Chapter Summaries

Lox offered the White Scars the first planetary warship, explaining that their piloting skills made them ideal for testing and improving the vessels. He reassured Gantula about the ships’ Machine Spirits and revealed a transforming mech as a new boarding option.

• Gantula was captivated by the planetary warship and asked Lox why he had chosen the White Scars instead of the Ultramarines.
• Lox explained that the vessel was the first of many and that the White Scars would pilot it and provide data for future designs.
• Gantula questioned whether the warships would rely on Abominable Intelligence, and Lox described their protected, loyal Machine Spirits.
• An Iron Hands warrior supported Lox’s assurances, and Gantula accepted that the Machine Spirits might be safe to use.
• Gantula asked about boarding torpedoes, and Lox described beaconless teleportation before unveiling the Tengu Mech, which could transform between fighter and bipedal Knight forms.

Lox introduced the White Scars to the Tengu Mech, a fast-transforming war machine from the Age of Strife, and the warriors eagerly scrambled to claim it. Their excitement gave way to grief when Gantula explained how Eidolon had killed Qin Xia, and the White Scars vowed to join the Five Hundred Worlds in hunting the traitors.

• Lox introduced the hovering Tengu Mech and explained its speed, weapons, and difficult-to-control Machine Spirit to Gantula and Cleaver.
• Lox transformed the Tengu into a fighter in less than a second, and the White Scars rushed to climb aboard and fight for the cockpit.
• Gantula restored order, then found Qin Xin clinging to the mech's underside and scolded him for his reckless behavior.
• Lox asked about Qin Xin's connection to Qin Xia, and Gantula explained that Eidolon had killed Qin Xia with a surprise sonic attack during the Battle of the Kalium Gate.
• Gantula said the White Scars would join the Five Hundred Worlds in an eternal hunt against the traitors.

Guilliman summoned Lox to investigate a mysterious corpse that had fallen through Macragge’s atmosphere and landed on the planet. Lox traveled to the secret fortress where it was being held, while Guilliman remained troubled by an unexplained sense of connection to it.

• Guilliman told Lox that a meteor had fallen on Macragge and asked Hero Valentius Dorlo to explain what he had found.
• Dorlo reported that the meteor had been a naked humanoid corpse, burned and shattered on impact, which had appeared without breaching Macragge’s defenses.
• Dorlo secured the corpse in a secret base, called in the Chief Librarian and Untouchables for help, and kept the Adeptus Mechanicus uninformed.
• Guilliman asked Lox to identify the corpse because he felt it was connected to him, and Lox agreed to investigate.
• Lox gathered precision equipment and went with Dorlo to the fortress, where the corpse remained unidentified and witnesses had been detained.
• Guilliman stayed in his office, unsettled by the corpse, and accidentally blotted a parchment with his ink.

Lox investigated a charred corpse that had fallen through the atmosphere, using an untouchable squad and Legion Apothecaries to examine it. Scans revealed a giant with a Primarch-like frame, and Dorlo identified the reconstructed face as Vulkan.

• Lox followed Dorlo into the fortress, where Dulles Vanlentin and two other untouchables were waiting with two Legion Apothecaries.
• The Apothecaries reported that the corpse’s outer tissue and genetic material had been badly damaged by intense heat.
• Lox ordered a full-body scan of the nearly three-meter-long corpse.
• The scan showed an exceptionally large, dense skeleton, and a reconstruction depicted a figure over four and a half meters tall.
• Valentinus Dorlo recognized the reconstructed face as Lord Vulkan.

Lox and the Ultramarines discovered that the charred corpse inside the meteor was Vulkan, the presumed-dead primarch of the Salamanders. Lox sealed off the remains and set out to tell Guilliman, leaving the body untouched until Guilliman or the Salamanders could claim it.

• Lox and Dolor realized that the corpse recovered from the meteor was Vulkan, though their instruments detected no signs of life.
• Lox ordered Dulles and the other Apothecaries to keep the discovery secret and remain at the medical chamber.
• Lox suspected Vulkan had teleported to Macragge after Pharos lit, but something had gone wrong.
• Dolor evaded responsibility for informing Guilliman, leaving Lox to deliver the news himself.
• Lox allowed Dulles and the other Apothecaries to leave, then ordered the medical chamber sealed and Vulkan's remains left untouched.

