Child of the Night Review(Spoilers beyond Spoilers)

[Kol Saresk]

Oh ye who seeks not spoilers, turn back now.

 

No but seriously, there will be no spoiler tags.

 

You have been warned.

 

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Looks like I ain't getting rid of you. Oh well, moving on!

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The Child of the Night is a very small story about the Chief Librarian of the Eigth Legion, known as Fel Zharost. Previously, he has only had two very small and brief mentions. The first being that he was the representative of the VIII who was present at the Council of Nikea. The second wa his name being mentioned as the VIII Legion representative of the Crusader Host.

 

This story is a very small, very brief overview of his life. It starts out with him looking up the barrel of a boltgun held by an Astartes with "shining green eyes". Zharost believes that his killer should at least know who it is he is killing and so he telepathically shows the Astartes his entire life.

 

What we see of Zharost's life is how when he was a child in the prison-sinks beneath Albia(apparently that's where the underground prisons mentioned in Massacre are located; unless there are more) he and a female friend he was with were hunting an Astartes. That's right, two kids were trying to hunt an Astartes. It helps Zharost that he was a psyker because the girl gets turned into blood mist and the Astartes drags him in for implantation.

 

There is some small mention in this bit that puts it that the Terrans of the prison sinks were either the pale ones, or the "hungering ones"(nothing is expanded on), which would suggest that the pale ones became murderers out of survival and were very adept at hunting and viewe themselves as hunters.

 

The next bit, we see a prefect essentially flipping the flip out as he sees visions of the sky turning black and fire raining down, how one of his aides on the radio is telling him how his eyes and hands are gone and "they" are making him talk to the prefect and then how the lights are off in his office and he's feeling a sticky fluid across his desk. He turns on the lights, screams his heart out and then he wakes up from the visions to meet Zharost. Who is reminding him that he is being punished for "dissolving the cast offs beneath his city instead of burning them" and then tells him how many times the prefect has gone through the cycles of visions and that this is the eigth time they've talked to each other and then he puts the prefect back into the nightmares.

 

So this puts into the context that the Librarians of the VIIIth(or possibly the "dream eaters" as the other Astartes referred to Zharost) were essentially the punishment detail. For those that were not killed or physically tortured, they instead "had their dreams eaten" and were forced to live in nightmares over and over again and I'd imagine they were not given the luxury of going insane.

 

Then we go to another bit that was before Istvaan V, but after Nikea as Zharost is asking Sevatar(as Curze is gone, being "schooled by his brothers" as Sevatar put it) to "render the judgement of him[Zharost] and the rest of the Librarius". Sevatar basically says he does not care. Zharost doesn't leave it alone so Sevatar says that he casts him out of the Eigth Legion and that he will don the Sinner's Red and if Sevatar ever sees him again, he will kill him. Zharost asks what of the rest of the Librarius and Sev responds that he doesn't care. At this, Zharost becomes angry and psychically attacks Sevatar, with green flames roaring up the walls and he is psychically crushing Sevatar's body against his own throne, while screaming how Sevatar and the rest of the Nostramans are killing the Legion. At some point during the psychic attack, apparently Sevatar's unwanted abilities create a backlash that sees Zharost vomiting blood and Sevatar telling him to get out.

 

What's interesting about this part is that a few differences between the Terrans and Nostramans are listed. Specifically how the Terrans' eyes are even more susceptible to light, how they are naturally hairless and their teeth are naturally pointed without having to be filed down. It mentions how there are behavioral differences as well, but does not mention any specifics. Personal theory has and still is that the Terrans are naturally hunters and survivors. They don't take the smae sadistic thrill from killing that the Nostramans did, but could be perverted to that end as so many were. The closest analogy I can think of is the Terrans being wolves while the Nostramans were fighting dogs. Obe kills purely for survival. The other is forced into a situation where it must kill and eventually the mental habit becomes that all it wants to do is kill. Yes, I realize this is a poor analogy as there are many fight dogs that are rescued and turn out to make very nice family pets and are friendly to kids. Then again, one could argue Talos was friendly to kids as long as he didn't see a need to torture them.

 

So after all this, we go back to Zharost kneeling on the ground. He requests that before he receives his retribution, that he be allowed to see the sun one more time. So he goes through the other Astartes' memories and finds out about the Heresy. And at that moment, the grey armored Astartes with the shining green eyes says “I am not here to judge you, Fel Zharost. That right belongs to another.” and then he tells him to rise.

 

So, Khayon is not Sevatar. Boom. Called it. Death is nothing compared to vindication!

 

Anyway, very small piece. And due to the nature of jumping from one scene to the next, very easy to get lost. Pretty decent read though. Kind of one those things were it doesn't say a whole lot, but what little it does say carries the weights of worlds behind it.

 

I'd argue if it was worth US$3.99, mostly due to the length, but it isn't wuote as large a rip off as some other products at the the same price. You're pretty much paying for the quality of the story, not the quantity of words used in writing it.

[Atia]

thanks for the spoilers (so, there were no night lord librarians at istvaan?)

[Kol Saresk]

Unknown. There is no mention of what became of the Librarius. Knowing the Night Lords. I'd be very welling to argue that since Zharost mentioned he was still using his powers after the Edict(outside of his display against Sevatar), that the Librarians were still being used, just more secretly than before. After all, Sevatar didn't seem all that caring of what happened to them, it was more like Zharost just wanted to be punished, similar to how Curze felt that his own execution would be justified as a deserving death.

[Flint13]

Then again, one could argue Talos was friendly to kids as long as he didn't see a need to torture them.

I think I may have found my new Sig quote for the year.

Thanks for doing this summary buddy! Just finished it myself. I think I agree with pretty much all of the points you have mentioned.

The contrast between the Nostraman and Terran is really neat, and something I've wanted to be expanded on for quite some time. Fel really feels like a completely different entity from Talos or Sevatar, and I think French does a great job at that.

Last, I'll agree it does get a bit "jumpy" with the scenes but hey, if you're trying to cram your life's story into a dudes head before you get shot, I can forgive cutting a few corners.

Now its just so unfortunately his childhood girlfriend didn't make the lady-grade...

[mc warhammer]

great to see some fleshing out of the differences between terran and nostraman astartes. on a slight tangent, has the difference between the different nostraman generations within the legion ever been shown? i’m referring to the idea that the legion was slowly poisoned by a lower grade of aspirant during curze’s absence, the implication being that the first generation of nostraman legionnaires were a cut above the usual criminal element. or is that not the case?

 

what generation did talos and co belong to?

[Kol Saresk]

Talos and Xarl were part of the last generation and no, that hasn't been fleshed out although it seems to be a belief Zharost shared.

[depthcharge12]

That's fantastic.

 

Maybe Zharost was created because fans were catching on early that Sev was Khayon....:D ahh conspiracy theories.

 

 

Could the marine with green eyes possibly be Omegon?

[Conn Eremon]

I'm confused, what was this theory regarding Sevatar and Khayon? What connection was there?

 

As for the guy with green eyelens, he seemed to me to be:

 

 

One of Malcador's Errant Knights, or something very similar. It mentions grey armor.

 

 

Oh! Did you mean Khiron, Kol?

 

[depthcharge12]

I'm confused, what was this theory regarding Sevatar and Khayon? What connection was there?

As for the guy with green eyelens, he seemed to me to be:

 

One of Malcador's Errant Knights, or something very similar. It mentions grey armor.

Oh! Did you mean Khiron, Kol?

 

Yes it regards the various theories that a NL (specifically Sevatar) is that grey knight grandmaster that starts with a K and carries around a glaive.

 

Sev is currently in holding and is a psyker, not to mention he "disappears" during the end of the heresy. Various intros for these new books mention him questioning his loyalty (and Zharost's too).

 

 

Ahh it's green eye lenses? Seems a little odd they specifically mention that as I believe Omegon was the one with green eyes and Alpharius with blue eyes ;) which ties into the theory at the end of the Serpent Beneath that Omegon joins Malcador's boys and becomes one of the other grandmasters.

 

 

It would be interesting and good fanfap if these both turn out true :D

[mc warhammer]

just wanted to say i like the term fanfap. thank you.

[Kol Saresk]

Except that as far as we can tell, Sevatar is questioning should his loyalty belong to someone other than himself while Zharost is a simple question of who will give him the retribution he seeks?

 

And if its a Knights Errant, it would have to be Garro as Garro was the one sent to pick everyone up and we only know the definite beginning(Rubio) and the definite end(Loken) with only bits and pieces of the middle. We have no idea how many Astartes Garro recruited for Malcador and probably will never know.

 

And let's be honest, Sevatar is and was the only name brought up by the supporters of this theory and only because he was the only Night Lord psyker seen with a glaive, not because he might have some shred of honor.

 

Zharost provides an alternate, and far more likely, candidate as he is a psyker, he uses a staff, and he was never part of the Betrayal so it is more than likely his loyalty, if he has any, is too the Emperor.

 

EDIT: And yes, I meant Khiron. Don't ask me why I said Khayon because I have no clue.

[Conn Eremon]

For a while I was trying to think about how people could read Talon and think Khayon is actually Sevatarion. Just all kinds of wut.

 

Having read this short, I'm struck by the fact that Zharost is not the first "dream eater" we have seen. Konrad Curze's own mortal serf was known as one, too. Originally, I thought his purpose was to "eat" the Night Haunter's dreams, allowing him a peaceful, quiet sleep.

