The defenders of the Imperium were not prepared when the first dozen warships broke orbit. They had been assured that the combined mights of the Alpha, Beta, and Omega fleets would be enough to beat back any attacker before they ever tasted the thick smog-filled air of the planet's hive clusters. And indeed, as the 19th year of the 42nd Millennium began; when a chaos fleet the likes of which had never been seen descended upon the system; the combined might of the Imperial armada had been enough to stop the heretics in their tracks. With their defensive lines well established, the admirals hoped to hold out and whittle away at the Chaos ships until help arrived or the heretics retreated back into the void.
These hopes were dashed when The Skull Throne arrived: that massive hulk of twisted bone and metal, the hulls of hundreds of ships; man and xenoid alike; fused into a single entity as twisted the minds of those within it. From its first salvo the Imperial line was broken and the cluster of Nurgal ships made landfall amidst troops who were too surprised to properly arm their anti-aircraft cannons. On the bridge of The Skull Throne, the dark, bloodshot eyes of the one called 'The Red Wolf' watched the putrid hulks touch down to the furious roars of his own troops who felt the glory had been theirs to take. "It matters not!" Leonothas Kargan barked as the entire crew fell silent. His rage at Lord Fel's insult boiled beneath the surface but he would not jeopardize this chance with petty action. "They have seized their opportunity and we will seize ours. The God of Blood shall have His offering as we bring glorious battle to these... slaves of the false Emperor!" Rising from his ornate throne, Kargan's hulking form stalked toward the giant flight monitors that showed the serene view of the planet before them. From his waist he drew Khornesgrin, the blood-red teeth of the chain-blade glowing in the faint light, and held it aloft. "We will throw off their shackles, my brothers, and join them together with the one who welcomes all in his red embrace! Sharpen your blades! We bring them freedom! We bring them war!" The cheer was deafening as tens of thousands of voices proclaimed their devotion to the one true Lord of Skulls.
"You will take the Throne and give us an opening." Kargan ordered Admiral Ashran, the Imperial defector who'd brought nearly an entire battlegroup of warships to their cause and who had thus become the Wolf's chief naval officer. "Let them taste blood and fire... When we have our foothold you will provide the support we need." The chaos lord waited for no confirmation as he knew the zealous man would follow his orders to the letter. No objection was made as Kargan stepped aboard the chaos barge for every heretic knew their great and glorious God would guide his chosen to the front lines.
Within an hour several thousand bone covered ships bore down on three of the planets largest hive-cities. Though the planetary defense force had this time been ready with guns trained upward, the sky became dark with the number of hulls that made it through. After a merciless firebombing that left hundreds of thousands dead, they released their payload on the populace and the true nightmare ensued. They spread like a wave, thousands upon thousands of chaos marines, traitor guardsmen, and vicious mercenaries, all with a singular purpose: to spill the blood of the enemy.
At Fort Orion the fighting was fiercest as the men and women of the Imperium put up a valiant defense against the red and brass tide. Well entrenched, the guardsmen had set up three trench-lines complete with hundreds of supporting machine-gun nests and basilisk artillery behind. Against the radical and uncoordinated charges of the berserk hoard they faced, their fields of fire were impenetrable. "Servants of the Imperium!" Sergeant Edheron, commander of the trenches voxed over their secure channels one evening from his command station in the forward line. He spoke with a flourish if his cape, his crooked nose held high as he gestured out over the scared battlefield. "The Holy Emperor watched over us this day! Foul heretics and demon-spawn broke against our will and fled before us! We will drive them back! Back into very warp that spawned them!" A great cheer rose from the ranks, the men's hearts bolstered by their strong position and the looming fortress at their backs. "No servants of Chaos shall touch this Fort Orion's inner wall! Long live the Imperium! Long live the Emper-" The final line of his speech was suddenly cut off as the commander was buried beneath six-hundred pounds of blood matted fur and bone. No move was made by the man's retainers, two Death Koros guardsmen, who were too horrified to react as the great beast closed its foaming jaws around his skull. His shrill scream ended when the head was ripped clean from his shoulders; the only sound for a long moment being the crunch of bone as the wolf-demon consumed its meal. More terrified shrieks sounded out from the immediate area as four more of the creatures crested the trench and began slaughtering the guardsmen without remorse. The Death Korps soldiers recovered quickly, drawing their lazrifles and firing at the closest demon but the beast was too quick, bounding away as their shots pattered agains the trench wall. They moved to pursue but stopped short as a great shadow towered over them. How was this possible? How had they heard no war cries? How had no one sounded the alarm?
One of the retainers promptly wet himself, weapon becoming too heavy for his shaking hands and dropping to the dirt. Chaos Lord Kargan looked down at them with disgust, his eyes shining a deep red in the fading light. "Cowards! Your thin blood is not worthy of Him..." With one sweep of Khornesgrin he cleaved them both at their waists and watched as the pieces of their bodies tumbled away into the trench. Not a single shot was fired in his direction as he planted himself in plain view of the battlements, the soldiers of the remaining two lines looking on in terror as the imposing figure raised his wicked blade to the sky. All at once the air was filled with a great roar of such magnitude that the earth itself seemed to shake. Tens of thousands of heretics poured over the forward line, slaughtering the defenders in an instant and not slowing in the slightest as they swept towards the second. Kargan watched as a thousand were cut down by the opening fire of the Guardsmen but a fanged grin spread across his face as not a single one of his soldiers faltered. Within fifteen minutes they had reached the walls of Fort Orion and within another forty they had breached its 'impenetrable' walls.
Kargan had gained his foothold.
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From Fort Orion, the forces of chaos sent death and destruction in every direction: pillaging all three hive cities between which the fort was situated. Thick billows of smoke and ash choked out the sun from that day onward and the streets were soaked in the blood of men, women, and children. Twice had the forces of the Imperium launched counterattacks with the goal of retaking the fortress but both times they were repelled by their own defenses which were now well utilized by the traitor legions. Soon after, The Skull Throne landed beside the walls and further augmenting the Forts already impressive firepower. Now few could hope to dislodge the unholy army with its bloody claws sunk so deep.
For Kargan, the fort itself was simply a side benefit to the valley the bastion overlooked. Within this space was built a man-made open air cistern of immense proportion where the rain-water and sewage from the three hive clusters was collected. This was the chaos lord's true reason for landing in this particular spot of the planet: where the forces of the false Emperor were so thick. As people died in the tens of millions, their blood inevitably flowed into the basin and stained the waters red.
After the first week, Kargan gave a new order to his troops; one that was so controversial to the teachings of Khorne that it was a marvel anyone complied. But comply they did, for they believed the one who gave the order spoke directly with their dear Blood God and to disobey that word, no matter how outlandish it was to their twisted minds, was certain death. And so it began that the Khornate Berserkers of the World Eaters legion ceased their mindless slaughter and started taking captives: capturing thousands upon thousands of poor souls who were marched in great droves to the center of the valley. On the lip of the great basin their throats were cut and their lifeblood was spilled, their bodies disappearing below the surface, and as the cistern's contents grew a brighter and brighter shade if crimson one would swear that the waters began to swirl, faster and faster with each sacrifice. Night and day cultists stood around the great ring chanting their praises in insane demonic ramblings and before long the contents began to bubble, some force from within causing the very blood to steam and boil. Occasionally, terrifying creatures would emerge from below the surface; red-skinned creatures spouting claws and horns; and would slink away into the ruins of the city.
"Soon, my love..." Kargan muttered from atop the battlements, delicately taking the hand of his wife as the screams of the dieing echoed around him. "Soon we will be together again."
"Hurry, Leonothas..." The woman cooed softly into his ear, her bright red lips brushing his cheek in a manner that caused him to shiver.Her long flowing black hair perfectly framed her beautiful olive-skinned features and the impossibly white gown she wore hugged against her ample curves. She seemed to have no place in that world of death and blood and fire but none of that mattered in the eyes of Chaos Lord for she was what drove him ever onward. Drawing away from him, her elegant hands dwarfed by his own, she gave him the sweetest smile that never touched her dark, void-like eyes. "Our father is waiting."