Recaps

Lin En exposed six Grey Knights disguised as Minotaurs, and the Custodes moved to stop them. The Grey Knights invoked the Inquisition’s excommunication order, but the Custodes declared that the Emperor had already transferred the Lamenters to Lin En and ordered them to verify their outdated orders.

• Lin En used the Eye of True Sight to reveal that the six supposed Minotaurs were powerful Alpha-level Psykers and warned the Custodes.
• The Custodes captain led his warriors onto the deck, and the Grey Knights recognized them and abandoned their battle plan.
• The Grey Knights captain said the Lamenters had been sentenced to excommunication and asked the Custodes to stand aside.
• The Custodes captain said the Emperor had transferred the Lamenters to Lin En, called the edict outdated, and told the Grey Knights to return and verify it.

Lin En stopped the Grey Knights and Adeptus Custodes from fighting, then gathered all 311 Lamenters for an inspection. After the Grey Knights confirmed everyone was present, Lin En activated Mass Healing Aura and Emperor's Gaze.

• The Grey Knights captain refused to withdraw from the Exterminatus operation without a lawful order rescinding it, and the Adeptus Custodes prepared to attack.
• Lin En rushed onto the deck and stopped both sides from fighting.
• Lin En ordered the Lamenters to assemble for an inspection, and all 311 survivors gathered on the deck.
• The Grey Knights inspected the Lamenters and confirmed that everyone was present.
• Lin En activated Mass Healing Aura and Emperor's Gaze in front of the assembled Lamenters.

Lin En used the Emperor’s Gaze to stop the Grey Knights from condemning the Lamenters and declared that the Emperor had appointed him their commander. The Grey Knights could not dispute the Emperor’s will, leaving the Lamenters hopeful beneath the Golden Light.

• The Emperor’s Golden Light spread across the deck, and all 311 Lamenters knelt together as the Grey Knights froze beneath the Emperor’s Gaze.
• Lin En asked the Grey Knights squad leader whether the Lamenters looked like traitors, and the leader could not reconcile his doctrines with the Emperor’s apparent approval of them.
• Lin En explained that the Emperor had personally appointed him to command the Lamenters, and the Adeptus Custodes captain, Valerian, and Carl confirmed his account.
• Lin En told the Grey Knights that the Lamenters’ corruption could be cleansed and that only the Emperor could decide whether his warriors lived or died.
• The Lamenters looked up at Lin En with shining eyes, accepting him as their new commander.

Lin En challenged the Inquisition’s order to exterminate the Lamenters, arguing that the Chapter had been deceived and remained loyal to the Emperor. He proposed a review of the charges and a penitent crusade to the Eye of Terror, leaving the inquisitor to consider his offer.

• The Grey Knight squad leader refused to carry out the Lamenters purge and told Van Del that Lin En’s authority had been confirmed by the Custodes and the Emperor.
• The Grey Knights cited the Lamenters’ loyalist state, Lin En’s confirmed identity and powers, and his standing as grounds for refusing the order.
• Van Del questioned Lin En about his authority to challenge the Edict of Excommunication, and Lin En asked what crimes had justified the Lamenters’ punishment.
• Lin En explained that the Lamenters had been deceived by Huron during the Badab War and had ceased fire once they learned the truth; Van Del knew the Inquisition’s records supported this account.
• Lin En proposed that Van Del submit the charges for review while Lin En led the Lamenters on a penitent crusade to the Eye of Terror.

Lin En secured a pause in the Lamenters’ punishment by offering to lead them on a Penitent Crusade, then asked to protect the Mantis Warriors as well. He contacted Roboute Guilliman directly to seek authority, leaving Guilliman looking up from his overwhelming workload as Lin En hesitated to explain.

• The inquisitor lord agreed to report Lin En’s Penitent Crusade proposal and suspend the Lamenters’ purge while awaiting further instructions.
• Lin En asked to protect the Mantis Warriors, and the inquisitor lord pointed out that his appointment covered only Blood Angels successor chapters.
• Lin En said he could ask for authority and opened his special communicator to Lord Regent Guilliman.
• Guilliman answered while buried in paperwork, asked Lin En what he needed, and looked puzzled when Lin En fell silent.

Lin En persuaded Guilliman to transfer administrative authority over the Mantis Warriors to him, despite their anathema status for their role in the Badab War. The Inquisition agreed to follow the Lamenters' procedures and sent Grey Knights to verify the Mantis Warriors for corruption.

• Lin En asked Guilliman for administrative authority over the Mantis Warriors, and Guilliman reviewed their record of rebellion during the Badab War.
• Lin En argued that the Mantis Warriors had been deceived by Huron and deserved a chance to be salvaged, and Guilliman warned him that taking responsibility would intensify pressure from the Inquisition and High Lords Council.
• Guilliman transferred administrative authority over the Mantis Warriors to Lin En after recognizing his resolve.
• Lin En told the chief inquisitor that Guilliman had approved the transfer, and the chief inquisitor agreed to handle the Mantis Warriors according to the Lamenters' procedures instead of purging them immediately.
• The chief inquisitor ordered a Grey Knights squad to accompany Lin En to verify the Mantis Warriors for corruption and check for the loyalist enhancement state under the Emperor's Gaze.

Lin En brought the Adeptus Custodes and Grey Knights to the orbital prison above Tranquility II to inspect the imprisoned Mantis Warriors and assess whether they had been corrupted. After meeting with Inquisitor Vandel, Lin En entered the prison and saw the Mantis Warriors’ unusual condition, leaving their verification still to come.

• Lin En took the Lamenters along with the Adeptus Custodes and Grey Knights to the Endymion Star Cluster, intending to seek compensation from the Inquisition for their travel costs.
• The ships docked above Tranquility II, and Lin En met Inquisitor Vandel, who asked him to apply the same loyalist-enhancement standard used to assess the Lamenters.
• Lin En and the Inquisitors entered the prison, where Novamarines guarded the gates and the Mantis Warriors were held behind containment fields.
• Lin En observed that many Mantis Warriors sat or stood silently in their cells, recalling that their genetic flaw could trap them in a state of heightened reactions and enemy-focused perception.

Lin En used the Emperor’s Gaze to prove the Mantis Warriors’ loyalty and witnessed them break down in remorse over their role in the Badab War. His Purification could not cure their War Fog, leaving him frustrated by his own limitations.

• The Novamarines assembled 317 Mantis Warriors from sectors B through F in a holding chamber.
• Lin En entered with the Adeptus Custodes and Inquisition personnel, then enveloped everyone in Golden Light using Group Healing, Purification, and the Emperor’s Gaze.
• The Golden Light laid bare Inquisitor Vandel’s thoughts, and he realized Lin En was a true envoy of the Emperor.
• The Mantis Warriors felt the Emperor’s pain for them and fell to their knees, weeping and confessing their guilt over the Badab War.
• Lin En proved the Mantis Warriors’ loyalty to the Inquisition but found that Purification could not reverse their permanent, non-Chaos War Fog condition.
• Lin En concluded that he was still too weak to help them and decided to ask Yellow Pelt for a solution.

The Inquisition confirmed that the Mantis Warriors and the Lamenters were loyal, prompting the High Lords Council to revise its harsh sentence. Lin En learned that both Chapters could clear their names through a hundred-year Penitent Crusade, though the revised edict included one additional condition that was not yet revealed.

• Inquisitor Vandel confirmed that the Mantis Warriors had passed their corruption screening and found no signs of Chaos Corruption.
• Vandel placed the Mantis Warriors and the Lamenters under Lin En’s command while keeping them confined to their current locations.
• Vandel sent the screening evidence and his cautious opinion directly to the Inquisition’s Inner Circle, which brought the report to the High Lords Council.
• The High Lords Council reviewed the evidence, held a sealed session, and voted to revise the Chapters’ sentence.
• Vandel told Lin En that both Chapters could lift their excommunication after a hundred-year Penitent Crusade without official aid, resupply, reinforcements, or recruitment, but the edict also imposed an additional condition.

Lin En negotiated the terms of the Mantis Warriors’ and Lamenters’ Penitent Crusade, securing supplies and allowing both Chapter Masters to accompany their Chapters. He signed the revised decree and prepared to announce it to the assembled Chapters.

• The High Lords Council proposed separating the Mantis Warriors and Lamenters and imprisoning both Chapter Masters, but Lin En objected to the imprisonment and denial of supplies.
• After another emergency meeting, the High Lords Council agreed to resupply both Chapters and let their Chapter Masters lead them on the Penitent Crusade.
• The revised decree sent the Chapters to opposite ends of the Imperium and promised restoration of their designations and honors after the crusade; Lin En signed it.
• Lin En and the Inquisition summoned both Chapters to the starport plaza, where the Mantis Warriors saw their Battle Barge had been returned.
• The assembled Lamenters and Mantis Warriors feared that Lin En would have to share their punishment as their Chapter Masters, Nieldra and Phoros, returned.

Lin En secured Nieldra’s release from permanent imprisonment and arranged for the Mantis Warriors to lead an independent penitent crusade with restored supplies and their ship. As the Chapter departed for the Imperium’s far western war zone, Nieldra thanked Lin En and Lin En asked whether they accepted the arrangement.

• Inquisitors returned Nieldra and Phoros from interrogation and completed their handover to Chief Inquisitor Vandel.
• Nieldra and Phoros knelt before Lin En, and Phoros addressed him as “my lord.”
• Lin En told Nieldra that the Mantis Warriors would conduct their penitent crusade independently, with supplies restored and the Endless Redemption returned to them.
• Nieldra accepted the mission and joined the Mantis Warriors as they prepared to depart within an hour.
• Nieldra thanked Lin En beside the ship, and Lin En asked whether the Mantis Warriors were all right with the arrangement.

The Mantis Warriors and the Lamenters departed on their Penitent Crusades after Lin En encouraged their leaders to atone for their failures. Lin En joined the Lamenters as they headed toward the Eastern Fringe, the Great Rift, and the Eye of Terror to confront Tzeentch.

• Nieldra thanked Lin En, vowed that the Mantis Warriors would return after their Penitent Crusade, and led them aboard the Endless Redemption.
• The Mantis Warriors' Battle Barge departed the Endymion Star Cluster for the Imperium's far west.
• Lin En sent Phoros to prepare the Lamenters, then boarded the Mother of Tears with the Custodes.
• Phoros swore allegiance to Lin En and declared that all three hundred and eleven Lamenters were ready to depart.
• Phoros ordered the Lamenters toward the Eastern Fringe, the Great Rift, and the Eye of Terror, and their Battle Barge left alongside Lin En's private warship.

Lin En sent the Custodes back to Terra and led the Lamenters toward Atilan's Gate, where they stocked and refitted the Mother of Tears for an expedition into Chaos territory. The Lord Regent was billed for the supplies, while the Inquisition cruiser continued to keep its distance.

• Lin En refused to take twenty Custodes on the Penitent Crusade and sent them aboard a transport bound for Terra.
• Phoros suggested Lin En could have kept the Custodes, but Lin En said Valerian and Carl were enough.
• Lin En chose Atilan's Gate as the route into the Great Rift instead of traveling all the way to the Eye of Terror.
• The Lamenters reached Forris, where they loaded supplies and had the Mother of Tears thoroughly refitted.
• Lin En reviewed the enormous supply bill, which was charged to the Lord Regent, while the Inquisition vessel remained silent nearby.

Lin En led the Lamenters toward the Great Rift after the Mother of Tears was repaired and resupplied at Fris Forge World. At Atilan's Gate, he rallied the Chapter to enter Chaos territory, insisting they would defeat Tzeentch and return home.

• The Mother of Tears and the Night Goddess left Fris Forge World fully repaired, upgraded, and stocked for the journey to Atilan's Gate.
• Lin En slept during the voyage, then joined Valerian and Carl as the fleet neared the Great Rift.
• Lin En surveyed the Warp storms beyond Atilan's Gate and summoned the Lamenters to ask whether they feared entering Tzeentch's territory.
• Phoros and all 311 Lamenters declared they would never betray humanity and would fight through the abyss or die trying.
• Lin En dismissed their talk of dying, rallied them to repay the Lord Regent by defeating Tzeentch and capturing Greater Daemons, and ordered the fleet toward the Great Rift.

Lin En’s fleet approached the Atilan’s Gate route and bypassed the long Navy checkpoint queue. Aboard the Stardust, a young girl and an old captain watched the ships pass and saw the golden-haired Astartes aboard the Battle Barge.

• The Imperial Navy enforced an orderly queue at Atilan’s Gate and warned that unauthorized ships would be destroyed.
• The Stardust’s captain told the assistant helmsman that their small transport would wait three or four days behind hundreds of ships.
• The assistant helmsman spotted an unmarked battleship and a Battle Barge flying past the queue toward the route.
• The ships’ passage sparked commotion among the queued crews, and the assistant helmsman crowded the observation window to watch them.
• The assistant helmsman saw Lin En in golden power armor without a helmet, and the captain scolded her for calling the Astartes an angel.

Lin En led the Night Goddess and the Mother of Tears into the Great Rift, intent on striking Tzeentch’s territory. After persuading the system to provide a Warp map, he guided the ships toward a daemon world in Tzeentch’s domain.

• Lin En’s two ships bypassed Atilan's Gate’s shipping queue and plunged into a spatial fissure in the Great Rift.
• Inside the Warp, Lin En activated his golden aura, confident that Black Pelt would come to his aid if the Chaos Gods attacked.
• Lin En asked the system for directions to Tzeentch’s territory, and it initially refused to help.
• Lin En persuaded the system that attacking Tzeentch would help secure a good ending, and the system provided a detailed Warp map.
• Lin En directed the Night Goddess and the Mother of Tears along a psychic current toward Tzeentch’s domain.

Lin En and Phoros discovered a fallen Forge World in Tzeentch’s territory and decided to purge it and reclaim it for the Lamenters. As the chapter ended, Lin En announced he would join the assault, stunning the two Adeptus Custodes assigned to protect him.

• Lin En guided the Night Goddess and Mother of Tears through Tzeentch’s Warp currents toward a fallen Forge World.
• The ships crossed a toxic fog and saw the ruined planet’s daemon-run factories, where enslaved people were burned as fuel.
• Lin En explained that reclaiming the Forge World could give the Lamenters a homeworld and production base, and Phoros agreed to fight for it.
• Lin En assessed the planet’s defenses and spotted valuable vehicles and weapons inside its factories.
• Phoros assembled the Lamenters in the armory, and Lin En told them he would accompany them into battle, shocking Valerian and Carl.

Lin En insisted on joining the Lamenters’ assault on a Tzeentch-corrupted Forge World despite the Adeptus Custodes’ objections. He led the force down in Thunderhawks and prepared to support the landing with buffs and a search for a vehicle.

• Lin En planned to join the Lamenters’ third assault wave and attack the Forge World’s furnace core, but Valerian and Carl tried to keep him aboard the ship.
• Lin En argued that his aura was needed on the frontline, slipped past the two Custodes, and led Phoros and the Lamenters toward the Thunderhawks.
• Valerian and Carl followed Lin En, accepting that they had to protect him on the battlefield.
• Lin En rallied more than three hundred Lamenters as they boarded over a dozen Thunderhawks and departed for the Forge World.
• As the Thunderhawks descended through the poisoned clouds, Lin En surveyed the corrupted world and cast Purification, Emperor’s Gaze, and Weapon Enchantment against daemons.

Lin En used Machine Spirit Resonance to awaken more than seventy Warhound Titans and over a hundred tanks in a Forge World hangar. He led the steel force out toward the Chaos defenders, leaving the Lamenters and Adeptus Custodes wondering whether Lin En needed their protection at all.

• Lin En found a reserve depot filled with dormant Warhound Titans and tanks beside the underground Titan hangar.
• Lin En activated Machine Spirit Resonance, awakening over seventy Titans and more than a hundred Hellhound and Predator tanks.
• Lin En ordered a Warhound Titan to smash through the warehouse’s blastproof gate, exposing the force to the toxic storm outside.
• Chaos turrets and a Chaos Space Marines patrol turned toward the warehouse as the Titans and tanks advanced down the main road.
• The Lamenters watched the steel column pass and questioned their role in the Penitent Crusade.
• Valerian and Carl watched from a Titan’s shoulders and wondered whether Lin En needed their protection.

Lin En led the Lamenters and Imperial forces in a devastating assault on the Forge World, destroying its defenses while preserving its factories. As the Lamenters clashed with Chaos Space Marines, their unexpected strength and golden-lit weapons left the enemy stunned.

• Lin En ordered the Lamenters to spare factories and production lines but destroy everything else as they advanced.
• The Titans, tanks, and flamethrowers overwhelmed the Forge World's defenses, while anti-aircraft guns shattered the Dark Mechanicum's rotary aircraft.
• Daemon Engines, including Blasphemous Titans, converged on the Imperial assault, and the opposing forces exchanged fire.
• The Lamenters and Chaos Space Marines charged into close combat amid falling wreckage from their battling Titans.
• The Chaos Space Marines found the Lamenters unusually powerful, with golden-glowing weapons and rapid healing, and one was knocked down by a Lamenter.

The Lamenters, empowered by Lin En’s enhancements, overwhelmed the Chaos forces and avenged themselves on the Red Corsairs. As the enemy retreated and the Lamenters continued their advance, Lin En started his regular card draw.

• The Lamenters’ strength and rapid healing let them defeat Chaos Marines and destroy a Hellbrute without casualties.
• Phoros and the Lamenters wiped out Rubric Marines, Dark Mechanicum forces, daemons, and other Chaos enemies across the battlefield.
• The Lamenters charged the Red Corsairs to avenge the Chapter’s past grievances, and Phoros killed their commander with a single axe blow.
• The Lamenters smashed the Red Corsairs’ position while Huron Blackheart remained absent from the planet.
• Lin En checked that no Lamenters were dead or combat ineffective, then accepted the system’s prompt to begin his fifteen-day card draw.

Lin En drew a purple trait while the Lamenters routed the Chaos forces on the Forge World. Just as the battle seemed won, a psychic storm tore open the horizon and a huge silhouette emerged from the light.

• Lin En climbed into a Titan’s cockpit, maintained his aura, and drew the purple trait Absolute Loyalty is Absolute Falsity (Reverse), which could briefly make enemies waver in their loyalty.
• Lin En watched as the Lamenters and their allies devastated the Chaos forces, while Tzeentch’s followers fled and the enemy suffered heavy losses.
• Lin En joined Valerian and Carl to continue clearing the battlefield and saw the Emperor’s Sword erase the psychic remnants of the Rubricae.
• A psychic storm opened a growing blue ring in the sky, causing the Chaos forces to raise their guns and the Lamenters to halt their pursuit.
• Lin En saw a huge silhouette rise from the center of the psychic light.

Magnus appeared as a Tzeentch Daemon Prince, and Lin En judged that his forces could not defeat him alone. Lin En called Guilliman for reinforcements, planning to have a Primarch weaken Magnus before attempting to purify him.

• Magnus emerged from the psychic storm, prompting Valerian and Carl to prepare to protect Lin En.
• Lin En recognized Magnus and recalled how Tzeentch had manipulated events that led to the destruction of Prospero and Magnus's fall to Chaos.
• Lin En assessed that his Custodes and Astartes could not reliably defeat Magnus, whose powers far exceeded theirs.
• Lin En contacted Guilliman and decided to summon a Primarch to fight Magnus before trying to purify him.

Guilliman worked through the Imperium’s paperwork until Lin En called for help after encountering Magnus in the Great Rift. Lin En revealed that his Penitent Crusade had wandered into Tzeentch’s territory, leaving Guilliman alarmed as Magnus closed in.

• Guilliman thanked Cato Sicarius for bringing him coffee and told the Victrix Guard they could take shifts, but Cato insisted on remaining at his post.
• Guilliman used psychic power to review several documents at once and drew comfort from the small box containing courage and glory.
• Lin En contacted Guilliman and reported that he and the Lamenters had encountered Magnus in the Great Rift.
• Guilliman ordered Lin En to leave the battlefield and have the Adeptus Custodes escort him to safety.
• Lin En explained that the group had entered Tzeentch’s territory, found a corrupted Forge World, and tried to reclaim it before Magnus approached.
• Guilliman struggled to stay composed as he realized Lin En and the Lamenters could not escape a Daemon Primarch in the Warp.

Guilliman arranged for Lion El’Jonson to reinforce Lin En while Lin En prepared to stall Magnus, who had landed nearby. Lin En sent the Lamenters to fight the lesser daemons and stepped forward to confront the Daemon Primarch himself.

• Guilliman contacted Lin En, explained that Lion El’Jonson would come but needed time to gather a fleet and cross the Warp, and urged Lin En to hold out.
• Lin En greeted Magnus with an Ancient Terra gesture, then asked the system to have Yellow Pelt use a black hole to speed up the Lion King's arrival.
• Lin En activated Mass Healing Aura and prepared his buffs and Psychic Paradox to resist Magnus's psychic powers.
• Lin En ordered Phoros and the Lamenters to attack the lesser daemons and Chaos warriors while he faced Magnus.
• Valerian and Carl questioned Lin En's plan, and Lin En blasted apart a nearby Chaos Forge with a psychic attack to prove his strength.
• Lin En prepared to confront Magnus and give him an iron-blooded education.