Age of Apostasy - Bucharis' Mistake: Bucharis' mistake was to challenge the Space Wolves. Eventually, as the armies of Bucharis moved north, they reached into the territories protected by the Space Wolves. As almost every Space Marine Chapter does, the Space Wolves protected a small number of planets within close proximity of Fenris, their homeworld.As Bucharis' massive fleet dropped out of the Warp, it encountered a Space Wolves strike cruiser called the Claw of Russ. After a brief battle, the cruiser escaped into the Warp, although not before it destroyed a rebel Navy cruiser and transport ship. Bucharis passed this off as a chance encounter, but this arrogance was to cost him. He ordered his starships to continue, taking planet after planet, until they jumped into the fifth star system. Here they met a surprise.This system contained the world of Fenris itself, the home of the Space Wolves, and as soon as the rebel navy forces powered down their Warp drives, the Space Wolves' fleet attacked. The Space Wolves were outnumbered and out-gunned, but even this didn't stop them. They tore a hole in the rebel navy fleet before retreating to lick their wounds and begin a hit and run attack campaign.They managed to keep about two-thirds of Bucharis' fleet occupied, but his forces still managed to make a landing on Fenris. Hundreds of transport ships descended into the thick, stormy atmosphere of Fenris and several were destroyed by the storms alone, and more by the defensive laser batteries from the ground. Despite this, a landing base was established and thousands of rebel Guardsmen swarmed out onto the ice of the northern regions of the planet.Despite the poor conditions, the troops of Bucharis were enraged at the loss of so many of their compatriots and vowed to destroy the Space Wolves. Any Fenrisian captured was put to work supplying the Guardsmen and laying out makeshift roads across the glacial flats. Though they were enslaved, the Fenrisians were not to be kept down easily.Several regiments of Imperial Guardsmen were kept out of the fighting to keep the Fenrisian slaves from revolting. Bucharis had conquered most of the planet before he approached the vast polar fortress that served as the Space Wolves' fortress-monastery and was called the Fang.The rebels surrounded it and waited for more forces to be shuttled down from orbit. The Space Wolves' fleet maintained its hit-and-run tactics, destroying rebel transport ships before they managed to reach orbit. Despite this, the hills were swarming with rebel Guardsmen. Gigantic cannons bombarded The Fang and orbital ships rained fire from above. The mountains shook, creating avalanches and much destruction.Still, the defenses of The Fang remained intact. This allowed the Space Wolves to sally forth and destroy the earthworks and giant cannons of the Apostate Cardinal. Wolf Scouts were dispatched to disrupt the rebel supply lines and many cannons fell quiet due to a lack of ammunition.The hills were full of tunnels that the Blood Claws used to reach deep into the enemy army, killing with their bare fists to save ammunition. Long Fangs were even known to blow apart mountains to crush the armored columns of the enemy. Space Wolf Dreadnoughts were used to smash into the heart of marching rebel columns.All of this dragged on for solar months. Bucharis sent in suicide missions promising great wealth for the first warrior to breach the walls of The Fang. After three standard years, millions had died as the Space Wolves had countered every attempted storming of the citadel. Bucharis drew in more and more of his rebel forces until even those on far away Gathalamor were down to a quarter of their normal strength. Bucharis believed his planets to be under his total control, so he felt he could draw so many Guardsmen away from their former occupation.Fate, as it has a habit of doing, intervened again, except this time it would bring disaster for Bucharis. A vast Space Wolves force of battle barges emerged at the edge of the Fenris System. Bucharis' fleet was taken completely by surprise and the Space Wolves' fleet took no time between arriving and attacking. Nearly half of Bucharis' fleet was destroyed in the first attack and, trapped between the new arrivals and the harassing Space Wolves fleet, Admiral Sehalla ordered a retreat.The Space Wolves wasted no time in pursuit and moved directly on the relief of Fenris. The furious attack of the returning Space Wolves was vicious, and tens of thousands of rebel Guardsmen died. The attack from orbit was led by Kyrl Grimblood and the Space Wolves' reinforcements blasted the rebel Guardsmen from the mountainsides. Even those who escaped this attack eventually died in the inhospitable snowy wastes of the continent of Asaheim.They were attacked by the giant Fenrisian Wolf packs that made Fenris such a deadly planet. In all of the chaos, Bucharis managed to escape on a shuttle and met up with Admiral Sehalla, who jumped out of the Warp briefly enough to pick up the Apostate Cardinal's shuttle. Bucharis decided to leave Fenris to the Space Wolves and retreated with his northern forces to bolster his defenses and consolidate his hold over the rest of his empire.