13th Black Crusade (Original)

"Let the galaxy burn."

- Abaddon the Despoiler, Warmaster of Chaos

The 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler that began in 999.M41 resulted in the largest mobilisation of both Imperial and Chaotic forces seen in the Milky Way Galaxy since the Horus Heresy. During this campaign, at least one of the remaining Blackstone Fortresses still in the hands of Abaddon the Despoiler was destroyed by Necron raiders since they were weapons crafted by the Old Ones that were originally intended to destroy the Necrons' Star Gods, the C'tan.

The 13th Black Crusade was the in-game background to the worldwide Warhammer 40,000 Eye of Terror Campaign. It resulted in a minor victory for the Forces of Chaos and gave the Warmaster of Chaos Undivided, Abaddon the Despoiler of the Black Legion and his Chaotic allies, the territorial foothold they had long sought within the Cadian Gate, though he suffered grievous losses to his naval warfleet.

While the surface of the Fortress World of Cadia is now largely controlled by the Forces of Chaos, the skies above Cadia are almost entirely ruled by Lord Admiral Quarren and the Gothic and Solar Battlefleet Groups as well as fleet elements from several Chapters of Space Marines, leaving the ultimate result of the 13th Black Crusade a stalemate as the battle between the Imperium and the Chaos foothold on Cadia rages on. Having both space and air superiority gives a significant advantage to the Imperial forces, allowing the deployment of fresh troops and the continuous bombardment of Abaddon's trapped army on Cadia as the 42nd Millennium began.

Gothic War's Outcome
"Like the great storm of the Heresy, the forces of the True Gods will descend upon the False Emperor's minions. The stars will tremble at their passage, the mighty armadas of the Warmasters will bring annihilation to a hundred worlds. Great shall be the slaughter, most pleasing shall be the flow of blood. The fools who follow the Emperor will be brought low, forced to their knees amidst the corpses of their families and friends. The thrice-cursed one shall become as a living god, the power to destroy the Weakling Emperor shall be within his grasp. Know this, for these things will come to pass and the galaxy itself will be the spoils of victory."

- Constanze the Prophetess, burned as a Heretic, 356.M38

To understand the full course and impact of the 13th Black Crusade upon the galaxy, it is first necessary to retell the tale of Abaddon the Despoiler's 12th Black Crusade, better known in Imperial records as the Gothic War. Like many sector-wide conflicts with the Archenemy, the Gothic War began slowly, with sporadic Chaotic raids against smaller Imperial outposts in the year 139.M41. Vessels whose crews had been stricken with diseases sacred to the Plague Lord Nurgle were discovered adrift in the Athena Sector of the Segmentum Obscurus, along with sightings of the Chaos warship Plagueclaw, and Astropaths began reporting unsettling disturbances in the Warp that slowly cut off the Gothic Sector of the Segmentum Obscurus from the rest of Imperial space. Panic and anarchy became widespread in the Gothic Sector as fanatical religious sects arose, believing that the Emperor was displeased with them. Hysteria spread throughout the sector and on many Imperial worlds order broke down completely. The Imperial Navy lost several starships to "accidents" in space dock that were subsequently blamed on poor maintenance and faulty ammunition -- a rather too convenient explanation for many. Three standard years after the first Chaos raid on the Imperial listening post at Arx, in 142.M41, the forces of Abaddon the Despoiler, the Warmaster of the Black Legion and leader of the allied forces of Chaos Undivided, struck out at the Gothic Sector from the Eye of Terror.

Abaddon's Chaos warfleets struck at a dozen Imperial bases and sent the warships of the Imperial Navy's Battlefleet Gothic reeling. Chaotic starships attacked all across the Gothic Sector and the first inkling of Abaddon's true intentions in launching the 12th Black Crusade against the sector was to come to light in the Rebo System, where one of the mysterious xenos Blackstone Fortressesorbitedthefifthplanet. These massive edifices of unknown alien origin had been refitted by the Imperium to serve as orbital bases for the starships of Battlefleet Gothic. For the first time in the history of the Imperium, one of these fortresses fell to Abaddon's forces and he was soon to make horrifying use of the captured base's advanced alien technology. Abaddon's fleet possessed a devastating weapon, never before seen by the Imperium in the hands of the Forces of Chaos, called the Planet Killer. Its name was not simply born from the arrogance of its Dark Mechanicus builders, but was a well-deserved epithet as Abaddon demonstrated at the Cardinal World of Savaven. The account of the utter destruction of Savaven as witnessed by Jeremiah Soldagen, Savaven's orbital defence commander, still has the power to chill one's soul. His description of entire continents splitting apart, burning skies and the planet breaking up into pieces is solemn reading. Fourteen million people died within a single hour and the crippling effects of this on Imperial morale at the time should not be underestimated; many worlds were hurriedly -- though unfortunately not always entirely -- evacuated before the Planet Killer arrived.

Another Blackstone Fortress fell to Chaos at the world of Brinaga. At Fularis II, Abaddon was to demonstrate the true power of these ancient xenos constructs. Exact information regarding the incident remains sketchy in Imperial records, but the evidence points to a massive energy beam being unleashed from the Blackstone Fortress that scoured Fularis II bare, stripping its atmosphere and transforming its surface into a barren, rocky plain.

Imperial forces were continually engaged throughout the Gothic Sector, from the Hammerhead Deeps to the Cyclops Cluster, desperate to halt the might of the Chaos warfleets' Black Crusade. At the beginning of 151.M41, Lord-High Admiral Cornelius von Ravensburg, the Imperial Navy flag officer in command of Battlefleet Gothic, took the fight to the enemy, resulting in the clash at the Battle of Gethsemane where he was able to utterly destroy a Chaos warfleet of considerable size. Eldar vessels also fought in this battle. Though many Imperial historians believe their role to have been minimal, the evidence indicates that the Eldar's involvement against the Forces of Chaos were considerable during the latter stages of the Gothic War through the use of their Webway Warp Gates.

News of this great victory invigorated the Imperial Navy and as the Warp Storms that had isolated the Gothic Sector for over a decade began to abate as the Dark Gods grew wrathful and capricious at their forces' defeat, Imperial vessels from neighbouring sectors were finally able to reinforce the Lord Admiral's bloodied Battlefleet Gothic. Abaddon then brought the full power of the Blackstone Fortresses he had captured to bear on the star of Tarantis, the mustering point for the new Imperial starships entering the Gothic Sector, in an attempt to stem Battlefleet Gothic's reinforcements. Combining their power, the Blackstones destabilised the Tarantis star and caused it to go nova, destroying everything still within the star system in spectacular fashion.

The final battle of the Gothic War was fought at the world of Shindelgeist, where the Imperial Blackstone V still floated in the depths of space. A trap was sprung by the Lord Admiral and the Eldar, who defeated Abaddon's greatest warfleet in a truly magnificient three-day-long battle. In an act of spite, Abaddon sought to destroy the star there also and had it not been for the sacrifice of Captain Abridal on the Flame of Purity, the victory could have been a hollow one. Abaddon had been defeated, though he escaped back into the Eye of Terror with two of his captured Blackstone Fortresses, though various sources claimed at the time that they must have been destroyed. Unfortunately, as the 13th Black Crusade would demonstrate, this was merely wishful thinking on the part of the Imperium.

Plague of Typhus
As the end of the 41st Millennium drew closer, the first signs that Abaddon's long-feared attack was imminent came in the form of numerous sightings of drifting vessels emerging from the Warp in the sectors of Imperial space surrounding the Eye of Terror in the Segmentum Obscurus. The Astropathic station at Belisar Majoris was the first to report that they had detected a high number of Space Hulks approaching the outer reaches of the Belisar and Agripinaa Systems. The first indications were that the majority of these Hulks were uninhabited, but this turned out to be wrong. Estimates also placed these vessels converging on multiple vectors for the core planets of each Sub-sector of th Agripinaa Sector. While the sheer number of Space Hulks suddenly emerging out of the Warp at this time was rare, it was not exceptional.

In response to this alarming report, Marshal Helk, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard's 2nd Army Group, ordered the deployment of additional troops aboard the 211st, 340th and 401st Naval Interdiction Squadrons, with a view to affecting boarding operations on those Hulks suspected of harbouring life. The Commissariat tripled attachment levels to these units, and all higher command ranks were informed of the possibility that these vessels might carry the taint of the Warp. The vessels of the Adeptus Astartes boarded those Hulks that they could, but their numbers were limited, as always. The Space MarinesfoundtheseHulks to be Chaos-twisted and disease-ridden nightmares, and subsequently, every such vessel encountered was destroyed with torpedoes and bombardment cannons, but for some it was already too late. In what could not have been a coincidence, outbreaks of virulent sickness erupted among many Imperial Navy starship crews within a day of a reported sighting of the dreaded Chaos starship Plagueclaw in the outer reaches of the Urthwart System by Captain Roark of the Dauntless-class Cruiser Duke Lurstophan. As the sickness spread throughout the region's Imperial naval forces and the number of starships fit for duty fell exponentially with the disease's progression, even more Space Hulks dropped out of the Warp, converging on vital strategic worlds.

Ships from neighbouring Sub-sectors rushed to destroy the Hulks and a small, ad hoc fleet was assembled at the vast orbital shipyards of the Dead World of Belis Corona in the sector of the same name under the command of the Imperial Navy's Admiral Quarren. The Imperial fleet surged from port and began the hunt for the Plagueclaw, though they were to encounter something far, far worse. In the shadow of the Frenerax Dust Cloud, the Imperial fleet was ambushed by a force of Chaos warships led by the Terminus Est, the flagship of the Herald of Nurgle, the Chaos Lord Typhus of the Death Guard Traitor Legion. The battle was short and bloody, with several Imperial warships crippled in the opening salvo of torpedoes, while others were overrun by vile, diseased creatures that vomited forth from the loathsome Chaos boarding craft. Admiral Quarren recovered well from his shock and rallied his forces superbly, counterattacking and fighting his way clear of the Chaos warfleet's trap. Typhus did not pursue and the majority of Quarren's fleet was able to limp back to port at Belis Corona. The Battle of Frenerax had been a costly disaster for the Imperium, but there was much worse to come. During the return journey to Belis Corona, thousands of Imperial Navy crewmen sickened and died and only with the help of system pilots was the Imperial fleet able to dock safely.

But if the situation at Belis Corona was bad, it was worse elsewhere. Many of the Plague Hulks had slipped through the Imperial defensive net and the same contagion that had struck down the Imperial starships' crews was spreading like wildfire through many inhabited worlds in the Cadian and Agripinaa Sectors as well as those of the Belis Corona Sector. The Hive World of Subiaco Diablo proved to be an ideal breeding ground for the unknown plague and was quickly quarantined by officers from the Adeptus Administratum's Officio Medicae, but not before millions of people had already sickened and died. Within a standard month, a dozen other worlds reported cases of the same plague and panic spread throughout the Segmentum Obscuras as transit between neighbouring sectors was halted by the Imperial Navy in an attempt to stop further infection.

As the epidemic spread, apocalyptic religious sects once more began to appear on every world afflicted with the disease, just as they had before the outbreak of the Gothic War, preaching that the Emperor's wrath had descended upon them and was a punishment for their sins of wickedness and vice. Only the truly faithful would be spared the Curse of Unbelief, as they named the plague, and hordes of flagellants filled the streets of every world adjacent to the Eye of Terror. The continued health of these fanatics in the face of the plague gave their words the sheen of truth and millions flocked to hear their extreme rhetoric out of fear for their lives. The plague continued to spread, but it was on Subiaco Diablo that the true horror of the disease was finally revealed. To the shock and disgust of the planet's inhabitants, the mass graves deep in the ash plains of the Hive World that contained the bodies of the afflicted heaved and split open and the corpses of those who had perished in the plague climbed up from the lime-encrusted ground. Soon millions of shambling corpses were advancing on the nearby hive city that they had once called home, clawing their way inside and attacking the already disease-weakened inhabitants.

Within months, plague zombies were climbing from their graves on scores of worlds throughout the Segmentum's Belis Corona and Agripinaa Sectors and Imperial forces were stretched to their limits in containing these Chaos abominations as well as mobs of flagellating zealots who burned medicae ward facilities to the ground in their misguided attempts to stop the spread of the plague. Paralysed by the sheer scale of the zombie epidemic, the Imperial Navy forces in these regions were completely unprepared for the vast Chaos warfleet that emerged from the Warp at the edge of the Subiaco Diablo System and surged into Imperial space. The Herald of Nurgle, the Traveller, Typhus of the Death Guard, had come to reap the harvest of his plague of undeath and there was nothing to stand in his way as he claimed the world of Subiaco Diablo as the newest province in the Plague Lord's eternal kingdom of death.

Signs and Portents
As the Zombie Plague known as the Curse of Unbelief swept through many Imperial worlds throughout the Belis Corona and Agripnaa Sectors, fanatical cults preaching that the Imperium had forsaken the teachings of the Emperor grew in number. They decried the sufferers' sickness as just punishment for their wickedness, claiming that only in the flames of purgation could the cure be found, and they would provide both. On the worlds of Malin's Reach and Lelithar, Imperial rule all but broke down as the plague crippled the authorities' ability to contain the rantings of self-proclaimed "Prophets of the End Times" who whipped entire populations into frenzies of insanity. The Ecclesiarchy had despatched the highest officers of the Imperial Church to quiet the souls of the people, yet at this time of direst need the Adeptus Ministorum had itself become embroiled in internecine conflict. A number of Cardinals had cast their lot with those who preached that the Emperor's judgment had found his servants wanting, rendering the Synods of the sectors surrounding the Eye of Terror impotent and powerless to impose their spiritual authority when it was most desperately needed. Naval facilities and symbols of Imperial rule were openly attacked and over the following weeks, mob rule virtually replaced that of the Administratum on many outlying worlds.

Overpopulated Hive Worlds as far apart as the Scarus and the Cadian Sectors erupted in violence, seemingly without cause. Even the higher echelons of Hive World Tabor and the naval base at Belis Corona proved to be riven with Chaos Cults. Charismatic demagogues incited frenzied mobs to fight the ruthless, crushing oppression inherent in the Imperium's system of rule, and hundreds of thousands heeded their seditious ravings. Assassinations and poisonings heralded new eras of anarchy in key warzones, and whole supply fleets mysteriously vanished. Nemesis Tessera, St. Josmane’s Hope and Lelithar were all ravaged by insurrection. In the panicked streets of Thracian Primaris, one man alone had succeeded in uniting the desperate citizens against the evils of Chaos as a raving prophet. The worlds of the Belis Corona System underwent a massive recruitment drive for the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Navy, and priestly delegations stirred up the new Imperial conscripts into a fever of righteous anger.

In the wake of such a catastrophic breakdown of Imperial rule on so many planets in the sectors surrounding the Eye of Terror, vast disturbances were sensed in the Warp, stirring the already volatile medium of the Empyrean into new and violent life. The fringes of Warp Storm Baphomael expanded to engulf the edges of the Cadian System and many of the Astropaths based there reported terrible visions and bloody omens that all pointed to a time of coming war. Reports kept pouring in which indicated a horrifying escalation in the scale of these disturbances. While news from across the Segmentum was sketchy at best, it appeared that a massive psychic backlash had caused the Astropathic Choir Chamber at Belisar in one of the spires of Hive Teriax to explode. The top nine levels of the spire had been obliterated and the death toll was numbered in the tens of thousands.

Any doubt that Chaos was in the ascendant was cast aside following these events on almost every civilised world. Even on Cadia the Imperium had seen signs of recidivist activity. So close to the Eye, the Cadians had come to expect the taint of the Warp to afflict those of weak soul, and they had learned to recognise and excise its influence wherever it was found. In one notable incident, Lord Commissar Salin seconded a company of Kasrkin assigned to Headquarters Security and led a raid upon the barracks of the 92nd Cadian Regiment. He rounded up a cadre of senior officers who, he claimed, were in league with agents of the Warp. No evidence of his accusation was presented to the General Staff and there was no duty upon the Lord Commissar to do so. The officers were summarily executed upon the parade ground of Kasr Orlak. That highly regarded officers of the Cadian military might have thrown in their lot with the Archenemy filled many souls with shame and confirmed the worst of their fears. A dark time was surely approaching.

The Voice of the Emperor
On the world of Lelithar, a powerful figure had arisen amongst the raving cults and fanatics, proclaiming himself to be the "Voice of the Emperor." An orator of fearsome skill, this mysterious individual had roused entire populations with his passionate speeches. Many within the Sector High Command advocated the extermination of this individual, lest his outpourings lead to further unrest. However, all across the system the backlash of those still faithful to the Imperium began. The Inquisition's Ordos Cadia, the representative of the three Ordos in the Cadian Sector, believed this so-called "Voice of the Emperor" to be an individual of the utmost danger. Lelithar was home to several thousand Planetary Defence Force regiments divided into 65 Army Groups, and it appeared that an estimated 40 percent of their personnel had thrown in their lot with the so-called "Voice." Many of these units had deserted, a large number actually making it off-world, where they had dispersed to varying locations including Yayor, Amistel, Albitern and Bar-el. That the Imperial forces had lost such a body of men to a demagogue was cause for grave concern in itself, but it was enough for the High Command that the Ordo Hereticus wanted him dead.

Within a week, there was a great resurgence of orthodox piety amongst the Imperial citizenry,as a reaction against the so-called "Voice of the Emperor." Sector High Command had initially feared that the teachings of this Heretic might plunge the region into the depths of apostasy, yet the people actually rallied against his twisted followers, casting down his prophets and decrying his false words. His days were numbered as Inquisitorial agents of the Throne hunted the elusive "Voice." Though Chaos and anarchy had come to a great many worlds of the Imperium, they still had reason for hope, for all was not lost while their faith remained strong. The great strength of the Imperium was finally stirring. Cadian High Command ordered a muster to take place at Cadia, upon the ancient and venerated Tyrok Fields, so that the Imperium could begin the Emperor's work in earnest.

Sabotage and Insurrection
Several systems in the Scarus Sector soon reported enemy activity as did three Sub-sectors located along the Cassandra Spar. Reports also came from Phonosar Prime, indicating an attack by wariors thought to be of the Night Lords Traitor Legion. The raid was timed to coincide with the local annual Festival of the Three Maidens,a holy time for the population of Phonosar Prime and its three moons, during which the adherents fasted and meditated upon their own weaknesses, the better to serve their Lord the God-Emperor. Evidently, the attackers took advantage of the fact that most of the world's population were cloistered in prayer and descended upon the capital city of Medea like a pack of feral predators upon its prey. Survivors reported that the enemy made planet fall at Medea's primary generatorium, destroying it and plunging the city into darkness before crippling the city's reserve power facilities. With the city's power grid out of action, the Traitors stalked the streets, killing wantonly as and when they saw fit. It was many hours before the Planetary Defence Forces could be mobilised to face the threat, although many militia units mounted heroic improvised counter-attacks, all to no avail. By the time the native defence forces were able to muster, the raiders had vanished into the darkness, leaving a death toll of many thousands in their wake.

The world of Xersia had also suffered at the hands of the enemy. A delegation from the Order of the Wounded Heart, an Order Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, had arrived on the world. Immediately after the Battle-Sisters' arrival, it was reported that a small force of unidentified Traitor Marines had been defeated when they came to the aid of a Chaos Cult that the Sisters were engaged upon purging. It appears the cult had chosen their moment to call upon the Traitors with great care, hoping that the counterattack would wipe out the small force of Battle-Sisters as they closed upon their target. It is a great credit to the Sororitas that they defeated both the cultists and the Renegades, and a commendation was passed on to their Canoness Superior. Sector High Command also received garbled Astropathic communications from forces in the Helotas, Sarlax, Vagera and Skyren Systems over the following twelve hours. Though no details were immediately confirmed, High Command feared the worst.

The Ormantep Raid
The listening station at Ormantep had also come under attack by Traitor forces. The attackers were a small, elite company of Black Legionaries who fell upon the listening post with cold, methodical brutality and cut down all they encountered. However, they seemed specifically determined to murder the Astropathic Choir that resided within the central keep. The unit of Cadian Kasrkin defending the station mounted a heroic defence that held off the Chaos Space Marines for several hours before aid came from a totally unanticipated quarter. It appears that the Traitors were repelled, though by a force the Imperium has no record of. As the Traitors closed on the hastily constructed barricades of the Ormantep listening station's inner sanctum, survivors reported that the night was filled with a mournful howl which sounded from all directions. As the Black Legionaries faltered in their attack and cast glances in all directions, the rearmost were dragged into the shadows. Soon, the Chaos Space Marines were firing their Bolters on full automatic and emptying entire magazines into the gloom, as more were set upon by an enemy the Kasrkin defenders could not discern. In only minutes, the Black Legionaries were all dead. Their bodies were found savagely ripped open as if by hugely powerful jaws or raked by savage claws. The only evidence of this mysterious force that attacked them was the distorted Vox-recording of the howls that filled the complex in the moments before the Chaos Space Marines attacked. It would later be determined by Imperial scholars that these mysterious "saviours" were none other than the long-lost Space Wolves 13th Great Company, lost for ten millennia within the Warp since the closing days of the Horus Heresy. Reports indicated only a handful, at most, of the station's personnel had survived the attack, and they had requested a naval task force redirect to Ormantep to ascertain what exactly had occurred. All of this came at a time when civil disorder across the surrounding sectors in the Segmentum Obscurus had reached unprecedented levels. Now the Imperial forces had to guard against both traitors within and traitors without.

Battle of Tyrok Fields
During the outset of Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade, an act of the basest treachery struck at the heart of the Imperium's defences. At the time, Cadia was alive with the diligent preparations of the servants of the Emperor. Regiments of Cadian Shock Troopers were being mustered alongside the Adeptus Mechanicus' Titan Legions and Skitarii. Regiments of mighty-thewed feral warriors stood alongside the brightly accoutred troops of the Mordian Iron Guard. Amongst this mighty throng, faith welled strong and the morale of every man soared to see the amassed power of the Emperor. But a vile serpent lay ready to strike. The regiments of the Volscani Cataphracts had landed on Cadia to join the muster at Kasr Ty'rok. Yet, in truth, the troops and officers of the Volscani regiments feared to face the Forces of Chaos again, and even if they had not formally pledged their allegiance to the Dark Gods, they had decided that it was better to die in clean battle against men in service to a dark cause than to stand at the gate to the Warp and close ranks in the face of the powers of Hell once more. As the defenders of the Cadian Gate prepared for conflict, the traitorous Volscani Cataphracts revealed their new allegiance to the Ruinous Powers when they unexpectedly struck in force at the Imperial Guard troops being mustered at the Tyrok Fields.

The Traitors slaughtered thousands of loyal Guardsmen before any response could be coordinated. The intent of the Volscani's treason was revealed as they swarmed aboard the Leviathan, Excubitoi Castellum, which served as the command vehicle of the Governor Primus Marius Porelska of Cadia. The Traitors proceeded to slaughter him and much of the senior command of Cadia's armed forces. This included the commander-in-chief of the defenders of the Cadian Gate, who was killed in the brutal attack. At the darkest moment, then-Colonel Ursarkar E. Creed took control of the dire situation. Rallying the 8th Cadian Shock Troops Regiment, the bloodied Imperial defenders were quickly organised and ordered to advance upon the Traitors. The 8th Cadian led the charge into the ranks of the Volscani. Creed and Jarran Kell, his Regimental Standard Bearer and most trusted friend, led the way during the counter-attack, and it was they who reached the command deck first and succeeded in preventing the foul desecration of the fallen body of the Governor Primus.

The Governor had fallen, as a Cadian should with a blade in his hand and Heretics at his feet. Creed carried the body of the Governor back to the battlements of the Leviathan, wrapped in the banner of the 8th Cadian. Many more Cadian regiments came upon the scene and a great throng of them gathered around. Colonel Creed, being a pious man, allowed them to sing their praise to the God-Emperor and then from his lofty position he delivered his first exhortation to the armies of Cadia, to strive without rest until every disciple of Chaos had suffered the same fate as the Volscani. The host demanded that Ursarkar should take command. Three times he refused the offer, but ultimately he acceded to the will of the massed regiments of Cadia. As ever, greatness thrust itself upon Ursarkar E. Creed and he could but strain to bear its weight. Through Creed's actions, what might have been a grievous defeat for the Imperium and a nefarious victory for the hordes of the Archenemy, was turned into a defining moment for the defenders of Cadia. Every man and woman of the Fortress World swore to repurpose themselves to the defence of the Emperor's realm.

Preparations for War
Following the betrayal on Cadia, pleas for aid from Imperial forces beyond the Cadian Sector had been despatched to military commands in the surrounding sectors. Warriors from the lauded Chapters of the Astartes Praeses and from the Space Wolves were expected to reinforce the beleaguered Imperial forces. Naval assets had been promised from Cypra Mundi and regimental muster had begun in many nearby sectors. The full might of the Imperium was gathering, but only time would tell whether or not it would arrive in time. That a major Chaos incursion was imminent was now beyond doubt, but the Archenemy would find the Imperium ready, if only the preparations could ne completed in time.

Creed promoted those Imperial Guard officers he felt were worthy and ruthlessly demoted or transferred those officers he deemed ineffectual. Though many resented his brusque manner, and he had undoubtedly made many enemies amongst the established Cadian officer class, many believed that his approach was a necessary one, considering the monumental task at hand. Though Cadian morale had been dealt a terrible blow by the betrayal at Kasr Ty'rok, Ursakar E. Creed had rallied the Imperial Guard and Planetary Defence Forces charged with the defence of Cadia and the Cadian Gate magnificently as Cadia's new commander-in-chief and Lord Castellan. Though many senior officers had seen men who had fought a hundred battles over their careers waver, a single word from Creed could galvanise them into action. The man was imbued with fierce resolution, and those under him could not help but be infected by it.

The work of organising the forces at Cadia's disposal continued at a rapid pace as the penultimate year of the 41st Millennium opened. As was standard practice, each world contributed regiments and organised its forces into battle groups, and Sector High Command assigned Departmento Munitorum support services to each as they become available. Cadia was fortunate in that many worlds of the worlds Segmentum Obscurus followed the Cadian example with regard to regimental structure, equipment and combat doctrine, though there were notable exceptions to this rule, with Imperial Guard units such as those raised from the worlds of Finreht and Mordant. With a starting establishment of six to nine Imperial Guard regiments per battle group, and at least six such groups formed into an army, Cadian Sector High Command had been able to assign a minimum of ten army groups to the defence of every notable world in the region, with the capital worlds assigned as many as one hundred. Of course, experiences showed that these battle groups would soon break down once they were required to redeploy to meet combat needs as a conflict developed, and staff officers on the ground would need to organise their forces as best they were able. Such was the reality of staff work when one was required to coordinate highly diverse units over such vast distances.

The Storm Breaks
"And lo, as the veil is drawn on the last age of Man, the Despoiler shall gather his hosts once more. Where twelve times before the Faithful have cast him out, now shall he prove their undoing. For Man has grown weak, despairing at the woes of the galaxy. Where are the Faithful now? Where are the men that stood beside our Lord the Immortal Emperor and at his side conquered all? Gone. They are less than ashes in the cold, cold earth. At the Thirteenth hour shall the Despoiler return. All Humanity shall tremble, for lo, his doom is upon him."

- The last Oration of the Heretic Archivist of the Gethsemene Reclusium

With the worlds of the Cadian Gate all but on their knees with the weight of internal strife and the outbreak of the so-called Plague of Unbelief, Abaddon the Despoiler launched an invasion into the Emperor's realm and unleashed a power beyond imagining, the scale of which had not been seen since the darkest days of the Horus Heresy.

As part of their constant vigil around the Eye of Terror, highly trained units of Cadian Kasrkin often pushed into the outer reaches of that swirling maelstrom, desperate to find some indication of where the first blow would land in early 999.M41. Astropathic divination pointed towards the blighted world of Urthwart, a world already taken by Chaos, its population enslaved and sacrificed to the Dark Gods. Finding nothing alive on Urthwart, merely death and hideous Plague Zombies infected with the Curse of Unbelief, the Karskin prepared to withdraw. Suddenly, a frantic Vox communication from the Cadians' warships in orbit reported numerous vessels advancing on Urthwart from the Eye of Terror. The Karskin attempted to fall back to their dropships to return to their troop carriers, but it was already too late. The Imperial ships in orbit were either crippled or were forced to disengage and make best speed for Cadia. There was to be no escape for the Karskin who were stranded on Urthwart as a massive vessel, larger than the most gargantuan capital ship of the Imperium, approached the doomed world: the Planet Killer. Few were aware of the existence of this monstrous ship, for it had been thought lost at the Battle of Kharlos II during the Gothic War centuries earlier. Oblivious to their fate, the stranded Cadians could do nothing as the incomprehensible power of the Planet Killer was unleashed in a devastating lance of energy that annihilated the blighted world they were trapped upon and reduced it to spinning pieces of molten rock floating in the void. As Urthwart died, collapsing in on itself, a Chaos warfleet composed of hundreds of warships and hulking troop transports surged from the depths of the Eye of Terror, heralding the beginning of Abaddon the Despoiler's fearful 13th Black Crusade. A psychic death scream, more piercing than the Astronomican itself, ripped through the ether from the doomed world of Urthwart.

