Chapter Summaries

Saul and the Sons of Sorrow erased Huron’s fleet, stabilized the Maelstrom, and saved billions, leaving the Imperium stunned by their victory. In the High Lords’ chamber, Van Helsing called for their destruction, but the other leaders hesitated to attack a celebrated hero.

• Nurgle felt pain from the golden torrent and watched it with disgust and curiosity.
• Slaanesh ignored the golden torrent while hiding in isolation, consumed by hatred and a twisted longing to see Saul again.
• Karab Kuhl and the Salamanders’ representative agreed to send reinforcements to aid the surrounded Sons of Sorrow, but golden light swept across the sector before they could act.
• Dante ordered the assembled ships to give the Sons of Sorrow the highest honors after the battlefield scanners showed Huron’s fleet had vanished and the Maelstrom had stabilized.
• Van Helsing accused Saul and the Sons of Sorrow of heresy and demanded their destruction, but the commander-in-chief of the Astra Militarum challenged him as the High Lords remained silent.

After Mars concluded that Saul’s golden power shared the Emperor’s light, Trajann Valoris arrived aboard the Mother of Tears with a decree naming Saul a Living Saint and freeing the Sons of Sorrow from their restrictions. Valoris hinted that Saul should help clean up Terra, where several corrupt High Lords soon died in suspicious accidents.

• The Fabricator-General announced that Cawl’s team had linked Saul’s golden energy to the Emperor’s light, and a scribe reported that Trajann Valoris had left the Imperial Palace with Custodians.
• As the Sons of Sorrow mourned their dead aboard the Mother of Tears, Valoris and his Custodians teleported onto the bridge.
• Valoris knelt before Saul and said the Emperor had sent him to welcome a saint’s return.
• Valoris read the Golden Throne’s decree declaring Saul the Living Saint Ember, absolving the Sons of Sorrow, and allowing the Chapter to expand without limit.
• Valoris suggested that Terra needed new leaders, and Saul smiled as a purge of the High Lords began.
• Several former Imperial leaders died in suspicious accidents involving medical Servo-skulls, a falling golden eagle, and a malfunctioning life-support suit.

Saul secured the High Lords’ support for the Sons of Sorrow and requested access to Belisarius Cawl’s research. Saul then appeared inside Cawl’s secret Martian laboratory and told him that gene-seed instability was also a scar upon the soul.

• The new High Lords offered the Sons of Sorrow the Imperium’s highest level of material provisioning in recognition of their deeds in the Maelstrom.
• Saul requested Belisarius Cawl, explaining that the Chapter needed more than warships and weapons to change its brothers’ fate.
• The Fabricator-General agreed to arrange a secure route to Mars and contact Cawl.
• Cawl angrily struggled to solve the gene-seed stability problem in his Primaris research at the Zagrelus Kane facility.
• Saul bypassed Cawl’s security systems, entered the laboratory, and told Cawl that his problem involved a scar upon the soul as well as a genetic flaw.

Saul healed a damaged gene sample for Belisarius Cawl, leading Cawl to perfect the Sons of Sorrow’s Primaris technology and help them grow into a vast force devoted to aiding Imperial worlds. The Chapter’s war council then received an urgent plea from Macragge as the Tyranids invaded the Ultima Segmentum.

• Saul restored a disintegrating gene sample with golden light and convinced Belisarius Cawl to work with him.
• Cawl used the Saul Sequence Stabilization Protocol to eliminate the flaws in Sanguinius’s bloodline and strengthen the Sons of Sorrow’s Primaris Space Marines.
• With support from the High Lords of Terra, the Sons of Sorrow grew to six thousand warriors and sent teams across the galaxy to aid embattled Imperial forces.
• Over the following centuries, the Sons of Sorrow expanded into a vast military force under Chapter Master Phoros.
• At a war council in the Mother of Tears, the Chief Librarian reported Calgar’s plea for aid against the Tyranids invading the Ultima Segmentum.

Saul chose to answer the threats to Macragge and the Damocles Gulf at once, dividing the Sons of Sorrow into two crusade fleets. As Calgar faced the approaching Tyranid fleet on Macragge, the Sons of Sorrow arrived with reinforcements.

