Darkoath, by Chris Thursten, carries on the story of the Brand Oathsworn tribe introduced during the final book of the Dawnbringers series.
Essentially, Brand has been duped into helping Archaon and Skreech Verminking corrupt the ley lines of Aqshy with warpstone, not realizing that this is all part of the plan to manifest Blight City, the Skaven capital into the mortal realms. The big problem here for Brand, which he only realises too late, is that the chosen location for this new piece of real estate happens to be his own home.
The Darkoath tribes have inhabited this particular area of Aqshy, holding their own against orruks and Khornite marauders, ever since Sigmar abandoned their ancestors and fled to Aqshy during the Age of Chaos. The Darkoath are the descendants of those who didn’t quite make it to the safety of Azyr in time. The hurt caused by Sigmar’s closing the doors on them runs deep and when the Sigmarites return and start attempting to reclaim the land they abandoned only a few generations ago, the Darkoath react with violence and hatred towards those who were once their kin.
In the absence of any of the so-called Order gods, the Darkoath have since made pacts with the dark gods instead, offering oaths to them in exchange for certain boons. The dark gods, unlike Sigmar, have always been true to this contract, and have been there to bless the deeds of the tribes. Having said that, Gunnar Brand prefers to keep all gods at an arm’s length, trusting only in his own might.
The story joins Brand just after he barely escapes the Skaven betrayal with his life. His tribe are barely ekeing out an existence with the constant threat of ratmen everywhere. You can literally see the mountain homes that they have known for centuries crumbling beneath their feet as they are forced to make the agonizing decision to leave.
The opening chapters beautifully capture the deep pain caused by the idea that the Brands may have to abandon their ancestral home. Even the very landmarks they had been accustomed to since birth are crumbling away amidst the cataclysmic desolation wrought on their land.
The sense of betrayal is also wonderfully poignant in this novel. The ancestral echoes of Sigmar’s abandonment still loom large in Oathsworn cultural memory, and the fresh wounds of the Skaven duplicity cut deep. Indeed, the whole oath system developed among the Darkoath culture is a counter measure against betrayal. Loyalty is of fierce importance to the Oathsworn; when an oath is made, it is kept – with dire consequences if it is not.
We see this when a young, excitable youth overextends and makes an oath he cannot keep and must face the repercussions for his mistake. Gunar Brand is the one who has to dish out the punishment, despit the fact it is clearly the last thing he wants to do. Yet oaths, integrity and tradition are the man’s values, and he’s going to stick to them. The incident succinctly and effectively tells the reader everythign they need to know aboout Brand.
Readers like to favour the underdog and Thursten uses this to illicit our sympathy for the Darkoath. It can be hard to write ‘the bad guys’ in a way that makes the reader genuinely care for them, but the novel does this well. You really can’t blame Brand for throwing his lot in with the dark gods when the, supposedly, good ones have let him down.
All the way through, Brand has a code that he and his tribespeople adhere to. They make oaths to the dark gods in exchange for boons and are unshakable in their adherence to that code. This makes them different to other Chaos devotees who seek power at any cost. Brand will not compromise himself or give into the greater corruptions of Chaos, instead walking the line of a strange kind of honour. He has integrity and inner strength, which is something that we often find missing in some of the Order characters. Indeed, such strict adherancy to traditions and Darkoath law really makes you wonder how someone like Brand would be tagged with the Chaos keyword, whilst someone as self-serving and chaotic as Morathi has the Order one.
Brand detests most other Chaos worshipers. He thinks nothing of hacking through Khornite marauders who have sacrificed their sanity for the blessings of the blood god, something a good Oathsworn would never countenance doing. But, furthermore, to Brand, the same demented fervor he sees in the eyes of the blood-thirsty reavers is mirrored in the eyes of Sigmar’s fervent zealots too. To Brand, anyone who abandons all sanity and self-determination to the will of a higher being is a fanatic, and not to be trusted.
Thursten’s portrayal of the Cities of Sigmar is very well done and makes it easy for the reader to hate them. They are arrogant, entitled and not adverse to committing gruesome acts brutality. I totally found myself routing for Brand and his crew as they tried to take them down.
Brand’s crew – the five models found in his model set – are all certainly ‘of a type;’ grim and hardened by their brutal existence, but they are also each in their own way compelling. Broken Nadja is the ever-present, slightly creepy old witch who sees more than she lets on. Dendrel Direbrand plays the part of the fiercely loyal, but not afraid to speak his mind, oldest friend and confidant. Singri, Brand’s independently minded daughter, is finding her own way and doesn’t always meet with her father’s approval. She has certain sympathies with the Sigmarite enemy, but also a deep rooteness in her own ancestry.
Warqueen Tanari is particularly interesting; and old frenemy of Brand, who saved his life at Chakrik’s Folly when the Skaven’s betrayal first became apparent. They clearly have a deep respect, but also wariness of each other – yet they both walk the same path and exhibit the same deep sense of honour and tradition. Their unspoken and spoken relationship throughout the book is one of the more compelling aspects of the story.
As for Gunnar Brand himself – he is a Chaos champion on the Path to Glory, but not like all the others we see. He is not cruel or self-centered, he will not achieve his goals at any cost. This is particularly apparent when we come across another Chaos champion in the story on his own Path to Glory, who is willing to do whatever it takes, and who has no scruples or standards when it comes to achieving it.
Perhaps the most compelling characteristic of Brand, though, is that he is also a massive overthinker, and extremely self-aware – something that Tanari mocks him for. Brand constantly questions himself as to what kind of leader he wants to be, and what kind of leader his actions make him. In a strange way this makes him one of the better examples of true leadership in the Age of Sigmar universe.
The plot is a simple one, and mostly engaging, however, at times I did find myself zoning out from the book. It didn’t always grip me and I wasn’t always motivated to turn the page to see what would happen next.
I think the reason for that was that at no point did I ever think Brand would fail. Any obstacle that was thrown his way was overcome with relative ease – yes, he got kicked about a bit, but getting stabbed, shot, bitten or burned didn’t really do much to him, so at no point was I ever worried that he might not succeed in his quest. Brand was just better than everyone else, so you knew all the way through that he was going to be fine.
Overall, I hope we get to see a lot more of Brand and the Darkoath in the future. I can’t think of any other Chaos protagonists who are as sympathetic and relatable. Thursten does a great job of bringing him to life on the page and I hope he’lll get the opportuity to tell some more of Brand’s story in the future.
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