Chapter Summaries

After the Magi reaffirmed their support for Nimrod, he issued a sweeping birth order as his first act as king and assigned his subordinates new duties. Howard secretly began tracking heretical believers in Nowy Sacz Hive City, identifying nineteen locations for a coordinated purge.

• The Magi reached a consensus to continue supporting Nimrod and ordered Kivior-15 to return to Mars and report.
• Nimrod required nobles and guild families to have eleven children, set family-size requirements for other residents and professions, and offered financial and work incentives.
• Nimrod assigned Maria to secretly train loyal Assassins and tasked his other subordinates with construction, administration, security, and military expansion.
• Howard disguised himself, searched Nowy Sacz Hive City with his Detect Evil ability, and marked nineteen suspected heretical locations for a planned purge.

Howard raided the Gulaczyk Family estate after sensing something wrong, and Detective Vision led him to a drug hidden in Corpse-starch. After the 5th Regiment suppressed Tzeentch’s followers and Prasow was arrested, Howard ordered Bartosz wanted across the Hive City.

• Howard launched Operation Rat Trap and led Michal’s First Squad into the Gulaczyk Family estate to search for a stolen treasure.
• Howard used Spirit Sight on Prasow, then searched the warehouse and found a blue trace near the Grinder with Detective Vision.
• Howard ordered Michal to seize the Corpse-starch, and Prasow gave up resisting as Howard took him to the Hive Spire.
• The 5th Regiment wiped out Tzeentch’s hidden followers during firefights across Nowy Sacz, and Howard ordered the guards to stabilize the Hive City.
• After tests showed that the Corpse-starch contained a mutation-causing drug, Howard confronted Prasow, who refused to speak.
• Howard examined an image of Bartosz and ordered him placed on the Hive City’s wanted list.

Howard exposed the heretics’ crimes at a banquet, recognized and captured Bartosz, while Nimrod recruited Malena after she renounced belief in the Mother of the Sea. The chapter left Malena empowered as a Cultivator and ordered to return to the Cradle of the Sea to develop its agriculture.

• Howard presented evidence that the heretics had tampered with Corpse-starch, winning the nobles’ trust.
• Howard recognized Bartosz at the banquet using Portrait Memory, then knocked him unconscious and identified him as the heretic leader.
• At the new Hive City construction site, Nimrod questioned Malena about her beliefs, and she admitted she no longer believed in the Mother of the Sea.
• Nimrod gave Malena a potion that awakened her Cultivator power and told her to return to the Cradle of the Sea to develop farmland and crops.

Malena helped Castello Island’s people begin farming, and four stellar years later their harvests had transformed the island. After receiving a completed battlecruiser, Nimrod prepared to launch an expedition and arrived at the starport to take delivery of it.

• Malena identified papaya and sweet potato seeds for Keri and assured her that spring would bring no salt fog.
• Four stellar years later, Castello Island’s people harvested abundant crops, while disaster-prevention facilities and safer fishing developed under Nimrod’s program.
• Vieri Barella reflected on the island’s prosperity and his loyalty to Nimrod after passing his assessment to become a Sailor.
• Wojciech Berek informed Nimrod that the Adeptus Mechanicus had completed his battlecruiser, prompting Nimrod to convene the cabinet and prepare an expedition.
• Nimrod put Yelena in charge during his absence, assigned Howard to oversee defense, and selected ten regiments to campaign with him.
• At the Sopot starport, Nimrod met Kivior-9 and accepted delivery of the battlecruiser.

Nimrod named Vostonia’s new battlecruiser Pride of Vostonia and assembled a small expedition fleet to travel through the Warp. At the Cradle of the Sea, Malena prepared to guide the fleet toward star system A-068 using her vision of the Warp as a great ocean.

• Wojciech showed Nimrod the battlecruiser’s decks, facilities, and strategium, and Nimrod ordered the crew and Bukayo’s regiments to board.
• Nimrod chose Piszczek, Termalica, and Vistula to accompany the flagship, then named the new vessel Pride of Vostonia.
• Wojciech selected crews for the expedition, and the fleet sailed to the Cradle of the Sea, where five regiments and Malena joined it.
• Nimrod asked Malena if she could guide the fleet through the Warp, and she said her study of Flao data crystals and Adeptus Mechanicus star charts had prepared her.
• Malena told Nimrod that she perceived the Warp as a great ocean, and he directed her to begin navigating toward star system A-068.

Malena guided Nimrod’s four ships through the Warp to the A-068 system, where Nimrod’s fleet destroyed a Flao destroyer and prepared to land on the Crystal Illusion Realm. On the planet, Nimrod spotted Space Apes being chased and jumped from the Lander to follow them.

