Black Library Open Submissions 2025

[Orange Knight]

2 hours ago, 101010001 said:

 

 

My story? Lion and Guilliman sitting on Vigilus talking about how the Imperium got so messed up in their absence. A brother to brother talk. No action. That might have been a mistake on many levels.

 

 

 

Sounds like a great story. I'd love to read it!

[grailkeeper]

Here is my submission. I'm open to feed back and criticism. It didnt make it through, maybe with feedback I will next time.

 

The characters were Horus and Captain Tycho, and the setting was Armageddon.

 

The rage

Being dead would be better than this.

 

I shook my head. It did little to clear the clouds of rage, and nothing to clear the clouds of ash that surrounded me.  The last Ork bombardment had thrown up kilometre high plumes of the stuff, reducing visibility to just over spitting distance.

 

I tried to raise my command squad on comms. “This is Captain Tycho. Respond.”

 

I heard nothing but wind, ordinance, and screaming.  Nothing new.

 

“This is Captain Tycho to Sergeant Ottichelli. Report squad status following bombardment”.

 

If anything, the screaming got louder.

 

Well then. If the Emperor couldn’t go the throne, then the throne must go to the Emperor. I set off to find my squad out and make my displeasure known. I was in a residential district. A faded poster on a nearby wall told me to “Visit Beautiful Hades: Home of the Heroes!”. Hades Hive was dead. A crater now for months.

 

I had reached an abandoned tavern named “the Ash Wastrel” when I saw him.

 

At first I thought it might be an Orkish leadership beast. The frame looming through the gloom was larger even than a brother in terminator armour.

 

Horus.

 

The Archtraitor. 

 

A monster from prehistory.

 

“WHY DID YOU BETRAY US HORUS”. The scream ripped through me, coming from my soul more than my mouth.

 

I charged. I would kill him. He had turned on my father.

 

His claw sprang out to meet me. Bloodied feathers flew as it smashed into my chest. 

 

“Stay down captain” he sneered, His voice was distorted as if coming from another universe. The Warmaster stood over me, studying me as if I was some specimen on a slab. I threw myself again at the greatest traitor in the history of humanity. We went flying knocking barstools flying from the bridge consoles. I threw a punch that demolished a jukebox on the gunnery station when he ducked. He threw me, sparks flew from the command deck of the Vengeful Spirit when I landed. My wings did nothing to cushion the slide.

 

“You have no what you are doing”

 

“I AM GOING TO KILL YOU TRAITOR.” I shouted “HERE ON THE BRIDGE OF YOUR FLAGSHIP.”

 

This time he came at me.  A fist lashed out breaking my nose and denting my mask.

 

“Stay Down” he commanded. This was the last command he ever gave. He raised his fist again. I ducked under and got my hands around his neck. I kicked back and used momentum to knock him to the floor. I landed on top of him strangling all the while. His lips moved but I didn’t care to decipher what he had to say. His face purpled. Veins in his eyes burst, filling his sclera with blood, matching the symbol on his chest. Even as he grew still I increased my grip in fury. He died.

 

Edited Thursday at 09:38 PM by grailkeeper