Chapter Summaries

Sandamel raced a Strike Cruiser and then piloted the Nightfall as it raced under its own power, impressing the White Scars and alarming Curze. Sanguinius learned about Sandamel and the Eighth Legion’s unimplanted personal guard, then met the Khan, who immediately ordered Curze contacted.

• Sandamel proposed a flagship race, and Qin Xa agreed to compete against him in Strike Cruisers.
• The Nightfall connected to Sandamel’s ship through a stream of data and raced after him; Sandamel returned it safely, while Curze panicked and the Khan praised his skill.
• Sanguinius finished the Administratum handover, studied the Lunyu, and chose to meet the White Scars before joining Curze’s fleet.
• Sanguinius sensed Curze’s unease as Curze hurried toward the Iron Warriors, hoping to have a brother nearby when Sanguinius arrived.
• Sanguinius met the Khan, who described Sandamel and the Eighth Legion; after learning Sandamel had no Gene-seed, the Khan ordered Curze contacted immediately.

Curze cut off the Khan’s transmission before he could ask about Curze’s flagship officer, prompting Aequus Mordred and the other brothers to tease Curze and argue over Aequus’s rigid chivalry. The chapter explained how Han Mingxuan shaped Aequus into a knight and trained Talos as the Eighth Legion’s concealed reserve, leaving the brothers discussing the strengths and roles of their comrades.

• The Khan contacted Curze and mentioned that Sanguinius had just visited, but Curze cut the transmission before the Khan could ask about his flagship officer.
• Aequus Mordred scolded Talos for his flippant behavior, and Shen explained that Aequus’s chivalry had limits because he remained a Gang member at heart.
• Talos asked why Aequus had stayed quiet around the Dark Angels, and Agrid said Aequus could not stand against Lion El’Jonson in a fight.
• Aequus opened his booklet, whose first page said “Flexible”; Han Mingxuan had named him Mordred and given him a copy of Don Quixote to temper his zeal for chivalry.
• The brothers discussed Talos’s position as the Legion’s hidden reserve, trained by Han Mingxuan to conceal his abilities and take command if Curze and Sevatar were absent.

Curze and the Eighth Legion arrived in Perturabo’s defense zone, while Sanguinius drew several Primarchs’ attention to the Eighth Legion’s brief history and its notable unaugmented members. After Curze checked that his absent brothers were safe, Perturabo invited him to see his fortifications and asked him to stay longer.

• Talos admired the Iron Warriors’ orbital defenses, and Shen reminded Curze that the Khan was trying to reach him about Sandamel.
• Sanguinius urged several Primarchs to read the Eighth Legion’s brief history and highlighted members including Aequus Mordred, Defensio, Impetus, Agrid, and Animus.
• The Primarchs learned that Curze’s personal troops had never received Gene-seed, and Dorn and Perturabo considered visiting Nostramo to meet Defensio.
• Curze asked Shen to check on the brothers who had not joined the expedition, and Shen reported that Defensio, Impetus, and Animus were safe and occupied with their duties.
• Curze’s logistics ship docked at the Iron Warriors’ flagship, where Perturabo invited him to see what he had built and asked him to stay a few more days.

Han Mingxuan invited the Primarchs to Nostramo after several of them asked about the Evernight Legion, and Angron accompanied him. The gathered brothers arrived on Nostramo, where Curze welcomed them, unaware that recalling the Council of the Long Night would nearly bring disaster upon them.

• Several Primarchs contacted Han Mingxuan about the Evernight Legion, so he decided to go to Nostramo and invited Angron to join him.
• Angron told Han Mingxuan that Nuceria was doing well and explained that he had followed his advice when speaking with the Emperor.
• Han Mingxuan told the Primarchs to meet him on Nostramo, and Curze invited the Council of the Long Night members on Terra to return as well.
• After traveling through the Warp, Perturabo and Khan admired Nostramo, while the Lion ordered inspections of forces entering and leaving the planet to protect it.
• Han Mingxuan and Angron prepared their home, then Curze brought the arriving Primarchs inside, where they joked and argued about food, drink, the sea, and riding across the grasslands.

Curze warned the Council of the Long Night to hide because the visiting Primarchs might try to recruit them, while the Khan’s White Scars tried to poach Sandamel. After Sandamel beat three of them, Angron asked Han Mingxuan for help meeting Animus.

• Curze ordered council members with known identities to feign illness and the others to hide from the visiting Primarchs.
• Orikan told the council that their advanced Necrontyr technology made Gene-seed irrelevant, but warned them about resisting the Primarchs’ charisma.
• Talos and Aequus formed two teams for a sparring match, while Sevatar sat out and Sandamel went missing.
• Sandamel told Curze that Yesugei had anesthetized him during a repair session as the White Scars tried to recruit him, then summoned the battered Yesugei, Qin Xa, and Jubal.
• Angron asked Han Mingxuan if he could meet Animus from the Evernight Legion.

