Welcome to Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum! Log in and join the community.

Death of the Witching Moon

From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
Jump to: navigation, search

The Death of the Witching Moon took place in 013.M41.[1]

Overview

The Forge World of Keziah, in the strategically vital Agathon System, falls into an unnatural eclipse which its population is driven to murder and madness in an endless night of horror. The forces of the Tenebrae and the Company of Misery reign as dark kings amid the nightmare, and the baleful light of the "Witching Moon" that Keziah has become spreads calamity and warp-tainted phenomena wherever it now falls, threatening the entire star system.[1]

The first Imperial attacks by the Imperial Guard, squadrons from Battlefleet Ultima and the Inquisition are hurled back in tatters by the madness of the black light and the warp-fueled savagery of the defenders. It is only by the unexpected arrival of the Charnel Guard Chapter, accompanied by a sacred band of the Adepta Sororitas' Order of the Black Sepulchre bearing the holy relic known as the Book of Tears before them, that the imminent loss of tens of billions of lives on Agathon Prime is prevented, and the insanity-inducing radiance of the Witching Moon is held back. The Charnel Guard lead a fresh assault as further Adeptus Astartes, including the Angels Porphyr, Storm Lords, and Iron Hands, and Adeptus Mechanicus reinforcements arrive, fighting a brutal battle of tank and gunship clashes across the soaring metal canyons which raze the moon's surface and chamber-by-chamber actions to purge Keziah of the shadow that has befallen it. The Chaos Space Marines inflict fearful losses on their besiegers before they are driven into the deeper darkness of the Warp. In the wake of their retreat, all life is purged from Keziah before it is given back to the hands of the Mechanicus for tech-exorcism and eventual reclamation.[1]

Sources