Mortis

[Vazzy]

 

The absolute silence surrounding Mortis (in comparison with Alpharius book) scares me...

A lot less people have the book in their hands this time. Most Americans who ordered still haven’t even received a dispatched email.

I think this is the issue. I knew to expect a delay but I’m getting a bit irked rn.

[Mechanicus Tech-Support]

Honestly that's the reason I now get it delivered to my closest GW store (I feel for the people who have to drive hours to theirs) 

[bluntblade]

 

(Sees Shiban's name) HE MADE IT!

yeah, a few on this board were fairly confident that the "then everything went black" and no body found nature of his exit in saturnine meant he'd be back. i'm glad to see it.

 

Same, but I was pretty nervous all the same. I want his story to start with (tries to GIF, GIF doesn't work) err... (Luke's robot hand claws up through debris)

[deanup]

Look what just arrived! Buzzing I got issue 3!

 

And there I was Happy with number 8 :-)

Edited January 26, 2021 by deanup

[mc warhammer]

 

Look what just arrived! Buzzing I got issue 3!

 

And there I was Happy with number 8 :-)

 

8 is the luckiest number in chinese, bro. so, congrats

[Robbienw]

Not far in yet chaps only up to page 127.  I don't have time to do a hugely detailed spoiler, but here are some pertinent points so far:

 

- Legio Ignatum have almost entirely been held in reserve so far in the palace. Some of the senior mechanicus have concluded the siege cant be won and are trying to convince them to withdraw from terra to survive. The Legio Ignatum are angrily against this and will be staying to fight. The princeps and moderati of the legion have brightly dyed and punk styled hair and tattoos.

- The warp is affecting some of the populace in strange ways, beyond people being just corrupted the normal way.

- The traitors are bringing in all of their reserves now via the spaceports.

- Corswain has arrived with 10k legionaries and 24 ships, the core of his command.  Including some of the calabanite reinforcements picked up from Zaramund (as was shown in the Luther book). He's upset to find the rest of the Legion aren't there.  Admiral Su-Kassen wants him to join her fleet and wait for the rest of the Dark Angel and Ultramarine reinforcements. Corswain refuses to do that, as he wants to drive into the system and relight the astronomican beacon some how. Its gone out and without it the Ultramarines and the rest of the Dark Angels wont be able to reach Terra.  Su-Kassen likes the plan and has a single ship powerful enough to get Corswain and his force through. It wasn't said which ship it is yet, but its got to be the Imperator Somnium (the Emperors current flagship). So the Dark Angels will be at the siege after all!!!

 

- Oll and co are still on their way cutting through space, with the daemon thing following them at their backs.

 

- Katshuiro is now at the Marmax south section of the wall with assorted army troopers, commanded by a Blood Angel named Baeron.

 

Edited January 27, 2021 by Robbienw

[Allart01]

Thanks, Robbie! I'm overexcited for the Corswain stuff now!

Looks like he's going to play a bigger part than I dared to hope.

[SkimaskMohawk]

not sure about the astronomicon going out. I feel like it's plausible due to the big ritual in solar war, but that it should have been built up or mentioned in some way. Having it go out...5 books into the siege without real set up is weird

[DarkChaplain]

re: Corswain

Did the Luther novel or this one address when Corswain picked up those reinforcements from Zaramund? Because in Swallow's Exocytosis, Luther actually decries Corswain as no brother of theirs, and it doesn't sound like he'd be handing over thousands of Legionaries for free after that one.

[Morovir]

re: Astronomican

 

It was mentioned in the Dreadwing novella that the Astronomican had gone out again, that being the reason that the Lion gave up on Terra and decided to burn the galaxy down to prevent Horus from having it.

[SkimaskMohawk]

re: Astronomican

 

It was mentioned in the Dreadwing novella that the Astronomican had gone out again, that being the reason that the Lion gave up on Terra and decided to burn the galaxy down to prevent Horus from having it.

That's true, but I now remember that that was also a rather sudden development not supported by the rest of the novels.

[Darkwrath121]

 

re: Astronomican

 

It was mentioned in the Dreadwing novella that the Astronomican had gone out again, that being the reason that the Lion gave up on Terra and decided to burn the galaxy down to prevent Horus from having it.

That's true, but I now remember that that was also a rather sudden development not supported by the rest of the novels.

My interpretation of that was that it was the result of the mini-Ruinstorm intentionally caused by the traitors at the end of Titandeath.

 

That was all well and good as an explanation, but now Mortis seems to pin the issue on the Astronomican itself. It's odd

Edited January 27, 2021 by Darkwrath121

[Allart01]

 

re: Astronomican

It was mentioned in the Dreadwing novella that the Astronomican had gone out again, that being the reason that the Lion gave up on Terra and decided to burn the galaxy down to prevent Horus from having it.

That's true, but I now remember that that was also a rather sudden development not supported by the rest of the novels.

Wasn't it also mentioned in Solar War, as part of the ritual that opened realspace for Angron riding the Conqueror and friends?

[DarkChaplain]

Yeah, that part had a bunch of foreshadowing and build up. I believe it was even mentioned in Solar War.

[SkimaskMohawk]

I just did a quick search function of my solar war, and the astronomicon isnt mentioned. The scene of the ritual completing doesn't allude to its completion shutting down warp travel or the Beacon or anything else.

[RedFurioso]

Speaking of foreshadowing, the weirdest thing of the Siege so far happened in the Book 2, when

Khan left the Palace and rushed to save citizens of Terra (Sanguinius even had grim visions about this, probably announcing upcoming battle of Khan with Fulgrim or Mortarion). In the next book Khan reappeared in the Palace again as if nothing had happened.

