Aria Arcana

The Dark Coil

by Peter Fehervari

An Angels Resplendent Short Story

READ IT BECAUSE
Peter Fehervari’s Dark Coil continues to spiral.

THE STORY
A Dark Coil companion piece to the Adepta Sororitas novel Requiem Infernal.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, 40k, Horror

33 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 10, 2022

Reviews

[DarkChaplain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Fehervari remains a master of his craft. Had this short story been billed as a part of the Horror imprint, it would not have surprised me. Aria Arcana is disturbing, vivid in its imagery, twisted in its themes and characters.

Without the context of the Dark Coil, it would still be a prime candidate for top depictions of the arcane terror of Chaos in the 41st Millennium.... but with knowledge of the wider Coil - Requiem Infernal, The Reverie, The Sins of My Brothers and Cult of the Spiral Dawn in particular - it becomes so much more.

So it goes.

After reading the story in bed last night, I found myself returning to Aria many times throughout the day, especially during quiet moments during a family get-together, or on the bus there and home. I kept turning it around in my head over and over, like usual with a Fehervari-piece for me. There were strands I felt I could almost grasp, but couldn't do without cross-referencing the other novels and short stories. When I finally got home and could start satisfying that urge, the Coil would not let go for a long time.

For travelers of the Dark Coil, Aria Arcana delivers a spectacularly dark piece of the puzzle that informs prior works, while opening up new questions as well. For every answer, every hint to a solution as to the underlying mysteries, there is another conundrum to rake your brain over. So it flows.
The short story is so well crafted, so deliberate in its prose and specific wording, it invites a level of engagement that few other Black Library publications can match or exceed..... and those that do are more likely than not also Fehervari's contributions to the roster.

[Rostislav Markelov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fans of Peter Fehervari are usually used to waiting, contemplating patiently until the new piece of the puzzle, known as Dark Coil, will finally arrive. But this year we could consider themselves fortunate - we got two! And while both of them are just short stories, they brought quite the revelations, turning and twisting the saga of Angels Resplendent/Penitent into all kind of weird warp-cursed directions.

So, the story is out and here are my thoughts. Without spoilers, at least at first. The main thing to know - this short story is a tie-in to Requiem Infernal and Reverie and I had to disagree with the other review here - it doesn't quite work as a standalone story. Aria Arcana is better in that regard than Sins Of My Brothers, but still without necessary contexts reading this story is probably close to having an acid trip or the fever dream. Well, some could say that Peter's stories are usually like this even with the necessary context, and it wouldn't be wrong, but well... Without reading at least Requiem I don't see a way to understand WTF had happened and all you get in this case would be a quite unusual action scene, interesting demon POV, a lot of colorful mind-bending descriptions and barely comprehensible plot, as coherent as a warp-storm during which the story takes place. Oh, and a couple of nice references to 2001: Space Odyssey of course. Even in this cases story has something to offer, but if you want to have a taste of Dark Coil, there are better short stories for this, Thirteen Psalm for example.

As for how it feels to read it when you did have all the context and you are a certified Dark Coil enthusiast... Well, last time I wrote that the Sins Of My Brothers turned my understanding of the transition from Resplendent to Penitent upside down. This story hits different, while far from being predictable it was within my range of expectations. It is just that was the grimmer end of that range. While the desire to burn Kanvolis with holy fire visited me sometimes even when I read Reverie, even though I am pretty much in love with the idea of Resplendent, this time around I felt desire to shout "Brother, we need a flamer! A heavy flamer!" from the beginning of the story to the very end. Because Heresy. So much of delicious wonderful heresy...

Those who are aware of the Dark Coil knew that the one of the central questions here is "what incarnation of the chapter is more heretical: Resplendent or Penitent?". After reading Aria Arcana I can tell with confidence that this round goes to Resplendent. Even considering all that we found out in Sins Of My Brothers. Just wow.

At the same time, it is important to point out that it is implied that not all Resplendent are this flawed and there are noble and valiant souls among them, but Dark Coil stories almost never are focused on them. Because of this Resplendent can be seen more corrupted and distorted than they probably really are. I actually want to see "the brighter" side of Resplendent after all these shadows and sins, if only to remember what their "dream" is all about and why I care for them so much. After all, there should be the representatives of this part of their culture. Rhapsody Concordant for example. To be completely honest I both want to see them and am dreading this moment at the same time, considering what Fehervari usually does with hopes and the recent history with the Sins Of My Brothers

And a bit of spoiler talk: well, who would have thought that we will return to Vitarn to see this? Satori being a subtle mastermind, sacrificing brother after brother in the name of his "noble" goal isn't something truly new, it is just presented a bit different now, but I must question "da kunning plan" here. While I can go along with the line of thoughts that stasis-vaults and cryo-chambers are for the weak and unenlightened and if you truly want to "preserve" some Astartes for the future, there is nothing better than putting them into the freaking warp - this is perfectly in line with everything we know about Resplendent and it was a thing that they will certainly do, but it is those who were chosen that strike me as oddity. Deceived librarian without proper understanding of the warp and it's danger, who is half-possessed by demon, apothecary that doesn't know what compassion is and a sergeant that has no idea who really is in command. Not exactly a dream-team that I would entrust with restoration of my precious chapter. So was this declared goal - the true goal of Satori? Or as protagonist had feared Satori once again told him what he wanted to hear? Then what the real goal was? After racking my brain on it for several days I arrived for two possible explanations, but even they don't fully satisfy me. Sometimes I wonder what if instead of cultivating flaws in his Brothers to exploit later Satori just helped them to become better people and to overcome them - would it make significant part of his plotting and struggles unnecessary?

To tie it all up, it isn't my favorite Dark Coil short story but it was still quite enjoyable, entertaining and even enlightening. Initially, I thought that I am just going to leave it and all the confusion that it brought behind and move on, but here I am, mussing on all of these questions week later. And another interesting touch - the whole theme of the story, as it often happens with Dark Coil, perfectly reflects the current state of the series, providing us with so much needed false hope for its future.

[Tim Van Lipzig · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a world wracked by the spasms of a Warp-ridden catastrophe, a lone ship of Astartes is bound for a secret mission. They are of the Angels Resplendent, and their Librarian has instructions by his mentor to search for meaning amidst the destruction. But is their endeavour doomed to fail, or was doom their purpose all along?

I really liked this story for the way it mirrors the unravelling of the characters psyche within the narrative itself - starting off as a for Fehervari unusually action-heavy and clear-cut piece to then slowly shift into something altogether more dream-like and ephemeral.

This is yet another story by Peter Fehervari about the Space Marine Chapter of the Angels Resplendent (who would become the Angels Penitent), marking his fifth story dedicated to the mysterious and tragic Chapter(s), and shows yet another perspective on their fractured fate - another bright mirror shard of the broken piece, if you would. Aria Arcana is probably best read as some kind of inbetween-quel to the novels Requiem Infernal and The Reverie, as it's setting, characters and themes bounces heavily off of both. The most natural way to read it would probably as a sequel to Requiem Infernal and then either as a prequel or sequel to The Reverie, but I could also imagine this as a weird introductory piece to this corner of The Dark Coil (the collective term for Fehervari's corner of the literary landscape of Warhammer 40k), maybe a bit confusing, but hopefully teasing enough to incite a journey along the other stories of The Dark Coil.

If a reader is interested in the Angels Resplendent specifically, there are three other short stories dedicated to them and/or their penitent successors (Crown of Thorns; The Thirteenth Psalm; Sins Of My Brothers) as well as one novel (The Reverie). Traces and echoes of them are to be found all over Fehervari's stories, though, so keep an eye out for them.

If you want to learn more about Peter Fehervari's The Dark Coil and get an overview of its stories, characters and factions, there's a helpful article on the Track of Words blog that helps with just that: https://www.trackofwords.com/2020/10/...

[Ignas · Rating 5 out of 5]

So as always. After reading this, I'm left with more questions than answers. More theories arise...


I starting to think that Satori is has a bigger role in this madness, that I thought after reading the Reverie. I certainly getting an inkling that a certain cyclopian character from the days past, might be related too. And what ever the end of Cult of Spiral Dawn was.


I really need to reread everything. A fresh take with all the new clues would be a great experience I think.


 Less plot relevant, but, I love how Mr. Fehervari manages to shift the tone from mystery to creepyness, to unsettling dread.

Hopefully his next stuff is coming soon! I hear that theres another short in the works, but I'm really hoping that another novel will bless us sooner than later.

Side note:
Good luck to any one who at some point tries to make a Angels Resplendant army or a squad. The amount of kitbashing and greenstuffing would be endless. Just like a spiral!? *screeching fades out*

[Andrew Alvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This kind of story reminds me of the work of Peter's fellow Black Library writer Matt Farrer and a lot of his material, the vivid depictions a bit much for my imagination though I didn't find it unenjoyable just a bit confusing lol
I need to delve deeper into Peter's other Dark Coil material to get a better understanding I think.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good short read this one - giving a different view of some of the events of Requiem Infernal, but delving in to characters more connected to the Reverie.
Interesting mind twisting stuff as ever, but as is often the case with short stories, it would have been great if even longer a read :) An enjoyable short read all round though.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

While maintaining some of the Fehervari Flavor we all crave, I gotta say this one was largely incomprehensible and boring to slog through. Maybe I read it in the wrong order with the rest of the coil?

[Paul Sparks · Rating 1 out of 5]

There seems to be near mythical status applied to these dark coil stories, I have enjoyed only 1 and it’s not this one