Five Ruins Chronology

Presented below is the **Five Ruins Chronology**, an exhaustive listing of all known campaigns and battles that occurred during the galaxy-wide conflicts known as the Five Ruins in the early 31st Millennium.

By no means is this list complete, as much of the information presented in various canon sources is often ambiguous and even at times contradictory.

Therefore, this is merely a rough guide to the chronological order of the events during this conflict and no date should be taken as absolutely final should new evidence come to light.

## **The Ruins Chronology**

### Prelude to the Ruins

* **009-011.M31 Succession Crisis** - As the Imperium reached ten years without the Emperor and little concrete good had been achieved by the Reclamation Command, political forces began pushing for a permanent solution to be found for the Imperium. Many within the Imperium saw the High Regent as only a temporary position, and as more and more people came to believe that the Emperor was not returning there were talks of solidifying the High Regent's position. Though Alexandros opposed it initially, the arguments of Malcador and the support of some of his brothers such as Lukas convinced Alexandros of the merits of the proposition. Alexandros would slowly reach out to his most trusted brothers for their opinion and support, receiving many assurances. However, other Primarchs were vehemently opposed to any such move. Hectarion Mycenor and Theoderaf were both fiercely opposed to any crowning of a new Emperor, and when news reached them of the Regent's manoeuvring they both openly voiced their disagreement and gathered their military forces. For Absalom Vaughn and Morrigar, the political turmoil offered the perfect opportunities to further their own agenda. Morrigar, already touched by the corruption of Chaos, fanned the flames of dissent on both sides, and Absalom used the impending clash as proof of the Regent's ineptitude to gather further political support to himself. As 011.M31 progressed, both sides manoeuvred for the political and moral high ground and military forces gathered.

### The First Ruin

* **011.M31 Breaking of Keld’abe** - Rang Talyc, having pulled his Legion back to their homeworld of Keld’abe, asks his most trusted brother Araphel to meet him there to discuss grave matters. Araphel arrives with his Legion, and Rang Talyc calls on him to take up the mantle of Emperor and lead the Imperium, not the Council of Terra or the High Regent. Araphel detects the corruption of Chaos that has already begun to rot the Shadow Warriors, and thus unleashes a sudden orbital assault on the world. The Shadow Warriors are bewildered, and send out cries for aid. As the Iron Revenants besiege the planet and assault it, the Shadow Warriors scramble to escape. The Sky Reavers arrive in-system and provide cover for elements of the Shadow Warriors to escape, as a sudden Warp Storm delivers many Warriors to safety. The Sky Reavers then escort Araphel to Terra to answer for his actions.
	+ **011.M31 Exodus from Ash** - Fleeing from the Breaking of Keld’abe, Rang Talyc leads his legion on a pilgrimage.

### The Second Ruin

* **013.M31 The Necrons Awaken** - Across the Imperium, Necron Tomb Worlds begin to awaken in reaction to the growing strength of the Warp, throwing the Imperium into chaos. The three main areas of activity are in central Segmentum Pacificus centered on the Thokt Dynasty, south-eastern Ultima centered on the Sekemtar Dynasty and northern Ultima centered on the C’tan known as the Nightbringer.
	+ **War against the Thokt Dynasty** -
	+ **War against the Nightbringer** -
	+ **War against the Sekemtar Dynasty** -
	+ **Shattering of the 4th** - The Red Eyes under Theoderaf receive intelligence that the world of Iroruki, one of the first worlds conquered by Theoderaf when he was united with his legion, was on the verge of rebelling. Fearing that such a rebellion would forever blacken his legacy, Theoderaf ordered the entire IVth Legion to travel to Iroruki and overawe the populace. Organising a parade through the capital city, Theoderaf and the most elite members of the Red Eyes land on the planet. As they march through the city surrounded by crowds of civilians, Chaos cultists launch an ambush, unleashing devastating psychic attacks and killing many veterans and commanders close to Theoderaf. The legion’s psykers explode from the Warp overload, and Theoderaf cries out for the Emperor to answer his pleas. Hearing nothing, Theoderaf and the Red Eyes completely lose their minds to rage, and slaughter the whole city and then bombard the planet until it becomes a Dead World.

### The Third Ruin

* **Declaration of Separation** - The Separatists, under the banner of Koschei Kharkovic, issue their official statement to the Council of Terra listing their grievances and declaring their secession from the Imperium. Despite the attempts at diplomacy both in the declaration and by Koschei’s equerry Maxmilian Jovanovi, the Council refuses to accept the declaration yet Alexandros refrains from declaring war.
	+ Alexandros and a contingent of Halcyon Wardens travel to Zbruch to meet with Koschei in person, but negotiations fail and the Loyalists withdraw.
* **Tempestus Campaign** - The Imperium launches its offensive against the Godslayers, having the People's Rada surrounded by Legions. However, evidence for the Alabaster Order's support for both sides of the conflict is discovered by the Iron Revenants and the Alabaster Order are eventually declared traitors for their support of the Separatists, leading to a new front in the war.
* **Pacificus Campaign** - Tenzin meets with his closest brother Hectarion and attempts to convince him to join the Separatists and reassures him that the Separatists are not Chaos worshippers and did not wish to see the Imperium fall. Though Hectarion refuses, he does not attack his brother and the two part in peace.
* **Obscurus Campaign** - The Sky Reavers enact their pre-planned campaigns, exploding outwards to both sway worlds to their side and capture key strategic and logistic locations. The Forge World of M’Pandex joins them and rebels against the Mechanicum, with the loyalists Forge World of Mezoa being placed under siege. One column of Sky Reavers races for the Kalium Gates, another to Xenobia, one sweeping east to take worlds in northern Ultima and the rest solidifying the Heavensphere’s defensive lines.
* Ultima Rebellion
* War Against the Khrave

### The Fourth Ruin

* **0XX.M31 Obsailes Offensive** - With a stalemate having set in between the Imperium and the Separatists, the Primarchs Aato Väyrynen and Ezharion Kulas propose a plan to their Separatist allies to resolve a thorn in their side - the Fire Keepers’ homeworld of Obsailes. Koschei Kharkovic declares that he and the Godslayers would remain neutral as they had promised the Imperium, but that they would hold the front lines to allow the others to move their legions. The Separatists launch a lightning assault, trying to overcome the fortified defences of Obsailes and Iomin before reinforcements could arrive. The assault is eventually abandoned as the tenacity of the Keepers and the arrival of reinforcements from the Midnight Host make the planned blitzkrieg unfeasible.
* Lucius Campaign
* The Siege of Terra

### The Fifth Ruin

* Assault on the Qui-Tan Domain
* The Fall of the Alabaster Order