There’s room in the Mortal Realms for all kinds of stories in all sorts of locations, and with his short story The Deeper Shade CL Werner gives us a classic villainous tale of deceit and treachery, set on a desolate stretch of haunted coastline. The Tzeentchian sorcerer Thalinosh of Charr has led his warband to the shores of Gharn in search of a lost artefact of great power, which he intends to reclaim and exploit. Putting his magics to good use, Thalinosh ventures deep beneath the water despite the threat of a horror that even the wild creatures fear.
This feels like vintage Werner – a story that could almost have been plucked from the World-That-Was, populated by horrifying monsters and devious, backstabbing characters. There’s not a great deal of subtlety at play, in either the prose or the plot, but that’s not really the point. This is a story that’s all about the fun – of exploring a monster-haunted cave, of watching a villain discard his minions when they’ve served their purpose – and there’s plenty of it! There’s a suggestion that it might be the precursor to a larger story – which would probably be a lot of fun too – but it works perfectly well as a satisfying, pulpy standalone story.
This was released 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.
