The Law of Faith
Gloriana-class Battleship
Strategic Council Chamber
The heavy adamantium doors were shut tight, sealing out the battleship's ceaseless, low hum.
The chamber lay in subdued light. An enormous oval table of obsidian dominated its center, with a partial star chart of the Northern Star Cluster suspended above it. The dark red region marking the territory of the Rangdan Xenos stood out painfully, like a festering wound that never stopped pulsing.
Lorgar Aurelian sat at the head of the table, his dark gray Artificer Armour gleaming coldly beneath the soft lighting.
His hands rested one over the other on the tabletop, his knuckles unconsciously tapping the smooth stone in a faint, steady rhythm.
His expression was calm, like the deepest waters before a storm. Only his deep-set eyes, burning with pale golden psychic flames and reflecting the ominous red on the star chart, betrayed the turmoil within him.
Seated around the table were the backbone of the Word Bearers Legion, the senior commanders of this expedition:
Rockefeller, Chapter Master of the First Chapter; Seras, Chapter Master of the Third Chapter; Atlas, Chapter Master of the Fifth Chapter; Kras Noda, Chapter Master of the Thirteenth Chapter; and Evans, the Legion's Lord Commander.
The giant Hercules stood rigidly behind and to one side of Lorgar's chair, like a silent guardian deity.
Anastasia, their guest from a distant age, sat in a specially added seat at the far end of the table. Her silver-gray eyes moved calmly over the star chart and those assembled, as though she were merely an observer.
The atmosphere was heavy. The only sounds were the faint electrical buzz of the star chart equipment and the soft tapping of Lorgar's fingers.
After a long silence, Lorgar finally spoke. His voice was steady, yet carried an immense weight: