Donatos War



"Knights of Adrastapol. Noble sires of Houses Draconis, Chimaeros, Minotos, Wyvorn and Pegasson. Honoured allies of the Astra Militarum, of Tanhollis and Mubraxis and Cadia. Today we do the Emperor's bidding. Today, we are the cleansing flame. This world of Donatos has known the insidious touch of the mutant. The heretic. The traitor. But no more! Today the Knights of Adrastapol will march forth and show these turncoats what becomes of those who shun the light of the Imperium. Honoured sires, for Adrastapol and the Emperor. Let them know no mercy, only death!"

- High King Tolwyn Tan Draconis

The Donatos War, also sometimes referred to as the Donatosian War or the Donatos Uprising, was a hard-fought Imperial victory won over the servants of Chaos on the Industrial World of Donatos Primus largely through the action of the Imperial Knights of the Knight World of Adrastapol. Through the negligence of its rulers, the promises of the Dark Gods were allowed to spread amongst the world's class of labourers, leading to an outbreak of worker strikes and a rise in gang violence in the northern industrial zone of interlinked hive cities.

When Planetary Governor Gnossul ordered the unrest put down, elements of the local Planetary Defence Forces joined the rebels who soon revealed themselves as the members of a hideous Chaos Cult. This cult had ties to far darker masters, the Chaos Space Marines of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion, who they called to their aid. Directed by the battle-hardened Dark Apostle Varakh'Lorr, the Chaos Cultists soon spread their influence across Donatos' principal continent, bypassing a series of extensive fortifications and turning them against the Loyalist defenders of Donatos Primus. Following the death of Governor Gnossul and the confirmation of the presence of Heretic Astartes in the warzone, an astropathic distress signal was sent to which the Imperium responded with uncustomary swiftness.

Tolwyn Tan Draconis, the High King of the Knight World of Adrastapol, led a powerful alliance of Knight Houses and several regiments of the Astra Militarum to retake Donatos Primus for the Emperor. This assault initially met with great success. The balance of power was tipped back in the Archenemy's favour when two previously Loyalist Houses of Imperial Knights, House Chimaeros and House Wyvorn, changed sides in the middle of a decisive battle. Falling back in disarray, the Imperial forces lost ground to the resurgent enemy before rallying around Tolwyn's successor, his son Danial Tan Draconis. As the Renegade Knights in turn betrayed their Word Bearers allies, the Imperial forces were able to mount a decisive attack on Donatos Primus' industrial heartland and slay both of the Traitors' leaders. Without leadership and abandoned by their more powerful allies, the Renegade PDF forces and Chaos Cultists were slowly pressed back and Donatos Primus was ultimately reclaimed for the Throne of Terra.

History
The history of the Donatos War is intertwined with the tale of High King Danial's ascension to the throne of the High King of Adrastapol. To the scholar, it comes as no surprise that the writings of the famed Sage-Strategist Sendraghorst hold the most complete account of these dire events.

Rebellion
The rule of the Imperium is a harsh one, especially on those countless worlds subject to the Imperial Tithe, whose taxing demands are to be met in time and in full. Such is the strain put on a world's economy that its population have to toil almost incessantly to meet the Adeptus Administratum's demands. Worker strikes and other forms of civil unrest are far too common and often discipline can only be maintained by the heavy hand of the Adeptus Arbites or local law-enforcers. So when the first signs of trouble emerged within the industrial sprawl of Donatos Primus' northern hive cities, none of the world's rulers were particularly troubled.

Planetary Governor Gnossul ordered the deployment of several squads of Donatosian Planetary Defence Forces -- a force which in the past had often sufficed to quell any civil unrest. Yet this time, rather than open fire on the mob, the men and women of the Planetary Defence Militia joined the ranks of the rioters, for even within the Donatosian military the discontent ran deep. Unsure of his troops' loyalties, the head of the Planetary Defence Militia, Commander Korgh, deployed his troops sparingly. This proved to be too little to stem the spread of open rebellion both amongst the civilian population and Donatos' PDF regiments. As more and more regiments declared for the rebels, the situation became tense.

