For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of humanity, and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, so that he may never truly die. His power lights the Astronomicon, the great lighthouse which all of humanity uses to guide their way through the stars. His power keeps back the Daemons who would devour man.
The Imperium is assailed by countless enemies both from within and without. And for a hundred centuries, the Inquisition has ventured into dark places, destroying the enemies of humanity, providing the first line of defense for the Imperium. And for a hundred centuries, malign powers possessing a dark sentience have watched from beyond reality, in the space between places, planning.
And now the Inquisition has turned upon itself.
More than three decades ago, a fanatical Inquisitor named Rhykuus, slew the child of a then acolyte named Mattias. Mattias sacrificed his reputation, his body, and his soul to obtain his vengeance. Propelled by rage, he sought to use his power to re-make the Imperium, so that no soul would ever again be sacrificed to an uncaring God.
Even after the death of the Traitor Mattias, the events that he has set in motion continue to push the Imperium towards an inevitable decision.
Where last we left our intrepid heroes, they had slain the traitor Mattias, and many of his minions. The rest of his cadre was excommunicated or absorbed into other Inquisitor's.
Then the Inquisition was betrayed again, as the Traitor Daedallus lead the forces of the Inquisition into a trap on the war-torn planet of Iocanthos. The Calixis Sector now stands weaker than it has in more than a millenium. Her battle fleets are weakened, the Adeptas Sororitas crushed, and the Grey Knights decimated.
And now most disturbing news has reached the ears of the Inquisition: Inquisitor Rhykuus has been assassinated at the hands of a foe long thought dead. And perhaps more chilling one of their trusted acolytes seems to have conspired with the assassin...
Our Heroes have come from within the Inquisition, and now must choose a place to stand. Do they become Heretics and cast down what they know, in an attempt to make something greater? Or do they remain loyal to the institution they were sworn to protect? For the consequences of failure will be the lives of millions.
To be in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. For in the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter and the laughter of thirsting gods.
