The Forge Temple of Antax Metallica before the ork attack brought ruin to its gothic architecture.

Forge Temple on Anvillus under greenskin siege

The forces of WAAAGH! ‘Eadcruncha have surrounded the Forge Temple of Antax Metallica on Anvillus.

The holiest site on the war-torn forge world, the Temple of Antax Metallica boasts the one of the largest repositories of knowledge in the Segmentum Ultima.

For that reason, the Fabricator General of Anvillus, Locum Regulus, has declared a holy war on the greenskins. Determined that the Forge Temple will not fall, Regulus has ordered a dozen Skitarii cohorts—along with an entire legion of Titans—to break the siege.

This mighty force has been engaged in a two-month battle to break the siege, but the orks have stood firm in their defense despite heavy losses. The fighting has been so intense that all the half-kilometer-tall manufactorums that surround the temple have been brought low—not a single man-made structure now rises more than a meter above ground level.

At last report, the Forge Temple still holds out against the greenskins. Yet, its former glory is gone. Several of the massive bastions that form the temple’s walls are in ruins, and one corner of the temple has collapsed, becoming a kill zone for all combatants who struggle to control it.

Mutants slaughter desert town on Morkai

A sketch found amidst the corpses of Tayma. Before the artist’s death, he apparently attempted to capture the horror of the mutant attack.

The town of Tayma has been overrun—and its population slain—by a mutant army from the ruined city of Ungolath.

A distress signal sent by the town’s Arbites indicated that a force of nearly 3,000 mutants, accompanied by a number of ramshackle but weapons-equipped vehicles, was descending on the small desert community. A final message reported that part of the town’s defensive walls had been breached, and mutants were forcing their way in.

A pair of Valkyrie gunships were dispatched immediately to the site, Morkai officials say. Although the gunships strafed the mutant force, anti-aircraft fire was intense, and the Valkyries eventually were forced to withdraw.

A military force was dispatched from the city of Charcharoth, but it took days for the armored column to reach the town. By then, the fight was over—and the mutants gone. A reconnaissance force attempted to pursue the mutants, but this force turned back as it approached Ungolath and encountered a superior mutant force blocking their path.

Authorities are saying little about what the rescue force found, but rumors are that the entire population of 2,000 residents was slain—their bodies disfigured and hung from walls and roofs.

Dark Wolves terrorize world of Gettinge

A Dark Wolf, one of the traitor Astartes who attacked Gettinge.

A renegade Chaos warband, known as the Dark Wolves, attacked the world of Gettinge earlier this year, unleashing a two-month reign of terror that saw millions killed.

The worst atrocity occurred at the Cathedral of St. Attilanus. The tomb of the saint was defiled, and the saint’s remains burned in a blasphemous ritual to the Dark Gods. Hundreds of innocent citizens also were sacrificed, and the cathedral subsequently was leveled by the a two-week barrage of the traitor’s artillery.

Further atrocities were committed across the planet before a naval flotilla of the Imperial Navy, accompanied by strike cruisers carrying two full companies of Novamarines, arrived in the system. The Dark Wolves rapidly withdrew in the face of this powerful force, although it is rumored they kidnapped at least 10,000 citizens whose fate is unknown but no doubt horrific.

More than 2 billion die on freezing Metaluna

Survivors on Metaluna search the icy surface of their world for any source of sustenance.

Temperatures have dropped below freezing on Metaluna, a world undergoing ecological disaster after it entered the Esskay Nebula last year.

Dense clouds of interstellar gas in the nebula have reduced the solar radiation reaching the planet of 2.5 billion people, sending temperatures plummeting and killing off much of the world’s flora and fauna and decimating all agriculture.

Starvation is rampant as food supplies have run out, and there are disturbing reports of cannibalism among the survivors.

Less than 5 million of the population—largely aristocrats and Administratum personnel—has been rescued. Given the world’s massive population, the rest of the populace was left to its fate, and it is believed that most of the citizenry has succumbed to the cold or hunger. At most, authorities say, no more than 1 million or so people continue to eke out an existence on the now ice-covered world.

Authorities have not made clear if additional attempts will be made to rescue these survivors—or they will be left to their fate.

—

Click here to see more of the artwork of Dan Slider.

Click here to see more of the artwork of Crowsrock.

Click here to see more of the artwork of Tom Warne.

Click here to see more of the artwork of Diego Gisbert Llorens.

—

The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog documenting our gaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.