The Age of Dusk [60K] [SECTION 54 IS UP!]

[L'Arpenteur]

to axil: for the side stories : I think two of them are counting : the fatemakers and the eridani records (the two just below this topic) BUT i'm not sure if they're fully canon (in lord Lucan's terms).
Fatemakers doesn't seem to bring contradictions (and the story is almost completed and WORTH READING GO GO GO) and the eridani records are ...well really good but sometimes get extra-bold on its forces evaluation to say the last. I would say it's worth reading as "legends" inspired by true events and distorted by times and madness (the whole passage on the encounter between the 2nd (lost - unknown) primarch with Russ is extra epic).

[Terkael]

Just wanted to chime in and thank LL for his wonderful stories. I have been following it for years and am stoked for any more additions to this wonderful work (by anyone ) I also wanted to let folk know that I have taken the liberty of backing up every section from both The Nightmare to Come and the Age of Dusk into individual files. We can't risk this story being lost!

If there are any comments or concerns, please let me know!

[Col.cain]

I just want to say this is an amazing story and I hope you continue to update it lordlucan

[pipboy3000]

Thanks LL for the amazing work You have done. I cannot fully express my admiration for the scope and variety of the stories you have told here. I must have read this and The shape of the nightmare through at least five times.

As many have said I hope you can continue to post updates and that brings me to my question:

LL, what do you think of GW FINALLY advancing the 40k plot? and, while it's impossible to retcon these new developments into your story, will it effect any of your plans for this ongoing project?

If this is a question relative to this board I'm also interested in the opinions of others. Having not read any of the new books, only March White Dwarf and some second hand online accounts, I'm curious how others rate the new plot developments and how they think they compare to Nightmare and Age of dusk.

Personally I'm happy that GW has taken this long overdue step but I'm worried they are making up for lost time and are moving way too fast.

[L'Arpenteur]

GW...GW never changes Pipboy 3000

[LordLucan]

If this is a question relative to this board I'm also interested in the opinions of others. Having not read any of the new books, only March White Dwarf and some second hand online accounts, I'm curious how others rate the new plot developments and how they think they compare to Nightmare and Age of dusk.

Personally I'm happy that GW has taken this long overdue step but I'm worried they are making up for lost time and are moving way too fast.

I like that they're advancing. There also seems to be a suggestion of something akin to the deep warp rising in the new fluff, and of course Ynnead has risen (quite different to my version of Ynnead, but still).

The strange thing is, I started 50K because GW never advanced their plotline, which gave me free reign to do taht without contradicitng canon. Now they're advancing the timeline, they've made this timeline truly alternate

[ArmstrongDicksmasher]

The strange thing is, I started 50K because GW never advanced their plotline, which gave me free reign to do taht without contradicitng canon. Now they're advancing the timeline, they've made this timeline truly alternate

Eh, what you've done makes more sense and is alot more fun to read than what GW are doing, they should let decent writers take over, their take on the devolution of the wolves was cringeworthy.

Dont use this as an excuse to stop working, keep on with your timeline we all know its better, they should have bought it off you or hired you instead of making their own up.

[helix123]

@LordLucan

Dude. I've been reading into GW's new stuff. I've read Lance of Heaven in Horus Heresy... So there was this Navigator in the Black Glass. You know what he calls the Seethe? DEEP WARP.

Mother of God, your timeline is fucking legendary enough that even GW has to take note of your epic fanfiction.

I can't find any other fanfiction that can outshine yours.

[neos speer]

Where I can find the galactic map of "The age of dusk"?

[L'Arpenteur]

I got it, someone made it before, but I don't know how to put it here again ? someone knows how to add picture ?

okay, so i still dunno, but this should do the trick : http://hpics.li/d5cba27

[psyscope]

Thank You LL, I hope all is well and I hope you write more down the road. I always check for additional postings by you. Your writing was more interesting than the Black Library.

[Sumeragi Atsukuni]

@helix123 Lord Lucan is the Astronomicon.

Eh, what you've done makes more sense and is alot more fun to read than what GW are doing, they should let decent writers take over, their take on the devolution of the wolves was cringeworthy.

Dont use this as an excuse to stop working, keep on with your timeline we all know its better, they should have bought it off you or hired you instead of making their own up.

Exactly. But considering Games Workshop's tendency to treat its customers as a bunch of children

If this is a question relative to this board I'm also interested in the opinions of others. Having not read any of the new books, only March White Dwarf and some second hand online accounts, I'm curious how others rate the new plot developments and how they think they compare to Nightmare and Age of dusk.

Oh boy... where to begin with ?

- Babaddon the Armless has ceased to be an armless faillure, as he managed to get a new implant that other Space Marines do not have : Saruman's arms. And as everyone knows, Saruman has veeeeeery long arms. These arms, Abaddon, who previously took centuries to gather and organize a Black Crusade, has managed to send a huge ass army right in the heart of Ultramar. The Realm of Ultramar. One the most heavily defended and well protected places in the Galaxy, so that it was one of the few places that managed to stay civilized all the way up to 60k, and who, in 40k, managed to win against Tyranid Fleets. At this point, it has become factual : only when the writter is Lord Lucan Abaddon can be awesome, or even just... be a good character.

- Note that the Eye of Terror is on a side of the Galaxy... and Ultramar is on the other side.

- The Ultramarines let unknown strangers and xenos ride their pimpin vessels all the way to Ultramar, where they have an audience with Papa Smurf, insult him several times without getting executed on the spot by the huge blue Galaxy famous Chapter Master who could kill them with his pinky finger or unleash upon them hundreds of Ultramarines and probably hundreds of thousands of planetary defense troops. And all that time, Calgar was there instead of leading the war against the Black Legion.

- According to Games Workshop 7th Edition Grey Knight Codex, Grey Knights have names. But that's just a bunch of made up crap, that may change at any moment. No matter that their is written KALDOR on a certain someone's personnal banner, that for some reason has no effect, because Grey Knights can't wear banners on their backs, unlike Codex Vanilla Marines. And so, their is a Grand Master called Voldus who is claimed to be the Warden of the Librarius instead of Aurikon. So, now, not only the dubbious Warlord Traits have been nullified in the idea that they would be linked to the 9 Grand Master's titles, but they too. So, now it's neither about "Your dudes" nor about the Fluff of 40k... confused, yet ? Games Worshop had Fluff issues since 3rd Edition at least, and it became worse and worse over time : when Priestley left, it seems that the people who had read the actual explanations about how Power Armours and Terminator Armours work had all gone extinct among the staff.

- Belisarius Cawl is an over 10 thousand years old random mechanicus guy who made a promise with a Primarch and developped an armor that makes the wearer nearly immortal, but somehow no one has any record of any of that. In game, I saw Guilliman being killed by a Renegade Imperial Knight, and even getting up like a boxing champion, with only 1 Wound left / healed, and destroying the Knight - who previously had been perfectly fine - in one Assault. In the story, they somehow managed to put the damn armor on. It's a wonder why they don't democratize it... imagine, your whole army of Blood Angels who is not only happy to be allied with Necrons, but also "will be back" just like them ! Unfortunately, it will never happen. Why ? Because Cawl, in over 10 thousand years worth of Mechanicus clerical things, hasn't learn anything about diplomacy !

- Let's not forget Saint Celestine who kicks Abaddon's ass, even though her sword has become unable to damage Terminator Armor. Otherwise, it is believable considering that Abaddon's Daemonsword has become a piece of junk, nowhere near the power it had when it's rules and Fluff were written, or even when the infamous Chaos Space Marines chapter was written.

- Oh, yeah... I nearly forgot. Remember the Emperor's sword that, like, all Space Mariens Chapter have for some reason ? Well... it's no longer called "Iron Sword" or "Steel Sword" because references to the Iron Age have stopped to be a thing; and it's not fucking Force weapon, even though the text depicting Horus and the Emperor's duel clearly shows that something akin to a Force psychic power was used against Horus and that the Emperor's last Life points were taken by the Perils of the Warp (remember the era when Psychic Powers had somehow a relationship with the Spirit, Mind and Willpower, and thus with Ld values ?). At least, it "explains" why the Emperor is racist against Eldars : if he try to fight against an Avatar, all his melee attacks will become useless for some reason, even though he could just punch him with his Golden Eagle Power Talons or something...

- And it's not just Olden Fluff that the staff of Games Workshop and the Black Library writters don't read. They don't read modern Fluff too either ! For example, Ahriman suddenly becomes friendly with Magnus instead of being in exile for turning nearly all the Legion to dusty slave rowbots. Other example ? Kairos, who is supposed to know all the possible futures, didn't foresee the most cliché possibilities. So it's not just Abaddon who can be awesome only when Lord Lucan is writting about him, Roboute Guilliman and the Red Corsairs too... ! Truth is probably that they can't help to use famous codex characters and nothing else, even when it is impossible.

- Plus a lot of other crap.

- Games Worshop's recent Fluff causes sighs. Lord Lucan's fanfiction causes soul crushing emotions.

The strange thing is, I started 50K because GW never advanced their plotline, which gave me free reign to do taht without contradicitng canon. Now they're advancing the timeline, they've made this timeline truly alternate

Unless it's their own timeline who is the alternate one...

[ArmstrongDicksmasher]

@ Sumeragi Atsukuni you are completely correct, too many authors in the black library contradict each other, and the best writers like Dan Abnett dont get the chance to have a say in how the story progresses, it seems they reserve that right for the least talented and intelligent hacks in the upper echelons of GW to have that prestigious right.

It's funny though, the HH series is amazing and all the authors involved keep reading each others work and cross reference and even skype each other to make sure inconsistencies like this DONT happen, why cant they do it with something soo important like universe progression? ridiculous, yet another fail by GW.

[Sumeragi Atsukuni]

Thank you for this answer, ArmstrongDicksmasher.

It's true that the Horus Heresy is awesome in many ways, but, still... I consider the work done on the Primarch is sometimes shallow, compared to what we would call Great Litterature (and of course, compared to Lord Lucan or the Eridani Records, who are comparatively more to my taste... but even with Lord Lucan, I disagree with more than a few points, such as, for example, the idea that Khaine and Khorne are somehow the same... which is impossible considering that Khaine is probably hundres of thousands or even millions of years older than Khorne). It is not just how they converted to Chaos, but a lack of "adherence" to the "archetypes" that they represent. It goes to aspects of their personalities to their places and interactions in the setting, even all the way to the way they were represented and their esthetique.

Not to mention Lorgar who is bashed upon because of rampant anticlericalism in the current ideologies. Pretty ironic considering that Horus is named after, well, Horus, an egyptian god that is described by Eliade - if I remember correctly, in the Forge and the Crucible - as a deity that embodies the divine spirit as a whole ; making him, basically, the embodiement of what humans should be like and/or what Man truly is. Sheds a whole new Grimdark light on Horus' Heresy, don't you think ?

The authors may skype each other, but it doesn't seems like they have read, even summaries of important early books from the original authors, such as Slave to Darkness and the Lost and the Damned, not mentionning Ken Rolston's two unpublished huge ass books mighty compendium on Warpology : Realm of Sorcery & Realm of Divine Magic ! That would have spared us a lot of punishment interesting ideas, such as Grey Kngiht's vessels traveling nearly instantly throughout the damned galaxy, even though the fastest possible is;

for example, in the case of a 1000 Light Years =
24 hours inside the Warp minimum = 1 Month in Real Space
and 4 days maximum = 6 months in real space

That also explains the lifespan of certain characters, especially Chaos Marines. So, in other words, if the blockus of the Eye of Terror was complete, and stopped Chaos from recruting, the Imperium could have starve the Chaos Legions to death through war of attrition.

I understand that taking that kind of "rules" into account may be difficult; but, to take the Gathering Storm case as an example, they could have invented a long term plot from Abaddon, allowing him to look much smarter and thus like a bigger threat than what he has been up untill now... But instead, the usual modus operandi of Games Workshop is to make up whatever seems convenient to them at the moment (sounds just like a Democracy, where abollition of reality is what is the most in line with the voter's will...).

[BigDaddyCalgar]

LordLucan explained the nature of khaine and khorne in a different post, which I'm just going to repost so you can see. I hope it helps you understand it a bit more:

Ok, Khaela mensha Khaine is a complex warp entity in this setting (and indeed in 40K itself). But I think I should explain it from the start: [This info is taken from the eldar codex, the necron codex, xenology, liber chaotica, and embellished with my own ideas.]

(EDIT: This simple post has grown into a whole huge flashback section. Blimey. Didn't expect to be writing a history of the eldar empire...)

During the war in heaven, the old ones created the young races to help them fight the Necrons and the C'tan. However, to begn with, the young races were not sufficiently advanced enough technologically to help the Old Ones militarily. However, the old ones could make use of their creations' vast psychic potentials.

They did this by manipulating the mythologies of their psychic children. The Old Ones had these races create vastly powerful warp entities from the very stuff of the warp itself, to use as weapons in the war in heaven (think of these warp entities as being many time smore powerful than a daemon prince, but completely unaligned to any chaos power, as chaos hadn't risen from the deep warp yet at that point in history). But over the millions of years of the war in heaven, these warp entities began to be worshipped by the growing alien civilisations, which not only empowered the warp entities but also gave them identities. They began to look just like the gods of the young races' mythologies.

These warp entities could only be conjured into battle by certain powerful psyker heroes from the young races. Eldanesh was one of these super-psykers (likely having psychic powers comparable to the pre-golden throne emperor).

Khaine was the second strongest warp entity, and was initially a valiant warrior god, who led the young races into battle against the Yngir and the mirror devils. But during a climatic battle with Aza'gorod the Nightbringer, he burst the necrodemris of the C'tan, and the necrodermis bonded with the warp entity. This anchored a portion of Khaine's power in realspace, but also started to twist the warp entity in unforeseen ways.

At the climax of the war in heaven, the old one civilisation seems to collapse, as tides of enslavers and various other warp predators and proto-daemons* surged fromt he warp to knacker up everything. The eldar and the young races managed to protect themselves, and weather the nightmarish storm. They were the most technologically advanced of the surviving young races, and decided to enact a little payback on the necorns, who were weakened frm their own little civil war between C'tan and necron. But the necrons seemed to give up and retreat to their hidden tomb worlds.

The eldar then declared themselves the heirs of the old one empire, and conquered the other young races. Khaine was at the forefront of these wars too, but the warp was making him more and more unstable; he was becomign sometihng of a mad berserker. This was because the infant god Khorne was rising fromt he deep warp, drawn by the bloodshed and carnage of the wars in heaven. The Khaine in the warp was becoming Khorne, while the living-metal clad Khaine was being driven mad by its influence. he eventually turned on the eldar, and murdered the Eldar Emperor Eldanesh. This new war created a war between eldar, as the xenarch (the eldar allied to Khaine) fought the Asur (Asuryan's adherents, the Imperial Eldar). But eventually, Khaine was brought under control*, and the emprie was reunited. The rest of the gods no longer manifested in reality (the eldar myths said Asuryan decreed it, but it is more likely the new Eldar Emperor made it illegal to summon the gods, who were essentially WMDs. Either that, or all the old 'god-caller' eldar, like Ulthanesh and Eldanesh were gone, so the eldar simply lost the ability to summon them).

Khorne and Nurgle and tzeentch took they final forms in the medieva period, and Khaine only survived khorne's rise due to being anchored to reality by the living metal

Khaine was kept under control y the eldar empire, and for a million years they prospered. Then the fall happened. The eldar gods and msot of the eldar race were devoured/absorbed by She who thirsts, with only three exceptions. Isha did not bond with slannesh, as nurgle managed to absorb her first. Cegorach, who seeme dto come from nowhere, fled to/bonded the webway with his harlequins. Khaine was fought over by slannesh and khorne, who both tried to absorb him. This caused Khaine to be shattered. His warp self became par tof khorne, and his realspace self was shattered into many avatars, which the craftworlders took away to store.

Fastforwards to 60K, and the Incubi steal the various avatars, and melt them down in a planetary mantle, as a war goes on above, fuelling his being with soul energies, and bonding the avatar fragments together like some sor tof psychic cement. When he finally rises, Khaela Mensha Khaine is risen again, to finish the war he started millions of years ago. The galaxy must be conquered, the other gods defeated, and the eldar must be exterminated and the other young races must be brought to heel.


*I won't go into any more detail on this point, but consider that the aspect temples were founded by the Phoenix Lords; warriors who combined the aspects of Asuryan, with the aspects of Khaine. We can see this as a kind of 'truce' between the two factions of the eldar. The Phoenix Lords brought the xenarch's rampaging bloodlust under control, just as Asuryan subdued Khaine.)

[BigDaddyCalgar]

Also, LordLucan, how were Tzeench, and Nurgle born in the Age Of Dusk Universe?

[Chaos Prophet]

I don't know about you guys, but I am rooting for Lorgar and the Travesty to whip Vulkan and the Pentus Primarch's collective asses.

Praise the Deep!

[OshawaIcedHands]

It's been a while, but now that I have seen what has transpired I only have this to say...

Spoiler: WHY YOU TAKE SO LONG, LUCAN?

Yes, I know you're pairing up with other writers for the outliers saga, but is there a chance for us to see the glory of the LORDLUCAN?

[darkblade_90]

abaddon the Armless has ceased to be an armless faillure, as he managed to get a new implant that other Space Marines do not have : Saruman's arms. And as everyone knows, Saruman has veeeeeery long arms. These arms, Abaddon, who previously took centuries to gather and organize a Black Crusade, has managed to send a huge ass army right in the heart of Ultramar. The Realm of Ultramar. One the most heavily defended and well protected places in the Galaxy, so that it was one of the few places that managed to stay civilized all the way up to 60k, and who, in 40k, managed to win against Tyranid Fleets. At this point, it has become factual : only when the writter is Lord Lucan Abaddon can be awesome, or even just... be a good character

I disagree, while I like Lucan writing a lot, some of is stuff hasn't age quite well, like the idea that Abbadon finally breaching Cadia after TWENTY black crusade, the super massive suicide ritual to awaken Ynnead(if anything, this new avatar of Ynnead is more of is style), the whole Yarrick storyline and even Ultramar descending to madness feel force.

