Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Ahriman was once the Chief Librarian and First Captain of the Thousand Sons, as well as the equerry and favoured son and of Magnus the Red. Then the Literature/HorusyHeresy happened, and Ahriman was banished. The trilogy begins with him hiding from his past under an alias, serving a petty Chaos Lord as one of his pet sorcerers.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* AntiMagic: Seraphs are blank arco-flagellants, deadly combat cyborgs whose mere presence disrupts sorcery and psychic powers. The Inquisition uses them as bodyguards. A group of more conventional blanks guards the Athenaeum of Kallimakus in ''Sorcerer''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* CapturedSuperEntity: The Athenaeum of Kallimakus is a psychic conduit into the mind of Magnus the Red. The Inquisition keeps it locked away in their secret fortress on Apollonia, where it is guarded by blanks and bound in crippled human hosts, in order to use Magnus’ knowledge against the Thousand Sons. Ahriman steals the Athenaeum to further his goals.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 88 (click to see context) from:
* MadeASlave: Hemellion, the king of Vohal, is enslaved by the Prodigal Sons after they kill his world and exterminate his people. Ahriman gives him over to Sanakht to act as a personal servant.
to:
* MadeASlave: Hemellion, In ''Exile'', Ahriman kidnaps the king of Vohal, is enslaved by navigator Sylvanus in order to replace the ''Titan Child''’s deceased previous navigator. In ''Sorcerer'', Ahriman’s Prodigal Sons enslave Hemellion, king of the planet Vohal, after they kill destroying his world and exterminate exterminating his people. Ahriman gives him over Hemellion despises Sylvanus for meekly resigning himself to Sanakht their situation, and vows to act as a personal servant.take revenge on their captors. [[spoiler:Sylvanus survives the trilogy, while Hemellion doesn't.]]
Added DiffLines:
* PossessionBurnout: The Athenaeum literally burns through its hosts. The Inquisition keeps spare bodies in an adjacent room, ready to be brought in and possessed the moment the current host starts sizzling. [[spoiler:Ahriman correctly gambles that a Space Marine could better withstand the possession than a normal human and chucks Sanakht into the Athenaeum.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* SlashedThroat: In ''Sorcerer'', [[spoiler:Hemellion slices Carmenta’s throat with a shiv.]]
Added DiffLines:
* ThrownOutTheAirlock: Carmenta vents most of the Harrowing into space after she regains control of the ''Titan Child''.
Added DiffLines:
* WetwareCPU: Carmenta can plug herself directly into the ''Titan Child'', letting her control the ship’s systems with her mind and run it with a skeleton crew of servitors. This takes a toll on her mind, however, and she occasionally has trouble remembering where ''Titan Child'' ends and she begins.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* MindRape: Ahriman damages Maroth’s mind with a psychic attack, reducing the haughty sorcerer to a gibbering, weak-willed wreck that spends most of his time crawling around in the shadows. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that Maroth is [[ObfuscatingInsanity faking it]].]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ForegoneConclusion: The trilogy is set millennia before the “present day” of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', where Ahriman is still alive and still trying to free the Rubric Marines from their curse. Ahriman won’t die, but his plans won’t succeed either.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DeathSeeker: Thidias chooses to sacrifice himself in a YouShallNotPass moment because he knows how far he will fall if he continues to follow Ahriman, and would rather die now “as a warrior who could still remember what honour was”.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ImmuneToFate: [[spoiler:Ahriman asks Menkaura to read his future in the epilogue of ''Unchanged'', only for Menkaura to discover—quite painfully—that the paths of Ahriman’s potential futures are now hidden by thorns and shadows, making it impossible to predict his actions. It’s implied that Ahriman gained this ability when Tzeentch decided to spare his life.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* HeKnowsTooMuch: In ''Ahriman: Unchanged'', it’s mentioned that almost everyone in the task force Inquisitor Malkira assembled to attack Prospero will be killed once the mission is complete, so that they can’t spread any information about the Thousand Sons.
Added DiffLines:
* WeHaveReserves: The trilogy plays up this aspect of the Inquisition.
** In ''Exile'', Iobel and her fellow Inquisitors are returning to Cadia from a long and dangerous scouting mission in the Eye of Terror. It’s mentioned that their ship’s entire crew will be executed upon arrival, just in case they were corrupted by Warp exposure.
** In ''Unchanged'', Inquistor Malkira has assembled a task force of Space Marine and Imperial Navy ships to attack Prospero. She reflects that [[HeKnowsTooMuch no one can be allowed to remember the mission]], and while the Space Marines and most indispensable crewmembers will just be mind-wiped, everyone else will be put to death.
** In ''Exile'', Iobel and her fellow Inquisitors are returning to Cadia from a long and dangerous scouting mission in the Eye of Terror. It’s mentioned that their ship’s entire crew will be executed upon arrival, just in case they were corrupted by Warp exposure.
** In ''Unchanged'', Inquistor Malkira has assembled a task force of Space Marine and Imperial Navy ships to attack Prospero. She reflects that [[HeKnowsTooMuch no one can be allowed to remember the mission]], and while the Space Marines and most indispensable crewmembers will just be mind-wiped, everyone else will be put to death.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* AnimalisticAbomination: In ''King of Ashes'', a young Magnus ventures into the Warp for the first time and encounters animalistic avatars of the Chaos Gods. Khorne appears as a scarred wolf with blood-matted fur, Nurgle as an undead moth with the eyes of a fish, and Slaanesh as a multicolored cobra with a human face. Tzeentch, meanwhile, appears as a hunched figure with the heads of three different birds stacked one atop the other.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* MyGreatestFailure: Ahriman feels a lot of guilt for accidentally transforming most of the Thousand Sons into suits of AnimatedArmor when he first cast the Rubric, and wants to correct the spell’s flaws so that he can cast it a second time and restore their humanity. ''Unchanged'' reveals that he’s repressing an even deeper sense of guilt for failing to save his brother Ohrmuzd from dying of the flesh-change.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* TheUnreveal: In ''Unchanged'', the Changeling shows its true face to Ahriman [[spoiler:after Tzeentch commands it to spare him]]. Ahriman is shocked by what he sees, but the Changeling erases his memory of the encounter and disappears before its face can be described.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 99 (click to see context) :
* PsychicStatic: Subverted. Hemellion tries to conceal his vengeful thoughts from the Thousand Sons who enslaved him by burying them deep down, only to be informed that he’s effectively broadcasting his intentions to the Thousand Sons by thinking so hard about ''not'' thinking about hatred and revenge.
Added DiffLines:
* ThoughtAversionFailure: Hemellion knows that the Thousand Sons can read minds. He tries not to think about how much he hates them for enslaving him and destroying his world, only for Sanakht to inform him that he’s effectively broadcasting his hatred for all to see.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* GlamourFailure: When the Changeling steals someone’s identity, the impersonation is normally flawless to the point that people who have known and worked with the person all their lives can’t tell the difference. When it impersonates [[spoiler:Ignis]], however, the robot Credence sees through the disguise immediately and tries to attack it.
Changed line(s) 75 (click to see context) from:
* KillAndReplace: In ''Ahriman: Unchanged'', the Changeling kills and impersonates many people—from a lowly deckhand to a Space Marine Captain—in order to get close enough to kill Ahriman. Its impersonations are flawless, and it can easily fool people who have known its victims for years. [[spoiler:It cannot, however, fool a robot’s sensors.]]
