Recaps

Han Mingxuan planned to counter Deliverance’s unauthorized worship of him by publishing an authorized edition of the Evernight Epic and having the Necrontyr secretly collect and destroy pirated copies. After learning that Curze and the Council of the Long Night were coming, he prepared to discipline them with a belt made by Szarekh.

• Han Mingxuan told Aivrinia that transforming Deliverance had required collective effort, then spoke with her about everyday matters.
• Han Mingxuan told Szarekh he would revise and officially publish the Evernight Epic rather than ban the pirated copies, using the authorized edition to dilute their influence.
• Han Mingxuan asked the Necrontyr to secretly monitor the campaign, destroy pirated copies, and help distinguish them from authorized editions with a hidden mark.
• Han Mingxuan contacted Lorgar and learned that Curze and the Council of the Long Night were traveling to Deliverance after Russ had summoned them.
• Han Mingxuan asked Szarekh for a durable belt to discipline the arriving Primarchs, and Szarekh made one using Blackstone Technology.

Han Mingxuan confronted Curze and the Council of the Long Night over their exaggerated history book, the Evernight Epic. After punishing them for their role in writing it, he let them leave to recover, while the group continued arguing over who had betrayed whom.

• Curze arrived with the Council of the Long Night and spent two and a half hours introducing everyone while Han Mingxuan waited with a Septwolves belt.
• Han Mingxuan questioned Curze about the Evernight Epic's claims that he had caused a series of miraculous events, and Curze insisted the book recorded what had really happened.
• Han Mingxuan took Curze aside and beat him, then questioned Sevatar and the other Council members about who had helped write the book.
• The Council members gave excuses, but Han Mingxuan ordered them into the side hall and punished them as well.
• Urtana served Han Mingxuan tea, and he told Curze and the others to rest until their injuries healed before resuming the lecture.
• Curze and the Council left, arguing among themselves about who had been disloyal and should take the blame.

Han Mingxuan confronted Erebus and Kor Phaeron aboard Lorgar’s flagship after uncovering their blood sacrifice and destroyed Erebus’s faith in the Chaos Gods. He took Erebus with him to seek out the gods themselves, with Szarekh agreeing to accompany him.

• Han Mingxuan asked Lorgar to take him to Erebus and Kor Phaeron, and Perturabo joined them.
• Han Mingxuan picked up three bricks, then entered Lorgar’s carefully sealed chamber with Lorgar and Perturabo.
• Lorgar burned away the chamber’s illusion and revealed that Erebus and Kor Phaeron had performed a blood sacrifice to contact the Chaos Gods.
• Han Mingxuan beat Erebus with bricks and challenged him to get an answer from the Chaos Gods, while Lorgar agreed to turn him into an eternal lamp if he failed.
• Han Mingxuan asked Szarekh to slow time in the sector so they could visit the Chaos Gods, and Szarekh agreed to go with him.

Han Mingxuan traveled with Lorgar and Perturabo toward Commorragh, forcing a path through the Warp with the Silent King's help. Slaanesh joined them by hiding within a gemstone necklace on Han Mingxuan’s wrist as they prepared to enter the Aeldari city.

• The Silent King slowed time across the planet, and Han Mingxuan used the Compass to open a way toward Commorragh.
• Slaanesh sent Xarathi to guide Han Mingxuan, but barred Lorgar and Perturabo from coming, so the Silent King destroyed her in the Warp.
• Xarathi led the group to Commorragh’s outskirts, where Han Mingxuan allowed her to accompany them under his conditions.
• Slaanesh appeared in a female avatar, rebuked Lorgar, and asked to travel with Han Mingxuan into Commorragh.
• After Han Mingxuan refused to let Slaanesh possess him, she placed her necklace around his wrist and vanished into it.

Han Mingxuan brought his nephews to Commorragh and forced the Drukhari leaders to help him prepare Erebus for a ritual. The Drukhari began torturing Erebus while Slaanesh celebrated Han Mingxuan’s decision to keep her from taking part.

• Han Mingxuan reassured Perturabo and Lorgar that they were his nephews and brought them with him to Commorragh.
• Han Mingxuan ordered Szarekh to destroy part of Commorragh’s outskirts, and Slaanesh feasted on the resulting souls.
• Szarekh froze time and space across Commorragh and prevented the Drukhari from escaping.
• Han Mingxuan summoned the Drukhari leaders and ordered them to torture Erebus for six days and prepare a torch.
• Han Mingxuan refused to let Slaanesh take part because she was undergoing a transformation, and she delighted in his concern.

