Chapter Summaries

Lloyd presented the Destroyer armor to the Shadow Dome Council, whose members recognized it as a possible key to Old Ones technology. He decided the Fernando Family would keep it and pressed the council for updates on the missing Inquisitor Aldrich as their plan neared its critical moment.

• Lloyd brought the Destroyer armor to the Shadow Dome Council and asked its seven members for their opinions.
• Sage Borne said the armor’s inscriptions might unlock Old Ones technology, and Lloyd realized its research value could be immense.
• Lawson urged the council to take the armor despite the Acquis Family, while Dane warned against provoking the Imperium; Lloyd decided to keep it.
• Lloyd asked whether the council had found Inquisitor Aldrich, and Dane vowed to ensure he died in Nomad Port.
• Lloyd told the council to conceal their involvement and heard that Aldrich had supposedly been lost in a Warp Storm; they toasted to Fernando and the plan’s success.

Alvin attended the Fernando Family auction at Nomad Port, but dismissed its public lots as worthless and threatened to withdraw from his deal. Lillian revealed that the real auction was being held elsewhere and led him toward it.

• Alvin left Ilya behind and went with Tucker to the auction, where Lillian Fernando greeted him on behalf of her grandfather.
• Tucker warned Alvin that Lillian was a Living Saint, and Lillian accompanied him to a private box.
• Alvin ignored the auction lots and rejected Lillian's offer to pay for anything he liked.
• Alvin threatened to cancel his deal and leave, forcing Lillian to seek her grandfather's instructions.
• Lillian returned and offered to take Alvin to the real Fernando auction, and he agreed.

At the Fernando Family’s secret auction, Alvin saw evidence of the family’s dangerous dealings when they displayed a Saint’s Remains and a plague-tainted tome. The auction continued with the Flesh-and-Blood Covenant, whose horrific properties shocked him.

• Count Lloyd struck and kicked Lillian, then apologized to Alvin and blamed her for a supposed misunderstanding.
• After Lloyd left, Alvin praised Lillian’s acting and gave her a piece of paper, while she rejected his pity and concealed her hatred.
• Lloyd offered to send Lillian to Alvin as a favor, and Alvin pretended to welcome the offer while considering how her hatred might be useful.
• Lloyd led Alvin and Tucker into the Shadow Dome, the Fernando Family’s true auction house, where bids were made through barter.
• The auction displayed a Saint’s Remains—Left Hand, which could suppress Warp Rifts and harm Daemons.
• The next item was a Flesh-and-Blood Covenant page that spread customized viruses and could turn its holder into a living bookmark; Alvin was horrified.

Alvin watched Lloyd display the Fernando Family’s influence at the Shadow Dome auction, where Chaos artifacts and alien powers gathered openly in Nomad Port. Lloyd then threatened Alvin to force him to hand over his treasure, leaving Alvin facing the family’s demand and menace.

• Alvin challenged Lloyd over the Fernando Family auctioning dangerous Chaos artifacts, but Lloyd insisted Nomad Port was beyond the Imperium’s reach.
• The auction presented a Blasphemous Blueprint and an Integration Matrix, and Lloyd revealed that attendees included nonhumans.
• Lloyd identified Anna Asmodeus of the Dark Eldar Night Owl and Mad Bigtooth Starbreaker, commander of an Ork force, as powers present at the auction.
• Alvin recognized that Lloyd was demonstrating the Fernando Family’s reach and asked whether he was trying to boast or threaten him.
• Lloyd declared that the Fernando Family would get Alvin’s treasure at any cost and warned that the Acquis Family might not retaliate if Alvin disappeared.

Lloyd threatened Alvin into revealing how to control the Destroyer Armor, then sent Lillian to him as a gift. Lillian realized Alvin was not truly an Acquis scion and asked him to help destroy the Fernando Family, offering everything, including her life.

• Lloyd threatened Alvin with torture and death unless he revealed the method for controlling the Destroyer Armor, then offered him Lillian, power, and status as incentives.
• Alvin pretended to hesitate, and Lloyd sent Lillian to his estate that night as a gift.
• Lillian willingly let Alvin approach her, then told him she was certain he was not a real Acquis scion.
• Lillian explained that Alvin's concern for servants and his willingness to hear her out had exposed his identity to her.
• Lillian begged Alvin to help destroy the Fernando Family and vowed to give him everything, even her life.

Lillian revealed her history of hatred toward the Fernando Family and offered to help Alvin destroy them. She exposed the Shadow Dome’s members and hinted that the family controlled its allies through a mysterious Warp-connected artifact, whose nature remained unknown.

• Lillian recounted how a Fernando heir enslaved her father, forced her mother into captivity, and indirectly drove her mother to die, fueling her vow of revenge.
• Alvin tested Lillian’s loyalty, and she said she would risk her life to help destroy the Fernando Family.
• Lillian confirmed that Lloyd had sent Aeldari Corsairs to ambush an Inquisitor investigating the Shadow Dome, and said Dane was searching for him.
• Lillian identified Shadow Dome members across Nomad Port’s authorities and said its true leaders represented the Fernando Family, Dark Eldar Corsairs, Chaos, and Orks.
• Lillian told Alvin that the Fernando Family possessed another secret artifact linked to the Warp and possibly to a god.

Alvin learned that the Fernando Family had a secret artifact beyond the Eternal Forge and agreed to delay their plans until they knew more. He decided to inspect the Spartan Squad and prepare them for the threat.

• Lillian offered to investigate the Fernando Family's secret artifact, and Alvin gave her an iron token to call for help.
• Lillian tried to seduce Alvin to maintain her cover with Lloyd, but Alvin comforted her and sent her to rest without accepting her offer.
• Tucker emerged from hiding, and Alvin warned him to keep the encounter secret from Winnie.
• Tucker recommended postponing the plan and bringing in the Spartan Squad because the artifact's nature was unknown.
• Tucker described the Spartan Squad's formidable training, and Alvin decided to see what they could do.

Lillian deceived Lloyd while plotting to destroy the Fernando Family, and Lloyd ordered her to pressure Charles for the method of controlling the Destroyer armor. Their exchange was interrupted by news that an escaped Inquisitor had sent an Astropathic Message from the Eternal Forge sanctuary.

• Lillian claimed Charles had beaten her and said she had failed to learn how to control the Destroyer armor.
• Lillian proposed throwing Charles into the family prison, and Lloyd assigned her to carry out the plan.
• Lloyd promised to recognize Lillian as a direct descendant of the Fernando Family if she obtained the armor’s control method.
• Lillian secretly resolved to destroy Lloyd’s family, despite pretending to welcome his offer.
• A middle-aged man reported that an escaped Inquisitor had entered the Eternal Forge sanctuary, disabled its Warp Astropathic Message jamming device, and sent an Astropathic Message.

Lloyd learned that an Inquisitor had infiltrated the Eternal Forge and sent an Astropathic Message, threatening the Fernando Family’s plans. He put Lillian in charge of seizing Nomad Port’s defenses and declared her his chosen successor, leaving Ryley furious and humiliated.

• Ryley told Lloyd that an escaped Inquisitor had entered the Eternal Forge, disabled the jamming device, and sent an Astropathic Message off-world.
• Lloyd struck and berated Ryley, warning that the Fernando Family could not withstand the Inquisition.
• Lillian urged Lloyd to seize the fortresses around Nomad Port and take control of the Planetary Defense Force before the Inquisition learned what had happened.
• Lloyd ordered Lillian to take control of the ground forces and dismissed Ryley from the task.
• Ryley grabbed Lillian by the throat, but released her when Lloyd threatened him and named Lillian as his chosen successor.

Lloyd rejected Ryley as a successor and tested Lillian, who proposed sacrificing family members to blame a bombing on a heretical cult and seize military authority. Lloyd accepted the plan, volunteered to be injured in the explosion, and named Lillian his only heir once the crisis was over.

• Lloyd questioned Lillian about taking control of the Planetary General's military authority, and she proposed bombing a banquet and blaming a heretical cult.
• Lillian explained that sacrificing Fernando Family members, including direct-line relatives, would make the attack seem credible and clear the family of suspicion.
• Lillian identified her father, Ryley, as a suitable sacrifice, and Lloyd allowed her to silence him when he attacked her.
• Lloyd agreed to attend the banquet and be injured to support the plan.
• Lloyd told Lillian she would become his only heir after the crisis, while warning that she needed to be more ruthless and better at hiding herself.

Lillian carried out the bombing at the Fernando Family banquet after resisting the temptation to detonate it early, then covered up the attack and suppressed the family’s power struggle. Lloyd revealed that the explosion had been a test, named Lillian his sole heir, and prepared to show her the Fernando Family’s secret.

