Chapter Summaries

Alvin's five-world alliance stalled in its effort to create imitation Grey Knights because it could not crack the genetic sequence in their Gene Seed. Winnie arrived with a Grey Knights' Gene Seed container, giving Alvin a way forward, then knocked him into a wall when he called it her dowry.

• Alvin convened a meeting of the five worlds to coordinate research into creating imitation Grey Knights.
• The alliance combined the Engineers' genetic research, Carroll's materials, Biohazard's T-Virus, and the Transformers' Chaos illusion system, but could not decode the Grey Knights' Gene Seed.
• Alvin considered abandoning the project and forming a Psychic Power Librarian corps instead.
• Winnie visited Alvin and handed him a container holding Grey Knights' Gene Seed.
• Alvin called the Gene Seed Winnie's dowry, and Winnie sent him flying into a wall.

Alvin learned that the God-Emperor had given Winnie Grey Knights Gene Seed for him, preparing him to face a future threat to the Imperium. He decided to expand his forces and restore the legion structure, leaving the Astartes Codex behind.

• Alvin asked Winnie where she had obtained the Grey Knights Gene Seed, and she explained that the God-Emperor had given it to her on Alert Star.
• Winnie told Alvin that she had decided to hand over the Gene Seed because Penny said he needed the power to face dangers threatening the Imperium.
• Alvin feared the coming war and tried to return the Gene Seed, but Winnie promised to stay by his side and assured him she was strong.
• Alvin concluded that the God-Emperor had tacitly approved his expansion and declared that he would recruit soldiers and restore the Great Crusade-era legion structure.

Alvin recruited Odin’s help and proposed a way for Asgard to escape the World Tree’s curse by changing masters. The chapter ended with Alvin revealing his plan to Odin, who had not yet answered.

• Alvin oversaw the training of the Grey Knights, whose candidates learned anti-Chaos psychic arts, Aeldari runecraft, and combat skills.
• Alvin asked Odin to lend him Valhalla and offered cash instead of making another distant promise.
• Odin asked about the Tyranid hive ship Alvin had promised, and Alvin said he might encounter one in the near future but could not guarantee it.
• Alvin told Odin that Asgard could migrate to one of his worlds, though the World Tree remained the obstacle.
• Alvin suggested that Asgard’s curse was a soul-bound slave mark and asked Odin whether he would accept a new master.

Alvin tried to persuade Odin to bring Asgard under the Imperium, arguing that its people would be safer and freer under the Emperor despite constant war. Odin remained wary but began to consider the offer, and Alvin hinted that he had another potential patron suited to Asgardian warriors.

• Odin realized Alvin’s proposal could leave Asgard under his control after Odin died and demanded to know what Alvin was really proposing.
• Alvin urged Odin to join the Imperium, praising the Emperor and describing the Imperium’s wars and its refusal to enslave humanity.
• Odin questioned whether Asgardians counted as human, and Alvin said they were pure-blooded humans.
• Odin asked whether the Emperor could protect Asgard, and Alvin hinted that he could introduce another figure who would appeal to Asgardian warriors.

Alvin offered Odin the chance to join the Imperium, promising to respect whichever choice the God King made. He then negotiated to borrow Dwarven smiths to forge armor, leaving with Odin’s agreement to lend him a hundred.

• Odin recognized the Imperium’s vast strength but said he needed time to consider joining it.
• Alvin promised Odin that he would support either choice and honor his oath to Valshius.
• Alvin reflected on the Asgardians’ potential as warriors and the dangers of using Aggressive Raven Guard technology.
• Alvin asked Odin to lend him Dwarven smiths to forge armor from his Adamantium.
• Odin refused Alvin’s request for four or five hundred smiths, then quickly agreed to a hundred and outmaneuvered him in the bargain.

Alvin returned to his fleet after visiting Elsa and setting his preparations in order, then followed Edras’s route through a strange Warp node. Tzeentch’s Daemons attacked the fleet inside the nebula, but a raven-shaped shadow appeared amid the lightning.

