Foreshadowing in Engine War

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.

**Iracundus**

Spoilers for those that have not read Engine War:

Spoiler:

**Sgt. Cortez**

"Could this be hint of a possible meta-plot or meta-theme of 9th edition? The Necrons and their anti-warp tech stalemating Chaos and the Great Rift, as an explanation for why the Rift doesn't keep growing or consume everything?"

This was already hinted at in Forgebane 2 years ago. I think it was there where they also showed that blackstone was able to keep Chaos in check (as shown by the Cadian pylons).
8th edition fluff said in order to create the rift Abby destroyed many of the blackstone sources throughout the galaxy during his crusades.
I guess now Necrons strike back/ rebuild/ reclaim some of those?

So... taking that it seems as if a Chaos vs Necron starterset would actually make more sense than Necs against Space Marines... but... there's nothing that could stop GW from making more Space Marines I guess

**Sasori**

There is actually a lot of subtle hints of the Silent King coming back as well spread out in some of the books. You really don't piece them together until you realize the King is coming back

Examples that come from the "Echoes of Awakening (which is another hint):

"The King! The King on his Throne! I’ve
seen him stir, I’ve heard him speak. Cold and
gold and old and bold, sing for your suppers
you priests who scold!" From Blood of Baal

"Rejoice! The Sleeper awakens, and sings
the song that ends the world! All across the
stars His children stir, and rise to claim
their mind’s birthright. So it begins, and so
it ends." From Faith and Fury

"The galaxy will not perish in flames and
fury. There will be no glorious final battle,
no clash and crash of blades. I have dreamt
of the death of Humanity, and we shall fall
in silence." From Faith and Fury

**pm713**

40k is always hinting at something big happening. Eldar have the Flame of Asuryan relit, the Phoenix Lords are up to something, Harlequins have a divine textbook to beating Cegorach, Ynnari have whatever they do between bad books.
Tyranids keep on coming with more fleets and has the main body of their forces getting closer and so on.

It probably won't mean anything.

**Iracundus**

pm713 wrote:
40k is always hinting at something big happening. Eldar have the Flame of Asuryan relit, the Phoenix Lords are up to something, Harlequins have a divine textbook to beating Cegorach, Ynnari have whatever they do between bad books.
Tyranids keep on coming with more fleets and has the main body of their forces getting closer and so on.

It probably won't mean anything.

Although individual books have had dropped hints and loose ends before that GW doesn't follow up on, the whole blackstone and Necron pylon network thing has run (ever since first being introduced in the 1st Necron Codex) through from Forgebane to Vigilus and now Psychic Awakening, and presumably into 9th edition if the Necrons are going to be one of the start factions. It has been awhile since such continuity of "meta-plot" or "meta-theme" has run through several GW products. Now of course, we don't know whether anything will come of it, or whether it will be a disappointing anti-climax. Obviously I don't expect any actual setting ending or upheaval changes but after such stringing along for several books, it would be nice if at least there were some payoff in terms of either individual character stories or some substories.

**NinthMusketeer**

pm713 wrote:
40k is always hinting at something big happening. Eldar have the Flame of Asuryan relit, the Phoenix Lords are up to something, Harlequins have a divine textbook to beating Cegorach, Ynnari have whatever they do between bad books.
Tyranids keep on coming with more fleets and has the main body of their forces getting closer and so on.

It probably won't mean anything.

For a long time the setting was stagnant, and things like this did not amount to mean anything in the end. The one time where the story did advance was ret-conned in a relatively short period.

Then the end times happened and the galaxy split in half. Suffice it to say the paradigm has changed.

**pm713**

NinthMusketeer wrote:
pm713 wrote:
40k is always hinting at something big happening. Eldar have the Flame of Asuryan relit, the Phoenix Lords are up to something, Harlequins have a divine textbook to beating Cegorach, Ynnari have whatever they do between bad books.
Tyranids keep on coming with more fleets and has the main body of their forces getting closer and so on.

It probably won't mean anything.
For a long time the setting was stagnant, and things like this did not amount to mean anything in the end. The one time where the story did advance was ret-conned in a relatively short period.

Then the end times happened and the galaxy split in half. Suffice it to say the paradigm has changed.

Even since I'd argue that most plot lines go nowhere. Nor would I call the setting stagnant.

