The third of Justin D. Hill’s Creed short stories, and the longest of the three, The Battle of Tyrok Fields tells the story of a particularly dark moment in Cadia’s history, at the beginning of Abaddon’s thirteenth Black Crusade. Gathering en masse at Tyrok Fields, the armies of Cadia are caught unprepared when the newly-arrived Volscani regiments treacherously open fire. Having survived the initial exchange, Creed reacts quickly to pull together a coordinated response and lead the Cadians in a desperate defence of their own world.
It’s a momentous event for Cadia and the Imperium, one which first appeared as part of the original 13th Black Crusade campaign but fits nicely into the ‘updated’ background in the run-in to the Fall of Cadia. It’s arguably a shame to cover it in a short story (albeit a fairly long short story), but Hill does a great job of conveying the scale of what happened along with a guardsman’s eye view of events, all while aptly demonstrating Creed’s importance as a character. Of Hill’s three Creed stories this the one to read if you’ve only got time for one, but there are nice links to the other two; whether you read those or not, this is a powerful, dramatic story that’s essential reading for any Imperial Guard fans.
You might also enjoy this Rapid Fire interview with Justin about his novel Cadia Stands.