Angel Exterminatus (Novel)
'Guilt upon the soul, like rust upon iron, both defiles and consumes it, gnawing and creeping into it, until at last it eats out the very heart and substance of the metal. But if all the world hates you, and believes you wicked, while your own conscience absolves you from guilt, you will not be without friends.'
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Angel Exterminatus is the 23rd novel in the Horus Heresy Series, written by Graham McNeill. A special edition hardback was released in October 2012, with the trade paperback being published in January 2013 and the mass-market paperback being released in July 2013. It was later included in "The Novels: Volume 5" eBook collection.
Several characters in the novel were originally introduced in McNeill's Iron Warriors (Novel Series), which takes place ten thousand years later, in M41. These include Captains Forrix, Berossus, Toramino and Barban Falk, Lieutenants Obax Zakayo and Kroeger, Soltarn Vull Bronn, and Cadaras Grendel, as well as the gene-seed "father" of Warsmith Honsou.
Contents
Cover Description
Perturabo – master of siegecraft, and executioner of Olympia. Long has he lived in the shadow of his more favoured primarch brothers, frustrated by the mundane and ignominious duties which regularly fall to his Legion. When Fulgrim offers him the chance to lead an expedition in search of an ancient and destructive xenos weapon, the Iron Warriors and the Emperor's Children unite and venture deep into the heart of the great warp-rift known only as "the Eye". Pursued by a ragged band of survivors from Isstvan V and the revenants of a dead eldar world, they must work quickly if they are to unleash the devastating power of the Angel Exterminatus![1]
Plot Summary
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The following paragraphs contain spoilers for: | Angel Exterminatus (Novel) |
Book One: Terra Figula
Olympia. Perturabo's first memory is of climbing a sheer cliff in the rain. Finding a spot to rest, he feels the weight of a distant rift in space as though it were watching him. He nearly falls, but is offered a rope by armed men at the top of the cliff. Refusing their help, he finishes the climb and heads towards the fortified city-state Lochros.[2c]
Hydra Cordatus, ~007.M31. Warsmiths Kydomor Forrix and Barban Falk contemplate the siege of the Cadmean Citadel, which has occupied the Iron Warriors for three months. Berossus awakes as a dreadnought after having suffered Perturabo's wrath at Phall. Imperial Fists Captain Felix Cassander readies the Citadel's defenses as Warsmith Harkor launches an escalade.[2d] Of the attackers, Kroeger is the only one to still be alive at the top of the walls when Perturabo drops in with his Iron Circle, thus ending the loyalist hold on the keep. Afterwards, the Primarch demotes Harkor back to a rank-and-file legionary for launching an unsanctioned assault, promoting Kroeger to command of the 23rd Grand Battalion and to a position in the Trident, along with Falk and Forrix.[2e]
Deep in the Cavea Ferrum, Perturabo is taken aback when the Emperor's Children make planetfall shortly after their fleet has reached Hydra Cordatus's orbit.[2f] Aboard the Andronicus, Fabius is working to reattach Eidolon's severed head and body. The Iron Warriors stare in disbelief when the III approaches along with a garish mob of hedonistic deviants, and Perturabo berates Fulgrim before the latter reveals he is accompanied by an Aeldari, Karuchi Vohra.[2g] The primarchs' commanders almost come to blows over the xenos, but are ordered to stand down as Fulgrim asks his brother to build one of his more grandiose designs for the story to be told properly. Within a day, the Thaliakron is erected and Fulgrim is about to present the tale of the Angel Exterminatus, a weapon of unfathomable power. Hidden in the upper levels, Iron Hand Sabik Wayland and Raven Guard Nykona Sharrowkyn observe the proceedings, collecting information for their Shattered Legion compatriots, but decide to assassinate Fulgrim upon hearing his speech[2h]: when the III primarch finishes his tale, Sharrowkyn snipes him in the head and the two loyalists barely escape the planet.[2i]