Astropaths and forward Imperial listening posts detected the emergence into realspaceofaTraitor warfleet consisting of hundreds of warships and hulking troop transport vessels. All were on a course for Cadia. Reports indicated that the Plagueclaw and Terminus Est, along with a massive flotilla of Plague Hulks, had emerged in the Subiaco Diablo System. Worse than this, unconfirmed reports claimed that two Blackstone Fortresses accompanied the Chaos warfleet. Cadian Sector High Command found this last fact difficult to countenance, though given the state of the sector in the previous months, they could not discount the possibility that these ancient xenos weapons still existed within the hands of the Forces of Chaos.

Imperial naval experts began plotting worlds likely to be chosen as targets for the Planet Killer's attentions. Intelligence gathered during the Gothic War indicated that the Planet Killer was a ponderous vessel, and its planet-cracking Armageddon Gun took a great deal of time to power up and exert its effect upon a world once it was functional. The vessel was likely to be accompanied by a large fleet, which would be employed to subdue and distract the Imperium's own naval forces until the Planet Killer could unleash its main weapon. All available Imperial naval assets had therefore been tasked with locating such a flotilla, and system defence pickets were put on high alert for any signs an unusually large Chaos warfleet approaching one of their worlds.

Nemesis Tessera
The wave of Abaddon's invasion soon broke across the sectors surrounding the Cadian Gate, and it became evident that the Inquisition Fortress World of Nemesis Tessera was to be the main target of the first phase of Chaos assaults. This was first realised when the Archenemy launched an assault on the Chima Lomas System. Nereus, the primary world of the system, was taken by enemy forces with contemptuous ease. In the Cadian High Command's best reckoning Chima Lomas had not been a target in its own right, but had been taken merely to secure the Forces of Chaos' lines of communication along the Rhoke Conduit. Native defence forces, amounting to seventeen Planetary Defence Force army groups supported by the Imperial Guard's Battlegroup Neth, contested the enemy's planetfall three hundred kilometres south of the Nereus Delta. Going by the few intelligence reports on the situation they possessed, the Cadian High Command was able to determine that the valiant defenders of Nereus had held up an invasion force at least fifty times their own strength for a whole day. The last transmission the Cadian High Command received from General Neth suggested that he was prepared to sell his forces dearly.

Having crushed Chima Lomas, Abaddon's forces dispersed as they entered the Kensi Gulf, with splinter forces separating to assault the world of Ovaris Gulag, where no command communications had been received in over a month. The voyage across the Kensi Gulf to Nemesis Tessera was accomplished with alarming speed, with all elements of the Chaotic fleet translating into the target system within a week of one another -- a feat of astronavigation through the Warp that the Navis Nobilite suggested to the Cadian High Command would only be possible with the aid of the darkest of sorcerous arts. Why the enemy had chosen an Inquisitorial Fortress World like Nemesis Tessera as the initial target of its assault remained a mystery. Cadian Sector High Command's best guess was that the system was chosen out of sheer hatred for the most potent agents of the Golden Throne.

That the forces of the Archenemy regarded the destruction of Nemesis Tessera as of the utmost importance was evident from the Sector High Command's observations and from intercepted communications. The forces of the Archenemy invested an unusual amount of its resources in this assault. After the Forces of Chaos made their landings, it appeared that the Inquisition's fortress might be able to hold, yet Cadian High Command could only speculate that the icy surface of that grim world must have been infested with millions of Traitors and Heretics who had made planetfall upon it. They estimated that those who did not fall to Nemesis Tessera's inhospitable climate would soon be hunted down and exterminated by the blessed agents of the Inquisition. But soon the Segmentum High Command came to realise that the assault on Nemesis Tessera had been but a prelude to the even greater storm that was about to engulf the Cadian Sector.

Chaos Advances
Soon the skies above the worlds of the Imperium in the Segmentum Obscuras turned black with innumerable dropcraft as the dread Forces of Chaos began their invasion. The Planet Killer itself, Abaddon’s flagship, drifted ever closer to the Cadian System. Terrible, mighty Chaos Space Marines trod the surface of worlds they had not set foot upon for ten millennia and their hatred and thirst for vengeance truly knew no bounds. The Imperial Navy, for long weeks forced to fight a desperate holding action against the seemingly endless waves of Chaotic vessels, was eventually reinforced. With their orbital defences already breached and the fleet forced into withdrawal, world after world in the Cadian Sector came under attack. Initially the Imperial forces held, even throwing the enemy back at Belisar, Macharia, Vigilatum and especially Xersia and Kantrael. Yet the enemy soon found their weak points, throwing countless thousands of lowborn filth at the Imperial forces so that the Chaos armada's real masters, the Traitor Marines, could exploit them.

The Chaos warfleets continued their inexorable advance upon Cadia, only stopping to allow the Blackstone Fortresses to scour Demios Binary to a barren rock. Lightning arcs of incandescent energies razed the planet's surface bare, killing millions of Imperial servants and destroying every structure in a matter of hours. Chaos vessels quickly overwhelmed the orbital defences of Solar Mariatus, the outermost planet of the Cadian System, and hundreds of dropships carrying Traitor Guard regiments of the now-infamous Volscani Cataphracts descended to the surface, attacking the mining outposts and capturing the valuable ore refineries from the defending units of the 23rd Cadian Regiment. The Traitor forces established a forward base of operations on Solar Mariatus from which to launch attacks throughout the system.

Saint Josmane's Hope
The first of the inner worlds of the Cadian System to fall was the Prison World of Saint Josmane's Hope, whose inmates were believed to have thrown their lot in with the invaders in the vain hope of being granted freedom. They were granted only eternal damnation, for their liberators turned out to be the Renegade Space Marines of the Violators warband, devoted servants of Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure. Brutal, close-quarters fighting erupted all across the continent-sized prison and many of the guards kept a last bullet for themselves rather than allow themselves to be taken by the frenzied inmates. Welcoming the Traitor forces as liberators, the inmates were to be horrifyingly disabused of this notion as those allowed to live through the "pleasures" inflicted upon them by the Slaaneshi Astartes were instead taken as slaves for the Chaos warfleet or conscripted into its armies of Traitor Guard.

Many officers within Cadian High Command had not heard of the Violators until they had been invited to a closed session briefing along with Lord Castellan Creed, where a representative of the Inquisition imparted to them the awful truth concerning these hedonistic Heretics, so that Imperial forces would be better prepared to combat them. What they were told about the Violators' activities filled even hardened veterans with horror, for no man, no matter his crime, deserved to have the attentions of such vile creatures visited upon him. Soon the defences of every one of the worlds in the Cadian System were sorely tested, and despite the efforts of the Commissariat to maintain Imperial morale through censorship of news, word spread of the atrocities being committed upon Saint Josmane's Hope.

Following a week of disastrous events upon the penal world, the Lord Castellan issued an order the like of which many believed they would never be required to enact. The world of Saint Josmane's Hope was to be subjected to Exterminatus and destroyed utterly. The enaction of an Exterminatus was beyond the resources available to the Imperial forces present in the system; the agents of the Inquisition confirmed this and said that their own ships that carried the needed weapons of mass destruction were many weeks distant. Logan Grimnar, the Great Wolf (Chapter Master) of the Space Wolves, also confirmed that none of the available vessels of his Chapter fleet carried Cyclonic Torpedoes, and neither did any Astartes warship within range. The Imperial Navy put forward the plan of instigating a massive bombardment of the world using Nova Cannons, in the hope of causing a degree of tectonic instability, but all available intelligence suggested that the Chaotic fleets blockading Saint Josmane's Hope's orbital space were too strong. The bombardment vessels would not survive to launch a single shell, let alone the hundred or more required to complete the task. Finally, it was put forth by the Adeptus Mechanicus' representative that tectonic instability could be created by overloading the generatorium grid of the planet's main prison complex. The resulting explosion would pierce the world's crust, thereby causing a meltdown to "sing" through the planet's outer crust and into its mantle. This would cause the crust, followed by the planetary mantle, to tear itself apart. The only drawback to this plan was that such an objective would need to be completed by a team of operatives on the ground, for it could not be attempted remotely. A special team was assembled in short order and given the moniker "Strike Force Herald." It was composed of an unlikely mix which included Astartes from the Space Wolves, Howling Griffons, Subjugators and Iron Knights Chapters, three squads from three different Imperial Guard regiments, a Death Cult Assassin, five Tech-priests and a number of additional support personnel, in addition to an unnamed pair of Inquisitors. This small force was assembled in under an hour after the Cadian High Command approved the plane, and it immediately left for Saint Josmane's Hope. Twenty-four hours before this strike force was due to achieve its objective, the evacuation order was issued to those few forces the Imperium still commanded on the surface of Saint Josmane's Hope. The order was given after Strike Force Herald made planetfall.

Following the issue of the evacuation order, Imperial forces upon the planet began a fighting withdrawal worthy of the greatest of commanders. Never had anyone heard or read of such heroism as was displayed during the desperate rearguard actions of that day. Regiments laid down their lives so that entire armies could escape to their transports. Even as those transports departed, men stood their ground at the overrun landing areas and fought to the death rather than board the escape vessels, so determined were they that their comrades should live to fight another day. The Imperial force's plan was ultimately successful and Saint Josmane's Hope was destroyed. Unfortunately, none of the operatives of Strike Force Herald survived to return to Cadia after carrying out this desperate mission to tell the tale of their own heroics.

The Greenskin Threat
With Warp Storms rendering Astropathic communications erratic, the Segmentum Obscuras High Command continued to experience enormous difficulties coordinating command and control of its forces. Communications from the more distant sectors was particularly affected, and Imperial Commanders were advised that those communications they did receive from distant sources were not to be trusted, due to psychodynamic distortion. A particularly implausible report from the Scarus Sector indicated that in addition to Chaos attacks, the defenders there faced the menace of the Orks. After action reports cited Mordax Prime as the initial focus of a massive Ork incursion which occurred at the same time as the Chaos assault was first hitting the Segmentum, and if this were just an isolated case High Command would normally have written off the communication as misinformation caused by inexperienced troops facing an enemy they had no experience with. However, every major star system in the Scarus Sector soon logged similar reports, so they had to be taken seriously until more detailed information was forthcoming.

First Contact
On Cadia, Lord Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed led his Cadian 8th (now being referred to as "the Lord Castellan's Own") on an operation to hunt down and exterminate a group of Volscani Cataphracts who, unknown to Cadian High Command, had escaped the chaos of the Tyrok Fields and were attempting to link up with elements of Abaddon's invasion force. The Lord Castellan had always been known as an officer who would fight at the frontline with no hesitation whatsoever, leading his men and setting the standard for his junior officers. The 8th Cadian brought the enemy to battle at Kasr Vasan, in the shadow of the Cadian Pylon that dominated the Vasani Moors. The battle was brief yet vicious in intensity, and not a single Traitor was allowed to escape with his worthless life. It later proved fortunate that Creed had wasted no time whatsoever in launching his assault, for a Chaos Space Marine force, believed to be the vanguard of a larger Black Legion warband, caught up with him as dusk fell, necessitating a hasty withdrawal across the moors. It was said that the true test of a general was the ability to disengage in the face of a superior foe, and the 8th Cadian regrouped, to head back out onto the moors to face the Black Legion on more favourable terms.

Following the evacuation and subsequent destruction of Saint Josmane's Hope in order to deny the forces of the Despoiler a forward staging point, Imperium defenders initially rallied well, falling back in good order to key points in the Cadian system. Imperial morale was bolstered by a bold series of counter attacks, but these successes were to prove short-lived, and the Despoiler had committed yet more of his diabolical forces to the Cadian system. With the Forces of Disorder now fully committed to the Siege of Cadia, the beleaguered defenders could only pray help arrived soon, before all was lost.

Reinforcements
Cadian High Command eventually received word that the fleets of the Iron Knights and Imperial Fists Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes had established contact. Lord Castellan Creed was also in conference with the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar of the Space Wolves Chapter, planning how best the Space Marines might be deployed. Though the Cadian Sector High Command held no authority over the Adeptus Astartes, Creed had indicated his support for Grimnar should he establish himself as the nominal head of the Space Marine Chapters operating in the region. Captain Echion of the Patriarchs of Ulixis, commander of the Ultramarines Honour Company, a specialised company of Ultramarines that had been stationed at the Cadian Gate for many millennia, rotating officers and warriors from Ultramarines companies elsewhere and also drawing from the Ultramarines Successor Chapters, also voiced his support for this arrangement. Lastly, the Cadian High Command also received word from the Adeptus Mechanicus temple at Kasr Gallan that the Ordo Reductor, consisting of ancient and venerated siege engines akin to the Dreadnoughts of the Astartes, was to reinforce the Cadian defences there.

More Bad News
Unfortunately, not all the news that reached the Cadian High Command at this time was good. The situation on the world of Lelithar had taken a drastic turn for the worse. In an attempt to bring to ground the Heretic calling himself the "Voice of the Emperor," the Legio Ignatum of the Collegia Titanica, the Death Spectres Space Marine Chapter and the Jouran Dragoons Imperial Guard Regiment laid siege to that world's capital city. Soon after the arrival of these forces a large proportion of Lelithar's native defence forces and populace rebelled and took up arms against their government, slaughtering the Planetary Governor and his staff in an orgy of bloodletting. The Lelithar security forces and the Adeptus Arbites reacted with commendable speed, breaking up suspected Chaos Cults and anti-Imperial organisations, but once again, Lelithar was plunged into anarchy. It concerned the Cadian High Command greatly that they were still unable to control Lelithar. Even with the presence of a Titan LegionandaChapter of the Adeptus Astartes on the world, the rebels continued their actions and the "Voice of the Emperor" continued broadcasting his lies across the region.

Many within the Cadian High Command continued to labour on an analysis of the Traitor Legions' attacks. This task was ordered directly by the Lord Castellan, and had brought about a degree of conflict within the High Command, for Commander Azrael of the Dark Angels Chapter heard of this endeavour and ordered it to cease, stating that the actions of the Traitors were the business of the Astartes themselves, and were of no concern to mortal units. Creed rejected this assertion as patently ridiculous under the circumstances of the current crisis, and Logan Grimnar agreed with him. As a result, Azrael soon withdrew what cooperation the Dark Angels had been prepared to offer.

Chaos Vanguard
Multiple incidents of new Chaos incursions continued to be logged with the Cadian High Command, the greatest number of which involved the Night Lords Traitor Legion. Imperial analysts had reached the conclusion that this Legion had been employed in a vanguard role throughout the early stages of the Chaos invasion and it had been extremely effective in its mission. The Night Lords were notorious for the cruelty of their assaults, as their predilection for inflicting wanton cruelty on all they encountered was well-known across the Imperium. The Archenemy was believed to have utilised the Night Lords in this role in order to foment panic in Imperial civilian populations as a result of the brutality of these attacks. The people of many worlds were consumed by panic that their planet would be the next to suffer at the hands of the Night Lords.

While the Night Lords had been deployed to serve as terror troops, the insidious Astartes of the Alpha Legion were employed by Abaddon as infiltrators. This particular force was one that the officers of the Cadian High Command had been briefed on by the Ordo Malleus, who considered their activities of dire import. Reports of scattered enemy attacks upon key Imperial facilities had been continuously received by the Cadian High Command, but these minor attacks had seemed to pale in significance when compared to the overall scale of the Chaos invasion. However, closer analysis along with the information received from the Inquisition lead the Imperial forces to believe that these attacks actually represented the work of the Alpha Legion. Further investigations revealed that a number of rear echelon supply and communication facilities were amongst the targets hit. One could not help but wonder whether these objectives were designed to hinder the movements of Imperial reinforcements into the region from further afield.

The Emperor's Children, led by the immortal favoured Chaos Champion of Slaanesh, Lucius the Eternal, feasted well upon the agony of the population of the world of Belisar. The Plague Marines of the Death Guard stalked across the battlefields of the planet Amistel, the ground beneath their feet cluttered with the unquiet corpses of those who the Plague of Unbelief had consumed. In the wake of these Traitor Legions come the hordes of the Lost and the Damned: Traitor Guard, mutants, Chaos Cultists and human fiends of the very worst aspect who despoiled the domains of Mankind by their very presence. The acts of wanton destruction and desecration they proceeded to carry out in the name of the Ruinous Powers shook even the most stoic defenders of the Imperium to the core.

War in the Void
While the war continued to go badly upon the surface of many worlds in the Cadian System, in particular Saint Josmane's Hope and Solar Mariatus, the war in space was fought more on the Imperium's terms. The Cadian System had been the focus of the Abaddon's primary fleet actions, and the Imperium's fortunes there changed from day to day. The situation was highly fluid and the Chaotic naval forces found themselves stretched to exploit the victories they had won. Although the Imperial Navy's fleets could not hope to oppose those of the Archenemy in and around the orbital space of most of the worlds of the Cadian System, they continued to hold on to control of the inter-system space lanes within the Cadian Sector. The Imperium could not under any circumstances afford to let their guard waver, for it was upon one of these routes that they hoped to bring the Planet Killer to battle. To let it past was too terrible a failure to contemplate.

A fleet the size of which has not been seen since the end of the Gothic War eight standard centuries earlier had been dispatched from Cypra Mundi, and arrived at Belis Corona in preparation for a massive Imperial counter-offensive into the Cadian Gate. The arrival of this vast armada allowed those Imperial vessels that had been fighting continuously since the beginning of the invasion a brief respite. Severely depleted ship’s companies were bolstered through indiscriminate press-ganging, and hasty repairs and refits were undertaken on those vessels most in need of them.

The Imperial reinforcements were split into battlegroups, each tasked with bolstering the defences in a specific sector of the Segmentum Obscurus. The regions around the Eye of Terror encompass many millions of cubic light years, and only by the concentrated application of resources in those areas in most desperate need could the Imperial Navy hope to make inroads and slow, stall, and eventually repel the Chaos warfleets plaguing the region. During the latter stages of the campaign, when Abaddon's fleet was seen approaching the Agri-World of Lortox, the Ultramarines Honour Company distinguished itself with a bold, spaceborne counter-assault against Abaddon's fleet as the Planet Killer closed with that Imperial world on the outskirts of the Agripinaa Sector. The action bought Lortox's Planetary Defence Forces time to evacuate a significant proportion of the population before the world was destroyed by Abaddon's horrific weapon of planetary destruction. The Ultramarines Honour Company managed to succeed in crippling the Planet Killer, but the massive vessel still had enough power to limp away. In the aftermath of the Lortox Evacuations, the Ultramarines Honour Company redeployed to Cadia and the surrounding star systems, launching a series of operations to hinder Abaddon's forces as they assaulted the Imperial positions. These attacks included a series of highly successful boarding actions against the lumbering Space Hulks being used to transport vast hordes of the Archenemy's troops to reinforce Abaddon's siege of Cadia.

It was a fool's dream to hope the Planet Killer could be found before it was brought to bear upon the Imperial forces. Without warning, it appeared in orbit over the world of Macharia. Though many could scarcely believe it, the world was destroyed by the massive vessel. It was lost, and with it millions of loyal and faithful subjects of the Emperor, dead at the hands of the Despoiler and his despicable weapon. Utter dread now descended upon the Segmentum Obscurus High Command. Despite the successes of the early weeks of the invasion, many had come to believe that this war might not be won in the short term. Where at first the Imperial forces fought to repulse Abaddon's assault, to deny him footholds upon Imperial worlds, they now fought to keep him from overwhelming them entirely. This was a grim paradigm, and one the Imperial forces were not ready to accept. They believed Abaddon dare not destroy Cadia, as its Pylons were reckoned intrinsic to the continued stability of the Cadian Gate which he needed to move his forces deeper into Imperial space so that he could launch an assault upon Terra. So the Imperium would make its last stand upon Cadia and hold that world, no matter the cost.

Enemy of My Enemy
With every world in the Sectors Oculus (sectors surrounding the Eye of Terror) now embroiled in a war that had already claimed countless billions of lives, a new and unexpected faction suddenly took a hand in events. The ever-elusive ships of the Eldar had been sighted by the crews of many Imperial Navy vessels, and by troopers on the ground, across at least a dozen sectors. In the depths of interstellar space, these xenos warships reportedly intervened in battles between the Imperial Navy and the Chaos invaders, on occasion providing aid to Imperial warships and allowed them time to escape when overwhelmed, but at other times attacking them without provocation. The Dark Eldar had also been sighted, preying on the lesser worlds of the Cadian Sector and they had even taken slaves on the Feral World of Medusa, the homeworld of the Iron Hands Chapter. It was even rumoured that a legendary Eldar faction referred to by the Ordo Xenos as Harlequins had been sighted on the battlefields of Agripinaa and Scelus.

The Eldar had also been sighted upon the worlds of the Cadian Gate as well. Cadian High Command had long been aware that the Eldar of the Ulthwé Craftworld maintained a strong presence in the vicinity of the Eye of Terror. Though little was known of their ways, it was widely believed that they ultimately worked torwards the downfall of the Archenemy. Indeed, the Black Guardians of Ulthwé had taken a hand in a number of battles, appearing unexpectedly and without any warning upon the surface of planets though distant from any Eldar activity. Upon Belis Corona, Eldar strike forces had freed Imperial Navy ground crews from the Chaos legions closing in on them. However, there were also reports from the Cadian System of the Eldar falling upon themselves in fits of madness, from the Agripinaa Sector of the Eldar attacking the warriors of the Ultramarines Honour Company, and that their ghost-ships harboured fiendish beasts of the Warp. As ever with these mercurial xenos, their motivations proved as          alien as they were unpredictable.

An Ancient Foe
"Their number is legion, their name is death."

- Eldrad Ulthran, Farseer of Craftworld Ulthwé

The Ordo Xenos also informed the Cadian High Command of yet another threat from an unexpected quarter, the return of the ancient and implacable xenos known as the Necrons who had been found to be active in the Sentinel Worlds. These soulless automatons were suspected to have laid dormant in some manner upon the Sentinel Worlds for many years, perhaps for millennia. Though they had slumbered right underneath the Imperium's noses, somehow they had awoken, most likely in reaction to the activities of Abaddon and the Forces of Chaos. In some manner the Necrons were known to be the very antithesis of the Warp, stirred into activity by its waxing power. The Necrons' nature compelled them to oppose the Warp in all its forms, and for all intents and purposes, this adversarial posture could be considered in human terms an utter loathing for Chaos.

Chaos represented the greatest peril for the Imperium, yet Mankind paradoxically relied on the Warp for interstellar travel, communication and much more. The Necrons, however, received no such benefits from the Warp. They had no psykers to draw upon the Immaterium, while their advanced technology provided them with power over the material universe that rivalled the abilities of the strongest psykers. In practical terms, this meant that the Imperium could expect the newly awakened xenos to oppose the Forces of Chaos. However, this did not mean that the Imperial forces could or should treat them as allies, even in the loosest sense, for this ancient race was anathema to Humanity -- they were death incarnate to the entire species, who the Necron Lords viewed as primitive interlopers within the rightful territory of their ancient empire. Lord Castellan Creed immediately enacted orders for all Imperial forces to stay clear of this xenos race, and to allow them to engage the Forces of Chaos wherever and whenever it was their intention to do so. However, the Imperial forces were not, under any circumstances, to render aid to these xenos, for to do so would be to the ultimate harm of Mankind. The Imperium would tolerate the Necrons' presence in Imperial space only so long as expedience dictated. These ancient undying xenos might be the enemy of humanity's enemy, but that did not make them the Imperium's friend.

For the Greater Good
With the Imperium committing more and more resources towards the defence of the Cadian Gate, reports from the eastern rim of Ultima Segmentum suggested the Tau Empire was using this time when the Imperium's eyes were elsewhere to strengthen, and even expand their own domains. Though the xenos were yet to threaten Imperial worlds, and were largely expanding into uncontested Wilderness space, Imperial Stategos keep one wary eye on the Tau empire, lest they use this time of conflict and uncertainty to their own advantage, to the eternal cost of the Imperium.

Enemies Everywhere
The Cadian High Command was also briefed by the Ordo Xenos on a number of other factions which assailed Mankind as the Forces of Chaos battered at the doors of the Cadian Gate. The Eldar are once again active in and around the Sectors Oculus. Inquisitorial forces attempted to ascertain their intentions, for their actions appeared contrary and mercurial -- one moment actively aiding Imperial forces, the next slaughtering them. The Cadian High Command held no illusions that the Eldar fought for anyone other than themselves, and proceeded to plan accordingly. The Orks appeared to be increasingly active in the Scarus Sector. The Ordo Xenos believed the Greenskins there had been building up for an invasion for some time, lurking in the unexplored depths of Wilderness Space and launching their attack with a low cunning few would expect of such barbarous creatures. Lastly, the Inquisition warned the Cadian High Command to be alert for seemingly incongruous reports of alien infiltrations in the region near the Subiaco Diablo System, particularly for attacks coming up from below the galactic plane. They would not expound further on what they meant by this, but insisted that the Cadian High Command should inform the Inquisition immediately should any such attacks by unknown xenos materialise. Despite being beset on all sides, the Imperial forces and their commanders remained imbued with a sense of righteous indignation. If every damned creature in the galaxy was now ranged against them, then they were determined to take them all into oblivion with the last cry of the human race.

Thasia
Within the Malin's Reach System, a new and even more dire threat had arisen. The Dark Apostle Erebus and his forces from the Word Bearers Traitor Legion were causing great damage to Imperial efforts to defend the region. This enemy was of a particularly insidious nature, as the self-styled prophet of the Ruinous Powers sought to convert the people of the Imperium as much as to slaughter them. Spreading his foul corruption far and wide, he had managed to manipulate the Ultramarines Honour Company into an attack upon the world of Thasia, the fourth planet in the Malin's Reach System. The company hoped to draw Erebus to battle in the dark, methane shrouded groves of the planet's surface, but found that the Dark Apostle had instead drawn them into a trap. The Word Bearers were far from Thasia by the time the Ultramarines arrived, who instead found a force of Eldar waiting for them at the site of one of those xenos' planet-bound Webway transit portals through the Warp. Upon making plane fall, Captain Echion, the leader of the Honour Company, ordered his force to make ready for battle, but not to launch an assault upon the xenos immediately. He had been advised by the Cadian High Command that the Eldar had on occasion aided Imperial forces, and though he knew well the duplicity of these xenos, he nonetheless afforded them the opportuniry to retire without the need for bloodshed.

Unfortunately, the malicious xenos were of a mind for war, and launched an unprovoked attack upon Echion's forces. The battle that ensued was a prolonged and vicious one, with running combats being fought through the dark, vitrified forests. Death would come by stealth for both sides, and both sustained terrible levels of casualties. In time, Echion ordered his diminished force to regroup at its drop-zone for one last assault upon the duplicitous foe, but in doing so, found the enemy's positions abandoned. Upon coming to the Eldar portal, Echion's Librarian, Lesrus of the Sons of Guilliman, advised him that the xenos had fled through their Webway, and were working to seal the portal from afar. Echion washed his hands of the Eldar, determined never to give them the benefit of the doubt again, due to the loss of so many of brethren for such little gain. So it transpired that Erebus had not only skillfully maneuvered two of his foes into wasting precious time in futile combat against each other, but he had made use of the distraction to launch an attack elsewhere, upon the primary world of the Malin's Reach System.

Malin's Reach
The world of Malin's Reach was subjected to hell over a period of three days and three nights. Warp Storms flared into being around the planet, shrouding its three moons behind a sickly violet haze, quickly followed by waking nightmares which wracked the population. Many took their own lives, so terrible were their visions of insanity made real, and many more roamed the streets enacting wanton acts of carnage and madness. On the third night the Word Bearers' landing craft streaked from the tortured sky, securing a drop-zone scant kilometres from the Ministorum District of the world's capital of Ruskin City. The defenders of Malin's Reach could only offer scant resistance to their assault as they were debilitated by the ordeal of many hours of psychic torture. The Word Bearers fell on Ruskin Cathedral committing such blasphemies that by order of Imperial edict, one was forbidden to recount it, save for high ranked individuals. Through some unknown means they were able to summon forth the very creatures of the Warp into the ruined cathedral, before returning to their craft and departing. The Imperial forces on Malin's Reach were sorely pressed for many days containing the incursion, and the creatures unleashed there were only banished when Captain Echion's forces arrived in orbit and obliterated the entire site with an orbital bombardment. It was, the Ultramarines' captain recounted, the only way to be sure. Though a great many of the Imperium's forces were lost in the barrage, along with the greater part of the city, it was considered a merciful end for the them. Such was the price of protecting the Emperor's domains from the servants of the Ruinous Powers.

Ahriman
The Eldar Webway, the most secret realm of the Eldar race through which the length of the galaxy can be traversed in but a single step had been penetrated, invaded by intruders bent on nothing less than the uncovering of its most dreadful secrets. Ahriman, the former Chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion had somehow gained access to the webway. For millennia, this practitioner of the darkest of arts has sought this prize, and seeks to fathom the route to the Black Library, the repository of the sum of all knowledge held by the Eldar race on the subject of Chaos, and watched over by guardians too terrible to imagine.

The Black Library is a "dark" Craftworld eternally travelling through the Webway. Its location and route are secret, hidden from all but the Harlequins and the members of the Black Council, the governing body of the Black Library within the Labyrinthine Dimension. Like all Craftworlds, the vessel is conscious and psychoactive, hiding itself from all psychic probes, while simultaneously repelling Warp entities and intrusions. It is an enormous construct with a scorched, crystalline appearance, covered in vanes and flourishes but with the typical flowing grace of Eldar architecture. The interior is an intentional labyrinth with all manner of convoluted passages, corridors, and chambers. Bubble vaults full of stasis caskets containing forbidden lore and dangerous artefacts hang from the superstructure, whilst inside and above are myriad citadels, obelisks, monoliths, and spires where the rest of the Craftworld's arcane contents are kept.

Such is the desperation of the situation that these guardians have taken an active role in the defence of their realm, for the Webway itself twists and splits like a live thing wherever Ahriman and his followers tread. Rumours of warp-beasts the size of battleships bolstering Ahriman’s forces have implications too terrifying to contemplate. In response to Ahriman’s intrusion, the Eldar have launched a massive counter-attack, the force of which belies their woefully low numbers. The activities of the Ulthwé Strike Forces have increased beyond measure, and a desperate running battle is being fought across the Webway and upon the surfaces of worlds that harbour entrances to it. As a consequence, worlds within the Eye of Terror itself are being fought over, as previously sealed entrances to the Webway are unsealed in the battle for dominance. Eidolon and Belial are two such places, Daemon Worlds long ago lost to the Eldar race at the very fall of their empire ten millennia past, and now vital to the survival of their race. It had been rumoured that one of the Immortal Phoenix Lords, none other than Maugan-Ra the Harvester of Souls, is leading the Eldar forces across the Crone Worlds of the Belial IV system, and that ancient Eldar artefacts have been unearthed by the Great Enemy.

Defence of Ex Lucan VII
With the number of attacks by Eldar raiders increasing alarmingly, the command council had ordered a number of forces tasked with the specific objective of challenging them. It appeared that it was the so-called "kabalite" eldar (better known as the Dark Eldar), the darker kin of the xenos that resided on the Craftworlds, and though the Imperial forces held the entire race in due contempt, it was this faction which they had decided to target in an effort to teach them the lesson that the might of the Imperium, although slow to react, was impossible to avoid forever. Aid finally came from an unexpected quarter to aid the beleaguered forces of the Imperium, the Dark Angels Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, so long having pursued its own ends throughout the conflict, had extended its full cooperation in the effort. Acting upon intelligence passed to High Command by the Ordo Xenos, and relayed to them by Commander Azrael of the Dark Angels, four entire companies of the Chapter, and three of a number of its Successor Chapters, collectively known as "Taskforce Shadowguard", staged upon the outlying mining world of Ex Lucan VII. There, the Astartes taskforce lay in wait within the hollow mountains of the Kyran Range, every vehicle powered down, in order to ambush a sizable Dark Eldar raiding force. Appearing out of nowhere through portals this vile race made use of, the xenos wasted no time in launching their attack against the mining settlements of the Kyran Range. Taskforce Shadowguard revealed themselves and took the first raider force completely by surprise. Exploiting the momentum of victory, Shadowguard than executed a manoeuvre that smashed aside a second xenos force. Unable to coordinate their assault in order to force a breakthrough in the Astartes' lines, the Eldar raiders were annihilated in a devastating massacre. The result was an outstanding victory for the Forces of Order, and with luck, would have taught the deviant xenos a lesson that they would not soon forget.

The Relictors
The war against the Dark Eldar, though nothing more than a distraction from the maelstrom of the Despoiler's invasion, continued to go well. Another force of raiders had been defeated, on this occasion by the Relictors Space Marine Chapter upon the world of Xersia. The Relictors had not formally acknowledged the command authority of Logan Grimnar's council, and appeared to have launched this attack upon their own initiative, not as a response to command council directives. It was believed by High Command that the Dark Eldar's raids simply attracted the Chapter's attentions, and the raiders paid for their crimes in blood.

Xersia was a well-garrisoned system, and many of the Imperial forces witnessed the Relictors' assault. It was said that the Chapter slaughtered three entire kabals, purging the system and hunting down every last xenos before slaying them without mercy. The Chapter's officers were said to bear arms of terrifying potency: swords able to spew cleansing flame, and axes that sucked the essence of the Emperor's foes from their bodies, leaving nothing behind but a dried husk. The Chapter marched under arcane banners and icons of tangible power, the followers of their enemies scattering before them, the Relictors delivered the Emperor's Wrath wherever they passed. A number of Imperial Guard officers on the ground at Xersia attempted to contact the Relictors' Chapter Master, Commander Artekus Bardane, but the Chapter Master refused to acknowledge their communications.

Subsequent to this action, the Relictors appeared in a number of actions before coming to the Cadia System. The Chapter was known to have participated in an attack against a warband of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion on the world of Subiaco Diablo, during which an Inquisitorial task force disappeared under suspicious circumstances. They were next seen in the Cadian Sector, where they clashed with a Night Lords force at Exeltra Minor, before becoming embroiled in a suppression action against Eldar raiders at Xersia. The Chapter next appeared near Cadia itself. Upon their arrival in-system, the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar issued orders that the Chapter should reinforce Cadia itself. Bardane refused to acknowledge Grimnar's orders, and his fleet departed the system, headed, by best estimates, for the Agri-World of Fremas. Grimnar was furious that the Relictors had refused to submit to his command. He had refused to speak to even his most senior officers for some days. In a fit of rage, he had ordered his most elite Wolf Scouts to track down the Relictors and discover the true nature of their mission.

Exactly what occurred at Fremas is a matter of some doubt, but a pack of Wolf Scouts despatched by Logan Grimnar tracked the Relictors to the remote Diamedes Archive, where the Chapter appeared to have repulsed a Chaos attack before turning upon the Archive's defenders. None of the defenders were reported to have survived the assault, but Grimnar's men recovered partial vid-logs that suggest the Relictors' objective was the sealed stasis vault at the heart of the mountaintop fastness. The contents of this vault were known to but a handful of Adepts in the Imperium, most of whom resided on Terra. Their actions would later put them in conflict with both the Inquisition and later, the High Lords of Terra, putting the future of their Chapter in dire jeopardy.

Imperial Navy
The Imperial Navy, for long weeks had been forced to fight a desperate holding action against the seemingly endless waves of Chaos vessels, but were eventually reinforced. A fleet the size of which has not been seen since the end of the Gothic War eight standard centuries earlier had been dispatched from Cypra Mundi, and staged itself at Belis Corona in preparation for a massive counter-push into the Cadian Gate. The arrival of this vast armada allowed those Imperial vessels that had been fighting continuously since the beginning of the invasion a brief respite. Severely depleted ship’s companies were bolstered through indiscriminate press-ganging, and hasty repairs and refits were undertaken on those vessels most in need of them.

The Imperial reinforcements were split into battlegroups, each tasked with bolstering the defences in a specific sector. The regions around the Eye of Terror encompassed many millions of cubic light years, and only by the concentrated application of resources in those areas in most desperate need could the Imperial Navy hope to make inroads and slow, stall, and eventually repel the Chaos warfleets plaguing the region. If the Imperial Nary could somehow gain the upper hand in the conflict, it was hoped the enemy will soon find their forces cut off from aid and reinforcement. Although Ork mercenaries had reportedly joined the fray and the Eldar fleets had mysteriously been drawn away, the iron fist of the Imperium was slowly being brought to bear. Ancient defence laser batteries upon Demios Binary combined with programs of orbital bombardment on Laurentix and Sewan were set to harass the servants of Chaos wherever they were to be found.

Admiral Quarren himself had succeeded time and time again in defeating Chaos fleets many times the size of his own, allowing reinforcements to enter the fray around the fortress worlds. A massive influx of reinforcements in the Scelus Sector had penetrated the Chaos blockade of ships and minefields, and in the Belis Corona system the entirety of Battlefleet Gothic had stormed into the fray. Infernal mines sewn across the battlefront accounted for only a few of their number, and now the fleet had the opportunity to avenge the losses it suffered in the Gothic War at the hands of the Despoiler's own fleet. If the relentless momentum of the invasion could be slowed for just a short time, then the defenders on the ground would have a real chance of victory. The Imperial Navy had gambled all on this sector-wide retaliation and should it fail, than Battlefleet Obscurus would be so weakened that only the redeployment of fleets across the whole Imperium would hold any hope of holding back the Despoiler's invasion.

Vermaard Assault
The Lord Castellan soon ordered the redeployment of Imperial troops defending the Scelus Sector to bolster the defences there. Scelus was firmly under Imperial control following the efforts of Lord Marshall Attica and a number of Astartes forces. The problem had been the blockade which the enemy fleets had put up around Scelus itself, in order to prevent Imperial forces from redeploying. To expedite the breakout, there was a planned push upon enemy forces at Vermaard. High Command hoped that vessels of the blockade fleet would be drawn off to oppose it. Simultaneously, a battle group upon the surface of the Mining World would launch a sudden frontal assault upon enemy positions, with the intention that the blockade fleet would be forced to ferry ground troops from Scelus to Vermaard, thus complicating their departure. This ruse ultimately proved successful, too successful, reminding the Imperial forces that the reactions of the servants of the Ruinous Powers could never be fully anticipated.

The Vermaard Assault was a complete success in that it caught the enemy unawares. It appeared the hordes of cultists forming the Chaos presence upon Vermaard were engaged in some form of mass ritual, the culmination of which was disrupted by the Imperial forces' attack. The cultists were caught unprepared to defend their positions and were cut down with negligible losses to the Imperium's own forces. As anticipated, the enemy began to move troops upon the surface of Scelus up to orbit, and their battle fleets waited for the transfer to be completed before setting off for Vermaard.

At this point, Lord Marshall Attica made his breakout, leading 40 percent of his force to their own transport ships and running the gauntlet of the remainder of the blockade fleet. Though a number of his troop transport ships did not make it through the enemy lines, a great many did; enough, in fact, to render that portion of the operation a success. Indeed, the Imperial Navy could not possibly have hoped that such a great number of Chaos vessels would be pulled out of the line, for had more remained; Attica's breakout would have been far less of a success than it proved.

However, three days later the enemy reinforcements reached Vermaard. So great were the number of troops ferried there that the Imperial forces stood next to no chance against them. History may never fully recounted the sacrifices made at Vermaard so that Attica's force could reach Cadia. It appeared the Imperial forces had stirred up a veritable storm by interrupting the mass ritual there, but one couldn't help but wonder what evil may have transpired had they not.

The Eldar
The activities of the xenos Eldar, those of the Craftworlds at least, had suddenly ceased. For weeks now the ships of this race had been active, in most instances hitting the enemy, though on occasion attacking Imperial forces for no discernable reason. Now, it was as if they had simply disappeared. Entire staffs of Imperial savants, seers and Strategos had been assigned with the task of tracing the activities and objectives of the Eldar, and were in constant communication with the Ordo Xenos in this regard. Long-range scouts had caught brief glimpses of movement, but as High Command had already learned, when the Eldar wished to remain hidden, there was little even their most skilled crews could do to find them.

Progress was eventually made on the matter of the sudden disappearance of the Eldar fleets. One of their scout vessels managed to record traces of Eldar activity in system XT90304/G, an empty system in the wilderness space thirty light years to the galactic north east of Belis Corona. On the outskirts of the system, they picked up readings of a vessel of prodigious size, executing a single pict-capture before being detected. The pict-capture confirmed just why the Eldar had redirected their efforts. The forces of the Despoiler were in possession of a Blackstone Fortress, an engine of destruction not seen since the end of the Gothic War. As if the presence of the Planet Killer in the Sectors Oculus were not dire enough a threat, now the Imperial had to contend with this new threat. If the notoriously aloof and uncaring Eldar were prepared to throw their all into combating the Blackstones, the threat must have been terrible indeed.

The Orks
On the subject of xenos, the Orks continued putting intolerable pressure on a number of worlds in the Scarus Sector, notably Lethe II and Mordax Prime. The Magos Biologus of the Adeptus Mechanicus believed these foul creatures to be working alongside the Despoiler to further their own ends, though they did not consider it to be any alliance as such. More likely the Orks were taking advantage of an opportunity granted by the Despoiler, through which both found an advantage and the Imperial forces suffered because of it.

The situation on these worlds was grim indeed. In particular, Mordax Prime couldn't be allowed to fall into xenos hands, for it was a Forge World of prodigious output and its loss would hurt the Imperium. More to the point, the Imperial forces dreaded to imagine just what monstrosities the Orks might turn the production lines to creating, but know it could only mean desecration of all that the Machine Adepts held sacred. At present, 15 Imperial Guard Army Groups and 5 legions of Mechanicus troops continued to hold Mordax Prime, yet clearly such a large body of men was insufficient to stem the green tide engulfing the Forge World. High Command drew up plans to send a further 35 to 40 regiments, drawn from the regional reserve to help bolster Mordax Prime's defences. The Orks have seemingly set their sights upon the Forge World of Mordax Prime, broadcasting their designs for the planet they refer to as "MoreDakka Prime" on every channel. Were it not for the fact that Mordax Prime was the sovereign preserve of the Adeptus Mechanicus, Imperial High Command seriously considered petitioning for Exterminatusbefore its vast resources fell to the enemy. The Ordo Xenos might still consider such recourse, and only the Emperor knew they had the authority to execute it, should even the Mechanicus try to obstruct them.

The Tides of War
On every world of the Cadian System, there was only war. Vigilatum was all but lost to the unholy servants of the Ruinous Powers, though a small rearguard, previously thought annihilated held out, boldly defending the Naval Tac Logis facility. Solar Mariatus too was sorely pressed by the hordes of the Despoiler, and Cadian High Command had ordered the world reinforced, lest its output of munitions and other materiel essential to the ongoing war effort be lost- a blow the beleaguered defenders could ill afford. With Imperial Navy reinforcements inbound, the defenders of Cadia had to hold out just a little while longer.

