Chapter Summaries

Perturabo returned to Olympia to negotiate with its divided city-states, but he rejected their demands and declared the world’s destruction. Forrix realized his father had already chosen violence and wondered whether Lord Nimrod could have stopped him.

• Forrix reported Olympia’s succession crisis and unrest to Perturabo, who ordered the fleet to negotiate beneath the banner of Eirene.
• Perturabo met representatives of the Six Cities of Achaea and the Pontuik League, who demanded relief from conscription and challenged Imperial rule.
• Perturabo rejected their demands, declared them traitors, and announced that Olympia would be destroyed unless its people submitted.
• Perturabo revealed that a firestorm had struck Cardis, ordered the nobles seized and returned to their cities, and commanded the Iron Warriors to kill them without damaging their heads.
• Forrix recalled Perturabo’s growing bitterness after the endless frontier wars and Nikaea, and reflected that Lord Nimrod might have been able to stop him.

Perturabo confronted the consequences of Olympia’s rebellion, killed his adoptive sister Calliphone, and watched Lox burn under his orders. Stricken with remorse and fearing Nimrod’s judgment, he halted the looting and ordered the survivors spared, then fled Olympia aboard the Iron Blood.

• Perturabo visited Damekos’s body and argued with Calliphone over their family, Olympia’s rebellion, and his rule.
• Calliphone condemned Perturabo’s tyranny and challenged him to consider what Nimrod would think of his actions.
• Perturabo killed Calliphone and saw the Iron Warriors enslaving civilians and destroying Lox, prompting him to admit he had become like Curze.
• Frix reported that the Iron Warriors had seized laborers and begun testing young people for legion recruitment, and Perturabo questioned what they had done.
• Perturabo ordered the looting stopped, the remaining survivors left to rebuild Olympia, and those joining the Auxilia granted freedom.
• The Iron Blood departed the Olympia system without answering communications from Incaladion and Firestorm Star.

Eldrad Ulthran saw visions of humanity’s coming destruction and discovered that Fulgrim had been corrupted by a daemonic sword. After a vision of Nimrod suggested he might save humanity, Ulthran reached out to the Primarch.

• Eldrad Ulthran entered the crystal forest and used the departed seers’ power to explore humanity’s fate, seeing that Chaos threatened both reality and the Warp.
• Eldrad Ulthran forced his way through the servants of She Who Thirsts and saw Horus Lupercal fighting the dead on a decaying world.
• Eldrad Ulthran glimpsed Fulgrim beside Horus with a daemonic blade and resolved to warn him not to follow Horus or keep the sword.
• Eldrad Ulthran returned to his body as a crystal statue shattered, realizing a seer had sacrificed their soul to protect him.
• Eldrad Ulthran connected a black shadow in his vision to Nimrod and decided the Primarch might help humanity escape destruction.
• Eldrad Ulthran extended his consciousness toward the Shadow of the Throne, and his face began to tremble.

Arsena Dunn reported the Shadows of Order’s true strength and Nimrod assessed the forces of the loyalist and rebel legions before the Great Birthday Celebration. Nimrod realized he could potentially mobilize 603,000 warriors, then paused Arsena’s report because an uninvited guest had arrived.

• Arsena Dunn reported that the Shadows of Order numbered 393,160, while official records concealed their strength as 237,400.
• Arsena detailed the sizes of the Shadows of Order’s largest and smallest formations, including the 10th Battalion, the 11th Chapter, and the 12th Chapter.
• Nimrod compared the legions’ estimated strengths, accounting for how his interventions had changed the loyalist and rebel forces.
• Nimrod calculated that he could potentially mobilize 603,000 warriors, including forces he could influence across other legions and the Space Sharks and Ashen Claws.
• Nimrod decided that mobilizing the Dark Angels would be difficult because Lion had scattered them across the galaxy, then told Arsena he had an uninvited guest.

Eldrad Ulthran tried to contact Nimrod aboard the Shadow of the Throne, but Nimrod and the Hraf Originator Kunsa drove him away after learning his identity and intentions. Nimrod warned Ulthran not to meet Fulgrim in person, then decided to move on the fifteen Aeldari Crone Worlds in the Perdus Anomaly before Fulgrim could destroy them.

• Eldrad Ulthran projected his consciousness into the Shadow of the Throne and tried to send Nimrod a warning, but the Hraf Originator Kunsa and a black shadow broke through his defenses and drove him off.
• Nimrod told Ulthran not to meet Fulgrim in person, and Ulthran recovered with questions about the Hraf Originator and Nimrod's psychic strength.
• Nimrod recalled how Fulgrim had attacked Ulthran on Tarsus, killed the Avatar of Khaine, and destroyed an Aeldari Crone World with virus bombs.
• Nimrod learned from Ulthran's mind that the Perdus Anomaly contained fifteen Crone Worlds and decided to claim them before Fulgrim could reach them.
• Nimrod gave Arsena Dunn a Data Crystal containing the coordinates and ordered Santiago to plan a route to the Perdus Anomaly, while he prepared to travel aboard the Miraculous.

Horus offered the Adeptus Mechanicus an alliance in exchange for Mars crushing forces loyal to Terra, using the Moravec Vault and forbidden technology as bait. Regulus embraced the power of the Warp and left to persuade Kelbor-Hal, while Horus prepared to welcome Perturabo.

• Maloghurst told Regulus that Horus would withdraw non-Mechanicum forces from Forge Worlds and help Mars regain control, but required the Fabricator-General to eliminate forces loyal to Terra.
• Regulus warned that Horus's demands could plunge Mars into civil war and asked what would keep him from becoming another Tyrant.
• Horus offered to lift the ban on Forbidden Technology research and open the Moravec Vault, persuading Regulus to take the proposal to Kelbor-Hal.
• Horus used the Warp to empower Regulus, who learned new prayers and became the first pioneer of the Dark Mechanicum on Mars.
• The Twisted warned Horus that the alliance with Mars was fragile, and Horus learned that Perturabo would arrive in one hour.

Perturabo confessed that his orders had caused millions of deaths during Olympia’s rebellion, and Horus persuaded him that the decision was justified while urging him to join a rebellion against the Emperor. Perturabo agreed to support Horus and claimed Dorn and the Imperial Fists as his targets, while Horus moved on to the next stage of his plan.

• Perturabo met Horus and admitted that his orders during Olympia’s rebellion had caused 4,750,000 deaths.
• Horus defended Perturabo’s actions and explained how he had secured Angron’s loyalty by allowing him to pursue slaughter.
• Horus claimed that the Emperor had abandoned the Primarchs to pursue godhood and showed Perturabo evidence of the Lectitio Divinitatus aboard his flagship.
• Horus asked Perturabo to help overthrow the Emperor, and Perturabo agreed to join his plan.
• Perturabo declared that Dorn and the Imperial Fists were his, and Horus promised he would defeat them and receive recognition.
• Horus watched Perturabo’s Stormbird depart, then returned to his chambers to advance the next stage of his plan.

Eldrad Ulthran warned Fulgrim that Horus would betray the Emperor, but Fulgrim attacked his psychic projection under the Laer Blade’s influence and resolved to destroy the Aeldari worlds. Later, Vespasian asked Akurduana to persuade Fulgrim to stop the Emperor’s Children’s growing dependence on enhancement drugs and their decline into decadence.

• Eldrad Ulthran heeded Nimrod’s warning and contacted Fulgrim aboard the Pride of the Emperor instead of meeting him in person.
• Eldrad warned Fulgrim that Chaos was manipulating Horus and that Horus would lead a war against the Emperor, but Fulgrim drew the Laer Blade and attacked him.
• Eldrad escaped the psychic clash and realized Fulgrim was already falling under She Who Thirsts’ influence.
• Fulgrim listened to the Laer Blade’s whisper and decided to destroy the Aeldari worlds in their territory.
• Vespasian told Akurduana that Fabius’s combat-enhancement drugs were corrupting the Legion and asked him to convince Fulgrim to stop it.

Akurduana persuaded Fulgrim to abandon his plan to bombard an Aeldari world with virus bombs and instead answer Horus’s summons. Fulgrim then offered Akurduana a Laer-derived body enhancement and drug, while Akurduana secretly planned to bring the medicine to the Black Emperor.

• Akurduana and Vespasian entered Heliopolis, where Solomon noted that the musician Beleka Kinska seemed strange.
• Fulgrim announced that he would punish the Aeldari by bombing 28-4 with virus bombs, but Vespasian objected to destroying the habitable planet.
• Akurduana urged Fulgrim to respect Horus’s authority and meet with him, and Fulgrim agreed to answer the Warmaster’s summons.
• Fulgrim dismissed the council and spoke privately with Akurduana, praising his painting and offering him a Laer-derived organ alteration and drug.
• Akurduana rejected the xenos organ, accepted the medicine to pass it to the Black Emperor, and Fulgrim invited him to practice swordsmanship during their Warp journey.

Horus coordinated plans to isolate Sanguinius, Jaghatai Khan, the Lion, Guilliman, and Nimrod while strengthening his own forces for rebellion. He concluded that Nimrod’s vast legion could be trapped and that its territory would become a foundation for his rise to power.

• Maloghurst reported that Russ had received Horus’s letter, armed the Space Wolves with devastating weapons, and mustered forces after heavy losses.
• Horus learned that Sanguinius had departed for Signus and Jaghatai Khan had headed to Chondax, where Horus had arranged traps for both brothers.
• Horus ordered Guilliman to muster at Andermung and the Lion to purge the Hrud on Prandium, drawing them away from the Imperium’s center.
• Horus estimated that Nimrod’s legion might number three hundred thousand and planned to lure it toward the Gordian League and the Diamond Star while Alpha Legion agents obstructed it.
• Maloghurst reported that new conscripts and five loyal Knight Houses had joined Horus’s cause, and Horus recognized that his hidden preparations for rebellion were taking effect.

Arsena Dunn reported the Legion’s territories and development to Nimrod, who reviewed his holdings across the galaxy and planned future conquests. The report ended with Horus ordering Nimrod to subdue the defiant Gordian League.

• Nimrod ordered the fleet to return to Carium Gate after the Emperor’s Children fleet left the Perdus Anomaly.
• Arsena Dunn reported the Legion’s worlds across the galaxy and stated that it controlled eight hundred and nineteen worlds.
• Nimrod considered the Legion’s slow expansion and recalled that many territories had come from taking worlds associated with eleven Primarchs.
• Arsena Dunn announced that Horus had ordered Nimrod to subdue the Gordian League, which had resisted submission to the Imperium.

Nimrod chose to accept Horus’s offer to join the Gordian League, intending to seize the Ghoul Stars and use his Warp Gate network to strengthen his strategic position. He ordered his forces into position for the coming conflict while weighing his priorities and the territories Horus might target.

• Nimrod decided to claim the Ghoul Stars, including the Saramas Sector, Tri-Phal, and the Gulgolad Protectorate, despite recognizing that Horus’s offer was a trap.
• Arsena Dunn reported that forty-one key nodes were connected through the Carium Gate and that improved solar generators reduced Warp Gate energy consumption by 36.95 percent.
• Nimrod identified the Colonid Sector, the Carium Gate, and Vostonia as likely targets, and ranked his objectives, including killing Angron, securing Perturabo, and capturing Horus’s industrial assets.
• Nimrod ordered Arsena to tell Horus that he would submit to the Gordian League and summoned the Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Legions to march with him.
• Nimrod ordered the Third and Eighth Legions to assemble at the Carium Gate, the First Chapter at Alicia, the Second Legion at Varia Superior, and the Sixth Legion to reach its highest combat readiness.
• Nimrod asked Arsena about the deployment status of the completed and unfinished Ramillies-class Star Fortresses.

