TALKING THE LION SON OF THE FOREST! SPOILER TALK & REACTION!

Hey everyone Rho here! Today we have our spoiler discussion on the novel "The Lion Son of the Forest" by author Mike Brooks. My stand out thoughts and reaction to the main talking points I came away with.
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[@Narunata247]

I love how even when he’s fighting hallucinations of his brothers, Sanguinius doesn’t attack the Lion but simply holds his face. Really tells you how the Primarchs view Sanguinius

[@LoLo-wz3bq]

One of my favorite quotes "now I know you are a lie, Magnus never hit that hard." Lol

[@chitterlingsrtasty]

mine too!

[@BlastastiC]

I lol'd.

[@KA-yj5pv]

That line was actually hilarious

[@joshuadarrow]

'At least I knew which of my Legion deserved to die,' whispers Konrad Curze, the Night Haunter. "They all did,' the Lion growls. Curze smiles. 'And I knew that.'

[@sbeaber]

​@@joshuadarrow that was so good. So despite the obvious, it was so Curze like

[@dominusnox8231]

Here’s how he explains it to Asmodai: “I’m the Lion, and you’re not.”

[@MrJara1018]

They won’t go that route. Asmodai because of his position more than likely dealt with the worst of the worst of the Fallen, the legitimate heretics and traitors. Asmodai tries to save his fallen brothers by whatever means necessary.

[@adamplentl5588]

"You see...I'm Him. And you're not."

[@Hewrin88]

Isn't his "saving" means he kills them quickly?

[@briantarigan7685]

@@Hewrin88 nah, he legitimately recruit them back

[@cronoros]

"OK, but why don't we sleep on it?"

[@Axle2513]

The book implies that the Lion still has some disdain for Guilliman when he hears that the his legion was broke up the Lion's response that he'd have preferred Guilliman had died and not Sanguinius, he even mentions roboutes plans to improve upon the emperors own designs (Primaris) However at the same time we see throughout the book the Lion undergoing a change in his character he admits he regrets his actions on Macragge and Caliban accepting that they where all deceived. He begins to show great restraint from acting out of impulse and treats his fallen sons as an equal accepting that he has no longer a right to command them and that if they follow him they do so voluntarily he accepts his share of the blame for what happend and the hardships they faced as a result. He refuses to kill a son that challenged him to a dual to the death. It appears the Lion has mellowed and has lost his Brashness and callousness accepting this had resulted in many mistakes in the past. I very much doubt any confrontation with Guilliman will now end in a physical fight because the information given to him by his risen sons and those of Dante he knows the current state of the imperium and the circumstances of Guilliman himself reawakening into this nightmare too and all the Lion wishes to do is protect what's left of humanity and in that they all share a common goal.

[@CountDVB]

I think the Lion will probably be surprised to see how haggard and tired Guilliman would be.

[@shotgunsandsmoke]

I know the Lion is pissed about G-Man breaking his Legion up, but I'll play devil's advocate. At the time, it made sense. The traitors were routed into the Eye of Terror, the Orks were still broken after Ullanor and the Eldar were doing Eldar things. It made sense to make the break the Legions down into rapid response and peace keeping forces at the time. That time is over. I think it's time for the Dark Angels and Ultramarines and their successor chapters to reunite into their old Legions. Only these two since they are the only Legions whose Primarch has returned as, in my eyes, only a Primarch can truly command a Legion

[@markcoroneos7811]

I agree and i think that’s exactly how guilliman would explain it him when they meet. The whole “you wern’t there man, you dont know what i got left to deal with”.

[@RichardStrong86]

Guilliman knows he made a mistake breaking up the legions.

[@antonioj700]

​@@RichardStrong86 you speaking bullshit

[@williampark6103]

Good point

[@UnRu1eD]

@@RichardStrong86 He even talked about it with Cawl.

[@joechurchill6945]

I love the fact even tho it's guilliman his reaction of I'm not alone was so ... Human he's so happy that he has a living brother

[@gareth0412]

Some point in chapter 2 during the fight with the predators, it's no verbatim but helps get my point across. "They are small and weak, he supposes at one time he would consider them pathetic, when he thinks about the differences between himself and them. Now he sees only lives that need his protection. He is strong and they are weak and therefore he will lend them his strength until they no longer need it" This got me smiling. It's like he's grown so much from the quiet and standoffish "better than you" Lord to the wise and benevolent leader I wanted him to be.

[@tarantulathree-one8013]

That ending....... Roboute ...I am not alone...

[@gareth0412]

@@tarantulathree-one8013 He talks shit about Gman but I bet they are glad to see each other. Roboute himself is lonely and overwhelmed by his burdens. I can't wait to see how their reunion plays out. I'm surely hoping Mike brooks writes it.

[@thomasa8814]

Ha lets see how long they are happy after meeting

[@lavatun]

​@Tarantula Three-One they're more alike than they would like to admit.. for all his talents in administration, guilliman is no stranger to the rage the lion exhibits in battle.. don't forget that guilliman was blasted out into the void of space and his immediate reaction was to punch word bearers to death while not having his helmet on.. he led a charge against the galvorbak literally tearing them apart like russ would..

[@Dragoth1337]

I appreciate how he mentions several times he would appreciate Russ was around vs any of the other primarchs. To me that's a bread crumb. (Edit to remove "wishes", though in my opinion a wish is implied) in the end rho asks for our thoughts and opinions, and its mine that it is a wish.

[@NANA-lq5md]

Seems like it.

[@brandonwalker3107]

I was of the same mind… but after the ending to arks of omen spoiler: (vasthor completes the key and him and abadon take said completed device into the webway) kinda sets up both Eldar and Jagatai stuff…. The only exception I can think is if Jagatai is linked to Commoragh

[@ghannos9869]

He never says that at all

[@Dragoth1337]

@Ghannos he is having a conversation with some of his newfound knights saying he even misses russ more jokingly. At another point he says something to the point Russ's simple stubbornness would be comforting. There are several mentions throughout the book

[@ghannos9869]

@Dragoth1337 yeah, but never more than the others, and not several times. It's like you guys didn't read it.

[@zsedcftglkjh]

Gotta love the homage to the Lion's roots in Arthurian legends. Am I the only one who immediately thought of the Fisher King when Jonson met the Emperor fishing in a moat?

[@renaissancepress247]

You are right. Also big homage to the green knight when the heretic space marine was trading blow and beheaded. Almost note for note that story. But the dark angels won't take defeat for honot's sake - which made it totally metal!

[@TeeLow]

Not to mention the sword in the stone moment!

[@renaissancepress247]

@@TeeLow True!

[@catosicarius3262]

@@TeeLow I felt Fealty being in the stone was less a nice touch and more of being beaten silly with the Arthurian references

[@TeeLow]

@@catosicarius3262 absolutely! It made me laugh out loud honestly I think it was just a moment of the author having fun with it

[@MrZuriax]

The Red Whisper was my favorite minor character. Loyal AF! I thought the ending was a bit rushed, but it ending with the Lion learning Guilliman lives from Dante was still awesome to read. I loved the Fallen perspective and on reflection Zabriel's reunion with his Primarch was very touching to read. Zabriel was an awesome second narrator and he had the guts to ask the Lion to swear his loyalty as well, powerful stuff.

[@quannd]

I can only dream that The Red Whisper is a loyalist nightlord

[@olorin3815]

Im feeling its cypher lol

[@olorin3815]

Like red whisper has been waiting on that planet (probably for lion) and when the other 2 came 2 yrs prior he just let them chill with him but never showing his face or anything not even to the lion just that being all mysterious and stuff i feel like its cypher

[@PatrickB21]

I think he won’t be seen out of his armor because his flesh is corrupted the warp

[@olorin3815]

@@PatrickB21 nah you can see lion can smell the corruption i feel like if that dude was so far gone as to have his flesh fked up lion would know

[@new0bmij]

With all the Arthurian references, did no one else make the connection that the old king in the forest was fishing on a boat? That's a reference to Arthur as the Fisher King, guardian of the holy grail, forever bleeding from a wound by his own spear, caused not by accident but of his own ethical failings. He cannot leave Avalon to lead his knights any longer so must spend his days in exile on the island fishing.

[@ScottiPewPew]

Or, be healed by a knight, depending on which tale.. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_King

[@Timmel101]

" I OWE HIM A STRIKE!! THIS IS A MATTER OF HONOUR!!!!" "You think we conquered the galaxy with honour? You children are all the same! And this is why we love the first legion folks lol

[@BlackBirdMax]

The part when Russ arrived i was soooo excited... what a tease.

[@catosicarius3262]

dick move to be sure

[@joelfowler6998]

I want the Dark Angels to form a legion and get all 6 wings back.

[@TKUltra971]

Things I loved: Forest Walking: the Lion was for the past 10,000 years stuck in his homeworld walking the forest and not realizing where he was while sleeping. Then "When he was ready and STRONG ENOUGH" (big theme) he was able to emerge back into reality. This has been one of the coolest ideas produced by GW in a very long time. And its unique to the Lion himself. How freaking cool is that? The Fallen being redeemed: We all knew stuff was sideways with how vague the destruction of Caliban was, now it all makes so much more sense. A topic not really touched on too much is the internal workings of a legion when they turned traitor or had a civil war. Like I really don't believe every loyalist was killed of the respective legions in the Istivaan disaster. The Lion's relationship with his brothers: the final chapter approaching his second relic (lol he's totally a green knight). He longed to reconcile with Russ, had more respect for Sangunius than we first thought and still has beef with Guilliman. Although in the book he attempted to understand how he functioned with his mind created to handle several tasks at once. (this is also a nod to the Dawn of Fire series where Robute explains this). King on the boat: We know who this is. But what question is he waiting for..? All and all? I loved it, I want more lore for Lion and his adventures. Now we need to see how he acts with the Dark Angels chapter, Guilliman, and others in 40k.

[@ruinerblodsinn6648]

I hope they make a whole book about Gman and the Lion!

[@TKUltra971]

@@ruinerblodsinn6648 Totally! I look forward to getting them all.

[@ScottiPewPew]

The fisher king? en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_King The tale that sends a knight to find the holy grail to help the wounded fisher king.. The chalice in the sequence may not have anything to do with sanguinius (or it might) but the Lion must quest to find the grail, the spear and heal the fisher king..

[@davisgarcia66]

This puts a whole new meaning to the Lion saying “no I thought you did something far worse” all those years ago to Guilliman😬

[@khazngray]

Yeah it was like a sneeze that didn't quite come out.

[@randyheggem6916]

What do you mean?

[@gamechanger8908]

​@@randyheggem6916 I assume this was when Guilliman asked Lion if he thought he'd side with Horus. Which Lion responds with the quote above.

[@thetraitorguardsmen.5321]

And as the light wind blows. A whisper on the wind is heard. * Cypher *

[@olorin3815]

I wouldnt be surprised if red whisper is chyper lol dude doesnt take his armor at all and doesnt let anyone see his face not even the lion

[@renaissancepress247]

It's also interesting as the idea that maybe the Emperor should die to save humanity was directly brought up here and it still being unknown why Cypher wants to be with the Emperor in person. Very interesting possibilities

[@nickperri6571]

6:02 the idea of Magnus having more mastery and potential to discover in his psycher scorcery is a wild idea

[@andresperedo1275]

Maybe he has more potential in not being a complete idiot xD

[@elias_xp95]

deep down I want a Magnus redemption arc

[@andresperedo1275]

@@elias_xp95 He got his chance, even if he was the primary cause of the destruction of the Imperial Truth. After his talk with Malcador, he just became a clown

[@jaeloli3463]

the king was the emperror, while the boat is Rowboaty Girlyman, literally carrying the whole imperium on his girly shoulder.

[@ruinerblodsinn6648]

G-man is the single most important (semi) human ever. As long as he lives there will be hope.

[@ericmumper6821]

A fun video might be to investigate what these "unlocked" powers would look like in each of the Emperor's sons.

[@TheGreektwelve]

For Row-Boogie is doing all imperial excels instantly with his mind

[@karmaascendant3936]

Not sure if the Lion had much relation to teleportation or the Warp much at all like many of the other primarchs which would have indicated towards his new ability. I feel like the new abilities ,if this becomes the norm, might be relatively unexpected

[@wisc_]

Dorn is really good at lego building

[@TKUltra971]

Corax = Giant fk-off death bird. Robute = Super Diplomacy and triple planning (Eldar Wife has benefits) Dorn = Fortification of Zeal (He becomes so angry, he agrees with Sigismund's view points 10k years prior) Khan = Warpway biking, can use the webway with his sons on bikes better than the Eldar Vulcan = "Who Want's Daddy's Belt?" Super hugs for humanity is dialed back as he loves them so much, they need to be put in line. Lion = "Enthusiastic" forest walking grandpa.

[@JacatackLP]

If Alpharius doesn’t come back with Omegon as a Stand that watches his back I’m rioting

[@harryrashid9467]

The emperor protects.

[@briantarigan7685]

The emperor protects brother

[@renaissancepress247]

Here very literally with the shield 🛡. Also the insight into how the Emperor sees things in his existence was interesting.

[@nekomancer4641]

Ok listen to me the rowboat in the forest carrying the dying king is an analogy to Roboute carrying the imperium rn 😂

[@realboomslang]

Rowboat…Roboute… you have a point 🤔

[@charleskilleen2141]

Rowboat girlyman

[@huellbadman3529]

I thought it was more like that was the emperor during the Horus heresy. Surrounded and encircled by the warp storm and gods. And then the second appearance was the modern emperor, stuck immobile on the throne with the chaos gods hungering in the shadows.

[@nekomancer4641]

@@huellbadman3529 I'm joking man

[@charleskilleen2141]

@Huell badman ur dead right. The symbolism matches the big E perfectly while in my opinion does not symbolise Gman

[@eviljagtech]

Now I want to know if G-ma is going to get a super power, or the fact that he is so damn normal it's that about him that special.

[@mcnuggets2825]

I mean it was implied a lot in godblight that his presence is growing in the warp and he may be turning into a minor warp god. Mainly due to the 10k years of worship he got sitting in stasis since that was a place of pilgrimage for billions plus all the worship he’s been getting since his return. Also the Emperor did posses him that might be a G man only thing for some reason.

[@tanavast4140]

@@mcnuggets2825 Majorkill has a fascinating theory about the Primarchs that i really like. When Big-E went to Moloch and entered the gate the first time, what he did was convince/defeat 20 minor warp-gods and took them with him, implanting then into each of his Sons upon their conception. It feels like it makes sense since each Primarch has this magnetism about them and even when you clone them, they still aren’t quite right, they’re missing that special warp-entity sauce. It has taken time for each Primarch to manifest something warp-related, but they all have in one way or another. Maybe it’s taking longer with Bobby-G just cause he’s not looking for it in himself

[@elias_xp95]

TacticusHRius

[@huwtindall7096]

We could ask what powers (pre traitor) Horus had. Nothing obviously. Although in retrospect I reckon he had a bit of the Emperor's glamour ability. How else could he be so charismatic?

[@Ragehaven]

He has the the super power of common sense.

[@renaissancepress247]

The line during the fight with Russ of focused fury against furious focus was brilliant. They are like the Gork and Mork of Primarchs.

[@Scott.webb64]

Im not sure the focus should be on him and Gmans reunion being this being tense thing. Thats the same line of thinking everyone assumed was gonna happen when the lion returned, that he would go on a rampage hunting fallen, which is the exact opposite that happened. The book clearly showed the Lion isnt the kill first, ask questions later dude anymore. If he took the time to listen to a son whose first instinct was to kill him, i have more than a better feeling he will listen to Gman without punching him. Was he initially pissed? Sure, but that got washed over once he gathered more information about the state of the galaxy. This Lion is far more reasonable and the final words of him finding out Gman was alive and taking the first to the enemy invoked a happy thought "Im not alone!". If he was pissed, it wouldnt have sounded so hopeful.

[@charlesdanaa8514]

"I expected him to be angry with Guilliman, I'm very happy he is." Yeah, I bet you were.

[@servalkorion686]

“Why couldn’t you have died Instead of Sanguinius?!”

[@pll3827]

He was angry at first, but started looking at Guilliman's good points as he considered that he might be the last primarch alive. In the end, he got desperate to have a brother to talk to - like Guilliman has been.

[@gundam116]

@@servalkorion686did he say that?

[@justsum1220]

@@gundam116 Yep

[@gundam116]

@@justsum1220 no way

[@sotiristhymodeas7055]

All of the Fallen characters are amazing! So many conversion possibilities!!! I am also looking forward to the continuation of the story arc!!!😉

[@BandOfHarjaps]

I can't wait for the Dark Angels to meet... the Dark Angels!

[@sotiristhymodeas7055]

@@BandOfHarjaps me too ...I hope it is covered in a full length novel!!! 🙏🙏🙏

[@renaissancepress247]

Very true. And it was boss how the bested the Dolorous heretics.

[@PatrickB21]

The Lion is essentially a renegade. Not answering too or fighting for the Imperium. But still fighting for humanity. Love it

[@tarantulathree-one8013]

My favorite part is that Lion acknowledged Dantioch as the Chad he is when Zabriel was talking about the similarities between Primarch and Astartes, and El'Johnson made the statement that was not always true. Even with the Geneseed derived from an autistic manchild, Dantioch was such a unit of an Astartes that a Primarch from another Legion respected him for being nothing like a petulant crybaby.

[@FyreMagyk67]

Personally, I saw this entire story as a man vs. man/self and the moment Lion faced his "brother" was the peak of man vs. self. That section was by far my favorite part of the entire book. The Lion had to come to terms with all of his failures and those he failed. He was forced to look at himself through the lens of his deficiencies and failures. He prevailed in the end, but we got to learn about all the things that haunt him and even how he felt about his brothers to some extent, both traitor and loyal. The actions and words used by his "brothers" say it all. Guilliman doesn't attack the Lion but trips him, giving us the idea that the Lion, now and/or in the past thought of him as an obstacle and constantly getting in his way. Sanguinius gently raised Lion's chin to meet his gaze and spoke sadly, giving us the sense that Lion thought Sanguinius was better than him and admired him. My favorite was his interaction with Vulkan. We know so, so very little about the relationship between Vulkan and Lion, so this felt eye-opening. Lion immediately noticed Vulkan's strength and Vulkan "hissed" in his ear asking if he would have died if the Lion hadn't gone around destroying planets. As I see it, this says to me that the Lion was impressed by Vulkan's strength and has some deep-seated regret about Vulkan's death (since he doesn't know that Vulkan is a perpetual) during the Heresy. This shows, in a small way, that he cared for Vulkan and respected him. Now, this does come from the Lion's fight against a warp creature, so nothing is certain, but that creature was specifically targeting the Lion's fear, doubts, and regrets. As someone who adores Vulkan and would count among the Salamanders, seeing this tid bit about the relationship between Vulkan and Lion was the highlight of the book for me.

[@jakandaxter1]

This is an awesome comment.

[@renaissancepress247]

It makes sense, too, as Vulcan would be most against a waste of human life. Vulcan focused on protecting human life and the Lion focused on killing humanities enemies.

[@eriqone9245]

In the audiobook, all the voice descriptions let the narrator cook. Serafax's voice was butter

[@7shelties]

Wasn’t it though. The narrator did an awesome job with Serafax.

[@renaissancepress247]

​@@7shelties He was a compelling character for sure. And showed the problems with the dark angel nature of doing everything to accomplish the goal.

[@wayneclark1981]

I love that the lion had personal growth in this, he was very well imagined here

[@slackeratlarge575]

The Emperor is clearly fighting a never ending webway battle while on the golden throne, keeping the chaos spawn out and the portal closed, and lighting the astronomicon.

[@darkinnovator2479]

No psychic abilities? The Lion could empower his sword with psychic power! He slew Kairos with a single stab, gave Daemons "truth deaths" and shattered the mind of a God-like Psyker that tried to dominate his mind.

[@chevyman19691]

Man when the Lion meets Dante for the first time really hits on the feels i think it was one of the best parts in the book. you got to think for the lion the loss of his beloved brother is still fresh to him its not even been a year or so.

[@aghostanimage]

At the end when I heard Russ.... I nearly shat myself.

[@jonharrison9222]

Guilliman dismantled all the legions - his own, by far the largest, included. He didn’t make himself leader of Imperium Secundus either.

[@MiniatureMasterClass]

GMan had the most to lose by implementing the Codex. His Legion was as fresh as a pair of daisies while all the other loyalist Legions were in ruins.

[@Michael-bn1oi]

​@@MiniatureMasterClass fresh as daisies? They got invaded by the Word Bearers and World Eaters lol

[@Ragnok21]

@@Michael-bn1oi And he still came out of it with the largest legion by a country mile regardless.

[@antonioj700]

​@@Michael-bn1oi still had over 200k lmao

[@SwordFangedWolf]

After reading the book a second time, I'm sure that Lohok is Luther in disguise, broken but loyal, looking to the Lion's forgivness.

[@apex1615]

No.

[@emersonthorpe8231]

I'm pretty sure he's just a normal dark angel whose been a bit corrupted (most likely) from his time in the warp and is still loyal but asshamed of what he looks like now and what that could mean about himself that he was marked like that

[@gamechanger8908]

​​@@emersonthorpe8231 Lion can trace chaos corruption a mile away. And assuming the pragmatic man he is, if that were the case he would of had himself "off with his head" immediately". It's more so he is heavily disfigured like Two face.

[@RA10H56]

I can imagine the lions reaction to Guilleman was "of course it is".

[@bobjohnson1633]

Maybe the watchers are normally invisible, existing in this parallel dimension and can see us, but when the lion was able to see them, they realized he was psychically attuned like them.

[@eduardblackbeard3913]

As a Dark Angel fan, this change was so needed to turn the hunt for the Fallen from a meme to an actual mission worthy of the Emperor's First Legion.

[@davidphillips8674]

How about the spear the Emperor gifted to Russ being in the warp adjacent space? It had blood on it from Russ's battle with Horus... I think it's very likely that Russ is the next to return given how much he was mentioned in this book. Gulliman, Lion, and Russ would make a great triumvirate for the defense of the Imperium. It's fairly obvious that due to Chaos' victory in the Arks of Omen series, we are in fact in the Wolf time.

[@pedropierre9594]

Good point, i think Russ will be the last to return simply because of the nature of his mission, going to the warp to do what exactly ? find a cure for the big E ? build a warp tunnel? a door ? a fortress? or simply to power up enough and to return to the emperor when the emperor requires his aid ? that feels to me like a story that ends an arc, such as maybe the return or ultimate fall of the emperor

[@neildarbyshire7038]

The Spear of Russ lies on the Sarcophagus of Garm on the planet that bears Garm’s name. This is covered in the Space Wolf Omnibus 2.

[@EduardoFlores-bt4fo]

Okay but, what about the clone of Fulgrim.

[@davidphillips8674]

@@neildarbyshire7038 Then why was it on the table in front of the Emperor in Lion Son of the Forest ?

[@MegaKing10001]

Isn’t the khan next, according to the prophecy by a rune priest if i recall

[@vaultingfrog1924]

While I know that the Lion is more than a little miffed about the breaking of the legions, I wonder how he is going to take it when Guilliman tells him he died twice to keep the Imperium together, in the absence of his brothers. I think that will take a lot of the fire out of him. What he is learning about the current state of the Imperium is going to shape that as well. His anger, I think, wont be nearly as great as some are expecting.

[@ocadioan]

I am personally interested in how Robute would explain his deaths and resurrections. The first probably with sorrow and anger at waking up in the 41k Imperium and seeing what it has become, but the second, I am more in doubt of. How much would he dwell on the Emperor's new godhood, and would he comment on being resurrected simply because he was still needed for the Empire(he has gotten a much more dim view of his father, after all).

[@C0ldIron]

Really hope we get some specific risin units in 10th. If not I’m just going to green stuff robes onto some 30k models and use them do firstborn marines.

[@Cornerboy73]

I just finished the book. Perhaps I should let it all settle a bit before drawing any big conclusions, but generally, speaking, I enjoyed it very much. He's still Lion as we know him in so many regards but now instead of just reacting ... well, ok, he still 'reacts' in his head... but he now take a moment to think about what's been said or is going on around him. He reads the room so-to-speak before speaking. He considers situations in a broader context and weighs his options and thinks about the consequences about what could happen next. He does this in an instant but for him, it's a HUGE jump in character development. Lion is now a lot nicer LOL ! I don't know how to put it, but he's really considerate to humans whether it's just normal people or his human crew. Not to say he was a bad guy to them before but he just seems a bit friendlier to them now. People actually seem to be drawn to him now as a 'protector' where once he scared the crap out of most people. NuLion's new tolerance was further highlighted by how casually some characters (especially the Fallen) spoke to him (Kai was pretty bold in his banter). 30k Lion unintentionally intimidated his own sons through his presence alone - now, sometimes Lion and his little band of Fallen felt akin to Robin Hood and his Merry Men (Some of them even LAUGH on missions - Asmodai would have none of that shit !). I agree WLR that it sometimes felt a little rushed or too easy as he travelled around assembling his squad, but it's such a new vibe for him that I found it still worked. The Fallen characters were pretty good all around with a lot more energy and character than I would have thought. To me there was no doubt any of them could have been bad guys (to be fair, any Fallen we've read about over the years were usually pretty clearly Bad Guys). Zabriel was somehow super chill around Lion yet bold too at times which I think Lion appreciated as much as was taken back by it. Could this 'everyman' former knight be a new advisor in the making? Red Whisper was cool and I really liked how they brought in a Cenobium terminator character in, complete with those awesome plasma caster weapons (Galan I think?) To be honest, I'm still not worried about Lion and Rob. His reactions, at least to me felt more like how they simply grind at each other as brothers often do. It was at least made clear that he has no intention of trying to usurp power from his brother; he seems intent on having his own Protectorate and simply being where he is needed most via his new teleport ability. I'm frankly more concerned with how he's going to be received by his own legion when they see him working with a bunch of Fallen. I really want to see him reunite the legion. The Fallen seem open to the idea more or less but I'm not sure how Azrael, Sam, Belial and Asmodai are going to take it. I think it could work - much like how most of the fallen had no idea about why they were attacked, most of the dark Angels have no idea about the Fallen. Also, interesting to note that one of the Fallen confirms that Caliban did indeed fire first on the Lion. I was glad they made that clear. I'm totally on board with this Forestwalk teleport ability. Lion has a clear mystical side to him now - there was no shortage of mystical vibes in this book. I also loved his Final Boss battle that turned out to be with, well, just about everyone at the end. He finally shook off his rust and was strong enough to beat the encounter and win his epic purple shield loot. All in all then, it was a solid read. I wasn't sure how I felt about an older Lion but now that he's regained his strength, I don't think having grey hair and wrinkles is going to mean much going forward. I think his age and experience is going to make him more compelling - I will venture a guess that his newly-developed patience and tolerance thresholds will be essential in bringing his sons together. I look forward to see what happens next.

[@hummerskickass]

I absolutely loved this book. It answered so many questions and had such excellent character development for the Lion. He changed in many ways and all for the positive.

[@AJMoustgaard]

Reading it right now, will listen later.. just wanted to add; "We stand for the Lion!!!"...

[@brandonwalker3107]

Loved that moment… especially when he called the fallen a shithead or something along those lines

[@CausticLemons7]

I love hearing the excitement in your voice!

[@pedropierre9594]

One of the best quotes i can find in the book that screams at the reader that the Lion has changed is “ I am not alone “

[@QuantemFear]

Y’a the last line was so good, and frankly to me it shows that while annoyed by RG in the past when they meet there will be no anger just manly hugs and tears…assuming one of them isn’t saving the other in a fight of course.

[@pedropierre9594]

@@QuantemFear Yeah same, i think younger Lion would have said something like " Now to deal with Roboute "

[@olorin3815]

Yeah i rly doubt there is gonna be big conflict between lion and guiliman. Like after being spooked into beliving all his brothers are dead and that he was alone he even worried if imperium would belive him and welcome him back i think he will be pretty damn happy guiliman is alive as well as for guiliman being regent lion made it pretty clear he doesnt wanna rule and he only wants to defend humanity so i see him taking over the crusade or big part of it and goin ham while leaving guiliman to deal eith political and religious bs

[@paulnjikamdoum9219]

Yes, I was waiting for this thanks Rho

[@notribadsvault]

“Identify yourself, shithead!” stuck with me through the book, as did the Lion’s reaction to seeing the form of Perturabo and saying “at least choose a brother that I ever cared for” Truly Perty is the Meg Griffon of the primarch family.

[@Spr1ggan87]

“Identify yourself, shithead!” The IP is becoming more... Americanised...🤮

[@VictorMartinez-ft2op]

Wonder what guilliman’s state of mind would be if the lion goes after him hard. would he lose his mind and strike back hard especially since 3 of his brothers, Mortarion, Fulgrim and Magnus, had all almost killed him in the past? And who would the emperor and custodies side with? That’s a strange thought

[@andresperedo1275]

They are not idiots and they know perfectly that they have to work together. They did that already before.

[@mouseketeery]

What Andres Peredo said, plus, Guilliman seems to think the breaking of the Legions was a wrong call - admitting that will be meaningful to the Lion.

[@VictorMartinez-ft2op]

Not disagreeing with either of you. The universe is a mess right now. But that doesn’t mean the lion isn’t going to question Guilliman and his decisions. Guilliman has been trying to hold the imperium together and all I’m saying is he could be a little stressed out and not in the mood to deal with extra bs.

[@adventwolfbane]

And the Lion also isn't an idiot. He will know just what kind of mess Guilliman has to be dealing with. So he wouldn't do anything to cause problems for him when they first meet or in public. Any "argument" they have will only be between them and hidden from anyone else. If anything the two will just be so glad they aren't alone that they will just accept anything the other does.

[@LordEsdeath]

I think as the book progressed and the Lion sees the state of the imperium, he will understand why Robute has done what he has. Especially as the blood angles confirm the success of the Indomitus Crusade. The last line of the book heavily indicates the lions feelings. It will be one of reunion; Not grudges.

[@Ken-yx4ig]

Such an amazing read/listen was hooked start to finish this version of the lion feels real and im ready for more

[@MrJara1018]

Great book Mike Brooks got me good when “Lemun Russ” showed up at the end. It was a brief moment but when the Russ called him a traitor the hype was real.

[@renaissancepress247]

It was!

[@dankmemes7796]

Ong , it didn’t help he was doing his weird forest walk which smells of warp fuckery and Russ is supposed to be in the warp . It was a good bait

[@arnie24070127]

Been waiting for this all day

[@robdake6594]

I wonder if Dante remembered his own reaction to The Silent King wearing Sanguinius’ face when The Lion saw his mask. The irony of 40K repeatedly playing out like a Tom Cruise movie does not elude me.

[@pedropierre9594]

Well considering Sanguinius was the Lions favorite brother and maybe even best friend outside his circle, i can see how insulted he might have felt to see his face on a mask after remembering what he did in the end, not knowing that its a symbol of respect and grief for Sanguinius rather than a show of authority

[@dreadbringer]

He has already seen something similar during the imperium secundus, the sanguinor

[@collecter343]

It was like I was reading a continuation of the Dark Angel books from the Horus Heresy, it was glorious.

[@robbyrne6968]

The fight with his wrap creature was 100% a test from his father. It was test to help him resolve his feeling of doubt and guilt. The shield to me is a sign from his father the he still believes in him. The Emperor knew the only way to truly do this was to have him fight the ones he feels would judge him the most, his brothers. As for the meeting with Guilliman. Hands will be thrown, but only by the Lion. Guilliman will take on the chin, more like knocked on his ass, but will not fight back. He will let the Lion get his rage out and embrace him as brother. He will acknowledge that for the current times it is a problem, but to explain why it had to done back then. I'm sure there will be a little bit of brotherly stuff and then back to the question of what do we do now.

[@dankmemes7796]

Ngl the part where he is gifted the pistol by the planetary governor made me loose my mind . The Legend that the weapon was left there by the Emperor himself , the fact the pistol is oversized ; too big for a mortal hand . Implies that not only did the emperor know the Horus heresy would happen , but that the lion would be a loyalist And that he would be comatosed for 10,000 years and finally when he awoke he would need a weapon . That he planted it 100 centuries in advance for the lion . The shield being in an imperial structure fuels this even more .

[@Werrf1]

The symbolism of the way the Emperor was depicted in the forest strikes me as incredibly important. The entire story is steeped in Arthurian mythos - the names of many of the Fallen are clearly based on the names of King Arthur's knights, there's the Sword in the Stone, there's the story of Gawain and the Green Knight, etc. A significant figure in the Arthurian stories is the Fisher King. He was a king who had suffered a wound that had left him impotent. Because the land and the king are one, the king's infertility meant that his lands were also infertile, so his people had to rely on fishing for food. The Fisher King could only be healed by the Holy Grail, so he awaited the coming of the Grail Knight. The parallels between the Fisher King and the Emperor are pretty obvious; I think what's more important is that Arthur was not the Grail Knight. Arthur never found the Grail; most often Percival did, sometimes Galahad. Regardless, the symbolism suggests that the Lion is not the one who can heal the Emperor. That in turn suggests that the right question would be something along the lines of "Who do you need me to find?"

[@Alexzander1989]

It’s about damned time The Lion woke the hell up. I was thinking he wasn’t ever gonna wake up 😅

[@shotou]

Lion went up for pre-order today here, but I missed out, thankfully my FLGS has a couple, and said he'd put one away for me. I'm also getting my copy of the books tomorrow.

[@huwtindall7096]

So I enjoyed the book but so many unanswered questions. Why is he old? Hiw does he just grab Fealty out of the Cliban Web Way thing? What the hell is the Emperor's Shield doing there? How/why did he awake? More broadly lets compare the comeback of Bobby G and Lion. Bobby G awakes from a coma. Smashes chaos on Macragge. Rushes to Terra. Saves it from Chaos and Magnus. Launches biggest Crusade since the Gret Crusade. Breaches the Great Rift to save the Blood Angels. Banishes Mortarion with help of daddy. Everyone thinks Boggy G is boring. Lion comes back. Finds a few fallen. Saves a couple of planets. Almost dies a fallen librarian. Everyone thinks he's amazing. The Smurf hate is mind boggling. I dont have a dog in this fan fight but ostensibly Bobby G is the greatest loyalist Primarch after Sanguinius.

[@rumigraciea8216]

I remember even Roboute is at least disturbed when he saw Dante wearing the mask due to him asking kindly to remove them, saying about not living in his brother shadow.and I suspect the only reason why he is diplomatic is because he consider him as his equal and he need him to be regent.

