Long War - Notable Events of the Long War: The Long War has raged for over ten thousand standard years. The bitterness and spite of the Chaos Space Marines has spread throughout the galaxy, spilling from the Warp and bleeding back again for time immemorial. Though the Inquisition takes great pains to quell reports of Chaos incursions in order to spare the common populace of the Imperium from confronting unconventional thought, the legends and records of Chaos' Long War persist across the galaxy, handed down through the generations by the foolish and the brave:The Long War Begins (ca. 014.M31) - Following the death of the Arch-Traitor Horus, and the retreat of the Traitor Legions into the great Warp Rift known as the Eye of Terror, the surviving Chaos Space Marines, thirsty for revenge, strike out against the Imperium from the depths of the Eye. The Adepts of the Administratum are horrified to find that the number of their invasions consistently increases with every passing solar decade.1st Black Crusade (781.M31) - Abaddon the Despoiler made many blood pacts with the Dark Gods in the wake of Horus' defeat during the Horus Heresy. In 781.M31, Abaddon made his first attempt to launch a new offensive against the Imperium of Man following the Horus Heresy and initiated the 1st Black Crusade, also known as the First Battle of Cadia. The 1st Black Crusade marked the first assault by the Forces of Chaos upon that Fortress World in the Cadian Gate. Following the relative success of this deadly incursion across the Segmentum Obscurus, the Ruinous Powers grant Abaddon the means to further increase his already formidable power. On the world of Uralan, by the will of the Dark Gods, Abaddon recovered the Daemonsword Drach'nyen after battling his way through a haunted labyrinth to the great inner chamber where the blade had languished in stasis for millennia. The howling sword contained the bound essence of a dangerous Warp entity who had the power to rend reality apart wherever the weapon strikes. After the recovery of the malefic sword, Abaddon's power swelled to inhuman proportions and he was recognised as Horus Lupercal's true successor amongst the Traitor Legions, the new Warmaster of Chaos.Perturabo's Plague (ca. 400.M32) - The Daemon Primarch Perturabo perverts the eight rituals of possession, turning them against his enemies. Invoking Nurgle, Perturabo imbues his curse with extreme contagion and releases it into the mechanical systems of Toil, a vassal Forge World. The raw Chaos spreads through the machines, and the hidden manufactoria begin to change. On the eighth solar day, giant cables burst from the earth, Daemonic machines hunt the living, and many-legged cathedrals of industry prowl the wastes. The planet is ultimately scoured of all native flesh.2nd Black Crusade (597.M32) - Abaddon places a terrible curse upon the worlds of the Belis Corona Sector, infusing them with the touch of the Warp. Meanwhile, his fleet attacks the sector's orbital Imperial shipyards, destroying dozens of Imperial cruisers being constructed or repaired. Before the Imperium can muster its strength to fight back, the Despoiler retreats into the Eye of Terror, his works complete.The Feral War (ca. 112.M33) - Whilst mining the Feral World of Aggaros, the Adeptus Mechanicus engage in what at first seems like an embarrassingly one-sided battle -- that is until the primitives bring their flame-tongued shamans into the fray. The armies of the Adeptus Mechanicus find themselves burnt from the inside or crushed flat by invisible forces. The retreating Tech-priests call in an old debt from the Relictors Chapter in order to renew the attack. Four solar days later, the Relictors' 3rd Company fights its way through psychic pyrotechnics of bewildering force to reach the hidden city of the primitive tribes. Lining every road are dust-caked statues of the Thousand Sons, each facing a colossal effigy of Ahriman atop a pyramid of obsidian. Captain Excorius orders the statue of Ahriman torn down. As it topples, every one of the Thousand Sons comes to life, shrugging off the dust of centuries and opening fire on the Relictors with a hail of coruscating bolts. Not one of the Adeptus Mechanicus, nor their Relictors allies, survive.3rd Black Crusade (909.M32) - The Despoiler sends the Daemon Prince Tallomin against the Cadian Gate in a reckless and bloody frontal assault. The Daemonic horde that follows in Tallomin's wake accounts for the destruction of millions of lives and draws in Astra Militarum regiments and Space Marine Chapters from across the Segmentum Obscurus. Eventually, warriors of the Space Wolves manage to send Tallomin howling back into the Warp. Under the cover of the attack, Abaddon leads a dedicated strike force to desecrate the Shrine World of Gerstahl, breaking the ancient seal on the Imperial Saint's tomb and utterly destroying his remains whilst the Imperium's attention is elsewhere. This was done to prevent the saint from returning as a Living Saint who would interfere with the Despoiler's plans as had been foretold by prophecy.4th Black Crusade (001.M34) - Also known as the El'Phanor War, during this Black Crusade the Black Legion besieges the great Citadel of Kromarch. Abaddon leads the charge against the adamantium gates of the famously unbreachable citadel upon the world of El'Phanor. Only one in ten of Abaddon's spearhead reach the gates before they are trapped by Heavy Bolter fire. Utilising his Daemon Sword Drach'nyen, the gates of the citadel prove harder than diamond, but they split apart like cordwood before Abaddon's dolorous blow. In an orgy of violence, the Traitor Legions and their Daemonic allies fall upon Kromarch and his kin, extinguishing their ancient line forever.The Shattering (764.M34) - The Asuryani Craftworld Lugganath comes under vicious attack from a psychically-shielded fleet of Emperor's Children. The Craftworld Aeldari vessels destroy the first wave of fighters, but the sheer number of Chaos Space Marine dropships forces a breach in the Craftworld's defences. After a bitterly fought boarding action, a teleport relay is established in the Plaza of Reflection and the Emperor's Children begin to deploy en masse. The Aeldari seal off the breach with surgical precision, but they realise their foe's true intent too late. At the heart of the plaza, several hundred Noise Marines combine their Sonic Weapons into a psychic explosion that thrums louder and louder throughout Lugganath's psychoplastic architecture until the air fills with screams. Cracks appear across the craftworld's sweeping arches, and the thin spires crumble down onto the raging battle below. Seeing the terrible devastation, the autarchs of Lugganath authorised the use of Hemlock Wraithfighters, eventually causing the Emperor's Children to retreat. During their withdrawal, they were pursued every step by vengeful Harlequins.The Red Dawn of Iriad IV (437.M35) - Iriad IV, a fortified Industrial World on the cusp of the Eye of Terror, is invaded by a tide of World Eaters. Captain Revellion, of the Ebon Knights Chapter, leads his men against his Traitor cousins in a bitterly fought war that sees the corpse count rise spectacularly quickly. The battle tears across the planet until less than a company of warriors remains on either side. Whilst the World Eaters do not care that so many of their number have fallen, Captain Revellion is driven to desperation by the loss of so many of his men and mutters a prayer into the night. Solar hours later, covered head to toe in blood, Revellion stalks out from the shadows with a dripping chainsword in either hand. His men shout in fierce joy as the last of the World Eaters falls, though their victory soon turns to ashes. Unstoppable, Captain Revellion hacks a swathe through the remaining Ebon Knights. He does not stop there. The rampaging Captain attacks anything that moves, including his own reflection. District after district is depopulated as Revellion's pact with Khorne bears slow but terrible fruit. Iriad IV's remaining population is evacuated and the planet is declared Perditas.The Green Death (437.M36) - The infected Ork warbands invading the Ecclesiarchy world of Sanctia evince a terrible new barbarism. They fall upon the planet's defenders and consume them bodily, devouring the living and the dead alike, as if compelled by a Daemonic hunger. Bloating and swelling, the Orks become obese monstrosities that can move only at a snail's pace. Puzzled by this strange reprieve, the Adepta Sororitas