Chapter Summaries

Nimrod rejected the limited and dangerous position of Warmaster and ordered his followers to hide his territories’ strength and prepare to evade future Imperial taxes. He placed Gardinal under the Second Legion and directed his forces to adapt its technology while investigating the captured High Lords’ knowledge.

• Nimrod decided he had no interest in becoming Warmaster and planned to exploit the coming rebellion to seize resources and technology.
• Nimrod ordered the Second and Twelfth Legions to conceal remote territories, disrupt Auspex scans, and drive away visiting vessels.
• Nimrod instructed Arsena to hide the wealth and productivity of exposed worlds and avoid reporting remote colonies in the Colonid Sector.
• Nimrod assigned Gardinal to the Second Legion, whose Sun Pathway could shift the population’s devotion toward him.
• Arsena reported that the Lord of the Forge had found new Predator tank designs and Nimrod ordered the Rhinos and Predators modified before further Reliquary Armor research.
• Arsena said the Chief Librarian was investigating Beliso’s secrets, while Malena studied Uria’s genetic and biochemical knowledge.

Diana confirmed that Gardinal’s people had moved into new homes and begun building an industrial complex while the 12th Chapter screened recruits. After Diana departed for Vostonia, Arkan Land joined a Squat fortress ship to accompany the delivery of a star to the Vostonia System.

• Diana visited the Gardinal recruitment ground and watched William Wood pass the initial screening to become a Shadow of Order.
• Diana toured the Predator Tank Manufacturing Complex with Lafa Cardona and saw Gardinal workers produce war tanks.
• Diana recognized that her work had helped Gardinal’s people gain the future they wanted.
• Five days later, the Shadow of Sovereignty and part of the 11th Chapter’s fleet set sail for Vostonia.
• Arkan Land joined the Squats aboard a fortress ship after helping them capture a star, which the League of Votann gifted to Lord Nimrod for delivery to the Vostonia System.

Vostonia safely received the star captured by the Squats, and Nimrod ordered its resources mined. After Arkan Land praised Vostonia but suggested it could improve, Nimrod persuaded him to stay and help develop the system.

• Vostonia's shields and reactors protected the system as the Squats' captured star reached its predetermined position without causing destructive impact.
• Nimrod ordered Arsena Dunn to scan the new star and draft a development plan, then granted Arkan Land permission to visit Vostonia.
• Arsena reported that the star contained valuable emery and natural adamantium, and Nimrod ordered the Space Particle Excavator to mine its deposits.
• Arkan told Nimrod that Vostonia's efficiency could be improved, and Nimrod ordered him to remain and submit daily suggestions.
• Nimrod promised Arkan a recovered Dark Mechanicum Era doomsday weapon, and Arkan agreed to stay.

Nimrod planned to use the Void Claws to win Arkan Land’s loyalty and learned that Lorgar wanted faith in The Emperor promoted among the Legions. At the War Council on Terra, Mortarion opposed Librarian divisions and clashed with Sanguinius before Lorgar defended The Emperor’s decision.

• Nimrod told Arkan to keep investigating the hives and announced that the fleet would soon search for a Dark Mechanicum doomsday weapon.
• Arsena Dunn told Nimrod that The Emperor had called a War Council after Lorgar proposed positions in the Legions to praise The Emperor and inspire the Astartes.
• Nimrod arrived at the War Council, where Horus introduced him to Lorgar, the newly returned primarch of the Seventeenth Legion.
• Russ disparaged Librarians, while Magnus and Sanguinius defended their value to the Legions.
• Mortarion opposed establishing Librarian divisions and criticized Sanguinius and Magnus, but Lorgar insisted the Primarchs should obey The Emperor’s decision.
• The Fabricator-General of Mars arrived, and The Emperor and Constantin Valdor appeared in a blaze of golden light.

Lorgar proposed creating Chaplains in the Legions, and Nimrod supported him before planning a Chaplaincy focused on loyalty and faith in the Shadows of Order. After the War Council, Nimrod learned the cost of the battle for Gardinal and ordered Mezoa to replace the Veroni Family’s lost Knights.

• Lorgar asked the Primarchs to establish Chaplains, and Sanguinius, Vulkan, Ferrus Manus, Dorn, Nimrod, and Hannibal stated their positions before the Emperor left the decision to each Legion.
• Nimrod decided that the Shadows of Order’s Chaplains should focus on loyalty and faith, favoring the Visionary Pathway with the Sun Pathway in support.
• Nimrod summoned Arsena Dunn and asked him for an update on Gardinal.
• Arsena reported that the battle for Gardinal had ended with 4,920 Legionaries, 74,000 Auxilia, 52 Titans, and 63 Knights lost.
• Nimrod praised Arsena’s actions and ordered Mezoa to replace the Veroni Family’s Knights, including at least two Nemesis-class Cruise Knights.

Keri rejected the Adeptus Mechanicus’s standard plan for Barnett and proposed a sustainable agricultural transformation supported by Librarians and psionic methods. Wilshire approved her plan, then returned to the Mysterious Kingdom as Radiance sailed back toward Gardinal.

• Keri reviewed Mars’s proposal and concluded that its methods would exhaust Barnett’s soil and eventually ruin the world.
• Keri told the five Cultivators that she would devise a sustainable plan for Barnett and requested Librarian support from Lord Wilshire.
• Wilshire arrived aboard Radiance, and Keri proposed using her Harvest Priest abilities and Librarians to transform Barnett with about 520,000 citizens.
• The Librarians described psionic weather regulation and Psyker Hydroponic Arrays, while Keri estimated that the first stage would take three years and feed thirteen million people.
• Keri presented crop zones for Barnett’s northern plains and recommended fisheries and Oveja livestock for the southern regions.
• Wilshire approved Keri’s plan, ordered the Chapter’s Librarians to assist her, and was swallowed by black mist on his way back to Gardinal.

Nimrod established the first chaplains for the Second Legion, learned that Gardinal's Prisoner Amber might be a potion ingredient, and arrived at Vigilant Star. He identified rich Blackstone deposits beneath the Hongbei Sector and ordered the Tech Sergeants to excavate them.

• Nimrod asked Wilshire whether he wanted to lead the chaplains or continue commanding the Second Legion, and Wilshire chose to remain Chapter Master.
• Wilshire recommended Martin as a chaplain, while Nimrod noted that Martin would serve beneath a future Chief Chaplain and that the first chaplains had already been selected.
• Wilshire told Nimrod about Gardinal's Prisoner Amber, and Nimrod ordered him to sacrifice some of it after returning.
• Nimrod saw Howard Fender fighting Aeldari pirates and asked him to pray after the battle, then learned from Arsena Dunn that the fleet had reached the Vigilant Star system.
• Arsena described Soul-Grabber Planet's industry and Vigilant Star's shield technology as Nimrod surveyed the system.
• Nimrod determined that Blackstone deposits beneath the Hongbei Sector were interfering with the energy shield and ordered the Tech Sergeants to excavate them.

Nimrod met Planetary Governor Boilo Agamenus on Vigilant Star, inspected ancient stone tablets, and heard about the planet’s worsening water shortage and its Calamity Mantis threat. He promised to send Warriors to deal with the creatures and build a space elevator, then departed for his important business.

• Nimrod sent Arsena Dunn, Arkan Land, and the others to investigate the Volian Sandstorm Vortex before flying to the main hive.
• Boilo Agamenus welcomed Nimrod and hosted a banquet, where he reported Vigilant Star’s development and presented three ancient stone tablets.
• Nimrod noticed worshipers and a shadowy figure depicted on one tablet, ordered the tablets sent to his Librarian, and requested the ruins’ coordinates.
• Boilo told Nimrod that Calamity Mantises threatened the glaciers and Vigilant Star’s drinking-water supply.
• Nimrod promised to send Warriors against the Calamity Mantises and build a space elevator to bring water from the asteroid belt, then left the banquet.

Nelson piloted Nimrod through the dangerous Volian Sandstorm Vortex by trusting his visions, while Arkan Land and the others began searching for a route to Vigilant Fortress. Nimrod later gave Howard Fender a Sequence 6 Judge potion and ordered him to use future pirates as training targets.

• Nelson foresaw dangers near the vortex and piloted the Aquila Shuttle through lightning and other hazards to land safely at the base.
• Nimrod praised Nelson for trusting his instincts and surviving the flight.
• Arkan Land reported that the vortex’s chaotic magnetic fields and etheric anomalies made it deadly, and Nimrod ordered the group to find a route to Vigilant Fortress.
• Nimrod gave Howard Fender a Sequence 6 Judge potion, and Howard advanced after drinking it.
• Howard reported clearing pirates from the Alicia system, and Nimrod ordered him to use future pirates to train recruits and the Auxilia.

Mark led the Shadows of Order in a hunt against Calamity Mantises, defeating a powerful mutated one. Meanwhile, Nimrod investigated newly discovered ruins and found murals linking the mantises to the being depicted by an ancient people, concluding that he could restore the broken statue.

• Mark and the Shadows of Order used upgraded Arc Projectors to kill Calamity Mantises in a cavern and collect their bodies for his father.
• A swarm of Calamity Mantises attacked from the cavern ceiling, but the Shadows of Order held formation and the Bard's song strengthened them.
• The Sleepless exposed a massive mutated Calamity Mantis's feigned unconsciousness, and Mark struck it with the Scepter of Truth until it fell.
• Nimrod flew to the newly discovered ruins with Nelson piloting the Aquila Shuttle and descended underground to inspect a broken statue.
• Nimrod found murals showing Calamity Mantises alongside worshippers and suspected the creatures were connected to the being represented by the statue.
• Nimrod studied the statue and determined that he could restore it.

Nimrod restored an obsidian statue and identified it as Be'lakor, then ordered the relics sealed and an investigation begun. After Arkan Land found a way to enter the Volian Sandstorm, Nimrod gathered his team and prepared to depart.

• Nimrod used Spirit Sculpture to restore the damaged statue and recognized it as Be'lakor, the first Daemon Prince.
• Nimrod ordered Arsena Dunn and the others to seal the statue and excavated relics in a Blackstone array and investigate Be'lakor.
• Arkan Land reported that his machines could calm chaotic energy within a two-kilometer radius, while Thomas, Malena Scala, and Arsena presented additional ways to survive the Volian Sandstorm.
• Nimrod decided the team would depart in three hours, returned the Dice of Prophecy to the real world, and prepared for the expedition.

Nimrod's team crossed the Volian Sandstorm Vortex using Arkan Land's energy interference devices, but discovered that warped space had made their recorded distance unreliable. As they prepared to rely on the Dice of Prophecy, Brainy Cat John claimed he could find Vigilant Fortress.

• Arkan Land deployed energy interference devices to suppress the warp energy as Nimrod led the team into the sandstorm.
• Malena shielded the team with vines, while Nimrod and Black Wolf Freddy destroyed several falling Armored Transports.
• The team advanced for ten days and deployed all five devices, but Arkan Land realized their sensors had not recorded their actual distance because the Void Claws and warp energy distorted space-time.
• Arsena Dunn admitted his plan had also been flawed, and Nimrod decided to wait for the Dice of Prophecy to finish charging.
• Brainy Cat John told Nimrod that he thought he could find Vigilant Fortress.

John used his lucky instincts to lead Nimrod’s group through the Sandstorm Vortex to Vigilant Fortress, proving Arkan Land wrong. The fortress’s defenses opened, and John felt he had fully become a “Lucky One.”

• Nimrod trusted John to find Vigilant Fortress, despite Arkan Land’s objections and claim that his experiments would take ten years.
• John chose a route that steadily reduced the Energy Interference Devices’ effective range, and Arkan Land realized the cat was genuinely finding the way.
• As the group neared the center of the storm, Thomas shielded a Tech-Priest from an invisible force while John continued changing direction by instinct.
• Nimrod spotted Vigilant Fortress through the storm, and the others saw it after following John farther.
• John unlocked the fortress’s defenses and entered first, where he felt himself become a true “Lucky One.”

After discovering that the Sixth Layer of the Kingdom of Disorder could corrode objects and supernatural influences, Nimrod devised a plan to influence Astartes gene-seed and prepared potions for his followers. He advanced John and Arkan Land, leaving Arkan completely devoted to him as the true Omnissiah.

• Nimrod entered the Sixth Layer and realized its Corrosion could affect objects, inspiring him to infiltrate Astartes Chapters by corrupting gene-seed.
• Nimrod considered testing the idea on his own offspring’s gene-seed and planned to have Mikel check it for abnormalities.
• Nimrod gave John the Calamity Priest potion, soothed him through his transformation, and helped him advance to Sequence 6.
• Nimrod rewarded Arkan Land with the Know-it-all potion and tasked him with finding a way to install the Void Claws on the Shadow of the Throne.
• Arkan Land absorbed the knowledge in his memories, declared Nimrod the true Omnissiah, and became a loyal believer.

Arkan Land mastered the Void Claws’ controls, and Nimrod used the Dice of Prophecy to provide him with their structural diagram. After the weapon was transferred to Nimrod’s ship, he sent Arkan to Mars to search its catacombs and vaults for lost technology.

• Arkan Land told Nimrod that the archives lacked the Void Claws’ structural diagram, so dismantling the weapon would take four years.
• Nimrod used the Dice of Prophecy to divine the Void Claws’ structural diagram and gave it to Arkan, who concluded that Nimrod was the Omnissiah.
• After the Volian Sandstorm Vortex vanished, Boilo Agamenus obeyed the Primarch’s order to place Vigilant Star’s production capacity under Arkan Land’s direction.
• Arkan mobilized resources from Soul-Grabber Planet, Vigilant Star, and Xinhao Star to complete a fortress aboard the Shadow of the Throne.
• Nimrod ordered Arkan to return to Mars and search for lost STCs and technology, beginning with the Great Library of Mars.

Nimrod reviewed the Legion’s gene-seed, research, production, defenses, and growing strength, then reorganized its military leadership. After the meeting, he considered which world to investigate with the Dice of Prophecy.

