'Without Fear' by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

[Legatus]

By chance I just stumbled upon this short story by A D-B from the 2015 Black Library advent calendar event, and I have to say I did enjoy this short take on the Ultramarines. And it is very short, comparable to a one page action story in a Codex. An Ultramarines Assault Squad jumps into action and wreaks havoc, and that is basically it. Indeed, the story reminded me of a very similar short story from the old 2nd Edition Codex Angels of Death, where it had been a Blood Angels Assault Squad in a similar scenario.

 

What I liked about the story were how the process and the demeanour of the Marines are described. They are all very focused on their task at hand, and only communicate in very short bursts. Very efficiently. It is a routine situation for them. What they have been doing their entire life. That is basically how I want Ultramarines to operate (and Space Marines in general, really, but Ultramarines especially).

 

 

A big plus for me is that at no point is the Codex Astartes mentioned. That their entire training and doctrine is based on the Codex Astartes is utterly mundane and trivial for an Ultramarine, so there is not really any reason to bring it up. For an Ultramarine to remark upon the fact that this or that manoeuvre was suggested by the Codex Astartes would be like me remarking that "I liked to eat, since as a human I require regular nourishment".

 

There is also no talk about "theoreticals" or "practicals" here, which is another plus. As mentioned earlier, for these Ultramarines the combat situation is completely routine, and they communicate very efficiently.

 

The Ultramarines are conversing in "Ultramar Gothic" (i.e. latin), which is perhaps a bit unusual, since most 40K stories have everyone just speaking plain english. I have seen a few reviews that did not like this, since the Ultramarines had never been described speaking another language, but I didn't mind. A D-B had done it with the Night Lords, and I think it works here as well. Latin phrases make sense for the Ultramarines.

 

 

Unfortunately there are two downers. One is the use of the phrase "Courage and Honour". It is a terrible motto for a Space Marines Chapter, and I wish this would just go away, but I suppose a certain author just had full control over the Chapter for too long. This stings doubly since A D-B himself had brutally savaged the Ultramarines for using such a motto in 'Betrayer'.

But then "We March for Macragge" is not much better, and similarly bad.

 

My other issue was the use of the silly name "Avenging Son" for Roboute Guilliman. I think that will pretty much ruin any story about Ultramarines for me. But I can still say that I did enjoy the rest of the way the Squad was described.

 

 

Making a post about this short story no one has probably even heard of was perhaps not really warranted, but I usually have been very negative about any releases about the Ultramarines in recent years, so I thought perhaps I give some kudos when I felt something was well done.

I also didn't think anyone in the BL forum would be interested in me talking about Ultramarines again, so I posted this here in the Ultramarines section.

[Tranc]

My favorite part of Without Fear is how it begins:

"“Earth to earth. Ash to ash. Dust to dust.

Earth from Iax. Ash from Calth. Dust from Macragge.

He consecrates his gauntlets with the sacred soil of three worlds.”

It speaks of culture. I wonder if the ancient Greeks or Romans ever did something like this, and if that's where A D-B adapted the ritual from.

 

“The pistol is a more majestic piece, a wide-mouthed Umbra-pattern born in a brighter age and preserved through millennia of war. All bolt weapons bellow when fired; this one roars louder and harsher than its kindred, a sign of its machine-spirit’s pride.

Along its length, the words Sempram Fiberi shine in burnished bronze against the black: Always Free, when translated literally into Terran High Gothic. Macragge’s centralised dialect of Gothic is a far more aggressive vernacular, and the words have a subtly different and more defiant meaning: Never Conquered.”

So much freaking culture. This is Sparta!!!

 

But my favorite description of the Ultramarines, well of one of their successor chapters, comes from A D-B's Blood Reaver novel:

“To say they arrived in orderly formation would be to do them an injustice, for the warriors’ cohesion far exceeded anything seen in the Blood Reaver’s attack force. In pristine ceramite of blue and white, matching the halved heraldries of ancient Terran knights, a single squad of warriors threw themselves into cover at the far end of the corridor. Their movements were utterly economical, ruthless in their soldierly precision, taking positions in total silence but for the growl of armour and the crack of bolter stocks against shoulder guards as each of them took aim...

He heard Mercutian say, in rare Nostraman gutter-tongue, ‘Oh, :cuss.”

The pinnacle of the professional soldier!

 

The best thing that could ever happen to the Ultramarines is if A D-B does for us what he did for the Night Lords.

[Brother Captain Ed]

My other issue was the use of the silly name "Avenging Son" for Roboute Guilliman. I think that will pretty much ruin any story about Ultramarines for me. But I can still say that I did enjoy the rest of the way the Squad was described.

 

 

I'm not sure what you're on about.  Guilliman as the Avenging Son is one of my favorite parts about his backstory.  It doesn't mean he goes all Django.  It means he prevented the galaxy from being split into Imperial worlds and Chaos worlds.  Almost singlehandedly, Guilliman and the Ultramarines swept across the half of the galaxy that turned against the Emperor and returned them to His light.  Guilliman as the Avenging Son is arguably his most important contribution to the setting.

[Legatus]

But my favorite description of the Ultramarines, well of one of their successor chapters, comes from A D-B's Blood Reaver novel:

“To say they arrived in orderly formation would be to do them an injustice, for the warriors’ cohesion far exceeded anything seen in the Blood Reaver’s attack force. In pristine ceramite of blue and white, matching the halved heraldries of ancient Terran knights, a single squad of warriors threw themselves into cover at the far end of the corridor. Their movements were utterly economical, ruthless in their soldierly precision, taking positions in total silence but for the growl of armour and the crack of bolter stocks against shoulder guards as each of them took aim...

He heard Mercutian say, in rare Nostraman gutter-tongue, ‘Oh, :cuss.”

The pinnacle of the professional soldier!

 

There were some nice descriptions of loyalist Marines in the Night Lord series. But I think I remember them allways having some eccentric or pompous streak, which was then exploited (and mocked) by the more "down to earth" traitors.

 

 

I'm not sure what you're on about.  Guilliman as the Avenging Son is one of my favorite parts about his backstory.  It doesn't mean he goes all Django.  It means he prevented the galaxy from being split into Imperial worlds and Chaos worlds.  Almost singlehandedly, Guilliman and the Ultramarines swept across the half of the galaxy that turned against the Emperor and returned them to His light.  Guilliman as the Avenging Son is arguably his most important contribution to the setting.

 

Guilliman did not get that nickname because of his actions during the Scouring.

 

The Scouring is where Dorn had been described in the Imperial Fists Index Astartes article as an "avenging son", painting his armour black and ignoring everything else that was going on within the Imperium at the time, immersing himself completely in hunting down the traitors and chasing them into the Eye of Terror.

 

Guilliman was given that nickname by Dan Abnett in "Unremembered Empire", a few years into the Heresy, because when Ultramar was attacked by the Word Bearers and World Eaters... Guilliman defended it.

 

In one of the two instances of that nickname it is fitting and deserved. In the other one it is petty and silly. It is even worse when his subordinates are actually refering to him by that name.

[Brother Captain Ed]

And it was fine there, too.

[Tranc]

Regarding "avenging son", Guilliman's adopted fathor Konor was murdered by his co-consul Gallan.  Guilliman brought justice to the perpetrators, ending the war and bringing unity to Macragge.

 

After Guilliman's true father is mortally wounded by Horus, Guilliman earns the moniker a second time by persecuting the traitors during the Scouring and bringing stability to the Imperium.

 

The fact that Guilliman fails to prevent the murder of his father figure twice, but exacts vengeance on the perpetrators makes the name very suitable.  However, I do agree that it does seem premature for Ultramarines to use that nick name prior to the Scouring.

[Legatus]

I was remarking upon the similarities between Guilliman being unable to prevent the death of Konor and then the death of the Emperor like ten years ago.

 

But Guilliman earns the title "avenging son" specifically for his actions defending his own realm from an attack. It is introduced in 'Unremembered Empire', which is set some time after the Word Bearers and World Eaters have already been routed. By that time Guilliman had spent some time sitting in the cut-off Ultramar, plotting the Imperium Secundus. And still he is being referred to by his subordinates as "avenging son":

 

"Horus Lupercal – another of the eighteen primarchs, but, in Guilliman’s opinion, far from the best – had been selected as the heir among heirs and, in a miserably short space of time, had been found wanting. He had risen in revolt, twisting some other primarchs against their gene-father too.
The first Guilliman had known of this sacrilege was when Lorgar’s bastards had turned upon the Five Hundred Worlds at Calth and, in darkest treachery, had shattered that planet.
Shameless. Atrocious.
Two years had passed, and there was not a second of them when Guilliman had not thought of Lorgar’s treachery and – by extension – Horus’s.
Guilliman would be avenged."

- Unremembered Empire

 

It is not even the treason against the Emperor Guilliman is seeking vengeance for. It is the attack on his own realm. On Calth. He is not seeking vengeance in his capacity as someone's son (as Dorn did during the Scouring). He is just seeking vengeance for himself. And he is someone's son. It would be more apropriate to call him the "avenging brother", since it is a treacherous brother attacking him he seeks vengeance against.

 

At this point the Raven Guard had been almost completely destroyed on Istvaan V, and Corax is leading his remaining units. The Blood Angels suffered heavily on Signus. But Guilliman is "the avenging son". Long after the attack on his realm has been repelled, sitting in Ultramar for a couple of years.

[Brother Captain Ed]

As with much of your lore hounding, you are overthinking, Legatus.

Guilliman's personal ring cycle of inability to aid his father, tragic loss, and being left to bring retribution to his enemies is a major defining pieces of the primarch's story.  Guilliman is the avenging son because that's his role.  You can focus on a piece of Unremembered Empire or you can look at the entire character.  Your call, but I think you miss out on some of the most interesting aspects of Guilliman and his sons.

[Tranc]

Legatus, maybe I'm missing something, are you claiming that Guilliman earned the title "avenging son" because that excerpt ends with "Guilliman would be avenged"?

 

I think the title fits Guilliman given his past and future (at the time of Unremembered Empire).  If the phrase is used in that book that I couldn't finish, I'd just attribute it to bad writing.

[Legatus]

The passage I quoted above was perhaps removed too much from it's context. Sorry. I thought you guys would probably be familiar with the broader contents of the novel. But then I myself have only read three of the HH novels, so I probably shouldn't be the one making such assumptions.

 

'Unremembered Empire' is set about two years after the Word Bearers' attack on Calth. Ultramar is shut off from the rest of the galaxy by the ruinstorm. Guilliman is busy plotting the structure of the "Imperium Secundus" and finding a way to contact and draw other loyalist forces to his side.

 

In the "dramatis personae' section of this book, this is how Guilliman is introduced:

 

Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the XIII Legion ‘Ultramarines’, Lord of the Five Hundred Worlds, now known as ‘the Avenging Son’

 

That title is then also frequently used throughout the book to refer to him. And not just in the descriptive prose, but also directly by his subordinates:

 

‘Less with the “lord tetrarch”, my noble and good friend, Verus,’ said Dolor. He looked Caspean in the eye. ‘Phratus has fallen. Until the Avenging Son can be found, I have authority in the Fortress, and I directly name you First Master to succeed Auguston.’

 

This book is indeed where this moniker is introduced. And it is not just one of many bynames Roboute Guilliman has earned over the years, it is how he is now commonly known as and referred to. Same how Jonson is usually referred to as "the Lion". Roboute Guilliman is from this point on known as "the Avenging Son". Not because he lost two father figures. Not because he would chase the traitors out of the Imperium during the scouring. Why he got this nickname at this point in time was explained in the passage I had quoted earlier. Because Lorgar had the audacity to attack him, and he now wants vengeance for that. This will from now on be Roboute Guilliman's most defining moment. How he got his commonly used nickname, which in 'Without Fear" is apparently still used ten thousand years later to refer to him. "The guy who was really angry when he was personally attacked."

 

Since way back in 3rd Edition it had been described that the Ultramarines would eventually conquer the homeworld of the Word Bearers. But this was but a minor event, insignificant compared to the entirety of their accomplishments during the Scouring. But now this is what Roboute Guilliman is named after. Ten thousand years later, he is remembered as the man who was attacked in his own realm, but swore and eventually exacted revenge. What a legacy.

[Tranc]

Yeah, I don't think the moniker makes sense until the Scouring, unless in reference to Konor or they really really think the Emperor is dead.

[Legatus]

Here is how that particular description was first used for Rogal Dorn, way back in the 3rd Edition Imperial Fists Index Astartes article (around 2002):

 

"It fell to Dorn to discover the bodies of the Emperor, Horus and Sanguinius after the final drama had run its course. His grief was immense. Until that point Dorn had been true, noble and enduring, but now he became an avenging son. While the Ultramarines maintained order within the Imperium, the Imperial Fists hunted down the traitors, levelling fortress after fortress. Dorn led them, dressed in the black of mourning, his customary mercy set aside until the guilty were punished. While others shaped the new Imperium, Dorn immersed himself in implacable justice. It was rumoured that he saw the Emperor's death as his personal failure and his crusade as penance."

 

Compare that to the petty personal reasons quoted earlier in this thread for why Dan Abnett now gave that moniker to Roboute Guilliman. The decision appears all the more jarring since in the older lore, where Dorn had been described as the "avenging son", his strong emotional reaction to the events had been specifically contrasted with the more measured reaction of the Ultramarines.

 

The Ultramarines were of course the most instrumental Legion of the Scouring, at one point accounting for more than half of all the Marines in the field, and even working together with the Imperial Fists in a long campaign against the Iron Warriors. But they never lost sight of the bigger picture, and were trying to maintain (or restore) order and stability in the Imperium. Guilliman not only directed his forces but also was busy reorganizing the Imperial military and participating in the development of the new governmental structures. Dorn on the other hand was focused entirely on hunting down the traitors, ignoring all other matters.

 

And then, ten years later, Dan Abnett comes along and informs us that after being attacked on Calth, Roboute Guilliman became known far and wide as "the Avenging Son".

 

 

Edit: To tie this back around to the OP, in the past there have been occasions where A D-B had subtly attempted to "correct" some of the more oddball elements of other authors, e.g. having his Night Lords characters state that Curze really went off the deep end, and was not "wronged by the Emperor" as the Night Lord protagonist from "Lord of the Night" had claimed, or relativizing the "Executioner" status of the Space Wolves, or having a NL/WE character explain why those two Legions were not suitable as the Emperor's executioners. So it is a shame that he adopted Abnett's "Avening Son" for his Ultramarines short story, instead of just dismissing it.

[Captain Idaho]

Nice thread Legatus.

 

Personally, I like the moniker. Gives him a broader personality, intended to emphasise just how upside down the galaxy became.

 

Guilliman earnt it not because he was avenging himself. He was, but he avenged those populations who suffered from traitors in Ultramar.

 

His vengeance was against Lorgar and those who slighted him, but the quote you put up regarding his regards to Horus betray his thoughts. He hates both. He's getting revenge on them all, starting with the immediate traitors.

[Seahawk]

Paints him even more as Captain America, the first Avenger! Lol

[Daigo Cannon]

He is a son of Macragge and Ultramar, the fact that this moniker comes out after Calth is as mentioned, because he will seek vengeance for the sins done by Lorgar on Calth and the 500 worlds.

 

This fits too with the previous established personality of UM, "If you attack us better kills us or we will come back for retribution" - Know no Fear HH novel, not the exact words.
Under this context the moniker fits perfectly.

[phoenix01]

I always thought Guilliman earned the name "the Avenging Son" because of his efforts to bring Konor's killer, the usurper Gallan, to justice, and that this was simply reinforced due to his efforts during the Heresy and the Scouring. Who knew?

[b1soul]

ADB's UM are not superior to Abnett's...just different IMO

 

I really liked KNF and UE was quite enjoyable as well