Despite the scale of this revolt, Governor Gnossus remained confident that he could keep what was beginning to be called the Donatos Uprising a purely internal matter. The Governor's confidence was largely born of experience. As a Class II Industrial World, Donatos Primus had seen its fair share of insurrections, revolts and even civil wars, which had led Gnossus' forbears to seek the help of the Adeptus Mechanicus in erecting a series of heavily armed and strongly fortified keeps known as the Adamant Citadels at strategic locations on the world. Each fortress was near-impregnable and was specifically designed to control and defend its allotted sector from both interior and exterior threats. Even this latest rebellion lacked the manpower or the resources to take on one of the Citadels. Thinking he had more than enough time to react, the Governor gathered yet more PDF regiments and Adeptus Arbites around him, ready to sally forth and crush the rebellion. He could not have foreseen what was to come.

Unknown to the governor and his staff, the rebellion had been kindled by one of the insidious Chaos Cults that fester on those Imperial worlds where the Emperor's servants are too lax in upholding Imperial rule. The cult that had fomented the revolt was itself affiliated with some of the Imperium's most dangerous opponents: the Heretic Astartes of the Traitor Legions. Through means unknown, the cult was able to call upon its dark master: Varakh'Lorr, a Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion and the lord of a particularly active warband of his dark brethren. As Lord of the Scribed Blade warband, Varakh'Lorr had already devastated seven Imperial worlds on the border of the Crimson Stars and put their populations to the sword, sacrifices to his Dark Gods to fuel his transformation into a Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided.

It would seem that through sorcerous means -- or the arcane and techno-heretical knowledge of those Magi of the Dark Mechanicus loyal to the Scribed Blade -- the insurgents were able to force the Machine Spirits (artificial intelligences) of several Adamant Citadels to shut down, leaving them defenceless against the frenzied mob that stormed their walls. Once overrun, those same Dark Adepts took control of the Adamant Citadels and turned their impressive firepower against Donatos' defenders, forcing them to retreat. It was only with his defences already breached and the involvement of the Heretic Astartes confirmed that Governor Gnossus realised how perilous the situation was.

Almost immediately, the Governor ordered his Astropaths to send out a distress call. With the Adamant Citadels now in the hands of the enemy, the hordes of Chaos Cultists, Renegade Planetary Defence Militia and Chaos Space Marines spilled out of the northern industrial zone. Where possible, the remaining Loyalist PDF regiments and Adeptus Arbites companies resisted for as long as they could, fighting defensive sieges and delaying actions in order to bleed the foe and hold out long enough for Imperial reinforcements to arrive. With a sizeable army gathered around him, Governor Gnossul's palace became one of the principal Loyalist pockets of resistance.

Thanks to the sacrifice of the entire 19th Regiment of Donatos Planetary Defence Militia, the enemy's advance was blunted: infiltrating the Penuinsulum Manufactorii through a labyrinth of decommissioned waste evacuation pipes, the troops of the 19th were able to destroy one of only two generatorium sites charged with delivering power to the Adamant Citadels. Bereft of power, some fortresses were even destroyed by the fatal backlash of energy caused by the Manufactorii's destruction. All of the Adamant Citadels south of Donatos' equator shut down, leaving only the Valle Electrum to power the remaining Citadels.

With their advantage lost, the Traitors had to fight hard for each sector and hive city they took. After many solar weeks of siege, the Governor's Palace was eventually overrun. Governor Gnossul was slain and Donatos' astropathic choir was captured by the Heretic Astartes. As the Loyalists fell back to the Pentakhost Peninsula, holding out in Donatos Primus' primary Adeptus Arbites fortress, they were relieved to see that the Imperium had responded surprisingly swiftly to their distress call.

Imperial Counterattack
Hearing Donatos' distress call, the Imperial Segmentum authorities had acted swiftly, rerouting several sizeable military convoys of Astra Militarum-regiments to Donatos Primus. The bulk of these reinforcements were drawn from the Cadian Shock Troops led by the 454th Regiment, three regiments of Mubraxis Dustdogs and the entire 601st Tanhollis Highlanders. To take command of these forces, Segmentum authorities designated High King Tolwyn Tan Draconis, planetary ruler of the Knight World of Adrastapol who would contribute well over 300 Imperial Knights drawn from Adrastapol's five Knight Houses. As usual, the Imperial Navy would provide transportation, warships and atmospheric air support.

Nearly four solar months after the beginning of the insurrection, the Imperial fleet arrived in high orbit above Donatos Primus. Wasting no time, the Imperial forces immediately went on the offensive, acting upon intelligence transmitted by those Loyalist enclaves still fighting back against the hordes of Chaos Cultists and Renegades. As a seasoned warleader, Tolwyn Tan Draconis had perfectly selected his army's landing zone: the Pentakhost Peninsula. Located south of Donatos Primus' equator -- and hence out of reach of the orbital batteries of the Adamant Citadels still in enemy hands -- the peninsula would be easy to hold, as a small number of Imperial forces were sufficient to repel any offensive while the Loyalist troops cleared the peninsula of the enemy.

Using his Knights' Drop Keeps as a new fortification line to the north, the gathered Imperial Knights of House Draconis, House Chimaeros, House Minotos, House Pegasson and House Wyvorn were ordered to push south and west, trapping the enemy between their guns and those of the Imperial troops still holding out in Donatos' Adeptus Arbites fortress-precinct. Hopelessly outgunned, those Chaos Cultists and Renegade PDF troopers encountered by the lances of Knights were swiftly annihilated, as the insurrectionists lacked the firepower necessary to destroy the towering and well-shielded walkers hunting them down. With the siege of the Arbites fortress broken and the Imperial bridgehead secured, the reconquest of Donatos truly began.

For many within the ranks of the Imperial Knights, the landing in the Pentakhost Peninsula was their very first battle. These young Knights -- some having just passed their Ritual of Becoming -- were paired with seasoned warriors, veterans of many conflicts to watch over them and guide them. This was also the case for Luk Tan Chimaeros, son and heir to the leader of House Chimaeros, Viscount Gerraint Tan Chimaeros, and his best friend, Danial Tan Draconis, Kingsward to the High King of Adrastapol. Entering the war little more than Squires, the actions of these two individuals would determine the outcome of the conflict.

Council of War
Almost immediately after having gained a foothold on Donatos Primus, the High King convened a great war council. The High King knew his forces had been extremely lucky, having encountered neither Chaos Space Marines nor the powerful Daemon Engines often employed by Chaos warbands.

The council began with much pomp and ceremony, as befitting the presence of such an august figure as that of the High King of Adrastapol. Prior to the council, a delegation of Donatosian notables had presented their thanks to the High King and his commanders for coming to their aid. First Administrator Hullis of the Adeptus Administratum and Sacred Pulfican, the Ecclesiarchy Bishop of Donatos, had all taken refuge in Donatos' Adeptus Arbites fortress, saved only by the arrival of the Imperial forces. Ever the diplomat, High King Tolwyn thanked Commander Korgh and the High Justice of Donatos for the blood spilled by the Donatosian Loyalists in delaying the Traitors' advance. Despite Pulfican's heavy-handed attempts to put the blame for their current situation solely on Commander Korgh, the High King subtly noted the Bishop's own shortcomings in preserving Donatos' spiritual purity.

As the High King's appointed Herald -- Markos Dar Draconis -- began with an overview of the tactical situation, everyone present watched the great holo-pojector underlying the Herald's words with maps, casualty lists and other graphical depictions of the Imperial war effort. Their primary target was the Valle Electrum, a glorified but extremely well-defended generatorium. More akin to a fortified mountain range than a fortress, the Valle Electrum harboured immense Plasma Generators which powered the remaining Adamant Citadels all over Donatos Primus' northern hemisphere.

The most impressive Citadel, known locally as Ironpeak, bordered the Valle Electrum to the north, separated from it by the great Plaza of Unrelenting Toil. Satellite reconnaissance put the Word Bearers and their dark master there, leading the rebellious population in dark rituals of supplication. The Valle Electrum could only be accessed through three ravines, each one heavily foritifed and boasting so much anti-aircraft firepower that even the Imperial Navy's heavy Marauder Bombers could not break through.

