Title: The Bleak Times: A Chronicle of the Time of Ending in the 41st Millennium
In the entirety of the cosmos, no burden weighs heavier than that of the leaders of humanity. They are the ones left with the crushing weight of immense responsibility, the ones who must bear the knowledge of the monstrosities that threaten their civilization from the inky darkness above. This is a tale of such a time, a period of unparalleled peril and grim necessity known as the Time of Ending in the late 41st Millennium.
The galaxy was a cauldron of chaos. The barbaric Orks, multiplying like a virulent plague, spread across the stars, leaving nothing but mindless devastation in their wake. The undying Necrons rose from their tomb worlds, their legions spreading across the universe, their single-minded goal – the extermination of the human ‘vermin’ that infested their ancient empire.
The threat didn’t stop there. On the Eastern Fringe, the technologically superior Tau Empire loomed as a growing menace. From the outer reaches of the galaxy, the Tyranid hive fleets reached out their questing tendrils, consuming world after world like a monstrous, insatiable beast. Yet, all these threats faded in comparison to the most insidious of them all – Chaos.
From beyond the veil of reality, the ruinous powers of Chaos spurred their mortal followers into acts of diabolical cruelty and destruction. Their demonic legions tore through the fabric of real space, their terrifying numbers a testament to the dire straits the defenders of the Imperium found themselves in.
Despite these overwhelming odds, the defenders of humanity stood firm. The teeming ranks of the Astra Militarum and Adeptus Mechanicus fought alongside the elite warriors of the Space Marines, Adeptus Sororitas, and Grey Knights. Their resolve was unyielding, their spirits unbroken. Yet, despite their best efforts, more worlds fell to the relentless tide of darkness each standard year. Even supposedly impregnable strongholds like Enceladus and Mota succumbed to anarchy.
The Oracle of Vandros, after a silence of ten generations, spoke again. Its prophecy was a chilling one – death on an unprecedented scale. The famed Silver Saints of Kalistos 2 wept tears of blood, a sign of the grim times to come. Seers and mystics across the Imperium were plagued by visions of mighty angels and monstrous devils battling in a sky lit by ghostly fires.
As the Segmentum Pacificus fell ominously silent, astropath choirs throughout Segmentum Solar were overwhelmed by psychic cries from every corner of the galaxy. At the Eye of Terror, the 13th Black Crusade under the command of Abaddon prepared to assault the Cadian Gate. In the Fenris system, brother fought brother as Magnus the Red exacted terrible vengeance upon those who wronged him and his traitor legion during the Horus Heresy.
Darkness loomed on the horizon. Whispers of something worse, something more terrifying than anything the Imperium had ever faced, filled the air. A stygian tidal wave was rushing closer with each passing hour, threatening to drown all of humanity beneath its icy waters. The galaxy was on the brink of a great storm not unlike the Heresy, and the forces of the true Gods were ready to descend upon the Emperor’s minions. The stars themselves trembled at the passage of their mighty armadas, and the slaughter that would ensue would be of epic proportions.
The prophetic words of Constanza, burned as a heretic in the year 356 of the 38th Millennium, seemed to be coming to pass. The Thrice Cursed One was close to becoming a living god, with the power to destroy the weakening Emperor within his grasp.
To properly understand the impact of the 13th Black Crusade on the galaxy, one must revisit Abaddon the Despoiler’s 12th Black Crusade, better known as the Gothic War. This war was a spark that ignited the fires of conflict across the sector, beginning with sporadic Chaos raids against smaller Imperial outposts.
In the 139th year of the 41st Millennium, ships stricken by Nurgle’s plagues were found adrift in the Athena sector of Segmentum Obscurus. The Chaos warship Plagueclaw was sighted, and astropaths were overwhelmed by dismaying warp disturbances that increasingly isolated the Gothic sector from the rest of Imperial space.
Abaddon, the War Master of the Black Legion and the leader of Chaos Undivided, launched a massive assault on the Gothic sector from the Eye of Terror in the year 142 of the 41st Millennium. His Chaos War fleets struck a dozen Imperial bases, sending Battle Fleet Gothic reeling. The Gothic sector was thrown into chaos as Abaddon’s true intentions were revealed in the Rebo system, home to one…
Stay tuned for the next chapter in this multi-part series as we delve deeper into the horrors of the Time of Ending.
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