Chapter Summaries

Abaddon rejected Khayon’s warnings and sent a force of thirteen hundred Black Legion troops through the Vengeful Spirit’s teleportarium toward Badab. Khayon discovered that the destination data had been altered and most of the assault force’s souls had vanished, leaving him terrified by what the Imperium’s rising power could mean for the traitors.

• Abaddon repeatedly ordered the Dark Mechanicum to activate the teleportarium, and Ceraxia pushed them to complete another test despite the risks.
• Falkus Kibre prepared the Brotherhood of Wolves and Bringers of Despair while reflecting on Huron’s revelations about Abaddon’s past.
• Xerxos Hellseed challenged Kibre, but Kibre disarmed him and warned him not to try again.
• Khayon warned Abaddon that the Badab operation was a conspiracy and urged him to use Warp sorcery or another approach, but Abaddon refused and insisted on going.
• Ceraxia reported that the teleportation preparations were complete, and Abaddon led thirteen hundred assault troops onto the platform.
• Khayon found that only 130 souls remained in the teleportation process and that most coordinates had been erased, then cried out to the Emperor as he feared the Imperium’s ascendancy.

Ramesses negotiated with the Chaos Gods to limit Abaddon's forces to 130, then seized the fallen warriors while his allies moved into position. Abaddon found himself trapped in another disastrous defeat and led the survivors into battle, still insisting he was the right Warmaster.

• Guilliman reflected on his past arrogance toward his brothers and resolved to handle their return differently.
• Ramesses bargained with the Chaos Gods, who agreed that only 130 of Abaddon's warriors would remain in the confrontation with Huron's force.
• Ramesses and Karna seized Abaddon's fallen warriors from the Warp, while Ramesses arranged for allies to move toward their targets.
• Abaddon saw that only a fraction of his troops remained and recognized that his decisions had caused another catastrophic loss.
• Abaddon raised his blade and faced his opponents, convinced he remained the most suitable Warmaster.

Abaddon’s Black Legion fought Huron’s Maelstrom Warders on Badab as daemons and the Legion of the Damned poured into the battle. Abaddon remained trapped in an escalating clash with the resurrecting Guardians while Roboute Guilliman watched the unusual war under Ramesses’s explanation.

• The Maelstrom Warders teleported into the Bringers of Despair’s ranks, and Kahurangi used his psychic powers to guide the assault.
• Abaddon opened Warp rifts that unleashed daemons, but Huron answered with Castraferrum Combat Automata, Iron Circle machines, and Hydra Flak Cannons.
• Tyberos and Stibor Lazarek engaged Abaddon’s champions while Huron taunted Abaddon and drew his attention.
• A Guardian repeatedly rose from fatal wounds and attacked Abaddon; after Abaddon destroyed the lantern at his waist, the warrior burst into flame and returned with a renewed body and weapon.
• The fighting spread across Badab as Imperial forces battled daemons and the Legion of the Damned, while Guilliman watched the conflict and asked Ramesses whether warfare was normally conducted this way.

Guilliman accepted that the Wings of Dawn’s Warp-backed support had made Imperial warfare more effective, while Ramesses urged him to share those methods and test humanity’s resolve. On the battlefield, Tyberos and the Carcharodons overwhelmed Abaddon’s forces, and Khayon failed to overcome their psychic defenses as the Black Legion struggled to retreat.

• Guilliman reviewed the Wings of Dawn’s use of prayers, Warp blessings, and battlefield support, then decided his plan to restore Great Crusade ideals was no longer sufficient.
• Ramesses explained how Imperial forces could now draw on allies in the Warp and urged Guilliman to use those capabilities rather than rely solely on iron will.
• Guilliman agreed that the Imperium should give its people these tools and see whether they could withstand its enemies.
• Tyberos and Akia fought Falkus Kibre, and Akia’s Dreadnought chassis crushed Kibre before he escaped its foot and resumed fighting.
• Abaddon ordered a retreat as Khayon and Ceraxia tried to organize an evacuation, but psychic interference prevented emergency teleportation.
• Khayon’s psychic attack failed against Kahurangi and the Carcharodons’ support, leaving Abaddon’s forces trapped amid the battle.