systematically purge the Orks with flame and bolter. It is then that Mortarion and his Death Guard make planetfall. The skeletally thin Daemon Primarch looms over the bodies of the Orks as he stalks to the front lines. At his passing, each Ork bursts apart in a shower of foul fluids, and dozens of Nurglings spill out from their remains to follow their master. Sanctia falls to the Green Death within twenty solar hours of Mortarion's arrival, and the plague spreads across the Ecclesiarchy-held star system at an unstoppable pace.5th Black Crusade (723.M36) - Abaddon scours the Elysia Sector, raiding hundreds of worlds and causing untold death and destruction. On the world of Tarinth, the Despoiler lures the Warhawks and Venerators Chapters into the ruins of Kasyr Lutein where he traps them between the Daemonic hordes of Khorne and the forces of the Black Legion. In a bitter last stand, both Loyalist Chapters are utterly destroyed, their skulls taken by the ancient Daemon Prince Doombreed, whose existence precedes that of the Imperium itself, to be mounted upon the mighty throne of Khorne.The Great Degeneration (836.M36) - After the unremitting violence of the xenocidal Quietus Campaign, the Annihilators Chapter finally succumbs to blood psychosis. Those of the Chapter still able to act rationally gather at their fortress-monastery in the hope of finding absolution. Instead of redeeming their sins, however, their corrupted Chaplains lead them in an ancient ritual, leaving their souls wide open to Daemonic influence. Every member of the Chapter is possessed over the course of a single moonlit night, shifting form and devolving into armoured half-Daemon monstrosities. Calling themselves the Beasts of Annihilation, the brethren go to war again, though this time it is the Imperium that feels their wrath.6th Black Crusade (901.M36) - The Sons of the Eye were a splinter warband of the Black Legion, founded and commanded by the infamous Chaos Lord Drecarth the Sightless, the Blind Butcher of Irridous VII. Drecarth was a former Battle-Brother of the Sons of Horus who had fought alongside Abaddon during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy that followed. Always jealous of the Primarch Horus' favour for the Despoiler, the Sons of the Eye considered Abaddon a usurper. During the 6th Black Crusade launched in 901.M36, Abaddon visited his wrath upon Drecarth the Sightless and his treacherous warband. Abaddon aided the Sons of the Eye in an assault on the Forge World of Arkreach, fighting side-by-side with them until the Adeptus Mechanicus defenders were finally crushed. The triumphant Abaddon then slowly killed Drecarth, impaling him with the Talon of Horus, even as the Despoiler made him watch every member of the Sons of the Eye bow before their new master.Abyssal Crusade (321.M37-112.M38) - Warp Storm Dionys ripples across the galaxy, its ghastly energies polluting a wide swathe of star systems. In addition to billions of Imperial citizens, no less than thirty Space Marine Chapters are judged by the charismatic Saint Basillius to be tainted. The Ecclesiarchal lord gives a choice to those so judged -- seek redemption in the Eye of Terror or be exterminated. Without exception, the Judged Chapters choose to embark upon a redemptive Imperial Crusade aimed at purging the Daemon Worlds of the Eye of Terror. Within that great Warp rift, some of the Chapters are lost forever or destroyed, and a few turn Renegade in order to survive. The most resolute return to the Imperium nearly 800 standard years later, having discovered that their accuser, Saint Basillius himself, is a servant of Chaos. The corrupted saint's demise is swift and bloody.Molochai's Folly (772.M37) - Lured by promises of power, Sevastos Molochai, the power-hungry planetary governor of Urskas Sol Tetra, makes long-range contact with a coven of Word Bearers Chaos Space Marines. Within eight solar weeks, his planet is turned from a thriving Industrial World into a Daemon-infested nightmare.7th Black Crusade (ca. 811.M37) - During the course of the Ghost War, the Blood Angels join in battle against Abaddon's horde upon the world of Mackan. The Despoiler mercilessly singles out the Sons of Sanguinius, personally leading a band of Khorne Berzerkers in a gore-spattered assault against the Blood Angels' Devastator positions. Though only a handful of the Traitors survive the teeth of the Loyalists' guns, the Blood Angels' Assault Marines are unable to reclaim the bodies of their fallen brothers, which are desecrated by the Despoiler's frenzied warband.8th Black Crusade (999.M37) - Abaddon the Despoiler completes a complex ritual of death in the name of Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways. On worlds throughout the Segmentum Obscurus, Imperial citizens are slaughtered in precise numbers and esoteric rituals. Only when the Inquisition finally breaks the code of damnation is the Imperium able to bring an end to the Black Legion's rampage across the Segmentum in time with these mysterious attacks, but not before countless worlds have been saturated in death.9th Black Crusade (537.M38) - The 9th Black Crusade was a campaign led by the infamous Chaos Lord Abaddon the Despoiler and his Black Legion, launched out of the Eye of Terror in 537.M38. Intending to bring about the demise of the naval fortress of Cancephalus, Abaddon lead his forces against the heaving populations of the nearby world of Antecanis. Monarchhive, the hive city that served as the seat of Antecanis' Imperial Commander, was besieged by Abaddon's vanguard. The Black Legionaries burned and butchered their way through the lower levels, whilst Abaddon himself stormed its inner sanctums. The hive populations were slowly destroyed by the slaughter. By the time the forces of the Astra Militarum arrived from Cancephalus to reinforce the desperate survivors, Abaddon and his favoured Legionaries had already left orbit, dropping a dozen Cyclonic Warheads onto the ruins of Monarchhive in a last gesture of contempt. The seventeen-year-long war that ensued robbed both Antecanis and Cancephalus of their most precious resource -- manpower. Without the fleets of Cancephalus to stop him, Abaddon is able to ravage the rest of the sector at will. During this time, the Lamenters Chapter is recalled along with a number of other Crusading Chapters by the High Lords of Terra to help deal with the rising threat of incursions from the Eye of Terror. But the Lamenters' fell reputation for suffering bitter reversals and dark turns of fate worked against them during their defence of the Hive World of Corillia from a Chaotic attack. The superstition-bound Mortifactors Chapter refused to fight alongside the Lamenters, abandoning the planet rather than serve besides fellow Astartes they consider cursed. Unwilling to desert the Hive World's population, the Lamenters held out alone against the Black Legion's onslaught for six solar weeks, suffering horrendous losses until the Ultramarines and White Scars led a battle group that broke though the Chaos warfleet to relieve Corillia. Reduced to barely 200 surviving Battle-Brothers by their sacrifice, the Lamenters were deemed lost when their fleet disappeared into a Warp Storm soon afterwards, only to reappear more than a standard century later on the edge of the Segmentum Solar, having slowly battled their way back from the outer void.10th Black Crusade (001.M39) - This Black Crusade is also known as the Conflict of Helica, and was a joint campaign carried out by Abaddon and the Daemon Primarch Perturabo. Both the Black Legion and the Iron Warriors struck against the worlds of the Scarus Sector's Helican Sub-sector. While the Black Legion attacked the capital world of the sub-sector, the Hive World of Thracian Primaris, the Iron Warriors focused their own assault against the Iron Hands Chapter to fulfil an old blood debt. In a series of bitter sieges, the Iron Warriors burned the Medusa System's outlying worlds and pushed the Iron Hands to the brink of destruction. Only when the Loyalist Chapter receives heavy Imperial reinforcements did Abaddon and the Iron Warriors retreat back to the Eye of Terror, taking with them valuable information about Medusa's defences for use at a later date.11th Black Crusade (301.M39) - In 301.M39, Abaddon the Despoiler launched his 11th Black Crusade out of the Eye of Terror. In an attempt to break through the cordon of Warp Storms surrounding the Eye into Imperial space, he employed a captured daemon to navigate. The effort proved fruitless, and instead the Daemon warped the Black Fleet directly into the path of the Orks of WAAAGH! Murgor. In the ruins of the Cardinal World of Relorria, the Black Legion brought the Orks to battle, Bolter rounds and Chainswords tearing into the green-skinned xenos. After months of bloody warfare, Abaddon decided to leave Relorria to its fate and the Black Legion returned to the nightmare realm of the Eye of Terror -- but not before the Warmaster of Chaos filled the holds of his Black Fleet with a multitude of captured Orkoid specimens for later experimentation.Double-Edge Swords (198-485.M40) - For more than a dozen generations, agents of the Alpha Legion infiltrate the hive slums of Ghorstangrad, homeworld of the Emperor's Swords. Through subtle manipulation of the dominant sects and gangs, the Alpha Legion seed potential future Space Marines with all manner of deviant philosophies and subconscious triggers. Though many of these brainwashed youths are rejected by Librarians and Chaplains, some are recruited into the Chapter nonetheless -- a lurking threat unknown even to the recruits themselves. Almost three standard centuries later, the Alpha Legion mounts a full-scale invasion of Ghorstangrad. They are met in open battle by the Emperor's Swords. The Alpha Legion employ hypnotic and disorienting psychic attacks, releasing the nascent personalities of their unknowing infiltrators amongst the defending Battle-Brothers. Within solar hours, the Chapter disintegrates into a morass of battling factions, some of which join forces with the invaders. The Loyalist Emperor's Swords are entirely destroyed, Ghorstangrad is razed and the gene-seed stores of the Chapter are stolen. The Alpha Legion withdraws to the Eastern Fringe, its numbers swollen with new Renegades still covered in the blood of their brethren.12th Black Crusade (139.M41) - Better known as the Gothic War, this Black Crusade was fought for control of the Gothic Sector in the Segmentum Obscurus between the Chaotic forces of Abaddon the Despoiler and the defenders of the Imperium. Abaddon lead his great fleet into the Gothic Sector, capturing two of the prehistoric xenos-built star forts known as the Blackstone Fortresses. Under Abaddon's control, the might of the Blackstone Fortresses is used to destroy entire worlds in the Gothic Sector during this campaign. The Despoiler's fleet is driven back at great cost, though Abaddon escapes with the Blackstone Fortresses into the Eye of Terror. The vast engines of destruction emerge once more into the material universe during Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade over eight hundred standard years later.The First War for Armageddon (444.M41) - Imperial forces upon the strategically vital world of Armageddon struggle to contain an armed rebellion that spontaneously breaks out across both the sub-continents of Armageddon Prime and Armageddon Secundus. At the height of the civil war, a Space Hulk enters the system and disgorges a horde from the Daemon Worlds of the Eye of Terror, led by Angron and accompanied by massed warbands of World Eaters. Angron and his Daemon armies carry a red path across Armageddon Prime and the conquest of the planet appears inevitable until the Daemon Primarch is delayed drawing Chaos energy to the planet. During the reprieve, the Imperial forces are reinforced not only by Space Wolves from nearby Fenris, but also by a company of one hundred Grey Knights Terminators. Though it cost the lives of all but a handful of the Grey Knights, Angron and his Daemonic honour guard of Blood Thirsters are finally driven back into the Warp.The Constantinus Iconoclasm (746.M41) - The Sons of Guilliman free Nova Terra from a Tyranid attack. Afterwards, Squad Constantinus hunts down remnants of the Hive Fleet, finding Genestealer Cults within the noble families of the capital. The entire ruling class is executed. The outraged population rises up against their Space Marine liberators. His patience gone, Sergeant Constantinus blames the Imperium for making him a monstrous killer and denounces the Emperor. He swears to lead the populace to a better future, and his conviction is infectious. The old order is thrown down and statues of Constantinus the Liberator are raised in their place. Other servants of the Ruinous Powers soon arrive, drawn by the anarchy and bloodshed. The rebel sergeant's megalomania escalates until it plunges the whole sector into open war. The mass rebellion ends only when Constantinus is killed by the Officio Assassinorum.The Plague that Walks (757.M41) - The first outbreak of the Zombie Plague occurs on Hydra Minoris after Typhus and his Death Guard foot soldiers penetrate to the heart of its capital hive. As the living begin to fall prey to the painful disease, its true horror is revealed; the dead victims begin to rise up and attack the living. The resultant Imperial quarantine traps 23 billion uninfected citizens alongside a rising tide of the undead.Badab War (901-912.M41) - Lugft Huron, Chapter Master of the Astral Claws, declares himself the Tyrant of Badab and secedes from the Imperium. Eleven standard years of inter-system war follows, embroiling more than a dozen Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes in the first true internecine conflict since the Horus Heresy. Huron's reign is eventually brought to an end, but despite suffering grievous wounds, he escapes into the Warp rift known as the Maelstrom, vowing revenge. he is soon known as the Chaos Lord Huron Blackheart.Blood Tithe (920.M41) - The Tau Empire expands into uncharted territory, hoping to bring new populations into their fold. The Tau diplomats forge an uneasy peace upon the planet of Ur-Clemait, a world that has been consumed with civil war for centuries, simply by supplying one side of the warring factions with high-technology Pulse Weapons. Though most of the remaining population seems content with the Tau's enforced pacification, the elders and priests of the Old Faith are distraught, insisting that the Blood Tithe must continue to be met. While most of the wizened priests refuse to incite rebellion against the xenos, several attack the Tau directly, clawing feebly at their Battlesuits or even taking their own lives in messy displays of martyrdom. The puzzled Tau continue their mission of absorption and assimilation, but before the year is out, the Word Bearers arrive to enforce the neglected Blood Tithe. They attack the newly prosperous world of Ur-Ciemait in terrible force, chanting prayers of appeasement to the Dark Gods as they mow down human and xenos alike. The Tau Fire Caste meet the invasion head-on, and the world is plunged into an ongoing war far more terrible than the ritual struggles of old that had once provided payment.Vaxhallian Genocides (926.M41) - The vile Chaos Renegades known as The Purge seek to vent their hatred of all living things, and choose the verdant Imperial world of Vaxhallia as their victim. The planet's surface is soon riddled the consumptive disease and crippling famine. Over the course of a single solar month, The Purge engineer the destruction of no fewer than fourteen billion Imperial citizens.The Wolf at Bay (937.M41) - Mustering five companies of Space Wolves, as well as the Cadian 30lst and the Tallarn 14th, the decorated Inquisitor Pranix attempts to reclaim the nine Hollow Worlds of Lastrati from the traitorous Red Corsairs, the Renegade survivors of the Astral Claws. The Drop Pods of the Space Wolves crash straight through the Hollow Worlds' algae-encrusted surface, and war soon rages throughout the catacombs beneath. Huron Blackheart collapses pre-selected portions of his tunnel networks with cold precision and timing, isolating and destroying much of the Imperial army sent against him. The invading forces are forced to withdraw.The Terminus Est (969.M41) - The plagueship Terminus Est is sighted in the Cando System. It disappears soon after, but it is already too late. The Zombie Plague ravages all of the planets in the system over the following months, exposing the worst in human nature as brother turns against brother in their desperation to survive.Skulls of the Skull Throne (992.M41) - Having long ago amassed more human skulls than he knew what to do with, Roghrax Bloodhand, of the World Eaters, swears to collect a skull from every warrior species in the galaxy and offer them up for the throne of his master, Khorne. Bloodhand's masterwork takes a dramatic new turn with the coming of the Tyranid fleets into the galaxy. Making havoc for the Eastern Fringe, the maniacal trophy collector leads his fleet directly into the path of Hive Fleet Kraken. Delighted at the prospect of collecting such large and impressive skulls, he reaps a grisly bounty from the Tyranids, which become more varied after every battle.Night of the Steel Daemon (995.M41) - Unbeknownst to the settlers that make their home upon its crust, the dormant volcanic planet of Abheilüng is honeycombed with subterranean forge-vaults where the Dark Mechanicum lurk. As protein farms and hab-blocks are established high above, the Warpsmiths below use the livid heat of the planet's core to bind Daemons unto their allies' strange machines. The surface settlers continue to expand, until one night, all the volcanoes across Abheilüng erupt spectacularly, incinerating millions in an immense pyroclastic cloud. Out from the molten depths climb great hosts of Daemon Engines, magma-clad horrors that spill like insects from each volcano's caldera. The mechanical horde depopulates Abheilüng in less than a solar month.The Tyrant and the Wolf (995.M41) - Huron Blackheart stages a counterassault upon Parenxes, a world defended by the Death Hawks and Space Wolves. During the engagement, a series of Red Corsairs strike forces manage to board, disable and capture the Space Wolf Strike Cruiser, the Wolf of Fenris.The Sons of the Maelstrom (980.999.M41) - A massive Chaos Space Marine fleet emerges from the Maelstrom with three dozen Daemon-infested space hulks. The massed fleet brings the Chogoris, Kaelas and Sessec Systems to their knees, establishing a stranglehold over their space lanes.The Great Awakening (982.999.M41) - A ripple of psychic activity passes through the Imperium awakening the dormant powers of latent psykers across the galaxy. The resultant backlash creates innumerable Warp rifts, and countless worlds are lost to Daemonic incursions. The Thousand Sons are seen in unprecedented numbers as the psychic apocalypse runs its course.The Night of a Thousand Rebellions (992.999.M41) - Carefully seeded rebellions sown across Segmentum Pacificus all bear their bloody fruit upon the same night. Uprisings and discord strike at the heart of hundreds of worlds, including the supposedly secure Imperial strongholds of Enceladus, Darkhold and Minisotira. Contact is lost with large swathes of the Segmentum as the Chaos Space Marines move in, revealing themselves as the orchestrators of the insurrection.The Fall of Villamus (994.999.M41) - After a series of daring raids leaves the titanic fortress-monastery of the Marines Errant garrisoned only by a single company of Space Marines, Huron Blackheart sends his Night Lords allies to infiltrate the fastness and bring down its power shields and Defence Lasers. Teleporting in from low orbit, Chaos Terminators launch a sledgehammer assault upon the fortress' Apothecarion as Huron Blackheart simultaneously moves in to steal the Chapter's relics. Caught in the horns of a dilemma, the outnumbered and outmanoeuvred Space Marines fail to repel the invasion. The Red Corsairs withdraw with nearly all of the Chapter's gene-seed, dooming the Marines Errant to a slow demise.13th Black Crusade (995.999.M41) - The greatest of the Champions of Chaos, Abaddon the Despoiler, launches an all-out attack by the forces of Chaos upon the Fortress World of Cadia and the strategic Cadian Gate, the route by which the servants of the Ruinous Powers may once more strike towards sacred Terra. The Traitor Legions pour forth from the Eye of Terror, emptying a hundred Daemon Worlds and bursting into realspace in hitherto unforeseen numbers. Rumours persist that the Daemon Primarchs ride at the head of the armies, returned to the mortal realm to usher in the End Times. Imperial forces counterattack, but there is no end to the forces of the Dark Gods. The forces of Chaos succeed in destroying the defenders of Cadia and the Fortress World is finally claimed by the Warp as the Eye of Terror gives birth to the Great Rift that cuts the galaxy in half. Many fear that with all the threats the Imperium is facing simultaneously, the End Times have indeed arrived for Mankind. The Noctis Aeterna shrouds the galaxy as the power of Chaos waxes as never before.