Part of the Angels of Death collection of micro-short stories, Peter Fehervari’s The Crown of Thorns is a tale of the Angels Penitent, a lesser-known Chapter with grim origins. Brother-Sergeant Montaig is charged with bringing a young neophyte before the Crown of Thorns, the assembly of Chaplains who preside over the Chapter, to face punishment for sinning against the Penitents’ creed. As he escorts the prisoner through the dishevelled fortress monastery, Montaig’s thoughts dwell on the turning point in his brotherhood’s recent history, and the consequences – for himself, the neophyte and the Chapter as a whole – of their bitter faith.
For a story so short – surely only a couple of thousand words at most – this crams in a phenomenal amount of texture and backstory on top of a compelling narrative and tantalising links with other Fehervari stories. It’s as bleak as they come but hugely compelling, as Montaig’s moral dilemma illustrates the broad strokes of the events leading to the Chapter’s evolution from the Angels Resplendent to the Angels Penitent. Who are these characters, what made them susceptible to embracing such a profound change and what does it mean for the Chapter’s future? These questions and more are posed over the course of the story, and while answers are few and far between there’s a grim enjoyment to be had in exploring them.
Thank you for reminding me in a stylish and insightful fashion that I have to delve deeper into the Dark Coil (question: can one ‘delve’ into a coil?) by purchasing this Fehervari’s nugget. I really hope the Black Library will take the hint someday soon and give this man’s work the proper anthological treatment it deserves. They did just that with the Magos for Dan Abnett’s “Eisenhorn & Friends” material quite recently, and the Fehiverse seems to stand comparison to the Daniverse, if I am to judge.
Thanks so much for taking the time to look back on this old story, Michael.
A lot of unexpected plot threads and concepts came out of this one so I’m very fond of it. It was also fairly painless to write – almost as though it wanted to be written;).
Schattra, many thanks for your interest in my stories. This one is fine as a stand-alone, but complements ‘The Thirteenth Psalm’ particularly well since it’s effectively the Angels Penitent origin story. The two can be read in either order. There’s more on their chapter, albeit in its former incarnation, in ‘The Walker in Fire’.
Pilgrims of the Coil tend to use the word ‘dive’, but delve also works! Another term for veterans is ‘Coil Stalker’, as a reference to the Tarkovsky film, which is one of my enduring loves.
If you’re interested in the Coil please have a read of the interview I did on here. It goes into the metaphysics in detail.
While I’d love to see an omnibus of these stories I fear they’re too obscure for that, but perhaps one day. Right now there’s a lot riding on ‘Requiem Infernal’…