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minervacasterly · 4 years

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“Henry VIII was at Whitehall Palace when the Tower guns signaled that he was once more a free man. He then appeared dressed in white mourning as a token of respect for his late queen, called for his barge, and had himself rowed at full speed to the Strand, where Jane Seymour had also heard the guns. News of Anne Boleyn’s death had been formally conveyed to her by Sir Francis Bryan; it does not seem to have unduly concerned her, for she spent the greater part of the day preparing her wedding clothes, and perhaps reflecting upon the ease with which she had attained her ambition: Anne Boleyn had had to wait seven years for her crown; Jane had waited barely seven months.

It was common knowledge that Henry would marry Jane as soon as possible; the Privy Council had already petitioned him to venture once more into the perilous seas of holy wedlock, and it was a plea of the utmost urgency due to the uncertainty surrounding the succession. Both the King’s daughters had been declared bastards, and his natural son Richmond was obviously dying. A speedy marriage was therefore not only desirable but necessary, and on the day Anne Boleyn died the King’s imminent betrothal to Jane Seymour was announced to a relieved Privy Council. This was news as gratifying to the imperialist party, who had vigorously promoted the match, as it would soon be to the people of England at large, who would welcome the prospect of the imperial alliance with its inevitable benefits to trade.

Although the future Queen had rarely been seen in public, stories of her virtuous behavior during the King’s courtship had been circulated and applauded. Chapuys, more cynical, perceived that such virtue had had an ulterior motive, and privately thought it unlikely that Jane had reached the age of twenty-five without having lost her virginity, ‘being an Englishwoman and having been so long’ at court where immorality was rife. However, he assumed that Jane’s likely lack of a maidenhead would not trouble the King very much, ‘since he may marry her on condition she is a maid, and when he wants a divorce there will be plenty of witnesses ready to testify that she was not’. This apart, Chapuys and most other people considered Jane to be well endowed with all the qualities then thought becoming in a wife: meekness, docility and quiet dignity. Jane had been well groomed for her role by her family and supporters, and was in any case determined not to follow the example of her predecessor. She intended to use her influence to further the causes she held dear, as Anne Boleyn had, but, being of a less mercurial temperament, she would never use the same tactics.

Jane’s well-publicized sympathy for the late Queen Katherine and the Lady Mary showed her to be compassionate, and made her a popular figure with the common people and most of the courtiers. Overseas, she would be looked upon with favour because she was known to be an orthodox Catholic with no heretical tendencies whatsoever, one who favoured the old ways and who might use her influence to dissuade the King from continuing with his radical religious reforms.

Jane was of medium height, with a pale, nearly white, complexion. ‘Nobody thinks she has much beauty,’ commented Chapuys, and the French ambassador thought her too plain. Holbein’s portrait of Jane, painted in 1536 and now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, bears out these statements, and shows her to have been fair with a large, resolute face, small slanting eyes and a pinched mouth. She wears a sumptuously bejeweled and embroidered gown and head-dress, the latter in the whelk-shell fashion so favoured by her; Holbein himself designed the pendant on her breast, and the lace at her wrists. This portrait was probably by his first royal commission after being appointed the King’s Master Painter in September 1536; a preliminary sketch for it is in the Royal Collection at Windsor, and a studio copy is in the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Holbein executed one other portrait of Jane during her lifetime. Throughout the winter of 1536-7, he was at work on a huge mural in the Presence Chamber in Whitehall mural no longer exists, having been destroyed when the palace burned down in the late seventeenth century. Fortuitously, Charles II had before then commissioned a Dutch artists, Remigius van Leemput, to make two small copies, now in the Royal Collection and at Petworth House. His style shows little of Holbein’s draughtsmanship, but his pictures at least give us a clear impression of what the original must have looked like. The figure of Jane is interesting in that we can see her long court train with her pet poodle resting on it. Her gown is of cloth of gold damask, lined with ermine, with six ropes of pearls slung across the bodice, and more pearls hanging in a girdle to the floor. Later portraits of Jane, such as those in long-gallery sets and the miniature by Nicholas Hilliard, all derive from this portrait of Holbein’s original likeness now in Vienna, yet they are mostly mechanical in quality and anatomically awkward.

However, it was not Jane’s face that had attracted the King so much as the fact that she was Anne Boleyn’s opposite in every way. Where Anne had been bold and fond of having her own way, Jane showed herself entirely subservient to Henry’s will; where Anne had, in the King’s view been a wanton, Jane had shown herself to be inviolably chaste. And where Anne had been ruthless, he believed Jane to be naturally compassionate. He would be in years to come remember her as the fairest, the most discreet, and the most meritorious of all his wives.

Her contemporaries thought she had a pleasing sprightliness about her. She was pious, but not ostentatiously so. Reginald Pole, soon to be made a cardinal, described her as ‘full of goodness’, although Martin Luther, hearing of her reactionary religious views, feared her as ‘an enemy of the Gospel’. According to Chapuys, she was not clever or witty, but ‘of good understanding’. As queen, she made a point of distancing herself from her inferiors, and could be remote and arrogant, being a stickler for the observance of etiquette at her court. Chapuys feared that, once Jane had had a taste of queenship, she would forget her good intentions towards the Lady Mary, but his fears proved unfounded. Jane remained loyal to her supporters, and to Mary’s cause, and in the months to come would endeavor to heal the rift between the King and his daughter.

- Alison Weir, The Six Wives of Henry VIII

“A story of a later date had Queen Anne finding Mistress Seymour actually sitting on her husband’s lap; ‘betwitting’ the King, Queen Anne blamed her miscarriage upon this unpleasant discovery. There was said to have been ‘much scratching and bye-blows between the queen and her maid’. Unlike the King’s invocations of the divine will, however, there is no contemporary evidence for such robust incidents; the character of Jane Seymour that emerges in 1536 is on the contrary chaste, verging on the prudish. As we shall see, there is good reason to believe that the King found in this very chastity a source of attraction; as he had once turned to the enchantress Anne Boleyn from the virtuous Catherine. Yet before turning to Jane Seymour’s personal qualities for better or for worse, it is necessary to consider the family from which she came … The Seymours were a family of respectable and even ancient antecedents in an age when, as has already been stressed, such things were important. Their Norman ancestry – the name was originally St Maur – was somewhat shadowy although a Seigneur Wido de Saint Maur was said to have come over to England with the Conquest. More immediately, from Monmouthshire and Penbow Castle, the Seymours transferred to the west of England in the mid-fourteenth century with the marriage of Sir Roger Seymour to Cecily eventual sole heiress of Lord Beauchamp of Hache. Other key marriages brought the family prosperity. Wolf Hall in Wiltshire, for example (scene of Henry’s autum idyll with Jane if legend is to be believed) came with the marriage of a Seymour to Matilda Esturmy, daughter of the Speaker of Commons, in 1405. Another profitable union, bringing with it mercantile links similar to those of the Boleyns, was that of Isabel, daughter and heiress of Mark William Mayor of Bristol, to a Seymour in 1424. Sir John Seymour, father of Jane, was born in about 1474 and had been knighted in the field by Henry VII at the battle of Blackheath which ended a rebellion of 1497. From this promising start, he went on to enjoy the royal favour throughout the next reign. Like Sir Thomas Boleyn, he accompanied Henry VIII on his French campaign of 1513, was present at the Field of Cloth of Gold, attended at Canterbury to meet Charles V; by 1532 he had become a Gentleman of the Bedchamber. Locally, again echoing the career of Thomas Boleyn, he had acted as Sheriff of both Wiltshire and Dorset. It was a career that lacked startling distinction – here was no Charles Brandon ending up a duke – but one which brought him close to the monarch throughout his adult life. Sir John’s reputation was that of a ‘gentle, courteous man’. That again was pleasant but not startling. But there was something outstanding about him, or at least about his immediate family. Sir John himself came of a family of eight children; then his own wife gave birth to ten children – six sons and four daughters. All this was auspicious for his daughter, including the number of males conceived at a time when women’s ‘aptness to procreate children’ in Wolsey’s phrase about Anne Boleyn, was often judged by their family record. It was however from her mother, Margery Wentworth – once again echoing the pattern of Anne Boleyn – that Jane Seymour derived that qualifying dash of royal blood so important to a woman viewed as possible breeding stock. Margery Wentworth was descended from Edward III, via her great-great-grandmother Elizabeth Mortimer, Lady Hotspur. Indeed, in one sense – that of English royal blood – Jane Seymour was better born than Anne Boleyn, since she descended from Edward III, whereas Anne Boleyn’s more remote descent was from Edward I. This Mortimer connection meant that Jane and Henry VIII were fifth cousins. But of course neither the Wentworths nor the Seymours were as grand as Anne Boleyn’s maternal family, the ducal Howards. The Seymours may not have been particularly grand, but close connections to the court had made them, by the generation of Jane herself, astute and worldly wise. Sir John Seymour was over sixty at the inception of the King’s romance with his daughter (and would in fact die before the end of the year 1536); even before that the dominant male figure in Jane’s life seems to have been her eldest surviving brother Edward, described by one observer about this time as both ‘young and wise’. Being young, he was ambitious, and being wise, able to keep his own counsel in pursuit of his plans. Contemporaries found him slightly aloof – he lacked the easy charm of his younger brother Thomas p but they did not doubt his intelligence. Edward Seymour was cultivated as well as clever; he was a humanist and also, as it turned out, genuinely interested in the tenets of the reformed religion (unlike his sister Jane) … The vast family of Sir John Seymour began with four boys: John (who died), Edward, Henry and Thomas, born in about 1508. A few years later the King would speak ‘merrily’ of handsome Tom’s proverbial virility. He was confident that a man armed with ‘such lust and youth’ would be able to please a bride ‘well at all points’. Then came Jane, probably born in 1509, the fifth child but the eldest girl. After that followed Elizabeth, Dorothy and Margery; two sons who died in the sweating sickness epidemic of 1528 made up the ten. Apart from her presumed fertility, what else did Jane Seymour, now in her mid-twenties (the age incidentally at which Anne Boleyn had attracted the King’s attention), have to offer? Polydore Vergil gave the official flattering view when he described her as ‘a woman of the utmost charm both in appearance and character’, and the King’s best friend Sir John Russell called her ‘the fairest of all his wives’ – but this again was likely to loyalty to Jane Seymour’s dynastic significance. From other sources, it seems likely that the charm of her character considerably outweighed the charm of her appearance: Chapuys for example described her as ‘of middle stature and no great beauty’. Her most distinctive aspect was her famously ‘pure white’ complexion. Holbein gives her a long nose, and firm mouth, with the lips slightly compressed, although her face has a pleasing oval shape with the high forehead then admired (enhanced sometimes by discreet plucking of the hairline) and set off by the headdress of the time. Altogether, if Anne Boleyn conveys the fascination of the new, there is a dignified but slightly stolid look to Jane Seymour, appropriately reminiscent of English medieval consorts. But the predominant impression given by her portrait – at the hands of a master of artistic realism – is of a woman of calm and good sense. And contemporaries all commented on Jane Seymour’s intelligence: in this she was clearly more like her cautious brother Edward than her dashing brother Tom. She was also naturally sweet-natured (no angry words or tantrums here) and virtuous – her virtue was another topic on which there was general agreement.

... Her survival as a lady-in-waiting to two Queens at the Tudor court still with a spotless reputation may indeed be seen as a testament to both Jane Seymour’s salient characteristics – virtue and common good sense . A Bessie Blount or Madge Shelton might fool around, Anne Boleyn might listen or even accede to the seductive wooings of Lord Percy: but Jane Seymour was unquestionably virginal. In short, Jane Seymour was exactly the kind of female praised by the contemporary handbooks to correct conduct; just as Anne Boleyn had been the sort they warned against. There was certainly no threatening sexuality about her. Nor is it necessary to believe that her ‘virtue’ was in some way hypocritically assumed, in order to intrigue the King (romantic advocates of Anne Boleyn have sometimes taken this line). On the contrary, Jane Seymour was simply fulfilling the expectations for a female of her time and class: it was Anne Boleyn who was – or rather who had been – the fascinating outsider.

- Antonia Fraser, The Wives of Henry VIII

“Whilst Jane was always denied a political role, her political interests are clear. She favoured Mary, attempted to save the monasteries and sympathized with the rebels during the Pilgrimages of Grace. Jane’s politics were largely conservative. Her strong character is visible both by her ruthlessness in watching the fall of Anne Boleyn and in the way in which she ruled her household. Jane could have been a queen as strong and influential as Catherine of Aragon or Anne Boleyn had been in the early years of their marriages. Unfortunately for Jane, when the opportunity finally arose with the birth of her son, she did not survive. Had Jane lived, as the mother of the king’s heir, she could have asserted her authority safe in the knowledge that her position was finally secure. After Henry’s death, when Jane’s son was only nine years old, she would have had a very strong claim to the regency as the mother of the king. Jane Seymour could have been so much more and, whilst it is possible to glimpse her potential, much of what she could have achieved will forever be speculation. Jane did not live to take on the political role that would have been open to her as the mother of the heir to the throne and her real legacy is her son, Edward VI, and the prominence of her brothers, Edward and Thomas Seymour. Although Henry would go on to have another three wives after Jane’s death, Edward was his only son and, on Henry’s death in January 1547, he became king aged nine as Edward VI Edward was hailed by many in England as a future great king and Jane would have been proud of her son. Edward’s tutor, Sir John Cheke, for example, wrote of the king that ‘I prophesy indeed, that, with the lord’s blessing, he will prove such a king, as neither to yield to Josiah in the maintenance of the true religion, nor to Solomon in the management of the state, nor to David in the encouragement of godliness’. Roger Ascham, the tutor of Edward’s sister, Elizabeth, also sang the youth king’s praises, writing that ‘he is wonderfully advanced of his years’. Edward was raised to be a king and received a formidable education, writing very advanced letters even in early childhood (even if is clear that he must have received some assistance in the earlier letters). In one letter to his father, Edward wrote: In the same manner as, most bounteous king, at the dawn of day, we acknowledge the return of the sun to our world, although by the intervention of obscure clouds, we cannot behold manifestly with our eyes that resplendent orb; in like manner your majesty’s extraordinary and almost incredible goodness so shines and beams forth, that although present I cannot behold it, though before me, with my outward eyes, yet never can it escape from my heart. Edward was raised to be king in the manner of his father but in his appearance, with his pale skin and fair hair, he always resembled Jane. Jane’s greatest regret, when she came to realize that she was dying, was that she would not live to see her son grow up …

Jane’s legacy is also her own reputation and her relationship with Henry VIII. Jane never inspired the deep obsession in the king that he felt for Anne Boleyn or the admiring love that he, at first, felt for Catherine of Aragon. Instead, he married her almost on a whim. She was the woman best placed at the perfect time. There is even some evidence that Henry came to regret his haste in marrying Jane after seeing some other beautiful ladies at his court. Jane never raised the passion in Henry that some of his other wives did. Throughout their marriage, it is clear that Henry did not entirely view his marriage to Jane as permanent. It was essential that Jane fulfilled her side of the bargain and that was to bear a son. Until that time, as Jane was very well aware, she was entirely dispensable. In spite of this, with her death in giving him the son he craved, Henry’s feelings towards Jane entirely changed and he came to look back on their marriage through rose-tinted spectacles. A commemoration to Jane was written some time after her death and perhaps best sums up how Henry came to view her: Among the rest whose worthie lyves Hath runne in vertue’s race, O noble Fame! Persue thy trayne, And give Queene Jane a place. A nymphe of chaste Dianae’s trayne, A virtuous virgin eke; In tender youth a matron’s harte, With modest mynde most meeke.

Jane spent her entire marriage trying to prove to Henry that she was his ideal woman and, posthumously, she succeeded.

- Elizabeth Norton, Jane Seymour: Henry VIII’s True Love

“How a woman like Jane Seymour became Queen of England is a mystery. In Tudor terms she came from nowhere and was nothing. Chapuys confronted the riddle in his dispatch of 18 May 1536, which was addressed to Antoine Perrenot, the Emperor’s minister, rather than to the Emperor Charles V himself. Freed from the decorum of writing to his sovereign, the ambassador expressed himself bluntly. ‘She is the sister’, he began, ‘of a certain Edward Seymour, who has been in the service of his Majesty [Charles V]’; while ‘she [herself] was formerly in the service of the good Queen [Catherine]’. As for her appearance , it was literally colourless. ‘She is of middle height, and nobody thinks she has much beauty. Her complexion is so whitish that she may be called rather pale.’ This is a neat pen-portrait of the woman whose mousy, peaked features and mean, pointed chin, are denred by Holbein with his characteristic, unsparing honesty. So much Chapuys could see. But when he turned to her supposed moral character he gave his prejudices full rein. ‘You may imagine’, he wrote Perrenot, man-to-man, ‘whether, being an Englishwoman, and having been so long at Court, she would not hold it a sin to be virgo intacta.’ ‘She is not a woman of great wit,’ he continued. ‘But she may have’ -and here he became frankly coarse- ‘a fine enigme.’ ‘Enigme’ means ‘riddle’ or ‘secret’, as in ‘secret place’ or the female genitalia. ‘It is said’, he concluded, ‘that she is rather proud and haughty.’ ‘She seems to bear great goodwill and respect to [Mary]. I am not sure whether later on the honours heaped on her will to make her change her mind.’ Whatever was there here -a woman of no family, no beauty, no talent and perhaps not much reputation (though there is no need to accept all of Chapuys’s slanders)- to attract a man who had already been married to two such extraordinary women as Catherine and Anne? But maybe Jane’s very ordubarubess was tge oiubt, Anne had been exciting as a mistress. But she was too demanding, too mercurial and tempestuous, to make a good wife. Like the Gospel which she patronised, she seemed to have come ‘not to send peace but the sword’ and to make ‘a man’s foes ... them of his own household’ (Matthew 10.34-6). Henry was weary of scenes and squabbles, weary too of ruptures with his nearest and dearest and his oldest and closest friends. He wanted his family and friends back. He wanted domestic peace and the quiet life. He also, more disturbingly, wanted submission. For increasing age and the Supremacy’s relentless elevation of the monarchy had made him ever more impatient of contradiction and disagreement. Only obedience, prompt, absolute and unconditional, would do. And he could have none of this with Anne. Jane, on the other hand, was everything that Anne was not. She was calm, quiet, soft-spoken (when she spoke at all) and profoundly submissive, at least to Henry ...”

- David Starkey, Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII

Images: Jane Seymour painted by Hans Holbein the Younger. Variousa actresses from costume dramas that have played Henry VIII’s third consort. Elly Condron from the documentary drama Secrets of the Six Wives documentary presented by Lucy Worsley. Anne Stallybras from the BBC miniseries The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970). Jane Asher from the BBC film Henry VIII & his Six Wives (1972). Lastly, Kate Phillips from Wolf Hall (2014).

#Jane Seymour #Tudor History #dailytudors #historians assesment of Jane Seymour #David Starkey #Alison Weir #Antonia Fraser #Elizabeth Norton

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osmw1 · 5 years

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Dimension Wave Chapter 27 — Going on the Offensive

The arrival of Tsugumi… and the rest of the reinforcements turned the whole situation around.

Our lack of numbers was instantly no longer a problem. Mages and archers were very popular with their wide-area skills. They probably don’t get the chance to use them every day.

‘Different enemies are showin’ up!’

Things were getting interesting. I’m sure not everybody agrees, but I get the most excited in fighting games when my opponents and I are neck and neck. Stomping or being stomped by the other side isn’t fun at all. That’s why right now, things were interesting. The difficulty is just right. It’s now evenly matched.

“… now where’d they go?”

As our reinforcements arrive, the more chaotic the battlefield became. The noise of metal clashing against each other, the whistling on arrows in flight, and magic explosions create a sea of sound. We advanced and attacked to the sound of shouting voices and death rattles. I expected to lose my party members in this chaos. What are they up to now? Well, obviously, fighting.

‘This is A6! We’re nearing the towers from the center!’

The people here on the right flank burst out cheering. We met up at a crossroads at B5 and now we’re racing towards the ominous black tower. The path was littered with the remains of Dimensional Skeletons, Dimensional Beasts, and Dimensional Beetles.

I cast my gaze upwards at the tower. We must be like ants crowding around this tower of sugar. If my hypothesis is correct, then we’ll win by destroying this tower. We’re at the verge of victory, even though we were at the brink of destruction when the enemies swarmed us. Maybe I should get ready to set sail again tomorrow. Shouko and the rest of them must be gradually farming more Energy right now.

“That was… quicker than I had imagined.”

As the tower fell, ominous orbs of purplish black exploded from the center. There were players who succumbed to explosion and died. I couldn’t see well through the cloud of dust, but there was some kind of boss monster that appeared.

‘This is A6! The tower exploded and a monster sho—argh!”

His final moments were broadcasted throughout the map. Things were heating up again.

‘Its arm… there’s a rift opening up from its arm.’

The dust settled to reveal a monster covered in black hair, swinging his great arms tipped with razor-sharp claws. Many of the men on our side were torn apart by the monster. It definitely looked stronger than the Lizardman Dark Knight from before. Well, it’d be rude to even compare the two.

… even the ones in the heaviest armor fell to the monster. I didn’t want to imagine how much damage it’d do to me. I’d be lucky if a single hit were to deal damage in the thousands, or at least that’s what I assumed. Surely, it wouldn’t be here for long. A crackling of electricity sounded as it pried open the dimensional rift.

‘Let us attack it at range! Fall back, men!’

It wasn’t long until the arrows and spells started flying at the monster. We had no choice but to do that, even if it meant dealing little damage to it. Oh, most of the vanguard were withdrawing to let the rearguard attack, but there were a few who stayed at the front.

“… well, that’s no surprise.”

Among the ones who stayed were Shouko and Tsugumi. Since most of Shouko’s attacks are AoE, her damage output wasn’t that great. However, her folding fan was one of the lightest weapon classes in the game which—combined with her light armor—made her very effective at dodging attacks. She made great use of her skills to attack and dance around the enemy.

On the other hand, Tsugumi’s scythe had a lot of range as well. I’ve heard that it was great for mobbing mooks, though I’m not too familiar with them. The downsides are that it’s weaker for single-target attacks and its weight. But the biggest downside is that scythe skills consume an extreme amount of MP. They say scythes don’t get good gas mileage.

“Guess I have to go over and help too, eh?”

Shouko’s striking kimono will probably draw in Yamikage and Sheryl as well. They’ll definitely give me crap if I were to shirk away now. Alright, let’s go! No, wait, hold on. I’ve gotta have a plan if I’m going to go up close to the boss. I’m not happy about it, but I’m not nearly as skilled as players like Shouko or Tsugumi. If I ran in there without any tactics, I’d just be getting in their way, let alone helping out. What can I do?

Name/ Kizuna†Exceed Race/ Spirit Energy/ 67,720 Mana/ 8,100 Serin/ 46,780

Skills/ Energy Production X, Mana Production VII, Fishing Mastery IV, Gutting Mastery IV, Cleaver III, Speed Gutting III, Naval Combat IV, Transmutation I

Unlocked Skills/ Energy Production XI, Mana Production VIII, Fishing Mastery V, Hate & Lure I, Helmsmanship I, Night Vision I, City Travelling I

Hate & Lure I A basic support skill with a fishing rod. An attack with a lure and hook to draw hate from fish or monsters. Consumes 50 Energy per use. Costs 100 Mana to acquire. Unlock requirement: Defeat 1 or more enemies with fishing rods. Upgrade requirement: Defeat 10 or more enemies with fishing rods.

The hell kind of skill is this? And when the hell did I kill anything with a fishing rod? I’ve been constantly fishing during the week on the boat, but I don’t remember this happening at all. Hate means that I’ll draw the enemies’ attacks towards me. My light armor can’t be good for it. But if it works on fish as well, that would mean I’d get more bites. I’ve gotta try it next time. I don’t exactly know how I’m going to use it, but I’ll take it this skill just in case. But no! I should be focusing on its arm right now! I’m way too obsessed with fishing… I’ve gotta keep myself in check.

“Sorry! I couldn’t stop it!”

I closed my status screen to see Tsugumi shouting and the dimensional rift opening up in the monster’s arm. His fierce glowing deep crimson eyes matched its gigantic, pitch-black body, standing about five players tall. The most noticeable feature of it was the three heads on its body. It reminded me of a certain dog in mythology.

“Whoa!”

One of its three heads spat a breath of flame at us. I barely dodged its attack since it wasn’t specifically targeting me, but half of the archers were wiped out by that one attack. That’s probably phase two of the monster with its different attack pattern. It happens all the time in games. Shouko and Tsugumi dodged Cerberus’ swipes and bites and were still attacking it. … I moved up close to its legs, but what am I supposed to do? I don’t think I’ve ever fought anything like this in a game…

‘… bad news, everyone. It seems since the boss appeared, players who die can no longer return.’

I looked behind me. The entrance at the edge of the map had a black visual effect coming from it. I guess that means that dead players can’t get back into the fight. Well, Spirits had that problem to begin with anyway but no respawning sucks for other races. You’d want to be decked out in full armor for this fight. Shouko, Tsugumi, and others were still attacking Cerberus from melee distance. Those who couldn’t do so were surrounding it firing their bows and spells.

“Step aside! Our ranged attack is ready to fire!” “Wild Dance, the First: Chain Strike! I can dodge fine, so please just commence!” “Yup, yup!”

How does anyone dodge the spells and arrows falling down like rain? Are we the noobs for not being able to do the same? I remember how in Western FPSes, Tsugumi was able to get headshots with her sniper rifle without even so much visual confirmation of the enemy. Maybe it’s the same concept how she can master spatial awareness in this game too. I hate to say it, but I’m not nearly as crazy good as she is. While some other players ran out of the attack zone, Shouko and Tsugumi kept attacking Cerberus. Someone probably has to draw Cerberus’ aggro at all times. And somehow, the ones who stayed really did dodge left and right, evading the arrows, and kept tanking the boss. Seeing how good she is, maybe Shouko is a bit like a fish out of water to be sailing with us.

Another five minutes past and Cerberus swiped with its talons again. I was able to escape it by the skin of my teeth, but Tsugumi couldn’t.

“Ah… I’m all out of MP.”

As she muttered out, Cerberus swung its arm down…

… but no way I’d let it hurt my sister.

“I had wondered before, but… do I like my little sister too much or what?”

After evading its attack, I ran back right into it. I put up my Cetus Longsword to protect us and was sent flying backwards. I would love to have saved my sister from the wicked claws of Cerberus, but unfortunately, I lacked the ability to tank for her.

contents: /prologue/ /ch001/ /ch002/ /ch003/ /ch004/ /ch005/ /ch006/ /ch007/ /ch008/ /ch009/ /ch010/ /ch011/ /ch012/ /ch013/ /ch014/ /ch015/ /ch016/ /ch017/ /ch018/ /ch019/ /ch020/ /ch021/ /ch022/ /ch023/ /ch024/ /ch025/ /ch026/ /ch027/ /next/

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sage-nebula · 5 years

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Would you reccomend Final Fantasy 12? How do you find the story and gameplay? I already know I probably won't super like Vaan lol but how have you found everything?

You have pretty good timing, anon; I’m actually playing Final Fantasy XII as we speak, haha.

Anyway, I would recommend it! I can’t speak from the standpoint of someone who has long been a fan of the Final Fantasy series, because I have not. Outside of very brief times spent with Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IX, in which I did not come even close to finishing either of them, this has been the only main series Final Fantasy games I’ve played. All of the others that I’ve played (and completed)—Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core—have all been side games and spinoffs. So I can’t say whether you’d like XII if you’re a long-time fan of the Final Fantasy series, because I myself am not and, from what I’ve heard, it changes the formula quite a bit. (ETA: I forgot that I also played and enjoyed Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, although I couldn’t beat the final boss. I did play it up until that point, though, so it was basically completed even if I couldn’t go all the way with it.)

That said, I personally am enjoying it quite a bit, although I don’t think I’m too far into it yet. My Switch history says that I’ve put twenty hours into it so far (well, twenty or more), and I know that a chunk of those have been spent just exploring and doing some sidequests (which is actually what I’m doing right now, heh). I have all of the party members, though, and I’ve gotten into the plot a bit, at least enough to see that the plot itself is less focused on one specific character, and more focused on the politics in the world of Ivalice as they are the moment, which I actually really like.

I’ve mentioned it a few times on my blog before, but when it comes to Final Fantasy I am all about Ivalice. The only Ivalice game I started by didn’t finish was Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2: Grimoire of the Rift, and to be honest I’m not sure why I didn’t finish that one. I can’t remember disliking it, so it might have just been that I got caught up in other things. Either way, most of the Final Fantasy titles I’ve played have been Ivalice games, and I’ve loved them. Tactics Advance was my favorite game for a long while in childhood (and was the first Ivalice game I ever played), and Tactics: War of the Lions remains one of the best games I’ve ever played, period, and if it gets a Switch port I will die of happiness. (Hopefully said port comes with a way to issue birth control to your chocobos, though, because honestly … you go into battle with two chocobos, and you come out of battle with thirty of them, they bred that fast.) Final Fantasy XII feels like a mix of the two games. We have various races present, such as the viera and the bangaa, like we saw in Tactics Advance, but the plot is heavily based in political conflict and warfare, like we saw in War of the Lions. To that end, while we do have characters that have personality, backstory, et cetera, the story isn’t about them so much as it is about this war as a whole and what effect it has on them, which is again similar to War of the Lions, where although there were characters in that game who were important, what was more important than them and their individual conflicts was the role they had to play in this ongoing war and these historical events as they would be remembered years later. It’s a different track than a lot of JRPGs take, since JRPGs tend to be more focused on the individual characters, but it’s one I like because the world of Ivalice (and all its countries and historical events and so on) is interesting to me, and I like to see how it all connects and fits together.

The gameplay is fine as well, though there are some things that take getting used to. I’m playing on Switch, so I can’t say how it is on other consoles, but one thing that trips me up is you have to use the buttons on the left Joy-Con to navigate menus rather than the analog stick, and nothing tells you this. You also open your menu with X rather than the Plus button, which similarly trips me up, haha. The battle mechanic is a mechanic that pretends to be real-time action when it’s really still turn-based. You really just have to get within proximity of an enemy for your character’s attack bar to start up, and then they’ll automatically attack once it’s full, rather than engaging in real-time combat a la a Tales Series game. That said, you can choose whether to have your party members act autonomously or not through Gambits, and you still have to keep an eye on things like status changes and whatnot, so it’s not like all the challenge is gone from it, but quite a bit is. That said, though, it is nice not to have to deal with random encounters, since you can see enemies right there on the map with you.

As far as the characters are concerned, yeah, the game would be much better without Vaan (and by extension Penelo) in it, haha. Vaan’s pretty much the designated protagonist only in that he’s the first character you control and the one you use to run around cities and such, but (at least where I am in the game at the moment) he has no bearing whatsoever on the plot, and neither does Penelo (who is literally only there because Vaan is there). The story isn’t about any one character in specific, but the rest of the party members all have a reason to be there, all have ties to the plot in some way, and all have an idea of what’s going on and can therefore contribute. Vaan … doesn’t. And neither does Penelo. And it’s kind of annoying that they’re there when I literally could not care less about either of them, haha. But I don’t dislike them enough that it drags the whole game down, especially since the other characters get to do their fair share of speaking up and acting since they actually have an idea of what’s going on. (Balthier calls himself the leading man, and honestly? At this point in the game? It really feels like he is. Of course, he’ll always be the leading man in my heart regardless—he is My Mans™—but still, since he has more of an active role and idea of what’s going on, it honestly feels like he’s more important story-wise than Vaan, haha.)

I feel like I’ve rambled a lot in this response and I’m not sure if what I’ve said is helpful, but tl;dr I do recommend it. The gameplay is fine, even if it encourages the player to be passive; the story is good so far, though highly political and focused more on the world than the characters; and while Vaan and Penelo are annoying, they’re mostly easily ignored since the remaining party members all have a bigger role in the plot / more of an idea of what’s going on. I can’t say how it stacks up as a main series Final Fantasy game in specific, because this is the first one I’ve really sank my teeth into, but as a game on its own I’m enjoying it so far and am glad I got it.

#final fantasy xii #for those who have played - I'm on my way to the Garif Village south of Giza Plains for the first time #(at least I am once I stop faffing around and get back to it)#so no spoilers past that point please and thanks!#Anonymous

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Cobra Kai Season 4 Trailer Touts Tricky Tournament Warfare

https://ift.tt/3GxCx22

Cobra Kai is about to assume fighting positions for a fourth season, which will thrust the San Fernando Valley into more martial arts mayhem than it can handle. If that idea wasn’t already clear enough from the enticing All Valley Tournament challenge teased at the end of the previous season, then the release of the long-awaited first proper trailer for Season 4 should provide sufficient evidence. Yet, based on what we’re seeing, punches and kicks will be complemented in said challenge by the trickier weapons of subterfuge and psychology.

While the immediate focus of the Cobra Kai Season 4 trailer is the obvious oil-and-water moments of stylistic clashes between the newly-formed karate dojo duo of Johnny’s Eagle Fang and Daniel’s Miyagi-Do, it appears that serious seeds of doubt are already being sown about the alliance’s stability as the finish line to their anticipated challenge in the 51st All Valley Under 18 Karate Tournament approaches. Indeed, the show’s heralded arrival of the villain of 1989’s The Karate Kid Part III, Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith), will evidently create ripple effects on the dynamic, reawakening trauma for Daniel and creating a potential rift with Johnny.

Check out the Cobra Kai Season 4 trailer just below.

“Eagles do not respond. They swoop down and take whatever they want.” That newly-minted motto for Johnny’s hilariously-named Eagle Fang clearly contradicts Daniel’s Miyagi-Do rule that Karate is for defense only. Indeed, Daniel’s informal-but-disciplined teaching style—as passed down by the late Mr. Miyagi—is forced to make concessions in the face of Johnny’s ultra-aggressive, dangerous dude-broing style of mentorship, evidenced by the clip’s showcasing of his own unorthodox lessons, which include jumping (or “flying”) off rooftops onto piles of soiled mattresses, and poor Demetri’s transformation into a makeshift heavy bag for the entire class. Consequently, the clashes have put Daniel into a sanctimonious know-it-all mode that’s quickly creating resentment in Johnny, especially when he starts to become proactive about the well-being of his beloved student, Miguel.

However, despite the inauspicious ideological clashes, the alliance of dojos clearly has Kreese worried, which is why we saw him call in the proverbial big guns in the form of his old friend Terry Silver. Unlike Kreese’s “strike first, strike hard” approach to the Cobra Kai form, Silver’s signature style involves elaborate machinations designed to manipulate his victims, as exemplified by his actions in The Karate Kid Part III, in which he—under the initial pretense of being a friend—instigated a slow psychological breakdown of Daniel to his very core, first by creating a rift between him and Miyagi, then by using a belligerent hired tournament ringer in Mike Barnes to beat him down, causing him to unhelpfully fight with fear. This time, however, the aforementioned widening rift between Daniel and Johnny has become a clear weakness, which Silver and Kreese are clearly attempting to exploit. With Johnny being unaware of Silver’s reputation, he’s especially vulnerable to this tactic.

Cobra Kai Season 4: Can Daniel and Johnny Make Amends?

By Gene Ching

Cobra Kai Season 5 Sweeps the Leg of Doubt Ahead of Season 4

By Joseph Baxter

Additionally, the Season 3-climactic choice of Robby Keene, Johnny’s son and Daniel’s former student, has added a potentially instrumental weapon to Cobra Kai’s increasingly-diverse arsenal. As the trailer makes clear, Robby is about to become a sensei of sorts, teaching the enemy students some key lessons straight from the Miyagi-Do playbook. Indeed, the trailer shows him briefly putting aside prospective romantic chemistry to teach Tory the late Mr. Miyagi’s iconic “wax on, wax off,” a lesson in which car care surreptitiously instills necessary muscle memory for defensive arts. Thus, the ongoing rivalry has devolved into a kind of Karate Cold War™ being fought among dojos.

Finally, the full trailer for Cobra Kai’s fourth season notably teases a mysterious, but clearly-game-changing twist for this year’s All Valley Tournament challenge. Unfortunately, said twist remains a secret, since the revelatory scene merely shows an apparently-radical proposal being presented to the tournament’s board, who reluctantly vote for the mystery measure, inciting one member to lament, “God help us all.” While the nature of the twist is anyone’s guess, it’s possible that the decades of animosity between the dojos’ respective senseis will likely—by virtue of the conventions of storytelling—culminate in some kind of officiated, score-settling tournament battle amongst themselves. However, any expectations of the series coming to a climax in Season 4 should be tempered, since Netflix already made an advance order for Cobra Kai Season 5 this past August.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Cobra Kai Season 4 will help ring in your New Year when it hits Netflix on Friday, January 31.

The post Cobra Kai Season 4 Trailer Touts Tricky Tournament Warfare appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3EJAPtC

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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groovygladiatorsuit · 4 years

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Free Games For Download Mac

Freeware

Divinity Original Sin II – Definitive Edition 3.6.60.4648 Mac Game Free Download Baldur’s Gate II Enhanced Edition Mac Game Free Download Death and Taxes 1.1.7 Mac Game Free Download. Software for Mac; Business Software; Software support; Games & Entertainment. Xbox consoles; Xbox games. Top free; Games; PC; Showing 1 - 90 of 1000 results ROBLOX. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars. Get technical or download support.

Best Free Download Games For Mac

Windows/macOS/Android

30.9 MB

86,870

As featured in:

Build. Battle. Create. Fortnite Battle Royale is the always free, always evolving, multiplayer game where you and your friends battle to be the last one standing in an intense 100 player PvP mode. Available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, iOS, and Android.

Save the World

The Storm came without warning and 98% of the world's population vanished … then came the monsters. You and up to four players lead the world's remaining Heroes in a battle to save survivors and hold back the monster hordes. Explore a large, destructible world where no two games are ever the same. Build huge forts, craft exotic weapons, find loot and level up your Heroes.

Battle Royale

Fortnite Battle Royale is the completely free 100-player PvP mode in Fortnite. One giant map. A battle bus. Fortnite building skills and destructible environments combined with intense PvP combat. The last one standing wins.

Creative

Build your Fortnite. Imagine a place where you make the rules, filled with your favorite things and your favorite people. Claim your own personal island and start creating! Design your own games. Invent games with friends, and build your dream Fortnite experiences. Your island, your friends, your rules.

Android

On mobile, Fortnite is the same 100-player PvP game you know from PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Mac. Same map, same gameplay, same weekly updates. Build your fort as you battle to be the last one standing. Jump in and squad up with friends around the world or in the same room.

Band together online to build extravagant forts, find or build insane weapons and traps and protect your towns from the strange Monsters that emerge during the Storm. In an action experience from the only company smart enough to attach chainsaws to guns, get out there to push back the Storm and save the world. And don't forget to Loot all the things.

What's New:

Android version updated to 13.30.0.

Splash down into Chapter 2 - Season 3! Survive more than just the Storm in the aftermath of its revenge. As the Island adapts to its flooded way of life, stay afloat, take on new enemies and new challenges. Haven't tried Fortnite before? Explore the Island and check out what's new. Dive in!

BATTLE ROYALE

Games For Mac Computers

Season X - Battle Pass

New Season, new Battle Pass. 100 levels, over 100 new rewards. Find out more information on everything that’s new in Season X in the announce blog. In Season X, you'll have the ability to gift the Battle Pass to a friend! Available on all platforms (timing may vary per regions) until August 15th. Your first purchase also includes a unique Gift Box for you to use when gifting items from the shop.

B.R.U.T.E.

Few suits make you feel as powerful as a mech suit does. In this two-person vehicle, players can control its movement while their partner controls its firepower. Those feeling extra adventurous can operate it solo by switching between moving and shooting!

Rift Zones

The Zero Point Explosion has made the island volatile! Locations once thought to be lost are beginning to appear, but they aren’t the same as they once were… Drop in and explore to discover what mysterious gameplay changes they have in store.

Weapons + Items

B.R.U.T.E.

This vehicle can be operated by up to two players. If two players are operating it, one (the driver) controls movement, while the other (the gunner) rains down missiles and shotgun shots.

The driver is able to:

Dash into combat.

Super Jump to victory.

Stomp enemies and structures into the ground.

Anything you would normally harvest will grant materials when destroyed.

The passenger has two weapons at their disposal: a shotgun and a missile launcher.

Shotgun

Clip Size: 10

Damage: 50

Headshot Multiplier: 1.5x

Missile Launcher

Fires up to 10 missiles at once.

Holding down Trigger will begin loading missiles.

After releasing Trigger, or after 10 missiles have been loaded, all missiles will automatically fire.

New Mechanic: Overshield

Consumes 200 of any Material type to create a personal overshield for 5 seconds to protect you in the mech.

Vaulted

Baller

Quad Crasher

Flint Knock Pistol

Shadow Bomb

Semi-Auto Sniper

Tactical Assault Rifle

Mounted Turret

Air Strike

Itemized Glider Redeploy (still available in large team modes)

Over time, we have added many mobility options, both itemized and map-based. We feel that Season X is better experienced with a reduction in mobility. As with all changes, we’ll keep a close eye on how this affects the player experience.

Bug Fixes

Fixed the Heavy Shotgun not piercing through water in modes where it is available.

All Campfires now heal vehicles.

The Storm Scout Sniper Rifle no longer has perfect hip-fire accuracy after aiming down sights.

Boogie Bombs and Grenades no longer pass through vehicles.

GAMEPLAY

Missions

Missions are a series of thematic objectives that grant rewards. As you complete these objectives, you'll earn Battle Stars, XP, and exclusive cosmetic items.

Battle Pass Owners will get access to a new Weekly Mission with rewards each week.

More information about Missions can be found in the Battle Pass and Challenges tabs.

Limited Time Missions

Limited Time Missions are available to all players.

Daily Challenges have been replaced by Limited Time Missions.

Each Limited Time Mission contains Objectives that unlock over the course of a week.

One Objective unlocks each day, even if you don’t log in, and the Mission expires after 7 days. So make sure to finish all your Objectives in that Week’s Limited Time Mission before the 7th day ends!

A new Limited Time Mission is available each week.

NOTE: Any Challenge that previously required Daily Challenges to complete can now be completed with Limited Time Mission Objectives.

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue involving players getting stuck under a ramp as it’s placed.

EVENTS

Arena Game Mode updates!

Season kicks off with Solos and Trios Arena.

Hype will be reset at the start of Season X, with a new scoring structure in place.

10 Divisions - point values have been increased, but progression should be roughly the same. The bolded divisions are new.

Open I (0 - 499)

Open II (500 - 999)

Open III (1000 - 1499)

Open IV (1500 - 1999)

Contender I (2000 - 2999)

Contender II (3000 - 4499)

Contender III (4500 - 6499)

Champion I (6500 - 9999)

Champion II (10000 - 13999)

Champion III (14000+)

Scoring model updates - standardized points and bus fares across all playlists.

Solo

Eliminations: 20pt

Top 25: 60pt

Top 15: 30pt

Top 5: 30pt

Victory Royale: 60pt

Trios

Eliminations: 7pt (per team member)

Top 8: 60pt

Top 4: 30pt

Top 2: 30pt

Victory Royale: 60pt

Bus fare increases at Divisions 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Matchmaking in Arena is still based on players with similar Hype. Players in higher divisions may experience longer-than-normal wait times to ensure higher-quality matches.

PERFORMANCE

Improved level streaming performance for all platforms by optimizing the way assets are preloaded. This reduces cases in which players land on buildings with a low level of detail, particularly on Switch and Xbox One.

ART + ANIMATION

Free Full Games For Mac

The Ride the Pony Emote is now a traversal Emote.

Players who earned the Ride the Pony Emote from the Season 2 Battle Pass have been given a new, additional traversal Emote: Pony Up!

AUDIO

Added new bullet impact sounds.

Increased the volume of distant gunfire and Gliders.

Increased Chest volume and audio range by 10%.

Bug Fixes

Ambient sound no longer cuts out when players walk between biomes.

Pressing the Main Menu button on controllers now defaults focus to the Main Menu (right side of the screen).

Bug Fixes

The loading content message will no longer be stuck at 0% when players are matchmaking.

Fixed a Lobby camera issue when returning from a replay.

Fixed an issue that prevented the selection of different players in the Lobby after switching from different game modes.

Selecting Leave Match no longer prevents a player in your party sitting out in the Lobby from entering matchmaking.

REPLAY

A new camera mode, Battle Map, has been added to server replays. This camera mode shows:

A path of where the followed player has been during the match.

The locations of the eliminations the followed player has done during the match.

MOBILE

Auto-fire system improvements:

We’ve re-tuned Auto-fire for every weapon with this update and would love specific and detailed weapon feedback so that we can continue to improve it.

If you want to try it out and don't use Auto-fire already, go into your HUD settings and enable Auto-fire.

Added a new setting: Tap to Search/Interact for Controllers.

Added a message for devices on Android that have the Sensor Pressure settings (S8, S8+, S9, S9+, and Note 9) to inform players about the settings being active.

Players would unintentionally return to the Home screen due to this setting being active.

We’ve increased the size of buttons and icons in the following areas:

The Frontend Lobby tab buttons.

The Crown for Party leader display icon.

The Map Marker.

'First team to reach the elimination goal wins!' message won’t remain throughout the whole match in Team Rumble.

Bug Fixes

Exiting a vehicle won’t reload the player’s weapon.

The button for skipping cutscenes is now visible on Android.

