Gav Thorpe's Blog, page 2

The Black Library Bolthole

Thinking of submitting to the next Black Library Open Submissions window?

I get frequent requests from aspiring writers who want feedback on a story they have written, but unfortunately my blanket response is always a no.

I simply don’t have the time to provide a useful critique, and also don’t want to open myself up to accusations of plagiarism if the story is similar to something I’m already working on.

However, I always point people to the Black Library Bolthole as a place to get useful feedback on their writing – I’ll hand over to Squiggle from the Bolthole to tell you more.

Visit the Bolthole

Squiggle from the Bolthole here. I’m old now – 33, in fact. I also have a five month old daughter, so you will have to forgive me if some of the detail here is chronologically inaccurate.

What is the Bolthole?

The Black Library Bolthole was created way back in 2009 by Sarah Cawkwell, after the sad demise of the official Black Library forums. The Black Library forums had existed for a number of years, as a place to discuss the worlds of Warhammer, interact with the Black Library authors, and post up fan-fiction set in the Games Workshop universes. After the demise, a group of us, led by Sarah, were keen that the space continued. We enjoyed our discussions, arguments, and so on. We benefited greatly from the critique of our fiction – many of the then membership had dreams of getting their work published, either within or without the Black Library.

We meet as a group at Black Library events, we have T-shirts, we get books signed, we sit in Bugmans with some of the Black Library authors and are generally merry. It is ace!

Look how ace we are. Well were – this was 2011 – but still!

In the past we have produced several self-published anthologies, including The Black Winds Whisper and Marching Time. Many of our members have gone on to be successfully published, including Alec McQuay, Andrew Aston, Jonathan Ward and Robbie MacNiven who was involved in those early anthologies and has gone on to write successfully for the Black Library. Of course I couldn’t miss out Sarah Cawkwell, who has had her own fantastic Silver Skulls stories published as well as Valkia the Bloody and a number of shorts (apologies to anyone I have missed out – this list is not exhaustive). You can also follow us on Twitter @BlBolthole – most recently our rogue reporter, Schaferwhat, has been live tweeting from the Black Library Weekender! Expect a blog post to follow over at the Bloghole – no doubt with more information on the upcoming open submissions window!

Unfortunately we have been victims of our own success, with many once active members having moved on to bigger and better things – and so Gav has kindly offered to host this blog post as a way of raising awareness of the Bolthole.

Even as I write this, the Black Library are hosting their Weekender event, and a new Black Library submission window is in the offing – which is a great excuse to start dusting off your writing skills and discussing ideas over at the Bolthole. We have a proud history of supporting each other when preparing submissions and this has led to several authors getting stories published in the Black Library short story anthologies.

So, if you love the worlds created by Games Workshop and the stories told by the Black Library and want a place to talk about them, to ask questions of the authors or if you want to post your fan-fiction up and get critique and improve as a writer, the Bolthole is the place for you. The best part is that membership is free!

Visit the Bolthole

As you can see, there’s much more to the Bolthole than writing feedback – so take a look around and say hello to the regulars.

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

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Combat Phase – November 2017

Listen to my interview with Kenny over at the Combat Phase podcast, where we talk about my first contribution to the Primarchs series, Lorgar: Bearer of the Word.

Listen To The Interview

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

Read my Rapid Fire interview about Lorgar: Bearer of the Word with Track of Words
My Author’s Notes, discussing the origins of Lorgar: Bearer of the Word
Listen to my interview about Lorgar: Bearer of the Word with The Imperial Truth

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

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Legacy of Caliban Limited Edition Box Set

If the Legacy of Caliban Limited Edition Box Set has left you wanting more, you might like to listen to my interview with the Combat Phase podcast, where we discuss the series, as well as Dark Angels in the 31st and 41st Millennia.

You can also read my popular Dark Angels Q&As – Dark Angels Secrets Revealed! and More Dark Angels Secrets Revealed!

Buy Legacy of Caliban

It looks like there are fewer than 100 copies left of the limited edition box set, so if you’re planning on buying yourself an early Christmas present, you’d best get onto it quickly. Orders ship from Monday 20th November.

“Mystery lies at the heart of the sons of the Lion. Striking across the galaxy from their space-going fortress-monastery, the Rock, they defend mankind while constantly hunting their ancient enemies, the Dark Angels who turned to the Chaos Gods in the Horus Heresy. Where one of these fallen is found, the Chapter descends, and no one is safe until the traitors are brought to justice. This series tells the tale of a hunt for the Fallen that embroils the Chapter in a plot to change the past and future and bring about the dominion of Chaos over the Imperium.”

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

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Reddit AMA – November 2017

Thanks (I think) to Joe McLaren for this lovely photoshop job.

What is it they say about putting a picture of yourself holding a sheet of paper on the internet?

Anyway, the original photo was to promote a Reddit AMA (Ask me Anything) over at r/warhammer. I had a great two hours answering a whole range of diverse questions. A few of my favourites are below, but you can click on the button to read the full AMA.

Read the AMA

TheOnlyDerec: What is your favourite Space Marine chapter and why is it the Minotaurs?

Because everyone likes Horny Marines?

I’ve always had a softish spot for the Blood Angels. Poor, damned, flawed heroes that they are. Plus we all know that red is the best colour. However, being a creative type, I think my favourite will hopefully be the Primaris founding chapter I’m currently inventing to paint up my Dark Imperium models… Details to come.

Khaos_Zand3r: Thoughts on the Age of Sigmar lore as it currently stands?

Liking it enough that I’ll be starting a new trilogy for BL next year. I think the last twelve months in particular have shown it really starting to find its way, both from the Studio and authors. And players are really seeing the possibilities now too.

It’s still tricky for me as a writer to get my head around the tone occasionally, but that’s simply unfamiliarity.

bjornbjornsen: I’d be interested to know what your reaction was to the small but loyal Squat fanbase that still exists out there? Converting AoS models to use in 40k, keeping the old lead model circulating on the second hand market, etc.

I think it’s very Squattish. Resilient, you might say. I notice this with other fandoms – Sisters players are very devout in their attention to their army, Dark Angels players love arguing amongst themselves about the Fallen, and orks players… Well, they’re just here for the dakka.

Read the AMA

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

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Ghost Warrior – Interview with Artist Anna Lakisova

The cover reveal for my new novel Ghost Warrior was one of my most popular Facebook posts ever. As much as I’d like to think it was all down to the excitement of my new Aeldari novel, I suspect much of the popularity was down to the stunning cover art from Anna Lakisova. Maybe it was just down to the fact there’s a cat in the picture, because y’know… Facebook.

Anna was kind enough to answer a few questions about her work.

Can you tell me a bit about your work as a freelance illustrator, and how you came to be working for Games Workshop / Black Library?

I started to work as a freelance artist after moving to France in 2014. Before that I worked as senior artist in a little video game company in Ukraine. A few years later I was contacted by Darius Hinks at Black Library, who proposed that I do some art for Games Workshop, and I was very happy to accept.

Did you have prior knowledge of Warhammer, Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40,000 or was it all new? Are you or have you been a gamer?

To be honest I did not know much about the Warhammer worlds before, but I had a visual knowledge about it, because I follow many great artists who did fantastic pieces for GW.

The colour palette and background for Ghost Warrior are so atmospheric, and perfect for a story about the Ynnari. What sort of direction did you receive from Black Library, and how much did you get to create yourself? Were there any particular challenges painting the cover of Ghost Warrior?

There is always some challenge. I chose the color palette based on painted miniatures of Yvraine, her Gyrinx and Visarch. And I decided a blue cold background would be good to attract all attention on the characters.

But I had a little challenge with Elder’s architecture, because there’s not much references for craftworlds. So I need to imagine it by my self, and it was perfect to me, because it was very close to my art style: the smooth, streamlined shapes, I find it very similar to art nouveau. And of course I got a great and very helpful art direction from Black Library’s art commissioner Rachel Harrison.

Your website has a range of artworks from character studies to full battle scenes – do you have a favourite style or subject?

As you can see from my portfolio I’m a fan of fantasy/fantastic art. I love storytelling illustrations, with expressive and dramatic light. So that’s why it’s fun to work on illustrations for GW.

Can you share one of your favourite pieces you have created, and tell me a bit about it?

I don’t really have any favorite art from my portfolio, because like many artists, I’m very demanding of myself.

But I like the “I am Grr…Bane” illustration . It was done for the Comicon Art Challenge. The theme of the challenge was to combine the superpower of two different comic heroes/villains to create a new superhero. So I chose to merge Bane and Groot. It was different from what I used to do, but very interesting.

