Upcoming Black Library Title Featuring Celestine

[Commander Dawnstar]

I was just looking around the Black Library site and happened to come across this new title: Shroud of Night.

 

Naturally I was pretty excited at the prospect of a piece that seemed like it would feature Celestine even in an adversarial role, but if you went by the description and summary alone you wouldn't even know that there were Battle Sisters in the book at all. It seems rather bizarre that such a big name Sisters character is on the cover when it's being promoted as "hot Chaos on Chaos action," particularly seeing as Khârn the Betrayer is clearly being presented as the main attraction. It's enough to make one wonder why they even went with Sisters on the cover at all.

 

So yeah ... speculate away.

[Arkaniss]

Well we can easily speculate that Sisters will be the mooks and bolter fodder I suppose. Also is that a Blood Angel symbol bottom right of the cover??

[joschlumpf]

I am not sure about Celestine, but I guess the Sisters are guarding the relics and the Chaos forces wants them but each Warband/Legion don´t want to share with the others. So we will see Chaos killing Sisters while ploting in the background against each other and then Khârn appears and kill everyone who still stands.

Well we can easily speculate that Sisters will be the mooks and bolter fodder I suppose. Also is that a Blood Angel symbol bottom right of the cover??

 

Blood Angel Sisters? XD

[Montford]

Yeah, looks like a Blood Angel Sister alright. And that's a crappy rendition of Celestine.

[Servant of Dante]

Well the Sisters look like Argent Shroud, except the fabric around their necks is red. Otherwise, they even have the correct red bolter casing.

 

And that blood drop, i have no idea why the heck that's there.

[Beams]

Someone probably mistook the I with wings as a blood drop with wings, because they were more familiar with space Marines.

[taikishi]

Doubtful, but could also be a minor order situated around Baal.

[Commander Dawnstar]

Bump time!

 

The digital version of Shroud of Night is available to download from today, and there's also an interview with the author on Warhammer Community

 

 

[Commander Dawnstar]

So I've blasted through this one. The pertinent information for those interested:

• The Sisters present are of the Order of the Crimson Tear. Their armour is half bone and half black, and they have a penchant for decorating their cheeks with ruby tears. We learn very little about their methodology or unique beliefs beyond perhaps the statement "There can be no victory without suffering."
• The convent prioris (as the author refers to it) of the Order makes up the upper 15% of one of Tsadrekha's hive worlds and is essentially a massively armoured fortress with total void shield coverage.
• The Sisters certainly aren't represented badly but ultimately get something of the short straw in that they play an antagonistic role in a story where Astartes (of both flavours) are the protagonists. They're shown in a better light than the Guard and are hardly incompetent, but beyond Celestine and the named Canoness are ultimately here to fight and die in droves. They get some hits in and the power of their faith is shown in resisting the daemonic, but the main protagonist on the Imperial side is an Imperial Fist. The Sisters certainly get more focus than the Fists though.
• Celestine arrives alone in the sky on the eve of battle unannounced. Apparently she chooses new Geminae in each theater of war, something foretold in scriptures known to the Canoness. One of her Geminae in this story is called Kassia, the other unnamed, and we see one of them resurrected by Celestine's healing tears. They have no dialogue.
• Some know Celestine as "... the herald of woe. The harbinger of disaster ..." one who arrives in the darkest hour with divine purpose but who, as we saw at Cadia, is not a savior or promise of victory. They say there is always a price to her coming...
• Celestine is mentioned to have lived dozens of lifetimes across thousands of years.

And now for more direct spoiler territory:

 

This novella gives a bit of a window into the nature of Celestine's divine insight. She does not have visions as a seer or astropath or see the twisting paths of fate as the Eldar do, but is instead compared to one walking an invisible bridge across an endless chasm of infinite darkness. Every step she takes forward is made only by the faith that the Emperor has set a path before her, and in turn each step lights a small candle in the darkness granting her the slightest sliver of immediate knowledge about the space around her. She comes to Tsadrekha not truly knowing the fate that awaits it; she anticipates a major breach in the Imperial lines moments before it occurs; she deliberately alters the focus of the Sisters' defences to control the advance of the forces of Chaos in a particular manner; she knows the hive will fall long before the battle reaches its critical point; she deliberately chooses to not deny the Alpha Legion the beacon when she has a chance to stop their flight with it, and ultimately she goes willingly to her death at the hands of Khârn, the fulfillment of a dark fate she had some awareness of from as long ago as her time at Guilliman's side. The bad end, that is, not the when or the how.

 

Yes, Celestine dies, but she does so gladly knowing that she has achieved the purpose the Emperor had set for her in that incarnation. Said purpose was to keep the beacon (a Guardsman of no consequence whose flesh radiates a holy light and has essentially been rigged up to act as a localised Astronomicon) from falling into the hands of those who would sacrifice that holy gift to the powers of Chaos. The Alpha Legion of the novel are distinctly morally grey, and with one exception have no love for the Dark Gods and Legions, and ultimately spirit away the beacon onto a fleeing Imperial ship under the guise of an Inquisitorial mission and make Warp. This is presented as being an infinitely better outcome than letting the beacon fall to the followers of Khorne or Slaanesh.

 

This isn't a Sisters story ... obviously. It was marketed as Chaos vs Chaos and that's kinda true, although more in the competitive sense that there are multiple factions racing to be the first to claim the prize from the Imperials. If anything it's just a little bit like a Last Chancers story with an Alpha Legion squad in the starring role instead. At the end of all things (from the Imperial perspective) it's the story of one spark of hope out in the Noctis Aeterna being dimmed but not extinguished.

 

The nightmares must prevail. For without their reign, without their time, the dawn could not break again.

Edited July 23, 2017 by Commander Dawnstar

[Servant of Dante]

Hum. Sounds like not only is the story not something I'd care to read narratively, it breaks my headcanon on basically every level (i reeeeally dislike Celestine's fluff, but also it uses the name "Prioris" for no reason, and it has far to many Sisters in a minor order). Edited July 23, 2017 by Servant of Dante

[Vigrid Of Asgaror]

Not that I am particularly interested in Chaos and it is highly unlikely I will read this, what you listed is both interesting and intriguing. It is awesome to be finding more out about the manner in which Celestine operates. Also now we have an all knew Order in the fluff, which personally I think is great.

[Servant of Dante]

Eh, I'd rather see more of the Major Orders that aren't OML. Shield of Baal had Sacred Rose, which is awesome, but everything else seems to be OML or [insert random minor order created by the author].

[Vigrid Of Asgaror]

Yeah I can understand that. I guess for me personally, I would just rather anything over more OML. New minor orders are still something new to build on the Adepta Sororitas, whereas the constant choice to do OML is really getting repetitive for me.

[Beams]

Eh, I feel like there is so little Sisters stuff that I don't mind what order, but also, OoML is my order of choice, so...

[Commander Dawnstar]

So while we're on the subject, apparently there's a new Rob Sanders short starring a Palatine of the Order of the Ebon Chalice out today.

[Vigrid Of Asgaror]

Yeah I saw that, I think I will definitely have a look at that.