Need help finding a short story/novella

[Hally]

I remember reading a story about a band an 'Zerkers killing people, iirc cultists or PDF/IG. Their killing was interrupted by a hideous scream "BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD", and after that they got slaughtered. The main character bends over and reveals his neck, giving it to Khârn. The story ends with Khârn second scream; "SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE"

 

 

Anyway, I was quite sure it was from "Let The Galaxy Burn", but when I went through it, I couldn't find it. "The Wrath of Khârn" was also something else. If anyone of you know where it's from, I'd love to know :)

[Brother Nihm]

Is it the one in Dark Imperium?

 

Edit: no, that one is the Wrath of Khârn.

 

 

Hmm. I'll see if I can find anything in my books when I get home.

[Dark Bjoern]

That´s from the actual C:CSM. It´s the short story at his entry p.49

[Hally]

I typed this up for you guys <_<

 

LET THE BLOOD FLOW…

 

”Artillery on the ridge, Brother-Slaughterer!” Horkal barked through the vox-grille of his power armour. As if to punctuate his point, another shell exploded atop the roof of the half-ruined cathedral, showering dust and masonry down onto the assembled World Eaters.

 

“Spotting teams in the chancellery, seventy metres, north-east,” added Thiron, as he peered out of the shattered stained glass window to the left of the barred doors. Flecks of blue and white paint from the cracking mural over their heads dusted the Berzerkers’ red power armour.

 

Brother-Slaughterer Mandathrax and his followers had been pinned down in the cathedral for almost half an hour. There were only five of them left now, after an ill-judged attempt to break out had seen fourteen of his warband cut down by heavy weapons fire a few minutes earlier. He weighed up his options.

 

“When the next shell hits, we charge while they reload,” Mandathrax declared. “Keep together, take out the spotters and send their souls to Khorne. Then we’ll wreak our revenge on these petty Guardsmen.”

 

There were grunts and shouts of approval from the Berzerkers. They waited, crowding behind the splintered doors. Mandathrax slid out the heavy iron bad and tossed it to one side.

 

“Wait,” he cautioned, as he felt his bloodthirsty warriors pressing in behind him, eager to be free of the disquieting confines of the holy Imperial building.

 

They waited impatiently for what seemed an age, and with a glance at the chronometer in his helmet display, Mandathrax saw that five minutes had passed since the last shell had been fired.

 

“Out of ammunition?” suggested Horkal, as he also realized how long they had been waiting.

 

“Kill them all!” roared Mandathrax, shouldering open the door and launching himself forward. He raised his bolt pistol, expecting an instant salvo of lasfire to engulf him, but there was nothing.

 

The square outside the cathedral was deserted, except for piles of bodies and pools of blood. Thick smoke billowed from the ridge to the north where the artillery had been.

 

“Impressive,” muttered Thiron as the others spread out, surveying the carnage.

 

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!

 

The thunderous shout rang through the minds of the Berzerkers as much as in resounded in the autosenses of their armoured suits. Mandathrax turned and saw an unmistakable red-armoured figure pounding around the corner of the cathedral towards them. Bloodstained chains hung from his arms and he wielded a massive chainaxe in one hand, its teeth glittering brightly, and a smoking plasma pistol in the other.

 

“Khorne protect us,” whispered Horkal.

 

“Khârn!” yelled Mandathrax, but it was too late.

 

The chainaxe swept through the helmet of Urkan first, sending half of his head spinning away in a crimson spray. With a blinding blast Khârn fired his pistol, its incandescent shot smashing a hole through Thiron’s chest and hurling him backwards onto the cathedral steps.

 

With a leap over Urkan’s sprawling corpse, Khârn swayed past Jorath’s chainsword and lopped off his arm with a casual backward sweep of Gorechild. Following through with the momentum of the blow, Khârn swung around and smashed the butt of pistol into Jorath’s face, splintering his helmet and cracking back his head. A downward cleaving blow chopped the Berzerker in half.

 

Bolts from Horkal’s pistol sparked from the Betrayer’s armour, leaving small craters in the blood-red ceramite. Khârn dropped his overheated pistol and grabbed one of Jorath’s legs, flinging the severed lower half of the Berzerker’s body at Horkal. Before Horkal could pick himself up, Khârn was on him with an underarm sweep of his chainaxe, Gorechild slamming up through Horkal’s ground armour and splitting him to the chest. With a fountain of viscera that spattered his armour, Khârn ripped his chainaxe free and turned on Mandathrax.

 

The Brother-Slaughterer knew he was doomed. He let his arms drop to his sides and stretched his backwards to expose his neck to Khârn.

 

“Accept this humble offering, Lord of Skulls”, said Mandathrax, a moment before the chainaxe sliced through his neck in one swinging blow and sent his head clattering down the steps.

 

Khârn stooped to pick up his pistol, and then headed off across the plaza in search of new sacrifices to Khorne, roaring his praise.

 

SKULLS FOR THE SKULLS THRONE!

[the jeske]

cool that you posted it , but isnt that copyright of GW?

[Hally]

If it is, please remove it. I *think* posting parts of codices/books are allowed though, as long as it is not the whole thing. As this is but a small excerpt from the codex, I doubt this is a problem.

[Brother_Soulrot]

I've decided to contribute my own little Khârn novella just to entertain you all at the B&C (this isn't copyright by the way, so feel free to pass it off as your own) :drool:

 

The smog-choked sky was a thick, cancerous shroud, striated with toxic hues ranging from night black to a bluish, poisonous grey that was remeniscent of industrial effluvia. Bolter shells and las blasts screamed through the rain-lashed night, creating brief stabs of white light that contrasted with the gloom. A grim, cloaked figure, clad in officer's fatigues, stood on a rocky outcrop no less dark than the brooding vastness of the menacing sky above. Imperial Guard Captain Hendrikson scanned the horizon with his magnoculars. Around him, an elite squad of Cadian shocktroopers prepared their weapons and uttered sentiments of malice towards their foes.

 

Sergeant Vaus cleared his throat just as a missile streaked overhead. The screaming projectile's progress punctured the midnight black smoke clouds which hung like an infernal curtain over the Cadian position.

 

'Any sign of the enemy, sir?'

 

Hendrikson lowered the magnoculars, narrowing his eyes as he turned to his sergeant. A trickle of rain, contaminated by the vile pollutants which saturated the atmosphere of Malvolius VI, ran down the three-inch scar gouged in the side of his left cheek.

 

'No. Put the men on alert though, sergeant, I think the enemy will soon show themselves.'

 

Vaus nodded and racked the slide on his laspistol, which bore numerous skull emblems and honorifics from previous campaigns. He took reassurance in the hefty feel of the weapon, when suddenly a trooper higher up on the dark, gravel-strewn ridge let out a hoarse exclamation.

 

'Sir, enemy sighted! Chaos Marines!'

 

'Emperor dammit! How many of them?'

 

'Looks like one, sir - in red -'

 

The trooper was unable to complete his report as a deafening roar, like the primordial bellow of a beast from hell, engulfed the senses of everyone present. It seemed to seep into the consciousness, paralysing nerves and sending screaming lances of fear into the souls of hardened veterans and newly blooded warriors alike. For all their training and faith in the Emperor, there was no man in that instant who didn't feel a stark horror and sense of impending destruction.

 

Hendrikson swore and raised his gilded, heavily embellished bolt pistol as a gargantuan, armoured figure appeared from the black darkness beneath the ridge. Howling, the warrior swung an immense axe, the edge a shimmering haze of ripping chain teeth, and laid into the troopers. Some of them fired their laspistols, others attempted to bayonet the Chaos champion, but it was all to no avail. Somehow, the massive Chaos Marine, his ornate helmet decorated in blasphemous icons and skulls, was faster, stronger, luckier than any who faced him. Sergeant Vaus fired straight at the warrior's breastplate but the shot merely fizzled ineffectively. Vaus was chopped cleanly in half as the chainaxe descended.

 

Hendrikson realised that he was the last soldier of the Emperor and that in this last moment, he could at least attempt to die with honour. His bolt pistol stuttered out a staccato volley of shells, several of which punctured the Chaos champion's armour, causing it to roar with pain. Yet still the dark warrior advanced, the acid rain slithering wetly over his blood-red power armour. Hendrikson drew his power sword and charged, but the result of the combat was never in doubt. As a massive fist swatted his sword arm aside and the chainaxe rose high, the Imperial Guard captain stared at the helmet of his executioner and suddenly recognition came to him; the fiend from all the stories, the ones that everyone doubted were true -

 

'Khârn!'

 

The axe descended and Hendrikson experienced a split-second of unparalled agony and pain before merciful darkness blotted any further sensation.

[Hally]

In a word; awesome. Great story. You have a great writing style, and you make good use of your fantastic vocabulary.

 

The only thing you should improve is the beginning, using relative words like very is bad, as is saying plainly that it was dark and grim. Try to make it more indirect. After that the text improved greatly, and it was a real delight to read. :blink:

 

 

What do you guys think about making a thread for posting your own, relatively short stories? In which we give constructive criticism.

[Brother_Soulrot]

I think that's a great idea; there may already be a fanfiction area somewhere on B&C though.

 

As regards my story, I started it as a spoof (it was basically going to go 'Everything was dark and grim, the Imperial Guard got ready for action, then Khârn turned up and killed them all'). But the takeaway I ordered was late in arriving so I thought I'd go one further. Anyway I'll go back and edit the rather lame opening! :)

[Hally]

Heh, that's Khârn in a nutshell :)

 

I'll make that thread when I have a story to start with.

 

Or you can make it, seeing you already have a story :P