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Heroes of the Space Marines
Nightfall
On the world of Sarastus, the True Night has fallen. Young men take part in a Chaotic ritual that they don't truly understand, but one thing is for certain, the only victors will be the traitorous Night Lords.
34 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 16, 2020
If you want to weave something, be it cloth or tale, first you need a Needle...
The very first story by Peter Fehervari that got published by Black Library marks it's ten year anniversary this year, and it's interesting to revisit it with ten years of Coil-stories in-between.
The subject matter itself - a recruitment ritual of a Night Lord warband from the PoV of a particularly cunning aspirant as well as from members of the warband - is unusual for Fehervari in that he would in future stories stay away from the "major players"; his Guard regiments, Sister-orders and Astartes chapters are usually either inventions of himself or disparate elements picked up from the fringes of the lore, to be turned into something recognizably his own. Nevertheless, the story works well as it is, and already shows many of the aspects that would make "The Dark Coil", Fehervari's story-cycle, so endearing to devoted fans.
The planet Sarastus doesn't merely serve as a board for the characters to fight out their conflicts on, but is established with a distinct character and relevant rules of its own. Sarastus isn't as prominent in the Coil-myth as Phaedra or Vytarn, but will still be re-visited in later stories and continues to be a sinister thread of potentially huge importance lurking in the deeper recesses of the Coil.
What's already strikingly Fehervarian about this story is the lurking sense of otherness that pervades it - even a powerful Night Lords sorcerer seems perturbed, maybe even scared, by the strange phenomena of Sarastus, the Needle and the Black Sun, and Fehervari makes sure to avoid simple classification of the elements of his story. And make no mistake: this is a dark tale, which many a horror to witness, some subtle, some gross. On the character-side, it's driven by decisions and a typical sense of being 'on the verge' - on the verge of realms, on the verge of change, on the verge of damnation.
I'm wondering if any of the characters that survived the fourth True Night will some day make a return to the Coil - or maybe some of them already did...? It will be curious to see whether this short little story from ten years ago might become one of the lynchpins of the Coil.
After all, once one is finished with weaving, the Needle has to leave one's creation again...
Addendum: For anyone seeking guidance among or easier access into the perhaps daunting number of stories of "The Dark Coil", the book blog Track Of Words has an extensive article titled "A Traveller's Guide to the Dark Coil", including an overview over factions and places as well as a recommended reading order and links to various interviews with the author.
The very first story by Peter Fehervari that got published by Black Library marks it's ten year anniversary this year, and it's interesting to revisit it with ten years of Coil-stories in-between.
The subject matter itself - a recruitment ritual of a Night Lord warband from the PoV of a particularly cunning aspirant as well as from members of the warband - is unusual for Fehervari in that he would in future stories stay away from the "major players"; his Guard regiments, Sister-orders and Astartes chapters are usually either inventions of himself or disparate elements picked up from the fringes of the lore, to be turned into something recognizably his own. Nevertheless, the story works well as it is, and already shows many of the aspects that would make "The Dark Coil", Fehervari's story-cycle, so endearing to devoted fans.
The planet Sarastus doesn't merely serve as a board for the characters to fight out their conflicts on, but is established with a distinct character and relevant rules of its own. Sarastus isn't as prominent in the Coil-myth as Phaedra or Vytarn, but will still be re-visited in later stories and continues to be a sinister thread of potentially huge importance lurking in the deeper recesses of the Coil.
What's already strikingly Fehervarian about this story is the lurking sense of otherness that pervades it - even a powerful Night Lords sorcerer seems perturbed, maybe even scared, by the strange phenomena of Sarastus, the Needle and the Black Sun, and Fehervari makes sure to avoid simple classification of the elements of his story. And make no mistake: this is a dark tale, which many a horror to witness, some subtle, some gross. On the character-side, it's driven by decisions and a typical sense of being 'on the verge' - on the verge of realms, on the verge of change, on the verge of damnation.
I'm wondering if any of the characters that survived the fourth True Night will some day make a return to the Coil - or maybe some of them already did...? It will be curious to see whether this short little story from ten years ago might become one of the lynchpins of the Coil.
After all, once one is finished with weaving, the Needle has to leave one's creation again...
Addendum: For anyone seeking guidance among or easier access into the perhaps daunting number of stories of "The Dark Coil", the book blog Track Of Words has an extensive article titled "A Traveller's Guide to the Dark Coil", including an overview over factions and places as well as a recommended reading order and links to various interviews with the author.
