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Warhammer Age of Sigmar
Covens of Blood
Fantastic Portmanteu novel featuring the Daughters of Khaine.
Rising from the gloom-shrouded cults of Ulgu, the empire of the Daughters of Khaine now dominates the Realm of Shadow. These matriarchal witch-aelves are graceful masters of death who revel in spilling blood, and whose opposition to Chaos borders on mania. Proud governors of their own ruthless agendas, it is their devotion to Khaine, the ancient aelven god of murder, the Daughters seek to prove above all, and alongside it, the favour of his High Priestess, Morathi. To this end, a Khainite would bleed the realms dry in dedication to her cause.
This portmanteau novel weaves together three brutal tales, each telling of a witch-aelf burdened by an impossible task: Trisethni of the Khailebron sect, Nepenora of the Kharumathi, and Vahis of the Draichi Ganeth. Whether by poisoned chalice, enchanted blade or razored whip-lash, these murderesses honour Khaine with gifts of slaughter to rival even their hag queens’. But faced with their most arduous trials yet, will remarkable skill in the art of war be enough to save them?
Rising from the gloom-shrouded cults of Ulgu, the empire of the Daughters of Khaine now dominates the Realm of Shadow. These matriarchal witch-aelves are graceful masters of death who revel in spilling blood, and whose opposition to Chaos borders on mania. Proud governors of their own ruthless agendas, it is their devotion to Khaine, the ancient aelven god of murder, the Daughters seek to prove above all, and alongside it, the favour of his High Priestess, Morathi. To this end, a Khainite would bleed the realms dry in dedication to her cause.
This portmanteau novel weaves together three brutal tales, each telling of a witch-aelf burdened by an impossible task: Trisethni of the Khailebron sect, Nepenora of the Kharumathi, and Vahis of the Draichi Ganeth. Whether by poisoned chalice, enchanted blade or razored whip-lash, these murderesses honour Khaine with gifts of slaughter to rival even their hag queens’. But faced with their most arduous trials yet, will remarkable skill in the art of war be enough to save them?
- GenresFantasy
368 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 2020
32 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
Anna Stephens
30 books695 followersAnna Stephens is the UK-based author of the Godblind trilogy - Goblind, Darksoul, Bloodchild - and The Songs of the Drowned trilogy - The Stone Knife, The Jaguar Path, The Dark Feather. Anna also writes for Black Library and Marvel Comics.
You can sign up to Anna's newsletter here: https://anna-stephens.com/get-in-touch/
You can sign up to Anna's newsletter here: https://anna-stephens.com/get-in-touch/
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 9, 2020
In the Mortal Realms, the zealous Daughters of Khaine, she-elf devotees to the elven god of war, prove their dedication to their bloody handed master and his High Oracle Morathi in ritualised blood rites and the brutal savagery of holy battle. In this portmanteau novel, the tales of three she-elves of the varying sects of this brutal warrior cult, Trisethni, Nepenora and Vahis and the battles they face to prove worthy of their God and his High Oracle's favour are told...
The Daughters of Khaine were the faction that first piqued my interest in Age of Sigmar, and I've been waiting a long time for them to get a novel from Black Library, so I leapt on this when it came out! Anna Stevens, Liane Merciel and Jamie Crisalli did a great job of capturing the nuances and details of the faction and setting, Trisethni, Nepenora and Vahis were all intriguing characters when you get into their heads and see them struggle with the tenets of their creed, battling not just their enemies but their own doubts, and it was also fascinating to see what other factions in the Mortal Realms make of these skillful, if dangerous and unpredictable warrior women...
All in all, a great bit of Warhammer Age of Sigmar fiction that I'll doubtless reread again and has given me ideas for building an army or two of my own in the future! 😁
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BLOOD AND SOULS FOR KHAINE! ⚔️
The Daughters of Khaine were the faction that first piqued my interest in Age of Sigmar, and I've been waiting a long time for them to get a novel from Black Library, so I leapt on this when it came out! Anna Stevens, Liane Merciel and Jamie Crisalli did a great job of capturing the nuances and details of the faction and setting, Trisethni, Nepenora and Vahis were all intriguing characters when you get into their heads and see them struggle with the tenets of their creed, battling not just their enemies but their own doubts, and it was also fascinating to see what other factions in the Mortal Realms make of these skillful, if dangerous and unpredictable warrior women...
