The Infinite and the Divine // The Twice Dead King

text posts + necrons

‘Uatth, they called it’

did these a while back but here is some sketches of my design headcanons for some TDK characters!

I almost forgot that I could post this here now :S my secret sanguinala gift for @ghostinthegallery !! Oltyx and Yenekh feasting together at last 🥩

Summary of necron characters by crimes:

Trazyn the Infinite- has committed the most crimes. Obviously. He has stolen more things than most mortals have even perceived, also killed people which is usually a crime.

Orikan the Diviner- convicted of the most crimes, but only if you count multiple timelines. In the main timeline he has never been convicted and has no comment.

Imotekh the Stormlord- has committed the most war crimes. Not even a competition.

Anrakyr the Traveler- has attempted to commit all the crimes, but is not very good at it. Yet to do anything more illegal than a misdemeanor. This frustrates him greatly.

Nemesor Zahndrekh- has never committed a crime. Ever. Even if he did commit a crime, he is so good it would retroactively be made not a crime because if he did it clearly it should not be criminal

Vargard Obyron- has committed 4,867 crimes, but they were to protect Zahndrekh so no one would ever convict him.

Illuminor Szeras- has committed the wettest crimes.

The Silent King- feels the most like he committed crimes even though getting your peoples' souls eaten and then killing God is not technically a crime.

Oltyx- took him multiple attempts to commit one crime, but he gets points for trying his best

Yenekh- has committed traffic crimes, mostly speeding

The Huntmaster- zero crimes, only hunts game in its proper season, has all his permits

Sannet- accessory to the most crimes thanks to Trazyn, could probably get a plea deal if he agrees to testify

Which Necron Should You Fight?

Imotekh the Stormlord: Challenge him to a duel and you might be able to survive. You’re gonna lose a hand in the process, but you’ll at least be alive.

Szarekh, Last Silent King of the Necrontyr and First Silent King of the Necrons: This man has been awake for at least 65 million years and likely has spent that time killing horrors from beyond our galaxy, do not fight him.

Trazyn the Infinite: Unless you are prepared for the very real possibility of becoming a museum exhibit, I would not advise fighting this old man. Try convincing him to go bother Orikan instead.

Orikan the Diviner: Don’t. You will be lucky if he only puts you in a time loop. Get Trazyn to pester him instead they’re overdue for another round of divorced old man slapfight.

Oltyx: DON’T

Yenekh: I cannot emphasize enough how spectacularly bad an idea it is to fight him if you are literally anyone but his boyfriend Oltyx. He is a god of melee among mortals. JUST. DON’T.

Lysikor: Fight him, it will be funny. You will more likely than not die but it will be funny.

Nemesor Zahndrekh: I mean, you probably could if you formally challenged him and you might even get invited to dinner afterwards if you’re a good sport about it. However, his husband Varguard is probably going to kill you when he’s not looking.

Vargaurd Obryon: Under no circumstances should you fight this man. He will kill you if you so much as look wrong at his husband Nemesor.

Zultanekh: The chillest people are often the most terrifying when given a reason to not be chill and he’s built like a tank. Go fight someone else and let him mourn his boyfriend Djoseras in peace damnit.

Illuminor Szeras: YOU WILL DIE AND IT WILL HURT THE ENTIRE TIME; IF YOU SURVIVE HE WILL MAKE YOU WILL WISH YOU DIDN’T

Anrakyr the Traveller: Maybe, just watch out for the three federal agents Triarch Praetorians that follow him around.

Xun’bakyr, Mother of Oblivion: RUN, JUST… RUN

@zalmoxis-the-great wanted more anime necrons so here you go

i have read one (1) necron book and one (1) necron fanfic, which obviously makes me learned enough to capture their personalities

this is based on an old conversation i had on reddit about how you could introduce a giant, ridiculously handsome blonde and blue-eyed angel to an anime classroom as an american transfer student and no one would blink an eye

Conflict in Literature + Necron Books

(Read more for titles and notes, watch out for spoilers)

Man vs. Nature - Devourer This is not the only necron vs. tyranid lit, but I thought the cover illustrated the conflict best. Out of all the horribad things in WH40K, the tyranids tend to be presented as the closest faction to a natural disaster; certainly in Devourer they do not logically justify their presence, nor can they be reasoned with, not by the Blood Angels or Anrakyr or the Tomb World he's trying to wake. Not mindless, but an amoral happenstance, like nature itself.

Man vs. Society - The Lords of Borsis Necron court intrigue played straight, with a sprinkle of delusion on the side. Since this story revolves entirely around the schemings and plottings of necron(tyr) society, with changes in dynastic hierarchy as the final objective, it fits best here.

