Sunday, March 11, 2012

Touched by the Fey.

Good Day to all again!



Just recently, I finish the Knights of Bretonnia Novel by Anthony Reynolds, It was quite a good novel providing insight on the World of Warhammer and a more in-depth view of Bretonnia. Since my first army was Bretonnia and I always had a fascination for Knights, I was happy to see a Bretonnian Novel finally created after observing so many other Warhammer Fantasy novels and games conveniently omitting the land of Knights.

Critically, aside from giving a great tour around the lands of the Knights, the novel didn't make me grow attach to the main character as much as I would have expected. My only other critical point would be that Anthony made the King Of Bretonnia not very awe-inspiring and portrayed the main character in the ending of the novel as something way more powerful than just a Grail Knight. It seemed like he was more of a Paladin compared to the Grail Knight I am familiar with in the Army book of Warhammer. Nonetheless, I have gotten a better understanding of the society and culture of Bretonnia. However, when you delve into the world of a Song of Ice and Fire, its hard to find anything that comes close to that type of fantasy novel. No offense to Anthony Reynold, but this novel doesn't come close to George R R Martins Fantasy story.



A Damsel and a Guardians, the Knights of Bretonnia

Anyway, today I shall focus on one of the most feared and respected individuals in Bretonnian Society. The Damsels of the Fay Enchantress, touched by the Fey, they have the gift of magic and foresight. Fear by peasants and nobles alike, Damsels are born special when young. Parents would soon discover their "Gifts" as a child, more often than not, it would bring shame, revulsion and fear among the people surrounding the child.



Usually, The Fay Enchantress would come to take these girls away. Some never to be seen again, while others emerge as Damsels, aiding the Fay Enchantress and protecting the lands of Bretonnia with their gift of Magic.


Unlike the Wizards from the Empire, much is not known on how Damsels learn or improve on their special ability of wielding and controlling the winds of magic. Even in the novel, they do not give much details on it. However, it is known that the Damsels are the representatives of the Fay Enchantress and as such, commands respect and allegiance from the Knights of Bretonnia.


No Knight would dare question the will and command of a Damsel. And while the King is the only authority that could intercede a Damsel's command, he would think twice in doing so as every damsel is a close representative of the Fay Enchantress which theoretically holds more authority than the King himself.


So here I have a Damsels painted by DPS in her original theme colour. I must say that among all the various editions of Damsel Miniatures, this is by far the best one. Would have love to paint one on my own, but with the amount of painting i have to deal with and the time needed, I decided to let DPS take on this one.


One thing I must grumble about the Damsels is that they are only able to use two lores of magic. The Prophetess of the Lady gets to use 3 which kind of suck when Imperial Wizards get to choose from ANY of the lore of magic. I mean it isn't be as bad as Wood Elves selection of magic but Bretonnian magic isn't really that great.

Then again, I might have to concede to the fact that Teclis did teach the Imperial Wizards magic, and High Elves can use all lores too. Pfft Oh wells...

I guess Teclis must have been repulsed by the fact that little boys who were gifted with special powers in Bretonnia were taken away by the Fay Enchantress and never to be seen again, unlike girls that were chosen by the Fay Enchantress.

On a side note, I have been doing much painting and as a result, my skills have improved by a bit. My highlighting, drybrushing and blending have heightened in skill. Thus, when I was looking at some of my Heroes and Lord Type miniatures for my Bretonnian army, I seem to be disgruntled at the fact that many of my other Bretonnian Units outshine in painting level compared to those Main characters. Thus, I have decided to repaint my Lord, my Paladins and my really old Damsel that some of you old readers might have seen before.

It will be awhile before I feature them again, but do stay tune!

Thanks for reading my rambles! TOODLE LOO for now!

11 comments:

  1. Definitely looking forward to see the new paint job for your heroes and Lords. I do remember how they look like, will you be adding onto the current paint scheme or totally changing it?

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  2. I will be totally changing it. Gonna primer everything black and start again. Hopefully I can make it look real good (:

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  3. Guys, Not sure if you would agree with me Jiaqi (Since you are a Bretonnian Player) but I did read a Warhammer Wikipedia that some believe and it all assumption that the Fay Enchantress is a Wood elves and that the Lady of the Lake is just another embodiement of Isha the Female Wood Elf Goddess. is that true?

    And just would like to comment that the pics and the figure by DPS looks remarkable!

    Good to hear you will be revamping your Bretonnian Figures! (:

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  4. Are you talking about this article Desolater?

    http://warhammervault.ign.com/wiki/index.php/Bretonnia#The_Lady_of_the_Lake_.26_The_Wood_Elves

    I guess we can take it into account as quite factual.

    One thing that I want to agree with Jiaqi is that this current version of the damsel looks the best too.

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  5. I could agree that there are strong links. In the novel, it did show that there was strong symbiotic association between Isha and the Lady of the Lake. Hahaha what I find hilarious though is that Damsels and Prophetess can use lore of light, beast and life but the wood elves are limited to their crappy Wood Elf magic.

    How does that happen beats me.. (This is based on the assumption that Wood Elves teach magic to gifted kids of Bretonnia from which the Fay Enchantress (Presumably a Wood elf) takes them away from their homes to nurture them)

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  6. Hahahaha So true. I would like to add ont hat the Wood Elves have my sympathies. Clearly, the 8th edition, (and perhaps the 7th) have been harsh to the Tree hugging elves.

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  7. Truth be told, I have never once known the WOod Elves tob e highly deadly in any edition. It is always a challenge to win with Wood Elves.

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  8. Wood elves are pretty weak, followed by Bretonnians :P lol, sorry Jiaqi. Just had to say it.

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    Replies
    1. Heyyy Not true!! Our Cavalry charge still packs a punch. And I have won on several occasions with my Bretonnian Army.
      Admittedly, most my loses are to heavy infantry numbers army.

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    2. Haha well the Wood Elves are in a league of their own in terms of inferiority. But Bretonnians aren't so favorable in this edition too.

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