Chapter Summaries

Nimrod accepted Ferrus Manus’s invitation to help develop the Sicaran Battle Tank, then prepared to lead the Imperium’s response to the Second Rangdan War. He ordered six Legions and a Ramillies-class Star Fortress to hurry to Xana, leaving the other Legions ready to reinforce them.

• Ferrus Manus and the Fabricator-General of Mars invited Nimrod to join their heavy tank development project, and Nimrod accepted.
• Nimrod and Ferrus divided the work, assigning Nimrod the tank’s flank-mounted secondary weapon and detection systems.
• Nimrod decided to use the war at Xana to establish influence there and potentially gain leverage over the Forge World.
• Nimrod announced that the Rangdan vanguard had invaded Xana and made liberating the Forge World the Imperium’s first priority.
• Nimrod ordered the Third, Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Legions to advance through the Carium Gate with one Ramillies-class Star Fortress, while the other Legions assembled to reinforce them.

Nimrod received Perturabo’s plans for the Rangdan campaign and probed Slau Dha’s mind for information about the Striking Scorpions. In the Xana-Vissidax System, Santiago Bergkamp led the 5th Legion in a surprise attack that devastated the Rangdan fleet before scattering to begin a pursuit.

• Arsena Dunn told Nimrod that Perturabo’s sixty-five thousand men would reach the Carium Gate in three months, and Nimrod approved the fleet’s deployment schedule.
• Nimrod entered the Kingdom of Disorder and tried to breach Slau Dha’s mind, glimpsing a figure in green armor speaking about the Striking Scorpions.
• Santiago Bergkamp identified the disguised Rangdan fleet and ordered the 5th Legion’s ships into position for a surprise attack.
• The 5th Legion opened fire, destroying more than fifty Rangdan warships in its initial strike and scoring over twenty more kills as the battle continued.
• The Rangdan returned fire with radioactive electromagnetic waves, but most attacks missed the 5th Legion’s shielded ships, which lost only a few destroyers and one escort vessel.
• Santiago ordered the black fleet to scatter along dozens of routes and prepared to hunt the Rangdan among the stars.

Alkahas Phall led the XIX Legion in a brutal battle against Rangdan-controlled slaves on Shana II while Librarian Balthasar Quturi warned that reinforcements were approaching. In orbit, Santiago Bergkamp’s fleet ambushed the Rangdan ships and received a Star Fortress, then launched a full assault.

• Alkahas Phall ignored Balthasar Quturi’s warning that the enslaved humans were merely driven men and ordered his warriors to leave none alive.
• Balthasar told Alkahas that a void fortress and reinforcements were approaching, but Alkahas insisted they could not arrive so quickly.
• Santiago Bergkamp used his visions to guide the fleet’s ambushes, exploiting gravitational anomalies and celestial cover to attack Rangdan ships.
• The Rangdan commanders reported heavy ship losses and vowed to seize human colony worlds to build more ships and War Satellites.
• Santiago’s fleet destroyed a Rangdan capital ship, and a Ramillies-class Star Fortress arrived in the Xana system.
• Santiago ordered a full assault as the successful ambush reports came in.

Alkahas Phall fought through the Rangdan forces on Shana II while searching for the missing Nerath Kirin, until Nimrod arrived to rescue him. Nimrod recognized Alkahas as a future Space Sharks leader and decided to use Corrosion on him, ordering him to stay by his side.

• Alkahas and Balthasar saw waves of Astartes reinforcements arrive on Shana II, and Alkahas continued toward coordinate point No. 513 to find Nerath Kirin.
• At coordinate point No. 504, Alkahas and Balthasar battled a Rangdan ambush; Alkahas killed an elite warrior, but the Legion suffered heavy losses and ran low on ammunition.
• Alkahas rallied his battle-brothers and fought through the Rangdan forces, losing many more warriors as they tried to break through.
• Nimrod arrived and destroyed an Overlord with a golden force, prompting Alkahas to salute him as Legion Master of the XIX Legion.
• Nimrod recognized Alkahas as the future Great Obliterator of the Space Sharks and decided he was a suitable target for Corrosion.
• Nimrod told Alkahas to stay by his side.

Nimrod rescued Balthasar Quturi and considered him a difficult but possible target for corruption. After Alkahas Phall reported that Nerath Kirin and the Ashen Claws were missing, Nimrod set out to find them, while Balthasar said he might know how.

• Nimrod recognized Balthasar Quturi, killed a Rangdan Overlord, and reached the Librarian amid the battle.
• Nimrod assessed Balthasar’s history and resolve as he watched the Shadows of Order attack the xenos in disciplined formations.
• Balthasar told Alkahas Phall that the expected reinforcements had arrived, and Alkahas praised him before calling him and Nimrod along.
• Alkahas asked Nimrod to rescue Nerath Kirin after losing contact with one of his companies, and Nimrod agreed to search for him.
• Balthasar warned that Nerath’s last known coordinates might be a trap and said the xenos had thwarted his foresight, but he might have another way to locate him.

William Wood used a medal once carried by Nerath Kirin to divine his location, and Nimrod led the force after him. At Foundry No. 250, Neratt discovered that his hunt had become an ambush and attacked the xenos leader while his company tried to break out.

• William cleaned Nerath’s bloodstained medal with essential oil and used it as a medium for divination.
• William’s Divination Staff indicated a direction, and Nimrod led the XIX Legion warriors after Nerath as William corrected their course.
• Neratt led his company through Foundry No. 250, seeking the xenos behind the Neural Collars while keeping communications cut off from the Lord of Shadows.
• When Neratt tried to issue orders, static and a shadow overhead revealed that the xenos had surrounded his company.
• Neratt ordered his lieutenants to find a way out while he and his Honor Guard attacked the xenos leader to draw enemy attention.

Nerath fought through the xenos attack and killed the Brain-Eater, whose psychic powers had paralyzed him and his allies. As he ordered the guard squad to retreat, another white figure appeared, and a thunderous boom filled the passage with golden light.

• Nerath broke an Overlord’s shield and killed it after resisting a neural attack that briefly numbed his body.
• Nerath spotted the Brain-Eater, whose psychic attack made him and two guards collapse, and he killed a xenos that was tearing the guards apart.
• Neratt charged the Brain-Eater through the neurotoxin’s effects, fought it with his Lightning Claw, and killed it despite severe injuries.
• The xenos scattered after the Brain-Eater died, but Neratt sensed another white figure and ordered the guard squad to retreat.
• Neratt fired his Bolt Pistol while retreating, then saw a thunderous boom and dazzling golden light.

Nimrod rescued Nerath Kirin and trapped a Brain-Eater in amber before preparing Nerath for the coming battle. Meanwhile, Ramsey and the 10th Battalion attacked Forge Temple No. 1, where Ramsey’s Librarians used their psychic network to halt thousands of slave soldiers.

• Nimrod resisted the Brain-Eater’s neurotoxin, bound it in amber, and praised Nerath Kirin for killing another Brain-Eater.
• Nimrod ordered Nerath to recover quickly because he would need him in the coming battle.
• Ramsey joined Falk’s 10th Battalion assault on Forge Temple No. 1, wearing armor designed to conceal him.
• Falk ordered Ramsey’s Librarians to weaken the slave army, and 150 Psykers linked their powers to immobilize 50,924 slaves.
• The Gabriel-pattern Predators skirted the immobilized area and opened fire as Ramsey heard two colossal beings fighting near the Forge Temple.

Ramsey discovered a Rangdan Bone-Eater battling Xana’s Titan and warned Falk that the Titan was likely to lose. The Bone-Eater destroyed the Titan, while Ramsey heard engines approaching.

• Ramsey used Shadow Shaping and his blade to freeze and defeat an Overlord among the human slaves.
• Ramsey identified a colossal Rangdan Bone-Eater and concluded that it had the advantage over Xana’s Titan.
• Ramsey sent Falk the Bone-Eater’s location and warned him that the Titan would soon be destroyed.
• The Bone-Eater disabled the Titan, though the Titan’s missiles pierced several Overlords’ shields.
• The Bone-Eater destroyed the Titan in an explosion, and Ramsey heard engines approaching.

Ramsey used Shadow Shaping to bring down Bone-Eater after Falk and the 10th Battalion attacked the weakened colossus. Falk was killed by Bone-Eater’s counterattack, but Bone-Eater fell, crushing over a hundred Rangdan Xenos as the armored vehicles escaped.

• Falk ordered the armored vehicles to attack Bone-Eater after Ramsey reported that its energy shield was down, and their barrage wounded the colossus.
• Bone-Eater split its energy attacks into light spheres, destroying a Gabriel-pattern Predator and forcing Falk to abandon his command vehicle.
• Falk fired the Heavy Disruption Cannon into Bone-Eater’s crown, but Bone-Eater killed him with four beams, and the 10th Battalion retaliated.
• Ramsey entered the green mist, resisted its toxins, and shaped a black cat with daggers from Bone-Eater’s shadow.
• The black cat stabbed Bone-Eater’s branches until one leg failed, making the colossus fall and crush over a hundred Rangdan Xenos.

