While the Dawn Army came under surprise attack by the World Eaters elsewhere, the Imperial Army carrying out its own operation seemed entirely unscathed.
The Craftworld Aeldari needed vast quantities of Spirit Stones to sustain their existence, and the only source of those stones was the "Crone Worlds" within the Eye of Terror.
Thus, at regular intervals, the Craftworld Aeldari sent their bravest and wisest people into the Eye of Terror to search for Spirit Stones under the very noses of daemons and xenos. Many of them died there.
For that very reason, the Craftworld Aeldari had unique experience in infiltrating the Eye of Terror.
While Perturabo put blind faith in data and rational judgment, leading his fleet straight into the World Eaters' trap, the Imperial Fleet slipped quietly into the Eye of Terror under the Aeldari's guidance.
As the Webway gate opened, a vast expanse of stars appeared before them.
But the "stars" here could not be looked at directly. The Eye of Terror had fallen almost entirely into the Warp, and indistinct Warp creatures could be seen darting in and out of existence.
Every viewport across the fleet was sealed shut, and crew members incapable of resisting Warp corruption were ordered back into their quarters. Yet even a trace of illusory Warp light too faint to detect could turn a mortal into a vessel for a daemon.
Thus, even aboard the flagship Macragge, the sound of bolt fire rang out incessantly. The Astartes did their best to maintain order, while conditions aboard the other warships were far from promising.
"The Aeldari's Webway really is everywhere. They even have routes inside the Eye of Terror," Lion El'Jonson said.
"The Webway is the Aeldari's most precious asset, the brightest jewel aboard our Craftworlds," the Aeldari pirate prince Yriel declared smugly.