• Alvin persuaded Odin to provide fifty additional Dwarven craftsmen, then left without visiting his teacher.
• Alvin visited Elsa on Paradise Star, promised to find a way to wake her, and left her flowers.
• Alvin returned to the fleet after its resources had been harvested and its preparations were complete, and the Valshius Fleet entered the Warp.
• Edras identified a distorted nebula as a node on their route and explained that a strange gate lay beyond it.
• Tzeentch’s Daemons attacked the Soul of Redemption and weakened its Gellar Field, until lightning and a huge raven-shaped shadow swept through them.

Alvin’s fleet was trapped by Tzeentch Daemons in a distorted Warp Nebula, where the Gellar Field faltered, the engines failed, and the Star Whisperers were killed. Alvin led Winnie, Hilda, Ilya, and Edras toward the engine room, only to find a Crystal Labyrinth inside the ship, leaving them caught in Tzeentch’s domain.

• Alvin ordered the invaded areas sealed and told the crew to defend the Gellar Field as Tzeentch Daemons attacked the warship.
• A Warp howl killed the Star Whisperers and corrupted the crew, leaving the fleet without navigation.
• The fleet lost power after Daemons invaded both engine rooms, and the Machine Spirit reported that the ship was trapped.
• Alvin armed himself and led Winnie, Hilda, Ilya, and Edras toward the engine room while Carroll remained behind to guard the upper decks.
• Alvin’s group reached the middle decks and found a vast Crystal Labyrinth that Edras identified as Tzeentch’s domain.

Alvin and his companions broke through Tzeentch’s Crystal Labyrinth and defeated the Chaos Sorcerer, but the sorcerer’s plan separated Alvin from the others. Alone in a vast labyrinth, Alvin faced Lorca, who revealed his hatred of the Emperor.

• Winnie explained that they needed to find the Greater Daemon controlling the labyrinth and destroy its Crystal Ball to escape.
• Alvin rejected the maze’s rules and led Winnie, Hilda, and Ilya through its walls by force.
• Alvin used a Blackstone spear made by the Void Dragon to impale the Chaos Sorcerer and disrupt the labyrinth.
• As the labyrinth began to disappear, the sorcerer’s plan triggered fractures in space that swallowed Alvin and separated him from the others.
• Alvin found himself alone on a vast labyrinth plateau and confronted a Chaos figure who identified himself through his hatred of the Emperor.
• Alvin recognized the figure as Lorca and called him a cowardly liar who had been deceived.

Alvin provoked Lorca by calling him a mad dog and accusing him of being a coward who would always serve greater power. Lorca brutally tortured Alvin in the Crystal Labyrinth, but Alvin kept taunting him and left Lorca raging.

• Lorca reacted furiously when Alvin called him a mad dog and unleashed Chaos power in the Crystal Labyrinth.
• Lorca showed Alvin the destruction of Monarchia and claimed the Emperor would abandon him, but Alvin called Lorca a cowardly failure.
• Lorca blasted Alvin into a wall and pierced his chest with his staff after Alvin said Lorca would have turned to Chaos even if Monarchia had survived.
• Alvin called Lorca a born dog who craved kneeling before greater power, and Lorca seized him and slammed him into the ground.
• Lorca tortured Alvin with his staff and demanded to know where the Emperor was, but Alvin mocked Lorca for longing for a father and offered to be his dad.

Alvin provoked Lorca and launched a desperate attack, but the Daemon Prince overwhelmed him. As Lorca prepared to finish him, a mysterious figure in Shadow Armor appeared and confronted him.

• Lorca unleashed his power and mocked Alvin, who used Khorne's protection to survive his injuries and bait him into lowering his guard.
• Alvin attacked Lorca with Atropos's Blade, then fired Plasma cannons through orange portals and transformed his armor into a high-energy cannon.
• Lorca dissolved Alvin's cannon blast with Psychic Power, tore through his armor, and pierced his chest with a demonic claw.
• Refusing Lorca's offer to submit to Chaos, Alvin realized he needed to escape to another world while badly injured.
• A tall figure in Shadow Armor appeared, called Lorca a mad dog, and told Alvin he would take over their fight.

