Jaroyesz: Unit Photos [08/01/22]

The Kasrovykian Heavy Infantry

Before the Undead rose, the Empire of Kasrovykia dominated large parts of the known world.


[Just Mood Music]



The backbone of the Empire has always been it’s effective, modern army, consisting of conscripts and a professional standing mercenary army at it’s core.






Their munitions grade armor was mass produced relatively cost efficient, the special alloy, darkend by oils in the forging process, became to be known as Kasrovykian Steel.







It offered a high amount of protection and flexibility at the same time.


The Kasrovykian Empire has always been surrounded by other peoples, kingdoms and nations. All possibly hostile. So to guarantee the safety of the Empire, the Kasrovykians invaded those countries and expanded their borders, preferably until a coast was reached.



For some they came as liberators who brought the light of civilization into far away regions...



...but many, like those who resisted, experienced tyranny, oppression and terror.  




But all that ended when the world was devasted by the Undead.

After the Fall of the Empire, uncounted numbers of refugees fled the Undead horde. By now, the Empire had harbored multiple ethnicities, all united by religion and Imperial rule. But the Empreror and his means to project power were annhiliated. The largest concentration settled on the warm coasts and islands of the Quijari Kingdom.
As the Quijari Guard didn’t allow foreigners in their ranks at that time, the Kasrovykian Diaspora founded their own army:

The Kasrovykian Foreign Legion.



While the Legion doesn’t make a difference what your past or gender was or where you came from, the main pool of Legion recruits is still of Kasrovykian descend.



If accepted, any past mistakes were forgiven by following the Legion’s doctrine and secret cult like rituals.



Most widely known and shrouded by gossip and myth is the practice of the “Hornfather’s funeral”. Here, after giving away all your belongings,  carving your old name on a grave stone and burning personal items, you join the Foreign Legion under a new identity.



Over the years, the Kasrovykian refugees assimilated into the Kingdom. Together with the Orthodox Cult of the Three, the Foreign Legion was the main factor in keeping traditions and something resembling a Kasrovykian identity alive, at the same time integrating into the growingly multi-ethnic, trans-national Quijari Kingdom. But the Legion also became a haven for criminals, Kasrovykian nationalists and religious fanatics. Ironically, the Foreign Legion played a major role in helping Prince Atyugas IV. to turn the Quijari Kingdom into the secular dictatorship it is today, which later allowed all citizens to join the Quijari Guard, thus making the founding idea of the Foreign Legion obsolete.

But the Legion had long become a pillar of stability and proved an effective fighting force in protecting the last remnants of humanity, so the institution was not disbanded.



Brutal training and indoctrination turns the Legionaries into efficient soldiers.




Their distinctive helmet design, stripping the soldiers of personality, has long been a symbol of terror and oppression for anyone who opposed the Empire in the past.


Knowing the belligerent history of the Fallen Empire and hearing rumors of their rituals and cult like obedience, outsiders often see them as mindless drones and killing machines.


But even if that’s true, one has to agree that an army like this is exactly what is needed now in the hopeless fight against the Undead.


[Pictures without helmets in the next installments, of course]

Beautiful. Fantasy though it may be, this is some of the coolest medieval armor in any scale. And a nice back story to go with it. Is it going to be explained how Xyk... ended up in the Kasrovykian Foreign Legion? Or is she an infiltrator? Or is this an entirely new character?

Absolutely amazing, you've outdone yourself with this armor even if its fantastical in nature its a beauty to be sure.

I've said it before, but when it comes to creating it from scratch you are one of the most skilled 1/6 armourers I have encountered in this hobby. It's not only your technique and paint jobs, but just the sheer attention to detail and scale that make it so convincing. Always an honour to see your spectacular results. And thanks for the backstory to give us a deeper immersion in this world.

GubernatorFan wrote:Beautiful. Fantasy though it may be, this is some of the coolest medieval armor in any scale. And a nice back story to go with it. Is it going to be explained how Xyk... ended up in the Kasrovykian Foreign Legion? Or is she an infiltrator? Or is this an entirely new character?

This character is Jaroyesz, not Xykuurji.

skywalkersaga wrote:This character is Jaroyesz, not Xykuurji.