“I Am Grr… Bane” by Anna Lakisova

You can see more of Anna’s art over at www.anna-lakisova.com, and if you’d like a print of the artwork for Ghost Warrior, it is now available to purchase over at Warhammer Art (I’m hoping to get one of the aluminium prints for my office).

Thanks again to Anna for taking the time to answer my questions (and for producing such an amazing cover for Ghost Warrior). I hope people will judge this book by its cover.

Buy Ghost Warrior

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The Rise of Ynnead

Subtitle – How I Made Up a Thing Sixteen Years Ago and Now it has Totally Reshaped the Warhammer 40,000 Cosmos!

One of the early lessons in background-writing was that a mystery is worth ten facts when it comes to describing the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The lore has always been intended as small spotlights in the darkness, illuminating just a tiny portion of the shadowed whole. The parts we show serve to hint at what lies in the gloom beyond, perhaps even guide players and readers and painters into their own explorations, but never fully reveal the workings of the universe.

For the longest time, the idea of an ongoing narrative was anathema to the background of 40K. Things changed, were added in, but it was very much a SETTING. Its purpose was not to tell a story, but to enable players of the game to tell stories with their miniature armies.

I still strongly support this idea. I think that when the power of narrative is invoked too heavily by designers and authors, it robs that power from hobbyists and readers. If too much story is generated from the centre – in terms of actual ongoing plots and timelines – then it leaves less room for others to add their own stories, rather than generate more.

The purpose is to shape the sandpit that others can use, not to define and manage every grain of sand.

Anyway, that’s a slightly different topic I shall go into soon. The short version is that I like the idea of a meta-story…

Loose Threads

One of the ways that we give context to the battles of the 41st millennium is to leave hooks that hint at untold stories, or ongoing narratives not yet resolved. One great line from the Codex Imperialis for 2nd Edition springs to mind.

“Even today the planets of Saharduin remain dark and unexplored, whilst Imperial armies guard the Gates of Varl from the quiescent perils of the C’Tan.”

From this one line later sprang forth the C’tan star-eaters, and with them a whole new swathe of 40K lore regarding the Necrons, the Old Ones and the ancient wars that took place sixty million years before the present day.

Sometimes a hint goes a long way.

When we were creating the Codex supplements for the third edition of Warhammer 40,000 we were under very tight constraints in terms of page count. We could not have page after page of ‘word of god’ background text and so have to lean heavily on evoking the image and idea of the armies and cultures rather more than explaining them. It was not great for conveying the depth of information we needed to, but it did generate a lot of ways to hint at much larger topics in a characterful way.

So it was that when I was putting together the Codex: Craftworld Eldar supplement – a tome of army lists and information regarding named Craftworlds that could not be fitted into the main Codex: Eldar – I had a page to talk about the cosmology of the eldar. Part of this I gave over to an exploration of the war god Khaine, it being a book about the armies of the Craftworlds after all. The other part I wanted to use to flesh out the character of the greatest farseer of the craftworlds, Eldrad Ulthran, and perhaps hint at something bigger.

I had spent a lot of time thinking about the eldar and their spirit technology, and talking over ideas with the likes of Jes Goodwin. It occurred to us that while the craftworlds were storing the souls of their dead in their infinity circuits, there might be some other effect of all that concentrated psychic energy. Just as the burgeoning hedonism of the eldar psyche had created their destroyer in the form of the Chaos god Slaanesh, perhaps the souls of their dead might prove their salvation.

So I wrote what is called colour text – a short vignette of prose – that described Eldrad sensing this build up of collective psychic potential. He feels the interconnectedness of the eldar infinity circuits, joined through the webway in what I called the eternal matrix. The piece ends with a line that has now echoed forward to the present day.

“This was Ynnead, god of the dead. Ynnead, last hope of the Eldar.”

Thanks To Patrick Locufier for scanning a copy of this over to me.

The Avalanche Effect

That was all Ynnead was intended to be at the time. A hint of something that may transpire. The text itself talks about countless lifetimes through which the eldar must die to create a being strong enough to save them. It’s a myth-yet-to-be.

All it takes for something big to happen is a small thing to gather momentum.

I always had it in mind that Ynnead did not exist to stop the eldar dying out, as that ran counter to their whole schtick as a species facing extinction by their own creation. Instead, it was meant to save their souls. When the last eldar died during the final battle – the Rhana Dandra – Ynnead would rise from the spirits lost and destroy the Great Enemy, thus freeing the eldar from eternal damnation, but leaving them extinct. It’s a spiritual salvation, not a physical one.

The story developed at the hands of Phil Kelly, Jeremy Vetock and others, in particular the role of Eldrad in the scheme of things. Through the lore added for the Death Masque game, Eldrad is not content with spiritual salvation, he wants to give Ynnead a boost and kick Slaanesh’s butt before the last eldar has to die.

But since 40K is heavy on death and light on cake* Eldrad’s plan goes awry. Ynnead is only half summoned and a part of the Whispering God awakens but at the cost of nearly destroying the eldar anyway.

*Death being bad things that happen to characters and cake being the rewards they earn.

From this sprang the ‘awakening’ of Yvraine as the spirit of Ynnead passes through her, touching her soul and elevating her to the position of Emissary of Ynnead, the Opener of the Seventh Way.

Consequences

And so, sixteen years later, I can write Ghost Warrior about her exploits, and the tribulations of the Ynnari and those around them.

Incidentally, Ghost Warrior also features Iyanna Arienal, a character I created for the same Codex, and the next novel Wild Rider stars another, in the form of Nuadhu Fireheart. All-in-all, for a slender book originally intended to shed a little light on the individual craftworlds, the ramifications have been quite large!

I think there is a lesson here for other games background creators, but also writers in general. World building is an ongoing process, it continues for the life of the thing you are creating. The Rise of the Ynnari shows that no reference is ever really throwaway, and that it’s not necessary – or even desirable – to explain everything. For every area you explore, add another shrouded in darkness. For each loose thread tied up, leave two more hanging. You’ll thank yourself later.

Ghost Warrior is now available to buy as hardback and eBook.

Buy Ghost Warrior

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October 2017 – Q&A

This is a compilation of questions that have been emailed and messaged to me recently.

If you want to ask anything, you can post a comment here or get in touch through the contact page (and newsletter subscribers can just reply to any of my emails).

I’ve been posting Q&As for a while now, so if you’ve found this one interesting, you can look back at previous Q&As here.

Will emailed to ask: I wondered if the Dark Angels founding Chapter shares its unique STC’s like the Darkshroud and the Nephilim with their Successors? Or are those Chapters generally more Codex compliant?

I would think that there might be some of the other DA-specific gear for the Successors but of a limited quantity. In particular, the Darkshrouds are stored within the Rock and derived from ancient Terran tech related to the proximity of the Tower of Angels to the warpstorm that destroyed Caliban. There is a very finite number of them. I figure they might lend them to Successors, or have sent out a few to the oldest Successors, but that’s it.

Bear in mind that although a few Unforgiven Chapters have been named, the Dark Angels have extremely stable geneseed and the Adeptus Terra, not knowing any better, are likely to have used it for quite a few Chapters of the last ten thousand years. There could easily be upward of seventy or even more Dark Angels successors at large at any given time…

Samuel emailed via the website: So my first question is about the Phoenix Lord novels. Are there plans to write a story for all the main Lords *cough* Baharroth *cough* ? He is the surviving member of a mid 20s hobby purge that I’m in the process of reversing and I feel a strange vested interest in.

On a similar-ish note, is there going to be a novel or story that follows up with what happened to the Phoenix Lords after the battle with the 1,000 sons at the fracture of Biel-Tan? I have to admit that I wasn’t sure how the interaction between them and the Ynnari was going to go and I’m still interested in seeing the nitty gritty of it all.

As a cheeky aside, considering that you are one of the true Eldar lore masters, do you know which craft worlds Baharroth resides? I ask because I’m interested in making my Aeldari force very swooping hawk heavy and would love to theme it in that direction.

My last question is one that I don’t really know how to phrase, but I shall have a go. To what extent are some of the one off named chapters/warbands/craftworlds fleshed out behind the scenes? So as an example, I have an Oracles of Change Tzeentch chaos marine warband. They are to some extent the remnants of the space marine chapter the Lectors of Ixis turned during the abyssal crusades.

If I wanted to do something mad and recreate (with full future historical accuracy) this event using the chapter, are the icons and colour schemes decided upon for these one off chapters? Or are they pretty much just named and sent off into the world.