Ursarkar Creed had been hailed by many as the most able Imperial Guard commander since the legendary Lord Solar Macharius, yet many Imperial observers had noted that his sub-commanders had not proved themselves quite so capable. So sudden and mobile had the Despoiler's invasion proved that many commanders at a system and planetary level had simply been unable to coordinate their actions, and were reacting to the enemy's attacks rather than dictating their own terms of battle. Creed had issued stern orders to his subordinates to take the initiative at a planetary level, or fall, the choice was that simple.

Though the enemy had gained temporary advantage over Imperial forces at Vermaard, they were now firmly in control of Scelus. A number of cross-substantiated Astropathic communications confirmed that the situation there, was positive. Creed had ordered a further 20 Imperial Guard regiments from Scelus to be made ready for transit to other warzones, and would be executed if and when the Warp Storms abated. But after long days of silence from the entire sector, a single message manage to penetrate the ether. Scarus fared ill, and the defenders begged that High Command dispatch reinforcements with all haste. Only Thracian Primaris stood before the tide of the Ork menace and Chaos filth, and with each passing day another world slipped further from the Imperium's grasp. It appeared that Belis was suffering at the hands of the Archenemy, and even the Imperial Navy was having a difficult time of it in this region.

Imperial Navy Battle Group Eclipse managed to halt the predations of an inbound Dark Eldar fleet. Despite being severely outmatched, the Imperial Navy vessels managed to cause catastrophic damage on the weakling ships of the Dark Eldar, many giving their lives in the process. These xenos evidently employed some manner of cloaking device, for at first the Battlegroup believed them to be a previously unknown Chaos fleet. That they were able to defeat this attack was cause for great celebration, but the Imperial Navy knew they must increase their vigilance tenfold against further such incursions.

The Fall of Ibrium
The Despoiler soon unleashed a new and calamitous phase in his invasion. One of his allies, the infamous iconoclast and blasphemer Erebus, Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion, had unleashed the foulest of forbidden magicks upon the loyal subjects of the God Emperor of Mankind. Upon the world of Ibrium, a sacred world of the Ecclesiarchy, the Dark Apostle had ordered the building of immense cathedrals' to the powers of the Warp. That these monstrosities existed upon such a world was a profanity beyond words, but, according to intelligence reports, they were constructed at the expense of a million souls; souls promised to the Emperor. Upon the completion of these dark monuments Erebus ordered the ritual execution of every last innocent that still drew breath at the completion of their labours. The Dark Apostle's sins did not end at mass slaughter. The rites by which the peoples of Ibrium were sacrificed have drawn forth the full fury of the Empyrean, unleashing its anger upon the domains of Mankind. Now, seething Warp Storms that threatened to cut the Cadian System off entirely from the outside wracked Imperial space lanes, and the Eye throbbed with malevolent purpose.

The raw stuff of the Warp had been unleashed, pouring through the rents in the thin skein of reality created by their incantations, and calling up vast Warp storms across the region. Many outlying sectors such as Scelus and Caliban were now engulfed in raging tempests, some simply cut off from aid, others reduced to shifting realms of madness as the denizens of the Empyrean ran riot across entire worlds. Ibrium was amongst the worst affected worlds; where once proud Ecclesiarchy Cathedrals stood, now blasphemous monuments to the powers of the Warp proclaim the dominion of Chaos. Across the sector, where kilometre-high Hive Cities once pieced the clouds, now gargantuan charnel houses dominated worlds forever lost to Man.

Soon Astropathic communications from vessels were caught in the flaring of the Occulus and at least three War Storms in the immediate region lead High Command to conclude that Erebus intended to isolate Imperial forces by making Warp-travel all but impossible. It appeared that, to a certain degree, that Erebus had succeeded, though the Imperial forces were still able to remain in contact with the majority of commands by way of Astropathic relay. The Warp Storms continued to grow more intense with each passing day, and the High Command's command and control capability was stretched to the limit. Contact was lost with entire worlds, armies and fleets, and unfortunately they were forced to rely upon increasingly compromised astropathic communications for each scrap of information they could garner.

The Betrayer
Reports continued to trickle in to the Cadian High Command, the most disturbing of all, was a transmission from a Planetary Defence Force Major upon the world of Tabor, whose brutal accounts of transpiring events of his garrison made for gruesome reading. If the report was to be believed, none other than Khârn of the World Eaters Traitor Legion, the so-called "Betrayer," had fallen upon the doomed world and shed the blood of its brave defenders in the name of his unspeakable patron Khorne the Blood God. Despite the arrival of this fiend, Imperial forces had made gains upon Tabor and across the Agripinaa Sector. It the defenders could somehow contain this madman's rampage, the strategic situation in that region would be, at the very least, somewhat acceptable.

Pursuit of the Voice
During the campaign, the Dark Angels and Space Wolves great mutual rivalry caused severe disruptions to the Imperial efforts in the defence of the Sentinel Worlds area. Though both forces operated in the same region for several weeks, both refused to coordinate their actions, harming the ability of the Imperial Guard commanders on the ground to act, for they couldn't rely upon the aid of either Chapter. The situation soon changed, as the Dark Angels abruptly left the area in search of renegade individuals they refused to identify. The Dark Angels sought a shadowy figure calling himself the "Voice of the Emperor," operating out of Lelithar.

The Dark Angels launched a number of strikes against this figure, but on each occasion found that the pressures of constant attacks upon their hallowed ground of the Caliban System forced them to redeploy their forces. Each time the Dark Angels manage to close on the suspected location of the Voice, hie somehow is able to slip through their clutches, leaving behind taunting, heretical graffiti. Harbouring an intense hatred for this individual, the "Voice" transmitted a number of all-channel vox-casts throughout the war, making obscure references to the I Legion's earliest history, as well as making astonishing claims against their Primarch Lion El'Jonson. The Dark Angels and their Successors vehemently rebutted these blasphemous broadcasts. The Dark Angels and the Chapters of the Unforgiven relentlessly pursued this heretic and his followers and eventually captured him. But as the "Voice" laid languishing within the holds of one of their vessels he somehow, through some as yet unidentified means, managed to affect his escape.

The Green Kroosade
With the Forces of Chaos overwhelming every world within the vicinity of the Eye of Terror, a large force of Orks took advantage of the state of anarchy threatening many systems, and launched an all-out attack upon the worlds of the Scarus Sector. This "Green Kroosade" was remarkably well-coordinated for an Ork invasion, and soon succeeded in grinding down the defences of several worlds, notably Lethe Eleven. The Black Templars Space Marine Chapter had diverted a number of fighting companies to oppose them, lest they gather into a fully-fledged Waaagh!

Defence of Cadia
The Forces of Chaos continued to hit Imperial forces hard across the entire region. Kasr Holn had borne the brunt over a number of days, with wave after wave of frenzied mutants assaulting the walls of the Fortress World's capital. Fifteen regiments of Cadian Shock Troops manned the defences there, and an entire legion of the Adeptus Titanicus were deployed. Were it only the seemingly endless hordes of ill-disciplined mutants attacking the capital, the Imperial defenders might have been able to contain them there, but the assaults were led by none other than the Black Legionnaires, the praetorians of the Despoiler himself.

Battle of Kasr Holn
The Black Legionaires were content to allow the thousands of mutants to crash against the Cadian's defences, in order to wear down and deplete their material stores through sheer attrition. Each wave had been repulsed, but only at the cost of many brave defenders, and with little or no affect on enemy numbers. Just when the attackers were sent once more into undisciplined rout, the Black Legionnaires were wont to launch their own attack. These attacks cost the Imperial defenders dear, though fortunately they were unable to pierce the defender's lines. Though with each successive wave they were able to kill a handful of the enemy, the casualties the defender's sustained were intolerably high.

Lord Castell Creed moved his Head Quarters to Kasr Holn to counter the crisis rapidly developing there, his inspiring presence would make the difference of several regiments. He led in-person a bold counter-attack at the head of the Cadian 8th "Lord Castellan's Own" against their latest assault, sallying forth the Imperial forces once the mutant wave had receded, and struck at the Black Legion before their own assault could develop. The counter-attack was a resounding success, and as he returned to the walls at the head of the 8th, the entire length of the eastern wall erupted with the cheers of many thousands of men. But soon the Battle of Kasr Holn took on a new and unanticipated turn, one that could be scarcely believed had it not been witnessed personally.

At the height of the latest assault upon the eastern wall of the primary fortress, at the moment when it appeared as if the Black Legion would force a breach, the feral 13th Great Company of Space Wolves appeared from behind their lines and inflicted a crushing defeat upon them. Both the Chaos attackers and the Imperial defenders heard with their own ears the animalistic howl of these barbarous warriors, even though many were at their station some distance from the fighting. The sound chilled everyone that heard it, to the core. Fortunately, the affect upon the enemy was greater still. The vile mutants fled first, turning their backs and fleeing in an instant. Their Black Legion masters attempted to forestall the rout, firing upon the mutants in an effort to render them more terrified of their own retribution than they were of the 13th Company. But their efforts were wasted, and many Black Legionnaires were trampled as the mutants stampeded from the walls. Soon, the Black Legionnaires were themselves assaulted, and those not cut down from the rear were forced to quit the field, an event unheard of to date. The 13th Company's attack were over almost as soon as it had begun, and they withdrew, the Imperial forces knew not in which direction, making, as they did, no attempt to communicate with the other Imperial forces.

Imperium Resurgent
With so many sectors now cut-off, the war had escalated by a degree of magnitude in those areas still accessible to both sides. The fighting in such areas as the Cadian Sector, Scarus Sector and Agripinaa had reached an unprecedented level, with millions throwing themselves upon the crucible of utter and total war, to save the Cadian Gate from falling irrecoverably into the clutches of the Ruinous Powers. In an amazing twist of fate, the Imperial reinforcements from Battlefleet Solar arrived many weeks earlier than expected, for the tides of the Warp are never predictable. The Lost 13th Company of the Space Wolves added their feral might to the battle for the Chaos-infested capital of Kasr Holn, and the mighty vessel, Duke Lurstophan, at the head of Battlegroup Roark, braved the warp storms to bring aid to the besieged Cadia. Under the bruised and crackling skies of his homeworld, Ursakar Creed, Lord Castellan of Cadia had launched a major counter-assault from the heart of the Imperial forces and the White Scars of the Adeptus Astartes engaged the Forces of Chaos across the Cadian sector. Not a single man was spared, and the death tolls spiraled ever upward.

Space Marine Crusade
After many long weeks of beleaguered, stubborn resistance, the defenders of the Cadian Gate were finally reinforced by the combined forces of dozens of Space Marine Chapters. This crusade had been gathered from the most distant regions, answering the call to arms issued when the forces of the Despoiler first commenced their invasions. The Space Marine crusade had been greeted with adulation and joy by the battered and bloody defenders. Those Space Marines who had fought at the gate since the beginning have been joined by their brethren, and now stood ready to take the fight to the enemy with the courage and conviction that only a Space Marine could display.

The simmering rivalries between the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels stationed in the Sentinel Worlds sector were eclipsed by the alleged Fallen sighting near the ruins of Caliban, and the rumours of an artefact of Primarch Leman Russ held at Nemesis Tessera. The Blood Angels, after their arrival on Kasr Partox, prepared for the assault of the largest horde of World Eaters seen in living memory. Typhus, the Herald of Nurgle, took a personal hand in the battle for Macharia, teleporting in and slaughtering platoon after platoon of Cadians before returning to his flagship. His gift of fear infected the Cadian ranks even quicker than the plagues he spread with his mere presence.

Having re-established contact with the other Chapter Masters fighting in the region, Grimnar had dictated that all their efforts should be focussed on the Cadian, Belis Corona and Agripinaa sectors. Now that contact had been made with those chapters newly arrived at the Sector Oculus, a coordinated attack had been launched that was set to sweep away the invaders in one fell swoop. Many within the Cadian High Command prayed that two of the greatest Astartes Chapters to serve the Imperium, the Dark Angels and the Space Wolves, would set aside their internecine disagreements for long enough for their efforts to bear fruit.

With so many Space Marines now bolstering the defence, the forces of the Traitor Legions had not been idle. The Chaos rearguard joined the fray, engaging the Space Marines in every theatre of war. Those who turned upon their master and their kin ten millennia past were consumed with hatred for their erstwhile brothers, and had thrown themselves at the new arrivals with wanton bloodlust. With such legendary warriors as the Blood Angels, the Black Templars, the Imperial Fists, the Howling Griffons, the White Scars and many more chapters now stood before Abaddon’s invasion, the Imperium could at long last see a real chance of turning back the Thirteenth Black Crusade.

Thracian Primaris
Upon their arrival in the Cadian System, the Black Templars Chapter's first action was the relief of Thracian Primaris, which had sustained heavy assaults by the Forces of Chaos for some weeks. The bulk of the force consisted of Brethren previously embarked upon the hunt for Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, the infamous Ork warlord who had unleashed such devastation upon the Imperial Hive World of Armageddon, and their participation in the action on Thracian Primaris left the pursuing crusades severely understrength. The Black Templars scattered the poorly led and deployed Chaos fleet in short order, breaking through the blockade to make an uncontested planet fall at the Departmento Munitorum Logistical Support Complet at Hive Demeter. The Brethren were welcomed as liberators by the beleaguered populace, but chose not to remain at the Hive World for long, moving on to drive the Forces of Chaos back towards the Eye of Terror.

Lortox Evacuations
When Abaddon's fleet was seen approaching the Agri-World of Lortox, the Ultramarines Honour Company distinguished itself with a bold, space-borne counter-assault against Abaddon's fleet as the Planet Killer closed with that Imperial world on the outskirts of the Agripinaa Sector. The action bought Lortox's Planetary Defence Forces time to evacuate a significant proportion of the population before the world was destroyed by the Despoiler's horrific weapon of planetary destruction. The Ultramarines Honour Company managed to succeed in crippling the Planet Killer, but it still had enough power to limp away. In the aftermath of the Lortox Evacuations, the Honour Company redeployed to Cadia and the surrounding star systems, launching a series of operations to hinder Abaddon's forces as they assaulted the Imperial positions. These attacks included a series of highly successful boarding actions against the lumbering Space Hulks being used to transport vast hordes of enemy troops to reinforce the Despoiler's siege of Cadia.

Battle of Medusa
When the forces of Abaddon the Despoiler spilled forth from the Cadian Gate in 999.M41 to launch his 13th Black Crusade, the Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter knew that their homeworld of Medusa faced imminent invasion due to their close proximity to the Eye of Terror, and so the Chapter scrambled to prepare their defences. Given that Medusa was the only world from which the lron Hands recruited new brethren, they were forced to defend it above all other considerations. While it is known that two of the Clan Companies were deployed elsewhere in the defence of the region, the greater strength of the Chapter was used in the defence of their homeworld.

