Transcript for:
Horus Heresy Overview

It is the start of the 31st millenium. Under the leadership of the Emperor of mankind, the Imperium’s great crusade has been conquering and uniting humanity's lost colonies for more than 200 years. The Ullanor Campaign has just come to an end. The combined forces of a hundred thousand space marines, more than eight million troops of the imperial army as well as almost a hundred titans of the Collegia Titanica successfully defeated the largest force of Orks the Imperium had ever faced. The Ork overlord Urrlak Urg had been killed in hand to hand combat by Horus Lupercal, Primarch of the 16th Legion called the Lunar Wolves. With their leader slain the Greenskin empire disintegrated into smaller warbands. The splintered remnants of the Orks were ruthlessly hunted down across the Ullanor system and ultimately destroyed. Like this video. After this overwhelming victory it was believed that the Orks would never again be able to pose a serious threat to the Imperium of mankind. And so this important battle marked a new high point for humanity's great crusade. Confident in their success and ready to transfer responsibilities, the Emperor raised Horus to the rank of Imperial warmaster, granting him the authority to command his brother Primarchs and their astartes legions in the great crusade. In light of this majestic event The Emperor also suggested that the Luna Wolves should be renamed to the Sons of Horus. But the ever diplomatically minded Horus humbly refused the honor so as not to agitate his brother Primarchs. At the same time the Emperor established the council of Terra, entrusting Malcador the Sigillite, a powerful psyker, to lay the foundations for the Imperium’s first large scale bureaucracy that we would come to know as the Administratum. One of their first orders was the increased involvement of remembrancers to document the achievements of the great crusade in detail. The transfer of responsibilities freed the Emperor from his direct command duties allowing him to return to the Imperial palace to continue working on his secret webway project. However, in this moment of victorious glory the Emperor’s announcement had come unexpectedly, and his decisions bewildered the assembled primarchs. The mystery around the Emperor’s sudden retirement and the blatant preferential treatment of Horus would mark this moment as the beginning of tensions between the Astartes legions. However after the extensive victory celebrations on Ullanor had come to an end, the great crusade would resume and the Space Marine legions continued their conquest amongst the stars once more. The 63rd expeditionary fleet under the personal command of Horus himself had since subjugated 18 systems. By chance their scouting elements ahead of the expeditionary fleet had recently discovered a new human inhabited system comprising nine civilized planets. The 63rd fleet made their way towards the system, which they simply designated as 63-19, as it would soon become the 19th tally of their conquest. According to protocol, upon arrival in a new system the fleet would make the newly discovered humans an offer to join the Imperium out of their own free volition. And so a diplomatic delegation led by the popular Luna Wolves Captain lHastur Sejanus was sent to the surface to negotiate a treaty. The planet’s local leader, who surprisingly enough also called himself the Emperor of Mankind, was delighted to receive these ambassadors of the expeditionary fleet. However once he was informed of their purpose to bring their small civilization into the fold he immediately refused their proposal. In their isolation and ignorance, the small empire of 63-19 ironically considered itself to be the epitome of civilization and the true origin of humanity. In his misguided grandeur the false Emperor was in fact insulted when Sejanus refused to swear fealty to him. He ordered his elite palace guards, the so-called invisibles, to kill the space marine delegation. This unprovoked hostility would of course not go unanswered. The death of his favorite captain enraged Horus and left him with no choice but to establish Imperial rule by military force. A new delegation was sent to the planet in a final attempt to convince the planet to capitulate without bloodshed. But this time it was accompanied by a huge armed force to enforce the subjugation. It would be their final chance to surrender. But before any further contact could be established the invaders were already fired upon by the planetary defenses. And so a combination of Astartes and Imperial army forces swiftly made planetfall and ruthlessly assaulted the capital of system 63-19. Stormbirds and drop pods started landing on the surface. The invader’s firepower was overwhelming and before long almost the entire city was in control of the Luna Wolves. While the Imperial Army units secured the city the Space marines made their way to the Imperial palace to find this False Emperor. After fierce hand to hand combat the Astartes completely wiped out the stealth cloaked palace guards. While these invisibles had been a formidable fighting force in their own right, and even managed to take the lives of a few astartes, they ultimately proved no match for the battle ready Luna Wolves. Garviel Loken, captain of the 10th company, ascended to the highest levels of the palace and was the first to reach the throne room. It was a beautiful structure made of enormous white plastered walls and glass roofs. In the throne room of the false Emperor stood a massive golden throne. The impressive architecture of the royal structures would become inspiration for parts of the Imperial palace back on Terra that were still under construction. And many of the splendid ornaments here would later even be moved to Holy Terra to decorate it. In the Throne Room he found a single old man, assumed to be the misguided Emperor of the besieged world. Without his bodyguards he posed no threat. Loken tried convincing him of the ignorance of his resistance. But the false emperor would not believe that a far grander empire of humanity was already uniting amongst the stars beyond his own system, and still refused to surrender. When other Astartes arrived on the scene he demanded an audience with the highest person of rank. Some of the Astartes suggested simply killing the ignorant old fool right there, but as a sign of respect for this soon to be dismantled empire Garviel Loken chose to honor the old man’s request. And so Warmaster Horus himself was summoned to come to the surface of 63-19 in person. But a glimmer of refracting light on top of the golden throne betrayed a figure hidden by a cloaking device to be sitting there. Loken realized the old man wasn’t really the Emperor he claimed to be, but probably just a decoy. It was likely that the request for an audience with the Warmaster was a trap designed to kill him. He decided to end the deception and shot the imposter with his bolter, then made his way towards the large golden throne. But before he could reach it a sudden powerful blastwave filled the throne room. Because his ruse had been uncovered, the invisible emperor had no choice but to prematurely activate the throne room's defense mechanism. The golden throne he sat upon emitted an unstoppable gravimetric force, throwing all the Astartes warriors to the ground. Several of them were blasted against the walls with such a force that it crushed their bones. Others were knocked through the glass windows and fell down the high spires of the palace. But before anything else could occur, the upheaval was interrupted by a tremendous shock. With a blinding flash someone violently teleported into the throne room in front of the golden throne. It was Horus Lupercal himself. His huge mastercrafted Power Armour easily withstanding the throne’s debilitating blastwaves. Due to the close proximity to the teleportation’s location, the sudden warping of reality had caused a rupture that brutally tore off the false emperor's cloaking device and revealed the previously invisible figure sitting on the throne. Horus instantly shot him, and before so much as a blink could happen only the smoldering remnants of his charred skeleton lay there. The bones of his arms still clutched onto his destroyed throne. As the Astartes got to their feet Garviel Loken looked up at the splendid Warmaster in massive bright white armor towering over him. Horus spoke. “So will I deal with all tyrants and deceivers” He had just personally teleported into the throneroom…. and slain the false Emperor. After the assault was over and the city secured, a large number of remembrancers, many of which had only recently joined the great crusade, were sent to the surface to record the victory. Although the Astartes were already known to be ruthlessly effective warriors, what the remembrancers witnessed in the capital that day seemed particularly gruesome. Most buildings in the city were severely damaged by overwhelming amounts of explosions and shrapnel. Everywhere the torn apart corpses of the defenders still lay scattered in the streets. Wherever the remembrancers looked they witnessed gory puddles of blood and body parts. In retaliation for the cowardly slaughter of Sejanus and his delegation, the Luna Wolves had not bothered taking any prisoners. They had completely ravaged the defenders without any mercy. Sejanus had been part of the Luna Wolves Mournival, a close knit group of high ranking space marines that served as the personal advisors to Warmaster Horus. Sejanus' unfortunate murder meant a replacement had to be found. Garviel Loken had already been rising through the ranks, and his recent achievement of being the first to reach the throne room had brought him to the attention of his battle brothers. And so, on a night lit by the crescent moon Loken was summoned to a ceremonious meeting where he would meet the other members and be inducted into the Mournival. The other members were Ezekyle Abaddon, first captain of the Luna Wolves and second in command after Horus. Horus Aximand, nicknamed Little Horus for his uncanny physical likeness to the Warmaster, and captain of 5th the company. And finally Tarik Torgaddon, Captain of the 2nd company. After taking his vows Loken became an official member of the Luna Wolves war council and a trusted advisor to Warmaster Horus. This new responsibility meant he would no longer be available to lead the troops of the 10th company into battle at all times himself, so he would have to assign someone else to substitute his command. Although battle brother Xavyer Jubal had been second in command to him, Loken personally preferred his close companion Nero Vipus instead. Loken’s new rank as a prestigious member of the Mournival bestowed him the authority to bypass the usual chain of command, and so following his intuition he chose to to promote Nero instead. The planet's last remnants of resistance had a last holdout in a place called the Whisperhead mountains. It was a strong fortress on top of a high mountain that the inhospitable terrain made difficult to reach. Over the span of several weeks units of the Imperial Army had been attempting to defeat this last bastion of resistance but were met with little success. After some deliberation, command considered Astartes intervention necessary. Garviel Loken and his 10th Company were ordered to capture the Whisperheads holdout and swiftly bring the conflict to an end. Their stormbird transports loaded up with tactical and terminator squads and departed towards the enemy defenses on the mountaintops. On the way there they noticed mysterious Vox interference. It was believed that the enemy disturbed their signals by broadcasting a whispering voice saying the follow thing: “Samus. That's the only name you'll hear. Samus. It means the end and the death. Samus. I am Samus. Samus is all around you. Samus is the man beside you. Samus will gnaw on your bones. Look out! Samus is here.'” For now they concluded that the enemy had somehow managed to hack into their vox systems to spread their propaganda. And so they ignored the sinister voice and went on with their mission. The combat on the mountaintop turned out to be completely one sided as the Astartes made short work of the resistance, and suffered not a single loss. Once they had achieved victory Gavriel Loken ordered his space marines to regroup, but one of the tactical squads had gone missing and did not respond to any vox communications. They set out to investigate the situation, and before long they arrived at a horrible scene. Xavyer Jubal, the missing element’s sergeant, had murdered all of the battle brothers in his squad. Loken told his troops to detain Jubal, but he resisted the arrest and shrugged off the other Astartes like it was nothing, killing several more space marines in the process. He looked demonically possessed and kept shouting “Watch out, Samus is here”. Loken drew his combat knife and dueled the renegade astartes. It was a hard fought battle but he eventually managed to kill Jubal with a stab through the chest. After the incident the bodies of the dead Astartes were taken back to Horus Flagship the vengeful spirit for investigation. Back on the flagship Loken summoned his close friend Kyril Sindermann to him for a debriefing. Sindermann was an old man, and one of the most prestigious Iterators that accompanied the 63rd expeditionary fleet. The body of Jubal and the other dead space marines present in the room surprised Sinderman, as had been told there had been no losses during the assault on the Whisperhead mountains. That much was true, the defenders had not managed a single kill and their resistance was easily destroyed. Loken instructed him that this would continue to be the official record. No mention of a fight between Astartes brothers was allowed to spread as it would be devastating for morale. Whatever had happened to Jubal according to the Imperium’s secular truth, demonic possession did not exist. Instead Sindermann was told to come up with a story of a stormbird landing accident. But privately between these two men, Sindermann suggested that it might have been a disease. Of Course astartes were immune to almost any virulent kind of plague, but perhaps a virus had somehow corrupted Jubal’s mind and caused his violent outburst. They both agreed that given the circumstances this was the most logical explanation. But before they had finished their conversation suddenly the corpse of Jubal opened his eyes and once again screamed about Samus. With weird contorted motions his corpse rose to his feet. Before they could process what had just happened, the undead Jubal started running towards them. Loken was knocked aside by the rampaging charge and Jubal grabbed Kyril Sindermann and then lifted him off the ground. But the daemonic screams had alerted Nero Vipus, who entered the room and started shooting his bolter at the undead Space marine. Jubal threw the body of Sindermann in his direction. The old remembrancer would have died right there if Nero had not managed to catch him and break his fall. But the rescue allowed the daemon to escape the room. Jubal made his way through the hallway where he encountered the pictrecorder Euphrati Keeler and several other remembrancers. He killed two of them in a brutal fashion, ripping their guts out and with a wide gaping demonic mouth bit one of their heads straight off. Before he could kill the other remembrancer Loken and Nero chased it down and began shooting their bolters on full auto. It took ninety bolter rounds before the monstrosity would stop moving. Not that there was much left of the mangled corpse of Jubal, but they decided to use a flamer to incinerate his remains nonetheless to make sure he wouldn’t get up again. After the horrific event, Warmaster Horus came to speak with Loken. Despite being only a new member of the Mournival, he would be trusted with the truth. Horus explained to him that Jubal had been possessed by the warp. Lokan was surprised, as such a concept seemed to be against the Imperial truth. But Horus explained to him that a daemon like Samus is essentially nothing more than a poorly understood warp entity. The word Daemon was simply a non-scientific superstitious term for some kind of alien species from the warp. Although it has