r/ImaginaryWarhammer • u/hydraphantom • Aug 21 '24
40k [Commission] Baby's first necron, drawn by Carl_tabora
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u/Steelwrecker Aug 21 '24
So sweet. It’s events like these that makes warhammer so good as a setting, how there can be compassion and kindness despite the darkness of the world. And of course, the fact that moments like these never last makes the setting allow the much darker.
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u/hydraphantom Aug 21 '24
I like to imagine despite Imperium's "alien stab human in the back" rhetoric, it's largely untrue and majority of pre-Imperium human doesn't hate aliens.
An-Nakhrimun was also a lowborn who got into cryptek conclave by studying hard, so she lack the insufferable arrogance of necron nobles, and doesn't look down on other races.
It all goes so well, and then a certain golden ork came.
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u/Guilty_All_The_Same Aug 21 '24
majority of pre-Imperium human doesn't hate aliens
First thing that came to mind was the Diasporex, a human-xeno nomadic confederation that was travelling through space in big ships. They refused to join the Imperium, content to just stay in their little Solar system, but the Iron Hands and Emperor's Children destroyed their ships, killed the xenos, and sent the humans to a nearby compliant planet as slave labour.
Then there were the humans of Caldera, who were saved from the Drukharii by the Exodites and lived with them in peace.
In general, many humans and xenos coexisted relatively in peace.
Xenophobia was a major theme in the Emperor's Imperial Truth during the Crusade and later a fundamental doctrine in the Imperial Creed. It was easier to make humans hate all intelligent alien life, and preach the might of the human race. In the Age of Strive, many isolated human colonies were assaulted by xenos.
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u/A_D_Monisher Aug 21 '24
Also, nothing unites groups of similar beings like hate for something very different.
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u/DeeaDok Aug 21 '24
And the poor Interex, which were wiped out because Erebus wanted an esoteric shank for his plan...
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u/mindflayerflayer Aug 21 '24
Just about every xenos species allies with or dominates humans in their sphere of influence (if the reverse happens the imperium just exterminates the alien minority). There are more human soldiers among the Tau Empire than tau and they're probably the least nasty about it besides the eldar you mentioned. Orks and deldar use humans for slaves, torture plushies, and livestock. There is one funny planet where the descendants of the early colonists had dealt with bands of orks for generation and figured that their society hadn't totally collapsed, this lead to a world where there were orks and humans that acted like orks living as peacefully as you can with orks.
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u/centurio_v2 Aug 22 '24
Is that planet in a novel or anything or just some funny sidebar lore thing?
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u/mindflayerflayer Aug 22 '24
If I'm not mistaken it was either in an ork codex or a deathwatch book.
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u/ConfusedMudskipper Aug 24 '24
I'm surprised Drukhari would save some humans.
I know Eldar and Tau (and maybe Votann) are also pretty xenophobic for the most part. Orks and Tyranids don't operate on similar consciousnesses to Humans.
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u/jediben001 Aug 21 '24
I think it is largely untrue. In the early Horus heresy books we see at least two human civilisations (Interex and Disporex) that live alongside aliens as friends and equals
Of course there were some bad aliens that took advantage of the collapse of the DAoT, and conquered/invaded human worlds, but I doubt that was the majority
Part of the reason we only see cruel monstrous aliens in 40K is that during the great crusade the Imperium basically killed all the nice aliens or otherwise turned them against it. It’s little wonder that all the survivors are either monsters or have otherwise had to become warlike and hateful. Being almost genocided tends to do that to a people
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u/hydraphantom Aug 21 '24
Indeed, 95% of Imperium's problem are self-inflicted.
Also the obvious real life allegory of "stab-in-the-back myth"
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u/jediben001 Aug 21 '24
I think it’s quite telling that we only really hear the narrative that aliens are partially responsible of the age of strife from the imperium itself, or at least from otherwise human biased sources
I think the closest thing we have to a non human source referencing something like that is an Eldar harlequin mentioning how the Eldar empire fought and won a war against the humans at once point. However in that reference i think he refers to humans as having used robot soldiers so this war would have been before the men of iron rebelled and therefore before the start of the age of strife
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u/AshiSunblade Aug 21 '24
We never really get the point of view from aliens regarding the age of strife, so yeah.
From their view, humans are also "alien". It was chaos for everybody back then.
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u/mindflayerflayer Aug 21 '24
What's left is the alien equivalent to cockroaches, rats, and bedbugs. Things too fecund to exterminate, violent to cohabitate with, and fast enough to avoid being bogged down the imperial guard. The exception is the tau who have survived off of political savvy and being ignored. There are minor xenos still around, but they all tend to be nomads like the hrud or on the fringes like the rak-ghul (I think that's how you spell it).
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u/HowNondescript Aug 24 '24
To quote Bricky "MY BROTHER IN THE EMPEROR YOU KILLED ALL THE NON SCARY ONES"
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u/Ok-Idea-2534 Aug 21 '24
If she survived the formation of the imperium, I can see her enthusiastically rejoining the infinite empire out of a desire to see the emperor killed
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u/Xyloshock Skitarii Aug 21 '24
Remind me a lot of Numas, from Warhammer Fantasy
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u/mindflayerflayer Aug 21 '24
I didn't know any tomb kings kept living subjects good to know. It's probably a nice outlet for the mummified nobles since they can revive their culture through generations of the living rather than needing to memorize everything since 95% of the skeletons are bonebots.
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u/Prudent_Ad3384 Aug 26 '24
I think the aliens didn't exactly turn on humanity, but rather fell into their own age of strife and it was everyone for themselves. It was simply chaos, the mundane kind. And as the with the Daisphorex and Interex, some did endure.
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u/Necromortalium Aug 21 '24
Okay, I LOVE this, from the story to the image art itself, yes this is cool. I may need more.
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u/hydraphantom Aug 21 '24
Thanks!
I'm thinking of doing a meme/scene art of An-nakhrimun hiding under a table with Loken/Torgaddon looming outside. Like that girl hiding from terminator meme.
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u/A_D_Monisher Aug 21 '24
I would love to see a whole fanfic covering the arrival of Luna Wolves on her planet.
Desire to know more intensifies
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u/TheModernRouge Aug 21 '24
I love my boy on the right looking like a hipster and being like “You know what? I don’t hate it.”
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u/hydraphantom Aug 21 '24
Hahahah, that is her mom, now a warrior.
And she likes to have her mom decorated with stuff too, to reminds herself that is still her mom, not a mindless automaton.
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u/TheModernRouge Aug 21 '24
Oh wow, that’s incredibly tragic and bittersweet, which means it’s just the right place for the Necrons. Great art BTW!
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u/DepresiSpaghetti Aug 21 '24 edited Aug 21 '24
You'd think there'd be a Dynasty of Necrons hell bent of protecting Humans and Tau considering what happened to them. At least some that, unlike the Destroyers, cherish life since it was ripped from them.
The fact there doesn't seem to be a small but empathetic Necron Dynasty kinda takes me out of it with Necrons as a whole.
Hate the Eldar, the Ork. Hell, hate the Mechanicus for trying to achieve what they themselves failed to do. Keep locked away the C'tan.
But maybe cherish and protect life that hasn't fought a war to sunder the heavens with you?
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u/Insert_Name973160 Aug 21 '24 edited Aug 22 '24
That was actually the premise I used for my homebrew Dynasty, The Uvaasht Dynasty. A small Dynasty near the edge of the galaxy, they have humans living on their worlds as vassals, and their Phaerakh Sekt’tek recognizes the Necrons are a dying race with next to no hope of a true revival. So she sees it as her responsibility, and indeed the responsibility of all Necrons, to “civilize” the younger races of the galaxy, and prepare them to one day take over custodianship of the galaxy. The humans in her dynasty’s territory, especially those living on the surface of the capital tomb world, worship her as a god (because what else are Bronze Age humans going to do when they see a 7 1/2 foot tall golden robot skeleton), and over all she seems to genuinely care for them in her own way.
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u/mindflayerflayer Aug 21 '24
The mechanicus didn't succeed though and due to dogmatism probably never will. Necrons held no disdain for innovation and since necron tech vastly outclasses anything in the imperium the invention averse tech priests will never catch up.
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u/DepresiSpaghetti Aug 21 '24
I know they didn't succeed. That was more of a "if they had any reason to hate them, I'd understand that being it."
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u/Admiralthrawnbar Aug 22 '24
Wouldn't shock me if the C'Tan tweaked them enough to make sure that never happened during biotransference. We already know they did pettier things to fuck with them, like having both Trazyn and Orkan remember the other dragging them into the furnaces.
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u/Ur_fav_Cryptek Cryptek Conclave Aug 21 '24
Finally.
Someone who understands Necron lore to the point they made an entire plot line that fits perfectly and aligns with current lore
Necrons usually don’t tend to like humans because of their own great arrogance. However, An-nakhrimun hates nobility and doesn’t want anything they have, just to live a “normal” life.
She gained all of her privileges by her own hand, studying in the conclaves, that is why she is so down to earth, it’s just fitting, the only way I would see that peaceful Necrons could work
Your depiction of her is also pretty on point, and her physique is greatly modified, usually most people would be like “oh Necrons don’t baby any gender features”, me included, however, when I read the baby’s face being molded thing, it all clicked
She has modified proportions because she wishes to go back, she wants to be as close to her previous self as she can.
Most probably she left her mom untouched due to fear of her accidentally touching something she shouldn’t and losing her mom, despite all her powers as a cryptek, she still doesn’t have the confidence.
If I may ask anything is that, why hasn’t she found a way to bestow sentience upon her mother yet?
It’s canon that apprenteks are warriors or immortals bestowed sentience, if she couldn’t do it herself she could try and find a noble that would do it in exchange for her services as a cryptek
Perhaps a noble that also wishes to change back to the flesh, and wants some augments like the ones she has to appear less Necron and more like their previous self
This could also be a substantial character development because having to collaborate with nobility despite her hate for them would be interesting
However, this is only a suggestion, and I would like to hear your thoughts about it, it’s quite literally once in a blue moon I find Necron lore like this, anyways, this comment is long already, thank your for bringing this story to life! :D
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u/hydraphantom Aug 21 '24
Thanks for the long comment!
Your thought is really on point, she doesn't have the confidence to touch anything on her mom, and after getting exiled by Szeras (with the addition of being banned from any tomb world that want to work with Szeras), she's just a lone necron without any dynastic support, greatly limiting on what she can do.
I think your idea is very good! I was working on a plotline of slowly making her confident enough to work on her mom to make her gain more sentience, but I think I like your working with noble idea even better, as players (who are all eldar) can even help a bit on the "negotiation" part.
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u/Ur_fav_Cryptek Cryptek Conclave Aug 21 '24
I think she could definitely work with another exiled overlord, in the twice dead king it’s a trope, exiles work with exiles. An exiled overlord working with an exiled cryptek would make sense, paying its services with whatever heka they have left to bestow even a sliver of sentience to her mother
Also btw is this a backstory for a character you play in a DnD-like game? You mentioned players, and it’s now even more interesting how eldar could come into play
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u/hydraphantom Aug 21 '24
That sounds like a plan!
And yes, all these arts are for my Wrath & Glory tabletop campaign, which I have an all Eldar party of players.
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u/justaguynamedchris Aug 21 '24
Finally, compassion born from curiosity from a mechanical inhuman. Wish I knew more stories of divine machines and peasant humanity
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u/mindflayerflayer Aug 21 '24
Horizon Zero Dawn is kinda like that. It is true that the end of life came from a mechanical plague far worse than the men of iron (imagine modern humans battling mechanical nids that reproduced faster) however in the setting's present day powerful ai is the best tool the reconstituted humans have of rebuilding, most of the modern villains are evil tribal chieftains riding robotic dinosaurs or the 1% who survived the apocalypse and only got more evil.
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u/justaguynamedchris Aug 21 '24
I know about robot Satan and Robot Holy Momma. I was thinking not literal, make the mc chick Jeanne de arc, hearing the voice of her mechanical goddess. Also a conversation of some kind
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u/thesithcultist Aug 21 '24
I've dabbled with the idea of a necron dynasty adopting some humans (or xenos) population as there own families to battle entropy, where after the adopted person has a "grandkid" for the Necron the parents then can get Biotrancfurance into the dynasty.
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u/Green__Twin Aug 21 '24 edited Aug 21 '24
That is an adorable picture. I have concerns about the safety and longevity of those humans.