Man vs. Technology - Indomitus This is an awkward placement, since Indomitus was not, well... a compelling story, with most of its tropes not being explored beyond their first introduction. But it is the most bare-bones way of describing this book's premise. Humans battling a robotic malignancy, albeit with a Bolivian Army Ending, which doesn't conclude the plot in either direction 😞

Man vs. Man - The Twice-Dead King: Ruin Ruin is an exceptionally deep novel, and fits every conflict listed here. It was the hardest one to place, because it's not so much choosing the one that goes best, rather crossing off every other conflict not central to the story. Both gods and the absence-of-gods are a problem in Ruin, as well as nature and technology, but they're not at the heart of Oltyx's problem. Society could be a big one, since Oltyx is an exile - but he’s not trying to antagonize his society throughout Ruin, he's trying to work with it, or at least save it from doom. Self and reality both count, but fit better with other stories in the Nate Crowley corpus. So man vs. man it is. His most important clashes are all with individuals ('man') - Djoseras, Unnas, Hemiun, arguably Yenekh in reserve - and by the end, his crownworld is overrun by the Imperium, who will become the antagonists for the second part of his tale. Man vs. 'Man', with a capital M.

Man vs. Self - The Twice-Dead King: Reign Again, this could have gone elsewhere. In man vs. reality, perhaps, or the god-related ones. But the self is where the conflict of Reign truly lies, since Oltyx's greatest obstacle is himself, and it is his inability to accept that which brings his dynasty close to destruction. Thank goodness he got over that one.

Man vs. Reality - Severed The emotional and philosophical core of this novella relies on it. Zahndrekh's inability to see the world as it is brings about the whole plot, and is at the centre of all of Obyron's musings. Interestingly, reality does not win at the end, at least not what necrons envision reality to be: a place of cold hard facts, with no room for emotion. Zahndrekh would rather dream the impossible dream, which might be the healthier way to deal with their situation.

Man vs. God - The Infinite and the Divine 🚨 𝔻𝕆 ℕ𝕆𝕋 𝔹𝔼 𝔻𝔼ℂ𝔼𝕀𝕍𝔼𝔻 🚨

Man vs. No God - Crusade: Pariah Nexus Not a novel, not 100% about necrons, not even out yet as of now (Dec 2023). This is an inherently problematic conflict for WH40K, because gods are very real and very present in that universe... here I'm only thinking about the necron perspective, and the civil war unfolding in their lore. They banded together in a shared purpose eons ago, destroying the Old Ones who oppressed them, and sundering the star gods who subjected them to biotransference. Now they are as antigod as they could be, and they did not retain their bonds, they have once again turned on each other. So it goes.

Man vs. Author - Codex: Necrons (10th Ed.) (Collector's Ed.) James Workshop knows what they did. 😑

I started to read Twice Dead King. I love him so much.

I am inconsolable and in tears as I think about this again, but it's fine. I'm fine. It's fine, I promise. I'm lying.

Spoilers for The Twice-Dead King: Ruin below. This is an appreciation post about Djoseras and I'm hurting.

Djoseras is only a supporting character in the TDK novels, but I really want to argue that he is perhaps the MOST IMPORTANT character outside of our boy, Oltyx, who is, of course, the protagonist. Now, he's not present for the most part, usually a referred to character and his actual "on screen" time is very limited. However, there are just scenes that shape Djoseras' character so immensely, giving him a level of character depth usually not reserved or expected for side characters, and though it's mostly through Oltyx's perception of him (so, skewed or otherwise), his brother is just. So important.

So, shout out to Djoseras who taught Oltyx the hard lessons even if he himself found discomfort in what he was teaching him.

Shout out to Djoseras who protected Oltyx by skewing a significant event that ultimately led to his brother being exiled instead of executed.

Shout out to Djoseras who went back to comfort Oltyx who was so scared of going through the furnaces of biotransference.

Shout out to Djoseras who who inscribed upon his immortals all their names and deeds upon their necrodermis to show who they were/are.

Shout out to Djoseras who feigned ignorance just so he could talk to his brother before his departing to the capital to trying making Unnas see reason about the incoming Imperial Crusade that would see all of Ithakas destroyed.

Shout out to Djoseras who stayed behind to give Oltyx the time he needed to flee and take what survivors he could with him before Antikef fell.

Shout out to Djoseras who, despite everything, will always love his brother and wishes nothing more than for him to thrive.

Please, remember him.

Still making my way thru the first Twice Dead King book!! Here's a better Oltyx now that i have a good idea on how I like to draw him <3