to:
* KillAndReplace: In ''Ahriman: Unchanged'', ''Unchanged'', the Changeling kills and impersonates many people—from a number of people in its quest to kill Ahriman, from a lowly deckhand to a Space Marine Captain—in order to get close enough to Captain. The one exception is [[spoiler:Ignis]], whom it impersonates but doesn’t kill Ahriman. Its impersonations are flawless, and it can easily fool people who have known its victims for years. [[spoiler:It cannot, however, fool a robot’s sensors.]]because they’re destined to die elsewhere.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* EpicFlail: Gaumata wields a morning star on a chain. It’s a force weapon, which lets him channel his psychic powers through it and set whatever it strikes on fire.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: In ''Ahriman: Unchanged'', [[spoiler:Inquisitor Iobel inadvertently enters the Labyrinth of Tzeentch and encounters Magnus the Red, who commands her to do his bidding. She’s initially cowed by him, but after realizing that Magnus can’t harm her because she’s already dead, she spits at him and starts insulting him.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* PowerGivesYouWings: Sar’iq grows a pair of feathery wings using {{Biomanipulation}} at one point.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 82 (click to see context) from:
* MasterOfYourDomain: Ahriman can petrify his own flesh and organs, which he uses to trap a Warp-Talon’s arm within his body before killing it, and later to keep the slivers of Inquisitor Iobel’s silver bullet from reaching his hearts and killing him. He’s also able to regenerate his hand after [[spoiler:Sanakht cuts it off]].
to:
* MasterOfYourDomain: Ahriman can petrify his own flesh and organs, which he uses to trap a Warp-Talon’s arm within his body before killing it, and later to keep the slivers of Inquisitor Iobel’s silver bullet from reaching his hearts and killing him. He’s also able to regenerate his hand after [[spoiler:Sanakht cuts it off]]. In ''Unchanged'', Sar'iq grows a pair of wings this way.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* SwordBeam: Sar’iq can shoot bolts of black lightning from the tip of his sword.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Rewrote the Eldritch Location entry to be more concise and add more examples.
Changed line(s) 39,42 (click to see context) from:
* EldritchLocation: Given that most of the series takes place within the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Eye of Terror]], it should come as no surprise that Ahriman visits such locations at least once a book:
** ''Exile:'' The moon where [[MadOracle Menkaura]] dwells is a solid orb of black crystal whose perfectly smooth surface is broken only by the kilometre-wide mouth of a shaft that leads into the moon’s depths. Down there is a fog-filled corridor filled with petrified figures and strange apparitions, and after walking down it for a while Ahriman suddenly finds himself in Menkaura’s lair, a perfectly spherical chamber with no visible entrance. ''The Tale of Ctesias'' reveals that [[spoiler:the moon is actually a cage that compels Menkaura—or any daemon that tries to take his place—to answer questions on behalf of anyone who seeks him out]].
** ''Sorcerer:'' Apollonia lies outside of the Eye of Terror and appears to be a normal moon at first glance, but its core contains the Athenaeum of Kallimakus, a direct link to the mind of Magnus the Red, and everything beneath the surface is honeycombed by a labyrinth of tunnels that were shaped by Magnus’s stray thoughts. Apollonia is so eroded by the Warp that the Athenaeum is literally the only thing holding it together: after Ahriman removes it, the whole moon implodes, releasing a warp storm into the system.
** ''Unchanged:'' The Planet of the Sorcerers is noted to be weird even by the standards of other daemon worlds. The whole place exists in a state of constant change: the streets and buildings of its capital city rearrange themselves even as you walk down to street, so that the cityscape is completely unrecognizable from one day to the next. The [[EvilTowerOfOminousness Tower of Magnus]] is the only fixed landmark in the city, and even then the Tower is only physically present when Magnus himself chooses to manifest on the planet; if he isn’t there, neither is the Tower.
** ''Exile:'' The moon where [[MadOracle Menkaura]] dwells is a solid orb of black crystal whose perfectly smooth surface is broken only by the kilometre-wide mouth of a shaft that leads into the moon’s depths. Down there is a fog-filled corridor filled with petrified figures and strange apparitions, and after walking down it for a while Ahriman suddenly finds himself in Menkaura’s lair, a perfectly spherical chamber with no visible entrance. ''The Tale of Ctesias'' reveals that [[spoiler:the moon is actually a cage that compels Menkaura—or any daemon that tries to take his place—to answer questions on behalf of anyone who seeks him out]].
** ''Sorcerer:'' Apollonia lies outside of the Eye of Terror and appears to be a normal moon at first glance, but its core contains the Athenaeum of Kallimakus, a direct link to the mind of Magnus the Red, and everything beneath the surface is honeycombed by a labyrinth of tunnels that were shaped by Magnus’s stray thoughts. Apollonia is so eroded by the Warp that the Athenaeum is literally the only thing holding it together: after Ahriman removes it, the whole moon implodes, releasing a warp storm into the system.
** ''Unchanged:'' The Planet of the Sorcerers is noted to be weird even by the standards of other daemon worlds. The whole place exists in a state of constant change: the streets and buildings of its capital city rearrange themselves even as you walk down to street, so that the cityscape is completely unrecognizable from one day to the next. The [[EvilTowerOfOminousness Tower of Magnus]] is the only fixed landmark in the city, and even then the Tower is only physically present when Magnus himself chooses to manifest on the planet; if he isn’t there, neither is the Tower.
to:
* EldritchLocation: Given that most of the series takes place The trilogy is set within the [[NegativeSpaceWedgie Eye of Terror]], it should come as no surprise that Terror and various other Warp-tainted regions of space, so Ahriman visits such bizarre locations at least once and planetoids on a book:
regular basis. For specific examples:
**''Exile:'' The moon Several locations are connected to the Crystal Labyrinth of Tzeentch, where [[MadOracle Menkaura]] dwells is a solid orb of black crystal whose perfectly smooth surface is broken only by stray thoughts and telepathic messages echo off the kilometre-wide mouth of a shaft that leads into walls as audible sound, and where travelers can wander the moon’s depths. Down there is a fog-filled corridor filled with petrified figures and strange apparitions, and after walking down it endless corridors for a while Ahriman long stretches of time before suddenly finds himself finding themselves in Menkaura’s lair, a perfectly spherical chamber cavernous chambers with no visible entrance. ''The Tale of Ctesias'' reveals entrances or exits. ''Unchanged'' shows that [[spoiler:the moon another part of the Labyrinth is actually a cage misty void full of floating stairways that compels Menkaura—or any daemon that tries veer off randomly and change directions when not observed, or in response to take his place—to answer questions on behalf of anyone who seeks him out]].a person’s thoughts.
** ''Exile:'' [[MadOracle Menkaura]] lives within the hollow core of a perfectly spherical moon made of a single piece of black crystal. Its interior is implied to be part of the Labyrinth, and ''The Tale of Ctesias'' reveals [[spoiler:that the moon is a "fane of oracles" which compels any daemon that takes up residence there to answer any question asked of it truthfully]].
** ''Sorcerer:'' Apollonialies outside of the Eye of Terror and appears to be a normal moon at first glance, on the surface, but its core contains the Athenaeum of Kallimakus, a direct link to the mind of Magnus the Red, and everything beneath the surface interior is honeycombed by a labyrinth of riddled with perfectly circular tunnels that were shaped formed by Magnus’s the stray thoughts. Apollonia is thoughts of Magnus the Red. The place has been so heavily eroded by the Warp that the Athenaeum of Kallimakus (a psychic conduit into Magnus’s mind) is literally the only thing holding it together: after together, and Apollonia implodes once Ahriman removes it, takes the whole moon implodes, releasing a warp storm into the system.
Athenaeum for himself.
**''Unchanged:'' ''Unchanged:''
*** The Planet of the Sorcerersis noted to be weird even by the standards of other daemon worlds. The whole place exists in a state of constant change: the streets and change. The buildings and streets of its the capital city rearrange themselves even as you walk down to street, so shift around on a daily basis, the streets echo with whispers and conversations that the cityscape is completely unrecognizable from one day to the next. The [[EvilTowerOfOminousness Tower of Magnus]] is happened centuries ago, and the only fixed semi-fixed landmark in the city, and even then is the Tower is of the Cyclops, which only physically present appears when Magnus himself chooses to manifest on the planet; if planet. Magnus himself has complete control over the planet’s weather and geography, and he can grant this power to anyone he chooses.
*** Prospero isn’tthere, neither just a dead world with a corrosive atmosphere and frequent acid rainstorms. The planet is surrounded by a Warp storm born from the Tower.pain and terror felt by its long-dead inhabitants, and several characters describe Prospero as a bleeding scar in the Warp. Anyone who enters the storm or sets foot on Prospero’s surface will be plagued by the whispers of the dead and vivid hallucinations of marauding Space Wolves.
**
** ''Exile:'' [[MadOracle Menkaura]] lives within the hollow core of a perfectly spherical moon made of a single piece of black crystal. Its interior is implied to be part of the Labyrinth, and ''The Tale of Ctesias'' reveals [[spoiler:that the moon is a "fane of oracles" which compels any daemon that takes up residence there to answer any question asked of it truthfully]].
** ''Sorcerer:'' Apollonia
**
*** The Planet of the Sorcerers
*** Prospero isn’t
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 69 (click to see context) from:
* JustBetweenYouAndMe: In ''Unchanged'', Ahriman telepathically contacts the chief sensor operator of a soon-to-be-destroyed Imperial warship to gloat that the sons of Prospero are coming home. Later, agents of the inquisition discover and revive the operator’s corpse, learn what Ahriman told him, and head to Prospero to try and stop whatever Ahriman is doing–which is ''exactly'' what Ahriman [[BatmanGambit wanted them to do]].
to:
* JustBetweenYouAndMe: In ''Unchanged'', Ahriman telepathically contacts the chief sensor operator of a soon-to-be-destroyed Imperial warship to gloat that the sons of Prospero are coming home. Later, agents of the inquisition Inquisition discover and revive the operator’s corpse, learn what Ahriman told him, and head to Prospero to try and stop whatever Ahriman is doing–which is ''exactly'' what Ahriman [[BatmanGambit wanted them to do]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* JustBetweenYouAndMe: In ''Unchanged'', Ahriman telepathically contacts the chief sensor operator of a soon-to-be-destroyed Imperial warship to gloat that the sons of Prospero are coming home. Later, agents of the inquisition discover and revive the operator’s corpse, learn what Ahriman told him, and head to Prospero to try and stop whatever Ahriman is doing–which is ''exactly'' what Ahriman [[BatmanGambit wanted them to do]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* KneelBeforeZod: In ''Ahriman: Unchanged'', Inquisitor Malkira asserts her authority over a gathering of Space Marines and naval officers by commanding the Space Marines to bend their knees.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
*BloodMagic: The Oathtaker uses the blood of sixty-four slaves to magically project its consciousness across time and space in order to confront Ahriman on Prospero.
Added DiffLines:
* TimeStandsStill: The daemon bound to Astraeos stops time while Ahriman is in the middle of a ritual in order to have a one-sided chat with him. Ahriman remains conscious and aware of his surroundings while time is stopped, but cannot move or speak.
Added DiffLines:
* WhamLine: In ''Unchanged'', the daemon bound to Astraeos introduces itself to Ahriman with a line that reveals its true nature [[spoiler:as a Shard of Magnus the Red]]:
-->Did you think that I would not have my vengeance upon you, [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay my traitorous son?]]
-->Did you think that I would not have my vengeance upon you, [[SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay my traitorous son?]]
