Chapter Summaries

Lin Fan brought Konrad Curze back to Jaghatai and explained that he had defeated the C'tan, while Curze revealed Jaghatai’s Warp nature. After Lin Fan and his companions decided to travel to Cadia, the chapter shifted to Yarrick and the Imperial forces preparing to face Ironhide’s Waaagh!, where Yarrick announced they would retreat.

• Lin Fan pulled Konrad Curze from the portal and told Jaghatai he had crushed the C'tan threatening the T'au Empire's border.
• Lin Fan explained how he had brought Curze back and realized that Warp nature was used to create the Primarchs.
• Curze identified Jaghatai's nature as Dying Thunder, and Jaghatai recalled awakening its power when he defeated Mortarion.
• Lin Fan and the others returned Curze to the Big Canteen and decided to head to Cadia to stop the 13th Black Crusade.
• The Imperial forces discussed Ironhide’s Waaagh! and its heavily shielded Ork battleships as Yarrick prepared to present his plan.
• Yarrick announced that the Imperial forces were preparing to retreat.

Commissar Yarrick persuaded the command room to adopt a retreat plan that would draw Warlord Ironhide and the Orks after the Imperium's core forces. The Inquisitor accepted the plan because he believed The Emperor had chosen Yarrick, though the danger to the sector remained immense.

• The Inquisitor and Astra Militarum generals condemned Yarrick's proposal to retreat from the Orks, until Kor'sarro Khan activated his power sword and Colvin used his jump pack to quiet the room.
• The Archmagos interpreted the Space Marines' intervention as a reason to show them deference, then invoked the machine spirit to explain the intimidation.
• Yarrick clarified that his plan called for the Imperium's core forces to retreat while the rest of the sector's forces held their positions.
• Yarrick explained that Ironhide wanted worthy opponents, and Kor'sarro Khan said the Orks would follow them because he would negotiate with the warlord himself.
• The command room tentatively approved Yarrick's plan, and the Inquisitor said he trusted The Emperor's judgment in choosing Yarrick.

Yarrick reflected on his long life and the soldiers’ growing worship of him, which boosted Imperial morale but left him uneasy about the Emperor’s supposed favor. Remembering the past, he ordered Lede to prepare a transport so the two of them could confront Ironhide.

• Kor'sarro Khan and Chapter Master Colvin reassured Yarrick that the Inquisitor had not threatened him, then departed.
• Yarrick learned that Governor Domisilon had died of old age and mourned that everyone he had known was gone.
• Imperial soldiers from several regiments praised Yarrick as blessed by the Emperor, and stories of his exploits inspired them to fight the Orks.
• Yarrick privately recognized that his extraordinary strength and endurance surfaced especially in battles against Orks, though he told no one.
• Yarrick called his guard Lede, ordered him to prepare a transport, and said they would give Ironhide a lesson.

Bad Tooth, an Ork Loota, was caught in the crash of a Waaagh! tower and confronted by Yarrick. Yarrick sent him back with a message for Ironhide after taking his belongings and two of his teef.

• Bad Tooth lifted a magnet loaded with scrap and headed back toward camp after drinking foul mushroom-and-rust liquor.
• A Waaagh! tower tip flew from the high ground and crashed into Bad Tooth, pinning him beneath his magnet.
• Bad Tooth mistook Yarrick for an Ork until Lede pointed him out, then tried to hide from the legendary Dead-Eye.
• Yarrick hauled Bad Tooth up and ordered him to tell Ironhide that he no longer considered him a worthy opponent and would seek another rival.
• Yarrick made Bad Tooth surrender his possessions, punched him, pulled out two of his teef, and kicked him away.

Bad Tooth headed to the Military Waaagh Department to sell news about his encounter with Dead-Eye, but hunger led him to steal roasted spores and flee the tavern guards. He promised to pay for the food after his visit to the department.

• After Dead-Eye robbed him, Bad Tooth beat a Gretchin who laughed at his bare backside and made himself a pair of underpants from its scraps.
• Bad Tooth told a gate guard he had explosive news for the Military Waaagh Department, but the guard mocked and shot at him.
• Bad Tooth set off for the Military Waaagh Department in the Giant Waaagh Tower, then stopped when the smell of roasted spores drew him to a tavern.
• When the Gretchin seller refused to give him food on credit, Bad Tooth punched it and ate the spores without paying.
• The tavern guards attacked Bad Tooth, who threw the box at one guard and fled, promising to pay after visiting the Military Waaagh Department.

Bad Tooth reported to the Military Waaagh Department that Dead-Eye had defeated him and was leaving to seek a stronger opponent. Ironhide was devastated by the news and asked where Dead-Eye had died so he could see him one last time.

• Bad Tooth burst into the Military Waaagh Department and told Iron-Tooth Gut-Shaker that he had seen Dead-Eye.
• Bad Tooth described Dead-Eye's strength and said he had stolen his magnet and teef and beaten him.
• Bad Tooth reported that Dead-Eye had called Ironhide a weakling and was taking the humies and tin cans to find an opponent many times stronger.
• Iron-Tooth Gut-Shaker rushed upstairs and told Ironhide that Dead-Eye was leaving.
• Ironhide mourned the news, mistook Dead-Eye's departure for his death, and asked where Dead-Eye had died.

Ironhide learned that Dead-Eye had left to fight stronger opponents and raged until he mobilized the Orks to find him. Yarrick received secret intelligence about the Chaos rebels, while Ironhide reached the abandoned Imperial positions and feared Dead-Eye was gone for good.

• Iron Teeth told Ironhide that Dead-Eye had left because fighting the Orks was boring, and Ironhide exploded in anger, wrecking the tavern and attacking Iron Teeth and Bad Tooth.
• Ironhide ordered the Orks to charge the human positions and find Dead-Eye so he could learn who was stronger than him.
• Yarrick received a sealed reliquary from the Inquisitor containing images and battle records about the Chaos rebels and their warships.
• Ironhide led the Orks toward the Imperial front, destroyed disobedient Speed Freeks with a gravity wave, and found the battlefield silent and nearly free of mines.
• Ironhide called for Dead-Eye, then panicked when he realized Dead-Eye might have left and taken all the mines with him.

Ironhide confronted Yarrick after finding the Steel Legion abandoning their positions to head for Cadia and learned about Abaddon and the destruction caused by the Black Crusades. After Yarrick left, Ironhide crushed a Mega Boss who tried to ambush him, then ordered the Big Meks to build a device that could teleport warships so the Orks could pursue Abaddon.

• Ironhide advanced into the Imperium-controlled zone and found the Steel Legion gathered at a dismantled factory under Yarrick's orders.
• Yarrick appeared in the Fortress of Arrogance and told Ironhide he was leaving to fight a stronger opponent.
• Yarrick showed Ironhide a record of the Black Crusades, and Ironhide recognized Abaddon as a worthy enemy.
• After the Steel Legion departed, Ironhide killed a Mega Boss who tried to ambush him and ordered the Orks to return.
• Days later, Ironhide gathered the Big Meks and ordered them to build a device capable of teleporting warships to Cadia.

Guilliman reflected on his doubts about his usefulness and the burdens he might have faced without his returned brothers, then joined them for a meeting about reforming the Space Marines. Perturabo proposed modeling a mixed Chapter on the Lamenters, where their sons lived together as brothers without distinction.

• Guilliman compared the power of Hope with Macragge's Honour and wondered how difficult it would be to defeat the battleship if an enemy captured it.
• Guilliman told Calgar he felt useless, reflecting on the value of technological progress and imagining the burden of leading the Imperium without his brothers.
• Cato Sicarius informed Guilliman that his brothers wanted to meet with him, and Guilliman went to the meeting room built by Perturabo and Rogal Dorn.
• Fulgrim greeted Guilliman with a hug while Rogal Dorn and Perturabo argued over design principles by arm-wrestling.
• Fulgrim explained that the brothers wanted to reform the Space Marines by creating a mixed Chapter modeled on the Lamenters, and said Perturabo had proposed the idea.

Perturabo proposed creating a mixed Space Marine Chapter inspired by the joint strike system, and Roboute Guilliman agreed to help develop it. The meeting ended with Perturabo announcing their return to the Big Canteen, while Guilliman began imagining a second edition of the Codex Astartes.

• Perturabo gave the Primarchs documents outlining his plan to develop mixed Space Marine forces after the joint strike system inspired him.
• Fulgrim and Roboute Guilliman discussed the Deathwatch, and Guilliman recounted the odd behavior and battlefield skill of its mixed squads.
• Perturabo proposed using the Lamenters as a model for a mixed Chapter and asked Guilliman to provide blood for its gene-stock.
• Guilliman agreed, considering how a mixed Chapter could combine the strengths of different gene-lines and help shape a second edition of the Codex Astartes.
• Perturabo announced that the meeting had brought them back to the Big Canteen, as he had planned.

Guilliman discussed sector cooperation with Oedmeir, then explored the Big Canteen and tried its local food with his warriors. Meanwhile, Lin Fan brought Konrad Curze back to the Big Canteen, where Curze escaped his prison after landing.

• Oedmeir gave Guilliman documents on sector union, T'au trade, and factory regulations before leaving for reconstruction work.
• Guilliman read the documents and toured the Big Canteen with Calgar and the others, who noticed the locals showed Space Marines little reverence and Cato Sicarius disliked the T'au.
• Guilliman bought Stone Blood snacks from a T'au vendor and ordered Calgar to eat the portion he gave him.
• Lin Fan teased Konrad Curze during their journey by recounting his history and relationships with his brothers.
• The Void Phoenix Fighter landed at the Big Canteen, and Lin Fan freed Curze from his prison, allowing Curze to vanish.

Konrad Curze escaped and set out to punish those he believed had betrayed humanity by cooperating with xenos. He attacked Oedmeir, but she overpowered him and dragged him away to question his brothers.

• Lin Fan and Jaghatai worried about what Curze might do, and Lin Fan argued that Curze still believed in justice.
• Curze prowled through the city and decided that the planet’s leaders were guilty for cooperating with xenos.
• Curze followed Oedmeir from the administrative headquarters and attacked her, grabbing her head and cutting at her clothes with his power claws.
• Oedmeir broke Curze’s finger, then used a gravity wave and a strike to subdue him.
• Oedmeir broke Curze’s remaining fingers and dragged him away with a gravity wave.

Oedmeir captured Konrad Curze and brought him to his returning brothers, where Fulgrim welcomed him despite Curze’s reluctance and the others’ awkwardness. After Curze refused Roboute Guilliman’s offer to help rebuild the Imperium, Lin Fan and Oedmeir discussed the next campaign, while Lin Fan explained how Curze’s brutal childhood shaped him.

• Oedmeir used the global surveillance network to locate Konrad Curze, captured him, and brought him to the laboratory.
• Fulgrim apologized to Oedmeir for Curze’s attack, then embraced his brother and welcomed him back.
• Roboute Guilliman asked Konrad Curze to help rebuild the Imperium, but Curze refused to help anyone.
• Lin Fan told Oedmeir that the T’au Empire was stable and discussed traveling to Cadia with enough troops to seal the Eye of Terror.
• Lin Fan explained Curze’s childhood on violent Nostramo, and the leader departed to uphold justice.

The chapter recounted Curze’s descent into madness and the destruction of Nostramo, then Oedmeir and Lin Fan discussed how to help him after Lin Fan severed the prophecies tormenting him. They left Curze free to stay peacefully or join Fulgrim, and decided to show the Primarchs cartoons.

• Curze’s visions and Nostramo’s return to depravity drove him to hate his Legion, himself, and the Emperor, and he eventually destroyed Nostramo.
• After Curze foresaw the Horus Heresy, he attacked Dorn and was imprisoned until the other Primarchs could judge him.
• Oedmeir reflected on Curze’s suffering, and Lin Fan explained that he had severed the prophecies tormenting him.
• Lin Fan let Curze choose whether to live peacefully or stay with Fulgrim.
• Oedmeir suggested making cartoons for the Primarchs to watch, and Lin Fan agreed.

Oedmeir and Lin Fan prepared an animated series for the Primarchs, who gathered to watch it together. As the film introduced magical ponies and their princesses, Perturabo paused it to question its claims about raising the sun and moon.

• Oedmeir accessed Rebecca's database and created an animation and a film projector for the Primarchs.
• Lin Fan set up the projector and left the Primarchs together to watch the film.
• The Primarchs watched the colorful ponies sing, and Jaghatai and Roboute Guilliman mistook them for psychic xenos while Fulgrim admired their appearance.
• Jaghatai suspected the song's references to magic pointed to Tzeentch, while Fulgrim guessed Slaanesh because the ponies were adorable.
• After the narrator introduced Ponyland's princess sisters, Perturabo paused the film to condemn its claim that they raised the sun and moon, and Dorn agreed.

The Primarchs watched an episode about ponies in Equestria, debating their magic, customs, and whether they posed a threat. After Perturabo questioned why their civilization resembled humanity’s, Roboute Guilliman suspected humans had once lived there, prompting Rogal Dorn and Perturabo to leave and demand answers from Lin Fan and Oedmeir.

• Jaghatai, Roboute Guilliman, Fulgrim, Perturabo, and Rogal Dorn speculated about the ponies’ origins and abilities while watching the footage.
• The Primarchs learned about earth ponies, unicorns, and alicorns, and discussed the ponies’ magic and customs.
• The episode ended with Twilight Sparkle’s friendship party, and Jaghatai reflected on the Imperium’s destruction of peaceful xenos civilizations.
• Perturabo questioned why the ponies’ furniture resembled human designs, and Roboute Guilliman theorized that humans had once colonized Equestria before the ponies seized it.
• Rogal Dorn and Perturabo left to demand an explanation from Lin Fan and Oedmeir, while Jaghatai remarked that their departure was better than another silent quarrel.

Lin Fan sought Yvraine’s help borrowing the Biel-Tan Craftworld to transport troops, while Yvraine struggled with Slaanesh’s teasing about her feelings for Guilliman. The chapter ended with Lin Fan asking whether the Craftworld could carry troops.

• Oedmeir left Lin Fan a troop list and returned to the Golden Core, while Lin Fan went with Commissar Cain and Colonel Erika to find Yvraine.
• Yvraine reflected on the three groups of Biel-Tan Aeldari and how Lin Fan and Oedmeir had helped improve relations between their peoples.
• Slaanesh teased Yvraine about marrying Guilliman, prompting her to deny having feelings for him despite remembering their kiss.
• Lin Fan contacted Yvraine, who accidentally blurted out that she did not like Guilliman before asking why he had come.
• Lin Fan asked Yvraine whether the Biel-Tan Craftworld could be borrowed to transport troops.

Lin Fan planned to send the Big Canteen coalition forces to Cadia and assigned roles to the Primarchs. After the Primarchs questioned the My Little Pony cartoon for hidden xenos conspiracies, they resumed watching, and Jaghatai urged Perturabo to relax and enjoy the quiet moment.

• Lin Fan told Yvraine that the coalition would travel through the Webway to join the coming Battle of Cadia, and he outlined roles for the Primarchs.
• Yvraine prepared to gather Biel-Tan's leaders and find room for the coalition forces while Lin Fan returned to the Big Canteen.
• Rogal Dorn and Perturabo questioned whether the ponies in the cartoon were xenos who had slaughtered humans, and Lin Fan told them to stop overthinking it.
• Perturabo reported that the cartoon had no conspiracy, and the Primarchs resumed watching it, with several enjoying the show.
• Jaghatai told Perturabo to relax and appreciate watching a cartoon without the burdens of war.

The Primarchs compared themselves to the ponies while waiting for the next cartoon episode, laughing over their rivalries during the Great Crusade. Fulgrim drew the lonely Curze into the conversation, and Curze revealed how deeply the cartoon’s kindness affected him before watching alongside his brother.

• Perturabo, Jaghatai, Fulgrim, and Dorn matched ponies to their brothers and recalled how no one had listened to Perturabo’s long lecture about artillery shells.
• Perturabo shared Lin Fan’s joke about how most Primarchs thought they were stronger than their brothers, prompting the Primarchs to laugh about their old rivalries.
• Perturabo suggested the brothers gather more often to watch cartoons, and they waited for the next episode while Curze stayed silent.
• Fulgrim sensed Curze’s loneliness and asked which ponies resembled them, but Curze falsely claimed he had not watched the cartoon.
• Curze admitted Fluttershy reminded him of Vulkan and Princess Luna reminded him of Corax, then moved slightly out of the shadows as Fulgrim quietly watched the story with him.

Guilliman returned to the Ultramar sector to establish an exchange framework with the Big Canteen, while Perturabo organized the enhanced Lamenters into a Chapter with strong engineering capabilities. The chapter also contrasted their education with the isolation and burdens faced by Techmarines trained on Mars.

• Guilliman left aboard Macragge's Honour after urging the Ultramarines who remained behind to act as diplomats.
• Perturabo organized training and duties for the Lamenters enhanced with Guilliman's Gene-seed and built up their administrative structure.
• The enhanced Lamenters learned engineering quickly and served as engineers in their tactical squads without adopting the Martian Cult's habits.
• The account described how Techmarines trained on Mars became isolated armory specialists whose devotion to the Machine God could alienate their Chapters.
• A Techmarine's attempts to join prayers and battle preparations led the Chaplain to object to Machine Sacred Code and praise for the Omnissiah.
• The account contrasted Dark Angels Techmarines, who left the armory only after death, with Imperial Fists Techmarines, who often surveyed fortifications on the front lines.