ae Ses SI THE Horus HERESY BOOK TWO MASSACREBOOK TWO MASSACRE BY ALAN BLIGH ‘ASurewest For Wasser 40000rai i vvonnnen indy Hoare & Neil Wie Kenton Mills, Dominik Oedinger, Rachel Perce, Rhys Pugh, Paul Rudge, Ian Sttickland, Bethan Beynon Hughes, (Chris Bristow &e Mare Elliott Dominik Ocdinger, Rachel Pierce, Rhys Pugh, Tony Cottrell, Alfonso Girades & Sam Lamont Paul Rudge ~-~Alan Meret, Jervis Johnson, ‘Aaron Dembski-Bowlen, Dan Abnett, Graham MeNell James Swallow and the legion of other writers who originated and helped to tll che story _Bad Brown, Neil Cook, Andy Hoate, ‘Stephen Morris, Neil Wylie, Rachel Docherty, “Laurie Goulding. Nick Kyme & Graeme Lyon Forge World Models Designed by... nnn Mat Bedford, Simon Egan Israel Gonzalez, ‘ ‘Will Hayes, Daren Parrwood, ‘Edgar Skomorowski, Blake Spence, Phil Srutcinskas, Steve Whitehead, Stuart Williamson & Tim Adcock _-Alan Bligh, Ead Brown, Neil Cook, Andy Hoare, John French, Kenton Mills, Stephen Mores, ‘Matt Murphy-Kane, Paul Rudge, Blake Spence, Neil Wylie, Rachel Docherty & Laurie Goulding. ‘Mark Bedford, Owen Branham, Trish Carden, ‘Nell Cook, Isuel Gonzales, Will Hayes, ‘Maet Murphy-Kane, Daren Purrwood, Keith Robertson, Paul Rudge, Blake Spence, Phil Srutcinskas, Steve Whitehead ‘& Stuart Williamson _Forge World & Games Workshop Design Studios The Black Library and ll the staf at Forge World and Games Workshop for theit continuing support advice nd encouragement. And 10 the Black Library authors for bringing the Horus Heresy rife bie: espa ne nin by Fg Wi, Gane Vr Wie Rud enon, etna NGPA. atts cn lg ces pan ow Whee: cee oe he Wah oops "the Aquila logs, 40K, 40,00, Citadel, the Citadel device, Forge World the Forge World logo, Horus Heresy the Eye of Horus logo, Zone Mortis, Imperial Armour and all ON sak panies receipt ingeson beh e cherie without the ror permission ofthe publishers Alle aes il ovens tye th bh ae Getto any semble trl people incidents is purely exineienta sn at A ctalopue econo this ook i avalable frm the rth Library Plture used for lseatve purposes nly alan bili" ISBN: 978783532108‘The Emperors Children. “The Night Lords. “The Sonsof Horus ‘The Salamanders “The World Eaters. ‘The Word Beater. > 136 ‘Barmas me Act oF Daxaness ‘The Lords of War... 162 Battlesin the Age of Darkness Additional Special Rue Bates in the Age of Darknes Force Organisation Chars. Force Organisation Chart Reference. ‘Tae Drove Massacaz Caurouon How the Dropsite Massacre Campaign Wotkwicceewn-sE2t Miatnn 11—Hfammerilow Assaul. (Optional Campaign RULE nen 174 Mission II Deadly Ground, Phase 1~"The Loyalists Strike... 175 Mission IV—Tide of War... Phase II ~The Imperium Bleeds 176 Legendary Mission: Vanguard Fury... Phase I~ Blood and Treachery en 177 Legendary Mission: Cataclysm ‘Mission I Brother against Brother snus X80 Legendary Mission: The Blood ofthe PrimatBenu-enr ‘Stace Maso Lecion Causane Ans List Anorions ax Urostes Additional Special Rules for Heresy-er2 Gaming wecrnnK92 Heavy Support lites z _ 194 Dedicated Transports St AMC nnn nn 96 LORS OF WEE inns Srace Maa Lacios At Lst Arex “The Sons of Horus. ‘The Iron Hands... ‘The World Bate. vnnnnn ‘The Night Lords. ‘The Emperor's Children... ‘The Salamanders... “The Death Gatd nnn ‘The Word Rearets.. ‘Tas Lact Crazaxenica ‘Mechanicum Warlord Tals 265 “Legio Cybernetica Wargear & Special Rules 266 Oyberthergy nn 268 Bie a8 2 270 Ammesooc Barris ov Tae Ace of Danis Super-heavy Vehicles & Gargantuan Creatures nu 80 Superheavy Walle. biecbitrd hla Led[Bfetiion [Cfatiban [Mijedusa hy [Bjarcosa *s $: Onilaris [Bfotena « ‘s alifica “¢ [Bleraphina , Afasalins % eu [Afikaea aie erent Slhedim: Finding of Tfnwit ¥ : a the Lost Son Gah 5 Gfattarn 14 9 [Bfarbarus [@fataspar eile uth Ture, Deliverance Gripe [afsstuat 4 deci Ata[Qfuat Finn lostramo is Desperation t |ifemiok Konig Secundus o Slignus Prime Tfreran Constantin turner Pecos [fatty : ‘ flfacranae BY og cae . . ) of th a ing gure = 6 f the GloricTHE Roab re) War Seen ey‘that the true horroraf the Horus Heresy was “tofirse unfold. Ar Isstvan I the Warmaster “Horus, most favoured son of the Emperor, ~ had turned ftom the Imperium and led his ‘own Legion, the Sons of Horus, alongside ‘three others: the World Eaters, eath Guard ‘and Emperor's Children into open revolt and ‘betrayed the Emperor their creator. As news ofthis treachery reached the Imperium, the galaxy would be plunged into apoealyptic ‘vil war but before the diccourse ofthe ‘Dropsite Massacre and those it involved is dealt with in this text, itis ist important ‘orecll the arc of history which led to this ‘moment, from the Dark Age of Technology to the glory of the Great Crusade ‘Tae Dens Ac vom Resurrs ‘Long go, Mankind irstlft the spoiled, ‘worn-out shell of what was once known 4s Old Earth to forge a domain amidst the stars. Thatlost realm spread across ou galaxy so that humanity was scattered across 4 million worlds. In the heights of those times, lost now toall bu supposition and smyth, humanity made themselves living {gods by their achievements, and were ll Dut limitless in power Thus was the Dark ‘Age of Technology born and for mllenn ‘endured, until almosc ara stroke Mankind first empire fell into bloody ruin, isolation sind ignarance The treble period of hasty tha was to follow lasted for over five thousand years of nightmare and predation. ‘During this time, the worlds of Mankind ‘were isolated by searing warp storms that sade interstellar travel virtually impossible and Old Earth, orTerraas we know it, was totally cutoff from its colonies and former allies. Famine, war, invasion and the error of infection by the horrors beyond reality; allan rampant and drove bumanity tothe bnnk of extinction. ‘Butitwas on Ancient Terra long wracked by {insanity genocide and incessant warfare a5 teribleas any fought amidst the dark stars ‘that salvation wast spring. Here from the seemingly endless cycle of violence leader emerged, a warlord unlike any other, He was the Emperor, unequalled in might and in reason, and blessed of preternarural power “The Emperor fousht for conto of Ancient “Terrain what would become known a5 he ‘Unification Wars and those who would not join him he destroyed, and where he reigned the dol fear, misrule and blind feith were down and order and rationality were ‘spiritually and physically tothe heights ithad once known, and the shackles of darkness cast aside. In is conquests the Emperor was aided by egiments of gene- enhanced superhuman warriors of his own, design; fist the Thunder Warriors and ler the far more sable Legiones Asartes — ‘or Space Marines—as they would later ‘become colloquially known. Born from Primarchs — purpose engineered post- Ibuman beings— each Legion had its cown strength and character, bu all were sshiately Bret and foremost Space Marines ‘sworn warriors matchless in might and power. Though the Primarchs from which they were created were lost under mysterious circumstances, the Legions that flowed from them were atriumphane success Ultimately, none could stand against the combined might ofthe Emperor and his warriors and sovunity was won. ‘The Dawning of the Great Crusade ‘Where Terr had once been a realm of unending war, it now became a place of unceasing activity, production and planning, for it was the Emperor's great cause not simply to bring Terra once more tothe light cof prosperity and order, but to liberate the ‘unimaginably vast and scatered worlds of Jnumanity from the darkness and reunite them into single Imperium of Man. Just asthe conguest of Old Earth was complete, hhowever:2 mighty and unforeseen cosmic ‘event occurred. A massive shock wave blasted aross the Immaterium, clearing the warp storms that had cloaked much ofthe galery. I seemed to some divine providence, fueling the beliefs of those who considered the Emperor to be himself divine (no mater hhow much he decried cis claim), The way ‘was now open and the Emperor's armies ‘would nov beable to take tothe stars. The Great Crusade had truly begun, ‘With the lords of Mars now part of the mperium by reay ofalliance and serving as ‘power house of industry, the Space Marines ‘were massively expanded ip number, -e-armed and re-equipped forthe task of ‘subduing a chaotic galaey. The Great Crusade was a mammoth operation of inconceivable scale and complexity, involving billions of ‘oops and tens of thousands of ships, and {is perhaps true that only 2 mind such as the Emperor's could have had a hope of, ‘sucessfully comprehending and giving birt to the great "ax Imperial the Imperial Peace, across the galaxy ‘The Space Marine Legions were the spearhead ofthe expansion—the Great Cruside’ killing edge against which the strength ofa foe was broken and which toppled empires,buman oralien, by ripping out their heart. At the centre of the Great Crusade was the creation of the Astronomican on Terra.A psychic navigational beacon able to cut through the Warp, those ateuned to its unique frequencies and modulations, the Navigators, were able to use it when plotting journeys through the Immaterium, enabling them tomore accurately traverse the void than ‘would ever have been conceivable before. ‘Alongside thisit was the Astropaths who also made the Imperium possible. Capable ‘of communicating with others oftheir kind over vast interstellar distances they enabled inhabited worlds many light years apart fn physical terms to acts one realm, and bound the fledging Imperium to Terra and its ‘worlds to each other as one domain, By this Great Crusade, the Emperor ‘undertook his mission to free humanity from the aliens and warp creatures that had nearly destroyed it. Word after world was reconquered; where buman society existed ‘twas made part of the Imperium. Such {tegration was reached with diplomacy and the promise of better future anda wider ‘connection with a galaetic human society ‘where possible, and by force of arms where not. For the alien there was no mercy, and. such alien empires and species were routed ‘or annihilated ina series of epic wars, Nor id the Great Crusade shir from is direst task; where worlds were encountered that hhad become infected with warp creatures and the barrier of reality slashed open, those ‘worlds were cleansed with powerful virus ‘bombs and vortex missles in apocalyptic orbital barrages designed to slay the living and scalthe breach his act known ae "Exterminatut was never undertaken lightly During the Great Crusade, the Space ‘Marine Legions were reunited with their los Primarchs a the worlds on which they had been scattered were each found by the Emperor. These worlds were, in:most cases, marked a their Legions home world and heavily fortified and developed. ‘These worlds, along witha handfil of ther strategically cccupied planets, became the Iynchpins ofthe Great Crusade sit moved further and further away from Terra and sect central command, and co-ordination became more difficult. From these new bases andthe reabsorbed far-flung Forge Worlds of ‘the Mechanicum, the Great Crusade spread to the furthest comers of our galaxy and war was fought across numberless sar systems. Tue Wanuastea After series of glorious victories that marked the culmination ofthe Great Crusade’ expansion, the Emperor returned 10 Terra and set in motion the next stage of ‘hs great plan in secrecy in the faith that hissons, the Primarchs, could prosecute the Great Crusade tits end. The Emperor bestowed upon the Primarch Horus Lupercal the ttl of Warmaster and ceded to him control ofall ofthe Imperium’s military forces in his stead. The other Primarchs ‘were thereby instructed to follow Horus and obey him in war. There was itis sid, some disquiet among the Primarchs that the Emperor had decided to no longer fight alongside them, but the Emperor was as adamant ashe was close mouthed as to what the Future would hold, After the “Emperor withdrew, Horus made plans forthe resolution ofthe Great Crusade with almost fever hact, knowing that while come ‘would welcome his new rank and authorities, cchers would beat best indifferent and at ‘worse resentful of them, and only by success could he prove worthy ofthe Emperor's faith. Closest to him were the Primarchs ‘Angron, Mortarion and Fulgeim, Horus the Warmaster promised them victory —he promised them that he would never fail inhhiscommand and never leave them leaderiess or bereft of brotherhood while breath remained in his body. ‘Where the Warmaster was to command ‘the on-going conquest, the Emperor ‘convened anther new body the Council ‘of Tera, to command the peace and provide Jaw and administration for his vast realm, sparing him the minutiae ofrlership ‘while he concentrated on is own secret projects uninhibited. ‘Led by Malcador the Sigilite the Council ‘monopolised the civilian administration of the Imperium and acted as barvier between ‘the Emperor and his Primarch sons by theie ‘evtimation, dzplacing a portion oftheir ‘previous authority and fostering acrimony among their ranks. The less stable ofthe Primarchs were outraged by the scorn they felt inherent in this atthe others —even ‘the most stalwart— were concerned and ‘troubled by this turn of events. For some this seemed sign that the Emperor was willing ‘to umm his back on his greatest warriors and. sive power to mortals over his immortal sons “Thus, in the hearts of some, was the canker of doubt and the bile of resentment sown, Itseems that the honour of being Warmaster, as great asi was did not prevent such bitterness breeding in the heart of Horus. ‘By later and perhaps apocryphal report, astime went on the Warmaster's victories seemed hollow the sacrifice ofthe Space ‘Marines under his command unregarded and incressingly irrelevant toa silent Tespgpae Baxi teem hn that his thority was as unchallenged or respected asthe Emperor's had been and that several ‘Primarchs begrudged Hous his rank, {questioned his decisions, or contrived to quietly twist his orders more ro their own liking, As the years passed, resentments and rivalries that bad long existed between ‘certain Pimarchs broke out into open {ngument and dissent that he could not quell as easily a5 the Emperor might have, futher adding to Horus ire, He came therefore to clsplay his fvour only upon those he felt ‘held bim in high regard ora least would ‘obey without question, and blamed the “Emperor for bis mounting dificuties of ‘command and conquest overan increasingly ‘thinly spread and far-ung miltary effort ‘Gradually, Horus and bis followers became ‘ever note estranged from che Emperor and the wider reaim they servedhand the ‘conquest ofthe glany bought lide but cold comfort for him and his Legions Its widely believed that twas upon the ‘world of Davin that Horus fell to shadow at last, Whether by the intervention of the Ruinous Powers oras the culmination of is ‘own growing vanity and malign resentment, Dut more likely a bitter marrage ofthe two, Horus turned upon his father in his soul and forged a pact with the Dark Gods of che ‘Warp. The baleful incelligences beyond our dimension of sanity promised Horus the salary for his own, with is father’s blood and the lives of billions the price, and on those terms he swore fealty. So was the course set forthe Imperium to descend into the greatest civil war humanity has ever known. eet) f i |== a ‘Tae Conquest or mi Von ‘The Great Crusade was the largest and ‘most ambitious military endeavour ever undertaken by Mankind. It was a campaign fought on all fronts; from the ancient lost colonies of human past nightmarish alien worlds without number, from doomed expeditions tothe galaxy’ perilous core to missions cast outro the entropic darkness ‘of the intergalactic hovians As mighty and valiant a the hosts of the Emperor were, this epic undertaking would have been entirely impossible without the countless thousands of Warp-capable vessels that transported hundreds of thousands of the Legiones Astartes and many millions of Imperial Army soldiers from one sta’ light tothe next. “he Great Crusade sw astaggering erey ‘of vessels constructed, reclaimed or pressed Into service. Some were used foramatterof ‘months before being declared obsolete or swearing out and degrading o destruction ui apart from losses ncureed in bate, ile others gained a permanent place in ‘the canon of wa, wit successful designs endlessly copied and mouified asthe decades progressed. The frst vessels to enter the service of the nascent Imperiim were constructed in the orbital foundries of errand later Mars and Satur, under the seruiny ofthe Emperor and the Forge-wrights ofthe Mechanicum, and indeed it was only shat alliance wth Mars thatthe rans-slar expansion was posible {any meaningful way. This was farther aided when at last the Satumyne Dominion, with is eecomplished ship-masters joined the Imperium after thee alien overlords ‘were overthrown, ands the Imperium expanded, many more great shipyards were added: Voss Gralgaod, Lorin and Cypra Mundial grew to nea sval Marsitselfin ship production. ‘Driven bythe will ofthe Emperor, the first Expeditionary fleets pushed ourwards {nto the galaxy. Preceding cach great Expeditionary let of hundreds sometimes thousands, of vessels often ranged smaller ‘contingents of independent foils led by class of martial leader that would become Jmoyin as the Rogue Traders Militant. ‘Many of these individuals were former rlers ofthe numerous realms the Emperor hhad cast down first during the Unification ‘offered a stark choice—bend their knee before the Emperor and sweat service to the Great Crusade, or die by his hand, ‘Though many st pride before what they regarded as slavery, others chose service and took up the Emperor’ warrant. There asa price, however. The Rogue Traders ‘Militant were expected t scout ahead of, the leading edge ofthe Great Crusade, ‘accompanied by their own armies as well ‘as whatever assets had been ceded them by the Emperor. Operating so far ahead of the Emperors crusading armies, the Rogue Traders Militant could expect litle ono a should they encounter foes too powerful for them to overcome. After several decades ‘penetrating the inky black ofthe void, many Rogue Trader Militant fleets appeared as ramshackle vagabonds, many of their ships taken from defeated enemies, sometimes, including xenos vessels of entirely nove] ‘or esoteric form. They were forbidden to return to Tera, for in his wisdom the “Emperor sought not just to rid himself of powerful rivals, but to ensure that even in their deaths they might serve Mankind, Many vanished alone and unheralded; slain, ‘consumed or enslaved by nameless xen0s abominations far from the ight of Tera, As the Imperium expanded, so too did its leets. Countless long-lost wonders of technology were recovered, some ‘rested from the dead hands of unwilling custodians, and others surrendered willingly as fitting ribute to the Master ‘of Mankind. Some vessels were unique, ‘constructed by methods even the most accomplished Adepts of Mars could not hhope to replicate: the Terminus Edt the ior the Mirabilis and Phalanx foremost among them. Other patterns and clases proved possible ro reproduce and replicate, and before long the various arms of the Imperium military acquired their oven distinctive panoply of warships, Those of the Legiones Astartes were often blunt of pow and slab-armoued, built to ‘endure the withering storm of fire that accompanies planetary invasion, their plasma furnace-hesrts powering some of the most destructive weapons known toMankind. Bur beyond these peactical needs, each fleet favoured the natue of ts Legion, from the sabe black marauders of the Raven Guard tothe baroque crimson and gold battlecruiser ofthe Blood Angels to the brute Functionality and unadorned sel of the Iron Warriors siege-barques, “The ships of the Emperor's wider naval armadas were more diverse affairs, built for void supremacy. They ranged from stately battleships, multi-klometre long engines ‘of doom, their armour concentrated to the fore and their flanks replete with rank upon tank of broadside batteries, to lithe and deadly destroyers and stipped-bare Warp ‘Runners to watchful piquet frigates and lumbering sta fortresses. Beyond these ‘were innumerable classes of transport, arks,conveyers and supply ships, the forge vessels ofthe Mechanicum and their own strange space-going engines of wat ‘As the rerible extent ofthe Warmaster's treachery unfolded, other disturbing characteristics revealed themselves slowly amid the vessels under the Traitors ‘command, Fell runes appeared upon the flanks of the Warmaster's vessels and the barrels oftheir cannon were mutated or +e-forged into gaping, fanged mouths, Viewpors flickered with the fiery slimmer ofthe beyond and once rue and solid forms became twisted into hideous ‘mockeries of respected and familiar classes ‘As both sides girded themselves for fall scale war after the terrifying events at Istvan V, so the centres of production each controlled increased output exponentially. Demand was insatiable, and while the Emperor had once overseen the creation of the Imperium’ fleets according to His ‘own all-encompassing vision, following His return to Terra such matters were tured over to others. The Council of Terre ‘made ever more strident demands on the Forge Worlds of the Mechanicum as the awful scope of the coming war became clear. To make matters worse, many Forge ‘Worlds declared for the Warmaster, assets and matériels were co-opted or plundered forthe armouties ofthe Traitors. Both sides had pressed into service every class ‘of vessel at their disposal, from mighty and unique relics of the Dark Age of ‘Technology tothe newly-produced and often all but untested scions of newly ‘established Forge Worlds. Before long, those warships unsuited to total war would he reduced to void-deifting nebulae of super heated vapour and broken hulks, the tombs ofall aboard, while those that survived would goon to fightin the ‘greatest battles of the Horus Heresy and forge legends both bloody and glorious in their own right,ee Cae e REO OISy OMNI DSTA Te TA ALON DONT CONTINU. BUN ened Scere ty t Dene ta PrKee a ae Tfechanicum/Apotheoss Legiones pene eyent Perera) een oan ~ General Issue Later Great Crusade oer ey Ty j yremerorecrina ry ai a aa co we Ae : DOS re Fre a Signiler t Sco Te onc ee penne Serarerrimen' we et Seen ee ere to} ee,» Ny 5s BW orn dere COC eT CSLUCNBV CUZ 3 LEGIONARY PORTABLE SUPPORT WEAPONRY — SEGMENTUM SOLAR SUPPLY Erenreseest cr aa ete ees = Suppression /Anti-personnel esters = Siege Assault/Zone Mortalis re centres Portable Plasma Cannon See reed perenne ete tn tag rien ad ee cena“Almost ininediaely Hoses yan wo weave © anintricate plan of treachery that would slosely come to bear frit. Those among the Legions he could not trustand those he feared above all others Horus contrived to send away using his powers as Warmaster tomount expeditions that would send them fr from the ultimate goal his plan —amurderous confrontation with the Emperor on Terra—while others he sought to neutralise through scheme ad intrigue, and bleed out by war Then to him he drew those Frimarchs he believed he could ‘tum tohis cause and corrupted them and ‘through them, their Legions To his forces hhe drew elements ofthe Mechanicum who seethed in dissent over the impositions the Imperium had foreed on chem uithfal Imperial Army commanders to whom the ‘Warmaster was lord andthe Emperor litle more than a distne rumour and all manner ‘of secret cults outlawed psyker witches end smadmen for whom the Warp was thei only true allegiance. The Warmasters plans and schemes developed and slowly hatched, until he was ready to strike. Th ss IL Ano Horus arranged to mect with Angron an his World Eaters, Moraion and his, Death Guard and Fulgrim of the Emperor's CChuldrensemissaries at the Tssvan system, far remewed fon the core worlds of the Imperium. At time when much oft yeas blanketed by an upsurge in warp storm activity, making both passge and communications difficult, The third world of ‘the Issvan system was at that time in revolt, | and to the outside world the Wermaster had gathering of might coring oasiftand bloody end. feet gathered above the planet together one of the of military ‘there was tobe a purgingselements ofthe ‘Thain Puimaiclis Legions whose loyaly to the Emperor was greater than that vo thelr Primarchs were sil n existence and they would need tobe cut blood from their ‘brothers before Horus true plan could be pat Ano effect Orders wer issued forthe assault fn Istvan TIT by the Sons of Horus, World Enters, Death Guard and Emperor's Children “Legions commiting a force to be formed from sections ofthe four Legions whose loyalty to Horus could not be absolutely guaranteed in the treachery come. The first wave ofthe assault against the capital of Istvan I, the ‘Choral City, was a brief but savage enterprise, and the rebellion 4uickly broken by the Space Marines that descended from on high. But it was a this hhour of victory that Horus struck those who ‘had willingly followed him unsuspecting {nto a death trap. Vox communication ‘was cut and the warflet in orbit began to ‘bombard the planet, loosing wave after wave ‘of virus bors to eradicate all life on sstvan TIL Tens of millions ofthe planet's native human population and thousands of Space Marines died tothe ravages ofthe life-eater Virus and the firestorm that followed it, Dur there were those who yet remained. Loyalists stil fought on, both on the ships In orbit refusing to fire on their brothers, while others on the surface had heeded ‘eared calls fom the valiant Loyalists hove, and sealed their armour and found shelter from the storm of plague and ire ‘Amongst those who warned their brethren was Captain Nathaniel Garzo of the Death (Guard, a Terran who signalled a warning tohis brothers and fled the system on the ‘commandeered frigate Fiensein. On the planet's surface had been over 100 companies ‘of Loyalist Space Marines and, ofthese it Is believed that fully wo-thirds fought on, consumed by vengeance and outrage at what nad been done. In the confusion that followed, as Horus ‘moved to bombard the planet again with conventional weapons, the uncontrollable [Angron of the World Eaters made planetall with his assault companies eager to taste the blood of Space Marines once his own, and so the die was cst for a bloody war of attrition