All in all, a great bit of Warhammer Age of Sigmar fiction that I'll doubtless reread again and has given me ideas for building an army or two of my own in the future! 😁
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
BLOOD AND SOULS FOR KHAINE! ⚔️
April 6, 2021
That was a super entertaining and cleverly plotted novel about three storylines woven together. The characters were thoroughly evil but somehow not outright despicable. The action reminder me of Salvatore. More from these writers, please!
October 21, 2025
It is a cliché to be sure, yet the truth of it keeps reasserting itself every time I read something new. That the experience of reading a novel is as much about you as it is about anything within the book itself, the chemistry of its characters and themes mixing with your own views, tastes, lived experiences or lack thereof. The resulting reaction unique and sometimes intensely personal in a way that others may not recognise or even understand.
I bring this up as there are parts within Covens of Blood that I suspect would likely pass unremarked by most other readers yet struck so close to home I felt the need to check myself for damage and maybe book some therapy lest my soul start to fester from the shame it was feeling.
Yet it is precisely because the reactions are personal that it makes it very difficult to discuss them without implicating myself in some way, exposing some inner aspect that in normal circumstances I’d prefer to keep to myself. Yet there it was, a weird mix of arousal, shame, anxiety and sorrow. From an Age of Sigmar novel of all things. Dostoyevsky? Nah, how about 3 short stories about Witch Aelf murder cults. Go figure.
That the book appears to be the only significant fiction about The Daughters of Khaine is likewise odd as by all accounts they are quite an entertaining bunch, a most extreme sanguinary fandom of complex power dynamics and great hair.
Each story captures a different aspect of the faction, giving insight into the differences that exist between sects, their culture, internal politics and rituals, and what your average daughter does day to day, what they feel and think, and crucially reveals them to be so much more relatable and vulnerable souls despite all the throat slitting (the daughters are big fans of this – any kind of close-up murder seems to be the tops where the khainites are concerned).
“Say. His. Name.”
In the first, and probably my favourite of the three tales, Trisethni the Unseen, Anna Stephens does a spectacular job at taking a soul and unravelling it. The task set is simple enough, defeat a most detested foe, but the emotions underneath, oh how exquisite they are in their familiarity. Self-doubt, insecurity, desperate and love-sick longing gnaw at our assassin, and we get to watch as she tries to complete her seemingly impossible mission alone.
It’s not anything particularly innovative but the mission seems more a device to study the internal conflict a daughter can find herself in when left with just her own mind for company. Personal glory and desire sit uncomfortably with her duty and faith, but the heart wants what it wants, and for a daughter of khaine such things can be a fatal weakness, and the route to one’s ultimate ruin.
The hight point of which being a prolonged sequence of darkness and profane intimacy. Every conceivable vulnerability is extracted and exposed, every shame and secret turned upon its owner, and what made it all the more awful was that nearly all of them were my own. It was so easy to imagine being the one addressed, so easy to just pour myself into it, to be caught up completely in all the horrifying tenderness and layer my own soul on top. It’s brilliant, the point of catharsis and release married completely to both deepest desire and eternal tragedy.
(special mention must go to Colleen Prendergast for her amazing voice work for the audiobook)
Of Faith & Friendship
The second tale moves things to more philosophical matters. The task this time is to recover a shard of khaine, the challenge the lack of resources and leadership, the solution, to read the book and find out (it’s the Daughters of Khaine, it probably has some sort of murder and blood ritual, they do love their blood rituals, I mean who doesn’t?)
Here we meet Nepenora and Thaelire, friends in a sea of horny backstabbing rivals where the coven tetters on the brink, offered what appears to be one last chance at redemption and glory. Alas, they have little belief in their Hag Queen and conspire to find a solution to their seemingly inevitable fate.
