Key Comics Vault

Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 universe is blessed with having some of the deepest lore, filled with stories and histories, from the books, tabletop game, animated shows and even video games. One of the often overlooked sources for material is the comic books, which is a shame as there are some incredible tales in them, adding even more depth to the dark 41st millennium.

One such story is the brilliant Bloodquest: The Eye of Terror Trilogy, published by the Black Library and originally as part of Warhammer Monthly. Written by Gordon Rennie, the story centres around a small team of Blood Angels, led by Captain Leonatos, who are on a mission to retrieve the Blade Encarmine. This sacred blade had been lost by Leonatos in a battle with an Ork force. His exile could be the route to his redemption.

The Daemon World of Eidolon

There are some epic moments throughout the trilogy, as the battle-brothers fight across the galaxy to retrieve the blade, but it is the Daemon world of Eidolon that stands out. Their quest leads the small band into the Eye of Terror, pursuing the forces of Chaos, before the warp tears their ship apart. The Space Marines find themselves stranded on terrifying planet Eidolon, brought to life by the artwork of Colin MacNeil.

“True damnation was what I saw that day when I first looked out on the face of the phantom world of Eidolon”

Captain Leonatos

With a black sun and mountains with grim, terrifying faces, Eidolon is not a place for the weak-willed. It is here they encounter a never ending war between the forces of Chaos, all hoping to be recognised by one of the gods. Traitor legions, daemons, and huge, twisted titans battle it out for eternity.

The Blood Angels encounter a former Dark Angel, Haeroth the Damned, now one of the Fallen. Haeroth explains the world is playground for four daemon princes, one from each Chaos faction. The Blood Angels will need to travel through each area to have a chance of escaping or reaching the Blade Encarmine.

The Sea of Blood

Leonatos and the remaining Blood Angels commandeer a ship to travel across the Sea of Blood, in the territory of the Daemon Prince of Khorne. Here, they are beset by rival factions led by the prince’s favoured champions. Their ships launch projectiles at the Blood Angels, while hellish tentacles writhe from the depths. The space marines fend off an attempted boarding before being rammed by another ship.

“Blood for the Blood God!”

Arkhan the Reaver

The new attack was from none other than the Daemon Prince of Khorne, towering over even the gigantic Space Marines. The hulking brute is too much for Leonatos or even Cloten, who was afflicted with the red thirst. It requires a Marine to sacrifice themself, with a well-placed grenade, to save the rest of their brothers and kill the prince. In doing so, the Khorne god grants them safe passage to the next threat.

The Plague City

Having continued their journey by sea for an unknown amount of time or distance, things are strange on the planet Eidolon, the Blood Angels find themselves outside a walled, coastal city. The air is choked with pollution and death, as huge chimneys belch out smoke and carcasses litter the outer walls. A wound sustained by one of the marines quickly becomes infected as they enter the city, for this is the land belonging to Nurgle.

“One of you has been blessed by Nurgle’s kiss”

Lord Bubonnikus

Decay and corruption await them inside, with the inhabitants of the city of Ebolis displaying the gifts of Nurgle – festering wounds, oozing boils and rotting flesh. The marines are offered safe passage by the Daemon Prince Bubonnikus, a shrouded figure, voiced by a swarm of flies. This safe passage comes at a cost though, in exchange for their wounded comrade.

The Blood Angels refuse this toll and aim to exterminate the unclean, even ripping apart Bubonnikus in a hail of bolter fire. This is a daemon planet however and it simply moves to the infected Space Marine, forcing his brothers to destroy him. Unwittingly though, the Blood Angels had given the Plague Lord his offering and they are allowed to move on.

Vada, City of Forbidden Pleasures

Having escaped the plague city, the Blood Angels join a caravan of pleasure pilgrims, travelling to Vada, the City of Forbidden Pleasures, across a barren wasteland. The main cargo of the caravan trail is slaves, bound and garbed to serve their masters’ every twisted whim. Reaching the outskirts if the city, with domed towers and buildings, the Blood Angels are joined by thousands more pilgrims.

“Don’t be afraid of my pets. They’re always jealous when I acquire a new plaything.”

Mistress of Vada

Inside the walls, the Space Marines find every pleasure feely available, from those of the flesh, to those that intoxicate the mind. This was the most insidious place visited so far, where the threats did not appear visually but instead entered through their very thoughts. Like the other realms, the Blood Angels suffer a casualty, as one Marine succumbs to the temptations of the Mistress of Vada, Slaanesh’s chosen champion.

The Kingdom of the Changer of the Ways

Birthing swamps welcomed the Blood Angels next. They waded through a mire that brought forth Chaos spawn, writhing with tentacles and appendages, all the while calling out to the marines. This is the land of Tzeentch and those swamps were merely a first test, before the Blood Angels stood before Labyrinth, where the last and most powerful daemon prince lay waiting at the centre.

The Blood Angels could enter together, but the remaining Marines would have to find their own way through the shifting maze. Each would face their own trials within its paths, from twisted versions of themselves, to fallen comrades. All of them manage to best these individual challenges, showing both the physical and mental fortitude of the brothers.

“To walk the labyrinth of the Lord of Change is to walk the fate-lines of your own destiny.”

Haeroth

Together, they arrive at the centre which had been designed to mimic the Arx Angelicum; the powers of Tzeentch mockingly using the Fortress-Monastery to put the Marines in a state of unease. The brothers though are able to best the Tzeentch Daemon Lord’s champion, Haeroth, using the Blade Encarmine. What happens next is a tale for another time, as the story of the Blood Angels does not finish here and tells only a part of the horrors they face.

Rennie’s Bloodquest: The Eye of Terror Trilogy is fantastic for adding such a rich tapestry of detail for Chaos and Space Marines. Where it shines is how it portrays a form of society and a semblance of culture among the Chaos forces on Eidolon. How each Chaos god is represented is amazing, giving them all a unique feel and realm. Some of things shown by the brilliant artwork of MacNeil feel only possible in comics, able to visualise the scale and destruction. If you are a Warhammer fan, this is must read story.

Order a Warhammer 40k: Combat Patrol: 1/18 Scale Action Figure: Blood Angels Captain – (Forbidden Planet UK – I earn a commission)