Chapter Summaries

Sigismund told Dorn that Nostramo’s retired reservists and widespread access to replica power armour made the planet capable of mobilizing billions for war. He also revealed that he ranked second among the Evernight Legion Reserves, behind Nova Spes.

• Sigismund told Dorn he had become a lawyer on Nostramo and a successful real estate salesman on Barbarus, and ranked second in the Evernight Legion Reserves.
• Sigismund recounted losing to Assault Master Impetus and later drawing with Slazov, a former reservist who had left military service for civilian work.
• Sigismund explained that former reservists made up a fifth of Nostramo’s population and that the planet’s eight billion people were heavily armed with replica Eighth Legion power armour.
• Dorn calculated that Nostramo could mobilize three billion people and learned that Nova Spes ranked ahead of Sigismund in the reserves.

Dorn brought Sigismund back to Terra after affirming his strength and hearing what Nostramo had meant to him. Meanwhile, Xiulikas sent Luis Dante back toward his original fate, and Dante awoke in Imperium Nihilus as the Will of Earth watched over another figure on a black beach.

• Sigismund told Dorn that he had been named first reserve for the Evernight Legion, and Dorn praised him before inviting him back to the Seventh Legion.
• Dorn and Sigismund left Nostramo for Terra, reflecting on the future humanity could achieve across the Imperium.
• Xiulikas activated an array that sent Luis Dante away after Dante said goodbye to the dream of the Great Crusade.
• A golden figure revealed herself as the Will of Earth and visited a half-buried person she called Xiao Han on a black beach.
• Dante regained consciousness in Imperium Nihilus, where an Apothecary announced that the Chapter Master had awakened.

Dante awoke young with golden hair, causing the Blood Angels to believe Father had manifested. After finding objects from his apparent vision and discovering a Blue-Gold Barrier on his soul, he told the Grand Master of the Librarians that he had traveled back to the Great Crusade.

• Dante saw his youthful, golden-haired reflection, and the Apothecary and Blood Angels aboard the Flagship knelt, believing Father had manifested.
• Dante sent the Blood Angels back to their Battle Stations and found books and belongings from his vision, including Father's white feathered crest.
• Dante ordered the Apothecary and the Grand Master of the Librarians to examine his soul, and they found a Blue-Gold Barrier on it.
• Dante showed the Grand Master a book bearing the name Sanguinius in ancient Terran Script and said he had traveled back to the era of the Great Crusade while unconscious.

Dante told the Grand Master of the Librarians that his soul had returned to the Great Crusade and that he had fought beside the Emperor and loyal Primarchs. After the God-Emperor forbade them from revealing the dream until the right moment, Dante showed the Grand Master the relics he had brought back, and a bookshelf moved as they left the repository.

• Dante told the Grand Master that he had returned to the Great Crusade and witnessed the Primarchs fighting for humanity, though the Grand Master suspected a Warp plot.
• Dante showed the white laurel wreath, and the Grand Master experienced visions of the Emperor, the loyal Primarchs, and a hazy mortal figure.
• Dante revealed that the Eighth Legion had been called the Midnight Reapers and that the mortal had transformed Nostramo, but he could not speak the mortal's name.
• The God-Emperor spoke through Dante, ordering them to keep his experiences secret until the right moment, and both men passed out.
• Dante and the Grand Master went to the relic repository, where Dante displayed items from his dream, including the Evernight Code and models from the Evernight Legion.
• The white laurel wreath settled on Dante's head, and a bookshelf moved as the two men stepped outside.

Han Mingxuan visited Tarasha Euten, who urged him to undergo life-extension treatment because of his importance to the Imperium. He later agreed with Jia that he would have the surgery when the time came, but not yet.

• The Literary Pivot of Splendid Chapters and the Evernight Code opened to blank first pages, and the Chapter Master and Grand Master of Librarians closed the repository door.
• Han Mingxuan met Tarasha Euten on Macragge, where she urged him to undergo Life-Extension Surgery for the Imperium’s sake.
• Han Mingxuan explained that the Primarchs needed to experience parting and death, and that his own eventual death would teach them that lesson.
• Han Mingxuan gave Tarasha Euten a protective charm and asked her to stay safe, then spoke with her about family and marriage.
• After returning to Nostramo, Han Mingxuan told Jia he would undergo Life-Extension Surgery when the time came, but not yet.

Han Mingxuan set the appointment of a Warmaster in motion, asking Talos to spread the news and Oll Persson to present the original Warmaster’s seal. On the Ullanor front, Lion El'Jonson and Horus Lupercal confirmed the appointment was imminent and recognized that the decision lay beyond the two of them.

• Han Mingxuan asked Talos about the Ullanor Crusade and instructed him to spread news that a Warmaster would be appointed.
• Han Mingxuan asked Oll Persson to step forward in the appointment, and Oll Persson gave him the original Warmaster’s seal, carved from an eagle’s leg bone.
• Oll Persson urged Xiulikas to join the coming events, but Xiulikas refused to offer guidance and warned through his words that humanity’s fate would be disastrous.
• News of the appointment reached Lion El'Jonson and Horus Lupercal on Ullanor, and Lion ordered Horus to come speak with him.
• Horus told Lion he had confirmed the news with Impetus and said the appointment was the Emperor’s wish; Lion concluded that neither of them could settle the matter.

Lion El'Jonson and Horus convened the Primarchs to discuss the hidden purpose behind the Warmaster title, and Alpharius warned that the role foretold betrayal between brothers. The Primarchs concluded that Horus was likely the Emperor’s choice, but Perturabo and Curze argued that the warning’s source—Uncle, not the Emperor—could change what it meant.

• Lion El'Jonson told Horus that the First Warmaster had been a Perpetual, but that nothing else about him could be discovered.
• Lion El'Jonson and Horus contacted the other Primarchs, and Alpharius warned them that a Warmaster of humanity meant inevitable betrayal between brothers.
• Mortarion reminded the Primarchs of what Uncle had told him about their origins and their mother, then called their father a liar.
• Magnus and Curze reasoned that the Emperor had already chosen Horus as Warmaster, while the Primarchs recognized that this would put them in a dilemma.
• Perturabo argued that the warning had come from Uncle rather than the Emperor, and Curze agreed before Lion El'Jonson urged him to explain further.

Curze persuaded the Primarchs to share the burden and fate of the Warmaster rather than let the choice divide them, then returned to Nostramo and gave Nova leave to visit home. He went to meet Xiulikas at the Sleepless Night Tavern, where Xiulikas complained that Nova had already disrupted his drinking.

• Curze proposed that the Primarchs share the duties and fate of the Warmaster through an ancient pact, preventing the brothers from turning against one another.
• Lion El'Jonson asked Curze why he had devised the plan, and Curze explained that he could not stand by while brothers fought; Vulkan said Curze's thinking resembled their Uncle's.
• Curze volunteered to find a pact through the Perpetuals on Nostramo, and Lion El'Jonson and the other Primarchs joined fists and affirmed that they were brothers.
• Curze returned to Nostramo and granted Nova leave to visit home after seeing how hard he had pushed himself in the Eighth Legion.
• Curze went to the Sleepless Night Tavern to meet Xiulikas, who arrived and said Nova had barely returned before interfering with his drinking.

Curze visited Xiulikas to collect rent, revealing that he wanted the ancient coins Xiulikas had been given. Xiulikas recognized Curze’s dangerous fate and warned him about the darkness ahead, while Curze and the Night Haunter prepared to face the consequences of their plan.

• Curze confronted Xiulikas at a bar and insisted that he owed rent despite owning his home.
• Curze followed Xiulikas home, threatened to torture him, and a second, colder voice matching Curze’s appeared behind Xiulikas.
• Xiulikas handed Curze eighteen ancient coins and warned him that humanity’s fate was stirring toward darkness.
• Xiulikas told Curze to remember the Father of Night’s teachings before Curze left.
• Curze returned to his office and confirmed with the Night Haunter that Xiulikas was asleep and had not tried anything.
• Curze dismissed the backlash from the Warmaster’s fate unless the Emperor had betrayed the Imperium.

Eldrad Ulthran foresaw the Aeldari’s annihilation and decided to seek out the Father of Night, whom prophecy linked to both hope and despair. After the Emperor refused to arrange a meeting, Eldrad traveled to Nostramo, where Xarathi intercepted him and ordered him to meet Mr. Han.

• Eldrad Ulthran announced that his vision foretold the Aeldari’s utter annihilation, and said he needed to meet the Father of Night.
• The Aeldari leaders considered the danger but agreed that Eldrad should approach the entity himself.
• Eldrad reached the Imperium, but the Emperor refused to introduce him to the Father of Night and told him to go to Nostramo.
• As Eldrad neared the Peaceful Star System, his soul warned him of extreme danger, and he tried to turn back.
• Xarathi appeared before Eldrad, dismissed his claim that he was merely passing through, and ordered him to enter the system and meet Mr. Han.

Han Mingxuan received Urien Rakarth, who had come seeking help for the Drukhari, while Xarathi and Slaanesh arrived at his home. Slaanesh warned Han Mingxuan that humanity’s fate was stirring and that she had come to protect him, but he insisted he still had things he needed to do.

• Madian told Han Mingxuan that Urien Rakarth had been captured by his guards after arriving on Nostramo, with Xarathi helping to catch him.
• Han Mingxuan asked Xarathi to explain her arrival, and she said her master had sent her while she was getting ready to visit in person.
• Han Mingxuan invited Urien to sit and talk, then joked about Drukhari wanting to capture and dissect him, prompting Urien to kneel and beg him to stop.
• Slaanesh arrived and sat beside Han Mingxuan, while Urien realized she was the master Xarathi had mentioned.
• Slaanesh told Han Mingxuan she had come to protect him because humanity’s fate was stirring, but Han Mingxuan said he still had things he had to do.

Han Mingxuan discussed fate and Fulgrim’s future with Slaanesh, then agreed with the Emperor to send Fulgrim against the Laer civilization. Eldrad and Urien left after Slaanesh spared them, believing the Aeldari’s remaining hope rested with the Prince of Pleasure.

• Slaanesh visited Han Mingxuan because she had grown uneasy about an approaching fate, and he told her that what must happen would happen.
• Eldrad arrived seeking help for the Aeldari, but he and Urien fled after Slaanesh agreed to spare them.
• Slaanesh offered to guide Fulgrim and awaken his Warp Essence, beginning with the Laer civilization, and Han Mingxuan agreed to let her proceed.
• Han Mingxuan contacted the Emperor, who agreed that Fulgrim should attack the Laer civilization while they watched events unfold.
• Outside the Peaceful Star System, Urien and Eldrad concluded that they had seen the same prophecy and that the Aeldari’s sliver of hope lay with the Prince of Pleasure.

Eldrad and Urien decided to prepare a wedding venue for Slaanesh and Han Mingxuan as a gesture of goodwill, while Slaanesh delighted in Han Mingxuan’s praise. Meanwhile, Fulgrim led the Third Legion toward the Laer civilization and chose its Nostramo-descended members to spearhead the coming battle.

• Eldrad convinced Urien that preparing a wedding venue could help them gain favor with Slaanesh, and Urien agreed to the gamble.
• Slaanesh told Xarathi to restrain her followers, then showed Han Mingxuan a bridal-looking appearance she expected to have after fusing with positive authorities.
• The Emperor sent the Third Legion to confront the Laer civilization, and Fulgrim dismissed the aliens’ idea of perfection after seeing their images.
• Fulgrim ordered Kaisoron to have Akurduana study anthropology, then told him the Legion’s Nostramo-descended members would lead the attack.
• The Nostramo-descended Legionaries celebrated their chance to fight at the front instead of relying on veterans’ leftovers.

Fulgrim’s Nostramo-descended recruits eagerly requested Exterminatus weapons to attack the Laer, prompting him to let Pulchri lead their campaign. As the first strike began, Fulgrim inspected their supplies and the chapter revealed that Legion integration was already underway through the Warrior Lodges.

• Kaisoron overheard the recruits’ excitement about leading the attack, and Fulgrim arrived to encourage them.
• Pulchri asked Fulgrim for permission to use Exterminatus weapons, then proposed using Micro-Exterminatus instead; Fulgrim authorized his plan.
• When a Laer envoy arrived to negotiate, Pulchri ordered him killed and instructed the recruits to fire their full Micro-Exterminatus quota.
• Pulchri assigned First Company to sabotage key facilities and planetary shield generators, then ordered Second Company to follow with the remaining strikes and ground assault.
• Fulgrim checked the recruits’ supplies, learned Lucius had approved their request for instant black tea, and ordered follow-up forces to move in after the first wave.
• The Legions had begun integrating through the Warrior Lodges as they prepared for the coming appointment of the Warmaster.

The Third Legion devastated the Laer civilization with a week of Micro-Exterminatus bombardment before the Nostramo-descended recruits led a brutal ground assault. After the fighting, Fulgrim found the recruits drinking tea on the scorched battlefield and eventually joined them.

• The Third Legion’s attackers assassinated Laer leaders, then bombarded the planet and its fleet with overwhelming firepower for a week.
• The Nostramo-descended recruits exhausted their Micro-Exterminatus weapons, landed with Battle Transport Aircraft and Thunderhawk Gunships, and massacred the weakened Laer defenders.
• Fulgrim arrived on the battlefield and found the recruits resting with tea and military chess amid the wreckage.
• Kaisoron accepted a cup of black tea, and Pulchri offered Fulgrim tea with milk and sugar.
• Fulgrim asked for a cup with fresh milk.