Angron and the other Primarchs tried to recruit members of Curze’s Evernight Legion, forcing Curze to insist that the Legionaries choose for themselves. The Primarchs watched the Legion’s officers spar, but Russ’s howl alerted the fighters to an apparent threat.

• Angron asked Han Mingxuan for help getting to know the War Hounds and considered recruiting Animus, but Han told him to speak with Curze because he did not command the Evernight Legion.
• Angron joined his brothers, and Lion accused Curze of concealing that his personal guard lacked Gene-seed; Curze retorted that the First Legion had secrets of its own.
• Russ pleaded with Curze to give him Shen, Impetus, and Animus, while Horus, Dorn, and others also sought Evernight Legion members.
• Curze used Psychic Power to quiet the Primarchs and declared that the Evernight Legionaries could only leave with their own consent.
• The Primarchs secretly watched Talos, Cyrion, Defensio, Agrid, Shen, Animus, Impetus, and Aequus spar until Russ howled and the fighters regrouped to face an unknown intruder.

Curze agreed to a formal personnel exchange between the Eighth Legion and the other Legions, secretly using it to infiltrate Horus’s Legion and watch for signs of the Horus Heresy. After a meal with his nephews, Angron sensed Han Mingxuan’s worries about Terra and the future, which had become harder to foresee as the Primarchs changed.

• Curze told his brothers that the other Primarchs wanted their warriors, but Horus proposed a formal exchange of personnel and knowledge between the Legions.
• Curze accepted the exchange on the condition that Eighth Legion members return regularly to report, while secretly planning to monitor Horus and share discoveries through the Evernight Network.
• Horus and Curze told Han Mingxuan that they had reached an agreement, and Han Mingxuan recognized that Curze was acting gloomy on purpose.
• Han Mingxuan invited his nephews to eat, and Curze later took them sea fishing while Angron stayed to help clean the kitchen.
• Angron sensed that Han Mingxuan was burdened by worries rooted on Terra, and Han Mingxuan admitted he could no longer see the world’s future clearly.

After Angron helped Han Mingxuan recognize himself as a Breaker of Fate, Han decided to use his authority and take a more active role in the Imperium. He learned from Oll Persson what the Warmaster’s duty meant, then offered Malcador his help with anti-corruption work.

• Angron told Han Mingxuan that he was the only known Breaker of Fate, prompting Han to reconsider his accomplishments and resolve to shape history himself.
• Han visited the Saviour Building and asked Oll Persson about the Warmaster’s duty and fate, then said he wanted to meet Horus.
• Oll Persson explained that the Warmaster was humanity’s first mate and warned that Horus’s ambition would grow as Warmaster, with Han serving as his gardener.
• Han contacted Malcador and volunteered to help with anti-corruption work, surprising him.
• Malcador welcomed Han’s decision and suggested that he lead Slazov and the others in the work.

Malcador secured a vacation on Terra, while Sanguinius arrived too late to meet his brothers and fell for Curze’s fruit-supply scheme. Han Mingxuan returned to Terra and began organizing anti-corruption work at the Department of Justice with the Evernight Legion Reserves.

• Old Han promised Malcador a vacation on Terra after Guilliman was transferred to the rear.
• Sanguinius arrived on Nostramo, but Futia showed him Curze’s letter cutting the Ninth Legion’s fruit supply in half.
• Sanguinius set off to confront Curze, then went to the Administratum to look for him.
• Han Mingxuan met the Emperor and Malcador and said he would start his anti-corruption work by meeting Slazov at the Department of Justice.
• Han Mingxuan summoned the Evernight Legion Reserves’ Myriarch squad and announced he would lead the Imperium’s anti-corruption work.

Han Mingxuan began planning a sweeping anti-corruption campaign on Terra, ordering the Evernight Legion to assemble evidence and recommending harsh punishments for a broad range of nobles. He left Malcador and the Emperor to consider his list before departing for Ultramar to seek Roboute’s mother’s help.

• Slazov offered Han Mingxuan a vetted group of Legion members to help govern Terra, and Han warned the Emperor that the campaign would require replacements for those removed.
• Han ordered Slazov to expand the investigation to lesser nobles and shorter hereditary terms, recommending death for more than half of those implicated and labor reform or prison for the rest.
• Han handed Malcador his sentencing list, which shocked Malcador and the Emperor, and told them to decide whether to proceed before the campaign’s next phase.
• Han said the next phase would be a meeting offering leniency to those who confessed, then left for Ultramar to visit Roboute’s mother.
• Endymion challenged Han’s harsh approach, and Han argued that severe measures were needed to remove the Imperium’s deep-rooted problems before a crisis arose.