• Saul proposed splitting the Sons of Sorrow to fight on both fronts, and the commanders agreed.
• Phoros took sixty thousand battle-brothers to reinforce the Ultramarines at Macragge against the Tyranids.
• Saul took forty thousand battle-brothers to join the Damocles Crusade against the T'au Empire.
• On Macragge, Calgar worried that the Ultramarines and local defenses could not stop the approaching Tyranid fleet without devastating losses.
• A Communications Officer informed Calgar that a huge Imperial fleet identified as the Sons of Sorrow had arrived in the Macragge System.

Malakim Phoros arrived at Macragge with a massive Sons of Sorrow fleet and joined forces with Calgar to take the fight to Hive Fleet Behemoth. The story then shifted to the Damocles Gulf, where Imperial commanders awaited the arrival of the Living Saint.

• Calgar learned that the Sons of Sorrow fleet had arrived with at least twenty battleships and a hundred Strike Cruisers.
• Malakim Phoros told Calgar that the Sons of Sorrow had brought sixty thousand battle-brothers to support the Ultramarines.
• Calgar welcomed Phoros, and the Sons of Sorrow and Ultramarines joined forces to advance against Hive Fleet Behemoth.
• The narrative shifted to the Damocles Gulf, where Lord Inquisitor Kryptman, Lord General Wendell Gage, Cardinal Esau Gurney, and Admiral Yanis awaited the Living Saint.

Saul arrived at the strategic hall and exposed flaws in the Imperial forces’ plans against the T'au Empire, winning the commanders’ confidence. He assumed supreme command and prepared to begin the campaign, calling the destruction of the xenos a prayer to the Emperor.

• Saul entered the hall with his golden-armoured Sons of Sorrow guard, while Cardinal Geni fell to his knees and hailed him as a saint.
• Saul’s adjutants updated the Star Map with detailed tactical intelligence as Saul warned General Gage that vulnerable supply lines could leave ground forces without ammunition.
• Saul showed Admiral Yanis how T'au drones and missiles could wear down his fleet, then criticized the Space Marine captains’ plans for needless sacrifice.
• Saul announced that his fleet would arrive within an hour and asked to assume supreme command; General Gage, Admiral Yanis, and the seven captains accepted.
• Cardinal Geni asked Saul to lead a prayer, and Saul declared that destroying the xenos would be the Imperium’s prayer before ending the meeting.

Saul used communications sabotage and a swift assault to seize the T'au colony of Cysel, then ordered a surprise attack on Sydas. Imperial warships emerged at Sydas's Mandeville Point, catching the T'au fleet completely off guard.

• Saul ordered Gareth to isolate frontier planets from outside communications and sent Klaest with Space Marine companies to seize and purge targets.
• The Imperial fleet attacked Cysel, destroyed its orbital defenses, and captured the colony in less than six hours without Imperial casualties.
• Saul ordered Admiral Yanis to launch an even more flawless surprise attack on the industrial world of Sydas.
• T'au Admiral K'O'L detected impossible gravitational waves at Sydas's Mandeville Point as hundreds of Gothic warships emerged from a rift near his fleet.

Admiral Yanis’s Imperial fleet annihilated the T'au defenders in the Sydas system and began its ground invasion. Saul watched the landing forces descend, knowing the real challenges still lay ahead.

• K'O'L ordered the T'au fleet to raise its alert and intercept the Imperium, but Imperial Lances destroyed nearly a fifth of his ships in the opening volley.
• Yanis ordered the Macro-cannons to fire, and the bombardment tore through the T'au fleet while its attacks barely affected Imperial Void Shields.
• After losing half his fleet, K'O'L ordered a retreat, but Imperial frigates cut off the escape routes and trapped the T'au ships.
• Imperial naval forces destroyed the remaining T'au fighters and orbital defenses in the Sydas system.
• Imperial transports launched Astra Militarum vehicles and Space Marines toward Sydas, while Saul watched from the temporary flagship at Cysel.

Saul ordered the Adeptus Mechanicus to build anti-stealth equipment before the Imperium’s next battle with the T'au. As the Imperial fleet approached Dalis, a T'au envoy sought peace and trade, and Saul opened a communications link to hear him out.

• Saul gave the Adeptus Mechanicus sages schematics for an anti-stealth device and ordered them to establish a forge on Cysel and equip every Imperial company and squad.
• Aun'Va dismissed reports of the Imperium’s devastation of Cysel and Sydas, assuming its commander wanted to negotiate, and the Ethereal Council sent an unarmed diplomatic vessel toward the Imperial fleet.
• The Imperial commanders debated whether the approaching T'au vessel was a trap or a surrender attempt, while Cardinal Geni demanded its destruction.
• Saul ordered the communications link opened despite the other commanders’ surprise.
• Po Dalis introduced himself as a Water Caste envoy and offered to seek peace and explore mutual interests.

Po Dalis offered the Imperium a ceasefire and resources, but Saul rejected peace and destroyed his diplomatic vessel. The Ethereal Council responded by granting Farsight and Shadowsun command of a vast force to intercept the human fleet at Dal'yth Prime.

• Po Dalis proposed that the T'au cede trade routes and mining worlds in exchange for an end to Imperial military operations and a lasting ceasefire.
• Saul declared that the Imperium would make no deals with xenos and ordered the fleet to advance.
• The Blade of Sorrow destroyed Po Dalis's diplomatic vessel, and the Ethereal Council watched his life signs disappear.
• Supreme Leader Anva admitted the T'au had misjudged the Imperium and authorized a major military mobilization.
• Anva gave Farsight and Shadowsun supreme command and ordered them to intercept the human fleet at Dal'yth Prime.

Farsight’s T'au fleet ambushed the Imperial Fleet in the Dalis System, but enhanced Void Shields blunted its opening Supergravity Railgun barrage. The Imperials charged into the T'au formation, where ramming attacks and Space Marine boarding parties turned the battle into a slaughter.

• Farsight concealed his fleet along the Imperial Fleet’s route and ordered a long-range Supergravity Railgun attack.
• The Imperial Fleet accelerated toward the T'au, and its enhanced Void Shields reduced the railgun barrage to less than twelve percent effective damage.
• Admiral Yanis ordered the Imperial warships to ram the T'au vessels and launched Adeptus Astartes boarding torpedoes.
• Imperial cruisers tore through T'au ships at point-blank range as Terminators boarded and massacred Fire Warriors.
• A Lamenters Terminator crushed a Fire Warrior squad leader’s XV8 Crisis Battlesuit with a Thunder Hammer.

Farsight abandoned the losing space battle and withdrew the T'au fleet to Dal'yth Prime, leaving the Imperium in control of orbit. On the planet, Shadowsun's stealth forces ambushed Imperial supply lines, while T'au attacks in the jungle began to terrorize advancing Guard troops.

• Farsight ordered the surviving T'au ships to retreat to Dal'yth Prime, and Admiral Yanis declined to pursue them.
• General Gage landed Imperial Guard forces on Dal'yth Prime, where the T'au offered no initial resistance.
• Shadowsun led XV25 Stealth and XV95 Ghost Battlesuits in a surprise attack that destroyed Imperial transports, supplies, and officers.
• A Cadian infantryman was dragged into the jungle by an unseen attacker as his company searched for a T'au communications relay.

The T'au’s ambushes and raids devastated the Imperial Guard, leaving General Gage’s forces pinned down and demoralized. After receiving newly made anti-stealth equipment, Saul ordered more than ten thousand Astartes to disguise themselves among the mortal armies and prepare to hunt the T'au.

• Kroot Flesh Eaters ambushed and wiped out an Imperial Guard company.
• XV88 Broadside battlesuits destroyed Leman Russ tanks with long-range railgun fire, while Farsight’s Crisis teams and Vespid raided Imperial forces and weapons.
• General Gage struggled to respond as Imperial casualties mounted, heavy weapons and aircraft were lost, and morale collapsed.
• Saul watched the losses from the Blade of Sorrow and learned that the first batch of True Sight Lenses and Echo-Location Beacons had been manufactured successfully.
• Saul ordered Tactical Squads with anti-stealth equipment to join Imperial Guard patrols and logistics teams in disguise, and more than ten thousand Astartes donned Carapace Armour and camouflage cloaks.

The Sons of Sorrow used disguised ambushes to slaughter Vespid and Kroot raiders across Dal'yth Prime. As Shadowsun investigated the disappearance of her elite teams, a final recording revealed another Imperial trap.

