Chapter Summaries

Flamini reported that Ork forces had broken into the Colonid Sector while Aether fluctuations disrupted communications, and his divinations revealed an unseen interference. Nimrod suspected Tzeentch was manipulating the Orks to target the sector’s Blackstone Fortresses, then assigned the Legions to crush the six Ork tides.

• Flamini reviewed delayed reports of Ork attacks across the Colonid Sector and used his divination pendulum, which initially denied that anyone was interfering.
• Flamini prayed to Nimrod, who connected the six Ork warlords’ attacks with the six Blackstone Fortresses in the sector, including Blackstone IV in the Cyclops Cluster.
• Nimrod had Flamini repeat his divination inside the Kingdom of Disorder, where the pendulum produced no result and revealed that the divination was being interfered with.
• Nimrod suspected Tzeentch was directing the Orks to delay him and spread their spores across the sector.
• Nimrod ordered Abyss Port defended and sent the lords of the First, Second, Fifth, Seventh, and Tenth Chapters to fight five Ork tides.
• Nimrod set out for the Cyclops Cluster to clear the largest Ork tide himself.

Toby Bandak led the Alician airborne assault on an Ork asteroid fortress, directing his troops to seize a dangerous plasma cannon position. The Alicians captured the gun, but a cybernetically modified Ork killed Toby, leaving his soldiers to fight on in grief and fury.

• Toby ordered the bombardment of War Zone Thirteen and led the Alician airborne assault himself.
• Toby and his grandnephew Mourinho landed under Ork fire and attacked the Orks guarding a giant cannon.
• The Alicia Airborne destroyed the defenders and seized the plasma cannon position.
• An Ork shell struck Toby's Taurus vehicle, forcing Mourinho to bail out.
• Toby's beam struck a heavily armored, cybernetically modified Ork, but the beast survived and Toby was killed.

Howard Fender avenged Toby Bandak by killing the Ork warlord and kept a fragment of Toby’s battle standard to remember their years fighting together. Sanchez’s 7th Legion burned the Orks across Clayton Villa, while Flamini confirmed that the remaining Ork tide was in the Cyclops Cluster, where the Black Emperor’s forces were preparing to fight.

• The Ork warlord killed Toby Bandak and slaughtered Alicians until Howard Fender used Psychic Piercing to save Mourinho and confronted the beast.
• Howard killed the Ork warlord with his Power Fist, then took a fragment of Toby’s battle standard to remember their years fighting side by side.
• Sanchez rejected prolonged orbital bombardment of Clayton Villa because it would ruin the mining world, and devised a plan to exploit the Deathskulls Clan’s scavenging instincts.
• Seven days later, Sanchez’s forces dropped wreckage rigged with explosives onto Clayton Villa, drawing in the Orks and burning them across the planet.
• Flamini confirmed that the other invading Ork tides had been defeated and that more than 150,000 Orks remained in the Cyclops Cluster, where the Black Emperor’s forces were set to attack.

Chaplain Jeremy and the Shadow of Order fought Virgil’s Orks at Mill World, but Jeremy was killed and the city was overrun. Jurjur arrived in the Guardian armor, defended the legion standard, and led a counterattack against the Orks.

• Jeremy led the Shadow of Order in a final assault on Virgil’s Stompa, but Virgil killed him and seized the Waaagh! Banner.
• The Valhallans withdrew into their bunkers while continuing to resist the Ork tide.
• Virgil ordered the Mekboys to repair his banner, then charged toward Jurjur and another figure carrying a battle standard.
• Jurjur used the Guardian armor’s dawn wall to shield the Valhallans from the Killa Kans’ attacks.
• Jurjur destroyed the Killa Kans with the Sword of Dawn and raised the Shadow of Order standard, ordering the Valhallans to attack.

Nimrod and the Shadow of Order routed the Orks after the Mentor of Chaos erased Virgil with Word of Order. After the battle, Nimrod recovered a transformed shepherd’s staff and rewarded Sasebo Tezuka with a potion that advanced him to Corpse Collector.

• The Mentor of Chaos bound Virgil with Word of Order, declared his crimes, and killed him, causing the Orks to scatter.
• Nimrod seized the Waaagh! Banner and used telekinesis to hurl Virgil’s corpse into the Orks as the Shadow of Order and Valhallans pursued the fleeing green tide.
• Nimrod found and picked up the Red Crystal Shepherd’s Staff, which had absorbed the Beyonder characteristic of a Bard and become a mystical relic weapon.
• On the fourth day of the snowstorm, Nimrod noticed Sasebo Tezuka’s skill and summoned him during the rest after the Orks’ camps were cleared.
• Nimrod gave Sasebo Tezuka a Corpse Collector potion, and Sasebo drank it, advanced, and pledged to die for Nimrod and the Legion.
• Nimrod abandoned the idea of making Sasebo Tezuka a Perpetual and left open the possibility that he might become an Undying.

After the Ork invasion, Nimrod recorded the casualties, honored the fallen and rewarded the survivors before leaving the Colonid Sector for Vostonia. He later used the recovered Dice of Prophecy to seek a route to the Blackstone Fortress, but the divination left him facing another lengthy cooldown.

• Arsena Dunn reported that the Legion had lost 9,413 soldiers and the Auxilia 149,100, including 74,500 Valhallans killed defending Mill World.
• Nimrod ordered Arsena to report 25,600 Legion deaths to the War Council, concealing the true losses.
• Nimrod vowed to fulfill Jeremy's promise by giving the Valhallans forty years of Oveja meat and fruit salad, and ordered fine wine distributed to the battle's soldiers and their relatives.
• Nimrod ordered the fleet back to Vostonia, then waited two years for the Dice of Prophecy to recover from its previous divination.
• Nimrod used the Red Priest Uniqueness to empower a divination for a star chart from the Carium Gate to the Rebo System, and the Dice projected the chart before becoming dim again.

Nimrod used the Eye of Night and Hand of Darkness to open the Blackstone Fortress and bring Flamini inside. He ordered the Shadows of Order to take control of the fortress, while Tzeentch noticed it from the Empyrean.

• Flamini and Winner watched the Blackstone Fortress approach the Destiny, and the Black Emperor summoned Flamini to accompany him to it.
• Nimrod recalled the fortress's sealed interior and used the Eye of Night to reveal its control runes and hidden features.
• Nimrod manipulated the fortress remotely, rotating a colonnade and opening a docking port for the Aquila Shuttle.
• Flamini landed inside the fortress and saw visions of a future confrontation before Nimrod dispelled the psychic projection.
• Nimrod ordered the Shadows of Order and the crew to take over the fortress, and Tzeentch turned his attention toward it.

Guilliman selected Talentus as the center of Ultramar’s northern sector and appointed Glenn Worsotto as its Tetrarch. Nimrod welcomed the appointment as a chance to strengthen nearby worlds and bring Tai Ritian, whose homeworld was Talentus, under his care.

• Tzeentch learned that Nimrod had obtained the Blackstone Fortress in Segmentum Pacificus and watched the Threads of Fate shift.
• Marius Gage reported that he could not find a suitable world for the northern center of the Five Hundred Worlds, and Guilliman recalled Konor’s advice to keep a contingency plan.
• Guilliman told Tarasha Euten that Talentus would be the northern center and that Glenn Worsotto would serve as its Tetrarch.
• Glenn reported his appointment to Nimrod, who gave him a golden potion to help him take control of Talentus.
• Nimrod sent Glenn back to the real world and went to attend the war council convened by The Old Man in Yellow.

The Emperor ordered Nimrod and Sanguinius to punish the Aeldari craftworld Mag-Silas for its raid on Ciliorete, and the two Primarchs agreed to fight together. Back at his palace, Nimrod organized his forces and rewarded Ivos for his successful Vespid modifications, sending him to develop medicines for future recruits.

• The Emperor assigned Nimrod and Sanguinius to attack Mag-Silas after millions of humans were killed in its raid on Ciliorete, and Sanguinius welcomed the chance to fight beside Nimrod.
• The Emperor rebuked Lorgar for preaching, but Lorgar insisted that humanity needed faith as the council ended.
• Nimrod ordered the 8th, 11th, and 12th Battalions to form the main force against Mag-Silas, with parts of the 1st and 10th Battalions and all Librarians joining them.
• Ivos reported that 316 of 592 Vespid candidates had become Shadows of Order, including 124 whose abilities had fallen to Sigma- or Tau-class.
• Nimrod rewarded Ivos with a potion that advanced him to Sequence 7 Harvest Priest, then ordered him to cultivate medicines on Laern and continue modifying Vespid candidates.

Sanguinius reassured Athena Ducard as the Blood Angels struggled to hit an Aeldari Craftworld, then learned that Nimrod's Shadow of Order had damaged it with a Psychic Weapon. The chapter ended as Sanguinius and Raldoron joined a weak hololithic call with Nimrod and other Legion leaders.

• Sanguinius let Admiral Athena Ducard command the fleet and reassured her that the Blood Angels' difficulty targeting the Aeldari Craftworld was not her fault.
• Raldoron reported that the Librarians had captured the Solar Sail's position during their psychic contest with the Aeldari.
• The Shadow of Order appeared and attacked the Craftworld, with its Psychic Weapon inflicting direct damage.
• Ducard examined the Aether readings and promised to revise the plan and support the boarding action.
• Sanguinius and Raldoron left the bridge and joined a faint audio-prioritized call with Nimrod, Thierry Vieira, Per Koschelny, and William Wood.

Sanguinius and Nimrod planned a joint assault on the Aeldari Craftworld Mag-Silas, dividing their forces into an anvil and a hammer. Raldoron welcomed the chance to fight beside the Shadow of Order and vowed that the Blood Angels would take the lead in the attack.

• Raldoron recalled Thierry Vieira’s clean victory over Akurduana and his eagerness to meet the Shadow of Order’s renowned warriors.
• Sanguinius told Nimrod that the Aeldari could escape their Craftworld through teleportation devices, making a boarding assault the best way to inflict casualties.
• Nimrod projected the Craftworld and marked two landing zones, and he and Sanguinius agreed to use the Storm and Hammer tactic, with the force reaching the central node first acting as the anvil.
• Sanguinius committed 95,000 Blood Angels, while Nimrod assigned 91,000 troops from three main Chapters and supporting forces to the operation.
• Raldoron told Sanguinius that the Blood Angels would become the anvil before the Shadow of Order—or perhaps the hammer—and Sanguinius urged him to strike down the xenos mad-witch.

Sanguinius led the Blood Angels’ assault on Mag-Silas, while Sasebo Tezuka and Librarian Okafor helped attack the craftworld’s docks. The attackers broke through the Aeldari defenses and killed two Warlocks, but the battle continued.

• Sanguinius landed with the Blood Angels and fought through the Aeldari ambush, cutting down the Warlock defending the docks.
• Azkaellon and the Sanguinary Guard opened fire on the Fire Dragons as the Blood Angels seized a breakthrough.
• Sasebo Tezuka’s assault boat was brought down by Aeldari fire, but Okafor froze the flames and led the survivors into the fight.
• Nicholas disrupted the Swooping Hawks with his psychic song while Okafor tracked their Warlock through the mental domain.
• Okafor linked with Nicholas and Sasebo, helping slow the Hawks and expose their Warlock to a killing Adamantine Warhead.

Sasebo Tezuka and the Shadow of Order fought a Farseer whose psychic power reshaped the battlefield, while Per Koschelny and the supreme Warden Daka Belus led counterattacks against the Aeldari. Per and Belus killed their respective Farseers, but Belus was left badly wounded.

• The Farseer transformed the Crystal Path and brought a mountain down on Sasebo Tezuka, but Per Koschelny distorted the Farseer's psychic power and diverted the mountain away from the docks.
• Per Koschelny advanced through the Farseer's crystal rose attack and killed him with a punch.
• Daka Belus arrived at the crystal gate as the Blood Angels suffered heavy casualties in their stalled fight against the Aeldari.
• Belus urged the Blood Angels forward and charged into the enemy formation, smashing through the Storm Avengers and Fierce Avengers with his Crozius Arcanum.
• The Farseer ruptured Belus's muscles with psychic power, but Belus continued fighting and destroyed the Farseer's body with his Archaeotech Pistol and Crozius Arcanum.
• Belus fell to one knee, wounded and covered in blood, after killing the Farseer.

Raldoron led the Blood Angels in an assault toward the psychic node, while Thierry and the Shadow of Order fought off the Aeldari’s psychic attacks. After Thierry’s Guardians revealed the node and Raldoron received reports of allied forces, a new arrival was announced.

• Raldoron organized the Blood Angels into battle groups and led sixty companies toward the psychic node after the captains shared blood in a pre-battle rite.
• Raldoron’s force attacked the Aeldari, but the Farseers’ psychic flames killed hundreds of Blood Angels and destroyed most of the Librarian team.
• Kano coordinated with Raldoron to kill a Farseer, while Thierry charged the Windriders and the Wizard defended the Shadow of Order against the psychic assault.
• Thierry, Buuka, Joe Vattara, and Pierre Wright raised protective barriers as the Guardians and Dawn Knights unleashed a storm that killed the Farseers and exposed the psychic node.
• Raldoron learned that Kano was the sole survivor among the fourteen Librarians, received allied-force reports, and told Kano, “They’re here...”

The Shadow of Order and the Blood Angels attacked the Aeldari craftworld’s central node, where Thierry and Raldoron’s forces fought a Wraithknight and two more constructs. As Raldoron faced a killing blow, Sanguinius and Nimrod descended onto the battlefield together.

• Three Warlord-class Psy-Titans landed on Mag-Silas as the 8th Legion of the Shadow of Order attacked the craftworld’s central node.
• Thierry Vieira spotted a Wraithknight and evaded its Ghostsword while three black-armored warriors struck its legs.
• Raldoron led the Blood Angels in firing on the Wraithknight, and Kano empowered their weapons with his psychic abilities.
• Raldoron, Thierry, Buuka, Joe Vattara, and Pierre Wright struck the Wraithknight’s right lower leg and bent it.
• Two more Aeldari constructs advanced, and one attacked Raldoron with a flaming fist.
• Sanguinius and Nimrod arrived together as Raldoron rose into the air, and a huge golden fist spun across the battlefield.

Sanguinius and Nimrod fought the Aeldari Titans, with Nimrod destroying one and Sanguinius attacking another. As the battle continued, a devastating psychic scream swept across the Craftworld and struck the Imperial forces.

• Sanguinius remembered Horus describing Nimrod's martial skill and iron will as Nimrod smashed through an Aeldari Titan's force field and crushed its arm.
• Sanguinius dodged the remaining Titan's attacks and carved at its Psychic Field with his red sword.
• The three Aeldari Titans recognized Nimrod's Sword of Vaul as a sacred artifact and condemned him as a blasphemer.
• Nimrod appeared beside a one-armed Wraithknight and destroyed its head, while Sanguinius used foresight to attack another Titan.
• Nimrod dodged a storm of Wraith shrapnel and struck the Wraithknight, leaving it covered in cracks.
• A terrifying psychic scream swept across the Craftworld, dropping Blood Angels to their knees as elegant Constructs approached Thierry and the others.

Nimrod destroyed the Wizard Idol with the Spear of Dionysus after it killed several Blood Angels and Shadow of Order warriors. Sanguinius praised him as the first to slay one, as Psy-Titans arrived for the next fight.

• Raldoron identified the Warlock Titan as the Wizard Idol while Nimrod sensed that the Order of the Omen had not yet arrived.
• The Warlock Titan attacked Nimrod and the allied forces with psychic screams and its Star Cannon, killing thirteen Blood Angels and four Shadow of Order warriors.
• Sanguinius destroyed an Aeldari Titan and flew to help Nimrod, but the Warlock Titan's starlight attack burned his feathers and damaged his armor.
• Nimrod hurled the Spear of Dionysus into the Warlock Titan's faceplate and destroyed it.
• Sanguinius praised Nimrod for becoming the first to slay a Wizard Idol, and Nimrod sensed Psy-Titans approaching.

Nimrod and Sanguinius helped drive the Aeldari from the craftworld while the Order of the Omen’s Psy-Titans battled a Warlock Titan. The fighting exposed Sanguinius’s grief and guilt over the Blood Angels’ bloodthirst, and Nimrod watched the craftworld collapse as the Aeldari broke.

• Nimrod and Sanguinius withdrew their forces from the psychic node, and Nimrod ordered William Wood to prepare.
• The Warlock Titan destroyed a Reaver Titan and turned to face the three Warlord Omen-class Psy-Titans.
• Sanguinius confronted Aloteros, a Blood Angel consumed by the thirst for blood, and killed him after he could not bring him back; Lupercal witnessed the act.
• Nimrod resisted the psychic impact, considered whether he could save the Blood Angels, and joined Sanguinius in attacking the Aeldari army.
• The Psy-Titans and Warlock Titan’s battle opened a growing Warp rift that shattered the Aeldari’s sanity and broke their forces.
• Nimrod announced the Aeldari’s defeat and saw the surviving Psy-Titans carry away the Reaver wreckage, while their enslaved psykers neared death.

Nimrod watched the Imperial forces pursue the fleeing Aeldari and resolved to support the neglected Sisters of Silence after the Great Birthday Celebration. Aetsak hunted the retreating Aeldari, killed their Warlock and companions, and noticed an approaching Sister of Silence.

• Sanguinius watched the Aeldari retreat as Raldoron led the Blood Angels into pursuit before receiving an order.
• Nimrod measured how far the Sisters of Silence and Aetsak suppressed the Psychic Mist, then resolved to aid the Sisters after the Great Birthday Celebration.
• Aetsak pursued the fleeing Aeldari for promised spoils while their Warlock slowed to search for exiled kin, believing Lady of Thirst's attention had lifted.
• Aetsak ambushed and killed two Striking Scorpions, then used his psychic-suppressing presence to evade the Warlock's attack and kill him.
• Aetsak collected his spoils and turned toward a tall Sister of Silence approaching with a greatsword.

Abyssal Knight Cleer witnessed Shadow of Order warriors resist an Aeldari sorcerer’s powers before she and her Sisters were attacked by Mag-Silas’s most powerful Farseer. Nimrod pursued the fleeing Farseer, whom he had deliberately allowed to escape as a valuable prize.

• Cleer recognized Aetsak as one of Nimrod’s Pariahs, and he watched her and the other Sisters leave without following them.
• Cleer saw four Shadow of Order warriors withstand a Farseer’s psionic flames and kill him with their blades.
• A powerful Aeldari sorceress attacked Cleer and her Sisters with a storm of Warp energy and an invisible force, killing three Sisters and pinning Cleer down.
• Nimrod appeared, weakening the force on Cleer and prompting the crystallizing sorceress to flee.
• Cleer followed Nimrod as he pursued the Farseer, while Nimrod recognized her as Mag-Silas’s strongest Psyker and deliberately let her escape.