Fabius removes the projectile from Fulgrim's wound, and Perturabo accepts to follow his brother's plan: to enter the warp rift where the weapons are hidden, thanks to Karuchi Vohra's knowledge of a safe passage known as the Paths Above. Aboard the Andronicus, Cassander awakes strapped to a gurney in Fabius's laboratory, along with Navarra, and the two Imperial Fists gifted by the IV are the apothecary's next test subjects.[2j] In the Iron Blood's command center, Perturabo tells the Trident not to trust the III, as Fulgrim has his own agenda. Aboard the Sisypheum, Captain Ulrach Branthan is briefly taken out of the stasis field keeping him alive and orders the loyalists deny the traitors their objective. On the Pride of the Emperor, Fulgrim orchestrates the public return of Eidolon and admits he has lied to Perturabo and intends to resurrect the Angel Exterminatus.[2k]
Book Two: As Above, So Below
Medusa IV. Ferrus Manus awakes in an ice cavern, and realizes his capsule's arrival has freed a dangerous wyrm. He resolves to hunt it down to protect the planet's human population.[2l]
In the reopened Fenice, Fulgrim wrestles with memories of Ferrus Manus and orders the Brotherhood of the Phoenix to assemble anew. On the Sisypheum, Wayland assists Frater Thamatica in one of the latter's risky experiments. Berossus learns to fight as a dreadnought, making the acquaintance of Cadaras Grendel.[2m] Sharrowkyn and Salamander Atesh Tarsa bond over their isolation from their respective Legios. Cassander manages to break his bonds and tries to kill Fabius, but he is subdued and sent to the terata. The Sisypheum heads for the Paths Below under the guidance of Varuchi Vohra, Karuchi's counterpart.[2n]
Faced with the task of leading a Grand Battalion, Kroeger considers Harkor's offer to be his adviser. Contemplating the warp rift's nature, Perturabo gives it a new name: the Eye of Terror. At the Dodekatheon, Kroeger meets Honourable Soulaka and challenges Perturabo to a simulation of the siege of the Imperial Palace. Aboard the Sisypheum, acting commander Cadmus Tyro discovers that one of Branthan’s wounds has healed against all probability.[2o] On the Pride of the Emperor, Eidolon's attempt to corrupt Soltarn Vull Bronn to Chaos is narrowly thwarted by Grendel. Attempting to recreate his experiment on a larger scale, Thamatica inadvertently causes a massive electromagnetic signal to give away the Sisypheum's presence.[2p]
Upon locating the loyalist ship, Perturabo orders it to be destroyed but must relent when Fulgrim insists on having it boarded.[2q] Mutated into one of the terata, Cassander is forced to kill a loyalist Astartes, to his horror and shame. Lucius and Sharrowkyn start a duel but are interrupted by Perturabo teleporting in.[2r] Thamatica has an idea while the IV primarch slaughters the defenders and Fabius leads a strike force towards the Sisypheum’s apothecarion. On the bridge, Wayland and Tyro detect spiking energy, which may culminate into a discharge powerful enough to kill Perturabo while he is on board. Fabius reaches the apothecarion and incapacitates Tarsa.[2s] Thamatica requests control of the ship as the Trident evacuates Perturabo when they detect the energy spike. Fabius's study of The Heart of Iron keeping Branthan alive is interrupted by Sharrowkyn, Septus Thoic, Ignatius Numen and the dreadnought Bombastus who drive him off. Aboard the Iron Blood, Perturabo understands Thamatica's plan: to overcharge the Sisypheums reactors and speed through the Andronicus. The primarch lets the loyalists wreck the Emperor's Children ship and escape, as punishment for Fulgrim's underhanded tactics.[2t]
In his chambers, Perturabo remembers a conversation he had with the Emperor of Mankind before leaving for the Great Crusade. In the lower decks of the Iron Blood, Honourable Soulaka harvests the gene-seed of an Emperor's Children Astartes, but is incapacitated by Lucius and has his own gene-seed harvested by Fabius. Fulgrim answers his brother's summons and is violently made to understand that Perturabo will lead the expedition from now on.[2u]
Book Three: Coniunctio
Chemos. Three factory workers on a scavenging mission stumble upon a capsule containing a newborn, whose presence brings heals the planet's polluted land. One of them goes to kill it as an unnecessary mouth to feed, but is gunned down. The other two take the child in and name it Fulgrim, to honor one of their creation-myths.[2v]
The traitors reach their destination, a Crone World named Iydris, and establish a beachhead. The planet itself seems to resist this incursion, weakening the Iron Warriors' field fortifications and leaving the Trident with frayed nerves.[2w] They launch their assault through the deserted city, reaching the citadel at its center. Leaving two thirds of their forces to secure their point of entry, the Trident and their primarch lead a three-pronged force, but many of the Emperor's Children are left behind when they are distracted by the sensations arising from breaking some of the decor's gemstones. From the Aeldari sepulchre, Sharrowkyn and Wayland observe the advance and report to Vermana Cybus.[2x] Harkor detects loyalist encrypted communication over the vox and informs Kroeger, whom he plans to stab in the back with the help of Toramino. Aboard the Sysipheum, Tarsa risks awakening Branthan to study the causes of his recovery, and the captain tells him to prevent the rebirth of the Angel Exterminatus. The traitors march into the sepulchre, and the loyalists set out to do the same through another entrance.[2y]
Aboard the Pride of the Emperor, Cassander is racked by remorse. On Iydris, Perturabo leads the way through the sepulchre's maze and kills Vohra, resolving to prevent Fulgrim from seizing the weapons. Outside, the Emperor's Children kill each other in sacrificial frenzy, and the Aeldari dead rise to slay the invaders.[2z] Spirits and constructs similarly attack Perturabo's force, and the primarch chases his brother into the depths of the building. Toramino orders a bombardment of Forrix's position as the Warsmith is dragged to safety by Julius Kaesoron.[2za] Wading through memories, Perturabo reaches Fulgrim who announces his intent to become the Angel Exterminatus by sacrificing his brother: the gemstone he had gifted him on Hydra Cordatus is sapping Perturabo's life force.[2zb]
Forrix's position is shelled to rubble as, in the sepulchre, Kroeger is subjected to visions of slaughter through the ages after killing Harkor in a blood frenzy. The primarchs struggle as Fulgrim rises through the sepulchre's central shaft, leaving Perturabo lifeless and the Aeldari ghosts inanimate.[2zc] Eidolon begins the ritual stabbing of his primarch, but Perturabo reveals he has managed to take hold of the stone. After being confronted by his brother in a vision of the Lochos that never would be, he hurls the artifact down the shaft – but it is snatched by Branthan's psyber-eagle.[2zd]
The loyalists join the fray: Marius Vairosean is slain by Numen, Bombastus by Grendel, Lucius by Sharrowkyn. The latter destroys the gemstone, allowing Perturabo to swing his hammer at Fulgrim[2ze], who splits open and ascends as a champion of Slaanesh before magicking his force away. As Iydris begins to collapse, Perturabo leads his Astartes out of the sepulchre, and the loyalists retreat as well after Varuchi teleports himself away. The Iron Warriors evacuate, with Forrix and Vull Bronn the only survivors of Toramino's fragging. Perturabo orders his fleet to head for the inside of the black hole that is destroying Iydris.[2zf]
Brought back from the dead, Lucius awakes to a fight between Fabius and the Imperial Fists terata. The latter set fire to the laboratory, meeting their deaths and denying the apothecary all but one of his gene-samples: that of Honourable Soulaka.[2zg]
Dramatis Personae
The III Legion Emperor's Children
- Fulgrim — Primarch of the Emperor's Children[2a]
- Fabius — Apothecary of the Emperor's Children[2a]
- Eidolon — "The Risen", Lord Commander[2a]
- Julius Kaesoron — "The Favored Son", First Captain[2a]
- Marius Vairosean — Captain, 3rd Company[2a]
- Lucius — The Eternal Blademaster[2a]
- Kalimos — "The Whipmaster, Captain, 17th Company[2a]
- Lonomia Ruen — Captain, 21st Company[2a]
- Bastarnae Abranxe — Captain, 85th Company[2a]
- Krysander of the Blades — Captain, 102nd Company[2a]
The IV Legion Iron Warriors
- Perturabo — Primarch of the Iron Warriors[2a]
- Forrix — 'The Breaker', First Captain, Triarch[2a]
- Obax Zakayo — Lieutenant, 1st Grand Battalion[2a]
- Berossus — Warsmith, 2nd Grand Battalion[2a]
- Galian Carron — Techmarine, 2nd Grand Battalion[2a]
- Harkor — Warsmith, 23rd Grand Battalion, Triarch[2a]
- Kroeger — Lieutenant, 23rd Grand Battalion[2a]
- Soltarn Vull Bronn — 'The Stonewrought', 45th Grand Battalion[2a]
- Barban Falk — Warsmith, 126th Grand Battalion[2a]
- Soulaka — Apothecary, 235th Grand Battalion[2a]
- Toramino — Warsmith, Master of the Stor-bezashk[2a]
- Cadaras Grendel — Legionary[2a]
- Ulrach Branthan — Captain, Iron Hands 65th Clan-company[2a]
- Cadmus Tyro — Equerry to Captain Branthan[2a]
- Frater Thamatica — Ironwrought, Morlock veteran[2a]
- Sabik Wayland — Iron Father[2a]
- Karaashi Bombastus — Dreadnought[2a]
- Vermana Cybus — Morlock veteran[2a]
- Septus Thoic — Morlock veteran[2a]
- Ignatius Numen — Battle-brother[2a]
- Nykona Sharrowkyn — Raven Guard Legion, 66th Company[2a]
- Atesh Tarsa — Apothecary, Salamanders Legion, 24th Company[2a]
- Karuchi Vohra — Ovate Seer of the Paths Above[2a]
- Varuchi Vohra — Ovate Seer of the Paths Below[2a]
The VII Legion Imperial Fists
- Felix Cassander — Captain, 42nd Company[2a]
- Navarra — Legionary, 6th Company[2a]
See also
Related articles
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Sources
- 1: Black Library - Angel Exterminatus (saved archive page, dated 02 November 2017, last accessed 05 October 2024, original link: https://www.blacklibrary.com/the-horus-heresy/novels/angel-exterminatus-ebook.html)
- 2 Angel Exterminatus (Novel):
- 2a: Dramatis Personae
- 2b: epigraphs
- 2c: Theogonies – I
- 2d: Chapter One
- 2e: Chapter Two
- 2f: Chapter Three
- 2g: Chapter Four
- 2h: Chapter Five
- 2i: Chapter Six
- 2j: Chapter Seven
- 2k: Chapter Eight
- 2l: Theogonies – II
- 2m: Chapter Nine
- 2n: Chapter Ten
- 2o: Chapter Eleven
- 2p: Chapter Twelve
- 2q: Chapter Thirteen
- 2r: Chapter Fourteen
- 2s: Chapter Fifteen
- 2t: Chapter Sixteen
- 2u: Chapter Seventeen
- 2v: Theogonies – III
- 2w: Chapter Eighteen
- 2x: Chapter Nineteen
- 2y: Chapter Twenty
- 2z: Chapter Twenty One
- 2za: Chapter Twenty Two
- 2zb: Chapter Twenty Three
- 2zc: Chapter Twenty Four
- 2zd: Chapter Twenty Five
- 2ze: Chapter Twenty Six
- 2zf: Chapter Twenty Seven
- 2zg: Theogonies – IV
- 2zh: Enhanced Edition illustrations
