HH Master of the First

[Cod]

http://www.blacklibrary.com/horus-heresy/master-of-the-first-mp3.html

I've been recovering from minor surgery which sadly went wrong and I'm browsing the web and found this!

Looks really good. I know its for HH but you know DA's are interested whichever millenium they're in

[Master Ciaphas]

I like the cover...I dislike the idea, that it is Mr. Thorpe writing the piece. CZ Dunn, ADB, Mike Lee - all far better at writing Dark Angel fiction in my humble point of view...

[Cod]

Just downloaded it, listened to it and I really liked it.

Don't want to spoil it for anyone but just like the BL write up says, it fills us in somewhat about the dissent on Caliban, ties in to events in 30k and 40k and has a twist

Also interestingly it includes a female officer from the Imperial Army Garrison stationed there, the Caliban Defence Force Regiment.

[hummus]

In the clip why is astelan talking to a cockney?

[HaSY]

Irony and twist of things of 30k when we come to 40k especially hahahaha...

Love the fluff here

[Lord Lorne Walkier]

Good story.  Like the filling in of who did what and why.

[Phoebus]

I can't say I was really a fan of this particular work.  It's satisfying in that it provides an update on the doings in Caliban, and provides some light in the actions of Luther and Astelan specifically, but much of it struck me as the product of author's fiat... and I found the conclusion to be somewhat unsatisfying.

 

The voice acting is quite good, with one glaring exception:

 

 

Melian, one of Astelan's subordinates (last seen in "Call of the Lion", from the ​Tales of Heresy anthology) sounds utterly unlike what one would expect of a Space Marine Captain.  His voice actor seems to ape a caricature of a Dickensian working-class Londoner, which ruined my suspension of disbelief.

 

 

The general plot more or less connects with what we "knew" from Angels of Darkness:

 

 

Melian seeks out Astelan on behalf of a group of Terran Dark Angels - including other Chapter Masters who were basically "exiled" by the Lion - who are concerned about the changes Luther has brought about since the events of Fallen Angels. Specifically, they are against the shift of the Legion to the tenets of the Order and they point to the fact that Luther suspended vows of fealty to the Emperor as a sign of his impending treason.  The rumors delivered by transports from some years back (implied to refer to the Heresy kicking off) are what is fueling this discontent.

 

We know that Astelan took Luther's side despite him basically announcing he was rebelling against the Emperor at the end of Fallen Angels, but his subordinates clearly didn't know this (which makes sense; you don't exactly advertise that sort of thing).  Astelan thus plays along and convinces the Terrans to lead a revolt against Luther and take him prisoner.  His bait involves the Astropathic Choir that remains at the Northwilds Arcology, which is controlled by the Jaegers - whose commander is loyal to Astelan.  He proposes to the traitors that they legitimize their revolt by sending out messages to Terra and the Lion requesting orders in light of Luther's transgressions.

 

The Terrans agree, rally their loyal warriors, and march to their target.  They go without their Chapter Masters and Captains, who have joined Astelan to arrest Luther.  At the Grand Master's chambers, Astelan reveals the double-cross and helps Luther subdue them.

 

Astelan closes off the story by revealing that his loyalty to the Emperor was cynical at best:  when his people were attacked by the Thunder Warriors, he decided it was foolish to resist an overwhelming force.  This philosophy informs his current course of action, which sees him swearing fealty to Luther only as a means to take on the Lion.  He has no intent of remaining loyal to Luther once that is no longer a problem.  One can now feel safe assuming that the "I was always loyal to the Emperor and simply hated the Lion" line that he fed to Boreas was basically a bag of lies.

Neat little tidbit of info:

Luther has "more than 30,000 Dark Angels" as of this release.  One must assume that he accelerated the Space Marine creation process beyond the "optimal" rate shown in Fallen Angels.  This makes sense; we know that quite a few of the Traitor Legions did this (with apparently disastrous results), so this may have aided in the corruption of the Fallen.

