General

There’s been a storm (no pun intended) of Emperor’s Spears info lately, in terms of lore, painting guides, and rules on actually rolling some dice to Redden the Earth.

If you’ll excuse the brief personal note, this has been somewhere between a three-way of surreal, surprising, and overwhelmingly cool. The novel was wonderfully received, but I never expected the explosion of hobby that spread in the aftermath. Suffice to say, there’ve been a few serious Bucket List moments in this whole deal so far, including the Index Astartes article in White Dwarf, getting mentioned on freaking Goonhammer and on Auspex Tactics, and the maestro himself, Duncan Rhodes, doing a painting tutorial.

I figured it might be cool to break my blog silence by gathering up a guide of useful resources for anyone thinking of entering Elara’s Veil and collecting a force of Emperor’s Spears.

1. Index Astartes: Emperor’s Spears – Warlords of Nemeton (White Dwarf #460)

First off the bat, a bunch of lore, a painting guide, and the rules for actually fielding the Chapter. Index Astartes: Emperor’s Spears appeared in White Dwarf #460, and is a rewritten, updated version of the IA booklet available in the limited edition of the first novel. Getting to do this was so damn cool, and I’m hugely grateful to the 40K and WD teams for asking. Special Thanks to Elliot Hamer for doing all the hard, crunchy stuff in the article involving dice. He deserves way more credit.

In addition to all the fluff and crunch, it also heavily features an incredible Emperor’s Spears army by Tangui Jollivet, which has to be seen to be believed. You may already know him online as Melcor, and you can find him on Instagram, which is absolutely worth doing if you’re a hobby inspiration thief, like me.

Here’s a sample of his process:

2. Goonhammer

I’ve had nothing but love for Goonhammer for ages now, as you may recall from the massive interview I did with them not so long ago. They’re my go-to place (and I guess, just about everyone’s go-to place, these days) for written rules analysis, reviews, and army tactics.

Goonhammer covering the Spears, like, as an actual thing, as a thing in the actual game, was so surreal and unexpected that at first I was too weirded out to be happy, but that faded fast and I remembered to act and react like a normal human being. My therapist would be thrilled, I’m sure.

Goonhammer published some immense coverage – so much so, in fact, that I’ve almost forgiven them for not giving me my own monthly column, which I in no way deserve and have zero ideas for, yet still desire out of basic-arse entitlement.

Firstly, there was a review of the Index Astartes article that served as an overview to what was available to the Spears on the tabletop, and then the more comprehensive Start Competing: Emperor’s Spears, covering their rules in detail and way greater context. As if that wasn’t enough, they also did How to Paint Everything: Emperor’s Spears, with a variety of methods.

Obviously, this is all very cool and good.

3. Auspex Tactics

Then there was this. As a fan of Auspex Tactics (congrats to him, by the way, on his channel blowing up last year), it was just as laughably surreal to see the Spears’ Chapter symbol in a thumbnail, and hear such a familiar voice actually saying my name out loud in a video. Just when you think you’re used to this job, honestly, it throws you some seriously weird and awesome curveballs.

Auspex Tactics goes into some immense detail on the rules and tactics for the Emperor’s Spears, and as many of my friends will know (and are sick of hearing), I’m big on recommending his videos in general.

4. Duncan Rhodes’ Painting Academy

At the risk of being blasé, it’s Duncan, so I really don’t need to say much, here. Duncan did a beautiful Spears’ painting guide only a few days ago for the Painting Academy, and that’s absolutely the coolest sentence I’m likely to write this week. It’s in the members’ section, and the DRPA comes with a subscription, but as you’re about to see from my own inbox, it’s a subscription I’ve happily been paying myself for ages, so I have no hesitation recommending it.

5. RaddiCraft (An Airbush Guide)

Last but not least, the painfully talented RaddiCraft did a conversion and painting guide, which is waaaay out of my skillset since it uses an airbrush. Incredible results, though! There’s not much to say for this one, because the image basically speaks for itself…

A tedious addendum: This video is quite literally the only time I’ve ever heard my name spoken online in the exact way I pronounce it. All three parts of it, the Aaron, the Dembski, and the Bowden. I actually laughed when I heard it, because it was so novel.

A doubly tedious postscript: I’m not precious about the pronunciation at all (with a name as fucking weird as mine, you can’t afford to be precious) because I know different pronunciations are a regional and national thing, not a disrespect thing. Most of my friends, and even Katie, my own wife, say one or more parts differently to me – usually the Aaron or the Bowden. It’s all good! If we cross paths in real life, I promise you I couldn’t care less how you pronounce it – except for this one Turkish guy who called me Haroun, which was The Coolest Shit.

6. Sonic Sledgehammer Studio

Mea culpa, I missed Sonic Sledgehammer’s painting guide, from an earlier draft of this post. I’m always fond of Sonic’s work because he’s so jovial and I both crave and respect positivity in the hobby. This one’s especially handy since it’s about my level of painting talent.

I totally can’t forgive him for not drilling the barrel, though. For shame, man. You’re an artist! How could you?

I hope that’s of use to you, gang. Happy, uh… earth-reddening and… Spearing.

Hmm. Really should’ve thought harder about a decent sign-off, there.

Which I keep forgetting to mention here.

BEHOLD.

I hope you like it.

I made it myself and it took me 193 years of intensive labour, which is true and really not a lie or an exaggeration, so shut up.

Hello and stuff.

So, in case you fancied getting the new novel several months in advance – the Limited Edition of Spear of the Emperor is on sale today, riiiight here on Black Library.com and also riiiight here on Games Workshop.com.

Go buy it. Or maybe don’t? I, Aaron, a mere human man, will not judge you either way.

Here’s a look at what’s in it:

The full list of what’s in the Ltd. Ed. is as follows:

• The novel (because of course).
• An additional short story: ‘The First Primaris’.
• An additional Afterword/outro.
• A 16-page Index Astartes book, with some ace Jes Goodwin-approved artwork that shows the making of a Space Marine in new and sexy detail.
• A transfer sheet that, as you can see, has the symbol of the Adeptus Vaelarii on it, as well as bunch of Spear icons, natch.
• A Chapter Tactics rules card.
• 3 art prints of some major characters.
• A pin badge.
• A purity seal / bookmark.
• A metal coin that is weirdly and awesomely heavy.

If you’re curious about the author’s introduction to the novel, I posted that the other day, and it should hopefully enlighten y’all a bit about the process and the themes going on. For added kicks, here’s a Rapid Fire interview I did with Track of Words for the release today.

And once more, for those at the back, here’s the link to buy it.

As you may or may not know, the limited edition of my new novel Spear of the Emperor is out for pre-order very soon. Like, imminently.

I’ve posted the blurb before, but in case all of this is news to you, here’s what the story is about:

After beseeching the pantheon of marketing demigods, they said it was cool for me to post this. So here, for your skull-nourishment and to appease the capering goblins of curiosity, is the Preface from the novel.

I hope you find it interesting.

PREFACE

This isn’t the book I planned to write. It’s probably not the book you’re expecting to read, either.

If you don’t usually care for an author’s awkward ramblings, feel free to skip ahead to the story. I won’t hold it against you. (Hey, I’ll probably never even know!) But if you’re interested in the context that helped this novel come into existence, then stay a while and I’ll get you up to speed.

I went into the synopsis phase of Spear of the Emperor with the intention of writing a traditional look at a Space Marine Chapter, with a Space Marine protagonist typical of his Chapter’s culture. I like to read those kinds of novels, with those kinds of protagonists, and I enjoy writing them from time to time, too. It’s a tradition for a good reason: those character tropes make a good foundation for exploring the various complexities within Space Marine existence. In the same vein, I also intended to explore an essentially unknown corner of the Warhammer 40,000 setting, rather than focus on the big-name, big-selling Chapters that everyone’s already familiar with.

The Emperor’s Spears were nothing but a striking, slightly unusual colour scheme, so they were safe ground no matter which direction I took them in.

On a more personal note, I was also coming off a run of novels focusing on extremely well-known characters and vastly important historical events (The Talon of Horus; The Master of Mankind; Black Legion…) so I wanted something more personal and grounded. Something on a much smaller scale than any of those other novels, each of which was a deep look into the guts of the setting, through the eyes of very well-informed characters.

So far, so good.

Several weeks into the first draft, Alan Bligh, one of my closest friends, died after a short confrontation with cancer. For a while I could barely write anything at all, for reasons that will be obvious to anyone who has ever lost a close friend or loved one. When I managed to start getting words onto a screen again, I was disillusioned with what I’d planned. I started straying far and wide from my synopsis, feeling the pull of a new direction.

Through several rewrites, the narrator went from a generic Spear officer in the middle of his culture to a human thrall, utterly on the outside of it. Finally, it clicked. Finally, I had the voice that felt right for the new story being told.

Crucially, it also finally matched more with the tone of Imperium Nihilus, which Alan himself once described as ‘Picking up the pieces of the Imperium after all the bombs have gone off.’

Using human supporting characters to highlight the differences between humanity and the indoctrinated, transhuman inhumanity of Space Marines is nothing new; I’ve even done it myself several times and I really enjoy both reading and writing about the contrasts it brings. With Spear of the Emperor, I went all-in with it. Anuradha went from a supporting character to the narrator: the ultimate outsider-looking-in. And with that shift, the story turned a little darker again. Everything became just that little bit more vulnerable.

Explaining the Spears in detail was the last thing on my mind. I didn’t want to quantify them, I wanted to show how it might look and feel to see a transhuman existence through a human lens. Focusing on the impossible weariness forced on them by the burdens that they alone can carry. Their refusal to back down, and their curious mix of civilisation and barbarism. They don’t fight for glory but for survival. They stand against the unending tide of night because someone has to do it; because they’re the last ones left who can still fight. Their brother-Chapters in the Adeptus Vaelarii are either dead or punishingly diminished. The duty and burden of defiance is theirs until the last Spear falls.

The largest appeal was the idea of a character who wasn’t always sure what they were looking at when they were confronted with the mysteries and horrors of a story. Someone who wasn’t immune to fear or distant from human emotion.

What is it like to live among Space Marines? What does it feel like to serve them, and live on the edge of a culture you will never be truly part of? How would serving such masters change you and your perceptions? What do their customs and rituals look like from the outside? How does it feel, to see them move and fight and so utterly annihilate their enemies with inhuman brutality? And what is required of you, to live up to their expectations?

The flip side of that coin is the heretical half of the equation. What would it mean, to meet the Adeptus Astartes’ dark reflections, the Traitor Marines? What would it be like, when you’re not clad in ceramite and holding a bolter—you’re just a man or a woman standing in front of a monstrous creature that has lived in the warp / a mythological underworld for uncounted years?

Anuradha offered a great chance at seeing all of this from an entirely human perspective, and a less formal voice for the text. She hasn’t been through hypno-indoctrination like a loyalist Space Marine; she isn’t an angelic weapon that struggles to understand the people of the empire she was born to defend. Similarly, she isn’t motivated by bitterness and hatred; burdened by the magnified emotional array of Traitor Marines, either.

Anuradha is at the mercy of her masters, drawn into the wars they make her fight. Like all slaves (or indentured servants, if you will…) she has very little agency over the direction of her life, but she can choose how she reacts to the twists and turns of circumstance. Narratively, that was a challenge, but one that defined the tone of the story. She has agency, but it’s personal and grounded. She doesn’t decide the fate of wars. She chronicles them.

She’s just a human—albeit valuable to her masters and highly trained—in a difficult situation. The story isn’t about her, not really, as you’ll see. But she’s perfectly placed to tell it.

Like many high-status Chapter thralls, Anuradha is extremely knowledgeable in several specific areas. Unlike most of my previous protagonists, she’s also not equipped with a Space Marine’s angelic, psycho-indoctrinated detachment to process it. She’s just a human like you, me, and everyone else.

For those story elements, I ended up being fortunate enough to get a huge range of first-hand accounts from soldiers, firefighters, police officers, doctors… And more than once I thought back to conversations I’d had years ago, when I was lucky enough to talk to a man that had served in WWII as a deck gunner on HMS Belfast; and to another that had been in a Japanese POW camp and who’d undergone privation and torture. I wanted to jump as deeply as I could into the psychology and headspaces of people who’d done these things.

On several occasions I kept backing out of writing the book, considering redoing it in a more traditional way; playing it more to type with a Space Marine protagonist doing Space Marine things, totally informed about the setting and his surroundings. In the end it was my friend, the author John French, who stopped me redrafting it all from scratch yet again:

‘Are you trying to be popular or are you trying to realise a vision? To quote the man you dedicated it to, “You need to have the courage of your convictions and not be infirm of purpose”.’

All of this is a long-winded and self-indulgent way of saying that I loved and hated writing this book. It wasn’t harder than any of the others, but it certainly felt different. I can’t even imagine what you’ll think of it.

I don’t use Alan’s death as a banner or an excuse for any changes I made. If you like the novel, that’s great, and if you don’t, that’s on me—not on the circumstances surrounding the book. Whatever the truth, I hope you enjoy this look at the benighted half of Mankind’s empire.

Welcome to Elara’s Veil, domain of the Emperor’s Spears.

Skovakarah uhl zarûn.

So, uh, I may have dipped my quill in some League of Legends-coloured ink.

My short story ‘From the Ashes‘ is about a Freljordian tribesman called Kegan Rodhe, who in time will become… a certain fiery fellow you may be aware of, by the name of Brand. It was awesome to write some characters outside of ceramite armour and carrying bolters, for a nice change of tone and pace.

I also recently co-wrote the comic Ryze: The Burning Lands with Ant Reynolds (of the Word Bearers Trilogy fame). Ant is now at LoL HQ over there in the New World. I’m given to understand Ant is also still irritatingly good-looking, but let’s not hold that against him.

(But seriously, just look at the handsome fucker. So annoying.)

In a move that will shock nobody, Ryze: The Burning Lands is about (gasp!) the Rune Mage, Ryze.

Both of these projects were an absolute dream to work on, not least because I got to brainstorm with Laurie again, as well as meeting some ace people at Riot Games, who I won’t namedrop here for fear of embarrassing them. (But really, their names were Ariel Lawrence and Ellie Pyle, and they lovely and blessedly generous with their ideas.)

If you’re into LoL, I hope these new tales scratch some of your itches. If you’re a stranger to it, I hope you dig this look into Runeterra.