Six days after the Drukhari delivered the tortured Erebus to Han Mingxuan, Slaanesh appeared in Commorragh and offered to spare its people. Han Mingxuan and his companions left the city, while he rebuffed the Silent King and struck Lorgar for guessing what others wanted him to do.

• Han Mingxuan ordered Lorgar to light Erebus, whose torch screamed an enemy warning when Chaos corruption appeared nearby.
• Slaanesh appeared before the Drukhari and revealed that she had come to intimidate them at Han Mingxuan's request.
• Han Mingxuan suggested that Slaanesh devour all of Commorragh, prompting the Drukhari nobles to beg for mercy in the name of the Master of Mankind.
• Slaanesh agreed to spare the Drukhari for now, and Han Mingxuan and his companions left Commorragh.
• Han Mingxuan warned the Silent King not to suggest that he sleep with Slaanesh, then knocked Lorgar flying before Perturabo fled with him.

Han Mingxuan confronted the Warp Gods at the Well of Eternity, refusing their requests to cooperate and terrifying Tzeentch by dragging him into the well. Khorne then revealed that part of him had become imbued with courage, sacrifice, justice, and honor, and asked Han Mingxuan to consider whether the Warp could be saved.

• Kairos Fateweaver invited Han Mingxuan and Szarekh to meet the Warp Gods, but Han Mingxuan refused to go.
• Nurgle, Tzeentch, and Khorne appeared before Han Mingxuan and tried to persuade him to discuss the future of the Warp and Slaanesh.
• Han Mingxuan challenged Tzeentch at the Well of Eternity, dragged him into its mouth, and mocked him while holding him above the depths.
• Slaanesh pulled Han Mingxuan up and urged him to hear the Warp Gods out, but Han Mingxuan again refused to make deals with them.
• Khorne asked Han Mingxuan whether the world could still be saved and revealed that half his upper body now radiated courage, sacrifice, justice, and honor.

Khorne explained that Sevatar’s attack on Nuceria restored part of his positive authority, and he asked Han Mingxuan to help him reclaim it and find a way to coexist with it. Khorne handed Han Mingxuan the authority as a sword, while the other Warp Gods revealed their own moves and Tzeentch remained the lone holdout.

• Khorne told Han Mingxuan that Sevatar’s strike had returned a portion of his discarded authority, which he had since studied and come to see as positive.
• Khorne asked Han Mingxuan whether reclaiming his authority could let him turn over a new leaf, and Han Mingxuan discussed the possibility of coexistence with him.
• Slaanesh angrily claimed to have become better first, while Khorne surrendered his positive authority in the form of a longsword and urged Han Mingxuan to accept it.
• Han Mingxuan asked whether accepting the sword made him Khorne’s Chosen, and Khorne said his strength would diminish but not be seriously affected.
• Grandfather revealed that death authority had already been moving toward Mortarion on Nuceria, leaving Tzeentch as the only Warp God who had not shown sincerity.
• Tzeentch recalled Han Mingxuan humiliating him at the Well of Eternity and seethed over his repeated failures against the teacher.

Han Mingxuan advised Curze and the Primarchs to rein in his growing personality cult and understand the boundary between man and god. He left them with the lesson that humanity, rather than any individual, was truly great.

• Han Mingxuan and the Silent King returned to Lycaeus and discussed the Warp Gods’ proposed cooperation, deciding to stay the course while Tzeentch’s position remained unknown.
• The Silent King told Curze that he needed to develop leadership and governing skills instead of relying on subordinates and focusing only on judgment.
• Han Mingxuan warned Curze that his personality cult had spread too far and that he hated being treated like a god.
• Han Mingxuan explained that his knowledge came from those who had taught and written before him, and warned that intense devotion could shape a dangerous entity in the Warp.
• Han Mingxuan urged the Primarchs to find a balance between man and god, and they recognized that humanity, not one person, was what he represented.

Curze accepted that Evernight Epic had overemphasized Han Mingxuan and agreed to revise it, while Han urged the Primarchs to write histories with compassion and responsibility. After the lesson, Han considered visiting Perturabo’s Legion or the Dark Angels, carrying a book for the Knight King.

• Curze admitted his deliberate mistake in Evernight Epic and promised to revise it into a history that followed the Imperium’s laws.
• Han Mingxuan urged Curze, Sevatar, Shen, and the other Primarchs to write books that honored humanity and could inspire future readers.
• Sevatar said the Primarchs would become the Imperium’s finest teachers, and Han encouraged them to surpass him.
• The Silent King praised Han’s lesson and privately affirmed his belief in him.
• Han considered investigating Perturabo’s Legion on Olympia or visiting the Dark Angels to give their Knight King The Nonexistent Knight.