 

 

The low point of this audio drama:

When the double-cross is revealed, the Dark Angels who marched against the Northwilds Arcology simply surrender.  Granted, they are facing the armored divisions of the Jaegers and aircraft flown by the Calibanites loyal to Luther, but it struck me as utterly ridiculous that these Space Marines - who were rebelling because they believed Luther stood against the Emperor - would simply throw down their arms and be taken captive.  This is doubly disappointing, given that Gav had Corswain turn tail and run from daemons in The Lion.

 

 

"Master of the First" is 35 minutes long.  It adds valuable insight to Astelan's mindset.  Other than that, though, I wouldn't recommend it unless someone was driven to be a completionist where the lore of the Dark Angels or the Horus Heresy are concerned.

[Isiah]

Thanks for that overview Phoebus.

 

Cheers

I

[Captain Semper]

Good sum-up Phoebus! :tu:

 

I think that the story has a great concept behind it. It explores a different angle of Heresy and shows that not all fallen have necessarily the same agenda. Frankly there is enough material there for a full-blown HH book that would stand way above the two existing DA books out there (both of which I dislike for different reasons).

 

If there was enough build up and showing all the different elements of treachery it would become the ultimate "Fallen" book and a point of reference for future publications. As it happens it was too short to give the necessary depth to all the involved characters. Pity.

 

I also think (and this is a big statement) that Astelan is developing to be one of my favourite 40k villains!

[Isiah]

... about time we had a few more methinks ... aside from Luthor, Cypher and Astelan are taking all the limelight ^_^.

 

Cheers

A

[Phoebus]

Isiah,

 

You may remember that three of Astelan's principal Captains are named in "Call of the Lion":  Galedan, Astoric, and Melian.

 

 

Of those, while Melian remains loyal, Galedan seems firmly invested in Astelan's course of action.  Perhaps he will take on a larger role in the future, but I kind of doubt it.

 

 

The reason for this is that the amount of attention given to events in Caliban makes it difficult to focus on a larger number of characters.  Now, if the number of short stories or audio dramas were to increase...

 

Captain Semper,

 

Spot on.

 

I have nothing against Mitch Scanlon, but I increasingly feel that Descent of Angels is an unnecessary part of the Horus Heresy.  How many of the well-written entries in this series genuinely suffered for lack of a novel dedicated to telling its relevant legion's origin story?  With a few extra expository chapters (giving a little introduction to the legion and its cast of characters), Fallen Angels could have stood on its own.  The origin events of Descent could have been reserved for a novella and perhaps a couple of short stories and audio dramas.  This would have made sense where the chronology of the series is concerned (the Dark Angels are relevant as of Diamat, but not so much before) and would have made it easier to justify a Caliban-set novel right about, oh, now.

[Isiah]

Isiah,

 

You may remember that three of Astelan's principal Captains are named in "Call of the Lion": Galedan, Astoric, and Melian.

 

 

Of those, while Melian remains loyal, Galedan seems firmly invested in Astelan's course of action. Perhaps he will take on a larger role in the future, but I kind of doubt it.

 

 

The reason for this is that the amount of attention given to events in Caliban makes it difficult to focus on a larger number of characters. Now, if the number of short stories or audio dramas were to increase...

 

 

Thanks for that. I'm not familiar with Call of the Lion.

 

Cheers

I

[Prot]

I guess I'll give this a shot. I'm always looking for good DA fiction... I do agree though, I've had better luck with other authors.

[Phoebus]

Isiah,

 

I assume you are familiar with Angels of Darkness.  Astelan describes the incident that earned him exile in that novel:

 

“El’Jonson was enraged,’ Astelan answered, eyes closed, shaking his head. ‘He banished me and my Chapter back to Caliban, and we were replaced on Altyes by Mentheus’s Twenty-third Chapter. Oh yes, is it not convenient that they were only three sub-sectors away? Our shadows had been there all the time. I protested but El’Jonson would not even give me an audience. Thus it was that our exile on our homeworld began.”