Ramsey used the Whisper of Silence to trap the Bone-Eater in a dream and kill it, avenging Falk and earning appointment as the 10th Battalion’s new Chapter Master. Nimrod sent Arsena Dunn to negotiate with Xana for technology, weapons, and protection, while ordering her to find Anacharis Scoria.

• Ramsey used the Whisper of Silence to lure the Bone-Eater into a dream and destroyed it with lightning while it remained helpless.
• The 10th Battalion’s survivors learned Ramsey had killed the Bone-Eater, and Arsena Dunn reported Falk’s death and the battle’s outcome to Nimrod.
• Nimrod appointed Ramsey Chapter Master of the 10th Battalion.
• Nimrod ordered Arsena to negotiate with Xana’s Fabricator-General for technology, weapons, and support, offering protection and a Ramillies-class Star Fortress in return.
• Nimrod told Arsena to obtain a list of Mechanicum Custodians and report immediately if she found Anacharis Scoria.

Nimrod observed his officers aboard a Stormbird and used a psychic link with Librarian Okafor to teach him the Howling Mask, turning the tide against a Rangdan attack. The battle continued, and Nimrod recognized that Librarians faced a growing danger from psychic Rangdan forces.

• Nimrod boarded a Stormbird with Alkahas Phall, Balthasar Quturi, and Nerath Kirin, then secretly examined their minds.
• Nimrod spotted Rangdan Xenos attacking human slaves and saw them target a Librarian leading the Shadows of Order.
• Nimrod contacted the Librarian, Okafor, through a psychic link and passed on the secret of the Howling Mask.
• Okafor unleashed a piercing howl that killed the attacking xenos and spread through the area, killing many more.
• Balthasar sensed Nimrod's psychic power and realized he had used Okafor to kill tens of thousands of xenos.
• Nimrod concluded that Librarians would suffer heavy casualties in the Rangdan war and resolved to seek a solution through the Dice of Prophecy.

Nimrod examined the remains of Bone-Eater, advanced Ramsey through the Rose Bishop potion, and learned that Anacharis Scoria was being held by Mechanicum Custodians. He set out to rescue the young Tech-Priest.

• Alkahas Phall, Balthasar Quturi, and Nerath Kirin received a report that Bone-Eater had destroyed a Warlord-class Titan before the Shadow of Order killed him.
• Nimrod ordered Bone-Eater's remains divided for research, keeping the arm and hand, and summoned Ramsey to report on commanding a warband.
• Nimrod gave Ramsey knowledge of the Striking Scorpions and confirmed that he had become a true Hermit.
• Nimrod brought Bone-Eater's arms to the Kingdom of Disorder, then had the Space Ape prepare a Rose Bishop potion for Ramsey.
• Ramsey endured the potion's painful transformation and emerged as a Rose Bishop with a perfected body and new abilities.
• Arsena Dunn told Nimrod that Anacharis Scoria commanded Mechanicum Custodians at the Eleventh Forge Temple, and Nimrod decided to rescue him.

Anacharis Scoria led his detachment against the xenos attacking Xana Guardian, exploiting the chaos after the God-Machine fell to take command of three detachments and fight back. After killing a charging xenos, he decided he needed greater strength, then learned that the Titan-destroying xenos had targeted his position.

• Anacharis received Archmagos Eddie’s order to rescue Xana Guardian and deployed his Macro-Clade, while planning to seize Eddie’s resources and inheritance.
• Anacharis discovered that a powerful plant-like xenos was battering Xana Guardian, adjusted Eddie’s fire-strike plan, and gathered combat data despite lacking authority to issue his own plan.
• Xana Guardian fell, and Anacharis took over three detachments after their commander lost connection to the logic chain.
• Anacharis rebuilt the battle plan, steadied the soldiers, and coordinated their attacks against the xenos and their energy shields.
• Anacharis overloaded a xenos’s shield and killed it with his Plasma Pistol and Chainfist, then resolved to become stronger.
• Anacharis’s tactical data warned him that the xenos that had destroyed the Titan was aiming its energy weapon at his position.

Nimrod attacked Bone-Eater with the Spear of Dionysus, bound its arms with metal chains, and killed it with a single punch. He then held up the falling creature until Anacharis's Mechanicum Custodians had withdrawn from beneath it.

• Brainy Cat John offered to make Bone-Eater sink underground, while Black Wolf Freddy said he could make it dream, but Nimrod chose to destroy it himself.
• Nimrod spotted Anacharis among the fighting Mechanicum forces and ordered Nelson to open the Stormbird's hatch.
• Nimrod leaped into the sky and drew Bone-Eater's attacks away from the Stormbirds as Nelson piloted through the barrage.
• Nimrod shattered Bone-Eater's energy shield with the Spear of Dionysus, bound its arms with metal chains, and killed it with his Power Fist.
• Nimrod held Bone-Eater's falling body until Anacharis's Mechanicum Custodians had safely withdrawn, and Alkahas marveled at the Primarch's power.

