The bridge of the Blade Storm was shrouded in a dim, oppressive gloom.
The White Scars battle standard that had once hung on the bulkhead had been torn down, erased entirely from the warship's memory.
That emblem, once a symbol of their homeworld Chogoris's honour, had been snapped in two beneath the eyes of countless warriors, then thrown into the stern incinerator.
No one was there when the flames consumed it.
In its place stood the mark of Khorne.
An enormous symbol of the Blood God had been branded into the bridge's main bulkhead, its edges still blackened by the scorching.
Warp corruption had long since turned those symbols into hideous living things, writhing faintly beneath the dim lights.
A crude, savage image of Khorne, Blood God, had been painted where the White Scars heraldry once stood. Crimson from head to toe, with fangs bared, his monstrous face looked down upon everyone on the bridge.
The air was thick with the smell of blood and burnt incense, mingling into a scent that sent chills down the spine.
The Great Conqueror, Jaghatai Khan, lord of the White Scars who had embraced the Blood God, stood in the centre of the bridge.
He no longer wore his old white power armour. In its place was Chaos armour in mingled shades of red and bronze, with runes of Khorne carved into the pauldrons and a cloak dyed dark crimson.
He leaned at a slight angle against a pillar, holding a heavy metal cup filled with a dark red liquid—blood wine.
Beside him stood White Scars warriors who had long since fallen to Chaos. Their once-brilliant white armour had been repainted in furious red and deep black, their helmets studded with bronze spikes and beast fangs, their visors glowing an ominous red.
They were