Han Mingxuan planned investigations into the Dark Angels and Perturabo’s personal life on Olympia, while Lorgar sought guidance about the Imperial Truth and the Warp. After advising Lorgar to keep his understanding secret until the Imperium was ready, Han Mingxuan set out for the Dark Angels with Aequus.

• The Eighth Legion’s Council of the Long Night began researching and writing a book, and Lorgar and Perturabo came to see Han Mingxuan.
• Han Mingxuan told Perturabo he would visit Olympia, prompting Perturabo to order the Iron Warriors fleet to return there immediately.
• Lorgar asked Han Mingxuan whether the Imperial Truth was really true, and Han Mingxuan explained that it served as a lock against the Warp.
• Han Mingxuan advised Lorgar to keep exploring but remain silent until the Imperium was ready, and Lorgar accepted the burden.
• Han Mingxuan prepared to visit the Dark Angels, and Aequus showed him a book recording his actions among them.

Han Mingxuan and Aequus arrived aboard the Unyielding Truth, where Lion El'Jonson sought priority recruitment rights on Nostramo. Aequus interrogated a rebel warlord with increasingly brutal methods, drawing criticism from Luther as he left the prisoner to endure a strange device.

• Han Mingxuan met Lion El'Jonson and Luther aboard the Unyielding Truth, and Lion asked for priority recruitment rights on Nostramo.
• Han Mingxuan refused Lion's request but said the Dark Angels could compete for recruits when the Eighth Legion's second recruitment drive began.
• Lion asked Aequus to interrogate prisoners, but Aequus insisted that only Han Mingxuan could give him orders.
• Aequus tortured a rebel warlord with a revolver, drugs, and interrogation tools until the prisoner began to break.
• Aequus injected the prisoner again, activated a strange device, and left the interrogation room for thirty minutes.
• Luther condemned Aequus's dishonorable methods, and Aequus scoffed at him.

Lion El'Jonson asked Han Mingxuan to guide Aequus away from his ruthless methods, but Han instead advised him to use specialized Virus Bombs more selectively. Luther protested that the advice would turn Aequus into a weapon, while Lion and the Dark Angels were left stunned.

• Lion El'Jonson recalled Aequus's brutal methods and explained that he saw Aequus as a mirror of his own ideal self.
• Lion asked Han Mingxuan to advise Aequus, and Han said Aequus's methods were too extreme because indiscriminate bombardment damaged the planet.
• Han recommended that Aequus seek specialized Virus Bombs from the XIV Legion, and Aequus thanked him for the suggestion.
• Lion declined to add anything when Han asked for his opinion, but Luther accused Han of encouraging Aequus to slaughter people.

Han Mingxuan challenged Luther’s defense of the First Legion, arguing that its secret missions conflicted with its ideals of Chivalry. Lion El'Jonson recognized the Legion’s crisis and received a book from Han Mingxuan to help examine it.

• Luther accused Aequus’s influence of leading the First Legion away from traditional glory, and Han Mingxuan questioned whether the Legion’s harsh measures were necessary in the Great Crusade.
• Han Mingxuan argued that the First Legion’s secret missions and pursuit of honor left its members divided between reality and the ideals of Chivalry.
• Lion El'Jonson admitted that the Legion’s core problem was whether knights who had committed its deeds could still meet the standards of Chivalry.
• Han Mingxuan gave Lion El'Jonson a copy of The Nonexistent Knight and asked him to read it before they discussed the question further.

Lion studied The Nonexistent Knight and recognized himself in its protagonist, with Aequus as the impulsive young knight. After a month of reflection and meditation, Lion found himself in a thorn-covered forest, where he fought a silent armored knight and discovered another Lion inside its armor.

• Lion finished The Nonexistent Knight in less than a minute, then spent a month in his private chamber considering how its protagonist and Aequus reflected himself and his life.
• Lion meditated and revisited his past, then found himself on a thorn-covered path in a forest that smelled of Caliban.
• A heavily armored knight attacked Lion without answering his questions, and Lion fought it for nearly ten days despite having no weapon.
• Lion remembered Aequus's ruthless, unconventional approach and struck the knight with a Shoryuken, knocking off its helmet.
• Lion saw that the armor was momentarily empty before another Lion appeared inside it.

After overcoming a mirror image that embodied an idealized version of himself, Lion El'Jonson awoke from a month of meditation and decided to make Aequus one of his Scions. When Gene-seed failed to integrate with Aequus, the Lion ordered Apothecaries to implant his own stem cells, leaving Aequus's fate uncertain.

• Lion El'Jonson defeated his mirror image, rejected its rigid version of Chivalry, and destroyed the thorn-bound armor and sword blocking his path.
• After a month of meditation, Lion El'Jonson thanked Han Mingxuan and asked to speak privately with Aequus.
• Lion El'Jonson knocked Aequus unconscious and ordered Apothecaries to implant him with Gene-seed, but Aequus's internal system destroyed each attempt.
• When Aequus woke and protested the ambush, Lion El'Jonson knocked him unconscious again and ordered the Apothecaries to use his own stem cells instead.
• Lion El'Jonson's Apothecaries began a month of genetic implantation and modification, and they waited to see whether Aequus would survive.

Han Mingxuan and Luther discussed Lion El'Jonson’s isolation and his bonds with Curze and Mordred. Meanwhile, Lion’s attempt to implant his stem cells in Aequus triggered a dangerous immune reaction, and Aequus retaliated against the Apothecaries before attacking Lion over the incident.

• Han Mingxuan asked Luther about Lion El'Jonson and praised the closeness between Lion, Curze, and Mordred.
• Lion El'Jonson implanted his stem cells into Aequus, whose body violently rejected them as a gene-purification program activated.
• Aequus’s body began to crack, but a blue-gold glow appeared and his condition stabilized.
• Aequus emerged from the incubation chamber and smashed the three Apothecaries responsible for modifying him into a wall.
• Aequus accepted Lion’s offer of compensation but demanded it immediately and punched Lion in the face.

After Aequus exposed Lion’s attempt to claim him for the First Legion, Curze ordered the Council of the Long Night to withdraw its members from every legion. Lion set off for Terra to resolve the crisis, while the Night Haunter celebrated the chance to trap him there.

• Han Mingxuan interrupted Lion as he confronted Aequus, who showed his wound and revealed that Lion had tried to implant him with gene-seed and stem cells.
• Aequus threatened the Apothecaries embedded in the wall, while Han Mingxuan left with him and told Lion to explain matters to Curze himself.
• Lion told Luther that he and Aequus had made a deal, but Luther warned him that Aequus would find a way to avoid paying up.
• Curze heard Aequus’s account on the Evernight Network and ordered all Council of the Long Night members to leave their legion posts.
• After the Primarchs called to demand answers, Lion decided to go to Terra and persuade Curze to keep the Council stationed with the legions.
• The Night Haunter urged Curze to send Lion to the Military Department and declared that he would not be allowed to leave Terra.

Curze used Lion El'Jonson's return to appoint him Departmento Munitorum Minister and advance the Imperium's military reforms. Lion set aside his questions about Aequus to take up the post, while the Emperor and Malcador left for vacation.

• Curze told Roboute, Sanguinius, Malcador, and the Emperor that Lion El'Jonson was returning after the events on Aequus, and proposed making him Departmento Munitorum Minister.
• Curze cut Sanguinius's fruit supply in half, blaming the incident on Aequus and Sanguinius's suggestion to assign the Council of the Long Night's members to other Legions.
• Valdor welcomed Lion El'Jonson at Lion's Gate and escorted him to the Throne Room, where the Emperor presented him with his appointment as Departmento Munitorum Minister.
• Lion accepted the post despite having returned to speak with Curze, and Curze directed him to the Departmento Munitorum, where Renato would serve as his deputy.
• Lion's appointment gave the Imperium's military reforms their first true step, while the Emperor and Malcador departed to enjoy a vacation.

Perturabo returned to Olympia and reunited with his sister Kellifani, who was struck by how much he had matured. He gave her armor and said his uncle would soon visit, leaving Kellifani eager to meet the person who had changed him so deeply.

• Perturabo returned to Olympia and told Kellifani that meeting someone important, whom he greedily thought of as a father, had changed him.
• Kellifani welcomed Perturabo and gave him a flower wreath, while he apologized for staying away and explained that he had longed for a childhood he never had.
• Perturabo gave Kellifani an exquisite suit of armor, which she admired and trusted him to have crafted well.
• Kellifani refused Perturabo's offer of rejuvenation surgery, and Perturabo accepted her choice without anger.
• Perturabo said his uncle would soon visit Olympia and that Kellifani shared his views on rejuvenation, making her eager to meet him.