**Iracundus**

NinthMusketeer wrote:
pm713 wrote:
40k is always hinting at something big happening. Eldar have the Flame of Asuryan relit, the Phoenix Lords are up to something, Harlequins have a divine textbook to beating Cegorach, Ynnari have whatever they do between bad books.
Tyranids keep on coming with more fleets and has the main body of their forces getting closer and so on.

It probably won't mean anything.
For a long time the setting was stagnant, and things like this did not amount to mean anything in the end. The one time where the story did advance was ret-conned in a relatively short period.

Then the end times happened and the galaxy split in half. Suffice it to say the paradigm has changed.

The paradigm is just returning to how it was in 2nd edition when the timeline advanced at roughly 1 game year to 1 real year.

Individual stories did have some progression though the overall galactic status quo stayed the same. The details could shift however, such as for example how Tycho progressed from being a Captain to being injured (after falling to a Weirdboy psychic attack in a battle report) and then eventually dead.

**Eldenfirefly**

Iracundus wrote:
Spoilers for those that have not read Engine War:

Spoiler:

So it seems the Necrons are using the new post-Rift sub-cults of the Adeptus Mechanicus as field testers for devices meant to suppress the warp. They are disguising themselves as Tech-Priets from unknown forge worlds, claiming to have constructed devices based on supposedly rediscovered STC designs. The hints given are these Tech-Priests having minute insectile servitors (sounds like hinting at scarabs), and lack of any noospheric data, instead relying on a vox-emitter. The device is also called the Varlian Device, after the mysterious Tech-Priest claimed the device might have come from the Gates of Varl (a mysterious site that in Eldar Codices is associated with Necrons), but the Adeptus Mechanicus don't dwell on this as for them the Gates of Varl have become a euphemism for ineffability.

The story of Engine War deals with the Teeth of the Cog sub-cult (a very anti-psychic power sect) though there is also mention at the end of another cult called Lodge of the Truspark. So it seems the Necrons are doing this with multiple sub-cults, which in their secretiveness don't communicate with each other.

This basically seems to be foreshadowing for Pariah and the Necrons and their plan of suppressing the connection to the warp.

Could this be hint of a possible meta-plot or meta-theme of 9th edition? The Necrons and their anti-warp tech stalemating Chaos and the Great Rift, as an explanation for why the Rift doesn't keep growing or consume everything?

Was this dark mechanicum or necrons ? I thought it was the work of the dark mechanicum when I originally read this part in Engine war. I never knew Necrons had this level of subtlety. lol

**Voss**

NinthMusketeer wrote:
pm713 wrote:
40k is always hinting at something big happening. Eldar have the Flame of Asuryan relit, the Phoenix Lords are up to something, Harlequins have a divine textbook to beating Cegorach, Ynnari have whatever they do between bad books.
Tyranids keep on coming with more fleets and has the main body of their forces getting closer and so on.

It probably won't mean anything.
For a long time the setting was stagnant, and things like this did not amount to mean anything in the end. The one time where the story did advance was ret-conned in a relatively short period.

Then the end times happened and the galaxy split in half. Suffice it to say the paradigm has changed.

It hasn't really though. We get 'super-high-stakes' battles over the planet of the week, and while the sky has a big hole in it, it doesn't really matter. Everyone has all the manpower and equipment they need to fight the wars they're in and everyone shows up for the next planet-of-the-week after vowing revenge or whatever.

Heck, 9th is kicking off further back in the timeline than Dark Imperium started with. We got to see the (Imperium victorious) end of the Indomitus Crusade in the opening novel and the starter set for 8th edition was after that, and yet the big new '9th edition' storyline is back in the thick of the Crusade.

The date on the official calendar has changed, but its still two minutes to midnight and all the chaos, robots and bugs took a step back to close in again. It isn't going to be 'for reals' this time either.

**Iracundus**

Eldenfirefly wrote:
Iracundus wrote:
Spoilers for those that have not read Engine War:

Spoiler:

So it seems the Necrons are using the new post-Rift sub-cults of the Adeptus Mechanicus as field testers for devices meant to suppress the warp. They are disguising themselves as Tech-Priets from unknown forge worlds, claiming to have constructed devices based on supposedly rediscovered STC designs. The hints given are these Tech-Priests having minute insectile servitors (sounds like hinting at scarabs), and lack of any noospheric data, instead relying on a vox-emitter. The device is also called the Varlian Device, after the mysterious Tech-Priest claimed the device might have come from the Gates of Varl (a mysterious site that in Eldar Codices is associated with Necrons), but the Adeptus Mechanicus don't dwell on this as for them the Gates of Varl have become a euphemism for ineffability.

