Introduction



It is the 21st millennium. For a hundred centuries, the Imperium of Andarra has ruled the galaxy from the throneworld of Terra. The Mother of Mankind is long gone, abducted by the enigmatic forces of the warp. The Imperium is Her flaming sword, but its holder is missing.

Yet, even in Her absence, the Imperium lumbers forward, steered by the Franz dynasty whose lineage goes as far back as the Great Collapse—the Long Night that brought humanity into ruin. Mighty battlefleets cross the miasma of the warp, an alternate reality dominated by daemons—the only path to cross the stars. Vast armies give battle in Her name as they give their blood, sweat, and tears to the defence of mankind's incalculable worlds. Greatest amongst Her warriors are the Adeptus Sparticus, Spartans, bio-engineered soldiers blessed with the powers of the aether. Their comrades are legion: the Adeptus Militarum, the ever-vigilant Inquisition, and the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Even with their multitudes, they are barely able to defend man's vast domain.

The Emperor is dead.

Karl Franz, Master of Mankind, Lord of the Imperium, once ruled man's domain with an iron fist. His words were law, and wherever he goes, a hundred planets cheer his name—Karl Franz. The Good Emperor. But he is no God, for he is only a man. The Emperor is dead, shot in the heart on the streets of Cadia. Heirless, the Imperium is tethering on the brink