Note that the Eye of Terror is on a side of the Galaxy... and Ultramar is on the other side

That is explain by the new warp storm, the cicatrix that allow chaos to hit almost everywhere, even new ed said the time of chaos waiting in one corner to atack is over.

- Belisarius Cawl is an over 10 thousand years old random mechanicus guy who made a promise with a Primarch and developped an armor that makes the wearer nearly immortal, but somehow no one has any record of any of that

Suuuuuure because record getting lost or secret is so unlike in Warhammer.....really, this was use all the damn time "oh yeah, I have this ancient tech around here, I just never told you about it"

Because Cawl, in over 10 thousand years worth of Mechanicus clerical things, hasn't learn anything about diplomacy !

Cawl?....the guy who have been alone for so many years except with is clearly-not-Al-Who-is-also-Insane? the guy put Mad on mad science.

I nearly forgot. Remember the Emperor's sword that, like, all Space Mariens Chapter have for some reason ?

No, Are you not confusing with piece of armor they have in terminators?

it's not fucking Force weapon, even though the text depicting Horus and the Emperor's duel clearly shows that something akin to a Force psychic power was used against Horus and that the Emperor's last Life points were taken by the Perils of the Warp

Is a psyker weapon, Guillman start to think about it in the dark imperium novel.

For example, Ahriman suddenly becomes friendly with Magnus instead of being in exile for turning nearly all the Legion to dusty slave rowbots

And suddenly you are the one who is not reading the old fluff, back in the 13 black crusade, it said he kinda patch up thing with Magnus so the precedent is there,in warzone fenrirs Magnus said the grunge of the past means nothing with their vindication so close.

I disagree with more than a few points, such as, for example, the idea that Khaine and Khorne are somehow the same... which is impossible considering that Khaine is probably hundres of thousands or even millions of years older than Khorne.

That is not just Lucan Headcanon but something that was kinda canon back in warhammer fantasy, back them it was implied that Khaine and Khrone were the same thing, that the old world deity were elven ones, them that all gods were related and so own until end times when they decide to retcon that into being each their on god, clearly Lucan decide to headcanon something about it.

! That would have spared us a lot of punishment interesting ideas, such as Grey Kngiht's vessels traveling nearly instantly throughout the damned galaxy, even though the fastest possible is;

That also explains the lifespan of certain characters, especially Chaos Marines. So, in other words, if the blockus of the Eye of Terror was complete, and stopped Chaos from recruting, the Imperium could have starve the Chaos Legions to death through war of attrition.

No and no, warp travel have been use as excuse to move the speed of the plot so that is not surprising, and there will be always way to chaos to get even if not from cadia.

they could have invented a long term plot from Abaddon, allowing him to look much smarter and thus like a bigger threat than what he has been up until now

Abbadon ALREADY is a treat, the whole "failbbadon the useless" is just a stupid meme because way before we didnt really know about the black crusades so the common idea was he was stop each time, ADB have talk a lot about how that meme have become fanon with the fandom(I blame /tg/ on this).

Anyway about the quote about comparing this with recent GW fluff....Is funny but I will said that recent fluff match the Shape of nightmare to come VERY well, let see:

-Cicatix diving the galaxy in two? doesn't sound much different that Western/Eastern chaos imperium, if anything that would give Lucan a excuse to have both chaos warlords a opportunity to dish out.

-The idea the emperor never loving is sons? it make the prospect of Star father more likely and waaaay scarier.

-The yvarnie, and avatar of Ynnead? that sound better than farseer someone decide to commit a mass suicide because Grimdark.

-Magnus attacking fenrir....doesn't change anything to Shape of nightmare to come, and more recient fluff like Magnus been shater allow him to match better the whole Ahriman-empire stuff.

-And finally there is the issue of background reveal in the novels like the Beast arised, the idea of Ullanor and armageddon being one and the same make Vulcan decision to use the plan as is capital as some sort of Irony.

So if you ask me, the new fluff while clearly contradicting Vucan here, dosent really change THAT much.

[Chaos Prophet]

@LordLucan

Two questions:

1. Why is Cadia called the Heart of the Eye of Terror if it was outside the Eye of Terror during the Age of the Old Imperium? Why did Lorgar choose that place as his capital and not Sicarus? And the Primarch crusades against the Travesty make almost no mention of any Crone World Eldar forces, or the Impossible World that the Draziin-Maton first sprung from. What are they doing as the Travesty burns?

2. Is Lorgar trying to become a Chaos God? Because I'm still not sure what he's doing on Cadia.