Han Mingxuan set out for Ultramar to visit Guilliman and Lady Euten, while Guilliman mistakenly feared his uncle might pursue his adoptive mother. Han Mingxuan arrived and began a polite family visit, with Guilliman and Lady Euten joining him.

• Han Mingxuan told Endymion that loyalty and integrity were separate, and that the anti-corruption campaign could bring painful reforms even to the families of the Adeptus Custodes.
• Han Mingxuan called Guilliman to announce he was visiting Ultramar, prompting Guilliman to rush there because he worried his uncle might court Lady Euten.
• Han Mingxuan arrived on Ultramar and told its protocol officer that he had come to visit Guilliman's mother rather than discuss official business.
• Han Mingxuan waited until Lady Euten arrived with Guilliman, who was out of breath and surprised by the sudden visit.
• Han Mingxuan reassured Lady Euten that he had come only to visit relatives and friends, not on a secret mission.

Han Mingxuan arranged for Roboute to transfer to the Adeptus Administratum to help with the Imperium’s anti-corruption campaign, and Lady Euten agreed. He gave Roboute a lamp for the City of Truth, then told Malcador that the second phase could begin and that he could arrange a vacation on Terra.

• Han Mingxuan gave Lady Euten Cloud Brocade and explained that he had come to discuss Roboute’s future work.
• Han Mingxuan proposed sending Roboute to the Adeptus Administratum to help with the anti-corruption campaign, and Lady Euten approved the transfer.
• Han Mingxuan promised Roboute four days off each month to visit home, while Roboute objected that he was old enough to make his own decisions.
• Han Mingxuan gave Roboute a lamp to place on the roof of the City of Truth, hoping it could guide him through the Mist.
• Han Mingxuan told Malcador that he had settled matters with Guilliman and that the second phase could begin, then encouraged Malcador to arrange a vacation on Terra.

Han Mingxuan launched the second phase of his anti-corruption campaign by ordering the arrest of Imperial Chancellor Malcador the Sigillite. Malcador realized the arrest would give him an open-ended holiday on Terra and willingly went along as Han Mingxuan took him away.

• Han Mingxuan told Guilliman that governing Terra would begin with a meeting, then ordered Slazov to start the anti-corruption campaign.
• Slazov named Imperial Chancellor Malcador the Sigillite as the first target, and Han Mingxuan approved the arrest.
• Han Mingxuan assembled Department of Justice enforcers and Eighth Legion Centurions and led them to Malcador's residence.
• Slazov restrained a guard who resisted, and Han Mingxuan presented Malcador with an arrest warrant and ordered him taken in for questioning.
• Malcador agreed to cooperate after learning he could remain detained until his accomplices confessed, treating the arrest as an open-ended holiday.

After arresting Malcador, Han Mingxuan enlisted him and two Primarchs to help investigate Terra’s nobles, then confronted the nobles as they appealed to the Emperor. Han left with a squad of elite Adeptus Custodes and a verified list of suspects, while the nobles awaited his anti-corruption meetings.

• Han Mingxuan arranged Malcador’s release from the worst of his confinement in exchange for cooperation with the anti-corruption campaign and four days of work each month.
• Malcador revealed that the two Primarchs were his relatives and assigned them to gather intelligence for Han Mingxuan.
• Han Mingxuan told the Primarchs he trusted them and gave them their first assignment: help investigate the nobles.
• Malcador sent the nobles a letter pledging loyalty to them, reassuring them that he would not talk while imprisoned.
• The nobles appealed to the Emperor, but Han Mingxuan entered the Throne Room and requested an elite squad of Adeptus Custodes, which the Emperor approved.
• Han Mingxuan told the nobles to attend the upcoming meetings, then had A Fa give Slazov the names of the nobles whose charges could be verified.

Han Mingxuan launched an anti-corruption campaign on Terra, mobilizing Alpharius, the Emperor, and the Eighth Legion against the entrenched nobility. The campaign began as Curze ordered his legion to return from the Great Crusade and prepare to assist.

• After Terra's nobles united against him, Han Mingxuan told Alpharius to recall the Evernight Judges Legion and use the Great Crusade's disruption to force the Imperium to join the campaign.
• Han Mingxuan ordered Alpharius to deploy his legion across the Imperium, trap the nobles' network on Terra, and target hereditary nobles, while also asking him to contact Magnus.
• Han Mingxuan asked the Emperor to bring Corax and his legion back and to provide elite representatives from the Great Crusade legions; the Emperor agreed and authorized replacing nearly all the old nobility.
• Han Mingxuan told Slazov to execute everyone on the first seventy percent of his list of suspected criminals.
• After learning of the campaign, Curze ordered the Eighth Legion to return from the front lines and summoned its council members serving with other legions.

