Chapter Summaries

Han Mingxuan sent Curze and five thousand newly qualified judges from Nostramo, honoring them as independent members of the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion. Meanwhile, Trazyn, Orikan, and Jia investigated a daemon trapped in a sword and discovered it was longing for Han Mingxuan.

• Klein gave the Emperor a glass Klein bottle, and the Emperor later headed to the City of Truth to meet the Primarchs.
• Han Mingxuan and Archmagos Herbert prepared the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion to leave Nostramo with Curze and five thousand judges aboard the ship.
• Han Mingxuan awarded each judge a named medal and called them gentlemen, recognizing their graduation and independence as judges.
• A vision of Nostramo and the Warp marked the ceremony, as five thousand stars formed a scales-and-sword design on a sphere in the Warp.
• Trazyn, Orikan, and Jia took a sword to a barren planet and used the Blackstone Artifact to reveal a daemon that cried out for Han Mingxuan.

Trazyn and Orikan dismissed Slaanesh’s claim that it loved Han Mingxuan, while Slaanesh resolved to pursue him after learning about a projection of his soul in the Warp. Aboard the Emperor's Dream, Han Mingxuan agreed to help with Perturabo and Mortarion after asking whether the Emperor truly loved his sons.

• Trazyn interrogated a daemon, but Jia urged him to kill it, and the daemon declared that it loved Han Mingxuan.
• Slaanesh revealed its anger at the Necrons and its desire to claim Han Mingxuan, whose positive influence could complete its experience of hope and goodness.
• Orikan and Trazyn mocked Slaanesh, and Trazyn erased the daemon, cutting off Slaanesh’s remote communication.
• Kairos Fateweaver told Slaanesh that Tzeentch had seen a projection of Han Mingxuan’s soul in the Warp, and Slaanesh set off to retrieve something from the palace’s depths.
• Han Mingxuan met the Emperor aboard the Emperor's Dream and agreed to help educate Perturabo and Mortarion, provided the Emperor gave him permission.
• The Emperor told Han Mingxuan that he loved his sons, despite being a tool and having created them with the power of the Warp.

Han Mingxuan received a tribute from Curze and the Evernight Legion, who thanked him for teaching and guiding them. He accepted their handmade uniform and entrusted Curze with the original Evernight Code, then spent the voyage taking pictures with the Legion.

• Han Mingxuan secured the Emperor’s permission to educate the Primarchs and call upon the Adeptus Custodes if needed.
• Curze and the Evernight Legion surprised Han Mingxuan with a ceremony, kneeling before him in armor he had forged.
• Sevatar presented Han Mingxuan with a handmade uniform, while Talos brought him the first copy of the Evernight Code.
• Han Mingxuan accepted the uniform but passed the Evernight Code to Curze as his successor, and Curze’s inner Night Haunter praised his father.
• Han Mingxuan changed into the new clothes and spent the next few days taking pictures with more than five thousand members of the Legion.

Han Mingxuan proudly showed off the clothes Curze and his brothers had made, while the Sons of Night on Terra prepared to welcome their returning Primarch. Mortarion’s attempts to divine the new brother’s nature brought increasingly distorted results, leaving the other Primarchs waiting anxiously for his return.

• Han Mingxuan visited the Emperor’s flagship to show Malcador the clothes Curze and his brothers had made, and the Emperor praised Han’s service to the Imperium.
• The Sons of Night assembled at their Terra garrison and prepared to make a strong impression on their Gene-Father, while worrying about their origins and whether they were worthy of him.
• Mortarion recalled that his Numerology had produced an unfamiliar, weighty character whose appearance shattered his Bone Fragments.
• Mortarion found that his calculations about the other Primarchs grew increasingly unreliable, and he concluded that the new brother was surrounded by obscurity.
• Leman Russ, the Khan, Lion, Magnus, and the Lord of Drakes discussed the returning Primarch, while Mortarion watched and feared the unknown fate he would bring.

Magnus told his brothers how Nostramo had been rebuilt into an orderly world modeled after ancient Terra, and revealed that Konrad Curze had become its Grand Inquisitor under the guidance of a mortal named Uncle Han. Magnus ended the discussion dazed and envious, suggesting that he might need a teacher.

• Mortarion presented a crooked character he had calculated, and Magnus identified it as “Han” and explained that Nostramo had moved to a new planet.
• Magnus revealed that the people of the new Nostramo had modeled their world after Terra of thirty thousand years ago and followed the Evernight Code.
• Magnus told his brothers that he and the Emperor had sensed rigid order in the Warp near Nostramo, and that Konrad Curze had become Grand Inquisitor of the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion.
• Magnus described Uncle Han as a mortal miner, father, and teacher who had raised Curze well, prompting the Primarchs to question his account.
• The Khan teased Magnus about his dazed state, and Magnus joked that he needed a teacher more than a doctor.

Han Mingxuan and Curze arrived at Terra, where Curze’s Warp Essence awakened and revealed his purpose in bringing change to the Imperium. The Emperor prepared to present Curze as the Imperium’s first Grand Inquisitor as the fleet landed.

• Lion El'Jonson considered acting against the Son of Night Legion, but Magnus and the others persuaded him to leave Curze to manage it.
• Han Mingxuan and Curze arrived in orbit around Terra and saw the planet’s devastated, suffocating condition.
• Curze thanked Han Mingxuan for teaching him and vowed to help awaken humanity.
• Curze’s Warp Essence awakened as a beating heart, and he saw a glimmer of hope in the dark future.
• The Night Haunter recognized Curze himself as his Warp Essence, while Curze’s sword and law code appeared alongside the scales of judgment.
• The Emperor and Malcador welcomed Curze, who was set to become the Imperium’s first Grand Inquisitor, as the fleet landed on Terra.

Han Mingxuan arrived on Terra and was welcomed with extraordinary honors despite appearing to the nobles as an ordinary man. The Primarchs and Constantin Valdor publicly honored him, leaving Han Mingxuan wondering why the Adeptus Custodes had gone so far.

• The Emperor, the Chancellor, and the Primarchs emerged to greet the gathered crowds before the ceremony for the new guests.
• Konrad Curze and the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion arrived, and Sevatar led the Legion in welcoming Curze as the Eighth Primarch and Han Mingxuan as the Father of Night.
• Han Mingxuan appeared in ceremonial uniform, and many Terra nobles looked down on him as an ordinary man.
• The Honour Guards of several Space Marine legions arrived and saluted Han Mingxuan, followed by all the Primarchs, who greeted him as their uncle.
• Constantin Valdor knelt before Han Mingxuan, who wondered whether the Emperor had personally ordered the Adeptus Custodes to honor him so lavishly.

The Emperor gave Han Mingxuan sweeping political and military authority, granted the Peaceful Star System broad autonomy, and placed Imperial law enforcement under Konrad Curze and his legion. Han Mingxuan then addressed Terra’s leaders, calling for impartial laws and fairness across the Imperium.

• The Emperor and Malcador led Han Mingxuan onto the platform and appointed him to several senior Imperial offices, including commander-in-chief of the Space Marines.
• The Emperor granted the Peaceful Star System permanent autonomy, tax exemptions, and a role for the Evernight Code in Imperial law.
• The Emperor appointed Konrad Curze and the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion to take charge of the Imperium’s Adeptus Arbites.
• Han Mingxuan called Sevatar forward to bring out his scales, then addressed the crowd about the lawlessness he had witnessed on Nostramo.
• Han Mingxuan declared that law should protect ordinary people and bring fairness throughout the Imperium, then raised the scales.

Han Mingxuan declared that justice and hope should reach every corner of the Imperium before Curze reviewed his forces. Curze’s quiet acceptance of his sons moved the Eighth Legion to learn the Justiciar Legion’s words, and he promised to visit them.

• Han Mingxuan finished his speech by calling for humanity’s glory to endure, and the Emperor, Malcador, and Salamanders echoed him.
• Curze faced the Justiciar Legion, whose warriors wept with shame at their criminal past and praised him as Grand Inquisitor.
• Curze led the Justiciar Legion to the Eighth Legion and recited, “In the dark of night, only the law endures. Beneath the thunder, the traitors are struck down.”
• The Eighth Legion learned and repeated Curze’s words, then left to prepare for his visit instead of joining the parade and festivities.
• The Lord of Drakes and the Primarchs watched Curze’s gentleness and command with surprise, while Curze and his brother exchanged jokes about their education.

Curze met his brothers in the Legion and at the Primarchs' Palace, bringing home-brewed liquor to their gathering. He taught Russ a drinking game and left him defeated after making him drink a whole jar of Immortal's Drunkenness.

• The Son of Night Legion prepared its quarters and appearance after learning Curze would come to meet them.
• Curze sent Sevatar and the others to find gifts for the Legion while Sigismund guided them around Terra and explained Astartes augmentation.
• Curze met the other Primarchs, presented his home-brewed liquor, and joined them for drinks.
• Curze taught Russ how to play finger-guessing and repeatedly beat him at the drinking game.
• Russ drank an entire jar of Immortal's Drunkenness and protested that he could not have lost as a Primarch.

Han Mingxuan resisted the Emperor’s demands for more work but agreed to retrieve Angron from Nuceria after making arrangements with Curze. At the Primarchs’ gathering, Curze used his easygoing manner to draw Lion El'Jonson into drinking while Russ lay passed out.

• Curze used a small amount of psychic power to anticipate Russ’s punch, but Russ still challenged him to another drinking contest.
• In the Throne Room, Han Mingxuan told the Emperor he could not take on more duties, and the Emperor acknowledged that Han’s arrival had changed a future rebellion.
• The Emperor asked Han Mingxuan to go to Nuceria, bring back Angron, and help educate him; Han agreed to go after settling matters with Curze.
• At the Primarch Residence, Russ drank himself unconscious, while Curze became tipsy and the others marveled at how he had outlasted Russ.
• Curze approached Lion El'Jonson with a bowl of liquor and used fruit to stop him from claiming to be the First Primarch.
• Horus ate the fruit and privately suspected the Great Angel was preventing him from making his brothers jealous by telling stories about his time with the Emperor.

Curze visited the Eighth Legion’s twenty thousand recruits, welcomed them with chocolate, and promised their hard days were over. He then asked them to reveal their identities and pasts, leaving them afraid that he would learn their origins.

• Curze led the Council of the Long Night to the Eighth Legion barracks, where Sevatar presented pink-wrapped strawberry chocolate as a goodwill gift.
• Curze met the guard Laxus Dussack, who called him Father, and invited him inside; Sevatar praised Laxus after he called him Uncle.
• Curze calmed the applauding recruits with his Psychic Power and told them he was sorry for arriving late and had brought gifts.
• Laxus called out the recruits’ names while Sevatar handed each of the twenty thousand men a piece of chocolate.
• Curze told the recruits that the Eighth Legion’s hard days were over, then ordered them to share their identities, affiliations, and pasts, frightening them.

Curze addressed the prison-born warriors of the Eighth Legion, pardoned their past sins, and offered to teach them to become law enforcers. He began instructing them in the history and laws of the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion, leaving them with a week to prepare for an examination.

• Curze asked Laxus about his origins, and Laxus described being born in a prison and growing up among criminals.
• Curze explained that his father’s education had shaped him and offered to guide the warriors, declaring their past sins pardoned.
• The warriors insisted they were still guilty but agreed to accept Curze’s guidance, and he told them to prepare paper and pens for lessons on the Evernight Code.
• Curze explained the history of the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion and recounted its Nine Laws of the Night Bat.
• Curze gave the warriors one week to memorize and debate the nine laws before taking an examination to qualify as law enforcers.

Curze and his brothers went to visit Archmagos Herbert, but Cyrion caught a group of Space Marine cousins secretly watching them and demonstrated the Justiciars’ strength. Curze decided the Legion could no longer hide its abilities, setting the stage for more attention from the other Legions.

• Talos and Sevatar discussed how Curze’s uncle had taught them before Curze led them to visit Archmagos Herbert.
• Cyrion caught a hidden Dark Angel trying to enter the barracks and knocked him unconscious before he could draw his sword.
• Sevatar revealed that Sigismund and several other Space Marines had also been spying on the group, and Sigismund took the unconscious Dark Angel away.
• Sigismund realized Cyrion had precisely dented Ceramite and subdued an Astartes with controlled strength.
• Curze decided the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion had to show its strength instead of continuing to hide it.

Dorn and several Primarchs learned of the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion’s combat strength and planned to attend the Eighth Legion’s Law Debate in a week. Han Mingxuan considered which of his nephews to take to Nuceria and was left puzzling over Mortarion.

• Sigismund reported that the Justiciar Legion’s fighters seemed as strong as Custodes shield-captains, and Dorn considered a friendly match before learning of the Law Debate.
• A Space Wolves scout reported the Legion’s strength but found no liquor in its barracks, so the Space Wolves planned to attend the debate and seek another chance to taste Immortal’s Drunkenness.
• Sanguinius’s sons proposed visiting the Law Debate to exchange ideas and discuss logistics, and Sanguinius agreed while eating most of his remaining Nostraman fruit.
• The Lion decided to attend the Law Debate with Corswain and Alajos after hearing that a Justiciar had knocked out an Astartes with a precise strike.
• The Khan learned that Han Mingxuan had not brought liquor with him and planned to use the Law Debate and the Father of Night to improve his chances of obtaining some.
• Han Mingxuan considered taking Perturabo, Mortarion, Leman Russ, or Magnus to Nuceria, but Mortarion remained the one who gave him a headache.

Han Mingxuan prepared to bring Mortarion along while dealing with Terra’s nobles and checking the Eighth Legion’s handover to the Adeptus Mechanicus. He arrived to find Archmagos Herbert arguing with a Machine Cult priest, and discovered he had to sign the handover authorization himself.

• Han Mingxuan refused to meet Terra’s hereditary nobles, and Endymion fell silent when asked whether he would educate the Primarchs.
• Old Kamon stopped Endymion from attacking him, taunted the Tribune, and left after telling Han Mingxuan that a White Scars warrior had gone to the storeroom for wine.
• Han Mingxuan went with Endymion to check the Adeptus Mechanicus handover, while Curze and Sevatar waited outside because Archmagos Herbert and a priest were arguing inside.
• Vulkan arrived to give Curze a gift for the upcoming legal debate, and Curze reassured him that nothing had been lost in the earlier encounter with one of Vulkan’s Salamanders.
• Sevatar demanded the handover authorization from Archmagos Herbert, and Han Mingxuan realized he had to sign it as Minister of General Affairs.

Han Mingxuan visited the Eighth Legion’s garrison ahead of its first Law Debate and encountered Laxus and Weiss, who were trying to get strawberry chocolate while avoiding their studies. After Han Mingxuan challenged Endymion’s view of duty and humanity, Endymion agreed to take him to a chocolate factory.

• The Eighth Legion completed its handover with the Adeptus Mechanicus, and Han Mingxuan promised to attend the Law Debate in a week.
• Eighth Legion warriors studied law for the upcoming debate and persuaded Laxus and Weiss to go buy them strawberry chocolate.
• Han Mingxuan visited the garrison with Endymion, who removed his Power Armour at Han Mingxuan’s request.
• Laxus and Weiss asked Han Mingxuan to buy them chocolate, and Endymion argued that they were neglecting their duty.
• Han Mingxuan told Endymion that the Emperor’s servants should protect people and recognize their humanity, then asked him to lead the way to a chocolate factory.

Sevatar brought strawberry chocolate to the Eighth Legion and confronted its members over breaking discipline and failing to pay for it. When Laxus Dussack and Vis Thum challenged him to a duel, more Space Marines joined in, and the Eighth Legion’s supreme commander made a request.

• Sevatar told Endymion that he had bought chocolate for Laxus and Weiss, and said he would personally teach the two after the debate competition began.
• Sevatar arrived at the barracks with the Council of the Long Night and assembled all twenty thousand members of the Eighth Legion, then revealed the bags contained strawberry chocolate.
• Sevatar accused the Legion of lax discipline because its members had left the barracks and made him buy chocolate without paying.
• Laxus Dussack and Vis Thum identified themselves as the ringleaders, but Sevatar insisted that the whole Legion was responsible and that the law could not spare them all.
• Laxus Dussack and Vis challenged Sevatar to a duel, and other Space Marines joined them before the Legion’s supreme commander asked to speak.

The Council of the Long Night’s thirteen members challenged the Eighth Legion, and Agrid goaded thousands of its warriors into the Octagons. When several Primarchs arrived to investigate reports of fighting, they found the Legion lined up as the Council repeatedly defeated its challengers.

• Sevatar and Cyrion answered the Eighth Legion commander’s challenge, and eight thousand legionaries stepped forward to fight the thirteen.
• Agrid insulted the legionaries’ courage and loyalty until Laxus and others accepted the challenge.
• Sevatar fought two challengers at once for ten minutes, then Shen produced more Octagons as the Council’s members entered the fights.
• Alajos warned his father that the Eighth Legion had started fighting, prompting him and several other Primarchs to hurry over.
• The arriving Primarchs saw legionaries being thrown out of the Octagons within minutes, while someone taunted them as cowards.

Curze and Han Mingxuan began law examinations for the Space Marines after Laxus and Weiss were caught asking Agrid to buy chocolate without paying. Meanwhile, the Council of the Long Night caught Russ and several White Scars and Space Wolves sneaking around, and the chapter ended with Guilliman discussing whether the Nine Laws of the Night Bat could be applied to the Great Crusade.

• Curze confronted Agrid and learned that Laxus and Weiss had asked him to buy chocolate without paying.
• Han Mingxuan questioned Laxus and Weiss about law, human feelings, and difficult moral choices, while Curze began examining the others.
• Talos and the Council of the Long Night caught Russ, Qin Xa, Yesugei, and two other Space Wolves sneaking into the barracks; Qin Xa asked for wine and was refused.
• Sevatar intercepted Russ at the supply warehouse, refused to let him search for Immortal's Drunkenness, and threatened to blow up the warehouse.
• Guilliman said the Nine Laws of the Night Bat might be adapted for the Great Crusade's armies, and Russ teased him about ambition.