#134 - Bearer of the Crimson Bloom

Penny the Mordant bore her monarch's sacred banner with all the dignity, solemnity and poise she could muster. Her arms ached under its weight as she struggled to keep it motionless while it fluttered proudly in the hot breeze of Aqshy, but she was utterly determined to perform her duty flawlessly. As the Bishop of Barfunweltz intoned the coronation liturgy, she allowed herself to indulge in a moment of self-reflection: how had such an honour befallen her?

It was many years now since Penny Liedl had first discovered the Way of the Rose. It was not long after her beloved husband, a Corporal in the Glymswatch had mysteriously disappeared in Barfunweltz Cemetery. Widowed, impoverished and with twin hungry mouths to feed, Mrs Liedl's tortured soul had found solace in the Way of the Rose. Her children, Dieter and Anya had been less receptive; she briefly wondered what had become of them but her maternal recollections seemed the fade so quickly... 

The Bishop finally fell silent and Penny's befuddled mind snapped back to the present and the scene before her: As the Bishop took the priceless crown from his Chaplain, she marvelled again that here she now stood in a place of honour, an integral celebrant in the coronation ceremony of the next Monarch of the Crimson Bloom. The Monarch-elect humbly knelt before the Bishop. Truly he was the image of the divinely chosen king - tall, muscular and devastatingly handsome. Though it was covered now with his coronation robe, all the Raptured Court knew that his flesh bore the Crimson Bloom - the sacred mark of the king, which the Bishop himself had discovered. 

A great feast had been held to celebrate the discovery of the new Monarch and mark the passing of his predecessor (Penny could not quite remember what had happened to him). At the celebration, it had been announced that the coronation would take place not in Barfunweltz but on the Ravaged Coast of Aqshy! For the Bishop had heard news that a great crusade of knights had journeyed there in the name of the Rose. And if a place was to be conquered for the Rose, it was imperative that its subjugated population be shepherded in the Way of the Rose! So the Bishop had gathered a portion of his faithful congregation to accompany him, and from among them had hand picked the Yeomen of the Crimson Bloom as the personal guard of the new Monarch. Until today, being chosen for that honour had been Penny Liedl's proudest moment.

But now here she stood, watching her newly crowned Monarch rise majestically to his feet while she herself carried the staff which bore his colours - the Crimson Bloom. Her heart swelled with pride as she gazed up at his standard flapping in the wind, five red petals lovingly wrought by skilled artisans onto the finest vellum. The hot red light of Aqshy flashed gold as it caught the previous Monarch's gilt ring  woven into the banner's fringe.

"Long live the Monarch!" cried the Baby-Eating Bishop of Barfunwletz. His congregation responded in rapturous applause. "And now to our great task: the Crusaders of the Rose have laid our path, so let us now go forth and bring the joy of the Way of the Rose to the ignorant inhabitants of this poor land!"

Penny the Mordant raised her banner high and surged forward, carried along at the front of the hoard of flesh-eating ghouls that swarmed over the ridge and down the ashen slope to the scorched outskirts of the Ravaged Coast.

The Monarch and Yeomen of the Crimson Bloom

I'd just started painting my first Flesh-Eater Spearhead so I was keen to get one of my favourite armies back on the table. After a practice game (I hadn't played with them since long before their new rules came out) it's now time for the Raptured Court to enter our Path to Glory: Ravaged Coast campaign! (It's also a fun opportunity to revisit some of my favourite characters - the Liedl family.) As my two armies won't be able to play each other, I've decided to present the Raptured Court as unwanted allies to the Brotherhood of Mannfred. I also thought it would be fun to field an infantry hoard to complement the Soulblight cavalry force. Now I need to find their first opponent...