Chapter Summaries

Alvin and the defenders fought to hold a Forge Factory against Khorne’s daemons while Aruman struggled to restore communications. Their hope for rescue faltered when a Chaos strike cruiser emerged from the Warp Rift and deployed Chaos Astartes.

• Tucker told Alvin that the Astartes might have killed him if he had not been a Valshius, then urged him to fight.
• Alvin and Tucker defended the factory as Alvin shot down daemons and destroyed Flesh Hounds with a grenade.
• Alvin watched Heralds of Khorne battle the Astartes and learned that Aruman was repairing communications to summon a Conqueror-class Cruiser.
• Lyon questioned Aruman about the repairs as a huge Warp disturbance formed inside the rift.
• A Chaos strike cruiser emerged from the Warp Rift and sent Chaos Astartes onto the battlefield.
• Lyon ordered flare signals to request aid, while Alvin feared the battle had become more than he could handle.

Lyon and the Watcher Chapter defended the factory after the World Eaters landed in overwhelming numbers, while Alvin decided to summon the Key of Covenant. The chapter ended with Alvin asking where he could find enough energy to pay the transfer cost.

• The World Eaters launched hundreds of drop pods and deployed several companies of Chaos Astartes against the forward positions.
• Lyon ordered his squads to fortify the factory perimeter and repair communications while the strike cruiser rose toward orbit.
• Lyon had the factory's melta cannons and other heavy weapons restored so the defenders could attack the World Eaters at range.
• Tuck and Alvin retreated into the factory with the mortal auxiliaries and fired its repaired weapons at the attackers.
• Alvin ordered the System to reveal the cost of transferring the Key of Covenant, learned it required 30,000 energy units, and asked Tuck where to find that much energy.

Alvin absorbed energy from the Forge Factory’s reactors and summoned the Key of Covenant, an alien battleship, to devastate the Chaos forces. After an orbital macro-cannon strike crippled the ship, he steered it into the enemy ranks as it fell.

• Alvin found evidence that someone had sabotaged the Forge Factory before the unrest, then absorbed energy from its damaged reactors.
• Alvin activated stealth mode, flew into the clouds, and summoned the Key of Covenant from the Xenomorph Universe.
• Alvin fired the battleship’s cannons at the Chaos Astartes, daemons, and cultists, wiping out dozens and clearing a large area.
• A World Eaters strike cruiser hit the Key of Covenant with a macro-cannon barrage and severely damaged it.
• Alvin drove the falling battleship into the Chaos forces.

Alvin destroyed a large part of the Chaos forces on Losel by crashing a xenos warship into them, easing the defenders’ pressure. Blood Skull Warband leader Piazzas then ordered a boarding action against the Watchers’ strike cruiser to recover from his losses.

• Alvin slipped into the Xenomorph Universe before the warship exploded and returned to find the Chaos forces devastated.
• Lyon called the xenos warship’s attack the Emperor’s blessing and rallied the defenders.
• Tuck suspected Alvin had caused the explosion.
• Piazzas learned that the warship had wiped out more than half of the Chaos Astartes deployed on Losel.
• Piazzas ordered his remaining warriors to board the Watchers’ strike cruiser and attack.

Albert learned that the Blood Skull Warband was on Losel Planet and led the Space Wolves aboard their cruiser to attack. He reached the command room and confronted Piazzas, who was left stunned by the sudden boarding assault.

• Albert received intelligence that Horn Valshius was on Losel Planet, where the Ultramarines, Chaos forces, and Blood Skull Warband were also present.
• Albert ordered the Fang of the Frost Wolf to accelerate and ram the Blood Skull cruiser while its crew focused on the Ultramarines.
• Albert and the Chapter Serf charged through the enemy ship, killing Chaos Astartes as they fought their way toward the command room.
• Albert breached the command room and challenged Piazzas to face him alone or fight together.

Albert Amos, Company Commander of the Fang of the Frost Wolves, accepted Piazzas Culls’s challenge and brutally defeated him. When the Chaos Canisters tried to intervene, the Chapter Serf blocked them and revealed his own golden nails as he prepared to fight.