no physical manifestation, ultimately it was not so much different to the Eldar, or the Orks. Although the Emperor had not explained this to Horus directly, the warmaster speculated that after the triumph of Ullanor the Emperor entrusted him to lead the great Crusade and his brother primarchs so that the Emperor would have time to study and understand the warp. He told Loken that although the warp works in mysterious ways, it isn’t sorcery. Surely the almighty Emperor would eventually find a way to bring the entities of the warp to their knees, just like everything else that had stood in the Imperiums way before. Rational mastery over the warp would soon dispel any superstitions about daemons and gods. Although confusing, all of this was in accordance with the Imperial truth. What Horus did not tell Loken however was that he was already harboring doubts about these truths himself. His trust in the Emperor’s decisions was waning. His insecurities had led the Warmaster to seek more advisors than just the four members of his mornival. Most notably amongst his new counselors was Erebus, the first chaplain of the Word Bearers Legion. Their Primarch Lorgar and his legion had a proclivity for the religious. Although this went against the rules of the secular Imperium they had worshiped the Emperor himself. For this disobedience they would eventually be severely punished when the Emperor ordered Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines to assault the Word Bearers Capital Monarchia and have all of its sacred sites destroyed. After this humiliating event the Word Bearers chose to focus their attention on other deities instead. In their search for the divine, the Word bearers came to develop a deeper understanding of the warp and its demonic entities than most. In order to effectively counsel the Warmaster on these matters First Chaplain Erebus had been invited to personally accompany the 63rd expeditionary fleet. Although frowned upon, the concept of private warrior lodges where Astartes of the great crusade could circumvent the strict hierarchy of rank and instead speak from man to man had spread throughout many of the legions. These unofficial lodges were a way for the soldiers to fraternize and speak their minds without fear of repercussion. Garviel Loken was against these sorts of secret gatherings. He believed that the secrecy of the lodges would lead to even more secrecy, and eventually to division within the Legion itself. After he had found a lodge membership badge on Jubal’s dead body, he began to question to what extent the Lodges had taken hold within the Luna Wolves legion. To find out he attended a lodge meeting where his second in Command Nero Vipus was present. But after experiencing for himself the positive effects on brotherhood these private conversations could have, he somewhat softened up to the idea of the warrior lodges. The expeditionary fleet received a distress call from a planet that had aptly been named Murder. The Blood Angels legion had already attempted to conquer the planet, but had run into fierce resistance against an alien force called the megarachnids. These spider-like aliens had hard exoskeleton armor able to withstand bolter fire and their claws were sharp enough to cut the ceramite armourplate of the astartes. The planet’s atmospheric storms disrupted travel and communications with the surface, and many Blood Angel companies had already gone missing in action. The legions of the Emperor’s Children and Luna Wolves sent forces to the planet to help their Blood Angels cousins. The Emperor’s children were the first to deploy, and made planetfall with their droppods. But due to the turbulent atmosphere the attacking force scattered. They soon found out that the planet was a deathtrap with no way out. The megarachnids attacked in devastating waves, killing many astartes. Just like the Blood Angels before them, the Space marines of the Emperor’s Children would soon be wiped out if it hadn’t been for Captain Saul Tarvitz of the 10th Company. When the flying megarachnids started impaling dead astartes on the surrounding trees, he gave the order to have these destroyed. This led him to discover that the large treelike structures on the surface were not actually part of the planet’s biosphere, but instead weather control structures causing the storms. Realizing this they quickly demolished more of them, opening a gap in the storm for more reinforcements to safely arrive and establish a defensive stronghold. Sanguinius, Primarch of the Blood Angels, personally came to the surface. Upon seeing so many of his legion massacred he wept. He asked Horus for assistance to avenge the fallen space marines. And so together the three legions started a campaign to wipe out the abominable spider xenos. In this ruthless six month campaign they were even assisted by a titan legio of the Mechanicum. Before they had been able to wipe out the megarachnids completely they were contacted by an advanced human civilization called the Interex, asking the Astartes to call off their war against the megarachnids. The interex appeared peaceful and so their request was obliged for the time being. Diplomatic negotiations were taking place on their homeplanet Xenobia, but the Interex were hesitant to join the Imperium. Although they initially wanted to, their fear that the Imperium of mankind might be tainted by the forces of chaos slowed down diplomacy. Meanwhile Erebus secretly infiltrated the Interex Museum of Technology and stole a powerful alien artifact called the Anathame.This ancient sword was imbued with the power of a curse to mortally wound any chosen individual, harming it beyond any hope of recovery. The theft of the weapons seemed to confirm the Interex earlier suspicions that the Imperium could not be trusted. They blamed the Warmaster for the missing weapon and declared war upon the Imperium. The accusation towards the warmaster was a grave insult. The Astartes forgot the megarachnids on planet murder, and instead focused their complete attention towards fighting the Interex. After a lengthy strenuous battle they eventually managed to wipe out the Interex civilization completely. After the war of extermination on Xenobia, Sanguinius convinced Horus to finally rename the Luna Wolves Legion as the Emperor had initially suggested. Directly encouraged by his brother, this time Horus agreed. And so the 16th Legion became known as the Sons of Horus. They changed the color of their armor from white to green. Their symbol of a moon crested wolf was discarded and they adopted the Eye of Terra, symbolizing the Emperor’s eternal vigilance. Although the legion’s change of name in the honor of the Warmaster was a celebrated event, the war with the Interex had been a bitter affair. Despite the bloody conflict, their civilization had been a model society of advanced human technology and the Warmaster lamented having to destroy such a world over such a foolish misunderstanding. But he wouldn’t have much time to contemplate the recent events. They received a request for support from the World of Davin. Davin had been one of the first worlds the 63rd expeditionary fleet had conquered. The Sons of Horus, back then the Luna Wolves, still harbored proud memories of fighting and defeating the Davinite Warriors. After their initial victory Horus had assigned the task of bringing the world to further Imperial compliance to his trusted friend and Imperial Army Commander Eugen Temba, assisted by a small detachment of the Word Bearers Legion. However, the Imperial Army elements led by Eugen Temba had renounced their loyalty to the Imperium and established a rebel base on the moon of Davin. Chaplain Erebus had already returned to Davin to deal with the uprising, but found the rebels were too numerous for his small contingent of Word Bearers to deal with, and so he had requested support. It was the first large-scale rebellion by Imperial forces that had taken place since the start of the great Crusade, and a considerable blemish on the Warmasters otherwise impeccable records. Since the 16th Legion had initially conquered Davin, Erebus offered Horus the opportunity to personally avenge the betrayal and bring it into compliance himself. Enraged by the disloyalty of his friend Eugen, the Warmaster ordered the 63rd expeditionary fleet to make haste towards Davin. The Warmaster and his counsel planned a large-scale offensive to destroy the rebel base on Davin’s moon. But they soon learned that the surface and atmosphere of the moon had changed considerably from when they first conquered it so long ago. What had once been a dry and desert-like terrain had mysteriously transformed into a planet-wide humid swamp. They had no explanation for what happened to the moon, but this would not stop their assault. However it did prohibit their heavy tanks from deploying to the surface, but fortunately the Titans of Legio Mortis, the titan legion that accompanied the 63rd expeditionary fleet, would have no problems traversing through the swamps. A massive force of 400 space marines, 4000 Imperial Army units and 3 Titans prepared to make planetfall. The Space marines of the Sons of Horus would lead the way. But during their descent the Astartes Stormbirds picked up an audio signal from the surface. A faint daemonic sounding voice was speaking over the vox network. “The ways of man are folly, they seek doom of all things. In death and rebirth shall mankind live forever.” To Garviel Loken’s horror the voice had an eerie similarity to the voice of Samus he heard during the battle of the Whisperhead mountains. The very same voice that had corrupted Battle Brother Xavier Jubal on 63-19. He warned the Warmaster, but Horus had no intention of turning back now. Just like before the voice was simply disregarded as enemy propaganda, or a cowardly scare tactic. But the origin of the audio signal was traced, and they adjusted course to where they suspected it was coming from, for that is where the enemy was most likely to be located. It led them to an old Imperial Battleship by the name of Emperor’s Glory. The traitors had crash landed it on the planet and it now served as the rebel base. The Astartes disembarked from their Stormbirds into knee deep swampy water. The foes they encountered were indeed the rebel Imperial Army forces under leadership of the traitorous Governor Eugen Temba. But just like the planet, they had changed. Their soldiers had turned into zombie-like corpses, their former Imperial Army uniforms raggedly hanging from their decaying bodies. They attacked the Sons of Horus in large mindless waves. Arms came up from the murky waters and dragged many Space Marines down into the swamps, drowning many of them. Despite the attackers' ghastly lifeless appearance they possessed a brute force, and it took the Astartes all of their discipline to fight off the attacks. Horus personally led the speartip of the astartes force into the downed Starship. But as they battled their way deep into the belly of the ship, the Emperor’s Glory started to tilt. Enormous waves of swamp water splashed out of the way as the wreckage of the large ship rolled over. Those on the outside close enough to the ship were swallowed by the mud or crushed underneath the hull of the ship. Inside Horus and 200 of his Astartes were tumbled upside down. Rusted steel decklayers gave way to the weight of the ship and collapsed, crushing many space marines to death despite their protective power armor. Due to his near indestructible suit of Power Armour Horus survived the incident, but non the less one of his lungs was punctured by a steel rod. He pulled it out and his enhanced physiology almost instantly sealed the wound. But he found himself alone with no response to his vox signals. Despite hearing many groans and shouts of wounded Space Marines echo throughout the remnants of the ship, he had no hope of finding them in the confusing wreckage. He pushed on and soon arrived on what looked like the command bridge of the ship. The warp was strong here and his vision was troubled by hallucinations of decay. He felt disturbed. Not even when fighting the menacing Warboss back on Ullanor had he felt such a thing. For the first time in his life, Horus was afraid. He was confronted by a walking bloated rotten corpse wearing the remnants of an old Imperial uniform that belonged to Eugen Temba. Horus realized his old friend was possessed by the powers of the warp. Unbeknownst to the Warmaster, the demon that controlled Eugen’s corpse also carried a special sword; The Anathame. The very xenos weapon Erebus had stolen from the Interex Museum of Technology on Xenobia. With clashing swords they dueled inside of the ship’s wreckage. Although the rotten body moved with surprising speed, the demon ultimately proved no match for the mighty Primarch. Horus wanted to bring an end to the horrors swiftly, and so committed to a murderous but reckless stroke. As he struck down his foe the stolen Anathame blade pierced his arm. The demon lost control of the Xenos sword and both fell down to the ground. Without the blade the demon was defeated, and it departed from the decaying body. Relieved of the demonic possession, for a moment the real Eugen Temba came back to himself. His mortally wounded body still bloated and rotten, but alive. With his last breath he asked Horus for forgiveness, and then died right there in the Primarchs arms. In the lonely bowels of the wrecked ship, Horus was overcome by emotion and wept for his lost friend. Outside of the ship the Legio Mortis had arrived. The titans did what they could to stop the hordes, but their bulky weapons had been of little assistance to the struggling space marines fighting in hand-to-hand combat in the swamps below. Dozens of Astartes had already died. But as soon as Horus had defeated the demon, the attacking undead suddenly stopped. Their bodies collapsed and simply became unmoving corpses. The warp possession on Davin had lifted, and the moon started to recover back to its former desert biosphere. The members of the mournival searched the wreckage and found the Warmaster still bleeding and in shock on the command bridge. They escorted him outside, but to their surprise he collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious. With great speed they carried his body to a Stormbird and rushed back to the medicae station on Horus’ Flagship the Vengeful Spirit. But upon the return of the Stormbirds, a crowd of remembrancers flocked to the embarkation deck to catch the first news of the anticipated victory over the rebels. But Horus was in a critical condition and the mournival was in no mood to slow down for the crowd of people that were now blocking their way. They violently clubbed and pushed themselves a path through the assembled mob, killing more than a dozen remembrancers and crewmembers on their way to the medicae. But unfortunately their haste would not be rewarded. No matter what the legion’s apothecaries tried, they could not heal his wound. The mysterious mortal wound caused by the Anathame was beyond their knowledge. The cut in his arm would not stop bleeding, and if nothing was done the Warmaster would eventually bleed out, and die. Garviel Loken, Tarick Torgaddon and Nero Vipus rushed back to the surface in search of the weapon that had caused the wound in hopes that it would help them find a cure.They found the Anathame In the wreckage next to the rotting corpse of Eugen Temba where Horus had slain him. Garviel recognized the blade; he had seen it in the Interex museum on Xenobia before it was stolen. Only one person could have brought it to Davin before the 63rd Expeditionary fleet had arrived; Erebus. But why? What would anyone have to gain from killing the Warmaster? Who else was behind this plot? Whatever the answer to these questions might be, it was already too late. The other two members of the mournival, Abbaddon and Aximand, had remained on the Vengeful Spirit. While Horus was slowly dying, they had been summoned to an emergency warrior Lodge meeting by Erebus. The Word bearers Chaplain informed them of a place where the Warmaster might be healed; A shrine on the moon of Davin called the serpent's Temple. It was clear the Legion’s Apothecarys would not be able to save him, and so the arcane healing