The Dark King (Short Story)
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| Author | Graham McNeill |
| Performer | Danny Webb |
| Publisher | Black Library |
| Series | Horus Heresy series |
| Collected in | Horus Heresy Chapbook |
"The Dark King" is a short story written by Graham McNeill, published in the Horus Heresy Chapbook (Anthology) in 2007, and in Shadows of Treachery (Anthology) in 2012.[1]
Cover Decsription
The acts of terror and warmongering by Konrad Curze, Primarch of the Night Lords Legion, have earned the ire of his brother primarch, Rogal Dorn. Wracked by terrible visions of the future, Curze is driven insane and attacks Dorn, setting the Night Lord on an inexorable course towards eternal damnation.[1]
Plot Summary
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The following paragraphs contain spoilers for: | The Dark King (Short Story) |
Ensnared by visions of a grim future, Konrad Curze realizes he has been beating Rogal Dorn to a pulp and is interrupted by Sigismund.[2a] Emprizoned aboard a voidship, Curze remembers how this came to pass: the compliance of Osmium, where Dorn confronted him about the rules of war and the point of the Great Crusade, the massacres on Cheraut, and Curze's prophetic visions, which Fulgrim told Dorn about. Curze's Equerry Shang informs him of Nostramo's renewed corruption, and he resolves to escape.[2b]
Curze slaughters the Phoenix Guard and Templars that guard his chambers, giving up all pretense of being the Emperor of Mankind's dutiful son and reverting to his persona of the Night Haunter.[2c]
Orbiting Nostramo, the rogue Night Lords prepare to inflict heavy punishment on their homeworld. When the Imperial Fists emerge from the warp, Night Haunter orders the fleet to open fire.[2d] The Astartes ships destroy the world, and Night Haunter anticipates the repercussions of the deed.[2e]
See also
Sources
- 1: Black Library - "The Dark King" & "The Lightning Tower" (saved archive page, dated 04 August 2020, last accessed 08 September 2024, original link: https://www.blacklibrary.com/audio/the-horus-heresy-audiobooks/Dark-King-and-The-Lightning-Tower-Audiobook-The-mp3.html)
- 2: "The Dark King" (Short Story):
- 2a: first third, "Where before there had been light, now there was only darkness."
- 2b: first third, "The emptiness of space shimmered in the glow of distant suns beyond the armoured glass, faraway planets and unknown systems turning in their prescribed arcs without thought for the dramas being played out on the stage of human endeavour."
- 2c: middle third, "Curze lifted the last piece of his armour from the shadowed alcove and raised it above his head."
- 2d: last third, "Night Haunter turned over the last card and his jawline tightened as the familiar pattern emerged once more."
- 2e: last third, "Incandescent spears of blinding white light leapt from the barrels of uncounted batteries, stabbing down at the world below."