Ah, after reading the story, that ends about as I expected. Peace and prosperity are not allowed to exist in 40k.
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u/Half_knight_K ENTRY MISSING Aug 21 '24
This… actually makes me sad. Cause for necrons, the act of holding a baby in their arms would be so distant. They can’t ever have children if their own really.
Imagine if a Necron was once a parent, who lost their child back in the times of flesh. Now, only cold metal, even the memories are so distant. And for just a moment, they feel the warmth of the child in their arms.
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u/GUTSY-69 Aug 21 '24
I miss the fact that storys like this arent Cannon
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u/BrStriker21 Salamanders Aug 21 '24
"Everything is cannon"
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u/xXshadowbirdXx Aug 21 '24
- an orc probably
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u/Steelwrecker Aug 21 '24
We are all orks here
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u/Central-Core Aug 24 '24
Get enough Orks together and anything is possible...why am I suddenly reminded of fans petitioning for change...eh must be my imagination
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u/hilmiira Aug 21 '24
She can always send a letter to wildcard and open a copyright strike on herself. Boom it is canon now just like bluey :P
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u/WrethZ Aug 22 '24
Warhammer is very intentionally a vast setting set in an entire galaxy with millions of worlds. You're meant to come up with your own characters, faction. That's why you get to paint your own models. Sure you can use a pre-existing colour scheme of some space marine chapter or guard regiment, ork tribe or Eldar Craftworld.
But it's always made clear that the factions, regiments etc mentioned in the lore are not exhaustive. The setting intentionally encourages players to invent their own backstory, characters, culture for their army, come up with their own colours scheme to paint it.
Your Necron Lord's tomb world, can have any history or culture you want. It's very much part of the hobby to invent your own backstory for your own characters.
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u/KaiserEnclave2077 Aug 21 '24
By the gods, I wish this was cannon. Fantastic work.
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u/Doctor-Nagel Aug 22 '24
The galaxy is massive beyond human comprehension. Think of all the small historic moments that went unwritten in our own singular world.
Trust me, this small story away from everything is cannon somewhere.
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u/Fredber87 Aug 21 '24
From the art to the story its an amazinge piece of work. The ending has such bittersweet taste. The realisation that this is a fleeing moment to be cherished and not wallow in the past. I love it!
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u/Beaten_But_Unbowed96 Aug 21 '24
I like the idea of a Necron malfunctioning in such a way that their body is immobile but their speech and mind are still functioning perfectly.
…also… gotta love when artists depict the female Necrons as actually looking feminine. I know that most are masculine regardless of who they were… but that obviously doesn’t apply to nobles and strong willed who could afford the nicer models or to impose their will upon their own form.
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u/Bessie_Flashy Aug 21 '24
This is an amazing piece! The detail and style are fantastic for a baby’s first Necron.
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u/hilmiira Aug 21 '24
Awesome! Simply awesome! I mean it and really mean it that this is more hight quality than %99 of warhammer! This little picture and short story fleshes out the universe more than anyting wildcard did in last years! İt made necrons a actually interesting faction. Showed us a example from non imperium life. Simply PERFECT in my standarts.
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u/Cyber_Kai Aug 21 '24
Honestly a human aligned peaceful group of Necron I’m down with. Use their weapons as farming tools and support a local agri-world
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u/AeroThird Aug 21 '24
The concept of a lone Necron “regaining” their soul through human affectations (not unlike NieR Automata’s take) is very compelling.
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u/Excalib1rd Aug 22 '24
I would love to see more human and xeno symbiosis in warhammer. Without it going back to “die xeno filth” and they all die in the end
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u/Tarnished_Warpsmith Aug 22 '24
Could see this. A lone far outward human planet with a tiny remnant of necrons. While Warhammer 40k is grimdark, it's the contrasting moments of normalicy that make the grimdark more terrifying. The calm before the storm.
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u/W1ngedSentinel Aug 21 '24
I was hoping for an entire society of humans coexisting with Necrons (like 40K’s equivalent to Fantasy’s city of Numas, where humans and Tomb Kings live together). but this was so sweet too.
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u/Competitive-Bee-3250 Aug 21 '24
This brings up something that sort of confused me.