methods of the Davin Shaman was their last hope. Desperate for anything that could keep their beloved Primarch alive they followed Erebus advice. They had put the unconscious body of Horus in a stasis field to prolong his life, and quickly brought him to the temple on the moon’s surface. When the others finally arrived at the temple, the gates had already been locked and sealed. Abaddon, Aximand and several other Sons of Horus stood guard outside. But Chaplain Erebus was nowhere to be found. The Astartes blocked the way in to prevent anyone from interrupting the healing ceremony that had already begun. All of them had their bolters ready and loaded in case of conflict. Loken was reluctant to fight his own sworn brothers, and was ultimately forced to yield to their questionable decision. Obviously the reliance on some mysterious shamanistic ritual was a complete abandonment of the secular Imperial truth as it had been commanded by the Emperor. But the Emperor wasn’t here. He had left the Great crusade and ordered his favorite son Horus Lupercal to pick up the pieces. The forces of the warp, whatever they may be, had conspired against him and prevailed. But the Sons of Horus, and the members of the mournival specifically, could not bear the loss of their genefather. He was on the brink of death, and they had to make a decision. And so, despite everything the Imperium stood for, in a desperate move the fate of Horus was put in the hands of these witchdoctors. After eight days the gates would open again, and the Sons of Horus would find out if the Warmaster would live, or perish. Horus woke up and opened his eyes. He found himself alone under a bright blue sky in a pleasant and endless green meadow. He didn’t know where he was. It obviously wasn’t the medical deck, or any other place on his Flagship the Vengeful spirit, nor was it a world he recognized. He didn’t remember how he got here. He couldn't recall much of what had happened on the moon of Davin after his fight with Eugen Temba. But after pondering for a while he realized that he had most likely died from the wound in his arm. The strange and peaceful place where he found himself now must surely be what the afterlife looks like. But he wouldn’t be able to appreciate the blissful surroundings for long. Out of nowhere the world around him started twisting. His mind was assaulted by all kinds of visions. Before his very eyes passed a mirage of wars he had fought throughout his life. These were followed by gruesome hallucinations of decay, burned cities and shattered planets. Strange memories from humanities history and glimpses of the future etched themselves into his brain. These disturbing and uncontrollable visions unsettled Horus, but he was powerless to stop them. Then he heard a loud howling that instantly snapped him out of the visions. A large pack of wolves with baring teeth had arrived and started surrounding him. As they came closer the leading wolf spoke and asked his name. Despite his fear he responded by loudly proclaiming his name; Horus Lupercal. But the wolf asked again, and again, and again. But everytime Horus answered, the growling pack circled in closer. He wasn’t sure if the wolves were real, or just an illusion. He thought he had recognized a faint glimmer of his brother Primarch Magnus in the voice and appearance of the wolf. But that wouldn’t be possible, since Magnus was back on Prospero prohibited from using his magic after psychic experimentation was banned during the Council of Nikea. If this was the afterlife, then surely it must be hell. The confused Horus could take no more and he started running to escape from the feral animals. The wolves chased him for what seemed like an eternity, until he had lost all sense of time and direction. By now the day had turned to night lit by a bright moon. He arrived at a deep water filled crater and in his panicked escape from the wolves, hurled himself into the void where darkness once again enveloped him. Meanwhile inside the Temple of the Serpent Lodge the Davinite shamans were going through the rituals of their dark magic to keep the dying Horus trapped inside the warp. Erebus was there and ready to perform the final act of his treachery. The plan was for him to enter the warp in order to manipulate Horus into betraying his oath to the Emperor. Within the warp his true identity could be concealed. To Horus he would appear like the beloved Luna Wolves Captain Hasta Sejanus, who had been killed during the diplomatic delegation on system 63-19. Over his lifetime Erebus had developed more knowledge about the forces of Chaos than most others, but he was still unfamiliar with many of its mysteries. How he was supposed to enter the warp he did not completely understand yet, but he trusted that the Davinite Shamans who served the dark gods would guide him. Without him realizing it one of the sorcerers had snuck up on Erebus. Before he knew what was happening they had slit his throat with a knife. Erebus' dying body sprawled on the ground in a pool of his own blood. It had been the final requirement to conclude the ritual. Horus woke up yet again on the same wonderfully blissful green meadow as where he had come to consciousness before. But this time he was fully armored in his old white Luna Wolves plate. The lengthy escape had made him thirsty, so he made his way towards a nearby river for a drink. To his surprise he witnessed an Astartes warrior floating face down in the water. He rushed towards the soldier and dragged him onto shore where he quickly turned the body over to see if the man was still alive. The blood sacrifice had worked, Erebus had entered the warp disguised as Captain Hasta Sejanus. Although Horus was by now aware that little in this realm of illusion could be trusted, he was delighted to at least see his old comrade. Even if he wasn’t real, the appearance of his beloved captain brought him comfort. Guided by the false Sejanus, together they went on an Odyssey through the warp where Horus was granted more visions of the future and the past that could be both true or false. He was shown the creation and loss of the primarchs, including his own birth. He was told about how the Emperor had bargained with the gods of chaos in order to gain power to create his chosen sons, and about his secret aspirations to become a god himself too. The journey was of course carefully orchestrated to exploit Horus' confusion and insecurities. Where once he believed firmly in the Imperial truth, it all seemed like lies to him. The Emperor’s treachery against humanity and the Primarchs seemed so obvious now, but the manipulative visions didn’t stop there. They continued to feed his ambitions, his resentment and his anger. The gods of chaos promised him immeasurable power, and in return all he would have to do was stop the Emperor from carrying out his ascend to godhood. But if Horus refused to accept this duty, they would let his body die and he would be lost in the nightmares of the warp forever. It was then that the wolfpack arrived again. The leading wolf transformed into Magnus the Red, Primarch of the Thousand Sons Legion. Dark spells had managed to keep him from interfering, and so it took a long time for him to catch up with Horus. But Magnus was a powerful psyker and so he finally managed to break through the spells and reveal himself in order to warn his brother. He didn’t have much time though, every second he was there cost the lives of dozens of his psychic servants to help him keep the connection into the warp open. The first thing he did was tear off Erebus' disguise, who now no longer looked like Sejanus but stood in his own Wordbearers armor. Although Magnus was loyal to the Emperor and had come to help, his unsanctioned and illegal use of sorcery was suspicious and revolting. Both of these men had initially come to Horus in disguise. One in the form of a wolf, the other as his former Captain, and in the deceptive warp neither could really be trusted. He was sick of the deception and his anger at the whole ordeal made him regain his resolve. He was the warmaster after all, and he would not allow these two swindlers to send him on a wild goose chase through the warp again. He interrupted their arguments and ordered them to shut up. Horus Lupercal had made his choice. Abbaddon, Aximand and many other Sons of Horus had been standing sigil near the Serpent Temple entrance ever since the wounded Warmaster had been brought inside, to make sure no one would try and interrupt the healing ceremony. A large crowd had joined them, made up of the Vengeful Spirit’s ordinary human crewmembers, who had set up camp outside desperately waiting for their revered Warmaster’s return. It had been nine days since the Temple had been shut, and now the time for waiting was finally over. Either the Warmaster would live, or he had perished. Loken and his companions arrived too. All of the Astartes had their weapons ready and loaded in case there was any trouble. Nobody knew what to expect. The fate of their beloved Legion hung in the balance, and only the return of their Primarch could set things right again. But whatever disagreements the members of the Mournival still had, at this moment they set their differences aside and together they anticipated the opening of the gates. The huge doors made a loud crack as they slowly began to open. Out of the Serpent Temple strode the Warmaster in his magnificent power armor. He carried his sword high above his head to symbolize the wound in his arm had completely healed. Although a Primarch was always an astonishing sight to behold, Horus looked more vitalized than ever before. The crowd burst out in a roar of elation and triumph. With a near deafening volume the crowd chanted Lupercal, Lupercal. The Warmaster had survived. The Legion had been saved. The 63rd expeditionary fleet soon recovered its personnel from the moon’s surface. With the Warmaster in good health there was no reason to waste anymore time. A new Imperial Commander was assigned to replace Eugen Temba and enforce Imperial compliance, and then they made ready to depart the Davin System. Back on the vengeful spirit the deadly event on the embarkation deck when the Mournival had violently pushed remembrancers and crewmembers out of the way, killing several of them, had not been forgotten. The tense mood on the ship was palpable. After the many strange events that had been taking place, several remembrancers had become disillusioned with the Imperial Truth. When the iterator Kyrill Sinderman had attempted to decode the facial tattoo’s of Erebus using the book of Lorgar, he accidentally summoned a lesser demon of chaos onto the ship that burned a large part of the Librarium and its archives. But by the power of the Emperor being channeled through the picts recorder Euphrati Kheeler, she ultimately managed to banish it back to the warp. And so many members of the crew started to believe that the Emperor was in fact a benevolent god that could protect them, and their faith slowly started to spread to the rest of the expeditionary force. A cult called the Lectitio Divinitatus had now been established on the flagship. Their members gathered in secret meetings, but every once in a while these would be discovered and violently broken up by the Astartes. This violence against civilians further deteriorated their trust in the Warmaster. But now that the Great Crusade would continue, a sense of normality returned to the fleet. Before the disrupting events on Davin, the Warmaster’s 63rd had been en-route to Sardis, on a rendezvous with the 203rd expeditionary fleet led by Angron, Primarch of the World Eaters. Together they had organized a campaign of compliance in the Keadys cluster. But after his miraculous revival Horus had different plans, and so instead both fleets made their way to a newly discovered sector called Draconis 3-11. This was a fairly large sector inhabited by the Auretian Technocracy, a peaceful and technologically advanced human civilization that spanned a dual star system. The government of their civilization was centered on their capital Aureus. When the 63rd and 203rd Expeditionary fleets arrived in the system, Horus invited the Auretian diplomatic delegation, led by Fabricator Consul Emory Salignac onto his flagship to discuss their peaceful assimilation into the Imperium. The Auretian Guard units, although not physically enhanced, wore armor very similar to the battleplate of the Astartes. And yet this was the very first time they had been in contact with each other. The reason for their technological development was simple; they possessed a fairly large database of STCs. Humanity had taken these Standard Template Constructs with them amongst the stars during the age of Technology. Especially to the knowledge obsessed Mechanicum such a wealth of information was of immeasurable value. Even after the Great Crusades centuries of conquest, it was believed the vast majority of the original database was still missing from the Imperial archives. To find even a single new STC was a price beyond imagination, and here was a civilization that owned many intact blueprints. Mechanicum representative Regulus, a tech priest who was part of the Warmasters council, quickly brought the topic of STC’s into the discussion. The Fabricator Consul did acknowledge his civilizations reliance on the old technology, and confirmed his possession of many STC’s that the Imperium had not yet found. Upon learning this fact, Horus immediately shot the Fabricator Consul in the face with his bolter and ordered the rest of the delegation murdered as well. The official Imperial record of their meeting would be that the Aurethians had tried to assassinate the Warmaster. But what really happened was that Horus had simply found what he was looking for. With the existence of this many STC’s confirmed he no longer had any need for diplomacy. Instead he ordered them to wipe out the Auretian Technocracy and discreetly secure their entire STC database. With this invaluable price in his personal control, Horus would be able to bribe the Mechanicum and secure their allegiance to himself. With the promise of many invaluable STC’s, Regulus was dispatched back to Mars to sway the Fabricator-General Kelbor-Hal to the Warmaster's Side. And thus began the 10 month long war against the Auretian Technocracy. It was a hard fought battle, but ultimately the Auretians stood no chance against the combined might of the Space Marine legions. Even Fulgrim, Primarch of the Emperor’s Children was making his way to the system to join the battle. The cooperation of the three Primarchs would be the perfect opportunity to lay the foundations for the civil war that was about to come. The long siege against the Auretian capital gave Horus time to observe his legion and figure out who would unquestionably follow their Primarch. Horus had convinced himself that his betrayal of the Emperor was out of his own free volition. His pride did not allow himself to consider his service to Chaos as anything else but his own rational and logical decision. But the poisonous Anathame that had struck his arm on Davin’s moon had left its mark, and the corrupting influence of Nurgle was increasingly influencing his way of thinking. A thousand seemingly unrelated events that had been orchestrated by the powers of the warp, and these had led Horus to align himself with gods of chaos. Angron, The Red Angel of butchery as he was called, was easily convinced to join the traitors side. He had pretty much always hated most of his brother Primarchs, but at least Horus didn’t despise him for his savage talents for brutality. As a former slave and gladiator, Angron considered the Emperor a tyrant that was ultimately not much different to his former slave masters on his homeworld Nuceria. The Emperor had wronged him too many times. The butcher's nails that had been permanently embedded in his brain back in the slave pits caused him pain and anger that made it difficult for him to perceive things any different. He never cared about the ideals of the great crusade, he never wanted to be a Primarch, and he had already been on the knife’s edge of rebellion before. The only thing that mattered to him now was battle and bloodshed. Fulgrim, the Palatine Phoenix, would be more difficult