Perturabo decided that Olympia’s future had to begin with an honest apology and renewed construction, guided by the truth Uncle Han had taught him. He announced a meeting to discuss Olympia’s development, but the notice that followed left its people baffled and afraid.

• Kellifani learned that Perturabo admired Uncle Han and wanted to meet him, but Perturabo said Han was busy with the First Legion.
• Perturabo spent half a month reading the Evernight Code and considering how to face Olympia.
• Perturabo told Kellifani that he would apologize to Olympia and use his strength to bring it new life, crediting Uncle Han’s teaching for changing his outlook.
• The next day, Olympia’s city-states posted an announcement that Perturabo would hold a meeting about their future in three days.
• Olympians expected a harsh revision when an Iron Warriors Space Marine approached the notice board, but his bizarre announcement sounded unlike Perturabo.

Perturabo apologized to Olympia for his past atrocities and asked its people to trust him as he worked to rebuild their homeworld. When a commoner representative challenged his promise, a calm voice from the crowd vouched for him in the name of the Father of Night.

• Perturabo ordered Olympia to hold an election so every class could take part in the postponed conference.
• Perturabo asked Han Mingxuan to bring Nostramo's Evolutionists Sage to help persuade his sister to undergo the Imperium's Rejuvenat Treatment.
• Han Mingxuan arrived on Olympia with Angrak in secret and learned that Perturabo had called a conference attended by nobles, commoners, and slaves.
• Perturabo apologized to his people for breaking apart settlements, conscripting children, restricting culture and art, and committing other atrocities.
• A commoner representative challenged Perturabo to prove that his new order would not become crueler, and an unknown voice vouched for him in the name of the Father of Night.

Han Mingxuan publicly vouched for Perturabo and asked Olympia to give him a month to make amends through construction. Perturabo and the Iron Warriors began work, while Kellifani thanked Han Mingxuan and joked about how much he had changed Perturabo.

• Han Mingxuan addressed Olympia, promised Perturabo would become its greatest Builder, and asked the people to give him one month.
• Perturabo vowed not to disappoint his uncle, and the Iron Warriors rallied around Han Mingxuan’s expectations.
• After the meeting, Perturabo said he should have borne the people’s criticism himself, but Han Mingxuan told him to focus on changing Olympia.
• Perturabo led the Iron Warriors into intensive construction, ordering them to protect both the Legion’s honor and Han Mingxuan’s.
• Kellifani thanked Han Mingxuan for his influence on Perturabo and joked that Perturabo had become like a steel plate that could joke.

Over a month of construction on Olympia showed that Perturabo and the Iron Warriors had changed, and Kellifani agreed to cooperate with Angrak Augustu and the Evolutionists. Han Mingxuan found Perturabo ready to govern Olympia with a gentler approach, so he planned to leave in two days.

• The Iron Warriors worked efficiently on Olympia's reconstruction, and Perturabo enthusiastically joined them, moving Kellifani to tears.
• Angrak Augustu introduced Kellifani to the Evolutionists and proposed cooperation to ease the burden of managing Olympia while she searched for a successor.
• Kellifani agreed to cooperate with the Evolutionists and received contact details for Futia, Nostramo's Logistics Minister.
• Perturabo thanked Han Mingxuan for bringing Angrak to speak with his sister, and Han urged him to be patient about her resistance to rejuvenat treatment.
• Han asked Perturabo about governing Olympia and its remaining nobles and City-State lords, and Perturabo said he would use the Evernight Code with gentler methods.
• Han decided to leave Olympia in two days, while Perturabo privately wished he had persuaded his uncle to stay longer.

Han Mingxuan arrived in the Third Legion’s jurisdiction and was welcomed by Rylanor and Fulgrim. Fulgrim introduced him to the Legion’s leaders and warriors at a grand banquet, where the evening’s main entertainment was about to begin.

• Han Mingxuan traveled to the Third Legion’s jurisdiction, hoping to meet Rylanor, Lucius, and Akurduana.
• Rylanor greeted Han Mingxuan and explained how Fulgrim’s meeting with him had brought humility and steadiness to the Primarch.
• Fulgrim welcomed Han Mingxuan aboard the Legion’s flagship and shared a private joke with him.
• At the banquet, Fulgrim introduced Han Mingxuan to Kaisoron, Akurduana, Fabius Bile, and Lucius.
• The Emperor’s Children began their grand welcoming banquet, with its main entertainment still to come.