The Council of the Long Night recalled its members to Terra for Han Mingxuan’s anti-corruption campaign, which Curze treated as a war and prepared to reinforce. As the campaign approached, allies gathered to protect Han while Curze sought Orikan’s advice on Nostramo.

• Aequus Mordred, Sandamel, Impetus, Agrid, and Animus each left their Legion after receiving orders to return to Terra and help Uncle Han.
• The Council of the Long Night assembled aboard the Nightfall, where Curze sent Shen, Talos, and Cyrion to Terra and ordered a hundred thousand troops recruited on Nostramo.
• Talos and his team reached Terra and reported to Han Mingxuan, who told them to coordinate with Slazov and wait for Curze.
• Jia and Archmagos Angrak prepared Nostramo for the Legion’s sudden expansion, while Oll Persson arranged for Susan and Xiulikas to enter Terra disguised as cargo handlers and protect Han.
• After reaching Nostramo, Curze asked Orikan about the coming crisis, and Orikan reassured him while noting that Trazyn was available to help.

Talos, Cyrion, and Shen carried out the Department of Justice’s arrests of Terra’s nobles, using evidence and force to overcome resistance. Their operations stirred panic among the noble circles, while Shen’s team intercepted a distress message from the estate they raided.

• Talos ordered Slazov and the Eighth Legion’s judges to bring Terra’s powerful figures to a meeting and prepare for armed resistance.
• Talos’s team arrested nobles who refused their invitations, using the Evernight Code and a psychic blast to subdue private guards.
• Cyrion led arrests with overwhelming force, killing a noble who resisted and showing the judges evidence of the targets’ crimes.
• The arrests alarmed Terra’s noble circles, while Shen’s team continued its own investigation and raid.
• Cyrion blasted open a noble’s front door with a Vortex grenade, and his Astartes raided the home in under ten minutes.
• Shen’s team intercepted and destroyed a request for help sent beyond Terra.

Han Mingxuan launched a brutal anti-corruption campaign on Terra, executing nobles who resisted and publicizing evidence of their crimes. As five batches were killed, Roboute Guilliman supported the campaign but began to question its harshness and sent a secretary to contact the Department of Justice.

• Han Mingxuan convened Terra’s nobles and executed those who defied him, citing evidence of their crimes and warning the rest to confess or face execution.
• Han Mingxuan ordered Talos to give the evidence to the Administratum, which broadcast the first nobles’ crimes across Terra.
• Han Mingxuan told a second group that the Evernight Code’s Nobility Law applied to them and would be enforced strictly.
• Han Mingxuan executed five batches of nobles over the morning, while the Administratum served as the Department of Justice’s mouthpiece.
• Roboute Guilliman, who supported Han Mingxuan’s campaign, saw the piles of documents and sent a secretary to contact the Department of Justice.

Han Mingxuan continued his anti-corruption campaign on Terra, exposing a disguised Tzeentch Greater Daemon and refusing to slow down. After the Emperor considered how to keep the Imperium stable, Sanguinius foresaw the campaign’s dangers and decided to return.

• Han Mingxuan recognized Guilliman’s secretary as a Tzeentch Greater Daemon and ordered him to tell Roboute that the anti-corruption campaign would continue.
• The Tzeentch Greater Daemon denied his identity and left, fearing that Han Mingxuan would extend his sentence in the Administratum.
• Han Mingxuan spoke with Malcador, who asked whether the accused had confessed, and then departed.
• The Emperor visited Malcador and decided that Sanguinius should gradually learn the Imperium’s administrative affairs while he kept the situation stable.
• Sanguinius used his psychic power to view a prophecy about Terra’s anti-corruption campaign and decided to return before Han Mingxuan’s actions caused trouble.

Han Mingxuan launched a sweeping anti-corruption campaign on Terra, recruiting investigators and seeking Corax to help. Tzeentch noticed Corax’s fate changing and appeared through a daemon in the Department of Justice, where Han Mingxuan dismissed his banter.

• Han Mingxuan ordered Shen, Talos, and Cyrion to leave only one percent of Terra’s old nobility and demanded impartial law enforcement.
• Han Mingxuan assigned A Fa and Omega to investigate candidates, sent Kamon to investigate Terra’s Knight Houses, and ordered a Mindshackle Scarab to follow him while keeping the Adeptus Mechanicus away.
• Han Mingxuan asked the Emperor to find Corax, and the Emperor set out for Lycaeus while planning to make Han Mingxuan solve his family-education problems.
• Tzeentch saw Corax’s thread of fate veer toward a strange convergence and decided to visit Han Mingxuan.
• A daemon named Sinleech brought the meeting agenda to Han Mingxuan, who recognized Tzeentch and told him to leave if he had come only to chat.