unlooked for by the Warmasterin to purge the Loyalists from Istvan did Space Marines ofthe same —-- in the fighting until at last, the remaining, Loyaliet holdouts were broken asunder and « second and final bombardment ofthe planet ‘was ordered, leaving it lifeless and utterly ‘wasted, The damage had been done to the ‘Traitors’ cause, however. Word would reach “Terra both of che attack at Isstvan I, thanks to the perilous journey ofthe wounded Eisenstein through the Warp where it would reach Rogal Dorn of the Imperial Fists, and later word ofthe Primarch Fulgrims failed attempt to turn Ferrus Manus tothe Traitors ‘cause would besti the Iron Hands to woth. Itseemed a the time that any intent that Horus ha to keep his treacherous plans ‘ofan attack on Terra concealed and mount his assault in secret were now lost. Ie was thoughe chat hs plot was now perhaps fatally exposed to Imperial retribution. Time, however, would tell ocherwise. ‘On Terra, news thatthe Warmaster and the forces of four entire Legions had turned traitor was met with equal disbelief and fury But despite the unmatched gravity of such a revolt the Emperor remained firmly incommunicado by his own unbreachable order in che depths of the Imperial Palace ‘vaults and could not be reached. Instead sefell to Rogal Dorn as Peimarch and the Emperor's Champion and Malcador, the Regent of Terra, to deal with this ‘unprecedented betrayal accordingly Dorn was thus invested with immediate command ofthe stil-loyal Legions that could be contacted, and tasked with dealing with Horus and his Traivors with ruthless finality. The Imperial Fists Primarch immediately began to organise the Imperial forces of Terra in preparation forthe coming war, task immediately beset with dfficuldes. The continuing “Empyreal storms disrupted both travel and communications through the Warp and many of the Imperium forces outside the immediate range of Terra were all but unzeachable, In secret conclave, Maleador ‘ade his suspicions known that the malign intelligences of the Warp were themselves somehow responsible and that Horus himself may have become possessed or struck a bargain with the foul entities for aid. This pethaps was more palatable a reason than ‘outright treachery and, coloured by the fate ‘of the Thousand Sons t Prospero, considered {ar easter to countenance than before. Pressing then was the need to combat Horus and his Legions before they could either drive on to attack Terra or indeed ‘carve out an empite oftheir own forthe ‘motivations and goals were at that timeper ao ere re unknown). Without the direct use oft Emperors mighty psychic powers to cal upon, there was no way to breach the storms ave fora desperst he expenditure of vant quantities of pylcrs to empower the Astronomican beacon and broadcast sro-telepathic transmissions atthe cost of a murderous death-tll of thee ranks. So the was the maelstrom breached and ac vastness Terra was able to contact several loyal Legions and lear from the Iron Hands of the Emperors Children’s treacherous attack on ther fleet and Fulgrimi escap From across the Imperium repo filter in of revolts and mysterious incidents 1 became apparent that unchecked a rebellion was rising unlike any that had b we and threatened to endanger agined bef everything the Great Crusade had achieved. Ithad tobe stopped and stopped quickly Rogal Dorn had been able to contact six Primarchs, then believed loyal, within striking distance ofthe Isstvan system where ntlligence had teported the Warmasters Legions were stl present. The Iron Warriors, the Word Bearers, the Night cords, the Slamanders the Raven Guard and the Alpha Legion were al dispatched t0 the Isstvan syste us Manus of ith his Legion following behind him ounded fleet, The bulk of Dorn’ own Imperial Fists would see tothe defence of Tera and deal with disquieting reports of bellion on Mars itself though a strike fle Jespatched to investigate Garto's report, contact with them had been lost. The White also entirely out ntact with Terra, and therefore also the Imperial Fists Le Sears far distant, we leo intervene. Plans remained = 9 force when possible. Rogal Dorms orders to the Isstvan taskforce were explicit and allowed no room for compromise: the rebels aie no mercy forthe traitor, and the corpses of Horus, once Warmaster, and his turncoat Primarchs would stand as proof that th Emperor's justice had been done. In the dows of the Imperial C rue nature of the unfolding crisis 1m was confide att, doubts grew ssto thi but of victory, however bloodily it would be Bought; twas 2 matter of simple arithmetic —the strength of si reinforced Legions would overmatch Horus) tour sutlering as they had losses already at sstvan LLL the odds were overwhelming. the odds would be overwhelming —but the truth of Dorn would be proved right that would prove terrible to behold[aa a |Part I: INVASION Oe ee eee ea hin from the round and demand vengeance..." era Astropathic Conduit Trans-Episolon Thule, Sree Dees Poet tet taskforce to break rea-space atthe edge of the Istvan system was the Ad Temperetaa purpose-built warp-runner and observation Sree the Raven Guard Legion flet. Equipped ‘with auspex shrouds and sensory systems Sens one eae —save perhaps the XX*— there were few vessels better suited tothe task before it anywhere in Imperial service. Ir exited the [Empyrean ata vast distance from the system's Sor ets ee el Cea ee tee Se ree support andall extraneous power uncoupled nd silent its small crew of Legiones Astartes and augmented seritors conducted silent See eet and auspex chambers oftheir vessels the ‘Ad Tempera journeyed on ina wide orbit Crete tens Re eed Cre er enna deserted, save for the ghosts ofthe dead and eon tens etn ee eee years before, the Raven Guard themselves hhad brought into Imperial Compliance, Pract boiling black ash, scoured by the ravages of Coen ce Pe ee er en ne cooling debris carried the evidence that a Se nea Pe cone se eee te eee seemed devoid ofenemy vessels. Senne Pa ete Pee eed SURO ties SS eee i) remained loyal within the Sons of Horus, ‘Emperors Children, World Eaters and DeathThe Gathering of Might “The forces ofno fewer than eight Legions had been despatched by Rogal Dom a sexing “Magister Miltum of the Imperium to crush Horus'rebellion. This included the balance ofthe Night Lord, lon Warriors Salamanders, Raven Guard, Word Bearersand the ‘Alpha Legion alongside large feet contingent of Dor’ own Imperial Fists dispatched to investigate Garo’ earlier arm, and importantly the Iron Hands Legion, whose fleet had been badly crippled by he Emperors Children’s teacher, but whose Primarch, Ferrus Manus, was also proceeding tothe Istvan system at best speed with the warriors of his chosen Averni Clan, Owing turbulence within the Warp the Imperial Fists were becalmed and prevented fom reaching hei goal, bu the others made wre nt aid through a masterful application of estropahic co-ordination and favourable transit the avenging forces of the Emperor made swift speed other target, withthe forerunners ‘being the Salamanders and Raven Guard fleets and their attendant forces withthe others following close behind {In the cold light of retrospective vision, this list of seemingly co-incidental facts: the thwarting of the Imperial Fists fleet, the ease of passage for the others, which Legions should approach the Isstvan system first, ll take on a malign and sinister predestination. In this ordering of events can now be seen the hand of dark forces from beyond, forces which once Mankind slept in blissful ignorance of, but of whose truth we have since learned at such great cost Guard Legions had been bitterly spilled. It seemed then that the Loyalists had been robbed oftheir vengeance—that the traitors haa fled the scene oftheir crime, but the Raven Guard were patient hunters, and not so easly thrown froma scent. The Ad “Tempersta pressed on, its course pursuing the ghosts of vox signals toa strengthening source on the system's fifth planet. Here, at close range, the Raven Guard vessel discovered the truth —beneath Istvan, V'sdense upper atmosphere lay a blizzard of lose range encrypted vox-traffic half masked power signatures and the heart- beat heat of tens of thousands of Legiones Astartes warriors— the shadow-signs of a ‘vast army digging in. Here, on Isstvan V,the ‘Tritors lay ‘When the targets information was relayed by astropathic transmission tothe Loyalist fleets closing on the Issvan system, it was received with a mixture of bellicose fervour and some trepidation. Given the scale of concealed activity on Tsstvan Vjitwas clear thatthe enemy was rearing up a fortress of, prodigious stength there, no doubt intended tobe the headquarters of the Warmaster's tebellion and its principal mustering ground. ‘The absence ofthe Traitors fleet, however, ‘was « more troubling matter, ut one pethaps easily explained by a needful scramble for resources and supply from distant systems {in preperation fora conflict ro come,and if indeed the Traitors were sure that no sizable ‘counterattack could yer be attempted upon them, such a brave gamble was in-keeping with the Warmaster’s known character. Long-range pict-captures from the Ad Tempore showed the personal standards ‘of both Horus and Fulgrim flying above the overbuile ancient fortifications of Istvan V's Urgall ruins while power armoured figures and Mechanicum engines toiled ceaselessly to aise up defences beneath ther and this damning evidence above al else setled the fate of what was to come. Itis important to note that at this early stage of the great conflict, the ful scale and rank horror of Horus’ betrayal were yet to ‘unfold, and both his motivations and the ‘murderous depths of his ambition remained ‘unclea, while the Imperium believed wholeheartedly that it had the upper hand both in matenel strength and capacity act There were those among the Loyalists still ucerly baffled by what could have triggered the Warmaster’s perfidy, and in the private councils of those who knew of the matter —which was sil far from common knowledge—as the punishment fleet was sent o bring the traitors to justice, tall of mental breakdown or megalomaniacal {insanity on Horus part,or even the ‘cancerous control of some hideous alien form such as the Khrave or the Enslavers jwas common spectiltion as tothe cause of this sudden treachery. Regardless of this confusion as to its genesis, the judgement of, the Imperium was to be swift and savagein its execution, and Horus’ rebellion, swaying ce ithad four Space Marine Legions to his ‘cause, was judged more dangerous than any that had gone before it during the Great ‘Crusade (and indeed there had been several such) butt was also generally thought that Horus would content himself with carving cout an empire of his own as the Throne’s rival Although clearly a false asstimption in hindsight, with this hypothesis in mind, the selection of Isstvan —a strategically significant system, seated at the confluence cof severl known cable Warp routes, bt ‘one also far distant from the seat ofthe [Impetiumis power—as base for this treacherous domain made a certain sense. ‘Asdid the wisdom of immediate atack before the Traitors’ stronghold could be propery established. For Ferras Manus, the absence ofthe Traitor “Legions 'flsts inthe Istvan system was rot so much a cause of suspicion as it was am opportunity that should not he wasted “Through the bungled etempr of Falgrim and his Emperor's Children to sway Ferras ‘Manus to the Traitor cause and the light ofthe Eisenstein escaping the betrayal t Isstvan I the Imperium had been made aware of the Warmastr’s plot long before the arch-raitor ad been ready and tothe grim rind ofthe master ofthe Iron Hands it was anerror for which the enemy would be made to py. The time wo strike was nowsbefore the enemy let returned and eruch the rebellion with single concerted attack. Itwasa judgement shared by many, they had caught the Teltory’ preparations in disarray—the ‘Warmaster' dispositions halfmade and his defences incomplete. The enemy was vulnerable o othe Loyalists thought. “The eruption of so many powerful warships into real-space at such proximity was not something tha could be concealed from those on the planet. What mattred would be the speed and fury at which their attack was pressed, andthe Salamanders, Raven Guard snd Tron Hands were each determined to ‘meet those demands with emphatic force, while on the planer below.a savage foe sreater than they had ever known —their coven kindred awaited them with equal ‘resolve. Ina measure of minutes swords ‘would be drawn on sworn brothersin ‘eamest and blood spilled not simply within {he Legions dhathad rare their cont but ‘by entire Space Marine Legions on others of their kind unto destruction. The cataclysm ‘would be unleashed, and the war ofthe Horus Heresy would trly begin. / Sere: aepoe een ee een nas ceed eects Se aR Cag Soro eared Dato ernene eee Peeetert! ‘Therion Cohort Legio Victorum ey Honea Pena meri nee or ei 22409. Pr Sa SsPSN Barren) cots ++012.006.M31++ +++Revolutionibis Orbium Coelestium Isstvania+++pf The Istvan system was unusual in having several different works within tolerable ranges ‘of human life as well a several autochthonic species of ife with simila genetic origin, Jeading the Magos Biologis of te Mechanicum to classify it as being the likely subject of past terraforming in the age before the coming of Mankind, CCrusade reaching the system the third planet wa he site of thriving indigenous human population which lad taken root during the Age of Strife, overbuilding a long-dead xenos ‘ivilsation of an unknown nature Rendered barren many millennia ag after long period of tectonic instability and volcanism, Ist inthe fragmen structures overlong dried out watercourses and prominently, certain remit illshowed signs of original xeno sentient occupation, particularly Fcontinent-spanning road networks, shattered dam-like fortifications. These blind and empty shells were devoid of any makers marks or the evidence ofthe advanced technology which had undoubtedly been used to produce them, burthe molecularly dense artificial stone of their construction remained as testament t the powe znd arts oftheir long-dead creators These towers and redoubss stood silent vigil pty of life save lower orders of hardy flora, anda postvoleanic landscape made up of bulking irregular mountain ranges, broken deserts of black sand, weather beaten moorland anda few sou, land locked sea of sulphurous water ‘The Plan of Attack The decision f counsel of auition to await the ull of the immediate and all-out Loyalists before mounting the attack, and attack upon the Traitor positions on the aking Corax’s own misgivings and taciturn planet was taken by Ferrus Menus. Assenior silence once challenged for agreement, but battleeader among hisfellow Primarchs in regardless itis certain that Ferrus Manus he fist wave the darkly aggrieved master ofthe Iron Hands would brook no delay. Some surviving reports make note ofthe had swiftly drawn plans for immediate invasion before ever arriving athe Istvan system; his warlike intelligence formulating Iron Hands Primarch overriding Vulkan’s_ hundred possible scenarios of attack and defence already, then refining them further a the data om the Ad Tempers Raven Guard infilerator’s reconnaissance hnad been thorough, identifying the vast majority ofthe Traitors activity planet sideas being confined to an area der by Imperial cartographers as th region, comprising « wide voleank breached by a rapidly reducing valley known asthe Urgll Depression. At the head ofthis pression, where it intersected the plates of rocky hills halfruined, and here vast fortress network of ancient pre-hum origin had been registered by Imperial cartographers decades before. It was thes antediluvian rains the long-range auguries ofthe Raven Guard vessel identified as the and defence lines raised by the Traitors, using the eroded alien battlements as their foundations, and its long-empry keeps as careers ‘With the vas bull of rearing up behind it, anda treacherous read of tangled gorges, cliffs and ravines to her side the fortification was a formidable defensive position. The only major route o Jy and ground attack tothe fortress was the expanse of the Urgall Depres before rocky, pitted wasteland of black rere eee ee, erat!volcanic sand and meagre scrub pethaps ty kilometres wide a is extent, and scattered with me stone and defies of pumice and baal. This natural defence had been further ented witha network of trench works ngpoints whose extent could not be readily determined from orbit lsewhere in the region, other smaller curposts had been identified, while atthe rearward extent of the Urgll Plateau, some thirty kilometres away from the main fortification line, within the cavernous bounds ofa particularly dep, high sided gor signatures had been faintly detected which were judged by the Mechanicum augur- several shielded reactor savants tobe the hidden sign of butle-Titans, slumbering in aid of concealment Pranerrat: Mists 7 nouns Tema SiDEREA By preordained astropathic signal, the forces oftwo mighty batefleets of the Legiones Astartes, the Raven Gi the Salamanders, ripped themselves out of ‘the Warp on approich to sstvan Vn near ardand unison; fear of the Navigators art seldom ‘equalled, and ar their head was the Fer, the battleship of Ferrus Manus and his Iron Hands Legion elit. The Space Marine armada transited as close a they deemed possible to the planet om converging attack ediately burned full thrust towards the Traitor stronghold vectors and im In response came a storm of signals and blazing power signatues from the planet below asthe Traitors awoke themselves to war hele early warning systems reacting, in sudden alarm to the massive incursion. Orbital missiles rose up to firing position mobile launchers on Istvan from conc Vide columns of ite, while defence squadro rt plains, streaking skyward on were hurriedly scrambled. Aguinsa riding squadron or even an avenging bate group come actos the Traitors for an attack of ‘opportunity, this out lshing of firepower might have prevailed or a east forestlled a ground assault, but against the combined might of wo Legiones Astartes flees plus the Ferram as vanguard, twas all bu useless and was swept aside without single loss to the atackers Through the impotent barrage, the Loyalist warships hurled onwards towards the planers upperaumospheve de oeise aul savage aspect ofthe bronze-chased and ‘emerald repiian-armoured hulls of the Salamanders vessels contrasting withthe sable black of the Raven Guards own ships darker than the void through whieh they ‘ew and at their head the pitiless barbed ron spike of the Forum, descending like a spear hurled from the hand ofa wrathful god. This would be no mere bombardment from orbit, no impersonal razing ofa world from the cold blackness of space, burn invasion, a scouring, The foe would be met head on, blade-to-blade, the Traitors’ blood spilled and this would the stain of treachery be Honour demanded confrontation, for Rogal Dorm had ordered the Emperor's wayward sons dead for ther crimes and nothing more than their broken bodies would sufice as evidence ofthe deed. wanishment dealt face-to-face; expunged, sedid su In the Space Marines warships wake came the Legions retainer vessels, cher engines straining to keep pace: Imperial Army top transporters, macro-haulers filled with ‘war engines and ordnance let escorts -Mechanicum war bargues nd single blood red ArkTitanicus ofthe Legio Atrus the latter having rendezvoused with ther leet only days before, Rarely even at the height ofthe Great Crusades conquests, had such, » powerful force been gathered ro ataclea single geographic target, but greater force was vyetto be unleashed, asthe armadas Empyreal registers were already plotting the approach ofthe four other expected Legion flets ofthe taskforce, no mote than a few hours way. t | i eePart II: THe First WAVE Se ee er De nd Coonan Degen ee ee eR Cte oe ees ee eee ee ns Pee eee rt ace id ee eee ‘Urgal fortessline became a sea of ire and phosphorescent lightning asthe hammer blows oflance-strikes and custer-warheeds eC ere oe void shields and thundered against faltering power fields raised over the defences. These ere a ner ery hhere and there they shuddered and filed, \hile the ground berween their patchwork et ee The earth heaved, the sands trembled and rock and mountain around the fire-zone cracked and shattered. But unbeknownst By to the attackers, in the days that preceded Cee eer serene eo eee the vile Falgrim, had worked a near miracle Cee ne allowed them, and the majority ofthe Traitor forces sheltered behind shielded curtain Seen ee eee ree ed voleanic bedrock. Elsewhere, however, the ‘enemy fared worse. Out on the desert plains, Cece es ees Sere ed eed Perot cat eet the air, while several outlying outposts and See eee tn eens Seen eee eae Peer enced eee Cate“Though it failed to break open the defences atthe fortess-ine, the orbital sti served its foremost purpose; t occupied the 2e and prevented them countering what happened next. Hardon the heels ofthe shells and energy blasts lashing down Isstwan Vcame the Space Marines. Firs cargo the ras, falling ike stel to fall In this first onslaught came Ferrus lf hungry fr the blood of those {their father, Half blind. and the and shaken by the orbital barrage its wake, the Traitors’ ar defences were ced, but such that anage to fite skyward could slow to react and badly imp hat did not fll in many cases to find their mar and he streaking comet like tals of incinerating is marking the death of warriors wh would never reach the black sands of lst Valive. But such wa this first strike wave andthe precision a which ithad been executed, that foren claw smashed inthe descent, dozen ot more made planet ll ntac, spilling thetr Space Marine cargo into the teth ofthe outermost Traitor The Gorgon’ precisely calculated attack patterns had brought them to the very edge werlays of the fortress, jected Killing ly crafted inthe foothills ground soca ‘of the depression by th skies screamed with the weight of falling hundred metal and the earth shook wit crash-landing impacts, the killing began the Traitor Legiones Astartes rising up from their trenches and bunkers only to find Teel eer selec without superhuman against superhuman, «point blank range, splintering ceramite chainblades howled, their teeth spraying sparks from armour plates orbiting deep at suit seams and neck joint unleashing fountains of blood. In moments it was fought before by the Legiones Astartes for alu markedly difescutii tape sion was the broad ‘equal of the others in terms of arms and in these opening minutes, hundreds died and in the blood ability, Yet ev quagmire of hacking bratality that followed, the Loyalists wargear counted nly to the most first assault numbers a The vanguard shock assault had done its work and in the minutes that followed, the Loyalist force tok advantage ofthe respite icbad gained, as more and more drop pods anders and ame down, deploying the bulk of the Raven Guard and Salamanders Legions forces tothe field, unleashing tens of thousands of Space Marines ro the Urgal up to press the attack, the Loyalist Legions udvanced ro the fight chrough the Forest of already empty drop pods between them and the front line, their heavy armour and to depl+URGALL DEPRESSION+ PaO OSU UCU OP ACTS NOS S: 00S hag i 4++ORBITAL PICT-CAPTURE/CIRCA 566.006.M31++ A } |Inless than an hour, both ses, Traitor and Loyalist ha fully engaged with the enemy and murderous force was being brought to bear in equal measure The Loyalist attack formations had succeeded in forming up according to Ferrus Manus’ pre-batte plan, Facing them, the recently augmented wals ‘of the fortress-line were studded with dozens ‘of cannon emplacements and firing port, thudd gun nests and heavy weapon batteries, hile concealed in dugouts and revetments, Traitor super heavy tanks added their own firepower tothe murderous onslaught Which greeted the Loyalists. Further to this, Imperial Army troops, loyal to their Warmaster were mercilessly used as human shields and buller soaks, driven out ofthe fortifications by the hundreds and onto the Loyalists guns, where they died screst to volleys fbolter fie or were blasted to hor ash by volkite ray, che coin of their lives spent quickly and to litle gin, ‘Attacking northwards towards the fortress line, the Loyalists left lank was taken bythe massed forces ofthe Salamanders Legion Here the ropography of the batleground offered the jst even approach tothe fortress, but here the highest concentration of zigzagging sip-renches and redoubts had b en constructed to deny such an approach, ese defences were guarded in turn by hundreds of the bitterly tenacious Death ‘Guard, and the Salamanders were for fight foreach blood-soaked inch of grou‘With thetePeimarch Vulkan at eheit head, ed trench after trench rem, only to have intoa river of fire before the Death Guard answer with tainted flames oftheirown, Above this warzone loomed 2 ar more terible threat however; the colossal lack bulk ofthe Dies sn Imperator class Titan ofthe Legio Mortis, an by the hand of Man, Flanked by escorting ally Warhound seo Titans its apocalyp outranged anything else on the battlefield and itconsumed hundreds of Loyalist Legionaries with exch blast ofits weaponry, and threatened even the landing Fhunderhawks asting apart Stormbirds and with contemptuous ease as they swooped low to disgonge their cargo, are of broken rock jeadfalls ‘more than four Kilometres wide which To the right lank was a several companies ofthe Sons of Horus had picked for thei own killing ground and Further fortified with aegis lines, razor wite snares and prefabricated bastions. Knowing fll well their saillin manoeuvre and fluid warfare, i wast cis lank that Ferrus Manus’ plan had committed the bull of the Raven Guard, and in this quarter the batle took on a lf ofits own, becoming 2 fractured anarchy of hit and run combats between the darting, shadowstrikes of the Raven Guard and the sudden fury and he Sons of Horus, Over the tangle of canyons and killing grounds, swept in on ets of fire, d ax and his assault companies apitating and hes of the enemy as ismembering s