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The Horus Heresy #Short Story
Prologue to Nikaea
The Emperor's Golden Throne is the best known throne on Terra – and it is Malcador the Sigillite's ultimate destiny. But it is not the only throne on the Imperium's heartworld – Malcador himself has one, in a chamber he uses to pluck secrets from the tides of the immaterium. When his scryings draw the Sigillite to the world of Thawra, he finds a planet plagued by a new terror – an organised corps of psykers. As war rages on the world and witch battles witch, Malcador wonders if this may be a portent of the terrors to come…
Read it Because
In a tale from the Great Crusade, Malcador the Sigillite glimpses a piece of the Emperor's ultimate plan, and the horrors that could ensue if the power of the warp were ever to go out of control…
21 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 26, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 22, 2024
May 2024 Read using the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project Reading Order (https://www.heresyomnibus.com) as part of my Oath of Moment to complete the Horus Heresy series and extras - Now in Immaterium of everything outside the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project, before moving on to the last Omnibus XXI The Siege of Terra.
A thoroughly interesting, thoroughly Annandale Tale.
While meditating upon the warp in his specially attuned chambers in the Imperial Palace, Malcador, the Sigillite, detects an alarming anomaly on a distant Compliant world. Investigating with the Custodes he discovers a civil war and a concentrated force of psykers that have brought about a deadly warp storm and thinning of the veil, giving the wizened wizard a lot to think about...
I don't have a huge amount to add from last time.
Love the chamber and warp details, as well as the descriptions and Chaotic Annandale of it all.
I might be being generous bumping this up to a four, but I am a sucker for Annandale getting weird with it. I just wish they got even more strange with it and the story had the time and depth to really grapple with the the title of the piece. Right now, it's more a question of faith than sanctioned psykers, though with the cosmology and metaphysics of the Dark Millennia and the nature of the warp and entities that might be seen as gods, they are closely related.
I could see this being a fascinating novella that was a duel narrative following the Planetary Governor and her ever more esoteric nightmares and the rebels with an almost old Colchisian seemingly harmless form of Chaos worship that at first appears more like a vague a harmless form of (non-appropriative) pagan worship (no disrespect to practicing pagans) that turns out to be much more. There's so much potential for exploring different forms of Chaos practice and we've only had a very vague look at the Old Faith of Colchis, before it went full Word Bearers, the Davinites and their settlers on Pythos, and... what reads to me as horrifyingly British writing about a vaguely Turkey/ Middle East culture with Turkish words and straight up Islamaphobia in Legion, which made me feel gross reading it (between that, the misogyny, and the truly painful romance that book truly gives me the creeps).
Don't get me wrong, I love me some of the classic utterly Chaotic cultists kinds Chaos, but there's so much more potential...if Black Library authors can do it thoughtfully.
Good story is good, but Annandale can do so much more!
Through the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project and my own additions, I have currently read* all 54 Horus Heresy main series novels (+1 repeat), 25 novellas (+2 repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, all 17 Primarchs novels, 3 Characters novels, and 151 short stories/ audio dramas across the Horus Heresy (inc. 10+ repeats). Plus, 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and 1 short story...this run, as well as writing 1 short story myself.
I couldn't be more appreciative of the phenomenal work of the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project, which has made this ridiculous endeavour all the better and has inspired me to create and collate a collection of Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 documents and checklists (http://tiny.cc/im00yz). There are now too many items to list here, but there is a contents and explainer document here (http://tiny.cc/nj00yz).
*My tracking consistently proves shoddy, but I'm doing my best
***
Initial Review: 3/5
This was an enjoyable and rather different story as far as the Horus Heresy and the generally insufferable (complimentary) characterisation of Malcador outside of L.J. Goulding's Malcador: First Lord of the Imperium, which managed to finally humanise him a little and made my sob my little heart out, and gives an insight to the kinds of things he gets up to during the Great Crusade.
We get a look the Malcador's special warp meditation room and what it looks like for the second most powerful psyker in the Imperium goes sperlunking for secrets in the immaterium. Taking a force of Custodes, the Sigillite goes to investigate an Imperial world beset by warp storms and is confronted by the potential dangers of large-scale psyker warfare.
Annandale is a master of the esoteric and eldritch details that firmly cemented himself as one of my favourites after bringing that and so much emotional weight to Kurtha Sedd and The Unburdened, one of the pair of Betrayal at Calth novellas.
The quality of the writing and details really do sing but, with some space added reading this, I can't help feel like I could have really done with more to really put things in perspective. The psychic ramifications for the immaterium and the materium, beyond the relatively localised warp storm, more of a discussion of the Chaos factor, and how the concerns here relate to the Astartes and Nikaea feel like they really would have given the story more weight and have it earn the title a bit more.
Good stuff, but it could have been so much more.
***
Enjoyed this. Annandale is quickly becoming one of my favourite Black Library authors and his conceptualising and describing of all things Warpy and weird are glorious.
(Will do more of a review tomorrow)
A thoroughly interesting, thoroughly Annandale Tale.
While meditating upon the warp in his specially attuned chambers in the Imperial Palace, Malcador, the Sigillite, detects an alarming anomaly on a distant Compliant world. Investigating with the Custodes he discovers a civil war and a concentrated force of psykers that have brought about a deadly warp storm and thinning of the veil, giving the wizened wizard a lot to think about...
I don't have a huge amount to add from last time.
Love the chamber and warp details, as well as the descriptions and Chaotic Annandale of it all.
I might be being generous bumping this up to a four, but I am a sucker for Annandale getting weird with it. I just wish they got even more strange with it and the story had the time and depth to really grapple with the the title of the piece. Right now, it's more a question of faith than sanctioned psykers, though with the cosmology and metaphysics of the Dark Millennia and the nature of the warp and entities that might be seen as gods, they are closely related.
I could see this being a fascinating novella that was a duel narrative following the Planetary Governor and her ever more esoteric nightmares and the rebels with an almost old Colchisian seemingly harmless form of Chaos worship that at first appears more like a vague a harmless form of (non-appropriative) pagan worship (no disrespect to practicing pagans) that turns out to be much more. There's so much potential for exploring different forms of Chaos practice and we've only had a very vague look at the Old Faith of Colchis, before it went full Word Bearers, the Davinites and their settlers on Pythos, and... what reads to me as horrifyingly British writing about a vaguely Turkey/ Middle East culture with Turkish words and straight up Islamaphobia in Legion, which made me feel gross reading it (between that, the misogyny, and the truly painful romance that book truly gives me the creeps).
Don't get me wrong, I love me some of the classic utterly Chaotic cultists kinds Chaos, but there's so much more potential...if Black Library authors can do it thoughtfully.
Good story is good, but Annandale can do so much more!
Through the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project and my own additions, I have currently read* all 54 Horus Heresy main series novels (+1 repeat), 25 novellas (+2 repeats), as well as the Macragge's Honour graphic novel, all 17 Primarchs novels, 3 Characters novels, and 151 short stories/ audio dramas across the Horus Heresy (inc. 10+ repeats). Plus, 2 Warhammer 40K further reading novels and 1 short story...this run, as well as writing 1 short story myself.
I couldn't be more appreciative of the phenomenal work of the Horus Heresy Omnibus Project, which has made this ridiculous endeavour all the better and has inspired me to create and collate a collection of Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40,000 documents and checklists (http://tiny.cc/im00yz). There are now too many items to list here, but there is a contents and explainer document here (http://tiny.cc/nj00yz).
*My tracking consistently proves shoddy, but I'm doing my best
***
Initial Review: 3/5
This was an enjoyable and rather different story as far as the Horus Heresy and the generally insufferable (complimentary) characterisation of Malcador outside of L.J. Goulding's Malcador: First Lord of the Imperium, which managed to finally humanise him a little and made my sob my little heart out, and gives an insight to the kinds of things he gets up to during the Great Crusade.