[@chitterlingsrtasty]

I absoutely loved this story and it made me full on love the Lion in 40k (didn't like him much in 30k except for the "loyalty is it's own reward" quote)

[@IsCarryingACuriousMap]

A latent psyker. The once and future king to replace a dead emperor reborn on the throne one day 🙂

[@eightfoldpath8942]

absolutely loved it! favorite primarch for sure!!

[@Steventrafford]

It was a great book, I did the audiobook, only way to get a copy😂. Got some painting done so worked out well. It’s a great story. Loved the Fallen.

[@jameskenny3024]

That was awesome, I cant believe that anyone wouldn't know the king is the emperor. Well done, ever thought of doing a review of either shadow point or execution hour?

[@TK199999]

I like how the Lion is different now than he was during the Great Crusade and HH. As for the image of the dying king in the boat, circled by shadows in the water. The Eldar who came to Terra, one of them looked upon the Imperial Palace. The Eldar saw a great golden mountain with with a small human on the peak glowing bright. But the mountain sat in Warp colored water and circling the mountain was 4 dark shadows. That looked like 4 great sea beasts waiting to feed on man on the peak should he fall. I am convinced that Dark Angel civil war is coming. As some Unforgiven can't let go of 10,000 years of hate, of secrets...of darkness. But I am also convinced that once the Lion learned Guillemin was alive and running the Imperium in the wake of the creation of the Great Rift. That the Lion said, 'Of course its Guillemin (laughter).'

[@adventwolfbane]

The issue is that only a very small number of the unforgiven know about the Fallen at all. For the vast majority of the Unforgiven they will only see brothers that have been separated and lost from the original fall of Caliban.

[@zollen123]

Wait.. This fallen has been alive since the Horus Hersey. He would be what.. 10k old?? This is extremely impossibly rare for an Astarte to live this long.

[@olorin3815]

They have been scattered across time zabriel has arrived 400 yrs ago some have been back for only decades

[@licensed_beheader]

They were scattered across time and most spend a lot of time in the eye where time is very wacky. Abbadon was surprised how old Sigismund was because from his perspective it was barely a thousand years passed

[@olorin3815]

@@licensed_beheader only the chaos dudes spend times in the eye the non corrupted loyal fallen have just gotten out of the warp fuckery that took them from caliban

[@LordOmnissiah]

Nah warp Shenanigans. Combination of a rift in space time that was already open above the planet and Caliban itself being a giant portal making piece of old one tech meant that when the planet got blown up most of the fallen ended up getting thrown into the future

[@ddandymann]

After they were sucked into the warp during the fall of Caliban they got spat back out at various different times, some soon after the heresy, some recently and some still haven't returned to real space. The fallen that are around currently were all spat out of the warp fairly recently.

[@startdale5547]

Just started listening to this book. Loving the story so far.

[@Piotrus2019]

It would be great to see Leman Russ as another returning Primarch fighting Angron with the intention of killing him with a Dionysian Spear. He would be the one who would give Angron true rest and prove that he could most definitely defeat Angron when he was still human if he wanted to.

[@dawall3732]

I think we're missing something else in this. Perhaps the existence of a repaired human webway? With the Emperor sitting in its throne.

[@blairtaggart5243]

Will watch this later bet it's a great video 👍

[@temporarymfz9258]

I loved this book. It was far far better than I expected. Some Lion, Zabriel, Galad, Lohoc, Kai, Apkhar and all the twenty Fallen-Risen Band are my favorite characters. Even the Chaos side of things Seraphax and Bealor were also quite amazing (kiss on the forehead) that's way more than I ever would get in a lifetime. The Forrest dream is definitely one of the most interesting things the lion is able to do. The events there require more lore and discussion. Hopefully there is a second book coming but I don't think it will. This makes me wonder tho, will ROW-BOGGIE get his 40k book too or are we past that ?. Interesting things to look forward to definitely. ALSO did anyone notice how the void combat in this was similar to Battlefleet Gothic Armada tactics. Was so amazed that they gave some figures in terms of capital ships. Favorite mini void battle in this book right here. Just one annoying thing in this book was how many times Fealty fell out of Lions hands. But he then went full on martial arts mode.

[@ShadowLight-kn7rl]

Ah wolf lord Rho another sound assessment as always. I only just finished the audio book of this novel and where I put a theory of my own thoughts to a mate of mine. A hardcore DA fan. I am in no way surprised you came to a similar conclusion. Though my theory is strictly based around the lions forest walk ability. Shot in the dark here, but if you could read it and share your own thoughts? That'd be great! Keep up the exceptional work my friend. Other comments and criticisms are welcome too naturally. Here goes... Okay. So the lion has an ability known as the forest walk. This ability to a certain range allows himself and others close to his own proximity travel via a form of teleportation that is concealed by normal means of what is known as "teleprtation flares" or in 40k means. Indications of teleportation as a whole. We don't know the exact extent of this ability yet I dare to say it's in fact an ability that has not only been awakened inside the lion but its in fact the extension of the lions own Psychic trait/ability/attribute. Now what do we know of the lions, let's just say Psychic trait? He is uncorruptable and can focus his will against any internal manifestations of the warp. That in respect works both as attacking in driving out the warp invasions to his mind and soul or otherwise cloak his presence in defence to remain unseen. For a piece of context here without giving major spoilers to the HH novel "wolfsbane", there is a point in time when Leman Russ goes to completely claim the Emporers weapon he gifted Russ at the completion of the fortress known as the Fang on Fenris. Long story short Russ didn't want the spear but HE NEEDS IT NOW to face Horus. So to completely claim this weapon he must offer himself to the spear and face everything he is in that what his soul is and what the spear internally holds when in Russ' possession as he weilds it. To do so Russ has his psykers perform a ritual that he knows will bind both Russ and the Spear together but only by the means that he must confront both inside his own soul. Moving through the context he's faces multiple tasks and as a result earns clarity and direction in weikding the spear and its power. Yet while Russ faced those tasks, they were tasks that heavily embodied WHO HE IS from the warp. Point to get at here is it adds bearings to another theory that the Emporer made his sons by first stealing warp entities from the 4 chaos gods. And that each of his sons possess said warp entities inside them as it is/was vital to making them both powerful and directed towards becoming the best version of what tve Emporer intended. Each Primarch has a Psychic trait. So the lion. Now, at the start if the novel "the lion: son of the forest" we first see the lion wandering aimlessly and unsure of his surroundings yet he's inside a voided space. As he walks and attempts to find direction and understanding of who he is, he comes across an old man in a boat. He finds himself in the water but unable to reach the boat as the he cannot swim the water for some gut instinct warns him not too more or less. I believe that this voided space, is the internal confines of the lions soul. Now inside his own soul the lion is at his bare and most raw state if being. He takes form but other things around him cannot as his own mind is not quite fully coherent to his comings and goings yet. He's dazed and confused but acts on his instincts. Now the old man in tbe boat, it heavily portrayed as the Emporer. Metaphorically you can say the Emporer is the old man and boat is the golden throne. The Emporer has a specific method to project himself across the universe via the warp. Now as the Emporer is connected to his sons he naturally has a connection to the lion which is why he can openly enter the lions voided space as no threat or hostile. He dosn't speak anything of note, only that THIS specific encounter acts as tve trigger that guides tbe Lion from his internal voided space to be externally in a different location than from his chamber of rest in the depths of "the Rock" fortress monastery. Finally, my theory is as such. With the addition to the Psychic Awakening that has taken place in resent events in the 40k universe. The Emporer is now able to reach great distances via the warp in many a ways, one of these ways is that he was able to enter the lions voided space that is in turn, tbe lions soul. Which is also where the lions conscience has resided as he has rested for over 10,000 years. The Psychic awakening has in turn increased the Lions Psychic trait. So at base value the lions psychic trait is to be immune to internal attacks by the warp by means of warded off these attacks by sheer will power or by cloaking himself invisible also by sheer will power. Now with this Psychic awakening I strongly believe the Lions Psychic trait has now increased in power so much that the lion is now in possession of a level of Omnipresence!!!! Omnipresence means that since gods power and knowledge extends to all parts of his creation, he himself is present everywhere. This makes total sense in that the lion, being in full control and rule of his internal voided space he can in fact extend said properties of his voided space to act as a bridge. This bridge can very well be a connection drawn simply be locations of where he has been since the Psychic awakening. How does they explain how he woke up in a world on the other end of the Nhilus system? Well, we know the dark angels are the lions sons. In the way that they posses his gene seed. I believe the first Fallen Son tbe Lion came across was in fact the "teleport honer" that the lion's forest walk ability was drawn towards. How did he travel so far yet can't do it now to go back to Terra or tbe rock? When the lion saw the Emporer as a old man in a boat, THAT was in fact the moment tbe Emporer was not just manifesting inside tbe lions soul, but magnifying the lions forest walk in order to make the lion reach such a HUGE distance to where HE NEEDS TO BE FIRST. The Emporer has placed the lion where he has to start and now its up to the lions story is all his own from there as the Emporer trusts in the lions own mind and designs to serve the Imperium and unite a front against humanities greatest threats. So I believe the Lion possesses the ability of Omnipresence, and that he can use this ability to strictly travel to where loyal sons of the lions genetics reside. He opens this gate known as the forest walk which is in fact a projection of the lions soul. It creates a connection from one location to another and allows this projection to transport others with him. We don't quite no the limitations of how much he can teleport through this forest walk, just as we don't know it's range on tbe lions OWN occord. We do know it's draining on the lions stanima. He feels it's effects wain on him for a time so there is a limitation but like many things, with practice he can hone this ability and master it to epic proportions. I also believe that his forest walk dosn't solely need to work by guidance of his own genetics via his loyal dark angels. I believe he does leave a Psychic residue behind in his wake for a time as the white dwarf column that tells of Dante coming across a sign of the lions work. It indicates that there was traces of space marines killing CSM on a ship and that the scents and remnants of an old lush and green forest was in this ship. These remnants fading away and evaporating, but nevertheless is a trail of the lions psychic residue, so in fact the lion could if needs be travel back to where he once was as the bridges his Forest walks manifest are not so clean cut as instantaneously open and shut. The residue is merely his own presence returning to him internally as remember. This is the lions Psychic trait that at its epicentre, at his very being as his soul is his own internal void. A space that he commands and controls by his will.

[@UnRu1eD]

The Only One Lion Admitted that gave him an actual fight was Russ. Even admitted that the Wolf King of Fenris could’ve killed him. You also forget to mention, Lion was excited to hear of Guilliman Living now too.

[@khazngray]

Just finished the book and I absolutely love the new path for The Lion. His new power isn't too bonkers and him being a master hunter, it makes sense to me. And Kai (if thars how its spelled) needs more screen time lol

[@zacadams8328]

I had no idea this was out and that the lion was back saw your vid almost watched went listened to the audiobook now im back its been a week or so

[@andrewwelham8633]

Like you, I really enjoyed this book. Loved what the author did with the Lion. Two of my favorite quotes "An open and honest Dark Angel? That's less likely than a civilized Space Wolf." And, the second "Father, why did you make us so.... Incomplete." Waiting with very little patience for the next chapter in this story. I really enjoyed his reaction to hearing about Roboute, his first reaction of just not being alone. I think the relationship between who these two brothers are NOW is going to be different from what many expect. Let's get the 1st back together. 'We're putting the band back together." - Joliet Jake, The Blues Brothers.

[@mooshyhayes]

I feel that although Roboute and Lion are at odds they both have made a conscious effort to correct their failings and forthcomings. The Primarchs until the seige of Terra never really dealt with failure. They have been humbled, wiser they have seem what their hubris has done. Now they work to better themselves and the fledging imperium.

[@DRod1517]

Great point. They've actually been forced to grow.

[@mavrick195]

@11:25 that's always been my biggest issue w/ primarchs coming back. I'd like fulgrim to return just so each chaos God has a champion but other than that I feel like primarchs returning is like no workys pancreas... It doesn't do anything for me

[@mio87]

Blood Angels get Death Company, Space Wolves get Wulfen, Dark Angels gonna get "Fallen" I guess.

[@pedropierre9594]

more like redeemed, those that have committed atrocities that can only be redeemed thru suicidal missions

[@olorin3815]

Lion called them risen

[@mio87]

True that they are called Risen. I hope that they get some cool models. Maybe som Plasma Burner and more.

[@Shagdawwg]

Gotta be one of the best novels ever got through it in a day n half couldn't put it down

[@burnpitcav1519]

Let me help everyone with some real world soldier insight. I believed in the war in the Middle East. Why???? Because as a young 18 year old testosterone driven male, I didn’t care. I wanted to fight anyone and everyone. Fast forward 7 years and now I’m a man who has hindsight. We were in both countries for all the wrong reasons. Did I try my best to lay the foundation for something better???? You are damn right I did. I hoped that the work we doing would result in something better than what I saw. I saw women get stoned for not listening to there husbands, I saw children get abused in ally ways, I did see terrible men doing terrible things to people who wanted to have a the right to chose how to live. I also saw my leadership lie, cheat and steal to appease political leaders. That is what broke my spirit to continue. How can I believe what I’m doing has the potential to change for the better when my leaderships is actively engaging in oppression. We were taking out whoever wouldn’t do what we told them. So that made me not believe any of my leaderships intentions until we were put in a position where I could see them make that choice. You know what??? Most of them choose the status quo. Had I been able to walk away from the group right there I would. But I was under contract for 20 more months. I know all those feelings going through that dark angels mind because he has lost faith in everything he was told was right and good for the people. Yes, soldiers are great at doing the morally grey for a higher purpose but once we find out that the morally grey was for a senators oil company. We are broken

[@bigbenbowski3740]

Overall I really enjoyed the book too. There were some great moments, it does seem like the Lion has mellowed a lot since his great crusade days which is a bit weird since, for him, it was literally last week. It'll be interesting to see how the Lion's reunion with his chapter goes and I can't wait to see his first meeting with his brother. I would have liked to have seen the final chapter go on a bit longer, I was really excited to see Dante make an appearance but it was very short. As for his relationship with Roboute. Didn't Guilliman himself express regret at his decision to break up the legions in the Dark Imperium series? I'm pretty sure he realizes that was a mistake at this point.

[@ernie5144]

I cried many times in this book with how much the Lion changed and held back when he talks to his sons… specially when chapter six hits. You hear the pain the that Zabriel felt when he explained his side. Wish the book was longer… I wanna know if he finds more. I wanna know the first meeting of the Lion and the supreme grand master Azrael what the other Dark Angels think of the older brother that been loyal to man’s kind because that what the Lion cared about the most. That they were still loyal to humanity and the emperor

[@udp1073]

I loved the book a lot, and way more than I thought I would. Never been a fan of the Lion.. always considered an arrogant prick.. very strong, yet a prick.. but now he shows doubt, uncertainty... he is so human (at least in feelings) that he is so relatable... and even more so I love how he is treasuring every single Space Marines... the only things I don't like in Blaklibrary whole stuff is that Space Marines (and anyone else) are just expendable cannon fodder (all but a few named character)... here? we see 21 named character and every one count! I loved this part a lot. cannot wait to see the reaction of Guilliman AND I cannot wait the reaction of the Dark Angel to the Lion pardoning some fallens.. I bet there will be some serious conflict in there as well

[@dzelman444]

The emperor gave the Lion a shield. He gave him a message, that his role is that of the protector of the Imperium. Not a blade of vengeance, not a hammer of the Imperium, a shield against the darkness. It IS help. It's information.

[@dfailsthemost]

For el Johnson, it's likely a bit easier to accept the clarification of events since it's like it happened such a short time ago.

[@ghannos9869]

If you payed any attention to the book at all, you would see that there will be no grudge between Lion and Gman, regarding the codex or anything else. He was briefly mad, but obviously practical and understanding throughout the entire book. And he never wanted to rule, even before he knew Gman was back. I wonder if you read the book at all.

[@renaissancepress247]

Correct, he doesn't want G-Man's role at all

[@CountDVB]

I think Wolf Lord Rho just wants to see Leman Russ and the Lion beat up on G-Man

[@patrickmace5340]

Lion tells Asmodi about now having to accept his fallen brothers. Asmodi does one of two things. Grabs lion by the face while screaming repent! Or calls the Lion a heretic and sides with his fallen brothers becoming the very thing he so zealously hated.

[@Broomer52]

I feel like the visual of the King and the shadows stalking him means so much more. Between a few different books an especially in this The Emperor doesn’t want to be healed. The boat was being circled by the shadows and only attacked when you step foot in the water. It seems to imply that at this moment not only would it be a bad idea to heal him but healing him is what the Chaos Gods want. The question of him being healed attracted the shadows, and the king was disappointed and upset. If he’s healed then he’s pulled out of his safe bubble of protection and the Chaos Gods have their claws in him. Where he is right now they can’t touch him if he’s healed they’ll finally be able to grab him.

[@Krazyabe]

Exciting stuff

[@yaoiboy]

Yeah I LOVED this book, was never a fan of The Lion but this made me a fan.

[@trumpetedeagle2]

I think the reunion would be as brothers. Happy at first, then the fight over why. But I think with how the lion is now, he would understand better. Not like it, but understand it. Then they would get up. Hug it out, and the lion would start to really kick ass.

[@luisa.acevedo3326]

That figure in the river reminds me of the Fisher King of Arthurian legends. Makes you think.

[@321lionheart8]

Don't forget it's not just those 2 the has that has been confirmed but you also have full-grown the exact copy/clone of the original being contained some necrons collection*

[@stuart3566]

It wasn’t really morning. Lieutenant Veras was not one for mornings. Dazed she shuffled along the cold corridor decking running her fingers against the guard rail as a blind man navigates the crowd. Her senses stirred. The cold metal tingle and micro electric spikes transmitted through the rail and into her body as if restarting her biological systems. She warmed. Her eye opened and she observed the space in front of her. She loathed the step. She had made it a thousand times before but she still loathed it. The white static noise being pumped into her mind was not enough to drown it out. Men and women bustling and barging an incomprehensible babble of noise, feelings, gestures and movement. Hundreds scrabbled to be present. Like ants scrambling over a corpse they pulled and pushed, squeezed and scrambled. The smell of sweat, caffeine and bio creed invaded her nostrils. Their dreams and desires gnawed at her bones. She motioned with her hand to her ear. The static volume increased, she closed her eye. As if waiting to step out into a blizzard, she pulled on the cuffs of her robe, bowed her head and braced herself. When she reconciled she had reached her destination. Two huge hulking warriors of death flanked the door. For her protection or future execution she was unsure. Even though she had passed them for many cycles, there orientate cobalt blue armour, huge imposing bolt rifles and lenses of blood red instilled fear. If they had been of the inclination she would already be dead. One flick of their wrist could smash her skull into a thousand fragments of bone her brain pulverized like a squashed orange. She gulped. Her pulse increased, throat instantly dry, frozen with fear. Quivering fingers removed the transmitters. As if unseen hidden in the shadow of the transhuman giants a servitor approached. Its whirring servos buzzing at a high pitch piercing the silence. A scanner invaded her face, she could smell the bio agents sampling her. Electrodes taped her features mapping her out. A chime sounded, a door opened, a whir of servos recoiled and a path cleared. She re-inserted the transmitters. The warriors stepped aside. That noise. Her call, her cause, her duty to understand. There was a distinction between listening and understanding. The room was small, big enough only for a single workstation. She liked it that way. The door closed. A dark place, a deep place. Buried in the bowls of the ship, away from the noise. A sanctuary of solitude, of secrets. Most Psykers could not do what she did. They did not have the ability they did not have the iron will. The screen flickered on the workstation. The green glow of runes and icons clambering for her attention. Her transmitters beeped and synced. The noise of a thousand communications hit her like a tsunami of grief. She clutched the station with her nails. Her digits scratched, digging into the a thousand previously made indentations of the copper control panel. Her legs pushed back into the braces which clamper around her thighs and she settled. Her mind calmed her body secured. The Galaxy was awash with suffering and war. She felt it all. She braced. Words came to her. It was hard to make out a first. Like a whisper in the static, a ghost in the shell. She listened. Her mind focused. Time slowed. The cypher was a long and complex code. Drifting in and out like a tide. Ever shifting as if guarded, blocked from her receptors in a ocean of agony and madness. It was a long frequency transmission. It was distorted and incomplete. It had travelled far. She did not recognize the terms or meaning. A son. She strained her mind. A beast. A brother A single phrase boomed through the darkness. The Lion. Lieutenant Veras of the Enigma Sanctioned Psychic Order, loyal servant of the Emperor and Lead Decoder to the Lord Commander of the Imperium Roboute Guilliman collapsed and whimpered. Blood and bile flooded into her mouth. The copper taste of the warp embrittled her senses. An alarm sounded. White static consumed. The Macragge’s Honor awoke.