Chapter Summaries

Alvin faced a Fate Weaver, a powerful Tyranid creature, as the enraged swarm overwhelmed the battlefield. Kevin Leslie and the Krieg 371st Siege Regiment emerged from tunnels to attack it, and Kevin joined the charge himself.

• Alvin recognized the Fate Weaver as an elite Tyranid threat and struggled to find a way to stop it before the Asgardian line fell.
• Kevin Leslie emerged from a tunnel he and the 371st Siege Regiment had dug through ten kilometers of Tyranid territory and told Alvin they had come to help.
• Kevin blew his whistle, ordered the Krieg soldiers to fix bayonets, and led them in a charge against the Fate Weaver.
• The Fate Weaver cut down the first wave of Krieg soldiers, but Kevin directed his troops to fire Melt Bombs and deploy smoke grenades.
• More Krieg soldiers charged through the smoke, and Kevin removed his cap and joined them despite Alvin's attempt to stop him.

Alvin and Thor watched the Krieg Death Korps sacrifice themselves to weaken the Fate Weaver, while Commissar Kevin Leslie gave his life to create an opening. Loki distracted the wounded beast, allowing Alvin and Thor to kill it, and the chapter ended with Alvin honoring Kevin and the surviving Krieg soldiers.

• Commissar Kevin ordered the Krieg soldiers to charge the Fate Weaver while Alvin stayed back because of his wound.
• The Fate Weaver slaughtered hundreds of Krieg soldiers, but their attacks and Melt Bombs weakened it and slowed its advance.
• Kevin drew the Fate Weaver's attention, let it impale him, then detonated a Melt Bomb strapped to his chest.
• Loki severed the Fate Weaver's connection to the Hive Mind and confused it long enough for Alvin and Thor to strike.
• Alvin and Thor destroyed the Fate Weaver's head, and Alvin honored Kevin Leslie and the Krieg Death Korps.

The Blood Angels prepared to strike the Tyranid fleet while most of its forces were drawn to Pertita. Dante awakened Brother Wertel, who accepted a likely fatal mission to attack the Tyranid command system and save Baal.

• The Tyranid fleet abandoned its formation and surged toward Pertita under the Hive Mind's command.
• Dante spotted the scattered fleet and ordered the Blood Angels to advance at full speed.
• Dante entered the Blood Chapel as the tech-priests prepared the ancient Dreadnought Armour and awakened Brother Wertel.
• Dante explained that the Blood Angels planned to strike the Tyranid command system and save Baal.
• Wertel accepted the mission, thanked Dante for granting him a dignified end, and vowed to fight for the Blood Angels.

Dante led a twelve-strong boarding squad through the Tyranid mothership, cutting down its defenders while searching for the core and a place to set a teleport beacon. As the Hive Fleet turned back to rescue its mothership, Alvin and the Imperial fleet moved to trap it.

• Dante and the Blood Guard stormed the Hive Ship and slaughtered the Tyranids packed into its passageways.
• Dante killed a Lictor that ambushed him from above, then ordered the squad to keep moving when the Techmarine reported that the Shadow in the Warp blocked contact with the other squads.
• Dante’s plan sent boarding craft from several Chapters to attack the mothership from different directions and find its core so they could place a teleport beacon for the Dreadnoughts.
• The Tyranid fleet turned away from Pertita to rescue its mothership after the boarding assault began.
• Alvin charged the Void Claw and fired a singularity black hole at the Hive Fleet while Blood Angels cruisers and Strike Cruisers moved to block its retreat.

Dante’s squad found the Tyranid Hive Ship’s core and summoned Wertel in his Dreadnought to break through its defenders. Wertel fell to the Black Rage and fought his way toward the core, where a Hive Tyrant stood as the last guardian.

• Dante led his squad through the Hive Ship and found a chamber guarded by Tyranids, which he recognized as the ship’s core.
• The Techmarine placed a Teleportation Beacon, and Wertel arrived in his Dreadnought as Dante’s squad fell back.
• Wertel attacked the Tyranids, but the battle triggered the Black Rage and made him see Horus’s traitors instead of his enemies.
• Wertel tore through Tyranid guards and fought into the core chamber as his Dreadnought sustained heavy damage and his awareness faded.
• Wertel blasted through a Spore Cloud and its Tyranid defenders, then faced a Hive Tyrant guarding the Hive Mind.

Vertel fought the Hive Tyrant and forced a bomb into the bio-ship’s core, sacrificing himself so Dante and the Blood Guard could escape. As he activated the Dreadnought’s self-destruct, Vertel remembered Sanguinius and Baal and died believing he had returned home.

• Vertel fought off the Hive Tyrant’s attacks, destroying its bio-cannon at the cost of his right arm and defeating it with his Assault Cannon.
• The Hive Mind tried to overwhelm Vertel’s mind, but the psychic shield prepared by the Librarians and Blood Priests protected him.
• Vertel dragged his damaged Dreadnought toward the bio-ship’s core and forced a bomb through the bio-membrane.
• Vertel told Dante to leave and finish his duty, and Dante led the Blood Guard away.
• Vertel activated the self-destruct sequence, raised his neural link to feel alive once more, and remembered Sanguinius and Baal as he died.

Wertel’s sacrifice destroyed the Hive Ship and turned the Battle of the Stygian Shield in the Imperium’s favor. After helping secure the Stygian System, Alvin visited Dante on Baal to say goodbye and bring Penny back, where Dante revealed he had prepared a gift for him.

• Wertel died destroying the Hive Ship, and Dante forbade the Blood Angels from speaking about the golden wings some claimed to see in the explosion.
• Alvin ordered Carroll to fire the Bifrost at the retreating Tyranid fleet, vaporizing a Bio-ship and leaving the remaining Tyranids too disorganized to threaten Baal.
• Alvin wrote a report praising the Krieg Death Korps and Commissar Kevin Leslie, then prepared to leave the Stygian System for the Baal System.
• Alvin arrived at Dante’s flagship, where Blood Angels and successor Chapter Masters thanked him and pledged their friendship.
• Alvin told Dante he was leaving for the Black Zone and planned to return to sample Baal’s wine, and Dante said he had prepared a gift for him.

Alvin returned to the Sword of Redemption with Penny and Garell Grail-Singer, a Blood Priest sent by Dante with a mysterious gift. In the cargo hold, Alvin discovered the gift was a group of chained Blood Angels who had succumbed to the Black Rage, leaving him worried about the danger they posed and the Inquisition’s reaction.

• Alvin met Garell Grail-Singer, who said Dante had assigned him to serve and protect Alvin until the fleet returned to Baal.
• Garell led Alvin to the warship’s lowest cargo hold and opened a container using his Blood Chalice.
• Alvin saw dozens of Space Marines bound in Adamantium chains and wearing what appeared to be suicide collars.
• Garell explained that the prisoners were former Blood Angels who had succumbed to the Black Rage and Blood Thirst, and Alvin recognized them as the Death Company.
• Alvin worried that the Death Company, along with the Xenos aboard his ship, could bring the Inquisition down on him.

Alvin and Carroll headed toward the Black Zone, where the Valshius Dynasty’s inherited star charts could guide their expedition. Carroll revealed that Alvin’s predecessor had left something at Nomad Port with the powerful Fernando Dynasty, whose criminal influence made retrieving it dangerous.

• Carroll explained that the Black Zone held the greatest opportunities and that the Valshius Dynasty possessed star charts from earlier expeditions.
• Carroll revealed that the previous head of the family had lost a flagship and with it most of the dynasty’s fuller star charts, but Alvin accepted the loss.
• Carroll remembered that Alvin’s predecessor had left something in storage at Nomad Port, possibly a star chart or the destination of his expedition.
• Carroll explained that the Fernando Dynasty had gained power through suspected cooperation with Ork pirates and now controlled Nomad Port’s black market through bribery and the Shadow Dome.
• Alvin realized that the Fernando Dynasty would not easily give up the stored item and might disregard the Valshius Family’s authority.

Alvin learned that the Fernando Dynasty controlled Nomad Port through the Shadow Dome and secretly backed pirates and Chaos forces, protected by a fragment of the Eternal Forge. Carroll revealed that the Fernando Family had once served the Valshius Family, and Alvin vowed to reclaim what they had taken.

• Carroll explained that the Fernando Dynasty had become the sole power behind the Shadow Dome and controlled trade throughout Nomad Port.
• Carroll revealed that the Fernando Family secretly funded Orks, Dark Eldar pirates, and a Chaos Lord while profiting from raids on Rogue Traders.
• Carroll disclosed that the Fernando Family possessed a fragment of the Eternal Forge that let its battleships navigate Warp Storms and locate targets in the Warp.
• Alvin questioned Carroll's detailed knowledge, and Carroll admitted that the Valshius Family had helped the Fernando Family rise to power and obtain its Rogue Trader charter.
• Carroll explained that the Fernando Family had once acted as the Valshius Family's agents and that the Eternal Forge fragment could help Alvin trace his missing father's route.
• Alvin vowed to make the Fernando Family return everything it had taken from him.

Alvin struggled to plan how to reclaim his family’s star chart from the powerful Fernando Family, then entered Nomad Port under a false identity to assess their influence. He decided to meet the family before choosing whether to negotiate or use force, and learned that access to the port’s areas and auction depended on special Pass Medals.

• Alvin rejected Hilda’s proposal to raid the Fernando Family, Torzak’s offer to summon Necrons, and the Void Dragon’s plan to consume Nomad Port’s inhabitants.
• Alvin decided to meet the Fernando Family first and negotiate for the star chart if possible, while keeping force as a last resort.
• Alvin and Tuck arrived at Nomad Port disguised as ordinary nobles and merchant-ship travelers.
• A female attendant told Alvin that first-time noble visitors had to use an official guide under Fernando Family rules.
• The attendant explained that Pass Medals set which areas and goods visitors could access, and that only Level 3 holders could attend the annual auction.

Alvin, posing as the noble Charles, explored Nomad Port with receptionist Selene and discovered the Fernando Family’s slave market, which they presented as a legal talent market. After feigning outrage and displaying his jeweled Duelist Sword, he convinced Selene to take him to the market’s more exclusive section.

• Alvin chose Selene as his attendant and learned he could earn a Level 3 Pass by spending, investing, or selling a valuable item at the auction house.
• Alvin asked Selene to show him around Nomad Port, while Tucker teased him about being unable to beat Winnie in sword training.
• Selene led Alvin to the talent market, where he saw malnourished captives, including young children, imprisoned in cages.
• Alvin dismissed the captives as worthless and feigned anger when Selene said he would need to prove his assets to access a special transaction.
• Alvin displayed his jeweled Adamantium Duelist Sword, and Selene agreed to show him the real talent market.

Alvin visited a prison beneath Nomad Port and discovered that the Fernando Family was holding a woman who might be a Sister of Silence. After posing as a powerful Acquis Family scion, he learned she was a Blank and possibly an Unclean One, leaving him shocked by the family’s audacity.

• Selene vouched for Alvin and brought him to the prison beneath Nomad Port, where Nick offered to show him the captives.
• Alvin rejected Nick’s unusual offerings and demanded to know about a chained woman in a special cell.
• Alvin claimed to be a scion of the Acquis Family, prompting Nick to explain that the woman was a Blank.
• Nick revealed that the woman might be an Unclean One, and Alvin realized she could be a Sister of Silence.

Alvin acquired a captured Sister of Silence by posing as a scion of the Acquis Family, intending to take her with him despite the danger of removing her restraints. He left without paying Nick and accepted a Level 3 Pass, while promising to recommend Nick to the Fernando Family.

• Nick taunted the restrained Sister of Silence, shocked her with a controller, and kicked her until Alvin ordered him to stop.
• Alvin claimed the Sister of Silence as his property and decided he wanted to take her because he needed one for his Warp constitution.
• Alvin and Nick agreed to transport the Sister of Silence with her restraints still on because she could overpower everyone if released.
• Alvin told Nick he would pay later, though he had no intention of paying, and promised to recommend him to the head of the Fernando Family.
• Nick gave Alvin a Level 3 Pass for the annual auction, and Alvin accepted it while saying he would remember Nick.

Alvin brought Ilya Vigilant to his estate and tried to earn her trust after rescuing her. He claimed to be an agent of the Golden Throne and showed her a Power sword as proof, leaving her to judge whether he was telling the truth.

• Selene led Alvin to a luxurious estate arranged by Nick, but Alvin declined her offer to stay with him.
• Tucker checked the estate for cameras and brought the restrained Sister of Silence to Alvin.
• Alvin introduced himself as Alvin Valshius and showed Ilya his medals from Marius Calgar and Louis Dante, but she did not recognize them.
• Alvin offered to remove Ilya’s restraint device if she stayed calm, and she agreed before revealing her name as Ilya Vigilant.
• Alvin asked Ilya whether she still upheld the ancient oath and claimed to be the Golden Throne’s agent.
• Alvin drew a Power sword filled with the Golden Throne’s power and presented it to Ilya as proof.

Alvin asked Ilya to join the Sisters of Silence’ restoration, and she agreed so she could discover why her mother remained faithful to the Emperor. She asked Alvin to take her to Terra someday, then revealed she had sold her oath armor and Executioner Greatsword to escape an Inquisitor.

• Alvin explained that Roboute Guilliman wanted the Sisters of Silence to return and asked whether Ilya would serve the Emperor.
• Ilya questioned what the Sisters were fighting for and said she could not forgive the Imperium, the High Lords, or the Adeptus Custodes for abandoning them.
• Alvin told Ilya he would not force her to join and would help her leave if she wished.
• Ilya said she wanted to find the answer for herself and agreed to join Alvin, asking him to take her to the Imperial Palace on Terra.
• Alvin asked where Ilya’s oath armor and Executioner Greatsword were, and she admitted she had sold both to buy passage while fleeing an Inquisitor.

Alvin posed as Charles Acquis while meeting Lloyd Fernando at the Fernando Auction House, using an arrogant act to conceal his true intentions. He revealed a suit of Destroyer Armor as a supposed Old Ones relic and bait for the Fernando Family.

• Selene took Alvin to the Fernando Auction House, where Lloyd Fernando was waiting in a private room.
• Alvin struck Selene for revealing his identity, then sent her and Tucker out of the room.
• Lloyd tested Alvin by confusing his father with his uncle Patrick, but Alvin angrily corrected him and insisted his father was Julius.
• Alvin claimed he had stolen a treasure from the Acquis Family vault and presented Lloyd with a possible Old Ones relic.
• Alvin opened the case and identified the armor inside as Destroyer Armor, which could seek out enemies and rival a Destiny-class Knight in destructive power.

Alvin tricked Lloyd into accepting the Destroyer Armor by presenting it as a relic of the Old Ones, while Lloyd planned to appraise and claim the valuable artifact. Alvin and Tucker knew a C'tan was hidden inside the armor and expected the Fernando Family to suffer if they tried to cheat him.

• Lloyd examined the Destroyer Armor and concluded it might be a genuine creation of the Old Ones.
• Lloyd asked Alvin to let him take the armor away for professional appraisal, and Alvin pretended to agree after Lloyd swore he would not deceive him.
• Alvin and Lloyd parted on friendly terms and agreed to meet again at the official auction several days later.
• After returning to the estate, Alvin told Tucker he hoped the Fernando Family would like his gift, and Tucker noted that a C'tan was hidden inside the armor.
• Alvin warned that the Fernando Family would face his retaliation if they refused to deal honestly.

Alvin met Inquisitor Aldrich Norvich, who revealed that the Fernando Family planned to break away from the Imperium and seize Nomad Port. Aldrich had no surviving evidence, leaving Alvin wary of the accusation and its implications.

• Alvin and Tucker explored Nomad Port's western trading district, where Aldrich approached Alvin in disguise and called him His Highness.
• Tucker drew a dagger on Aldrich, but Alvin stopped him, and Tucker confirmed Aldrich's identity with a Vought Rose Knot badge.
• Aldrich explained that he had infiltrated the Shadow Dome Council, discovered the Fernando Family's collusion with heretics, and escaped an attack by Dark Eldar pirates.
• Aldrich told Alvin that the Fernando Family planned to secede from the Imperium and seize Nomad Port.
• Alvin demanded evidence, but Aldrich admitted that it had been destroyed during his escape.

Alvin refused to help Inquisitor Aldrich accuse the Fernando Family without evidence, but learned that the family controlled Nomad Port and could intercept messages and track ships. After Aldrich left him with a cryptic request to make the right decision, Alvin and Tucker decided to investigate the Shadow Dome Council, which might reveal the family’s intentions and help them find the star chart.

• Alvin refused to help Aldrich accuse the Fernando Family without evidence, though he offered to help him leave the planet.
• Aldrich told Alvin that the Fernando Family controlled Nomad Port’s Warp Astropathic Messages and might be able to track ships in the sector.
• Aldrich asked Alvin to make the right decision when the time came, then hurried away without explaining what he meant.
• Tucker suggested that the Fernando Family’s intentions and the star chart could be investigated through the Shadow Dome Council.