The Ultramarines received their primarch's signal. Preator led the Victors following behind him into the garden from several other directions, while the mortal guards followed behind the Astartes.
Power swords activated their disruption fields, and plasma guns stood ready to fire at any moment.
Lox hid behind those giants and followed them in as well. At his side was Lady Euten, Mistress of the Household.
No one dared make a rash move. Before their eyes, the shadows in the garden suddenly split apart, as though something had drawn back a curtain to reveal the truth hidden within.
Guilliman lowered the bolter in his hand.
Before him, a solid, tangible figure emerged from the darkness. The iron mask, the poorly maintained Mark III power armor, and the emblem branded upon it that belonged exclusively to the Fourth Legion all proclaimed the man's identity.
"Warsmith Barabas Dantioch."
Guilliman knew the man before him. In fact, he remembered him vividly.
Barabas Dantioch was the son of the Iron Lord who had already turned traitor. This Olympian had once served as a Warsmith and Trident of the Iron Warriors Legion, a trusted subordinate of Perturabo.
In the 999th year of the 30th Millennium, the Fourth Legion suffered devastating losses while campaigning against the Hrud xenos in the Sak'trada Deeps. More than forty thousand Astartes perished, the Gloriana-class Battleship Iron Blood nearly sank, and the primarch himself was struck by the enemy's entropy weapons, losing over a thousand years of his natural lifespan.
This true Iron Warrior openly rebuked the primarch for his atrocious command. Perturabo subsequently stripped him of his position and Terminator armor, even erasing his name from the Legion rolls.
After being cast out, Dantioch refused to aid the rebels following the Legion's betrayal. For nearly a year, he held off the