Chapter Summaries

Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka and the Orks emerged into a Webway consumed by battle, only to find their gate shut behind them. They joined the fighting to survive while a powerful, unseen figure prepared to sever the Webway fragment from the Warp.

• Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka emerged from the sanctuary and saw Khorne and Slaanesh Daemons, Drukhari, Webway creatures, Medusae, and Mandrakes fighting across the passage.
• Orkimedes fired a Supergravity Bomb that cleared a temporary zone, and he and Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka realized the Webway was far more dangerous than expected.
• Orkimedes suggested building up strength and eventually escaping, but the Webway gate flickered out and trapped the Orks inside.
• Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka ordered the Orks to move and led them into battle, where they attacked the creatures around them and gathered corpses to nourish new Boyz.
• Above the battlefield, a shining, twisted figure praised the Orks and used an ancient relic of the Old Ones at the seam between the Webway and the Warp, intending to tear the fragment away.

Ramesses severed and sealed a Webway fragment while Guilliman oversaw preparations to stabilize it, but Gork and Mork arrived to stop humanity from becoming the galaxy’s next overlord. The Emperor’s avatar faced their attack as Ramesses tried to hold them off, and the Emperor said he would arrive in nine minutes.

• Ramesses used the Three Artifacts to cut a Webway section off from the main network and positioned it for eventual reconnection.
• Guilliman reviewed the sealing operation and began prioritizing a Webway Environmental Stabilization Plan while preparing his Segmentum Obscurus inspection tour.
• Gork and Mork emerged in the Warp and attacked the Emperor’s avatar, determined to prevent humanity from becoming the galaxy’s next overlord.
• Ramesses used the Emperor’s avatar as a shield and reinforced the barrier around the Webway fragment as Gork and Mork’s attacks began to crack the golden defense.
• The Emperor said he was nine minutes away, and Guilliman’s expression darkened.

Ramesses coordinated Heaven of No Form’s scholars and Aeldari to defend the Webway fragment from Gork and Mork, while the Emperor struggled to control his competing personalities. Their collective defenses frustrated the Ork gods’ attacks, and Trazyn arrived eager to help with the C’tan.

• The Emperor’s competing personalities fought for control as he tried to protect humanity and stop Gork and Mork without harming Ramesses.
• Ramesses returned to Heaven of No Form and ordered its personnel to analyze Gork and Mork and improve the Warp defenses, offering rewards for their work.
• Aeldari Farseers, scholars, and other personnel devised and implemented a coordinated defense that made Ramesses difficult for Gork and Mork to hit and diverted Mork’s strike away from the Webway fragment.
• Gork and Mork attacked Ramesses and the Webway fragment, but Heaven of No Form’s defenses dispersed or redirected their blows.
• Trazyn noticed the effort to fight the Orks and offered to help, believing the C’tan were the way to deal with them.

Gork and Mork continued battling Ramesses in the Warp while Jaghatai and the Aeldari struggled to counter them. Trazyn proposed using upgraded Necron Floating Stone Towers to fight them, and Cegorach judged the plan promising.

• Gork and Mork battered Ramesses in the Warp as the conflict destabilized the surrounding region and harmed beings across Realspace.
• Jaghatai coordinated Heaven of No Form’s efforts, and Ramesses granted him permissions to help fight back against the Ork gods.
• Ulthran, Sylandri, and an ancient Aeldari sage acknowledged that their Warp-based countermeasures could only maintain an costly stalemate.
• Trazyn offered to use Necron technology to help and presented a Floating Stone Tower, but Jaghatai said it would not be powerful enough against Gork and Mork.
• Trazyn explained that mass-produced C’tan Shards let the Necrons remove the towers’ old safety limits and unleash greater power, and Cegorach appeared to find the proposal effective.

Jaghatai explained how a C'tan domain and the Floating Stone Tower could turn the Warp battle against Gork and Mork into a material confrontation, and Ramesses called Arthur for help. Arthur halted the Imperial advance on Armageddon and concentrated the fleet’s firepower on the Beast Fortress, leaving the Beast dead and asking Ramesses to take him to the Webway.

• Jaghatai used liminal space to evade Gork and Mork’s attacks and explained that the Floating Stone Tower could quantify Warp powers inside a C'tan domain.
• Ramesses decided to abandon the Warp confrontation and use a Blackstone Fortress at the Webway fragments, then contacted Arthur for support.
• Arthur ordered Yarrick to stop the advance on Armageddon and redirect all available fire support toward the Beast Fortress.
• Imperial artillery, Lances, and other weapons destroyed the Beast and the Orks surrounding it.
• Arthur asked Ramesses to take him to the Webway.

Gork and Mork tried to rescue Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka through the Webway, but Arthur and Trazyn activated the Floating Stone Towers and turned the invading Waaagh! energy into material Orks. Gork and Mork were left reeling at the alliance of humans, Aeldari, Necrons, and Warp forces arrayed against them.

• Gork and Mork weakened the God of No Form and poured Waaagh! energy into the Webway to reach Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka while guarding against Ramesses and Jaghatai.
• Ramesses told Arthur to activate Plan B after Gork and Mork refused to take the bait, and Arthur coordinated with Trazyn.
• Trazyn ordered the Phase Technicians to activate the twelve Floating Stone Towers, whose domains materialized the Waaagh! energy as Orks inside the Webway.
• Arthur fought the materialized Orks as the Floating Stone Towers unleashed attacks that cleared Gork and Mork's forces from the Green Nest.
• Gork and Mork realized that humans, Aeldari, Necrons, and Warp powers had joined forces, and they pounded the Webway barrier in protest.

The Emperor revealed himself to Gork and Mork, joined the defense of the Webway, and chose to trust the Wings of Dawn’s approach to uniting humanity and other races. On Armageddon, Yarrick and Tu'Shan confirmed the planet’s victory as the surviving Orks fled or were exterminated.

• Gork and Mork debated why the galaxy’s other races had joined forces against them, then discovered the Emperor hiding nearby.
• The Emperor attacked Gork and Mork, reflected on the Wings of Dawn’s success and his own failures, and decided to trust his allies.
• The Warp’s divided consciousnesses reached a consensus to protect the Webway, and the Emperor carried Gork and Mork away to fight them.
• Tu'Shan checked on Yarrick, who said their forces had defended their home and won the war.
• Yarrick’s command vehicle moved across Armageddon as Ork forces were exterminated or fled and rescue teams emerged from the ruins.

After the Wings of Dawn secured the Webway, Ramesses rewarded Heaven of No Form’s staff and announced performance-based reforms before turning his attention back to the Emperor’s ongoing battle with Gork and Mork. Romulus, Karna, Guilliman, and Arthur then discussed the Emperor’s conduct and the challenge of managing divine powers, ending with the group hinting at a plan.

• Ramesses appointed Ulthran to lead the Aeldari Exchange Committee, Sylandri to head the Information Department, and Jaghatai to direct research, development, and crisis management.
• Ramesses announced that underperforming groups would be reorganized and staff assessed fairly, then ordered departments to record performance and distribute rewards before the holiday.
• Ramesses concealed Heaven of No Form behind layered safeguards and watched as the Emperor continued fighting Gork and Mork in the Warp.
• Romulus criticized the Emperor for watching the Wings of Dawn’s battle before intervening, while Guilliman stayed silent and Karna urged a review instead of an angry outburst.
• Arthur, Karna, Ramesses, and Romulus discussed how humanity should relate to gods and manage their immense powers, and Romulus exchanged meaningful looks with his companions.

After the crisis with Gork and Mork, Ramesses considered how Wings of Dawn could build a pantheon and govern divine authority without losing touch with humanity. He devised a plan to cultivate people and make his companions gods, while Trazyn watched the Aeldari’s renewed happiness with envy.

• Romulus assigned Ramesses to oversee Heaven of No Form’s personnel work and required Wings of Dawn to remain its core leadership collective.
• Ramesses reviewed potential Warp seats and considered recruiting Cegorach and Isha, while concluding that divine authority needed advice, oversight, and connection to the people it served.
• Ramesses proposed cultivating people, establishing a pantheon, and letting his trusted companions become gods, then divided tasks and prepared to present his plan to Romulus.
• Trazyn stayed after the commendation ceremony and sighed as he watched Cegorach blend in with the Aeldari and Jaghatai laugh freely among his people.

Trazyn worried that he could not help the Necrons, and Ramesses encouraged him to trust his own judgment and take the initiative as Wings of Dawn’s Necron representative. Trazyn agreed to seek cooperation with suitable Necron dynasties, and Ramesses took him to discuss the plan with Arthur as Wings of Dawn prepared for conflict in Commorragh.

• Trazyn confided that he felt conflicted about the Necrons’ future and lacked confidence in his ability to intervene.
• Ramesses helped Trazyn clarify that he wanted to give the Necrons a new choice, then urged him to begin with dynasties willing to cooperate.
• Trazyn proposed approaching Anrakyr, Trazyn, and other Necron allies, then accepted the role of representing them to Wings of Dawn.
• Ramesses and Trazyn went to find Arthur to discuss recruiting Necron allies before Wings of Dawn’s planned fight in Commorragh.

