Arushka, Yaga Soul-Weaver (KST)

Arushka, Yaga Soul-Weaver + 25 mm round base.

Available in resin or white metal. Heroic 28mm scale.

If you know a little bit about Russian Floklore, or if you've read Women who Run with Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, you'll be aware that Baba-Yaga is a very important figure of the Russian/Slavic mythology. The name Baba-Yaga could be translated as 'Grandma Snake'. She's an old crone who lives deep in the forest and she can be as benevolent as she can be cruel. She's very unpredictable.

We wanted to transpose this legend into the Kurganova background. And so, among other things, the Yaga Soul Weavers are a cast of sorceresses that can bend the primal forces of nature.Their powers are greatly amplified by cybernetic enhancements.

One of their key skill is that they are able to unleash the power of the 'were' gene. This gene was discovered by Kurganova scientists and is the key to turn people in were-animals (like were-wolves or were-bears, for example). And so, the Yaga sorceresses are able to turn some of the very rigid and disciplined Kurganova Troops into furious and unstoppable wild beasts.

The Yaga Soul Weaver channel the forces of ancient spirits through their cyber-enhanced shamanism.

On the battlefield the Yaga Soul Weavers generally work as a team, each of them serving as a relay and an amplifier of the shamanic forces.

The Kurganovas are torn between the chaos of their paganistic roots and the rigid order of their modern high-tech ultra hierarchic society.

The Yaga Soul Weavers stand in the middle of this perpetual turmoil. The powers that be tolerate their existence because the immense power they bring to battle, but at the same time, distrust these unpredictable forces, fearing that they could overthrow the current regime.

So the Soul Weavers are viewed with mixed feelings of respect, fear and disdain.

THE KURGANOVA SHOCK TROOPS (KST)
Led by the ultra-powerful Kurganov family, the Kurganova Shock Troops are a highly organized and disciplined army with underlying Eastern European themes. They also benefit from the support of strong cyber-enhanced paganic magic. This, among other things, allows them to 'waken' the 'were' gene that can transform some members of the Kurganova army into giant were-wolves or were-bears.