Chapter Summaries

The Shadows of Order boarded Laiko Fishmen ships to capture the xenos on Pladis Zeta, using anesthetic darts against their strange powers. After Sasebo Tezuka found two of his squadmates eating a Laiko Fishman, he struggled to suppress the same craving and realized he could no longer become Father's Honor Guard.

• Hermit briefed the company that Father wanted the Laiko Fishmen captured and ordered them to board the xenos ships with anesthetic rifles.
• Sasebo Tezuka led his squad toward a main airlock after scans showed Laiko Fishmen had landed on Pladis Zeta.
• Sasebo Tezuka and the Shadows of Order dodged corrosive mucus and icy flames, then subdued the Laiko Fishmen with anesthetic darts.
• Sasebo Tezuka found Tresoldi and Ordonez kneeling beside a Laiko Fishman and eating its flesh.
• Sasebo Tezuka stopped Tresoldi and Ordonez, but felt his own craving for the flesh and decided he had to deal with them.

Nimrod set limits on the Rose Bishops’ consumption of xenos, then advanced Thomas to Sequence 6, Scroll Professor, and gave him materials to make scrolls. He ordered Alkahas Phall to volunteer to hunt the Kirek, a species Horus had recently discovered.

• Ramsey reported that five Honor Guard candidates had applied to relinquish their qualifications after Faceless Ones devoured xenos, and Pat urged Nimrod to establish boundaries.
• Nimrod permitted the Rose Bishops to eat slain xenos for power but forbade them from keeping xenos or harming humans, and he ordered Pat and the chaplains to supervise them.
• Nimrod summoned Thomas, gave him the Scroll Professor potion, and watched him drink it and advance.
• Nimrod supplied Thomas with hides for scroll-making and assigned Okafor as his assistant.
• Nimrod summoned Alkahas Phall, learned that Horus’s Explorator Fleets had discovered planet Kirek, and ordered him to volunteer to hunt the Kirek.

Alkahas Phall’s XIX Legion exterminated the Kirek by exploiting their customs and using anesthetic rifles, allowing Horus to bring two star systems and five lost human colonies into compliance. Horus told Alkahas that his Primarch had been found and was on Terra, and Alkahas prepared to return there after receiving the Black Emperor’s acknowledgment.

• Balthasar Quturi and Alkahas Phall led the XIX Legion in hunting the Kirek, using their restricted combat customs and anesthetic rifles to capture them over a year.
• Horus arrived, praised Alkahas for taking on the extermination, and noted that the Luna Wolves had brought two star systems and five lost colonies into compliance.
• Horus told Alkahas that his father had gone to the southern edge of the galaxy and that Alkahas could meet him on Terra.
• Alkahas returned to the Kraken, sacrificed the Kirek to the Black Emperor, and said he would go to Terra to meet his Primarch.
• The Black Emperor answered Alkahas’s prayer, saying, “I know.”

After Corax exiled Alkahas Phall and most of the Terran-born Space Sharks, Alkahas prayed to Nimrod, who reframed the exile as freedom and gave him a new mission. Alkahas accepted Nimrod’s command and surrendered the Void Glass, leaving to lead the Space Sharks toward their new purpose.

• Alkahas returned to his ship in a gloomy state and ordered his Honor Guard to secure the Void Glass entrusted to him by the Emperor.
• Alkahas prayed to the Black Emperor, explaining that Corax had exiled him and 15,213 Terran-born Space Sharks after condemning their brutal methods.
• Nimrod explained how Horus’s campaigns and Corax’s experiences on Deliverance had shaped the exile, then told Alkahas he had been freed from his shackles and should obey Nimrod alone.
• Nimrod ordered Alkahas to go to Naktis, select capable confidants to receive new power, and spend the next eighty years searching for Underworld Horn fragments using a Data Crystal.
• Alkahas told Nimrod that the Emperor had entrusted him with the Void Glass, and Nimrod ordered him to sacrifice it; the glass appeared in Nimrod’s hand.

Alkahas Phall left Terra for Naktis as Nimrod examined the Void Glass and considered the soul reflections it revealed. Nimrod put off activating the artifact, reassured two Raven Guard Hermits, and anticipated that Horus would still exile the remaining Terran-born before the celebration.

• Alkahas Phall ordered his fleet to repaint its armor, vehicles, and warships, then set course for Naktis.
• Nimrod recalled how the Void Glass exposed the souls of Hesperax, Kahurangi, and Manu, and wondered what the Old Man in Yellow had seen in its reflection.
• Nimrod recognized that the Void Glass could open a gate to the Sea of Souls, but decided to form an association with it before attempting activation.
• Nimrod answered Nerath Kirin's prayer by telling him to remain with the Raven Guard and continue his shadow training.
• Nimrod gave Alastor Rorschach the same instruction and predicted that Horus would likely exile the remaining Terran-born before the Great Birthday Celebration.

Alkahas Phall settled into his new role as Ocean Singer before meeting Szczesny, who showed him the modified armor once worn by Leman Russ. At Malevolus's forge, Alkahas learned the remaining Ice-Wave Armor Elawerald would be made into armor for Malena Scala, then was asked to describe the armor he wanted.

• Alkahas sang his grief and resentment to Obnis, then swam through the sea toward the fortress under construction.
• Szczesny congratulated Alkahas on becoming an Ocean Singer and revealed that he wore Leman Russ's armor, modified by Malevolus to fit him.
• Alkahas recognized the runes and learned that the armor had been Russ's trophy from a wagered duel between Sanchez and Jorin.
• Alkahas visited Malevolus's forge, where Malevolus explained that the remaining Ice-Wave Armor Elawerald would be used to make armor for Malena Scala.
• Malevolus offered technical support for Alkahas's warband and asked what kind of armor Alkahas wanted.

Alkahas Phall told the Space Sharks that Corvas Corax had exiled them to the Dark Outer Rim, and they accepted his command to forget Corax. He then declared their loyalty to Lord Nimrod, while the fleet prepared to depart and 1,129 selected Space Sharks traveled toward The Surge.

• Alkahas announced that Corax had ordered the Space Sharks to leave Imperial space and hunt enemies in the Dark Outer Rim.
• Alkahas told the Chapter to forget Corax, and the Space Sharks affirmed their identity together.
• Alkahas declared that the Space Sharks served only Lord Nimrod, and his confidants knelt to pledge loyalty to the King of Vostonia.
• Alkahas selected 1,129 Space Sharks to follow Nimrod and seek the power he offered.
• The Space Sharks began preparing to set sail, and a transport carrying the 1,129 selected warriors headed for The Surge.

Nimrod examined Void Glass and realized it was the Witch pathway’s Uniqueness, then decided to wait until he reached Sequence 4 before trying to use it. He used the Dice of Prophecy to obtain a star chart to the Ikar System and assigned the system to the 12th Chapter.

• Nimrod studied Void Glass and recognized its connection to the Witch pathway, the Mirror World, and the City of Calamity.
• Nimrod discovered that the Kingdom of Disorder’s black mist blocked Void Glass from affecting him, and decided not to risk using the Uniqueness until he advanced to Sequence 4.
• Nimrod reflected on possessing two Uniquenesses and thanked The Old Man in Yellow for giving him Void Glass.
• Nimrod used the Dice of Prophecy to obtain a star chart from the Carium Gate to the Ikar System.
• Nimrod sent the star chart to William Wood and ordered him to bring the Ikar System to heel and hide it for the 12th Chapter.

The Emperor’s psychic avatar Revelation confronted the silver-white serpent and tore a pillar of light from the red giant’s grasp, sending it across the galaxy. Nimrod woke on Vostonia as the Spear of Dionysus returned to him, then set his sights on the Nightfall Troupe before projecting himself to Terra.

• Revelation escaped the Sea of Souls and resisted the serpent’s attempt to reduce him to a powerless stag, repeatedly cutting the Gordian knot until he asserted that Alexander was his true body.
• The Emperor and Revelation acted in unison, pulling a golden pillar of light free from the red giant and hurling it past the encircling stone spheres.
• The pillar’s passage sent lightning across the Cradle of Serpents and caused the wandering ghosts near Damaris to vanish.
• Nimrod woke at Shadow Keep on Vostonia and watched the Spear of Dionysus return, concluding that The Old Man in Yellow had reclaimed it from the rebooting Ouroboros.
• Nimrod looked into the night sky, named the Nightfall Troupe, and nine standard hours later sent his psychic projection to Terra’s Golden Palace.

Nimrod attended a meeting where the Emperor welcomed Corvas Corax back and assigned Nimrod a campaign against the Fire of Time xenos in the Wolf System. Afterward, Nimrod began preparing his Legion and resolved to secure Mark IV armor before the Great Birthday Celebration.

• Horus welcomed Corvas Corax back, and Nimrod noticed Corax's resentment toward Horus over the treatment of his Terran-born sons.
• The Emperor praised Lion El'Jonson for destroying the Koreptos and ordered Nimrod to attack the Fire of Time xenos in the Wolf System.
• The Emperor asked Mars to design a new power armor model, and the Fabricator-General said the tech-priests were already developing one.
• Nimrod resolved to equip his Legion with Mark IV armor on a large scale before the Great Birthday Celebration began.
• Nimrod returned to the Shadow of the Throne and summoned the 1st, 3rd, and 10th Battalions to assemble at the Carium Gate.

Nimrod divined that a Be'lakor Relic Fragment lay in the Antimatz Sector and planned to subdue the Vespid after dealing with the Fire of Time xenos. In the Wolf System, he identified suspicious human ships as likely controlled by the xenos and ordered a fleet to draw their fire.

• Nimrod used the Dice of Prophecy to locate a Be'lakor Relic Fragment in the Antimatz Sector and decided to seek it while subduing the Vespid.
• Nimrod gave Melon the divination data, then Arsena reported that the Wolf System scan found no xenos ships but identified seventy-four Imperial vessels, including twenty-nine registered to operate elsewhere.
• After twelve ships answered a broadcast but refused Nimrod's request to berth, Nimrod suspected the Fire of Time xenos had taken control of them and ordered destroyers to harass the fleet from both sides.
• Sasebo Tezuka led three destroyers toward the enemy fleet and ordered them to lure its ships into wasting ammunition.
• Tresoldi proposed raiding an enemy ship, and Sasebo ordered twelve Dreadnought strike missiles loaded in place of the Rhino troop carrier.

Sasebo Tezuka and the Shadow of Order attacked a Transport Ship, killing Fire of Time xenos and capturing some for the soldiers to consume. Elsewhere, Fire of Time xenos ambushed the 48th Company, stealing a Shadow of Order's memories before trying to fire his bolter and being blasted away.

• Sasebo Tezuka led three Shadow-pattern Stormbirds in a missile strike that broke through a Transport Ship's Void Shield and damaged its deck.
• Sasebo Tezuka and the Shadow of Order attacked the Fire of Time xenos with anesthetic syringes and bolters, killing several and capturing others.
• Sasebo Tezuka allowed the soldiers to consume one captured xeno and ordered the rest offered to Father; Tresoldi ate one.
• Fifteen thousand kilometers away, a swarm of Fire of Time xenos overwhelmed a squad of the 48th Company's Shadows of Order in a narrow passage.
• A Fire of Time xeno stole a Shadow of Order's memories as he stood rigid, then several xenos tried to lift and fire his bolter.
• The bolter exploded, blasting the three Fire of Time xenos away.

Dickson led the Judges in hunting the Fire of Time xenos in Nyx Hive City, completing the Black Emperor’s decree and advancing to Sequence 5, Punisher Knight. As he realized his strength had grown and his armor needed refitting, more Fire of Time xenos emerged in Knox Hive City on Moli.

• Dickson investigated a family slain by the Fire of Time and declared that he would punish the xenos hiding in Nyx Hive City’s Underhive.
• Dickson and his Judges attacked the hidden xenos with supernatural commands, imprisoned them, and sent the captives to the Black Emperor.
• A year later, Dickson killed the last xenos in his jurisdiction and drank a golden potion, receiving the Black Emperor’s grace for the fifth time and becoming a Punisher Knight.
• Dickson resisted the illusion of the Golden Throne, realized his body had grown stronger, and decided to seek new armor.
• As Dickson and other officers advanced to Sequence 5 on Wolf, Fire of Time xenos poured out of the shadows in Knox Hive City on Moli.

Mikhailovsky and the Space Sharks launched an operation to capture the Fires of Time in Knox Hive City for Lord Nimrod. The Pale Nomad used Deep Sea Incursion to incapacitate hundreds of xenos, overcame its Warp effects with the Thelema Mindset, and ordered his warriors to take the survivors alive.

• Mikhailovsky reminded the Pale Nomad that Lord Nimrod wanted the Fires of Time brought to him alive, and the Pale Nomad led the Space Sharks into the hive.
• Mikhailovsky and the Third Legion's Court members used their abilities to put groups of Fires of Time into dream-entry comas while the Shadow of Order collected them.
• Fires of Time carrying stolen Bolters opened fire, and the Space Sharks charged through the explosions to attack them with chainsaw weapons.
• The Pale Nomad used Deep Sea Incursion to overwhelm three hundred Fires of Time with visions of a terrifying ocean, leaving them defenseless.
• The Pale Nomad dispelled the spell's dangerous Warp phenomenon by entering the Thelema Mindset taught by Lord Nimrod.
• The Pale Nomad ordered the Space Sharks to stop killing the xenos and bring them to Lord Nimrod.

Nimrod rewarded the Pale Nomad with the Sequence 9 “Sailor” potion, then helped Tierney meet the advancement ritual for “Dream Thief” and supplied him with the potion. Tierney survived its suffocating transformation and advanced, leaving him newly empowered in the Hive City.

• Nimrod gave the Pale Nomad the “Sailor” potion after hearing his report, and the Pale Nomad drank it and advanced.
• Nimrod contacted Tierney in the Kingdom of Disorder and learned that Diana Pauline had arranged for fifty-six Wolfe Family members to dream of him.
• Tierney stole from the Wolfe Family’s vaults in their dreams, then obtained the “Dream Thief” potion through a prayer to the Black Emperor.
• Tierney drank the potion atop the Wolfe Family’s Hive Spire, endured suffocation and visions of his nightmares, and advanced to “Dream Thief.”

Nimrod received the casualty report from the Fire of Time campaign and arranged for the World Eaters’ research subjects to be offered to him. He directed Galan Surak to develop the Butcher’s Nails on Genna, then learned a route to Vespid and considered recruiting its people for Cadia.

• Arsena Dunn reported that the Legion had lost 5,140 Shadow of Order, and Nimrod ordered him to report total casualties of 14,900 to the War Council.
• Nimrod summoned Galan Surak and dozens of captives into the Kingdom of Disorder, where Galan offered 1,104 research subjects to Nimrod and kept 256 as cover.
• Nimrod directed Galan to seek Revelation on Genna to help develop the Butcher’s Nails and told him to pray from a world illuminated by the Full Moon to receive new power.
• Nimrod used the Dice of Prophecy to obtain and record a star map from the Carium Gate to Vespid.
• Nimrod considered the Vespid useful as future garrison troops for Cadia because many of them were Pariahs.

Ivos Jovan taught three Cultivators to tend Laern’s medicinal mountain before leaving the world after eleven years of service. As his Aquila Shuttle departed, he reflected on Laern’s medical achievements and sampled the famed Jade Berries that marked its rise as an agricultural world.

• Ivos taught three Cultivators how to harvest Mandrake leaves and rootlets and explained how to treat tuber swelling.
• Ivos showed the Cultivators the enormous red oak he had planted, harvested its healing sap, and left the mountain in their care.
• Keri thanked Ivos for making Laern a leading medical center, and Ivos praised her work establishing it as a benchmark agricultural world.
• Ivos boarded an Aquila Shuttle and looked back on the surgical center and agricultural fields he was leaving behind.
• Ivos tasted Laern’s Jade Berries as the shuttle ascended and admired their distinctive flavor.

Nimrod surveyed Vespid tribes on Vespid and determined that about sixteen percent of them were Pariahs, then considered turning the Vespid into the foundations of his own Adeptus Custodes and Sisters of Silence. He spotted the powerful Sobo Tribe and leapt from his Stormbird to meet them.

• Nimrod used his consciousness to observe a Vespid tribe hunting beasts and found that thirteen Pariahs weakened his psychic reach.
• Nimrod surveyed twelve tribes and counted 294 Pariahs among 1,837 Vespid, estimating their proportion at about sixteen percent.
• Nimrod reasoned that Vespid toughness and their acceptance of Pariahs could help him create forces resembling the Adeptus Custodes and Sisters of Silence.
• Nimrod sensed more than a hundred Pariahs in the Sobo Tribe, opened the Stormbird's hatch, and leapt down with his golden wings spread.

Nimrod breached a Vespid’s mind, identified the Sobo Tribe and its leaders, then demonstrated his power to recruit the tribe. After the Sobo warriors attacked and he offered them weapons, land, and homes, he asked Etric to test his sons in combat.

• Nimrod entered a Vespid’s mind and learned that the Sobo Tribe had 948 members, including 153 Pariahs, and was led by Etric.
• Nimrod recognized Etric as the future Sobo chief and descended toward the tribe, where the warriors prepared their defenses and the children manned weapons.
• Aetsak ordered the Vespid to fire, but Nimrod caught and deflected Etric’s bullets before promising the tribe fertile land, grand homes, and powerful weapons.
• Nimrod’s psychic range shrank under the Pariahs’ influence, and he began planning to shelter the Sisters of Silence and have them train Pariahs.
• Etric asked what Nimrod would give the tribe and challenged him to fight; Nimrod replied that his sons would face Etric.

Nimrod arranged a duel between Pierre Wright and Aetsak to demonstrate the Kaser warriors’ strength to the Sobo Tribe. Wright defeated Aetsak with the Gekuafu Style, though his sword was damaged, leaving Nimrod ready to begin subduing the Vespid.

• Nimrod ordered Pierre Wright to face Aetsak, and the Sobo chieftain attacked before the duel rites could begin.
• Wright and Aetsak clashed, and both discovered that Aetsak’s Falcon Dagger outmatched Wright’s psychic blade while Wright had the advantage in strength and speed.
• Aetsak launched a deadly attack, but Wright used the Gekuafu Style to hook the Falcon Dagger and fling Aetsak to the ground.
• Wright pressed his sword to Aetsak’s head, and the Sobo Tribe watched their chieftain lose.
• Nimrod considered the duel the first step in subduing the Vespid and praised Wright, whose sword was breaking apart.