Chapter Summaries

As the fleet entered the Great Maelstrom, Wilshire prepared the ships for the Winds of Malik and the dangers of the Warp. The jump began, crew members succumbed to madness, and the Light Worshipper and Olivier confronted threats aboard their ships.

• Wilshire learned from the Othello family’s Chief Navigator that the Winds of Malik would soon provide a route to Tovendis, though Warp hazards could strand ships or drive crews mad.
• Wilshire ordered the fleet informed of the planned navigation, and directed the Royal Court and Librarians to prepare for Daemons, Warp Predators, and crew members losing control.
• Four ship cycles later, the Winds of Malik rose, and Wilshire approved the Warp jump while warning the fleet to stay on guard.
• On the Radiance, Jolington succumbed to madness, killed several laborers, and attacked another worker on the lower deck.
• The Light Worshipper cautiously vaporized Jolington with an Archaeotech Pistol after his Sunlight Shine failed to stop him.
• Aboard the Song of Shadows, Olivier’s pistol shot failed to kill a Daemon, but the Sun Priest destroyed it with Summon Holy Light.

Wilshire arranged an invasion of Tovendis after discovering that the Song of Slaughter would not respond while listening to songs, while Winterborn uncovered the planet’s Slaaneshi cults. After the fleet destroyed Tovendis, Wilshire brought singers aboard the ancient ship and secured its agreement to serve the Second Legion.

• Wilshire ordered the Song of Slaughter contacted, arranged a fleet interception, and sent Winterborn’s First Company to investigate Tovendis.
• Winterborn’s troops fought Slaaneshi Daemons and found cultists worshipping a monster through songs and torture.
• After Winterborn reported that all fifteen detachments had encountered Daemons and cultists, Wilshire ordered Tovendis erased and led two hundred singers toward the Song of Slaughter.
• The fleet bombarded Tovendis while playing songs, and the Song of Slaughter approached the Stormbird formation and invited Wilshire aboard.
• Wilshire led the singers to the ship’s core and sang a Viking war song until the Song of Slaughter agreed to a contract with him.
• Wilshire and the Song of Slaughter signed a contract for the ship to serve the Second Legion in exchange for continuous singing.

Nimrod returned to Terra with Omega, who reunited with his twin Alpharius in secret, and presented his plan to launch a decisive battle against the xenos on Thramas. The Emperor assigned Lion and Guilliman to assist Nimrod, while Ferrus Manus and the Fabricator-General of Mars stayed behind to speak with him.

• Nimrod landed on Terra with Omega and received a public welcome before Malcador escorted them to a celebration.
• Omega and Alpharius recognized each other at the banquet but concealed their reunion from the crowd.
• At the War Council, Nimrod requested more than 150,000 Astartes and two primarchs to support the Thramas campaign.
• Omega volunteered to join Nimrod, and the Emperor ordered Lion and Guilliman to assist in crushing the xenos.
• After the other primarchs departed, Ferrus Manus and the Fabricator-General of Mars approached Nimrod to discuss something.

Nimrod rejected Mars’s invitation to accept the Omnissiah’s doctrines but agreed to trade for an alien war satellite and finalized the Sicaran heavy tank. After studying Omega’s blood and genetic material, Nimrod ordered research and set course for Piraeus to obtain a C’tan Shard before the coming decisive battle.

• The Fabricator-General of Mars invited Nimrod to embrace the Omnissiah’s doctrines, but Nimrod refused because he would not accept that flesh was weak.
• Nimrod offered Mars the captured xenos Artificial War Satellite, and Ferrus Manus approved the Sicaran heavy tank design for experimental production.
• Mikel reported that Omega’s genetic material could produce 215 gene-seeds and that his blood had extraordinary properties; Nimrod ordered some used for Astartes, research, and a future item to find Alpha.
• Nimrod ordered the remaining biological tissue researched and reviewed reports of excavations on Baal-Savol.
• Nimrod took Ramsey’s map of the Tear of Silence and ordered the ship to set sail for Piraeus to obtain a C’tan Shard before the decisive battle.

