10 Introduction

and dominance endured. Across thousands of light years, the

Imperium maintains a tenuous hold over millions of worlds
and counts every domain of men as its own, whether they
bow to the God-Emperor on far away Terra or not. Vast
armies of men and warships struggle every day to keep the
God-Emperor’s realm alive and keep the myriad of mankind’s
foes at bay. However, ten thousand years is a very long time,
and as the centuries have slipped by, the Imperium’s borders
have continued to crumble—many of its worlds have broken
away or been destroyed, and potent alien empires have begun
to gnaw away at its insides. Perhaps if the God-Emperor had
had more time to finish His great work in uniting the galaxy,
or perhaps if the nature of men did not so easily turn to
destruction, the Imperium would not be so wracked with war
and conflict; or perhaps after ten thousand years, it is just the
Imperium’s time to slip away into the abyss.
Against this backdrop of carnage and chaos, it is the role of
the Imperial Guard to protect and defend the Imperium. Even
in its faded glory, the Imperium still covers the majority of the
galaxy, comprising millions of worlds and countless billions
of humans. Its ponderous size is both the source of its greatest
strength and its greatest weakness: its size means it can suffer
the loss of worlds and lives with little immediate effect on
the greater Imperium, but it also makes it extremely difficult
to defend. The logistics of an army which must cover the
entire galaxy and protect an empire without distinct borders
against dozens of foes at once is barely comprehensible to
the mind of man. Even the Administratum, the Imperium’s
vast bureaucratic network tasked with recording and keeping
a tally of the armies of the God-Emperor, has no real idea
of the exact numbers of men and women serving in the

Blood-soaked
Stars and
Broken Worlds
“Nothing of any worth was ever won without paying a price in blood.”
–Commander Tyras Cor, Scintillan 73rd Light Infantry

I t is the 41st Millennium and the galaxy teeters on the

brink of annihilation. Humanity has spread out across

the stars and, for thousands of years, settled worlds and
spread their domain deep within the void. Ages of Man have
passed since the first colony ships left ancient Terra and the
fortunes of mankind have waxed and waned as an uncaring
galaxy and hostile alien races have fought against him. Ten
thousand years ago, after a time of unequalled darkness and
ruin, the God-Emperor arose and united mankind once
more. In a grand crusade that lasted many years, His armies
gathered together the scattered tribes of men and created
what was to become the Imperium of Man. Tragically, before
he could finish His great work, he was betrayed by His most
faithful servant, Horus, and thrust into a civil war that almost
destroyed everything he had worked to achieve. In a battle
against Horus, the Emperor was mortally wounded and
is now interred in the Golden Throne; where ancient
technologies keep him alive to this day. However,
despite His wounds, His armies had triumphed
against the betrayers and His dream of unification
I still can’t believe my luck. that my number
should be drawn of all the members of my house
shows that the God-Emperor must be watching
over us just like they say. I’d only just joined
our hive strata’s Fabricators Guild when I got
the news: I’m part of the founding, I’m going
to be one of those chosen to serve the Emperor
and our lords out there beyond the steel skies.
It still seems too strange to be true, a base
born lad like me chosen for such a task, even
though I hear they take just as many from
the other hives, especially those near the chem
seas; something to do with all the people
they have there and the training they get
working the great stacks and outflows. I also
know I’m not alone; Drayn, Helson, and even
Torsh were all called too, us fabricator boys all
giving up the work of our fathers and brothers to
take up the rifle. They told me no one from our house
has served in the Guard since my old great uncle
Nert, some three or four generations back. I
just hope I can do half as well as him and
make my house and hab masters proud!