The Cal Atrocity: Betrayal, Battles, and the Birth of the Imperium Secundus
In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. And no conflict encapsulates this better than the treacherous campaign carried out by the 17th Space Marine Legion, the Word Bearers, against their former comrades, the Ultramarines, during the early stages of the Horus Heresy. Colloquially known as the Cal Atrocity, this series of events saw brother turn against brother in a catastrophic struggle that reshaped the Imperium.
The campaign was led by the zealous Primarch Lorgar Aurelian, under orders from the Warmaster Horus. Their ominous goal? To neutralize the 13th Legion, stopping them from reinforcing the Loyalist factions as the Traitor Legions advanced on Terra. Caught in the Warmaster’s web of deceit and manipulation, the Ultramarines found themselves far from Terra, assembling on Calth, an Agri-world in the realm of Ultramar.
The stage was set on Calth, originally intended to be a staging post for cleansing the Eastern Fringe of Orks. However, the unsuspecting Ultramarines were ambushed by their supposed allies, the Word Bearers. This treacherous act saw Calth’s orbital shipyards devastated and its biosphere obliterated as the Word Bearers triggered a solar disaster. The sun of Calth was manipulated into emitting deadly solar storms, forcing the battle to shift underground into the planet’s sprawling subterranean caverns.
This sudden turn of events had a lasting impact, with future generations of Calth’s inhabitants doomed to dwell deep underground in vast hive cities to escape the radiation-scorched, airless world left behind in the aftermath of the Word Bearer’s attack. Despite the assault, the Ultramarines and their Primarch, Roboute Guilliman, survived. The campaign, however, succeeded in its goal, effectively preventing the 13th Legion from participating in the Siege of Terra as Horus had planned.
In the wake of the Word Bearer’s betrayal, an enraged Guilliman rallied what forces he could spare, drawing additional vessels from the first Ultramarines relief fleet bound for Calth. His aim? To track down Lorgar through the 13th Legion’s astropath choirs. This led to another chapter in the saga: the Shadow Crusade.
The Shadow Crusade saw the Word Bearers, led by Lorgar, ally with Angron and his World Eaters. Their mission was to spread the massive Warp storm, known as the Ruinstorm, across the Eastern Fringe. This act threatened to split the Galaxy in half, barring Loyalist reinforcements as Horus advanced on Terra. The Shadow Crusade left a trail of destruction, devastating 26 worlds before Guilliman’s retribution fleet clashed with the traitors above Nuceria, Angron’s homeworld.
In the ensuing battle, the Ultramarines’ warship, “Courage Above All”, led a large void armada into the system. Guilliman’s temporary flagship destroyed the Word Bearer’s flagship, the “Fidelitas Lex”, and took the fight to the surface. It was here that Guilliman confronted Lorgar in furious combat, only for Angron to intervene. Despite being seriously wounded, Guilliman held his own until Lorgar’s incantation transformed Angron into a Daemon Prince of Khorne, forcing Guilliman to retreat.
Stay tuned for the next installment of this epic saga, as we delve into the establishment of the Imperium Secundus and the fierce battles that followed!
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