Added DiffLines:
* WorthyOpponent: Ahriman gains a grudging respect for Inquisitor Iobel after she inflicts significant damage to his memory palace during their BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind. The respect is not mutual on her part.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 71 (click to see context) from:
* LivingOnBorrowedTime: Ahriman gets shot with a silver bullet in the first book. The resulting shrapnel can’t be removed and will kill him once it reaches his hearts, forcing him to constantly [[MasterOfYourDomain harden and heal]] the flesh around the shrapnel in an effort to slow it down.
to:
* LivingOnBorrowedTime: Ahriman gets shot with a silver bullet in the first book. The resulting shrapnel can’t be removed and will kill him once it reaches his hearts, forcing him to constantly [[MasterOfYourDomain harden and heal]] the flesh around the shrapnel in an effort to slow it down. [[spoiler:The shrapnel finally reaches his hearts in ''Ahriman: Unchanged'', but is destroyed by the reality-warping magic of the second Rubric before it can kill him.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* LivingOnBorrowedTime: Ahriman gets shot with a silver bullet in the first book. The resulting shrapnel can’t be removed and will kill him once it reaches his hearts, forcing him to constantly [[MasterOfYourDomain harden and heal]] the flesh around the shrapnel in an effort to slow it down.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* ScrewDestiny: Ahriman describes himself as a warrior fighting a war against fate itself on several occasions, and his overall goal in the trilogy is to save his brother Thousand Sons from the fate which he had inadvertently damned them to when he cast the Rubric. [[spoiler:His efforts don’t pan out this time, but the end of the trilogy implies (and the wider ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' franchise shows) that he will never stop trying.]]
Changed line(s) 114 (click to see context) from:
* SummonMagic: Ctesias specializes in the summoning and binding of daemons. At the climax of ''The Tale of Ctesias'' he’s forced to summon almost ''every single daemon he’s ever bound, all at once'', to keep the ''Sycorax'' from being overwhelmed by an endless swarm of Slaaneshi daemons. The act of doing so nearly kills him.
to:
* SummonMagic: Ctesias specializes in the summoning and binding of daemons. At He has tens of thousands of them at his beck and call, and on two occasions he's had to cross the climax of ''The Tale of Ctesias'' he’s forced to summon almost ''every single daemon he’s ever bound, GodzillaThreshold by summoning all of them at once'', to keep the ''Sycorax'' from being overwhelmed by an endless swarm of Slaaneshi daemons. The act of doing so nearly kills him.once.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* GodzillaThreshold:
** Astraeos, in an effort to rescue Ahriman from Amon’s clutches, decides to make use of every weapon at his disposal and binds Maroth’s daemonhost to himself, an act which has far-reaching consequences.
** Ctesias is forced to summon all of his bound daemons at once on two separate occasions: first to fend off the millions of Slaaneshi daemons that would have massacred Ahriman’s fleet, and later as part of Ahriman’s attack on the Planet of Sorcerers. Both times, the act of summoning so many thousands of daemons at once nearly kills him.
** Astraeos, in an effort to rescue Ahriman from Amon’s clutches, decides to make use of every weapon at his disposal and binds Maroth’s daemonhost to himself, an act which has far-reaching consequences.
** Ctesias is forced to summon all of his bound daemons at once on two separate occasions: first to fend off the millions of Slaaneshi daemons that would have massacred Ahriman’s fleet, and later as part of Ahriman’s attack on the Planet of Sorcerers. Both times, the act of summoning so many thousands of daemons at once nearly kills him.
Added DiffLines:
* SummonBiggerFish: In ''Ahriman: Unchanged'', [[spoiler:Ctesias comes face-to-face with Czetherrtihor, a [[HumongousMecha Chaos Titan]] infused with the powers of nine greater daemons of Tzeentch. He responds by summoning Doombreed, the mightiest Daemon Prince of Khorne, who makes short work of the Titan]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* WeatherManipulation: In ''Sorcerer'', Ahriman and his Circle kick off their attack on the Inquisitorial conclave at Vohal by summoning a blizzard which engulfs the entire planet.
