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Death and Defiance (Anthology)

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Template:Anthology Death and Defiance is a short anthology in the Horus Heresy Series which was released at Games Workshop's "Warhammer Fest" event in October 2014. These short stories were re-collected as part of War Without End published in January 2016.

Cover Description

Words alone can no longer convey the horrors of the war that now grips the Imperium. In what should have been an age of enlightenment and glorious triumph, instead warriors on both sides reel from the twin agonies of betrayal and bloodshed.

Contents

Imperfect

by Nick Kyme

Fulgrim and Ferrus Manus play a game of Regicide. Fulgrim taunts Ferrus with probing questions, asking which of the pieces he identifies with, trying to distract him from his strategy. When Ferrus makes his decisive move, upgrading one of his pieces to 'primarch', Fulgrim reveals a hidden piece which converts Ferrus's piece to his side. Enraged, Ferrus tips over the board. Fulgrim reveals himself in his daemonic form and attacks, killing Ferrus. Ferrus is revealed to be a clone created by Fabius Bile from the true primarch's blood on Fulgrim's sword, and just one of hundreds Fulgrim has made Bile create so he can play the game with them to see if he could ever have succeeded in turning Ferrus to Horus's cause. Leaving Fulgrim to his next game with a new clone, Bile visits his laboratory and it is revealed that he is also growing a clone of Horus.

Howl of the Hearthworld

by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Thirteen Stars Falling, a veteran Space Wolves sergeant, rails at Leman Russ for sending him to Terra so he and his squad can keep watch on Rogal Dorn. Laughing Jaurmag, a high-ranking Legion commander, requests to join them, and Russ reluctantly agrees. On board a transport ship a seemingly innocuous Administratum clerk requests the squad's names and ranks, and the hostile Wolves dishonestly provide their birth-names and standard ranks rather than their true, 'given' names or the actual names of their squads. Jaurmag warns them that the clerk is likely an agent of Malcador and to keep an eye on him during the long journey to Terra.

A Safe and Shadowed Place

by Guy Haley

Gendor Skraivok, a low-ranking Night Lords commander, ponders the remnants of one of the Legion's splinter-fleets that has fled to a pocket of hidden space on the outskirts of the Sotha system, on the edge of Ultramar. Of the remaining ships, only three including his still have power, and during a brief conference the captains of the other two ships announce that they are leaving, abandoning him to his fate. Determined to regather his resources and make his ship space-worthy again, Skraivok summons two other Night Lords. One, Kellendvar, tortures the location of the other, his birth-brother Kellenkir, out a crew-serf and finds him aboard one of the drifting hulks. Kellenkir is absorbed in the grisly and pointless torture of several captured serfs, and Kellendvar has to resort to violence to bring his brother back to Skraivok. Soon after, a second Night Lords' splinter-fleet commanded by Krukesh the Pale arrives out of the Warp and Krukesh forces the three to swear him their allegiance. Skraivok directs him to observe the regular pulses of energy coming from Sotha, but instead of a normal pulse a brilliant beam of psychic energy lights up space and is answered by another from Macragge, prompting Krukesh to direct his forces to investigate further.

Virtues of the Sons

by Andy Smillie

Sanguinius, primarch of the Blood Angels, confides to Horus his worries that by allowing their Legions and brother primarchs to embody only a single ideal they are failing as teachers. Horus is dismissive, but Sanguinius decides to organise educational duels for two of his most single-minded captains, Azkaellon and Amit. Azkaellon duels Lucius of the Emperor's Children aboard an oceanic warship, and although Lucius wins by drawing first blood by this point Azkaellon has already tackled him over the side, humiliating him in front of his men and robbing Lucius of the victory he wanted. Amit meets with Kharn on a desert planet that both their Legions have conquered in a joint action and they fight a brutal duel in a trench using axes and cleavers that leaves both badly wounded. When Azkaellon and Amit return to Sanguinius's side for a ritual combat festival of their Legion Sanguinius is disappointed to see that both have adopted their usual roles of defender and attacker, but during their fight notices brief moments in which they adapt to gain advantage, giving him hope that his Legion may survive after all.