Oh, right. I got confused for a moment. And Ovy did create an ovyview of the Ovyverse just to help us keep these characters straight. But I suppose one extra-exotic name could sound as good as another, especially when clad from head to toe in heavy armor. By the way, are you positive about the spelling of Xykuurji? I thought there were two ks, but wasn't sure and stopped myself with an ellipsis.

Speaking of names, I can only speculate on the origin of Kasrovykian. Kasro(v)- reminds me of good old Persian Khusraw (Khosrov, Khosro, etc.), -ian makes me think of an Armenian genitive ending although it might just be adjectival, and of course there is the whole -ovy- part in the middle... Is the artist inserting himself in his own work? Nah, given Ovy's excessive humility, that is unlikely...

I based it off the spelling in this thread title:

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3492-4-27-xykuurji-the-ghost-of-war-returns

Black and white portaits.

Theboo-bomb wrote:Absolutely amazing, you've outdone yourself with this armor even if its fantastical in nature its a beauty to be sure.

Thanks so much my dear bomb person!

skywalkersaga wrote:I've said it before, but when it comes to creating it from scratch you are one of the most skilled 1/6 armourers I have encountered in this hobby. It's not only your technique and paint jobs, but just the sheer attention to detail and scale that make it so convincing. Always an honour to see your spectacular results. And thanks for the backstory to give us a deeper immersion in this world.  

GubernatorFan wrote:Beautiful. Fantasy though it may be, this is some of the coolest medieval armor in any scale. And a nice back story to go with it. Is it going to be explained how Xyk... ended up in the Kasrovykian Foreign Legion? Or is she an infiltrator? Or is this an entirely new character?

This character is Jaroyesz, not Xykuurji.

Thanks so much, glad you enjoy!! And of course you are right, this is Jaroyesz.

And yes in the next post I will post a little bio, with just unhelmeted photos in between there.

GubernatorFan wrote:

skywalkersaga wrote:This character is Jaroyesz, not Xykuurji.

Oh, right. I got confused for a moment. And Ovy did create an ovyview of the Ovyverse just to help us keep these characters straight. But I suppose one extra-exotic name could sound as good as another, especially when clad from head to toe in heavy armor. By the way, are you positive about the spelling of Xykuurji? I thought there were two ks, but wasn't sure and stopped myself with an ellipsis.

Speaking of names, I can only speculate on the origin of Kasrovykian. Kasro(v)- reminds me of good old Persian Khusraw (Khosrov, Khosro, etc.), -ian makes me think of an Armenian genitive ending although it might just be adjectival, and of course there is the whole -ovy- part in the middle... Is the artist inserting himself in his own work? Nah, given Ovy's excessive humility, that is unlikely...

Yep, if sky hadn't said it, I would have sent you directly to the Ovyview.🤭
Well glad you are reminded of multiple languages, but can't pinpoint it, it means it might work as a fantasy world name. I made a list of very many combinations to spell Kasrovykia with little alterations but liked this one best.

And there is a staggering amount of real world names and places which include an 'ovy' somewhere. It's also a fertility app but it was developed after I used the name.

skywalkersaga wrote:I based it off the spelling in this thread title:

https://onesixthfigures.forumotion.com/t3492-4-27-xykuurji-the-ghost-of-war-returns

Yeah you are both right about the spelling, I think I spelled it two ways on different occasions and autocorrect was confused, then confused me.
As you know they use some kind of runes now which are different from our alphabet, so no problem haha

She looks great!

AWESOME a*g*a*i*n!

I so very much like the KasrOVYkian Empire idea, you will have to embed it in the Ovyview.

nice to spread the story in between the pictures. Impressive wealth of creative facts for your ovyverse.

As for the b/w shots, they are fabulous but the second remains my favourite, followed by the fourth.

I am old enough to remember black-and-white TV, and to appreciate the switch to glorious color. So black-and-white does not have any special appeal to me in general. However, your images are just so perfectly artistic and evocative, I love them even in black-and-white.
PS I just discovered that the Ovyview post now includes multiple spellings of Xykkurji.

Gosh that is so awesome, I absolutely love the look of the armor!

The black and white photos are stunning -- very moody and allows us to appreciate the textures. Gorgeous as always.

What an incredible presentation. The photos are outstanding, and lend themselves perfectly for such a cool looking character. Love everything about this (especially knowing all the time it took to get her to this stage). Beautiful stuff.

Excellent work on the armor and weapons. A+++++
I love the pictures, which convey a very dark mood. Very nice!

The Death of Yeshi



Vyesziki - they called her Yeshi - grew up in a coastal village in Eastern Quijari, in the Kasrovykian Diaspora.



Her mother, of Kasrovykian descent, spent most of the time stationed in the island forts for the Quijari Guard. Her father she did not know.



The Islands were the first line of defense and thought never to be broken through, that the Undead would never be able to reach the Last Continent.



But one day, it still happened.
Multiple Fortress islands were lost to the Undead and for the first time in history they entered the last unconquered continent.




The only response the coastal village had were four Foreign Legionares and the poorly equipped “Fisher militia”, which Vyesziki was part of.




Another  problem was, however, that less than a third of humans can stand being in proximity to the Undead – most people immediatley feel their presence and a growing fear.

Some can handle that fear.




Over two thirds however, are paralyzed by terror before they even see them.

Some won’t move until brought away, some run, some curl into a ball on the ground and cry. They turn into helpless lumps, no use in a fight.



It is not known what exactly causes this, it seems random, a seasoned General might break into tears and fall to his knees, while a child can face the horror.

It’s even worse for animals, cattle stampedes through fences, war horses panic, rendering cavalry obsolete in this catastrophe.



It would be a war of footsoldiers.





This condition, called “The Terror” or “Undeath Freight”, was one of the main causes that humanities’ armies were shattered and Kingdoms broke down after the sudden appearance of the Undead decades ago.

The Fisher Militia faced the Undead for the first time, and two thirds were immediately rendered useless, cowering, crying, giving up.

Vyeszikir, however, could stand the fear.



With spears, harpoons and hooks, they retreated behind their barricades, under the rallying cries of the tested Legionares they faced the barnacle covered, undead monstrosities crawling out of the ocean.



After exhausting two days, the relief came in form of the Quijari Guard – a large fighting force had been beaten back by the united armies on the coast.



After the battles, armies all around the remaining empires, kingdoms and enclaves were recruiting young “fearless” souls, those who were tested by the Undead during the attack.



There was talk of a large counter invasion – not only the island chains should be taken back, but a giant landing operation would enter the next continent, with the goal of beating the creatures back, destroying their Southern armies in the Tagavri plains and finally taking the old fortresses on the Tagaron pass.

Vyesziki, in hopes of finding her mother on the isles, enlisted in the Quijari Guard.

But her mother had made sure her Yeshi wouldn’t be able to join the war.

She had arranged papers that her only child was not fit for military service, for medical reasons. Which medical reasons, she wondered? She didn’t even show sign of Terror, she told the recruiter.



But she was sent away, the recruiter told her to respect the wish of her dead mother and not become a soldier.

Devestated, she left the recruitment bureau, only to be greeted by a familiar Foreign Legionaire. There is a way, the soldier promised.  Vyesziki would die soon after that.

When Vyesziki (actually meaning butterfly in a Kasrovykian accent) decided to join the legion, she chose to leave that name behind, burn and bury her old self at a ritualistic funeral.



From now on she would be called by Jaroyesz, a warrior’s name.



When she had succesfully completed her hard training, the Legion’s weapon chambers were rather empty.

Next to forging new sets, the main source for Legion armor is salvaging armor from dead – or often undead – soldiers. At the time, there was only one set of armor left. And for a good reason.



It is cursed, they said. The core part of this munitions grade armor was worn by twelve soldiers already, all dying overseas on the battlefield against the Undead.

None of them had ever come back to unholy life though. Layers of rust were sanded away multiple times, making the plate shine dark again, like in the times of the Empire.

Jaroyesz had the choice to refuse and wait for another set, but she accepted, making her the thirteenth wearer of the 'cursed armor'.




She declared it her lucky number and went to war...

BAD WOLF-787 wrote:She looks great!

Thanks!

Illusion wrote:AWESOME a*g*a*i*n!

I so very much like the KasrOVYkian Empire idea, you will have to embed it in the Ovyview.

nice to spread the story in between the pictures. Impressive wealth of creative facts for your ovyverse.