At present, the plan is for six novels, each titled after one of the Phoenix Lords from the 2nd Edition Codex: Eldar. So that will include Baharroth. The Cry of the Wind (as far as I know) has no Craftworld, as like all the Phoenix Lords he spends his immortal life moving from one war to another as fate and the Will of Asuryan dictate.

Most of the colour schemes you see, for Space marine Chapters, warbands, minor craftworlds are just launching points for fans to create their own ideas. So if you don’t see anything specific in a Codex, I’d just go for it and have fun. Over time the developers or an author might pick up one of these dangling threads, which might invalidate what you’ve come up with yourself, but it’s a marginal risk. The great thing about Chaos warbands (and Tzeentch in particular!) is that they are always changing, reforming, getting new Champions etc.

Matthew is another emailer that wanted more details on the forthcoming Phoenix Lords books: As a result of the 1st two Phoenix lords books I now have both painted. As he gets a brief mention in Jain Zar, do I need to get a Maugan Ra figure? Is he the 3rd book?

It hasn’t been agreed who is next and I would like to avoid the format becoming formulaic with Asurmen and company finding a new recruit and then that eldar being the focus of the next book. It was never my intent that the post-Fall backstory formed too much of a book-to-book narrative, it just worked well with Jain Zar. But I’d go ahead and paint Maugan Ra anyway.

Dmitry asked on Facebook: Gav a question regarding the Phoenix Lords, while it’s true that the majority came to be not long after the fall of the Eldar (relatively speaking) I was curious if it is still possible for a new Phoenix Lord to arise, or a new temple to come into existence. Or is even the concept of innovation so far removed from the Eldar psyche now, the scene where Aradryan picks apart Korlandril work as adding nothing to the perception of the myth comes into play. The Eldar are still the most advanced species in the galaxy but does that mean the concept of reaching beyond their current capacity has completely stagnated?

I think that the theme of the eldar being a spent force, a declining civilisation, requires that there is no hope but oblivion. As Elves in Space ™ they cannot possess the means to recreate the glories of old, but must stand by and watch ‘lesser’ races inevitably consume their former domains.

Regarding the actual lore, I think it would be impossible for there to be a new Phoenix Lord simply because in my personal version of the history they would all have to be pre-Fall survivors. When Asurmen created and disseminated the Path to the Craftworlds it was to create a new society out of the old, but an eldar raised wholly within the Path system wouldn’t possess the capacity to become a Phoenix Lord. This may not be borne out by the details of some of the lesser-known Phoenix Lords, but for the moment it’s what I’m going with.

Anthony emailed via the website: Quick Necromunda question. Do you have to declare all the territories your gang works first before then rolling for all their income? Or can you do it on a more individual basis (i.e. declare the territory, roll for its income, then choose whether or not to work another)?

Here’s the rule in question: “Each ganger can generate income from one territory. The player chooses the territories he wishes to collect income from and adds up the total amount generated.”

Just curious how the studio played this one back in the day? Having to declare all the territories first means you can’t cheese the income brackets, but I’m not sure that’s the intention of the rule.

Although it was a long time ago, as I recall you would nominate the territories you were going to work and then generate income all at once. Think of it as the gang leader sending out the others to different parts of their patch to ‘work’ the area between encounters.

Clint emailed with this: I know I’m a bit late to the party, but I’ve just recently read the Last Chancers books for the first time and I quite enjoyed them; Schaeffer has become one of my favorite 40K characters. Are we ever going to find out the ultimate fate of the Colonel and his crew? I was hoping if/when Games Workshop expands on the new 8th edition Armageddon lore we might get some new info.

I also noticed a “False Hope” on the galaxy map in the 8th edition rulebook. The same planet where the Last Chancers took on the god-plant in 13th Legion?

Funny you should mention the Last Chancers and Shadow Wars: Armageddon. I am currently noodling ideas to pitch a return of the Last Chancers to Black Library and I’ve been thinking along similar lines…

As for False Hope, I like to think that it is the same world but couldn’t be 100% certain without asking the developers. I dimly recall that I slipped it onto an earlier incarnation of the Imperium map and maybe they got it from there.

JohnMichael asked via Facebook: Might you have a hand in the upcoming role playing game Warhammer 40k Wrath and Glory?

I haven’t been approached by the developers, but given their track record I’m sure they’ve got things well in hand!

tmw tweeted: Gav, if I may ask. Would you categorize Sanguinius’ return to 40k as nigh impossible, or impossible is nothing? Asking for a friend…

Impossible unless the writers wanted to entirely invalidate his sacrifice. The only one, in fact, I would say, except for the Big H himself.

David pointed out a continuity issue via email: I have recently read Azrael and just finished Eye of Ezekiel. I’m slightly confused with both of their positions timeline-wise. In Azrael, Ezekiel is already Chief Librarian and is the one whom inducts Azrael into the path of becoming Supreme Grand Master. However in Eye of Ezekiel, at the end, it states that Grand Master Azrael has been notified of his elevation to Chief Librarian.

There is a conflict regarding when Azrael becomes Chapter Master, which I believe stems from a mistake in the Forge World book ‘Siege of Vraks’. This put Azrael in command of the Dark Angels earlier than he should have been. I went with the previous timeline because it better suited the narrative to have Ezekiel in place already as the Merlin to Azrael’s Arthur. It doesn’t have the same vibe if Azrael has been in command longer than his mystical advisor…

Of course, both might be true! Or neither. That’s what 40K is like (non-canon continuity – a dream for some, a nightmare for others!).

On Facebook, Joe had two very different questions. Firstly, a broad one: First question is a two parter, which setting do you prefer writing for out of 40k and AoS? And is there a difference in the creativity you are allowed for each one?

I haven’t written enough Age of Sigmar yet to form an opinion either way in that regard. In terms of the creativity, I think that Age of Sigmar could very well be an enormous sandpit for the authors to play in and I need to unshackle my thoughts into something bigger than anything for old Warhammer or even 40K. It used to be that 40K was the broader canvas with whole galaxy to explore compared to a single world of Warhammer, but AoS has leap-frogged the Imperium and has eight whole Mortal Realms to play with…

The other, pretty specific: Second question, is on track with my previous questions in regard to the Dark Angels as I enjoy reading your take on them. It is in regards to the Deathwing, Company Masters and Terminator armour colour. I have always been of the interpretation that the Deathwing were a company only, one with a specific purpose, but a company none the less. While they make up part of the ‘Inner Circle’, being the outer layer of it is you will, the two aren’t one in the same, again my interpretation and there are others who feel different (as is the way with most 40k lore). And this leads me on to Company Masters, it is established that they are all, with the exception of the Grand Master of the Ravenwing, formerly members of the Deathwing. A hot topic of discussion in many Dark Angels groups and forums I am in is what colour Terminator armour would a Company Master wear? Would it be the Bone of the Deathwing, as is their company tradition, or the Green of the Chapter? Personally I side with Green as they are no longer serving within the Deathwing company but I would be interested to read your view on it. ..and about how you define the Deathwing and Inner Circle if you have the time.

Like a lot of the Dark Angels lore there has been a lot of changes and conflicts on their organisation and colour scheme(s) over the years and I just go with what works in my head. This has been firmed up by the work I did with Angels of Caliban, the idea that the Legion operated on several levels, as the legion of the Imperium, the successors to the Six Hosts of the Hexagrammaton and the descendent of The Order.

In the present day Chapter this is seen as a (mostly) Codex-compliant Chapter with ten companies, the only real deviation being one of the ‘Assault’ companies nominated as the 2nd company in the form of the Ravenwing.

Behind this lies the spiritual organisation of the Unforgiven, arranged on far more Masonic lines with ever-decreasing circles of the Truth. Rank in one does not confer rank in the other and vice versa. It is therefore possible for a Master to be promoted to the equivalent captain rank of a Company without having been through the Deathwing, but that would be very rare. It’s hard to keep the bulk of the Chapter from being in the wrong place at the wrong time if their commanding officers aren’t in on the Big Secret. So, most Masters will be ex-Deathwing. In colour terms that mans incorporating the bone colour either in their robes, heraldry ort their warplate. How that is used along with other heraldic symbols may well indicate how far toward the Inner Circle they have progressed, code for other members of the hidden hierarchy.

To answer the specific example, I would opt for a Master with green livery, with either robes or a shoulder pad in ivory to denote the previous service within the Deathwing.

David dropped me a message on Facebook: I recently became inspired to write some fiction set in the 40k-verse (specifically Necromunda) Obviously, there are licensing and copyright issues. I assume there was a pitch process for your books, but do you have any suggestions to get this (when near complete) to see if it this could be published under the franchise branding? As I recall Black Library had a submissions poc somewhere…. thanks in advance.

For previously unpublished authors the best way to get something to Black Library is to wait on the next submissions window, which will be advertised and I will also share when it is announced. I have no idea what they have planned for Necromunda, if anything – perhaps just reprints of old titles. The submissions window will almost certainly be based on something broader, either 40K or Age of Sigmar. The last was simply entitled ‘The Imperium of Man’. I have some (slightly out of date) advice here.

Ramon didn’t so much have a question as a comment about my David Gemmell Legends award victory: Congratulations sir, sorry I missed your victory dance. Had no doubts that Warbeast would win.

Thanks to the joys of technology you can enjoy my bad dancing for many years to come…

:-O

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Ghost Warrior – Author’s Notes

It’s not often as a writer that you get to return to familiar territory that has, at the same time, become completely new and different. That’s the case with Ghost Warrior though. The Eldar are still ancient, enigmatic beings on the verge of extinction. They are, for the most part, still scattered across the craftworlds, Commorragh, the Exodite worlds and the Harlequin troupes. They may have fancier names now – the Asuryani and Drukhari being the craftworlders and Dark Eldar respectively – but their inherent characteristics haven’t been altered.

Yet the relationship between these elements have changed with the coming of the Ynnari. As a faction distinct yet arising from the others, the followers of the God of the Dead provide a great opportunity to explore the breadth of Eldar society, mythology and characters under a single narrative.

So that’s what I’m setting out to do. Here’s how it happened.

Titles

Every book and series needs a starting point, a kernel of inspiration from which all else grows. In the case of this series, I had a vague brief from Black Library to write some novels set in the Dark Imperium portion of the Warhammer 40,000 timeline. This obviously suggested that Yvraine, Emissary of Ynnead, would feature as she had played a prominent role in the Gathering Storm events that ushered in the new age. Other than that, there were a few dangling threads from previous narratives, both from the Games Workshop design studio and author Guy Haley in his Valedor novel.

But the actual springboard for my thinking came from a title. Ghost Warrior. It suggested itself immediately, bringing all sorts of connotations about what might occur and who might be involved. Along with it arrived the series title, Rise of the Ynnari, again full of portentous possibilities.

The themes of the dead and death were at the heart of what sprang forth from that title, playing on ideas that I’ve explored before in my Phoenix Lords books and Path of the Eldar. I’m fascinated by the Eldar relationship to death, being that they come from such a long-lived race, but also that death holds for them – in the form of She Who Thirsts – a terrible damnation to be avoided at all costs. Back in my Design Studio days, I created the Codex: Eldar supplement for the third edition of Warhammer 40,000. Part of that was what I dubbed the ‘Eldar Metaphysical Flowchart’, pictured as a strange Eldar artefact that, if deciphered properly, explored the relationships of the different Eldar kindreds to Slaanesh, the god of excess birthed from their hedonistic Fall.

This shapes everything about the Eldar, from the vampiric soul-thirst of the Drukhari to the spirit stone-powered infinity circuits of the craftworlds. All facets of Eldar behaviour and society have become directed towards avoiding the terrible devouring god they created, and the Ynnari are no different.

Characters

Before I even had a story, I started to populate the novel plan with interesting characters. Some have existed for quite a long time, like Eldrad Ulthran and, to a lesser extent, Iyanna Arienal the original Spiritseer. Others are newer – Yvraine herself, and the entourage of the Visarch and the Autarch Meliniel, as well as the Harlequins from the Masque of the Midnight Sorrow. These came from the Gathering Storm narrative, very much characters of the Age of the Dark Imperium and the core of the ongoing series.

It was the backgrounds and the interactions of these characters that would drive the story forward. I wanted to examine the dynamics within the Ynnari ‘high command’, bearing in mind that each aeldari that comes to Ynnead’s host does so for their own reasons. The one thing that unites them, aside from their service to the God of the dead, is a wandering soul. They have never been simply content in one place or one role, either leaving the Path of the craftworlds or raised in the anarchic world of Commorraghan life-or-death struggles.

This nature provides an internal conflict with which to confront the characters, before we throw in any antagonist or external threats. From that dynamic a story started to emerge that would test the loyalties of the characters to each other, and also to their cause.

Overall Plot

It’s obviously tricky to talk about the plot that came about without spoiling too much of the story. I drew on the narrative already established through the gathering Storm books, that of Yvraine searching for the mythical Croneswords of Morai-heg. These five ancient artefacts are believed to hold to power when united to complete the rise of Ynnead, so that the God of the Dead can ascend from semi-dormancy and destroy She Who Thirsts.

I ran into a bit of problem there, because by the time of the Dark Imperium, the Ynnari already have four Croneswords… I’ll let you in on a secret. Despite what some may think, Black Library authors don’t have the freedom to bring about the final battle against Chaos and the destruction of the Warhammer 40,000 universe as we know it. So, with that in mind, the search for the last cronesword could be the catalyst for the ongoing story but could not be its conclusion.

The quest was enough to form the backbone for the series though, giving me the narrative hook needed to send Yvraine and company anywhere I needed, searching for ancient clues to the Cronesword’s whereabouts.

And as a quest for ancient power, it gives me the chance to do what I like best with the Eldar – to look at their prehistory and more recent past. By juggling myth and reality together, the Eldar bring a lovely blend of ultratech sci-fi and classic fantasy. In the case of Ghost Warrior this dark past is embodied in the return of a lost Craftworld, Zaisuthra. Who could say what knowledge – and secrets – might be uncovered from the time of the Fall and before?

And such seems to me to be the stuff of a story worth telling.

Keep an eye on my website if you want to find out more about Ghost Warrior, as I’ll be blogging about the history of Ynnead, and posting an interview with cover artist, Anna Lakisova.

Buy Ghost Warrior

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Track of Words – October 2017 (Ghost Warrior)

I answered some ‘Rapid Fire’ questions over at the Track of Words blog, about my new novel Ghost Warrior.

“Track of Words: Why this story? What made you want to write this in particular?

Gav: I love the eldar and the new Ynnari faction is taking the background into some very interesting areas. The chance to develop ideas for a concept – Ynnead – that I first threw down more than fifteen years ago was too tempting to pass up.”

Read The Full Interview

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

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Ghost Warrior

Ghost Warrior, the first book in my Rise of the Ynnari series, is available to order today in hardback and eBook.

There’s a short extract below to whet your appetite.

Buy Ghost Warrior

Concerning the Ynnari

Never trust a god.

You can be certain of one thing, if anything. Gods order the universe to their design and nothing else, and you can be sure that your wants and needs feature little in their agenda. For the aeldari, distrusting gods is in their nature, having been abandoned by one pantheon of godheads and destroyed by the birth scream of a deity forged from their own wanton excess. Such experience breeds caution if not outright contempt.

And of the gods that survived – excepting that ravenous maw of destruction known as She Who Thirsts – they are but a pale shadow of their former status. Khaine, shattered into little pieces of angry metal and scattered through the craftworlds. Cegorach, the supreme trickster, the Laughing God, dancing merrily through the webway just one step ahead of the predatory intent of the Great Enemy, plucking souls from his grasp as and when chance allows.

So imagine the towering hubris of not only serving a god in such times, but trying to create one.

You can read a longer extract over at the Black Library website.

Keep an eye on my blog this week for my Author’s notes, and an interview with cover artist Anna Lakisova. And if you’re heading to Warhammer World on the 28th October, I’ll be there 10am-1pm to sign copies of Ghost Warrior (or any other books you’d like me to deface).

GHOST WARRIOR

“Still reeling from the advent of the Great Rift, and the ravages of the tyranids, the aeldari inhabitants of Iyanden are shocked when they receive a message from a long-lost craftworld. Missing for millennia, the craftworld of Ziasuthra has suddenly reappeared from its sanctuary in the warp, and its denizens wish to make contact.

Led by the Spiritseer Iyanna and Yvraine, the Emissary of Ynnead, a small force of craftworld eldar head to Zaisuthra to open negotiations with their brethren. Behind their surface desire to help, however, Iyanna and Yvraine have a stronger motive, they are seeking the final cronesword, which could lie hidden behind ancient web portal on this craftworld. But how co-operative will the mysterious Ziasuthrans prove to be, or do they too have their own agenda?”

Buy Ghost Warrior

**To make sure you don’t miss out on any blog posts, you can keep up-to-date with everything Gav by signing up to my monthly newsletter. As a bonus, every other month I randomly pick a newsletter subscriber to receive a free signed copy of one of my books.**

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