• Lillian realized Lloyd would not have trusted her so easily and waited until he reached the planned safe location before pressing the detonator.
• The explosion killed hundreds of dignitaries, including Ryley, and left Lloyd gravely injured and unconscious.
• Lillian blamed heretics for the bombing and suppressed those maneuvering for power within the Fernando Family.
• Lillian found Lloyd unharmed in his hospital room, and he praised her for passing his test.
• Lloyd named Lillian his sole heir and offered to take her to meet a true god.

Lloyd led Lillian beneath the Shadow Dome Council and revealed that the Fernando Family secretly forged Symbiotic Armor from enslaved people. He showed her the family’s hidden patron, the Warp deity Vashtor, while Lillian’s hatred of the family deepened.

• Lloyd took Lillian below the Shadow Dome Council and told her that a family head had to put the family’s interests first.
• Lloyd revealed that the Fernando Family’s hidden factory used Nomad Port’s slaves to forge Symbiotic Armor for trade with Xenos factions.
• Lillian learned that the armor was powerful but eventually devoured its wearer, and she resolved more firmly to destroy the Fernando Family.
• Lloyd led Lillian to a mechanical statue and identified it as the Warp deity Vashtor, the source of the family’s power over Nomad Port and its Xenos factions.

Lillian was nearly overwhelmed by Vashtor’s assault until the Void Dragon intervened through her iron token and damaged the statue. After a banquet-hall explosion devastated Nomad Port, Alvin suspected the Fernando Family had staged the attack to seize power, possibly because of Aldrich.

• Vashtor’s malice infiltrated Lillian’s mind, but the iron token in her hand glimmered just as she was about to collapse.
• Burne Cok awakened the Destroyer armor while studying it, and the Void Dragon seized control of the machinery and captured him.
• The Void Dragon used the console to reach Lillian and drove Vashtor out, causing the Creator Vashtor statue to crack as Lillian recovered.
• News spread that a cultist attack had destroyed the Fernando Family’s banquet, killing Ryley Fernando and many nobles, while Lloyd and other family members were reported badly injured.
• Alvin dismissed the cultist-attack story and suspected the Fernando Family had staged the explosion to seize power, perhaps in response to Aldrich.

Alvin realized the Fernando Family had seized Nomad Port’s Planetary Defense Force and staged its purge of nobles while an Aeldari Corsair and Chaos Lord attacked the Imperial Navy fleet. A report revealed that the Fernando Family had equipped the Defense Force with enough heavy weapons and vehicles to rival the Astra Militarum, leaving Alvin to reconsider how to escape.

• Tucker reported that the Planetary Defense Force was killing nobles and had sealed key starports and Hive City entrances.
• Alvin concluded the Fernando Family was using the purge to seize power and warned Tucker to alert Carroll about a possible attack on the Imperial Navy.
• Tucker returned with news that Aeldari Corsairs and a Chaos Lord had already attacked the fleet.
• Ilya suggested fighting their way out, but Alvin rejected the plan because hundreds of thousands of armed troops surrounded them.
• Tucker showed Alvin a report listing the Defense Force’s Emperor-class Super-heavy Venomblade Tank and other heavy equipment supplied by the Fernando Family.

The Fernando Family framed the Novann Family as Chaos traitors and used the Planetary Defense Force to destroy them. After Talos and his family died resisting, Claudius realized he had been manipulated, just as the 25th Armored Regiment opened fire on his forces.

• Talos watched the Planetary Defense Force attack the Novann fortress and told Casto that the Fernando Family had fabricated the Chaos accusation to purge its rivals.
• Claudius rejected Talos’s plea to recognize the scheme and ordered the assault to continue, while Casto led the Novann defenders into battle.
• Talos fought until soldiers disarmed and mortally wounded him, and he saw his grandson Yulian die beside the family banner.
• Claudius ordered the Novann estate burned, but a damaged Servitor’s words and a medal showing the Emperor with a bloody tear unsettled him.
• Claudius learned that the 25th Armored Regiment had locked onto his position and realized the Fernando Family had used both forces against each other as artillery shells fell.

Alvin used intelligence from the Spartan Squad to plan a covert strike against Fernando Family moles controlling the Planetary Defense Forces, then left with Ilya to speak with Sir Lloyd. Tucker reported Alvin’s departure to Winnie, who prepared to pursue him with a dangerous group from the cruiser’s lower hold.

• Alvin learned that Fernando Family officers had manipulated and purged loyal Imperial forces, and he identified suspected moles among the Planetary Defense Forces.
• Alvin ordered Tucker to lead the Spartan Squad in infiltrating headquarters and eliminating the moles to disrupt the Fernando Family’s command over the forces.
• Alvin left the estate with Ilya despite Tucker’s pleas, intending to speak with Sir Lloyd and reclaim the family’s star map.
• Tucker called the Living Saint to report Alvin’s departure, and Winnie ordered a Valkyrie Transport prepared and the people in the lower hold released.
• Penny agreed with Winnie that Alvin needed to be taught a lesson, leaving Carroll worried about what would happen to him.

Alvin and Ilya entered the Fernando Family estate, where they found Daemon-infused Armor and a wounded Inquisitor Aldrich fighting near a pit. Alvin summoned the Fallen Angels to turn the battle, making Aldrich his accomplice and forcing him to keep their existence secret.

• Ilya and Alvin fought through the Defense Force and entered the seemingly abandoned Fernando Family estate.
• A suit of armor filled with rotting flesh attacked Alvin, and Ilya destroyed it with her sword and an explosive bolt.
• Alvin and Ilya found Aldrich battling Daemon-infused Armor in the Shadow Dome auction hall.
• Aldrich revealed that Lloyd was below, trying to commune with Vashtor and sacrifice everyone in Nomad Port.
• Alvin summoned dozens of Space Marines, who overwhelmed the Daemon-infused Armor.
• Alvin identified the Space Marines as the Fallen Angels and warned Aldrich to keep their existence secret.

Alvin and Aldrich fought their way through Daemon-infused Armor while Aldrich reacted with outrage to Alvin's pardoned Fallen Angels. After sending Reinhardt and Ilya ahead to secure the elevator shaft, Alvin and the wounded Aldrich descended to stop Lloyd's plot.

• Aldrich denounced Alvin's Fallen Angels until Alvin explained they were pardoned, though their pardoner had not yet awakened.
• The Fallen Angels slaughtered the Daemon-infused Armor, and Aldrich tried to recruit them by suggesting they could be hidden among the Death Guard's Blackshields.
• Alvin, Aldrich, and Ilya reached a deep elevator shaft where more Daemon-infused Armor continued climbing from below.
• Alvin sent Reinhardt and ten elite warriors down the shaft with Ilya to clear a foothold.
• Despite coughing up blood, Aldrich insisted on joining Alvin, and they descended with the First Company Fallen Angels.

Alvin’s group discovered that a deadly infection was spreading through the fog, killing and transforming the Dark Angels who had accompanied them. Alvin realized the trap was Nurgle’s work, not Vashtor’s, as the survivors faced an escalating plague.

• Alvin’s group found and destroyed a factory that used tormented souls to create Daemon-infused Armor.
• Inquisitor Aldrich collapsed, and a Dark Angel tore off his face while trying to help him up.
• Ilya warned that the Dark Angel who touched Aldrich was infected, and Alvin reprimanded the Dark Angels for pointing their weapons at him before approving isolation and observation.
• The infected Dark Angel’s body dissolved into twisted flesh, and the Company Commander vaporized him with a Plasma Gun.
• Coughing spread through nearly the whole company, whose skin and bones began dissolving.
• Alvin recognized the garden’s plague as Nurgle’s power rather than Vashtor’s.

Alvin realized the spreading virus might come from the Chaos Artifact called the Flesh-and-Blood Covenant and led the infected Dark Angels toward its source. Ilya’s Blank aura slowed the infection, and the group reached a decaying temple filled with rotting growths and plague-bearing spores.

• Alvin recognized the Flesh-and-Blood Covenant as a possible source of the plagues, while the Dark Angels discovered that nearly all of them had been infected.
• The Company Commander offered to evacuate Alvin, but Alvin insisted they continue toward the virus’s source; Alvin then began showing symptoms too.
• Alvin realized Ilya’s Blank aura had delayed his infection and told her to expand it as far as possible, weakening everyone nearby while suppressing the virus.
• The Company Commander sent Fifth Squad and other severely infected Dark Angels ahead to clear a path, while Reinhardt and the perimeter warriors shot comrades who became fully corrupted.
• Alvin, Ilya, and the surviving Dark Angels reached a decaying temple filled with rotting flesh and spores carrying viruses and plagues.