Chapter Summaries

Perturabo brought Bashar and Hope to Howens IV to collect the Carcharodons’ blood tithe and recruit people for Hope to practice gene-seed surgeries on. When xenos disrupted the collection, Perturabo prepared to investigate, while Lin Fan revealed that Yvraine had found clues about the missing Craftworld on the planet.

• Perturabo brought Bashar and Hope to Howens IV, where factory owner Ranko promised to deliver the blood tithe within two hours.
• Bashar told Perturabo that Ranko was a capable Imperial servant and that the next tithe was not due for five years.
• When Ranko missed the deadline, Perturabo threatened him, and Ranko rushed in to explain that xenos had appeared in the warehouse.
• Perturabo confirmed Ranko was telling the truth and contacted Lin Fan, who began explaining that Yvraine had found clues about the missing Craftworld on Howens IV before the communication cut out.
• Perturabo copied Ranko’s data chip, then ordered Bashar, Hope, and Ranko to prepare for battle.

Lin Fan summoned Trazyn after the Seers sensed the deaths of Aeldari on Howens IV, where a Necron presence had emerged. Trazyn contacted the planet’s dynasty, leaving the Aeldari startled by the Necrontyr’s unexpectedly frivolous side as the call connected.

• The Seers told Lin Fan and Yvraine that their visions suggested Aeldari had been slaughtered, while a black veil and green flashes appeared over Howens IV.
• Lin Fan used his disk to call Trazyn, who arrived through a hyperspace portal and overwhelmed the Aeldari with his presence.
• Lin Fan greeted Trazyn familiarly, and Trazyn learned that a Necron dynasty was active on the planet.
• Trazyn contacted the dynasty through Dynasty Connect, whose cheerful greeting and hold music made Yvraine struggle not to laugh.
• A Necrontyr noble with a face resembling Trazyn appeared on the connected screen.

Trazyn discovered that the dynasty on Hovens IV had rebelled against the Silent King and went underground with his guard to suppress it. When Lin Fan and Yvraine arrived to rescue him, his forces were crushing the Necron warriors, but unseen attackers began striking his Immortals from behind.

• The dynasty nobles insulted the Silent King during Trazyn's transmission, and Trazyn realized they might be rebelling.
• Trazyn opened a portal to the underground structures of Hovens IV, claiming his guard could handle the rebellion, then called Lin Fan for help.
• Yvraine used Ynnead's power to open a reverse portal, and she led her troops and Lin Fan through it to the planet's core.
• Lin Fan and Yvraine found Trazyn's Immortals and Lychguard slaughtering the Necron warriors in the plaza.
• Lychguard appeared behind several Immortals and destroyed them, while Trazyn aimed his Empathic Obliterator at an empty patch of ground as a stench of rotting flesh filled the air.

Lin Fan, Yvraine, and Trazyn fought the spreading Flayer Virus as the Flayed Ones overwhelmed the Necron forces. Yvraine’s Vortex Grenades sent the attackers into a Great Unclean One’s garden, and the chapter ended with Lin Fan accidentally scratching Trazyn’s back.

• Flayed Ones emerged beside Trazyn, and the Flayer Virus began infecting the Immortals and even his Lychguard.
• Lin Fan charged through the Necron Warriors to reach Trazyn, drawing a growing swarm of Flayed Ones toward him.
• Yvraine and her warriors opened Warp rifts with Vortex Grenades, sending the Flayed Ones into a Great Unclean One’s garden, where they tore through his plants searching for flesh.
• The battle ended with Trazyn’s Immortals destroyed and two Lychguard driven mad by the virus.
• Lin Fan tried to comfort Trazyn, slipped, and scratched Trazyn’s back with his nails.

Lin Fan accidentally scratched Trazyn with Flayer residue, briefly triggering the Flayer Virus before his reassurance restored Trazyn’s control. Trazyn began exploring whether Lin Fan’s beliefs could cure the Necrontyr, then put the idea aside and reminded Lin Fan that he still owed him three favors.

• Trazyn panicked over a scratch on his back and entrusted Lin Fan with his museum, its coordinates, and its Curator’s Key, believing he was infected by the Flayer Virus.
• Lin Fan admitted he had made the scratch, and Trazyn’s symptoms receded as the Flayer contamination stopped affecting him.
• Trazyn tested whether Lin Fan’s beliefs could prevent Necrontyr from contracting the Flayer Virus, but Lin Fan doubted that was possible.
• Trazyn showed Lin Fan a Blackstone device and suggested it could restore Necrontyr souls, but Lin Fan could not explain how to activate it.
• Trazyn put the device away and reminded Lin Fan that he still owed him three favors.

Trazyn and Lin Fan investigated a minor Necron dynasty overrun by Flayed Ones and found its overlord broken by the dynasty’s ruin. As the overlord’s mind collapsed, he cursed the great dynasties and lunged at Trazyn, transforming into a Flayed One.

• Lin Fan agreed to help Trazyn find the energy core needed to activate a relic, and Trazyn investigated why Flayed Ones had appeared in the dynasty.
• Trazyn led the group through the ruined palace and confronted the overlord seated on a Blackstone throne.
• The overlord blamed the great dynasties for abandoning his people after their stasis crypts failed and their resources were exhausted.
• The overlord recalled the life his people had lost, then described how his surviving subjects had become identical, mindless machines under his control.
• The overlord cursed the great dynasties, his mind collapsed, and he lunged at Trazyn as the Flayer curse took hold.

After defeating the Overlord, Trazyn questioned whether the Necrontyr could truly recover their souls and bodies without also reviving their old diseases and social conflicts. He reflected on the despair and inequality of his civilization, ending with a bleak observation that individuals had little value.

• Trazyn and the Lychguard destroyed the Overlord, and Trazyn wondered whether restored Necrontyr would also regain their cancers and dynastic conflicts.
• Trazyn recalled how the Necrontyr dynasties had once held independent power and considered how nobles and commoners had struggled over wealth and authority.
• Trazyn remembered Solemnace's grand royal district and the stark exclusion zone that separated nobles from commoners.
• Trazyn recalled the commoners' disease-ridden lives, the rudimentary homes in other dynasties, and the mass conscription and executions that preceded war.
• Trazyn feared returning to a body that could be crippled by cancer and lamented that new people quickly replaced the dead.

Trazyn, Lin Fan, and Yvraine’s Ynnari elites fought Flayed Ones attacking a factory and rescued its surviving workers. Perturabo reported that the Flayed Ones had fled with Ranko, whom Bashar and Hope had failed to protect.

• Trazyn found a book among the remains of the tomb’s overlord, preserved it in a stasis field, and left with Lin Fan to check on the surface settlement.
• Lin Fan froze molten iron as he entered a factory where Flayed Ones had massacred workers and overwhelmed the security personnel.
• A Flayed One tore off a worker’s calf, but an unknown rescuer injected him with medicine as Yvraine’s Ynnari elites and Lin Fan fought the attackers.
• The Flayed Ones fled into another dimension, and Lin Fan reassured the surviving workers that the Imperium would destroy them.
• Perturabo told Lin Fan that the Flayed Ones had escaped with Ranko and scolded Bashar and Hope for failing to protect him.

Ranko’s deal with the Flayed Ones ended when Lost Lord Valgull had him killed, revealing the vast flesh-trading network he had built across the Ghoul Stars. Valgull celebrated the slaughter of five Tyranid hive fleets and announced that the gathered biomass would fuel a ritual.

• Ranko protested that the Flayed Ones had killed his stored food, but Valgull declared their agreement terminated and tore off his head.
• Valgull explained that governors across the Ghoul Stars supplied living meat to Drazhar under threat, while the Flayed Ones replenished their stores through teleportation arrays.
• Valgull observed that Flayed Ones from different Necron dynasties had gathered on Drazhar, then joined the nobles feasting on fresh meat.
• Valgull toasted the harvest from 150,000 planets and thanked the Silent King for sending the Tyranids.
• A projection showed the Flayed Ones harvesting the bodies of five Tyranid hive fleets that had escaped the Silent King’s interception.

Valgull forced an Alaitoc Farseer to endure a grotesque feast before giving her a Blackstone prism containing the locations of the missing Biel-Tan and Iyanden Craftworlds. The Farseer left with the map and new tomb-world coordinates, determined to rescue the lost Craftworlds and warn the Imperium.

• Valgull welcomed the Alaitoc Farseer and her Rangers with a feast made from Aeldari bones, flesh, and Soul Stones.
• Valgull forced the Farseer to eat a piece of Aeldari meat before handing her a Blackstone prism.
• The Farseer activated the prism and saw the locations of the missing Biel-Tan and Iyanden Craftworlds, along with numerous Necron tomb-world coordinates.
• The Farseer resolved to rescue the Craftworlds and warn the Imperium before leading her people back through the Webway.

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.