The Lion: Son Of The Forest
Author/Uploaded by Mike Brooks
More Warhammer 40,000 from Black Library • DAWN OF FIRE • Book 1: AVENGING SON Guy Haley Book 2: THE GATE OF BONES Andy Clark Book 3: THE WOLFTIME Gav Thorpe Book 4: THRONE OF LIGHT Guy Haley Book 5: THE IRON KINGDOM Nick Kyme INDOMITUS Gav Thorpe • DARK IMPERIUM • Guy Haley&#...
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More Warhammer 40,000 from Black Library • DAWN OF FIRE • Book 1: AVENGING SON Guy Haley Book 2: THE GATE OF BONES Andy Clark Book 3: THE WOLFTIME Gav Thorpe Book 4: THRONE OF LIGHT Guy Haley Book 5: THE IRON KINGDOM Nick Kyme INDOMITUS Gav Thorpe • DARK IMPERIUM • Guy Haley Book 1: DARK IMPERIUM Book 2: PLAGUE WAR Book 3: GODBLIGHT BELISARIUS CAWL: THE GREAT WORK Guy Haley SIGISMUND: THE ETERNAL CRUSADER John French THE SUCCESSORS An anthology by various authors VOLPONE GLORY Nick Kyme LEGENDS OF THE DARK ANGELS: A SPACE MARINE OMNIBUS Gav Thorpe and C Z Dunn Contains the novels Angels of Darkness, The Purging of Kadillus, Azrael and The Eye of Ezekiel plus the novella Dark Vengeance and several short stories LEGACY OF CALIBAN Gav Thorpe An omnibus containing the novels Ravenwing, Master of Sanctity and The Unforgiven along with a number of associated short stories. LUTHER: FIRST OF THE FALLEN Gav Thorpe Contents Cover Backlist Warhammer 40,000 The Lion: Son of the Forest Dramatis Personae PART ONE I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X PART TWO XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII PART THREE XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX XXXI XXXII XXXIII Epilogue About the Author An Extract from ‘Dawn of Fire: Avenging Son’ A Black Library Publication eBook license For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the Master of Mankind. By the might of His inexhaustible armies a million worlds stand against the dark. Yet, He is a rotting carcass, the Carrion Lord of the Imperium held in life by marvels from the Dark Age of Technology and the thousand souls sacrificed each day so that His may continue to burn. To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. It is to suffer an eternity of carnage and slaughter. It is to have cries of anguish and sorrow drowned by the thirsting laughter of dark gods. This is a dark and terrible era where you will find little comfort or hope. Forget the power of technology and science. Forget the promise of progress and advancement. Forget any notion of common humanity or compassion. There is no peace amongst the stars, for in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. DRAMATIS PERSONAE Primarchs LION EL’JONSON – ‘The Lion’, primarch of the Dark Angels Dark Angels ZABRIEL – Former Destroyer, protector of Camarth, Fallen KAI – Fallen APHKAR – Fallen LOHOC – ‘The Red Whisper’, Fallen BORZ – ‘One-Eye’, captain of Honour’s Edge, Fallen LAUNCIEL – Joint commander of Trevenum Gamma, Fallen GALAD – Joint commander of Trevenum Gamma, Fallen BEVEDAN – Former Librarian, Fallen GUAIN – Captain of Echo Station, Fallen ECTORAEL – Techmarine, crew of Echo Station, Fallen KUZIEL – Crew of Echo Station, Fallen LAMOR – Crew of Echo Station, Fallen ASBIEL – Apothecary, crew of Echo Station, Fallen BREUNAN – Fallen MERIANT – Crew of Echo Station, Fallen CADARAN – Fallen PERZIEL – Fallen RUFAREL – Fallen The Ten Thousand Eyes SERAPHAX – Lord Sorcerer, Fallen BAELOR – ‘The Imposter’, Fallen MARKOG – Commander of the Dolorous Guard DIMORA – Canticallax of the New Mechanicum, Eye of Malevolence URIENZ – Arch-Raptor VARKAN – ‘The Red’, former World Eater JAI’TANA – ‘The Unshriven’, Apostle KRR’SATZ – Overseer of astropaths on the Blade of Truth, beastman Humans SUTIK – Man of Camarth HALIN – Man of Camarth BIBA – Child of Camarth VALDAX – Tech-priest of Camarth M’KIA – Woman of Camarth, head of the Lion Guard JOVAN – Man of Camarth YINDA – Corporal of the Avalus defence force SEENA AP NA HARAJ – Marshal of the Avalus defence force, acting planetary governor SHAVAR – Seer of Avalus TORRAL DERRIGAN – Admiral of the Avalus defence fleet and the Lunar Knight RAULEN – Captain of the Trevenum Gamma defence fleet MONTARAT – Captain of the Pax Fortitudinis, Avalus defence fleet Blood Angels LUIS DANTE PART ONE AWAKENING I The river sings silver notes: a perpetual, chaotic babble in which a fantastically complex melody seems to hang, tantalising, just out of reach of the listener. He could spend eternity here trying to find the heart of it, without ever succeeding, yet still not consider the time wasted. The sound of water over stone, the interplay of energy and matter, creates a quiet symphony that is both unremarkable and unique. He does not know how long he has been here, just listening. Nor, he realises, does he know where here is. The listener becomes aware of himself in stages, like a sleeper passing from the deepest, darkest depths of slumber, through the shallows of semi-consciousness where thought swirls in confusing eddies, and then into the light. First comes the realisation that he is not the song of the river; that he is in fact separate from it, and listening to it. Then sensation dawns, and he realises he is sitting on the river’s bank. If there is a sun, or suns, then he cannot see them through the branches of the trees overhead and the mist that hangs heavily in the air, but there is still light enough for him to make out his surroundings. The trees are massive, and mighty, with great trunks that could not be fully encircled by one, two, perhaps even half a dozen people’s outstretched arms. Their rough, cracked bark pockmarks them with shadows, as though the trees themselves are camouflaged. The ground beneath their branches is fought over by tough shrubs: sturdy, twisted, thorny things strangling each other in the contest for space
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