The largest battle in the defence of Medusa came when all 10 of the gargantuan tracked fortresses of the Clan Companies faced the invading Traitor Guardsmen of the Haradni 13th Heavy Armoured Regiment. The plains of Medusa played host to one of the largest armored clashes the galaxy has seen since the infamous Battle of Tallarn during the Horus Heresy, when over 10,000 Traitor tanks stormed towards the waiting Iron Hands. The ensuing battle raged for five days and five nights, as the Traitors closed within firing range of the Iron Hands mobile fortresses. When the Iron Hands opened fire, it is said that over a hundred tanks were destroyed in the first volley, for each Clan Company commanded firepower equal to a Centurio Ordinatus of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

On the fifth day, at the height of the battle, the Traitors broke through the Iron Hands' lines, and an armoured company of Traitors outflanked one of the Chapter's mobile fortresses and fired shell after shell into it at nearly point blank range. The Iron Hands responded by launching a furious counter-attack spearheaded by Assault Squads armed with Melta Bombs leapt from the crenelated towers of the mobile fortress to land atop the enemy tanks. Though many Astartes lost their lives in the attack, shot down by pintle-mounted weapons or ground beneath the enemy vehicles' armoured tracks, their counter-attack was successful in disabling or destroying the majority of the Traitor armour and sending the rest into a disorderly retreat. It was then that the Iron Hands launched an armoured assault of their own, as whole formations of Predator Annihilator tanks disgorged from the mobile fortresses to run down and destroy the Heretic tanks with ravening beams of Lascannon fire. The Iron Hands managed to secure Medusa by the midpoint of the campaign and were able to deploy several Clan Companies to the defence of the Cadian System and an Iron Hands naval task force was dispatched to reinforce the naval world of Vigilatum.

Battle of Kasr Tyrok
The Dark Angels and the Space Wolves appeared to set aside their ancient vendetta long enough for Supreme Grand Master Azrael and Great Wolf Logan Grimnar come to a mutual, but temporary, understanding. The two Chapters have taken to the field together, intent upon proving to the enemy that the combined forces of the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels Chapters are far greater than the sum of their parts. The exact circumstances and details of this arrangement had been kept from all who were not from either Chapter. Both Chapters take to the field together, in the defence of Kasr Tyrok upon the world of Cadia against a substantial force of Chaos mutants. The combined force of Dark Angels and Space Wolves smashed into the rear of the mutant mob, cutting them down without mercy, each Chapter sought to outdo the other in their skill at arms. As the last few mutants were dispatched their friendly banter soon turned less comradely, and soon insults filled the air. Victory had been achieved, but the Sons of the Lion and the Sons of Russ soon depart ways, their long-time rivalry rearing its ugly head once again.

Battle of Kasr Gehr
"Let me make one thing clear, gentlemen. We are now in the fight of our lives. The Archenemy has come to our home, with greater force and fury than ever before. All that stands between him and victory is us. Us, gentlemen. It is we who must stand before the enemy and turn him back. Why? Because we're here and there's no one else to do it for us. So if any man here believes he cannot do his duty to the Emperor, then he should present himself before the regimental commissars and stop wasting my time."

- Lord Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed, addressing the Cadian commands during the Defense of Cadia

The skies above warzones burn with the falling of orbital ordnance, and the chants of a billion lunatics resound. The tread of mighty battle Titans shakes the earth, and Imperial Navy fighter craft scream overhead. The last days of the conflict are upon the Imperium of Man. The Imperial forces could only pray that no servant of Emperor faltered in his duties to the Master of Mankind, for to do so was to surrender Humanity itself unto the eternal pyre of damnation and ruin. The final stage of the Thirteenth Black Crusade would be fought across the Cadian, Agripinaa, Belis Corona, Scarus and Chinchare sectors.

On Cadia, their strongholds fell one by one. The Viklas and Cadus lines of battle buckled beneath the relentless hammering of uncounted enemy. The Imperial forces on Cadia had been engaged upon a mobile defence, Lord Castellan Creed marshalled the Imperial Guard regiments under his command to meet each enemy and cut it off before an unstoppable assault developed. But such were the numbers of the Archenemy that this strategy quickly proved to be increasingly untenable, forcing the Cadian defenders onto the defensive, as they began to fall back to Kasr Partox. An entire Traitor Titanicus Legion marched in line across the horizon, framed against the blazing sky as millions of tons of ordnance fell from orbit. Hordes of Mutants swarmed under the Titan's feet, sacrificing themselves to the twisted god-machines. Living artillery stalked the battlefield, spewing shells the size of tanks. The chanting of a million madmen could be heard from the ramparts of Kasry Gehr.

But the Cadian 8th Regiment stood arrayed in companies across Kasr Gehr's parade ground; proud, courageous and resolute, honour writ large upon the faces of each and every trooper. The Lord Castellan knew he was consigning many within his regiment to their inevitable deaths. Furthermore, the troopers knew it, and were proud to know it. They cared not, for they would uphold the pride of the "Lord Castellan's Own", Cadia and their sacred duty to the Emperor. That evening the enemy launched their assault upon the citadel. It was presaged by a terrible, chilling wailing that bit deep into each man's sanity, but none wavered. Then a thunderous artillery barrage rained death and destruction upon the walls, but still the 8th wouldn't falter. Then on came the first waves, and the 8th opened fire upon them. A blazing wall of lasfire sprang across the rapidly closing gap before the walls, and the enemy fell by the thousands. Many exhausted their lasguns' charges in what seemed mere moments, and reached for a second charge when the regimental standard bearer, Jarran Kell, bellowed the Castellan's orders for every second company to stand down from the walls. The rearguard would assemble, and so the retreat began.

Some ten companies had held to the last to allow the remainder of the 8th time to fall back. These brave 3,000 were to abandon their positions at the last possible moment, but something went wrong. They were encircled, cut off and fight as they might, they were overrun and eventually captured. A day later, the Imperial forces learned of the fate of the men captured at Kasr Gehr. They were ritually disembowelled before the Imperial positions on the Viklas line. They were helpless to do anything for them, and word soon got out. The effect upon morale was utterly devastating, and it was all the commissars could do to contain the air of defeat that had settled over many units.

Death of Macharia
It was a fool's dream to hope the Planet Killer could be found before it was brought to bear upon the Imperial forces. Without warning, it appeared in orbit over the world of Macharia. Though many could scarcely believe it, the world was destroyed by the massive vessel. It was lost, and with it millions of loyal and faithful subjects of the Emperor, dead at the hands of the Despoiler and his despicable weapon. Utter dread now descended upon the Imperial High Command. Despite the successes of the early weeks of the invasion, many had come to believe that this war might not be won in the short term. Where at first the Imperial forces fought to repulse the Despoiler, to deny him footholds upon their worlds, they now fought to keep him from overwhelming them entirely. This was a grim paradigm, and one the Imperial forces were not ready to accept. They believed Abaddon dare not destroy Cadia, as its Pylons were reckoned intrinsic to the continued stability of the Cadian Gate. So the Imperium would stand and hold there, no matter the cost.

Uneasy Alliance
Soon Cadian High Command receives word of an approaching Black Fortress. The leader of the xenos Eldar of the Ulthwé craftworld, Eldrad Ulthran contacted the commander of the Imperial forces. He stated to the human commander, Creed that he had formulated a plan. The Lord Castellan agreed to meet him upon the plains before Kasr Partox. With his available senior staff and a cabal of Psykers to provide scant defence against the witcheries of these aliens, Creed met the Farseer. The xenos appeared before the humans from some force of arcane portal. He informed them that he would destroy this "Talisman of Vaul's", meaning the Black Fortress. But to do so, he would require the aid of every available vessel in the Cadian System. Seeing no other options, Creed acceded to the Farseer's request, and so, shook hands with the Eldar leader, who then disappeared in the manner that he had arrived. It galled every last member of the command council to trust the lives of so many to the actions of a race as duplicitous as the Eldar, but as the Farseer had said upon his parting with Creed, "None of us has a choice anymore."

Battle of Kasr Partox
The valiant Imperial defenders of Cadia make their final stand upon the ramparts of Kasr Partox against the mile upon blood mile of hell arrayed against them. A massive force of the Archenemy stands arrayed against the valiant Imperial defenders. Within the fortress are 23 Cadian regiments. Alongside the regiments of Cadia stand a host of units from worlds near and far, such as the Knovians, Gundronites, Mordant, Thracians, Jourans and a thousand more. The battle-brothers of Adeptus Astartes are also counted amongst the Imperial defenders, including Chapters from the Dark Angels, Space Wolves, Ultramarines, Doom Eagles and many more that aren't named. There are also many more servants of the God Emperor which includes the Battle-Sisters from the Adepta Sororitas, the mighty Grey Knights, scores of Inquisitors, siege dreadnoughts of the Ordo Reductor, as well as the mighty God Machines of the Adeptus Titanicus and their Skitarii servants. And amongst them all, the confessors of the Imperium's great faith move, admonishing each and every man and woman to hold true to the Emperor.

But the Imperial defenders' numbers pale in comparison to those arrayed against them. Even from atop the mighty walls of the Castellum, it was observed that not a single square metre of ground was not held by the defenders, or trod by the enemy. It seemed as if every twisted denizen of the Eye of Terror was converged there, before the walls of Kastr Partox, which was impossible as across every warzone of the Sectors Oculus the same scene played out.

In the ensuing slaughter, the Imperials were forced to abandon Kasr Partox and retreat towards the Caducades Sea, where they hoped to make their final stand at Kasr Gallan. At the height of the battle, a fleet of Necrontyr vessels appeared from nowhere and assaulted Kasr Partox as well as the orbiting Chaos fleet, forcing a Chaos-held Blackstone Fortress to disengage. With Kasr Partox fallen, command and control structure were soon non-existent. The retreat from Kasr Partox saw the most intense fighting of the war, with many thousands of lives given up so that the bulk of the Imperial forces might escape. The Imperial forces managed to make it to the Caducades Sea, leaving behind thousands of dead, their bodies defiled by the blasphemous Chaos horde. The Imperial ground forces flee aboard transport ships across the Caducades Sea, forced to abandon the bulk of their heavy equipment.

One of the last groups to leave was the Ecclesiarchal delegation, whose thousands of preachers had attended to the spiritual well-being of the Imperial forces throughout the fighting withdrawal from Partox. Some of these remained in the port, determined to preach the word of the Emperor until the very end, and their sonorous chants at times were said to drown out even the thunderous explosions of enemy artillery. A company of Space Marines from the Subjugators, whose were so reduced as to threaten the very survival of their Chapter, chose to also make a final stand there, vowing to evacuate only when all else was lost. Imperial Guard engineers planted munitions at the heart of the port in order to ensure its destruction.

Orbital Battle of Cadia
The Imperial fleet in orbit above the valiant defenders on the ground were also gathered for their final stand, determined to gain time for the Eldar to board the Blackstone Fortress and disable it from within. If they are successful, the Imperial forces would perhaps, live to fight another day. Should they fail, the world of Cadia and all who stood upon it would be scoured by the very power of the Warp unleashed upon its surface by the Blackstone Fortress moving into orbit above them. This was the Despoiler's plan all along; everything had led to this particular moment. Soon the battle in orbit was underway. True to their word, the Eldar fought side-by-side with the Imperial vessels. But the toll taken upon the Forces of Order was fearsome indeed, but this desperate endeavour was surely worthy of the greatest of sacrifices.

The details of the battle in orbit that ultimately saw the Blackstone Fortress defeated were difficult to piece together in the wake of the retreat from Kasr Pasrtok. Admiral Quarren reported that the bulk of his fleet was destroyed, many vessels having paid the ultimate price to ensure the Farseer of Ulthwe the time to complete his mission. It appeared that the Farseer's vessel, the Isha'ra penetrated deep through the Chaos lines, many of its sister ships being destroyed in the action. Once close enough to do so, Ulthran boarded the station, and had not been seen or heard from since.

At the height of this battle, it is reported that a fleet of Necronryr vessels appeared as from nowhere and assaulted the Fortress and the Chaos fleet both. So confused and incomplete were the Imperial records of this engagement that the Cadian High Command might never piece together the true details. Regardless of their reasons for doing so, the Necron ships forced the Blackstone Fortress to disengage, and contact with it was lost soon after. The last the Imperial forces knew of the so-called "Talisman of Vaul" was reported by a psyker attached to the general staff, Lieutenant Fortuna, who was struck down with a vision of the Farseer trapped within a shimmering crystal, his soul-scream echoing throughout the Warp. No doubt Imperial seers and savants would be looking to unravel this mystery for many years to come.

Darkness Descends
Darkness has fallen across a hundred worlds, and for the defenders of the Cadian Gate, the pure light of day now seems but a distant memory. Though the forces of the Despoiler have been denied the ultimate prize of the fall of Cadia, Abaddon’s hordes have gained a foothold upon the worlds of Man, and none can see them being repelled for many years to come. Abaddon and his council of three have outmanoeuvred and out fought the forces of the Imperium at almost every turn. Corpses litter the battlefields in their millions, yet millions more still stand beleaguered, against a foe that knows no mercy and whose only goal is the utter destruction of all who stand before them. The bleak moors of Cadia are reduced to a barren, crater-pocked wasteland, blasted by orbital torpedoes, super-heavy artillery and the footfall of titans. The Vilklas and Andur defence lines have collapsed under the relentless pressure of a million frenzied cultists, traitors and mutants, and the Cadian High Command has been forced to relocate to Kasr Gallan on the far side of the Caducades Sea. Though the Imperial Navy is in control of the inter-system space lanes, Chaos rules the skies above Cadia since the orbital defences fell in the opening days of the Black Crusade. The defenders of Cadia are now deployed around Kasr Gallan and throughout the Wastes, resolute that not a backward step shall be taken. The order is given - "Stand at Cadia, or damn the Imperium of Mankind to the depredations of Chaos for all eternity."

Cadia
Cadia still stands, but sh stands alone, a failing beacon flickering against the encroaching night. Total war is come to Segmentum Obscurus, and all hopes of repelling the invaders are dashed. The Imperium must now consolidate its grip upon those worlds it still holds, and prepare to fight a war that will not end within the lifetime of any of its combatants. While Cadia still stands, humanity has reason to hope, but Abaddon the Despoiler has finally achieved what he has failed to do on twelve previous occasions, over ten thousand years - he has breached the Cadian Gate, and none can now hold back the inexorable tide of Chaos unleashed upon the Imperium of Man.

