What do you think?
Rate this book
Call of Archaon #1
Beneath the Black Thumb
In the Untamed Lands of Ghur, Copsys Bule suffers a terrible defeat at the hands of the mysterious Seraphon as he attempts to summon forth a host of Nurgle plague daemons. But as his Rotbringers lick their wounds, Bule receives a strange vision that portends a great destiny. Could this be the call of the dark lord, the fabled Grand Marshal of the Apocalypse himself? The call of Archaon?
Read it because
We see the war for the mortal realms through the eyes of the servants of the Ruinous Powers and meet the enigmatic Seraphon. What is a champion of Nurgle – the sinister Copsys Bule – willing to do in order to join the glorious host of the Everchosen?
- GenresFantasy
37 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 20, 2015
1 person is currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
David Guymer
173 books176 followersDavid Guymer is a freelance author, PhD in molecular microbiology (which still comes in more handy than you might think), and tabletop warlord based in the Yorkshire East Riding. He has written for Black Library, Marvel, Aconyte Books, Asmodee, Mantic Games, Cubicle 7, Creative Assembly, and Mongoose Publishing.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 21, 2026
Holy Cinema
August 25, 2016
Review also published here
Beneatht the Black Thumb is another Age of Sigmar story that is almost completely dedicated to one single battle, with a tiny bit of plague-gardening in the first and last parts. The "Black Thumb" Copsys Bule's gardening efforts, stringing corpses up and digging the soil to spread Nurgle's rot, was a nice theme that I appreciated.
However, the battle felt disjointed, more confusing than it should have been.
At some point it is said that Bule's hordes numbered at around 100,000, with over half of them elsewhere at the time of battle. Still, even at 10,000 I'd have to wonder how losing a dozen of Blightkings here and there to meteorite magic would put any kind of dent into them.
Seeing how the Rotbringers were decimated during the battle with the Lizardmen (now called "Seraphon"), even though their numbers didn't seem to come even close to those of Bule's (their scout detachment of chameleonskinks numbed in the hundred, for example), made me shake my head as a result.
Not that I'd disagree that Lizardmen are mighty indeed - they are my favorite faction in WHFB and Blood Bowl, and got me into the hobby in the first place - but that was a bit much.
Adding to that the concept that the "Seraphon" now house starlight inside them (it is said to be shimmering between their scales, and breaking free upon death), I barely recognized my favorite faction. But then, the focus wasn't on them anyway.
But indeed, I would call this story "disjointed". There were many things not elaborated on that would have made me care more about the characters, but it also seemed unfocused and confusing. There were many hints and hooks pointing to more things possibly explored elsewhere, but for me those fell flat for the time being. Maybe future releases will clear things up.
On the positive side, I still think David has a solid grip on Skavendom. The characters here lacked the depth of characters like Queek and his rivals in the novel Headtaker , but they were amusing and readily apparent as skaven. Bule also felt like an intriguing character with a lot of potential, though the battle for his Realmgate distracted from more significant character development, and the closing of the story left me wondering.
At least this story had a certain amount of humor and atmosphere, which The Gates of Azyr lacked.
I would like to see Copsys Bule and his lieutenant Fistula back in another story. Hopefully that one won't be focusing as much on messy battlescenes, although that seems to be the core of every Age of Sigmar story I have flipped through so far. Battle for battle's sake, with negligible stakes and characters who feel powerful but not exactly relatable.
As it stands, I feel that Age of Sigmar, and the direction Games Workshop and Black Library are taking with it, doesn't play to their authors' strengths well, and indeed makes me think that they get hamstrung by the battle requirements when their talents lie in character development, dialogue and world building.
Beneatht the Black Thumb is another Age of Sigmar story that is almost completely dedicated to one single battle, with a tiny bit of plague-gardening in the first and last parts. The "Black Thumb" Copsys Bule's gardening efforts, stringing corpses up and digging the soil to spread Nurgle's rot, was a nice theme that I appreciated.
However, the battle felt disjointed, more confusing than it should have been.
At some point it is said that Bule's hordes numbered at around 100,000, with over half of them elsewhere at the time of battle. Still, even at 10,000 I'd have to wonder how losing a dozen of Blightkings here and there to meteorite magic would put any kind of dent into them.
Bule commanded the souls of a hundred thousand, and although more than half were scattered wide over the Corpse Marshes and beyond, what remained was a mighty host indeed.
Seeing how the Rotbringers were decimated during the battle with the Lizardmen (now called "Seraphon"), even though their numbers didn't seem to come even close to those of Bule's (their scout detachment of chameleonskinks numbed in the hundred, for example), made me shake my head as a result.
Not that I'd disagree that Lizardmen are mighty indeed - they are my favorite faction in WHFB and Blood Bowl, and got me into the hobby in the first place - but that was a bit much.
Adding to that the concept that the "Seraphon" now house starlight inside them (it is said to be shimmering between their scales, and breaking free upon death), I barely recognized my favorite faction. But then, the focus wasn't on them anyway.
But indeed, I would call this story "disjointed". There were many things not elaborated on that would have made me care more about the characters, but it also seemed unfocused and confusing. There were many hints and hooks pointing to more things possibly explored elsewhere, but for me those fell flat for the time being. Maybe future releases will clear things up.
On the positive side, I still think David has a solid grip on Skavendom. The characters here lacked the depth of characters like Queek and his rivals in the novel Headtaker , but they were amusing and readily apparent as skaven. Bule also felt like an intriguing character with a lot of potential, though the battle for his Realmgate distracted from more significant character development, and the closing of the story left me wondering.
At least this story had a certain amount of humor and atmosphere, which The Gates of Azyr lacked.
I would like to see Copsys Bule and his lieutenant Fistula back in another story. Hopefully that one won't be focusing as much on messy battlescenes, although that seems to be the core of every Age of Sigmar story I have flipped through so far. Battle for battle's sake, with negligible stakes and characters who feel powerful but not exactly relatable.
As it stands, I feel that Age of Sigmar, and the direction Games Workshop and Black Library are taking with it, doesn't play to their authors' strengths well, and indeed makes me think that they get hamstrung by the battle requirements when their talents lie in character development, dialogue and world building.
July 25, 2015
I was tempted to give it even five stars, because I love devotees of the Plague Lord and here they fought lizard men, which I guess is awesome. It is a simple battle story, but very fun.
April 5, 2021
A Nurglish champion named Copsys Bule who takes after his patron in literally tilling a garden of rot and foulness says enigmatic things to a Skaven supporting character and fends off an attack by the Seraphon (in their opening appearance, so far as I know), who used to be called the "Lizardmen", equal opportunity-slaughterers of Skaven and anyone else that intruded on their domains. Now they appear to be firmly opposed to Chaos, and wielding the same sort of Azyrite magic that empowers the Stormcast Eternals and is inimical to the Dark Powers.
Bonus points for doing something other than "SEs VS Chaos", though Chaos is still headlining. Another "battle report" story, but it's well-executed enough. The Skaven manage to be cowardly without being comic. Chaos unequivocally wins this fight rather than taking yet another whupping. The Seraphon still manage to look intimidating and effective, though it seems odd to have a faction lose in their initial fictional outing, but hey, all three Chaos factions did this in their first appearances, so fair is fair, I guess. At least they get appearances, unlike the poor beleaguered duardin, who will probably be taking a right royal kicking whenever they show up.
Not much connection to the Everchosen, but I imagine we'll get there eventually.
Bonus points for doing something other than "SEs VS Chaos", though Chaos is still headlining. Another "battle report" story, but it's well-executed enough. The Skaven manage to be cowardly without being comic. Chaos unequivocally wins this fight rather than taking yet another whupping. The Seraphon still manage to look intimidating and effective, though it seems odd to have a faction lose in their initial fictional outing, but hey, all three Chaos factions did this in their first appearances, so fair is fair, I guess. At least they get appearances, unlike the poor beleaguered duardin, who will probably be taking a right royal kicking whenever they show up.
Not much connection to the Everchosen, but I imagine we'll get there eventually.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2018
As a big fan of the Lizardmen, and therefore also those that are no longer called Lizardmen, this story has probably become my single favourite piece of Age of Sigmar literature so far. There aren't enough blood-rushing, awesome moments with the Seraphon at the moment. But of what little there is, this one may have one of the most glorious showcasings of them so far.
If you want to see the Seraphon in proper glory, this may just be worthwhile going through. Plus, it is short and the spacing between certain events gets the excitement flowing, if you manage to realise what it is building up to.
If you want to see the Seraphon in proper glory, this may just be worthwhile going through. Plus, it is short and the spacing between certain events gets the excitement flowing, if you manage to realise what it is building up to.
June 10, 2017
The first of eight short stories making up The Call of Archaon, book four in Black Library’s Realmgate Wars series for Age of Sigmar, David Guymer’s Beneath the Black Thumb introduces Copsys Bule, Lord of Plagues.
Free of the need to explain new Khorne or Stormcast archetypes, this feels free to explore something fresh and interesting, and as a result is delightfully characterful.
Read the full review at http://www.trackofwords.com/2017/06/0...
Free of the need to explain new Khorne or Stormcast archetypes, this feels free to explore something fresh and interesting, and as a result is delightfully characterful.
Read the full review at http://www.trackofwords.com/2017/06/0...
March 12, 2019
This was one of the stories I already ready in Call of Archaon but I only realized it a quarter of the way in. Finished it again because it’s a good one and short.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews