This view of a living nature where man is nothing is both odd and sad. Here, in a fertile land, in an eternal greenness, you search in vain for traces of man; you feel you are carried into a different world from the one you were born into.

– Alexander von Humboldt, Ancient Terran Explorer

Migsula – The Death Caps – VII Lunar Guard Shock Infantry

Between the more esoteric green mechanicum and the billions of twists that stand guard in defense of the Thorn Moons is the well trained and equipped Lunar Guard. Resembling the early Imperial Guard of the 30th millennia in their organizational structure, but equipped with ancient and superior Orbus-pattern armored support systems, heavier carapace armor and mass reaction bolt weaponary.

The Death Caps are Lunar Guard elite. Inhuman disciples of the Crategus Hunter Aspect. Their infantry is famous for their half dome helmets that originally were standard for the Orbus scheme but never were able to be reproduced outside of Mars and thus came sought after specialty of the elite units. Death Cap Captains often boast formidable Skitari level mobility and armament enhancements and the infantry units are supported by both the Orbus-X44 tracked weapons systems as well as the Orbus-U5 and T6 antigravity drones.

With the Thorn Moons preparing for winter, the Death Caps have been deployed amongst the twists. Training, arming, leading the Untold billion children of Crategus against the coming weather.

Migsula on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/migsula/

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Kari – Field Discipline Company (FDC) aka ‘The Hounds’

War is ugly and brutal business in which life of a soldier is cheap. Some soldiers value their lives over the sacred duty given to them and give room to the fear and foolish thoughts in their minds. That is when their combat morale starts to shatter and they take damned actions.

A Commissar is in charge of keeping the combat morale up and getting such characters back in line. Sometimes a presence of a Commissar and their actions are not enough – a soldier decides to desert his post, goes AWOL or flees the battle without given such order. War is hell and sometimes whole companies rebel! The sentence of such cowardness is death, which will be ruled in a quick court-martial. This is the mission for the Field Discipline Company to carry out.

Field Discipline Company (a.k.a FDC) is trained to catch and imprison deserters and renegading units. They use guerrilla tactics to take down their targets, even company size units, and make an example out of them. Their goal is to pin-point their targets, go in and capture them one by one – alive if possible. A successful imprisonment rate is told to be around 23%, which means that 77% of convicted are judged by ”shot on sight”.

There are five positions in a team of FDC: pointman, scout, tracker, enforcer and executioner.

Pointman is the highest ranking officer in the FDC team. He usually assumes the first and most exposed position in a patrol formation. The specialization of Pointman is CQC with emphasized aggression.

Scout’s duty is to perform reconnaissance ahead of a main FDC team, gathering information of the fleeing friendly units and spotting deserters hideouts.

Tracker traces and exposes any location that may contain deserters and rebelling units. To complete this task they use specially trained trench rats and blood hounds that can smell the fear of their prey.

Enforcer completes ”sneak and capture” tasks given by the pointman. It is also their responsibility to guard the prisoners that have survived the hunt – until their execution.

Executioner is the most honoured position in the FDC. They carry out the execution of the prisoners and take great pride for it. Beheaded heads are put on poles to give an example for others with a low combat morale.

FDC teams have a fierce reputation. Their presence cause fear and obedience amongst combatants, hence in some extreme situations a Commissar may be given a team of Field Discipline specialists to emphasize the seriousness of the business.

Kari on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koltti/

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Mikko – Voodoo Forest Personae

I completely failed this Invitational.
In the end I was not able to produce any foot soldiers for this amazing campaign.

Instead these mossy green miniatures appeared.
Inspired by other Sleeters work, I went out there to search for the weird.

It goes without saying that John Blanche’s Voodoo Forest vol. 1 & 2 served as the main source of inspiration for these three miniatures.

Mikko on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/northofsleet/

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Toni – The Lost Company of Yevolis

The 12th Yevolian company represents a common phenomenon in the Thorn Moons campaign. Drafted from a cluster of compliant agri-systems on the Imperial side of Crataegus Fragmentum, the Yevolis Brigade is a distinguished force dating back over three centuries. Inquisitor Lord Karavnor assigned companies 10-16 to assimilate the Muralis Sector of the Thorn Moons. The populations of farmers were promptly brought to compliance, and their heretical herbal fields were burned. Imperial Strains XXV-BII and XXV-BIV were planted to ensure compatibility with the Crusade.

Before I go forward, I must commend the other Yevolian companies. They are already supplying clean rations to the Fleet.

After 60 days since the last update from the 12th, a force was sent to investigate central Muralis. The fields were found rampant with a mutated strain. (BII and BIV were chosen because of their excellent stability) Remnants of the 12th Company were found hiding in the forests, speaking a bastardised Low Gothic, and having abandoned the Imperial Creed. They attack our troops from the shadows, using our own ammo. Donning animal skulls as helmets, and shouting shamanistic curses from their hideouts, these men appear to be guarding the forest now. The 12th Company, along with Central Muralis is lost. We must not allow any ships to escape the sector. The Mutated strain of XXV-BII represents a grave risk to the Imperium.

Toni on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kareliansleet/

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FPOA – The Borealis 4th, Crataegian Huntsmen, Green Mechanicvm, 3rd Moon

His memories. They haunted him in his dreams. Not as much images as fragments of sensations upon his skin. Or the skin he no longer wore. The remaining nerve strings in his body recalling something that had been lost a long time ago, like the phantom limb pains amputees feel in removed limbs. Echoes of a body he no longer wore. A ghost shell.

The most vivid sensation was that of something, perhaps a loved one’s hand, caressing his clean-shaven chin before a departure. From somewhere he could not recall. But for countless years he had clung to that memory in his waken hours, like a bright star in a sea of green, and it was all that had kept him human. He had once wondered if his brothers in the Borealis Cohorts had done the same. If the men of Borealis 4th had been clinging to the same fading memory of what it meant to be human. What it meant to have loved ones waiting for you back home. Wherever home had been.

That was many, many moons ago and was now only a faint echo in his darkest hours. Around him, in the labyrinthine underworld of Gheal, 3rd Moon, bio-mechanical roots, xylem viaducts, radix cathedrals, catacombs and echo chambers disappeared countless mile after countless mile in all directions. He looked up. The only light in the depths of this underworld came from bio-luminescent moss, luciferin lamps and rare shafts of light high above caught in an intricate system of lucus mirrors capable of transporting the aurora light of the night sky into the dark depths.

The Borealis 4th had been summoned to the surface and lofty tree spires high above.

Winter was coming…

FPOA on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/f_p_o_a/

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Finally we are very delighted to show you the last installment of the Iron Sleet Invitational 2017 – our own entries!

We have been utterly stunned, delighted and humbled by all the work, support and feedback we have received from you over the course of the last two months. You have shown us that the most rewarding aspect of this wonderful hobby is the sense of community surrounding it.

For that we want to say a big thank you to all of you!

Green Man Cometh…