High Marshal Helbrecht is back in a new Black Library novel, and this time, the legendary Black Templars Chapter Master is forced to form an unthinkable alliance in order to defeat the unholy terrors of the Ruinous Powers.
In Helbrecht: Sin of Hope, the High Marshal must rally his Chapter and the Elysian troops of the Astra Militarum against their foes. When fate – or providence – grants the High Marshal a distasteful ally in the Leagues of Votann, he must ask himself what he is willing to forsake in the pursuit of triumph.
Ahead of its release, we spoke to its author, Mike Vincent – who also penned the Night Lords novel The Remnant Blade – about getting inside the head of such a legendary character, how the Black Templars compare to the murderous Night Lords, and more.
Warhammer Community: Helbrecht is a pretty well-established character – how did you find getting into his head?
Mike Vincent: It took a while, I must admit. I decided my best course was to begin fairly distant and gradually open his personality up as the novel went on. However, because the character already exists to a degree, I could borrow some impetus from that renown and then patiently build the quandary they face rather than front-loading with exposition or character context. Many of the inferences the audience makes about him during the early stages of the novel are from the perspective of other characters. There’s nothing quite so charming as an in-world character being as thrilled and terrified to meet High Marshal Helbrecht as you or I would be!
WarCom: Sin of Hope features Helbrecht dealing with the Leagues of Votann – what was it like to tackle a new faction like this, and can you give any insight into their interactions with the Black Templars?
Mike: It was a great opportunity to explore and expand the Leagues of Votann, and also to see how the Kin and the Imperium might engage with one another when both are in dire straits. As for how they got on with our favourite uncompromisingly xenophobic crusaders? Well, the Kin have a deep, ancient connection to Terra and they occupy a bit of a grey area between potential ally of convenience and all-out xenos society depending on the specific situation. Without spoiling anything, Black Templars tend to struggle with grey areas! Theirs is very much a “with us or against us” mentality, and as an author it was thrilling to navigate that dynamic between the two factions when an insidious foe threatens them both equally.
WarCom: How did you find going from the Night Lords to the Black Templars? In what ways do you see them as similar, and what differences did you find in writing them?
Mike: Violence! Violence makes them similar! Not that Space Marines of any flavour are renowned for their pacifism, but yes, the capacity for uncompromising brutality at the drop of a hat is definitely a trait they share in common, and in a way that was the best place to start finding the differences, too. They both use violence as a tool, but the motivating force behind that violence, and indeed behind their respective philosophies as a whole, is hugely different. The Night Lords are out for themselves, pure and simple. Everything they do is rooted in their self-preservation and self-interest and they are utterly unapologetic about it. The Black Templars, in contrast, are loaded with lofty purpose.
WarCom: If High Marshal Helbrecht and the star of The Remnant Blade, Dalchian Rassaq of the Night Lords, were locked in a room, who do you think would be walking out?
Mike: Haha, what a question! Well, it’d be an incredible fight to watch, but with an inevitable conclusion, I fear. With all his cunning and dirty tricks I’m quite sure Dalchian would make a good account of himself, but there’s no way Helbrecht isn’t carving him to pieces as soon as he has the measure of him. I think Dalchian would probably know that though, deep down, so he’d do everything he could to avoid the fight at all!
You’ll be able to pre-order Helbrecht: Sin of Hope in hardback and as a lavish Special Edition soon. In the meantime, learn more about the High Marshal in Helbrecht: Knight of the Throne – available in digital editions via the Black Library app.