The Forces of Chaos won a small if significant victory over the Imperium and the Eldar, capturing a number of Imperial worlds in sectors beyond the Cadian Gate for the first time since the Horus Heresy. Cadia still stands, but only just, as most of the planet belongs to Chaos. The battle for Cadia will last centuries without aid, but if Chaos gains headway in the space above Cadia, then the defenders will be doomed, especially with a Blackstone Fortress still lurking somewhere. Even without aid to the Imperial forces in orbit, there's a large chance that simple supplies such as food will be unable to reach the defenders, and that the defenders will soon starve to death.

Scarus System
The unstoppable force of the Green Krusade has laid waste to the Scarus System, and now the Orks rule Lethe Eleven and Mordax. The Forge Worlds of Mordax are now infested with lootaz of the Death Skulls Ork clan, a truly terrifying prospect to the devotees of the Machine God, who know full well the depths of blasphemy against the Omnissiah to which these barbaric xenos will sink. Only Thracian Primaris holds firm against the "Green Kroosade," bolstered first by the intervention of a Black Templars Crusade, and later by the stalwart defence mounted by the Salamanders Chapter. The situation is grim in Scarus, and none can see an end to the infestation given the dire situation across the region.

Belis Corona
The Imperium have largely held at Belis Corona, the location of the greatest shipyard of the Imperium, suffering the worst excesses of a Tyranid splinter fleet of Hive Fleet Leviathan, and the horrific plagues bestowed upon the Hive Cities by the Death Guard Traitor Legion. Subiaco Diablo saw the Convent of the Order of the Ermine Mantle hold out against overwhelming odds, before being relieved by a host of Adepta Sororitas from across the region, their assault spearheaded by the celebrated Canoness Astra.

Caliban
The Dark Angels have not only held on to the ruins of their homeworld of Caliban against continuous attack, but have countered the activities of a number of the "Fallen"- rogue brethren who the Chapter and its Successors relentlessly hunt to the exclusion of all other considerations. Rumours abound that the Dark Angels captured The Voice of the Emperor himself, only for this mysterious heretic to escape his prison en route to the Tower of Angels. Other rumours suggests that Lord Castellan Ursarkar Creed now harbours a deep resentment towards the chapter, whose presence, he feels, might have proved critical in the defence of Cadia in the most desperate phases of the war, were the chapter not focusing their efforts upon Caliban.

Agripinaa Sector
The industrial heartland of the Cadian Gate lies in ruin. Though the Imperial Navy controls space, many worlds of the sector are lost to anarchy and destruction. Agripinaa itself may stand, but without the Agri-Worlds of Yayor, Ulthor and Dentor, its populace may yet starve to death, and without the vital materiels provided by the Hive Worlds of Albitern, Amistel and Tabor, its mighty forges may yet fall silent. With Typhus, Herald of Nurgle consolidating his grip upon the Ulthor system, as if claiming it as the capital of a nascent, plague-ridden empire of his own, it is apparent that the taint of Chaos is well and truly upon the Agripinaa Sector.

The Space Lanes
The Imperial Navy had fought with courage and vigour throughout the war, ruthlessly taking the battle to the enemy wherever it encountered them. Admiral Quarren had been hailed a true hero of the Imperium, for his masterful defence of the space lanes was all that stood between survival, and utter defeat for the Imperium. Though Cadia was besieged, the Imperial Navy commanded space, and was able to offer support to beleaguered forces on the ground. The only question is whether the rapid redeployment of almost the entirety of Battlefleet Gothic, along with a substantial proportion of Battlefleet Solar will leave the Navy dangerously overstretched elsewhere and unable to maintain the level of operations required to hold the line at the Cadian Gate.

The Webway
The Eldar have sealed the Webway against all invaders, expelling the Traitor Space Marines of the Thousand Sons Legion, and pushing their own wayward kin, the Dark Eldar, back to their shadow-realm of Commorragh. For now, the hidden places of the Eldar, and the most terrible secrets they hide are safe from the predations of the "lesser races." Those warzones only accessible through the Webway are now held by the Eldar, including the ancient Crone World of Belial IV, former jewel in the once-mighty galaxy-spanning empire of the race.

The Fate of Eldrad Ulthran
As for Eldrad Ulthran, the bravest and most noble leader of the Eldar since before the coming of "She Who-Thirsts," has perished. In a last-ditch effort to stop the Blackstone Fortress from crushing the defenders of Cadia and save the soul of the Fortress, he and a select few Warlocks teleported aboard. Within minutes, all the Warlocks were drained of life by the Fortress's bottomless thirst, and when Eldrad reached out to try to touch the Eldar spirit at the core, he found only the actual power of Slannesh - her greatest Daemon Prince - and Eldrad's soul was sucked into it and consumed.

The Tau Empire
If any one group can said to have gained from the wholesale destruction of the Thirteenth Black Crusade, it is the Tau. The collectivist xenos have expanded their territory, and look set to establish at least one, perhaps two, new Sept worlds in space formally claimed the Imperium. With the forces of the Emperor firmly committed to defending Segmentum Obscurus, the Tau may just be able to consolidate their hold upon their newly won worlds.

Senior Command

 * Ursarkar E. Creed - Lord Castellan of Cadia and overall Imperial Commander of the defence of Cadia.
 * Logan Grimnar - Great Wolf (Chapter Master) of the Space Wolves Chapter and overall commander of the Adeptus Astartes forces in the Cadian System. A council of representatives from those Chapters of the Space Marines opposing Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade elected the irascible Great Wolf as their nominal head.

Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes

 * Angels of Absolution - 10 Companies
 * Angels of Vigilance - 5 Companies
 * Angels Sanguine - 7 Companies
 * Blood Angels - 4 Companies
 * Brazen Claws - 10 Companies
 * Dark Angels - 10 Companies
 * Death Spectres - 6 Companies
 * Doom Eagles - 5 Companies
 * Excoriators - 8 Companies
 * Exorcists - 10 Companies
 * Harbingers - 8 Companies
 * Howling Griffons - 8 Companies
 * Imperial Fists - 5 Companies
 * Iron Hands - 10 Clans
 * Iron Knights - 1 Company
 * Iron Snakes - 5 Companies
 * Marines Exemplar - 9 Companies
 * Night Watch - 11 Companies
 * Novamarines - 6 Companies
 * Relictors - Declared Excommunicate Traitoris by the Inquisition during the 13th Black Crusade
 * Revilers
 * Space Wolves - 12 Great Companies
 * Storm Warriors - 10 Companies
 * Subjugators - 3 Companies
 * Ultramarines - 1 Honour Company
 * White Consuls - 10 Companies
 * White Scars - 10 Companies

Companies

 * Space Wolves 13th Company

Orders Majoris

 * Order of the Bloody Rose - 6 Preceptories
 * Order of the Ebon Chalice - 4 Preceptories
 * Order of Our Martyred Lady - 5 Preceptories

Orders Minoris

 * Order of the Divine Lamentation
 * Order of the Ermine Mantle - 3 Missions
 * Order of the Maurdlin Countenance 
 * Order of the Silver Lily
 * Order of the Sublime Adoration
 * Order of the Wounded Heart - 1 Commandery

Notable Regiments

 * Agripinaa Home Guard
 * Avellorn Field Regiments
 * Avellornian Gunners - 32 Squadrons
 * Bar-El Penal Legions - 4 Legions
 * Blitzen Heavy Armoured
 * Cadian Shock Troops - 612 Regiments
 * Cadian Youth Army - 36 Regional Commands
 * Cadian Kasrkin - 486 Companies
 * Catachan Jungle Fighters
 * Cthonian Armoured Cavalry
 * Death Korps of Krieg
 * Drookian Fen Guard -16 Companies
 * Finreht Highlanders - 3 Regiments
 * Gudrunite Rifles - 47 Regiments
 * Jouran Dragoons - 7 Regiments
 * Kellersburg Irregulars - 3 Regiments
 * Knovian Gharkas - 14 Regiments
 * Mordian Iron Guard
 * Necromundan 8th, "The Spiders" - 1 Regiment
 * Narmenian Tank Brigades
 * Narsine Yeomanry - 32 Battle Groups
 * Praetorian Guard
 * Thracian Guard - 35 Regiments
 * Valhallan Ice Warriors
 * Van De'Man's World, "Redbacks" - 5 Regiments
 * Zenonian Free Companies - 9 Companies

Individual Regiments

 * 79th Britan Armoured
 * 3rd Cadian
 * 9th Armoured Cadian
 * 107th Cadian
 * XII Catachan
 * 23rd Death Korps of Krieg
 * 9th Dernhelm
 * 153rd Desert Devils
 * 41st Elysian Drop Troops, "Angel Guard"
 * XXI Flotte Coloniale
 * Framlingham Rifles
 * Hadleys Hope XI Rifle Regiment
 * 43rd/65th Heidrun
 * 6th Hyrkan Regiment
 * 12th Methuselan Infantry (Mechanised)
 * 303rd Mordant, "Acid Dogs"
 * 10th Mordian
 * 8th Necromunda Infantry
 * XV Phobos 
 * 5th Praetorian
 * 35th Praetorian
 * 12th Ritzos
 * 290th Thracian
 * Reconnaissance Regiment
 * 352nd Sturm Pioneers
 * 54th Valhalla

Ordo Malleus

 * Inquisitorial Task Forces - CLASSIFIED
 * Grey Knights - CLASSIFIED
 * Inquisitorial Storm Troopers
 * Nemesis Tesera - estimated 38 Companies
 * Ocularis Terribus War Zone - CLASSIFIED

Departmento Munitorum

 * Engineer Corps - 18
 * Siege Auxilia Corps - 28 Counter-siege batteries

Officio Assassinorum

 * Agents - CLASSIFIED

Templars Psykologis

 * Disruption Squads - 37
 * Augur Teams - 6

Battlefleets

 * Battlefleet Cadia - 12 Battleships, 12 Cruiser Squadrons, 21 Escort Squadrons
 * Battlefleet Corona - 7 Battleships, 13 Cruiser Squadrons, 17 Escort Squadrons
 * Battlefleet Gothic
 * Battlefleet Scarus - 5 Battleships, 9 Cruiser Squadrons, 13 Escort Squadrons
 * Battlefleet Solar
 * Battlegroup Nemesis
 * Battle Group Imperatis
 * Bakka Sector Task Force

Vessels of Note

 * Duke Lurstophan (Dauntless-class Light Cruiser)
 * Abridal's Glory (Gothic-class Cruiser)
 * Honour & Duty (Emperor-class Battleship)

Estimated Fleet Assets

 * Front Line Battle Groups - 21
 * Rear Echelon Battle Groups - 36
 * Independent Strike Groups - 4
 * Space Marine Battle-Barges - estimated 21+
 * Space Marine Strike Cruisers - estimated 150+
 * Space Marine Escort Squadrons - estimated 200+

Collegia Titanica

 * Legio Astorum - Entire Legion
 * Legio Gryphonicus - Entire Legion
 * Legio Ignatum - Entire Legion
 * Legio Metalica - Demi-Legion
 * Ordo Reductor - Demi-Legion
 * Divisio Telepathica Psi-Titans - CLASSIFIED

Knights

 * House Arokon - 4 Households of Knights
 * House Krast - 2 Households of Knights
 * House Lakar

Other Mechanicus Assets

 * Centurio Ordinatus - 4 Ordinatus
 * Skitarii - 87 Regiments

Senior Command

 * Abaddon the Despoiler - Warmaster of Chaos and overall commander of the Forces of Chaos
 * Typhus - Herald of Nurgle, and Plague Fleet commander.
 * Kossolax the Foresworn - Chaos Lord of the Foresworn Renegade Chaos Space Marines warband and fleet commander.

Chaos Space Marine Legions

 * Alpha Legion - 20+ unconfirmed sightings in all sectors
 * Black Legion - Major presence in all sectors
 * Death Guard - Major presence in Subiaco Diablo
 * Emperor's Children - Unconfirmed actions against Eldar reported
 * Iron Warriors - Suspected presence in the Cadian System
 * Night Lords - Unconfirmed reports of presence in all sectors
 * Thousand Sons - Active in the Caliban and Prospero Sectors
 * Word Bearers - Active in rear echelon sectors
 * World Eaters - Significant involvement in all sectors

Renegade Chaos Space Marine Warbands

 * Extinction Angels
 * The Pyre
 * Sons of Malice
 * Violators - 3 confirmed actions in Cadia Sector
 * Warp Ghosts - Unconfirmed sighting in Agripnaa System

Major Traitor Guard Units

 * 5th Columnus - Presence confirmed - Belis Corona
 * 666th Regiment of Foot - Confirmed presence - Cadia
 * Discilan Apostates - Unconfirmed
 * Haradni 13th
 * Jenen Ironclads - Major presence - Kromat System
 * Sentrek Freemen
 * The Traitor 9th - Significant presence - Kantrael System
 * Ubridius Light Infantry - Major presence - Cadian Sector
 * Volscani Cataphracts - Active - Cadia

Estimated Mutant Hordes

 * The Anointed of Aq'si - 6 attacks confirmed - Belisar System
 * The Shyis'slaa - Linked to cult uprisings - Albitern System
 * The Stigmatus Convenant - Significant presence - Mackan System
 * The Unsanctified - Unconfirmed involvement - Bar-el System

Traitor Titan Legions

 * Death Stalkers - Unconfirmed involvement on Cadia
 * Fire Masters - Limited presence in Cadian Sector
 * Iron Skulls - Major force sighted on Vorga Torq
 * Legio Mortis - Major presence confirmed on Cadia
 * Legio Vulcanum I - 4 unconfirmed assaults on Belisar and Kromat
 * Legio Vulcanum II - Suspected presence on Subiaco Diablo

Battlefleets

 * The Grand Fleet of Abaddon the Despoiler - 7 Battleships, 13 Heavy Cruisers, est. 23 Cruiser Squadrons, est. 30 Escort Squadrons
 * The Grand Fleet of Kossolax the Foresworn - 1 Battleship, 3 Cruiser Squadrons, 8 Escort Squadrons
 * The Plague Fleet of Typhus - Terminus Est, 2 Battleships, 3 Heavy Cruisers, 5 Cruiser Squadrons, est. 12 Escort Squadrons

Notable Vessels

 * Plagueclaw (Unknown Class Capital Vessel)
 * Darkblood (Styx-class Heavy Cruiser)
 * Planet Killer (Undesignated Class Capital Vessel)
 * Merciless Death (Despoiler-class Battleship)
 * Fortress of Agony (Despoiler-class Battleship)

Fleet Assets

 * Battlefleets - est. 38
 * Blackstone Fortresses - 2
 * "Wolf Pack" Squadrons - est. 19