• Malena located the A-068 system through the Great Ocean and guided the fleet through the Warp for twenty-five days before returning to realspace.
• Nimrod ordered the fleet to scan the system and found a Flao destroyer orbiting the Crystal Illusion Realm.
• When the destroyer’s readings rose and it failed to respond, Nimrod ordered the Aether Cannons to fire and destroy it.
• Nimrod ordered Wojciech to scan the inhabited planet and took Bukayo’s regiment down in a Lander.
• Nimrod saw over a hundred people chasing sixteen orange-red Space Apes, ordered the pilot to follow them, and leaped from the open hatch.

Nimrod discovered that the locals worshipped the Heart-Slayer and pursued the Space Apes, while Bukayo led troops to investigate the marked site. Bukayo found a crystal mountain that disrupted communications and began ascending it without receiving a reply from Nimrod.

• Nimrod read the minds of nearby people and learned they worshipped the Heart-Slayer and had captured Space Apes for their Light Sculptures.
• Nimrod killed twenty-five Heart-Slayer followers who attacked him, then marked their gathering place and ordered Bukayo to investigate it cautiously.
• Nimrod caught up with the Space Apes, blocked their escape, and summoned Jurjur to bring a platoon down.
• Nimrod brought the Space Apes aboard the Lander and ordered Wojciech to prepare an enclosed deck and gather manufacturing waste.
• Bukayo found a six-faced crystal mountain, discovered that it disrupted communications, and led his troops up a passage after Nimrod did not respond.

Nimrod tested the Space Apes’ ability to transform scrap into objects and directed them to reproduce Light Sculptures. Meanwhile, Bukayo’s exploration inside the crystal mountain turned into a desperate retreat when his team encountered an ambush and a horde of monsters.

• The Space Apes rapidly transformed scrap into intricate objects, and Nimrod used Telepathy to instruct one to copy a Light Sculpture.
• Nimrod ordered the Space Apes to make fifty-two Light Sculptures, then told Wojciech to keep them supplied with scrap and under guard.
• Malena volunteered to assist Bukayo on the surface, while Bukayo reported finding a hexahedral crystal peak and continued climbing into the mountain.
• Bukayo collected a glowing crystal and led his team through the passage that most strongly stirred his spirituality.
• Bukayo shot an enemy lying in ambush, but a horde of bizarre monsters surged into the passage and forced him to order a retreat.
• Bukayo used grenades to cover the 3rd Regiment’s fighting retreat as casualties mounted and a Scorpion-shaped Monster sent its collarbones shooting toward him.

Malena and Bukayo fought through a monster horde alongside Arsena Dunn, a Psyker carrying a crystal that had drawn the creatures. After Nimrod arrived, he learned the crystal was tied to a nation worshipping the Heart-Slayer and ordered an attack, with Arsena guiding his troops through the mountain.

• Malena and Bukayo fought off monsters as Nimrod realized they were in trouble and brought the 8th Regiment to the surface.
• Malena identified the crystal in Arsena Dunn’s hand as the likely cause of the monsters’ frenzy, and the three fought together while retreating.
• Nimrod arrived, shattered Arsena’s force-field, and quickly cleared the monsters around the group.
• Arsena told Nimrod that the Heart-Eaters worshipped the Heart-Slayer and that he had taken the crystal from their altar.
• Nimrod ordered Malena and Bukayo to rest and prepared the remaining troops to attack the Heart-Eaters with Arsena leading the way.
• Nimrod followed Arsena through six mountain forks, each requiring them to choose the correct path.

Nimrod defeated the Heart-Eaters after their leader transformed into a Slaanesh Chaos Spawn, then conquered the Crystal Illusion Realm and recruited Arsena. He left mining bases and a garrison behind before returning to Vostonia, with his advancement to Sequence 7 planned for the next volume.

• The Heart-Eater ritual briefly tore open the veil to the Warp, and Elin and six priests transformed into a Slaanesh Chaos Spawn that Nimrod killed.
• Nimrod led the 8th Regiment into the mountain, where his forces defeated the Heart-Eaters and discovered vast deposits of Psyker Crystal.
• Nimrod examined the unfinished statue and its giant crystal foundation, then asked Arsena to serve him, and Arsena pledged his loyalty.
• Four stellar months later, Nimrod had conquered every tribe in the Crystal Illusion Realm and begun construction on sixteen mining bases.
• Nimrod left the frigate Piszczek, the destroyer Termalica, and five regiments to protect the realm before returning to Vostonia.

Nimrod ordered Bukayo to capture Umbra Beasts while the ships traveled through the Warp, and intervened when Warp predators threatened Malena during navigation. After the ships returned to realspace, Bukayo reported capturing thirty-five Umbra Beasts, which Nimrod took away to make a Briber potion.