raptor strikes from on high, but the sons of the arch- trator fought on with bitter arrogance, ever deadly in counter attack. In the centre of te line, where the enemy fire was tits most furious, indefatigable and as the roaring his defiance was Ferrus Ma Gorgon led « grinding wedge of Ter from the Averni Clan, numbering 2 thousand strong at che nt of the attack, whilst around him rallied the anguard s Ion Hands Legion batle-aatomata, who ors and six maniples of rushed and kil esilver hands ripping apart were brought u The Primarch wich his bs inhuman, cold rage against which even the Legiones Astrtes could not stand, Where the Gorgon struck th of the Sons torus and the Emperor's CChildren alike broke before him. As the wrathful Primarch pressed on his dark-iron clad Legi him through an tnceasing hail of shellfire as if they were men who had set th res followed relentlessly with against a storm, gunning down or cru anything that came within range Closer to the fortresscine the enemy resistance stiffened, and in the shadow he Traitors’ guns the Iron Hands fist encountered Legionaties ofthe Emperor's Childven over whom ash nightmarish change had been wrought. Their once perfect panoply of war was now def ing and and degraded, human skins hung about them like carnival decorations, and upon their own flesh they had visited terrible mutilations and they howled ecstatcaly even as blown to pieces or eut down. Among thems ‘were other Emperor's Children, each bearing strange sonic weapons whose discordant notes were able to rend the ground and spit nd kill even those protected by the inviolate armour ofa Terminator suit. But even these strange and terrible foes could notGeee ee ne ee eee tn ae cat ee ee ee er eS Pea ea ee ee ee eee ec eee ee eee ee ee eee ed ec cn ee en a ee eee aed ny ee ee eee ee ee ee ee ee oe had to draw los tse which of us would fh im the vanguard and which would deploy with the bull ofthe Legion. a ee ee “eroratidsidens at Lux Majors the worst een matched the ry that met uit was ke dropping into a wal of lle even with the vital suppression going in chead of ut don't know how many drop pods were smashed out ofthe shy bore they could land, and without the Deathstorms Peet eee en ete ‘My Talons po had been knack off course by land we came dow hard crashed half-buried int the sidewall of trench rdoubt and we were taking fie before the dors based clea. We came ou firing fll auto ino a hailstorm of bolts and in seconds we were ight amongst them; Emperors Children, bu not as Il remembered them. They'd changed twisted. Their armour was smeared with soot and die blood, and some had Ce ee ae a the roar of gunfire —the laughter— amped through their helms somehow it sounded wrong... insane 1 was just ili then, survival there was no room for manoeuvre, no room for tactics. Their armour was as god as ours our weapons ‘matched i was bloody attrition, no advantage, no garter, no respite, only dying. We were out of shells inside of minutes then it was scavenge from the eee eee Pe ee te ec ee ee See ae at ee ee ee ee eee ee er ee en ee ee pera ey ee ee ee fe eae a eee ene ee a ee {alle the all ack, my segeant was dead and I was next inthe chain of command. Strike and fade had been ou orders our Legions way. See ee ee ee ee ee en ee of the Irom Hand acault spearhead when the Traitor’ cannon fer caught us and awamped us. eS en ee ee ee ey eer ea FY ners san fine pas Soe bi bynes ey TOY peal erty eae ov ini ty 9 Br ne STA Ta Sa Ss ec fe ee ee ea ee eee eee ace ee ne ‘My armour was fatally compromised, 1 had to detach the power unit and get back fo the lines for resupply. That's how I survived: after re- Pe ee ate eae ee ec a eee eee ee alone had survived of my Tan, 05 the ls ee eee ee De ee eee ee a Reet nt et eee Veteran Legionary, s* Strike Talon, 19 Battle Company, Raven Guard Legion, ar cette ak yysake the Iron Hands relent, and still they came on although fewer in number with cach passing minute [Not was the relentless forward motion of Fermus Manus and his watriorsin van. In the space of che ground the Primarch had ‘loodily bought, and behind the Iron Hands, the massed Legion armour ofthe second, landing was forming up and beginning to press forward to aid the attack, sending wave after wave of whirlwind rockets and basilisk shells over the heads of the Loyalists to pound the fortes-line itself picking up the slack even asthe supporting orbital ‘bombardment from high above waned for risk of striking their own side now. Further ‘gains for the Loyalist attack were made when a speathead formation formed of thirty Salamanders Legion Land Raiders and Spartans convened and concentrated their lscannon fire, snaring the Dies Irae inaweb of searing light. Such was the ferocity of this hurricane of energy that the mighty Imperator Titan was forced to partly withdraw into the shadow ofthe alien keep while its void shields recharged, its hull armour glowing ember red, and leaving ‘one ofits Warhound escorts a burning ruin behind it ‘Soon after, the las of the Loyalist Imperial ‘Army heavy landers descended, and entire fresh armoured companies of Maleador and ‘Buneblade tanks roared forth, some adding tothe weight offre against che fortress-line, others breaking away to attack secondary targets dug in along the ridge walls of the Urgall Depression’ boundary lif ‘The thunder and concussion of so much ‘ordnance unleashed in so confined a space shook the earth and sent up great gouts of black sand as if propelled by a wind storm, Such was the mind-shattering tumult, that scores of human auailiaries, hardened even as they were by the wars ofthe Great Crusade, simply ello their knees paralysed in terror,or became crazed and had tobe shot down by their overseers lest they endanger their comrades. Slowly, inexorably, the Traitor line began to bow dangerously backward Pranereau: Pus 1.3 H REAL As ifsensing the dangerous momentum the Loyalists were gaining, the Traitor forces surged to counter-assault,and the Traitor Primarchs took tothe field. Sllying out from the fortress, Angron, blood -hungry and roaring lke a beast ofa lost and terible age led a charge which split the Loyalist ine apart like a hammer-driven wedge, pushing Derween the Iron Hands in the centre and the Raven Guard on the right lank and forcing them apart, before turning on the ‘Raven Guard with his World Eaters in great slaughter, unleashing gore splatered ‘Terminators with great power axes chained in their hands to rampage freely through the ee ioe ns Ten tangle of ravens caring not who they killed, friend or foe. On the lef flank great clouds ‘of poisonous fog swept across the trenches, dissolving flesh through the slightest breach. in power armout, and by the choked-screams clicited by such ugly deaths was the Reaper Mortarion heralded, Wich arcing sweeps ofhis scythe, the Primarch of the Death Guard cu through the Salamanders in his path and not even the stalwart Firedrakes could stop his bleak progress although by their martial skill nd sacrifice his tll of slaughter was held in check. Even asthe Loyalist attack stalled, ore Traitor troops eppeated: Sons of Horus elite, Reavers and Justacrin Terminators led by the feared Abaddon, counter-charged across te battle lands with unremitting savagery, while more Traitor heavy support squads appeared toring the outer ills of the depression, setting up relentless crosshires, only tobe met by strike wings of Javelin attack speedets and Storm Eagle gunships oF bated from their cover by theanniilating rays of vlkite carronades as Salamanders Legion Glaive superheavy tanks took up ‘guarding postions on the flanks ofthe advancing Loyalist forces, Gunships, feed of their cargo of Legionaries and war machines, undertook desperate and near-suicidal attack ‘uns, seeping low through the storm offre, ‘weapons blazing in the hopes of turning the tide of battle, many to end tom fom the sky like burning meteors‘Puanerras: Pus 16 Hours Tene SIDE ‘With the bade lines avast blody impasse I} of carnage and shell storm, the lee auilaresat at deployed to the dropsite ‘now cleared of Legion drop ships units of artillery companies and super-heavy tank I] wasthe space they entered now —the lines had become og jam of burning ‘wreckage and broken bodies— their press Kradich that i enemy shell ar missile thac ound its way ro them could fal to do Jharm. It was at this moment of confusion ‘bunkers and redoubts opened up in the they found Legionaries waiting fr them, orthe grinding read of heavy armoured ‘ofthe Imperial Army, there was nothing ‘matter how well tained or well equipped ‘proving as helpless as children before ravening wolves. Stas "Phaser: Pos 2.2 Hours Team Smesent Where one side lost ground in one place ‘tgained itn another, and the battle lines | shifted again and again, with no advantage pressed home on either side inthe wake such utter destruction wrought by bot black sands ran red with blood. Tens of "thousands of Space Marines had died in the Imperial Army, heavy infantry regiments, detachments poured fort, but so confined {ground between the dropsite andthe front and discord among the Loyalist rear echelon ‘thaca hidden signal was sent and concealed black sands beneath the Loyalists feetand Death Guard and World Eater suicide squads ‘emerged from hiding to wreak havoc. Where eicles the Trawor ambushers' bloodshed ‘yas curtailed or atleast contained, but where these terror troops broke out amid the ranks ‘bur murderous slaughter. Mere humans, no lide over two hous of bate cataclysm never before seen in open conflict and tens of thousands more fought on brutelised and injured ‘In many places on the battlefield fresh supplies could not reach the fighting thanks to the press of battle and the relentless shelling and countershelling. In such areas chainblades had been shatered, grenades Jong exhausted and bolters had run dry. For both sides che armament ofthe dead were ‘erahhled forin the hlaod and dirt so that the killing could continue or they simply smashed and grappled at each other with sauntleted hands,or pounded on their foes ‘with empty weepons no more now than ted metal clubs, Neither side was willing to give ground, death was everywhere, “The bate raged on. Asthe slaughter at che fortress continued unabated, atthe rermost part ofthe Ungll Depression a vas crimson bulla slowly descended, anti-aircraft fie stitching blackened scorches across its cylindrical armoured sides. t was abate :maniple ofthe Legio Atarus, the Frebrands Titan Legion in their macro lander, and their arrival had been warranted by the heat bloom-signarures of other of their kind advancing through the billowing dust storm from the desert plan. The Legio Mortis ‘were approaching also, and at their colossal striding feet raced scores of Predator tanks and outrder and jetbike squadrons drawn ‘rom the Sons of Horus and World Eaters Legions. The auguties showed the Legio ‘Atarus was outnumbered and outclassed ‘wo Reavers and three Warhounds ofthe Firebrands against a Warlord, wo Reavers and a Nightgauntas batle Titans and two ‘Warhound scout Titans in support forthe Deaths Heads. To match the mass of rapidly moving Legion armour and far attack units ranged against them, they had only asingle covenant ofalled Legio Cybernetica, and ‘squadron of supporting Mechanicum armour. The cold calculations of the Mechanicum pat the probability estimates of survival at less than 13% in their coded vox communications tothe Gorgon, who approved their decision ro directly atack the enemy, rather than receive them in defence and be overrun, For the Legio Atarus, the chance 1 attack their erstwhile brethten ofthe Leglo Mortis ‘was not merely the desire of those who had stayed loyal to punish the Tito, but the culmination ofa long-simmering grudge that had its roots decades before this day. So it was that with righteous anger thatthe Titans ofthe Firebrands sounded thei great sirens and charged into battle against their foe, and in doing so became the fist Loyalist ‘Tan Legion w draw blade against» Trkcor ‘Legion the war ofthe Horus Heresy. The batae tha followed was brief bur brutal with the Legio Atarus attacking a full pelt into the mass ofthe foe, determined to inflict as ‘much damage as possible rather than fight for tctcal advantage or indeed, their own survival. In this they succeeded in destroying the Legio Mortis Warlord Titan Breath of Thunder, with Princeps Marakarus own Reaver Red Naga dealing the coup de grace tothe Traitor bare Titan with its power fist, before its own reactor care was breached by vengeful fre from the Legio Moris resulting in the immolation of the Rel Nags and dozens ‘of enemy tanks in the ensuing explosion. ‘tthe cost oftheir own complete destruction, che Legio Atarus counterattack effeevely euralized the secondary Lepio Mortis contingent. The former forcing its survivors to retreat with heavy damage and play no further part inthe battle. The delayed snd badly mauled Trsito Legion flanking force was then systematically destroyed by the Iron Hands subjugator group which, having been unable to push ts way tothe front owing tothe pres of wreckage ndvehicles, had redeployed under Ferrus nus orders to defend the dropsite from The Iron Hands armoured company made short work of the attackers, trapped 2s they were between the guns of the dropsite's defenders and the raging atomic firestorm of Titan-death on the desert plain behind The last few Traitor jetbikes reeling from the Iron Hands onslaught, attempted to find id the burning Titan-wreckage, but were dragged to the ground and ripped apart by the last fire-wreathed batle the Legio Atarus, implacable in their wrath and faithful beyond their masters’ deaths, By the close ofthe third hour of bate, sheer weight of atrtion had begun to force the «wo warring sides apart. The casualties on both sides were appalling, perhaps a high as {40% by some mid batt the Loyalist heavy guns nove unlimbered estimates, and with and unleashing a steady torrent of fire, even the likes of Mortarion and Angron had been ed back ftom open assault. Likewise the Salamanders and Raven Guard had begun to pull back from the line to re-form and rearm, having expended thelr supplies in the ferocity ofthe battle. Only Ferrus Ma and ther withdraw, would not give upan inch ofthe ground he and his Legion had bed for. sins ofhis Iron Hands would not ‘The scale of the slaughter was unimaginable and tactics had been rendered meaningless, power enough to conquer whole star systems had been unleashed ina space no mote than twenty kilometres in breadth, and all was shattered wreckage, debris and bloody ruin in its wake, But, what had it achieved? Yes, the Loyalists had forced thei landing zone and rent great gishes in the Traitor defence ines, they had driven the enemy from the surrounding hills and staved off flanking attack by the Legio Mortis but they had not achieved their strategic sims, The fortress line still held, che enemy wasstillduginand | their guns had not been silenced. tor lines; hulking darkly ‘exterminating angelsand the furyofallthe {3} bloody arts of humanity were unleashed. All | bur whose knew, as unimaginable asthe cernage had already been, worse was likely yet to come before the end. And then they came++TRAITOR ENCIRCLEMENT AND ASSAULT++ 4++ORBITAL PICT-CAPTURE/CIRCA 567.006.M31++ |Parr IL: MASSACRE “Alone a Legionary formidable fo as far eee es ee ea aan at ea ee ce ee ee oa ened eos Primarch of the Word Bearers Dina Mees anny eer ere eg orbital landers, Thunderhawk, Stormbirds herent ett ty tortured air on plumes offre. Shimmering, eet ae ees the aerial armada bore the markings ofthe Pes eek ern eee) eo ee ead See eae ta fearsome martial legends across the annals ofthe Great Crusade, would prove the doom Se ere cee and the cruelty ofthat truth would in mere Seon See cosy eee the newcomers deployed swiftly sending Ce eee en ene eed Ce eet Alpha Legion, ait seemed, went to reinforce reer ea et eer ets See ere] the perimeter ofthe war zone and the Iron Se cee Pesce amet ett Reece ng to deploy armoured bastions and defence lines, binding their own customised Janders Pee ee eee tee oe etd sheeted armour plates, now stared down the Poet aren eee eT ofthe Urgal fortessline, bracketing the en et eee eT rere ent ts nevly birthed stel monstrosity, fresh waves Coreen ey etic eeIisheld by some sources that, upon the arrival ofthe four fresh Legions, Cora, the ‘senllytacitorn Primarch ofthe Raven Cased. was the frst to cal fora withdrawal for those fighting in favour of the newcomers to take the lead. His Legion had suffered severely An the battle as had all the combatants, and Ihe had no desire to waste further lives in pointless atsition, where stronger forces, yet ‘un-bloodied might tke to che fre. allan ofthe Slamanders was also in vou of consolidation, is Legion having seen some ‘ofthe most relentless and savage fighting ‘against the Death Guard, the dark weapons of the XIV" Legion had inflicted a great many casualties and almostallof Vulkan wersiors ‘were counted among the fighting wounded, ther munitions al but spent Ferrus Manus however, would have none oft. Retreat was to him unthinkable, and heedless tothe fat, an enclave of Loyalists hd formed around him, and his Iron Hands were now becoming dangerously separated from the Loyalist lines by the tide of battle. He ordered his own forces not merely 0 hold ground bur to press on, even as Cora ordered his Legion to fallback tothe Aroprite to make room forthe neweomers, snd Vulkan and his Salamanders slowly and