Part three of Black Library’s Call of Archaon eight-part short story arc, The Solace of Rage by Guy Haley introduces the third of Archaon’s prospective champions, Ushkar Mir. One of many Khornate champions vying for the leadership of his tribe, Mir has…unusual reasons for following the path of the Blood God. Driven by a furious determination, he faces off against his main rival, before the appearance of a rampaging hordes of ogors sees the warring elements of the tribe put their enmity temporarily aside at the prospect of the greater bloodshed to come.
What appears at first to be a pretty standard Khorne story soon turns into something much more interesting and full of character. It takes place over a very short space of time, but there’s loads crammed in from a couple of genuinely unusual Khornate characters to the ogors’ short but very cool involvement, which is suggestive of a rich vein of interesting story waiting to be told about those guys. Crucially, though, there’s a sense of Mir and co. developing beyond their basic outlines, demonstrating that Khornate characters don’t always have to follow the usual stylings. It’s a simple but satisfying story, well worth investigating.
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