Blood Games (Short Story)
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| Author | Dan Abnett |
| Performer | Jonathan Keeble |
| Publisher | Black Library |
| Released | 2009 |
| Collected in | Tales of Heresy |
| Length | 1 hour 27 minutes |
"Blood Games" is a short story by Dan Abnett in the Horus Heresy series. It was collected in the anthology Tales of Heresy.
Cover description
Amongst the sprawling hives of Terra, Amon Tauromachian of the Emperor's Custodians plays a deadly game as he investigates rumours of treason on humanity's home world.
Amon Tauromachian, one of the Emperor’s elite Custodian Guard, returns to the Imperial Palace after a year on one of the Blood Games by which these exalted heroes train. Tasked with a new mission, he is sent to the hives of Hy Brasil to check on the loyalty of a notorious troublemaker. With the galaxy at war and half the Imperium’s armies in rebellion, any hint of heresy on the Throneworld must be stamped out. Amon’s mission draws him into a web of deceit and betrayal, where no one can be trusted and nothing is at it seems. Can he unravel the truth and secure Terra for the Emperor?
Synopsis
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The following paragraphs contain spoilers for: | Blood Games (Short Story) |
Custodian Guard Amon Tauromachian infiltrates the Imperial Palace as part of a Blood Game designed to discover weaknesses in the palace's security. Ambushed by three workers when he attempts to purchase some drugs he effortlessly kills them and uses the drugs to temporarily stop his heart, allowing him to hide in a cargo crate and fool the security system that scans it. Inside the palace he locates the Emperor and makes it as far as raising his blade to strike before being intercepted by Constantin Valdor.
Given a new mission, Amon and fellow Custodian Haedo Emankon investigate Pherom Sichar, lord of Hy Brasil, who is suspected of leaking information to Horus. Infiltrating a meeting they attempt to arrest Sichar but are stopped by Rogal Dorn, who reveals that Sichar is a triple agent who is posing as a traitor but working for the Imperium. At that moment an assassin strikes, killing Sichar and eight others with a bomb before fleeing on a speeder rigged with explosives. Amon gives chase, kills the assassin and manages to send the speeder up into the atmosphere before it explodes.
Setting
Terra, after the Battle of Isstvan III.
Characters
- Amon Tauromachian — Custodian
- The Emperor of Mankind
- Constantin Valdor — Chief Custodian
- Haedo Emankon — Custodian
- Lord Pherom Sichar — Hereditary Lord of Hy Brasil
- Ptolem Sichar — 4th brother of Lord Sichar, CEO of Cajetan Imports
- Ibn Norn — Lucifer Black, bodyguard for Ptolem Sichar
- Rogal Dorn — Primarch of the Imperial Fists Legion.
- Gen Cheth — Assassin posing as a Lucifer Black
Trivia
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- The Hall of Leng, described as a location within the Imperial Palace in the Himalazia region of Terra, is most likely a reference to H. P. Lovecraft's fictional Plateau of Leng from The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath.
See also
Sources
- 1: Black Library: Blood Games (last accessed 23 May 2024)