April 9, 2020
Nightfall. Zeth shivered at the thought of it. Not just any night but True Night. Soon all the pain and the horror was going to pay off...
In the beginning was Nightfall.
And such a great story it is, not just in one but several respects.
Let’s start with the simple fact that its author is Peter Fehervari. The name certainly rings familiar, does it not, folks?..
Also, this is the very first thread of what would soon grow to be known as The Dark Coil – that delightfully sinister, enigmatically meaningful and hopelessly intertwined confluence of fates, events and locations, which seemingly exists on the fringes of Warhammer 40000 universe but actually permeates the entire galaxy in a number of clandestine, contorted and convoluted ways. (Because if the fact that the gloried Shas’O Farsight himself got tangled into it doesn’t give you an idea of just how far its reach is, then I don’t know what could.) Of course there’s no material beginning, nor an end, to The Coil – not even any set dates of the Imperial Calendar bar only one– but for quite a few of the characters who would yet appear in the later stories of the cycle over the years, it was very probably the "Nightfall" that had started it all. Accordingly for Peter Fehervari himself, it was that very tale that had led to his fully-deserved elevation to the Black Librarians Chapter.
And, speaking of Chapters… since it were Space Marines who had become the most vital staple of the Black Library fare from the very start, it’s only right and proper that Peter should begin his official storytelling career with a tale featuring these transhuman warriors of the Imperium of Man. However, these ones are not the noble futuristic knights as the loyal Astartes are mostly depicted, but their dark, embittered traitor brothers – the Renegades of the former Night Lords Legion. One of their warbands, a Claw in the Legionary jargon – that is, a bunch of bitter, individualistic, scheming warriors, every one secretly keeping to his own little agendas – have arrived in all their dark, raptor-winged glory to a once-prospering but now slowly yet inexorably collapsing hive world, in search of recruits. Because obviously even in the case of 10000-year-old sworn enemies of the Corpse-Emperor, new blood must come from somewhere occasionally.
Well, potential candidates the Claw does find in abundance – the ghouls, feral blood-hungry shadows of erstwhile hive dwellers, who still have enough strength left in them for brutal internecine fights, all the while at once dreading and venerating the night-clad sky warriors as the new masters of their homeworld. The story’s young protagonist leads one of such packs, but the author deftly hints that the boy must be something much more than he seems… even if because he is the only living thing on the planet who can somehow interact with The Needle – that strange, creepy, otherworldly and very probably sentient construction that grows out of the remains of Hive Carceri, none would begin to guess for what purpose. And because of this single inconspicuous ghoul, it is the cocksure sadistic Night Lords who, in a flash of perfect irony, soon turn from the hunters into the hunted.
What is also of notice is that this is Fehervari’s first – and to this day, only – story featuring the Traitor Space Marines. (Well, there is also that prominent fellow El Calavera of course, though whether or not that one is actually a renegade in the true sense of the word is up for debate, I’d say…) I don’t know if Peter had it in mind all along or else discovered those subtle ways to weave Nightfall into the greater Dark Coil narrative later, but over the years the nightbound world of Sarastus has proven a welcome surprise in both Walker in Fire and Requiem Infernal. And, knowing Mr. Fehervari with his fondness of the setting’s much less-explored aspects, I have a pretty strong suspicion that we could encounter his Night Lords warband again, sometime… perhaps even pitted against his own Angels Resplendent – or even, with warp’s blessings, The Brotherhood of A Thousand – because you simply never know...
To summarise, the Nightfall is a spectacular debut from the writer who has become, in the opinion of many connoisseurs, the Black Library’s most original storyweaver. Admittedly, this tale may not yet come across as distinctly… Fehervarian in style, but even so it does stand out from the rest in the Heroes of the Space Marines anthology. Really, there couldn’t have been a more suitable beginning for the most darkly original cycle in the WH40K literature...
In the beginning was Nightfall.
And such a great story it is, not just in one but several respects.
Let’s start with the simple fact that its author is Peter Fehervari. The name certainly rings familiar, does it not, folks?..
Also, this is the very first thread of what would soon grow to be known as The Dark Coil – that delightfully sinister, enigmatically meaningful and hopelessly intertwined confluence of fates, events and locations, which seemingly exists on the fringes of Warhammer 40000 universe but actually permeates the entire galaxy in a number of clandestine, contorted and convoluted ways. (Because if the fact that the gloried Shas’O Farsight himself got tangled into it doesn’t give you an idea of just how far its reach is, then I don’t know what could.) Of course there’s no material beginning, nor an end, to The Coil – not even any set dates of the Imperial Calendar bar only one– but for quite a few of the characters who would yet appear in the later stories of the cycle over the years, it was very probably the "Nightfall" that had started it all. Accordingly for Peter Fehervari himself, it was that very tale that had led to his fully-deserved elevation to the Black Librarians Chapter.
And, speaking of Chapters… since it were Space Marines who had become the most vital staple of the Black Library fare from the very start, it’s only right and proper that Peter should begin his official storytelling career with a tale featuring these transhuman warriors of the Imperium of Man. However, these ones are not the noble futuristic knights as the loyal Astartes are mostly depicted, but their dark, embittered traitor brothers – the Renegades of the former Night Lords Legion. One of their warbands, a Claw in the Legionary jargon – that is, a bunch of bitter, individualistic, scheming warriors, every one secretly keeping to his own little agendas – have arrived in all their dark, raptor-winged glory to a once-prospering but now slowly yet inexorably collapsing hive world, in search of recruits. Because obviously even in the case of 10000-year-old sworn enemies of the Corpse-Emperor, new blood must come from somewhere occasionally.
Well, potential candidates the Claw does find in abundance – the ghouls, feral blood-hungry shadows of erstwhile hive dwellers, who still have enough strength left in them for brutal internecine fights, all the while at once dreading and venerating the night-clad sky warriors as the new masters of their homeworld. The story’s young protagonist leads one of such packs, but the author deftly hints that the boy must be something much more than he seems… even if because he is the only living thing on the planet who can somehow interact with The Needle – that strange, creepy, otherworldly and very probably sentient construction that grows out of the remains of Hive Carceri, none would begin to guess for what purpose. And because of this single inconspicuous ghoul, it is the cocksure sadistic Night Lords who, in a flash of perfect irony, soon turn from the hunters into the hunted.
What is also of notice is that this is Fehervari’s first – and to this day, only – story featuring the Traitor Space Marines. (Well, there is also that prominent fellow El Calavera of course, though whether or not that one is actually a renegade in the true sense of the word is up for debate, I’d say…) I don’t know if Peter had it in mind all along or else discovered those subtle ways to weave Nightfall into the greater Dark Coil narrative later, but over the years the nightbound world of Sarastus has proven a welcome surprise in both Walker in Fire and Requiem Infernal. And, knowing Mr. Fehervari with his fondness of the setting’s much less-explored aspects, I have a pretty strong suspicion that we could encounter his Night Lords warband again, sometime… perhaps even pitted against his own Angels Resplendent – or even, with warp’s blessings, The Brotherhood of A Thousand – because you simply never know...
To summarise, the Nightfall is a spectacular debut from the writer who has become, in the opinion of many connoisseurs, the Black Library’s most original storyweaver. Admittedly, this tale may not yet come across as distinctly… Fehervarian in style, but even so it does stand out from the rest in the Heroes of the Space Marines anthology. Really, there couldn’t have been a more suitable beginning for the most darkly original cycle in the WH40K literature...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2019
“Like all his kind, he had tasted the touch of the warp, but his own changes were refined, precise...controlled...If such abominations were the future, then the Long War was already lost.”
In Nightfall, Fehervari explores the effects Chaos has on all it touches...space marines, children, buildings, even planets. This is a major theme to which he returns in Fire Caste. What made this book stand out for me was hearing events from the perspective of a Chaos Space Marine.
Prior to reading this story, I knew nothing about the Night Lords. These are the awful people who haunt the dreams of awful people. In their lost past, their terror tactics were used to bring about justice and peace on their founder’s home world (think Batman).
Following the Horus Heresy, their only purpose is to break the Imperial populace one world at a time and hope that some day the Empire itself will collapse. This is the Long War for those traitor Space Marines who were present during the Heresy and have managed to retain some modicum of sanity after 10,000 years.
The quote above is a worrisome thought had by a Nightlord squad leader as he looks upon his heavily-mutated and possible possessed squadmate. Of the dangers of the Warp he reminds them, “We are masters of the tempest, never slaves.”
The Night Lords are on a recruitment mission, which plays out something like the Hunger Games mixed with Predator. Every thirteen years, the world’s tributes participate in True Night - an ultraviolent exhibition where you kill and the Night Lords provide sporadic motivation. Those who survive and have killed without succumbing to psycophathy are recruited to become new Night Lords.
I was surprised to find that this was my favorite of Fehervari’s works I’ve read to date (Fire Caste, Sanctuary of Wyrms, and Walker in Fire). It’s a master class in world- and mythos-building in the short story format. My only criticism is the frequent perspective shifts. They can be dizzying and could have been easily resolved with minimal editing.
As far as I can tell, Nightfall is Peter Fehervari’s Black Library debut story. It’s no wonder his services were retained as a recurring author.
In Nightfall, Fehervari explores the effects Chaos has on all it touches...space marines, children, buildings, even planets. This is a major theme to which he returns in Fire Caste. What made this book stand out for me was hearing events from the perspective of a Chaos Space Marine.
Prior to reading this story, I knew nothing about the Night Lords. These are the awful people who haunt the dreams of awful people. In their lost past, their terror tactics were used to bring about justice and peace on their founder’s home world (think Batman).
Following the Horus Heresy, their only purpose is to break the Imperial populace one world at a time and hope that some day the Empire itself will collapse. This is the Long War for those traitor Space Marines who were present during the Heresy and have managed to retain some modicum of sanity after 10,000 years.
The quote above is a worrisome thought had by a Nightlord squad leader as he looks upon his heavily-mutated and possible possessed squadmate. Of the dangers of the Warp he reminds them, “We are masters of the tempest, never slaves.”
The Night Lords are on a recruitment mission, which plays out something like the Hunger Games mixed with Predator. Every thirteen years, the world’s tributes participate in True Night - an ultraviolent exhibition where you kill and the Night Lords provide sporadic motivation. Those who survive and have killed without succumbing to psycophathy are recruited to become new Night Lords.
I was surprised to find that this was my favorite of Fehervari’s works I’ve read to date (Fire Caste, Sanctuary of Wyrms, and Walker in Fire). It’s a master class in world- and mythos-building in the short story format. My only criticism is the frequent perspective shifts. They can be dizzying and could have been easily resolved with minimal editing.
As far as I can tell, Nightfall is Peter Fehervari’s Black Library debut story. It’s no wonder his services were retained as a recurring author.
February 18, 2024
A tight little read that leaves you wanting to know more of the story.
May 6, 2018
On Sarastus, a dying world which sacrifices its youths to monstrous masters, True Night falls and the Night Lords descend to collect their tribute. Among the ghouls left to fight for survival in the abandoned heights of the last remaining hive, young Zeth unconsciously understands that something sets him apart from his fellows. While bitter rivalries twist the Night Lords even as they make bloody sport culling the weakest of the sacrifices, Zeth sees opportunity in amongst the danger.
Stylistically it hints at what Fehervari’s writing would turn into, albeit a little more obviously 40k with the inclusion of the Night Lords and a link between Zeth and the warp, and while it’s quite a busy story, it’s well executed and beautifully evocative.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/04/...
Stylistically it hints at what Fehervari’s writing would turn into, albeit a little more obviously 40k with the inclusion of the Night Lords and a link between Zeth and the warp, and while it’s quite a busy story, it’s well executed and beautifully evocative.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/04/...
April 19, 2016
This short story actually have a very similar atmosphere to "TOOL" band videoclips, and it truly awesome.
May 21, 2022
A lot of fun, well-written and engaging, though whenever I hear 'Night Lords', I always hope for a tale of Konrad!
February 1, 2025
4.5 stars
March 12, 2023
Another solid story by Peter Fehervari, this time focusing on the Night Lords and the world of Sarastus, the story focusing on a recruitment ritual that happens every 13 years for everybody's favorite band of criminals turned transhuman super soldiers. Focusing on various perspectives from the 'overseeing' warband and an aspiring boy who is hoping to earn their place amongst the Night Lords, its a dark tale, giving the first hints of what would eventually become Warhammer Horror.
It is a different take on the Night Lord stories I have read previously (the amazing Night Lords trilogy by ADB specifically, which I also recommend) but it is certainly not an unwelcome change. The galaxy is a big place and there is lots of room for various interpretations on them, highlighting various aspects that some authors place emphasis on. Its interesting to see the first steps of what would evolve into the greater Dark Coil begin here. It's not my favorite story of his but still excellent, an easy recommend from me!
It is a different take on the Night Lord stories I have read previously (the amazing Night Lords trilogy by ADB specifically, which I also recommend) but it is certainly not an unwelcome change. The galaxy is a big place and there is lots of room for various interpretations on them, highlighting various aspects that some authors place emphasis on. Its interesting to see the first steps of what would evolve into the greater Dark Coil begin here. It's not my favorite story of his but still excellent, an easy recommend from me!
May 11, 2018
nice to see another angle into Night Lords, after reading about their fight with Bail Sharr
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