• Piazzas Culls challenged Albert Amos to a contest of honor and courage, and Albert accepted without taking his Power hammer.
• Albert blocked Piazzas’s Chainaxe strike with his Adamantium shield, dodged another blow, and battered Piazzas into submission.
• The Chaos Canisters rushed to help their leader, but the Chapter Serf stopped them from interrupting Albert.
• The Chapter Serf beat one Chaos Canister with his Priest’s staff, removed his helmet to reveal three gold nails, and threatened the World Eaters.

Andrea negotiated with Raimon for the Fang of the Frost Wolves to receive one-third of the mission’s spoils in exchange for joining the fighting on Losell. After Albert killed Piazzas and secured the Chaos ship, he prepared to lead an orbital drop against the heretics in the Upper-hive.

• Albert fought Piazzas, who broke free after being pinned down and forced Albert to resume the battle in earnest.
• Andrea received a communication from Raimon and demanded a share of the spoils for the Fang of the Frost Wolves’ intervention.
• Raimon agreed to give Andrea one-third of the profits if his Chapter joined the mission on Losell.
• Andrea reported that the Space Wolves had captured the Chaos ship’s engine room, weapons, and storage areas.
• Albert crushed Piazzas with his Power claw and ordered his bodyguard squad to prepare for an orbital drop into the Upper-hive.

Garken’s plan faltered as Rosales abandoned him and chose to work with Alvin instead. Rosales offered Alvin help in exchange for learning about the Necrons, leaving their uneasy partnership poised to continue.

• Garken grew anxious when the Astartes stabilized the battle and Rosales failed to answer his messages.
• Rosales told Garken that he was ending their partnership because he had found a more suitable collaborator.
• Rosales met Alvin in a hidden workshop and agreed to work with him after discovering Alvin’s knowledge of the Necrons and unfamiliar technology.
• Alvin teased Rosales with a partial account of Necron history, making the Grand Sage eager to keep him alive and learn more.
• Rosales offered Alvin help and proposed a long-term partnership, which Alvin cautiously accepted.

Alvin accepted Rosales’s offer of cooperation and followed a Servitor Skull to a hidden arsenal inside the Forge Factory. There, he discovered that Rosales had left him a suit of Armor of Vows and an Executioner Greatsword, leaving him unsure whether to wear armor associated with the Sisters of Silence.

• Alvin agreed to contact Rosales after the crisis and accepted his Miniature Communicator, hiding it in his Personal Space.
• Rosales vanished into the Forge Factory, and the Servitor Skull verified Alvin’s identity and led him to a sealed room.
• Alvin entered a vast arsenal stocked with Astra Militarum weapons, vehicles, Earthshaker Cannons, Basilisks, and a Sentinel Mech.
• The Servitor Skull led Alvin through a hidden door to a concealed chamber containing the Armor of Vows and an Executioner Greatsword.
• Alvin inspected the items and hesitated over wearing armor associated with the Sisters of Silence.

Alvin recovered heavy weapons from a warehouse, allowing the defenders to turn the battle against Chaos with a barrage of artillery. He then warned Lyon and Tuck that Garken Hadley had caused the chaos in Losel Hive and needed to be killed.

• Alvin stored the Armor of Vows and Executioner's Sword in his Personal Space, then returned to the front lines.
• Alvin told Lyon about the weapons and equipment in the warehouse, and Lyon sent Emond's squad to retrieve them.
• The defenders used the recovered artillery and ammunition to bombard the Chaos forces, inflicting heavy casualties.
• A Chaos Canister commander requested reinforcements and worried over the Blood God's order to capture Alvin alive.
• Alvin told Lyon and Tuck that Garken Hadley had caused the chaos in Losel Hive and urged them to kill him before worse disasters occurred.

Albert approved Butzwig’s request to join the assault and worried about what would happen to his body after death. Meanwhile, Garken received a transformation from Tzeentch, but Alvin and the Astartes arrived and attacked him.

