Chapter Summaries

Perturabo finalized the Iron Warriors’ plan to attack the Vicious Sector, while Nimrod assigned Anacharis Scoria fifty-two Tripod Walkers to help seize Gildas. At Kyrgyz Prime, Anacharis analyzed the walkers and updated his battle plans, preparing to use their firepower against the aliens.

• Perturabo presented his detailed attack plan, but Nimrod warned that their limited knowledge of the Rangdan required flexibility.
• Nimrod assigned Kion to accompany the Iron Warriors and ordered Wilshire to send Tripod Walkers to support Anacharis in taking Gildas.
• The Second Legion crushed the alien fleet at Kyrgyz Prime before Anacharis and his Macro-Clade arrived to begin their landing operation.
• Anacharis used his Magos Throne to scan the Tripod Walkers and assessed their powerful energy weapons, modified systems, and mutilated pilots.
• Anacharis recorded the walkers’ data and revised his battle plans, believing the fifty-two machines would let him swiftly destroy any Bone-Eaters he encountered.

Anakaris led Mechanicum Custodians and Shadow of Order Walkers to attack a Bone-Eater and a Brain-Eater, using the battle to test their detection and combat capabilities. After defeating both Xenos, he credited Lord Nimrod’s support for his growing strength and imagined expanding his mechadendrites.

• Anakaris used the Golden Garudas’ scan data to locate a Bone-Eater and led his forces toward its position.
• Anakaris divided his forces between two slopes and coordinated their assault on the Bone-Eater and its defenders.
• The Walkers’ attacks overloaded the Bone-Eater’s shield, but a Brain-Eater’s neurotoxin and psionic attack briefly disrupted Anakaris’s systems.
• Anakaris and the Walkers destroyed the Bone-Eater, then Anakaris used his weapons to kill the Brain-Eater.
• Anakaris ordered his troops to kill the remaining Xenos and bring back the Brain-Eater, then reflected that Lord Nimrod’s support had made him stronger.

Anacharis Scoria reported his promotion and Gildas System’s rich mineral deposits to Nimrod, who empowered him and ordered him to study the Reliquary Armor. Arsena Dunn then reported new alliances with Ryza and Steel Ball, leaving Nimrod with agreements from seven of the future eight great Forge Worlds.

• Anacharis told Nimrod that he had taken control of the Gildas System, discovered its abundant mineral deposits, and been promoted to Magos Macro-Fabricator.
• Nimrod’s corruption of Anacharis advanced his potion digestion, and he granted Anacharis a golden potion that made him a Know-it-all.
• Anacharis vowed to seize Xana for Nimrod, who told him to wait for the right time and study the Reliquary Armor.
• Arsena Dunn reported that Ryza had agreed to an alliance in exchange for the Land Raider construction template and would provide supplies, plasma weapons, vehicles, and a Stormblade.
• Arsena reported that Steel Ball had agreed to an alliance for the Land Speeder template and would provide supplies, Castellan Robots, and forty-one Titans.
• Nimrod accepted both agreements and reflected that seven of the future eight great Forge Worlds had allied with him, while Xana remained a powerful forge world destined to become a Hell-Forge.

Nimrod received reports of Slaugth activity behind the Rangdan front and instructed Kion to help Perturabo deal with the threat without taking the victory from him. He then learned that Q'orl ships had attacked Navigator House Frank's domain on Sveik, leaving fifteen Navigators missing.

• Arsena Dunn reported that Voss would trade supplies, Malcador Heavy Tanks, and Lightning Fighters for the Land Crawler engineering vehicle, and Nimrod approved the agreement.
• Kion told Nimrod that Perturabo's fleet had reached the Campinas System and won the upper hand against the Rangdan, while Kion's investigation of Space Station 1504 revealed signs of Slaugth activity.
• Nimrod warned Kion about the Slaugth and ordered him to assist Perturabo discreetly so Perturabo could resolve the threat himself.
• Nimrod considered how to capture a Slaugth and identified Howard Fender and the First Chapter as possible resources for the effort.
• Alkahas Phall and Nerath Kirin reported that xenos in separable Chain-ships had attacked Navigator House Frank's orbital station on Sveik and caused fifteen Navigators to go missing.
• Nimrod recognized the attackers as the Q'orl.

Nimrod ordered Alkahas Phall and Nerath to capture the Q'orl queen and collect materials for his rituals, while secretly arranging for Alastor Rorschach to escort the offerings. In the Sveik System, Alkahas's forces began their assault as Nerath's company fought through a Q'orl labyrinth and identified a safer passage.

• Nimrod explained the Q'orl's use of Mind-Control Maggots and ordered Alkahas Phall and Nerath to capture their queen and bring him their navigation materials.
• Alkahas recommended Alastor Rorschach, and Nimrod ordered him to escort a frigate carrying the offerings while concealing Alkahas's loyalty from Horus.
• Nimrod told Alkahas and Nerath to avoid frequent contact so Nerath could remain in the Raven Guard and later bring the Terran-born under Nimrod's control.
• In the Sveik System, Alkahas issued Arc Projectors to his forces and ordered them to capture the Q'orl queen as his ships surrounded the xenos vessels.
• Nerath's company boarded a Q'orl vessel, where he directed the Astartes to target the xenos' hormone reservoirs and then chose a different passage through the labyrinth after sensing a trap.

Nerath Kirin led his guard through the Q'orl maze, rescued a Navigator controlled by a Mind-Control Maggot, and recovered a Deep Space Monolith. After seizing the fleeing Q'orl Chain-ships and offering the recovered items to the Black Emperor, he received the order to launch an orbital drop on Sveik Prime.

• Nerath guided his guard through the twisting passages and led an attack that broke through the Q'orl warriors' ambush.
• Nerath fought through the Q'orl to a sealed chamber and opened its door by deciphering the alien runes.
• Nerath removed a Mind-Control Maggot from the Frank Family Navigator and ordered an Apothecary to contain it.
• Nerath's guard recovered a Deep Space Monolith and destroyed Q'orl hidden behind a metal wall.
• Nerath led assaults on the fleeing Q'orl Chain-ships, rescued captured Navigators, and offered the Mind-Control Maggots and monoliths to the Black Emperor.
• Alkahas Phall ordered an orbital drop on Sveik Prime.

Alkahas Phall led the XIX Legion against the Q'orl on Sveik Prime, destroying their forces and confronting their Queen. He left the Queen unconscious and secured the Planetary Marker Stone, then looked toward the sea to continue his journey as a Sailor.

• Alkahas Phall landed on Sveik Prime, summoned the XIX Legion, and ordered the fleet to scan for the strongest life signs.
• Alkahas led his forces to a Q'orl position, destroyed their armored vehicles, and entered a basin filled with larvae and eggs.
• Alkahas ordered the Astartes to purge the Q'orl and destroy their eggs while he charged the enormous Q'orl Queen.
• The Q'orl Queen's air shell swallowed Alkahas's beam and hurled him into a cliff, but the hunting team struck her with electric arcs.
• Alkahas emerged from the rubble as the Q'orl Queen lay unconscious, and his forces obtained her and the Planetary Marker Stone.

Dominic parasitized Kael-Kez and sent him back to Perturabo’s command base with false intelligence about the mountains. Kion recognized the deception and privately warned Perturabo, who reacted with cold fury.

• Perturabo identified the mountain range as the uncertain factor in his plan, and Frix said Kael-Kez had been sent to scout it.
• Dominic used neurotoxin and his worms to kill Iron Warriors, consume one warrior’s memories, and parasitize Kael-Kez.
• Dominic sent the parasitized Kael-Kez to Perturabo with a false report that the mountains held no xenos fortresses and offered useful highways.
• Kion sensed that Kael-Kez’s soul and body were decaying, then realized a Slaugth had parasitized him.
• Kion privately told Perturabo that his son, Kael-Kez, had been parasitized, and Perturabo responded with coldness.

Kion warned Perturabo that Kael-Kez had been implanted by a Slaugth parasite, and Perturabo exposed the impostor and used the clues to plan an assault. Kion’s team found the Slaugth Dominic, whom Perturabo killed, and Kion asked to keep the corpse.

• Kion told Perturabo that Kael-Kez had been implanted and advised him to test the Iron Warrior’s analytical abilities.
• Perturabo tested Kael-Kez’s reconnaissance and battle plans, found a wound on his head, and pulled a blood-colored parasite from him.
• Perturabo inferred the xenos’ defenses from Kael-Kez’s false information, ordered an attack, and tasked Kion with finding the Slaugth.
• Kion led the Royal Court Friars into the mountains and used their abilities to locate a fortress and spot the Slaugth, Dominic.
• Perturabo pursued Dominic in a Stormbird, leaped down, and killed him with his sword.
• Perturabo offered Kion a reward, and Kion requested the Slaugth’s corpse.

Nimrod planned to rescue Omega from the Slaugth on Baal-Savol and obtain living samples, then received war reports and gifts from the XIX Legion. He advanced Diana Pauline to Hypnotist before Perturabo arrived aboard the Iron Blood.

• Nimrod concluded that Perturabo had faced a Slaugth infiltrator and planned to reach Baal-Savol early to rescue Omega and collect samples.
• Nimrod assigned the captured Slaugth worms and Shroud Cloak to Malena Scala for research before they went to the Lord of the Forge.
• Kion reported heavy Iron Warriors losses, while the Primarch's Attendant reported casualties among the Shadow of Order and its Librarians.
• Alastor Rorschach presented Nimrod with 381 Q'orl queens and 25 Planetary Marker Stones, then accepted a place among Nimrod's accompanying attendants.
• Nimrod used the Q'orl queens and Mind-Control Maggots to prepare a Sequence 6 Hypnotist potion, which Diana Pauline drank and survived.
• Three standard days later, Perturabo arrived aboard the Iron Blood with his Trident.

Nimrod visited Perturabo aboard the Iron Blood and discovered the architectural art hidden in his private palace. He promised to help build Perturabo’s ideal city on Vostonia, then asked Perturabo to design a special weapon.

• Perturabo welcomed Nimrod aboard the Tears of Iron and described his victory in the Campinas System.
• Perturabo showed Nimrod a modular fortress model and offered to share its technical data.
• Nimrod examined Perturabo’s private collection and praised the artistic vision behind his city designs.
• Perturabo explained that he had abandoned the city because it would need vast resources and protection from the galaxy’s violence.
• Nimrod promised to make Perturabo’s ideal city a reality on Vostonia, and Perturabo agreed.
• Nimrod asked Perturabo to design a special weapon, and Perturabo agreed without delaying the city project.

Nimrod arranged for Zulin-4 to help Perturabo design a weapon against the Hrud, while realizing that Perturabo’s devotion to reason, science, and art could guide his plan to win his loyalty. The Hrud launched a full-scale invasion just as Perturabo agreed to work with the Chronos Magos.

• Perturabo and Zulin-4 argued over the Mechanicum’s faith in the Omnissiah, and Zulin-4 appealed to Nimrod to recognize the god’s radiance.
• Nimrod concluded that Perturabo had faith in reason, science, and art, and began forming a plan to use those convictions to secure his loyalty.
• Nimrod described the Hrud’s toxins, Distortion fields, and Entropy fields, and Perturabo proposed a powerful Stasis Device to counter them.
• Perturabo recognized that the Chronos Magos could help him account for the Hrud’s increasing Distortion effects, and agreed to design a weapon with Zulin-4’s assistance.
• The communicators sounded an alert, and Perturabo announced that the xenos had launched a full-scale invasion.

Nimrod and Perturabo planned a counteroffensive against the Rangdan after xenos forces invaded the Colonid Sector and attacked dozens of worlds. Nimrod ordered several Chapters to war and sent Howard Fender, Sanchez, and Thierry Vieira to defend Abyss Port, warning them about the Slaugth.

• Nimrod reviewed reports of the Rangdan invasion, including the fall of Pulheim, the destruction of several expeditionary fleets, and the siege of Bastion Fortress.
• Nimrod and Perturabo agreed to request reinforcements from the War Council and The Emperor, then planned a counteroffensive using Xana and the Vicious Sector as a secure rear.
• Nimrod ordered the Iron Warriors to hold the line while his Legion advanced through the invaded worlds toward the Carium Gate and opened a new front.
• Nimrod ordered the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Chapters to attack the Rangdan, assigning Behentheim to the Ninth Chapter.
• Nimrod summoned Howard Fender, Sanchez, and Thierry Vieira, ordered them to lead their Chapters to Abyss Port, and warned them about the Slaugth and how to fight them.
• Nimrod told Howard to have Pascual return to the Colonid Sector, then sent the three warriors back to the real world.

Nicholas and Szczesny trained their Wind-Blessed powers aboard the Ninth Chapter’s flagship and prepared to test their anger-based disciplines on Behentheim. After the fleet defeated the Rangdan ships, Szczesny ordered a planetary landing, and the Ninth Chapter’s warriors deployed to the primary world.

• Nicholas raced Szczesny through the flagship’s training ground but lost control of his flight and landed short of the finish.
• Szczesny and Nicholas discussed mastering the Wind-Blessed power and planned to develop the War Mask and Storm-Bearers on Behentheim.
• The Ninth Chapter’s fleet arrived in the Behentheim system, and Szczesny selected battle plan two, codename Tide-9.
• The Ninth Chapter’s ships attacked and broke the Rangdan formation, destroying the enemy flagship and many Voidships.
• Szczesny ordered a planetfall, and 1,950 People of Fury and 3,290 Sailors deployed in Drop Pods onto Behentheim’s primary world.

Nicholas led his Storm-Bearers against the Rangdan slave army, unleashing their trained firing tactics and psychic power against the xenos. He faced the Brain-Eater in a hurricane and killed it with a single punch.

• Nicholas led 1,052 Storm-Bearers onto Behentheim's primary world and ordered them to open fire on the identified xenos slaves.
• The Storm-Bearers advanced while firing in disciplined volleys, then entered the second Mindset of Thelema and unleashed a storm of fire that overwhelmed the Rangdan forces.
• Nicholas flew toward the Brain-Eaters as eleven Librarians attacked the Overlords with psychic lightning and flames.
• Nicholas battered the Brain-Eater with a controlled psychic hurricane until its energy shield shattered.
• The Brain-Eater attacked Nicholas with its Crystal Longsword, but Nicholas blocked the strike and smashed its head with a furious punch.

Szczesny investigated suspected Slaugth activity while commanding the Ninth Chapter’s forces in the battle against the Rangdan Bone-Eaters. After the World Eaters used their Masks of Fury to overwhelm a Bone-Eater, he gathered the 4th Company and advanced toward the worms’ signal.

• Szczesny verified the Slaugth-tracking worms’ identification and learned they indicated activity in combat zone C-14, where the Ninth Chapter was losing ground.
• Szczesny handed command to Jorginho and led eleven Land Raiders toward the suspected Slaugth while reviewing the 4th Company’s fight against the Bone-Eaters.
• Szczesny ordered the Tech Sergeant to edit footage of casualties, then called on the World Eaters to put on their War Masks and attack.
• The World Eaters unleashed concentrated Land Raider and plasma-gun fire, shattered the Bone-Eater’s energy shield, and destroyed its head.
• Szczesny gathered the 4th Company and advanced in the direction indicated by the mass of worms.

Cody fled from the Shadows of Order and tried to escape through the sea, but Szczesny’s forces tracked him and trapped him underwater. The Wind-Blessed stripped away Cody’s Shroud Cloak and Necrotic Staff, then the People of Fury sealed him in a stasis field.

• Cody escaped across the rocks and decided to reach the ocean, believing the Shadows of Order could not follow him there.
• The Archaeologist detected a nearby Slaugth through the worms, and Szczesny directed the Land Raider Firestorms toward the sea.
• Cody plunged into the water, where hundreds of underwater-equipped Land Raiders and black-armored warriors surrounded him.
• The Wind-Blessed manipulated the currents, tore away Cody’s Shroud Cloak, and helped the People of Fury seize his Necrotic Staff.
• Cody scattered into worms and tried to flee, but the Wind-Blessed confined him with nets of water before two People of Fury sealed him in a crystal ball and activated its stasis field.

Nimrod reviewed the Ninth Chapter’s second stage of Beyonder development and approved Szczesny’s plans for training the Mask of Fury and Mindset. When the Slaugth captive Cohen awoke, Nimrod tested its psychic power, overwhelmed it, and considered how his forces could capture Slaugth without relying on psychic abilities.

• Szczesny explained how the Ninth Chapter would use the Mask of Fury, War Mask, and Mindset, and Nimrod ordered Arsena Dunn to share the findings with other Chapters.
• Nimrod sent the Shroud Cloak and Necrotic Staff to the Lord of the Forge’s Forge-Ship for research and ordered the crystal ball opened.
• Szczesny opened the crystal sphere, and Cohen awakened and broke apart its seawater restraints.
• Nimrod challenged Cohen with his psychic power, resisted its suppression through the Thelema Mindset, and drove the Slaugth into retreat.
• Nimrod concluded that he could defeat a Slaugth Overseer psychically but would need the Judges’ Imprisonment ability to capture Slaugth in future battles.

Flamini led his honor guard in a teleport assault on a Basmemanik vessel, but interference caused a disastrous arrival that killed or trapped several warriors. He fought to protect Chapter Master Pascual and stopped further teleportation, leaving the survivors isolated aboard the enemy ship.

• Flamini sensed an ill omen around the teleport platform but proceeded with the assault on the Basmemanik vessel.
• The teleportation went wrong, embedding members of Flamini’s honor guard in metal structures and dropping him into a hazardous corridor filled with Basmemanik.
• Flamini attacked the charging Basmemanik and discovered that their metallic hides resisted plasma and missile fire.
• Pascual and his honor guard arrived in another mishap, leaving Pascual impaled and one guard embedded in a pillar.
• Flamini fought off a Basmemanik attacking Pascual, and Pascual ordered all companies to stop teleporting.
• The Basmemanik overwhelmed Pascual, and Flamini’s guard captain reported that a Teleport Jammer prevented reinforcements and asked Flamini for orders.

Flamini led Pascual's surviving guard through the Basmemanik warship, using their varied powers and a coordinated ring formation to fight their way toward the source of teleport interference. The squad destroyed the energy anomaly and brought down a towering Basmemanik, leaving Flamini amazed by his own luck.

• Flamini recovered the black crystal from Pascual's fallen guard and asked the surviving Royal Court Friars to identify the powers Father had granted them.
• The squad crossed through a door opened by the Trickster and formed a ring to hold off the Basmemanik, then broke out when a towering enemy approached.
• The Trickster made the passage slippery, trapping the pursuing Basmemanik in a pileup while the squad escaped and fought its way through the warship.
• Flamini led the squad to a deck where bone-clad Basmemanik surrounded a giant skeleton that was causing the teleport interference.
• The Lucky One's plasma shot knocked the skeleton into the towering Basmemanik, and Flamini's missile struck the enemy's exposed head, killing him.