Fulgrim ordered a suspicious temple investigated, where the joint operations team uncovered a Warp daemon bound inside a Mithril sword. After the team destroyed the daemon, Lucius began considering further study of the Warp on Prospero.

• Fulgrim sent the Thousand Sons and Seventeenth Legion to investigate a temple that had survived the bombardment.
• The joint operations team purged the temple and found a Mithril sword containing traces of Warp contamination.
• Fulgrim ordered Salamanders to burn the sword while the Word Bearers used the Evernight Code, revealing a daemon inside it.
• The joint forces attacked the daemon and used the Evernight Code and enhanced flames to banish it, reducing the sword and daemon to molten iron and ash.
• Lucius asked what the creature had been, and after a Word Bearer explained the Warp, he considered studying on Prospero.

After the Third Legion destroyed the Chaos temple, Fulgrim fell asleep under Slaanesh’s influence and woke in a dream designed to tempt him with beauty, pleasure, and power. He rejected the broad road of rewards, chose the narrow path, and confronted a Daemon directly.

• The Third Legion rested after destroying the temple, and Kaisoron brought Fulgrim a cup of Instant Red Tea.
• Slaanesh showed Han Mingxuan the battle and planned to tempt Fulgrim, while Han warned that Slaanesh would regret it.
• Fulgrim suddenly became sleepy, fell asleep, and used the black eye patch Uncle had given him when he awoke in a pink-purple mist.
• Fulgrim ignored visions of art, food, beauty, and extreme emotions, then used two steel pipes to disrupt the dream.
• A woman urged Fulgrim to take a broad road of honors and power, but he struck her down and chose the narrow path.
• A Daemon appeared before Fulgrim, who welcomed the direct confrontation.

Fulgrim defeated Slaanesh’s daemon in a dream by using a hidden golden power, earning the Empyrean’s reward and awakening his Warp Essence. Slaanesh objected to his rough methods, but after sensing the hope in his heart, she accepted Han Mingxuan’s guidance.

• Fulgrim fought Slaanesh’s daemon with steel pipes and rejected its accusations about the Imperium.
• Fulgrim used the golden light behind his Eyepatch to burn the daemon to ashes, and the dream remained unchanged.
• Slaanesh complained to Han Mingxuan that Fulgrim’s crude victory ruined the elegant trials she had planned.
• Han Mingxuan explained that Fulgrim needed grounded experiences and pointed out that he had started as a worker.
• Slaanesh sensed hope in Fulgrim’s heart and conceded that Han Mingxuan had won.

After Fulgrim passed Slaanesh’s test, Han Mingxuan and the Emperor arranged Lion El'Jonson’s peaceful appointment as Warmaster and planned a meeting about Psykers in the legions. The Ullanor Triumph was announced, and Han arrived at the newly completed conference hall carrying the original Warmaster’s Seal as the Great Crusade era reached a turning point.

• Fulgrim woke in pain after his dream, and Han Mingxuan asked Slaanesh to teach him better manners before they parted.
• Han Mingxuan and the Emperor agreed to appoint Lion El'Jonson as Warmaster and schedule a later meeting about Psykers in the legions.
• The Imperium announced the Ullanor Triumph and the appointment of a Warmaster, prompting preparations for a ceremony and conference on Ullanor.
• Perturabo’s IV Legion took charge of building the conference hall, outdoing Dorn’s Seventh Legion despite their rivalry over Defensio.
• A month later, Han Mingxuan arrived at the completed hall with Curze, Mortarion, and Futia, carrying Oll Persson’s original Warmaster’s Seal.

Han Mingxuan arrived on Ullanor for the Warmaster’s investiture after earning widespread respect through his reforms. As the ceremony preparations concluded, he spoke with the Emperor and Malcador about his mortality and the Imperium’s future.

• The Primarchs and their Legions gathered on Ullanor for the Warmaster’s investiture, with the Eighth and XIV Legions delayed because Curze and Mortarion were traveling with Han Mingxuan.
• Han Mingxuan’s anti-corruption campaign and Glory Expedition had won him admiration across the Imperium, and the assembled officials waited for him before beginning the meeting.
• Han Mingxuan arrived with Curze, Mortarion, and representatives from Nostramo, then joined the meeting to settle the ceremony’s procedures.
• Han Mingxuan learned that the meeting about Psykers had been moved from Nikaea to Ullanor and would take place after the investiture.
• Malcador mourned that Han Mingxuan’s life was short by Perpetual standards, while Han Mingxuan insisted that others would carry his ideals forward.