• Andrea told Albert that Butzwig wanted to join the battle and threatened to subject him to Fenris’s ancient customs if refused.
• Albert approved Butzwig’s request and arranged for twenty Space Wolves, including himself and Andrea, to launch a Drop Pod assault on the enemy’s core position.
• Rosales ended his partnership with Garken, leaving Garken enraged over losing control of the Daemon Engine and the Chaos forces’ defeat.
• Garken destroyed the Emperor statue and received power from the Lord of Change, transforming into a feathered beast.
• Alvin entered the sanctuary with several Astartes, blasted Garken with a Plasma Gun, and ordered a Terminator to attack him.

Alvin joined the Watchers’ assault on Garken, who was overwhelmed and beaten despite Tzeentch’s blessings. Just as the Astartes began to finish him, a powerful daemon appeared behind Alvin and recognized him.

• Alvin insisted on joining Lyon’s decapitation mission so he could witness Garken’s death.
• Garken recognized Alvin and attacked the Watchers with Warp fire, but the Terminator blocked it with his shield.
• The Watchers used coordinated bolter fire, grenades, and a plasma pistol to disable Garken, while the Terminator repeatedly struck him.
• Garken pleaded to Tzeentch, and a burst of magical power knocked the Astartes away from him.
• A nearly three-meter daemon with two eagle heads appeared behind Alvin and addressed him as Alvin Valshius.

A Greater Daemon of Tzeentch appeared in the cathedral and targeted Alvin Valshius instead of Garken, who learned that Tzeentch had dismissed his schemes. Despite the Terminator’s attempt to rescue him, the daemon knocked Alvin unconscious and carried him through the Warp Rift toward the Crystal Labyrinth.

• The Greater Daemon of Tzeentch summoned fallen Thousand Sons to block the Astartes while it dragged Alvin away.
• The daemon dismissed Garken’s conspiracy as laughable and revealed that Tzeentch had ordered it to bring Alvin to the Crystal Labyrinth to meet the Lord of Change.
• Alvin refused the offer to become a Daemon Prince and drew his Executioner Greatsword, but the daemon bound him with psychic power.
• The Terminator fought through the Thousand Sons and struck the daemon, but it blasted him away before he could reach Alvin.
• The Greater Daemon of Tzeentch knocked Alvin unconscious, seized him, and carried him through the Warp Rift as the Terminator roared in fury.

After Tzeentch's Greater Daemon took Alvin Valshius into the Warp, Tarlos and the remaining Astartes fought to keep the rift open while Garken escaped. Albert and the Space Wolves arrived, and Albert prepared to enter the Warp with Butzwig to retrieve Alvin.

• Garken fled as the Astartes abandoned their pursuit to help Tarlos hold open the collapsing Warp Rift.
• Tarlos endured the rift's crushing pressure while the Astartes fought the Thousand Sons and called for reinforcements.
• A drop pod crashed into the shrine, bringing Albert and Andrea with the Space Wolves to reinforce the loyalists.
• The squad commander told Albert that Alvin had vanished into the Warp two minutes and thirty-seven seconds earlier.
• Albert decided they had to retrieve Alvin, and ordered the Teleportation Beacon deployed as Butzwig was sent out.

Albert and the Space Wolves entered the Warp Rift to fight a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch, following a golden flame to a battle already underway. They found a Living Saint holding the daemon at bay, and Butzwig charged in to help.

• A Sacred Dreadnought descended, and Butzwig crushed and cleaved through most of the Thousand Sons Chaos Canisters.
• Albert assembled the Astartes, including two Terminators, and led them into the Warp Rift while the Chapter Librarian maintained the passage.
• The group followed a golden flame through the Warp and found psychic blasts battering the Astartes.
• Butzwig shielded the group as they advanced toward the fighting.
• Albert recognized a Living Saint battling a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch and sent Butzwig to join the fight.

Butzwig piloted the Sacred Dreadnought against the Greater Daemon of Tzeentch, while Winnie helped free Alvin from its grasp. After interrupting the daemon’s attempted escape, Butzwig tore off both of its heads, leaving Albert and the Space Wolves stunned.

• Butzwig charged the Greater Daemon of Tzeentch, whose psychic magic blocked his axe strike and blasted the Sacred Dreadnought.
• Winnie cut off the daemon’s arm with her Emperor-empowered blade, forcing it to release Alvin and attempt to summon a Warp passage.
• Butzwig fired the Dreadnought’s cannons into the daemon, disrupting its summoning ritual and charging through its psychic flames.
• Butzwig battered the daemon with his fist and shield, crushing its arm and smashing its face while venting his anger.
• Butzwig pinned the daemon down and tore off both of its heads as Albert and the Space Wolves watched.

After the Greater Daemon of Tzeentch struck Alvin with a final spell, Winnie entrusted him to Butzwig and Albert before heading into the Warp toward the near future. Alvin dreamed of the four Chaos Gods and the Master of Mankind, then woke to Horn claiming to be his grandfather.

• The dying Greater Daemon of Tzeentch pierced Alvin's heart with Psykana Flame, but Winnie assured Butzwig that the Emperor was protecting the boy.
• Winnie told Butzwig and Albert to keep Alvin's identity and her existence secret, then departed into the Warp to save Alvin in the near future.
• Butzwig ordered Albert to carry Alvin back safely and advised him to stay in contact with the boy.
• Alvin dreamed of passing through the domains of Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle, and Slaanesh before seeing the Golden Throne and the Master of Mankind.
• Alvin woke to Horn staring at him, and Horn fervently declared that he was Alvin's grandfather.

After waking from the Warp, Alvin learned that Horn Valshius was his grandfather and prepared to meet the nobles gathered at the palace. Horn publicly named Alvin the next heir to the Valshius Merchant Dynasty, leaving him stunned by his sudden rise from Underhive scavenger to noble successor.

• Alvin embraced Horn after learning he was his grandfather, and Horn promised to raise him as a proper nobleman.
• Alvin kept his strange nightmare to himself, recovered, and dressed with the help of two maids.
• Horn told Alvin he had been unconscious for fifteen days and dismissed his questions about the cultists and Planetary Governor Garken.
• Horn brought Alvin before Imperial officials, nobles, Ecclesiarchy cardinals, a Mechanicus Grand Sage, and Astartes commanders.
• Horn announced that blood records confirmed Alvin's Valshius descent and declared him heir to the Merchant Dynasty of Valshius.

Alvin was ceremonially recognized as the heir to the ancient Valshius Merchant Dynasty and met several powerful allies, including Inquisitor Charles Gransol. The banquet ended in an assassination attempt when a Blank attacker lunged at Alvin and drove a dagger into his chest.

• Horn pushed Alvin forward, and Imperial officials confirmed his Valshius bloodline and presented the dynasty’s ancient Trade Charter.
• The Ecclesiarchy, Adeptus Mechanicus, and Astartes honored Alvin with blessings, gifts, and offers of support.
• Alvin befriended Kalon, who regretted arriving in Losel after the cultists had already been defeated.
• Charles Gransol asked Alvin about his disciple Winnie Winslet and was relieved to learn she had survived their encounter in the Warp.
• Gransol recognized a disguised assassin and shoved Alvin aside, but the Blank attacker evaded his shots and stabbed Alvin in the chest with a kinetic-field dagger.

At his inheritance banquet, Alvin Valshius survived an assassin’s attack because he had secretly worn the Sisters of Silence’s Armor of Vows, then killed the attacker with his Plasma Gun. Horn blamed Chaos heretics for the attempt and ended the banquet early.

• An assassin struck Alvin Valshius with a kinetic-field dagger and sent him crashing into a pillar, but the Armor of Vows stopped the blade from piercing his chest.
• Horn ordered the assassin killed, and Albert and Raimon charged as the attacker evaded them and rushed Alvin again.
• The assassin’s soulless field overwhelmed Alvin until Gransol intercepted the attacker with a precise bolt and Albert forced him away.
• Alvin recovered enough to fire his Plasma Gun and melt the assassin with one shot.
• The Ecclesiarchy cardinal and a Ministry of Internal Affairs official blamed Chaos heretics, and Horn accepted that explanation before ending the banquet early to take Alvin away to rest.