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Bloodquest (Graphic Novel Series)

Comprised of three graphic novels and an audio drama, the Bloodquest series follows the exploits of the exiled Blood Angels Captain, Leonatos, as he journeys through the Eye of Terror on a mission to reclaim a Chapter relic, the Blade Encarmine. Written by Gordon Rennie and illustrated by Colin MacNeil, the graphic novel series was published in Warhammer Monthly between 1999 and 2003. The series was later continued in 2013 in the form of an audio drama, written by Ben Counter.

The Series

Synopses

Spoiler!
The following paragraphs contain spoilers for: Bloodquest (Graphic Novel Series)

Book One

Chapter Commander Lord Dante sent Leonatos and his company of one-hundred Space Marines on a mission to protect an Adeptus Astronomica warp station on Sekundar Prime from a massive Ork invasion. To aid Leonatos in this task, Lord Dante presented him with the Blade Encarmine — the sword of Belarius, a servant of Sanguinius, which was given to him by the Primarch himself.[1a][1b][1c]

The Marines duly travelled to Sekundar Prime and, after teleporting to the surface, held out for five days against repeated attacks from a force of Orks which outnumbered them one-hundred to one. On the fifth day of combat, the Orks pressed the attack once more. Leonatos faced their leader in single combat, and though victorious, the captain lost the Blade Encarmine as it was embedded in the Greenskin leader. Knocked unconscious during the fight, he was unable to retrieve the sword before the warboss' corpse was drug away. Only 10 marines survive the action to greet the relief force of three-hundred Blood Angels the following day.[1b]

Leonatos was put on trial and sent into exile for losing the Blade Encarmine. One condition to his exile is that should he return the sword Encarmine, he would be allowed to rejoin the chapter. He was given a ship The Exile. Eight other marines decided to join him in his quest: Veteran-Sergeant Tranio, who refuses to abandon his friend; Brothers Palamon and Valerius, who fought with Leonatos on Sekundar Prime and refuse to leave his side; Codicier Furion was getting old and wanted to go on one last mission; Brother Cloten is afflicted with the Red Thirst, which sends him into a berserk fury during combat, and wants to die a hero's death before it overtakes him. Three Novices — Proteus, Lysander and Menelius — stowed away on the ship to join Leonatos' quest.[1b]

After psychically interrogating a surviving Ork on Sekundar Prime, the marines discovered that the Blade Encarmine had been taken by Ork warlord Garshul the Destroyer.[1c]

In their journey, the Blood Angels make a few stops. The first is to a monastery on the planet Tarsis. Owned by the mysterious Brotherhood of the Watch, the Astartes decided to stay for a short time. During the night, Menelius is kidnapped by the Brotherhood and offered as a blood sacrifice to Khorne. The Blood Angels arrive too late to save their brother but prevent the awakening of the Great Devourer, a Daemon Prince of Khorne. Furion stays behind to distract the daemon while his brothers escape. The monastery is then bombarded from orbit, sealing the daemon underground.[1d]

The crew of the Exile come across a Rogue Trader ship, Light of Diogenes, under attack by an Alpha Legion vessel. After teleporting aboard and cleansing the ship of Chaos, they open a channel to the Diogenes. As it so happens, an inquisitor is aboard the ship. Knowing of Leonatos's exile, he orders the captain to break off contact. But before doing so, the trader tells Leonatos of a large Ork warband massing at the Leptis system in the Segmentum Obscurus; he also mentions rumours of a force massing in the Eye of Terror, and that all available Space Marine Chapters, including the Blood Angels, are being sent to repel an attack, leaving the Imperium vulnerable to Ork attacks.[1e]

Several weeks later and after being trapped by a warp storm, the Blood Angels find themselves near a Space Hulk. Knowing that these wrecks sometimes held powerful technology from the Dark Age of Technology, Leonatos orders a boarding party sent to a colony ship that predates the Great Crusade. After being aboard for a time, the Astartes are attacked by the mutant descendants of the original crew of the ship. Knowing that they cannot defeat all their attackers, the Marines fall back to their Thunderhawk. When escape seems unlikely, Brother Valerius stays behind to buy the others time. Thanks to his sacrifice, the marines escape.[1f]