I just don't understand.

[Robbienw]

Have read a little further on

 

 

 

- It’s not all of the mechanicus higher ups who want to leave the battle of course. Vethorel (fabricator general Kane’s ambassador) comes to appeal to the Other Titan crews of various legions to join Ignatum and walk against Legio Mortis. Many will not due to the losses suffered at beta garmon and on terra. But the Legio Solaria and Defensor contingents agree to, along with the single Legion Atarus engine that made it to Terra.

 

- Shiban survived badly wounded and is making his way back to imperial lines, conversing with the ghost of torghun and yesugi.

 

- Perturabo has finally seen the truth of what is happening to the traitor forces and what they have become, it’s no longer a legion war. He orders the iron warriors transports to the spaceports and for all iron warriors forces to prepare to withdraw from the Terra and the solar system!!!

 

- The imperial prefectus forces investigating the strange happenings have met up with sindermann. They know it’s the warp getting to people and have concluded it will cause the defenders to lose the will to keep fighting before the enemy have even breache the last defences, and are looking to sindermann for the solution.

 

- Oll and co have arrived on Terra.

 

Edited January 27, 2021 by Robbienw

[mc warhammer]

that perty tidbit is interesting

[Kelborn]

Oh my boy Perturabo!

 

Yes please! Let it be true and let them continue on that! :O

[Allart01]

So... Angron, Mortarion and (optimistically) Magnus are the only Primarchs left at Horus' side, and Horus himself has been comatose so far. That's interesting.

[Sons of Horus]

Not sure how the Perturabo part makes sense considering

he's been working with his literal daemon brothers and their possessed sons and summoned daemons for a while now. Why would he only realize what he's gotten into now?

Edited January 27, 2021 by Sons of Horus

[Robbienw]

The_Bloody, Horus isn’t comatose in this one. Earlier in the book he summons perturabo to his command chamber on the vengeful spirit. He’s growing in power in the warp battle with the emperor, and the emperor power to hold him and other chaos forces back is weakening

I think this encounter with Horus and seeing the extent of corruption and the changed chaotic nature of the traitor forces has finally pushed Perturabo into deciding its time to go. Haven’t read through the whole book yet so something could change to stop the iron warriors leaving.

I’m about halfway through now.

Sindermann has got keeler involved to help counter the warp breaking the will and moral of the defenders, and basilio fo has got invlolved as well.

Shiban has found an army officer with a rescued baby and is bringing them back in with him.

The Ignatum vanguard force along with the Mercury wall guns and legio solaria warhound packs have engaged the enemy titans. They aren’t Legio Mortis though, they are reanimated dead zombie loyalist titans!! Presumably wrecks take from the beta garmon battlefields propelled forth by warp sorcery.

Oll and co have been draw to a hive city near where they arrived (somewhere in or near what is currently Turkey). Pilgrims are making their way there and it is being referred to as Paradise. Probably something to do with chaos warp stuff and the Emperors Children I think. John Grammaticus is in the hive.

Edited January 28, 2021 by Robbienw

[Robbienw]

Corswain has taken his 10000 Dark Angels packed into 4 of his ships, and I was right earlier, they are going to terra in a glorious headlong charge alongside the Imperator Somnium :D

Vassago the librarian suggested to Corswain they shouldn’t do it as the fight on Terra is lost and should escape and preserve their strength. Corswain gives this idea short shrift.

Vassago is one of Luthers calibanites who was picked up at Zarumund and is acting out of calibanite separatist interests of course. The other Dark Angels have no idea that the contingent given to them by Luther at Zaramund are traitors.

Later Vassago speaks with other Lutherites in the depths of the dark angel ship. They say he should kill Corswain and try to take control on the force and get them out now. He repudiates this. He has a lot of respect for Corswain and seems to be coming around to his point of view, I think there may be conflict ahead amongst the lutherite contingent of dark angels.

Edited January 28, 2021 by Robbienw

[mc warhammer]

Not sure how the Perturabo part makes sense considering

he's been working with his literal daemon brothers and their possessed sons and summoned daemons for a while now. Why would he only realize what he's gotten into now?

haven't read it, but in my head:

 

couldn't it be the difference between "my bros and i are using daemons as tools to fight the tyrant emperor" to realising "my bros are literal daemons. i'm out"

 

Corswain has taken his 10000 Dark Angels packed into 4 of his ships, and I was right earlier, they are going to terra in a glorious headlong charge alongside the Imperator Somnium

 

Vassago the librarian suggested to Corswain they shouldn’t do it as the fight on Terra is lost and should escape and preserve their strength. Corswain gives this idea short shrift.

 

Vassago is one of Luthers calibanites who was picked up at Zarumund and is acting out of calibanite separatist interests of course. The other Dark Angels have no idea that the contingent given to them by Luther at Zaramund are traitors.

 

Later Vassago speaks with other Lutherites in the depths of the dark angel ship. They say he should kill Corswain and try to take control on the force and get them out now. He repudiates this. He has a lot of respect for Corswain and seems to be coming around to his point of view, I think there may be conflict ahead amongst the lutherite contingent of dark angels.

 

i'm liking

the nuance in the luther/lion camps. it's not as heavy handed as the schism in the death guard in eisenstein

[b1soul]

But Perturabo is well aware of Fulgrim and Angron being literal Daemons...and Horus' symbiosis with Chaos. Perhaps it's more a realistiom that most of the assets being deployed on Terra to close the deal are of the Chaos/Daemonic type and thus any victory against the defenders wouldn't be a testament to Pert's "conventional" siegecraft