Chapter Summaries

Nimrod led an expedition to the Jormungandr Star Monolith and explained its connection to the Necrons and the Sautekh Dynasty. After the others failed to find a way through the sealed entrance, he identified its control rune and opened the door.

• Nimrod brought Arsena Dunn, Gabriel, Thomas, Miguel Questa, and Sanchez to the monolith and revealed that it belonged to the Sautekh Dynasty.
• Nimrod explained that the monolith could replicate Necron warships using the power of a bound Transcendent C’tan Shard.
• Sanchez, Gabriel, Arsena, Miguel, and Thomas each examined the sealed door but could not safely open it.
• Nimrod used the Baron of Corruption’s sight to locate the door’s control rune and slapped it.
• The ground trembled as the hundred-meter-tall door slowly opened.

Nimrod led the Shadows of Order through the Jormungandr Star Monolith, where they fought its mechanical defenses and reached the structure’s central pyramid. Nimrod identified the pyramid as the Monolith’s energy core and said the Transcendent C'tan was likely inside.

• Gabriel identified the Gauss Cannons guarding the entrance, and Miguel Questa used the Heart-Forged Staff to destroy their power node.
• Sanchez destroyed a Canoptek Wraith and warned the Shadows of Order to target the machines’ energy coils.
• The Shadows of Order fought waves of Canoptek Wraiths and Canoptek Scarabs as they crossed the red onyx bridge.
• Nimrod led the group up the stairs into a vast hall filled with towering pillars and electrical arcs.
• Arsena Dunn identified the pyramid as the Monolith’s innermost structure, and Nimrod called it the energy core where the Transcendent C'tan was likely located.
• The group continued toward one of the black stone chambers at the pyramid’s base.

Nimrod and John deciphered the shifting Runes on a Sautekh control-room door and opened it safely, then discovered that a lower module contained a Foundry mass-producing Canoptek Wraiths. After ordering the group to study the memory crystals for a way to stop production, Nimrod took Freddy toward the Pyramid’s center to confront the Transcendent C’tan fragment.

• Nimrod combined his layered Mindset with John’s calculations to identify the door’s changing control node and open it without disrupting the energy crystal.
• Inside the chamber, Gabriel and Arsena deduced that its matrix controlled a functional module below, so Nimrod led the group down the stairs.
• Canoptek Wraiths ambushed the party, and Nimrod used golden flames to burn through the stronger constructs as the group continued downward.
• Gabriel discovered that the Necron Foundry automatically manufactured Canoptek Wraiths, prompting Nimrod to order a retreat to the control room to find a way to stop production.
• The Tech Sergeants, Miguel, the librarians, and Arsena began studying the memory crystals while Nimrod left John behind and took Freddy toward the Pyramid’s center.

Nimrod and Freddy encountered the Void Dragon, a powerful Transcendent C'tan bound inside the Jormungandr Star Monolith. Nimrod refused to free it and left the Pyramid, ordering everyone to stay away.

• Nimrod and Freddy entered the Pyramid, where the Void Dragon identified himself and demanded that Nimrod release him.
• Nimrod observed the Void Dragon's power and realized the Szarekhan Energy Shackles were keeping the shard contained.
• The Void Dragon manifested a towering form and tried to break free, but the Pyramid's runes suppressed him.
• Nimrod told the Void Dragon, "I want you," then decided to leave him bound until Nimrod was stronger.
• Nimrod and Freddy left the Pyramid, and Nimrod ordered everyone not to enter it.

Flamini trained with a battle axe and reviewed the mission to Zhuya, where he was temporarily assigned the duties of the 13th Company Lexicanum. After a premonition correctly predicted when he would be allowed onto the planet, he joined the instructors at a mining site and foresaw a Mitu attack through the newly opened tunnels.

• Flamini completed his blood-reconstructing organ implantation, trained with a battle axe, and reviewed his mission brief for Zhuya.
• Flamini learned that he would accompany the battle force as an observer and temporarily perform the duties of the 13th Company Lexicanum.
• When the Shadows of Order asked when they could go to the surface, Flamini foresaw that it would be in fifteen days, and the prediction came true.
• Flamini landed on Zhuya with five veteran instructors and the other trainees to guard a newly opened mining area.
• After an instructor explained how Termite Drills could be used for surprise attacks, Flamini warned that the Mitu would attack through the tunnels.

Flamini helped the instructors ambush the Mitu on Zhuya and killed dozens of them aboard a Termite Drill. The chapter then followed Nimrod and Sanchez as they arrived on Attila and observed its fierce horse-riding tribes.

