The Shriven - War of the Spider: The foul Heretic Astartes fleshshaper Fabius Bile's path converged with that of the Enlightener Argento Corian by chance, deep within the war-torn expanse of the Cadian Gate. The Primogenitor was ever a master opportunist and soon turned happenstance to his advantage.Bile was labouring in service to a grand new scheme, one he had conceived of even as the galaxy writhed with the opening of the Great Rift. Speculation was rife throughout the Eye of Terror and beyond as to what the Spider might be planning: another attempt at cloning or creating his own primarch; the fashioning of some dread new  altered army; development of a weapon that could lay low Roboute Guilliman or indeed any other similarly godlike being.Bile himself had revealed nothing of his schemes, even to his closest lieutenants, but he moved with a purpose through the mayhem and horror of the Imperium Nihilus.That purpose had first manifested in the theft of a mighty arcane artefact that had originally been bestowed upon the Death Guard by none other than the Great Unclean One Rotigus himself. Named the Ark Cornucontagious, this gruesome gift of Nurgle seethed with a Warp malady that triggered catastrophic and uncontrolled bodily regeneration in its victims.To the unnatural physiognomies of the Death Guard this was a boon, for the Ark's foul emissions allowed them to heal battle damage faster than their foes could inflict it. To any other being, however, the Chaos relic's effect was a monstrous blight that soon reduced even the mightiest warrior to a heaving mound of diseased flesh and ruptured, blubbery innards.What uses Bile could have for such a perilous and revolting Chaos artefact was a secret he kept to himself. Regardless, at the head of a ragtag alliance of Renegade Chaos Space Marine warbands he had braved the perils of the newly conquered Nurglite Scourge Stars and successfully made off with the Ark, safely swathing it within a potent stasis field.That campaign had cost Bile all but a handful of his followers, however. Now he fled back towards the Eye of Terror, through the roiling Warp Storms of the Imperium Nihilus, with Typhus of the Death Guard himself at his heels.Bile could not flee directly back to his lair in the Eye of Terror lest he bring the wrath of the Death Guard down upon it. He needed fresh allies who could help him dissuade his pursuers before he made good his escape. Fate, or perhaps the Dark Gods, sent him the Enlightener.Argento Corian had not been idle since reaching War Zone Cadia. He had claimed the tainted Fortress World of Dessah for his base and had reforged the Brazen Drakes into a Heretic Astartes warband calling themselves "the Shriven," who now fought under the colours of Abaddon the Despoiler's Black Legion.Yet Corian had caught wind of the vengeful Imperial pursuit even now bearing down upon him. Thus, even as Bile saw in the Shriven an army he could turn against his pursuers, so they believed that with the Primogenitor's gifts they would be strong enough to crush the Imperial agents coming for their heads.It was a diabolical alliance of mutual mistrust, and one that Bile soon turned to his twisted advantage.