We get a look the Malcador's special warp meditation room and what it looks like for the second most powerful psyker in the Imperium goes sperlunking for secrets in the immaterium. Taking a force of Custodes, the Sigillite goes to investigate an Imperial world beset by warp storms and is confronted by the potential dangers of large-scale psyker warfare.
Annandale is a master of the esoteric and eldritch details that firmly cemented himself as one of my favourites after bringing that and so much emotional weight to Kurtha Sedd and The Unburdened, one of the pair of Betrayal at Calth novellas.
The quality of the writing and details really do sing but, with some space added reading this, I can't help feel like I could have really done with more to really put things in perspective. The psychic ramifications for the immaterium and the materium, beyond the relatively localised warp storm, more of a discussion of the Chaos factor, and how the concerns here relate to the Astartes and Nikaea feel like they really would have given the story more weight and have it earn the title a bit more.
Good stuff, but it could have been so much more.
***
Enjoyed this. Annandale is quickly becoming one of my favourite Black Library authors and his conceptualising and describing of all things Warpy and weird are glorious.
(Will do more of a review tomorrow)
September 23, 2018
Set during the Great Crusade, this sees Malcador searching for the origin of a great storm in the immaterium, desperate to understand what it portends and whether its influence stretches to the physical plane as well.
Anyone remotely familiar with the Heresy – and specifically the tragedy of Magnus and the questions around the Librarius – will know loosely what to expect here, and on the surface it does deliver an explanation of sorts. It doesn’t fully satisfy, however; there’s real potential here, and it’s entertaining enough as a standalone bit of psyker-heavy action, but overall it feels lacking in the real Heresy gravitas and doesn’t offer much insight into Malcador or his decision-making.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/08/...
Anyone remotely familiar with the Heresy – and specifically the tragedy of Magnus and the questions around the Librarius – will know loosely what to expect here, and on the surface it does deliver an explanation of sorts. It doesn’t fully satisfy, however; there’s real potential here, and it’s entertaining enough as a standalone bit of psyker-heavy action, but overall it feels lacking in the real Heresy gravitas and doesn’t offer much insight into Malcador or his decision-making.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2018/08/...
August 28, 2018
Good short story about Malcadore trying to establish how psykers can be made useful for the advancement of the humankind. Unfortunately what he stumbles upon shows that at best psykers are rather unreliable powerful beings.
May 12, 2019
Paths to Censorship
What spurred perhaps the biggest mistake during the Horus era? Here we get a glimpse of a younger, healthier Malcador as he hunts down a large incursion from the warp around perhaps man's first attempt at creating psychic warriors.
What spurred perhaps the biggest mistake during the Horus era? Here we get a glimpse of a younger, healthier Malcador as he hunts down a large incursion from the warp around perhaps man's first attempt at creating psychic warriors.
December 26, 2018
Sigalite backstory
Another glimpse into the history of decisions and influences of major movers in the bigger story. Many layers of right and wrong.
Another glimpse into the history of decisions and influences of major movers in the bigger story. Many layers of right and wrong.
March 19, 2022
Terrifying and intriguing in equal measure.
January 5, 2024
Psykers are bad. Yes. We get it.
September 18, 2024
Joa...war oke
May 7, 2025
Quick little psyker fuelled book that shows Malcador is the most proficient warp manipulator yet. Pretty neat.
September 9, 2025
Malcador the Sigilite is one of the most pwerful psykers in the Imperium, which is why he is more aware than most of the terrible chaos that can be wreaked if it is not controlled. Sensing a great storm in the Warp, Malcador travels alongside the Custodes to investigate.
I really enjoy Malcador as a character, a mortal man carrying the weight of the Imperium, doing what is necessary to carry out the Emperor’s dream. This story does a good job of displaying the terrible power that can be unleashed by unruly psykers, growing exponentially more dangerous when they are in great numbers.
I really enjoy Malcador as a character, a mortal man carrying the weight of the Imperium, doing what is necessary to carry out the Emperor’s dream. This story does a good job of displaying the terrible power that can be unleashed by unruly psykers, growing exponentially more dangerous when they are in great numbers.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews