Blackshield

The Horus Heresy #Short Story

by Chris Wraight

Even within the dread annals of the Horus Heresy, few events have provoked as much horror as the dropsite massacre on Isstvan V, when the Space Marines turned on their brothers in an orgy of slaughter. The Legions were torn apart, the civil war spiralling outwards to all corners of the Imperium, shattering the trust that once bound them together. Along with a handful of other renegade Death Guard legionaries, ex-Deathshroud Terminator Sergeant Khorak has begun to raid the fringes of the Imperium - until they are cornered by mysterious warriors in crudely painted black armour, led by another fallen son of Mortarion, the Blackshield Crysos Morturg. Can the two gene-brothers set aside their differences, or is history deemed to repeat itself?

Read it because
Even within the dread annals of the Horus Heresy, few events have provoked as much horror as the dropsite massacre on Isstvan V, when the Space Marines turned on their brothers in an orgy of slaughter. The Legions were torn apart, the civil war spiralling outwards to all corners of the Imperium, shattering the trust that once bound them together. Along with a handful of other renegade Death Guard legionaries, ex-Deathshroud Terminator Sergeant Khorak has begun to raid the fringes of the Imperium - until they are cornered by mysterious warriors in crudely painted black armour, led by another fallen son of Mortarion, the Blackshield Crysos Morturg. Can the two gene-brothers set aside their differences, or is history deemed to repeat itself?

Genres: 40k, Short Stories, Science Fiction

23 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 15, 2016

About the author

Chris Wraight is a British author of fantasy and science fiction.

His first novel was published in 2008; since then, he has published books set in the Warhammer Fantasy and Stargate:Atlantis universes, and has upcoming titles in the Warhammer 40K setting.

He is based in the south-west of England.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in the Heralds of the Siege anthology

A grim bleak short tale about a battered and bittered group of Death Guard Space Marines and their fateful meeting with Blackshields, Astartes of uncertain allegiances and intentions who scorched black their armours of previous heraldies and still looking for their own place in a galaxy in flames.
Another great XIV Legion e-short from Chris Wright after Daemonology, introducing a new badass character and a new interesting storyline that I just can't wait to see where it is going.

[RatGrrrl · Rating 3 out of 5]

April 2024 Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order Omnibus XIV Shadows of the Warmaster II Lords of Death (https://www.heresyomnibus.com/omnibus...) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus series and extras.

Two groups of Death Guard, both turned against their Primarch and acting as independent agents against Mortarion, whether through loyalty to the Imperium or pure spite have a calamitous coming together.

There are some really interesting ideas and dynamics here, but somehow I found the story really boring. There's a spartan nature authors often adopt when writing about the Death Guard and I find that if it's not handled with precision, rather than lending a raided dusk hue, it can just come across as stale. I think that might be the issue here, though it absolutely could be me and the joys of subjectivity.

This is a story I want to love, but I can't see myself returning to this.

Through using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project (www.heresyomnibus.com) and my own choices, I have currently read 26 Horus Heresy novels, 14 novellas (including 1 repeat), 90 short stories/ audio dramas (including 6 repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, 13 Primarchs novels, 4 Primarchs short stories/ audio dramas, and 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and a short story...this run. I can't say enough good about the way the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project suggestions. I'm loving it! Especially after originally reading to the releases and being so frustrated at having to wait so long for a narrative to continue.

[Dylan Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting short story that gives us our first look at the relatively new Black Shields Space Marines. They were an intensely interesting bunch, and getting to see some more Death Guard action was great. I really look forward to seeing where this new story line goes as our new friend Morturg!

[Urgewyrm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is the kind of stuff I'd like to see more of. Those of the traitor legions that said 'The Emperor sucks but I don't want to associate myself with Horus and his crazy warp spawn/My distant screwball Primarch dad/my mutant legion brothers. I'll go do my own thing.'.

I mean, granted, the stories will probably all end the same but it's such a great story idea. Couple that with Chris Wraight being his amazing self and, well, it's a great story.

[Vansh · Rating 3 out of 5]

IIRC in the second world war, there were Indians fighting on nearly all fronts. Some with the Nazis/Japanese in the name of Indian Freedom from the British raj, some for the empire, and others trying to use the times as a method to sow a communist revolution.

Brother against brother in the name of leaders, ideology, or anything else- ironically sacrificing the very things they fight for. Makes one smirk one side, and frown the other.

[Ross Cudmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

"These hunters were not led by one of the Loyal Legions at all, but the disloyal dregs of a disloyal muster, the unworthy and the backward-looking, all of whom should have been long-since culled"

A grim and bleak short story of the Blackshields. There are those among the Traitor forces that grow disillusioned with the Heresy, who lose faith in their gene-sires. Some strike out on their own, not truly traitor or loyalist but living by their own code, they are the Blackshields.

I really enjoyed this short story for looking at how complicated and patchwork the factions have become in the wake of the treachery of Isstvan. The characterisation of the Death Guard as relentless and enduring in their duty was compelling and I enjoyed the little character interactions we got between this band of traitors twice-over.

The final confrontation between two brothers of the Death Guard, both of whom have abandoned Mortarion, but still differ greatly in ideology and purpose, was a really strong moment.

The character Crysos Mortug from this short story actually appears in the Forgeworld Black Books, from which we get a description of his experience on Isstvan III and his survival of the Heresy, after which he patrolled the Ghoul Stars as a Captain. Khorak is also a character from the Forgeworld Black Books. In the story he mentions "taking back his name" which is in reference to fact that the Deathshroud leave behind their identities when they take on the role.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Lanfear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Los escudos negros son otra banda igual que la de Endryd? merece mucho la pena por cierto. Los combates son brutales.

[Michael Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first short story in Black Library’s 2016 Summer of Reading campaign, Chris Wraight’s Blackshield follows Khorak, a Death Guard legionary commanding an old and battered warship and a handful of legionaries. Pursued by unknown enemies and forced to set down on the murky, toxic world of Agarvian he leads his men in the sort of stoic, stubborn slog typical of the Death Guard, determined to stay alive long enough to blood his pursuers. All the while the identity of his enemies remains unclear, while Khorak’s loyalties are…uncertain.

Read the rest of the review at https://trackofwords.wordpress.com/20...

[Chris Dennison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent little story from a great author. Raises more questions than answers. Could this story herald a shift in the march toward Terra? Possibly, but with great stories like this to be told I'm in no rush to see the end just yet.

[Danny Saines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wraight is consistently one of my favourite authors and his portrayal of the Death Guard, description of the planet, and bleak story are all highly enjoyable here.