‘The Harrower’ – David Annandale (Black Library)

In the twisted remains of the Eightpoints, Archaon has raised the Varanspire as an indomitable bastion against the puppet forces of Order. From its halls, the call of the Everchosen resounds across the Mortal Realms, summoning the worthy to his side. This is a deadly odyssey, for the Exalted Grand Marshall has no use for the weak. Rival warbands of every stripe battle across the wastes of the Bloodwind Spoil, a land filled with unspeakable horrors, to earn Archaon’s favour. Some, such as the Iron Golems, use brute force and unwavering discipline to achieve their ends. Others, like the Corvus Cabal, strike from the shadows, cutting throats and taking trophies of their hunt. All seek to claim their rightful place at the Everchosen’s side, but few will survive even their first nights in this tormented domain.

I’m in the middle of a couple of longer books at the moment (‘Shadow of the Gods’ and ‘Empire of Grass’, thanks for asking 😉 ) and I’ll be honest, there are no signs of me finishing either any time soon. Blame, well… everything else really 😉 I thought I’d try and break things up a little bit (otherwise the blog would get a little boring while you waited for me to finish…) with some ‘Age of Sigmar’ short stories, which are always a good way to make sure that I stay awake on the bus and don’t miss my stop (it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened).  ‘Warcry: The Anthology’ has been waiting patiently for its turn and I thought I’d break with my normal way of doing things by reading the first story first. ‘The Harrower’ it was then…

Gravskein leads her warband, the Unmade, deep into the wastelands, looking for the Tower of Revels that haunts her dreams. Will any of them live to find if and if they do, what plans does the tower have for the survivors…? 

I say ‘wastelands’ because it’s not clear (to me anyway, don’t blame the story for me not noticing though, I’m really tired today) whether the Unmade make it into the Bloodwind Spoil or not (or if they were even trying, come to think of it…) If they did, well… I clearly should have been paying more attention. If they didn’t… I love that Annandale isn’t afraid to kick off an anthology with a warband that doesn’t make it, doesn’t really come any where close to making it because their minds are elsewhere. I don’t think Archaon would have taken them anyway… 😉

The journey itself is fairly straightforward but what really makes it work is the constant conflict that Gravskein has to negotiate along the way; whether it’s the enemy in the warband’s path or the rumblings of discontent that Gravskein must manage within her own band of warriors. There is a constant tension then that adds just the right amount of spice to their journey. You have to admire Gravskein for holding it all together really, even though I wouldn’t fancy my chances against a psychotic warrior made of blades (even if I was having a good day…)

And that’s the other part of what makes ‘The Harrower’ a disturbing yet compelling read. There is a rich vein of body horror running through the story that hints at some pretty extreme Slaanesh worship (maybe, Gravskein enjoys what she has done to herself…) along with a bit of commentary on how legends can have an affect on how societies form. From where I was sat, it looked like the Cenobites were paying a visit to the Mortal Realms (both in commentary and the whole look of the thing) and to be honest, that’s never a bad thing, not for me anyway. The Mortal Realms need more of this if the setting wants to show just how horrifying it can be. This is a really good start.

‘The Harrower’ is a more than solid opener to the ‘Warcry Anthology’ and another example of David Annandale’s ability to almost effortlessly write tales that are true to the game (and it’s setting) but make them damn creepy, all at the same time. More of that for me please 😊