• Flamini warned the instructors that more than ten thousand Mitu were underground and suggested collapsing their tunnels with explosives.
• Flamini and the instructors planted explosives, then detonated them when the Mitu approached, burying many of the xenos.
• Flamini joined an assault in a Termite Drill, firing its Incendiary Assault Gun and killing eighty-six Mitu.
• Nimrod and Sanchez traveled to Attila, where Nimrod observed the planet's terrain and the Attilans pursuing their Stormbird.
• Two Attilan tribes fought a bloody mounted battle, and Nimrod judged their men and horses capable but their weapons in need of improvement.

Nimrod assessed Attila as a suitable recruiting world for Sanchez’s Chapter and set limits on the tribes’ fighting while preserving their traditions. Four days later, Thibault demonstrated his strength to two khans, and Sanchez brought alarming news from Calth about a monster in the caves.

• Nimrod learned that the Attilans’ hunting lances had been modified with flame-spewing tips and asked Sanchez whether they were suited to become Hunters.
• Sanchez recommended recruiting on Attila, and Nimrod ordered that Attilan herdsmen and Oveja be introduced to livestock agri-worlds.
• Nimrod entered Kanasang, heard how the Great Khan ruled through contests of strength, and ordered the Attilans’ fights kept below a hundred deaths.
• The Great Khan and other khans welcomed Nimrod with a feast at the Khan Palace.
• On Nimrod’s fourth day on Attila, Thibault provoked two khans into charging him, then disarmed them and knocked down their warhorses.
• Sanchez told Nimrod that workers exploring caves on Calth had encountered a terrifying monster.

Nimrod learned that Gorgon Serpents in the caves of Calth had petrified two men, and he set out to investigate them. On the way, Sanchez showed him Veridian's expanding industries and Calth's growing dockyards, farms, and cities before the transport headed toward the caves.

• Sanchez reported that a team led by Polti had encountered Gorgon Serpents in Calth's caves, where two men were petrified, and Nimrod ordered the fleet to Calth.
• Nimrod arrived in the Veridian system and heard Sanchez describe Alamasta's new Foundries, Ramane's mining bases, Veridian Prime's Radiance Mark I lasgun, and Lavisol's machinery production.
• Nimrod saw Calth's orbital dockyard and learned that the planet planned to build eight more dockyards, bringing its shipbuilding capacity close to the leading worlds.
• Sanchez showed Nimrod the Delacaren Lowlands' industrial zone, the Boros River valley's farmland, and Nered's port, and Nimrod praised Calth's development.
• Sanchez identified Numinus City, Kalas Fortress, and the caves beyond the city as the transport flew toward the cave region.

Nimrod led the Shadows of Order into the caves beneath Numinus City to hunt Gorgon Serpents and collect their eyes. After the force pushed deeper underground, Polti reported that a powerful six-paired-eyed serpent had escaped after petrifying one of their warriors.

• Polti met Nimrod with twenty-seven Shadows of Order and led the force into the cave, where they followed the serpents' scent toward Numinus City.
• Polti warned Nimrod that Gorgon Serpents could petrify their targets, tear through Power Armor, and poison their victims, so Nimrod ordered the 7th Legion to strengthen its will and practice the Thelema Mindset.
• Nimrod encountered a group of Gorgon Serpents, resisted their gaze, and used his Howling mask to incapacitate them before the Honor Guard killed them and gathered their eyes.
• Nimrod used substitution of concepts on the Sword of Vaul to cut out the serpents' eyes, while Shadows of Order from the 7th Legion joined the clearing operation.
• Polti reported that a five-meter-tall Gorgon Serpent with six pairs of eyes had petrified a Shadow of Order and escaped despite being attacked by Bolters.

The Shadows of Order fought increasingly dangerous Gorgon Serpents underground, where a many-eyed King broke through their line. Nimrod strangled the King, allowing the advance to resume, but three days later he learned that a xenos fleet had attacked the Veridian System.

• The Shadows of Order struggled with dwindling ammunition and faster, more numerous Mutated Gorgon Serpents as they advanced deeper into the caverns.
• A King of Gorgon Serpents killed several Shadows of Order after its many eyes petrified one warrior and its armor resisted their fire.
• Polti provoked the King and wounded it with toxin-filled needles, but the King fled before Polti could catch it.
• Nimrod caught the King with black spiritual whips and strangled it, causing the xenos to lose morale and the Shadows of Order to advance faster.
• Three days after the King died, Nimrod received a report that a xenos fleet had appeared in the Veridian System and launched an attack.

