The first ever Idoneth Deepkin story from Black Library, David Guymer’s The Sea Taketh explores a creepy new side to Age of Sigmar. Kharadron sky-captain Ingdrin Jonsson mounts a dangerous expedition to the bottom of the ocean to find and explore the abandoned city of Aighmar, claiming his rightful plunder as per the Kharadron Code. Not all of the Mortal Realms’ inhabitants recognise the Code, however. Fearful of what he has stirred up from the deeps, Jonsson flees for the safety of his airship, only to find the haunting call of the ocean dogging his every step.
The Deepkin are fundamentally disturbing, but Guymer cleverly plays on the mystery surrounding them to build tension, making good use of their elusive, mythical nature to really emphasise the wrongness. They work great as antagonists, ominously looming over the narrative with a creepy sense of inevitability, and while this arguably offers a closer look at the human and Kharadron characters and locations than the Idoneth themselves, that very distance is what drills home the fear. There’s lots to enjoy here, including the ambiguity of the Idoneth when they’re finally revealed in all their sinister splendour, and it’s a good vehicle for both an introduction to this new faction and another interesting exploration of one of the Mortal Realms.
