Oracle

Gods and Monsters #1

by Liane Merciel

A Broken Realms short story

Mysterious cults are rising all across Anvilgard, and the local witch hunters are so hard-pressed that even Stormcast Eternals are assigned to lend their aid. Etanios, one such champion, is contacted by a rogue aelf sorceress with a dire warning, and he must act fast if he has any hope of escaping a rapidly transforming city.

READ IT BECAUSE
See the city of Anvilgard change from the perspective of one of its inhabitants, and witness the divine power of Morathi-Khaine up close.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy

37 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 24, 2021

About the author

Liane Merciel's novels include Pathfinder Tales: Hellknight and Nightglass, Dragon Age: Last Flight, and The River Kings' Road. She has written for game companies including Pathfinder, Dungeons & Dragons, and Warhammer's Black Library. She lives and works in Philadelphia.

Reviews

[Luke Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, trying to recapture my enjoyment of the Warhammer Age of Sigmar universe, and given my love of the Daughters of Khaine faction, when I stumbled upon this short story, I had to give it a whirl. I'm a bit late to the scene (I'm currently like a kid with a new toy on Kindle) but I loved the backstory of Broken Realms: Morathi and this tie in to that epic shift in the AoS universe was a cracking little read...

"The desolate coastal city of Anvilgard is under attack. Mysterious cults behind a wave of poisonings and assassinations among the upper echelons of the city are running rampant, and with the witch hunters and the Stormcast Eternals of the Anvils of the Heldenhammer Stormhost at the breaking point trying to deal with this chaos, Etanios of the Hammers of Sigmar volunteers to help bring these nefarious wretches to justice. But when an old friend contacts him, Etanios learns these assassinations are only the opening move in a revolution headed by a being who would make herself a goddess..."

I need to reread Liane Merciel's addition to Covens of Blood, since she reuses characters from her short story in that portmanteau novel, but this was an epic little tale that highlights some of the potent aspects of the Stormcast Eternals and the Daughters of Khaine, interspersed with some epic battle scenes and jaw dropping moments, particularly the point where Morathi herself makes an appearance; you can literally feel Etanios' trepidation at facing her... I suddenly feel inspired to get back into Age of Sigmar after reading this...

[Noah Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should not have put this off for as long as I have. There's a lot of character packed into this short and Liane's got real talent portraying both Stormcast and Morathi's Daughters of Khaine. This is a great read if you're looking to add shade in the events of Broken Realms: Morathi with a human (and not-so-human) element.

Bonus points for the heebie-jeebies at Morathi's first appearance!