Whilst not as emotionally fraught as the first story, the solid slow burn of Red Claw & Ruin has its own subtle virtues. Whilst Nepenora is the ostensible protagonist, it’s much more Thaelire’s story, following her impious and outcast nature as she sets about her plans. Her interactions and attitudes, especially with a young Stormcast Etermal, are a real highlight, turning what appears to be something quite superficial into something deeper and much more profound, more of one trying to make a connection or teach a small lesson than simply trying to gain leverage.
As I Die
The last of the stories centres around Vahis, a long lived, perhaps too long lived warrior, facing up to time and a potentially wretched fate as her body begins to fail her. The shame and humiliation of such a degeneration forces her to act, and we get to see the great game of internal rivalries and plays for power as she fights to find a way to restore herself. We get more Slaanesh conflict and really get into why the daughters so detest the lord of pleasure, she who thirsts.
But the real quality here lies in the sheer variety of personalities that can exist amongst the daughters, and it makes the various games being played quite fun as everyone criss-crosses over one another to attain some personal end. We also get to see the true brutality that their culture demands and how easily justification can be found to turn on another. The sense of how differently they view the world as opposed to their human ‘allies’ is marked, and we get a good reminder of how little space there is in the mortal realms for kindness. The concept of mercy likewise takes on a vastly different dimension when one’s soul is destined for an eternity of unimaginable torment and horror.
-
The events that tie these stories together is a little thin perhaps, almost by design with the time given over to it but is executed well and gives each of the three characters a fitting conclusion, especially my favourite Trisethni, leaving me emotionally sated and wishing that they found their way onto the tabletop in some form or other.
With so few options for those interested in Daughters of Khaine fiction, Covens of Blood represents a quite excellent set of stories that bring them to life to in unexpected and surprisingly affecting ways, going well beyond their blood crazed surface to the violent rainbow of emotions underneath. Each story not only manages to capture a unique aspect of the daughters at large but makes them so much more as people and each has a proper theme explored within their relatively small spaces.
I bring this up as there are parts within Covens of Blood that I suspect would likely pass unremarked by most other readers yet struck so close to home I felt the need to check myself for damage and maybe book some therapy lest my soul start to fester from the shame it was feeling.
Yet it is precisely because the reactions are personal that it makes it very difficult to discuss them without implicating myself in some way, exposing some inner aspect that in normal circumstances I’d prefer to keep to myself. Yet there it was, a weird mix of arousal, shame, anxiety and sorrow. From an Age of Sigmar novel of all things. Dostoyevsky? Nah, how about 3 short stories about Witch Aelf murder cults. Go figure.
That the book appears to be the only significant fiction about The Daughters of Khaine is likewise odd as by all accounts they are quite an entertaining bunch, a most extreme sanguinary fandom of complex power dynamics and great hair.
Each story captures a different aspect of the faction, giving insight into the differences that exist between sects, their culture, internal politics and rituals, and what your average daughter does day to day, what they feel and think, and crucially reveals them to be so much more relatable and vulnerable souls despite all the throat slitting (the daughters are big fans of this – any kind of close-up murder seems to be the tops where the khainites are concerned).
“Say. His. Name.”
In the first, and probably my favourite of the three tales, Trisethni the Unseen, Anna Stephens does a spectacular job at taking a soul and unravelling it. The task set is simple enough, defeat a most detested foe, but the emotions underneath, oh how exquisite they are in their familiarity. Self-doubt, insecurity, desperate and love-sick longing gnaw at our assassin, and we get to watch as she tries to complete her seemingly impossible mission alone.
It’s not anything particularly innovative but the mission seems more a device to study the internal conflict a daughter can find herself in when left with just her own mind for company. Personal glory and desire sit uncomfortably with her duty and faith, but the heart wants what it wants, and for a daughter of khaine such things can be a fatal weakness, and the route to one’s ultimate ruin.
