+++ Secure Transmission: Haldrax Crag Command +++
+++ Tactical Report – Engagement with World Eaters Commenced +++
The First War for Velaraxis
History was made on this day.
Within the walls of The Realm of Pure Fantasy in Mosta, the first recorded battle of Horus Heresy in Malta was fought. A skirmish between the Imperial Fists and the World Eaters, a microcosm of the greater war engulfing the Imperium. This was not just a game; this was the beginning of something far greater—a movement, a return to the battlefields of the Age of Darkness.
The world of Velaraxis remains in turmoil, a vital manufactorum world within the Aethon Subsector, caught in the teeth of the Heresy. The Imperial Fists, ever the stalwart defenders of the Imperium, had fortified Haldrax Crag, a key strategic stronghold coordinating the Loyalist war effort. They stood firm, the anvil upon which the enemy would break.
But the World Eaters do not break.
Under the command of Khârn the Betrayer, the XII Legion did not come to besiege. They did not come to claim territory. They came to kill.
The walls of Haldrax Crag would be tested.
The first war for Horus Heresy in Malta had begun.
+++ Transmission: Haldrax Crag Command +++
+++ Turn 1 – Contact Established +++
Auspex readings confirm movement—fast, unrelenting. World Eaters advance with no gunfire, no caution, only the promise of slaughter.
The void offers no sanctuary. Searchlights cut through the darkness, illuminating the red-streaked ceramite of the XII Legion. No shadows to hide in tonight.
Lethiathan-class Dreadnought engaged—two confirmed hits. Minor damage. It does not slow.
Terminator squad targeted—two World Eaters neutralized.
The enemy closes. The bloodletting begins.
The wall holds.
The Emperor’s will be done.
+++ End Transmission +++
+++ Transmission: Haldrax Crag Command +++
+++ Turn 2 – The Storm Breaks +++
Impact.
The first wave crashes against our defenses like a thunderhead of chainaxes and rage. Despoilers rush forward, heedless of death—reactive fire cuts down four. A Contemptor lunges for the line but missteps, its charge faltering.
On the flank, a Rhino erupts into fire. The Rampagers tear through it, their savagery indiscriminate—the explosion claims four of their own, their Apothecary, and five of our brothers.
Huscarls deploy. Shields locked. The Praetor stands at their center.
Castraferrum Dreadnought wounds the Lethiathan. Four remain.
Sicaran fails to land a decisive blow.
Spartan chips at the Contemptors.
The counterattack begins. The Praetor and Huscarls charge the Contemptor. Their blades carve through ancient adamantium—the war machine falls. But its reactor detonates, claiming the Praetor and multiple Huscarls.
Further down the line, Tartaros clash with Red Butchers. Dreadnoughts duel, each strike shaking the earth. Castraferrum on one wound. Lethiathan on four.
Then, Khârn finds his prey.
The last of the Tactical Squad are slaughtered. No survivors.
The line holds. The cost is high.
The Emperor’s will be done.
+++ End Transmission +++
+++ Transmission: Haldrax Crag Command +++
+++ Turn 3 – The Blade Falls +++
Reinforcements fail to materialize. The storm must be weathered alone.
The Red Butchers run down the retreating Tartaros. Their pleas for mercy are met with silence—chainaxes do not listen.
Khârn and his Rampagers strike again. Another Rhino falls beneath their fury.
The Lethiathan crushes the Castraferrum Dreadnought, its once-proud form reduced to shattered ceramite and cooling embers.
One remains.
A lone Huscarl stands before an entire unit of Destroyers. He does not falter. He takes thirteen chainaxe strikes before he falls, but not before delivering a final blow with his gauntlet.
The Spartan lines up a shot on the Lethiathan. It lands true. The war machine shrugs it off.
The Sicaran fires into the Red Butchers. Two fall. It is not enough.
The battle grinds on. The void is choked with fire and blood.
The Emperor’s will be done.
+++ End Transmission +++
+++ Transmission: Haldrax Crag Command +++
+++ Turn 4 – The Wall Falls +++
The end comes in fire and steel.
The Lethiathan Dreadnought advances unchecked. Its claw rends through the Spartan, tearing it apart in a shower of debris and flame.
The Red Butchers carve through the last defenders. Blades fall. Armor splits.
No survivors.
Haldrax Crag burns. The last of the Imperial Fists stationed here have fallen.
The Emperor’s will endures.
+++ End Transmission – No Further Signals +++
Aftermath: The First of Many
Haldrax Crag has fallen.
The World Eaters’ rampage through Velaraxis intensifies, their thirst for slaughter unchecked. With the Imperial Fists’ primary command outpost in ruins, loyalist coordination in the sector has been shattered, and new fronts have begun to collapse.
But Velaraxis is not lost. Loyalist forces still fight across its war-torn manufactorums and shattered cities. Reinforcements gather. A counterattack is being prepared. The war is far from over.
This battle was the first game of Horus Heresy in Malta, but it will not be the last. The war for Velaraxis continues, and with it, a new community rises.
The first shots have been fired. The first warriors have fallen. But the Horus Heresy has come to Malta.
And it is only the beginning.
Here’s the Velaraxis Campaign Faction Standings after the first recorded battle:
Total Scores
- Traitors (World Eaters – Rueben): 37
- Loyalists (Imperial Fists – Michael): 26
Current Faction Lead: Traitors (+11 points)