to persuade to the cause. But he was prideful and always striving for perfection, especially in battle. And these character traits could be exploited. When his trusted apothecary Fabius made the suggestion of tinkering with his legion’s physical enhancements, Fulgrim in his quest for perfection was seduced to authorize these heretical experimentations. Further biological augmentations, even those inspired by Xenos, could make his warriors stronger, more effective in battle, and more perfect. These experimentations would be secretly performed on those highest in command and most loyal to the Legion. On several occasions these upgrades did in fact turn out to be rather effective and made the Emperor’s Children who had undergone these operations even deadlier than before. The fact that the Emperor’s perfect creation of the Astartes turned out to be rather easily improved upon by Fabius, led Fulgrim and his legion on the road towards disillusionment with the incomplete work of his father. In the aftermath of the Emperor’s Children's Xenocide against a serpentine alien species called the Laer, Fulgrim had come into possession of a new and perfectly crafted sword he had found on their planet. Unbeknownst to the Primarch, this Silver Blade of Laer was host to a Demon of Slaanesh. The very chaos god that had been brought into existence by the Eldar’s unbelievably disturbing pursuit of hedonistic excess. Eventually Fulgrim started to notice the effect the artifact had on his way of thinking, especially when he was carrying the blade. But his pride did not allow him to see the danger in such a trivial thing. He was after all the most perfect Primarch, destined to carve out his own fate. And so the whispering voice coming from the sword slowly but surely began to exploit his insecurities and chip away at the Primarch’s resolve. After the campaign of extermination he received contact from an Eldar delegation under leadership of one of their most powerful psykers by the name of Eldrad Ulthran. Through his incredible foresight he had seen the treachery that was about to unfold and he contacted Fulgrim in order to warn him about the plans of his brother Horus. Fulgrim agreed to meet the delegation and invited them to his own flagship The Pride of the Emperor. However the Primarch became enraged at the Eldars preposterous suggestion about the supposed disloyalty of the Warmaster. He could not tolerate such an insult and refused to heed the warning. Encouraged by the demonic blade, Fulgrim exploded with rage and attacked the delegation. The meeting with the xenos ended in bloodshed but they managed to escape his flagship through teleportation. His 28th Expeditionary fleet finally rendezvoused with his brother Primarchs to join the war against the Auretian Technocracy. For a brief moment Fulgrim reconsidered the words of caution the farseer had shared with him. Had the Eldar spoken the truth, or had it just been a depraved attempt to sow division amongst the forces of the Imperium? Upon arrival Fulgrims ships were in a perfect position to attack and destroy the unsuspecting fleet of the Warmasters floating in orbit around Aureus. If the warning was true, perhaps it was his duty to do exactly just that. With just a single order he could have the entire flotilla, including the Vengeful spirit, destroyed and prevent the civil war right there and then. But the daemonic sword that hung at his side tempered his suspicions. Fulgrim just couldn’t believe Horus would betray the Imperium. And so instead he ordered a shuttle towards Horus flagship to personally meet with his brother and discuss everything that had happened since the events on Davin’s moon. Horus told Fulgrim about the terrible visions he had seen in the warp and explained how the Emperor had exploited his sons, and the entirety of mankind. As long as Fulgrim could remember he had always strived towards perfection and to become just like the Emperor himself. But after hearing these terrible truths from his own brother, all of his life’s ambitions shattered before his very eyes. After several days of persuasion, manipulation and the ever compelling demonic voice whispering inside of his head, the disheartened Fulgrim was ultimately convinced to join Horus in his plan to overthrow the Emperor. Lorgar, primarch of the Word Bearers had of course already been in service of chaos. After the Emperor had ordered the destruction of their city Monarchia by the Ultramarines, It had been his first Chaplain Lorgar who had suggested there might be gods more worthy of his worship. And so many years before Horus turned traitor, Lorgar had already traveled inside the Eye of Terror and with the help of a daemon learned about the Primordial truth of the ruinous powers. He had been the very first Primarch to fall to the corruption of Chaos, and his legions participation in the heresy was guaranteed. The Warrior lodges that had taken hold in their legions had become a useful tool for manipulation. Their inherent secretive nature together with the informal organization outside the order of rank had made them the perfect place to spread the Warmasters propaganda. Through these covert meetings Horus' new ideas were carefully and deliberately dispersed throughout their ranks. Since it was not understood why the Emperor had returned to Terra and abandoned his legions, many Astartes could be convinced to change the priority of their allegiance towards their own primarchs. There were in fact very few left who had fought directly on the Emperor’s side during the early days of the Great Crusade. Most of them had died during the many bloody conquests, and so the old guard had gradually been replaced. Times were changing, and many accepted the new way of things. Those Battle Brothers who did not agree with this worrisome development that was taking place within their once beloved legion, eventually stopped attending such meetings and became isolated. This made it easy to identify those who would never forsake their oath of loyalty to the Emperor. If they could not be trusted to perform their Primarchs orders under any and all circumstances, they would have to go. For the rebellion to succeed unquestionable obedience would be required, and those who did not fall in line were put on a blacklist to eventually be purged from their Legions. When the Istvaan system rebelled against the Imperium it presented the Warmaster with the perfect opportunity to carry out these plans. Crushing the uprising would provide a believable pretense under which Horus could continue to gather the legions loyal to him without garnering any suspicion. Istvaan also lay in the outer reaches of the Segmentum Obscurus, far away from the prying eyes of Terra and the Emperor. The Warmasters dark plans would be obscured by the great distance, and the gods of chaos could provide assistance by conjuring up convenient warp storms to hinder communications and travel between this region of space. And so the Sons of Horus, Emperor’s Children and World Eaters set out towards Istvaan where they would be joined by Mortarion, Primarch of the Death Guard. The Primarch of the 14th legion was cold, rational and had developed a deep seated mistrust of the Emperor’s tyrannic nature. From all his brothers, only Horus had earned his respect, and his friendship. When the great treachery unfolded he was impressed by how far Horus' plan had already progressed. When the time to choose allegiance finally came, he chose to be loyal to the Warmaster and pledged his legion to the cause. With such a great force under his command, Horus could afford to send Fulgrim and parts of his 3rd Legion to the Callinedes system to reinforce Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the Iron Hands. He would be sent to assist in clearing anOrk infestation on Callinedes IV. The Palatine Phoenix was however given instructions to figure out to whom the 10th Legion’s loyalties would be if a civil war broke out. The two brothers had always shared a very close companionship, and if anyone could convince Ferrus Manus to side with the Warmaster, it would be Fulgrim. The Warmasters force got their first taste of battle against the Istvanians on one of their most outer planets called Istvaan Extremis. The planet was an observation station whose powerful monitoring and communication systems supported the Istvaan fleet. To have any hope of striking against the capital on Istvaan 3, this critical link in the enemy’s defenses needed to be destroyed first. Lord Commander Eidolon’s 1st Company of the Emperor’s children and the Death Guard’s 7th Company under leadership of Nathaniel Garro would lead the assaults. The Astartes loaded into their Thunderhawks and made their way towards the surface. They would soon find out that the Istvanians were no pushovers, and the fighting was fierce. The rebellion of the Istvaan sector had gone unnoticed for many years, and once the Imperium arrived in force to enforce compliance the defenders had been able to muster a strong army to meet them. Their defensive network, of robust Imperial origin and since improved upon, was formidable. Although their soldiers lacked melee expertise, their ranged weapons were powerful enough to wound Astartes. But perhaps more worrisome was that their culture had become faithful Worshippers of Slaanesh. Their fealty to the prince of pleasure had been rewarded by granting them the power of the warsingers; vocalists who through magnificent song could control the body, mind and soul of its listeners. They used their songs to command Istvanian soldiers in battle, and their concentrated high pitched shrieks had the power to blow open the skull of an Astartes killing them outright. These powers were not something to be trifled with. In the battle for Istvaan Extremis the Emperor’s Children suffered heavy losses, but in their quest for martial perfection continued fighting on and even pushed the Istvaan defenders back. Eventually Lord Commander Eidolon, with the help of Saul Tarvitz, managed to kill the enemy's main commanding warsinger. The duel had been a close call, nearly resulting in both their deaths, but the new biological enhancements on Eidolon’s vocal chords implanted by Apothecary Fabius allowed him to perform a screeching howl of deafening volume that overpowered the Warsinger’s and disabled her powers long enough for Eidolon to decapitate her. With their leader slain the defenders had no hope of standing against the Astartes, and the battle ended with the slaughter of the remaining garrison. The Death Guards forces had been badly bloodied too. During the fighting their Commander Nataniel Garro, Captain of 7th Great Company, had lost his leg to a war singer's vocal attack. Between the many corpses on the battlefield he lay bleeding out and if nothing was done he would soon die. He was a close companion to Saul Tarvitz. Despite being from different legions, during the many campaigns their legions had fought side by side the two captains had become sword brothers and inscribed eachothers vambraces with oaths of friendship. In the aftermath of the battle Tarvitz made sure Garro would survive his horrible wounds and live to fight another day. He would be equipped with a biomechanical leg that would eventually allow him to return to combat once more. For the time being Mortarion assigned him command of the Eisenstein, an Imperial Frigate in the Death Guard fleet until he fully recovered. With the resistance on Istvaan Extremis out of the way, the Warmasters fleet now had a clear path towards Istvaan 3. The enemy's capital, called the Choral city, was now in reach and they would soon be able to deal a crippling blow to the rebels. The cities east side lay against a huge mountainous ridge, so any ground bases assault could only attack from the west side. This part of the city was however well protected by a large outer wall and trench networks that would prove difficult to breach. Unfortunately for the Istvanian Defenders, Horus wasn’t planning a conventional ground attack. For the next stage of the war the Warmaster prepared the troops for Drop Pod assault directly into the heart of the city where it would strike at the enemy's command posts. The large city had two important locations where the rebellion's leadership could be. The most likely place was the Palace, where the Emperor’s Children and Worldeaters would deploy and occupy strategic positions. The second suspected location was the large religious center called the Siren Hold, the spiritual heart of the city. This labyrinth of many complex and multi-leveled structures would prove difficult to capture, and so this task was assigned to the Sons of Horus to deal with. A large part of the Istvaan forces held up in the trenches on the city’s outskirts. The Death Guard was tasked with holding this bulk of enemy troops engaged so the rest of the Astartes had time to secure their objectives. The tenacious battle in the trenches against the numerically superior defenders would be far from glamorous, but Mortarion’s rugged legion was perfectly suited to this type of fighting and the Deathguard Primarch did not object. With the three main objectives assigned, the lesser enemy targets would be distributed amongst the remaining companies from any of the legions. Although the battle plan made tactical sense, it was strange that the selection of companies that were assigned to this daring attack diverged from usual procedures. Under normal conditions, the prestigious honor of a main strike against an enemy Capital would go to captains of the 1st companies, or even to the Primarchs themselves. But this time the troops seemed to have been picked at random. Surprisingly enough, warriors like Abaddon, Aximand, Eidolon and Kharn of the Worldeaters, who were usually assigned to lead such speartips, would stay on their flagships and sit this battle out for seemingly no good reason. Saul Tarvitz had been perplexed by Eidolon's mysterious new powers with which he had disabled the warsinger on Istvaan Extremis. He had never seen an Astartes do such a thing in battle before, and so requested an audience with his Lord Commander for an explanation of how such a thing was possible. Eidolon explained that the bio-enhancement had been sanctioned by their Primarch Fulgrim himself. As gratitude for his assistance in killing the warsinger, he offered the Captain to undergo the operations as well. Worried about the heretical implications of such an experimentation, Saul Tarvitz declined the offer. Disappointed and suspicious of his refusal, Eidolon decided to assign Tarvitz to the strikeforce that was about to be sent down to their doom on the surface of Istvaan 3. Tarvitz was delighted by the opportunity to fight alongside his friends Loken and Torgaddon from 16th legion, but when he inspected the unusual list of companies appointed to the attack he became suspicious of Eidolon’s motives. Without notifying the Lord Commander Saul Tarvitz met with Rylanor, a venerable dreadnought who served as the ancient of rites of the legion. Rylanor had served with the great crusade since its very beginning and held significant authority within their ranks. Tarvitz requested the honor of replacing Captain Adovocar, the previous standard bearer and liaison officer to Lord Commander Eidolon, who had been killed in battle on Istvaan Extremis. If he was assigned this new role, somebody else could take his place in the drop pod assault and he could stay on the Andronius to investigate what was going on. Initially Rylanor seemed suspicious of his motives, but he eventually agreed to the request and made sure Tarvitz would be replaced. The ancient dreadnought had not seen battle for quite some time, so with this opportunity he decided he would go to the surface of Istvaan 3 himself to lead the troops in glorious combat. And so, with the Warmasters fleet stationed in orbit above Istvaan 3 the drop pod assault on the Choral City would begin. Space Marines of four legions; the Sons of Horus, Emperor’s Children, Worldeaters and Death Guard were ready for the attack. With hurling speed they were racing down towards the surface to bring death upon their enemies. The deployment on the surface mostly carried out as expected, but did not go without some setbacks. Communications back to the fleet had been