Eisenhorn Omnibus

in various places, including the Incjuis Extermi-natus. Know the one? Guy with a scalp full of cables, a black fur coat, a

double-headed eagle familiar on his shoulder, a gold-chased bolt pistol in his hand? Yes, it's is good, isn't it?

I'd been working for the Black Library for a few years, producing a variety of things, most notably the Gaunt's Ghosts novels. So the grim nightmare of the far future, where there is only war and the galaxy's alight and everyone's got a headache, was pretty much my thing. The editors kept me fed with all the latest fluff and hot new supplements, just to keep me in the loop. And one day, they sent me this pile of photocopies: sketches, paste-ups, notes. There was going to be, they told me, a new game called Inquisitor, and they were so jazzed by the concepts and ideas coming out of the game's development, they decided to send me all the stuff, hush-hush, in the hope that it might inspire me, Gaunt-wise.

As soon as I opened the package and started leafing through, I could see what they meant. This was a rich seam indeed, full of wonderful baroque material. Among the pages, along with a number of other very fine pictures, was a copy of John Blanche's painting. And that was it. I picked up the phone, called Black Library and said, 'Can I please write about this?' Even though, truth be told, at that stage I didn't know exactly what 'this' was.

They said yes (I think they sensed the enthusiasm in my voice). The idea was that if I could write the novel quickly enough, it could come out AT THE SAME TIME as the game launch, and everyone would look big and clever, like it had been planned that way all along.

I visited the Studio, and got great help and advice from the game developers, particularly Gav Thorpe. Then I got to work.

I think what inspired me about John's painting was the aristocratic clothing: the rich black velvet of the sleeves, the engraved gold of the elegant weapon. This wasn't about the battlefield, the front-line of mud and gas and behemoth engines. This was a glimpse behind the lines at the internal complexity of the Imperium. It offered a chance to explore what might be called the 'domestic' side of the Warhammer 40,000 universe: the daily, non-military, life – at work, at worship, at rest, at court, at slum-level. A chance to visit worlds that were not levelled by war, and see how the billions of Imperial citizens lived.

And also to find out what evils stalked them, even in the shadows of their own hive cities.

The novel turned into a trilogy that charts the career of a man. Other stories, two of which are collected here, lace into that trilogy and, for those who are interested, the exploits of several of these characters continue in the Ravenor novels that are my current concern.

John Blanche's images have always had such a profound influence on the growth of the Warhammer 40,000 universe's unique flavour, I'm proud to acknowledge that painting as the inspirational source of Eisen-horn. Everywhere you look, his spiky, gothic, ornate visions inform the game, and I'd like to think you can find a hint of them permeating this collection. So, individual dedications notwithstanding, this collected volume is respectfully dedicated to Mr John Blanche.

Of course, if I ever work out whose idea it was to write these stories in the first person, I'll be round their house with a baseball bat. The plot problems that caused…

Oh, hang on. That was me.

Dan Abnett

Maidstone , 9th August, 2004

XENOS

For John Parsons, bonemagos.

BY ORDER OF HIS MOST HOLY MAJESTY THE GOD-EMPEROR OF TERRA

SEQUESTERED INQUISITORIAL DOSSIERS AUTHORISED PERSONS ONLY

CASE FILE ii2:67B:AA6:Xad

Please enter your authority code >

Validating…

Thank you, Inquisitor. You may proceed.

VERBAL TRANSCRIPT OF PICT-RECORDED DOCUMENT

LOCATION: MAGINOR DATE: 239. M41

RECOVERED FROM SERVITOR RECORDING MODULE

TRANSCRIBED BY SAVANT ELEDIX, ORDO HERETICUS

INQUISITORIAL DATA-LIBRARY FACULTY,

FIBOS SECUNDUS, 240. M41

note 1 Darkness. Sounds of distant human pain. A flash of light note 2. Sounds of running.

Pict-source moves, tracking, vibrating. Some stone walls, in close focus. Another flash, brighter, closer. Squeal of pain note 3. An extremely bright flash note 4.

note 5

A man note 6 in long robes, calls out as he strides past close to the pict-source note 7. Surroundings, dark stone note 8. (i)'s identity unknown note 9. Pict-source moves in close behind (i), observing as (i) draws a force hammer from a thigh loop under his robe. Close up on (i)'s hands as he grips haft. Inquisitorial signet ring in plain view, (i) turns note 10, (i) speaks.

VOICE (i): Move in! Move in, in the name of all that's holy! Come on andnote 11bastard monster to death!

Further flashes of light, now clearly close las-impacts. Pict-source filters fail to block glare note 12.

note 13 Passing in through the high stone entrance of some considerable chamber. Grey stone, rough hewn. Pict-source pans. Bodies in doorway, and also slumped down interior steps. Massive injuries, mangled. Stones wet with blood.

VOICE OFF |(i)?[: Where are you? Where are you? Show yourself!

Pict-source moves in. Two human shapes move past it to left, blurred note 14 to be male, approx 40 years, heavy-set, wearing Imperial Guard-issue body plate note 15, significant facial scarring note 16, wielding belt-fed heavy stubber; other

note 17 is female, approx 25 years, svelte, skin dyed blue, tattoos and body-glove armour of a Morituri Death Cultist initiate, wielding force blade note 18.

Blurred shapes (ii) and (iii) move beyond pict-source. Pict-source pans round, establishing sidelong view of (ii) and (iii) engaged in rapid hand-to-hand warfare with adversaries on lower steps. Adversaries are heterogeneous mix: six humans with surgical/bionic implants, two mutants, three offensive