Warbeast – Author’s Notes

It’s not often that something as big as the Age of Sigmar comes along. Although many of its elements are derived from the previous lore of the Warhammer world, in detail, scope and approach it is a completely new setting.

Warbeast is my first foray into that universe (my advent short story Lord of the Cosmic Gate was actually written later due to the shorter lead time) and deals with the spine of the new background – the Stormcast Eternals. So, how was it for me?

Old Room, New Broom

My first inkling about the Age of Sigmar came when we were all working on the novel line for The End Times (for which I wrote Curse of Khaine). We knew the Warhammer world was ending, and that Chaos would triumph. But we had no idea of what was going to replace it. Other than the rumours everyone saw, I was in the dark as much as everyone else – until I was brought in by the Black Library and Games Workshop management team for the big reveal.

Fun fact – the Age of Sigmar project was called ‘Stanley’ throughout its creation. Other Fun Fact – back in the day when we worked on Warhammer 7th Edition, it had the codename ‘Cucumber’. For no reason at all.

I was… surprised. Surprised by how bold GW had been in shaking things up. I was also not surprised in some respects. For example, the Stormcast Eternals. Even when I had been working in the Design Studio the idea of being able to translate the appeal of Space Marines into the fantasy setting had been something of an ambition, if not a specific objective. (Ironic considering Space Marines were partly created to capture some of the appeal that Chaos Warriors had in Warhammer Fantasy Battles at that time!)

There was a lot to take in, both general and specific and I came away from the meeting not quite sure what to think about everything. The principles and ideas sounded great and I could see where there might be some tales to be told.

I later received electronic versions of the first book releases – the big book, the Realmgate Wars and such. (In a non-searchable, non-printable format that made doing research with them a nightmare, but that’s a rant I had several times and is thankfully no longer the case.) I was able to absorb a bit more of what had happened and get into the spirit and aesthetic of the new setting.

Welcome to the Age of Sigmar

The first thing I had to do was forget everything I knew about Warhammer. Well, almost everything. The brief I received for ‘Realmgate Novel 6’ was, compared to many that other authors were receiving at the time, pretty broad. The idea is to demonstrate the ongoing battles of the Stormcast Eternals to reclaim the Realmgates from Chaos. Many such battles are detailed in the ongoing supplements and other fiction, but they are by no means exhaustive. This is an endeavour engulfing all of the Mortal Realms and beyond.

And within that context I was given quite a free reign:

The story should be set during the Realmgate Wars. The meta-narrative is that Sigmar and his Stormcast Eternals are preparing their forces for an assault on the Allgate held by Archaon, and while this battle should not be described in this story, the events in it should allude to the fact that preparation for the battle is happening now (seizing objectives, creating strongpoints, defending strategic assets etc).

As well as the Stormcast Eternals, we would also like you to include Clan Pestilens as the main antagonist for the heroes.

The Stormcast Eternals should be your main point of view characters, but if you want to include some Clan Pestilens or other enemies/allies as point of view characters then that’s fine but will be subject to approval at synopsis stage.

One of the story’s themes should be corruption/plague.

(The bit about other points of view was in specific reference to a conversation I had with the editors – that sort of thing isn’t usually in the briefs.)

Through the Realmgate

Coming up with a plot and outline wasn’t any more strenuous than for any other project although there was obviously a bit of to and fro on the synopsis to bring it in line with the developing background and in consideration of other stories that were being worked on. As an example, the featured Stormhosts changed a bit as the backgrounds and themes of the various Stormhosts were still being developed while I was planning. In the end the best fit for the characters and tale I had in mind were the Celestial Vindicators and Knights Excelsior. There was other feedback such as massaging the names of the Lords-Celestant, corrections where I hadn’t quite got the ranks or organisation right and so on. As someone that had known Warhammer inside-out for two decades it was a learning curve to get in line with the still-evolving background.

With the synopsis done, I could get on with the first draft and that proved problematic. Not at first. I threw myself into the stories of Arkas Warbeast and Theuderis Silversword with gusto, but after a while it got slower and harder. It was some effort teasing out the themes I wanted to explore, to delve into the personalities of the characters in a way that was fitting to the world and so on.

And then Rewrites

But I got it done. The first draft was away to deadline and I was reasonable happy.

Then the feedback came.

In hindsight none of it was too traumatic, but there was a hell of a lot of it and at the time I sighed and moaned and huffed as only a self-important writer can! There was more to and fro, and the biggest lesson learned was that using comments on a Word document sent back and forth between writer and editor is no way to have a discussion. Noses were out of joint, backs were up, tempers frayed, feathers ruffled. (I thank Nick Kyme for his patience during this trying time and not simply telling me to stop being so stroppy and get on with it.)

So I arranged to talk in person to Nick and in an hour we had gone through all of the issues, discussed and agreed the ways to move the manuscript on and the job was a good ‘un. I am reminded that creative endeavours and conversations like this are best conducted on a descending scale. Ideally face-to-face; preferably by phone call; occasionally by properly written and extensive email. Never by short comments and counter-comments in a Word doc. It’s like trying to debate nuanced philosophy on Twitter.

With all the feathers unruffled, the noses rejointed and so forth, I breezed through the subsequent drafts and I am very happy with where we have ended up.

My Aims

I had three objectives in mind while writing Warbeast (aside from Tell a Cracking Story, which should be a given on every project). Firstly, I wanted to ensure that I didn’t approach the Stormcast Eternals in the same way as I do Space Marines. While they have similarities in image and archetype there are significant differences between them, particularly in terms of their self-identity and how they fit into the cosmology. Secondly, I wanted to explore the cosmic nature of the background. This is a war between gods and great powers as much as mortal warriors. And thirdly, I wanted to explore the nature of the Mortal Realms, and in particular one we haven’t seen an awful lot of up until now.

I also had a minor goal to make some subtle links back to the old Warhammer World. Nothing overt, just some references and nods to the background of the World That Was. I hope veteran Warhammer fans will be able to spot them and work out where they come from.

With all three of these factors in mind, I think Warbeast does the job of telling a standalone tale that nonetheless investigates the possibilities the new setting holds, while also contributing the greater story that is unfolding.

Morebeast?

Although it was not my intent to start a small franchise within the Age of Sigmar universe, I enjoyed writing the Warbeast and the Silverhand and have something of a forward trajectory for them should I ever get the chance to return to them. As for the Poxmaster… Well, you’ll have to read the book. Whether I will have an opportunity to continue their stories is unknown – I hope that if enough of you buy Warbeast and enjoy it I might be able to ask Black Library for some more page-space for these two interesting characters.

I hope that just as hobbyists have been inspired by the likes of Path of the Warrior, the Sundering, my Dark Angels tales and the Raven Guard in the Horus Heresy, so gamers and painters will find something inspiring in my depictions of the Warbeasts, Silverblades and the Withering Canker.

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