Seven hours after Guilliman's fleet left Blood Fang's orbit, it received an urgent transmission from the eastern side of the Milky Way.
The transmission came from an Eldar Craftworld deep within the Webway.
That Craftworld was called Yserin.
It had once been completely destroyed in a swarm invasion, but had since been rebuilt and become the main point of contact between the Eldar and the Imperium of Man.
Now Yserin's Seer Council was calling Guilliman directly over an encrypted channel.
Asuryan himself had devised the encryption. It carried the highest priority, and its contents could not leak.
When Guilliman entered the communications chamber, an array of slowly rotating Eldar runes had already appeared on the holographic screen.
The runes flashed faster than they should have.
Each flash struck fine cracks through the slowly churning void.
The communications officer reported in a low voice, "My lord, it's Yserin's presiding seer. She used Asuryan's authorization code."
Guilliman stopped before the screen, his gaze settling on the slowly rotating runes.
They rearranged themselves in a pattern that seemed to be repeatedly verified, conveying an urgent message that was slowly taking shape.
"Put her through," he said quietly.
A figure slowly took shape in the center of the screen.
She was an Eldar woman, her face aged yet refined, the lines at the corners of her eyes like bronze worn smooth by time.
Her voice was calm and clear, its gravity unmistakable. "Lord Guilliman. I am Yserin's presiding seer. I am contacting you directly on behalf of the realm of the Aeldari Gods. We have observed something you must be told about at once."
"Speak," Guilliman said calmly.
"At the edge of a star system in the eastern Milky Way, we found an Ork fleet gathering. Its numbers are rising beyond all predictions, and