Chapter Summaries

Fulgrim tried to turn Alvin against the Emperor, but Alvin declared that humanity could only save itself. Guilliman covered Alvin’s words as Chaos sorcery and stopped Fulgrim from revealing what made Alvin special, while Fulgrim invited Alvin to meet him at a place Alvin seemed to recognize.

• Fulgrim accused the Emperor of using humanity and tried to make Alvin doubt him, but Alvin dismissed the accusation and said humanity itself had to be its own savior.
• Guilliman warned Alvin to stop speaking, then blamed his words on Fulgrim’s sorcery to protect him from political consequences.
• Fulgrim hinted that Alvin was special and began to reveal why, but Guilliman intervened and attacked him.
• Fulgrim told Alvin to meet him at a place Alvin seemed to know, then withdrew into purple mist as Guilliman drove him back.

After Fulgrim escaped, Guilliman explained why the Imperium could not commit its forces to conquering the Idolater System and ordered a push to rescue the Stone Fortress and Dragon Forest Star while destroying the remaining Chaos forces. The Chaos fleet began retreating after news of Abaddon’s death spread, and Alvin boosted Imperial morale on Dragon Forest Star with a provocative broadcast.

• Guilliman questioned Alvin about Fulgrim’s parting words, but Alvin said they both knew Guilliman could not answer his questions yet.
• Alvin recommended rescuing the Dark Angels and wiping out the remaining Chaos forces, and Guilliman explained that limited strength and the Indomitable Crusade’s priorities made a full conquest impractical.
• Guilliman ordered Companies Seven, Nine, and Eleven to purge Chaos forces, directed the fleet to encircle them, and sent forces toward the Stone Fortress and Dragon Forest Star.
• The Chaos fleet began abandoning its siege and preparing to flee after learning that Abaddon had been killed and the Vengeful Spirit sunk.
• Alvin broadcast that the Regent had arrived and Dragon Forest Star was at peace, raising Imperial morale; Guilliman then told him he would represent him when meeting the Lion King.

Guilliman’s fleet shattered the Chaos Legion’s formation and launched an assault on Dragon Forest Star, where the Ultramarines attacked the Khorne forces besieging the Dark Angels. Alvin followed Guilliman into the battle and was left running after the advancing Ultramarines as they fought through the daemon horde.

• Guilliman ordered the Imperial fleet to bombard the Chaos fleet, then left an escape route open so the enemy would flee rather than fight to the death.
• Guilliman took Alvin to Dragon Forest Star and ordered the Ultramarines to deploy assault pods to reclaim the planet.
• Guilliman brought Alvin in an assault pod and led the landing force into the daemon-infested battlefield.
• Guilliman directed the Ultramarines to attack the Khorne Daemon Engines threatening a Dark Angels stronghold, assigning the Terminators and several companies to coordinated strikes.
• The Ultramarines advanced through the daemon forces while Alvin struggled to keep up and worried about the danger of their landing site.

Alvin was caught in Guilliman’s charge into a Khorne army, where the Primarch carved through the enemy and used Alvin as bait to draw out Angron. Angron appeared and called out to Alvin, leaving him once again facing the daemon who had been pursuing him.

• Guilliman led his Honor Guard into the Khorne army and split a Chaos Dreadnought in two with the Emperor’s Sword.
• Guilliman and the Honor Guard fought through the crimson horde, rallying the Ultramarines as they pushed forward.
• Guilliman pointed out Alvin and challenged the Khorne forces to come for them, making Alvin realize he had been used as bait.
• Angron emerged through the battlefield and called out to Alvin.

Alvin tried to stop Guilliman from dueling Angron, but the Lord Regent insisted he was prepared and confronted the Daemon Prince. Their first clash left Guilliman badly outmatched, and Angron raised his axes for another attack.

• Alvin hurried to Guilliman and urged him to withdraw and wait for reinforcements rather than duel Angron.
• Guilliman refused, saying he had prepared for the fight, while the Honor Guard backed his judgment.
• Guilliman taunted Angron and challenged him, provoking Angron into a furious charge.
• Guilliman met Angron's twin axes with the Emperor's sword, and their clash blasted nearby warriors and melted the battlefield.
• Angron barely faltered while Guilliman's armor systems overloaded and he was forced backward, leaving him exposed to Angron's next attack.

Guilliman fought Angron while Alvin waited for an opening to intervene, and Angron’s growing strength began to overwhelm the Primarch. Guilliman revealed that he had lured Angron away from his Daemon Legion and summoned five Adeptus Custodes, leaving the battle poised to turn.

• Alvin watched Guilliman fend off Angron’s relentless attacks and secretly prepared Atropos to strike if an opening appeared.
• Angron’s blows grew stronger as his wounds healed, forcing Guilliman to struggle under the pressure of his attacks.
• Guilliman backed away and told Angron he had already lost because he had been drawn far from his Daemon Legion.
• Guilliman activated a Teleportation Beacon, and five golden figures emerged from the light as he revealed they were Adeptus Custodes.

Five Adeptus Custodes arrived to protect Guilliman and confronted Angron. Their coordinated assault wounded and suppressed the Daemon Prince, and Alvin cheered as they kept him under pressure.

• Five Custodians emerged from the Teleportation Beacon, astonishing Alvin and drawing Angron's attention.
• Angron charged toward Guilliman, but Karion intercepted him with a precise Guardian Spear thrust.
• Viktor struck Angron with his shield, letting Karion pierce his shoulder and suppress his bloodfire.
• Terrax wounded Angron's knee while Marcus and Celes fired on his armor's weak points.
• Angron fought back and tried to retreat, but the five Custodians closed in again as Alvin cheered them on.

Guilliman and the Custodians coordinated their attacks against Angron while Alvin used his psychic power to pin the Daemon Primarch down. Guilliman severed Angron’s neck with the Emperor’s sword, and Alvin struck at it with a black blade as Angron made a final charge.

• Guilliman baited Angron into attacking, and Viktor blocked the blow with his shield before Karion and Terrax struck Angron with a Guardian Spear and Power Halberd.
• Viktor held Angron’s axe in place despite his hand being torn, giving the Custodians and Guilliman time to wound Angron and drive him to one knee.
• Angron began forcing himself upright, but Alvin used psychic gravity to pin him down and give Guilliman an opening.
• Guilliman struck Angron with the Emperor’s sword, burning through his Chaos runes and cutting his neck as Angron broke free and threw the Custodians back.
• Angron charged Guilliman with his axes, but Guilliman forced him to defend while Alvin swept a black blade across Angron’s neck.

Alvin was thrust into a vision of the Nuceria arena, where he fought Angron and was killed after Angron overpowered him. In reality, Angron’s body erupted with Warp energy and Emperor’s fire, and Guilliman pulled Alvin free as the Daemon’s flesh consumed his arm.

• Alvin woke in chains and was forced into the Nuceria arena, where he recognized Angron as his opponent.
• Angron struck Alvin with a great axe, but Alvin counterattacked with a Chainaxe and wounded him.
• Angron’s strength surged, and he shattered Alvin’s weapon, destroyed the Executioner’s armor, and crushed its energy core.
• Alvin’s vision darkened as his soul was pulled away, while only a thousandth of a second passed in reality.
• Angron’s Daemon body erupted with crimson Warp energy and golden fire, swelling into a mass of flesh and metal.
• Guilliman pulled Alvin from the expanding mass, but the flesh swallowed the arm covered by his Armor of Fate.

Alvin’s attack from the past grievously wounded Angron, forcing the Blood God’s champion to retreat, while Viktor shielded Guilliman and Alvin from the resulting Warp storm. With the battle on Dragon Forest Star turning in the Imperium’s favor, Guilliman ordered the troops to finish off the remaining enemies, and Viktor asked to speak with Alvin alone.

• Guilliman pulled Alvin away from Angron’s spreading flesh, while Alvin struggled to explain that he had gone to Nuceria and nearly killed Angron before being stopped.
• Angron’s wounds destroyed his Daemon body, and a Warp storm erupted as he was banished from Realspace.
• Viktor shielded Guilliman and Alvin from the blast, leaving his armor and greatshield badly damaged but surviving.
• Guilliman assessed the Imperium’s victories and suspected that the Lion King had gone to the Stone Fortress to confront Vashtor over the Key.
• Guilliman ordered the troops to rally and eliminate the remaining enemies, while Viktor asked to speak with Alvin alone.