Nimrod ordered more Ramillies-class Star Fortresses deployed and summoned allies as he prepared for war across multiple sectors. He struck preliminary deals with the League of Votann to hire Squat warriors and tow planets, then set out to deal with the World Eaters on Isstvan III.

• Arsena Dunn reported the legion’s shipyard capacity, Star Fortress deployments, and completed fortresses awaiting orders.
• Nimrod ordered Lucius’s Star Fortress to Carium Gate, prepared five more for deployment, and summoned allied Titan Legions and House Mordred.
• Nimrod authorized the legion to use Psionic Energy without regard for other legions’ objections.
• Annos arrived as the League of Votann’s envoy, and Nimrod arranged to hire up to forty thousand Hearthkyn Warriors and seek more through the guilds.
• Nimrod and Annos agreed in principle that the League would tow planets for payment, provided their inhabitants were evacuated first.
• Nimrod left to deal with the World Eaters soon to be purged on Isstvan III.

Nimrod ordered Galan Surak to divert loyal World Eaters from Angron’s purge on Isstvan III to the Colonid Sector, while leaving calm warriors with Angron to monitor him. Galan persuaded Mago to gather the targeted warriors and head for Nimrod’s territory, but Nimrod judged the sector still vulnerable and reached out to another spiritual orb.

• Nimrod summoned Galan Surak and told him that Angron planned to purge disloyal World Eaters on Isstvan III, so Mago and the others should instead go to the Colonid Sector.
• Nimrod ordered Galan to leave Dreager and other calm World Eaters with Angron to watch his movements, while Galan returned to Tridecima.
• Galan went to Training Ground No. 48, where Mago confronted him over the brutal recruitment trials and the dead instructors and recruits.
• Galan told Mago that Horus had rebelled and Angron intended to purge the Legion, then urged him to gather the targeted warriors and divert them to the Colonid Sector.
• Mago accepted Galan’s plan after hearing that Nimrod would shelter them, while Nimrod used their occult connection to influence his decision.
• Nimrod worried that the Colonid Sector could not withstand the main forces of two Legions and reached out to another spiritual orb.

Nimrod secretly mobilized loyalist forces for the coming war and ordered Arkan Land to prepare for the Schism of Mars. Arkan was tasked with securing armor, weapons, Titan and Knight allies, and protections against Abominable Intelligence.

• Nimrod summoned Alkahas Phall and Nerath Kirin, warned them that Horus had betrayed the Imperium, and sent them toward the Colonid and Samaran Sectors.
• Nimrod ordered Agu Khan and Narisun to head for the Colonid Sector, assembling a force of nearly 90,000 troops for the frontal defense while the White Scars prepared to harass the enemy.
• Nimrod told Arkan Land that Regulus would return to Mars, Kelbor-Hal would open the Moravec Vault, and the resulting corruption would trigger a civil war.
• Nimrod ordered Arkan to obtain Mark VII designs, Mark VI armor and data, and the Mark IV suits and weapons stored on Mundus Occulum and Mundus Gamma.
• Nimrod instructed Arkan to contact Khaine, Storm Lord Cavaliero, and Marvin, persuade loyalist forces to leave Mars, and spread the new Thought Space with Lady Koriel Zeth's help.
• Nimrod saw Akurduana walking with Fulgrim and Horus, then withdrew his psychic presence and postponed plans concerning the Emperor's Children.

Horus revealed his accusations against the Emperor to Fulgrim and urged him to join his cause, while Fulgrim’s sons prepared to confront their father. Fulgrim ultimately departed with the Emperor’s Children to aid Ferrus and the Iron Hands against Orks in the Callinides system.

• Horus recounted his experiences on Davin, accused the Emperor of betrayal, and gave Fulgrim the Lectitio Divinitatus.
• Fulgrim grieved as Horus smashed the Emperor’s mural, then agreed to hear what Horus wanted him to do.
• Vespasian decided he must speak with Fulgrim about his pursuit of perfection, despite Akurduana’s warning.
• Horus praised Akurduana, who said Thierry was stronger than he was, while Fulgrim resolved to help his son.
• Fulgrim and the Emperor’s Children left for the Callinides system to rescue an Imperium world from Orks and fight alongside Ferrus and the Iron Hands.

Magnus learned that the Space Wolves were coming to Prospero and concealed the danger while ordering two fleets away. Hathor helped evacuate allies and divert most of the Thousand Sons fleet, including the Gloriana-class Battleship Photep, before reporting to Nimrod.

• Magnus spoke with a daemon that demanded the soul he had promised and warned him that the Space Wolves were sailing for Prospero.
• Hathor stopped Uthizzar from entering Magnus's room, then heard Magnus order the Photep and Sons of Prospero fleets to Alexandria IV.
• Lemuel Gaumon, Camille Shivani, and Mahavastu Kallimakus boarded a passenger shuttle and escaped Prospero with Kallimakus's records.
• Hathor sent the Photep and Sons of Prospero fleets away and watched them leave the system's psychic detection range.
• Hathor reported to Nimrod, who explained that Uthizzar would have discovered Magnus's concealed knowledge and might have been killed by his father.

Fulgrim confronted Ferrus in the Iron Fist's forge and tried to persuade him to join Horus, but the brothers fought and Fulgrim left Ferrus incapacitated. Fulgrim ordered the 52nd Expedition Fleet to attack the Iron Hands warships.

• Fulgrim ordered Akurduana and Vespasian to lead forces against the Orks and asked Solomon Demeter to watch over them.
• Fulgrim met Ferrus in the Iron Fist's forge and claimed that the Emperor had betrayed them and was seeking godhood alone.
• Ferrus rejected Fulgrim's appeal and attacked him, but Fulgrim defeated him after Ferrus destroyed the Fireblade.
• Fulgrim lowered Skull-Crusher instead of killing Ferrus, then struck him in the jaw and left him unconscious.
• Eidolon and the Phoenix Guard attacked the Morlock Terminators, and Eidolon killed Garib Santo.
• Fulgrim ordered the 52nd Expedition Fleet to attack the Iron Hands warships.

The Emperor’s Children attacked the Iron Hands after Fulgrim claimed they had betrayed the Warmaster, but Vespasian discovered Fulgrim’s corruption and escaped with Akurduana’s help. Nimrod revealed the threat posed by the daemon in Fulgrim’s sword and sent Lucius to warn loyalists ahead of the purge on Isstvan III.

• The Emperor’s Children ambushed the Iron Hands fleet, and Fulgrim ordered the attack stopped so they could join Horus at Isstvan.
• Fulgrim tried to purge Vespasian after the corrupted painting exposed his resistance, but Akurduana intervened and helped him escape.
• Akurduana reported Fulgrim’s change to Nimrod, who revealed that a Greater Daemon of Slaanesh inhabited the silver sword and warned Akurduana to approach Fulgrim carefully.
• Nimrod told Lucius that Horus and Fulgrim planned to purge loyalists on Isstvan III and ordered him to warn them, then report to Terra without directly contacting Malcador or Dorn.

The Space Wolves' Punishment Fleet bombarded Prospero, while the Thousand Sons' Psychic Shield protected Tizca at the cost of many Falcon Sect warriors. Magnus revealed that the attack was punishment for his pact with a Daemon and urged his sons to accept destruction, but Hathor rallied the cults to fight.

• The Punishment Fleet attacked Prospero, destroying orbital defenses and devastating the planet while the Psychic Shield kept Tizca untouched.
• Hathor Maat used the Pavoni Pyramid's crystal to contact Magnus, who identified Russ, the Space Wolves, the Adeptus Custodes, and the Sisters of Silence as the attackers.
• Magnus confessed that he had made a contract with a Daemon to save his sons and said the attack was the price of that pact.
• Phosis T'kar urged the Thousand Sons to lower the shield and fight, but Magnus warned that fighting would serve the Chaos Gods' plan and ordered them to accept the attack.
• Hathor declared that the Thousand Sons would fight, and leaders from the cults, fellowships, and Great Library pledged to resist the invaders.