The Sorrow of Mortals

The space of the Ghoul Stars seemed colder than that of other regions of the galaxy.

This barren expanse, infamous throughout the galaxy, had given rise to countless bizarre races.

They multiplied and survived here, slaughtering one another for nothing more than a chance to live.

Had the Krork not led the Orks to a powerful rise, this place would likely have remained a chaotic land of death even ten thousand years later.

Olivia Lewis was not a native of the Ultima Segmentum. Her homeland lay in the galactic northwest, a military fortress world called Cadia.

Those born on that military world all possessed a striking physical trait: every Cadian had enchanting lavender-purple eyes.

This was inseparably linked to their homeworld's proximity to the Cygnus X anomaly, though most people preferred to call it the Eye of Terror.

After the Horus Heresy ended, Ezekyle Abaddon, First Captain of the Sons of Horus, led most of the rebels into the Eye of Terror.

Using the Eye of Terror as his base, Abaddon continuously launched raids against nearby Imperial worlds, and Cadia naturally became the Empire's bridgehead against the Chaos rebels.

Imperial Regent Roboute Guilliman personally ordered a defensive line stretching hundreds of light-years to be built around the Eye of Terror, with Cadia's position being the most crucial point of that line.

Olivia belonged to the 212th Cadian Armored Regiment. She was not an Astra Militarum soldier, but a rather rare Hospitalier Sister.

The Hospitalier Sisters were a non-combat force within the Ecclesiarchy's Sisterhood. Unlike those fanatical Sisters of Battle, they could not slaughter Humanity's enemies across the battlefield with boltguns and chainswords.

As their name suggested, Hospitalier Sisters provided medical services to all Imperial citizens. Since she served with the 212th Cadian Armored Regiment, she was technically a military medic