Chapter Summaries

Nimrod activated the Stasis Device on Craven, then battled a massive Hrud assault with the Second and Fourth Legions as Eldrad Ulthran glimpsed the danger and fled the Gugan System. After the battle, Nimrod planned a safer ritual for the Hrud on Gugan and ordered the captured ship’s crew resettled so the Imperium would not learn of Sak-Trada.

• Nimrod sacrificed his spirituality to activate the Stasis Device, while millions of Hrud beneath Gorgis dug toward his position.
• Eldrad Ulthran warned the humans to leave, glimpsed Nimrod’s flames through the Sea of Souls, erased the crew’s memories, and escaped with the Aeldari through a Warp Gate.
• Nimrod silenced millions of Hrud, sent many into the Nation of Disorder, and called the Second and Fourth Legions to attack the remaining attackers from behind.
• Nimrod wielded the Red Priest’s flame against the Hrud, while the awakened Dreadnought Sesenion and the Shadows of Order fought them through the night.
• Nimrod concluded that most of Craven’s Hrud had died but that his ritual remained dangerous, so he planned to design a more complete ritual and consult the Dice of Prophecy.
• After Arsena Dunn reported that the Imperial ship’s crew had lost their memories, Nimrod ordered them settled on Gorgis and directed all four Legions to purge Craven’s remaining Hrud.

Nimrod used a ritual to place nearly all the Hrud on Gugan Prime in stasis, but the King of the Hrud resisted and led an army against him. Nimrod defeated and captured the King, though the battle left him a thousand years older and temporarily weakened; he concluded that he had secured Gugan and the ingredients he needed.

• Oleksandr led the Third Legion through the Hrud archive while Malena Scala studied a Hrud corpse and recorded its anatomy.
• Nimrod divined over his ritual plan, found the Dice of Prophecy dimmed but usable, and ordered the invasion of Gugan Prime.
• Malena, Arsena Dunn, and Diana Pauline completed the altar, and Nimrod used the Red Priest Uniqueness and Silence Amulets to put the Hrud on Gugan into stasis.
• The King of the Hrud resisted the stasis, awakened more than a million Hrud, and charged at Nimrod, who stopped the time distortion and attacked with the Destruction Vortex.
• Nimrod bound the King of the Hrud, ordered the four Chapters to purge the remaining Hrud, and sent the King to the Kingdom of Disorder.
• After recovering from the battle, Nimrod considered the risks of using power beyond his level and concluded that he had won Gugan and gained valuable potion ingredients.

After the costly but successful campaign against the Hrud, Nimrod ordered Gugan settled and began considering how to gain Perpetual immortality. Years later, Wilshire saw Keri’s sustainable transformation of Barnett succeed, while Nimrod’s psychic projection reached Terra.

• Arsena reported that the Legions had purged the Hrud of Gugan, with 2,840 dead, and Nimrod ordered the 5th Legion to settle the system and build a Warp Gate.
• Nimrod considered making himself a Perpetual after learning how Slau Dha had transformed John Grammaticus, while Arsena reported the next Legion assembly and Librarius summons.
• On Prospero, Ethan boarded a shuttle with his hunting squad after they gathered 9,410 intact Soul-Eater Peaks for Father.
• In 880.M30, Keri told Wilshire that Barnett’s transformation was complete and its soil could support 160 billion people sustainably.
• Wilshire inspected Barnett’s parks and farmland, praised Keri’s success, and saw the gloom lift from his thoughts.
• Nimrod’s psychic projection crossed the void and arrived at Terra’s golden palace.

Nimrod accepted Ferrus Manus’s challenge in exchange for custom armor and was ordered to join Horus and Mortarion in freeing Drun from Xenos control. Before departing, he briefed Perturabo on the Hrud and strengthened Balthasar Quturi with a new potion, leaving the Drun expedition about to begin.

• Ferrus Manus challenged Nimrod to a duel and offered him a weapon, and Nimrod accepted in exchange for a custom suit of armor.
• Russ challenged Nimrod to fight again, and Nimrod agreed if Russ offered him something worthwhile.
• The Emperor ordered Horus, Nimrod, and Mortarion to free Drun’s people from the Xenos life-form controlling them.
• Nimrod told Perturabo that the Hrud’s Entropy Field had overwhelmed his Stasis Device and shared battlefield data to help him build a stronger one.
• Nimrod arranged for Perturabo’s grand theater to be built on Vostonia, then ordered Arsena Dunn to set sail for Drun.
• Nimrod drew Balthasar Quturi into the Nation of Disorder, recognized that he had mastered his granted power, and gave him a potion that transformed him.

Ethan and the Shadow of Order fought Enslavers on Drun, where Ethan’s psychic strength helped break their control over Imperial forces. He confronted Death Guard survivors over the fallen Enslaver and asserted his claim to the kill.

• Ethan resisted an Enslaver’s attempt to control him and killed it with a psychic attack, while a mind-controlled Stormbird crashed nearby.
• Ethan joined Chambers and the 11th Chapter’s Third Company in their assault on Rampton, where they fought through Enslaver-controlled human puppets.
• Ethan and Chambers destroyed an Enslaver that had controlled a Sicaran crew and killed more than twenty puppets.
• Nathaniel Garro and the Death Guard’s 7th Company fought Enslavers near the city center, but their battle captain was controlled and attacked his own forces.
• Ethan resisted an Enslaver’s attempt to seize his mind, then used Gryphon’s Roar to disrupt its control and save the Death Guard captain from killing himself.
• Ethan claimed the Enslaver’s corpse, and Garro backed him when the Death Guard honor guard challenged his right to the spoils.

Howard Fender accepted Abaddon’s challenge to seize Kalchin Hive City’s primary psychic node, using a Blackstone device to breach its shield. After Abaddon was wounded fighting the Enslaver and controlled Psykers, Howard severed their Warp connection and defeated the xenos, claiming it for himself.

• Howard learned that Kalchin Hive City was a central Enslaver psychic node and ordered an attack.
• Abaddon challenged Howard to a race for the node, and Howard accepted, ordering Tech Sergeants to deploy the Blackstone device.
• The Blackstone device weakened the psychic barrier as the Shadow of Order began bombarding the city.
• Abaddon fought through Psykers and discovered that only four Katurian Reavers survived, now under enemy control.
• Abaddon was injured attacking the Enslaver, while Howard ordered the Justaerin to cease fire and forbade psychic and Warp power.
• Howard severed the Psykers’ connection to the Enslaver, killed the xenos with Psychic Piercing, and claimed it; Abaddon agreed and left.

Nimrod confronted the Enslavers’ leader on Drun after it mind-controlled Horus and Mortarion, then defeated it with Gryphon's Roar. With the Psykers freed and the threat ended, Mortarion withdrew from Drun while Nimrod claimed the Enslaver as an ingredient for his ascension ritual.

• Nimrod joined Horus and Mortarion at Drun’s central node, where the Primarchs set out to kill the Enslavers’ leader.
• The gigantic Enslaver mind-controlled Mortarion and Horus, leaving their warriors horrified as Nimrod continued forward.
• Nimrod resisted the Enslaver’s psychic tentacles and destroyed it with Gryphon's Roar, while the resulting mind storm tore apart Daemons gathered near the portal.
• The enslaved Psykers collapsed as the Enslaver’s control ended; Horus recovered, and Mortarion woke from his nightmare and ordered his forces to leave Drun.
• Nimrod caught the Enslaver’s corpse and decided its remains supplied the ingredients for his ascension ritual.

Nimrod planned to create chaos on false Terra as part of his advancement ritual and to seize its STCs. After preparing the route and assembling Beyonders for a covert campaign, he ordered the Witch of Joy team to board the Son of Vostonia.

• Arsena Dunn reported that the Liberation of Drun had cost the Shadows of Order 4,170 fighters, including 92 Librarians, and Nimrod ordered a search for suitable worlds to disrupt.
• Nimrod chose false Terra, recalled Horus’s failed diplomatic efforts there, and ordered the Third, Sixth, Tenth, and Eleventh Chapters to assemble at Carium Gate in November of 882.
• After waiting for the Dice of Prophecy to recover, Nimrod divined and recorded a star chart from Carium Gate to Terra.
• Nimrod told four lords to carry out missions themselves and learn covert methods of creating chaos, then clarified the plan for the Hypnotist Diana Pauline and others.
• Nimrod prepared Witch of Joy potions for Maria and Dementyeva and assembled 38 Witches, 152 Instigators, and 2,497 Assassins.
• Nimrod ordered the Witch of Joy team to carry out the plan and board the Son of Vostonia the next day.

Nimrod sent Maria Kournikova to meet the Emperor on Terra while his forces infiltrated the planet and prepared to destabilize its rulers. By the next day, Dementyeva had begun assigning targets for an uprising and a campaign of assassinations.

• The Emperor welcomed Maria Kournikova’s request to visit Terra, while Nimrod appointed her master of a Relic-class warship and head of House Kournikova.
• Nimrod and his companions arrived at Terra, while four lords secretly departed for other worlds and four Chapters’ fleets formed a blockade around the system.
• Assassins and Marauders infiltrated Terra; Tierney broke into a military castle, found its structural plans, and used a fire alarm to reach the archives.
• Nimrod sent Tierney’s collected intelligence to Dementyeva and ordered her to stir dissatisfied nobles into revolt and frame rival families for assassinations.
• Dementyeva assigned targets to hidden Witches, who left the spire in batches.

Per used his power as the Baron of Corruption to gain control of the Defense Force on the fifth planet and prepared to turn a gathering of allied families into another step in Nimrod’s plan. Nimrod judged that Per had not fully digested his power, chose not to advance with him, and ordered the next phase of chaos to begin.

• Per recruited Split-Lip by giving him a starship and used the gang to attack Defense Force officer Barrios, then rescued Barrios and gained his service.
• Over three stellar months, Per helped Barrios take control of more than half the Defense Force’s troops and arranged a banquet with thirty-six allied and friendly families.
• Per reported his progress to Nimrod in the Kingdom of Disorder, while Bukayo Arshavin and Flamini described their plans for Planet Four and Planet One.
• Nimrod saw that Per had not fully digested his power and decided to seek another world for his advancement to Mentor of Chaos.
• Nimrod ordered the plan to be executed the following night at eleven eleven.

Nimrod and his agents unleashed a coordinated assault across High City, using Spirit Sculptures, assassins, and manipulation to ignite a struggle among the great houses. As Terra descended into chaos, Raspadori moved to seize the throne while Nimrod continued his work in the Kingdom of Disorder.

• Dementyeva reported to Nimrod that she had gained control of Ilias and that Maria had given Lenormand the Spirit Sculpture, and Nimrod ordered the plan to begin at eleven eleven.
• Dementyeva's Witch persuaded Giuliano to kill Julian, then became invisible and assassinated Julian as Nimrod activated the Spirit Sculptures across High City.
• The sculptures and assassins attacked nobles and officials, setting off widespread violence and leaving The Emperor unable to reach Baena or get control of the crisis.
• A Spirit Sculpture attacked Lenormand, but Diana Pauline killed his invisible Warrior bodyguard and used Psychological Suggestion to subdue him.
• Dementyeva kept Ilias unconscious and cocooned the subordinate officer and guards who came seeking him.
• Raspadori announced his plan to become The Emperor with Maria's fleet, then ordered his guards to fire on the naval officers as Nimrod continued pouring Vostonia's Helas Volt into the furnace.

Nimrod completed the Mentor of Chaos potion while Malena Scala and Arsena Dunn fought their way through High City’s palace to confront the Emperor. Nimrod destroyed the Emperor and drank the potion, leaving Terra engulfed in flames.

• Nimrod combined the potion ingredients in the Helas Volt and sealed the finished Mentor of Chaos potion in a Double-Number Black Gold bottle.
• Malena Scala and Arsena Dunn advanced through the palace as Catachan vines spread and they battled invisible Warriors.
• Arsena and Malena reached the tower’s final platform, where the Emperor sat on the Golden Throne.
• Nimrod broke into the tower and the Emperor admitted that he had planned and created Terra’s chaos before activating the Arcane Device.
• Nimrod stopped the Golden Throne’s shock wave, rescued Arsena and Malena, destroyed the Emperor, and drank the Mentor of Chaos potion.

Nimrod drank the potion and advanced to Mentor of Chaos, gaining new abilities and strengthening his existing powers. When a supernatural broadcast announced Samus’s arrival, Nimrod set out to banish the Daemon himself.

• Nimrod drank the potion, endured its chaotic effects, and advanced to Mentor of Chaos.
• Nimrod examined his eleven new abilities, including majesty, Chaos, ambition, Word of Order, Black Box, and powers derived from the potion materials.
• Nimrod learned that several of his existing abilities had also grown stronger, including Distortion, Roar of Fury, and Multiversal Prism.
• Arsena Dunn told Nimrod that communications were experiencing interference and that the Tech Sergeant had captured a broadcast from the southern city.
• A broadcast declared that Samus was coming, and Nimrod recognized the voice as that of the Great Daemon Samus.
• Nimrod flew out to banish Samus himself.

Per Koschelny defeated the governor’s guards and forced the governor to surrender, while Nimrod destroyed Samus’s attempted manifestation in the Whispering Mountains. With the Legion gaining control of the star system, Nimrod returned to High City and headed for the Kingdom of Disorder.

• Per Koschelny cut through the governor’s guards, defeated an invisible Warrior, and made the governor surrender.
• Nimrod discovered the corpses and Samus believers in the Whispering Mountains, where a ritual was giving Samus a body in the real world.
• The Mentor of Chaos created five white bees from Soul-Eater Eggs, but Samus’s canine form destroyed them as Nimrod’s forces attacked.
• Nimrod used Willpower Suppression to disperse Samus, then ignited the spring and set the castle and Whispering Mountains ablaze.
• Arsena Dunn reported that the whispering had stopped, Planet One’s command base had sunk, Planet Four’s commanders had been captured, and the Legion controlled most of the star system.
• Nimrod ordered the recovery of the invisible Warriors’ equipment, flew back to High City, and headed for the Kingdom of Disorder.

Nimrod studied the Sequence 4 Fallen Count potion formula and its advancement ritual, then considered where to find the rare ingredients and whom to kill during apotheosis. He settled on a possible future target and entered the newly unlocked eighth-layer space.

• Nimrod read that the Fallen Count potion required a Hraf Originator, a fragment of Be'lakor's holy relic, Helas Volt, a Grey Nephilim, and a Barbarus Overlord's head.
• Nimrod considered taking Necare's head from Mortarion, but rejected a direct confrontation and began planning to use a Black Box if an opportunity arose.
• Nimrod concluded that the Abyss of Zaku-Trada was the likeliest place to find a fragment of Be'lakor's power and planned to explore it after obtaining the Stasis Device Perturabo had improved.
• Nimrod read the Fallen Count advancement ritual, which required killing a Daemon Prince during apotheosis and drinking the potion amid the Daemon Prince's death and complex emotions.
• Nimrod rejected Inger-Sel and other possible targets, then settled on a future target among the Primarchs if his potion ingredients were sufficient.
• Nimrod memorized the unlocked potion formulas and rituals, then entered the newly unlocked eighth-layer space.

Nimrod forced Slau Dha to reveal that the Aeldari transformed John Grammaticus into a Perpetual using spring water and gemstones from the Cradle of Serpents. He planned to secure the Tuchulcha Engine before traveling there, but Slau Dha resisted revealing the Black Library’s secrets.

• Nimrod entered the Eighth Layer Space and used his authority as the Mentor of Chaos to suppress Slau Dha and force his eyes open.
• Slau Dha revealed the words “Cradle of Serpents,” “spring water,” and “gemstones,” allowing Nimrod to learn the Perpetual-transformation method from his soul.
• Nimrod considered the dangers of reaching the Cradle of Serpents and planned to obtain the Tuchulcha Engine on Pertitus to help his fleet cross the Great Maw safely.
• Nimrod planned to fight the Nephilim in 884, divine the Tuchulcha Engine’s location in 885, and then seek routes to the Cradle of Serpents and the Great Maw.
• Nimrod questioned Slau Dha about the Black Library, but Slau Dha resisted, so Nimrod withdrew from his mind and returned to the real world.

Pat supported Visscher’s giant platform project on Numino and exchanged his backing for a group of noble killers to protect his father from political threats. Meanwhile, Nimrod’s forces secured a nine-planet system with limited losses, and the Emperor called a War Council for the following day.

• Pat observed the Rogue Trader’s officers and learned that the chief steward had gathered support for his vacation garden project.
• Visscher proposed turning fallen starships into a giant platform and space elevator, and Pat declared that the Shadow of Order would support it.
• Lewis von Valancius chose Visscher’s project for Numino, and Pat left with Visscher to receive the noble killers he had acquired.
• Pat resolved to use the killers against those who threatened his father and gained Viscount Flamini’s support for the project.
• Arsena Dunn reported that the Legion had taken control of all nine planets, while Nimrod privately accounted for additional casualties among his forces.
• Arsena told Nimrod that the Emperor had summoned a War Council for ten o’clock the next day.

The Emperor ordered a campaign against the Nephilim, assigning Nimrod and Jaghatai to reclaim their enslaved worlds while admonishing Hannibal about his altered appearance. Nimrod then organized his forces for the purge and sent the Ninth Chapter to Pelesa to obtain Nephilim for potion materials.

• Russ criticized Magnus over the dangers of witchcraft, while Mortarion supported Russ and Sanguinius and Jaghatai defended the use of Psykers.
• The Emperor announced that the Nephilim had enslaved humans across more than a hundred worlds and ordered Horus and Sanguinius to attack Melchior, while Nimrod and Jaghatai reclaimed the other worlds.
• The Emperor rebuked Hannibal for his changed appearance and told him to remember his admonition, then left the War Council.
• Nimrod summoned his officers and ordered the Third, Tenth, and Eleventh Chapters to join the Nephilim campaign while most of the Sixth returned to develop the Colonid Sector.
• Nimrod ordered the Ninth Chapter to Pelesa because Nephilim were ingredients for potions and his advancement.

In 884.M30, Per Koschelny led the 11th Chapter into the Pelesa System and confronted the Nephilim, who had enslaved humans and posed as gods. The Chapter destroyed the Nephilim fleet, while millions of people on Pelasa’s primary world celebrated the wreckage falling around their temple.

• Per received a plea from five humans to leave, but they insisted the Nephilim were angels and that nourishing gods was mortals’ greatest honor.
• Per accused the Nephilim of feeding on human life and controlling human minds, then ordered the 11th Chapter to attack once its fleet had mustered.
• The Nephilim attacked with undetectable sound waves, and Per sent frigates to test the attacks’ effects and learn how the enemy weapons worked.
• After a frigate was destroyed and the tests revealed that the sound waves grew stronger when ships were among several Nephilim vessels, Per ordered the fleet to withdraw and fight prow to prow, one on one.
• The 11th Chapter’s Auto-recharging Void Shields helped its ships withstand the sound attacks, and on the tenth day the fleet destroyed the last thirty-six Nephilim warships.
• The Nephilim wreckage fell through Pelasa’s atmosphere near the temple as millions of humans cheered the arrival of their gods.

Pat reported to Nimrod, became a Chaplain, and joined the war on Pelasa, where he led the Shadows of Order against the Nephilim and their human followers. The battle continued as Pat and Psychiatrist broke through the believers’ defenses and struck down the Nephilim.

• Nimrod ordered Pat to eliminate nobles who opposed him and distribute their interests among rival factions, then appointed Pat a Chaplain.
• Pat received a scepter forged by Vulkan and modified by Rosicky Cech, then drank a golden potion from Nimrod that granted him new powers.
• Pat reached the battlefield and used his scepter to bring down a Blue Nephilim, whose fall killed three people beneath it.
• Psychiatrist used Dragon Might to scatter and immobilize the Nephilim’s human believers as the Shadows of Order fought through their ranks.
• Pat rallied the Shadows of Order with a speech condemning the Nephilim, and the warriors attacked as Psychiatrist drove the believers back.