• Mikel and Malena reported that gene-seed implantation trials had produced no abnormalities, with most candidates succeeding and those who failed surviving to join the Auxilia.
• Nimrod ordered Mikel to continue researching Clone Tapestry Technology and said he would investigate the secrets behind creating Astartes.
• The Lord of the Forge reported that Arkan Land’s discoveries were being put into production, and Nimrod ordered a team to negotiate their release in exchange for resources.
• Nimrod reassigned key roles, appointed Malevolus Master of Armor, and ordered five experimental Void Claws manufactured for battlefield testing.
• Arsena reported that fifteen Ramillies-class Star Fortresses had been deployed across three strategic locations and that the Legion had 285,100 warriors.
• After the meeting, Nimrod considered which world to divine with the Dice of Prophecy.

Nimrod chose Ventrilian as a recruiting world for the 8th Legion, and John foresaw that a magma eruption would strike its coming-of-age ceremony. Thierry led the legion to Ventrilian, where the nobles accepted Nimrod’s jurisdiction, but Archon Justin questioned whether the disaster warning was certain.

• Nimrod selected Ventrilian and used the Dice of Prophecy to obtain a star chart to the world.
• John foresaw a magma eruption swallowing nobles during Ventrilian’s coming-of-age ritual, and Nimrod assigned the world to the 8th Legion.
• Nimrod ordered Thierry to bring five thousand legionaries to Ventrilian, conceal the world, and warn its people about the eruption.
• Thierry’s fleet reached Ventrilian, where Archon Justin Vattara welcomed him and the nobles accepted the Shadow of Order’s jurisdiction after a two-day banquet.
• When Justin invited the legion to the coming-of-age ceremony, Thierry warned that the lava lake would erupt, and Justin asked whether he could be certain.

Thierry Vieira proposed replacing Ventrilian’s lava-lake coming-of-age trial with ceremonial duels, and the volcanic eruption later proved his warning correct. After the Shadows of Order defeated the new nobles in combat, the Ventrilian nobles accepted their demands, securing their loyalty.

• Thierry Vieira persuaded Justin Vattara to hold the coming-of-age ceremony as noble duels, with the winners earning the chance to challenge the Shadows of Order.
• The ceremony began with 14,800 candidates, and Justin repeatedly heard that the lava lake showed no sign of an eruption.
• On the fourth day, a noble reported that the lava lake had erupted, confirming Thierry’s prediction.
• Pierre Wright trained the Third Company to defeat the Ventrilian nobles through swordsmanship, and the nobles began challenging the Shadows of Order in teams.
• Pierre defeated the fourteen finest Ventrilian swordsmen and stopped Baron Vatara’s attack without harming him.
• Justin ended the challenge, and the Ventrilian nobles accepted all the Shadows of Order’s demands without bargaining.

Arkan Land recovered and identified Glass Grenades on Mars, then brought them to Nimrod, who ordered their secret manufacture and strict control. The chapter ended with news that Forge World Xana had fallen under attack, signaling the start of the Second Rangdan War.

• Arkan Land opened Magos Amas-41’s tomb and identified the Glass Grenade as a forbidden weapon that attacked souls.
• Arkan returned to the orbital docks, where hundreds of outcast Tech-Priests gathered around him and agreed to follow him.
• Arkan offered the Glass Grenades to Nimrod, who praised him and ordered him to continue exploring Mars and receive a Mechanicus Ark.
• Nimrod instructed Rosicky Cech to secretly manufacture Glass Grenades and store them under strict authorization rules.
• Arsena Dunn reported that The Emperor had convened an emergency War Council because Forge World Xana was under siege, and Nimrod recognized the start of the Second Rangdan War.

Nimrod joined the War Council as the Rangdan invaded Xana, and The Emperor ordered his Legion to reinforce the besieged world alongside Perturabo. Nimrod saw the deployment as a chance to save the Fifth and XIX Legions and advance his Corrosion plan, then Ferrus Manus called him to wait after the council.

• Leman Russ taunted Nimrod, who dismissed him and privately judged that the Space Wolves were too small to serve as the main force against the Rangdan.
• The Emperor told the War Council that more than a thousand enemy warships had overwhelmed Xana’s defenses, and Nimrod accepted the mission to reinforce it through the Carium Gate.
• Nimrod asked for powerful weapons, hoping The Emperor would deploy a trump card, while Mortarion, Hannibal, and Lion El'Jonson offered their Legions for the campaign.
• The Emperor assigned Perturabo to assist Nimrod, and Nimrod considered using the campaign to learn about and eventually win over him.
• After the War Council ended, Perturabo left to prepare a battle plan, and Ferrus Manus called Nimrod to wait.