Black Library Advent Calendar 2013

A world of perfect faith and matchless purity, Annunciation is one of the holiest planets in the Imperium. Of course, the higher the rise, the further there is to fall. This, Typhus knows well. As one who once fell from grace, he is determined to bring Annunciation to the same fate. And he is determined to do so alone. But what can one Chaos Space Marine do against a world of countless billions of souls?

The Terminus Est is a blight upon the Imperium, a plague ridden flagship of Typhus, once of the Death Guard Legion. Built before the Horus Heresy, the ship was used during the Great Crusade, and was a beacon of righteous hope in the early years of the Imperium. However, after its fall to Chaos, it became a reminder of the treachery of the Traitor Legions and the insidious power of Chaos. Index Chaotica: Terminus Est details the long and vile history of the Terminus Est, bringer of plague. Though the Chaos Space Marines were once heroic defenders of Mankind, each has sold his allegiance to the Dark Gods in return for surreal and twisted powers. The Index Chaotica series explores their fall from grace, their fell abilities and their bloodthirsty wars, along with the violent champions that lead them in their search for eternal glory.

Darnath Lysander is a man tortured by his past, a past in which the Iron Warriors play a prominent, and unpleasant, role. As the First Captain of the Imperial Fists must choose between the lives of innocents and the death of one of Perturabo’s sons, he recalls a similar incident that haunts him still, and must decide what mistakes are worth repeating.

Assault Centurions are a powerful weapon in the armouries of the Adeptus Astartes, able to smash apart enemy fortifications and open the way for full-scale assaults. Combined with Ironclad Dreadnoughts, many Space Marine Chapters use them to form Centurion Siegebreaker Cohorts, ideal for cracking open stubborn enemy defences.

A warrior without a war. A wanderer in eternity. A man shaped by destiny, but whose destiny is yet to take shape. Kaldor Draigo is all of this and more. Lost in the infernal other realm of the warp and doomed to battle the forces of Chaos for all time, the warrior who once led the Grey Knights Chapter to war is now a legion of one, with all the daemonic servants of the Ruinous Powers arrayed against him.

Chaplains march to war at the head of Command Squads, their faith and righteous rhetoric exhorting their fellow battle-brothers to fight with the fury of the Emperor himself. These retinues are made up of veterans whose combat skills are mirrored by their tactical and strategic brilliance, each one having served his Chapter though decades of war and blood. It is a great honour for a battle-brother to be included in such a formation, fighting under the watchful gaze of the Chaplain as he does the Emperor’s work.

Deep beneath the earth of Nocturne, Vulkan He’stan works. Alone, as is his lot, he forges a blade to aid him in his eternal quest for the primarch Vulkan’s lost artefacts. But when the activity attracts some of the deadly world’s vicious predators, the forgefather must test his steel against them.

As Forgefather, it is Vulkan He’stan’s solemn duty to retrace the footsteps of the Salamander’s Primarch. It is a quest to seek and recover the nine technological relics forged by the mighty Primarch of old, and hidden throughout the galaxy for his progeny to find. For over 7,000 years, a single Forgefather at a time has been assigned the monumental task of searching for the powerful artefacts. Over those millennia, five of the items have been recovered – including one by Vulkan He’stan himself.

Newly raised to the rank of High Marshal of the Black Templars, lord of the Eternal Crusade, Helbrecht has led his brethren into the Ghoul Stars, to wage war on worlds where reality itself is in question and the laws of physics do not apply. As they prepare for a final assault on an alien stronghold, Helbrecht lectures his warriors on the rewards that await them, the glory of battle and eternity at the Emperor’s right hand.

When armies are on the march, it is common for a vanguard force to forge a few hours ahead of the main column. The vanguard is tasked with scouting out the swiftest march routes for the army following in their wake, and screening their advance to ensure the way ahead is free from foes. Should they encounter the vanguard of an enemy host, a swift and brutal clash of blade will invariably follow as each side seeks to gain advantage in the larger battle to come.

The world of Skylos, already wracked by war, is now host to a bizarre and terrifying threat – a threat that the Blood Angels have come to end. The Axe Mortalis in hand, Commander Dante leads a host of Angels into battle against Chaos-tainted chronomancers, sorcerers who use his past, present and future as a weapon against him.

All fear the Angel of Death! Lord Commander Dante – the Bringer of Sanguinius’ Light – rules over the storied Blood Angels Space Marine Chapter. Even amongst the most honoured Imperial Commanders of the 41st Millennium, Dante is a living legend. His heroic service to the forces of the Imperium has lasted for well over a millennia. He is believed to be the longest serving loyalist Space Marine that exists outside of those interred within Dreadnoughts. Now, with Warlords of the Dark Millennium: Dante, you can find out more about the origins, history and famous deeds of this noble champion of the Adeptus Astartes.

Gabriel Seth, Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers, comes to Baal itself, intent on revenge. His prey resides in the toxic wastelands, a monster beyond imagining that butchered some of Seth’s warriors. As he forces his way into a hidden complex known to just a handful of souls, Seth prepares to face the greatest challenge of his long and blood-soaked life.

Among the champions of the Dark Gods there are some names that carry with them a long and terrible history of blood and death. Abbadon the Despoiler, Lucius the Eternal, Typhus the Herald of Nurgle, Ahriman, Huron Blackheart, Fabius Bile and Khârn the Betrayer are counted among these, their names a curse upon the lips of those that have crossed their path. Almost every vile deed committed by the forces of Chaos since the Horus Heresy can be laid at their feet. They are the generals, warlords and champions of the Traitor Legions, and they will not be sated until the Imperium is no more.