With no alternative other than a ground offensive, the Imperial forces intended to march up the Pentakhost Peninsula, flushing the dregs of the vanquished rebel army before them and assail the Valle Electrum straight away: a decapitation strike the likes of which the Imperium's armies had relied upon since the days of the Great Crusade. It was only when the High King's plans were outlined that Markos revealed to the gathered assembly the presence of Heretic Astartes on Donatos Primus, raising the regimental commanders and Commander Korgh's clearance level to Crimson so that they might study their foe. Vastly outnumbered and confident that his Knights would be more than a match for the Word Bearers, the High King and the other commanders were confident that their plan would bring victory.

None dared to suspect than amongst their numbers hid a Traitor, one who would pass his extensive knowledge of the High King's plan to the Archenemy.

March on the Valle Electrum
From the bottleneck of the Pentakhost Peninsula, the army of High King Tolwyn pressed northwards. Despite the nature of the terrain -- which was highly urbanised -- the army made good progress, advancing mainly along the great macro-highways linking together Donatos' great concentrations of industry. While the Imperial Knights kept to the main arteries, the bloody business of clearing out hab blocks and manufactoria fell to the men and women of the 454th Cadian, experts in street-fighting. They faced only Chaos Cultists and Renegade PDF, and the Imperial Knights' firepower made short work of them. Yet the enemy refused to let the Imperial forces advance unhindered. On bridges and other chokepoints, the Heretics used groundcars and macrohawlers to erect barricades against the advancing army, but even equipped with more heavy weapons and supported by elements of the Planetary Defence Forces' armoured brigades, these rebels were no match for the Imperial troops.

Over the following solar days and weeks the Imperial forces conquered several key districts: the Magna Destros Manufactorii, the Imperatos Magnificat, the Diocese Promethean and Totalum Hespraxii all fell back into Imperial hands. On several occasions, the Traitors gathered in sufficient numbers to warrant a true battle, but still no Chaos Space Marines were sighted. At each one of these true battles, High King Tolwyn Tan Draconis personally led the charge in his modified Knight Paladin, Fyreheart. Less than a solar month after their initial landing, the Loyalists were in striking distance of their designated target: the Valle Electrum.

For the second time, High King Tolwyn convened his closest allies for a war council where he presented his plan for the coming attack. With the enemy firmly entrenched behind the formidable defences of the Valle Electrum, even the might of the Imperial Knights was not enough to break through. The target would need softening up before High King Tolwyn's Knights could charge through and take the breach.

Being the best equipped for the task, the Mubraxian regiments and the Tanhollis Highlanders would open hostilities with a heavy artillery barrage. This attack would be supported by several runs of the Imperial Navy's bomber wings. Once the outlying defences were sufficiently weakened, the Imperial Knights would lead the charge with the Cadians in their wake. The Knights would lead a single assault carried out by the three strongest Knight Houses: House Minotos, House Chimaeros and High King Tolwyn's own House Draconis. The two remaining Houses, House Wyvorn and House Pegasson, would be deployed on the flanks and tasked with long-range fire support.

With the Imperial commanders in agreement, High King Tolwyn retreated to his personal quarters to spend time with his children, Lady Jennika Tan Draconis and Kingsward Danial Tan Draconis, blissfully ignorant of the fact that even as he gifted his children with family heirlooms the traitor in their midst was already revealing every detail of the High King's strategy to the enemy. At the same time, House Chimaeros' and House Wyvorn's Sacristans readied their lords' mechanical steeds for the coming battle, anointing them with sacred unguent that would shield them from the Word Bearers' weapons.

First Attack on the Valle Electrum
The next morning proved to be a rain-streaked one, the dark petrochemical clouds releasing a steady stream of hissing, acidic rain, perhaps a dark omen of what was yet to come. The Imperial army mustered itself for war, vast columns of infantry and tanks opening the way as the Noble scions of the Knight Houses seated themselves in their Thrones Mechanicum. Well over three hundred Knights mustered outside of the Imperial camp, the Knights of House Minotos filling the air with the heartrousing melodies of their martial symphonies. In great columns and followed by their Sacristan Crawlers, the Knight Houses of Adrasatapol assembled according to the High King's plan. Slowly, hundreds of gun barrels -- mainly Basilisk artillery tanks -- were raised skywards, ready to unleash volley after volley against the enemy fortifications which loomed over no-man's land. Far overhead, the wings of Marauder Bombers and Thunderbolt fighters were circling, ready to add their bombs to the megatons of ordinance ready to be unleashed on the Valle Electrum. From the Throne Mechanicum of his own Knight, Fyreheart, High King Tolwyn gave the order and the Imperial batteries opened fire.

For several solar hours, the Imperial artillery pummelled the enemy fortifications until High King Tolwyn gave the order to advance. Linking their Ion Shields together, the lances of Knights were easily shielded from the sporadic counter-barrage fire emanating from the enemy. As the Knight Houses advanced across no-man's land, they lost a single unfortunate Noble of House Pegasson to enemy fire. According to their initial battleplan, House Pegasson and House Wyvorn soon peeled off to take up their predetermined positions as the other Houses charged. The enemy's reaction had remained minimal, neither committing its numbers nor its best troops against the gathered might of the Adrastapolian Knights. It was only as the leading Knights penetrated into the Valle Electrum proper that things went awry.

When the Nobles of House Draconis go to war, they do not do so alone but benefit from the support of their "Heavenly Host," a small army of cybernetic constructs called Cherubim whose Auspex-probes cover the entire battlefield and furnish the Nobles of House Draconis with a detailed and updated map of their surroundings. Once inside the Valle Electrum, the Sacristans around High Sacristan Polluxis noted an unexplainable spike in casualties amongst the Heavenly Host. First analysis suggested a noospheric anomaly, a parasite signal that forced the Cherub-Servitor into paralysis or shutdown. Worse yet, the ghost signal that plagued the Heavenly Host also befell Polluxis' own Crawler and soon swapped over to the Auspex and communication systems of the Draconis Knights. Filled with insane runic gibberish, these systems began an immediate emergency shutdown in the midst of the battle.

Even as High Sacristan Polluxis battled against the invasive scrap-code, House Pegasson and House Wyvorn moved into position, and House Draconis pressed home the attack. As a mark of deference to House Draconis and its High King, House Chimaeros left the honour of the first charge to High King Tolwyn's House. Eager to join battle as soon as possible, House Minotos did not show this mark of respect and pressed on, easily outpacing House Chimaeros and leaving the Imperial rear vulnerable to enemy counterattack.

The Hour of Betrayal
It was in this very moment that the Loyalists were struck head-on by the Chaos-tainted scrap-code. As some of the most complex creations of the Machine God, the suits of Knight Armour were partially shielded from the most extreme effects of the scrap-code. Where the Cherubim of the Heavenly Host had suffered catastrophic system failures, the Imperial Knights' Machine Spirits were strong enough to limit the machine-curse's baleful effects to none essential systems such as Auspex-arrays, communication systems and pictscreens. Others were not so lucky. On several occasions the scrap-code penetrated deep inside the systems of the Sacristan Crawlers, pushing their reactors into overdrive and causing them to explode. Overhead, several Thunderbolts tumbled from the sky, their engines unexpectedly cutting out while on the ground the targeting systems of Leman Russ tanks failed. While the scrap-code did not directly harm the Loyalist Knights, it left them disorganised, confused and in some cases blinded, a confusion the Traitors in their midst knew how to exploit.

Unaffected by the Chaos scrap-code, the Traitor Knights of House Chimaeros opened fire at point-blank range on their former allies, while the Knights of House Wyvorn assaulted House Pegasson. One of High King Tolwyn's bodyguards, Sire Daeved was the first Knight to realise the betrayal. Just before his exterior pic-feed cut out, Sire Daeved saw a Chimaeros Knight preparing to fire upon the High King. Unable to warn his liege or reorient his Ion Shield in time, the king's bodyguard used the bulk of his own Knight to intercept the incoming fire, his steed losing an arm in the process.