Ramesses brought Trazyn to Armageddon High Command, where Arthur reprimanded military officials for glorifying Yarrick’s overwork and denying soldiers proper rest. Arthur ended the council by insisting that the Wings of Dawn existed to improve humanity’s lives, leaving the commanders applauding his address.

• Ramesses escorted the anxious Trazyn through the security posts to the military council chamber while considering the Wings of Dawn’s future campaigns and responsibilities.
• Kai thanked Camael for keeping Ramesses away from the Dark Angels and refused to explain the Legion’s cipher markings when Camael asked.
• Arthur condemned officials for publishing propaganda that praised Yarrick for working while ill and for pushing exhausted troops into reconstruction work, and he ordered demotions and corrective measures.
• Arthur told the commanders that neither heroes nor ordinary people should have to live exhausted, and argued that military organization and welfare should give people time to recover and care for one another.
• Aglaia Hesychode applauded Arthur’s closing address, and the commanders, including Trazyn, joined her.

Arthur assembled the Imperium's military leaders to plan an extermination campaign against Commorragh, assigning Yarrick a major role in Armageddon's reconstruction and the Salamanders as tactical advisors. The meeting ended with Trazyn approaching Arthur with news, though the chapter did not reveal what it was.

• Arthur praised Yarrick's work and entrusted him with responsibility for Armageddon's postwar reconstruction and administration.
• Arthur asked Tu'Shan and the Salamanders to advise the campaign against Commorragh, and Tu'Shan assigned Forgefather He'stan to expand the Chapter with help from Huron and Calgar.
• Arthur's gathered forces began planning a war of extermination against Commorragh, while he worried that Slaanesh might intervene through the gates linking the city to Her domain.
• Ramesses complained about the military representatives' delays, and Arthur criticized their political maneuvering as they prepared to change their approach.
• Ramesses directed Arthur to Trazyn for the good news, and Trazyn sidled up to him with a fawning grin.

Arthur brought Trazyn to Macragge's Honour to involve Guilliman in negotiations with the Necrons. Guilliman learned that several Primarchs had cooperated with xenos before, then returned to the mountain of Aeldari paperwork.

• Arthur agreed to hear Trazyn's request and sent Ramesses to fetch Guilliman, with Trazyn leading the way.
• Ramesses and Trazyn arrived at Macragge's Honour, where Guilliman was managing the Imperium's administrative work alongside Yvraine and Aeldari representatives.
• Ramesses showed Guilliman several different skulls, prompting Trazyn to replace his Necron skull with a human-like metal one and declare that he had been human for a long time.
• Trazyn revealed that the Silent King had helped Sanguinius, and Arthur and Romulus described Sanguinius's and Lion El'Jonson's cooperation with xenos.
• Yvraine interrupted Guilliman to ask for help with the growing stack of Aeldari documents, and Guilliman chose not to tease her.

The Wings of Dawn fleet traveled through the Webway as Roboute Guilliman prepared negotiations with the Necrons and a possible assault on Commorragh. Trazyn introduced the Silent King, Szarekh, to Guilliman, leaving the fleet poised for talks that could turn into war.

• An unfamiliar human armada crossed the Webway, alarming its inhabitants while clearing Demons and obstacles from its path.
• Ramesses and Arthur guarded Guilliman as he reviewed agreements concerning Commorragh, the Radiant Star Map, and the Necron civil war.
• Huron agreed to support the White Scars in searching for Jaghatai Khan and developing the Maelstrom Webway.
• Guilliman prioritized deploying troops against Commorragh and gaining oversight rights over the Radiant Star Map, while keeping the fleet ready to attack the Necrons if negotiations failed.
• Yvraine gave Guilliman the compiled Necron materials, and Trazyn presented the Silent King Szarekh.

Guilliman learned that Necron factions were divided over the Silent King and that many Necrons wanted their souls restored, then traveled with Trazyn to seek help from Orikan the Astromancer. The mission began with Orikan angrily rejecting Trazyn over the communication channel.

• Trazyn described the Silent King as both capable and disastrous, and Guilliman concluded that diplomatic conflict with him could benefit the Imperium.
• Trazyn explained that Imotekh, Anrakyr, and the Silent King led rival Necron factions, while many Necrons yearned to regain their souls.
• Guilliman learned that the fleet would visit Trazyn's old friend Orikan to open communications with other Necrons.
• The Imperial fleet reached Orikan's Tomb World, and Trazyn contacted him to ask for help.
• Orikan cursed Trazyn and told him to get lost, leaving the bridge silent.

Orikan confronted Trazyn over seeking human help without involving him, then agreed to assist the Necron state visit. The friends’ reunion ended in a brawl that Guilliman accepted as a promising start to human-Necron relations.

• Orikan told Trazyn to get lost when Trazyn contacted him from the human fleet, but Ramesses explained that the insult did not mean Orikan would refuse to help.
• Guilliman ordered Cato Sicarius to hold the fleet while Trazyn teleported to Orikan’s library.
• Trazyn asked Orikan to help the Necrons’ future, and Orikan mocked his judgment before Trazyn realized he was angry at being left out.
• Trazyn formally requested Orikan’s assistance as the Necron representative, and Orikan accepted.
• Trazyn and Orikan exchanged blows and fought over Trazyn’s exhibits while the Imperials watched and recorded the scene.
• Guilliman praised their friendship, and the Aeldari prepared to preserve the brawl as the start of a new era in human-Necron relations.

Orikan finished his contest with Trazyn and agreed to meet the guests gathered aboard the Dawn. After seeing the unlikely alliance assembled before Guilliman, he wondered whether Orks might join them as well.

• Orikan defeated Trazyn in a fight beneath his palace and repaired his damaged body.
• Trazyn explained that he could feel fatigue and other feedback even without his personality data.
• Orikan discovered that Trazyn had secretly visited his library and taken strategic technology and other objects.
• Orikan and Trazyn followed the ancient Dynasties’ ceremonial customs and traveled to the Dawn to meet the guests.
• Orikan surveyed Guilliman, Ramesses, Arthur, Yvraine, and the other assembled beings, then wondered whether Orks might appear among them one day.
• Trazyn replied that Orks joining the group was not impossible.

Orikan met Guilliman, Arthur, and Ramesses aboard Dawn and accepted their proposal to trade soul-rental services with the Necrons. He arranged a meeting with Nemesor Zahndrekh on Gidrim, then revealed to Trazyn that the Silent King was preparing to announce an attempt at reverse biotransference.

• Orikan studied Guilliman, Arthur, and Ramesses and sensed that their power and personalities differed from those of C'tan and Warp entities.
• Guilliman offered Orikan the Soul Rental Plan, setting out Wings of Dawn's soul-rental services and safety requirements as a transaction.
• Orikan agreed to introduce the group to potential Necron contacts and chose Nemesor Zahndrekh on Gidrim as their first target.
• Guilliman pointed out Gidrim, and Orikan activated the long-range communication protocol to contact Zahndrekh.
• Orikan told Trazyn that the Silent King was also pursuing reverse biotransference and was about to announce it.

Trazyn and Orikan prepared to meet Zahndrekh, whose old-fashioned honor and apparent madness made him a promising ally in the Necron civil war. At Gidrim, Zahndrekh welcomed prisoners from many species as honored guests and mistook a Tyranid Termagant for a pet, leaving his officials to manage his latest diplomatic request.

• Trazyn learned that Zarathusa had made progress toward reversing biotransference and that Szarekh planned to use the discovery to win support through soul leasing.
• Orikan explained that Zahndrekh still believed he was a Necrontyr general and would likely treat the Imperium’s delegation according to ancient Necrontyr customs.
• Trazyn invited Orikan to visit the Human History Museum, and Orikan went to meet Zahndrekh as the delegation’s messenger.
• At Gidrim, Zahndrekh held a banquet for captured humans, Aeldari, Orks, Snake-men, and Medusa, calling them his fellow Necrontyr.
• Zahndrekh praised a Tyranid Termagant as an adorable dog and ordered his ceremonial officer to arrange a trade for its breeding techniques.

At a banquet on Gidrim, Trazyn abandoned plans to fight the Tyranids and instead welcomed human captives and other guests with formal courtesy. As the courtiers plotted to overthrow him and the gathered races made strange alliances and bargains, the Ork warboss concluded that everyone around him had gone mad.

• Trazyn reconsidered diplomacy with the Tyranids after Obyron agreed with him, while Lord Bateph rallied courtiers to plot Trazyn's overthrow and eventual poisoning.
• An Ork warboss watched the courtiers plan their coup as a Canoness and human captives prayed and reported to the Angel of Eternal Flame.
• Trazyn formally accepted the Canoness's request and praised the courtesy she conveyed on behalf of the Primarch.
• An Aeldari Corsair taught a Drukhari Incubus to pray to the Lord of Formlessness, and the Incubus received a temporary blessing in exchange for offering its memories and abilities.
• The banquet continued amid fragile interspecies cooperation, leaving the Ork warboss convinced that everyone else had gone mad.