The End Times are coming. With the hordes of Chaos marshalling in the north, Emperor Karl Franz leads his armies in defence of his realm. But when the worst happens and the Emperor is lost, it falls to Reiksmarshal Kurt Helborg to return to Altdorf, capital of the Empire, and prepare to meet the forces of the Ruinous Powers in a final battle for that ancient city. As plague spreads and the defences weaken, all seems lost, until help arrives from a most unexpected source... if Helborg can bring himself to accept it.

Sanguinius is the Great Angel, most beloved of all the primarchs, his mighty exploits celebrated throughout the entire Imperium as the Crusade expands into the void. And yet the origins of his Legion are shrouded in mystery and rumour, his unique physical form is an enigma, and his perilous home world remains off-limits to all but his own secretive people. When a discredited remembrancer arrives with the expeditionary fleets to chronicle the primarch's deeds, he has to work hard to uncover the truth behind the legends. As he accompanies the IX Legion to war against the enemies of the Emperor, the curious scholar comes to learn much more than he expected – not just about the subjects of his study, but also the nature of the Imperium itself.

Magic is stirring across the world. A storm is coming. On Ulthuan, the Phoenix King of the high elves nears death and competition for his position has erupted into open war. Lord Rathien of Caledor seeks to awaken the dragons from their long sleep and use their strength to ensure his ascent to the Phoenix Throne. Meanwhile, Prince Valaris of Ellyrion, aided by a powerful but naïve mage, wants to harness the power of the storm of magic to defeat his rival and achieve his goal. As their forces clash, greater powers manipulate events to their own purposes, leading the two elf nobles into a conflict that threatens to destroy them both. and the world with them.

In the grim darkness of the far future, and in the vastness of the Mortal Realms, there are those characters who stand out amongst all others.Within these pages, and collected for the first time, are stories of some of Black Library's best-loved and well-known heroes and villains. On deadly battlefields, Commissar Ibram Gaunt leads his regiment, the Tanith 'Ghosts', in a desperate battle for survival; on Ultramar, Ultramarines Captain Uriel Ventris stands as a bulwark against the forces of Chaos; in the shadowy underbelly of the Imperium, Inquisitors Crowl and Covenant ply their clandestine trade. Throughout embattled lands, the realm of gods and monsters, Vampire Queen Neferata seeds dark plots to secure her power, whilst Lord-Celestant Gardus Steelsoul is a paragon of virtue and honour, and drives back the pestilent hordes of the Plague God. These are just some of the legends, the light and the darkness – the icons of the Warhammer worlds.

In a war-torn land, human and elf adventurers are forced for form an uneasy alliance with the armies of the Empire to repel the forces of Chaos. The grim march of Tchar'zanek is underway. Across the Empire of Man, the toll from plague and mutation continues to grow, and hope begins to fade. Only the intervention of the high elves offers respite, but they are beset by foes of their own, the murderous dark elves. When the prospect of treachery behind Imperial lines looms, four heroes must work together to uncover the corruption before all is lost.

(v1.0) About the AuthorChris Wraight is a writer of fantasy and science fiction. His first novel was published in 2008. Since then, he's published books set in the Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40K and Stargate:Atlantis universes. He's based in the south-west of England.

The Throneworld is in turmoil, wracked by the opening of the Great Rift and the failure of the Astronomican. Inquisitor Erasmus Crowl, his mind and body ravaged by what he has seen in the Hollow Mountain, is missing, taking with him the clues to the conspiracy that has come to obsess him. Luce Spinoza, his interrogator, must choose whether to seek him out or defend her diminished realm from the many forces that still seek to destroy it. As enemies circle, Interrogator Spinoza enters a race against time to find the evidence she needs. But with the fate of humanity itself hanging in the balance, she must decide what lengths she is willing to go to in order to uncover the truth.

Horus is dead. Terra lies in ruins. The Emperor is silent. Amid the rubble of the Palace, shell-shocked survivors emerge into the light of an uncertain dawn. New powers are present now, ones that have travelled the length of the galaxy to bring salvation to the Imperium, though they are as readily cast as usurpers as redeemers. The survivors of the Traitors' Grand Armada, now scattered and desperate to escape vengeance, are riven with doubt and dissension, and their gods too are silent. Amid all the grief and confusion, some hopeful souls believe the war to be over and an era of renewal just ahead. But wiser heads know that this war can never end, and that the only question remaining is who shall rise to power within the perilous new age, and who shall fall.

Averland is aflame. An army of cultists rises in the corrupted city of Averheim. The Theogonist Volkmar marches towards the city in a race to snuff out the rebellion before it grows too widespread to defeat. Schwarzhelm races to return to the site of his recent battles, as does the spy Pieter Verstohlen, evading assassins while trying to discover the truth of the conspiracy that drew him away. But none of these holds the key. Out in the wilderness is Kurt Helborg, Grand Marshal of the Reiksguard. Only he has the indomitable strength of will to hold together the province in its hour of need. Only he can rally the terrified citizens of Averland to resist the infernal powers that beset them.