A little bit further along the battleline, Danial Tan Draconis, the Kingsward, was also attacked. Still reeling from the unexpected blow, House Draconis had little time to react before House Chimaeros charged into their midst. Sire Rosierre Dar Chimaeros, one of Viscount Gerraint's most seasoned warriors, attacked Danial. Hastily parrying the first blow with its Reaper Chainsword, Danial's Knight Errant, Oath of Flame, was pressed back, the battlefield already littered with fallen Knights belonging to House Draconis. Through a mix of luck and skill, Danial Tan Draconis was able to slay his opponent while his father frantically tried to come to grasp with this new situation.

All across Donatos Primus and even in orbit, the forces of House Chimaeros and House Wyvorn revealed their true colours. On the surface, House Chimaeros' assets had split into two groups. The first had charged at House Draconis, seeking to slay its ruling Nobles while the second assaulted House Minotos with devastating enfilade fire. Within the first solar minutes of the betrayal, fully half of Grandmarshal Gustev's Exalted Court had been slain.

Behind the main advance, the Sacristan Crawlers belonging to the Renegade Houses battled their Loyalist counterparts, while on top of the hab-mountains the enemy revealed an unexpected weapon: Macrocannons large enough to repel voidships. The colossal weapons opened up on the forces of House Pegasson and exacted a heavy toll. In orbit, House Chimaeros and House Wyvorn bastion-ships unleashed the firepower of their batteries against the Imperial ships. Dormant Plasma Torpedoes were reactivated, wreaking havoc on the Imperial flotilla. Even more disturbing was the fact that these torpedoes were seemingly of Astartes design: the Word Bearers had finally decided to get involved in the fight.

With the chaotic scrap-code still paralysing all communication save for short-range Vox-transmissions -- which still came out as garbled half-sentences -- House Draconis needed an alternate means of communication. The solution was found by Tolwyn's daughter, Gatekeeper Jennika Tan Draconis which was the first to order her Lance to communicate through the truly ancient Squire's Code, her Knights raising their auto-pennants in precise order and formation to convey messages to those within line of sight. Although limited in words, the Squire's Code gave House Draconis the means it needed to reorganise their formation. Luckily, or perhaps thanks to the benevolence of the Omnissiah, High Sacristan Polluxis had succeeded in warding his Land Crawler and its tactical Auspex from the chaotic data-infestation. His Auspex readings showed him what the High King ignored so far: that the Tanhollis and Mubraxis regiments had been pressed back by the resurging enemy, now lead by Chaos Space Marines of Varakh'Lorr warband, the Scribed Blade.

With the enemy's best warriors pressing in on both flanks and his supporting troops mostly overrun, the High King recognized that this battle was truly lost. Of the supporting Astra Militarum-regiments, only the Cadians were still in the fight, gathering protectively around Polluxis' Sacristan Crawlers or joining the fight against the turncoat Chimaeros Knights. Even now the enemy was charging through the Imperial gun-batteries, spiking them or turning them against their former owners by those renegade PDF-troopers with the training to do so. Using all his technological knowledge, High Sacristan Polluxis forcefully entered House Pegasson and House Minotos communication networks, delivering the High King's order: retreat. Gathering around Tolwyn's Knight, Fyreheart, the surviving Knights of the three loyalist Houses - only fifty-seven still operational Knights - fought their way through the encircling troops.

The Axe Falls
The wedge of Imperial Knights headed west, wading through a crawling sea of enemy combatants, screaming Chaos Cultists which raised their makeshift banners and howled their devotion to the Dark Gods. They died in their hundreds, mowed down like wheat before the scythe by the Knight's coordinated firepatterns or crushed beneath their armoured boots. Those weapons truly capable of harming a Knight - tanks and self-propelled artillery - were expertly targeted and destroyed before they could open fire themselves. The true fight was at the back of the Imperial formation, where a rearguard led by Garath Dar Draconis held back the pursuing Traitor Knights. At the head of the advance, Danial Tan Draconis, his sister Jennika and the High King's Herald, Markos Dar Draconis pressed on. Their target was a wide transit bridge, large enough to allow six Knights to pass it abreast whilst leading over a deep canal that was also half a mile wide; if the retreating Imperial troops could cross that bridge and bring it down behind them they still could be saved.

