February 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 few months now, so if you’ve found this one interesting, you can look back at previous Q&As here.
Will asked via the website: Hi Gav, in Azrael you mention a table with six symbols. A reference to the Hexagramaton. By which symbols represent which wing? The Hourglass – Dreadwing, Flame – Firewing are the obvious ones, but what about the others? Hope to receive some enlightenment, Azrael was a great read as always.
While the symbols are indicative of the different Wings of the Hexagramaton, I have been careful not to link any specific symbol to any particular wing. I did consult with Forgeworld about whether the other wings had a single identifying sigil but didn’t receive any guidance, so I kept it vague to avoid future contradictions.
Martyn asked on the blog [in response to my Three Top Tips for Black Library Submissions blog]: Can the short stories be about own chapters or preexisting?
Unless the submissions guidelines say otherwise, it’s up to you as the writer. There are benefits and drawbacks to both, but unless you are very confident in the background of your invented Chapter, I would stick to using one already well-established in the lore for your first submission. By using your own invented Chapter you are simply introducing another element into the mix that the editors may not like – with an established faction all you have to do is get your presentation and interpretation right. Also, I find that when writers have invented their own Chapter, Craftworld, etc they tend to use the story purely as a vehicle to show off their creation, rather than concentrating on the basics of a good narrative.
Henry asked via the website: I have a question about the current (or new, depends when your from) Lord Cypher, whom we happen to know is named “Zahariel El’Zurias”. So anyway, after reading ‘Angels of Caliban‘ (which was a fantastic book by the way, though not enough action during the battle of Zepath, in my opinion), we find out that brother librarian Zahariel becomes the new Lord Cypher. However we do not know if this is the same Lord Cypher that appears 10k in the future, that features in ‘Unforgiven‘ novel. Alright, so, remember (of course you do) way back in ‘Descent of Angels’, where Zahariel disrupted an assassination attempt on the Emperor, but he recalled naught of it, because his memory was wiped. So my question is: Does this particular event have anything special to do with Zahariel/Lord Cypher in the future? Will it bring something very unexpected (and special) to the lore, to the Dark Angels, or even the Imperium? Currently, though, it seems like Zahariel is on the road to becoming a very prominent villain.
As you say, while Zahariel is indeed the ‘current’ Lord Cypher in the HH, it isn’t a guarantee that he is ‘Cypher’ from 40K
