Drukhari raids ravage Hadron Expanse

The opening of the Foramen Ancilla had done more than just make a stable passageway through the Cicatrix. Within the webway, passages that had become blocked, tainted and twisted when the warp scar ripped across the galaxy, suddenly stabilised, and the wards on the gates of these closed off passages for the first time stopped glowing angry red.

As predicted by Farseer Tarquill, the only Aeldari who would take the risk of exploring these newly stabilised passageways would be the Drukhari. Within hours of the predicted time, the first Dark Eldar raiders appeared in the Hadron Expanse, falling upon an unprepared and vulnerable enemy at Palantir.

The Kabal of the Crimson Blade fell upon the human defenders at Palantir, simultaneously landing raiding forces on the two innermost planets, Dale and Bree. The Lycaon Guard responded to the panicked calls for aid from within the main imperial outpost at Bree, but as soon as the imperial guard moved in force on the now burning settlements, the Drukhari ambushed them. Unable to cope with the fast moving dark eldar forces, the Lycaon were soon pinned down long enough for the base to be entirely ransacked.

Worse still was the killing and enslaving that took place on Dale. The human settlers were taken en masse through the webway portal to the Dark City of Comorragh, while the Novgorod Guard that attempted to intervene were massacred, their own troops adding to the immense profit gained by their leader, Vlokarion.

The Crimson Blade were not only active on Palantir. At around the same time a separate raiding force arrived at Echo Reach, acting on a tip off from an unknown seer they had met in the webway. The seer of course was Tarquill, who set in motion a plan to frustrate Magnus the Red. Magnus and Ahriman were both present on the third planet of the system investigating the ruins of a necron tomb. Both were searching for an artefact of great power, an artefact the Eldar could not allow to fall into the hands of chaos. Attacking with lightning speed the Drukhari sliced through the Chaos lords' retinue and banished Magnus to the warp once again, with Ahriman fleeing - the God of Fate apparently having abandoned the Thousand Sons and the Prohets of Sotek.

The Drukhari completed the desecration of the necron tomb, acquiring many ancient items of extreme value, and one of immense power. Now they wondered how much Farseer Tarquill would pay for such a relic...