 

Excerpt From: Gav Thorpe. “Angels of Darkness.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/B2fBB.l

 

 

"Call of the Lion", however, paints a different picture.  At the beginning of the story ...

 

... it had been more than four years since [Astelan's] Chapter had been in contact for a substantial resupply.”

 

Excerpt From: ... Gav Thorpe. “Tales of Heresy.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/7bCZy.l

 

 

Astelan is not "shadowed" by Mentheus; rather, he is part of a task force that includes his Chapter (of Terran Dark Angels) and that of Belath:

 

“Belath’s fleet and Chapter had joined Astelan’s only two weeks earlier in the Calcabrina system. Astelan had been informed by Belath that the Dark Angels’ primarch, the Lion, had sent Belath to add his forces to the expedition.”

 

 

Excerpt From: ... Gav Thorpe. “Tales of Heresy.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/7bCZy.l

 

If the Altyes incident happened at all, it had to have occurred at least four years prior to this story.  Even if that is the case, it is obvious that Astelan was not exiled following this campaign, as he claimed.  Rather, he continued to command his Chapter and pursue the Great Crusade.  In fact, there is not even a hint that he was previously censured in this story.  If anything, Astelan and his subordinates simply express their curiosity at the fact that another Chapter has joined them in a sector of space with a dearth of worlds to bring under Compliance.

 

Astelan's purported refusal to callously sacrifice innocent civilians to expedite war does manifest in this story, though.  In "Call of the Lion", Astelan insists on pursuing a peaceful line of communication to achieve Compliance on the world of Byzanthis.  Belath, by contrast, argues for a more aggressive approach.  Tragically, events lead to conflict between the local humans (who feel as if they are being invaded) and the Dark Angels (who won't exactly take "No" for an answer). The story ends with Belath reporting Astelan's actions to the Lion while claiming the Terran disobeyed him somehow.  This is a rather bizarre turn, since the story began by making it clear that Belath was the junior party.  He certainly is never shown giving any orders to Astelan, or relaying any from the Lion.

 

Of course, that humanitarian bent goes contrary to the events described in "Master of the First", where, as stated above, ...

 

 

... Astelan is revealed to be rather cynical and pragmatic in his views of power, how one wields it, and how one should respond to those who have it.

 

 

So in the end we have an Astelan that is quite at odds with himself.  Events described in Angels of Darkness don't reconcile with events shown in the Horus Heresy.  The personality expressed in Call of the Lion doesn't match with that shown in practically every other release that features Astelan.

[Brother-Sergeant Bohemond]

Based on what the audio story claims to purport about Astelan's reasoning for his actions, I think we can reconcile the two stories. He is not necessarily humanitarian but anti slaughtering "innocents" in the name of the Emperor and prefers a peaceful method (perhaps reminiscent of what he would have preferred when he was younger?). When his true cause reveals itself, he is more pragmatic about doing so in order to achieve that cause.

 

Angels of Darkness should be read as a guy who is trying to lie himself out of a hole and cast doubt and division within Boreas' mind, something he achieves relatively well it should seem. He is manipulative, as shown in other publications including this one, and is definitely one explanation for the way he tries to justify his actions. Astelan, simply, is a liar, manipulative double-crossing traitor who might care - at least a bit - for the lives of innocents when it doesn't further his own, personal cause.

[Phoebus]

Brother-Sergeant Bohemond,

 

That's about as well as I've seen an Astelan theory expressed.

[Chaplain Lucifer]

I hopes this is the final nail on Astelan's coffin and some stop taking his "truth" as gospel.

[Isiah]

Indeed. Too much stock has been put into what Astelan's being saying for far too long.

 

Cheers

I

[Captain Semper]

I think the HH series are trying to clear the Angels of Darkness ambiguity starting with "Loyalty is its own reward" and finishing with "Master of the First".

 

It also shows that the Lion, apart from being firmly in the loyalist camp (even more than Guilliman from a certain angle) he was also right in his choice to marginalize Astellan.

 

However it is still unclear to me what the motives of the Lion were in choosing those to be stranded in Caliban. I get why he lost confidence to Luther and why Astellan also lost favor but it appears from the "Master of the First" that there were plenty of fiercely loyal DAs on Caliban. Why were they chosen to be left behind? (I don't buy the troop training mission for a minute). Of course we do not know the ultimate fate of those so we'll have to see...

[Brother-Sergeant Bohemond]

Perhaps as a check on those who were disloyal on Caliban? I mean, why let the people you don't trust have full reign of the homeworld including your recruits without some form of failsafe. The loyal Astartes could have been what he was hoping, or planning, to act against Luther/Astelan if/when they turned. Perhaps he even left Cypher with some sort of instructions 'just in case Astelan/Luther/others stuff up heres what to do...' instructions which the knowledge of are lost between Jonson descending to Caliban and its destruction. We know he was a great tactician and strategist, while he might have trust issues, he probably had some sort of plan.

 

Of course, I suppose he was ultimately hoping that he could trust Luther. Or, he thought he was, in a way, honouring Luther not expecting him to turn on him. He made Luther steward over the most valuable world under his control. He entrusted his very home to Luther to look after. Perhaps he saw it as some sort of honour for Luther? Perhaps he intended it to be the best honour he could give him now that Luther had tried to kill him? Or some sort of penance?

 

I guess we will likely never know why he made the snap decision to send Luther home, or, at least, all the reasons. Was it a deliberate slight? Or an honour? A penance? 

 

Of course, the story has some twists to make. Jonson still has to return to Caliban, the loyalists are still alive. People will remember that it was Lion el'Jonson who led the Crusade which rid their world of the beasts, not Luther. It was el'Jonson who united Caliban, not Luther. Luther was there as his aide, his friend, his number 2, his steward - and now that steward was turning on the Lord, the liege, the Knight-Lord of Caliban. I cannot see Caliban turning on the Lion enmasse without some resistance.

 

I look forward to more revelations and to see where things go. We also still have the loyalties of Zahariel and Cypher to test.

[Phoebus]

I'll never be able to really make sense of the Lion's exile decisions.

 

I get sending Luther back to Caliban.  Luther and the Lion were like brothers.  Luther was the Lion's oldest friend, and his mentor to boot.  His near-betrayal on Sarosh would have been an enormous blow to the Lion.  On the other hand, the Lion had to face the fact that Luther came to his senses at the eleventh hour and was obviously remorseful.  Just as importantly, the Lion had to take into consideration that Luther was enormously important to Caliban - and Caliban was going to form the recruiting pool for his legion.  Killing Luther, or making his near-betrayal a public fact, would have been incredibly detrimental to the Dark Angels' portion of the Great Crusade.

 

Everything else, though?  Astelan, and the other Chapter Masters?  It makes no sense.  If you don't trust someone to fight for you, you don't trust them to train your future warriors.  That's author's fiat right there:  "we needed a rebellion/betrayal for the story, so the Lion had to send a bunch of people capable of rebelling/betraying him back to Caliban."

[Captain Semper]

If you view the moving to Caliban as a "demotion" (and that's how the most prominent DAs view it) it does make sense to have Astelan there. ;) What it doesn't make sense is the rest of the apparently loyal DAs who rebel under Luther's rule (which shows that their loyalties have been to the Emperor and the Lion all along).

 

Of course it could be that all of the veterans on Caliban had at one time or another displeased the Lion, not necessarily in terms of lack of loyalty but rather something like an error of judgement or a slow response to an order or a military mistake... In fact other than Luther (and to a certain level Astelan) it didn't have to be disloyalty the reason to fall from favour... I'm sure that some (most?) of them wouldn't even be aware of the slight they been silently "accused" of.

 

This theory explains also the different behaviour and agendas of those stranded on Caliban. They were not there for the same reasons and therefore they did not share the same experiences nor the same convictions.

[Phoebus]

I think you're on to something re: different Chapter Masters being on Caliban for different reasons.  I need to listen to the audio again to see if any of the loyal Chapter Masters are qualified as being there by "exile".