Gunsight

by James Swallow

Eristede Kell, an Imperial assassin of Clade Vindicare, confronts a man in the bowels of the Sons of Horus' flagship Vengeful Spirit. Reflecting on a series of events, Kell recalls infiltrating the ship and setting up a hide across an internal canyon from a platform where he knows his target, Horus, will stand. Accidentally discovered by a crew serf, Letae, the terrified man thinks Kell has been sent to kill him because he remains loyal to the Emperor in his heart and only pays lip-service to worshiping Horus and his daemonic allies. Interested by Letae's loyalty, Kell strikes up an alliance with him and Letae begins secretly bringing supplies to him while he prepares for his kill. However, Kell was injured when his life-pod punctured the Vengeful Spirit's lower decks and he was subsequently attacked by venomous snakes dwelling in the ship's underbelly, leaving him mentally unstable and missing large portions of his memory. Consequently he remembers only the broad sweeps of his mission to Dagonet with a team of other assassins in which they killed Luc Sedirae instead of Horus and all of the team bar Kell died stopping a daemonic assassin sent after the Emperor, a mission which ended in Kell aborting his suicide run at the Vengeful Spirit's bridge and entering the ship via life-pod at the last moment. Back in the present but unaware that he has been aboard the ship for years, Kell succumbs to the whispers that have been playing in his mind since he survived the snake attack and snaps, demanding that the man, Letae, tell him where the whisperer, Samus, is. He accidentally kills Letae while the serf is protesting that Kell is out of touch with reality, and heeding the whispers' advice carves the word Lupercal into Letae's corpse and dumps it on a supply cart to draw Horus to him. When Horus arrives on the platform Kell is terrified out of making the shot but fires his sniper rifle out of reflex, yet Horus catches the bullet in mid-air. Confronting the assassin, Horus plays on Kell's resentment towards Malcador for sending him on such a suicidal mission and carves a Chaos symbol onto his palm, arming him with a new gun and turning him into a servant of Chaos.


Horus Heresy Series
Novels I Horus RisingII False GodsIII Galaxy in FlamesIV The Flight of the EisensteinV FulgrimVI Descent of AngelsVII LegionVIII Battle for the AbyssIX MechanicumX Tales of HeresyXI Fallen AngelsXII A Thousand SonsXIII NemesisXIV The First HereticXV Prospero BurnsXVI Age of DarknessXVII The Outcast DeadXVIII Deliverance LostXIX Know No FearXX The PrimarchsXXI Fear to TreadXXII Shadows of TreacheryXXIII Angel ExterminatusXXIV BetrayerXXV Mark of CalthXXVI Vulkan LivesXXVII The Unremembered EmpireXXVIII ScarsXXIX Vengeful SpiritXXX The Damnation of PythosXXXI Legacies of BetrayalXXXII DeathfireXXXIII War Without EndXXXIV PharosXXXV Eye of TerraXXXVI The Path of HeavenXXXVII The Silent WarXXXVIII Angels of CalibanXXXIX Praetorian of DornXL CoraxXLI The Master of MankindXLII GarroXLIII Shattered LegionsXLIV The Crimson KingXLV TallarnXLVI RuinstormXLVII Old EarthXLVIII The Burden of LoyaltyXLIX WolfsbaneL Born of FlameLI Slaves to DarknessLII Heralds of the SiegeLIII TitandeathLIV The Buried Dagger
Siege of Terra I The Solar WarII The Lost and the DamnedIII The First WallSons of the SelenarIV SaturnineFury of MagnusV MortisVI WarhawkVII Echoes of EternityGarro: Knight of GreyVIII The End and the Death (Volume IVolume IIVolume III)
The Primarchs Roboute Guilliman: Lord of UltramarLeman Russ: The Great WolfMagnus the Red: Master of ProsperoPerturabo: The Hammer of OlympiaLorgar: Bearer of the WordFulgrim: The Palatine PhoenixFerrus Manus: Gorgon of MedusaGrandfather's GiftPerturabo: Stone and IronMalcador: First Lord of the ImperiumKonrad Curze: A Lesson in DarknessJaghatai Khan: Warhawk of ChogorisVulkan: Lord of DrakesSons of the EmperorCorax: Lord of ShadowsAngron: Slave of NuceriaScions of the Emperor Konrad Curze: The Night HaunterGhost of NuceriaThe Passing of AngelsThe Abyssal EdgeMercy of the DragonLion El'Jonson: Lord of the FirstIllyriumThe Revelation of the WordMorningstarWill of the LegionEmbers of ExtinctionAlpharius: Head of the HydraBlood of the EmperorLoyal SonsMortarion: The Pale KingRogal Dorn: The Emperor's CrusaderSanguinius: The Great AngelHeirs of The Emperor
Horus Heresy Characters Valdor: Birth of the ImperiumLuther: First of the FallenSigismund: The Eternal CrusaderEidolon: The Auric Hammer
Novellas Promethean SunAurelianBrotherhood of the StormThe Reflection Crack'dFeat of IronThe LionThe Serpent BeneathCorax: SoulforgeScorched EarthTallarn: ExecutionerPrince of CrowsThe Crimson FistThe PurgeRavenlordThe Seventh SerpentTallarn: IroncladCyberneticaWolf KingThe HonouredThe UnburdenedGarro: Vow of FaithSons of the ForgeDreadwingSpear of Ultramar
Collections AngronThe Imperial TruthSedition's GateEchoes of RuinDeath and DefianceBlades of the TraitorMedusonBetrayal at CalthEchoes of the ImperiumVirtues of the Sons/Sins of the FatherEchoes of RevelationLupercal's WarCthonia's Reckoning
Short Stories The Lightning TowerThe Dark KingArmy of OneKryptosDistant Echoes of Old NightLost SonsDeath of a SilversmithThe Divine WordThe Kaban ProjectThe Gates of TerraLord of the Red SandsSerpentLuna MendaxRivenBjorn: Lone WolfThe Wolf of Ash and FireHeart of the ConquerorChild of NightThe ShadowmastersThe Devine AdoratriceDaemonologySins of the FatherThe Final Compliance of Sixty-Three FourteenVoraxThe Value of FearBrotherhood of the MoonVirtues of the SonsImperfectHowl of the HearthworldA Safe and Shadowed PlaceGunsightBlack OculusWolf MotherTwistedChirurgeonTallarn: WitnessIronfireHands of the EmperorBy the Lion's CommandAll That RemainsThe PhoenicianArtefactsGhosts Speak NotPatienceInheritorTallarn: SirenBlackshieldMyriadInto ExileThe Grey RavenThe Painted CountExocytosisThe Last Son of ProsperoOrdo SinisterThe Ember WolvesRestorerThe Laurel of DefianceImmortal DutyDuty WaitsMagisteriumNow Peals MidnightDreams of UnityThe Board is SetThe Atonement of FireA Lesson in IronMassacreTwo Metaphysical BladesPrologue to NikaeaOld Wounds, New ScarsAbyssalThe Last CouncilA Rose Watered with BloodBringer of SorrowLantern's LightThe Serpent's DanceThe Lightning HallEater of DreamsBloodhowlAmor FatiThe Fields of AbundanceThe Shel'tain AffairPrimacyThe NineVisageThe Last Loyalist
Audio Dramas Raven's FlightGarro: Oath of MomentGarro: Legion of OneButcher's NailsGrey AngelBurden of DutyGarro: Sword of TruthWarmasterStrike and FadeVeritas FerrumThe SigilliteHonour to the DeadWolf HuntCensureThief of RevelationsKhârn: The Eightfold PathLucius: The Eternal BlademasterCypher: Guardian of OrderHunter's MoonWolf's ClawTemplarGarro: Shield of LiesMaster of the FirstThe Long NightStratagemHerald of SanguiniusThe WatcherThe Eagle's TalonIron CorpsesGarro: Ashes of FealtyRaptorGrey TalonRed-MarkedThe EitherThe Heart of the PharosThe Thirteenth WolfChildren of SicarusPerpetualThe Soul, SeveredValeriusThe Binary SuccessionDark ComplianceBlackshields: The False WarBlackshields: The Red FiefHubris of MonarchiaNightfaneBlackshields: The Broken Chain
Artbooks Visions of Heresy (2013)Visions of Heresy (2018)Art of the Horus Heresy
Script Books Horus Heresy: The Scripts: Volume IHorus Heresy: The Scripts: Volume II
Graphic Novels Macragge's Honour