• A Vespid squad attacked an Imperial convoy, but sixty disguised Astartes opened fire and destroyed most of the raiders.
• A Sons of Sorrow Sergeant killed the fleeing Vespid leader with a Melta Bomb.
• Two Kroot Hunters ambushed a lone Guardsman, who revealed himself as an Astartes, killed them, and crushed a Krootox.
• Shadowsun noted that seven Stealth Teams and three Ghost Squads had gone missing over twelve hours.
• A Stealth Team's final recording showed Imperial logistics soldiers drawing Chainswords and Power Axes from ammunition crates as the team prepared to attack an artillery position.

Shadowsun realized the T'au raids had been a trap, and Saul launched a full-scale assault on the T'au capital. With their defenses collapsing, Farsight faced a desperate gamble to strike Saul at Twin Peaks.

• Shadowsun recognized that Imperial forces had turned the battlefield into a trap, devastating the T'au raiding forces.
• Saul ordered the Iron Hands' Land Raiders, a Warlord Titan, Imperial Guard artillery, and the Sons of Sorrow to assault the T'au capital.
• Saul moved his command centre to the ruins of Twin Peaks near the front line.
• Farsight saw that the T'au defenses were failing and concluded that the capital would soon fall.
• Shadowsun reported Saul's location and urged Farsight to attack, despite the likelihood that it was a trap.
• Farsight accepted the desperate gamble, choosing to strike at Saul for a chance of survival.

Farsight launched the T'au Empire's last assault on Twin Peaks, but Saul had anticipated the attack and confronted the T'au commanders alone. Shadowsun was knocked unconscious, and Saul shattered the Dawn Blade before striking Farsight's battlesuit.

• Farsight committed the T'au Empire's remaining forces to a decapitation strike on Twin Peaks.
• Shadowsun and her stealth troops disabled the command center's Void Shield Generators, allowing Farsight's Crisis Battlesuits to attack.
• Farsight stormed the command hall and found Saul waiting alone.
• Shadowsun fired her Fusion Blasters, but they exploded amid Saul's psychic field and knocked her unconscious.
• Farsight attacked Saul with the Dawn Blade, but Saul stopped the strike with his hand and snapped the blade.
• Saul punched Farsight's red battlesuit in the chest.

Saul killed Farsight and shattered the T'au forces’ morale, while Shadowsun escaped to carry news of their defeat back to the T'au Empire. Saul ordered the conquered planet made into an Imperial fortress world, and the ship bearing despair reached the T'au capital.

• Saul crushed Farsight’s battlesuit and broadcast his death to the forces fighting across the Dalis System.
• The T'au defensive line collapsed, while Shadowsun escaped through the ruins determined to warn her people.
• Saul told Gareth that he had spared the fleeing T'au ship to leave its survivors with fear rather than inspire new heroes.
• Saul ordered Gareth to have Cardinal Geni prepare the planet for consecration as the Imperium’s first fortress world in the Damocles Gulf.
• The ship carrying the news of defeat reached T'au, the T'au Empire’s capital.

Shadowsun returned to T'au with evidence that the Imperium had crushed Farsight's expeditionary fleet and killed Farsight. After watching the footage, Aun'Va resolved to keep the truth from the T'au populace.

• Shadowsun's battered cruiser emerged above T'au, but its communications were silent, and her damaged Barracuda descended toward the planet.
• Shadowsun crash-landed at the Ethereal Council's shrine and rushed inside with a data chip containing the fleet's combat records.
• The Ethereal Council watched footage of the Imperium defeating the T'au forces and a golden figure killing Farsight.
• Aun'Va recognized the terrifying power shown in the footage and decided the truth could never be made public.

Aun'Va silenced Shadowsun and reshaped the T'au Empire around secrecy and defense after the Battle of Dalis. Meanwhile, Admiral Yanis recognized the Viola System's nebula as a deliberate Imperial trap and halted the fleet's advance.

• Aun'Va had Shadowsun drugged and removed after she tried to expose what the T'au had encountered at Dalis.
• Aun'Va ordered the battle's truth concealed, Farsight proclaimed a martyr, and the fallen honored as heroes in the public report.
• Aun'Va abandoned expansion plans, ordered extensive border defenses and research into the golden light, and purged voices favoring peace or expansion.
• The Imperial Expeditionary Force entered the Viola System's sensor-disrupting nebula, where Lord General Gage and Cardinal Esau Gurney argued over its meaning.
• Admiral Yanis judged the nebula a calculated trap, ordered the fleet to slow, and instructed its ships to prepare for attack and maintain position reports.