Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.
The story of Corax rebuilding his Legion is already told
Is it ?
I don't think it is.
There's a version in the Index Astartes articles sure.
But we don't know if that still holds true or will hold true.
And again I think you're being somewhat blithe with regards to just dismissing the potential of a story as " we know what happens".
We "know" the whole story of the HH by your logic, but surely the point of the series is to fully show and develop the bones of the story we have and flesh it out a bit.
We know, for example, that the ship in Battle for the Abyss doesn't make it and destroy whereveritwas.
We know that Garro made it back on the Eisenstein.
We know that Russ and Co. sacked Prospero.
O f course what we didn't know was the hows, whys and who's of how this happened.
.. Why and where did Corax go off to then ?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2011/05/09 19:29:18
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
The Raven Guard revelation could go any of a dozen different ways. The Alpha Legionnaire's comment could have referred to Corax or to the Alpha Legion themselves. I would also hold back on assuming that we know what the Alpha Legion's agenda is. Plus what we know about Corax after Itsvaan is fair game for a complete retcon of the fancy takes them.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2011/05/10 11:41:24
Wasn't impressed with the audio-book and I still think the "face of treachery" doesn't need the RG to participate.
So lets move on to the Luna wolves/Sons of Horus story.
Little Horus
This time, the title is the main actor. Little Horus Aximand.
A story of the mournival, wait wasn't that dissolved ? New candidates? But what about the lodge, Erebus and co?
Spoiler:
There is Ezekyle Abaddon, Little Horus Aximand and 2 vacant "seats".
And there is the true sons, which may be the important bit. The true sons are like Little horus, in their primarchs image.
'Aximands face had earned him his name, tough he was not the only member of the sixteenth legion who resembled the primarch. For a good many, including the first captain, elective genetics had guaranteed it.They were sons, true sons, amongst the sons.'
About the mournival:
'the decisions we had to make at davin and isstvan were so extreme, the nature of dissent was..
intense. Those who lost the argument could not be permitted to live. Its the way of things. When the matter is so great, those who speak against it become our enemies. They had to say NO, for in their No our Yes was consecrated.'
They.
Abaddon and aximand never spoke their names anymore.
The return of the mournival, and only true sons inside this time.
Transhuman dread Sounds interesting?
Spoiler:
Aximand had heard iterators talk of the condition.He'd heard descriptions of it from regular army officers too.
The sight of an adeptus astartes was one thing, taller and broader than a man could ever be, armoured like a demi-god.
The singularity of purpose was self-evident. An adeptus astartes was designed to fight and kill anything that didn't annihilate it first.
If you saw an astartes, you know you were in trouble.The appearance alone cowed you with fear.
But to see one move.
Apparently that was the real thing.
Nothing human shaped should be so fast, so lithe, so powerful, especially not anything in excess of two metres tall and carrying more armor than four normal men could lift. The sight of an adeptus astartes was one thing, but as moving fact of one was quite another.
The psychologists called it transhuman dread.
It froze a man, stuck him to the ground, caused his mind to lock up, made him lose control of bladder and bowel.
Something huge and warlike gave pause: something huge and warlike and moving with the speed of a striking snake, that was when you know that gods moved amongst men, and that there existed a scale of strength and speed beyond anything mortal, and that you were about to dieand, if you were really lucking there might be just enough time to piss yourself first.
Psychologists exist in 40k???
And nobody solved the issues?
But nonetheless, the story involves an attack on a loyalist world with lots of exotic wargear of the defenders.
Has nice fights, psychology and a hint on abbys relation to Horus.
Finally, aximand deems one he doesn't name anymore dead...
Spoiler:
It was the face of Garviel loken.
When Aximand woke, he felt a measure of happiness and relief. A man could not be afraid of the dead, and Loken was dead, and a fact
that would not change.
Ha, I say. Somebody is up for a surprise.....
Target locked,ready to fire
In dedicatio imperatum ultra articulo mortis.
H.B.M.C :
We were wrong. It's not the 40k End Times. It's the Trademarkening.
The story which BL provided an excerpt. So maybe partially known.
Iron Warriors.Those Loyal and Perturabo siding with Horus. Its nicer than some stories in this book,since it got explosions and stuff and is also
not that floating in a vaccum like others did. So were back to the fighting and the memories of the great crusade.
Spoiler:
In the right corner:
- A warsmith and his subordinates, guarding a waypoint.
- a guest, a marine of the XIII th. Legio.
In the left corner:
- one risen to warsmith, and his flock of guard and mechanicum.
- a "advisor"? , a marine of the sons of horus.
Its a interesting setup, siege warfare and the reasons layed out well. The theme of the Iron Warriors, iron within, iron without.
Perturabo seems to have had to deal with the Hrud. But the Hrud aren't easily beaten and some Iron warriors suffer from their entropy fields. The aged warriors are left behind to guard a waypoint. One of them as warsmith and overall commander, the other interred in a dread. A chaplain is there too, so it may hint that this chaplain edict was followed at the Iron Warriors.
On the opposite, are a newly risen warsmith, replacing the commander of that fortress. Got a lot of "power" in his new position.
But maybe not the brains...
Threathens his former master to obey on his own home turf and is sent back to his fleet. Where Warsmith Dantioch shows us about the Iron warriors creed and way of operation, his opponent Warsmith krendl seems to be promoted for his singlemindedness and blind followship. The forces committed to the fight, the attackers pay in blood for each metre. But how could the defenders hope to win?
The theme is iron, the iron as material and the iron of spirit. It may rust, and it may be broken, but who plans for rise and fall will endure.
The fortress is impressive, and the insight in pre-heresy fortifications and untis there garrisoned does add a background without taking away from the main characters, the iron warriors.
Spoiler:
The "new dog" thinks his anger and his claim to raze the fortress mean anything. The "old dog" knows a fortress may hold, but isn't infallible. And 366 days are proof of the time not wasted when planning that fortress.
Could the defenders live? Yes, because the fall was planned for also and thus, some escaped.
A story of the rise and fall....
'I live to tell the tale of the Iron Warriors final victory: the last loyal triumph of the IV Legion. He would want the story to go on.
Alas, his story, Dantioch said grimly, like that of our Legion, is at an end.'
'Warsmith, nicodemus began slowly, that need not to be the case. i assured you once that my Lord Guilliman had a plan. You have executed your part of thta plan flawlessly, Iron Warrior. Lord Gulliman still has need of such ingenuity and skill. Tehe Imperium is frail, Dantioch. An $Iron Warriors eye could spot such weakness and the good grace of his hand might make it strong once again.'
'What more would you ask of me?'the warsmith said.
'To stand shoulder to ceramite shoulder with my Lord Gulliman and help him fortify the Imperial Palace.'
'Perturabo will make us pay for such fantasies'
Perhaps. 'But I believe the genius of your victory today lay in your acceptance that the schadenhold-for alll its indomitable art-would fall.
'Lord Gulliman shares your vision. Humanitys future lies in such contingency.'
....
'I promise you this: whatever iron is left within this plate is yours..'
A plan?
We'll see... someday.
The iron within, the iron without.
Spoiler:
Iron everywhere...
Empires rise and fall. I have fought the ancient species of the galaxy and my Legiones astartes brothers will fight on, meeting new threats in dangers as yet unrealized.We are an Imperium of Iron and Iron is forever. When our flesh is long forgotten, wheter victim to the enemy within or the enemy without, Iron will live on. Our hives will tumble and our mighty fleets decay. Long after our polished bones have faded to dust on a gentle breeze, our weapons and armor will remain. Remnants of a warlike race: the Iron of loyalist and traitor both. In them our story will be told - a cautionary tale to those that follow. Iron cares not for faith or heresy. Iron is forever.
And as our battle-plate, our blades and bolters rot in the sand of some distant world, they will pit and tarnish. Their dull sheen will corrode and crumble. Gre will turn to brown to red. In the quietly rusting scrap of our fallen empire,Iron will return to its primordial stet, perhaps to be sued again by some other foolish race. And tough the weakness of my flesh fails me, as the weakness of my brothers flesh will ultimately fail him, our Iron shall live on. For Iron is eternal.
From iron cometh strength. From strength cometh will. From will cometh faith. From faith cometh honor. From honor cometh iron.
This is the unbreakable litany. And may it be forever so.
Target locked,ready to fire
In dedicatio imperatum ultra articulo mortis.
H.B.M.C :
We were wrong. It's not the 40k End Times. It's the Trademarkening.
The last of the storys and the leader in the poll of this thread. I'd say don't read it first, as it may be hard to compete for the rest of this collection afterwards. Surely a reason to buy Age of Darkness, be it quality or the point driven home by it.
Savage weapons, who are they?
The Astartes themselves?
It begins at Caliban..
and so were in a story where Dark Angels are present. Their opposition, are the Night Lords.
The Legions I and VIII, the Legions whose Primarchs didn't grow up in civilization firstly but entered civilization later.
Spoiler:
'Two years of civil war. World against world. Fleet against fleet. brother against brother.'
The Lion vs the Lord of the night. Meeting a Tsagualsa.
'Two years. Two years since Horus committed his first act of insanity. Two years since the VIII and I Legions both found themselves ordered into the void, feuding over possession of an entire subsector. Neither side gave ground without taking it back elsewhere. Neither
side charged without leaving a vulnerable flank open to assault. Neither Legion lost a battle when their Progenitors led them to war.'
Nice setup for the duel to come. Primarch vs Primarch.
Now I assume any story with 1+ Primarch inside, gets a better review than any with just mere mortals....
Maybe these aren't so highly viewed because of the possible awesomeness, but also because of the possibilities of some insight into the Heresy from some main actors.
After a prolonged war, it seems naturally that a decision is sought in direct approach.
Spoiler:
The warlords cold green eyes neer wavered from the holo image. "Two years of void skirmishes, two years of planettary sieges, two years of global invasions and worldwide retreats, orbital assault and shipboard evacuation... and we have a chance to end it at last."
"If this crusade is ever to end, my brother and I must face one another."
"For twenty sixth months I have chased him. For twenty sixth months he has fled from me, burning worlds before we arrive, crippling supply routes, annihilating mechanicum outposts."
....
"If a Primarch does not fall, this will be war without end. And neither he nor I willl fall without death bestowed by a brothers hand."
....
"We are one of the last loyal Legions left at full strength in the Imperium, and we are alone in the void, seeking to hold the entire kingdom together while all other eyes turn to Terra. Do you think I have no desire to stand with Dorn on the battlements of my fathers Palace? Do you believe I wish to linger here in the silence of space, piecing together the shards of this shattered empire?
We cannot reach Terra. We tried. We failed. That war is denied to us by the warps treacherous tides."
..
"We must win this war. An entire subsector wit hits forge worlds bleeding their genius and materiel into surviving, rather then supplying other Imperial forces. The knight worlds do the same, the host worlds, the ore worlds. The sooner we complete this crusade, the sooner every Imperial sector iss bolstered by its efforts, and the sooner we sail to join forces with Gulliman."
He sighed at this last declaration.
"Wherever he may be."
The brothers will meet on the surface and talk....
Thus a Primarch and 2 accompanying Marines teleport to the basement of a fortress, unbuilt yet.
The Lion wearing a helm with angel wings...
To meet his brother:
Spoiler:
Acadaverous god,in midnight clad, each armoured finger ending in a charged blade the length of a scythe. Black hair at the mercy of the worlds winds streamed back from a corpses face. Chained skulls rattled against war-plate etched with runic writing rejoicingin past massacresand celebrating atrocity agansit the empire of humanity. This husk of nobility, this emacipated wraith now no more than the shadow of a prince, bared teeth filed to fangs as he opened his arms to the Lion, offering a welcoming embrace.
'MY brother' hissed Konrad curze, Lord of the VIII legion. His was a vipers smile, just as predatory asbrazen in its hunger.
'I have missed you'.
Two opposites. The fallen noble, closer to a fantasy Vampire lord and the knightly lord. Archetypes of the fantasy realm, now in space...
Lets see where this goes:
Spoiler:
"Curze?" the Lion asked, his resonant voice softened by disbelief. "What happened to you?"
The night lord ignored the question, speaking with insincerity rich enough to make Corswains teeth ache.
'Thank you for coming. How it warms my heart to see you.'
The Lion drew his blade in a slow , clean movement.He neither brought it in en garde, nor threathened the other Primarch.
Instead,he clutched it in both black gauntlets,the crosspiece hilt before his face as he stared at Curze above the quillions.
"I will ask you this once and once only. Why did you betray our father?"
'I would ask you something in return,brother', Curze answered with a grin, his filed teeth on display. The clawed PrimarchS eyes were unhealthily bright, rich with a secret sickness. ' Why did you not?'
The Lion lowered his blade to end the salute, knightly respects now paid.
"Our father has charged me to take your head back to Terra."
'Our father said nothing, for he hides within his dungeons, collecting the secrets of the universe and sharing them with noone.
Lorgar and Magnus have seen everything our father sought to hide, so do not carry a precious little lie as your shield , Lion. You are Dorns hound, running here to the eastern fringe because he ordered you.' Curze licked his filed teeth.
'Come,brother.Let us at least do one another the service of beeing honest. I know Dorn. He sent you to do that which he feared to try himself.'
"I did not come to duel with words,Konrad. I came to end this crusade ."
The night lord shook his head, his pallid face grey in the weak moonlight.His lips were the only color on his visage, and even they were a bloodless blue. ' Speak with me , brother. Listen, reply in kind, and then decide if we must continue this war.'
When the Primarchs leave, their pairs of marines talk. Tidbits of info from legions traditons to be found, nice for those who build their models in pre-heresy/heresy schemes.
Then the Primarchs return.
