The Indomitus Crusade began with the resurrection of Lord Commander of the Imperium Roboute Guilliman following the events of the 13th Black Crusade in 999.M41, which opened a nightmarish tear in reality known as the Cicatrix Maledictum, or the Great Rift.
The crusade serves to reunite a bisected Imperium, an ongoing struggle that has lasted over 200 Terran years.
The Conflict
Prelude
With the fall of Cadia in 999.M41, and subsequent destruction of the mysterious Necron-tech Cadian Pylons, the Milky Way Galaxy was torn asunder. The eastern and western halves of the galaxy were separated by the enormous warp-rift known as the Cicatrix Maledictum. Human civilizations loced on the eastern side of the rift were cut off from the Astronomican, a psychic beacon that makes warp-navigation possible. Known as the Imperium Nihilus, or Dark Imperium, the section of Mankind's domain cut off from the light of Terra suffered unknowable horrors with little chance of escape.
Roboute Guilliman mustered the combined might of the Imperium Sanctus, the section of the Imperium still capable of warp travel, to reclaim the worlds on the other side of the rift. Comprised of legions of fresh Primaris Space Marines, thousands of Imperial Navy warships, and countless billions of Imperial Guard troops, the Indomitus Crusade pushes forth to offer respite to the beleagured worlds on the eastern edge of the galaxy.
Crusade fleets were mustered one by one in the Sol system, setting out as sufficient resources and personnel became available. They would strike out according to predetermined routes established across the Imperium, reconquering, regrouping, and recruiting from worlds in need of aid.
A triage of galactic scale was enacted, prioritizing worlds on the brink of defeat, but not hopelessly lost. Countless regiments of Astra Militarum and battle damaged Imperial Navy fleets were ordered to execute tactical retreats from blood-soaked warzones, only to come back later with proper reinforcements in the hope of rebuilding what was lost.
According to Guilliman, worlds could be retaken, and territory could be reclaimed and repopulated as the crusades advanced into the stars. It was the loss of Imperial armies in the hopeless defence of too many battlefronts at once that would achieve nothing but the unecessary bleeding of the Emperor's forces.
These massive retreats have allowed for countless worlds to fall to the myriad enemies of Mankind. Ork empires pounce on wounded worlds like a hungry predator. T'au colonization forces subsume abandoned human systems, welcomed as saviors. Chaos and Genestealer cults rise up from the ashes of forgotten civilizations, while the Great Devourer gorges itself on unprotected planets.
The Indomitus Crusade marks the beginning of what is likely to be one of the bloodiest periods in the history of the galaxy.
The Indomitus Crusade rages throughout the entire galaxy, in countless star systems and on worlds without number.
Thousands of planets have been abandoned by Imperial forces in the hopes of consolidating power. In the wake of the retreat, Xenos and Daemonic hosts have claimed unknown numbers of unprotected systems. As the Indomitus Crusade gains momentum, thousands of new fronts open while the Imperium fights to reclaim those worlds.
Generally speaking, the Indomitus Crusade has been an Imperial victory thus far. Roboute Guilliman has successfully restabilized the rule of law in the Imperium, and musters his forces to continue the Crusade as well as pursue other objectives and address issues that had festered in his absence.
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