With the daemon lord M’Kar’s defeat, the warriors of the Ultramarines regroup in the wake of that devastating war. As the Third Company prepares to root out the last of the enemy, a threat is revealed upon Macragge itself, and only the renowned sniper Torias Telion can stop the devastation that will ensue if the foe’s plan comes to fruition.

Writer’s Commentary

Ever since I wrote The Chapter’s Due, I’ve always wanted to write more of Torias Telion. Eye of Vengeance (the audio drama that almost shares the same name) told his his battles against Votheer Tark’s Bloodborn and his infernal machines, but this story is set after that, after M’kar and Honsou have been sent packing. With short stories like these, you don’t have a lot of time to get in, establish the what/where/when with the story, but in this case it was pretty easy, as Telion’s gruff demeanour helped flesh out a lot of that with his dialogue and observations. That’s a great way to establish your setting, doing it through the character’s eyes and letting it filter through their perceptions. Plays to the ‘show don’t tell’ school of writing…

With this story, I wanted to showcase just how awesome a character and marksman Telion is, how he never, ever, lets his guard down – even when he’s on the crownworld of Ultramar. And just because the enemy army is defeated, it doesn’t mean that every soldier is defeated… It’s a grim testament to the nature of war in the 41st millennium that the force of Chaos will use every weapon at their disposal and that not even the heartlands of Ultramar are safe from their taloned reach…

And you know what, I think I want to use Telion as a major character in the next arc of Ultramarines books.

So if this story has whetted your appetite for more snipery, scouty actions, check out what else Telion’s been up to by clicking here and here.