Sanchez lured the Space Wolves into a confrontation with a powerful Slaugth-kin on Indra-Sur, where Skarsen and Valdemar were badly injured before Sanchez revealed his firepower and killed the xenos. After hearing Sanchez’s report, Nimrod considered intervening in Duran to gain leverage over Russ and investigate its technology.

• Wodmek urged Skarsen to seize a chance to expose Sanchez’s supposed witchcraft, and Skarsen decided to act in advance.
• The fleets reached Indra-Sur, where Valdemar learned that Sanchez’s device had located a Slaugth-kin and secretly alerted Skarsen.
• Sanchez and Valdemar engaged the Slaugth Destroyer, and Skarsen arrived with his honor guard to attack it.
• The Slaugth Destroyer wounded Skarsen and crippled Valdemar, but Sanchez unleashed powerful flames and destroyed it.
• Sanchez told Valdemar that he had always been able to use flames, and Valdemar lost consciousness in rage.
• Nimrod heard Sanchez’s report and considered going to Duran to obtain leverage over Russ and examine its technology.

Nimrod investigated strange creatures and human corpses on Piraeus, then discovered an underground passage leading to the imprisoned C’tan Kalugura, the Tear of Silence. Kalugura’s power overwhelmed Nimrod’s will for the first time, leaving him struggling to decide how to capture the C’tan.

• Arsena Dunn reported findings that included Mist Trees, color-changing leopard creatures, and eerily preserved human corpses arranged across a plain.
• Nimrod sent squads to collect the creatures, then flew with a small group to the plain and burned the corpses arranged in a teardrop to reveal an underground passage.
• Nimrod and his companions descended through the endless passage, where a supernatural force distorted their perception of time and caused several of them to collapse.
• Nimrod continued alone through green mist and found Kalugura suspended inside a stone coffin, proclaiming himself a god.
• Kalugura’s power extinguished Nimrod’s golden flames and slowed his thoughts, marking the first time Nimrod failed a test of will.

Nimrod subdued the Tear of Silence Kalugula by rebuilding the triangular cage that had once bound it, then resumed his journey and recruited Glenn Worsoto into the Arbites. At Carium Gate, Urian Bendreg watched the Lion approach and worried that his father would discover Luther’s hidden knights before the decisive battle on Thramas.

• Nimrod used his Kingdom of Disorder and the Power Fist to overpower the Tear of Silence, then trapped it inside a cage of triangular patterns formed from Seventh Layer Space.
• Nimrod returned to reality and found Glenn Worsoto and the others awake; he led them onward and ordered Arsena Dunn to leave three squads on Piraeus to mine resources and bring in immigrants.
• Nimrod departed for Carium Gate, then gave Glenn a golden potion that advanced him to Arbites.
• At Carium Gate, Urian Bendreg saw the Ultramarines and the newly revealed Alpha Legion fleet assembled as the Lion approached aboard a black ceramic Stormbird.
• Urian worried that the Lion would discover Luther had more than two thousand knights and reflected that Luther and Zahariel would not give up their chance to fight at Thramas.

Rosicky Cech successfully tested a sphere that detected Alpha, while Nimrod and Omega discussed the Warmaster succession and agreed to share intelligence. After Omega departed, Nimrod ordered further testing on Thramas and planned to make thirteen detection spheres before Alpha began infiltrating the Legions on a large scale.

• Rosicky Cech tested the Alpha Identification Orb and confirmed it could detect Alpha at a range of just over twenty kilometers.
• Guilliman presented his campaign plan for Thramas, and Nimrod proposed that Alpha gather intelligence in the system before the commanders finalized the ground battle plan.
• Omega told Nimrod he would support him becoming Warmaster, but Nimrod declined and asked instead for intelligence support from Alpha.
• Nimrod privately considered the Warmaster candidates and judged Horus and Sanguinius the most suitable, while ruling out Lion, Ferrus, and Guilliman as his preferred choices.
• Nimrod instructed Arsena Dunn to review every piece of intelligence from Omega and ordered Rosicky Cech to continue testing the detection sphere on Thramas.

