One of five short stories first published in the Legends of the Age of Sigmar: Sylvaneth anthology, Gav Thorpe’s Wrathspring features Alarielle herself and sees the sylvaneth battling the forces of Chaos in the Jade Kingdoms of Ghyran. Led by Leafmaster Diraceth, the tree spirits of Clan Arleath defend their Glade against endless hordes of plague-ridden skaven, but the tide of pestilence is taking its toll on both the sylvaneth and the land itself. It takes Alarielle’s intervention to drive out the taint of the skaven, and set the sylvaneth on the path to reclaim their lands from Chaos.
Much like Robbie MacNiven’s Heartwood this is a vivid, distinctive story which nicely starts to explore the character of the sylvaneth, although here there’s a slightly wider focus. It’s a big picture type of story, opening with Diraceth’s battles against the skaven before broadening out to show a little of Alarielle’s perspective on what’s happening in Ghyran, as well as a glimpse of the sylvaneth at war on a fairly grand scale. Gav’s prose is slightly more poetic than usual, veering into the genuinely beautiful when Alarielle first appears, and overall there’s a clear tone and style that really suits the subject matter. Another excellent sylvaneth story.
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