Guilliman’s plan had kept the Dragon Forest Star campaign limited, but Vashtor’s escape forced the Lion King to abandon his chance to kill Angron and protect the key instead. The Lion King confronted Vashtor at the Stone Fortress, while Khorne seethed in the Warp over his defeat and Vashtor’s betrayal.

• Guilliman and the Four Gods had kept the campaign focused on Khorne, whose defeat left him weakened after losing a Daemon Prince and a Daemon Primarch.
• Vashtor escaped the Stone Fortress after Abaddon’s death and the Chaos Legion’s rout ruined his plan to balance the opposing forces.
• The Lion King chose to return to the Stone Fortress with Dark Angels Terminators to protect the key rather than join the battle against Angron.
• The Lion King deflected Vashtor’s psychic attack and mocked him for expecting the Imperium to honor its promise.
• Khorne blamed Vashtor for helping Guilliman’s forces win and fixed his wrathful gaze on the Chaos Forge.

Three days after the Battle of Dragon Forest Star, Guilliman sealed a sanitized campaign report and refused Viktor's demand to meet Alvin without guarantees. He agreed after the Captain-General swore the meeting would protect Alvin's safety and freedom, leaving Guilliman reassured but unsettled that Alvin might matter more to the Emperor than he did.

• Guilliman sealed a campaign record that credited the Imperial forces with defeating Abaddon and wounding Angron, while keeping the full Dragon Forest Star data restricted.
• Viktor asked Guilliman for a private meeting with Alvin, but refused to explain why the Adeptus Custodes wanted to see him.
• Guilliman rejected Viktor's demand to meet Alvin under orders from Captain-General Taranis Valoris and invoked the support of Lion El'Jonson and Dante.
• Viktor swore that the meeting would not threaten Alvin's safety or freedom and said the Custodes only wanted to deliver a message.
• Guilliman agreed to the meeting and was reassured when Viktor said Alvin was, in some ways, more important than Guilliman to the Emperor.

Viktor Ktz, Lord Commander of the Imperial Guard, met Alvin Valshius to deliver the Imperium’s rewards for his service: the title of Imperial Duke and a Mars-class battleship with its crew. He then asked Alvin what he thought of the Emperor.

• Guilliman told Alvin that the Adeptus Custodes had requested a meeting, leaving Alvin worried that they knew about his secret Space Marine Chapter and Iron Man Legion.
• Viktor Ktz entered Alvin’s sickroom with four Custodes guarding the door and introduced himself as Lord Commander of the Imperial Guard.
• Viktor told Alvin that the Imperium would grant him the title of Imperial Duke for his service at Alert Star, the Baal System, Nomad Port, and Dragon Forest Star.
• Viktor revealed that the Martian Mechanicus had prepared a Mars-class battleship for Alvin and that the Imperium had supplied its crew and support personnel.
• Viktor asked Alvin what he thought of the Emperor.

Viktor confronted Alvin with records of his past actions and demanded his honest opinion of the Emperor. After Alvin called the Emperor a danger to humanity, Viktor assigned Terrax to protect him until he returned from Commorragh.

• Viktor read Alvin a long list of recorded remarks, dealings, and secrets, revealing that the Adeptus Custodes had watched him for years.
• Viktor explained that the Custodes' protection was meant to preserve Alvin's purity, not to interfere with his choices or guarantee his survival.
• Viktor asked Alvin for his genuine opinion of the Emperor and promised the Custodes would not pursue him for his answer.
• Alvin said the Emperor was not humanity's savior and was now as dangerous as the Chaos Gods.
• Viktor introduced Terrax, a Custodian who guarded the Emperor in the Throne Room, and assigned him to protect Alvin until his return from Commorragh.

Alvin was reminded of his mission to Commorragh and received a bodyguard and a secret item from the Adeptus Custodes. The rusted badge bore the ancient Chinese word “Unified,” leaving its meaning unclear.

• Alvin recalled that the Emperor had sent him to Commorragh to retrieve something that could relight the Astronomican.
• Viktor warned Alvin against heretical remarks and ordered Terrax Aurian to guard him as closely as the Golden Throne.
• Viktor gave Alvin a sealed letter from the Marshal of the Adeptus Custodes, saying its contents could help him escape Commorragh in a crisis.
• Alvin opened the envelope and found a corroded badge with a broken lightning-bolt design and the Chinese word “Unified” on its back.

Alvin recognized the ancient script on a medal and learned that it belonged to the Thunder Warriors, the legion that had fought to unify Terra. Viktor gave him an address and names in Commorragh that could help him escape, while warning him about the volatile people he might find there.

• Alvin panicked after finding two Chinese characters meaning “Unification” engraved on the medal.
• Viktor explained that the script came from a lost human civilization and asked how Alvin could read it, but then chose not to press him.
• Viktor told Alvin the medal was a relic of Terra’s past and gave him an address in Commorragh with five names to seek out.
• Viktor warned Alvin and Terrax not to travel together and cautioned Alvin against provoking the people at the address.
• Alvin connected the clues and guessed that the medal belonged to the Thunder Warriors, and Viktor confirmed it.

Alvin was visited by Guilliman and the Lion King, who clashed with Terrax over his orders to guard Alvin. The two Primarchs then asked Alvin what had happened to the Emperor.

• Guilliman entered Alvin's ward and ordered Terrax to leave, but Terrax refused because the Custodes Marshal had ordered him to protect Alvin.
• Alvin asked Terrax to wait outside, but Terrax again refused, citing Viktor's orders.
• The Lion King burst into the ward, overpowered Terrax, and threw him through the wall.
• The Lion King scolded Alvin for failing to command Terrax and mocked Guilliman for failing to handle him.
• The Lion King and Guilliman set aside their dispute and asked Alvin what had happened to the Emperor.

Alvin concealed his concerns about the Emperor’s condition while Guilliman and the Lion King considered what it meant for the Primarchs. After learning that Corax also had a Warp Essence ability, Guilliman promised to investigate, and the Lion King assigned Afkar and the Sons of the Forest to support Alvin’s mission to Commorragh.

• Alvin stayed silent about the Emperor’s condition, and Guilliman inferred that the news was troubling.
• The Lion King hinted at bringing back the Second Empire, but Guilliman cut him off and Alvin warned them that Adeptus Custodes were nearby.
• Guilliman asked Alvin about Corax, and Alvin confirmed that Corax could transform into shadow and ravens.
• Guilliman promised to investigate the cause of the Primarchs’ new abilities when he returned to Terra.
• The Lion King ordered Afkar and a force of the Sons of the Forest to follow Alvin to Commorragh and support the mission to relight the Astronomican.

Alvin agreed to travel to Commorragh to relight the Astronomican, then asked Guilliman about his missing Valshius Fleet. Guilliman revealed that every attempt to contact the fleet had failed, leaving Alvin worried about the people aboard and determined to act quickly.

• Guilliman urged Alvin to go to Commorragh and relight the Astronomican, and Alvin agreed.
• Alvin asked Guilliman for news of the Valshius Fleet and explained how long he had been unable to contact it.
• Guilliman said the Imperium had received no reply from the fleet despite sending repeated Warp transmissions.
• Guilliman suggested that the darkened Astronomican, Imperial turmoil, and Warp Storms could explain the lost communications.
• Alvin suspected the fleet had encountered danger and resolved to relight the Astronomican as soon as possible so he could find it.

After completing seven days of Ecclesiarchy Mass, Alvin discovered that Khorne’s Eightfold Blessing had spread and changed his body, including making him taller and stronger. He left the Glory of Macragge with Terrax to meet Anna and travel through the Webway toward Commorragh.

• Alvin endured seven days of Ecclesiarchy Mass to purify his mind and strengthen his resistance to the Warp.
• Alvin examined the expanding Eightfold Blessing tattoos and realized that his strength and durability had increased.
• Alvin discovered that he had grown to 1.9 meters, and Terrax told him that his growth was normal by human standards.
• Alvin told Terrax to inform the Primarchs that he was ready to leave, then explained to Guilliman and the Lion King that he needed to restart the Astronomican.
• Alvin and Terrax boarded a Thunderhawk, planning for Anna to join them through the Webway after they left the Glory of Macragge’s detection and weapon range.