In 869.M30, Guilliman coordinated nine Legions’ assault on the Rangdan forces in the Thramas Sector, while Nimrod committed over two hundred thousand Shadow of Order troops to the ground campaign. The fleets destroyed the Artificial War Satellite’s orbital defenses and opened a path to the planet, where the deaths stirred a soul storm that drew the attention of four beings beyond the veil.

• Warships from nine Astartes Legions gathered in the Thramas Sector, and Guilliman directed their void battle from Macragge's Honour.
• Guilliman and his brothers agreed on ground forces and objectives, with the Lion assigning the Dark Angels to Zone A-1 and Nimrod committing two hundred five thousand Shadow of Order.
• Eight Gloriana-class Battleships attacked the Artificial War Satellite and destroyed its orbital defenses within the first stellar hour.
• The fleets bombarded Thramas until the Artificial War Satellite became a world of light and sea, while drones and Rangdan forces were torn apart.
• Ships surged out of the Great Ocean through the breach, and the deaths stirred a soul storm that drew four pairs of eyes from beyond the veil.

Urian Bendreg watched the Legions’ fighters deploy against the xenos defenses on Talos and considered how Shadow of Order’s powerful air force contrasted with the Dark Angels’ weaker conventional resources. The aerial battle devastated both sides, but Shadow of Order’s fighters and bombers pressed on as the Dark Angels suffered heavy losses.

• Urian Bendreg compared the Legions’ fighter forces and questioned the Dark Angels’ failure to manage the worlds they conquered.
• Aloseri fought the drone swarms in his aging Swordtail Interceptor, endured severe damage, and watched fellow Dark Angels pilots fall.
• Dark Angels aircraft landed on Thramas amid heavy anti-aircraft fire, while Flamini’s chapter routed hundreds of thousands of drones despite losing 407 fighters.
• Flamini led his fighters through the drone swarm and fired on the xenos forces.
• Nelson attacked xenos facilities with four Hellstrike Missiles, then climbed away as aircraft trailed smoke into the void.

Bukayo led the Third Legion’s Sicaran Battle Tanks against xenos whose psychic electricity had routed the Ultramarines’ initial armored assault. The Sicarans and Requiemist’s dream ability broke through the mountain defenses, and Bukayo concluded that the tank could serve as a main battle tank as the campaign continued into the misty mountains.

• Nimrod ordered Bukayo to lead the Third Legion against the xenos, and Bukayo deployed its Predators and Malcador Heavy Tanks.
• The xenos’ psychic lightning destroyed much of the Ultramarines’ first armored charge, while electromagnetic interference disrupted their weapons during the next attack.
• Marius Gage ordered the Ultramarines to send champion swordsmen with Power Swords as the Sicaran-equipped Stormbirds arrived.
• Bukayo used the Sicarans’ Energy Scanners and neutron beams to locate and destroy xenos fortifications while maneuvering through their electrical attacks.
• Requiemist used Forced Dream Induction to silence xenos firing positions, allowing the Sicaran Tanks to clear the mountain defenses.
• Bukayo surveyed the wrecked tanks and judged that the Sicaran could serve as a widely deployed main battle tank before looking toward the mist-covered mountains.

Lion discovered Luther and his new Order of Knights fighting xenos on Thramas and confronted him, but Nimrod persuaded Lion to let them remain on the battlefield. As Luther and Zahariel returned to the fight, a presence in the Hidden Library observed that fate had changed and that events remained within its plan.

• Lion learned from Calth Wayne that Luther and his followers were active on Thramas, then ordered a Stormbird prepared and went to the surface.
• Urian Bendreg reported Lion’s approach to Nimrod, while Luther told Nimrod he would face Lion directly.
• Lion confronted Luther and ordered him back to Caliban, but Luther refused, and their followers prepared for a fight.
• Nimrod arrived and asked Lion to let Luther’s knights keep fighting the xenos; Lion agreed after seeing their battle-scarred armor.
• Zahariel joined Luther in the battle while Nemiel followed Lion, and a presence in the Hidden Library watched them and declared that fate had changed.

Mathias Herzog, calling himself Omega, sent the Gino 52nd Thousand-Company against Brain-Eaters, whose toxins and defenses devastated the Imperial forces. After the Shadows of Order defeated the xenos with Worm Charms, Herzog recruited the maimed Major Pius as an operative under the identity Lerna 222.

• Herzog met Brigadier Vitt, introduced himself as Omega, and ordered the Gino 52nd Thousand-Company to attack a xenos stronghold in sector I-20.
• Major Pius sent reconnaissance squads into the misty gorge, where Brain-Eaters poisoned and killed soldiers before the survivors retreated.
• Pius fortified the gorge, but Brain-Eaters resisted the company's weapons and inflicted catastrophic losses while neurotoxin spread through the troops.
• Oliver and four Gravediggers of the Shadows of Order used Worm Charms to kill the five Brain-Eaters, ending the battle.
• A month later, Pius learned he had lost an arm and most of his company, then agreed to serve Herzog as operative Lerna 222.

The War Griffons’ Titans fought the Xenos in the mountains, where Captain Glasner’s Silver Monarch defeated a Bone-Eater at great cost. Meanwhile, Wilshire saw the upgraded Tripod Walkers destroy another Bone-Eater, proving their battlefield worth despite lacking defenses.

• Glasner’s Silver Monarch and two Reaver-class Titans attacked the Xenos in Sector S-4, destroying a pig-shaped Overlord and many other enemies.
• Silver Monarch lost its sensor system and suffered reactor damage, but Glasner used Servitor visual feeds to target the Bone-Eater.
• Glasner drove Silver Monarch through the Bone-Eater’s attacks and killed it with the Titan’s Power Claw, though the damage left him badly injured.
• Wilshire watched the redesigned Tripod Walkers, now Warhound-sized with roomier cockpits and pilots freed from the short-lived genetic caste.
• Three beams destroyed one Tripod Walker, but the remaining walkers fired together and melted a Bone-Eater.
• Wilshire concluded that the new Tripod Walker had passed its test as Titan Legions continued to suffer heavy losses against the Bone-Eaters.

Nimrod bound the Tear of Silence Kalugula and used its power to transform charms, then advanced William Wood to Magician and sent him to battle. William’s prepared performance defeated a Slaugth Destroyer, delighting Slaanesh.

• Nimrod repaired the rules binding the Tear of Silence and turned thirty-three charms into green teardrops embodying Kalugula’s power of silence.
• Nimrod gave William Wood the Magician potion, taught him to prepare for performances, and showed him how to pray to the Black Emperor.
• Slaanesh watched scenes of battle in a palace of mirrors, admiring Lucius’s swordsmanship before a punch disrupted the display.
• William used prepared fuel, grenades, flying knives, illusions, and substitutes to mislead and weaken a Slaugth Destroyer.
• William detonated an Armor-Piercing Grenade inside the Slaugth Destroyer, and Slaanesh applauded the performance.

William Wood escaped Slaugth but was nearly corrupted by Slaanesh after his performance, and Nimrod rescued him with a Silence Amulet. Nimrod sent William back to Thramas and ordered a surface assault as a new presence watched the battlefield from beyond the veil.

• William Wood fled Slaugth through a prepared route while resisting Slaanesh's seductive influence.
• Nimrod answered William's prayer in the Kingdom of Disorder, and a Silence Amulet stripped Slaanesh's corruption from him.
• William told Nimrod what had happened, and Nimrod realized Slaanesh's approval had helped William digest his Sequence 7 potion.
• Nimrod instructed William to pray if he faced similar danger, linked him to his power, and sent him back to Thramas with another Silence Amulet.
• Nimrod ordered his forces to the surface to gather potion ingredients and end the decisive battle against Slaugth.
• Beyond the veil, a blood-red armored figure watched the fighting on Thramas and fixed his gaze on four transhuman warriors.

Alpharius and Omega fought the Slaugth-kin in perfect coordination while Guilliman battled it at the cost of his Honor Guard. Guilliman destroyed the creature, and Lion continued the fight as Khorne watched and praised his skill.

• Alpharius lost the Pale Spear to the Slaugth-kin, but Omega struck its worm-arm, and the brothers recovered their weapons and fought back to back.
• The Slaugth-kin injured Guilliman and killed his Honor Guard as they shielded him from its attacks.
• Guilliman drove an Armor-Piercing Grenade into the Slaugth-kin and destroyed its body, then Glenn Worsoto caught him as he fell.
• Lion charged the Slaugth-kin, blocked its beam, and attacked with a spiraling blend of offense and defense as his Honor Guard fell around him.
• Khorne praised Lion's attack, defense, skill, and balance.

Nimrod arrived at the battle and led the Shadows of Order in defeating and imprisoning the Slaugth, aided by John, Freddy, Lion, Alpharius, and Omega. After repeatedly fighting and exhausting his spirituality, he stood on the mountain peak as the battle finally ended.

• After Marquinius died, Nimrod appointed William Wood as Chapter Master of the 12th Chapter and flew to the battlefield.
• Nimrod struck the Slaugth with the Shard of the Burning One, freeing Shadow of Order and helping the Shadows of Order seize fourteen positions.
• Nimrod, Lion, Alpharius, and Omega attacked Slaugth while Khorne watched and praised Nimrod's strength, speed, and technique.
• Nimrod used John’s Mental Storm and Freddy’s Song of Serenity to weaken Slaugth, then captured them with amber Imprisonment.
• Nimrod repeatedly returned to the battle with the Spear of Dionysus, exhausting his spirituality until the Slaugth were defeated and he declared the battle over.

Nimrod accepted Urian’s fealty, empowered him, Luther, and Zahariel, and assessed the Legion’s losses after the decisive battle at Thramas. He ordered a new campaign to purge xenos across Imperial territory while Mankora’s Librarian apprentices prepared to serve the Legions and study Gryphon’s Roar.

• Nimrod accepted Urian Bendreg’s fealty, gave him an Arbites potion, and gifted Luther and Zahariel knowledge of the Euclidean Sigil and the Black Emperor’s prayer ritual.
• Nimrod learned of the Order of Sirius tomes Luther had hidden and asked him to sacrifice them.
• Arsena Dunn reported the forces’ casualties and reinforcements, and Nimrod ordered the remaining task forces into a Seventh Joint Fleet to purge xenos within three years.
• Luther and Urian returned to Caliban, Lion El’Jonson departed before the War Council, and Guilliman arrived at the Shadow of the Throne with new Honor Guard members.
• On Mankora, Thomas ordered 1,960 Librarian apprentices assigned to the Legions and sent Ethan to Prospero to study and hunt Soul-Eater Bees.
• Ethan demonstrated Gryphon’s Roar from his gryphon, felling three wild wolves and driving the others away.

Nimrod reported the victory at Thramas to the Emperor, who assigned him to accelerate the war against the Fashi after criticizing Russ’s slow progress. Russ resolved to find Duran and destroy it before Nimrod could, with Jorin promising to help.

• Nimrod credited Perturabo, Lion, Guilliman, Omega, and the Legion task forces for winning the battle at Thramas, then reported his plans to clear the remaining xenos from the Imperium.
• The Emperor ordered Nimrod to take over the campaign against the Fashi because Russ’s progress had disappointed him, and Nimrod accepted.
• Russ argued with Nimrod about their wager and insisted that the Space Wolves did not need help from his wizard whelps.
• Nimrod returned to the Shadow of the Throne with Guilliman and told Arsena Dunn to have Sanchez collect the cloak from Russ.
• Aboard the Hrafnkel, Russ told Jorin that the Emperor had sent Nimrod to finish the Fashi war and vowed to find Duran first.
• Jorin agreed to help Russ locate Duran so Russ could burn the Fashi capital before Nimrod reached it.