House Draconis - In the Shadow of the Black Tower: The tragic death of High King Tolwyn Tan Draconis was merely the beginning of House Draconis' ordeal. The leader of House Chimaeros, Viscount Gerraint, coveted his ancient title and had proclaimed himself the new high king of Adrastapol at the same time that he announced his intention to secede from the Imperium of Man.To counter his claim, the remaining Nobles of the Loyalist Houses agreed to follow Tolwyn's last wish and proclaimed his son, Danial Tan Draconis as the true high king. Truth be told, the young Danial Tan Draconis was ill-prepared for the task at hand.The bond of mutual trust between the different contingents of the Imperial army had been shattered by the unexpected treason of Houses Chimaeros and Wyvorn. Those that should have stood shoulder-by-shoulder to reclaim Donatos Prime in the name of the Emperor and Holy Terra were now scattered to the four winds and eyeing each other distrustfully. With the tension palpable, it took all the skills of the diplomatic Knights of House Pegasson to assure their Cadian allies of their continued loyalty to the Golden Throne.With internecine bloodshed averted, High King Danial had time to assess the wider strategic situation of the reclamation effort. Both on land and in space, the enemy was now counterattacking, his lines further strengthened by the forces of the two Renegade Houses.Even if the Imperials still had the strength of numbers on their side, their formations were cut off from each other and communication was impossible due to some sort of Chaos techno-virus that assailed their communication network. Confused and shocked by this unexpected turn of events, the Loyalists were losing ground as fast as they had gained it mere solar days before.Focussing his attention on the forces directly under his command, High King Danial was forced to admit that they had been dealt a truly terrible blow: together, the survivors of Houses Pegasson, Minotos and Draconis barely numbered fifty Knights, many of whom would need to be repaired before they could take to the field again. Even amongst the Knights, the situation was tense as each Noble argued his or her case about what to do with Danial's closest friend, Luk Tan Chimaeros, who had accompanied the retreat and whose presence in the Loyalist ranks was much cause for debate.Many wondered whether he truly was the last loyal scion of a Renegade House as he claimed to be. Some were more inclined to believe that he was just a spy working for his father. If quelling this internal dissension was not enough, High King Danial also had to ensure that the old guard -- those Knights of House Draconis that had fought alongside his father since the Ork Wars -- would not turn his own inexperience to their benefit.Many of these seasoned warriors, including his mentor Herald Markos Dar Draconis, were crying out for vengeance against Gerraint and his Knights and claimed it was their honour-bound duty to avenge Tolwyn's death. Yet with the Renegades outnumbering them, this course of action could well lead to the ruin of their Houses, a fate High King Danial sought to avoid at all cost.When word reached the newly-elected high king that a small party of Chimaeros Knights had been detected, Danial Tan Draconis knew he had to act. Forced to hold back, his Knights were growing restless and Danial feared that if he did not give the order to attack some would simply bypass his authority and attack themselves.The party of House Chimaeros Knights only numbered a dozen, a formation consistent with the Knights' battlelore for hunting duties or the personal bodyguard of a ranked Noble. With the very real chance that they might catch Gerraint Kar Adrastapol or Dunkan Kar Adrastapol off-guard and isolated, High King Danial mustered his troops for war.He would personally lead forty Knight against the hunting party and leave only a skeleton force behind to defend their camp. To lead the defence of the camp, Danial chose his own sister, Jennika Tan Draconis, whom he trusted completely. Tracking the enemy, the high king and his warriors found that their opponents had established a temporary base in an abandoned Adeptus Arbites precinct fortress which was itself located at the base of a series of great cliffs.After slaying the guards and gaining entry into the keep, the Loyalist Knights were confronted by a trio of House Chimaeros Knights, one of whom was holding Alicia Kar Manticos within the palm of his Thunderstrike Gauntlet, ready to crush her. Their demand was simple: surrender, or the woman would die. After the high king refused, the tables were turned upon the Loyalists as Alicia Kar Manticos proved to be no prisoner at all, but the leader of this detachment.Calling upon the sorcerous powers granted to her by her patron, Tzeentch, the God of Change, Alicia unleashed a terrible spell that turned the old Grandmarshal Gustev Tan Minotos and his Knight Crusader into a gigantic Chaos Spawn which promptly attacked its neighbours.Using this diversion to cast a teleportation spell, Alicia and the three Knights enacted the rest of their plan: detonating the hidden demolition charges in the cliffs' walls and causing a great avalanche of rocks that buried Danial's Knights beneath it.