disrupted. Several drop pods that rained down up the Sirenhold landed scattered due to the complex layout of the area. But under leadership of Garviel Loken and Tarek Torgaddon the Sons of Horus made their way towards their objective nonetheless. The religious population of the city, roused in a fury by their warsingers, rose up against the invaders, but the hordes of frenzied civilians were bloodily massacred in the streets by the World Eaters. The Death Guard was busy methodically clearing out the trench network. They had been given support in the form of an Imperator Class titan called the Dies Irae, who was wreaking havoc outside the city walls. Meanwhile the Emperor’s Children had already successfully infiltrated the palace. Before long, Captain Lucius of 13th Company, one of the Emperor’s Children's most gifted swordmasters, had already killed the rebelling Istvaan governor in a duel. With their leader slain soon the city would fall to the onslaught. But what the Astartes assigned to Istvaan 3’s invasion did not realize, was that they had been sent to their deaths themselves. What had seemed like randomly selected companies, had in fact been the Primarchs' careful selection of those who could not be relied upon to follow their legion in the coming civil war against the Emperor. Far above them in orbit the Warmasters fleet was preparing to deliver a deadly bombardment to obliterate everyone on the planet; Istvanians and Astartes alike. To prevent a potential word of warning reaching the troops below, all communications with the assault units had been cut off. But when the ships maneuvered into lower orbit to be able to fire their payloads, Saul Tarvitz who had remained on his ship the Andronius came to inspect the gundecks and discovered the horrible plot. The gun crews were loading the cannons with Virus Bombs. Each warhead would unleash the life eater virus, a rampant organism that destroyed life in all its forms and wiped out every shred of organic matter on the surface of a planet within hours. Even Astartes in power armor would not be able to survive it. Only the Warmaster himself had the authority to deploy such devastating weapons. Horrified by his discovery Tarvitz rushed towards the embarkation deck where he stole a Thunderhawk to make his way towards Istvaan 3, and warn his battle brothers of the horrible betrayal. The unauthorized Thunderhawk that was racing towards the surface was soon discovered. When the requests to turn around were denied several fighter craft were sent in pursuit to take it down. Captain Tarvitz had not been trained as a pilot, and his flying skills were lacking. The relatively slow and lumbering transport craft he was steering now did little to improve his chances of survival. Despite his best efforts to evade the pursuing fighters he would likely be shot down any moment now. The thunderhawk was passing through the engagement zone of the Eistenstein. The unexpected chase had caught their attention and so they attempted to communicate with the Thunderhawk to clarify the situation. To his incredible luck, Saul Tarvitz was connected directly through to his honored battle Brother Nathaniel Garro who was commanding the frigate. Tarvitz explained that Horus had betrayed the legions and was planning to Virus bomb the planet. But with no time to explain everything, the shocked Nathaniel Garro would just have to trust him. The Death Guard captain had only two choices. Either he would have to forsake his oaths of brotherhood and friendship and leave Tarvitz to be blown up in the void, or he would have to defy the Warmaster. Several missiles launched from the Eisenstein’s gundecks and trailed behind the gunships. To Tarvitz great relief they struck the pursuing fighters. He was saved. For now Garro would report back and lie to Lord Commander Eidolon on the Andronius that he had shot down the stolen Thunderhawk. The explosions would mask the fact he had actually let Saul Tarvitz escape towards Istvaan 3. The Eistenstein would soon have problems of its own however, as the commander would eventually find out what had really taken place. And so with the limited time he had left, Garro made plans to get away from the fleet and travel towards Terra to inform the emperor of Horus Betrayal. Saul Tarvitz crash landed his Thunderhawk in the palace and immediately warned the Emperor’s Children to seek cover in face of the incoming bombardment. Captain Lucius, ambitious and loyal to his Primarch, could not believe Fulgrim had sent him to the surface to be killed. But it was his friendship with Saul Tarvitz that had gotten his name on Eidolons list, which had doomed him to die with the rest. They quickly warned the blood covered World Eaters as well. They had just finished massacring the mobs of civilians in the plaza and now they all made their way towards shelter beneath the palace. The units of Emperor’s children and Death Guard were contacted over the vox net to find cover. Overhead they could already see the first streaks of an orbital bombardment coming in. And so as swiftly as they could Loken and Torgaddon led their troops deep into the catacombs of the Sirenhold where they might have a chance of survival. Most of the Death Guard were about to be caught outside the walls out in the open however. The only shelter they had available to them were the small bunkers and dugouts of the trench network. The Imperator class Titan Dies Irae had already been given orders from the fleet above to close all vents and seal itself from the outside air completely. Its weapons shut down and all hatches were air-locked waiting for the impending bombardment. From the command deck of the Titan they could see the Space marines of the Death Guard below now desperately running for cover wherever it could be found. The Istvanians had clearly not received any such orders. Emboldened by what they perceived to be the Astartes retreating, and the seemingly disabled Titan, they moved out in the open to launch an attack on the invaders. That is when the first Virus bombs exploded high above the Choral City. The huge explosions spread their deadly payloads far and wide into the atmosphere. Designed to kill every living thing on the surface of a planet, the viral strains released on Isstvan 3 were the most efficient killers in the Warmaster’s arsenal. The bombs were set to burst at numerous different altitudes and locations across the planet. It rolled out over the planet devouring every possible form of biomass it came in contact with. Within moments the Choral City was enveloped and everyone still caught on the outside was about to die in the most horrible way imaginable. The virus penetrated their armor and worked its way into their skins. There was no way back. It entered their bloodstreams and started eating them from the inside out. As their bones and muscles disintegrated, warriors fell to their knees. Even the Astartes screamed out in agony as the virus broke down the cellular bonds of their flesh at the molecular level. Its many victims suffered unimaginable horror as they literally dissolved into a soup of rancid meat within minutes of exposure, leaving little but sloshing heaps of rotted armor. Thousands of Astartes and billions of civilians all over Istvaan 3 suffered the same horrific fate. Of all ground troops caught in the open only Ancient Rylanor clad in his dreadnaught’s sealed sarcophagus, managed to withstand the swarm of death. He witnessed the troops he had led into battle decompose before his very eyes, and he swore a personal oath of revenge against the Primarch that had forsaken his beloved legion. Meanwhile, the remembrancers of the Vengeful Spirit had been summoned by the Warmaster to gather and witness the battle of Istvaan. They had often requested to be able to witness the realities of war so they could accurately depict the battles of the Great Crusade. Now Horus would grant these pesky remembrancers their wishes and showed them what war really meant. He had locked them into a large gathering chamber on his flagship and on large screens displayed the Virus bombing of Istvaan 3 taking place. Having made his point very clear, the warmaster then ordered his Astartes to open fire upon the shocked crowd of remembrancers to kill all of them. Euphrati Kheeler, Kyril Sindermann and Mersadie Oliton managed to escape the massacre through the help of one of the few remaining loyalist Astartes aboard the Vengeful spirit; an ancient Astartes by the name of Iacton Qruze. The old warrior remembered what it had been like to fight alongside the Emperor before the Legion had been assigned to Horus, and through the legion’s troublesome changes had always clung to the old ways. Before the drop pod assault he had promised Loken to keep these remembrancers safe, and so he escorted them to a Thunderhawk gunship and together they escaped the bloodbath on the Vengeful Spirit. The Imperial saint Euphrati Keeler had seen visions of Natanial Garro’s defiance against the Warmaster, and so the remembrancers and the old Astartes made their way towards the Eisenstein to join the breakout from the fleet. On the surface of Istvaan 3 the life eater virus had finally burned itself out. With no more organic matter to devour the virulent plague ultimately consumed itself and faded out. But it wouldn’t be completely over yet. After a virus bombing the atmosphere would be filled to the brim with decomposting gasses from billions of tons of churned up biomasses. Horus' retribution wasn’t done yet, and with a lance battery salvo from the Vengeful spirit ignited the skies of Istvaan 3 into a raging inferno. Even the mighty Dies Irae, despite its preparations, had a difficult time withstanding the blazing firestorm that now consumed the planet. Its mechanical stabilizer gyros barely managed to keep the massive Imperator class Titan upright in the gusts of hot air. The staggering temperature outside was almost burning through the protective heat shields. The crew inside did not know if it could hold out much longer. But after what seemed like hours even the firestorm would fade out. The spires of the Choral city had melted into ruins, and everywhere the world had been turned into a charred wasteland with no signs of life. It seemed a miracle that anyone would be able to live through the apocalypse that had been wrought down upon Istvaan 3. But thanks to Saul Tarvitz's heroic warning, several hundred loyalist Space Marines now crawled out of the rubble; their mere survival a statement of defiance against the Warmasters' betrayal. Garviel Loken and Tarek Torgaddon and their troops would no longer be Sons of Horus, but called themselves Luna Wolves once again. To everyone’s surprise even several squads of the Death Guard, who had been deployed outside the city's walls, had survived the bombardment. They had burrowed themselves like rats into the trench bunkers and weathered the storm with the dogged perseverance their legion was known for. Now the survivors of the four legions gathered in the palace for their final stand. This enraged Angron so much that he organized a strike force against the loyalist under his personal command. Without consulting Horus, his gunships were already making their way towards the surface. The furious Primarch of the Worldeater would not let anyone stop him until those who had the impudence to stand against him were all slaughtered. Angron’s impatient action had not at all been according to Horus' plan. Instead he had wished to completely destroy the Choral city in a final bombardment. But with his brother fighting on the surface that was no option anymore. But so characteristically for the Warmaster, he would always find a way to turn a setback into an opportunity. What better way to push his legions to the point of no return than a bitter fight of brother against brother. It would be a good way to truly cement the loyalty of those who followed him and fuel their hatred for the lackeys of the Emperor. And after all how long could this ragtag band of survivors really hope to resist. And so for the first time since the great Crusade had begun so many years ago, Astartes would be fighting Astartes in full force. The traitor forces, personally led by Angron and Eidolon, conducted many raids against the remaining loyalist holdout on Istvaan 3. Even Mortarion joined the Titan as they scoured the trenches to finish off any remnants of Death Guard units still caught outside the walls. But the defenders turned out to be more organized than the traitors had anticipated. For weeks each raid against the palace was humiliatingly pushed back. Under command of Saul Tarvitz the four legions stood as one. They hunkered down in the ruins of the palace ready to kill their former brothers. Despite their best efforts to break through the defenses, each raid cost the traitors a high death toll for very little gain. Meanwhile Fulgrim had returned to the fleet with bad news. Ferrus Manus could not be persuaded to join them. The diplomacy ended in bloodshed and Fulgrim’s forces severely crippled the Iron Warriors fleet with a surprise attack, but the Palatine Phoenix could not bring himself to destroy his brother completely. This setback disrupted Horus' plan. Without the Iron Hands allegiance they might not have enough warriors to fight the loyalist legions that would soon be coming their way. Fulgrim should have killed Ferrus Manus and leaving him alive was a grave mistake that would cost them. Fortunately the word of their betrayal had not yet been able to reach the rest of the Imperium. The Imperial Fists had recently been ordered back to Terra to reinforce the throneworld. The Space Wolves were sent on an errand to arrest Magnus the Red on Prospero for his continued use of Magic as he accidentally disrupted the Emperor’s webway project in his failed attempt to use the warp to warn him about Horus' betrayal. To other loyalist legions the warmaster sent out a careful selection of orders that would strategically scatter their forces and make it difficult for them to rendezvous. The Ultramarines, Blood Angels, White Scars and Dark Angels were all dispatched on distant campaigns in the furthest outreaches of the Imperium so they would not be able to react quickly. The Iron Warriors had been bloodied by Fulgrim, The Raven Guard and Salamanders were relatively small legions that could be dealt with. The loyalties of the remaining legions were still uncertain, but the Warmaster was confident he could still turn them. But the survivors on Istvaan 3 needed to be dealt with swiftly so he could prepare his forces for the next stage of the war. But the Luna Wolves under the leadership of Garviel Loken and Tarik Torgaddon were still fiercely resisting. Every moment they were able to delay the Warmaster would be time for the Imperium to respond. If they were to die on Istvaan 3, they were determined to take as many traitors with them as they could. The only ones Horus could truly trust to deal with this mess were his trusted Mournival; and so he sent Ezekyl Abbaddon and Little Horus Aximand to the surface to kill their former oath brothers. Just in case he also ordered the Dies Irae to breach the walls of the city and march on the Palace, but the lumbering Titan would need time to arrive Fortunately for the traitors the self obsessed Captain Lucius of the Emperor’s Children, who was fighting in the ruins alongside the loyalist, was growing weary of standing in the shadow of Saul Tarvitz. Despite the bitter affair, initially the Swordmaster had frankly revelled in the martial challenge the battle presented him. He had challenged many traitor champions in duels and defeated every single one of them. But in the end there was little glory to be won amongst these ruins, and he resented his friendship with Tarvitz that got him into this mess in the first place. He desperately longed for the magnificence of fighting alongside his own Primarch Fulgrim once more. And so in secret he had arranged a meeting with Eidolon where he promised to betray the loyalist if he was allowed to return to his place in the Legion. And so it was that with the help of Lucius the Emperor’s Children started to make progress into the defenders flank. The arrogant Lucius sought out a duel with Tarvitz. The blademasters skill could not be matched and was easily