Shadow Knight (Short Story)
Author | Aaron Dembski-Bowden |
Publisher | Black Library |
Released | 2009 |
Collected in | Night Lords: The Omnibus The Best of Hammer and Bolter: Volume One There Is Only War The Hammer and the Eagle: Icons of Warhammer |
Shadow Knight is a short story and the start of the Night Lords novel series, which introduces the main character of the novel Soul Hunter, Talos and his squad, known as First Claw. Originally published in the Black Library Live! 2009 Chap Book, it was republished in Hammer and Bolter 11 and The Best of Hammer and Bolter: Volume One, and online in August 2015.
Contents
Cover Description
Return to the start of Aaron Dembski-Bowden's Night Lords series with a prequel tale of Talos and his fellow warriors of First Claw. During a prospective salvage mission on board a derelict Imperial ship, the Night Lords encounter Space Marines of the Blood Angels Chapter, cut off from their extraction point and any hope of reinforcement, they must work quickly if they are to save their own skins. But Talos is tormented by both his own past and the nebulous future, and his dark visions give a grim prophecy of things to come.
Plot
Initially progressing from a small description of his first murder of a shopkeeper on Nostramo through to his first implantation of Space Marine organs, further continuing to his initiation to the ranks of Scout. Thereupon more surgeries and his elevation to full Space Marine, through battles against xenos and the slaughtering of humans to make an example to others, until his world burns, father is slain (Konrad Curze) and finally turned traitor to all that he held as sacred.
The story then moves to a unknown location upon a ship open to the void, where Talos is watching 4 figures moving and picking about in the gloom of the airless ship. The figures start to use Astartes hand signals, betraying their allegiance. Their increased bulk marks them as Initiates, their lack of Power Armour discounts them as full Space Marines. Talos switches to Preysight and creeps after one team as they split up, finding that they are of the Blood Angels Chapter. Here to reclaim their relic sword he carries he presumes.
Talos baits the Initiates with his sword, Aurum, planted in the deck plating of a hallway and when the make a move for it he ambushes and kills them. He is then contacted by his other squadmates, Uzas, Xarl and Cyrion, about how the mission is going, with Cyrion stating he cannot find anything worthy of salvage. Xarl then informs him that the real Blood Angels, Full Space Marines are waiting for them near to their exfiltration point, their boarding torpedo. The Night Lords meet to concoct a plan, agreeing that there being only five of the enemy, that the four of them can succeed in the hunt. Before they move however Talos is overcome and starts to speak gibberish, “The god-machines of Crythe...” he murmured. “They have killed the sun.” and lapses into a coma, screaming inside his armour. It is then decided that Cyrion will guard Talos, whilst the other two hunt the Blood Angels.
Two hours pass and Xarl and Uzas make contact with Cyrion informing him that he can bering Talos to the boarding torpedo. Meanwhile the Covenant of Blood is moving back to the derelict ship to reclaim her boarding torpedo, calmly annihilating the Gladius-class frigate Encarmine Soul of the Blood Angels in under a minute. First Claw emerges into the Covenant’s deployment bay, to be greeted by one of the Atramentar, the Terminator armour clad body guard of The Exalted, who motions to Talos's form and asks whether the Soul Hunter is wounded, to which Cyrion replies “No. Inform the Exalted at once. His prophet is suffering another vision.”
Characters
Trivia
Notes
- The events of this story are followed on immediately by the start of Soul Hunter (Novel).
See also
Related Articles
Related products
Sources
- Black Library
- Image from Black Library Live! 2009 Chap Book ISBN 9781844168286
Novels and Short Stories | Shadow Knight • Soul Hunter • Blood Reaver • The Core • Void Stalker |
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Audio Dramas | Throne of Lies |