13th Black Crusade (Original) - Darkness Descends - A Limited Chaos Victory: Darkness had fallen across a hundred worlds, and for the defenders of the Cadian Gate, the pure light of day now seems but a distant memory. Though the forces of Abaddon the Despoiler were denied the ultimate prize of the fall of Cadia after the first phase of the 13th Black Crusade, Abaddon’s hordes have gained a foothold upon the worlds of Mankind for the first time in over 10,000 standard years, and none can see them being repelled for many years to come. Abaddon and his Council of Three have outmanoeuvred and outfought the forces of the Imperium at almost every turn. Corpses litter the battlefields in their millions, yet millions more still stand beleaguered, against a foe that knows no mercy and whose only goal is the utter destruction of all who stand before them. The bleak moors of Cadia have been reduced to a barren, crater-pocked wasteland, blasted by orbital torpedoes, super-heavy artillery and the massive footfalls of Titans.The Vilklas and Andur defence lines have collapsed under the relentless pressure of a million frenzied Chaos Cultists, Traitors and mutants, and the Cadian Sector High Command has been forced to relocate to Kasr Gallan on the far side of the Caducades Sea. Though the Imperial Navy is in control of the inter-system space lanes of the Cadian Sector, the Forces of Chaos still maintain a powerful presence in the skies directly above Cadia that is capable of challenging the Imperial fleet since the Imperial orbital defences fell in the opening days of the 13th Black Crusade. The defenders of Cadia are now deployed around Kasr Gallan and throughout the Wastes, resolute that not a backward step shall be taken. The order has been given: "Stand at Cadia, or damn the Imperium of Mankind to the depredations of Chaos for all eternity."The long-held dominance of the Imperium in the Segmentum Obscurus has been decisively shattered. Chaos forces roam freely on the once proud worlds of Scarus, Agripinaa, and even within the Cadia System. Whole worlds have fallen to the tide of Disorder that has swept across the sectors of the segmentum. Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade appears to have been a modest success. Although he cannot claim complete dominion over the Cadian Pylons, the damage and chaos inflicted upon the Imperium will have severely weakened its activities within the segmentum long into the new millennium. Commanded by the shadowy Triad, the the council of Chaos Champions that controls the Planet Killer, and groups of dedicated tacticians, the servants of the Ruinous Powers have come away with a win. It is a slim win, but a win nonetheless. The desperate actions of a few heroes within the Imperial hierarchy have, however, held the Forces of Chaos at bay in several sectors and star systems, claiming outright victory in most of the outlying sectors, and preventing total catastrophe for the Imperial forces in the inner sectors of the segmentum.Though Abaddon's final goal of smashing through the Cadian Gate was ultimately unsuccessful, the advances made by his forces have gained him much more than was initially realised. His retinue of Chosen, led by Devram Korda, the Tyrant of Sarora, returned to his side in the closing days of the war, bringing with them two individuals who had journeyed to the centre of the Eye of Terror. Together with the Chaos Sorcerer, Ygethmor the Deceiver, they presented Abaddon with the Heart of Chaos, a powerful Chaos artefact that Zaraphiston, the Chaos Sorcerer who served as one of Abaddon's Chosen, had long claimed could not exist. It is known that Ygethmor now stands at Abaddon's right hand, while Zaraphiston's status remains a mystery.