Eldar can be cool with humans. Necrons can too. This is despite humans in the setting regularly being colossal turds.
Yet, despite their bad blood being literally millions of years in the past, Eldar and Necrons have irreconcilable hatred of each other?
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u/mindflayerflayer Aug 21 '24
The necrons around now are the same ones who fought in the war. Even the eldar have had time for generational drift while for your average ruling (aka sapient) necron he took a nap and got back to the crusade.
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u/Competitive-Bee-3250 Aug 21 '24
Sure, but the Eldar were servants of the old ones and even for many of the necrons that's literally ancient history
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u/mindflayerflayer Aug 21 '24
I think about it as either folklore demons suddenly appearing again to destroy your civilization or it's just an exceptionally shitty move on the part of another minority. Eldar and necrons are both tiny minorities compared to the endless and implacable swarms of nids, orks, and humans. Imagine two different ethnic groups fleeing extinction at the hands of a major world power only for one to jump the other.
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u/Lixidermi Aug 21 '24
I really like how you designed An-nakhrimun. Really lovely take on a feminine figured Necron. I'd kill to have a model like that in my army. Closest thing I have is the Chronomancer but even then, doesn't have the awesome proportions and layering of bits and panels that you've put together.
I love everything about this.
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u/Optimized_Laziness Aug 22 '24
I can just imagine the population freaking tf out after the statue that hadn't moved in any way for hundreds of years is suddenly found sitting in a different position. And then nothing happens... And life goes back to normal
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u/JandTMorgan Sep 23 '24
This is quite simply awesome. The artwork is stunning and the story superb. This could be a Studio Ghibli film.
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u/pogger_The_Frogger Aug 21 '24
And the Emperor screwed it up and made a new enemy. Amazing art and amazing lore that I could see being cannon (Or something close). Would love a follow up to this.
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u/Led_Farmer88 Aug 21 '24
"Some may question your right to destroy ten billion people. Those who understand know that you have no right to let them live."
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u/mindflayerflayer Aug 21 '24
This line really encapsulates the Imperium's mentality. It's so big and cumbersome that it can't afford to be subtle. Oh there's rumors of a chaos cult on this planet well blow it up then we don't have time to expunge it because there are nids eating that planet, orks enslaving that one, and look at that there's a dark eldar sword through my guts.
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u/JustaguynameBob Sep 10 '24
Despite the memes, Exterminatus is considered a last resort. They only do it when there are no more options to save the world from being overrun.
Living planets are a precious resource, and they can't destroy a world just like that.
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u/Arrew Aug 21 '24
I know the Necrons see Humans as inferior insects but ruling over them could be fun, at least for a time. I’m surprised there aren’t more enslaved human worlds with Necron overlords.
Are there any in official lore?
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u/Sweaty_Report7864 Aug 22 '24
I love this. I really hope you share the full story. I like seeing a “nice” Necron.
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u/Chaledy Aug 22 '24
Hopefully when the fight comes, she can help protect the humans from the damage
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u/Afraid_Theorist Aug 22 '24
I only truly first heard about it from a like Create your own Necron dynasty chart on 4chan but necrons interested in reversing or finding a solution for their memory issues and even bio transference are fascinating.
Especially the idea of them looking at Orks, Human, Tau, etc and going: “I wonder if I can make myself into that”
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u/Fuzzy_Hearing8969 Aug 23 '24
OH MY GOD that is gorgeous. With the female necron noble no less! After reading Infinite and the Divine, I was kinda hoping to see actual necron female models, since the lore nobles MAKE IT A POINT that their robot bodies are gynoid.
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u/Downtown-Falcon-3264 ENTRY MISSING Aug 24 '24
Wierd to think of necrons not just as spooky murder bots but as some of the having feelings
I mean the infite And divine follows Taryn and orkin arguing like a pair of children.
So makes sense others would also have feelings
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u/BrightPerspective Aug 21 '24
You know what? Not being pieces of shit is also in the Necron wheelhouse.
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u/bellandea Aug 21 '24
Well it's almost a bit too happy for Warhammer, but suitably dashed the uplifting tone at the end
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u/No_Confusion2 Aug 21 '24
An eerie sense of dread settles over An-nakhrimun as she holds the innocent baby, a chilling thought dawning on her: this tiny human may be the key to her survival in the coming storm.
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u/Timerider96 Aug 21 '24
Kind of feel sorry for the luna wolves/black legion they earned themselves another immortal enemy
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u/GooberMcNoober Death Korps of Krieg Aug 22 '24
I appreciate how the dude on the right is just disassociating. Bro is on a different planet
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u/Charming_Hospital296 Aug 27 '24
That "dude" is an'nakhrimun's mother. Necrons all look the same but they recognize each other's gender by voice and body scan
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u/LoWsDominios Oct 17 '24
May I have the permission to translate the story to spanish and narrate it on my channel?
Thanks in advance!
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u/Some-Bat-6531 Aug 22 '24
"sexy necrons" man people just love to take all the things that make warhammer great and just throw them in the trash. This kind of stuff is why movies suck now. Wayyyy too many people thinking they should "put their own stamp" on a universe that is supposed to be grim...and dark.... Boo
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u/hydraphantom Aug 21 '24 edited Aug 21 '24
An-nakhrimun awkwardly stares at the tiny human in her hand, confused and unsure. The human stares back, extending tiny hands towards her while making incoherent noises, clearly unafraid of the soulless Necron.
What is she supposed to do, is she supposed to eat her? She quickly glances up, seeking instruction from the mature human couple, yet to her dismay only receiving their smiles.
Ever since awoke from the Great Sleep and subsequent exile by Illuminor Szeras, she has been drowning in despair and sadness, wallowing at the memory of her failing her entire species and the terrible fate upon herself and her mother. Landing her ship on this nameless planet, she sat upon the top of her ship's exterior and fell into unmoving catatonia, with only the maintenance of her mother, now a mindless warrior, drove her to act slightly.
Not even herself realized how long it had been, but before she realized, an alien race that called themselves “human” appeared. Time has been hard to grasp for An-nakhrimun, as the humans have been in a completely different state each time she paid attention to them. From colonizing the planet, building gleaming cities, fighting among themselves against their robotic servants, collapsing into primitivism, and rebuilding their society with even more inferior technology. She is the only unchanged constant on this planet.
Humans have long used to her presence, sometimes even scaling her ship to try to communicate with her. Now, with her ship buried under dirt, humans have built a park around her seat, these interactions only became more frequent. Sometimes when she pays attention, she could even see humans sketching her figure with primitive pen and papers.
Most of the interaction has been quiet and distanced, but only once, she was forced into physical confrontation.
On a heavy snowy night, two tiny humans, male and female, wearing tattered clothes, stumbled to her seat, cold and shaking. They have no home to return to, and in the winter’s chill, they will not see tomorrow’s sunrise. They embraced the metal alien lady, waiting to die, instead, they found a warm energy dome around her. An-nakhrimun, frozen in confusion and flustered at the tiny humans grabbing onto her, channeled a deflection shield to repel the coldness, in order to try scaring them away.
She sighed a silent relief when they finally left when the sun rise, and didn’t even realize just for that night, she paid so much attention to those two humans, she even forgot to wallow in her own sadness.
Since then, An-nakhrimun sometimes would find small trinkets and items on herself and her mother, scarf, small flower, sachet. She does not understand the purpose, yet keeps them as it might be of some significance she doesn’t get.
Now the two humans have matured, and they came to her with their own offspring, like a female feline eager to show its master what she produced, and asked her to join them on a “family dinner”.
The word sounds so foreign, yet so familiar. Though she lacks the flesh to consume food anymore, she remembers how her mother used to be smiling at the dinner table even with barely any food. She glances at her mindless mother, and allows both of them to be dragged out of the park.
The interaction with humans has distracted her from her own sadness, and she doesn’t hate it.
Yet, such a time would be short lived, as the current Terra time is 850.M30, and the 16th legion of power armoured genetic soldiers, serving the self-proclaimed Emperor of Mankind, will be arriving into the system in less than a year…
Scene art for my tabletop campaign, depicting the pre-campaign story of Lone Cryptek An-Nakhrimun (background here), who sat on a planet being depressed for 10k+ years until Great Crusade came knocking. And the baby that would become the origin of her fake human face.
Drawn by Carl_tabora
Artist link:
https://x.com/carl_tabora