Chapter Summaries

Nimrod contracted the last Hraf Originator, Yulman, and used his psychic concealment abilities to gain an advantage in his Warp-navigation contest with Magnus. The fleets ultimately arrived at Ullanor together, leaving the contest a draw even as Magnus still believed he had the edge because of his knowledge of the Webway.

• Nimrod altered Yulman's contract so the Parasitic Web species would also serve him, then ordered Yulman to help him in his contest with Magnus.
• Yulman entered Hraf's Origin Space, discovered he was sitting on his Shadow Throne, and angrily called out to Nimrod.
• Nimrod's fleet raced past the Thousand Sons, while Ahriman and Phosis T'kar recognized his exceptional understanding of the Warp.
• Visher told Petronella Viva that Nimrod and Magnus had prolonged their voyage with traps but reached the anchor point at the same time.
• At the end of the thirtieth millennium, the Thousand Sons and Shadow of Order fleets translated into the Ullanor system, and Magnus concluded that his knowledge of the Webway still put him ahead.

Nimrod used Yulman to seize Necare’s head from Mortarion’s flagship, provoking Mortarion’s fury and punishment of his guards. Afterward, Nimrod chose Angron’s ascension as the target for his advancement ritual.

• Nimrod sent Yulman to possess Kunsa and incite Enforcers aboard the Tenacious to riot.
• Kunsa infiltrated Mortarion’s Spire, shattered the great clock, and stole Necare’s head.
• Magnus warned Mortarion about trouble aboard the Tenacious, but Mortarion refused his help.
• Mortarion discovered Necare’s head was missing, struck the guard captain, and demoted the guards who had failed him.
• Nimrod considered possible targets for his advancement ritual and settled on killing Angron during his ascension.

The Emperor named Horus Warmaster at Ullanor and announced his withdrawal to Terra, leaving the Primarchs and Imperium in shock. In private, he encouraged Horus to lead the armies as his “dread archer,” and Horus resolved to win his brothers’ recognition, beginning with Nimrod.

• The Imperium celebrated its victory on Ullanor as The Emperor declared that he would return to Terra and appointed Horus Warmaster.
• The Primarchs and their followers reacted to Horus’s appointment, while Nimrod showed no apparent dissatisfaction and Lorgar wondered how to use him.
• The Emperor recalled Horus’s first gift and compared his views with Nimrod’s before explaining why Horus was suited to lead the Great Crusade.
• The Emperor gave Horus an old gold ring and urged him to ride across the stars as Warmaster.
• Horus accepted the charge and decided to seek the Primarchs’ recognition, starting with Nimrod.

Nimrod met with Horus aboard the Vengeful Spirit after Horus became Warmaster, and Horus ordered him to send forces against the rebellion in the Arkum-Sothos Cluster. Nimrod agreed to provide four Chapters rather than six, then left as Horus wondered what he thought of his appointment.

• Maloghurst received Nimrod, Santiago Bergkamp, and Chief Chaplain Pat aboard the Vengeful Spirit and told them Horus was waiting.
• Horus welcomed Nimrod and asked for his advice about becoming Warmaster before Maloghurst revealed the rebellion in the Arkum-Sothos Cluster.
• Horus ordered Nimrod to deploy six Chapters, but Nimrod cited his Legion's recent losses and agreed to send only four.
• Horus told Nimrod that Corvus would join the campaign, and Nimrod recalled how the battle at Gate 42 would lead to conflict between Corax and Horus.
• Nimrod departed with Santiago and Pat, and Horus asked Maloghurst and Abaddon what Nimrod thought of his appointment as Warmaster.

Nimrod prepared to join Horus’s campaign in the Akum-Sothos Cluster while making plans to secure its resources and protect the Raven Guard’s Terran-born. The chapter ended with Nimrod promising Nerath Kirin that he would prevent Horus and Corax from sacrificing the Ashen Claws.

• Maloghurst warned Horus and Abaddon that Nimrod would follow only orders he considered reasonable, and Horus decided to invite Sanguinius and receive him with a grand ceremony.
• Nimrod ordered four Chapters to deploy to the Akum-Sothos Cluster and told Santiago Bergkamp to mark its key coordinates.
• Nimrod instructed Maria Kournikova to send agents into the cluster and infiltrate its worlds and facilities.
• Nimrod summoned Nerath Kirin and learned that he feared Horus and Corax would sacrifice the Ashen Claws and other Terran-born Raven Guard.
• Nimrod promised Nerath that he would accompany the campaign and protect the Terran-born from being sacrificed.