• Nimrod told Wojciech to keep supplying the Space Apes with scrap and to prepare a shipyard design based on the Adeptus Mechanicus's Sopot Shipyard.
• Nimrod sent Bukayo information about Umbra Beasts and ordered him to capture at least one near the warp engine.
• Bukayo entered the ventilation ducts, used a hypnotic poem to subdue Umbra Beasts, and captured three as the warp engine started.
• Eleven days into the voyage, Nimrod entered Malena's mind and killed the Warp predators attacking her mental ocean while she focused on navigation.
• The Pride of Vostonia and the Vistula returned to realspace, and Bukayo told Nimrod he had captured thirty-five Umbra Beasts.
• Nimrod praised Bukayo, took the Umbra Beasts to his cabin, and began making the Briber potion.

Nimrod gained the Briber's powers while a golden-robed visitor arrived at Vostonia to inspect Paragon City. After hearing about its unusual social structure and seeing its clean streets and quality weapons, the visitor headed toward the Underhive to investigate how Nimrod handled Mutants.

• Nimrod drank the Briber potion and learned its powers of Weakening, Charm, Arrogance, and Association, along with enhancements to his spirituality, body, and throwing ability.
• At Vostonia's starport, a golden-robed man and a bald giant in green arrived, and the golden-robed man used his influence to prevent guards from noticing the spear carried by his companion.
• The golden-robed man asked five merchants about Paragon City, and one explained its connected industrial tiers, opportunities for residents to rise, and cleaner, safer Underhive.
• The golden-robed man and the green-robed man toured the city, noting its clean boulevard and the quality of weapons being inspected at the cargo area.
• The golden-robed man decided to visit the Underhive and see how Nimrod solved the Mutant problem.

Nimrod returned to Vostonia after an expedition that had lasted five years and sixty Work Cycles, where the Emperor of Mankind arrived to ask him to rejoin the Imperium. Nimrod welcomed him but insisted they discuss terms first, while he suspected the green-robed warrior accompanying the Emperor was Alpharius.

• The Emperor of Mankind and the green-robed giant observed workers in a Vostonian steelworks receiving food rewards, and the Emperor concluded Nimrod's system could not be implemented across the Imperium without disrupting the Great Crusade.
• Nimrod returned aboard the Pride of Vostonia and learned that five years and sixty Work Cycles had passed, although his journey had seemed to take less than two years.
• The Emperor of Mankind met Nimrod at the palace and invited him to return to his side, while his psychic presence briefly immobilized Nimrod's companions.
• Nimrod embraced the Emperor but said they should discuss terms before he pledged loyalty, and the Emperor praised his governance of Vostonia.
• Nimrod studied the green-robed warrior accompanying the Emperor and suspected he was Alpharius, one of the twin Primarchs of the XX Legion.

Nimrod hosted the Emperor of Mankind, discussed his plans to combine conquest with developing prosperous worlds, and pledged to aid the Great Crusade. After the Emperor ordered him to Terra for a celebration and reunion with Horus and the Reapers, Nimrod said he did not wish to go yet.

• Alpharius stayed outside the Monarch's Reception Hall while Nimrod and the Emperor of Mankind entered and shared tea.
• Nimrod felt his Briber potion digest slightly after the Emperor praised the tea.
• Nimrod told the Emperor how he had developed Vostonia and defended his choice to reform worlds while conquering them.
• The Emperor agreed to let Nimrod pursue his ideals but stressed that the Great Crusade must come first.
• Nimrod pledged loyalty to the Emperor, who told him he would meet Horus and the Reapers and should return to Terra for a celebration.
• Nimrod told the Emperor that he did not want to go to Terra yet.

Nimrod pledged Vostonia to the Emperor and announced its return to the Imperium, while the Emperor promised him a warship, armor, and access to his treasury. As Vostonia’s people considered their new allegiance, Horus’s fleet arrived in the system.

• Nimrod declined a celebration on Terra, and the Emperor rewarded his initiative with a promised relic warship, armor aboard his son's ship, and permission to choose one item from his treasury.
• Nimrod ordered Yelena Kournikova to prepare a grand banquet and have a golden throne made for the Emperor.
• At the banquet, Nimrod announced that Vostonia and the Cradle of the Sea shared Terra as their homeland and called on the people to swear allegiance to the Emperor.
• The Emperor revealed himself to the gathered crowd, accepted their allegiance, and instructed them to remain loyal to Nimrod.
• The guests sat through the banquet while weighing what joining the Imperium would mean for Vostonia.
• Eleven Work Cycles later, Horus's fleet emerged from the Warp and arrived in the Vostonia System.

The Emperor welcomed Nimrod, the second Primarch to return, aboard the Bucephalus and assigned him a Legion. Horus struggled with jealousy but promised to cooperate with Nimrod, who prepared to meet the brothers already arriving.

• The Emperor welcomed Nimrod and his companions aboard the Bucephalus, then sent them to the dining hall while he waited to speak with Horus.
• Horus argued that Nimrod's Vostonians were unfit to serve alongside the Reapers, but the Emperor insisted they had earned a Legion and demanded that the brothers work together.
• Horus promised the Emperor he would become Nimrod's friend and help teach him.
• Horus introduced himself to Nimrod, who named the Eleventh Legion and said he would change the Reapers.
• Horus wished Nimrod success and warned him that Saisak and Sanchez had arrived.

Nimrod met his Reaper sons, learned about the Eleventh Legion’s strength and organization, and arrived aboard The Serrated to reunite with the Legion. After the company commanders and their adjutants pledged their loyalty, he postponed their reports so he could arrange matters for the Vostonians who had come with him.

• Nimrod met Saisak and Sanchez, who knelt and pledged their loyalty to him.
• Nimrod left with the two Reapers after the Old Man in Yellow urged him to meet the Legion waiting aboard The Serrated.
• Saisak told Nimrod that the Eleventh Legion had 11,433 Reapers organized into twelve companies, while Sanchez described the Legion’s squad structure and Solar Auxilia regiments.
• Saisak outlined the 33rd Expedition Fleet’s ships as Nimrod approached The Serrated and sensed more than a thousand Gene-sons waiting for him.
• Nimrod arrived aboard The Serrated, where eleven company commanders and thirty-one adjutants swore allegiance to him.
• Nimrod told the Reapers to prepare their reports and said he would first arrange matters for the Vostonians.

Nimrod offered his regiment commanders and their Warriors a free choice about undergoing risky Astartes enhancement surgery, and the commanders unanimously agreed. Nearly all Warriors in the regiments not left to guard the Crystal Illusion Realm volunteered, just as a fleet from humanity’s golden age emerged from the void.

• Nimrod explained the benefits and dangers of Astartes enhancement and gave the regiment commanders and their Warriors the right to choose freely.
• Thierry, Howard, Bukayo, Szczesny, Rawlslev, and the other commanders agreed to undergo the surgery, and Nimrod secretly strengthened their resolve with mental suggestions.
• Howard arranged to distribute his assets among his six children and leave the Ward Family’s affairs behind to follow Nimrod.
• Szczesny warned Joseph about the risks of surgery, but Joseph said he wanted to become a superhuman Warrior and journey among the stars.
• Nimrod learned that all 73,311 Warriors in the other twenty-nine regiments had volunteered for enhancement surgery, while five regiments remained to garrison the Crystal Illusion Realm.
• A fleet whose flagship dated from humanity’s golden age jumped out of the void before Nimrod.

Nimrod received a Relic-class warship from The Old Man in Yellow and was invited to choose a treasure from his golden treasury. After inspecting the collection, he returned to the gates without revealing his choice, and the Emperor pressed him to consider taking a weapon.

• The Old Man in Yellow gave Nimrod a Relic-class warship, and Nimrod promised not to disappoint him.
• The Old Man in Yellow led Nimrod to his treasury, where Adeptus Custodes guarded the golden gates.
• Inside, Nimrod learned that the Emperor would let him choose freely and explain the treasure's origins and functions afterward.
• Nimrod recognized the Spear of Dionysus as a cursed divine artifact and passed it by, while the Emperor watched with disappointment.
• Nimrod noticed numerous divine weapons and high-grade potion ingredients, then paused at a silver gauntlet marked with golden scales associated with the Justiciar pathway.
• After inspecting the treasury, Nimrod returned to the gates, and The Old Man in Yellow suggested he choose a weapon, making Nimrod wary.

Nimrod chose the silver Power Fist and learned that Horus would help him prepare to command the 33rd Fleet. He outfitted the Eleventh Legion in black armor and renamed the Reapers the Shadow of Order, then set out for his new flagship.

• Nimrod rejected the Spear of Dionysus and chose the silver Power Fist, which The Emperor said could impose order on nearby objects.
• The Emperor told Nimrod that Horus would mentor him until he was ready to command the 33rd Fleet.
• After Wojciech reported that Nimrod’s armor was ready, Nimrod ordered twenty-nine regiments sent to the Relic-class warship.
• Nimrod donned his black armor and announced that the Legion’s armor, ships, and vehicles would be repainted and the Reapers renamed the Shadow of Order.
• Nimrod explained that the Legion would use killing to bring order, and the company captains pledged to follow the new name and ideal.
• Nimrod and Wojciech boarded a transport ship for the Relic-class warship while three others carried Legion medics and supplies.