Within months, the Second Legion—the vast force that had unleashed a storm of rebellion, allied with loathsome xenos, and grievously wounded several loyal Legions—vanished into the boundless Sea of Stars along with its master, as though it had evaporated.
There were no disturbances from mass warp transits, no reports of attacks on frontier worlds, not even the usual messages of plunder and intimidation.
In the regions where they had once been active, they left only shattered planets, burning wreckage, and endless mysteries.
That silence put the high seats of Terra and the Primarchs of every Legion more on edge than any attack could have.
Segmentum Solar, the beating heart of the Imperium of Man, was fortified with unprecedented layers of defenses. Countless Fleets patrolled inside and beyond the Mandeville Points, their defensive arrays operating at full power, lest the Lord of Sandstorms make a mad charge straight at Holy Terra.
News of Saladin's betrayal had long since spread like a deadly plague, carried by the screams of Astropaths and urgent shuttle dispatches to every person who wielded authority within the Imperium.
From the High Lords of Terra to governors of distant sectors, from the fortresses of the great Legions to mysterious halls of secret gatherings, everyone spoke of this shocking upheaval. Everyone speculated about where the traitor Primarch and his Legion had hidden, and what greater conspiracy they were brewing.
Every Primarch who had already returned, whether stationed in the rear or campaigning abroad, received this battle report stained with blood and sand.
Even the most recently returned lord of the White Scars, the travel-worn Jaghatai Khan, learned of his brother's betrayal while driving his Fleet swiftly through the Sea of Stars.
Shock, anger, doubt, a crushing sense of responsibility...
Complicated emotions surged through every Primarch's heart.
From that moment