Disciples of the Flames - The Empty Void: Following the events at Sulis, the path of the Ebon Drake becomes even more obscure. What information could be gathered about this part of the vessel's odyssey was compiled from the fragmentary log entries recovered from the Ebon Drake 's wreckage which was discovered during the Great Scouring that followed the Horus Heresy. The ship's log mentions that three Legionaries mysteriously vanished while the Ebon Drake passed through the Warp Storm known as the "Oasis of Nightmare" followed by an encounter with a strange crystalline xenos craft of unknown mark and provenance. While this encounter soon turned to violence, the strange vessel's weapons cut off power on the Ebon Drake, leaving the Cruiser a dead weight drifting in space, but made no attempt to either permanently damage or board the drifting Astartes voidship. It would take several solar days for the Salamanders vessel to restore power, by which time the mysterious xenos ship had long since left the system. Likewise, the annals of the Portmaster of Valthrudnir -- a world only recently brought to Imperial Compliance at the time -- mentions the sighting of "a craft marked with the sigil of a great black dragon crewed by void-devils." This superficial description may or may not refer to the Ebon Drake.The Ebon Drake continued to circumvent the great Warp anomaly known as the Maelstrom, occasionally encountering other Imperial or Traitor vessels. The chronicles of the IV Legion, the Iron Warriors, state that one of their vessels, the Grand Cruiser Grim Paragon -- one of several line-units left behind to watch over the Legion's homeworld of Olympia -- was heavily damaged as it intercepted a vessel of unknown class bearing the markings of the Salamanders Legion. The Vox-logs state that the unknown vessel entered the system seeking word of the battle at Istvaan V.Perhaps damaged in its encounter with the Grim Paragon, the Ebon Drake 's next stop seems to have been the great Mechanicum Forge World of Anvillus, a mighty bastion of Imperial might and the greatest storehouse of ammunition and weaponry of the entire Great Crusade. Unfortunately for Jurr and his crew, while still distant from the frontlines, the Warmaster's shadow had already fallen upon mighty Anvillus. The embers of discontent had flared into open conflict between factions of the Machine God's followers. Where the Ebon Drake came looking for resupply and repairs, it found only war and strife. For outsiders, both factions were virtually indistinguishable and soon the Ebon Drake found itself in the crosshairs of both parties. Closing at slow speed with the Forge World, the Salamanders warship witnessed titanic duels between seemingly identical fleets of Mechanicum siege-monitors. The Astartes vessel was bombarded by Vox-broadcasts of seemingly incoherent machine code, interrogative missives from interchangeable steel-faced Magi and other insidious data-djinns intended to subvert the core-systems of the Ebon Drake with the intent of leaving her helpless in the void. Were it not for the unique engineering of the prototype vessel and its own powerful Machine Spirit, such an assault would have surely succeeded. Instead of crippling the vessel, the Ebon Drake suffered only minor damage, such as non-essential systems suffering cascade failures and confusion on the bridge and the ship's Enginarium, but the ship remained largely combat-ready.Loathe to become embroiled in what he regarded as internal strife, Xiaphas Jurr ordered all available power diverted to the engines and the Ebon Drake soon plotted a course out-system, evading plasma carronades from approaching Mechanicum siege-monitors, but unable to evade a spread of Boarding Torpedoes. Whilst Jurr's warriors cleaned the corridors of the vessel from the frenzied Murder-Servitors that had gained ingress, Jurr assessed their situation. This last in a series of ill-fated encounters had cost the Ebon Drake dearly. The ship's outer hull sustained serious damage and numerous internal systems needed to be repaired or purged from the insidious data-djinns preventing them from working correctly. Worst still, the casualties to the ship's company meant that Jurr was dangerously low on uninjured warriors. It seemed that without refit and an influx of new fighters, the Ebon Drake 's mission would be doomed to fail.The next reliable data concerning the Ebon Drake places her at Baal, the homeworld of the IX Legion, the Blood Angels. Given the welcome they had received at Olympia, it might seem surprising that Jurr chose to head towards another Legiones Astartes homeworld, yet there is also some reason in it. In contrast to the Iron Warriors, the Blood Angels had not been part of the great punitive expedition despatched to Istvaan V. In fact, acting upon the Warmaster's orders -- who hid his secret intent to overthrow his father under the mask of loyalty -- the angelic Primarch Sanguinius had taken much of his Blood Angels Legion to the outer rim in an effort to pacify the Signus Cluster. With no news of their own Primarch, Jurr might have hoped for some sympathy for their own mission. Upon entering the Baal System, all that remained to greet Xiaphas Jurr was a small garrison under the command of veteran Legionary Warden Arkhad.The Ebon Drake managed to limp into orbit of the IX Legion's fortress-monastery where her crew was finally able to secure a place at an orbital dock to conduct much needed repairs. Warden Arkhad extended his courtesy to Jurr's company and allowed his ship to be fully resupplied, a decision he would later come to regret. Following the tragic outcome of the Drop Site Massacre, Baal had become a safe haven for a multitude of Imperial formations falling back from the northern edge of the galaxy. Whilst Baal did not feel as isolated as Nocturne and it was bustling with activity from a host of Astartes drawn from different Legions, the world still carried the same despondent air as the Salamanders' homeworld.It would be on Baal that Xiaphas Jurr and the crew of the Ebon Drake would learn of the horrific truth of what had truly occurred in the Istvaan-system, but even those survivors to whom they talked could only offer fragmentary tales and vague recollection of the events pf the Dropsite Massacre. None of these survivors had been close to any of the Primarchs and so the fates of Ferrus Manus of the Iron Hands, Corvus Corax of the Raven Guard and Vulkan himself were still unknown, but many where those Legionaries to mourn their gene-sire as if he was dead. In fact, Warden Arkhad had even ordered the building of several surrogate tombs in memory of those Primarchs and other heroes of the Imperium that were believed to have been slain on Istvaan V. But even in this bleak hour when the crew of the Ebon Drake learnt the truth about the Warmaster's betrayal, there was a cause to rejoice, for amongst the survivors of the Dropsite Massacre featured also Legionaries of the XVIII Legion.Readying themselves to sell their lives dearly and make a defiant last stand against the Warmaster's hordes, these battered survivors were led by Praetor-Captain Kar'Tor, once numbered as one of the most valiant sons of Nocturne and heir-designate to the Protectorate of Themis City, the City of Warlords, a warrior and officer for whom Xiaphas Jurr held nothing but utter respect and adulation. But Kar'Tor's warrior-spirit had been broken on the black sands of Istvaan V and seeing so many Battle-Brothers die had filled him with a sombre melancholy. When Xiaphas Jurr announced his intent to pursue his mission and asked for volunteers to join him aboard the Ebon Drake, Kar'Tor went so far as to forbid any of his Legionaries from taking up Jurr's offer. Yet, despite Kar'Tor's harsh words and the grim sense of doom which reigned on Baal, some warriors in whom the fires of hope still burned brightly agreed to follow Jurr. Unsurprisingly, the majority of them -- thirty-eight Legionaries -- were drawn from the Salamanders Legion. Where deemed efficient and possible, these seasoned veterans were put in charge of the still relatively inexperienced squads that made up Jurr's company. With them also came a group of seventeen battered but unbroken Raven Guard under the nominal leadership of Veteran Legionary Aleckto Kirhane.Most of these survivors had escaped the Drop Site Massacre on-board the fabled Thunderhawk gunship Ohidoran before seizing a Cruiser belonging to the Night Lords Legion, the Warlock, and escaping. Having fought the Warmaster's allies during the Liberation of Numinal, the Warlock had also reached Baal. Her complement of warriors, most of them having recovered from serious wounds, were eager to exact their vengeance on those Legions that had betrayed them. Last to join the new intake of troops were a trio of hulking Terminators in Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour bearing the black and silver emblems of the Iron Hands, for they had sworn an oath to re-join their Primarch or die trying.Kar'Tor was not the only one harbouring resentment towards Xiaphas Jurr, for Warden Arkhad, the Seneschal of Baal who had happily welcomed the Ebon Drake's company to his world was also opposed to a fully-armed Astartes Cruiser leaving Baal. In Arkhad's eyes, Jurr's sacred mission was folly, an unwritten warrant of death that would see them all destroyed, whereas if they stayed on Baal, they might stand a slim chance of holding the Blood Angels' homeworld against the Traitors. Unwilling to acknowledge the importance of Jurr's mission, it was only when the Ebon Drake menacingly pointed its Bombardment Cannon at Baal's orbital docks that Arkhad reluctantly allowed the Salamanders vessel to leave and pass through the defence grid unmolested. As the Ebon Drake broke free of Baal's orbit, Warden Arkhad addressed them with these bitter words of parting: "For the sake of the dead you have damned all those who now stand in the Emperor's name. Do not return to Baal; for you stand no less as Traitors than those who now march under Horus' banner." Pondering the truth of these words, the Ebon Drake reached the system's Mandeville Point and readied itself for Warp translation, its course set for the Istvaan System and the heart of darkness.