Nightfall is Peter Fehervari’s debut Black Library story, originally published in the Heroes of the Space Marines anthology. On Sarastus, a dying world which sacrifices its youths to monstrous masters, True Night falls and the Night Lords descend to collect their tribute. Among the ghouls left to fight for survival in the abandoned heights of the last remaining hive, young Zeth unconsciously understands that something sets him apart from his fellows. While bitter rivalries twist the Night Lords even as they make bloody sport culling the weakest of the sacrifices, Zeth sees opportunity in amongst the danger.
This is an interesting choice for Heroes of the Space Marines, as there’s little heroism to be found here. Instead there’s a sinister sense of atmosphere and a selection of dark but instantly engaging characters who, in typical Fehervari fashion, you feel have rich backstories waiting to be revealed. We’re not talking anti-heroes here – these are uniformly bad people…but somehow still relatable. Stylistically it hints at what Fehervari’s writing would turn into, albeit a little more obviously 40k with the inclusion of the Night Lords and a link between Zeth and the warp, and while it’s quite a busy story, it’s well executed and beautifully evocative.
Check out Nightfall as a standalone short story on Amazon, or alternatively the Heroes of the Space Marines anthology. Buying anything through these links will help support Track of Words.