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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
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*{{mainMain|Noctis Aeterna}}
*{{Main|Season of Blood}}
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===Ghattana Bay: The Battle for Gate IX===
It was at '''Ghattana Bay''', the location of an important water processing plant, that saw the largest [[Dreadnought]] vs [[Dreadnought]] confrontation of the war. The Ork attack had by this point stalled and the Warboss [[Judrog Irontoof]] committed every [[Deff Dread]] and [[Killa Kan]] in his arsenal to a single attack against the Space Marine lines weakened by an earlier [[Kommando]] attack. As the defenders were battered by Ork weaponry, Judrog's Dreadnought charge breached the defenses defences around Ghattana Bay but as they approached Gate IX, they were surprised to find a line of seventeen [[Venerable Dreadnought]]s armed with [[lascannon]]s, [[autocannon]]s, and [[missile launcher]]s blocking their path. At their head was Brother [[Damos]] of the [[Angels Porphyr]], who led a devastating first salvo against the first wave of Ork Dreads. Equipped with better weapons, the Ork machines initially took heavy losses but eventually reached the Space Marine lines, though the four hundred meter advance cost them seventeen Dreadnoughts. Nonetheless the Orks still came at the Space Marines, hurling themselves against Gate IX.{{Fn|8}}
Flight was not the plan however, Brother Damos and his Dreadnoughts were ready for Irontoof's Orks and poured heavy fire from their ramparts and decimating the tightly packed Ork Dreadnought formation. As the Ork dreadnoughts became bottlenecked, the Space Marine Dreadnoughts cut into them in an assault led by Brother [[Weylands]]. Though not a single Dreadnought fled, the Ork machines were ultimately destroyed. Judrog's bold but unsupported attack had failed. With his final reserves now destroyed, Judrog was forced to withdraw in the face of heavy [[Thunderhawk]] air attacks. But while the Space Marines had emerged victorious, they had lost seven of their seventeen ancient dreadnoughts.{{Fn|8}}
He left the conquest of Armageddon to his generals and went in search of something more entertaining. When word of this reached Yarrick he too left Armageddon with a strike force of [[Black Templars]], determined to hunt down Ghazghkull and end things between them once and for all.{{Fn|4b}} Yarrick and the Black Templars were able to corner Ghazghkull at the [[Battle of Haunted Gulf]], but the Warboss was able to elude his foes yet again.
However , there were still countless Orks infesting Armageddon and the war raged. For the Orks, the war became known as the ''"Big Scrap"''{{Fn|4b}} (also other name - or '''"Ragnarork"'''){{Fn|9}} and more Orks arrived to the system with each day as word spread.{{Fn|4b}} The cost of the war was measured in human lives, and the death toll spiraled spiralled towards the billions. The Imperials knew one thing, however: whatever the cost, Armageddon must not fall.{{Fn|2c}}
===Dark Imperium===
The war raged into the period known as [[The Blackness]], which severed nearly all the worlds of the Imperium from one another. Armageddon was isolated and reinforcements en route were sent into oblivion by the [[Great Rift]]. [[Daemon]]ic legions soon erupted across the planet. Amazingly, Ork and Imperial defenders would often fight alongside one another in the face of the greater threat. However such ceasefires never lasted long. The legions of [[Khorne]] and [[Tzeentch]] soon battled one another on the plains of Armageddon, with the Orks and Humans taking shelter.{{Fn|10}}
===Season of Blood===
In the eastern reaches of Armageddon Secundus, Hive Thoraddis was assaulted by a combined force of [[Chaos Space Marine]]s, [[Heretic]]s, [[Daemon]]s, and [[Traitor Titan]]s. The defenders of the Hive fought with great bravery but were eventually driven back. [[Colonel]] [[Berkant]] of the 473rd [[Armageddon Steel Legion]] eventually took the measure of sabotaging Thoraddis' power cores, resulting in a catastrophic explosion that obliterated both sides. This however only fed the Red Angel's Gate, causing it to swell and alerting the faraway ''[[Conqueror (Ship)|Conqueror]]'' to the warzone. The vessel plunged in the Warp with a trail of accompanying forces, gathering more and more armies of the Blood God to its side as it traveled towards Armageddon.{{Fn|21a}}
