War of The Wolf - Heart of the Void: Ranulf Ironfang was the first to step onto the Well of Souls' bridge, his hulking grey form lumbering through the still smoking remains of the void-lock. At his side Ingvarr Thunderbrow and a score of other Void Claws thundered across the deck to meet the Chaos forces. As the Space Wolves pressed their assault, Voidheart, favoured of the Despoiler's lieutenants, watched them come. Clad in baroque black armour with a helm of twisted horns and the leering face of a Daemon, Voidheart sat on the vessel's command throne overseeing his warriors below. From all sides of the huge chamber Chaos Space Marines marched forward, blades and bolters ready to end the invaders. Ranulf howled his challenge and charged, his brothers close upon his heels. Everywhere the air was filled with the crash of mass-reactive bolter rounds and the screech of ceramite being rent asunder. Eyes fixed on the Daemon-faced Chaos Lord, Ranulf forged a bloody trail across the deck. His heavy Terminator armour turned the blades and bolt rounds hammering down upon him, while his frost blade parried blows and flashed out to sink into heretic flesh. By the time Ranulf reached the base of the command throne his armour was scarred by dozens of blows and his sword was crimson with blood.Voidheart levelled his Daemon blade at Ranulf as he descended from the throne, promising him an eternity of torment within the Warp. Ranulf's response was blunt, crude and to the point. Voidheart easily repelled Ranulf's first flurry of attacks, and at once the Wolf Guard knew how dangerous an adversary he faced. His foe’s Daemon blade cut darkly through the air around him, black Warp-flame dancing hypnotically along its edge. Voidheart's hatred of the Space Wolf was almost palpable in its intensity – a feeling Ranulf held in equal measure for the thrice-cursed traitor standing before him. For a span of agonising minutes Ranulf tried to breach Voidheart's guard, but the Daemon sword seemed to move with a mind of its own, always there to turn his frost blade. Sparing a second's glance across the bridge, he could see his brothers equally pressed by the massed ranks of the Black Legion, and was forced to accept that there would be no aid against Voidheart. This moment of distraction was what the Chaos Lord had been waiting for, and in an instant his weapon flicked forward in an attempt to pierce Ranulf's skull. Only the Wolf Guard's acute senses saved his life, and he twisted partly out of the way. Even so, the unnatural blade pierced his helm and scored a bloody line across his face, burning away his left eye.Howling in rage and pain, Ranulf bared his fangs and snarled at Voidheart. Deep within Ranulf's mind the shadow of the Wulfen stirred to life and the Space Marine hurled himself at his foe like a wounded Thunderwolf, the two exchanging a flurry of blows. However, it was only when an explosion from far below threw the combatants off balance that the tide turned, a momentary opening allowing Ranulf to hack off Voidheart's sword arm at the shoulder. Clutching the ruined, bleeding stump, the Chaos Lord fled the bridge, his crew moving to cover his escape. As another explosion from below rocked the deck, Ranulf heard the crackling vox message from the Great Wolf ordering them to withdraw. Cursing the escape of Voidheart, Ranulf hurried to obey the command of his Wolf Lord. Supporting their wounded, Ranulf, Ingvarr and the remaining Void Claws enacted a fighting retreat. Down through decks of fire and ruin they battled, clearing the way with the savage fervour of cornered wolves. As the Space Marines reached the aft launch decks of the Well of Souls, the Chaos craft was already listing dangerously toward Lumerius: the damage had been done. Debris raining down all around them, the Wolf Guard fought their way onto the awaiting Stormwolves as the Great Wolf led a defence of the extraction point with the surviving Champions. Ranulf was the last to step onto the ramp, pausing only to spit contemptuously onto the deck.