As for the b/w shots, they are fabulous but the second remains my favourite, followed by the fourth.

Thanks so much! Yes the portaits were indeed very lucky shots.
Glad you like the infos spread between the pics. The idea was that maybe more people would read when they are not overwhelmed by a wall of text.

GubernatorFan wrote:I am old enough to remember black-and-white TV, and to appreciate the switch to glorious color. So black-and-white does not have any special appeal to me in general. However, your images are just so perfectly artistic and evocative, I love them even in black-and-white.
PS I just discovered that the Ovyview post now includes multiple spellings of Xykkurji.

Thanks sir!

And haha, yeah I didn't edit it since I first posted it, I guess I recognized the different spellings before and made them 'official'.

PickleMunkey wrote:Gosh that is so awesome, I absolutely love the look of the armor!

Thanks so much!

skywalkersaga wrote:The black and white photos are stunning -- very moody and allows us to appreciate the textures. Gorgeous as always.

Thanks! Yeah I accepted the rough textrue of the Worbla.

Stryker2011 wrote:What an incredible presentation. The photos are outstanding, and lend themselves perfectly for such a cool looking character. Love everything about this (especially knowing all the time it took to get her to this stage). Beautiful stuff.

Thanks so much! Now the fun starts haha....and yes it took quite some time.

Randam Hajile wrote:Excellent work on the armor and weapons. A+++++
I love the pictures, which convey a very dark mood. Very nice!

Thanks! Glad you feel the dark mood.

What an ingenious way to fuse storytelling and show-and-tell, demonstrating your work (with anything from artistic to revealing imagery) and building up the framework for your character. Beautiful work, beautiful images, cool presentation. And I am very relieved she did not really die, which would have been a sad waste of such a great character.

Cool story and great pics. Very moody and evocative way to present this. Impressive work.

What a unique and elegant way of revealing her backstory. Looking forward to more!

Very cool shots without the helmet and a very nice story to go along with the pics.

In the Grand Army of the Kasrovykian Empire, special units wore "The Scales", a little metal pendant to identify their fallen.

The Foreign Legion, founded by veterans, carried on this traditon. The demand to identify the fallen has risen after they started to come alive again.

It's a simple metal plate, for the common soldier like Jaroyesz it's mostly cheap scrap metal.



But they wear it with pride.




When the new recruits have to undergo the final ritual of the "Bloodbath", it is "tempered" in blood.



The three dents in this particular plate - and many others - stand for the Hornfather, the thousand-faced Mother and the Spawn -  the holy Trinity, the main religion of the former Kasrovykian Empire.



Most armies have adopted similar ways to identify the Fallen. Not only to know their fate, but for the practical reason of tracking how many dead soldiers are fighting for the Undead.



Jaroyesz hopes to at least find her mother's badge one day, but this might be a futile endeavour.

GubernatorFan wrote:What an ingenious way to fuse storytelling and show-and-tell, demonstrating your work (with anything from artistic to revealing imagery) and building up the framework for your character. Beautiful work, beautiful images, cool presentation. And I am very relieved she did not really die, which would have been a sad waste of such a great character.

Thanks sir. Well The pics sadly don't really fit the paragraphs, it's jsut the text spread in between them, but it seems to work. Glad you like the character.

Stryker2011 wrote:Cool story and great pics. Very moody and evocative way to present this. Impressive work.

Thanks a lot, glad you feel the moodieness. Mood.

skywalkersaga wrote:What a unique and elegant way of revealing her backstory. Looking forward to more!

Thanks a lot! Yeah trying something new from time to time, it never works out as planned.

Theboo-bomb wrote:Very cool shots without the helmet and a very nice story to go along with the pics.

Thanks my spectral explosive friend.

Another cool installment. Love the photos and the meaning behind the scale.

Very nice portraiture pics! The Scales is a nice little detail that is a good thing in world of undead.

Very nice additional pics. Jaroyesz looks cool in the portrait shots. Nice detail on the scale.

More gorgeous shots of a gorgeous, yet tough and haunting character. Not to mention, more backstory. Thanks for sharing.

She is beautiful in both black and white and colour.   The Scales idea is an interesting touch. I love the photo of her holding the chain up in her hand, that's very nicely posed.