After killing the Bone-Eater, Nimrod recruited Anacharis Scoria and learned that the Star Hunters were active in the Xana system. William Wood used his divination skills to locate the Star Hunters’ 33rd Company and brought them before Nimrod.

• Nimrod recognized Anacharis Scoria, praised his command, and asked him to help fight the xenos.
• Nimrod’s attendants reported evidence of Star Hunters activity, and Nimrod assigned William Wood to find them.
• William calculated the Star Hunters’ likely location from their company’s creation date and marked it on the tactical network.
• William and Monster intercepted Star Hunters jetbikes, and William identified himself and ordered them to stop on Nimrod’s authority.
• Five standard hours later, William brought the Star Hunters’ 33rd Company before Nimrod.

Nimrod rewarded William Wood by making him a Clown and allowing him to choose a weapon from the private armory. After a month of training, William selected a ten-bladed weapon forged by Vulkan, while Borgel and Stah departed on a mission to search for Rangdan Xenos with newfound respect for Nimrod.

• Nimrod ordered Borgel and Apothecary Stah to remain at his side until Xana was relieved, and Borgel accepted.
• Nimrod recognized William Wood as a mature Seer, then prepared and gave him the Sequence 8 Clown potion.
• William drank the potion, learned to control his body precisely, and spent a stellar month mastering his new abilities.
• William entered Nimrod's private armory and chose a weapon made of ten independently controlled monomolecular blades, forged by Vulkan.
• Borgel and Stah boarded a ship to search the surrounding area for Rangdan Xenos, and William noticed their respect for Nimrod had changed.

Arsena Dunn reported Shana's technology and shipbuilding commitments to Nimrod, who prepared a potion for Neratt and recruited him into his service. Meanwhile, Borgel and Stah reported progress among their recruits, and Stah reflected on why he had pledged himself to the Black Emperor.

• Arsena Dunn told Nimrod that Shana would provide Tracker Silencer Round and Melt-Core Power Beam technology, supplies, and three Battle Motherships in exchange for aid and a Ramillies-class Star Fortress.
• Nimrod learned that Anacharis would join him in battle with Magos Eddie's Macro-Clade and considered how the arrangement could advance his plans for Shana and his corruption progress.
• Nimrod gave Neratt a Praying Seeker potion and taught him to pray to the Black Emperor, whom Neratt then worshipped and vowed to serve.
• Borgel told Stah that the new recruits had accepted the gene-seed without rejection and prepared to await Gildas's scan results before performing a ritual.
• Stah considered why he had pledged loyalty to the Black Emperor and concluded that he had done it for the company's future, not for his Land Speeder.

Nimrod celebrated Xana’s liberation, empowered Alkahas, and agreed to teach Balthasar before preparing to meet Perturabo. Perturabo arrived aboard the Iron Blood and, angered by the Xana battle plan, demanded an exact arrival time at Shana II’s orbital docking point.

• Nimrod attended Xana’s ceremony, where the Fabricator-General thanked him and pledged the Forge Temples and foundries to a war of vengeance against the xenos.
• Nimrod gave Alkahas a Sailor potion and taught him how to pray to the Black Emperor through Void Glass.
• Alkahas told Nimrod that Balthasar wanted to stay and learn from him, and Nimrod agreed to teach Balthasar to wield Psionic Energy.
• The XIX Legion fleet departed, leaving Balthasar aboard the Shadow of the Throne as Nimrod prepared for Perturabo’s arrival.
• Perturabo arrived at Xana aboard the Iron Blood, crushed his battle plan, and demanded an exact time to reach Shana II’s orbital docking point.

Perturabo arrived aboard the Shadow of the Throne and learned that the Vicious Sector faced a full-scale xenos invasion. Nimrod committed two companies to the campaign, and he and Perturabo began planning their counterattack.

• Perturabo ordered a Stormbird for the journey and considered how long and costly it would be to build a new stargate network.
• Perturabo reached Nimrod, who told him the Xana battle was only the beginning of a war against a powerful xenos alliance.
• Arsena Dunn presented detailed intelligence from Company Captain Borgel about enslaved human colonies and an Artificial War Satellite in the Vicious Sector.
• Perturabo asked how many forces Nimrod could deploy, and Nimrod committed the Second and Fourth Companies, totaling fifty thousand men.
• Nimrod identified the Gildas System as the target of an attack by the Mechanicum Custodians of Xana.