 

Now I'm thinking it is much more twisted than that. If Night Lord dream eaters are psykers who affect the dreams of the condemned to perpetuate the Legion's special brand of justice and repentence, maybe Curze deliberately afflicts himself with this brand of justice as a means of assuaging his own guilt or tortured psyche.

 

Perversely, it seems to have a positive effect on him. It is mentioned that, as the Night Haunter's mental breakdown becomes more noticeable and extreme, that the dream eater must not be doing his job right. So perhaps by afflicting himself with this torment, Curze is soothed. He allows cracks to be made in his sanity as a means of safeguarding it.

 

I'm just tossing assumptions out there, but it would be appropriate and sheds some interesting light on sire of the Night Lords before he finally and truly broke.

[Kol Saresk]

Actually, I could be wrong, but IIRC, the little dude in Prince of Crows was a sin eater, not a dream eater. And since A D-B had him acting according to the olden concept, it would mean that the little guy "took the burden of Curze's sins upon himself".

[Conn Eremon]

Ah. Damn.

 

Thought I had something there.

[Flint13]

just wanted to say i like the term fanfap. thank you.

I as well enjoy this term. I shall begin to use it until it becomes a cultural norm ^_^

 

@Kol - Yep, the Primarch's little buddy was referred to as a Sin Eater.

 

Are the dream-eaters how Night Lords refer to Librarians, or are they like the Atramentar (as in all Atramentar are first legion veterans, but not all first legion veterans are Atramentar)? 

[Kol Saresk]

Don't know. Part of me wants to say it specifically refers to the telepathic Librarians, but who knows? We would end needing more material since it was only used in passing as a title for Zharost.

[depthcharge12]

just wanted to say i like the term fanfap. thank you.

 

I claim poetic license, therefore, I can bend words to my will :P

 

 

 

On a side note, I too thought that Curze's pet human was a dream eater as well...he was needed because Curze's sanity was deteriorating and needed sleep. Kind of the function that the nails let Angron get some modicum of rest when he lets himself go under.

[Balthamal]

It's interesting to hear the slave's take on it all. He says "the dreams were becoming too poisoned by doubt" which can have a double barrelled meaning when you think of how Curze's precognitive abilities manifested themselves as waking dreams. Maybe just having the little psyker around was the only thing getting the Night Haunter through the day

[Xin Ceithan]

First off thanks for the summary. looking even more forward to reading it now.

And since I always fancied my Warband leader a former librarian it's fanfaperaganza indeed!

 

Though I am not sure about the Terrans being shark toothed Riddick lookalikes yet (even if I consider " Chronicles of Riddick" a guilty pleasure)

[Flint13]

First off thanks for the summary. looking even more forward to reading it now.

And since I always fancied my Warband leader a former librarian it's fanfaperaganza indeed!

Though I am not sure about the Terrans being shark toothed Riddick lookalikes yet (even if I consider " Chronicles of Riddick" a guilty pleasure)

Watch it. "Guilty pleasure" comes close to implying that Riddick isn't the coolest thing this side of an actual predator :p

[Hyaenidae]

First off, if you want to know a real guilty pleasure, I love Kurt Russell in Soldier. Such a terrible movie, yet I can't stop watching it over and over.

http://www.yourmovieclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20.png

 

Second, I actually liked the descriptions of the Terrans, I thought it was intriguing. 

 

Third, I really enjoyed the story. The bit of hopping around in the story did kinda feel weird, but I blame that on the format (not sure about y'all, but my Nook is notorious with not showing paragraph breaks).

[Xin Ceithan]

Gosh, how could I leave out this movie?!

[Conn Eremon]

First off, if you want to know a real guilty pleasure, I love Kurt Russell in Soldier. Such a terrible movie, yet I can't stop watching it over and over.

 

http://www.yourmovieclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20.png

Second, I actually liked the descriptions of the Terrans, I thought it was intriguing.

 

Third, I really enjoyed the story. The bit of hopping around in the story did kinda feel weird, but I blame that on the format (not sure about y'all, but my Nook is notorious with not showing paragraph breaks).

Pssst. Join the Kindle master race.

[Kol Saresk]

Now I have to recreate that growl scene.

[Vesper]

First off, if you want to know a real guilty pleasure, I love Kurt Russell in Soldier. Such a terrible movie, yet I can't stop watching it over and over.

http://www.yourmovieclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20.png

 

Second, I actually liked the descriptions of the Terrans, I thought it was intriguing. 

 

Third, I really enjoyed the story. The bit of hopping around in the story did kinda feel weird, but I blame that on the format (not sure about y'all, but my Nook is notorious with not showing paragraph breaks).

 

Kurt Russel is all kinds of awesome.