The hight point of which being a prolonged sequence of darkness and profane intimacy. Every conceivable vulnerability is extracted and exposed, every shame and secret turned upon its owner, and what made it all the more awful was that nearly all of them were my own. It was so easy to imagine being the one addressed, so easy to just pour myself into it, to be caught up completely in all the horrifying tenderness and layer my own soul on top. It’s brilliant, the point of catharsis and release married completely to both deepest desire and eternal tragedy.
(special mention must go to Colleen Prendergast for her amazing voice work for the audiobook)
Of Faith & Friendship
The second tale moves things to more philosophical matters. The task this time is to recover a shard of khaine, the challenge the lack of resources and leadership, the solution, to read the book and find out (it’s the Daughters of Khaine, it probably has some sort of murder and blood ritual, they do love their blood rituals, I mean who doesn’t?)
Here we meet Nepenora and Thaelire, friends in a sea of horny backstabbing rivals where the coven tetters on the brink, offered what appears to be one last chance at redemption and glory. Alas, they have little belief in their Hag Queen and conspire to find a solution to their seemingly inevitable fate.
Whilst not as emotionally fraught as the first story, the solid slow burn of Red Claw & Ruin has its own subtle virtues. Whilst Nepenora is the ostensible protagonist, it’s much more Thaelire’s story, following her impious and outcast nature as she sets about her plans. Her interactions and attitudes, especially with a young Stormcast Etermal, are a real highlight, turning what appears to be something quite superficial into something deeper and much more profound, more of one trying to make a connection or teach a small lesson than simply trying to gain leverage.
As I Die
The last of the stories centres around Vahis, a long lived, perhaps too long lived warrior, facing up to time and a potentially wretched fate as her body begins to fail her. The shame and humiliation of such a degeneration forces her to act, and we get to see the great game of internal rivalries and plays for power as she fights to find a way to restore herself. We get more Slaanesh conflict and really get into why the daughters so detest the lord of pleasure, she who thirsts.
But the real quality here lies in the sheer variety of personalities that can exist amongst the daughters, and it makes the various games being played quite fun as everyone criss-crosses over one another to attain some personal end. We also get to see the true brutality that their culture demands and how easily justification can be found to turn on another. The sense of how differently they view the world as opposed to their human ‘allies’ is marked, and we get a good reminder of how little space there is in the mortal realms for kindness. The concept of mercy likewise takes on a vastly different dimension when one’s soul is destined for an eternity of unimaginable torment and horror.
-
The events that tie these stories together is a little thin perhaps, almost by design with the time given over to it but is executed well and gives each of the three characters a fitting conclusion, especially my favourite Trisethni, leaving me emotionally sated and wishing that they found their way onto the tabletop in some form or other.
With so few options for those interested in Daughters of Khaine fiction, Covens of Blood represents a quite excellent set of stories that bring them to life to in unexpected and surprisingly affecting ways, going well beyond their blood crazed surface to the violent rainbow of emotions underneath. Each story not only manages to capture a unique aspect of the daughters at large but makes them so much more as people and each has a proper theme explored within their relatively small spaces.
January 26, 2024
Second Warhammer book read. This one was not as fun as the other one, but it was ok. It's a framed anthology - three short stories and a couple bookend chapters that connect them - and the stories vary in quality. The first one was fine but felt kind of like it was going through the motions for an adventure story. Things just sort of happened. The second one had more emotional complexity and ends on an interesting note. The third one, you're kind of rooting for the main character to die for a lot of it, but you're also invested in her story.
I think the problem is they didn't really reveal anything cool or fun about the central faction, in the way that Brutal Kunnin could showcase what's cool about the Orks. They're a bunch of murderous zealout elves, sure, but generally they just seemed insufferable. Where's the cool magic? They're warrior mystics but keep getting their asses kicked. They talk constantly about their religion but almost never establish why the reader should care.
I don't expect much from a Warhammer book, but I do expect a fan of the central faction to read one and think "Hell yes, this is why these dudes are cool. This is why these are my dudes." I don't think this book did that.