A few hundred yard before the bridge's entrance, Lady Suset Dar Pegasson's Knight picked up some strange energy signatures, largely hidden by the bodyheat emanating from the human mob surrounding it. She tried to warn her comrades, but her words were cut short as the yet unidentified enemy opened fire. Missiles, large calibre hard-rounds and powerful energy streams hit the overlapping Ion Shields of the foremost Knights. One House Draconis Knight, Sire Poldred was even destroyed, one of his Knight's legs blown from underneath it, leaving him to fall without grace to the ground. Using their own cultists as cover for their movements, both Chaos Space Marines infantry and tanks had deployed across the bridge, hoping to trap the Imperial Knights between them and the pursuing Traitor Knights. With no time to lose, the High King ordered his foreward ranks to charge through the enemy lines, even if they were held by the Word Bearers. With commendable discipline, even for an enemy, the Word Bearers held their ground, pouring shots in the advancing Imperials. In the first line of the Loyalist charge stood Danial Tan Draconis. Oath of Flame’s Ion Shield deflected the twin-linked lasbeams of a Chaos Predator Annihilator, while its armoured legs withstood the powerful blasts of hurled Krak Grenades and Autocannon-rounds. Marking the tank at him as his target, Oath of Flame kicked the enemy tank in its front armour, flipping it onto its turret and exploding. In the second line of the charge, Fyreheart was counter-charged by an enemy leader, an Aspiring Champion in hook-festooned Power Armour wielding a Power Fist. Before the High King could react, the enemy champion had ripped off part of Fyreheart’s ankle, crippling the High King's mount leg. With a shout of anger, High King Tolwyn brought his Tempest Blade to bear, smashing the Aspiring Champion aside with the flat of his blade, the momentum behind this movement strong enough to send even an armoured Space Marine flying through the air - but the damage had been done.

With Fyreheart crippled, High King Tolwyn knew he would only slow down the escape and quite possibly put their entire venture in jeopardy. His duty was clear: the collective survival of his Knights was more important than his own survival. Foremost he had to ensure that his son, the Kingsward survived so that the Draconis' line may be perpetuated and that someone might challenge Gerraint's ambitions to the throne of High King of Adrastapol. With a heavy heart, High King Tolwyn gave his final orders: any able-bodied Knight should cross the bridge and cover the Sacristans and Cadians as they readied the bridge for destruction. Sire Garath was relieved of command over the rearguard which would assemble around Tolwyn and hold the entrance of the bridge. Only those Knights crippled or injured beyond their meagre means of repair would be allowed to stay alongside the High King which would slowly fall back if circumstances allowed it. Despite Jennika's and Danial's protests, the order was enacted. Markos Dar Draconis, Tolwyn's oldest friend considered disrespecting his orders, but in a private channel Tolwyn tasked him with a secret mission: to watch over Jennika and Danial in his absence.

Proudly, High King Tolwyn stood at the entry of the bridge. He was joined by one of his bodyguards, Sire Daeved in Pyrefang and two other Knights of House Draconis, Sire Natan in Drake Ascendant and Sire Kristov in Crimson Sword. Two wounded Minotos Knights completed their small group  as well as a ragtag assortment of Sacristan Crawlers, Cadian Tauroxes and Leman Russes having suffered damaged tracks that would subsequently slow down the retreat. Against them stood the surging masses of House Chimaeros, their leader, the traitor Gerraint Tan Chimaeros, Gerraint Kar Adrastapol at their head. Drake Ascendant and Crimson Sword were the first to fall, slain by weaponsfire even before the enemy charge hit home. In close combat the odds were clearly in favour of the retreating Loyalists, the bridge funnelling the enemy's numbers where the rearguard could confront them one on one. High King Tolwyn and the two Minotos Knight accounted well for themselves the remaining four Knights now only fifty yards from safety. Out of the still pouring rain, Therianthros, Gerraint's steed charged at Fyreheart. The two former friends exchanged thunderous blows, but the rain thickened and occluded the duel from sight. An explosion illuminated the grey before High King Tolwyn detonated the Demolition Charges expertly planted by Polluxis' Sacristans. House Draconis and the two other remaining Households had escaped the ambush set for them, but it had cost them dearly.