled the sharp odor of sulfur and other alchemical agents - Grigori, the Master Of Poisons.  Life as a Drow was a constant dance of politics and assassinations, Alric had been taught as a child.  He turned to face the door and with a wave of his hand, he magically opened it.  The two Drow entered, the Countess with head held high and fangs visible in her disarming smile.  The Alchemist was more subservient, with a lowered head to show his respect.  Alric could feel the hunger within the Countess, an unsatiable bloodlust.  But this time, it was palpable... excited even.  But not directed at him, this was no play for power.  He understood this hunger all to well, felt it mirrored by the sword at his side.  Which meant only one thing.  
  "Intruders in our realm," Alric said simply.  Grigori nodded.  
  "Yes, Lord commander, our favorite," the Countess smiled. "Dwarves..."

 The vanguard of the Drow are the Anti-Paladins, a veritable storm of slashing blades.  In the center is their commander, Alric Of The Cursed Blade.  Alric has a cursed sword, which gives him incredible power, but demands a constant sacrifice of souls.  By his side is High Alchemist Grigori, Master of Poisons, who makes certain all the Anti-Paladin weapons are coated with deadly toxins.

 Countess Alyza commands her personal retinue of warrior she-elves, who are rumored to be addicted to drinking the blood of their enemies.  Born of noble blood, she has forsaken her life in court and chosen to accompany the Drow armies to war.  A master of black sorcery, her bloodlust drives her to slay ever more enemies.  She revels in the slaughter, draining captives and corpses of their soul essence, which in turn fuels her magical arts.

The Shadowfire cultists have taken the high ground where they overwatch their Drow brethren below.  With magic and arrows they decimate their enemies from afar.

Here is a group shot of the entire Drow patrol.

A closeup of some Shadowfire cultists.

Even more cultists, with their leader on the right, Magister Ludi

  Next post, I will try to do a battle report, with either of these rule sets:  Knights & Magick by Heritage, or Song Of Blades And Heroes.  Havent decided yet which to read up on.  I used to play Knights & Magick, so that would be easy to brush up on.  I would prefer to do Song, but I would have to wrap my head around a new and unfamiliar ruleset.  

Cheers,
Mar