Spoiler:
'Horus himself charged me to speak those words to you' he said. If the night lord had seemed cadaverous before, now he was practically exhumed. The Primarchs eyes,with what little white actually showed around the black pupils, wer inhumanely bloodshot.His gaunt features were dusted with a faint sheen of cold sweat, and a trickle of dark blood ran from his nose.
This will end in violence....
But firstly visions of the future.
Spoiler:
Curze shrugged, the barest rise of one shoulder guard.
'You will never reach Terra in time to defend it, brother. The warp won't let you.This crusade will not let you. I will not let you.
Do you think the archives of future generations will look upon you kindly for your absence?'
Curze paused in his diatribe, wiping away a fresh trickle of blood. 'Or will the human descendants of this Imperium look to your legend and whisper of doubt? Will they ask why you wwere not present to defend the Throneworld, and speak likely lies that perhaps the Lion was not as loyal and true as the mighty,and perfect Rogal Dorn? Perhaps the Lion and his Dark Angels waited in the deepest reaches of space, watching, listening, and deciding to join the fight only when an obvious victor emerged.' The night lords eyes glinted again, with both amusement and sorrow.'Thats your fate, Lion. That is your future.'
The visions of the night lord. But only half the truth.
Spoiler:
"Forgive me brother."
'For what?'
..
The next, Curzes features twisted into a taut of rictus pain, blood running between his clenched teeth. The Lion held tight to the grip of his blade, buried to the hilt in his brothers stomach.
"For such a dishonorable blow," the Lion whispered into Curzes pale bleeding face.
" I do not care who knows the truth now, tomorrow, or in ten thousand years. Loyality is his own reward."
And the all out fighting starts.
Primarch vs Primarch, marine vs marine.
Still they aren't silent, still talking...
Spoiler:
'You should be with us , brother. Even your own Legion senses it. The first legions strife is not unknown to the warmaster.'
"There is no strife."
'No?' the night lord spat the word as a curse.'No risk of angels falling? When did you last walk upon the soil of Caliban, oh proud one?'
Caliban, a tainted world. A legion split. And a Primarch warned, but did he believe his brother?
Whilst the primarchs fight comes to a brawl, the marines already called in reinforcements.
Curze tries to strangle the Lion, but where the NL assail the DA 2 vs 1 the DA support their PRimarch.
And thus, Curze has a sword in his spine and a DA on his back. Kicking the marine away, the Lion and Curze are both back on their feet but barely standing. Does it go on? Here comes the cavalry, more marines entering in droppods..
Spoiler:
Curze laughed - at least he began to - before his own warriors began to drag him back just as the angels dragged the Lion.
The two Primarchs staggered back from one another, cursing each other above their sons heads, both hindered by weakened limbs and grievous wounds that made the air stink with their genetically divine blood.
The great sword impaled the ground as it fell from the angel lords grip, while curzes could no longer lift his claws.
They left, cursing each other, but their sons weren't willing to lose them and pulled them back from the battle.
Imagine, 2 brothers fighting their hardest, then dragged away screaming and cursing but inable to resist their sons.
Finally contact with the imperium is established again.
Spoiler:
"We will not abandon the Thramas crusade until these worlds are ours. The Imperium lives and dies by what we do here in the deepest reaches. Defending Terra means nothing if the rest of the empire is ash."
"We have made contact with several of my brothers and their legions " he said,
"for the first time since wee parted company with the wolves."
'Is it the wolf king , sire?'
"No Cor. The hail comes from Gulliman and our cousins within the XIIIth legion. Knowing we have been unable to reach Terra, it seems the Lord of Ultramar wishes us at his side instead."
Not Terra?
But the most important point is coming in the last line of the story:
Spoiler:
"My sons," he smiled, tough it was utterly without warmth." it seems Horus is not the only soul to believe he is heir to the empire."
WOW.
Never expected that coming. But it makes sense.
From the start of this book, to its end, every little bit adds to this.
Target locked,ready to fire
In dedicatio imperatum ultra articulo mortis.
H.B.M.C :
We were wrong. It's not the 40k End Times. It's the Trademarkening.
I noticed throughout Age of Darkness that the stories referred to the marines exclusively as Astartes or Angels, and the armor as war-plate or battle-plate.
I'm pretty sure this was not common practice in novels before Soul Hunter.
Also,
Spoiler:
I think Ultramarines are likely to get much more interesting in future HH stories
Bam, said the lady!
DR:70S+GM++B+I+Pw40k09/f++D++A(WTF)/hWD153R+++T(S)DM++++ Dakka, what is good in life?
To crush other websites,
See their user posts driven before you,
And hear the lamentation of the newbs.
-Frazzled-10/22/09
WOW. 