Thramas Crusade

The Thramas Crusade took place in Thramas System in the year 005-008.M3 lasting nearly 3 standard years during the Horus Heresy. The Crusade was ordered by Warmaster Horus and was of particular importance to the campaign against the Emperor because the system contained a number of Mechanicum Forge Worlds and protected Horus's flank from the Dark Angels while the assault of Terra began.

Council of Traitors
Following the victory of the Drop Site Massacre at Isstvan V, Horus called a meeting of the 8 Primarchs of the Traitor Legions (minus the participation of the Alpha Legion's Primarch Alpharius) aboard his flagship, the Vengeful Spirit. Five of the Primarchs met in person, including Horus, Fulgrim, Angron, Mortarion, and Lorgar. Three appeared through the use of hololithic emitters that transmitted their signals through the Warp, including Perturabo, Konrad Curze and Magnus the Red, who had only recently joined the Traitors after the Scouring of Prospero, when the broken remains of his XVth Legion The Thousand Sons had been transported by Tzeentch into the Eye of Terror to the Planet of the Sorcerers. The council of Traitor Primarchs made their plans for the next step in their war against the Emperor and then each Legion went its way according to its assigned role.

Night Lords Role
Konrad Curze's Night Lords fleet had already departed, bound for the planet of Tsagualsa, a remote world in the Eastern Fringe that lay shrouded in the shadow of a great asteroid belt. From there, the Night Lords’ terror troops would begin a campaign of genocide against the Imperial strongholds of Heroldar and Thramas star systems that, if not taken, would leave the flanks of the Warmaster’s strike on Terra vulnerable to attack. The Thramas System was of particular importance, as it comprised a number of Mechanicum Forge Worlds whose loyalty was still to the Emperor.

This bitterly contested campaign became known as the Thramas Crusade.

Parley
In an attempt to sway his brother Primarch of the Dark Angels, Lion El'Jonson to Horus' cause, Konrad Curze left a deep-void beacon in the patrol path of one of the Dark Angels' outrider vessels. The beacon was set to transmit coordinates in advance, so that the two Primarchs could meet and parley on the planet of Tsagualsa. Curze wanted to break his former brother either mentally, physically or both to obtain his objectives. Both Primarchs were accompanied by two members of their Honour Guard. Lion El' Jonson was accompanied by Corswain and Alajos, Konrad Curze accompanied by Sevatar and Sheng. The meeting began amicably enough between the two as they conversed with relative civility. This amity lasted only until the Curze slandered El'Jonson, and in return the El' Jonson struck Curze. This melee further degenerated into an all-out brawl between the two sides. As the Curze strangled the life out of El'Jonson, Corswain ran his sword into Curze's back, saving his Primarch's life and rendering Curze comatose. Sevatar decapitated Alajos, and Sheng helped his comatose Primarch escape as reinforcements from both sides arrived. Each side dragged away their respective Primarchs from the scene of the combat and went on to continue the contest between their Legions for control of the Aegis Sub-sector.

Ambush
When next they fought, the Dark Angels executed a meticulously planned ambush on the Night Lords' fleet while it was in transit across the sub-sector that saw the back of the Night Lords Legion broken and their Primarch mortally wounded after having faced his brother El'Jonson once again in mortal combat. Thanks to the skilled coordination and superb execution by the El' Jonson, the Night Lords fleet was devastated, losing dozens of capital ships and approximately one-quarter of their Legion fleet to the Dark Angels' assault. The remainder of the Night Lords fleet fled the Dark Angels' wrath, First Captain Sevatar and the elite Night Lords Atramentar Terminators led a desperate boarding assault action upon the Dark Angels' flagship Invincible Reason. This resulted in the death of all but a dozen of the Atramentar and the capture of Sevatar and the remaining survivors. Curze fled El'Jonson's wrath, evading the Dark Angels for months, stalking the shadows within the bowels of the mighty capital ship. Somehow, the remaining Night Lords managed to affect their escape and fled into the void.

Source
[[Category:T]] [[Category:C]]
 * Prince of Crows (Novella) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
 * Savage Weapons (Short Story) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden