Guy Haley’s short story The Sands of Grief returns to the characters of Prince Maesa and Shattercap from the excellent Shadespire audio drama The Autumn Prince. This time they set out from the city of Glymmsforge in the Realm of Shyish and travel deep into the eponymous Sands of Grief as Maesa continues his quest to find a way of returning his beloved Ellamar to life. Beyond the borders of Glymmsforge and the protection of Sigmar they encounter nothing living, but as they head further from the core of Shyish they increasingly see the dark hand of Nagash at work.
There’s something really dark about an aelven prince carrying the skull of his dead love around with him, and when it’s set in Shyish you know it’s going to be even darker. Loosely tying in with the events of Malign Portents, this is an action-light and character-heavy story which really focuses on Maesa’s inhuman (he’s an aelf, after all) determination, as well as showcasing some more fascinating settings in Shyish. There’s also Shattercap, the ‘small evil’ who’s just a joy to read about. Haley’s writing makes this a darkly beautiful journey to read about, probably best read having listened to The Autumn Prince but very much worth checking out.
