A Champion of Tzeentch is determined that he will defeat Death itself… but when Death comes for him in the form of the Ossiarch Bonereapers, his fate is sealed.
READ IT BECAUSE Discover Nagash's collectors as they come for what they are owed, and find out why they are feared across Shyish and beyond.
THE STORY In the Mortal Realms, Death and Chaos clash. For Markash, Champion of Tzeentch, Death is the antithesis of the change he believes in, and on the edge of Nagash's domain, he plans to teach the God of Death which is superior. Yet his plans are derailed when emissaries of the Great Necromancer visit his stronghold, a city he seized from Death worshippers. These visitors are no ordinary servants of Nagash, no shambling corpses or blood-drinking vampires. These are the Ossiarch Bonereapers, and they will have the tithe of bone that Nagash demands.
Michael R. Fletcher is a science fiction and fantasy author, a grilled cheese aficionado, and a whiskey-swilling reprobate. He spends his days choreographing his forklift musical (titled "Get Forked"), and using caffeine as a substitute for sanity. Any suggestions that he is actually Dyrk Ashton in disguise are all lies.
Chaos champion Lord Markash has conquered the city of Knazziir at the edge of Nagash’s domain, in the name Tzeentch. Utterly loyal to his god, and with total confidence in himself and his destiny, when faced by the Ossiarch legions come to claim their bone tithe Markash strides out to confront them head on.
Fletcher takes what could have been a very straightforward, generic concept and flips it, focusing more on Markash’s psychology than his prowess in battle. Whether seen from a mortal scribe’s viewpoint or, later, his own perspective, the emphasis is on his Tzeentchian view of destiny and how that contrasts with the inevitability of Nagash, and Fletcher leans on that concept of destiny to take the story in an unexpected direction.
A delightful (well, "delightful") little story that sheds some light on how the Bonereapers operate. It gives a chance to see what could be going on in those skulls of theirs.
An amazing short story that really kept me excited and interested. And honestly, I love the bonereapers. I love that they have something in their heads and they have a personality, which is revealed. And even so during this it still made sense.
The Ossiarch Bonereapers might be my favorite of any of the factions introduced so far in this book. I love the alien quality of this search for bones - first diplomatic, then super brutal - without any described purpose. Markash was an interesting protagonist who Fletcher uses to explore some good ideas about death, destiny, and the intertwinement of the two.
Ossiarch Bonereapers vs Tzeench Chaos. Does a great job showing what the Bonereapers are all about ( and gratuitously namedrops models to make sure you know what to buy ;) ) and how they're so much more than just 'bonier zombie apocalypse. )
My first Age of Sigmar story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.