196
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Changes
From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
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→Prelude: grammer
As the end of the [[M41|forty-first millennium]] drew to a close, the first signs that [[Abaddon the Despoiler]]s long-feared Thirteenth Black Crusade was imminent came in the form of numerous sightings of [[Space Hulk]]s emerging from the [[Warp]] around the [[Cadia|Cadian Sector]]. Though some were boarded by the [[Adeptus Astartes]] and others destroyed by orbital defenses, those that got by the Imperial blockade struck strategically important worlds and naval bases throughout the sector, crippling the regions naval forces. It was then that the dreaded [[Chaos]] vessel of [[Nurgle]] [[Plagueclaw]] appeared in the outer reaches of the [[Urthwart system]], further spreading pestilence wherever it went. Famed Imperial [[Admiral]] [[Quarren]] would launch a hunt for the vessel but soon encountered something far more terrible. Ambushed around the Frenerax Dust Cloud, Quarren discovered to his horror that the Chaos Fleet was led by the dreaded [[Terminus Est]], flagship of [[Typhus]] of the [[Death Guard]], herald of [[Nurgle]], Quarrens fleet barely managed to survive the trap and escape. The Battle of Frenerax had been a costly disaster, but there was worse to come.<sup>1a</sup>
Now operating with impunity, Typhus ' Plague Fleet spread pestilience throughout the Sector and the [[Officio Medicae]] was helpless to stop it. As the epidemic spread, apocalyptic sects began appearing on worlds afflicted, preaching that the [[Emperor|Emperor's]] wrath had descended upon them and was a punishment for their sins. Becoming known as the [[Plague of Unbelief]], chaos spread throughout the sector as the fanactical sects rioted against Imperial authorized. To compound the Imperium's problems, [[Plague Zombie]]s soon emerged from the bodies of those struck down by disease. The [[Hive World]] of [[Belis Corona]] in the [[Agripinaa Sector]] was particularly effected by both the Plague of Unbelief and an infestation of Plague Zombies, and by the time Typhus' Plague Fleet arrived in the system the world was completely unable to resist him.<sup>1a</sup>
As chaos swept through many Imperial worlds surrounding the Agripinaa, Cadian, and Belis Corona Sectors, cults preaching that the Imperium had forsaken the teachings of the Emperor grew in number. Imperial authorities, crippled by plague, could do little to stop the ensuing chaos and mob rule that these cults unleashed. Mysterious yet brutal raiders began to strike without warning throughout these sectors, annihilating small settlements and [[Agri World]]s. Meanwhile, [[Astropath]]s and the [[Emperor's Tarot]] consistently produced dire predictions. On [[Cadia]] itself, the worlds mysterious [[pylon]]s erupted into life and vibrated intense psychic energy. The pylons appeared to be fighting to hold back the powers of the [[Warp]] that were pouring from the [[Eye of Terror]] at an unprecedented level but they were slowly destroying themselves in the process.<sup>1b</sup>