winning the encounter, but Lucius hadn’t realized he had walked straight into a trap set for him, and narrowly managed to escape with his life. But the damage had already been done. With their flank overran the resistance inside the ruins of the palace would not hold for long. Loken and Torgaddon received the news that the Mournival had come to the surface. If they would be able to kill Abbadon and Aximand that would be a severe blow to Horus Inner circle. With the choice between joining the crumbling resistance or one last opportunity to hurt the Warmaster, the choice was easily made. And so in a final act of defiance they sought out a duel for themselves. In the ruins of the city the Mournival searched eachother out and came to blows. In brutal hand to hand combat Torgaddon fought Aximand, and Loken battled the Terminator clad Abaddon. But the clash did not go well for the loyalists. Aximand got the upper hand in the fighting and managed to behead Torgaddon. Enraged by the loss of his brother, Loken was pushed to great feats of strength and managed to hold his own against the mighty Abaddon. But the Terminator armor ultimately proved too powerful and Loken was brought down by a crippling fist strike that crushed his chest. Abaddon took the sword Aximand had used to kill Tarik, and was about to execute Loken in the same manner as well. But before the final blow could be dealt the Imperator Titan marched over the ruins they were fighting in. The already damaged building collapsed on top of the Mournival, burying them in the rubble. It was only due to the immense strength of the Terminator armor that had allowed Abaddon and Aximand to crawl out of there and save themselves. But their job was done. They had killed Tarik and Loken and signaled the Warmaster of their victory. The last remnants of the resistance defenses started to crumble as now Tanks and Rhino’s rolled into their flank. The Dies Irae joined the conflict and bombarded whatever remained of the palace. The dust and smoke of the battle made it difficult to distinguish Traitor from Loyalist, and both sides suffered horrific losses in this most savage stage of the fighting yet. Horus had enough of it. The battle had become too chaotic and these losses were not worth the price. He had tolerated Angron’s petty rage and Eidolon’s failures long enough, and he would need these warriors for the battles that were about to come. It took all his authority to order the legions to withdraw from combat and return to their fleet. Even though he was the last to board a thunderhawk and depart the planet, even Angron, furious about the humiliating retreat, eventually grudgingly obeyed. If any loyalists remained on Istvaan 3, The Warmaster would finish them off with a final bombardment that would wipe the city off the face of the planet. And so he ordered the entire fleet to rain down a huge cannonade on what little remained of the Choral city. It was the final epitaph that would leave no one in any doubt as to who had won. As Saul Tarvitz and the few remaining loyalist astartes looked up at the skies, they knew their doom had finally come. As the explosions raged around them, they knew they had remained loyal to the Emperor.. to the very end. On Istvaan 3 a terrible atrocity had occured. Four legions of astartes had forsaken their oaths of loyalty to the Emperor and turned upon their brothers. Those deemed unwilling to follow the Warmaster in his corrupt plans had been selected to be sent to their deaths on the planet below. Horus would take all of them out in a single swift stroke through the use of the lethal Virus bomb. But due to the heroic last minute warning of Saul Tarvitz many had been able to find underground shelter in time and survived the life eater virus. And under his leadership they managed to organize a valiant resistance. Knowing they were severely outnumbered, the loyalists hunkered down in the ruins of the capital city and held out for as long as possible to buy the rest of the Imperium time to respond to this unfathomable betrayal. The survivors of the various legions stood united against the Warmaster forces and his corrupted primarch brothers. But despite their valiant last stand, in the aftermath of the battle a final orbital bombardment turned the planet, and the few remaining loyalist survivors upon it, into dust. The ruins of Istvaan 3’s Choral City had become their tomb. The first step of Horus' mission to overthrow the Emperor had been completed. The last loyalist remnants had been successfully purged from their legions. The Sons of Horus, Death Guard, World eaters and Emperor’s Children had irreversibly betrayed the Imperium. By spilling the blood of their brothers they cemented their loyalty to the Warmaster. Now there would be no way back. But not everything had gone according to the Warmasters plans. Unlike the other loyalists, Nathaniel Garro had not been sent down to the surface of Istvaan 3. Due to the grievous leg wound he had suffered on Istvaan Extremis that had not yet recovered, he was not fit for active combat. Assigning him in the drop pod assault would have raised suspicion. His treacherous Primarch Mortarion still had hopes of swaying the promising captain to the traitors' cause. And so Instead Garro had been assigned command of Eisenstein, a small frigate in the Deathguards fleet. But 1st Captain Calas Typhon had not trusted Garro as much. On his orders, another Deathguard Captain called Ignatius Grulgor and his squad of traitors had been purposely stationed on the Eistenstein to make sure the ship would comply with the firing of the Life Eater Virus payloads in the upcoming bombardment. Should Garro indeed get in the way of following these commands, Grulgor was ordered to murder him and take control of the Eistenstein. At this point in time Garro was yet unaware of the looming tragedy. By now his sworn honor brother Saul Tarvitz had boarded the stolen thunderhawk and was on his way to warn the loyalists on the surface of Istvaan 3 about the impending bombardment. When he contacted the Eistenstein he informed Garro of the horrific betrayal that had been orchestrated by the warmaster, and the impending Virus Bombing As Garro and his entourage made their way to the gundecks, a fight broke out on the ship between the traitors and the loyalists. In the midst of the battle several containers of Life Eater Virus munitions accidentally exploded on the ship. As the deadly green clouds started making their way through the gundecks, deckhands and astartes alike perished an agonizing death. But by quickly sealing the ships uncontaminated ship’s compartments, further spread could be avoided and the remnants of the virus were eventually flushed out into the void through the airlocks. Fortunately for Nathaniel Garro, all the traitors aboard the Eistenstein had perished in the accident. However a large portion of the loyal crew had remained unharmed and the ship could be kept operational. By now the only remembrancers who had survived the massacre on Horus Flagship, the Vengeful spirit, found refuge on the Eistenstein. Among these were Euphrati Kheeler, Kyrill Sinderman and Merceide Olliton, who had been assisted in their narrow escape by the ancient Astartes Iacton Cruze. As the loathsome bombardment on Istvaan 3 commenced, now would be their best chance to slip out of the formation and leave the system. But their departure would not go completely unnoticed. One of the communication officers onboard the Eistenstein had misread the situation. In his perception Garro was a traitor for disobeying direct orders from the Warmaster. And so in secret he signaled a warning message back to the Death Guard Fleet. Upon receiving the distress call, Calas Typhon in command of the Terminus Est sprang into action and began his pursuit of the Eisenstein. His large battleship was one of the most powerful in the entire fleet and it wielded a significant amount of firepower. Given the chance it would easily blow the Eistenstein from the void. Soon it's lance batteries were firing upon the much smaller frigate. The Eistenstein would need more time before it would be ready to make a warp jump and escape. For the time being, their only hope of survival was to deploy all available power to the void shields and try to outrun the lumbering Terminus Est. In their desperation the Eistenstein steered a dangerously close course through the gravitation field of a star in order to accelerate themselves out of the pursuers reach. By utilizing the gravitational pull for momentum, they could now transfer all their energy from the engines to the warp drives. Despite the void shields being powered to full capacity, the cannonade occasionally broke through and scored several hits. But the Eistenstein was now steadily sailing out of the pursuers firing range. The much heavier Terminus Est would not be able to safely follow it through the star’s gravitational field and would have to disengage. In a final attempt to score a crippling blow Calas Typhon ordered a huge salvo with all guns at once. The lance batteries hit their target and dealt severe damage to the Eistenstein. They had almost succeeded in bringing down the fleeing ship. Large swathes of its hull had been breached and many of the crew lay dead. Several more shots would have been enough to blow up the ship and blow the loyalists into the void. But it was too late. Utilizing the last of its power, the now severely damaged Eistenstein barely managed to make a warp jump. As the Immaterium opened up, Eistenstein successfully escaped. But their voyage would not go without its troubles. Under normal conditions traveling through the warp was already unpredictable enough. But to aid Horus and conceal the dark conspiracies taking place on Istvaan, the Gods of Chaos deployed their might to conjure up severe warp storms in the Segmentum Obscurus that hindered travel and communications. Commonly used Warp lanes were now too dangerous to cross, and many astropathic messages never made it to their destinations. These severely unstable circumstances would make the predicament of the Eisenstein troublesome indeed. But to make matters worse, during the pursuit their Gellar Field generator had been damaged. The thin vale protecting those onboard from the horrors of the warp was starting to fail. If the Gellar fields shut down completely, there would be no telling what horrors and madness awaited the crew. It would remain to be seen if Nathaniel Garro and his crew would ever reach Terra in order to warn the Emperor, or if they would be lost to the insanity of the warp forever. Meanwhile on Istvaan the Warmaster was preparing the next stage of his plan. During the fighting on Istvaan 3, Fulgrim had returned from his unsuccessful diplomatic mission to sway Ferrus Manus to the Traitors side. The Iron Hand’s refusal to side with Chaos meant the traitors would remain outnumbered. But before his departure, Fulgrim had been able to deal a significant blow to the Iron Hands fleet and severely damaged many of their ships. Despite Ferrus now being aware of the traitor’s plot, his helplessly crippled flotilla would be unable to contact the rest of the loyalists. And so for now the Imperium remained in the dark about what had transpired. But Horus knew that as soon as the loyalists were able to gather their retribution fleet, they would make haste to Istvaan in full force. Time was of the essence, and so he gave Fulgrim the order to travel to Istvaan 5 and prepare their defenses there.. For their base of operations they chose an abandoned xenos stronghold overlooking a large ravine called the Urgall Depression. To withstand the Imperial forces the old fortress and its defenses would need to be repaired and reinforced. Fulgrim made up for his earlier failures by expertly supervising labor teams ordered to create a vast network of earthworks, trenches and bunkers positioned along the ridge of the Urgall Plateau. They installed anti-aircraft batteries and portable orbital defense stations that would have to prevent the Imperial fleet from simply bombing these fortifications from lower orbit. When the conflict back on Istvaan 3 concluded, the entirety of the Warmasters traveled to Istvaan 5 and moved into these newly fortified positions. Waiting for the loyalists to arrive they got themselves comfortably dug in. But as secure as the Traitors would be in their new defenses, their fleet in orbit would be a different matter. It was estimated that the Imperium retribution fleet would vastly outnumber them, and so it would be unwise to engage in a full-out naval battle. Unlike the troops on the surface below, in the vast openness of space the traitors' fleet would not have a defensive advantage. For now Horus had little use for these ships, and so he ordered the flotilla to abandon the system until the battle was over. If his ground forces were to be victorious on Istvaan 5, he would need all the available vessels undamaged and ready so he could sail the entirety of his army towards the Sol System, and besiege Terra. Even though the Imperial legions would be granted free orbital supremacy, by now the defenses on the planet were so formidable that it was unlikely that any orbital bombardment would be able to dislodge the defenders from these positions. If the Emperor’s Legions wished to destroy the Traitors hunkering down on Istvaan 5, they would have to come down to the surface in person and fight man to man, where the defenders would have the advantage. The stronghold would be the perfect base of operations to weather the storm and wait for further forces to come to the traitor's aid. As of yet The Imperium was unaware that the entire Word Bearers legion and several bribed elements of the mechanicum had already turned to chaos. This unpleasant revelation would surely catch the loyalists by surprise, and it would remain to be seen if even more forces could be persuaded to join the Warmasters side. Meanwhile the Eisenstein and its crew were in grave danger. Due to the failing gellar fields the Warp had an overwhelming influence. The vessel had in fact been plagued by a demon incursion when Nurgle revived previously killed Grulgor and the other Deathguard traitors. These would be the first ever plague marines. Their undead husks were now rampaging throughout the Eisenstein. In the upheaval the ships only remaining Astropath was killed, ruining their only chance of successfully navigating the warp. These events forced Nathaniel Garro to order an emergency exit from the warp in order to save the ship. Back in realspace and without a direct connection to the power of their patron god Nurgle, the plague marines were cut off from the powersource that sustained them and were easily slain. Although having narrowly avoided their complete destruction, the Eistenstein now found itself stranded hundreds of lightyears away from any inhabited space. In its damaged state the vessel would never be able to reach Terra. In a desperate attempt Garro ordered the shipmaster to overload their warp drive. Hopefully this powerful explosion would be able to generate a strong rippling signal through the Immaterium that a passing Imperial starship could come to investigate. To their great fortune the explosion of the warpdrive did indeed serve as a functional beacon and attracted the attention of no other than the mighty Imperial Fists Fleet. On orders of the Emperor, Rogal Dorn and his entire legion had been on their way back to Terra when they had been caught off guard by a warpstorm. As fate would have it the Astartes flotilla had been waiting nearby for the worst of the storm to pass when they noticed the signal. Nathaniel Garro and his crew were taken onboard Rogal Dorn’s flagship the Phalanx for interrogation. The stubborn Primarch was initially reluctant to believe the outrageous claim that his very brother, Horus Lupercal, trusted Warmaster of the Imperium, would betray their father. After hearing these accusations against his brother Dorn became so enraged that he almost killed Garro in anger. But after hearing the same story from multiple witnesses he would eventually consider the possibility of their claim being true. As the Warpstorm and the Primarch’s temper passed, they continued their way towards the sol system. As Rogal Dorn sought counsel with the Emperor