After escaping the warp storm, the Astartes finally catch up with Garshull the Destroyer, as his Waaagh! is attacking the world of Leptis. After identifying the Ork command ship, Leonatos and his marines make a teleport strike. After fighting their way to Garshull's throne room, the Ork warlord is revealed to be possessed by the powers of Chaos. After ambushing the Blood Angels alongside his Chaos Marine allies, the daemon tells Leonatos that it is seeking a new host body and that Leonatos will be that host. The daemon is defeated along with the traitor marines. Before its host body is obliterated, it reveals to Leonatos that the Blade Encarmine was sent into the Eye of Terror, and the daemon will be waiting for Leonatus when he arrives there. After the daemon's banishment, the Ork fleet falls into disarray, and the remaining Chaos forces open a warp gate to the Eye of Terror to escape. Seizing the opportunity, the Blood Angels return to the Exile and follow through the open gate.[1g]

Book Two

Twelve years after the exiles left on their Bloodquest, two figures purporting to be what is left of them meet with Lord Dante and tell their story.[2a]

In pursuit of the traitor Astartes allies of the Orks, the Exile faces the wrath of the Eye of Terror, losing her Navigator and being torn apart by tendrils of the Warp. Leonatos and his men regain consciousness on the Daemon World Eidolon, where they throw themselves into battle against innumerable Chaos hordes. Stowing away on a Banelord Titan, the Astartes sabotage it as they reach the edge of the battlefield and escape in the confusion.[2a][2b]

Forced to hide in a coastal city, the Blood Angels are approached by Haeroth the Damned, one of The Fallen. He explains that the daemon world is but a playground for the forces of four Daemon Princes to fight over prizes, and Leonatos and his men are the newest of these trophies. The Chaos Lords hold the Blade Encarmine, and will allow the Astartes to leave Eidolon should they live and claim it, on the other side of the planet.[2c]

Taking over a ship, the exiles sail through the Sea of Blood, where champions of the Blood God wage war upon one another. Faced with the Daemon Prince of Khorne, they sail away thanks to the sacrifice of Tranio who detonates a krak grenade in the Lord's mouth, thus opening the way through the sea.[2d][2e]

Running ashore, they enter the city of Ebolis, the capital of Nurgle administered by Bubonnikus. Herded by the citizenry, they meet the Daemon Prince, who asks for tribute: Palamon, whose wound endured on the Sea of Blood is grievously infected. Refusing to surrender their comrade, the Blood Angels hold their ground and seemingly slaughter all. However, Bubonnikus is not dispersed by his shell being destroyed and instead possesses Palamon. Using one of the enemy's weapons, Lysander reduces the newly formed Daemonhost to ashes. Leaving Ebolis to burn, the remaining Astartes encounter Haethor, who reminds them that there are two powers to face yet in their journey and, as he watches them move on, muses on the necessity of Leonatos surviving for his master's plans to bear fruit.[2f][2g]

In the wasteland outside the city, they join a slave caravan of Slaanesh and reach Vada, city of forbidden pleasures. There, Proteus is lulled aside by the Daemon Princess ruling the city and gives in to temptation, accepting her offer to make him the hero he dreams of becoming. Unable to find a trace of their compatriot, the Angels keep going and look down upon a vast maze, the domain of the Changer of Ways.[2h][2i]

Wading through a swamp birthing Chaos Spawns, the three remaining Astartes again meet Haethor, who introduces them to the Labyrinth of Tzeentch, explaining that to walk it is to walk one's own fate, each pathway leading down a different strand of one's life-tapestry. Forced to walk alone, each must face his own course: Leonatos, unafraid, walks straight on towards his destiny; Cloten faces his self, twisted and made beast-like by the Red Thirst; Lysander, alone and afraid, stumbles upon Proteus now devoted to Slaanesh. Turning down the glories proffered by Chaos, Lysander walks on to the center of the Labyrinth.[2j][2k]

There, Leonatos steps into the chapter hall of the Arx Angelicum, where Mephiston awaits him. The latter acknowledges that he is in fact the First-Chosen, Daemon Lord of Tzeentch, and that he came up with this illusion as he saw it fitting, the quest ending where it began. Haeroth reveals his true purpose: to lure Leonatos here, and have him take his place as leader of his master's armies. Leonatos, joined by Lysander and Cloten, chooses to fight for the Blade. Haeroth outmatches them, but Leonatos connects with the Blade Encarmine and slays him. The Daemon Lord then opens a warp gate out of Eidolon, but the Captain must face hordes upon hordes of daemons. Unable to overcome, he hurls the sword at Lysander, ordering him and Cloten to leave him behind and complete the quest.[2k][2l]

His tale concluded, Lysander hands the Bloodsword to Dante, who congratulates him and allows him to return among his fellow novices. However, Lysander turns the offer down, as Cloten and he now have their own quest: to find Leonatos, wherever he may be.[2l]

Book Three

At the edge of the Eye of Terror, a ritual battle takes place on the warp-wracked planet of Sciron: servants of Chaos wage battle against one another, until only one remains and asks the daemon-oracle to unveil their destiny for them. But this time, the victor is cut down by bolter fire as Brothers Lysander and Cloten wish to know the whereabouts of their Liege-Captain. The oracle reveals that Leonatos yet lives, enthralled by the First-Chosen, and that the Astartes must learn the latter's True Name if they want to stand a chance against it. Cloten beheads the oracle after it has shown them the mark of the Daemon Prince's servants — but the severed head muses that naught is as simple as it seems.[3a]

The Blood Angels follow the trail of the First-Chosen's servants by whatever means necessary: on Colchis, a world ravaged by a vanguard force of an incoming Black Crusade, signing up as men-at-arms for merchant ships, joining the retinue of a Rogue Trader, traveling aboard pilgrim ships, and finally aboard a pirate ship that brings them to a world about to be invaded by the Dark Powers.[3b]

Landing among the Chaos drop-pods, the Astartes butcher a Khorne warband and feign to pledge their allegiance to Balazaran, champion of Tzeentch. As the invasion progresses, they have to take part in the systematic slaughter of the planet's population, taking small comfort in the knowledge that they will grant them a swifter death than the heretics and that finding Leonatos prevails upon anything else. The deception bears fruit, as Balazaran informs Lysander that the Crusade Warlord Commander wishes to meet the Blood Angel.[3c][3d]

In the Warlord's drop-fortress, the Astartes are Challenged by the corrupted Proteus who orders them seized as servants of the Emperor. Cloten holds the line while Lysander rushes up the stairs, knocking Proteus down. Lysander faces the Warlord, who stops him in his tracks and reveals himself to be none other than Leonatos.[3e]

Now in chains aboard the Chaos flagship, the Blood Angels learn that Leonatos is possessed by the same daemon they faced so long ago: Garshûl the Destroyer, whose plan is to bypass the Imperial defenses of the Marsa System and attack the unguarded Kharis System, thus showing the tactical acumen it has gained from its new host. As to Cloten and Lysander, they shall duel to the death for the Heretics' entertainment: to the loser a clean death, to the winner the promise of corruption and fall to Chaos.[3f]

In the arena, the Brothers first cut down warp beasts before Lysander ridicules Garshûl's plan, claiming they will never fight each other. Cloten, however, strikes the first blow, explaining that the Red Thirst has already damned him but he might save Lysander's soul. The latter gains the upper hand and runs his elder through as Garshûl rejoices.[3g]

Proteus then oversees the torture of the survivor, growing frustrated with his refusal to reject the Emperor. Lysander's mind, though, is focused on Cloten, whose body had retreated into a death-like stasis and who awakens, half-dead and starving, in the bilge holds of the ship.[3h]

Meanwhile, Leonatos manages to briefly overcome Garshûl for control of his body, and orders the fleet's course to be changed for the Marsa System. Before the daemon regains control, Leonatos erases the event from his own memory, confident that his brethren will see to the rest. Thanks to his omophagea, Cloten navigates through the ship as he feeds upon its crew and finds the torture chamber. He eliminates the master-torturer and frees Lysander, who kills Proteus.[3i]

Freeing the ship's slave contingent and inciting rebellion, the Astartes must part ways as Cloten stays behind to lead the fledgling army. Lysander heads for the warp shield generators, where he finds Garshûl, waiting to meet him in a one-on-one duel. As the daemon cuts down Chaos Space Marines attempting to intervene, Lysander runs him through with his blade. The daemon gone, the wounded Leonatos entreats his former subordinate to leave the ship before Garshûl comes back and the fleet exits the warp. Deeming himself free, Leonatos declares the Astartes' mission a success. As Lysander boards an escape pod, as Cloten fights on beside the former slaves, as Garshûl returns to Leonatos's body, the Chaos fleet is destroyed by the Imperial Navy. Thus ends the Bloodquest.[3j][3k]

Publication History

 

The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

Bloodquest was originally published in episodes in Warhammer Monthly between 1999 and 2003. The episodes were gathered in graphic novels under the signature, Warhammer Monthly Presents.

The first graphic novel Bloodquest gathers:

Additionally, it contains a two-page prologue entitled Meditations, as well as an untitled introductory chapter which includes elements from the sneak preview published in Warhammer Monthly 0 and details the events that led to Leonatos's exile.[1a][1b]

  • Trade paperback with cover by Colin Macneil, 1999. ISBN: 978-84154-107-7 (GW product code 6010 9999 009)

The second graphic novel Bloodquest II: Into the Eye of Terror gathers :

The third graphic novel Bloodquest III: The Daemon's Mark gathers:

The stories in Bloodquest I and Bloodquest II are colorized and gathered in the collection Bloodquest Volume 1.

  • Hardback with cover by Tazio Bettin, published 2020. ISBN: 978-1-7899-228-1 (GW product code 6004 0181 495)

Bloodquest: The Movie

On April 6th 2000, Exile Films announced that they had successfully petitioned Games Workshop to develop a CGI made-for-tv film adaptation of Bloodquest.[4] In August of that year, issue 248 of White Dwarf confirmed that the film was in the early stages of pre-production. By 2001, a 90 second trailer was released and a full-draft script (from 2000) was made available for viewing online (it can be read here). At that time, Exile Films was approaching a number of production companies, including Dreamworks, attempting to secure £25M of funding for project development[5]. Production continued throughout 2002, however, by March 2003 the project was put on indefinite hold;[6] the Exile Films website wasn't updated further and went offline at some point in 2005, signalling the death of the project. An archived version of the Exile Films website can be accessed here; it includes images and other media associated with the project.

Trivia

 

The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

Special Issue: Hammer Time!
 
Warhammer Monthly 63[1]

Sources

  • 1: Bloodquest
    • 1a: Meditations
    • 1b: untitled chapter
    • 1c: Beginnings
    • 1d: Mausoleum
    • 1e: Pariah
    • 1f: Dead Calm
    • 1g: Onslaught
  • 2: Bloodquest II: Into the Eye of Terror
    • 2a: Episode One
    • 2b: Episode Two
    • 2c: Episode Three
    • 2d: Episode Four
    • 2e: Episode Five
    • 2f: Episode Six
    • 2g: Episode Six (probable typo)
    • 2h: Episode Eight
    • 2i: Episode Nine
    • 2j: Episode Ten
    • 2k: Episode Eleven
    • 2l: Episode Twelve
  • 3: Bloodquest III: The Daemon's Mark
    • 3a: Prologue
    • 3b: 1. The Daemon's Mark
    • 3c: 2. Traitor Marine
    • 3d: 3. The Heretic Path
    • 3e: 4. Born of Damnation
    • 3f: 5. Revelations
    • 3g: 6. One Must Die!
    • 3h: 7. Renascence
    • 3i: 8. Tumult
    • 3j: 9. Rebellion
    • 3k: 10. Absolution
  • 4: Exile Films: Press Release (saved archive page, dated August 2005, last accessed 25 July 2019)
  • 5: The Telegraph (last accessed 25 July 2019)
  • 6: Exile Films: News (saved archive page, dated August 2005, last accessed 25 July 2019)
  • 7: Warhammer Monthly 63 – Hammer Time: Bloodquest
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