Lox told Guilliman that Vulkan had arrived on Macragge, but the primarch had been killed and burned into a charred corpse. Guilliman vowed to avenge him and decided to keep the news from the surviving Salamanders until the situation stabilized.

• Lox visited Guilliman's office with a Victrix Guard and told him that Vulkan had arrived on Macragge.
• Lox revealed that the meteor and charred corpse Guilliman had seen were Vulkan, who had died.
• Guilliman struggled with grief and anger, then vowed to avenge his brother.
• Guilliman wondered what had happened to Vulkan and the Salamanders, and kept vigil in silence for ten minutes.
• Guilliman ordered the news of Vulkan's death sealed so the surviving Salamanders would not rush into vengeance.

Lox told Dantioch that Guilliman had survived an Alpha Legion assassination attempt, loyalist Legions had gathered on Macragge, and Vulkan had fallen to his death. Lox and Dantioch then agreed to expand the search for Blackstone into the unexplored galactic fringe using automated exploration vessels.

• Dantioch grew alarmed when Lox revealed that events on Macragge concerned the Iron Warriors.
• Lox explained that Alpha Legion Space Marines had badly wounded Guilliman, but that he had survived, and loyalist Legion forces had gathered on Macragge.
• Lox told Dantioch that Vulkan had fallen from Macragge's atmosphere and that only his remains had been found; Dantioch denied any involvement.
• Lox reported that Macragge's search for Blackstone had yielded little and proposed widening the search into the galactic fringe.
• Dantioch supported Lox's plan, and Lox decided to build automated exploration vessels in Sotha to survey the region.

Lox’s Seed Project launched unmanned exploration vessels from Sotha to map the galaxy and search for Blackstone, while Dantioch warned of the risks of xenos capture. Lox then provoked Dantioch by mentioning that Alexis Pollux had been put in charge of Macragge’s defenses.

• Lox established a mobile shipyard in Sotha’s asteroid belt to build five-hundred-meter exploration vessels for the Seed Project.
• The vessels set out from Sotha without Warp engines and would send back star charts and reports, with transmissions arriving at intervals of decades or centuries.
• Dantioch warned that xenos might capture an exploration vessel, and Lox explained that captured ships would transmit their final logs before self-destructing.
• Lox told Dantioch that Guilliman had appointed Alexis Pollux to oversee Macragge’s orbital defenses and security measures.
• Dantioch protested that he did not care about the Imperial Fists, then hurried back into Pharos as Lox laughed.

Alexis Pollux and Auguston inspected Macragge’s orbital defenses, while Pollux objected to Barabas Dantioch’s control of the Pharos. Pollux then identified the nearby spaceport as a major flaw in the defenses, and he and Auguston ended in a tense confrontation.

• Pollux questioned Auguston about entrusting the Pharos to the Iron Warrior Barabas Dantioch, but Auguston defended Dantioch’s loyalty and refused to reveal classified details.
• Auguston asked Pollux about his cloned arm, and Pollux said it was healing well and should be usable in a week.
• Pollux skimmed the inspection report and criticized Macragge’s orbital defense preparations as inadequate.
• Pollux pointed to the nearby spaceport and Orbital Platform as a major security flaw threatening Macragge.
• Auguston confronted Pollux over his criticism, and the two men stood face to face in a tense standoff.

Auguston and Pollux argued over Macragge’s defenses until Auguston accepted Pollux’s stricter proposals. Auguston claimed credit for the plan and listed Pollux as its second author, while Pollux remained focused on getting the defenses built.

• Auguston defended Macragge’s existing defenses, but Pollux argued that its starports and civilian infrastructure made them vulnerable.
• Pollux proposed transforming Macragge’s defenses, restricting warships, adding transfer stations and void shields, and expanding orbital surveillance.
• Auguston acknowledged Pollux’s recommendations and said they should be adopted, though he noted that enemies could still arrive by teleportation or drop pods.
• Auguston claimed he should be listed as the plan’s proposer and Pollux as its second author.
• Pollux accepted the arrangement, and Auguston patted him on the shoulder before inspecting the next location.

Fafnir Bloodbond confronted Guilliman over reopening the Librarius, bringing the Space Wolves close to violence. Lox moved the gathering to a garden feast, where the wolves relaxed and shared Fenrisian songs and mead.

• Fafnir Bloodbond accused Guilliman of violating the Edict of Nikaea by reactivating the Librarius, and the Space Wolves formed an attack stance around Titus Praetor.
• Guilliman defended the Librarius, arguing that the rebellion’s Warp enemies made the old edict obsolete, and his anger quieted the wolves.
• Lox suggested moving the feast to the rear garden, and Guilliman led the guests outside.
• Lox arranged a bonfire and grox-meat barbecue, making the Space Wolves more comfortable in the open air.
• Fafnir thanked Guilliman for the hospitality, and the wolves sang Fenrisian ballads and shared mead around the feast.

At a moonlit banquet, Guilliman used Fenrisian mead and a debate over Rune Priests to challenge the Space Wolves’ accusations against the Ultramarines. Fafnir realized the Wolves would need to explain why they condemned other Legions for psychic powers while their own Rune Priests wielded similar abilities.

• Fafnir offered Guilliman Fenrisian mead, and Guilliman drank it despite its dangerously corrosive ingredients.
• Guilliman asked Fafnir about the Rune Priests, who the Wolf King described as drawing power from Fenris’s World Spirit.
• Lox questioned how Rune Priest abilities differed from psychic powers, and Fafnir rejected the comparison.
• The Chief Librarian testified that a Rune Priest he had fought used psychic power and summoned a raven-shaped manifestation.
• Guilliman proposed a hypothetical about shamans who claimed to borrow power from a World Spirit, exposing the contradiction in the Space Wolves’ accusations.
• Fafnir sobered up and sweated as he recognized that he needed to defend the Wolves’ use of Rune Priests.

Lox and Guilliman challenged Fafnir over the Space Wolves’ use of rune power, then Guilliman turned the dispute into a drinking contest and pressed him to share Fenrisian rune secrets. Fafnir ended the chapter drunk and imagining Guilliman as a monstrous Kraken.

• Lox and Guilliman questioned Fafnir about how Rune Priests’ powers differed from Librarians’ psychic abilities.
• Fafnir defended rune power as safe and distinct, but Lox argued the Ultramarines could use it if their powers were equally reliable.
• Fafnir ended the debate by agreeing to leave the Edict of Nikaea aside and let the Allfather and Russ decide how to deal with Guilliman.
• Guilliman toasted Fafnir and forced him to drink another wineskin of Fenrisian mead.
• Guilliman praised rune power and urged Fafnir to reveal Fenris’s rune secrets, while the drunken Fafnir saw Guilliman as a giant Kraken.

After the wolf feast, Guilliman and Lox discussed adapting the Space Wolves’ Rune Priest methods into safeguards for the growing Ultramarines Librarius. They resolved to pursue more knowledge from Fenris and the White Scars as they worked to make Psychic training safer.

• Guilliman recalled defeating Fafnir Bloodbrother in a drinking contest and reflected on the Space Wolves’ formidable appetite.
• Lox noted that Fafnir’s hunting pack had lacked Rune Priests, while Guilliman said the Librarius had to develop its rules step by step.
• Guilliman and Lox concluded that Rune Priests used Warp-based Psychic power through a disciplined rune system that could help protect Librarians from losing control.
• Guilliman reported that the Ultramarines had more than two thousand Librarians, prompting Lox to consider how quickly the Legion had rebuilt and expanded.
• Lox and Guilliman discussed seeking further instruction from Fenris and studying the White Scars’ Stormseers and their Path to Heaven.

Guilliman and Lox finalized the Ultramarines' Librarius training charter before Lady Yottan pressed Guilliman to accept the Second Imperium and its throne. Guilliman resisted but yielded to the inevitable, leaving him to face his coronation on Macragge the next day.

• Guilliman thanked Lox for offering to replace the destroyed cogitator that had belonged to King Konor.
• Lady Yottan entered Guilliman's office and urged him to declare the Second Imperium and take its throne.
• Guilliman argued that founding a Second Imperium would betray the Emperor's dream and make his ambition appear genuine.
• Lox reminded Guilliman that he was the only living primarch available to lead, while Guilliman wished a loyal brother could take the burden instead.
• Lady Yottan told Guilliman that Macragge's governors and ministers would gather the next day to crown him Emperor of the Second Imperium.
• Lox jokingly rehearsed the coronation greeting, and Guilliman silently accepted what was coming.

Lion El’Jonson hunted Konrad Curze through the sealed sections of the Invincible Reason, but a communicator alert let Curze escape again. The Dark Angels discovered an unknown beacon that could guide their fleet out of the Warp, and Lion ordered Holguin and Redloss to meet him at the exit.

• Lion spent sixteen weeks hunting Konrad aboard the Invincible Reason after Curze and his Atramentar boarded the ship during the Saramas Expedition.
• Lion tracked Konrad to an exhaust passage and prepared to kill him with the Lion Sword.
• A communicator alert distracted Lion, allowing Konrad to leap into an exhaust shaft and escape.
• A Dark Angels officer reported an unknown beacon that could guide the fleet out of the Warp.
• Lion ordered Holguin and Redloss to meet him at the exit.

The Lion led the Dark Angels through the Ruinstorm toward the Pharos beacon while Konrad Curze escaped aboard a translating warship and headed for Macragge. As Guilliman’s coronation was interrupted by a massive arrival at the system’s Mandeville Point, he learned the incoming fleet belonged to the Dark Angels.

• The Lion asked Tuchulcha about the Pharos beam, and the relic identified it as a Necron light while warning that the Ruinstorm prevented passage back to Terra.
• Konrad Curze endured tormenting prophetic visions aboard his ship and announced that he was coming to Macragge to amuse himself at Lion Johnson’s expense.
• Curze’s ship translated into realspace at Macragge’s Mandeville Point, triggering alarms across the system and mobilizing its defenses.
• Lady Euten’s coronation ceremony for Roboute Guilliman was suspended when the war alert arrived.
• Guilliman entered the supreme command center with Glorod and Auguston, learned the incoming fleet was the Dark Angels, and roared in alarm.

Lion El'Jonson led the Dark Angels into the Macragge System, where Guilliman's forces surrounded them and prepared to attack. The Lion declared that he meant no harm, and Guilliman welcomed him while asking him to follow security procedures.

• Guilliman put Macragge's defenses on alert and prepared to strike if the Dark Angels showed aggression.
• Lion El'Jonson arrived aboard the Indomitable Truth and discovered that Ultramarines forces had encircled his fleet.
• The battle planet Amatara entered attack range, and the Dark Angels prepared their weapons while Lion weighed the odds of fighting.
• Lion contacted Guilliman across all channels and announced that he meant no harm and wanted to meet.
• Guilliman welcomed Lion to Macragge and asked him to follow the escort fleet through security inspection.

Guilliman feared that Lion El'Jonson might suspect him of disloyalty, while Lion prepared overwhelming safeguards in case Guilliman proved treacherous. The chapter ended with Lion ordering weapons capable of destroying Macragge readied, though he had not ordered them fired.

• Guilliman told Lox that he welcomed having a brother to share the burden of ruling but distrusted the mysterious Lion and feared the First Legion's intentions.
• Guilliman described Lion El'Jonson as a capable but strange brother who secretly wanted recognition and might harbor ambitions like Perturabo.
• Guilliman suspected Lion was wary of Macragge's defenses and was planning how to kill him if he showed signs of treason.
• Lion ordered his Dark Angels to prepare their drop pods for a possible assault on Macragge, while insisting the preparations were only precautions.
• Lion ordered cyclone torpedoes aimed at Macragge and had the singularity driver and nano-annihilator unsealed in case he needed them.

Guilliman planned a grand military parade on Macragge to display Ultramar's strength before meeting the Dark Angels, while honoring Dantioch's work. The chapter ended with Imperial Fists Captain Alexis Pollux asking to speak with Dantioch, setting the two warriors from opposing Legions face to face.

• Guilliman planned to parade the Invictus Guard, Ultramar Auxilia, Skitarii, Titans, and recovered relic technologies on Macragge.
• Lox told Dantioch that Guilliman was ready to hear his report, and Dantioch projected himself from Sotha into Guilliman's office.
• Guilliman praised Dantioch's contributions and promised that his name would be honored during the parade with the Dark Angels.
• Titus Praetor announced that Imperial Fists Captain Alexis Pollux had requested an audience because of Dantioch.
• Pollux entered and asked Guilliman for permission to speak with Dantioch, while the Warsmith tensed at the Imperial Fist's arrival.