Ramesses and the Wings of Dawn’s forces disrupted Abaddon’s retreat and drew the Chaos Warmaster into a confrontation with Arthur and the Lion. Abaddon was left trapped between the two legendary warriors and the Chaos gods, while the gods raged at the Wings of Dawn for spending so many souls to oppose them.

• Abaddon ordered the Black Legion to retreat as the Legion of the Damned and Loyalist forces pressed their attack, and Tyberos killed Falkus Kibre.
• Ramesses mocked Abaddon and used a psychic contingency plan approved by Romulus to influence him into stepping out from the protection of the Brotherhood of Wolves.
• Arthur appeared and fought Khorne’s champion, forcing Abaddon to retreat as Arthur’s presence weakened the Chaos forces around him.
• The Lion appeared from the Warp and attacked Abaddon, but Tzeentch intervened and tangled with him.
• Abaddon found himself caught between Arthur fighting Khorne and the Lion fighting Tzeentch, while the gods complained about the Wings of Dawn’s costly intervention.

Arthur and Lion used Nightbringer’s death power to break the Chaos Gods’ protection, allowing Huron’s Astartes to overwhelm Abaddon and apparently kill him. Ramesses celebrated the operation’s success and moved to seize the Blackstone Fortress, while his disaster for the Black Legion had only just begun.

• Huron gathered Ledodus, Tyberos, and other Astartes to assault Abaddon while Arthur and Lion battled the Chaos Gods.
• Ramesses ordered Arthur and Lion to change tactics, and they unleashed Nightbringer’s death power against the gods.
• The death power broke through the gods’ defenses, while Huron’s forces attacked Abaddon and a Consecrators captain struck him with a Melta.
• Abaddon was blasted down to half a body and vanished with the gods’ aid, leaving the battlefield devastated.
• Ramesses declared the operation a success and arranged to strip the Black Legion of its supplies by targeting the Blackstone Fortress.

Arthur and Lion El'Jonson ended the Chaos assault on Badab, rescued the Star Ring’s survivors, and prepared to consolidate the resistance. Abaddon survived through a chaotic ritual, then ordered the Blackstone Fortress to be rammed into Badab.

• Arthur and Lion El'Jonson shattered the Blood God's blade, causing Chaos's influence to withdraw and the rebels on Badab to lose their powers and flee.
• Arthur and Lion El'Jonson discussed the limits of their authority and the long-term challenge of helping humanity resist the Chaos Gods.
• Arthur praised Huron and the defenders, while Lion El'Jonson took command and Arthur broadcast an evacuation order to the Iron Ring Star Ring platform's crew.
• The defenders escaped as the Star Ring platform broke apart, and orbital strikes destroyed the wreckage.
• Ceraxia and Khayon arranged a demonic ritual that repaired Abaddon's ruined body, though the four Chaos Gods claimed and fought over parts of him.
• Abaddon woke, saw his grotesque form and his followers' uncertainty, then ordered them to move the Blackstone Fortress and ram it into Badab.

Vortigern’s Black Legion warband tried to redirect a Blackstone Fortress toward Badab, but Titus, Sicarius, and their Aeldari allies ambushed and wiped them out. Ramesses’s forces took control of the fortress, while Trazyn explained its history and joined Ramesses in considering what to do after their alliance’s current plan.

• Vortigern led the Lost Lions through a Blackstone Fortress to maintain its output and steer it toward Badab.
• Titus, Sicarius, and Aeldari troops launched a surprise assault, killing Vortigern’s warband in seconds.
• Sicarius executed the dying Vortigern, and Titus ordered the bodies disposed of as the Aeldari began breaching the fortress.
• Ramesses and Eldrad Ulthran oversaw the Aeldari takeover, while Trazyn identified the fortress as a Vaul’s Talisman and discussed its possible Old Ones origins.
• Trazyn presented his museum credentials to Sicarius and defended his collecting as archaeology.
• Ramesses praised the Aeldari alliance and asked Trazyn where they could make money after the Friend Plan.

Ramesses arranged for Trazyn to help locate Necron resources and learned that the Aeldari could recover eight Vaul's Talismans to support Warp development. While Aeldari forces infiltrated a Blackstone Fortress, Sylandri confronted Abaddon and declared that his control of humanity's ancient legacy was over.

• Ulthran explained that Vaul's Talismans projected Warp energy into Realspace and that the Aeldari could recover eight of them, while Ramesses asked Trazyn to help find Necron assets.
• Trazyn volunteered to guide the Wings of Dawn to potential Necron targets, and Ramesses agreed to discuss his list at a meeting before going to watch the Harlequins perform.
• An Aeldari took control of a Blackstone Fortress chamber, and Aeldari infiltrators killed Black Legion guards while Ulthran dealt with the Daughter of Abaddon.
• Abaddon received a transmission from the Blackstone Fortress and saw Sylandri and other Harlequins standing beside Titus.
• Sylandri told Abaddon that the Harlequins had entered through the Webway and declared that his time commanding humanity's ancient legacy had ended.

Abaddon watched the Black Legion retreat from Badab while Sylandri mocked him and his mutated followers during a transmission with the Loyalists. As Titus and the others prepared the Blackstone Fortress to attack the retreating fleet, Kairos Fateweaver cursed Abaddon for failing to flee.

• Abaddon assessed the Black Legion's losses on Badab and resolved that he still needed time to rebuild his authority and forces.
• A transmission showed Aeldari and Ultramarines fighting together, and Abaddon angrily condemned the alliance.
• Sylandri defended the Aeldari and taunted Abaddon and his followers for their mutations and betrayal of humanity.
• Sylandri described how the Wings of Dawn had given Aeldari work, shelter, and protection, intensifying the Black Legion's anger as Ramesses recorded the exchange.
• Titus monitored the Blackstone Fortress as the Loyalists prepared to use it against Abaddon's retreating fleet.
• Kairos Fateweaver berated Abaddon for not fleeing sooner.

Ramesses and the Aeldari activated the Blackstone Fortress, devastating Abaddon’s fleet and destroying the Vengeful Spirit as the Chaos Gods rescued some of their prized followers. Abaddon survived but collapsed under the spreading ridicule of the Voice of the Warp, while Huron struggled to keep a straight face during his report on Badab.

• Abaddon killed an Adjutant who urged him to retreat as the Black Legion’s defeat and the loss of the Blackstone Fortress became clear.
• Ramesses directed Ulthran and the Farseers to activate the Blackstone Fortress against the retreating Chaos fleet.
• The fortress’s golden light crushed Black Legion warriors and ships, while Ramesses destroyed Aetaos'rau'keres and the other Lords of Change who tried to intervene.
• The Blackstone Fortress tore the Vengeful Spirit into thirteen fragments, and the Chaos Gods used Warp rifts to rescue Abaddon and other valued followers.
• Abaddon awoke in the emergency ward as the Voice of the Warp mocked him, then collapsed again after demanding to know what was happening.
• Huron tried to deliver his report on Badab but could not stop laughing.

Guilliman heard Huron’s account of his rise and reforms in the Maelstrom, praised his loyalty, and invested him as the Hero of the Maelstrom. As Huron accepted the honor, Ramesses and Arthur considered beginning an effort to close the galaxy-spanning rift and end the conflict.

• Huron reported how he had expanded the Maelstrom Warders, strengthened Badab, and built up the sector while preparing for Guilliman’s return.
• Huron confessed his past ambition, including withholding tithes and expanding his forces, then recounted how the Wings of Dawn had helped him bring the Maelstrom under control.
• Guilliman judged Huron’s past errors corrected by his service to humanity and called him his greatest and proudest son.
• Guilliman invested Huron as the Hero of the Maelstrom and placed him in charge of affairs shared by the Maelstrom and Macragge.
• Ramesses asked Arthur whether the time had come to pursue their idea for closing the rift, which Arthur had proposed long ago.

Guilliman assessed the Imperium’s leadership and committed to rebuilding its administration after the Badab battle. Meanwhile, Arthur and Ramesses proposed that the Wings of Dawn prepare to eliminate the Dark King, forcing the Primarchs to confront the Emperor’s eventual ascension.

• Guilliman praised Calgar, the White Templars’ Archons, and Huron, resolved to keep Hill by his side, and took responsibility for restoring the Badab Sector.
• Ramesses argued that the current campaign against Chaos had reached its limit and that the Wings of Dawn needed a concrete plan for their next stage.
• Arthur stated that humanity’s final objective was to free itself from the Warp by making the Dark King cease to exist, horrifying Lion and freezing Guilliman’s smile.
• Ramesses explained that the Emperor’s ascension could destroy humanity and that reversing the process was no longer practical because faith had become central to the Imperium.
• Ramesses revealed that the Emperor had begun supporting the Wings of Dawn because he hoped they could free humanity from his control, and the group fell silent as they considered what to do.

The Wings of Dawn decided to pursue a long-term plan to unite the Imperium and remove the threats festering in Realspace, including ending the Emperor’s ascension to godhood. Guilliman arrived to challenge the plan, and the Emperor began explaining himself through Apprentice.

• Ramesses and the others reflected on how Arthur had led the Wings of Dawn from their first decisions in the Warp to shaping the galaxy, and agreed they could not abandon their responsibility now.
• The group outlined a century-long plan to unite more forces and address the dangers threatening Realspace, while Lion asked for time to process the proposal.
• Ramesses summoned Apprentice from the 130th Basic Manufacturing Plant, interrupting her effort to record ordinary workers’ stories for the Human History Origins Department.
• Guilliman reached the council chamber, saw the plans to build legions, recover lost Primarchs, develop the Webway, and go to Terra to stop the Emperor’s ascension, and demanded an explanation.
• Apprentice’s eyes glowed gold as the Emperor took control, and he agreed to explain his situation to Guilliman and the other Primarchs.

The Emperor laid out a plan for the Wings of Dawn to build humanity’s strength, control the Webway, and ultimately defeat the Dark King, while the group negotiated limits and duties for him. They finished by demanding that his Chaos-resistant avatars help govern the Imperium as part of their coming Great Revolution.

• The Emperor tasked the Wings of Dawn with controlling the Webway, rebuilding humanity’s faith, gathering allies and lost Primarchs, and preparing to kill the Dark King.
• Arthur, Romulus, Ramesses, and Karna vowed to stake everything on humanity’s liberation, prompting the Emperor to urge them to preserve a fallback path in the Webway.
• The Wings of Dawn demanded that the Emperor restrain his independent actions, help recover the soul fragments of Dorn, Leman Russ, Khan, Vulkan, and Sanguinius, transfer the Legion of the Damned’s qualifications, share his technical data, and recall Valdor.
• Romulus asked the Emperor to provide his Chaos-resistant avatars to help govern the Imperium, and the Emperor reluctantly agreed to use them for the Great Revolution plan.

The Emperor was assigned the Imperium’s governance and AI implementation work while the Wings of Dawn organized plans for military campaigns and reforms. As the others prepared to act, the Emperor remained buried in paperwork and the group set its next operations in motion.

• The Emperor tried to avoid the growing workload, but Romulus and Ramesses pressed him to complete the AI governance plans, while Arthur argued that only the Emperor could reliably oversee them.
• The Emperor missed Malcador as the group continued turning their agreements into detailed implementation documents, and Guilliman was ordered to study instead of helping his father.
• Karna reported that he was containing the Tyranid invasion in the Maelstrom Sector and replacing the region’s chaotic faith with devotion to the Angel.
• Arthur outlined plans to investigate Jaghatai Khan and Russ, use Trazyn to arrange Necron Blackstone Arrays, and travel to Armageddon before preparing to take Commorragh with Ramesses.
• Romulus declared the plan on track, handed its original documents to Arthur, and concluded that it was time to begin carrying out their operations.

Romulus assigned Corvus Corax to Segmentum Tempestus while the Primarchs confirmed their separate missions and reassured one another that they would stay in contact. As the forces departed from Badab Guardian Fortress, Ledodus watched Arthur and the others say goodbye and carried the grief of knowing Dorn would never return.

• Romulus assigned Corvus Corax to take charge of Segmentum Tempestus and prepare Deliverance as a Warp domain.
• Romulus argued that the Wings of Dawn’s policies had improved the Imperium, leaving the Emperor unable to dispute the results.
• Corvus Corax put aside his doubts about responsibility after his companions’ support encouraged him to act.
• Ledodus crossed Victory Goddess Plaza as troops boarded transports and mourned that Dorn would never return.
• Arthur reviewed the Primarchs’ assignments and urged them to communicate, then Lion and Corvus Corax departed while Ledodus watched.

Arthur and the Black Templars joined forces with the Dark Angels to travel to Armageddon, where Orks had ravaged the planet and its surrounding colonies for more than a decade. As Yarrick faced another Ork offensive and Ghazghkull waited for the coming battle, a small wave of guests arrived in the Armageddon System.

• Ledodus grieved that no one, not even the Emperor, knew where Dorn was, and Arthur promised that they would keep searching for him.
• Arthur led the Black Templars and Dark Angels toward Armageddon to destroy the Orks ravaging the planet.
• Commissar Yarrick assessed Armageddon's defenses as Orks used a Space Hulk, offshore fortresses, and attacks across the system to expand their invasion.
• Salamanders helped defend Hades Hive City after Ork assault teams attacked from the Space Hulk Crusher.
• Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka let the fighting continue while his Orks grew through battle, and a small wave of guests arrived in the Armageddon System.

Yarrick reviewed Armageddon’s defenses and learned from Tu'Shan that the Orks were training on Ullanor and using weapons excavated from underground. He proposed a massive feint to strike a settlement behind Ork lines before the enemy could grow stronger, while Tu'Shan ended by suggesting they ask the Primarchs for their opinion.

• Yarrick surveyed the battle lines and considered breaking the stalemate despite the War Council’s satisfaction with the current defenses.
• Tu'Shan reported that Orks behind enemy lines had gathered in settlements, received unfamiliar weapons, and were being filtered through brutal battles.
• Yarrick and Tu'Shan reviewed Armageddon’s salvaged siege engines, cannons, artillery, and reserve forces, which Yarrick had preserved for a major operation.
• Yarrick revealed that he planned to use the concentrated forces as a feint before striking a settlement on the Armageddon sub-continent.
• Tu'Shan warned that the attack would be difficult and suggested waiting for the Primarchs’ support, but Yarrick argued that they could not leave Ullanor fully armed.
• Tu'Shan summoned the Chapter Librarian and asked Yarrick whether they should seek the Primarchs’ opinion.

Yarrick asked Tu'Shan whether he could reach a Primarch, and Tu'Shan used a Librarian to contact Ramesses for advice on the Armageddon campaign. Arthur approved Yarrick's plan to strike the Orks, while insisting that protecting Imperial lives took priority over capturing Ghazghkull for Webway experiments.

• Yarrick questioned Tu'Shan about requesting an audience with a Primarch, and Tu'Shan confirmed that he could contact one as a Chapter Master.
• Tu'Shan ordered a Librarian to contact Ramesses because Armageddon's fate required the Primarch's judgment.
• Ramesses projected Arthur into the communication, and Arthur reviewed Yarrick's plan before recommending an attack on the Orks.
• A Void Whale disrupted the Wings of Dawn First Fleet as it traveled through the Webway, and the escort ships drove it away.
• Arthur rejected holding back against Ghazghkull for the sake of Webway research, and Ramesses agreed that Imperial lives came first.