The story of Engine War deals with the Teeth of the Cog sub-cult (a very anti-psychic power sect) though there is also mention at the end of another cult called Lodge of the Truspark. So it seems the Necrons are doing this with multiple sub-cults, which in their secretiveness don't communicate with each other.

This basically seems to be foreshadowing for Pariah and the Necrons and their plan of suppressing the connection to the warp.

Could this be hint of a possible meta-plot or meta-theme of 9th edition? The Necrons and their anti-warp tech stalemating Chaos and the Great Rift, as an explanation for why the Rift doesn't keep growing or consume everything?

Was this dark mechanicum or necrons ? I thought it was the work of the dark mechanicum when I originally read this part in Engine war. I never knew Necrons had this level of subtlety. lol

It's not the Dark Mechanicum because they are about using the warp and blending it with tech to create daemon engines. They wouldn't do something so anti-warp.

**beast_gts**

Eldenfirefly wrote:
Iracundus wrote:
Spoilers for those that have not read Engine War:

Spoiler:

So it seems the Necrons are using the new post-Rift sub-cults of the Adeptus Mechanicus as field testers for devices meant to suppress the warp. They are disguising themselves as Tech-Priets from unknown forge worlds, claiming to have constructed devices based on supposedly rediscovered STC designs. The hints given are these Tech-Priests having minute insectile servitors (sounds like hinting at scarabs), and lack of any noospheric data, instead relying on a vox-emitter. The device is also called the Varlian Device, after the mysterious Tech-Priest claimed the device might have come from the Gates of Varl (a mysterious site that in Eldar Codices is associated with Necrons), but the Adeptus Mechanicus don't dwell on this as for them the Gates of Varl have become a euphemism for ineffability.

The story of Engine War deals with the Teeth of the Cog sub-cult (a very anti-psychic power sect) though there is also mention at the end of another cult called Lodge of the Truspark. So it seems the Necrons are doing this with multiple sub-cults, which in their secretiveness don't communicate with each other.

This basically seems to be foreshadowing for Pariah and the Necrons and their plan of suppressing the connection to the warp.

Could this be hint of a possible meta-plot or meta-theme of 9th edition? The Necrons and their anti-warp tech stalemating Chaos and the Great Rift, as an explanation for why the Rift doesn't keep growing or consume everything?

Was this dark mechanicum or necrons ? I thought it was the work of the dark mechanicum when I originally read this part in Engine war. I never knew Necrons had this level of subtlety. lol

Necrons have pretended to be humans for a while now - since 3rd Ed, I think. Deus ex Mechanicus is an example.

**Kommissar Kel**

beast_gts wrote:
Eldenfirefly wrote:
Iracundus wrote:
Spoilers for those that have not read Engine War:

Spoiler:

So it seems the Necrons are using the new post-Rift sub-cults of the Adeptus Mechanicus as field testers for devices meant to suppress the warp. They are disguising themselves as Tech-Priets from unknown forge worlds, claiming to have constructed devices based on supposedly rediscovered STC designs. The hints given are these Tech-Priests having minute insectile servitors (sounds like hinting at scarabs), and lack of any noospheric data, instead relying on a vox-emitter. The device is also called the Varlian Device, after the mysterious Tech-Priest claimed the device might have come from the Gates of Varl (a mysterious site that in Eldar Codices is associated with Necrons), but the Adeptus Mechanicus don't dwell on this as for them the Gates of Varl have become a euphemism for ineffability.

The story of Engine War deals with the Teeth of the Cog sub-cult (a very anti-psychic power sect) though there is also mention at the end of another cult called Lodge of the Truspark. So it seems the Necrons are doing this with multiple sub-cults, which in their secretiveness don't communicate with each other.

This basically seems to be foreshadowing for Pariah and the Necrons and their plan of suppressing the connection to the warp.

Could this be hint of a possible meta-plot or meta-theme of 9th edition? The Necrons and their anti-warp tech stalemating Chaos and the Great Rift, as an explanation for why the Rift doesn't keep growing or consume everything?

Was this dark mechanicum or necrons ? I thought it was the work of the dark mechanicum when I originally read this part in Engine war. I never knew Necrons had this level of subtlety. lol

Necrons have pretended to be humans for a while now - since 3rd Ed, I think. Deus ex Mechanicus is an example.

I listened to this just a couple weeks ago; Narrated by A Border Prince on YouTube:

Spoiler: