Scouring of the Nostramo Sector

A Space Marine of unknown origin that may have been responsible for purging the Nostramo Sector. This Marine wears older Great Crusade-era armour and heraldry, as well as trophies from Xenos who had yet to be encountered by the Imperium. They are most likely Ashen Claws

The Scouring of the Nostramo Sector was a campaign of the Great Scouring.^[1]

Overview

In 017.M31, the forces of the Emperor were in hot pursuit of Horus' broken forces in the aftermath of the Battle of Terra. A force of largely Blood Angels and Ultramarines struck towards the Nostramo Sector, the former centre of the Night Lords Legion. The Imperial fleet was equipped with large numbers of previously forbidden Exterminatus-grade weaponry to purge the entrenched Night Lords with.^[1]

However, the Imperial fleet encountered little resistance, and what did appear was disorganized and unsupported. Only a third of the expected Night Lords' remaining Legion strength seemed present in the sector. Fearing some trap, the majority of the fleet withdrew to the remote fleet base of Caith Laes. Meanwhile, those left in the sector conducted a six month search and uncovered no hidden warriors or ambushes, only more mysteries. The sector had already been scoured clean by an unknown enemy, and little of the Night Lords remained.^[1]

The identity of the attackers remains a mystery, but it may be a Raven Guard force known as the "Ashen Claws" who were dispatched into unknown space during the Great Crusade in 002.M31 and may have subsequently returned to Imperial space nearly a decade later.^{[Needs Citation]}

Sources

• 1: The Horus Heresy Book Six - Retribution, pgs. 136–144