Corvus Corax confronted Lorca, who taunted him about the Istvan V massacre, and attacked him in a fury. Corax tore off Lorca’s Chaos-blessed left arm, leaving the wounded Daemon Prince facing the King of Shadows.

• Corvus Corax appeared beside Alvin and confronted Lorca, whose fear showed that he recognized his former brother.
• Lorca taunted Corax about the massacre at Istvan V and the deaths of the Raven Guard.
• Corax turned into a flock of ravens and slipped through Lorca’s rain of cursed flames to reach him.
• Corax cut through Lorca’s psychic assault and ripped off his left arm.
• Lorca blasted Corax away, while Corax held the severed arm and dismissed Lorca’s Chaos-given power.

Kor'vash fought Lorca while Alvin taunted the Daemon Prince and stole his severed arm. When Tzeentch opened a Warp Rift and summoned a Daemon Legion, Kor'vash sent Alvin away and prepared to pursue Lorca.

• Kor'vash tore off Lorca's arm, and Alvin mocked Lorca for failing to defeat his brother even after becoming a Daemon Prince.
• Alvin hid Lorca's severed arm in his Personal Space, enraging him, while Kor'vash shielded Alvin and attacked Lorca.
• Kor'vash and Lorca traded psychic attacks and tricks before Kor'vash broke Lorca's spine and tore off one of his wings.
• An unseen force struck Kor'vash as he prepared to kill Lorca, and Tzeentch opened a Warp Rift as a Daemon Legion emerged.
• Kor'vash sent Alvin away through a patch of shadow, then confronted Lorca and vowed to kill him and avenge his children.

After falling into the shadows, Alvin dreamed that he met the suffering Emperor on Terra and questioned why he had been chosen. A strange vision showed an Emperor restored to life and Primarchs entrusting someone with a sword before Alvin awoke in a ruined house, unsure where he was.

• Alvin crashed to the ground after falling through the shadows, worsening his injuries until he lost consciousness.
• Alvin dreamed he entered the Imperial Palace and saw the Emperor bound to the Golden Throne as a withered skeleton.
• Alvin asked the Emperor what he wanted him to do, but the silent figure gave no answer.
• A shard of consciousness showed Alvin a vision of the galaxy at war, assembled forces and Primarchs, and a living Emperor handing a sword to someone.
• The Primarchs told the sword-bearer it was his turn, and Alvin woke in a dilapidated house, baffled by his surroundings.

Alvin woke in a dilapidated hut on an unfamiliar world, where a guarded Space Marine had rescued him and told him to leave. After spotting the winged-sword insignia on the man's armor, Alvin recognized him as a Fallen Angel.

• Alvin woke in a shack, removed moldy bandages, and found that his weapons and most of his belongings were missing.
• Alvin emerged and found a group of despondent people gathered around a pot of food, but they ignored his questions.
• A scarred, armored Space Marine named Kamas returned with a dead Beast, gave Alvin food, and told him to leave for the Hive City.
• Alvin noticed the insignia on Kamas's armor and identified him as a Fallen Angel.

Alvin confronted the Fallen Angel who had rescued him, but learned that the man had no intention of killing him and had saved him after a miraculous series of missed shots led him to Alvin. The Fallen Angel asked Alvin to protect the hidden tribe, then revealed his name: Zabriel.

• Alvin waited for the Fallen Angel to attack after exposing his identity, but the man calmly finished preparing Beast meat and brought him soup.
• The Fallen Angel explained that he had found Alvin after a Kzalo repeatedly dodged his arrows and led him through the forest.
• He said he had spared Alvin because Alvin was a dangerous Psyker and a fight could expose the tribe he had long protected.
• The Fallen Angel described his hopes for redemption and asked Alvin to keep the tribe's existence hidden before he left to await his brothers.
• Alvin asked the Fallen Angel's name, and the man identified himself as Zabriel.

Alvin realized Zabriel was the Dark Angel from the story of the Lion King's return just as Lion El'Jonson appeared at the tribe. Zabriel fired on the Lion King, who struck him down and then sent Alvin flying, leaving Alvin stunned by the Primarch's overwhelming strength.

• Zabriel warned Alvin that Planetary Defense Force troops with heavy equipment meant the tribe would need to move, and he planned to scout for a new place to settle.
• Zabriel and Alvin saw Lion El'Jonson arrive, and Zabriel recognized his former Gene-Father.
• Alvin realized that Zabriel was the Dark Angel whose story he remembered from the Lion King's return.
• Zabriel fired a Bolter at the Lion King, who dodged the shell and knocked Zabriel through the trees with a punch.
• The Lion King turned on Alvin, shattered his psychic barriers, and punched him more than ten meters into the ruins.

The newly awakened Lion El'Jonson attacked Alvin and Zabriel, mistaking them for enemies, and overwhelmed them within seconds. Alvin stopped the Lion King from striking again by invoking Guilliman and the mission of the Second Empire, but the Lion King demanded proof.

• The Lion King assessed Alvin as a dangerous Psyker and charged at him.
• Alvin blocked the Lion King's attack with Atropos's Blade, but the impact injured him and sent him stumbling back.
• The Lion King knocked Alvin's strike aside and fired Bolter shells at him while Zabriel intervened and was kicked away.
• Alvin and Zabriel were both overwhelmed within seconds, leaving Alvin unable to explain himself during the fight.
• Alvin shouted that Guilliman had sent him to find the Lion King, who stopped his fist and demanded proof.

Alvin tried to stop the Lion from killing Zabriel by showing proof of his loyalties and arguing that the events on Caliban had been misunderstood. The Lion agreed to hear Zabriel’s explanation, leaving their conflict unresolved.

• Alvin showed the Lion medals and Guilliman's document, convincing him that Alvin was not a Chaos agent.
• The Lion accused Zabriel of treason, and Zabriel insisted that the Lion had abandoned them and destroyed Caliban without hearing their side.
• Alvin stepped between them and pleaded with the Lion to spare Zabriel and listen to an explanation of what happened on Caliban.
• The tribal inhabitants returned and defended Zabriel, telling the Lion that he had protected them from Chaos.
• The Lion relented and asked Zabriel to clearly explain what had happened, forgiving his attack for the moment.

The Lion King questioned Zabriel about the destruction of Caliban, learning that many Dark Angels had been drawn into the civil war without knowing why. After Alvin admitted he had used the Lion King’s promised return to win over Ollsen’s Fallen Angels, the Lion King ordered Alvin to gather the scattered Fallen Angels in his name.

• The Lion King asked Zabriel what had happened on Caliban, and Zabriel explained that Luther had ordered the Dark Angels to assemble before the fleet attacked his company.
• Zabriel said the fleet’s identifying signal came from the Lion King’s flagship, and that the fighting and Caliban’s destruction scattered the surviving Dark Angels through the Warp.
• Zabriel asked whether the Lion King had regarded all the Dark Angels who followed Luther as traitors, and the Lion King stayed silent as he considered how many had been innocent victims.
• Alvin told the Lion King and Zabriel that Ollsen, a former Dark Angel, still led a Chapter of Fallen Angels and that Alvin had sheltered them.
• Alvin admitted he had promised the Fallen Angels that the Lion King would return and absolve them, and the Lion King ordered him to gather the scattered Fallen Angels in his name.

The Lion forgave Zabriel and declared that the Fallen Angels would become the Sons of the Forest, separate from the Stone Fortress. He appointed Alvin Grand Master and First Watch Knight, leaving him responsible for leading and disciplining the former Fallen Angels.

• Alvin protested being tasked with gathering the Fallen Angels, but agreed after the Lion threatened to train him personally.
• The Lion questioned Zabriel about his purpose and made him recite the Calibanite oaths.
• Zabriel admitted that firing on the Lion was rebellion and accepted what he expected to be his execution.
• The Lion performed Caliban’s knighting ritual on Zabriel’s shoulders and forgave him, telling him to fight Chaos and redeem the past with Daemon blood.
• The Lion named the Fallen Angels the Sons of the Forest, separate from the Stone Fortress, and appointed Alvin their temporary Grand Master and First Watch Knight.