Donatos War - House Chimaeros' Ambition: Emerging safely from the passage in the Warp her sorcery had opened, Alicia Kar Manticos and her three bodyguards witnessed the gigantic cloud of dust that heralded the Adeptus Arbites precinct's destruction. Confident that both her son and the boy-king had been slain by her ambush, the sorceress rejoiced. Her life's work had been to bring about the fulfillment of the prophecy of House Manticos.For millennia -- quite possible since the dark days of the Horus Heresy itself -- the cult of Tzeentch had wormed its way through the ruling elite of House Manticos, corrupting them without the knowledge or notice of the other Adrastapolian Knight Houses. In secret these corrupt Nobles had sought to topple the patriarchal and highly conservative society of their Knight World and thus bring change to a society whose ways had not changed almost since its settlement.Had it not been for the Ork Skarjaw's invasion, the corruption at the heart of House Manticos might never have come to light. But once discovered, the corruption of one of their own had prompted the Knight Houses of Adrastapol into action, purging House Manticos and blaming the desolation thus wreaked upon the Orks. Yet, the Lord of Change had watched over Alicia in the wake of her House's destruction, and she had been saved by none other than the ruling High King himself, Gerraint Tan Chimaeros.Having fallen in love with her, the High King made Alicia his official consort, their union resulting in the birth of a son -- Luk. With a patience typical of the servants of Tzeentch, Alicia Kar Manticos bided her time, knowing that when the opportunity came, her proximity to the High King would aid her cause. That fateful day came in the wake of the Galhorm Crusade and the death of Gerraint's first-born son and designated heir, Gedric. The strict laws of Adrastapolian succession stipulated that to wear the crown of the High King, the ruler had to at all times possess a male heir to prevent disputes and possible civil war.Not recognising Luk's status as heir due to his mother's tainted background, the rulers of the Knight Houses had stripped Gerraint Tan Chimaeros of his crown and passed it on to House Draconis. That was at least the official version. But Alicia Kar Manticos had been present. She knew the truth -- that House Chimaeros had been stripped of its title because of the incompetence of its leader during the Galhorm Crusade. Wracked by the grief of having lost his son, stripped of his honour and title by the representatives of an uncaring Imperium, Gerraint Tan Chimaeros was easily swayed to the worship of Chaos.Alicia had promised him everything he craved: his rehabilitation as High King of Adrastapol and the strength to break ties with the oppressive rule of the Imperium of Mankind. For years Alicia and Gerraint had sought allies within House Chimaeros and the other Adrastapolian Knight Houses, crafting alliances and biding their time until a suitable occasion arose to reveal their true colours. On Donatos Primus, they had both allied themselves readily with the Dark Apostle Varakh'Lorr, though their goals were very different. Where the leader of the Word Bearers warband was only concerned with his ascension to daemonhood, Alicia and Gerraint sought to usurp command of all of the Donatosian rebels and Renegades. They would serve as a powerful army to keep the Imperium's armies at bay should the Emperor's forces then try to invade a newly independent Adrastapol.Even as Alicia relayed the news of High King Danial's supposed demise to her husband, the last pieces of the puzzle fell into place. House Chimaeros' High Sacristan, Xedediah Kar Mechanicus, had used his techno-arcana to cross-reference orbital scans and Loyalist communication traffic to pinpoint the exact location of the Loyalists' hiding place.Presenting his results to Gerraint, the Renegade leader of House Chimaeros brought this gift to Varakh'Lorr, convincing him to dispatch a powerful army of Chaos Cultists, Word Bearers and Daemon Engines to break the final resistance of House Draconis. Even as the powerful host departed the Valle Electrum, Gerraint readied his own Knights and troops for their second betrayal -- the elimination of the Word Bearers.