Invasion of Istdermond

* Imperium
* Chaos

**•**Tempestor John Smithian'Doh promoted to Tempestor Prime

**•**Tzeentchian Chaos Champion Nurl Lrun declared MIA

**•**Deposits of dirus and moonsilver discovered

**•**Istdermond's population lobotomized

Commanders| * Nurl Lrun the Nightgaunt (MIA)
* Olympian Daemonhost Kanta Pant (KIA)
* Brother-Sergeant Bathykles
* Tempestor John Smithian'Doh

Strength| * March of Flames cult
* Pilgrims of the Plague Moon cult
* Istdermous revolutionaries
* Tempestus Scions from the Mome Raths of Vaguemyth
* Istdermous PDF

The **Invasion of Istdermond**, called the Istdermond Uprising by Chaos, was a failed planetary assault and rebellion by a Tzeentchian cult dubbed the March of Flames. This attack occurred as part of the Segmentum-spanning campaign known as the Night of a Thousand Rebellions in Segmentum Pacificus during 999.M41. The Ecclesiarchy and Inquisition had some warning of this attack, though the exact target remained a mystery; thus, the Starborn Giants Chapter of Adeptus Astartes and the Tempestus Scions Regiment known as the Eleventy-Seventh Mome Raths of Vaguemyth quickly mobilized to defend Istdermond. In the end, the Imperium drove back the invaders, crushed the rebels on the planet, and one of the Marching Flames' chief Sorcerers was declared MIA in the aftermath.

## History

A decade prior before event that would become known as the The Night of a Thousand Rebellions, agents of the Ecclesiarchy acquired correspondence from one of the Marching Flames’ Congregations. Initial efforts to decipher the text yielded staggering success: the Tzeentchian cult planned to stage its next daemonic incursion on a planet codenamed “Aquari Calistos” during “The Night of Glass Blowing”! What precisely these terms meant was unfortunately beyond the spies of the Adeptus Ministorum. However, the scale of the offensive was evident: a full planetary invasion, bolstered by rebellion, would guarantee the world's demise. The target’s exact identity eluded the Imperium, though scribes uncovered cryptic clues concealed in the script; the correspondence contained allusions to deposits of dirus and moonsilver.

This information in hand, the Adeptus Ministorum petitioned the High Lords of Terra to deploy an Imperial assassin: the target would be the firebrand Svomer, who led the March of Flames for millennia. The High Lords of Terra assented, and assigned the task to Callidus Assassin Corexette Arkham. Over the course of five years, Corexette the Callidus infiltrated a group of cultists aspiring to join the exclusive March of Flames; the cell she joined earned membership in the March of Flames following a particularly successful raid. Only after the Invasion of Istdermond was the significance of this assault discovered: its success determined whether the Sorcerer Nurl Lrun could covertly maneuver his forces through the Maelstrom Zone and arrive in Segmentum Pacificus in time for the Night of a Thousand Rebellions.

On an Imperial monitoring station near the Maelstrom, Corexette (as part of a cultist Kill Team) infiltrated the compound and prevented any calls for aid from being broadcast, moments before the attack: she cast a reign of confusion by decapitating the head of the local Imperial Guard garrison and incapacitating the station's senior Astropath with her Neural Shredder; Corexette's account of these events notes that-- after the raid-- Torchbearers from a Congregation of the Everflame euthanized the elderly, blind psyker. Though Corexette's Kill Team succeeded and even witnessed the arrival of the traitor Otto Sabas, the Callidus Assassin seemingly suffered a fate worse than death: she allegedly mutated into a Chaos Spawn during her Ritual Branding of Initiation. However, Corexette's service provided valuable intel studied by the Ecclesiarchy and Inquisition to this day.

## Battle for Blastglass Beach

### Battle's Background

At the climax of the invasion, Brother-Sergeant Bathykles bested the March of Flames’ leading Daemonhost, Kanta Pant, in a duel the death, preventing the psyker’s ritual sacrifice. However, the Terminator Sorcerer Nurl Lrun led a covert effort to complete the ceremony elsewhere and spark the daemonic incursion: on the island of Gorgonsgrad, the forces of Chaos slipped from the glass agri-dome and ambushed the Imperium’s hastily deployed AA guns; whoever controlled the quad-guns controlled the beachhead. There, Nurl planned to sacrifice a second daemonhost to ignite Istdermond’s oceans. This last, hallmark battle on Istdermond would prove a vicious one, both sides trading blows for every inch until the very end.

The very sands of Blastglass Beach proved a hazard for both sides: the naturally occurring, subterranean currents of electricity there generate immense heat, trapping gas-pockets in glass; these crystallized cavities remain hidden beneath the beach's seemingly tranquil sands, but contain vast amounts of energy. Thus, locals exercise great caution traversing Blastglass Beach. When subjected to external pressure (such as footsteps), the delicate glass bubbles succumb to their instability, resulting in explosive fragmentation; these ruptures release a cascade of glass shards, both dazzling and lethal, which scatter in a mesmerizing display, booming like thunder with the shriek of shattering glass. Here, Nurl thought the added confusion of the volatile terrain would ease his passage to the coastline. However, he would soon learn otherwise.

### Orders of Battle (Imperium)

 **Istdermous PDF** | **N/A** | **•** 2 Relic Tauroxes**•** Imperial Pillbox Fortification**•** 1 Infantry Platoon (1 Command, 1 Conscript Squad, and 2 Infantry Squads)

### Battle Begins

The Marching Flames’ Chosen covertly captured the closest quad-gun, and the Everflame Congregation nearly seized the second before being spotted, triggering the Imperial response. The cult’s presence revealed, Riders of the Oceanfire soared ahead of their allies on Discs of Tzeentch, securing the second quad-gun. The Istdermous PDF answered the advance with a storm of lasgun fire, though the soldiers were unprepared and unable to execute their commander’s order for First Rank Fire, Second Rank Fire! Meanwhile, Nurl Lrun’s Chosen plowed through the western flank in a Rhino: its dozer blade tore through Imperial barricades as its dirge caster screeched apostatic techno-chant; the dark hymns of Hell-Forge Samech weakened the enemy lasguns and caused their beams to terminate harmlessly against the Riders of the Oceanfire's power armor.

+++ERROR: BATTLE-REPORT LOADING SEQUENCE FAILED+++

## Historical Significance

The Battle for Blastglass Beach marked the end of the Marching Flames' Invasion of Istdermond. After its conclusion, Tempestor John Smithian'Doh from the Mome Raths of Vaguemyth received an award, the Winged Skull, and the Adeptus Mechanicus elevated his personal power fist to the status of a Regimental Relic, dubbed The Rumbler's Thunderfist; Smithian'Doh also ascended to the rank of Tempestor Prime. The Starborn Giants, alongside the Ordo Hereticus, converted the remainder of Istdermond's population into Arco-Flagellants and Servitors for their geographical association-- and perceived complicity-- with the rebels. However, a new workforce was ordered to operate on Istdermond, and plans began before the last corpse on Istdermond went cold, for correspondence from the March of Flames mentioned deposits of dirus and moonsilver on the planet.

In the end, the Starborn Giants viewed the campaign as bittersweet. Brother-Sergeant Bathykles, now known as the Messiah of Isterdmond, vanquished a daemonhost in single combat and secured a relic for the Inquisition, a deck of the Emperor’s Tarot desecrated by Chaos. Furthermore, the Centurion Giants Host at Blastglass Beach held one of the AA guns until reinforcements arrived. The Astartes had very publicly proven their honor and skill. Yet, a stain soured their victory: whilst transporting the March of Flames’ Chaos tarot to the Ordo Hereticus, Codicier Mance Holar suffered much torment from the tainted cards; he was surrendered to the Inquisition alongside the artifacts, costing the Chapter one of its chief commanders during the invasion as well as one of the Chapter’s scarce Librarians. Still, the Starborn Giants’ Chapter Master, Naturrash Jokan, welcomed his three companies home with enthusiasm, for elsewhere in the galaxy the 4th Company had been utterly annihilated and the 6th reduced to a mere shadow of its former strength.

For the March of Flames, the failure at Istdermond meant more than a simple return to the Imperium's status quo: the Sorcerer and Nightgaunt Nurl Lrun, a close acolyte of Provost Svomer and personal protégé of the Mirrorlord, was declared MIA; orbital pict-captures showed his mangled corpse being dragged away by a one-armed Apothecary of the Starborn Giants, seemingly captured by the Adeptus Astartes. Yet, the Nightgaunt's efforts were not without fruit: the Terminator Champion who accompanied Nurl Lrun during the Battle for Blastglass Beach escaped; Tzeentch transformed the Terminator into a Mutalith Vortex Beast, an even more powerful ally in wars to come. A Wildfire Congregation managed to whisk away the creature on one of the Marching Flames' last transports to escape into the void.

## Gallery

Starborn Giants Brother-Sergeant Bathykles of the 7th Company.A Cultist from one of the Marching Flames' Everflame Congregations.A female Scion of the Eleventy-Seventh VMR in uniform, carrying a hotshot longlas.The Rumbler's Thunderfist adorned with purity seals for crushing Chaos Champions.