Vertical black lines aren’t displayed on the Challenges page.

The Settings Menu will properly display when language is set to Spanish.

The text on the menu buttons in the Settings Menu is aligned.

Quick Heal button won’t appear when falling or after opening the map.

Scaling the Quick Heal button in the HUD Layout Tool won’t cause the icon to change to the item's icon in the inventory.

Quick Heal button won’t disappear from the HUD Layout tool when another button is modified.

Players are able to open doors or Chests while using the ADS button.

Build mode button will correctly change to the Weapon mode button when pressing it on Android.

Added header on multiple widgets in the HUD Layout Tool.

Graphical improvement of CloudBreaker outfit.

Graphical improvement of the blue variant of the Sea Wolf outfit.

Freefall icon will be displayed when falling to the map.

ADS button won’t be displayed when driving a vehicle that you entered while holding a gun.

When updating the Banner Trooper outfit, players won’t disappear in the Locker, and the proper Banner will be displayed.

Edit button will be displayed when using passenger seat.

Screen won’t turn black when looking inside of a body of water.

Jump button won’t remain greyed out after players press it.

Audio improvements.

Fixed the occasional static sounds on Android.

Tapping with interactable items in Edit mode will no longer cause the camera to lock.

Player won’t be able to edit through structures.

Ex: Looking at your wall and being able to edit another structure (floor, ramp, roof).

Fixed an unopenable Chest near Polar Peak.

Fortnite looks and runs better than ever for RTX users

Tech titan accuses the developer of 'pouring gasoline on a fire it started'

76 votes

Show ‘em what you’re made of in Apex Legends, a free-to-play Battle Royale game where contenders from across the Frontier team up to battle for glory, fame, and fortune.

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Free-to-play multiplayer first-person shooter by Riot Games

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Garena Free Fire is the ultimate survival shooter game available on mobile. Each 10-minute game places you on a remote island where you are pit against 49 other players, all seeking survival.

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Popular apps in Free Games

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moodboardinthecloud · 4 years

Text

Understand the playbook

Earlier this month, in a wood-panelled room at a country estate in Massachusetts, three defiantly unmasked professors gathered around a large oak table to sign a declaration about the global response to the pandemic. One academic had flown across the Atlantic from Oxford; another had travelled from California. The signing ceremony had been carefully orchestrated for media attention, with a slick website and video produced to accompany the event, and an ostentatious champagne toast to follow.

You may not have heard of the “Great Barrington declaration” but you’ll likely have seen the headlines that followed it. Journalists have written excitedly about an emerging rift in the scientific community as the consensus around the most effective response to Covid supposedly disintegrates. The declaration, which called for an immediate resumption of “life as normal” for everyone but the “vulnerable”, fuelled these notions by casting doubt on the utility of lockdown restrictions. “We know that all populations will eventually reach herd immunity”, it stated.

Scientists were swift in their response. The declaration’s core assumption, that population immunity will be achieved by allowing life to go on as normal and shielding only the most vulnerable from the virus, is entirely speculative. The thrust of its argument is based on a false opposition between those who argue for lockdown and those who are against it, when in fact lockdowns are one of numerous measures that scientists have called for, and are seen as a short-term last resort to regain control.

And shutting away the most vulnerable as life continues as normal is not only inhumane, but impossible: by this measure, the carers, household members and frequent close contacts of vulnerable people would also need to isolate. Moreover, young people with pre-existing conditions they don’t yet know about can be equally susceptible, and “long Covid”, with its debilitating host of symptoms, affects people of different ages.

The truth is that a strategy of pursuing “herd immunity” is nothing more than a fringe view. There is no real scientific divide over this approach, because there is no science to justify its usage in the case of Covid-19. We know that when it comes to other coronaviruses, immunity is only temporary. The president of the UK’s Academy of Medical Sciences, in a detailed rebuttal, describes the declaration’s proposals as “unethical and simply not possible”.

It’s time to stop asking the question “is this sound science?” We know it is not. Instead, we should be more curious about the political interests surrounding the declaration. Within hours of its launch, it had seeded political and ideological impact disproportionate with its scientific significance. The hashtag #signupstartliving began trending on social media. Its three signatories were later received by Alex Azar, the US secretary of health and human services, and by Scott Atlas, recently appointed as Donald Trump’s health adviser, who tweeted on 8 October that “top scientists all over the world are lining up with the @realDonaldTrump #Covid_19 policy”. And on a call convened by the White House, two senior officials in Trump’s administration cited the declaration.

Was this ever really about science? When scientists disagree, we expect them to provide evidence for their position. Yet the declaration’s many contentious statements are unreferenced – and the manner of its launch seems designed to amplify publicity over substance. If anything, the tactics employed in this performance have serious implications for the public’s trust in scientists.

It is already clear that the declaration is being used to legitimise a libertarian agenda. Indeed, some authors have questioned if it was ever anything about health, or whether its motivations were always purely economic; as the professor of political economy Richard Murphy put it, the declaration was “the economics of neoliberalism running riot … revealing in the process its utter indifference to the interests of anyone but those who can ‘add value’ within that system”.

As we approach one of the most important elections in the history of western democracy (itself described as a referendum on lockdown), we should be asking who funded this piece of political theatre, and for what purpose. The American Institute for Economic Research(AIER), where the declaration was signed, is a libertarian thinktank that is, in its own words, committed to “pure freedom” and wishes to see the “role of government … sharply confined”.

The institute has a history of funding controversial research – such as a study extolling the benefits of sweatshops supplying multinationals for those employed in them – while its statements on climate change largely downplay the threats of the environmental crisis. It is a partner in the Atlas network of thinktanks, which acts as an umbrella for free-market and libertarian institutions, whose funders have included tobacco firms, ExxonMobil and the Koch brothers. Our questions to the AIER about its relationship to the three signatories went unanswered, but it has posted a number of articles about the declaration and herd immunity on its website.

These are not the names one would associate with sound public health policies. But the trio of scientists who fronted the declaration were able to put the weight of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions behind their statements – Stanford, Harvard and Oxford – giving the declaration a sheen of respectability. The views of these scientists about lockdown and the pursuit of herd immunity are no doubt sincerely held (though, notably, not published in any peer-reviewed scientific articles), but they are falling into a trap set by the right.

Rightwing free-market foundations and institutions have long attempted to savage the public reputation of well-intentioned policies such as those aimed at curbing ecological threats and limiting smoking. Some of the tactics these organisations have used in the past are those we see at play in the Great Barrington declaration: discredit the scientific consensus, spread confusion about what the right response is and sow the seeds of doubt. It seems that lockdown restrictions aimed at bringing the virus under control are merely the latest target in this rightwing stealth campaign.

The science is clear: attaining herd immunity to coronavirus via uncontrolled infection is a fringe view, peddled by a minority with no evidence to back up their position. What’s less certain is the political and economic interests that lie behind this declaration. Let the debate begin on those.

Trish Greenhalgh is a professor of primary care health sciences at Oxford University. Martin McKee is professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Michelle Kelly-Irving is a social epidemiologist working for the French institute of health research – Inserm – based at the Université Toulouse III, France

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/18/covid-herd-immunity-funding-bad-science-anti-lockdown?CMP=share_btn_fb

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helmar-weiss · 5 years

Audio

(Atlas Cube)

#SoundCloud #music #Atlas Cube #Progressive Rock #Progressive Metal #Heavy #The Rift III: Use Tactics

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atlascubemusic · 5 years

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We're very happy to be featured by our friends at Friday Night Progressive again! If you're in the US time zones of the world, tune in this friday for a fresh dose of new and original prog - for the rest of us, the Mixcloud version released shortly afterwards is great.

Stephen Speelman "The Unified One" is doing a fantastic job compiling a set of awesome sounds week after week. As regular listeners, finding out about all these great bands from around the world is a major treat, very much appreciated!

Stephen Speelman‎ an FRIDAY NIGHT PROGRESSIVE10.

November um 12:54

This Week on FRIDAY NIGHT PROGRESSIVE Episode 394 11/15/19 9:00 PM

ESTGreat music so please join us! TUNE IN HERE: www.fridaynightprogressive.comCHAT ROOM!:

http://fridaynightprogressive.com/home-3/chat/REPLAY

11/22/19 Progwave Radio 7PM UK

#atlas cube #the rift #The Rift III : Use Tactics #Friday Night Progressive #Progwave #Stephen Speelman

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bowenma · 7 years

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Vote your favorite MOBA Game

2017-10-07

Which MOBA game do you prefer? Why do you think the game is interesting and playable?

1st Master X Master

It’s a game looking to really spice up the Dota formula; while towers, minions, and last-hits are present and correct, Masters are controlled with WASD and basic attacks are triggered like in an ARPG.

2nd Heroes of the Storm

Players choose upgrades to their abilities as they level up, allowing them to focus on utility, hardiness, or damage. Each hero also features two ultimate abilities, of which only one can be activated during a single match.

3rd League of Legends

League of Legends is to MOBAs as Quake III or Unreal Tournament are to the arena shooter: the now-recognisable blueprint that became a phenomenon, laying the groundwork for more unusual flavours. Several maps and game modes exist, but the 5v5 battles on Summoner’s Rift are by far the most popular. Matches across the three lanes last between 30-50 minutes.

4th Smite

Each player takes on the role of a deity and battles it out across a three-lane arena. Smite is played from a third-person perspective. As a result long-range skillshots and maintaining awareness of immediate surroundings can be more challenging. Group engagements are often chaotic.

5th Dota2

Dota 2 follows the same formula as League of Legends but adds layers of complexity. For instance, it’s possible for players to kill their own creeps in order to prevent their opponent harvesting gold, a tactic known as ‘denying’. Players can also ship items to themselves across the map using a courier instead of having to return to their base.

So, which one is your favorite MOBA game?

Please leave your ideas here or even suggest more MOBA games!

#moba #dota2 #smite #smite game #league of legends #league of legend art #hero of the storm #master X master #vote for your favorite #player #game battle #deity #dota

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gamerszone2019-blog · 5 years

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Fortnite: Complete 10.0 Patch Notes

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/fortnite-complete-10-0-patch-notes/

Fortnite: Complete 10.0 Patch Notes

Last Edited: August 1, 2019 at 9:07 AM

What’s New?[edit]

Season X – Battle Pass

New Season, new Battle Pass. 100 levels, over 100 new rewards. Find out more information on everything that’s new in Season X in the announce blog. In Season X, you’ll have the ability to gift the Battle Pass to a friend! Available on all platforms (timing may vary per regions) until August 15th. Your first purchase also includes a unique Gift Box for you to use when gifting items from the shop.

B.R.U.T.E.

Rift Zones

B.R.U.T.E.

This vehicle can be operated by up to two players. If two players are operating it, one (the driver) controls movement, while the other (the gunner) rains down missiles and shotgun shots.

The driver is able to:

Dash into combat.

Super Jump to victory.

Stomp enemies and structures into the ground.

Anything you would normally harvest will grant materials when destroyed.

The passenger has two weapons at their disposal: a shotgun and a missile launcher.

Shotgun

Clip Size: 10

Damage: 50

Headshot Multiplier: 1.5x

Missile Launcher

Fires up to 10 missiles at once.

Holding down Trigger will begin loading missiles.

After releasing Trigger, or after 10 missiles have been loaded, all missiles will automatically fire.

New Mechanic: Overshield

Consumes 200 of any Material type to create a personal overshield for 5 seconds to protect you in the mech.

Vaulted

Baller

Quad Crasher

Flint Knock Pistol

Shadow Bomb

Semi-Auto Sniper

Tactical Assault Rifle

Mounted Turret

Air Strike

Itemized Glider Redeploy (still available in large team modes)

Bug Fixes

Fixed the Heavy Shotgun not piercing through water in modes where it is available.

All Campfires now heal vehicles.

The Storm Scout Sniper Rifle no longer has perfect hip-fire accuracy after aiming down sights.

Boogie Bombs and Grenades no longer pass through vehicles.

Gameplay[edit]

Missions

New Battle Pass feature!

Missions are a series of thematic objectives that grant rewards. As you complete these objectives, you’ll earn Battle Stars, XP, and exclusive cosmetic items.

More information about Missions can be found in the Battle Pass and Challenges tabs.

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue involving players getting stuck under a ramp as it’s placed.

Arena Game Mode updates!

Season kicks off with Solos and Trios Arena.

Hype will be reset at the start of Season X, with a new scoring structure in place.

10 Divisions – point values have been increased, but progression should be roughly the same. The bolded divisions are new.

Open I (0 – 499)

Open II (500 – 999)

Open III (1000 – 1499)

Open IV (1500 – 1999)

Contender I (2000 – 2999)

Contender II (3000 – 4499)

Contender III (4500 – 6499)

Champion I (6500 – 9999)

Champion II (10000 – 13999)

Champion III (14000+)

Scoring model updates – standardized points and bus fares across all playlists.

Solo

Eliminations: 20pt

Top 25: 60pt

Top 15: 30pt

Top 5: 30pt

Victory Royale: 60pt

Trios

Eliminations: 7pt (per team member)

Top 8: 60pt

Top 4: 30pt

Top 2: 30pt

Victory Royale: 60pt

Bus fare increases at Divisions 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Matchmaking in Arena is still based on players with similar Hype. Players in higher divisions may experience longer-than-normal wait times to ensure higher-quality matches.

Performance[edit]

Art + Animation[edit]

The Ride the Pony Emote is now a traversal Emote.

Players who earned the Ride the Pony Emote from the Season 2 Battle Pass have been given a new, additional traversal Emote: Pony Up!

Added new bullet impact sounds.

Increased the volume of distant gunfire and Gliders.

Increased Chest volume and audio range by 10%.

Bug Fixes

Ambient sound no longer cuts out when players walk between biomes.

Pressing the Main Menu button on controllers now defaults focus to the Main Menu (right side of the screen).

Bug Fixes

The loading content message will no longer be stuck at 0% when players are matchmaking.

Fixed a Lobby camera issue when returning from a replay.

Fixed an issue that prevented the selection of different players in the Lobby after switching from different game modes.

Selecting Leave Match no longer prevents a player in your party sitting out in the Lobby from entering matchmaking.

A new camera mode, Battle Map, has been added to server replays. This camera mode shows:

A path of where the followed player has been during the match.

The locations of the eliminations the followed player has done during the match.

Auto-fire system improvements:

We’ve re-tuned Auto-fire for every weapon with this update and would love specific and detailed weapon feedback so that we can continue to improve it.

If you want to try it out and don’t use Auto-fire already, go into your HUD settings and enable Auto-fire.

Added a new setting: Tap to Search/Interact for Controllers.

Added a message for devices on Android that have the Sensor Pressure settings (S8, S8+, S9, S9+, and Note 9) to inform players about the settings being active.

Players would unintentionally return to the Home screen due to this setting being active.

We’ve increased the size of buttons and icons in the following areas:

The Frontend Lobby tab buttons.

The Crown for Party leader display icon.

The Map Marker.

“First team to reach the elimination goal wins!” message won’t remain throughout the whole match in Team Rumble.

Bug Fixes

Exiting a vehicle won’t reload the player’s weapon.

The button for skipping cutscenes is now visible on Android.

Vertical black lines aren’t displayed on the Challenges page.

The Settings Menu will properly display when language is set to Spanish.

The text on the menu buttons in the Settings Menu is aligned.

Quick Heal button won’t appear when falling or after opening the map.

Scaling the Quick Heal button in the HUD Layout Tool won’t cause the icon to change to the item’s icon in the inventory.

Quick Heal button won’t disappear from the HUD Layout tool when another button is modified.

Players are able to open doors or Chests while using the ADS button.

Build mode button will correctly change to the Weapon mode button when pressing it on Android.

Added header on multiple widgets in the HUD Layout Tool.

Graphical improvement of CloudBreaker outfit.

Graphical improvement of the blue variant of the Sea Wolf outfit.

Freefall icon will be displayed when falling to the map.

ADS button won’t be displayed when driving a vehicle that you entered while holding a gun.

When updating the Banner Trooper outfit, players won’t disappear in the Locker, and the proper Banner will be displayed.

Edit button will be displayed when using passenger seat.

Screen won’t turn black when looking inside of a body of water.

Jump button won’t remain greyed out after players press it.

Audio improvements.

Fixed the occasional static sounds on Android.

Tapping with interactable items in Edit mode will no longer cause the camera to lock.

Player won’t be able to edit through structures.

Ex: Looking at your wall and being able to edit another structure (floor, ramp, roof).

Fixed an unopenable Chest near Polar Peak.

What’s New?[edit]

Advanced Storm Controller

Now you can replicate the Battle Royale 10 wave storm, or you can create your own multi-phase storm.

Advanced Storm Beacon

This allows you to customize specific phases or to set the number of phases of the Advanced Storm Controller.

Weapon-Free Zone

While in a Weapon-Free Zone, a player cannot fire a weapon, swing a pickaxe, throw a grenade, or use items.

Junkyard Juke LTM

Bring junk to the incinerator to receive points for your team. The bigger piece of junk, the more points.

Sky Station Showdown LTM

Battle the other squads to claim the most points from the capture zones! Climb to the top of the Fast Food towers while protecting your VIP! Use impulse grenades and other power ups to blast other teams out of the capture zones!

Islands[edit]

Added the Grid Island – A flat island entirely covered with grid squares to help with building measurements. The white grid square marks the center of the island. This island is low to the ocean to give the most room for building possible.

Gameplay[edit]

Added options for Team Rotation to allow for rotating between teams at various rounds.

Added 3rd, 4th, 5th , 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 20th, 40th, 60th options

Every Round and Every Other Round are still available, too.

Added a “Team Visuals Determined At” game option for controlling what cosmetic details (Team Names, Team Colors, etc) are associated with teams in game modes where the teams rotate from round to round.

Round Start, Game Start (default: Round Start)

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where players could appear at the wrong location before a game started.

Fixed an issue where Spawn Immunity would not be cancelled when firing a weapon.

Fixed an issue with Spawn Immunity Time not actually showing the visual effects for the selected duration.

The Secondary Ability (Exit Vehicle) button will be visible when in the Baller.

Weapons + Items[edit]

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue where players could lose the ability to aim or crouch after using the Prop-O-Matic.

Fixed an issue with Prop-O-Matic where collisions would no longer work after possessing certain types of props.

Fixed an issue with Prop-O-Matic with camera positioning when possessing spotlight props.

Fixed an issue where certain mirror and painting props would have the wrong orientation when possessed by Prop-O-Matic.

Fixed an issue that caused mounted turrets to drift downward over time.

Prefabs & Galleries[edit]

Added the Risky Reels Prefab.

Added the Risky Reels Gallery.

Added more props to the Cabin Prop Gallery.

Added the campground arch to the Cabin Gallery.

Added more RV variants and the Snow Cone Truck to Car Gallery A.

Added additional car colors to Car Gallery B and removed the cars from Car Gallery A.

Bug Fixes

Fixed grass from clipping through the Throne Pedestal in the Castle Prop Gallery.

Fixed the Kitchen Pans & Kitchen Knives props disappearing while in low detail mode.

Fixed the Volcano Vent in the Air Vent Gallery facing the wrong way.

Fixed some visual issues with the sidewalk floors from the Paradise Palms Prefabs & Galleries.

Devices[edit]

Added “When Exploded Transmit On” setting to Explosive Devices that triggers when the object is detonated.

Added Team Settings device channel trigger for when a team is eliminated.

Added a 20 Seconds option to the Player Capture Time setting for the Capture Area device.

Added new Reset Times Triggered When Receiving From setting to Trigger device, which upon receipt, resets the counter for the number of times the Trigger has been activated.

Timer

The Timer’s display now flashes when the timer completes.

Fixed an issue where Timers would not be synchronized between all players.

Fixed an issue where Timer would trigger 1 second too late.

Fixed an issue where timer would play a sound every time it spawned (rather than only on placement).

Fixed Timer Device being able to be destroyed. It’s now indestructible.

New Options

Team (Any, 1-16. Default: Any). Which team can start or stop the Timer.

Complete Once (Yes, No. default: No). Will lock the device after it’s completed once. Allows the Timer to be used as a ‘Fastest Time’ trigger. A locked timer requires to be Reset via a received message before it can be used again.

Complete on End (Yes, No. Default:Yes). Whether or not the timer counts as Completed when it hits 00:00. Set to No to be used as a race to trigger it before it ends.

Show Trigger (Yes / No. Default: Yes). Shows or Hides the trigger pad on the device. When No, you’ll need to remotely trigger the device rather than having players manually activate it by touching the pad.

Alarm Audio (None / Siren. Default: Siren). Enables or disables the siren setting.

Alarm Volume (Very Low, Low, Medium, Loud, Very Loud. Default: Very Loud).

Score Value (-20 – 20. Default: 0). Provides score to the person who triggered / completed the timer when it completes.

Lap Time Team (Activating Team, None, 1-16. Default: None). Defines which team to update the lap time for when this timer is completed. Lap time is a new option in the Island’s UI Settings that can be shown on the scoreboard and used as a win condition.

Lap Time Style (Count Up, Count Down. Default: Count Down). Counting up sends the total time elapsed to the scoreboard. Counting down sends the remaining time.

Added Receiver Support:

Start when Receiving From. Starts the timer.

Pause When Receiving From. Pauses the timer.

Reset When Receiving From. Resets the timer back to its initial state (auto-starting it if the auto-start setting is on).

Enable When Receiving From. Powers-up, allowing it to be used.

Disable When Receiving From. Powers-down, stopping it counting-down or receiving input.

Complete when Receiving From. Completes the Timer, stopping it, triggering the alarm and updating the lap time (if set).

Set Lap Time when Receiving From. Sends the lap time to the scoreboard (if set) without stopping the timer.

Added Transmitter Support:

When Complete Transmit On. Sends a signal on a specific channel when the timer completes.

Color Changing Block

New Options

Enable on Minigame Start option (Yes, No. Default: Yes). Whether it can be touched to change color at the start of the minigame, or needs to be enabled before doing so.

Adding Receiver support

Enable on Received From. Allows this to be changed in color when touched.

Disable on Received From: Disallows color changing on touch.

Reset on Received From: Resets to the default color.

Set on Received From: Sets the block to the team of the player that sent the signal, allowing for remote activation.

Weapon-Free Zone

Options:

Zone Visible In Game (Off/On)

Base Visible In Game (Off/On)

Zone Width (½, 1-20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100)

Zone Depth (½, 1-20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100)

Zone Height (½, 1-20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100)

Enabled On Game Start (Enabled/Disabled)

Receiver Support:

Enable When Receiving From – Allows the Zone to turn on when receiving a remote signal

Disable When Receiving From – Allows the Zone to be turned off when receiving a remote signal

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue which prevented Creature Spawners from being damageable when invulnerability and environmental damage were set to off.

Fixed an issue with Explosive Device exploding during warm up phase if a player was nearby when the match was started.

Fixed issue where Barrier Volumes could block Spectator Drones.

Fixed issue where Barrier visuals would sometimes still be visible even when disabled.

Fixed Creature Spawners not spawning creatures in Playgrounds mode in some cases.

Fixed Shooting Gallery targets not detonating proximity grenades.

Fixed an issue where in some cases, Devices configured with receivers wouldn’t react to transmitters every other round.

Fixed an issue where the Music Sequencer would not always stop playback when expected.

UI + Social[edit]

Bug Fixes

Fixed a typo in Damage Self Weapon Filter Team Setting option.

Fixed a typo in Allow Items to be Dropped setting in Game Settings tab.

Bug Fixes

“Session has expired.” will not be shown when rejoining another players server.

Interact prompt will be visible for the movement modulator when placed on the Block islands.

Piano keys will be highlighted when selected with the Phone tool.

Graphical improvement on Chest & Ammo Gallery.

Graphical improvement of the Consumable icons.

HUD will feature the inventory.

Player will be able to exit the My Island menu by tapping on the screen or via the Exit button.

Name and description on Portal and Rift won’t jitter when aiming at portal.

Baller’s winch button will be greyed out when the grappler isn’t deployed.

What’s New?[edit]

Hit the Road

Get ready for some high intensity road trip action as you assist Quinn and company in broadcasting her Song of the Summer. You never know what challenges and obstacles you may find along the way, and getting there is half the adventure. Load up the van and gather your group because it’s time to Hit the Road!

Introducing the Locker!

Your favorite Emotes, Music Packs, and Loading Screens are now available in Save the World. Head over to the Locker tab to check them out!

General[edit]

The first part of the Locker has arrived in Save the World. You can now use your Emotes, Music Packs, and Loading Screens.

The Locker is currently shared between Save the World and Battle Royale, so if you change it in either location, it will change in both.

Only Emotes, Music Packs, and Loading Screens are available for Save the World at the moment. We plan to support more types of cosmetics in future updates. Read more about this here.

Emotes:

All types of Emotes now work in Save the World: Dances, Emoticons, Sprays, and Toys. Any emotes you own are available in all modes.

You can slot up to 6 Emotes in the Locker for quick access on the Emote Wheel. Additional Emotes can be accessed by paging the wheel up or down.

You can use Dances and Emoticons in the Lobby.

Everyone who currently has access to play Save the World will keep Ride the Pony, which is now a traversal Emote. You can now use it in Battle Royale and Creative too!

Players who purchase Save the World Founders packs will also receive Ride the Pony.

Everyone keeps Dance Moves as well, as players in all modes start with that Emote.

Missions + Systems[edit]

Introducing: Hit the Road!

Grab three other players and help Quinn get to the Radio Station to spin her Song of the Summer in this road trip adventure.

Quinn travels in a hover-truck, complete with a mobile storm defense shield.

Along the route are four randomized objectives, each with challenging gameplay and a variety of upgrades.

Get to the radio station, and protect Quinn from a final enemy wave. Hopefully you’ve collected enough traps, ammo, and resources to secure the victory!

If the vehicle loses all of its health the road trip ends, but players earn rewards based on the number of objectives completed.

You start the trip without your gear or supplies, making scavenging and harvesting a top priority.

You keep your trap schematics, and start with a few “hand-me-down” weapons, but weapon crafting is disabled.

Weapons with appropriate perks are scattered throughout the route, increasing your chances of survival without your weapon schematics.

Chests in Hit the Road spawn tier-appropriate weapons, traps, and resources.

Unlike previous events, Hit the Road uses Power Levels instead of Storm Shield Defense progress to match players to the correct difficulty, bringing more balance to the group.

If you are knocked out you will have to wait until your team reaches or completes an objective before you will respawn. Be careful out there!

New event quests have also been added to give players a chance to earn even more Hit the Road tickets.

Search everything you can for cassette tapes, helping Lars craft the perfect summer mix tape, and earning some Hit the Road event tickets.

Legendary Troll Stash Event Llama is available

Cost: 1000 Hit the Road Tickets

Llamas now contain Cyberpunk Heroes and Vacuum Tube Weapon Schematics

Mutant Storm Mission Alerts grant Hit the Road Tickets and are more numerous.

Miniboss Mission Alerts no longer grant Event Tickets and are less numerous.

Safe Harbor quest: Reduced Evacuate the Shelter quest requirement from 2 to 1.

Updated the mission rewards for “Eliminate and Collect” and “Resupply”.

Eliminate and Collect now rewards Hero XP and/or Survivor XP.

Resupply now rewards Schematic XP and a random crafting ingredient.

Known issue: Sometimes the crafting ingredient fails to be rewarded if players do not finish enough bonus objectives.

Some Heroes and Schematics from the Birthday Llama for Year 2 used to be locked. They have been updated to allow Recycling and Transformation. Any items that were adjusted will continue to not take up inventory space.

Shadow Ops Heroes, Military Weapons, and Vacuum Tube Weapons have been moved to the Expansion Tab in the Collection Book. These items may now be researched/recruited.

Exploding Deathburst has been replaced with a new modifier: Exploding Death Bomb. When Husky Husks, Sploders, and Riot Huskies are eliminated they leave behind a destructive bomb with a short fuse.

With the changing of the season, event ticket rewards have been removed from Wargames Daily Quests and Wargames Mission Rewards.

Mission Rewards for Wargames are reduced while Daily Wargames Quest rewards are increased:

Stonewood Daily Wargames Quests now reward additional Gold

Plankerton Daily Wargames Quests reward Gold and a choice of Evolution Materials

Canny Valley Daily Wargames Quests reward Gold and RE-PERK!

Twine Peaks Daily Wargames Quests reward Gold and a choice of Epic PERK-UP! or Legendary PERK-UP!

The “Husk Swarm” Wargames Challenge has been removed.

Endurance Rewards are reduced for its early waves, normalizing to their current values as you approach the final wave.

Bug Fixes

Mission Alert Weekly Quests in high-level Twine Peaks now display the correct power requirements for completion.

In the Hexed Wargames simulation, the statues no longer leave shadows behind when they disappear.

Centered the Twine Peaks Storm Shield and Vinderman’s Mansion in-game maps.

UI and Minimap icons for melee weapons have been updated. Each melee weapon type now has its own unique icon.

Bug Fixes

Quickly opening Expedition rewards no longer causes the game to freeze.

Main quest tile is now centered properly when there is no quest map.

Adjusted Boom Bow alignment on the Weapon Wall in the Armory.

Updated grammar for descriptions of Air Strike and its upgrades.

Localization fix for Arabic for the points counter used throughout the front end.

Player names now scroll correctly in the team member UI.

Updated tooltips for Shock Tower and T.E.D.D.Y. to show base damage for the abilities.

Fixed some party notifications interfering with menu navigation when using a controller.

Resolved an issue with health/shields not updating after levelling/evolving a Hero from the Hero Loadout screen.

Fixed controller navigation sometimes not working in the Main Menu while in the front end.

Pick-up icons on the minimap will no longer flip 180 if the player is near and above them.

Cloaked Star returns to the Event Store! Cloaked in mystery, this Mythic Ninja uses throwing stars to quickly take down the Husks.

Team Perk: Round Trip

Throwing Stars return to you, dealing their damage again on the way back.

Requires 2 Ninjas of Legendary or higher rarity.

Abilities

Throwing Stars

Crescent Kick

Smoke Bomb

Standard Perk: Fan of Stars

Throw all Throwing Stars together in an arc. Adds 1 additional star.

Commander Perk: Fan of Stars+

Throw all Throwing Stars together in an arc. Adds 3 additional stars.

Bug Fixes

Shock Tower and T.E.D.D.Y. no longer float in the air after their supporting structure is destroyed.

R.O.S.I.E. can no longer be placed overlapping a fragment or storm chest.

Hang Time and Leap Attacks no longer incorrectly negate knockback effects.

Fixed issue with Goin’ Constructor shield not always blocking area damage.

Destroying BASE with Supercharged Traps now correctly removes the BASE bonus to those traps.

Resolved an issue with Azalea Clark’s exploding Shock Tower not damaging Husks at high tiers.

Weapons + Items[edit]

Added Vacuum Tube weapons as possible in-world drops.

The Tar Pit trap schematics now take up inventory space and can be recycled.

Bug Fixes

Weapon trails for the Corsair now display properly.

Cleaned up weapon trail timings for basic sword combo attacks.

The Atomic Light Expander’s heavy attack now correctly grants melee elimination credit.

Upgraded Typewriter weapon should now display on the weapon rack in the armory.

Fixed the Astro Bat 9000 playing an endless ringing sound if the projectile exploded during creation (e.g. spawned inside a wall).

Gameplay[edit]

Bug Fixes

Fixed issue with banner gadget permanently coloring structures blue.

Prevent teleporter from being placed inside small objects.

Prevent player from becoming trapped inside Supply Drop.

The current weapon is now reselected properly after using an ability while jumping off the map.

Art + Animation[edit]

Bug Fixes

Lighting when going to the armory or command tab from the Locker or Store tab with shadows disabled now display correctly

Fixed lighting when switching between locker and armory with shadows disabled.

Resolved a bug where movement didn’t interrupt Emotes.

All players’ matchmaking regions have been reset to Auto. You can change your preference in the Options menu.

Moved the FPS indicator to the lower left-hand corner while in the Lobby.

Bug Fixes

Hover tooltips will no longer prevent mouse clicks in the Settings menu.

We discovered that the default Push to Talk (PTT) setting for new console players was “On,” which was unintentional. The default is now “Off,” and we are performing a soft reset of the Push to Talk setting for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch players. This is a one-time reset, and further changes to the setting will persist as normal.

Players who have manually changed their PTT settings in the past have had their PTT reset to “Off,” but they are able to change it back to “On.”

The Recent Players list has been re-enabled on all platforms. Players in your Battle Royale Squad or Save the World Team will be automatically added to this list as you play.

This list automatically clears when you close the game.

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue in which a friend invite wasn’t properly being cleared.

Performance[edit]

A new mesh streaming solution has been enabled on Xbox One, Switch, and PC. This brings improved memory usage and streaming performance.

This will be rolled out to other platforms in upcoming releases.

Optimized UI performance to improve in-match framerate.

With Season X, the PC version of Fortnite requires a DirectX 11-capable graphics card to run the game, as mentioned in our blog post.

Implemented ray-traced distance field shadows on Switch.

This improves rendering performance and also provides increased shadow range.

Enabled multi-threaded particle simulation on Switch.

This improves the framerate, especially during skydiving.

Optimized GPU occlusion queries on Xbox One.

This provides a boost to dynamic resolution and performance.

Mobile

iPhone 8 scalability settings have been updated to be more inline with similar devices. Overall performance and stability have been improved.

Known Issues[edit]

A current known issue is that players must first close the game on one platform before they’ll be able to connect to another platform using the same account. This issue will be resolved in the v10.10 update.

Wanting to track the top community issues? Head over to our Fortnite | Community Issues Trello board here.

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asktheadeptus · 8 years

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Fulgrim

“Enter every city as though you were it’s first born master.” - attributed to Fulgrim the Phoenician.

Fulgrim, also known in the time before the Horus Heresy as The Phoenician, is the Primarch of the Emperor's Children Traitor Legion. He possessed silvery-white hair and was quite vainglorious, as his entire life was dedicated to the pursuit of perfection in all things; physical, mental and spiritual. Today, Fulgrim is a four-armed, serpentine Daemon Prince of Slaanesh who is believed to reside on a Daemon World somewhere within the Eye of Terror. Unknown to almost everyone, including his own remaining Chaos Space Marines, Fulgrim expressed remorse, repenting his corruption by the Ruinous Powers during the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V during the opening days of the Horus Heresy nearly ten millennia ago. A Greater Daemon of Slaanesh took advantage of this weakness to possess his body for a time, but Fulgrim used his spiritual imprisonment to further explore the power of Chaos and eventually turned the tables on the daemon and forced it into imprisonment to regain control of his body. Fulgrim emerged from that experience even more committed to the pursuit of the path of sensation offered by Slaanesh and Chaos, and after the Horus Heresy he was rewarded for his devotion with ascension as a Daemon Prince of the God of Pleasure. His current exact location remains unknown to the Imperium and the majority of the Chaos Space Marines of the Emperor's Children Legion who still wander the galaxy in pursuit of their own pleasure and ascension.

History

Early Life

Like all the Primarchs, Fulgrim was teleported away from Terra while still an infant in a Warp rift through the machinations of the Chaos Gods, who hoped to prevent the coming of the Age of the Imperium, or at least to corrupt it so that the spread of the Emperor's Order would not weaken their power or threaten their existence. After being snatched from the Emperor of Mankind's gene-laboratory deep beneath the Himalazian (Himalayan) Mountains on Terra, Fulgrim's gestation capsule came to rest on a resource-poor Mining World known as Chemos. Chemos was a bleak, unforgiving planet warmed by a small binary star and surrounded by a thick nebula dust cloud. The result was a world that was a place forever shrouded in perpetual twilight. Chemos had been settled by humanity during the Dark Age of Technology as a Mining World but it was isolated from its neighbors by the great Warp Storms that marked the Age of Strife. The problem was that the resources of the planet were running out and its people were not producing enough food even for their own needs. Eventually, it fell to a group of fortress-factories to produce all the needed resources for Chemos. The entirety of the Chemosian people had to work every hour of the day, maintaining the vapor mines and synthesizers. Recreation, art and leisure were sacrificed for survival. Chemos was dependent upon interstellar commerce for the provision of food, but the world was buffeted by Warp Storms that made it difficult for traders to reach the planet, thus condemning the Chemosians to a slow death, despite their attempts to impose strict food rationing and improvise other solutions for providing nutrients. Scouts from the fortress-factory of Callax's branch of the planetary police force, the Caretakers, discovered the Primarch's gestation capsule after it plummeted to the surface of Chemos and were so impressed by the beauty of the infant within that they begged the leaders of Callax, its Executives, to spare his life, as orphans were routinely put to death so they would not further strain a settlement's resources. Fulgrim was spared and given into the hands of one of his rescuers, a member of the Caretakers, to raise as his own child.

Named after an ancient deity of the Chemosian people, Fulgrim in time became a new legend to the people of that suffering world. At half the age at which most of the other people of Callax went to work in the vapor mines and synthesizers, Fulgrim proved able to fulfill all the obligations of an adult labourer. He came to understand the ramshackle Chemosian mining technology with an intuitive ease that allowed him to begin to modify it with his extraordinary technical acumen, dramatically increasing its efficiency. By the time he was only 15 Terran years of age, Fulgrim had risen from the rank of a simple laborer to become one of the Executives who governed the fortress-factory of Callax. As a leader, Fulgrim learned of the terrible plight that faced Callax and all the other settlements of Chemos as their technology and population gradually declined in the face of their resource shortages.

Under Fulgrim's direction, teams of engineers traveled far from Callax and the other fortress-factories, reclaiming and repairing many of the most ancient and far-flung of the world's original mining outposts, many of which had not been used since before the start of the Age of Strife. Mining production skyrocketed, and as resources began to pour in large amounts into the treasuries of the fortress-factories of Chemos for the first time in millennia, Fulgrim supervised the construction of even more sophisticated and efficient extraction machinery. This industrial efficiency soon grew to the point that Chemos' mines were actually producing surpluses for the first time in decades, allowing the world to begin to purchase food and other needed materials in large quantities from passing interstellar traders. Fulgrim, now the recognized planetary leader, fostered the re-emergence of Chemosian art and culture, important aspects of human life that had long been sacrificed to Chemos' resource shortage and need for constant labor.

The Coming of the Emperor

Not long after this great triumph, the world's isolation came to an end. From the perpetually twilit sky emerged a flight of Stormbird dropships, heavily armoured and battle-scarred and bearing the Imperial Aquila, the badge of the Emperor of Mankind. When he learned of the Aquila, Fulgrim found his memories stirred. Chemos had no real military forces, but the Stormbirds' landing zone had been surrounded by the Caretakers, the planetary police force of the fortress-factories. Fulgrim ordered the Caretakers to welcome the strangers and take them to meet with him in Callax.

In his private quarters, Fulgrim met with the heavily armoured warriors from the stars, men who represented a true civilization that possessed all the culture and refinement that Fulgrim longed to return to his home world. From amongst the Astartes stepped the shining figure of the Emperor of Mankind, and with one look upon him, Fulgrim said nothing and simply dropped to his knees before his father and offered his sword in service. Fulgrim swore from that moment forward to serve the Emperor and the needs of the Imperium of Man with all his heart. The Emperor taught his son of Terra and of the Great Crusade he had initiated to reunite all the scattered worlds of Mankind beneath a single rule so that humanity would no longer face possible extinction at the hands of the galaxy's hostile forces and could claim its rightful place as the dominant intelligent species in the Milky Way. Imperial records do not indicate the exact date of the meeting between Fulgrim and the Emperor; all that is known is that Fulgrim's vast flagship, the Battle Barge known as the Pride of the Emperor, was completed by the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars 160 standard years before the start of the Horus Heresy, sometime in the late 30th or early 31st Millennium.

Fulgrim returned to Terra with the Emperor to meet the IIIrd Legion of Space Marines that had been created from his own genome. But Fulgrim learned to his horror that an accident had destroyed the majority of the gene-seed that had been cultivated from his DNA to implant the Astartes of the IIIrd Legion and that without their Primarch, replacing it had proven to be a slow and laborious process. Fulgrim addressed the mere 200 Astartes that had been created for the III Legion and his speech proved so inspiring to the Imperial cause that the Emperor named the III Legion the Emperor's Children on the spot, and determined that only they could carve the Imperial Aquila, the double-headed eagle that was his own personal badge, upon the Ceramite chestplates of their Power Armour.

Fulgrim was soon consumed by the idea that he and the Emperor's Children needed to live up to the extraordinary honour the Emperor had shown them by becoming shining paragons of the perfection inherent in both the Emperor's person and his vision for Imperial culture and civilization. The drive for perfection soon consumed the Primarch and his Legion, from the military tactics they employed to the embrace of an unusually artistic Legionary culture and a concern for aesthetics and their personal appearances that was unsurpassed by any of the other Astartes. Fulgrim embodied this pursuit of physical beauty and perfection, for long silver hair flowed down his back, his wide eyes and melodic voice welcomed all who sought his counsel and his full lips often quirked into a wry smile. Fulgrim made sure that his Power Armour was of the finest quality that could be fabricated by Imperial technology and was intricately decorated in the purple and golden colors he had chosen for his Legion. Over it he usually wore a wide variety of intricately embroidered and high-collared cloaks.

The Phoenix and the Gorgon

The brotherhood shared by the Primarchs Fulgrim and Ferrus Manus, the Phoenician and the Gorgon, was well known in the Imperium at the time of the Great Crusade, as the two superhuman leaders formed an instant connection upon their first meeting. This initial encounter occurred on Terra, beneath Mount Narodnya, the greatest forge of the Urals, where Ferrus Manus was busy toiling with the forge-masters who had once served the Terrawatt Clan during the Unification Wars soon after his arrival from Medusa. The Primarch of the Iron Hands had been demonstrating his phenomenal skill and the miraculous powers of his liquid metal hands when Fulgrim, the Primarch of the IIIrd Legion, the Emperor's Children, and his elite Phoenix Guard, had descended upon the sprawling forge complex.

Neither Primarch had yet met the other, but each had felt the shared bonds of alchemy and science that had gone into their making. Both were like gods unto the terrified artisans, who prostrated themselves before these two mighty warriors as though fearing a terrible battle might ensure between them. Ferrus Manus later told the tale to the Astartes of the Xth Legion claiming that Fulgrim had declared that he had come to forge the most perfect weapon ever created, and that he would bear it in the coming Great Crusade. Of course the Primarch of the Iron Hands could not let such a boast go unanswered, and he had laughed in Fulgrim’s face, declaring that such pasty hands could never be the equal of his own living metal appendages. Fulgrim accepted the challenge with regal grace, and both Primarchs had stripped to the waist, working without pause for weeks on end, the forge ringing with the deafening pounding of hammers, the hiss of cooling metal, and the good natured insults of the two demigods as they sought to outdo one another.

At the end of three months' unceasing toil, both warriors had finished their weapons. Fulgrim had forged an exquisite warhammer -- Forgebreaker -- that could level a mountain with a single blow, and Ferrus Manus a golden bladed sword -- Fireblade -- that forever burned with the fire of the forge. Both weapons were unmatched by any yet crafted by Man, and upon seeing what the other had created, each Primarch declared that his opponent’s was the greater. Fulgrim declared the golden sword the equal of that borne by the legendary hero Nuada Silverhand, while Ferrus Manus had sworn that only the mighty thunder gods of Nordyc legend were fit to bear such a magnificent warhammer. Without another word spoken, both Primarchs had swapped weapons and sealed their eternal friendship with the craft of their hands.

The weight of the formidable warhammer Forgebreaker was enormous and unbearable for anyone but one of the Emperor’s Astartes. Its haft was the color of ebony, elaborately worked with threads of gold and silver that formed the shape of a lightning bolt, and the head was carved into the shape of a mighty eagle, its barbed beak forming the striking face and its tapered wings the claw. Anyone who looked upon the mighty warhammer could feel the power radiating from within it and know instinctively that more than just skill had gone into its forging. Love and honour, loyalty and friendship, death and vengeance...all were embodied within its majestic form, and the thought that the Iron Hands Primarch’s sworn honour brother had created this weapon made it truly legendary.

According to legend, Ferrus Manus was commonly referred to as The Gorgon. Some on Terra said the name was in reference to an ancient legend of the Olympian Hegemony. The Gorgon was a beast of such incredible ugliness that its very gaze could turn a man to stone. Many would be outraged at the disrespect in the implication of such a term when referring to a Primarch, but those who knew him best believed that Ferrus Manus quite enjoyed the name, because in any case, that was not where the name originated. It was an old nickname Fulgrim had given his brother after their initial meeting. Unlike the Phoenician, Ferrus Manus had little time for art, music or any of the cultural pastimes the IIIrd Legion's Primarch so enjoyed. It is said that after the two Primarchs met at Mount Narodnya, they returned to the Imperial Palace where Primarch Sanguinius of the Blood Angels Legion had arrived bearing gifts for the Emperor, exquisite statues from the glowing rock of Baal, priceless gem-stones and wondrous artifacts of aragonite, opal and tourmaline. The lord of the Blood Angels had brought enough to fill a dozen wings of the Palace with the greatest wonders imaginable.

Of course, Fulgrim was enthralled, finding that another of his brothers shared his love of such incredible beauty, but Ferrus Manus was unimpressed and said that such things were a waste of their time when there was a galaxy to win back. Fulgrim laughed and declared Ferrus a "terrible gorgon," saying that if the Primarchs did not value beauty, then they would never appreciate the stars they were to win back for their father. After that time the name stuck, and forever after Ferrus Manus was often referred to as The Gorgon.

The Great Crusade

Fulgrim was anxious from the start to make a substantial contribution to the Great Crusade like all of his brother Primarchs, but the small size of his Legion meant that the Emperor's Children were at first placed under the command of the Primarch Horus and were assigned to fight alongside his Luna Wolves Legion. Horus and Fulgrim soon grew personally close during their time together while their Legions participated in the conquest and pacification of the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy in the Ultima Segmentum. Eventually, over the course of several decades, the Emperor's Children's ranks were swelled by new Astartes who had been recruited from both Terra and Fulgrim's homeworld of Chemos, where the IIIrd Legion had established its fortress-monastery at the old fortress-factory of Callax. When the Emperor's Children were judged to have reached an appropriate size, Fulgrim was given command of the 28th Expeditionary Fleet of the Great Crusade and set off on his own course of conquest, adding dozens of worlds to the rule of the Emperor. Among them was the advanced xenos world of Laeran, where Fulgrim's fate would be sealed.

Fulgrim’s Fall

Fulgrim first fell from the Emperor's grace on the xenos planet called Laeran, officially designated as Twenty-Eight-Three, being the third world the 28th Expedition had brought to Imperial Compliance. Unbeknownst to the III Legion, the serpentine Laer species were corrupted xenos worshippers of the Chaos God of Pleasure, Slaanesh. Though the resource-rich Ocean World of Laeran would be of immeasurable value to the Crusade of the Emperor, its alien inhabitants did not wish to share what blind fortune had blessed them with. They had refused to see the manifest destiny that guided Mankind through the stars and had made it abundantly clear that they held the Imperium in nothing but contempt. The IIIrd Legion's advance had been rebuffed with violence, and honour demanded that they answer in kind.

Fulgrim's 28th Expeditionary Fleet of the Great Crusade conquered Laeran for the Imperium, exterminating its hostile native reptilian species, the Laer. Laeran was a water world, its continents having sunk beneath its oceans' waves centuries before when all of its ice caps and glaciers melted. The oceanic world was home to a native sentient species known as the Laer who were reptilian and serpentine in form but also engaged in extensive genetic engineering to perfect their species, creating a multitude of different castes who were genetically designed to best serve their intended function in Laer society. Having no land area, the Laer, whose technology equaled or even exceeded that of the Imperium in certain areas, had moved their entire society onto hundreds of floating coral islands that circled a central nexus in the planet's atmosphere. Each coral island was held aloft by an anti-gravity generator.

What Fulgrim and his Emperor's Children Legion did not know was that the Laer were also an entire civilization that had been corrupted by Slaanesh, the Chaos God of Pleasure and Pain. The central nexus point that all of their coral islands orbited was actually a massive temple dedicated to the Prince of Pleasure at the heart of which lay a potent Chaos artifact, a beautifully crafted, single-edged Daemonblade, that served as the physical vessel for a Greater Daemon of the Prince of Chaos. The Laer evinced all the signs of what later generations of the Imperium would recognize as Slaaneshi corruption, including a need for constant extreme sensory inputs, such as riotous colors and constant sound, and the deriving of pleasure from only the most extreme of sensations, including their own deaths. Completely unaware of the real dangers he and his Astartes Legion faced on the Chaos-corrupted world, Fulgrim ordered the Emperor's Children and the other forces of the 28thExpeditionary Fleet to assault the planet and conquer it for the Imperium within a single Terran month, completely eradicating the Laer species in the process. The Council of Terra had decided that the subjugation of the Laer would cost too many Imperial lives and would take too long. Some estimates indicated that an attempted Imperial Compliance would take as long as ten standard years. There had even been talk of making Laeran a protectorate of the Imperium. Primarch Fulgrim would not countenance such talk, for by refusing the Emperor's beneficence, the Laer had effectively sealed their doom.

During the final slaughter of that serpentine xenos race, Fulgrim and his Astartes discovered the great temple dedicated to Slaanesh that lay on the central floating coral island of Laeran. The Imperium, ignorant of the existence of the Chaos Powers at this time and holding to the extreme rationalism and atheism of the Imperial Truth, did not realize the significance of such a find or what they had really discovered. The expedition led by Fulgrim began to be unwittingly corrupted by the temple's potent and malign influence. After defeating the temple's fanatical Laer defenders, Fulgrim discovered what the Laer were so fiercely protecting -- at the center of the chamber of the unholy temple was a circular block of veined black stone, and embedded within was a tall silver sword with a gently-curved blade and a crude amethyst gem set in the pommel. This sword was not only a potent Slaaneshi artifact but also the physical vessel of a Greater Daemon of Slaanesh.

Once Fulgrim had claimed the blade as his own, the daemon within it began whispering in his mind and corrupting his soul towards the service of Slaanesh. He began to wield the daemon blade more often than his prior weapon, the great sword Fireblade that had been forged for him on Terra by his fellow Primarch and most favored brother, Ferrus Manus. Thinking the whispers in his mind was only his own subconscious speaking to him, Fulgrim began listening to what it offered. Eventually, he discovered these were actually the whispers of the daemon that existed within the blade. After a lot of persuasion from his brother Horus, himself already corrupted by the Ruinous Powers after his injury on the moon of Davin, Fulgrim gave himself over to Chaos, and found his particular patron in the Prince of Pleasure, who offered the Primarch a route to the ultimate perfection he so craved for himself and his Astartes, free of all morality and dependent upon the pursuit of ultimate self-obsession.

The Diasporex Persecution

During the latter part of the Great Crusade, the Iron Hands Legion encountered a nomadic, fleet-based civilization composed of both humans and xenos known as the Diasporex. The Iron Hands shared the Imperial Truth of the Emperor of Mankind and offered the human members of the Diasporex the opportunity to separate from their alien allies and to join the newly forged Imperium, but they declined the Astartes' offer. Their offer rejected, the Iron Hands passed judgement, and in the following months the Iron Hands fleet attempted to annihilate the Diasporex, but they proved to be highly skilled and experienced in the realm of naval warfare, and managed to easily evade crucial battles and even to severely damage the Iron Hands' Strike Cruiser Ferrum. The Emperor's Children of the 28th Expeditionary Fleet were called in as reinforcements, and so, a joint Imperial strike force composed of both the Iron Hands and forces from the Emperor's Children Legion launched an all-out assault against the willful Diasporex. Though the Diasporex knew that a powerful fleet of warships was hunting them and sought their destruction, they refused to leave the sector and move on to someplace safer. The Iron Hands' scout ships soon discovered the truth -- the Diasporex used hidden solar collector arrays to collect fuel for their vessels from a star. This was the reason why the Diasporex remained within the sector. Attacking these vital fuel stations, the two Imperial Expeditionary Fleets drew the Diasporex fleet out into open battle as the human-alien alliance sought to avoid utter annihilation at the Imperials' hands.

During the massive naval battle that ensued Fulgrim's personal gunship, the Firebird, came under heavy attack and soon found itself in trouble. Rushing to his brother's side, Ferrus Manus' flagship, the Battle Barge Fist of Iron, came rushing to the rescue of his beleaguered brother. To restore his wounded pride, Fulgrim led a brief ship boarding action where the Emperor's Children wreaked bloody havoc on the troops of the Diasporex. But ultimate victory was robbed from him when the enemy ship's bridge was taken by one of his subordinate commanders. For months thereafter, Fulgrim would resent The Gorgon's actions, unable to truly understand the altruism of Ferrus' deed and the loss of life his selfless act had incurred on his Legion. Under the malignant influence of the daemon-possessed Laer blade that he wore at all times, Fulgrim could only see self-aggrandizement in his brother’s action, instead of the the heroic deed it had truly been. Ferrus' critical comments, the wounding darts that Fulgrim believed were meant to undermine him, were in actuality only jests designed to puncture Fulgrim's self-importance and restore his humility. What Fulgrim perceived as Ferrus’ prideful boasts and rash actions had been deeds of courage that he spitefully dismissed as the influence of Chaos began to claim the Phoenician's soul.

The Horus Heresy

Certain members of the Inquisition who have studied the fragmentary Imperial records of this time now believe that the Laeran daemon sword began to exert a powerful Chaotic influence over Fulgrim, and that the Emperor's Children forces he had deployed against the Laer may also have been tainted by their exposure to the concentrated Chaotic corruption of that serpentine race, who had fully sworn themselves to the service of Slaanesh. Even while wrestling with his own Chaotic taint, the Primarch of the Emperor's Children soon found himself at the center of the events that would bring on the Horus Heresy.

Fulgrim met with the renowned Eldar Farseer Eldrad Ulthran of Craftworld Ulthwe on the Maiden World of Tarsus, in which the Farseer attempted to warn Fulgrim that Horus had been wounded by the Chaotic artifact blade known as the Kinebrach Anathame at the hands of Eugen Temba, the Planetary Governor of Davin who had fallen to the influence of the Plague Lord Nurgle. The wounding had allowed the Chaos Gods to gain a purchase on the Warmaster's soul and he was already turning to their service as he recuperated from the nearly-mortal wound the Kinebrach blade had given him at the hands of Temba on the Nurgle-corrupted moon of Davin. Fulgrim reacted with violent outrage at the Farseer's accusations due to his close friendship with his brother Horus, as his bond with the Warmaster was second only to that he shared with Ferrus Manus, the Primarch of the Xth Legion. This outrage was further enhanced by the influence of Fulgrim's daemonblade, which wanted the Primarch to reject the Eldar's truth and it led Fulgrim to launch an unprovoked and furious attack on Eldrad and his retinue alongside his Emperor's Children Captains and his personal Phoenix Guard. In the battle that ensued, the Emperor's Children slew both the revered Eldar Wraithlord Khiraen Goldhelm and a potent Avatar of Khaine, which forced the Farseer and the other Eldar troops to sorrowfully withdraw, as they realised that Chaos had already claimed yet another of the Mon-Keigh's Primarchs. Yet they had succeeded in killing all of Fulgrim's elite personal Phoenix Guard before their departure. Believing the Eldar had proven themselves a treacherous race that sought to divide and conquer the Imperium by spreading such lies about its leaders, Fulgrim, again under the increasing influence of the daemonblade, ordered the destruction by the 28th Expeditionary Fleet of several other beautiful Eldar Maiden Worlds using hideous virus bombs.

Whilst the exact timing of this meeting remains unknown in Imperial records, it is known that Fulgrim soon met Horus in person after the Eldar had provided their warning about the Warmaster's turn to Chaos, and Fulgrim demanded a personal account of his actions. Instead, Horus, deploying every ounce of his immense charisma, proved able to sway Fulgrim to his cause and the service of the Ruinous Powers. Fulgrim's respect for Horus allowed Chaos to find its own way into Fulgrim's heart, destroying Fulgrim's once rock-solid loyalty to the Emperor, and replacing it with the burning desire to destroy the man who he now believed held humanity back from the perfection Fulgrim so craved and that Horus convinced him only the Chaos Gods could truly provide. Only when Mankind had fully embraced Chaos could it know true perfection, Fulgrim came to believe, and the Emperor and his false Imperial Truth stood directly in the way of his and the rest of humanity's attainment of that perfection. In recognition of the trust that Horus put in his brother, he gifted him with the potent Chaotic blade known as the Kinebrach Anathame. Only the two brothers shared the secret of the poisoned blade's true power, as it was the weapon blessed by the Plague God Nurgle that had almost killed Horus on Davin's feral moon.

Fulgrim was next ordered by Horus to meet with Ferrus Manus, the Primarch of the Iron Hands Legion and Fulgrim's greatest friend amongst his brother Primarchs, aboard his flagship the Battle Barge Fist of Iron in the hope that he could be swayed to the side of Horus and the other Traitor Legions who now served Chaos. Fulgrim had sent the bulk of his Legion and the 28th Expeditionary Fleet on to meet Horus and the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet in the Istvaan System while he and a small force aided the Iron Hands' 52nd Expeditionary Fleet in retaking the world of Callinedes IV from Orks. Great bonds of friendship and brotherhood had long existed between them, and Fulgrim felt that he could convince Ferrus of the righteousness of Horus' cause. Fulgrim's hope proved disastrously wrong and the meeting of the two Primarchs in Ferrus' private inner sanctum in his flagship's Anvilarium did not go well, as Ferrus was outraged that his brothers would turn against their father the Emperor. The meeting ended in violence as The Gorgon made his difference of opinion over continued loyalty to the Emperor known to the Phoenician with his weapons, and he was determined to stop Fulgrim's betrayal of the Imperium before it could begin. Ferrus used his silvery necrodermis hands to destroy Fulgrim's Power Sword Fireblade, but the explosion knocked him out.

Fulgrim intended to kill his brother with his own weapon, the warhammer Forgebreaker, but proved unable to kill his oldest friend despite the promptings of the Slaaneshi daemon that now throttled his soul. When Fulgrim emerged from Ferrus' inner sanctum, he gave a signal to his Phoenix Guard who instantly beheaded all of the Iron Hands Morlocks Terminators who served as Ferrus Manus' bodyguard with their Power Halberds. The Emperor's Children also nearly slew the Iron Hands' First Captain Gabriel Santor. Fulgrim successfully fled the Iron Hands' expeditionary fleet in his personal assault craft, the Firebird, when he ordered his flagship, the Battle Barge Pride of the Emperor and its Escorts, to open fire upon the ships of the 52nd Expeditionary Fleet. This surprise attack crippled them and provided a distraction while Fulgrim and the forces of the IIIrd Legion fled into the Warp to rendezvous with the rest of their 28th Expeditionary Fleet in the Istvaan System.

With their allegiance now settled and their path forward determined, the Chaotic corruption of the Emperor's Children spread quickly throughout the IIIrd Legion, from Fulgrim to his chief lieutenants, the two Lord Commanders of the Legion, and then to its company captains and squad sergeants and finally to all but a small minority of Emperor's Children Astartes who followed the dictates of Slaanesh rather than remaining loyal to the Emperor. The IIIrd Legion's once-laudable quest for excellence and perfection had been corrupted into a desire to achieve perfect hedonism and constant, self-absorbed, sensual excess.

Istvaan III

Before Horus openly launched his rebellion to overthrow the Emperor, an opportunity presented itself that would enable him to get rid of the Loyalist elements within the Astartes Legions under his command. The Imperial Planetary Governor of Istvaan III, Vardus Praal, had been corrupted by the Chaos God Slaanesh whose cultists had long been active on the world even before it had been conquered by the Imperium. Praal had declared his independence from the Imperium, and had begun to practice forbidden Slaaneshi sorcery, so the Council of Terra charged Horus with the retaking of that world, primarily its capital, the Choral City. This order merely furthered Horus' plan to overthrow the Emperor. Although the four Legions under his direct command -- the Sons of Horus, World Eaters, Death Guard and the Emperor's Children -- had already turned Traitor and pledged themselves to Chaos, there were still some Loyalist elements within each of these Legions that approximated one-third of each force; many of these warriors were Terran-born Space Marines who had been directly recruited into the Astartes Legions by the Emperor Himself before being reunited with their Primarchs during the Great Crusade.

Horus, under the guise of putting down the rebellion against Imperial Compliance on the world of Istvaan III, amassed his troops in the Istvaan System. Horus had a plan by which he would destroy all of the remaining Loyalist elements of the Legions under his command. After a lengthy bombardment of Istvaan III, Horus dispatched all of the known Loyalist Astartes down to the planet, under the pretense of bringing it back into the Imperial fold. At the moment of victory and the capture of the Choral City, the planetary capital of Istvaan III, these Astartes were betrayed when a cascade of terrible Life-Eater virus-bombs fell onto the world, launched by the Warmaster's orbiting fleet. The Loyalist Captain Saul Tarvitz of the Emperor's Children, however, was aboard the Strike Cruiser Andronius and had discovered the plot to wipe out the Loyalist Astartes of the Traitor Legions. He was able, with help from Battle-Captain Nathaniel Garro of the Death Guard who was in command of the Death Guard Frigate Eisenstein, to reach the surface of Istvaan III despite pursuit and warn the Loyalist Space Marines he could find of all four Legions of their impending doom. Those that heard or passed on Tarvitz's warning took shelter before the virus-bombs struck.

The civilian population of Istvaan III received no such protection: 12 billion people died almost at once as the lethal flesh-dissolving virus called the Life-Eater carried by the bombs infected every living thing on the planet. The psychic shock of so many deaths at one time shrieked through the Warp, briefly obscuring even the glowing beacon of the Astronomican. The Primarch of the World Eaters, Angron, realizing that the virus-bombs had not been fully effective at eliminating all the Loyalists, flew into a rage and hurled himself at the planet at the head of 50 companies of World Eaters Traitor Marines. Discarding tactics and strategy, the World Eaters Traitors worked themselves into a frenzy of mindless butchery fed by their growing allegiance to the Blood God Khorne. Horus was furious with Angron for delaying his plans, but Horus sought to turn the delay into a victory and was obliged to reinforce Angron with troops from the Sons of Horus, the Death Guard, and the Emperor's Children.

Fortunately, a contingent of Loyalists led by Battle-Captain Garro escaped Istvaan III aboard the damaged Imperial Frigate Eisenstein and fled to Terra to warn the Emperor that Horus had turned Traitor. On Istvaan III, the remaining Loyalists, under the command of Captains Tarvitz, Garviel Loken and Tarik Torgaddon, another Loyalist member of the Sons of Horus, fought bravely against their own traitorous brethren. Yet, despite some early successes that delayed Horus' plans for three full months while the battle on Istvaan III played out, their cause was ultimately doomed by their lack of air support and Titan firepower. During the battle, the Sons of Horus Captains Ezekyle Abaddon and Horus Aximand were sent to confront their former Mournival brothers, Loken and Torgaddon. Horus Aximand beheaded Torgaddon, but Abaddon failed to kill Loken when the building they were in collapsed. Loken somehow survived and witnessed the final orbital bombardment of Istvaan III that ended the Loyalists' desperate defense.

The few remaining Loyalists of the Emperor's Children Legion fought bravely on Istvaan III, led by Captains Saul Tarvitz and Solomon Demeter. To prove his worth and loyalty to Lord Commander Eidolon of the Emperor's Children -- and thus to his Primarch, Fulgrim -- Captain Lucius of the 13th Company of the Emperor's Children, the future Champion of Slaanesh known as Lucius the Eternal, turned against the Loyalists that he had fought beside because of his prior friendship with Saul Tarvitz. He wanted to punish Tarvitz for taking command of the defense, which had incited Lucius's fierce jealousy of his fellow captain. Lucius slew many of his former comrades personally, an act for which he was then accepted back into the III Legion on the side of the Traitors. In the end, the Loyalists retreated to their last bastion of defense, only a few hundred of their number remaining. Finally, tired of the conflict, Horus ordered his men to withdraw, and then had the remains of the Choral City bombarded into dust for a final time from orbit.

Lords of Pleasure

Throughout the final days of the Great Crusade, just before the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, the famed composer Bequa Kynska of Terra had accompanied the Emperor's Children's 28th Expeditionary Fleet as a Remembrancer aboard Fulgrim's Battle Barge Pride of the Emperor. Kynska was a jaded musician always in search of further sensations to create more exhilarating and all-encompassing music, which made her an easy target for Slaaneshi corruption. After Kynska accompanied many of the 28th Expedition's Remembrancers to the temple dedicated to Slaanesh on the xenos world of Laeran, she was touched by the Chaotic corruption of that foul place and slowly sought to create the ultimate orchestral piece that she believed could capture the wondrous sounds she had heard within the Laer temple. Her ultimate masterpiece was a symphony she named the Maraviglia and which she performed for Fulgrim and all the assembled Astartes of the Emperor's Children and their support personnel within the Remebrancers' lounge and theatre called La Fenice aboard the Pride of the Emperor. To recreate the sounds she had heard, Kynska created new musical instruments whose sonic powers could also be used for destruction when employed by an individual already corrupted by Slaanesh. As the Maraviglia began, the cacophony of sound unleashed by these instruments acted as a sorcerous ritual that opened a link between realspace and the Warp and allowed the power of Slaanesh to directly touch the audience. During the "performance" it was noted that the musical instruments were able to produce effects variously disorienting, stimulating and downright murderous.

Chaotic mutations ran rampant through the audience and Astartes and mortal humans alike were so overwhelmed by sensation and uncontrollable emotions that they unleashed an orgy of both sensual hedonism and the most base form of murder upon one another. Ultimately, the music summoned five Lesser Daemons of Slaanesh known as Daemonettes from the Warp who possessed the bodies of Kynska and several of her singers and joined in the slaughter. During this part of the concert, several Emperor's Children Astartes left their seats and took up the instruments to try and keep the Chaotic music playing and in the course of their untrained fumblings with the instruments discovered that they could unleash waves of destructive sonic power filled with the strength of Chaos. These Astartes became the first Noise Marines, who would eventually take to the field on Istvaan V wielding this strange, new weaponry as a new unit of the III Legion called the Kakophoni under the command of First Captain Julius Kaesoron. It was during this performance in La Fenice that the Emperor's Children finally gave themselves wholly, both body and soul, to the Prince of Pleasure as his most dedicated servants.

Drop Site Massacre

When the Loyalist Salamanders, Raven Guard and Iron Hands Legions arrived in the Istvaan System to face Horus and the Traitor Legions on Istvaan V, the Emperor's Children eagerly took part in the fighting. Thousands of Drop Pods and Stormbirds were deployed for the drop. The first wave was under the overall command of the Primarch Ferrus Manus and besides his own Xth Legion, the Salamanders led by Vulkan, and the Raven Guard under the command of their Primarch Corax joined him. Vulkan's Legion assaulted the left flank of the Traitors' battle line while Ferrus Manus, the Iron Hands' First Captain Gabriel Santor, and 10 full companies of elite Morlock Terminators charged straight into the center of the enemy lines. Meanwhile, Corax's Legion hit the right flank of the enemy's position. The odds were considered equal; 30,000 Traitor Marines against 40,000 Loyalists. Horus was aware of the location of the Loyalists' chosen drop site and his troops fell upon the Loyalist Legions.

The battlefield of Isstvan V was a slaughterhouse of epic proportions. Treacherous warriors twisted by hatred fought their former brothers-in-arms in a conflict unparalleled in its bitterness. The mighty Titan war engines of the Machine God walked the planet's surface and death followed in their wake. The blood of heroes and traitors flowed in rivers, and the hooded Heretek Adepts of the Dark Mechanicum unleashed perversions of ancient technology stolen from the Auretian Technocracy to wreak bloody havoc amongst the Loyalists. All across the Urgall Depression, hundreds died with every passing second, the promise of inevitable death a pall of darkness that hung over every warrior. The Traitor forces held, but their line was bending beneath the fury of the first Loyalist assault. It would take only the smallest twists of fate for it to break.

The second wave of "Loyalist" Space Marine Legions descended upon the landing zone on the northern edge of the Urgall Depression. Hundreds of Stormbirds and Thunderhawks roared towards the surface, their armoured hulls gleaming as the power of another four Astartes Legions arrived on Isstvan V. Yet the Space Marine Legions of the reserve were no longer loyal to the Emperor, having already secretly sworn themselves to Chaos and the cause of Horus. The Night Lords of Konrad Curze, the Iron Warriors of Perturabo, the Word Bearers of Lorgar, and the Alpha Legion of Alpharius represented a force larger than that which had first begun the assault on Isstvan V. The secret Traitor Legions mustered in the landing zone, armed and ready for battle, unbloodied and fresh.

Though the Iron Hands, Raven Guard and Salamanders had managed to make a full combat drop and secured the drop site, known as the Urgall Depression, they did so at a heavy cost. Overwhelmed with rage, the headstrong Ferrus Manus disregarded the counsel of his brothers Corax and Vulkan and hurled himself against the fleeing rebels, seeking to bring Fulgrim to personal combat. His veteran troops -- comprising the majority of the Xth Legion's Terminators and Dreadoughts -- followed. What had begun as a massed strike against the Traitors’ position was rapidly turning into one of the largest engagements of the entire Great Crusade. All told, over 60,000 Astartes warriors clashed on the dusky plains of Isstvan V. For all the wrong reasons, this battle was soon to go down in the annals of Imperial history as one of the most epic confrontations ever fought.

Fulgrim smiled as his brother Ferrus Manus renewed his attack into the heart of the Traitors' defensive lines atop the Urgall Depression. Backlit by the flaring strobe of battle, his brother was a magnificent figure of vengeance, his silver hands and eyes reflecting the fires of slaughter with a brilliant gleam. For the briefest second, Fulgrim had been sure that Ferrus would pause to muster with the Raven Guard and Salamanders, but there would be no restraining his brother's aggrieved sense of honour. Around the Phoenician, the last of the Phoenix Guard awaited the blunt wedge of the Iron Hands, their golden halberds held low and aimed towards their foes.

Ferrus Manus and his Morlocks charged through the shattered ruin of the defenses, his black armour and their burnished plates scarred and stained with the blood of enemies. Fulgrim's fixed smile faltered as he truly appreciated the depths of hatred his brother held for him and wondered again how they had come to this point, knowing that any chance for brotherhood was lost. Only in death would their rivalry end. The Iron Hands pushed through the defenses, the bulky Terminators unstoppable in their relentless advance. Lightning crackled from the claws of their gauntlets and their red eyes shone with anger. The Phoenix Guard braced themselves to meet the charge, fully aware of the power of such mighty suits of armour. The Phoenix Guard answered with a terrible war cry and leapt to meet the Morlocks in a searing clash of blades. Electric fire leapt from the golden edges of the halberds and the Lightning Claws of the warriors, and a storm of light and sound flared from each life and death struggle. The battle engulfed the Primarch of the Emperor’s Children, but he stood above it, awaiting the dark armoured giant who strode untouched through the lightning shot carnage as brothers hacked at one another in hatred. Ferrus had long dreamt of this moment of reckoning, ever since Fulgrim had come to him with betrayal in his heart. Only one of them would walk away from their final confrontation.

Final Confrontation

Ferrus taunted Fulgrim for his betrayal of the Emperor and siding with the Traitor Horus. He thought his brother mad, for the Warmaster was defeated -- his forces routed and the power of another four Legions would soon be brought to bear to crush their attempt at rebellion utterly. Unable to contain himself any longer, Fulgrim shook his head, savoring the final act of betrayal to come, revealing to Ferrus that it was he who was naive. Horus would never be foolish enough to trap himself like this. He pointed out towards the northern edge of the Urgall Depression so that Ferrus could see that it was he and his fellow Loyalists who were undone. Ferrus looked and saw a force larger than that which had begun the assault during the first wave of attack, mustered in the landing zone, armed and ready for battle.

Dragging their wounded and dead behind them, Corax and Vulkan led their forces back to the drop site to regroup and to allow the warriors of their recently arrived brother Primarchs of the second wave a measure of the glory in defeating Horus. Though they voxed hails requesting medical aid and supply, the line of Astartes atop the northern ridge remained grimly silent as the exhausted warriors of the Raven Guard and Salamanders came to within a hundred meters of their allies. It was then that Horus revealed his perfidy and sprung his lethal trap. Inside the black fortress where Horus had made his lair, a lone flare shot skyward, exploding in a hellish red glow that lit the battlefield below. The fire of betrayal roared from the barrels of a thousand guns, as the second wave of Astartes revealed where their true loyalties now lay. Ferrus looked on in stunned horror as Fulgrim laughed at the look on his brother's face as the forces of his "allies" opened fire upon the Salamanders and Raven Guard, killing hundreds in the fury of the first few moments, hundreds more in the seconds following, as volley after volley of Bolter fire and missiles scythed through their unsuspecting ranks.

Even as terrifying carnage was being wreaked upon the Loyalists below, the retreating forces of the Warmaster turned and brought their weapons to bear on the enemy warriors within their midst. Hundreds of Sons of Horus] and the Death Guard fell upon the veteran companies of the Iron Hands, and though the warriors of the XthLegion continued to fight gallantly, they were hopelessly outnumbered and would soon be hacked to pieces. Ferrus Manus turned to face Fulgrim, his teeth bared with the volcanic fury of his homeworld. The two Primarchs leapt at one anther, Ferrus wielding Fireblade and Fulgrim holding Forgebreaker. Their weapons had been forged in brotherhood, but were now wielded in vengeance, meeting in a blazing plume of energy. The two Primarchs traded blows with their monstrously powerful weapons, Ferrus Manus wielded his flaming blade in fiery slashes, his every blow defeated by the ebony hafted hammer he had borne in countless campaigns. Both warriors fought with the hatred only brothers divided could muster, their armour dented, torn and blackened by their fury.

The two Primarchs traded terrible blows, wounding one another deeply during their fierce struggle. As Ferrus pushed himself to his feet and staggered towards the wounded Fulgrim, he cried out as he brought the flaming blade towards his brother's neck. But Fulgrim lashed out as he drew the single-edged, daemonically-possessed sword he had taken from the Laer temple and blocked the descending weapon. With the power of Chaos streaming from the blade, diabolical strength flooded Fulgrim's limbs as he pushed against the power of Ferrus Manus, feeling his brother's surprise at his resistance. Fulgrim managed to surge to his feet and lashed out, his silver blade biting deep into the breastplate of Ferrus' armour, and the Primarch of the Iron Hands cried out, falling to his knees once again. Fireblade slid from his grasp as he gasped in fierce agony. As Fulgrim raised the silver sword in preparation of delivering the deathblow to Ferrus Manus, he found that he did not possess the fortitude to deliver the killing blow. In an instant he saw what he had become and what monstrous betrayal he had allowed himself to be party to. He knew in that eternal moment that he had made a terrible mistake in drawing the sword from the Temple of the Laer, and he fought to release the damnable blade that had brought him so low.

His grip was locked onto the weapon and even as he recognized how far he had fallen, he knew that he had come too far to stop, the realization coupled with the knowledge that everything he had striven for had been a lie. As though moving in slow motion, Fulgrim saw Ferrus Manus reaching for his fallen sword, his fingers closing around the wire-wound grip, the flames leaping once more to the blade at its creator's touch. Fulgrim's blade seemed to move with a life of its own as he swung the blade of his own volition. Fulgrim tried desperately to pull the blow, but his muscles were no longer his own to control. The daemonic blade sliced through the genetically-enhanced flesh and bone of one of the Emperor's sons. The Iron Hands' Primarch fell to the ground, his head decapitated. Ferrus Manus was dead by his brother's own hand.

Though Fulgrim had proved the victor, he discovered as he looked down at his battered brother's prostrate body that everything up until that moment had all been a lie. Fulgrim, as if awakened from a long sleep, was shocked by the death of Ferrus into thinking clearly about the situation for the first time since his expedition to Laeran, and he was horrified by what he had done and by the many betrayals that had led brother Astartes to slay one another. Overcome by his grief, he succumbed to a moment of weakness and foolishly agreed to the daemon's whispering suggestion that he could find release in oblivion. The Greater Daemon was then freed from the prison of the sword and fully possessed Fulgrim's body, claiming it for its own, trapping the real Fulgrim's consciousness away within a psychic prison formed within his own mind but symbolically represented by a painting of the Primarch that stood in the place of honour in La Fenice, the theatre of the IIIrd Legion's flagship, the Pride of the Emperor.

Fulgrim and the Warmaster

Following the Traitor's victory at Istvaan V, Fulgrim requested a private audience with the Warmaster. Horus was pleased as his brother presented the grisly trophy of the severed head of Ferrus Manus, as promised. Gloating at this great accomplishment, Horus wished to share this triumph with his fellow captains. But the Emperor's Children's Primarch informed Horus that Fulgrim did not possess the fortitude to fulfill his oath to his brother, so he had done it for him! The Warmaster suddenly realised that the creature that stood before him was not truly his brother Fulgrim, but some sort of doppelganger. Horus threatened harm against this false Fulgrim, informing the creature that he could break him like a straw. The false Fulgrim had no desire to test himself in such a wasteful and fruitless trial of combat. Horus glanced towards Fulgrim’s waist, and relaxed as he saw that this thing masquerading as his brother had come before him unarmed. Whatever its purpose in unveiling itself, it had not come with violence on its mind. For he had come to pledge his loyalty to Horus' cause. He then informed Horus that he was actually a creature of the Warp -- a humble servant of the great power that was the Dark Prince Slaanesh. The Greater Daemon explained to the horrified Horus that he had claimed Fulgrim's mortal shell as his own, and further explained how pleasing it was to him.

Horus inquired as to his brother's fate. The daemon who now inhabited Fulgrim's body explained to Horus that Fulgrim was quite safe, residing within the body now under the control of the Greater Daemon, utterly aware of all that transpired but unable to do anything to intervene. His cries of anguish were a great comfort to the malefic creature. Horus was appalled by this turn of events, and said nothing in response to the daemon's revelations. The Daemon-Fulgrim had pledged its allegiance to his cause and it was a patently powerful Warp entity. Horus thought it best to keep the creature as an ally, for he certainly could not do without the IIIrd Legion at this juncture. However, Horus resolved to destroy the daemon and rescue Fulgrim from his torment when the time was right, for no one deserved to endure such a terrible fate. But Horus wondered what power could unmake a daemon. Horus and the Daemon-Fulgrim agreed to keep its true nature to themselves. The daemon had no particular desire to reveal itself and Horus was convinced that such a revelation would create many problems for him with the other Primarchs dedicated to the Traitors' cause.

Traitor Conclave

Four days after the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V, Horus Lupercal assembled those Primarchs who stood in opposition to the Imperium aboard his flagship, the Vengeful Spirit. They all knew the costs of the coming campaign, and their destinies within it. The Traitor fleets were underway. But after the "unpleasantness" of Isstvan, this was the first time they had gathered as a full fraternity. Eight Primarchs were present, though only half of them were physically in the room where the gathering took place. This included Fulgrim, Perturabo, Angron and Lorgar Aurelian. The absent four were nothing more than holographic projections: three of them -- Konrad Curze, Mortarion and Alpharius -- manifested around the table in the forms of flickering grey hololithic simulacra. The fourth of them appeared as a brighter image comprised of the silver radiance of brilliant witchfire. This last image was of Magnus the Red, who projected himself from afar by sorcerous means, from the Sorcerer's Planet where he was still licking his wounds from the recent Burning of Prospero by Leman Russ' Space Wolves.

As soon as Lorgar had taken his seat at the council table he could not take his eyes off his brother Fulgrim. The Warmaster grew ever more weary of his brother's inability to adhere to established planning and his lack of attention to the important gathering. Before the meeting could properly get underway, Lorgar slowly reached for the ornate Crozius mace on his back. As he drew the weapon in the company of his closest kin, his eyes remained locked on one of them, and all physically present felt the deepening chill of psychic frost riming along their armour. The Word Bearer Primarch accused the thing that mimicked his brother in physical appearance as not being who he purported to be. Before anyone could react, Lorgar's Crozius mace struck the supposed Emperor's Children Primarch. Fulgrim crashed into the back wall, his prostrate form crumpled to the ground. Turning his fierce eyes upon his other brothers he declared that this pretender was not Fulgrim. The other Primarchs that were present, advanced upon the changeling, drawing their own weapons. The Warmaster tried to placate the enraged Lorgar, his merest threat of a confrontation had usually been enough to quell Lorgar from any rash actions in the past. But as they faced Aurelian now, even Horus was wide-eyed in the changes wrought within him since Istvaan V. Clutching his mace in his crimson coloured gauntlets, defying his brothers, he warned them to stay back.

When Horus once again attempted to calm the enraged Primarch, Lorgar was surprised at the sudden realization that the Warmaster already knew that Fulgrim was not whom he pretended to be. The Warmaster informed his fellow Primarchs that he would personally deal with the situation and dismissed them all from his chambers, with the exception of Lorgar. The Word Bearers Primarch could see the truth -- this creature was one of daemons of Chaos -- as whatever was wearing his brother's skin and armour had its soul hollowed out. Something nestled within, puppeteering the soulless body of their own brother. What Lorgar couldn't understand was how this had come to pass and why did Horus continue to protect such a dark secret? Horus explained to his brother that he had not orchestrated Fulgrim's demise; he was merely containing the aftermath.

Lorgar was perturbed that another sentience now rode within Fulgrim's body. Horus was annoyed at his brother's line of questioning, for Lorgar and Fulgrim had never been close. Why did it matter to him? Lorgar explained that it mattered because this vile intrusion was a perversion of the natural order. There was no harmony in such a joining. Not like his own blessed daemon-possessed sons, the Gal Vorbak. A living soul had been annihilated for its mortal shell to simply house a greedy, unborn wretch of a daemon. During Lorgar's Pilgrimage to the Eye of Terror years earlier, he had walked in the Warp itself. He had stood where the gods and mortals met. Lorgar knew this form of possession was weakness and corruption -- a perversion of what the Chaos Gods wished for Mankind. The Ruinous Powers wanted allies and willing followers, not soulless husks ridden by their daemons.

Using his powerful psychic abilities, Lorgar held the daemon at bay. The Warmaster cautioned that he was killing Fulgrim, but Lorgar replied that it was not their brother, but an "it" -- one that he could destroy if he so wished it. Lorgar threatened the daemon that he would learn its true name and banish it back into the Warp. The Daemon-Fulgrim was helpless against Lorgar's formidable psychic abilities. As the Warmaster attempted to restrain his brother by placing his hand on Lorgar's shoulder, the Primarch psychically commanded Horus to remove his hand. Unable to resist, Horus obeyed. His fingers shivered as they withdrew, and his grey eyes flickered with tension. As the enraged Lorgar strode away from the council chambers, Horus commented that his brother had changed since crossing blades with Corax on the surface of Istvaan V. Lorgar replied that everything had changed that night. He then took his leave and returned to his ship to contemplate what he perceived as utter foulness.

Fulgrim's Fate

Those that served in the IIIrd Legion had no idea that their beloved leader was clawing ineffectually at the bondage of his own mind in which he was held. Only the swordsman,Captain Lucius of the 13th Company, had appeared to realise that something was amiss with Fulgrim, but even he had said nothing. The Daemon-Fulgrim had sensed the burgeoning Warp touch upon the warrior and had presented him with the silver daemon blade within which the Laer had bound a fragment of its essence, as he now wielded the far more potent Kinebrach Anathame, a gift from Horus. Though the Laer Daemon sword was now bereft of its spirit, there was still power within the blade, power that would empower Lucius in the years of death to come.

After the conclave aboard Horus' flagship, the Daemon-Fulgrim and the Emperor's Children Legion were ordered to Mars to aid the coming civil war within the Adeptus Mechanicus by the Warmaster. But instead of following his brother's orders, the increasingly mercurial Primarch decided to disobey, and instead ordered his Legion to assault an Adeptus Mechanicus crystal Mining World called Prismatica V. Unable to deal with his lord's mercurial temperament as well as his fellow senior members of the Legion, Lord Commander Eidolon questioned the Primarch's orders. This proved to be a tragic miscalculation on Eidolon's part. Unable to placate his angered lord, the few words he managed to speak on his own behalf inadvertently provoked the Primarch further. The paranoid Primarch believed that the Lord Commander was mocking him and planned to betray him. Quicker than the mind's eye could follow, the Primarch withdrew the Anathame from its scabbard and slew his once-favored son. He then held the severed head of the slain Eidolon over the opened casks of victory wine, the viscous blood dripping from the grisly trophy and mixing with the potent drink which was then shared amongst the senior members of the IIIrd Legion's inner circle.

Far from upset at the death of the much-despised Eidolon, the ascendant champion of the Emperor's Children, Lucius, took note of yet another example of Fulgrim's increasingly capricious behavior. Contemplating upon the change in his lord, Lucius was inspired to investigate further after receiving a series of dark dreams concerning the painting of the Primarch that hang in La Fenice, which had been cordoned off and sealed by a detachment of the Phoenix Guard after the Maraviglia had worked its corrupting influence upon the Legion. Already concerned by his lord's erratic behavior and strange moods, Lucius proceeded to scrutinise the Primarch's every move. His concerns grew even more when he noticed Fulgrim's lack of brotherly-camaraderie and observance of Legion rituals and tradition. But what truly aroused Lucius' suspicions was the realization that Fulgrim's swordsmanship was suddenly inferior to his own superlative skills. His Primarch was not whom he appeared to be. His suspicions were further confirmed when he witnessed Fulgrim employing powerful psychic abilities in open combat against a Warhound-class Titan of the Adeptus Mechanicus during the IIIrdLegion's assault on Prismatica V.

Lucius continued to receive the strange dreams in his sleep, and began to follow the threads implanted by these prescient visions. Breaking a standing order, Lucius defied the Primarch and went to investigate La Fenice, the theatre located aboard the Emperor's Childrens' flagship Pride of the Emperor. This is where the Emperor's Children had truly fallen to the corrupting influence of Slaanesh, awakened by the operatic symphony known as the Maraviglia. Investigating the ruined chamber thoroughly, Lucius discovered above the stage that a great portrait hung above the smashed wreckage of the proscenium. Even in the dying light, the portrait’s magnificence was palpable. A glorious golden frame held the canvas trapped within its embrace, and the wondrous perfection of the painting was truly breathtaking. Clad in his wondrous armour of purple and gold, Fulgrim was portrayed before the great gates of the Heliopolis, the heart of the flagship, the flaming wings of a great phoenix sweeping up behind him. The firelight of the legendary bird shone upon his armour, each polished plate seeming to shimmer with the heat of the fire, his hair a cascade of gold. The Primarch of the Emperor’s Children was lovingly portrayed in perfect detail, every nuance of his grandeur and the life that made Fulgrim such a vision of beauty captured in the exquisite brushwork. No finer figure of a warrior had ever existed or ever would again, and to even glimpse such a flawless example of the painter’s art was to know that wonder still existed in the galaxy.

Gazing at the eyes of the painting, Lucius could see the horror within his Primarch's eyes, a horror that had not been rendered by the skill of a mortal painter. The perfect, exquisite agony burned in the portrait's gaze, the dark pools of the painted eyes seemed to follow his every movement. Lucius came to the conclusion that somehow, his Primarch was trapped within the painting, and that the entity that paraded around as their Legion's lord was an impostor. Determined to free his Primarch by any means at his disposal, Lucius secretly convened the Brotherhood of the Phoenix -- the exclusive warrior lodge of the IIIrd Legion that only allowed warriors of officer rank to join because of the Legion's love of hierarchy. This had to be done with the utmost secrecy, for by this time the corrupted senior officers had become powerful, volatile and self-obsessed with the pursuit of their individual pleasures. Also, many of these senior officers carried a loathing for Lucius, whom they viewed as a despised upstart. Through his skilled oratory, the swordsman was able to persuade his mercurial brothers that the Primarch was not himself. He further challenged their egos and stroked their vanity, tempting them into boldly capturing their Primarch. Shortly after, the Brotherhood of the Phoenix ambushed the Primarch, and despite taking several casualties, manage to subdue their lord by rendering him unconscious.

The Primarch was then taken to the Apothecarion of the IIIrd Legion's Chief Apothecary Fabius Bile, where he was strapped down to one of the examination tables. Here, Fabius, Lucius, Julius Kaesoron and Marius Vairosean attempted to drive forth the daemonic entity from their lord's mortal shell through a protracted torture session known as excruciation. Fulgrim willingly submitted himself to his tormentors' ministrations, and continuously spoke of his perceptions of reality, events that were currently taking place in the galaxy as Chaos grew in power and the envisioned path for his Legion. During the torture session, Lucius suddenly realized that they had been misled. Misinterpreting the situation, they had been duped by their lord. Lucius immediately bended his knee and prostrated himself before his Primarch as Fulgrim easily tore himself free from his restraints. His fellow conspirators all bowed to their lord and master. Content that his favored sons had learned from the experience, the Primarch did not punish them for their transgressions, for he was not the daemon-possessed shell of the Phoenix as he had allowed his Astartes to believe, but the man himself.

Fulgrim decided to share with Lucius his motives for such an elaborate ruse. He revealed that he had indeed been possessed by a daemonic entity for quite some time, an entity that had trapped his disembodied spirit within the great portrait that had hung in La Fenice. Unwilling to accept his fate, the Primarch had bided his time and used the tormenting experience to learn of Warp-craft and the infallible ways of daemon kind. He eventually was able to use this newly acquired arcane knowledge to force the daemon out of his mortal body -- swapping places with the foul entity -- and trapping it within the portrait for all time. Presumably, it was the daemon that had been sending Lucius the dark dreams in order to attempt to free itself from its prison. In an attempt to further educate his favoured champion in the unfathomable ways of Chaos, the Primarch's apparent inferiority in his sword techniques was merely a ploy to manipulate Lucius into challenging him. The Primarch went on to explain that his mercurial moods and lack of interest in camaraderie and the IIIrd Legion's rituals were a natural evolution of his nature to achieve perfection along the path laid out by Slaanesh. Fulgrim announced that he intended to go further than anyone in the realms of sensual experience, intent on pushing the boundaries of reality to the extreme. Fulgrim didn't merely want to accomplish these things for the sole acquisition of power, but to experience the journey -- a journey he wanted his sons to undertake with him. He explained that he had ordered the assault on Prismatica V to claim the crystal the Mechanicus had been mining there so that it might be used to erect a wondrous new city of mirrors dedicated to the exploration of sensual pleasure and self-enlightenment through sensation. But the next step on the Emperor's Children's path towards enlightenment through Chaos, was to rendezvous with the Primarch Perturabo and his Iron Warriors Legion.

Angel Exterminatus

As Horus' rebellion ground on, the Iron Warriors took the time to humble their great enemies, the Imperial Fists, upon the isolated world of Hydra Cordatus that the Sons of Dorn had recently brought into Imperial Compliance. Following their victory, word reached Perturabo that Fulgrim and his Emperor's Children Legion, wished to rendezvous with him to discuss something of great import. Though the Phoenecian had yet to reveal the true purpose of his visit, he had promised Perturabo that it was "wondrous." Perturabo knew that his brother had a flair for the melodramatic, which only seemed to have gotten worse since the IIIrd Legion threw their lot in with the Warmaster. The Lord of Iron counted none of his fellow Primarchs as close, but the Phoenician's adherence to perfection in all things had once provided common ground between the two superhuman warriors and allowed them to talk as trusted comrades-in-arms if not beloved brothers. What the Emperor’s Children had sought with constant movement towards the attainment of perfection, the Iron Warriors earned with rigid discipline and methodical planning; two divergent paths to the same ultimate goal.

Perturabo believed Fulgrim's visit had something to do with the inevitable campaign to be conducted against Mars. The Warmaster needed the Martian theater fully secured before they moved against Terra, and he believed that Fulgrim was there to seek the Iron Warriors' aid in breaking open the forge-cities of the Mechanicum. If he was right, Perturabo wanted his Legion to have a plan in place to achieve that objective. Until the Iron Warriors received further orders, Perturabo would humor his brother and listen to what Fulgrim had to say. While making plans for the upcoming campaign, Perturabo received word that the Emperor's Children had arrived, unannounced, on the surface of Hydra Cordatus. Over three hundred drop-craft had landed beyond the mouth of the valley where the Iron Warriors had made their encampment.

The IV Legion quickly gathered in formation to honour the IIIrd Legion with a vanguard to receive them. Battalions of Thorakitai Imperial Army troops stood ranked in their tens of thousands. Before them stood two hundred Grand Battalions of Iron Warriors, fifty thousand warriors in amberdust-burnished warplate. Such a display of might and magnificence had not been seen since the slaughter unleashed upon the black sands of Istvaan V. Yet Perturabo and his senior officers looked on in awe at the gaudy cavalcade of noise, colour and spectacle that emerged from the IIIrd Legion's drop site into the valley. Fulgrim and his Emperor’s Children were now completely unrecognizable from the honourable warriors that had once formed the IIIrd Legion. Perturabo knew something fundamental had changed within the Emperor’s Children, but could not imagine what purpose the disfigurements and degradations its warriors now sported could possibly serve.

Fulgrim met with his brother Primarch in the private inner sanctum of his command bunker with an enticing offer that Perturabo could not refuse; the means to make it so that the Lord of Iron's every desire could be made real and would never disappoint, never fail to live up to his fondest expectations, and never, ever be eclipsed. Fulgrim came with an offer to unite their mutual forces in battle on a glorious quest. One that might tip the balance of the Warmaster’s rebellion. Though Perturabo was suspicious of his brother's intentions, perhaps this joint venture would grant understanding through common cause. Fulgrim revealed his purpose; they were to venture to the Warp Storm that had plagued Perturabo's dreams all of his life. Within it was hidden an ancient and forbidden xenos weapon known as the Angel Exterminatus. It had been hidden in the grave of its doom, a weapon of such power that the stars themselves turned upon it rather than allow it to escape its prison.

Sisypheum

Unknown to both the Emperor's Children and the Iron Warriors, they were being pursued by a ragtag group of Loyalist Astartes who were survivors of the Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan V and were determined to stop the Traitors at all costs. These Loyalist Space Marines were gathered from survivors that had fought their way out of the killing ground of the Urgall Depression on Istvaan V. They had managed to escape the Istvaan System aboard an Iron Hands Strike Cruiser known as the Sisypheum. Iron Hands Astartes and their mortal serfs formed the bulk of the warship's crew, but surviving warriors of the Salamanders and a single Raven Guard Astartes were also counted among their number. In the wake of the slaughter, escape from the Istvaan System had been a nerve shredding series of mad dashes under fire and silent runs through the Traitors' orbital blockade, culminating in a final sprint to the gravipause, the minimum safe distance between a star’s mass and a vessel’s ability to survive a Warp Jump. The Sisypheum had escaped the trap, but not without great cost.

The months that followed saw the Sisypheum embark on a series of hit-and-run attacks on Traitor forces on the northern frontiers of the galaxy, wreaking harm like a lone predator swimming in a dark ocean. Traitor forces seeking flanking routes through the Segmentum Obscurus were their prey; scout craft, cartographae ships, slow-moving supply hulks heavily laden with mortal troops, ammunition and weapons. Disruption and harassment were the Sisypheum's main objective until contact had been established with disparate groups of Loyalist forces that had also escaped the massacre, and a stratagem of sorts agreed upon. With the Xth Legion too scattered to function in a traditional battlefield role, its surviving commanders found their own way to fight back: as the thorns in the flanks of the leviathan that distract it from the swordthrust to the vitals.

At Cavor Sarta, an Iron Hand known as Sabak Wayland and the lone Raven Guard survivor Nykona Sharrowkyn had captured an Unlingual Cipher Host -- one of the so-called "Kryptos" -- a hybrid abomination creature of the Dark Mechanicum that had previously made the Traitors' code network a cryptographic impossibility to break. With the Kryptos, Loyalist commanders were able to finally access the Traitors’ coded communications. And with this knowledge, the Sisypheum's Captain, the Iron Hand Ulrach Branthan, had ordered the Sisypheum to make the circuitous journey to Hydra Cordatus and the meeting of the Traitor Primarchs that had been indicated by the cracked communications. After learning of Fulgrim's intentions to enter the Eye of Terror and recover the Angel Exterminatus, the crew of the Sisypheum made their way towards the Warp Rift, aided by a mysterious Eldar guide with the intention of thwarting the Traitors' plan to acquire the unknown xenos weapon.

Crone World

The destination of the joint fleet of Iron Warriors and Emperor's Children vessels was the lost Eldar world of Iydris, a world said to have been favoured by the Eldar Goddess Lileath. Iydris was one of the legendary Crone Worlds, which once formed the heart of the lost Eldar empire before they were consumed by the creation of the vast Warp Rift that was the Eye of Terror following the birth of the Chaos God Slaanesh. The lost world was located at the heart of the Eye of Terror, somehow remaining in a fixed position keeping it from destruction in the gravitational hellstorm of a super massive black hole that lay at the centre of the eternal Warp Storm. It was from this epicentre that the galaxy vomited unnatural matter into the void, a dark doorway to an unknowable destination and an unimaginably powerful singularity whose gravity was so strong that it consumed light, matter, space and time in its destructive core.

Their ultimate goal was within the Primarchs' grasp; the Sepulchre of Isha's Doom, which sat at the centre of the citadel of Amon ny-shak Kaelis. The citadel stood astride the entrance to the prison tomb of the Angel Exterminatus. Before launching a full planetary assault, the Iron Warriors launched a preliminary orbital bombardment around the citadel, a standard practise when preparing to assault a potentially hostile environment. A cone of fire gouged the surface of Iydris, burning, pounding and flattening in the blink of an eye structures that had stood inviolate for tens of thousands of Terran years. A barren ring of pulverized earth encircled the citadel of Amon ny-shak Kaelis, leaving its walls, towers and temples an isolated island cut off from the rest of the planet’s structures by a billowing firestorm of planet-cracking force. In the wake of this orbital bombardment flocks of Thunderhawks, Stormbirds, Warhawks and heavy planetary landers launched from crammed embarkation decks. Bulk tenders descended to low orbit and disgorged thousands of troop carriers, armour lifters and supply barques. Titanic, gravity-cushioned mass-landers moved with majestic slowness as two Titans of the Legio Mortis took to the field, and this was but the first wave of the invasion. Another eight would follow before the martial power of two entire Space Marine Legions and their auxiliary Imperial Army forces had made planetfall.

Amon ny-shak Kaelis

Fulgrim looks on as his Emperor's Children, his brother Perturabo and the Iron Warriors fight for their lives against an army of Eldar revenants within the Sepulchre of Isha's Doom at the heart of the citadel of Amon ny-shak Kaelis

The Traitors' assault began five hours later, despite the full circuit of fortifications still being incomplete. For all intents and purposes, the route into the citadel of Amon ny-shak Kaelis was undefended and their route unopposed. Ever mistrustful of the lack of defenses, Perturabo had his Iron Warriors dug in, assuming a perfect formation outside the walls in a layered barbican that protected the Traitor Legions' line of retreat. Fulgrim’s host broke apart into individual warbands, ranging in size from around a hundred warriors to groups of nearly a thousand. Each of these autonomous groups appeared to be led by a captain, though such was the bizarre ornamentation and embellishment on each warrior’s armour, it was often impossible to discern specific rankings. Leaving the fortified bridgehead behind, Perturabo led his Iron Warriors and the Emperor’s Children contingent into the heart of Amon ny-shak Kaelis. The Sepulchre of Isha’s Doom was a monumental palace, sprawling and richly ornamented with bulbous mourn-towers and sweeping, ivory-roofed domes. As the column of Traitors pressed onwards towards the sepulchre, they were being silently and unknowingly observed by the Loyalist Astartes of the Sisypheum. Despite being outnumbered a thousand to one, the small force of Loyalist Legionaries devised a means to find another way into the massive sepulcher.

As the two Primarchs neared their ultimate goal, Fulgrim kept pressing his stern brother with curt impatience to not linger. Perturabo took the time to study Fulgrim and his assembled host. His brother was sheened in sweat, but it was not perspiration that beaded his brow, Fulgrim was sweating light. Though it was faint, it was visible to Perturabo's gene-enhanced sight that saw beyond what even Astartes eyes were capable of detecting. He wondered if Fulgrim was aware of the radiance bleeding from him and decided he must be. His brother’s armour strained against his body and his features were drawn and tired, as though only by an effort of will was he still standing. His captains looked no better, like hounds straining at the leash. A number of Fulgrim's Lord Commanders' flesh was also suffused with a light similar to that enveloping Fulgrim, a deathly radiance that had no place within a living being. Perturabo did not trust Fulgrim one bit, knowing that inevitably he would be betrayed by his brother. The Lord of Iron pressed on, intent on bringing their quest to completion. As they neared their final destination at the heart of the sepulcher, the power at the heart of Iydris spasmed in hateful recognition of the followers of Slaanesh, known to the Eldar as She Who Thirsts, and awoke its guardians from their slumber.

Thousands of crystalline statues threw off their previous immobility. They moved stiffly, like sleepers awoken from an aeons-long slumber, and the gems at the heart of their bulbous heads bled vibrant color into glassy bodies that suddenly seemed significantly less fragile. This army of wraiths were the Eldar dead of Iydris. Soon both the Traitor forces outside the citadel as well as those inside were attacked from all sides by the revenant army. Like automata, but with a hideously organic feel to their movements, the Eldar constructs emerged in their thousands with every passing second. As Perturabo was busy fighting for his life, Fulgrim slipped away in the midst of the fighting. Realizing where he had gone, the Lord of Iron stepped into the green glow emanating from the center of the massive chamber. Perturabo understood that this was no elemental energy or mechanically generated motive force, but the distilled essence of all those who had died there.

Perturabo descended downwards on an unending spiral towards a point of light that grew no brighter no matter how far he descended. The journey downwards was never-ending, or so it seemed until it ended. Fulgrim stood at the origin of a slender bridge that arched out to the center of a spherical chamber of incredible, sanity-defying proportions. The footings of the bridge were anchored on the equator, and a score of other bridges reached out to where a seething ball of numinous jade light blazed like a miniature sun. Iydris, it transpired, was a hollow world, its core this colossal void with the impossibly bright sun at its heart. Perturabo confronted his brother, realizing that there was never an Angel Exterminatus. Fulgrim confirmed for Perturabo that there was no such weapon yet, for he was to be the Angel Exterminatus. Perturabo responded that his brother always did have an appetite for rampant narcissism, but this was the grandest delusion yet. Unamused at Fulgrim's explanation, Perturabo took a step towards his brother, Forgebreaker in his hand, intent on killing him. Fulgrim spoke a single word, its nightmare syllables tore at Perturabo's brain, causing him to stumble and drop to one knee. Fulgrim revealed the reason for his brother being drained of energy.

When Fulgrim had arrived on Hydra Cordatus he had presented the Lord of Iron with a gift; a folded cloak of softest ermine, trimmed with foxbat fur and embroidered with an endlessly repeating pattern of spirals in the golden proportion. A flattened skull of chromed steel acted as the fastener. Set in the skull’s forehead was a gemstone the size of a fist, black and veined with hair-fine threads of gold. As they had made their way towards the heart of the Eye of Terror, the large gemstone at the center of the skull-carved cloak pin had changed from black to a solid gold color and pulsed with its own internal heartbeat. This was the maugetar stone, known as the harvester, which had slowly been draining Perturabo's strength and life force. With the Lord of Iron's sacrifice, Fulgrim would finally be able to achieve apotheosis. The two Primarchs ascended upwards within the shaft of light, emerging into the chaos that was happening within the heart of the sepulcher.

Apotheosis of Fulgrim

The Primarch of the Emperor’s Children hurled his brother aside, and Perturabo fell in a languid arc to land with a crunch of metal and crystal at the edge of the shaft. Blood trailed the air in a streaming red arc from Perturabo’s chest. The Lord of Iron lay unmoving, his body broken and lifeless. The attention of every Astartes within the chamber was irrevocably drawn towards the Primarch, for they recognized that an event of great moment was in the offing. The Phoenician was no longer the same being as had descended into the planet. He floated in the air above the shaft, which no longer poured its green torrent up to the restless darkness above, but simply radiated a fading glow of dying light. Fulgrim’s armour was shimmering with vitality, as though the light of a thousand suns were contained within him and strained to break free. The Primarch’s dark, doll-like eyes were twin black holes, doorways to heights of experience and sensation the likes of which could only be dreamed by madmen and those willing to go to any lengths to taste them.

Just as Fulgrim was about to achieve his ultimate desire, Perturabo had regained enough of his former strength and rose to his feet, the maugetar stone in his hand. Perturabo walked towards Fulgrim, keeping the hand holding the maugetar stone extended over the shaft in the center of the chamber. Perturabo looked his brother in the eye for some hint of remorse, a sign that he regretted that things had come to this, something to show he felt even a moment of shame at plotting to murder his brother. He saw nothing, and his heart broke to know that the Fulgrim he had known long ago was gone, never to return. He had not thought it possible that anyone could plunge so far as to be beyond redemption. Perturabo knew that Fulgrim no longer wanted to be an angel, he wanted to be a god. He informed the Phoenician that Mankind had outgrown such beings a long time ago. Disgusted by Fulgrim's desires, Perturabo hurled the maugetar stone into the deep shaft.

Suddenly, a barrage of Bolter fire erupted and a handful of Emperor's Children Astartes were pitched from their feet. Black-armoured Space Marines bearing a mailed fist upon their shoulder guards charged towards the Traitors. It was the Astartes of the X Legion, the Iron Tenth -- the Iron Hands. Soon the battle was joined, as Loyalist fought Traitor within the expansive chamber. The noose of battle was closing on the two Primarchs at its center -- Perturabo locked on his knees, and Fulgrim hovering in the air as though bound to his brother by ties not even the call of war could break. The Iron Hands were mired in battle with the Emperor’s Children and Iron Warriors, zipping streams of fire blasting back and forth between them. During the battle, one of the Loyalist Astartes, the Raven Guard named Sharrowkyn, had acquired the fallen maugetar stone. He instinctively knew that if this stone was desired by Fulgrim, then it had to be destroyed. Taking a Bolter from a fallen Emperor's Children Astartes, he aimed the muzzle at the strange gold and black stone and pulled the trigger.

The weakened Perturabo was renewed with the sudden release of his life force from the Chaotic relic. Fulgrim’s body arched in sympathetic resonance, for the maugetar stone contained more than just the strength stolen from Perturabo by Fulgrim. It contained their mingled essences, a power greater than the sum of its parts, a power to fuel an ascent so brutal that only the combined life-force of two Primarchs could achieve it. Armour burned from Fulgrim’s body, flaking away like golden dust in a hurricane, leaving his monstrously swollen body naked and his flesh blazing with furnace heat. Spectral flames of shimmering pink and purple licked around his body, a hungry fire waiting to consume him the moment his focus slipped. As the Lord of Iron finally pushed himself upright and stood fully erect, he lifted Forgebreaker onto his shoulder. Fulgrim saw his death in Perturabo's eyes and grinned, knowing that his brother had to do it. Perturabo hefted Forgebreaker like a headsman at an execution and swung the mighty hammer in a wide arc, splitting the Phoenician's body wide open. It was done.

Fulgrim’s body exploded under the impact of Perturabo’s warhammer, and the cry of release was a shrieking birth scream. An explosion of pure force ripped from the Phoenician’s destroyed flesh, filling the chamber of towers with a blinding light that was too bright to look upon, too radiant to ignore. Like a newborn sun, the wondrous incandescence was the center of all things, a rebirth in fire, new flesh crafted from the ashes of the old. Every eye in the chamber was turned to the light, though it would surely blind them or drive them to madness. Through slitted fingers and shimmering reflections, the survivors of the fighting bore witness to something magnificent and terrible, an agonizing death and violent birth combined. A figure floated in the midst of the light, and it took a moment for Perturabo to recognize the impossibility of what he was seeing. It was Fulgrim, naked and pristine, his body unsullied by any of the mawkish ornamentation with which he had defaced his flesh, as perfect as the day the Emperor had first conceived him. Fulgrim’s back arched and his bones split with gunshot cracks. His flesh, once so perfect, now ran fluid and malleable, his form molding and remolding as though an invisible sculptor pressed and worked him like clay upon a wheel. Fulgrim’s legs, extended like the man of Vitruvius, ran and lengthened, fusing together in a writhing serpent’s tail, the skin thickening and sheening with reptilian scales and segmented plates of chitinous armour. Perturabo took a step towards this thing being born from the death of his brother, all the while despairing that this was his brother.

Perturabo had destroyed Fulgrim’s mortal shell. This was an immaterial avatar of light and energy, of soul and desire. What was being done here was an act of will, a creature birthing itself through its own desire to exist. Fulgrim’s face was a mask of agonized rapture, a pain endured for the pleasure it promised. Two obsidian horns erupted from Fulgrim’s brow, curling back over his skull, leaving his perfect face as unsullied as the most innocent child. Fulgrim ascended into Chaos, a prince of the Neverborn, a lord of the Ruinous Powers, the chosen and beloved Champion of Slaanesh. As the newborn Daemon Prince departed, the first of the Traitor Primarchs to achieve daemonic apotheosis, he left his brother with a cryptic message that they would one day meet again, and both brothers would yet renew their bonds. Lifting his hands into the air, a curtain of light rose up from the ground and Fulgrim and all of his Emperor's Children Chaos Space Marines disappeared in a flare of arcane teleportation energy.

With the disappearance of the Emperor's Children, the Crone World of Iydris began to tear itself apart. The force at the heart of the world was no more. The strength of the life forces of the dead Eldar that had kept it safe was failing, and soon this planet would be swallowed by the unimaginable force of the super massive black hole that lay at the heart of the Eye of Terror. Across the chasm, the remaining Iron Hands gathered up their wounded and fell back from the spreading fissures and heaving ruptures opening in the floor. They looked upon Perturabo with hatred, but decided to make their way off-world from the doomed planet. They knew that they could not fight the Lord of Iron and live through the encounter. Perturabo let the Iron Hands depart. Then he led his warriors out of the crumbling citadel. Once aboard his flagship the Iron Blood, Perturabo watched the final death throes of the Eldar Crone World.

The Iron Blood strained to break orbit, but the force at the heart of the Eye of Terror was reasserting its grip on reality with a vengeance. Many of the smaller vessels of the Iron Warriors survivor fleet that had followed the Sisypheum had already been dragged within its embrace, swallowed by the black hole’s powerful energies. Only the capital ships had engines large enough to resist the inexorable pull, but even they were only delaying the inevitable. Perturabo's Triarchs stood patiently around their lord, awaiting his orders. The Lord of Iron informed them that he always moved forward, never backwards. They would go into the black hole. Though his senior commanders believed that it was suicide, the Lord of Iron informed them that Fulgrim had promised that the two brothers would meet again. The Iron Warriors were not meant to die within the Eye, and there was only one way onwards. His men moved to carry out his order, and the Iron Warriors fleet plunged deep into the heart of Terror.

Flames of Rebellion

Over the next seven years that followed the massacre on Istvaan V, Horus' rebellion spread across the galaxy, consuming the entire Imperium in the flames of the horrific civil war known to history as the Horus Heresy. By the time the final Battle of Terra began, the Emperor's Children had become only shadows of their former glorious selves, wholly consumed by the desires of Slaanesh, with every trace of decency long lost. While the other Traitor Legions assaulted the Imperial Palace, the Emperor's Children instead launched themselves upon the innocent citizens of Terra, engaging in a mad orgy of rape, terror and mutilation that only barely began to satiate their all-consuming, Slaanesh-inspired hunger for hedonistic pleasure, pain and sensation. Billions of Terrans were used as human guinea pigs or raw materials in the Emperor's Childrens' constant desire to create ever more powerful stimulants, as daemonic hosts to bring Slaaneshi Daemonic Legions to the fight from the Warp or were simply slain outright to allow a Traitor Marine the fleeting enjoyment brought on by the sensation of brutal murder.

After the Heresy

The history of the Emperor’s Children in the period that followed the defeat of the Traitor Legions at the Siege of Terra is largely obscured from Imperial scholars, for obvious reasons. When Horus was finally defeated by the Emperor aboard his Battle Barge the Vengeful Spirit, the Emperor's Children left a trail of depopulated worlds in their wake as they fled alongside the other Traitor Legions into the Eye of Terror. As their supply of slaves was exhausted by their constant abuse, the remains of the III Legion resorted to raiding the other Traitor Legions for fresh meat to feed their endless perversions, and in the end were crushed by their angry brethren in a series of bloody wars that tore the Traitor Legions apart as they lost the guiding and unifying hand of Horus. Finally, in the course of these conflicts, the Emperor's Children's unity as an Astartes Legion was shattered and they devolved into a series of small, competing warbands. Because of the losses they suffered on Terra and in the period immediately after the Battle of Terra, warbands of the Emperor's Children are rare today in the 41st Millennium. This is a boon for the galaxy as the Emperor's Children love to take prisoners. There is perhaps no worse way to die than at the hands of these superhuman Slaaneshi fanatics -- save for perhaps facing the tender mercies of the Dark Eldar.

Perhaps the greatest mystery surrounds the fate of the Primarch Fulgrim himself, for it appears that he disappeared entirely. Some say that the Dark Prince of Chaos granted him apotheosis, and he assumed the mantle of a Daemon Primarch -- his mortal shape transformed into a serpentine form with four arms very similar to the appearance of the Laer xenos that Fulgrim and his Legion had exterminated when he began his fall to Chaos. Others claim that he was already possessed by a powerful Warp entity, and so such a fate could not have come about. There are those that claim that Fulgrim has retreated to some Daemon World of his own creation, and rules there still, overseeing such debased extremes of sensation and experience as no mortal can imagine. Some of those who revere Slaanesh regard this mythical place as the holy of holies, and spend entire lifetimes obsessively questing after it. To this day, many of the scattered surviving warbands of the Emperor's Children and the agents of the Inquisition's Ordo Malleus seek the location of this world, but none have yet returned with that information. Following the Horus Heresy, Fulgrim was last seen in realspace fighting Roboute Guilliman, the Primarch of the Ultramarines Chapter and its Successors. During their great duel, Fulgrim proved too crafty and guileful, slitting Guilliman's throat with the toxic Anathame that had nearly slain Horus himself without the intervention of the Chaos Gods to heal him. Guilliman was placed within a stasis field and returned to the Ultramarines' homeworld of Macragge where his body became a focus for the devotion of countless generations of Imperial pilgrims, while Fulgrim retreated into the Warp.

Source: http://warhammer40k.wikia.com

#horus heresy #warhammer 40k #adeptus mechanicus #adeptus astartes #adeptus arbites #adeptus sororitas #adeptus custodes #astra militarum #Adeptus Astra Telepathica #officio assassinorum

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dr1ft3r0i · 8 years

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DRIFT Recon

Dimension Rift Tactical Recon Group Group Type: Neutral Good Private Military Company Units used: Light to Medium Infantry, Light Armor and Moderate Aerospace support craft

Bio: Formed from the remnants of the UN created Dimensional Rift Reconnaissance Tasks Group, DRIFT Recon is a continuation of its former parent group, in that they investigate, monitor, and explore various tears in reality. On the other hand, they are also a roaming band of soldiers that can and will take any equipment they can use that is not firmly attached to the ground… and it’s not always guaranteed that bolting your belongings to the ground will work either.

Of note is that DRIFT Recon personnel, or ‘Drifters,’ use a somewhat modified version of the Task Group’s Temporal Manipulation Drivers (TMD). These are usually arm mounted devices that resemble vambraces, and provide about as much protection, capable of briefly warping the fabric of spacetime to an individual Drifter’s whim.

Tactics: Drifters as a whole function much like a regular military unit, so their tactics and strategies are much the same. However, when factoring in the various effects of the TMD, Drifters very quickly become lightning fast heavy skirmishers that can easily concentrate fire on a single, well armored target as well as provide critical crowd control.

Special Units:

Ronin: Named after masterless samurai, Ronin are elite Drifter recon operatives that undergo a brutal screening and training process to become what can only be described as ‘strategic snipers.’ Each Ronin is a highly capable tracker and master of disguise, with combat abilities that make them a terror when visible, and a near-nightmare when not.

Coyote: Named after a single infantryman with that call-sign, Coyote are treated much the same as Ronin are; highly mobile, and feared, individuals of mass destruction. Each Coyote is usually a master-of-none, user of all, and are highly capable command and control elements both in DRIFTR operations and in mixed unit deployments.

Cyber-Augmented Shock Troopers: CAST operatives are a relatively new addition to DRIFT forces, in that they are composed of willing volunteers who undergo extensive cybernetic modification to utilize highly mobile armored support platforms for infantry scale operations with a high armor presence. Likened to small mech units, CAST operatives are quickly filling a well needed niche in DRIFT Recon operations.

Current Clients: []Toshigan Confederations: Despite their early history, today, DRIFT Recon and the Toshigan Confederations enjoy a seemingly symbiotic relationship with each other. The Confederations provide resources and a safe harbor for Drifters, and in return, DRIFT Recon provides protection services to the ruling House, currently led by Queen Alana of the House Cryath, along with a small degree of military protection. This relationship is primarily due to how many Toshigan citizens view Drifters, in particular The Coyote, as liberators from a corrupt and cruel dynasty that had lasted for nearly two thousand years.

[]United States: Formerly one of the leading countries in the DRIFTR Tasks Group, what little remains of the country formerly known as the United States of America is considered a ‘black zone’ by leading Drifters: an area that remains hostile to any Drifters found there.

[]United Kingdom: On the opposite side of the spectrum, the U.K. has been, and continues to be, a relative safe haven for Drifters. They give Drifters a small amount of resources and political backing, though not quite as much as the Toshigan Confederations.

In most other cases, The Drifters receive their assignments on a case by case basis, and usually, monetary payment is rare. Most forms of payment are in the form of resources and salvage rights.

Equipment

Small Arms:

Most Drifters tend to use modern weaponry, primarily those of the formerly defunct Driftech Corporation. These weapons range from basic ballistics like the M-1 MAR Marauder assault rifle, to the TX-35C Tau Particle Carbine, and even plasma weaponry. They are also proficient in using bladed weaponry from older ages, primarily due to logistical concerns.

Armor:

Drifters, for the most part, utilize older armored vehicles as their support, with the adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ in mind. High-Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicles are standard, and the occasional M18-A/5 Minuteman Armored Support Platform is typically their standard bipedal war machine of choice.

Aerospace:

As fitting their habit of using old tech for current problems, most Drifter aircraft and space craft are of the support variety. Ranging from Avenger Heavy Transports, A-10 Thunderbolt II’s, and QF-44[B] Raven III starfighters, the crown jewel of their support is the DCV-01 Homestead, a retrofitted Toshigan assault carrier that serves as their mobile base of operations.

Threat Rating:

High. The Dimension Rift Tactical Response Group, while acting under the possible pretense of preserving peace, are still a group of barely paid vigilantes with illegal technology in their possession. That they are under the command of one person, with very little government oversight, makes them a danger to the population at large. Therefore, it is recommended that they be eliminated immediately. They [ERRORERRORERROR]

[USERID-GM] The Dimension Rift Tactical Response Group can be dangerous, yes, but what well funded, private military company isn’t? The enemies we face are many, and hide in not in shadow, but in people. They excel in infiltration and subversion, turning the law of order in a law of fear. For too long, they have made fear the reason to obey.

We exist to give hope. We exist, because we know what our fears are. Yet we face them anyway. We face the darkness inside ourselves, and say ‘not today.’ We are drifters, yes. We bring chaos wherever we go, yes. But in the end, what chaos we make is that to strive to change the worlds in which we live in for the better.

We know that we will never belong. We’re just fine with that. If we were tasked to create a perfect world, we know that we ourselves will never be allowed inside, not after all we’ve done to create one. If history remembers us as villains, then so be it. We will know the truth. The people we serve to protect will know the truth.

And there is nothing that Dark Descent will do to silence it. Not this time.

#worldbuilding #sci-fi #Drifter #OC #original fiction

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bloggerjoedoe · 4 years

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Content Title Content Type Discount Notes Red Dead Redemption 2: Special Edition Xbox One X Enhanced 65% DWG* Hunting Simulator 2 Xbox One Game 30% DWG* Mirror’s Edge Catalyst Xbox One Game 75% DWG* Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts & SGW3 Unlimited Edition Xbox One Game 40% DWG* Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition Xbox One X Enhanced 50% DWG* Dead End Job Xbox One Game 50% DWG* The Surge 2 Xbox Game Pass 75% DWG* Blood Waves Xbox One Game 50% DWG* Bound By Flame Xbox One Backward Compatible 80% DWG* Call of Cthulhu Xbox One X Enhanced 75% DWG* Convoy: A Tactical Roguelike Xbox One Game 30% DWG* Fishing Sim World: Pro Tour Deluxe Edition Xbox One Game 60% DWG* Frane: Dragons’ Odyssey Xbox One Game 40% DWG* Hunting Simulator 2 – Bear Hunter Edition Xbox One Game 30% DWG* Indiecalypse Xbox One Game 30% DWG* Monster Slayers Xbox One Game 75% DWG* Niffelheim Xbox One X Enhanced 70% DWG* Odallus: The Dark Call Xbox One Game 40% DWG* The Path of Motus Xbox One Game w/ Free Trial 70% DWG* Revenant Saga Xbox One Game 40% DWG* Rift Keeper Xbox One X Enhanced 50% DWG* Sea Of Solitude Xbox One X Enhanced 60% DWG* SIMULACRA Xbox One Game 20% DWG* Tamashii Xbox One Game 40% DWG* The Outer Worlds Xbox Game Pass 50% DWG* The Surge 2 – Public Enemy Weapon Pack Add-On 33% DWG* The Surge 2 – Season Pass Add-On 70% DWG* Troll & I Xbox One Game 80% Spotlight Sale Alekhine’s Gun Xbox One Game 70% Spotlight Sale Lichdom: Battlemage Xbox One Game 75% Spotlight Sale Override: Mech City Brawl – Maestro Add-On 75% Spotlight Sale Override: Mech City Brawl – Stardust Add-On 75% Spotlight Sale Override: Mech City Brawl – Super Charged Skin Pack Add-On 80% Spotlight Sale AereA Xbox One Game 90% Spotlight Sale 8-Bit Hordes Xbox One Game 90% Spotlight Sale Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime Xbox One Game 67% Spotlight Sale Outbreak Xbox One Game 50% Spotlight Sale Sparklite Xbox One Game 50% Spotlight Sale Cast of the Seven Godsends – Redux Xbox One Game w/ Free Trial 80% Spotlight Sale Don’t Knock Twice Xbox One Game 50% Spotlight Sale Brutal Rage Xbox One Game 30% Spotlight Sale I, Zombie Xbox One Game 75% Spotlight Sale Jump King Xbox One Game 33% Spotlight Sale Gaijin Charenji 1 : Kiss or Kill Xbox One Game 80% Spotlight Sale The Padre Xbox One Game 70% Spotlight Sale The Inner World Xbox One Game 60% Spotlight Sale The Bridge Xbox One Game 85% Spotlight Sale Pillar by Michael Hicks and Gonçalo Antunes Xbox One Game w/ Free Trial 70% Spotlight Sale Madden NFL 21 MVP Edition Xbox One Game 25% Spotlight Sale Madden NFL 21 Deluxe Edition Xbox One Game 20% Spotlight Sale Battlefield 1 Revolution Xbox One X Enhanced 65% Spotlight Sale Battlefield 1 Premium Pass Add-On 65% Spotlight Sale Battlefield 4 Premium Edition Xbox One Game 60% Spotlight Sale Battlefield Hardline Ultimate Edition Xbox One Game 65% Spotlight Sale Battlefield V Standard Edition Xbox One X Enhanced 70% Spotlight Sale Battlefield V Year 2 Edition Xbox One X Enhanced 60% Spotlight Sale Battlefield 3 Xbox One Backward Compatible 75% Spotlight Sale Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Xbox One Backward Compatible 75% Spotlight Sale Battlefield 1943 Xbox One Backward Compatible 50% Spotlight Sale Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – Vietnam Xbox One Backward Compatible 75% Spotlight Sale Battlefield: Bad Company Xbox One Backward Compatible 67% Spotlight Sale Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Season Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: Silent Hill Chapter Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Payday 2: Crimewave Edition – Crimewave Collection Add-On 60% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale SMITE Season Pass 2020 Add-On 10% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale ARK: Genesis Season Pass Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Borderlands 3 Season Pass Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Season Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale ARK: Aberration Add-On 65% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale ARK: Extinction Add-On 65% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale ARK: Scorched Earth Add-On 65% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale ARK: Survival Evolved Season Pass Add-On 65% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Armored Warfare – 16.000 Gold Add-On 30% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Armored Warfare – 24.000 Gold Add-On 30% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Assassin’s Creed Syndicate – Season Pass Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Assetto Corsa Competizione Season Pass Add-On 10% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Batman: Arkham Knight Season Pass Add-On 60% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Black Desert – 10,000 Pearls Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Black Desert – 1,000 Pearls Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Black Desert – 2,000 Pearls Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Black Desert – 3,000 Pearls Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Black Desert – 6,000 Pearls Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Bloodstained Iga’s Back Pack DLC Add-On 30% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Brawlhalla – All Legends Pack Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Civilization VI Expansion Bundle Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale CODE VEIN Season Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dark Souls III: The Ringed City Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dark Souls III: Ashes of Ariandel Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dark Souls III: Season Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Darksiders 3 DLC Bundle Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale DayZ Livonia Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: Darkness Among Us Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: A Nightmare on Elm Street Chapter Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: Ash vs Evil Dead Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: Chains of Hate Chapter Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: Cursed Legacy Chapter Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: CURTAIN CALL Chapter Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: Demise of the Faithful Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: Ghost Face Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: Leatherface Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: Shattered Bloodline Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: Stranger Things Chapter Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: The Halloween Chapter Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead by Daylight: The SAW Chapter Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead Rising 3 Season Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead Rising 4: Frank Rising Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dead Rising 4 Season Pass Add-On 85% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Destiny 2: Forsaken Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Destiny 2: Upgrade Edition Add-On 33% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dragon Ball FighterZ – FighterZ Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dragon Ball FighterZ – FighterZ Pass 2 Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 – Extra Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 – Super Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dungeons 3 – Famous Last Words Add-On 60% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dungeons 3 – Clash Of Gods Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Dungeons 3 – Evil Of The Caribbean Add-On 60% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Elite Dangerous: Horizons Season Pass Add-On 80% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Far Cry 5 Season Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale For Honor – Marching Fire Expansion Add-On 60% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale For Honor – Year 3 Pass Add-On 60% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Forza Horizon 4 Fortune Island Add-On 60% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Forza Horizon 4 LEGO Speed Champions Add-On 60% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Add-Ons Bundle Add-On 60% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Forza Motorsport 7 Car Pass Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Gears 5 – Operation 1 Bundle Add-On 30% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Gears 5 – Operation 3 Gridiron Bundle Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Gears 5 – Free-For-All Bundle Add-On 30% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Gears 5 – Terminator Dark Fate pack – Grace and Rev-9 Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Gears 5 -Terminator Dark Fate Pack – Sarah Connor and T-800 Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Grand Theft Auto V – Megalodon Shark Cash Card Add-On 15% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Hitman 2 – Expansion Pass Add-On 60% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Homefront: The Revolution Expansion Pass Add-On 80% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Hunt: Showdown – Gunslingers Bundle Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Hunt: Showdown – Legends of the Bayou Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Hunt: Showdown – The Seekers Bundle Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Hunt: Showdown – The Uncanny Bundle Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Indivisible – Razmi Challenges Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Injustice 2 – Ultimate Pack Add-On 65% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Journey to the Savage Planet – Hot Garbage DLC Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Jump Force – Characters Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Jurassic World Evolution: Claire’s Sanctuary Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Jurassic World Evolution: Dinosaur Collection Add-On 35% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Jurassic World Evolution: Expansion Collection Xbox One Game 45% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Jurassic World Evolution: Herbivore Dinosaur Pack Add-On 30% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Jurassic World Evolution: Return to Jurassic Park Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Just Cause 3 – Ultimate Mission, Weapon And Vehicle Pack Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Just Cause 3 – Mech Land Assault Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Just Cause 3 – Sky Fortress Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Just Cause 4 – Black Market Pack Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Just Cause 4 – Expansion Pass Add-On 67% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Just Cause 4 – Reloaded Content Pack Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Kerbal Space Program: Breaking Ground Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Kerbal Space Program: History and Parts Pack Add-On 33% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Killing Floor 2 – Compound Bow Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Killing Floor 2 – Horzine Supply Crate Key Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Killing Floor 2 – Perilous Plunder Weapon Bundle Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Killing Floor 2 – Space Pirate Outfit Bundle Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Killing Floor 2 – Yuletide Horror Weapon Bundle Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Kingdom Come: Deliverance – DLC Collection Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Kingdom Come: Deliverance – From the Ashes Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale LEGO Batman 3: Season Pass Add-On 60% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale LEGO DC Super-Villains Season Pass Add-On 60% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 Season Pass Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale LEGO Marvel’s Avengers Season Pass Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Life Is Strange: Before The Storm Deluxe Upgrade Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Monster Hunter World: Iceborne – Room Decor: Cute Decor Set Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Monster Hunter World: Iceborne – Room Decor: Intimate Decor Set Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Monster Hunter World: Iceborne – Room Decor: Splendid Decor Set Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Middle-earth: Shadow of War – Expansion Pass Add-On 65% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Monster Hunter World: Deluxe Kit Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Monster Hunter World: Iceborne – Gesture Pack: Clean Dance Set Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Monster Hunter World: Iceborne – Gesture Pack: Swag Dance Set Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Deluxe Kit Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Monster Jam Steel Titans 3 Trucks instant access Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Monster Jam Steel Titans – Fire & Ice Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale MX vs ATV All Out 2017 Yamaha Vehicle Bundle Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale MX vs ATV All Out – 2020 AMA Pro Motocross Championship Add-On 30% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale MX vs ATV All Out 2017 KTM Vehicle Bundle Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale MX vs ATV All Out – Ricky Carmichael Farm – GOAT Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Naruto To Boruto: Shinobi Striker Season Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 All-Star Pack – 16,000 VC Add-On 30% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Outward – The Soroboreans Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Override: Mech City Brawl – Bellona Add-On 75% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Override: Mech City Brawl – Mirai Add-On 75% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Override: Mech City Brawl – Season Pass Add-On 80% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Paladins Champions Pack Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Paladins Digital Deluxe Edition 2019 + 2020 Xbox One X Enhanced 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Paladins Season Pass 2019 + 2020 Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Portal Knights – Druids, Furfolk, and Relic Defense Add-On 10% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Portal Knights – Elves, Rogues, and Rifts Add-On 10% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Project CARS 2 – Season Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Railway Empire – Down Under Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Railway Empire – France Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Railway Empire – Germany Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Railway Empire – Great Britain & Ireland Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Railway Empire – Northern Europe Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Rise of the Tomb Raider: Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch Add-On 75% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Rise of the Tomb Raider – 20 Year Celebration Pack Add-On 75% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Rise of the Tomb Raider – Cold Darkness Awakened Add-On 75% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Shadows: Awakening – The Chromaton Chronicles Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Shadows: Awakening – Necrophage’s Curse Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Cats and Dogs Plus My First Pet Stuff Bundle Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 City Living Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Dine Out Add-On 15% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Discover University Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Bundle – City Living, Vampires, Vintage Glamour Stuff Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Get Famous Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Get To Work Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Get Together Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Island Living Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Jungle Adventure Add-On 15% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Outdoor Retreat Add-On 15% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Parenthood Add-On 15% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Realm Of Magic Add-On 15% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Seasons Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Spa Day Add-On 15% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 StrangerVille Add-On 15% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Vampires Add-On 15% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Skyforge: 105 000 Argents Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Skyforge: 11750 Argents Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Skyforge: 24000 Argents Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Skyforge: 50 000 Argents Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale SMITE Digital Deluxe Edition 2020 Xbox One Game 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale SMITE Ultimate God Pack Bundle Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale SOULCALIBUR VI – Season Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale South Park: The Fractured but Whole – SEASON PASS Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Star Trek Online: 1000 Zen Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Star Trek Online: 11000 Zen Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Star Trek Online: 2000 Zen Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Star Trek Online: 23000 Zen Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Star Trek Online: 500 Zen Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Star Trek Online: 5300 Zen Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Starlink: Battle for Atlas Collection 2 Pack Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Starlink: Battle for Atlas – Collection pack Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Sudden Strike 4: Africa – Desert War Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Sudden Strike 4: The Pacific War Add-On 70% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale TEKKEN 7 – Season Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale TEKKEN 7 – Season Pass 2 Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Crew 2 – Season Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Golf Club 2019 feat. PGA TOUR – 28,275 Currency Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Golf Club 2019 feat. PGA TOUR – 6,000 Currency Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale The Sims 4 Eco Lifestyle Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Titan Quest: Atlantis Add-On 30% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Titan Quest: Ragnarök Add-On 30% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint Year 1 Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege – Year 5 Pass Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Trials Rising – Expansion pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Tropico 6 – The Llama of Wall Street Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Tropico 6 – Spitter Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Vigor: 195 Crowns Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Vigor: 1955 (+575 Bonus) Crowns Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Vigor: 390 Crowns Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Vigor: 3900 (+2100 Bonus) Crowns Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Vigor: 780 (+155 Bonus) Crowns Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Vigor: Armory Pack Add-On 33% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Vigor: Outlander Pack Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Vigor: Starter Pack Add-On 33% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Warface – 10,000 Kredits Add-On 35% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Warface – 1,000 Kredits Add-On 30% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Warface – 5000 Kredits Add-On 35% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Warface: Breakout – Season 1 Cosmetic Pack Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Warface: Breakout – Year Pass Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Warframe: 1000 Platinum + Rare Mod Add-On 30% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Warframe: 170 Platinum Add-On 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Warframe: 2100 Platinum + Dual Rare Mods Add-On 35% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Warframe: 3210 Platinum + Triple Rare Mods Add-On 40% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Warframe: 370 Platinum Add-On 25% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale World of Tanks – Captured KV-1 Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale World of Tanks – Pz. B2 Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale World of Tanks – T-34-88 Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale World of Warships: Legends – Pocket Battleship Xbox One Game 20% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale Wreckfest Season Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale WWE 2K20 Accelerator Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale WWE 2K20 Backstage Pass Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale WWE 2K20 Originals: Bump in the Night Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale WWE 2K20 Originals: Empire of Tomorrow Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale WWE 2K20 Originals: Southpaw Regional Wrestling Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale WWE 2K20 Originals: Wasteland Wanderers Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale XCOM 2: War of the Chosen Add-On 67% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale XCOM 2: Alien Hunters Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale XCOM 2: Anarchy’s Children Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale XCOM 2: Reinforcement Pack Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale XCOM: 2 Resistance Warrior Pack Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale XCOM: 2: Shen’s Last Gift Add-On 50% Ultimate Game Add-On Sale

*These offers are only valid for Xbox Live Gold members.

Please note: prices and availability are subject to change and may vary by region.

Xbox 360 Deals

Content Title Content Type Discount Notes RAW – Realms of Ancient War Arcade 80% DWG* Bound By Flame Backward Compatible 80% DWG* Final Exam Arcade 80% DWG* Giana Sisters Arcade 75% DWG* Ion Assault Arcade 75% DWG* Legend of Kay Anniversary Games On Demand 75% DWG* Battlefield 3 Backward Compatible 75% Spotlight Sale Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Backward Compatible 75% Spotlight Sale Battlefield 1943 Backward Compatible 50% Spotlight Sale Battlefield Bad Company 2 – Vietnam Add-On 75% Spotlight Sale Battlefield: Bad Company Backward Compatible 67% Spotlight Sale

*These offers are only valid for Xbox Live Gold members.

Please note: prices and availability are subject to change and may vary by region.

Related: This Week’s Deals With Gold And Spotlight Sale Plus A Publisher Sale This Week’s Deals With Gold And Spotlight Sale This Week’s Deals With Gold And Spotlight Sale Plus Ultimate Game Sale

Source: Xbox Live Major Nelson

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