Monday 24 October 2011

Le Grenadiers de la Liberté are called into action.

Horrors of the Day

The unspeakable horror unfolds in this astounding tale of the last stand of the Grenadiers of the Guard de la Libertié.

1783 -During the time of The Reconciliation during the latter half of the 18th Century, trouble brews in the streets of Paris. The crops have been failing, and the farmers resort to superstition to explain their plight.

Amongst their blasphemous utterances, some claim that diseased plants have been growing in the darkest forests .... and spreading out towards the farmlands .. leaching poisonous filth and corruption into the very soil of France. Bespoiling the crops, and providing nesting havens for unwholesome blackbirds.

In the darkest shadows of the night, some townsfolk can be heard to utter the unmentionable name of the infamous Marquis de Chenoncoix ......

A Portrait of the infamous Marquis de Chenoncoix ... a man who is best forgotten for the sake of all that is decent.

It has been over 60 years now since his ghastly demise, and his name has been struck from memory.  All those who fell under his power all those years ago were burnt at the stake during The Change.

Why then does his name emerge once more, like bloated carrion that floats to the surface of an unhealthy pond ?




Such rumours of unwholesome botanical outgrowths from the darkest corners of the forests are met with swift punishment on the direct order of the Comte de la Bouvoir.

Le Comte de la Bouvoir - Civil governor of metropolitan Paris during the latter 18th Century. Known for his sound judgement, and swift sureness of action, he was a well respected figure in the intrigues of the Court.

It seems that not a day passes in Paris without some farmer or two meeting with Madame Guillotine to answer for his blasphemies and disturbing agitations regarding these so call 'out-growths'.

Too soon does the day arrive however, when one morning the town guard report that a new copse of trees has appeared, as if in the shadows of night .. and can be clearly seen from the town walls across the river Seine. A distinctly unwholesome copse of trees they appear to be .. certainly not of any known genus of botanical specimen comprehended by the creme of the scientific community.


The unusual botanical aberration that appeared outside of Paris on that fateful day.
As the day unfolds, and the sight of the copse is clear for all to see ... screams can be heard echoing through the less composed quarters of Paris.

The cursed name of the Marquis de Chenoncoix can be heard mentioned in the streets - and in plain daylight none the less ! Could it be that the forgotten horrors of the past are returning to stain the present ?

Desperately wanting to put an end to the growth of these festering rumours amongst the alarmed townsfolk, the Comte de la Bouviour orders a company of the famed Grenadiers de la Liberté to investigate this unusual copse of foliage.

A company of the Grenadiers de la Liberté approach the copse of woods.
Bravely facing the unknown, the Maj. in command of the company orders a full advance with the drums playing 'Sombre et Meuse'.

Using his field telescope, the commander boldly espies the nature of the aberration. It appears to be a cluster of trees of some kind. Nothing the Grenadiers cannot handle.
There appears to be some form of ropey substance hanging from the branches of the trees. This is most irregular indeed ! Possibly a type of vine imported from the hideous jungles of the Indies, or  from the dark recesses of the Congo.
Somewhat disturbed by the ropey substance hanging from the twisted branches, the commander orders fixed bayonets ... a torch to be lit. 'just in case'
Examination of the woods from all angles, one feels a deepening sense of dread, revulsion and despair. The geometry of the whole sends one to question their sanity. The dank smell of decay emanating from the woods invokes in one's mind those distant but suppressed memories of aeons past ... long before mankind or the earth upon which he stands was first created ...

... and in those moments of creation, where all tangible matter was first spewed forth into the vastness of the cosmos - like the regurgitations of a pale and sickly dog that lay dying in the shadowy corner of a nameless and forgotten charnal house. Inconsequential against the dank emptiness of the place, one only feels a hopeless sense of detachment ..

 .... to be continued.

PS:  The actual 18th C figures are on their way soon, another couple of weeks to go before be really get into this.

12 comments:

  1. A *tremendous* creepy piece of 'living' scenery -disturbing, threatening, potentially hideous in an implicit way in the 'good' sense. And a rich, enthralling tale: can't wait for the next part!

    Btw don't be worried by the 'Napoleonic' Grenadiers: they are 'Old Guard', still wearing the long coat of Revolutionary times, fitting for the late 18th C. -as an elite unit they could have be granted an 'ultra-modern' uniform.
    And, anyway, fashion seems more 'free' in your 'alternate' 18th C. than in 'ours': Le Comte d'la Bouvoir ["de la Bouvoir" in 'Real World™' French: our "d'" precedes a vowel; same for 'de la Liberté'. All English-speaking creators of Imagi-Nary 'Gallian' names have difficulties with this, re. Bill Protz' Campaign in Germania, Frankfurter... Then, in such 'alternate' Europe, French can well have different rules! :)] is a conservative type, dressed in a fashion obsolete for almost a century in 'our time line'. No problem with that.

    Also, 'here' Madame Guillotine (aka La Veuve, 'The Widow') was not yet used when Noble Counts were still in power: but perfectly possible in a 'parallel universe', since it was a 'progressive' invention aiming to make the 'ultimate penalty' more 'human', sure and instantaneous, while the ax- or sword-wielding executioner had more often than not to strike several times (this 'cruel' aspect of decapitation was a matter of public debate in France since the bloody lengthy mess of the execution of Lally-Tollendal in 1766).

    Looking eagerly forward to enjoy the next instalment!

    P.S.: according to the flag, your 'Napoleonics' also seem to belong to an 'alternate' History?

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  2. Why to put this very 'Pulpy' Horror tale so late in the 18th C.? It could (still can, using 'Edit posts'!) be pushed back in time some 25 - 30 years and be part of the 'unfolding tapestry' of your 'weird SYW'. Too good not to be included in the 'main epic saga'!

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  3. Thanks for the feedback Abdul.

    The date on this set many decades after the actual story line to come. As the story line unfolds, we shall step back in time and examine the past events that create this alternate 'future' that we can see here.

    Thats the excuse I am using anyway, since I only have Napoleonic figures to showcase some of the new terrain features with :)

    I have completed a few different scenic features so far - and Im really happy with the way they are turning out. Id love to show them all off now ... but they need to be introduced into the story line at the correct pace. So I need to wait around a bit longer for that.

    My French language skills, as you can see, are poor to non-existent. What would be the correct naming then of the people and regiments involved here ? If you can provide some examples I will use that for naming Gallic personages in this story from here on.

    ie - the fictional 'Grenadiers of Liberty" - should that be "Grenadiers de la Liberté" ? Im doing the anglo thing here and assuming that d' is merely an abbreviation, such as is over-used in the English language.

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  4. "If you go down in the woods today your sure of a big surprise!!" and it sounds like they will or did??
    Ray

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  5. Grenadiers de la Liberté indeed!
    [And I maintain they would not be 'shocking' in a SYW context: not many years after the end of the SYW the Swedes received uniforms far more... progressive than the French 1791 pattern (and may be inspired for a part by de Saxe 'daydreamed' pattern)!]

    A surprising name for a 'France' where the nobility is still in power? Maybe the Revolution was avoided in 'your' avatar of the Multiverse, and a Constitutional Monarchy installed smoothly?
    Did 'progressive' (free masons?) nobles get the upper hand over conservative ones?

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  6. PS: "de" instead of"d'" before a consonant: Marquis de Chenoncoix.

    Hope this... weird scenic feature will be used with minis of the 'tricorne' era!

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  7. You got it - all of these new scenics are for the tricorne era ... plus lots of new custom sculpts as well.

    Changed the wording on the above article now - hopefully all of the words are close to correct now. Thanks.

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  8. Creepy tale and copse. My French is about as good as yours, Steve. :-) Spanish and German I can do pretty well, but French - not so far!

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  9. Great!!! :-D Just as I was getting into it..came the cliffhanger ..I can´t wait for Pt 2.
    Cheers
    paul

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  10. Thanks for all the comments so far ... just received part 1 of a 2 part order for the figures for this up coming project, so wont be long now for the story to unfold.

    In the meantime, I don't suppose it would hurt to post part 2 of this little prelude soon. Might try and give it a go tonight.

    Thanks again for the feedback.

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  11. ..... STILL waiting for the main part of the order to arrive.

    Shall not be too much longer yet. Really looking forward to getting into this one.

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