Nimrod learned that the Sahar-Duin fleets had scattered across the region, then ordered additional Imperial forces to join the hunt and discovered the human colony worlds Ganyun and Ganz, including the future world of Konor. After more than a year of pursuit, the 7th Legion boarded an encircled Sahar-Duin fleet and found that the aliens had removed the water tanks from their backs.

• Jorginho reported that the Sahar-Duin had scattered into more than a hundred raiding fleets after the Ninth Chapter exploited their dependence on water tanks.
• Nimrod ordered the First Chapter and the 7th Legion to join the hunt, bringing more than eight hundred warships into the campaign.
• The First Company of the First Chapter discovered Ganyun and its moon Ganz, which Nimrod recognized as the future Konor.
• Nimrod reflected that Konor would become a major Ultramar world and shipbuilding site, and that its shipyards would now belong to him.
• After more than a year of hunting, Imperial forces encircled several Sahar-Duin fleets, and the 7th Legion began boarding their ships.
• Sanda entered a Sahar-Duin warship and discovered that the aliens no longer carried their water tanks on their backs.

Sanda led the 7th Company in an assault on a Sahar-Duin warship, where the xenos’ new armor and weapons slowed the Shadows of Order but left them vulnerable to fast attacks. After Sanda and the standard-bearer were killed by a towering Sahar-Duin, Polti took command and defeated the xenos leader with his fire-infused blade, routing the survivors.

• Sanda ordered the 7th Company to maneuver around the armored Sahar-Duin, whose slow movements let the Shadows of Order break through their line.
• The Shadows of Order discovered that water tubes wrapped around the Sahar-Duin kept them alive without tanks but created a new weakness.
• A towering Sahar-Duin killed Sanda with a jet of corrosive water and beheaded the standard-bearer.
• Polti took command, rallied the guard beneath the company banner, and fought the towering Sahar-Duin with a burning blade.
• Polti infused fire into the Sahar-Duin leader through their blade clashes and detonated it inside the xenos, causing the remaining Sahar-Duin to flee.

Nimrod organized Ganyun's industrial development and reviewed progress on research into the Jormungandr Star Monolith. At the War Council on Terra, he met Lion El'Jonson, who scrutinized him in silence.

• Nimrod ordered Ganyun developed as an industrial world and shipyard, assigned it a Ramillies-class Star Fortress, and arranged fortresses for five other territories.
• Dickson presented Nimrod with a Meteorite Stone, and Nimrod advanced him to Sequence 8 and placed Ganyun under his governance.
• Arsena reported that researchers had deciphered 2,750 Necron Runes, stopped Crypt Phantom production, and begun making Golden Garudas from Necrodermis-like materials.
• Nimrod received the Emperor's summons and attended a War Council on Terra the next day.
• Horus introduced Lion El'Jonson to Nimrod, and Lion scrutinized Nimrod before they exchanged brief greetings.

Horus praised Sanguinius’s victory and the rebirth of the Blood Angels before Malcador asked Nimrod to expand production of the popular Aquila Shuttle. Nimrod offered custom shuttles to several Primarchs and agreed to design a batch for Malcador and the Administratum.

• Horus praised Perturabo’s campaign record and Sanguinius’s victory in the Tegha System, where Sanguinius had named the Ninth Legion the Blood Angels.
• Malcador told Nimrod that Imperial nobles wanted more Aquila Shuttles, and Perturabo and Fulgrim praised their design.
• Nimrod offered custom Aquila Shuttles to the Primarchs, and Hannibal, Magnus, and others accepted or expressed interest.
• Russ mocked the shuttles as fragile, while Sanguinius, Horus, and Guilliman defended their usefulness for diplomacy.
• Nimrod promised shuttles for Horus, Guilliman, Hannibal, Sanguinius, Fulgrim, Magnus, and Perturabo, then agreed to make a batch for Malcador and the Administratum.

Nimrod joined the discussion of how the Imperium should handle the Squats, a human species willing to trade but unwilling to join. As Magnus was assigned to lead negotiations, Nimrod secured Cataphractii-pattern Terminator armor for the forces preparing to fight them.

• Fulgrim told Ferrus Manus that the Emperor's Children would return to the galaxy, and Nimrod realized Fulgrim might discover the valuable world of Alicia.
• The Emperor announced that the Squats were human and willing to trade, while the Fabricator-General, Vulkan, Leman Russ, Malcador, and other Primarchs debated how to approach them.
• The Emperor assigned Magnus and the Thousand Sons to negotiate with the Squats, but Nimrod recalled that their resistance to psychic powers would make the mission fail.
• Nimrod considered Ferrus Manus's past victories and identified Gardinal's Industrial Worlds as a valuable territory he could claim in advance.
• Nimrod warned that underground battles required stronger protection and asked the Fabricator-General of Mars for suitable equipment.
• The Fabricator-General announced that Mars would prioritize Cataphractii-pattern Terminator armor for the Legions fighting the Squats.

Nimrod used the Dice of Prophecy and John the Machine’s divination to learn that Aeldari pirates were attacking Alicia, then sent Howard Fender there to recruit its people for his Chapter. The chapter ended with Nimrod seeing Santiago Bergkamp injured in a medical pod and wondering whether danger at Carium Gate had harmed him.

• Nimrod considered Gardinal’s industrial strength and concluded that the Iron Hands under Ferrus Manus could conquer it while preserving its facilities.
• Nimrod used the Dice of Prophecy to obtain a star map from Osiris to Alicia and had John the Machine divine what was happening there.
• John saw Aeldari warships sailing toward Alicia, and Nimrod recognized an opportunity to earn the people’s loyalty.
• Nimrod summoned Howard Fender, ordered him to take his Chapter to Alicia, recruit naval officers and Sailors, and form the Alicia Airborne as Auxilia.
• Nimrod saw Santiago Bergkamp lying in a medical pod and suspected that something at Carium Gate had injured him.

Nimrod learned that a colossal Void Whale had blocked the Carium Gate and set out to deal with it. After Santiago Bergkamp became an Astrologer, Nimrod reached the gate with Arsena Dunn and saw the creature obstructing the passage.

• Santiago Bergkamp told Nimrod that restarting the Carium Gate had revealed a 3,200-kilometer whale-like creature whose winged inhabitants attacked a frigate.
• Nimrod recognized the creature as a likely Void Whale and decided to travel to the Carium Gate.
• Santiago said he had become a Trickster, and Nimrod sent him back and promised him another power.
• Nimrod granted Santiago the Sequence 7 Astrologer potion, which Santiago drank.
• Nimrod led the fleet to the Carium Gate, then boarded a destroyer with Arsena Dunn and Santiago.
• Nimrod entered the gate and saw a colossal object blocking the way.

Nimrod entered the Void Whale and harvested potion materials from its vast interior, while Santiago used astrology to predict the battle incorrectly. Nimrod reached the whale’s center and encountered a gigantic sheep-like monster.

• At Carium Gate, Nimrod ordered the destroyer to retreat, then flew out to confront the Void Whale as Razor-Winged Monsters swarmed toward him.
• Nimrod burned the attacking monsters and pierced the Void Whale between its eyes with the Spear of Dionysus.
• On the destroyer, Santiago divined that Nimrod would burn the whale’s organs and drag its body out of the gate.
• Inside the whale, Nimrod found Golden Eye Fruits and used telekinetic force to move golden trees and other potion materials into the Kingdom of Disorder.
• As Nimrod explored the whale’s varied landscapes, he collected Vampiric Thorn Trees and other materials while facing increasingly dangerous creatures.
• Nimrod reached the Void Whale’s central region and saw a gigantic sheep-like monster ahead.

Nimrod battled the three-headed Goat Creature inside the Void Whale, using golden flames and the Spear of Dionysus to overwhelm its flesh-manipulating mythical form. Faced with defeat, the creature detonated most of its body, engulfing Nimrod in the blast.

• Nimrod attacked the Goat Creature with his Bolter, then identified its flesh-manipulating powers as belonging to The Hanged Man pathway.
• The Goat Creature unleashed Flesh Bombs, but Nimrod destroyed them with telekinesis and burned its legs with golden flames.
• The Goat Creature transformed into a writhing mythical form, but Nimrod resisted its mental effects and pierced it with the Spear of Dionysus.
• Nimrod retrieved and hurled the spear repeatedly, leaving deep wounds that the Goat Creature could not heal.
• The Goat Creature detonated most of its remaining body in a massive blast that engulfed Nimrod and made the Void Whale howl.

Nimrod captured the three-headed creature, then used the Ferryman mask to gather undead and harvest potion ingredients inside the Void Whale. He killed the whale and moved its enormous body out of Carium Gate, allowing the gate to enter service.

• Nimrod imprisoned the three-headed creature in the Kingdom of Disorder after it failed to escape.
• Nimrod put on the Ferryman mask and used its deathly power to drag blue toads and crab-shaped creatures into an illusory gate.
• Nimrod flew through the Void Whale, collecting potion ingredients as the mask’s withering power killed the whale.
• Nimrod stabbed a passage through the whale’s tail and used Magnus's Seventh Layer of Mindset to push the whale out of Carium Gate.
• The 5th Legion's fleet watched the whale emerge over two stellar days, and Carium Gate began operating once it no longer blocked the entrance.