Chapter Summaries

Winterborn uncovered an Andresian factory that artificially created Psykers, while Wilshire used the Thunder Hammer and the War Mask to discover the guards’ weakness to bright light and break through their defenses. As the Second Company advanced through the noble district, Nimrod led another assault and the King of Andres unleashed a vast force against the Honor Guard.

• Winterborn’s song helped calm the enslaved Psykers as his warriors killed their Andresian controllers and found a factory where humans were used to create Psykers.
• Nimrod learned from Winterborn’s report that the Andresians were manufacturing Psykers, then received word that the Lord of Light had attacked the noble residential district.
• Wilshire’s unit fought elite Andresian guards, and Wilshire put on the War Mask after a guard member was killed.
• Wilshire realized the Andresians struggled in bright light, hurled the Thunder Hammer into their ranks, and illuminated the battlefield to rout them.
• After the Second Legion broke through in the noble palace district, Nimrod attacked as the King of Andres sent ten thousand guards and more than a thousand war machines against the Honor Guard.

Nimrod defeated the Andresians on Stevenage and received reports on the rescued humans, including an exceptionally gifted young Psyker named Ramsey. Back on Vostonia, he heard Magos Wojciech Belik’s account of Forge World offers for the Belik Battle Tank, with Huangquan VIII presenting the most generous terms.

• Nimrod swept through the Andresian army with golden flames, killing King of Andres and securing victory on Stevenage.
• Lucas reported that the 18th Legion had rescued nearly two million enslaved humans and developed a glove for harvesting Stevenage III’s mushrooms.
• Alex and Shikodran described the Dusk Raiders’ strengths and weaknesses, and Nimrod ordered their squads to keep fighting alongside them.
• Thomas reported that the rescued Psykers included the exceptionally talented eleven-year-old Ramsey, and Nimrod ordered that the boy be carefully trained.
• Nimrod ordered the Andresians’ Psyker-creation research recorded but halted further attempts to create Psykers.
• Wojciech Belik reported that Gryphonne IV and other Forge Worlds sought Belik Battle Tank manufacturing rights, then said Huangquan VIII had offered the most generous terms.

Nimrod negotiated with Huangquan VIII for forge-world technologies and organized his potion materials while formalizing his growing territory into the Vostonia and Necromunda sub-sectors. After Malcador approved the new subdivisions, Nimrod sent three Chapters to expand into the Necromunda Sub-sector, and Huangquan VIII's representatives arrived.

• Wojciech Belik reported Huangquan VIII's offer of supplies, Titans, Knight Mechs, and manufacturing technologies, and Nimrod requested its Invisibility Shroud and Anti-Auspex System technologies.
• Nimrod sorted the potion materials gathered from expeditionary fleets and found large stores of Star Crystals, Clown masks, Night Owl eyes, and Big-Eared Bats.
• Nimrod and Arsena Dunn reviewed the territory centered on Vostonia, and Nimrod named the region the Vostonia Sub-sector and the area around Necromunda the Necromunda Sub-sector.
• Malcador approved the establishment of both sub-sectors, and Nimrod dispatched the Fourth, Sixth, and Ninth Chapters to explore and conquer the Necromunda Sub-sector.
• Representatives from Huangquan VIII arrived a month later.

Nimrod finalized an alliance with Huangquan VIII and welcomed Great Magos Rian Ramillies, who pledged his Ark and Skitarii to Nimrod in hopes of recovering sacred templates. Nimrod promised to lead him to a newly discovered STC, though Ramillies doubted the claim.

• Nimrod chose Huangquan VIII's Anti-Auspex technology and approved an alliance after reviewing the negotiated terms.
• Nimrod and Magos Sergio signed the alliance, with Wojciech Belik serving as the liaison.
• Nimrod welcomed Rian Ramillies to Vostonia and later authorized Gryphonne IV to produce the Belik Battle Tank if it offered technology of equal value.
• Ramillies praised Nimrod's achievements, then pledged his Mechanicus Ark Explorer and Skitarii to serve him and aid in recovering sacred templates.
• Nimrod welcomed Ramillies and said he would take him to recover a newly discovered STC, while Ramillies privately calculated that the claim was extraordinarily unlikely.

Nimrod used the Dice of Prophecy to chart a route to Orsenx and ordered the fleet to search for the Star Fortress STC, while John became a true Monster. At Orsenx, Nimrod’s forces found hostile Andrew Robots, and Nimrod flew out to engage them as their coordinated fire tracked his movements.

• Nimrod used the Dice of Prophecy to reveal a star chart to Orsenx and inferred that the STC there might be connected to intelligent machinery.
• Nimrod ordered the fleet to prepare for Orsenx, and John’s vision and silvery Astral Body confirmed that he had become a true Monster.
• Five work cycles later, Nimrod’s fleet and the Explorer departed for Orsenx, where scans revealed an airless rocky planet with an anomalous signal.
• Nimrod sent Rian a message identifying the planet with the STC, then led fifteen Stormbirds toward its surface.
• Andrew Robots fired on the descending gunships, and Nimrod hurled the Spear of Dionysus through one before drawing their coordinated fire.
• The Andrew Robots predicted Nimrod’s evasive movements and kept their energy-beam net trained on him as a rune lit between his wings.

Nimrod helped Rian search Orsenx for a Standard Template Construct while purging the Andrew Robots, and arranged for John to study prophetic data after taking a Machine potion. The chapter ended with Rian finding a Ramillies-class Star Fortress construction template, a discovery that could transform the Imperium’s military strategy.

• Nimrod destroyed the Andrew Robots attacking him and ordered their heads and necks collected for study.
• Nimrod sent Andrea with Rian to keep the Great Magos focused on finding the Standard Template Construct, while Rian identified the Andrew Robots as abominable intelligence.
• Nimrod gave John a Machine potion and Flao’s prophetic Data Crystal, then left him to study its contents.
• Nimrod continued fighting the Andrew Robots for fifty-eight stellar days, then received Rian’s message that he had found a Ramillies-class Star Fortress construction template.

Nimrod arranged for Rian Ramillies to build a Ramillies-class Star Fortress at Cypra Mundi and combine its design with sacred templates to create a Legion-exclusive model. After returning to Vostonia, Nimrod negotiated with Gryphonne IV and Mars for manufacturing rights, seeking four Gloriana-class Battleships from Mars.

• Nimrod told Rian Ramillies that only he could authorize which forge worlds built the Ramillies-class Star Fortress and tasked him with combining its design with four sacred templates for the Shadow of Order.
• After touring the Shadow of the Throne's reactor, void shields, and Simulacrum Sanctum, Rian agreed to build the first star fortress at Cypra Mundi before 837 using whatever resources he needed.
• Nimrod ordered Merson to garrison Orsenx and oversee local administration and mining, then the Eleventh Legion's fleet returned to Vostonia after a ten-month voyage.
• Wojciech Belik reported that Gryphonne IV would trade Hunt-Master Suit manufacturing technology for authorization to produce the Belik Battle Tank, and Nimrod agreed.
• Wojciech Belik reported that Mars offered to build two Gloriana-class Battleships in exchange for authorization to manufacture the star fortress, and Nimrod demanded four.

Kirkland and the 11th Chapter’s Second Company joined Eisfeld of the 18th Legion to investigate a space hulk and carry out the Primarch’s order to secure it as a training base. After boarding, they mapped its interior and killed two mutated creatures, with Eisfeld recognizing the Shadow of Order’s keen perception as an asset for exploring hulks.

• Kirkland examined the space hulk and learned that Nicholas and the 18th Legion’s Chief Librarian and Lord of the Forge would help find it a permanent home in Islington.
• Kirkland’s Second Company joined Eisfeld’s team, and Eisfeld cut an entrance into a vessel fused into the hulk.
• Eisfeld’s Servitors deployed a seismic detector, and the team used its map to enter the hulk.
• Kirkland and Eisfeld shot a leopard-spider hybrid approaching through the interior.
• Kirkland and his guards destroyed another mutated creature, and Eisfeld noted the Shadow of Order’s keen perception made them well suited to exploring space hulks.

Nimrod reviewed the Legion’s growing strength and supply problems, cultivated Librarian Nicholas, and secured alliances and Titan support. After divining Lucius’s location, he sent the Eleventh Legion’s fleet there.

• Arsena Dunn reported the Legion’s operations, losses, recruitment, and delayed supplies, and Nimrod ordered Islington turned into a training base.
• Nimrod summoned Nicholas and decided to cultivate the Storm Discipline Psyker as a Beyonder of the Tyrant pathway.
• Magos Wojciech Belik reported Mars’s offer of three Gloriana-class Battleships, and Nimrod set deadlines for their delivery.
• Nimrod signed an alliance with Gryphonne IV and requisitioned its War Griffons Titans and Skitarii for the conquest of the Necromunda Sub-sector.
• Nimrod used the Dice of Prophecy to divine a star chart from Vostonia to Lucius.
• Navigator Prime Eden Visscher plotted the route, and the Eleventh Legion’s fleet set sail for Lucius.

In 829.M30, Nimrod negotiated an alliance with Lucius, trading authorization for the Belik Battle Tank and Ramillies-class Star Fortress templates for Solar Alloy and Gas Fractionation Technology. The pact was signed, committing Lucius's Titans to fight alongside the Shadow of Order and directing its Ramillies-class Star Fortresses to Nimrod's allies and designated recipients.

• Magos Wojciech Belik informed Lucius about Nimrod, the Empire, and the Imperium, prompting Fabricator-General Mathieu-12 to agree to meet Nimrod.
• Nimrod arrived on Lucius and saw its immense factories, slave laborers, and production facilities as Mathieu-12 introduced the forge world's capabilities.
• Mathieu-12 offered Lucius's support in exchange for the Ramillies-class Star Fortress and Belik Battle Tank templates, and Nimrod negotiated the terms.
• Nimrod agreed to authorize the Belik Battle Tank template in return for one-third of Lucius's average annual Solar Alloy production, and to authorize the Ramillies-class Star Fortress template in return for Gas Fractionation Technology.
• Nimrod required Lucius to supply its Ramillies-class Star Fortresses first to his allies and designated recipients, and Mathieu-12 accepted.
• Fifteen stellar days later, Nimrod and Mathieu-12 signed the alliance pact, which committed eighty-five Titans from the Void Walker to fight alongside the Shadow of Order.

Nimrod rewarded the 7th Legion, considered the Third Legion's losses, and prepared to make Kasai the 8th Legion's recruitment world. He sent Thierry a star chart and orders to sail there and recruit the Kaser people.

• Nimrod assigned a Relic-class warship to the 7th Legion and a newly built Gloriana-class Battleship to the First Chapter.
• Nimrod learned that only two hundred members remained in the Third Legion after the Proxima Rebellion, a viral attack, and the theft of its gene-seed, and anticipated Fulgrim's return would help it recover.
• Nimrod used the Dice of Prophecy to divine a star chart from the Tyne System to Kasai.
• Thierry reported that the 8th Legion had 8,150 members and expected to purge the Tyne System's xenos in three weeks.
• Nimrod instructed Thierry to take the 8th Legion to Kasai, recruit the Kaser people, and learn Elvira Swordsmanship.

Nimrod prepared to pursue the Osiris Mind-Seeds and received news that the 7th Legion had found Nocturne and a giant who might be Vulkan. After Tsvetana was killed while thwarting a plot against Nimrod, the rumors targeting the Shadow of Order stopped, and Nimrod went to Mars with Howard Fender to receive the Gloriana-class Battleship.

• Nimrod ordered the First Chapter to Mars, the 11th Chapter to accompany him to the Sol System, and the 7th Legion to assemble on Catachan before he pursued the Osiris Mind-Seeds.
• A Primarch's Attendant reported that the 7th Legion's Third Company had found Nocturne and a giant who had fought off Aeldari raiders, and Nimrod sent the news to The Emperor.
• On Terra, an agent called the Instigator killed Tsvetana and was then destroyed by a librarian's explosives after his Enlightenment Organization's operation collapsed.
• Maria told Nimrod that Tsvetana's death ended rumors about the Shadow of Order, and Nimrod ordered her subordinates aboard the Shadow of the Throne rather than pursuing the remaining enemies.
• Nimrod met Howard Fender on Mars and accepted the handover of the Gloriana-class Battleship, then sent Howard to receive it.

Thierry Vieira brought the 8th Legion to Kasai Prime to secure the Kaser people's loyalty and make their world a recruitment ground. After displaying his strength and learning of the Kasers' swordsmanship, he challenged their chief master, Mika Wright, and their duel began.

• Thierry ordered a planetwide broadcast, and the Kaser noble alliance pledged loyalty to The Monarch and invited him to the surface.
• Thierry landed on Kasai Prime, met Mika Wright and the Kaser nobles, and quickly tamed a powerful red horse.
• Thierry observed the Kasers' sword duels and learned from Wright that all Kasers trained in swordsmanship and nobles had to earn the title of master.
• Thierry challenged Wright to a swordsmanship duel to demonstrate his strength and win the Kasers' submission.
• Thierry and Wright entered the arena, infused their blades with power, and began their duel with Wright's first attack.

Mika Wright lost to Thierry in a swordsmanship duel, impressing him with the Kaser People’s skills and revealing that their rune-forged blades granted nobles limited psychic power. Meanwhile, Nimrod prepared the Lucifer Blacks for battle and departed with The Emperor’s summons to Nocturne to welcome a newly discovered Primarch.

• Wright used Elvira sword techniques against Thierry, but Thierry defeated him by disarming him with Article 23 of Osberch-Vaya.
• Wright explained that Kaser Swordsmiths used rune stones to forge blades that gave nobles psychic power, and the Librarian identified the craft as technomantic.
• Theo told Nimrod that he and Laurent had assembled a company of 250 Lucifer Blacks, and Nimrod ordered them to follow him into battle at Osiris.
• Arsena Dunn told Nimrod that The Emperor had summoned him to Nocturne to welcome a newly discovered Primarch, and Nimrod ordered the fleet to prepare for departure.
• Two days later, the fleet departed aboard the Shadow of the Throne and the Gloriana-class Battleship Judgment.

Nimrod and The Old Man in Yellow arrived on Nocturne, where the outsider challenged Vulkan to a contest with Nimrod as his champion. Their arm-wrestling match ended in a draw, and the next contest—a race to retrieve a Lava Gem—began.

• Nimrod flew to Nocturne with The Old Man in Yellow and Alpharius, then killed a lion and a giant scorpion with his golden wings as they crossed the Aridya Plain.
• The trio reached a gathering celebrating Vulkan's victory over the Dusk Nether, and The Old Man in Yellow challenged Vulkan to wager loyalty on a contest between Vulkan and Nimrod.
• Vulkan accepted the challenge, and the first contest, arm wrestling, began before the people of Nocturne.
• Nimrod and Vulkan cracked the basalt seat during their match, and Nimrod declared that Vulkan would have won if they had continued.
• A Nocturne elder announced a race to retrieve a ten-meter Lava Gem, and the contest began.

Nimrod defeated Vulkan in the footrace and drew with him in the anvil-lifting contest, leaving the people of Nocturne astonished by how evenly matched they were. Their final contest began with each forging a weapon to hunt Salamanders on Mount Deathfire, and the chapter ended as golden flames rose in Nimrod’s furnace.

• Nimrod outran Vulkan in the footrace, carried the Lava Gem back to the village, and was declared the winner.
• Over the following six days, Nimrod and Vulkan traded victories across the contests.
• Nimrod and Vulkan held their anvils until sunset, and the Council of Nobles declared their contest a draw.
• An elder announced that Nimrod and Vulkan would forge weapons and hunt Salamanders on Mount Deathfire, with the largest kill deciding the final victory.
• Vulkan forged with practiced skill while Nimrod began making a weapon using his memories of Miguel Steelworks.
• The Emperor told Alpharius that Nimrod’s command of fire and advantage in finding the largest Salamander could overcome Vulkan’s greater forging skill and familiarity with Mount Deathfire.

Nimrod finished forging a golden sword and traveled to Mount Deathfire, where he discovered that Nocturne’s World Serpents could trap even Primarchs in their shared dreams. After realizing he could stay lucid and kill them, he harvested forty-eight World Serpents and stored their bodies in the Kingdom of Disorder.

• Nimrod used immense quantities of ore to forge a golden longsword in one hour, while Vulkan completed a silver great hammer after nearly a day of work.
• Nimrod went to Mount Deathfire and followed the strongest presence he sensed into a cavern beneath Nocturne, where he found World Serpents coiled around the planet’s core.
• The World Serpents drew Nimrod, Freddy, and John into a fiery dream, but Nimrod recognized the illusion and woke himself.
• Nimrod used his golden wings and the Spear of Dionysus to kill World Serpents while preserving their potion materials, and Freddy woke after Nimrod had killed four.
• Nimrod killed forty-eight World Serpents, let the others escape, and began moving the corpses into the Kingdom of Disorder.

Nimrod rescued Vulkan during their Salamander hunt, then won the contest and earned Vulkan’s loyalty, revealing himself as the Emperor and welcoming Nocturne back into the Imperium. The 18th Legion arrived three days later, and Vulkan and Cassian Vaughn discussed Nimrod’s Bastion-class Energy Shield technology.

• Nimrod killed and carried off a giant Salamander while Vulkan hunted another inside Mount Deathfire.
• When a tremor trapped Vulkan on a cliff with his prey, Nimrod flew over and lifted him and the Salamander to safety without abandoning his own catch.
• Nimrod and Vulkan returned to the village, where the Council of Nobles named Nimrod the winner and Vulkan knelt to pledge his loyalty.
• Nimrod revealed himself as the Emperor, welcomed Vulkan back to the Imperium, and Nocturne’s celebration became a celebration of the Emperor’s arrival.
• The 18th Legion arrived on Nocturne three days later, and Vulkan and Cassian Vaughn discussed Nimrod’s citywide Bastion-class Energy Shield technology.

Nimrod arranged Bastion-class Energy Shields and trade with Vulkan for Nocturne, then received two Relic-class warships and ordered his forces toward the Osiris Sector. As Worsotto’s fleet faced destruction, Nimrod’s reinforcements began to arrive.

• Nimrod agreed to send a technical team to install and maintain Bastion-class Energy Shields on Nocturne in exchange for Vulkan’s weapons and a trade deal involving Salamanders.
• Nimrod dispatched Tech Sergeants and a Lawyer to handle Nocturne’s shields and trade, then received two Relic-class warships from The Old Man in Yellow.
• After learning that Worsotto had taken only fourteen thousand Sons of War to the Osiris Sector, Nimrod ordered his fleet to set out and assigned the Relic-class warships to the 7th Legion.
• Nimrod contacted Sanchez through the Kingdom of Disorder and ordered most available forces to proceed to the Osiris Sector while keeping a garrison on Catachan.
• Worsotto’s fleet came under overwhelming attack, and he ordered an astropathic warning sent while naming Marius Gage to assume command of the Legion.
• The Vox Master reported that the Auspex Augur Array had detected a large fleet, identifying the 33rd Fleet and two hundred and fifteen vessels.

Glenn Worsoto’s 13th Legion was rescued when Nimrod’s fleet arrived and devastated the rebel ships with coordinated fire. Worsoto withdrew his battered legion, while Nimrod’s forces took over the battle and pursued the xenos controlling human minds.

• Glenn Worsoto ordered his ships to fight on until the 33rd Fleet arrived and attacked the rebels.
• Diana Pauline and the officers aboard Shadow of the Throne used the Simulacrum Sanctum to coordinate precise fleet-wide attacks that destroyed about one-fifth of the enemy ships.
• Glenn Worsoto thanked Nimrod for the rescue, then withdrew the damaged 13th Legion after asking Nimrod to aid the Sons of War still fighting on the surface.
• Arsena Dunn reported that the 7th Legion had joined the battle and that Shadow of Order forces were targeting the mind-controlling xenos.
• Nimrod directed his forces to find the xenos rather than waste their strength slaughtering human rebels.