1,372
edits
Changes
From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
update
|Image caption=The Emperor leads forces inside the Webway
|Conflict =[[Horus Heresy]]
|Date =~005004-010014.[[M31]]{{Fn|4}}
|Location =[[Imperial Palace]]/[[Webway]]
|Outcome =Stalemate. Imperial retreat, Webway portal sealed. End of the Imperial [[Webway Project]]
|Combatant1 =[[Imperium]]
|Combatant2 =[[Chaos|Forces of Chaos]]
|Commanders1 =[[Emperor of Mankind]]<br>[[Jenetia Krole]]<br>[[Ra Endymion]] (MIA)<br>[[Kadai Vilaccan|Kadai]] (KIA)<br>[[Jasac]] (KIA)<br>[[Helios (Custodian)|Helios]](KIA)<br>[[Hieronyma#The Archimandrite|The Archimandrite]] (KIA)<br>[[Vulkan]] (WIA)|Commanders2 =[[Drach'nyen]](Sealedsealed)<br>[[Magnus]] (banished)
|Strength1 =[[Adeptus Custodes|Legio Custodes]]<br>[[Sisters of Silence|Silent Sisterhood]]<br>3 [[Legio Ignatum]] [[Titan|Titans]]<br>[[Ordo Sinister]]<br>[[House Vyridion]]<br>[[Mechanicum]] forces<br>[[Dominion Zephon]]
|Strength2 =[[Daemon]] Hordes<br>[[Sons of Horus]]<br>[[Word Bearers]]<br>[[World Eaters]]<br>[[Emperor's Children]]<br>[[Legio Audax]]
|Casualties2 =Massive
}}
The '''{{PAGENAME}}''',{{Fn|1}} also called the '''War in the Webway''',{{Fn|4}} was a hidden engagement during the [[Horus Heresy]].{{Fn|1}}
==Overview==
Following the attempt of [[Magnus the Red]] to warn the [[Emperor]] of [[Horus]]'s treachery, catastrophe struck [[Terra]]. Magnus's psychic warning breached the wards the Emperor had placed around the [[Imperial Palace]], causing the [[Golden Throne]], a device intended to allow [[human]] travel within the [[Webway]], to malfunction. As the Golden Throne broke down, the [[Webway Portal]] deep within the Imperial Palace became breached. Floods of [[daemon]]s rushed through this breach, and the Emperor dispatched the [[Custodes]] and [[Sisters of Silence]] to hold the line and prevent Terra from being overrun. As the Custodes and Silent Sisterhood fought back immense Daemonic hordes, the Emperor sat upon the Golden Throne in a desperate attempt to stabilize the Webway Portal. Even the Emperor's psychic might was tested in this endeavor, and He became visibly exerted.{{Fn|2}} The war within the Webway forced the Emperor's entire attention, leaving the waging of the simultaneous [[Horus Heresy]] to [[Malcador (Character)|Malcador]] and [[Rogal Dorn]]. Malcador was the only one allowed to regularly visit with the Emperor.{{Fn|1}}
It was at this moment that the Unspoken Sanction was completed on Terra. A thousand captured Psykers were sacrificed to power the Golden Throne without the Emperor. Free from His prison for a single day, He plunged into the Webway and appeared as a burning star before the Chaos hordes. The star shone with a golden psychic energy that forced the Daemons back, and the Emperor plunged into their ranks, reaping a terrible fury wherever He fought. The exhausted Custodes were reinvigorated by their master, fighting by their side. The Emperor summoned an army of loyal Imperial dead including [[Ferrus Manus]] that took the form of blazing avatars to fight the Daemons. Drach'nyen itself soon appeared, proclaiming itself the Emperor's end. However, the Master of Mankind was able to seal him into Custodian Ra Endymion, who was then ordered to run into the depths of the Webway.{{Fn|3}}
The Emperor's actions gave the surviving Imperials enough time to evacuate the Webway, and as Chaos forces closed on the portal once more the Master of Mankind mounted the Golden Throne and sealed the gate. The gate would remain closed to the daemons for as long as the Emperor was able to power it from His throne atop the golden portal.{{Fn|3}} Only the mightiest of psykers had power enough to do this and even then most would be exhausted and die in a short time. Only the Emperor had the might to keep the gate closed permanently and for Him the effort got harder as the Daemonic forces gathered about Him. For as long as the daemonic horde threatened to breach the portal, the Golden Throne would be His prison.{{Fn|1}} In the last stage of the [[Siege of Terra]] in 014.M31, such a breach became increasingly likely as Magnus used his powers to assail the gate. In a desparate gamble, the Emperor and Malcador temporarily opened the Webway Gate to allow [[Vulkan]] to enter it, while Custodes and Sisters of Silence held back the daemonic hordes. The operation succeeded, as Vulkan was able to traverse the Webway, eventually discovering Magnus in the ruins of Calastar. There, the two Primarchs battled for timeless eons, with Vulkan dying and reviving countless times before finally defeating and banishing his brother. Despite his terrible wounds and nearly-destroyed mind, Vulkan also managed to return to the Imperial Palace after the duel.{{Fn|5a}}{{Fn|5b}}{{Fn|5c}}{{Fn|5d}}
When the Emperor decided to confront Horus aboard the [[Vengeful Spirit]], Malcador was left to maintain the Golden Throne and keep the portal closed in His place. After the injured body of the Emperor was brought back to the Golden Throne, the immense effort exerted by Malcador in keeping the portal shut had reduced him to mere dust. As the Emperor was placed back onto the Golden Throne, His body has allowed the portal to remain closed for the last 10,000 years. Should the Emperor die, the Imperial Palace would be breached and Terra itself would be overrun by Daemons.{{Fn|1}}
*{{Endn|2}}: [[Deliverance Lost (Novel)]] Chapter 7
*{{Endn|3}}: [[Master of Mankind (Novel)]],{{Cite this}}
*{{Endn|4}}: [[Legions Imperialis Rulebook]], ''Timeline of the Horus Heresy''
*5: [[Echoes of Eternity (Novel)]]
**{{Endn|5a}}: Chapter 3
**{{Endn|5b}}: Chapter 23
**{{Endn|5c}}: Chapter 33
**{{Endn|5d}}: Chapter 35-Epilogue
{{HHBattles}}