I think the problem is they didn't really reveal anything cool or fun about the central faction, in the way that Brutal Kunnin could showcase what's cool about the Orks. They're a bunch of murderous zealout elves, sure, but generally they just seemed insufferable. Where's the cool magic? They're warrior mystics but keep getting their asses kicked. They talk constantly about their religion but almost never establish why the reader should care.
I don't expect much from a Warhammer book, but I do expect a fan of the central faction to read one and think "Hell yes, this is why these dudes are cool. This is why these are my dudes." I don't think this book did that.
December 26, 2023
Covens of Blood presents three novellas set within a framing story. For Daughters of Khaine fans/players, this offers an interesting look into different temples among the DoK and the faction's workings overall.
That said, the book is, overall, quite a mixed bag. The entire novel, and each of its subsections, are all bogged down by slow starts and long stretches of inner monologues that add little to the experience. The first novella, in particular, focuses on a single witch aelf's foray into enemy territory, which makes for a very solipsistic (and unfortunately, quite boring) read. The two following stories get significantly more interesting, especially with the character dynamics, but are sadly still starched with a lot of empty words.
Worth reading for fans of the Daughters of Khaine, but otherwise not something I'd be quick to recommend.
That said, the book is, overall, quite a mixed bag. The entire novel, and each of its subsections, are all bogged down by slow starts and long stretches of inner monologues that add little to the experience. The first novella, in particular, focuses on a single witch aelf's foray into enemy territory, which makes for a very solipsistic (and unfortunately, quite boring) read. The two following stories get significantly more interesting, especially with the character dynamics, but are sadly still starched with a lot of empty words.
Worth reading for fans of the Daughters of Khaine, but otherwise not something I'd be quick to recommend.
July 22, 2022
Diving into the world of the Daughters of Khaine, these three stories and the plot wrapping them together gives quite the insight into the lives and cultures of these aelves devoted to the God of Murder. While the characters and their stories are well developed, the subtle lack of details regarding the world around them, coupled with the sometimes fuzzy or slow fighting scenes dulls what could be a truly great book.
Quite a must-read for people really interested in the Daughters of Khaine, while it might feel a little bit blurry and slow for more "general" fans of Age of Sigmar.
Quite a must-read for people really interested in the Daughters of Khaine, while it might feel a little bit blurry and slow for more "general" fans of Age of Sigmar.
July 4, 2022
This is really three “short” stories packed into a larger story and it doesn’t work so well as a novel. Two of the stories are good, one was boring but the bigger problem for me was that the tie-in overall story was just really disconnected and boring.
If you like the elves it’s about it seem to have some good insights into their society and culture, but if you just listen to Warhammer books while you paint, well, then there are many better options.
If you like the elves it’s about it seem to have some good insights into their society and culture, but if you just listen to Warhammer books while you paint, well, then there are many better options.
December 9, 2020
really enjoyed the first two of the three portmanteau stories but the third one, despite having a really interesting main character, reverted to the earlier AoS style of being long dull descriptions of fighting
September 6, 2022
Very interesting insight into the Daughters of Khaine culture and into Morathi's paranoia and scheming. Good action sequences, and likeable main characters. Give it a read for some insight into one of Age of Sigmar's most mysterious factions.
September 6, 2024
A good exploration of some of the main Daughters of Khaine subsections, each story is well done and sisinctly written. I wish there was more embellishment for some of the details about them and how they look!
April 29, 2022
this was a pretty good look into the Daughters of Khaine, could be slow at points.
May 1, 2022
Sexy witch elves kick ass.
August 26, 2023
I remember being hooked reading this book during my vacation last year. All three short stories were great reads with intriguing settings, story lines, and main characters.
November 10, 2025
The first two stories were great however the last one felt long and I couldn't get into it. however daughters of khaine are pretty cool.
December 23, 2020
I made a review without spoilers on youtube:
https://youtu.be/AUPjxLyD8zE
https://youtu.be/AUPjxLyD8zE
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews