Showcasing the Vanguard Chamber of the Hallowed Knights, Josh Reynolds’ Age of Sigmar short story A Dirge of Dust and Steel takes place in Shyish amidst the ruins of an ancient duardin civilisation. Lord-Aquilor Sathphren Swiftblade seeks a lost Realmgate, and in return for his aid against a daemon known as the Soulflayer the remnants of the Gazul-Zagaz – worshippers of the duardin god of the dead – have promised to help him reach his goal. The Soulflayer has tormented the duardin for centuries, but with Sathphren’s help they finally have the chance for revenge.
There’s fast-flowing action, instantly engaging characters and a real sense of history to the backdrop of the sombre, haunted Gazul-Nagaz who cleverly hark back to the World That Was. It’s also a nice change of pace to the usual footslogging Stormcast stories, balancing the even-more-than-usually dour duardin with Sathphren’s infectious good humour. It’s a tale which seamlessly blends multiple goals – introducing a Vanguard Chamber and its characteristics, exploring another new and intriguing corner of the Mortal Realms (something of a Reynolds trademark), and setting things up for what’s to come next for the Hallowed Knights – without losing sight of the need to tell a great, satisfying story.
This was originally released in the Black Library Events Anthology 2017/18 and then as part of the 2018 Black Library Advent Calendar – click here to see the main page for the Advent Calendar, with links to all of the reviews.
Check out the main Age of Sigmar reviews page on Track of Words.