Santiago tested his redesigned teleportarium by sending Travelers to seize a rebel cruiser, where they forced its captain to surrender. He then learned that a destroyer was fleeing under the cover of the remaining rebel ships and suspected the Blind King was aboard.

• Santiago finished his star map and went to the spherical teleportarium he had designed to improve Travelers’ teleportation.
• Santiago activated the Full Moon runes, strengthening the spirituality and inspiration of himself and fifteen Travelers.
• A Traveler teleported thirteen thousand kilometers to a rebel cruiser and used tricks to defeat its guards and capture its captain.
• The captain surrendered after the Traveler identified himself as the Shadow of Order and announced that he had come to quell the rebellion.
• Santiago received word that a rebel destroyer was fleeing while another destroyer and four Frigates covered its escape, and he suspected the Blind King was aboard.

Santiago Bergkamp attacked the Pezzella Family and discovered that the Blind King had completely parasitized Pezzella. He captured the escaping xenos and exposed them to the nobles, who began to doubt their faith.

• Santiago used the Traveler's Door to reach the bridge and attacked Pezzella's guards with Flash Step and summoned weapons.
• Santiago used Spirit Sight on Pezzella but could not distinguish the Blind King from its fully parasitized host.
• Santiago struck Pezzella, whose diamond eyes shattered and released two transparent Blind Kings that fled toward nearby nobles.
• Santiago revealed the worms with Warp Vision and imprisoned them in amber spheres.
• Santiago used Psychological Suggestion to show the nobles the captured Blind Kings, and one noble questioned their faith.

Nimrod joined Horus’s war council aboard the Vengeful Spirit, where Horus assigned the Raven Guard to attack Gate 42. Nimrod offered support from the Shadow of Order’s 10th Battalion, and Lorgar proposed a joint operation before Horus approved the plan with the Raven Guard leading the assault.

• Abaddon welcomed Nimrod and described the memorial to fallen warriors aboard the Vengeful Spirit.
• Horus greeted Nimrod and presented Merseyside and Gate 42 as the cluster’s remaining key target.
• Horus assigned the Raven Guard to seize Gate 42, but Corax objected that the heavily defended gate called for a direct assault force.
• Lorgar backed Horus’s initial assignment, while Sanguinius supported the plan and privately resolved to urge Horus to ease the pressure on Corax.
• Nimrod offered the Shadow of Order’s 10th Battalion to fight alongside the Raven Guard, and Lorgar proposed that the Legions operate together.
• Horus approved the joint operation, assigning the Raven Guard the main assault and committing four thousand warriors from Nimrod’s 10th Battalion; Lorgar nodded to Nimrod as he left.

Nerath Kirin and the Terran-born Ashen Claws prepared to attack Gate No. 42 while resenting Corax’s leadership and poor support. Ramsey’s well-equipped Shadow of Order took responsibility for assaulting the fortress, leaving Nerath’s forces free to target other strongholds.

• The Terran-born commanders complained that Corax had abandoned them, and Nerath Kirin ordered them to focus on taking Gate No. 42.
• Nerath spoke with Ramsey and proposed leading the Assassination Elites in a surprise assault on the fortress bastion.
• Ramsey warned that Nerath’s troops were unsuited to a frontal assault and committed 594 Terminators from the Shadow of Order to the fortress attack.
• Nerath offered 100 Assassination Elites to assist Ramsey and silently repented for doubting the Black Emperor’s support.
• The Terran-born cheered as Nerath planned to send his Assassination Elites against other strongholds around Gate No. 42.

Terran-born Assassination Elite Lehr fought through Gate No. 42 while suffering from the Ashen Blind, and Ramsey stopped him from charging onward after his armor was shattered. Outside the gate, Ramsey saw the Rose Bishops advancing on the Steel Fortress in Tartaros-pattern armor reinforced with layers of flesh.

• Lehr broke free of his restraint and attacked the guards with his Volkite Guns as the Assassination Elites stormed Gate No. 42.
• Lehr reached a defensive platform, damaged its force-field equipment, and was blasted backward by its guns.
• A Rose Bishop smashed into the platform and used a shadow-wrapped Chainsword to break through its protective field and kill a guard.
• The Rose Bishop covered his Tartaros-pattern armor with fourteen overlapping layers of flesh armor.
• Ramsey warned Lehr that his armor was shattered and urged him to resist his hallucinations, then continued toward the outer layer of Gate No. 42.
• Ramsey watched the Rose Bishops charge the Steel Fortress, replacing their blasted flesh shields with fresh layers as they destroyed firing points.

Horus ordered Shadow of Order to attack all 592 target nodes on Merseyside while discussing the Legion’s name and his authority with Sanguinius. Nimrod concealed some of his force’s strength, reflected on saving more than six thousand Terran-born Raven Guard, and prepared to follow Horus’s offensive order without yielding the decapitation strike.

• Maloghurst reported that the Raven Guard took Gate No. 42 with far fewer casualties than expected, while Shadow of Order lost 1,025 men by Horus’s count.
• Horus ordered Shadow of Order to launch a full assault on all 592 target nodes on Merseyside.
• Sanguinius advised Horus to rename the XVI Legion the Sons of Horus to establish his authority, and Horus said he would consider it.
• Nimrod reviewed the true losses of Shadow of Order and the Raven Guard, noting that his intervention had saved more than six thousand Terran-born Raven Guard.
• Arsena Dunn relayed Horus’s order, and Nimrod agreed to launch the offensive while keeping the decapitation strike separate.

Corax joined the assault on Hive City No. 23 of Merseyside and discovered that the Shadow of Order's warriors could conceal themselves and strike from darkness. After clashing briefly with one of them, he vanished into the night, and the warrior reported his presence to their lord.

• Corax entered the industrial district aboard a Darkwing-pattern Storm Eagle and attacked an overseer who was whipping a worker.
• Corax followed high-spectrum Auspex readings and spotted shadow-moving warriors assaulting the garrison.
• Corax recognized the warriors as members of the Shadow of Order's 10th Battalion and watched them ambush guards with silent, shadow-wrapped chainswords.
• A Scorpion Tail detected Corax and coordinated with two Scorpion Claws to strike at him.
• Corax blocked the Scorpion Tail's blade, sent him flying, and disappeared into the darkness.
• The Scorpion Tail recognized Corax and reported the encounter to his lord.

Nimrod learned that Corax and the Raven Guard were raiding enemy strongholds, named Ramsey’s new infiltration troops the Shadow Scorpions, and redirected Grzegorz toward Hive City Nineteen. Grzegorz used his dream abilities to defeat the Blind Kings and make the nobles surrender to the Shadow of Order.

• Ramsey reported Corax’s raids and said the 10th Battalion’s Striking Scorpions had developed infiltration skills close to the Raven Guard’s.
• Nimrod named Ramsey’s shadow-wielding troops the Shadow Scorpions and adjusted the battalion’s deployment.
• Grzegorz changed his target to Hive City Nineteen and scouted its defenses through the Nightmare world.
• Grzegorz entered the hive’s spire, subdued the Blind Kings, and transferred their parasitic worms into the nobles’ bodies.
• Grzegorz revealed his identity and offered the nobles a chance to surrender, and they knelt and pleaded for forgiveness.

Ezekiel rallied Merseyside V Hive City's defenders against the First Legion, but Michal's supernatural majesty broke their courage and exposed the Blind King. Michal destroyed Ezekiel's body and captured the two insect creatures that fled from it.

• Ezekiel broadcast a call to arms, inspiring the defenders to fire on the Saturnine Terminator Prototypes as rebel Malcador Heavy Tanks attacked the First Legion.
• The Shadows of Order destroyed the crews of two Malcadors, while Michal charged into battle and his presence frightened the defenders into abandoning their weapons.
• Ezekiel ordered his followers to kill Michal, but only the defenders in one Spire continued attacking him with Meltaguns.
• Michal smashed into the Spire, killed the defenders, and confronted Ezekiel, whose diamond-like eyes he destroyed.
• Michal used his Law Officer ability to imprison the two transparent insect creatures that escaped Ezekiel's body.

Nimrod reached the top of the Hive Spire before Horus and killed the Blind Kings, ending the uprising in the Akum-Sotos Cluster. Horus accepted Nimrod’s victory and resolved to return to the battlefield as a warrior as well as a commander.

• Corax, Horus, Sanguinius, and Nimrod raced toward the top of the Hive Spire, with Nimrod pulling ahead on his burning golden wings.
• Sanguinius shielded Horus from a missile barrage while Nimrod crashed through the tower’s upper floor.
• Nimrod used the Word of Order and Telekinesis to kill or capture the Blind Kings and their parasites, leaving no survivors.
• Horus arrived with Sanguinius and found Nimrod had once again beaten him to the enemy leader; Corax then joined them and praised Nimrod for ending the uprising.
• Horus congratulated Nimrod, declared that he would not abandon the battlefield’s glory, and Sanguinius said Horus had finally cast off the pressure of being Warmaster.

Nimrod heard reports on the rebellion’s casualties and the Imperium’s recovery, then learned that Petronella had bought Bondsman to publish his biography. In the Yannis System, Maria offered the imprisoned Pezzella a chance to regain his family’s power in exchange for his loyalty.

• Arsena Dunn reported the Legion’s losses, the distribution of captured nobles, Horus’s executions, and plans for his first War Council aboard the Vengeful Spirit.
• Nimrod agreed to meet Lorgar and praised Petronella for spending 3.6 billion Aquila Coins to acquire Bondsman and expand its publishing operations.
• Pezzella recalled how his father’s belief in the Blind King had destroyed the Pezzella Family and left him imprisoned.
• Maria introduced herself to Pezzella and offered to secure his pardon and restore Potsdam to his control.
• Pezzella recognized Maria’s connection to Yelena Kournikova and asked her for help, promising to repay her.

Retired soldier Ollanius Persson learned that Horus had been appointed Warmaster and reflected on once holding that title himself. After warning the workers against insulting the Emperor, he returned home and decided to truly retire from war.

• Ollanius worked his flower fields on Calth with help from local girls and his loading Servitor, Grafort.
• A girl told Ollanius that the Emperor had appointed Horus Warmaster, and Ollanius recalled that he had once been the Emperor’s first Warmaster.
• Ollanius explained that the Warmaster commanded the Emperor’s armies and asked whether Lord Nimrod had received the position.
• When a girl said the Emperor had poor judgment for choosing Horus over Nimrod, Ollanius warned the girls not to speak disrespectfully about the Emperor.
• Ollanius learned from the girl that Horus had slain the Ork warlord at Ullanor and been appointed Warmaster.
• Ollanius returned to his cottage, looked at the lasgun above the fireplace, and decided that he and humanity no longer needed him as a soldier.

Corax decided to remove disloyal Terran-born Raven Guard from the Legion and withdraw the XIX Legion from Horus’s command after condemning the losses in the Akum-Sothos Cluster. Back aboard the Shadow of the Emperor, Efrenia approved his decision but warned him against confronting Horus so recklessly, and Corax promised not to do it again.

• Corax ordered the cruel and merciless Terran-born Raven Guard to form an Expeditionary Fleet bound for the northeastern galaxy, while allowing integrated Terran-born such as Rorschach and Sukunu to remain under observation.
• Corax arrived at the Vengeful Spirit and rebuked Abaddon for questioning his visit.
• Corax told Horus that the XIX Legion would leave the Warmaster’s direct command and stop fighting alongside the XVI Legion.
• Maloghurst challenged Corax’s declaration, but Corax warned him off, rejected Sanguinius’s explanation, and left the Vengeful Spirit.
• Lorgar suspected Horus’s actions had worsened his conflict with Corax and decided to call upon Nimrod.
• Efrenia agreed with Corax’s decision but criticized his public challenge to Horus, and Corax promised not to repeat it.

Lorgar visited Nimrod and tried to draw him into conflict with Horus, but Nimrod chose to keep obeying the Warmaster while reserving the right to reject orders that did not serve him. Lorgar departed with Zadkiel, still intent on targeting Horus and unaware of Zadkiel’s secret loyalty to Nimrod and the Black Emperor.

• Nimrod welcomed Lorgar to the Shadow of the Throne and reflected on the Shadow of Order’s military strength and his desire to obtain Lorgar’s Chronicle of Ashes.
• Lorgar told Nimrod that Corax had publicly refused to obey Horus, hoping Nimrod would also turn against the Warmaster.
• Nimrod told Lorgar that he would continue following Horus’s orders, while privately deciding that he would reject orders he judged unacceptable and exploit any useful traps.
• Lorgar departed two days later with Zadkiel and declared that Horus would be their only target.
• Zadkiel agreed with Lorgar aloud while secretly reaffirming his loyalty to Nimrod and the Black Emperor.

Nimrod observed how Horus arranged the primarchs at the War Council and considered the political tensions following the Council of Terra’s creation. As Mortarion and others voiced their resentment, Horus promised to speak with The Emperor and reassure the Legions before Magnus announced good news.

• Nimrod arrived at the Vengeful Spirit and assessed Horus’s seating choices, the primarchs’ alliances, and their political positions.
• Nimrod reflected on Lorgar’s rise, Perturabo’s place beside Fulgrim, Mortarion’s loyalty, and the absent and marginalized primarchs.
• Mortarion criticized the Council of Terra for taking authority from the Astartes, while Lorgar privately welcomed the discontent it had stirred.
• Vulkan defended The Emperor’s decision to let humanity govern the Imperium, while Curze and Ferrus argued that mortals could not rule themselves wisely.
• Horus promised to speak with The Emperor and assured the primarchs that the Great Crusade and the Legions would not be abandoned.
• Magnus saw that Horus had eased the primarchs’ dissatisfaction and announced that he had good news.