to discuss the news, the Eistensteins survivors would in the meantime be interred within the Somnus Citadel on Luna. Here they would undergo more interrogations by the Sisters of Silence to find out the truth pf what had happened. It would not be until they eventually received confirmation by Ferrus Manus about the events on Istvaan, that the severity of the situation became undeniable. By merit of seniority, Rogal Dorn, also known as the Praetorian of Terra, had been assigned supreme Commander of all Imperial forces. In the face of civil war, the Imperial Army mustered extra troops and requests for Mechanicum reinforcements were sent to Mars. Fabricator General Kelbor-Hal answered the call, but unbeknownst to the loyalist a large portion of the Mechanicum had already been bribed and would side with Horus in the coming conflict. The Dark Mechanicum led by Kelbor-Hal could not yet openly march against the Emperium, but in secret the schism of Mars and the start of their own civil war had already been set in motion. The Imperial Army, Legio Titanicus and Astartes Legions were now ready to travel to Istvaan. However, the Imperial fists themselves would not take part in this fight. The Emperor had requested the 7th Legion back to Terra for another purpose. Rogal Dorn’s expertise as a master builder would be required to improve the throne world's fortifications. Ferrus Manus was appointed to lead the retribution force in his stead. After the personal betrayal and humiliation by Fulgrim, the Gorgon was eager for revenge. The very fact that his traitorous brothers had even considered the possibility that Ferrus would freely join their ranks was a stain on his honor. Who else considered him a man of dubious allegiance and a potential turncoat? He would personally see to it that his loyalty to the Emperium would never be in doubt again. And so he wasted no time and gathered the army to make way towards the Istvaan system. Approaching the system they would rendezvous with the other loyalist legions. Amongst the first to arrive would be the Raven Guard under Command of Corvus Corax, and the Salamanders lead by Vulkan. Together these brother primarchs would form the vanguard of the retribution force. In preparations for his rebellion, the Warmaster had sent The Blood Angels, Ultramarines and Dark Angels on expeditions out in the furthest reaches of the galaxy. By now these loyalist legions would be too far away to be of any help in the coming fight. The Whitescars were still hunting down the remnants of the fallen Ork Empire, but due to Warp Storms had been unreachable. Meanwhile Leman Russ and his Space Wolves were on their way to arrest Magnus the Red on Prospero. But the vanguard would not be on their own. Soon they would be joined by the other available Legions. Perturabo and the Iron Warriors, Alpharius and his Alpha Legion, The Night Lords lead by Konrad Kurze, and finally the Word Bearers under command of the still believed to be loyal Lorgar Aurelian. They were all heading towards Istvaan to join the battle. Less hot headed than his brother Ferrus, the thoughtful Corvus Corax sent forth a stealth reconnaissance ship into the system to scout out the potential battlefield. To their surprise not a single enemy spaceship was encountered. All enemy vessels must have left the system. As it passed the dead planet of Istvaan 3, their auspexes were able to confirm the ruthless betrayal that had occurred there. Where once stood the thriving capital of the Choral City, now only ruins and dust remained. There was not a single sign of life on the planet. But when the stealth ship encountered a concentration of vox signals coming from Istvaan 5 it was able to pinpoint the traitor's hideout in the Urgall Depression. As far as Ferrus Manus was concerned, the attack could begin. Corax and Vulkan counseled caution, perhaps it would be wise to wait for the other loyalist legions to arrive first and attack together. But the Urgall Depression had been wisely chosen by Horus indeed. Within the confines of the Ravine there would not be enough room for 7 whole legions to deploy and attack all at once. A selection of Legions would have to go in first, and Ferrus Manus would certainly see to it that the vengeful Iron Hands were amongst the first wave. Now that the traitors' exact whereabouts were known, the Primarch could not contain his lust for battle. He yearned for the opportunity to punish the traitors, and in particular Fulgrim. It would be better to strike now rather than allow the traitors any more time to prepare. And after all, they clearly had the upper hand. When the other Legions would inevitably come to reinforce them, the tide of battle was guaranteed to turn in their favor. The freshly arrived Astartes of their brother legions would easily mop up whatever traitorous resistance remained after Ferrus Manus was done with them. And so he proposed that the Iron hands, Ravenguard and Salamanders would go ahead and lead the glorious speartip. There would be no delay. The battle was about to begin. But even the Gorgon would not be so foolish as to assault against prepared defensive positions without first ordering an orbital bombardment. Without the traitors navy to oppose them, they could freely bring their combined fleet into lower orbit and proceed bombing the surface with their heavy payloads. This would at the very least soften up the defenses and make a planetary landing somewhat easier. As the large fleet moved into position they began pouring all their firepower into the traitors' fortifications. A huge cannonade smited the planet below. The stronghold within the Urgal depression was covered in explosions and the ground shook under the destructive force of their guns. Lance strikes scorched the earth wherever it struck. The traitors would reap what they had sown, and they would be shown no mercy. The intensity even eclipsed the final bombardment on Istvaan 3. The portable defenses stationed out on the plains stood no chance, and were crushed before they were able to respond in kind. But by and large the portable void shield network in the Urgall Depression managed to withstand the worst of the damage. Here and there dugouts and anti-air defenses were blown to pieces. Direct hits against fortified bunkers managed to wound or even kill the hunkered down astartes inside. But considering the immense cannonade laid against them, the overall impact on the traitors was minimal. The bombardment had failed to break open the fortress. Meanwhile the remaining defense laser batteries on the surface below returned fire. The loyalist fleet would not be able to withstand the ongoing duel forever. Despite their own strong void shields, sooner or later they would run the risk of losing their ships. But they would have to stay engaged for a while longer. After all, their primary purpose was to keep the traitors' anti-air defenses suppressed and unable to concentrate their fire against the drop pods, stormbirds and landers carrying the loyalist troops to the surface below. The attack orders had been given. With oaths of vengeance on their lips, the Space Marines of the three loyalist legions began their assault. Thousands of drop pods darkened the skies of Istvaan 5 as they came hurling through the clouds. In an attempt to take out as many invaders as possible, the anti-air defenses fired whatever could be spared at them. The oncoming airborne assault was saturated in a dense cloud of flak. During their descent several drop pods exploded and burst into flames, but these losses would not be nearly enough. The tidal wave of attackers kept coming. Their landing sights had been carefully chosen by Ferrus Manus and they crashed into the outskirts of the defenders just outside of the void shields. Unsurprisingly, the first to disembark were the Morlock terminator elites of the Iron Hands personally led by The Gorgon himself. They wasted no time and immediately charged the traitors center. The Ravenguard under command of Corvus Corax moved up on their right, while Vulcan and his Salamanders took position on their left. Despite the artillery barrage immediately thrown against them upon planetfall, the elite of the loyalist forces led by their Primarchs began cutting their bloody path towards the traitors main stronghold. The traitor forces moved against them. In the center the Emperor’s Children faced the onslaught of the Morlocks. The Imperial army and Worldeaters to their left, and the Sons of Horus holding out on the rocky slopes of the Urgall Depression. To their right more Imperial Army troops and the Titans of Legio Mortis held against the Salamanders advance. And on their far side the Death Guard were prepared to hold the flank. The frontlines clashed and thousands of bolters thundered at point blank range, splintering ceramite armor and reaping a bloody toll amongst both sides. As the battle commenced in full force, it was obvious that this would be a fight like no other. This was no battlefield for mere mortals. In the face of the superhuman onslaught the Imperial Army elements were quickly brushed aside. Their function on this battlefield seemed a mere expendable meatshield to soak up firepower. But where Astartes battled Astartes the fighting was ferocious. No quarter would be given and none was expected. With neither side backing down every inch of ground won would come at a high price. In such close quarter combat, it was nigh impossible for Legio Mortis to fire their heavy weapons without resulting in friendly fire. But they would soon be presented with more suitable targets. The Stormbirds and landing crafts finished their descent and landed in the Urgal Depression behind the vanguard. More Space Marines disembarked and rushed up to take their place into the already packed frontlines. Imperial Army troops made planetfall as well and began positioning their artillery to provide supportive fire. A mass of tanks rolled from their landing craft and moved into firing positions. Within half an hour the bulk of Imperial forces had successfully reached the surface and formed up according to Ferrus Manus Battleplans. Their artillery guns and tanks now ready to pour their firepower against the fortress and relieve the bombarding fleet above. Their landing had not gone unopposed. Towering over the battlefield the mighty Imperator Class Titan Dies Irae out-powered and out-ranged anything the loyalists could field. It had a field day blasting its weaponry into the loyalist rear lines, disrupting the supply lines and making the evacuation of wounded troops nearly impossible. But against the wall of fire now thrown back at him, even the mighty Imperator was forced to partly withdraw back into the fortress. Several Warhound titan had their void shields overpowered and were destroyed amidst the traitor lines. Having suppressed the bulk of the defenders' guns, now it was time for the Loyalist Titans to bring their godmachines to the surface. Huge Bulk transporters touched down in the rear of the lines. Legio Atarus, the Firebrands, marched forth bolstering the Imperial forces and firepower even further. Over the heads of the troops Titans engaged each other in long range duels. Their massive laser weapons scorched the ground and troops below as it passed overhead. A wall of deafening noise now echoed throughout the Urgall depression. Imperial Army units covered their ears in vain as sonic booms shattered their eardrums. The mere overpressure of their weapons’ fire killed friendly troops unfortunate enough to stand too close by. The Loyalists were now truly getting the upper hand. Ferrus Manus still leading his Morlocks on the front wedged the traitors forces apart. The Primarch crushed and killed traitors with his bare silver hands, ripping apart any foe who dared stand in his way. No one could stand against him. But the corrupted Emperor’s Children holding against the Iron Hands advance relished in the bloodshed. Apart from the violet color of their power armor, these astartes were no longer recognizable as the once proud 3rd Legion. Under the patronage of Slaanesh they had transformed into hedonistic wretches. They had desecrated their armor with strange symbols and chanted unintelligible taunts at their foes. Even meeting their own brutal end had become an ecstatic pleasure to be experienced, and so instead of retreating they would willingly throw themselves in the path of the Gorgon. But despite the blessings of their newfound chaos masters, Horus realized the traitor lines were beginning to break. Sensing the imminent danger, he finally ordered his brother Primarchs to take to the field. Sallying out of the fortress, the bloodlusting Angron was the first to counter charge. Wielding his dual chain axes he struck the loyalist lines like a thunderclap. The savage might of the Red Angel of Butchery could not be denied, and he began driving a wedge between the Raven Guard and Iron Hands. Fulgrim joined the center of the battle where his Emperor’s Children held against the Iron hands. And on the right side of their lines Mortarion raised the morale of his Death Guard by joining the battle. With great sweeps of his scythe he cut down any Salamander foolish enough to oppose him. Even as the loyalist attack already stalled against this renewed fury, more traitor troops appeared from the fortress. First Captain Abbaddon and his terminators joined the fight and counter-charged with unremitting savagery almost rivaling that of Angron. On the edge of the Urgall Depression, traitors once again appeared on the high grounds and fired their weapons into the masses below, subjecting them to a deadly crossfire in their flanks. Hidden bunkers behind the loyalist frontlines opened up and suicide-squads of traitors charged into their rear. The bulk of the Army Infantry troops were now driven forward by their masters to overwhelm the Imperial forces in sheer weight of numbers. Space Marines in the frontlines were swarmed by a literal mass of bodies that prevented them from maneuvering or using their heavy weapons. With barely any room to swing a sword, those in front had to resort to using their fists; punching and crushing those around them. Even without weapons they were able to pulverize the wave of human infantry thrown against them. In the gory melee several Astartes had the joints on their armor become jammed by the sheer amount of gore and shrapnel that was washing over their ranks. Legio Mortis, escorted by mechanized armor and traitor jetbikes, started marching forward to deliver even more death and destruction upon the battlefield. But the counter attacks would not go unchecked. In order to stem the tide, loyalist reserve troops rushed headlong into the battle. Almost all loyalist space marines were now engaged in close quarters combat. Any semblance of a battleline dissolved into a disorderly mosh pit of death. The tidal wave of human infantry was met with flamers. The salamanders literally scorched away the literal swarm of bodies covering their power-armored brethren. The mob of infantry literally melted away before their very eyes. Burned bones and thick cakes of blood and gore crunched as the servitor assisted armor of their encumbered brothers came back into motion. Gunships took off and used their heavy weapons to strafe the traitors on the highgrounds, forcing them to abandon the ridgeline. This however exposed the aircraft to anti-air defense batteries stationed on the fortress, resulting in many being shot down. On all sides the wreckage of stormbirds and the remains of their brave pilots rained from the skies. Meanwhile Legio Atarus had continued its own advance and as far as titan combat was concerned had approached up to point blank range with their enemy. They were outnumbered, but the principes had already calculated and accepted the poor odds of their survival, and engaged the traitors with complete disregard for their own safety. They were hellbent on taking out as many enemy titans down as they could, and in this they would prove successful. Both sides were taking heavy losses. At the cost of their own near complete destruction, Legio Atarus' attack effectively neutralized the Legio Mortis contingent. After the explosive engagement, several crippled titans of Legio Mortis attempted a retreat back to the fortress, but they were hunted down by an Iron Hands subjugator group and mercilessly destroyed. By now the disorder and attrition of battle had become so intense that both sides took time to reconsider their situation. In the maelstrom of battle tactics had essentially become meaningless. Armies large enough to conquer whole star systems had been unleashed in a space no more than twenty kilometers wide. The entire battlefield was littered with wreckage and death. Untold mangled corpses of Astartes and mortals alike lay scattered across the Urgall depression. It is true that the loyalists had cut a bloody swathe through the traitors' defenses, but Horus fortress still held strong and the bulk of their gun positions had not been silenced yet. Troops on both sides were running out of ammunition and were in desperate need of re-supply. In the meantime troops continued their brutal hand to hand combat. The sound of bolterfire diminished and was overtaken by the continuous roar of chainswords and clashing steel. But in order to organize another effective assault, the fragmented and battered troops would first have to regroup under their own banners. In this relative lull of the fighting, Corax contacted his brother Primarchs and called for a strategic withdrawal to gather their forces and wait for the Imperial reinforcements. Their speartip had done enough to bloody the traitors and earn their glory. The still fresh legions would shortly arrive and could easily sweep up the remaining traitors. Vulkan agreed with this sentiment, but Ferrus Manus would have none of it. In the rage of battle, with the traitors on the backfoot, withdrawal was unthinkable to him. Although Ferrus held overall command, each Primarch still held supreme authority over their own legion and Corax ordered his legion to fall back to the dropsite to regroup. The hot headed Gorgon ordered his own forces to fight on. Forced to make a difficult decision, Vulkan ultimately chose to follow Corax and slowly withdrew his Salamanders to the rear as well. Ferrus Manus was still accompanied by his fearsome morlock terminator elites, but in the carnage even their indomitable ranks had thinned. Ever pushing on and not fully realizing the severity of the situation, Ferrus Manus and his Iron Hands vanguard were in serious risk of becoming dangerously separated from the rest of the loyalist army. The Warmaster would not let such a splendid opportunity go to waste. He knew just the right kind of bait to draw Ferrus in even further. It was at this precise moment that through the smoke of battle, Ferrus was able to catch a glimpse of Fulgrim. Even had the Gorgon considered the possibility of withdrawal, the sight of his hated primarch brother within reach inevitably rekindled his resolve. He would not let this chance for vengeance escape him. And so he actively ordered his Iron Hands to move forward against the Emperor’s Children. Fulgrim noticed the speartip making their way towards him and taunted his brother. An overwhelming rage overtook the Gorgon. Beyond care of his surroundings, he broke rank and charged at the Phoenician. Ferrus unsheathed fireblade, the very sword he had once forged as a gift for his brother. He had kept it in reserve for this very moment, and already savored the very idea of slaying Fulgrim with it. But the Phoenician was not one to overlook such symbolism himself. He had brought with him Forgebreaker, a mighty warhammer likewise forged by his own hand as a gift for his once beloved brother Ferrus Manus. But now there would be no more brotherly affection between these mighty primarchs, only hatred. Their weapons had once been forged in brotherhood, but would now be wielded in vengeance. And so with these weapons in hand, Ferrus wielding Fireblade and Fulgrim holding Forgebreaker, the two charged at one another. The two Primarchs dueled like two gods, trading monstrously powerful blows that struck with the boom of lightning. All who witnessed their unrestrained power realized a fight of legends was unfolding before their very eyes. In the Urgall Depression Astartes had fought Astartes in full force, but this was a clash of unyielding demigods with the strength and ferocity to crush mountains in their wake. With Blade and Hammer both warriors caused and received blows that would have killed lesser beings outright. As the fight continued, the remaining legions of the retribution arrived at Istvaan 5. The Alpha Legion, Iron Warriors, Night Lords and Word Bearers hurried to make planetfall and join the battle. Their combined force would easily end this horrible battle quickly. Meanwhile the Raven Guard and Salamanders had regrouped at the dropsite and began the evacuation of their wounded. Their remaining stormbirds were filled to the brim with grievously injured astartes. With the reinforcements coming in, they could now be brought to safety where they could receive proper medical aid. The brave warriors who had fallen in battle could have their gene seed harvested. A rain of drop pods and landing craft once more filled the skies. As the might of 5 more legions came down to the surface Ferrus Manus rejoiced at the impressive sight. Soon their combined forces would crush their enemies. Surely Fulgrim and the other traitorous Primarchs would pay for their betrayal with their lives. But Fulgrim couldn’t help but laugh at the foolish naivety of his brother. Unfortunately, the Gorgon would soon come to understand the reason why. As the loyalists cheerfully hailed their brother legion's arrival on the surface they were met with a grim silence. The reinforcements swiftly deployed around the edges of the Urgal Depression. The loyalists forces found themselves confused at the lack of communications. Back at the fortress, a single bright red flare was fired into the skies. A signal from Horus for the newly arriving troops. A moment of silence. Then as one, from all sides the Alpha legion, Nightlords, Iron Warriors and Word bearers opened a hail of bolterfire into the loyalists gathered at the dropsite. The Ravenguard and Salamanders died where they stood. Unorganized and utterly shocked by the sudden betrayal, their initial resistance was minimal. They could simply not comprehend what was happening. The evacuating stormbirds had been caught by surprise, shot down and crashed back into the planet. Traitor Gunships now strafed the loyalist ground forces. Dreadnoughts that had withstood the worst of the battle were now obliterated like it was nothing by rockets fired at point blank range. The remnants of the Imperial Army forces caught in the crossfire were being ripped to shreds at an even faster pace. Artillery positions were overrun and destroyed. Taking stock of the dire situation, Primarch Corax and Vulkan knew something had to be done quickly. Corax suggested a full scale retreat back to their ships in orbit, hoping against all odds that at least some of their transports would make it through. Vulkan did not agree. Fleeing head over heel now would abandon too many to their fate. They did not have enough aircraft remaining to get all Astartes and army troops off the planet. And after all, their brother Ferrus would never make it back to the dropsite in time. And so Vulkan ordered his troops to stand fast. From the fortress, the other traitor legions and the Dies Irae marched triumphantly forward. Their forces would complete the encirclement and join the massacre. Only Ferrus Manus and his terminator Elite stood between them and the dropsite. Fulgrim promised to let him live and even offered him a place at the traitors side, but the Gorgon would have none of it. After witnessing these unexpected betrayals with horror, his rage was even worse than before. He charged with a renewed strength that even Fulgrim could not match, and soon he gained the upper hand in the duel. A furious blow smacked Forgebreaker out of Fulgrim’s hands. With his opponent unarmed, Ferrus attempted a final murderous strike against his brother. But in desperation Fulgrim unsheathed the Demonically possessed Laron Blade and raised it in his defense. The Demonblade filled him with a new power. He managed to slash Ferrus across the chest and inflict a deep cut that crippled him. With his brother critically wounded on the ground, Fulgrim now found himself in the position to end the Gorgon's life. But somehow he found himself unable to deliver the killing blow. It was the same sympathy that had led him to spare his brother’s life before. The impatient demon within the sword took sudden hold of the Primarch’s body and before Fulgrim so much as realized what was happening the sword had already cleaved through Ferrus Manus neck and decapitated him. The body of the Iron Hands Primarch sank to the ground, and lay still. For the first time ever, a Primarch had died. The bloodlust and haze of battle instantly cleared from Fulgrim’s mind. In the new found clarity he repulsed at what he had just done, what he had let himself become. He looked around him and witnessed the depravity of his own legion. His heart filled with grief, sorrow and most of all self pity. But now that he had personally killed his brother, there was no way back. Surrounded by the unspeakable carnage that he had undeniably played a part in, it was all too much for the Primarch of the 3rd Legion to process. The Demon within the sword once more whispered into his mind, offering him a way out of his mental suffering. He could offer him absolution. If only Fulgrim would just give in, the Demon would grant him the sweet bliss of nothingness. Sickened by the overwhelming grief at his depraved state, the Primarch craved nothing more than to stop his existence. Trusting the soothing voice inside of his head Fulgrim lowered the defenses of his mind, unwittingly granting the Demon complete control. And so it happened that Fulgrim came under total demonic possession. A final wash of panic flushed over him as he realized the grave mistake he had just made, but it was too late. From now on the psyche of the real Fulgrim was trapped inside a demon controlled husk. His body was no longer his own. Meanwhile the Salamanders had attempted a breakout attempt against the Iron Warrior’s lines, but to no avail. They had been pushed back to the dropsite. Now Lorgar unleashed his Gal Vorbak. These blessed sons of Lorgar had traveled into the Eye of Terror and returned with the blessing of the dark gods. Not even the Emperor’s Children legion had reached a state of corruption such as theirs, and their bodies had mutated into truly monstrous forms. Now these elite troops, possessed by demons, were unleashed against the loyalists and charged against the Ravenguard enmasse. But despite their supernatural blessings, Corvus Corax proved more than a match against these monsters and using his lightning claws killed them with impunity. No longer able to bear witness to the wholesale slaughter of his favored sons from the sidelines, Lorgar charged in himself to duel Corax. But the fight would be decisively one sided. The Urizen had always been more of a scholar than a fighter while the Ravenlord had honed himself into an ultimate warrior. This mistake would cost Lorgar dearly, as soon he would find himself impaled upon the lightning claws at the mercy of his enraged brother. Corvus had no pity for his brother and was ready to destroy him. But as the final strike fell it was halted by another set of Lightning claws. To his surprise Conrad Curze had come to Lorgars rescue and was blocking the killing blow. Too tired to fight another one of his brothers, Corax activated his jump pack and soared away from the duel. Why the Nightlord had saved his brother’s life remains unclear, for he was disgusted with Lorgar’s weakness and the corruption of his legion. But although grievously wounded, the Word Bearers Primarch would live. The salamanders made their final stand around the dropsite. Their valiant resistance allowed a portion of the Ravenguard to escape. Even several wounded Iron Hands had been successfully evacuated back to orbit. Corvus Corax managed to board a ship but it was almost immediately shot down and crashed on the outskirts of the Urgall Plateau. The battle of the ships in orbit had not been as favorable for the traitors as they had hoped. Although the sudden betrayal had come just as unexpected for the outnumbered loyalist fleet, the worst of the initial damage had been soaked up by their active void shields. After realizing what had happened they returned fire. Unwilling to abandon their legions on the surface, above Istvaan 5 the fleets engaged in as murderous a battle as the one below. And for the loyalists the naval engagement would not be for nothing. Despite the anti-air taking a heavy toll, retreating aircraft came trickling in and embarked on the ships. Wounded Ravenguard, Salamanders and Iron hands made it to the medicae decks. They had survived and would live to fight another day. However, the outnumbered fleet realized that sooner or later they would lose this naval engagement. They had only been able to hold out as long as they did through sheer determination and the unwillingness to abandon their legion. But the dreadful news arrived that Ferrus Manus and the remaining Iron Hands speartip had perished. Corvus Corax had been lost. And Vulkan had become stuck on the surface. Without hopes of recovering their primarchs, loyalist ships started to disengage from battle and began their perilous attempts to flee the system. With the Imperial fleet breaking off the traitors knew that victory had been assured. Despite all odds, Vulkan and a handful of Salamanders were still holding out against the onslaught down below. There was no way off this planet, all available landing craft had already been sent back to orbit, the others had been destroyed. In a display of spite, the Iron Warrior’s fleet fired a tactical nuclear payload at the center of the dropsite. The orbital strike came crashing in their midsts and exploded with the power of a small sun. The immense heat boiled the Salamanders alive and everyone caught in the blast vaporized inside of their armor. The remaining loyalist holdout vanished in an instant. But amongst the smoke and dust that now filled the crater that was once the dropsite, one figure remained. It was Vulkan. Although the remnants of his legion had perished, the perpetual Primarch had survived the explosion and now laid unconscious in the crater. It was Konrad curze who eventually found him, and in secret he hauled the Primarch of the Salamanders to his flagship for imprisonment. The killing had stopped and the battle was finally over. After a hard won battle, the traitors had been victorious. The untold dead were turned into large funeral pyres. By nightfall hundreds of bright red fires illuminated the Urgall Depression as they burned the bodies. Horus emerged from his command post in the fortress and was met by a jubilating crowd cheering his name. Even the mighty Imperator Titan Dies Irae bowed its head to his glorious triumph. The ashes of the dead rose to the skies and fell like confetti over his mighty army as they celebrated. Horus now had eight whole legions under his command. Three of the remaining nine loyalist legions had been as good as destroyed. Any surviving loyalists who had managed to flee the battle were being hunted down at this very moment. On the other side of the galaxy the Space Wolves and Thousand Sons were busy bloodying each other on Prospero. The Word Bearers were leading Guilliman’s forces into an ambush. And the Warmaster had traps prepared for all the other legions too. How could the Emperor ever hope to oppose him now? The Warmasters victory at Istvaan 5 was complete. On his orders a huge emblazing eye was ignited upon the northern slopes of the Urgall depression. With a blazing fury the symbol of Horus burned itself into the rocks. Engraved in stone here it would forever remain as a sign of his superiority. With the battle done with, soon they would embark their ships and travel towards the sol system. The road to Terra is now open. The dropsite massacre marks the start of a new era. As the Loyalist forces scramble to halt the traitors, the great crusade has officially come to a bitter end. As Horus' betrayal engulfs the galaxy in the flames of civil war, the million worlds of the Imperium shall burn.