Changes

The '''Commorragh Raid''' occurred in [[M35]] and was one of the few known [[Imperium|Imperial]] incursions into the [[Dark Eldar]] city of [[Commorragh]], located deep in the [[Webway]]. Unknown to either side, the entire series of events was manipulated by the Dark Eldar [[Archon]] of the [[Kabal of the Black Heart]], [[Asdrubael Vect]], in his rise to power as Supreme Overlord of Commorragh. It was one of the most tumultuous events in the Dark City's history.{{Fn|1a}}

Asdrubael Vect, seeking to eliminate the ruling nobility of Commorragh so he may rule the Dark City himself, set a plan into motion that began in the [[Desaderian Gulf]]. From the Desaderian Gulf, Dark Eldar pirates had long used a nearby [[Webway Portal]] to raid Imperial shipping. Vect's first step was to increase raiding against Imperial shipping in the Gulf ten-fold and strike at major [[Imperial Guard]] outposts in the area. The campaign saw the Kabal of the Black Heart grow rich in plunder and Vect continued to provoke the Imperium.{{Fn|1a}}

Though the Dark Eldar found it easy to enter the ''Forgehammer'', they were met with stiff resistance once inside. Xelian was quick to realize that he had underestimated his quarry. Changing tack, he returned the salvage rights of the vessel to Vect's Kabal of the Black Heart, ostensibly appearing generous but in truth intending to seize the Astartes once they had been taken captive. On the sixteenth day of the siege, the skies above Commorragh burst open. The Salamanders had received Librarian Hestion's distress call and used the psychic beacon to find their way to the Dark City itself. So began a bloody day for the Dark City. Moreover the Salamanders had not come alone: accompanying their [[Battle Barge]] were Strike Cruisers from the [[Howling Griffons]] and [[Silver Skulls]].{{Fn|1b}}

The Salamanders Battle Barge plowed straight into the spire where Xelian stood, crushing both it and him in an instant. But the Dark Eldar reacted swiftly, deploying small raiding craft, [[Razorwing Jetfighter]]s, and [[Voidraven Bomber]]s and opening fire with ground-based electrical spires. Amid the heavy fighting in the air, the Space Marines used [[Drop Pod|drop pods]] to drive deep into the heart of the Dark City and steal the initiative from the Dark Eldar. Dark Eldar splinter weaponry, designed to maim foes so they may be captured, proved ineffective against the hardened [[power armour]] of the Space Marines. However, the Space Marines found themselves increasingly attacked on all sides by the deadly denizens of the Dark City, including [[Mandrake]]s, [[Archon]]s and their [[Incubi]], [[Scourge]]s, [[Wych]]es, [[Warp Beast]]s, and [[Hellion]]s.{{Fn|1c}}

Far below, the Space Marines had become completely surrounded. But with the ''Forgehammer'' free, the bulk of the Space Marines battling in the Dark City managed to teleport away back onto their waiting ships in a blaze of light. Those that had been cut off from the main assault gave their lives to buy their brethren time to evacuate. The last waves of Dark Eldar aircraft attempted to bring down the ''Forgehammer'' once more but were brought down by volleys of fire from the Salamanders Battle Barge ''Vulkan's Wrath''. The Astartes fleet passed through the still-yawning Webway portal above Commorragh and escaped into real space.{{Fn|1c}}

The aftermath of the Imperial raid would change Commorragh forever. Nearly all of the noble houses of the Dark City had been destroyed in the assault, and a power vaccuum emerged that was only filled by Asdrubael Vect and his Kabal of the Black Heart. In the years that followed Vect ensured that the Kabals would be supreme over the old aristocracy of the noble houses. So it was that the Kabal of the Black Heart rose to ascendancy in place of the old nobility, and Vect's stranglehold upon the Dark City began in earnest.{{Fn|1c}}

*1: [[Codex: Dark Eldar (5th Edition)]]:

**{{Endn|1a}}: pg. 13