Recaps

Valgull and Amalaga discussed the gathered sacrifices and the coming ritual before Amalaga explored Valgull’s collection and discovered imprisoned Space Marines. Amalaga recognized Fabius Bile and pulled him from the prison, while a final note complained about Roboute Guilliman wanting new equipment.

• Valgull agreed with Amalaga that three Aeldari Craftworlds, Commorragh survivors, and the sector’s living creatures could provide enough sacrifices to restart the ritual.
• Amalaga explored Valgull’s underground collection of preserved creatures, including extinct Rangdan species and their master, Sloth.
• Amalaga entered a strange, silent room and found ancient Space Marines, including a weakened Fabius Bile.
• Amalaga identified himself to Fabius Bile and pulled him out of the prison.
• The chapter ended with a complaint about Roboute Guilliman wanting new equipment.

Perturabo restored Howens IV’s factories and appointed a new factory owner to carry out his production plans. He then began turning ten thousand conscripts into Space Marines, instructing the Carcharodons Apothecaries to train recruits as their apprentices and implant his gene-seed.

• Perturabo selected a replacement for Ranko and gave him a book of production targets, factory plans, and worker benefits to implement.
• Perturabo ordered the new factory owner to lose weight, and the man vowed to complete the mission.
• Bashar told Perturabo that ten thousand strong men had been selected and Hope had completed their mental training.
• Perturabo demonstrated gene-seed implantation to the Carcharodons Apothecaries and gave them several hundred gene-seed to use.
• Perturabo ordered the recruits made into Apothecaries and told the Carcharodons to call them apprentices to sidestep the Codex limits.

Yvraine asked Trazyn to help find the missing craftworlds Biel-Tan and Iyanden, and Trazyn contacted the Executioner Dynasty for information. Rotaros promised to handle the situation, then went to confront Illuminor Szeras, who was dissecting Aeldari test subjects.

• Perturabo joined the meeting and asked Lin Fan how many xenos allies remained; Lin Fan mentioned the T'au Empire was under Imperial control.
• Yvraine asked Trazyn for help finding Biel-Tan and Iyanden, and Trazyn used a fake magical tracker to buy time while contacting Rotaros.
• Rotaros recognized Lin Fan as Subjective One and warned that Szeras had already dissected half the population of both craftworlds.
• Rotaros promised Trazyn he would settle the matter, then argued with him about the Dynasty Network ringtone before ending the call.
• Rotaros reported to Phaeron Inamars that the music had been changed, then teleported to Szeras's laboratory and found him dismantling an Aeldari test subject.

Rotaros ordered Szeras to halt his experiments on the Aeldari and release them because the Subjective One had taken an interest. Szeras reluctantly agreed to repair the survivors, while the chapter ended with a strange list of loved ones and a declaration to leave Konrad Curze.

• Szeras showed Rotaros his experiments on living Aeldari and began operating on a group of captives.
• Szeras tortured an Aeldari male by showing him his disassembled wife and telling him their unborn child had been pulped.
• Rotaros ordered Szeras to stop the surgeries and free the Aeldari, citing the Subjective One's interest as relayed by Trazyn.
• Szeras resisted, but Rotaros stood his ground and left after delivering the message.
• Szeras accidentally shattered an Aeldari girl in a fit of anger, then repaired her and ordered his biomancers to restore the captives' bodies and minds.
• The narrator found a list of people who loved them and decided to leave Konrad Curze.

As Trazyn guided the fleet toward the other arks, Lin Fan worked in Perturabo’s workshop while the Carcharodons and Lamenters rebuilt their strength. Bashar contacted the Carcharodons’ Chapter Master as the fleet neared their territory, and Tyberos received his urgent message aboard the Nicol.

• Trazyn received Rotaros’s reply, told Yvraine he had found the other arks, and led the fleet along a longer route to give Szeras time to restore the Aeldari crime scene.
• Perturabo kept Lin Fan working in his workshop, where Lin Fan shaped metal components and asked about the supplies given to Bashar and the Lamenters.
• Bashar visited Perturabo and Lin Fan, and Perturabo ordered him to contact the Carcharodons’ Chapter Master and gather everyone available for training.
• Bashar reported that Perturabo’s supplies had allowed the Carcharodons to expand their 3rd Company from just over seventy warriors to three hundred and resume training recruits outside combat.
• Bashar ordered an encrypted message sent toward the Carcharodons’ fleet, and Tyberos received the urgent message aboard the Nicol.

Tyberos learned that his 3rd Company was carrying out a sacred mission with the Aeldari and went to Jaghatai for guidance. Jaghatai warned him to control his bloodlust and reflected on the Carcharodons’ origins and Corax’s ideals.

• Tyberos received Bashar’s report about the ships and learned that his 3rd Company had received a revelation from The Emperor and was working with the Aeldari.
• Tyberos boarded a neighboring fleet’s flagship, ignored Raines, and encountered the Aeldari Yilafren, who teased him and asked for a high-five.
• Tyberos told Jaghatai about the 3rd Company’s mission, and Jaghatai suspected they were with the Ynnari.
• Jaghatai warned Tyberos not to let anger and bloodlust rule him, reminding him that Yilafren was a friend who had met The Emperor.
• Jaghatai considered why the Carcharodons fought in the Ghoul Stars and recalled Corax’s commitment to ordinary people and resistance against oppression.

Jaghatai explained why Corax exiled the Raven Guard’s Terran-born warriors and told Yilafren about the Carcharodons and Ashen Claws. The chapter ended with the Ashen Claws’ declaration that they would no longer serve the Imperium.

• Jaghatai reflected that Corax had sent the Carcharodons’ Terran-born ancestors to the edge of the galaxy as an endless penitent crusade because he despised their brutal methods.
• Nethanev asked Jaghatai why he had spared the Carcharodons at Atagatis, and Jaghatai said their loyalty to humanity mattered more to him than loyalty to the Imperium.
• Yilafren asked Jaghatai to tell her a story, so he began recounting the Raven Guard’s exiled Terran-born warriors and the Ashen Claws’ history.
• Jaghatai explained that the Ashen Claws were renegades descended from the Raven Guard, but remained uncorrupted and survived in the remote Ghoul Stars with substantial equipment and ships.
• Jaghatai read aloud the Ashen Claws’ declaration that they would no longer submit to Corax, serve a traitor Warmaster, or remain bound to the Imperium.

Jaghatai Khan’s memories revealed how he took control of the Ashen Claws and persuaded them to aid the suffering across the cosmos without returning to the Imperium. He accepted their conditions, leaving their future alliance outside the Imperium’s authority.

• Jaghatai knocked Yilafren unconscious after she questioned his account of the Ashen Claws, then recalled finding their flagship while searching the Ghoul Stars for Fulgrim.
• Jaghatai defeated the Ashen Claws’ warriors and repeatedly stopped those who tried to leave, until Nethanev asked Tyberos and the Carcharodons to help drive him away.
• On Atagatis, Jaghatai outmaneuvered the Carcharodons’ Dreadnoughts and the Ashen Claws’ Terminators, and veteran warriors recognized him as the Eagle of Chogoris.
• Jaghatai conveyed The Emperor’s will and asked the Ashen Claws to help save lives, while approving their refusal to fight for the Imperium or The Emperor.
• Nethanev and the Ashen Claws agreed to help on three conditions, including that they would never return to the Imperium.

Jaghatai reflected on the Imperium’s cruelty while searching for Fulgrim, as his fleet sailed to reunite with Lin Fan’s. On the cemetery world Saint Codgas, Celes discussed the dangers of extreme devotion with Roka and condemned the corpse-worshippers’ sacrifices.

• Jaghatai considered the suffering he had witnessed in the Ghoul Stars, placed Yilafren in bed, and reviewed his clues about Fulgrim.
• Lin Fan’s fleet and Jaghatai’s fleet traveled toward a rendezvous point to merge.
• The chapter described Saint Codgas, where tombs honored the Imperium’s dead and the living served the Martyr Church underground.
• Celes told Roka that she had chosen her as archbishop partly because fanatics could take their loyalty to dangerous extremes.
• Celes condemned corpse-worshippers who sacrificed living people in the belief that their offerings would free the God-Emperor from the Throne.

After destroying the Corpse-Worship Cult and the Necrons hidden beneath Martyr's Church, Celes received the Canoness and Sister Superior of the Order of the Bloody Rose. Sister Superior Anlens became so overwhelmed by Celes's presence that she nearly fainted, and Celes revived her.

• Celes reflected that the Corpse-Worship Cult might have planned to use Khorne's daemons to purge Cemetery World, but she had already eradicated the cult and destroyed the Necrons in the church.
• The Canoness and Sister Superior entered Celes's room, knelt before her, and called her a Saint.
• The Canoness reported that the Adepta Sororitas had eliminated the traitors and fired their ashes into the void.
• Sister Superior Anlens became overwhelmed by fervor as she tried to speak to Celes and nearly fainted.
• Celes caught Anlens and revived her with golden light, then reassured her that she had nothing to atone for.

After Celes appointed Roka bishop, he handled the church’s administrative work while wondering whether she suspected his true identity. The arrival of ships brought familiar Warp presences into view, including a chained fortress and an ink-formed motorcycle.

• Celes told Sister Superior Anlens to brief Bishop Roka, who approved the Carcharodons Chapter’s request to resupply at Saint Codgas.
• After leaving Celes, Anlens accepted Sister Superior Mawen’s promised punishment, while Mawen privately cherished the hand Celes had touched.
• Celes left Roka a stack of documents and flew off to check on the children; Roka continued the administrative work and wondered if Celes was testing him.
• Roka recalled that Celes searched his soul each night and questioned what he should do on the planet.
• Roka sensed a familiar presence as ships descended, then saw Warp visions of distant Aeldari and two vast shadows among the human ships.

Roka was captured by Drukhari, but Celes and the Battle Sisters intervened, only for a powerful attacker to arrive and fight Celes. Roka remained unsure which side Tzeentch expected him to help.

• Tzeentch instructed Roka to blend into the group, and Roka sat down to handle paperwork.
• Drukhari warriors paralyzed Roka and tried to drag him through a rift, but Battle Sisters stormed in to stop them.
• Celes arrived, killed the Drukhari warriors, and burned away their rift.
• An attacker ambushed Celes, wounded her, and killed the Battle Sisters who tried to help.
• Celes fought the attacker while Roka wondered whether Tzeentch wanted him to aid her or the Drukhari.

Roka helped Celes defeat Drazhar and used devotional power to heal her, prompting her to suspect he was chosen by the God-Emperor. When Celes tested him with golden flames, Carlos intervened, and Roka witnessed the flames being used to inspire martyrdom across Ecclesiarchy worlds and gather the martyrs’ remains.

• Roka helped Celes fight Drazhar, and Celes severed one of his arms before he wounded her and vanished.
• Roka healed Celes with devotional power, making her wonder whether he was a new saint chosen by the God-Emperor.
• Unable to receive guidance from the God-Emperor in the Ghoul Stars, Celes tested Roka by enveloping him in golden flames.
• The flames began to burn away the golden feathers concealing Roka’s Tzeentch Greater Daemon essence.
• Carlos appeared in Roka’s vision, drew the flames into his staff, and scattered them across Ecclesiarchy worlds.
• Roka saw believers and bishops enter the flames in martyrdom ceremonies as Carlos collected their ashes.

Roka survived the God-Emperor’s trial and joined Celes as she fought off Drukhari raiders, while Celes investigated a ruined museum where Space Marines from three Chapters were on the verge of fighting. Jaghatai and Perturabo’s clash escalated, and the chapter ended with the revelation that the Aeldari had failed to stop a powerful Necron dynasty from awakening.

• Carlos vanished after telling Roka to use his ignorance and confusion, and Roka emerged unharmed as Celes declared that the God-Emperor had recognized him.
• Celes carried Roka into battle, destroyed a Drukhari raider ship, and threw Roka through its deck with a chainsword.
• Celes joined the fighting and noticed the scattered Drukhari attacks appeared to be a diversion.
• Celes found three groups of Space Marines confronting one another amid the ruins of Saint Codgas's Museum of Antiquity.
• Perturabo attacked Jaghatai after their argument, and his armor’s flash-and-noise devices briefly blinded Khan.
• The chapter revealed that the Aeldari had failed to prevent a powerful Necron dynasty from awakening.

Jaghatai Khan and Perturabo traded blows and insults until Perturabo summoned Iron Circle robots and prepared to attack. Celes and Lin Fan intervened, and Lin Fan began persuading Perturabo that he and Jaghatai had more in common than either realized.

• Jaghatai Khan disabled the melta cannon in Perturabo's palm, but Perturabo kicked him hundreds of meters away.
• Jaghatai taunted Perturabo about his destructive record, prompting Perturabo to summon drop pods carrying Iron Circle robots and order an attack.
• Celes flew up and called for everyone to stop, but Perturabo's robots fired at Jaghatai anyway.
• Lin Fan and Trazyn emerged through a portal and halted the shells; Lin Fan chastised Trazyn for hiding and urged Perturabo to reconsider fighting Jaghatai.
• Perturabo reflected that he and Jaghatai had both been marginalized and that he knew very little about his brother.

Jaghatai and Perturabo reconciled after Lin Fan stopped their fight, then learned Celes was a Living Saint appointed by The Emperor. As Yvraine pursued a vast Drukhari fleet carrying stolen spoils, she concealed the Ynnari nearby to investigate what it was transporting.

• Perturabo powered down the Iron Circle robots, and he and Jaghatai sheathed their weapons and shook hands in a painfully forceful truce.
• Jaghatai and Perturabo mistook Celes for Sanguinius's daughter until Lin Fan explained that The Emperor had made her a Living Saint.
• Perturabo said the Drukhari had escaped with a floating coffin, while the group shared information about the raid and Yvraine's pursuit.
• Yvraine spotted a huge Drukhari fleet bearing newly unified insignias and watched it receive ships through numerous rifts.
• Yvraine ordered the Ynnari to conceal themselves and observe the fleet because she sensed something important among its ships.

Vect and Urien Rakarth used a golden shard and a captive robed figure to create a two-dimensional map that they believed could help the Drukhari survive the Black Muse’s growing hunger. They left the chapter facing the coming apocalypse, as Rakarth fed on an ancient Aeldari Seer.

• An Archon sent a coffin containing the map through a rift, where Drukhari sacrificed themselves to the Black Muse’s rune.
• Vect opened the coffin and found a stone statue containing a golden shard, which he shaped into a conceptual plane.
• Vect summoned Urien Rakarth and threw a captive robed figure into the plane, where it unfolded into a detailed two-dimensional map.
• Vect and Rakarth called the map their hope of survival and discussed the accelerating corrosion and the Black Muse’s hunger.
• Vect placed a mask on an Incubus, transforming him into Drazhar, Lord of Blades.
• Rakarth opened a statue’s chest, seized an ancient Aeldari Seer from within, and devoured him.

Rakarth’s vision confirmed that Commorragh faced famine, while Vect revealed his plan to destroy the Dark City and free an ancient Aeldari war ark trapped at its core. As the ark emerged, Vect defiled Isha’s Tear and became the Black Muse’s chosen.

• Rakarth devoured an Aeldari seer and gained a clearer vision of a vast rift and famine threatening Commorragh.
• Vect revealed that he had survived his funeral and used his loyal Incubi and Haemonculi to seize control of the attending kabals.
• Vect dismantled Commorragh, breaking its spatial anchors and exposing its inhabitants to Slaanesh and the Warp.
• As Commorragh collapsed, Vect saw an ancient Aeldari war ark emerge from a black hole at the city’s core, its hull scarred by a vast wound.
• Vect corrupted Isha’s Tear with a sacrificial dagger and became the Black Muse’s chosen.

Vect forced Rakarth to reveal three possible futures for the Aeldari, then set his fleet on the course marked by the Deceiver’s map. The Deceiver trapped Yvraine’s fleet in a vortex before erasing himself as a powerful entity approached.

• Rakarth endured visions of three futures, describing the Imperium’s possible fates and an Aeldari path under the gods’ protection before collapsing.
• Vect ordered the Incubi to rebuild Rakarth’s body from the remains of other Haemonculi.
• The Deceiver told Vect that he was the fourth person to meet him and described the three who had come before.
• Vect dismissed the Deceiver, rolled up the map, and directed his fleet toward its marked destination.
• The Deceiver gathered Yvraine’s fleet into a vortex and held its ships spinning in place.
• Sensing the Subjective One approaching, the Deceiver ate himself away until he could no longer be observed or confirmed to exist.

The Deceiver tried to expose Tzeentch’s disguise aboard a human warship, while Tzeentch retaliated by manipulating Azmodai during an interrogation. The Deceiver returned to find Azmodai leading the Dark Angels in a purge across several star systems.

• The Deceiver spotted a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch disguised aboard a human warship and decided to reveal it.
• Tzeentch warned the Deceiver not to interfere, but the Deceiver mocked him and threatened to expose the daemon’s disguise.
• Tzeentch possessed a Fallen Angel during Azmodai’s interrogation and made the prisoner confess a set of coordinates before dying.
• Azmodai took the confession as proof that his methods worked and ordered the Dark Angels to capture more Fallen Angels.
• The Deceiver returned to his hideout and saw Azmodai commanding the Dark Angels to purge a planet, killing every suspicious person.

The Deceiver exposed Carlos to the Grey Knights while Roka was summoned to answer for his beliefs about the Emperor. Roka declared that the Emperor was human rather than a god, leaving the hall silent and the assembled leaders contemplating his words.

• The Deceiver retaliated against Tzeentch by alerting the Inquisition to Carlos, who urgently called for help as Grey Knights arrived.
• Roka felt a terrifying presence aboard the Ecclesiarchy warship, then followed Canoness Mawen to meet Lin Fan, Jaghatai, and Perturabo.
• Lin Fan questioned Roka about his unorthodox beliefs, and Roka insisted that the Emperor was not a god.
• Roka argued that the Emperor was a mortal human and that elevating him above humanity placed him alongside other races' gods.
• Roka urged humanity to follow the Emperor's example, and the gathered Sisters, priests, and Space Marines fell silent.

Roka explained his view that the Emperor should be honored as a human exemplar and proposed rebuilding Cemetery World as peaceful hometown memorial parks. Perturabo and Jaghatai approved of his ideas, but Jaghatai left discouraged by the obstacles to reforming the Imperium.

• Jaghatai told Perturabo that Roka’s theory differed from the Imperial Truth and might restore some of the Emperor’s humanity, while Lin Fan warned that weakening the Emperor’s divine power could endanger his fight against Chaos.
• Perturabo asked Roka how Cemetery World should be rebuilt, and Roka admitted he had only a rough concept and no design.
• Roka argued that the fallen should be buried in their hometowns among parks and lively communities rather than in a vast, heavily guarded cemetery.
• Perturabo stopped Roka after understanding his proposal, and Jaghatai supported the idea while criticizing the Imperium’s ignorance and cruelty.
• Jaghatai grew despondent over the obstacles to reform, and Perturabo ended the gathering as the attendees dispersed with differing opinions about Roka.

Perturabo proposed establishing a Second Empire in a region where Imperial authority was weak, arguing that rebuilding from scratch would be more effective than repairing the existing Imperium. Jaghatai objected that the plan amounted to treason and division, but he fell silent as Perturabo described how it could relieve pressure on the old Imperium.

• Celes changed out of her saintly armor while Perturabo stared at her bare feet, and Jaghatai cautioned him to mind his image.
• Lin Fan left Perturabo and Jaghatai alone, then listened as Yilafren chattered about looting Harlequins with Jaghatai and complained about him.
• Perturabo told Jaghatai that he wanted to establish the Second Empire, shocking him into calling the plan treason.
• Perturabo showed Jaghatai a star map and argued that the region from the Ghoul Stars onward could become a strong new government in territory where Imperial power was weak.
• Perturabo argued that starting over would be more efficient than repairing old Imperial systems, and Jaghatai fell silent as he considered the proposal.

Perturabo tried to persuade Jaghatai to support his Second Empire plan, then showed him a metal warhorse as a gesture of understanding and expressed hope that they might one day discuss humanity’s future together. Jaghatai remained wary of Perturabo’s intentions, and the chapter ended with an Inquisitor Greyfax and Celestine exchange.

• Perturabo set aside his pitch to Jaghatai and brought him aboard the Lamenters’ Mother of Tears to watch Iron Bone robots train new recruits.
• Jaghatai questioned Perturabo about his past and his old treatment of the Iron Warriors, while Perturabo admitted he had regretted the needless deaths of Dantioch and Forrix.
• Perturabo told Jaghatai about his contradictory need for care and distrust, then showed him a lifelike metal warhorse made for him.
• Jaghatai challenged Perturabo over his responsibility for the rebellion, and Perturabo said the Second Empire was the best home he could make for humanity.
• Inquisitor Greyfax treated Celestine as a demon and ordered her psychic focus broken, while Celestine accused Greyfax of using her to attract attention.

Perturabo gave Jaghatai a mechanical warhorse while reflecting on the Horus Heresy and the possibility that forces behind Horus had shaped its destruction. Meanwhile, Trazyn freed Yvraine from spatial turbulence and told her that Iyanden and Biel-Tan had been rescued, though the Necrons treated her people with contempt.

• Perturabo gave Jaghatai a mechanical warhorse, and Jaghatai rode it around the room.
• Perturabo recalled the chaos among his brothers during the Horus Heresy and wondered whether forces behind Horus had driven the destruction of Terra.
• Lin Fan visited Trazyn as Trazyn freed Yvraine from spatial turbulence.
• Trazyn told Yvraine that his Necron allies had rescued Iyanden and Biel-Tan and introduced her to Inamars through a holographic projection.
• Rotaros explained that both craftworlds were under the Executioner Fleet's protection, described the medical aid they had received, and dismissed it as charity.