Advent Calendar 2018: Day One Travelling through the warp to Terra, the Perpetual Alivia Sureka faces the shadows of her past and contemplates the horrors to come when she reaches the Throneworld. READ IT BECAUSE Bridging the gap between Wolf Mother and the tales to come, this story by Graham McNeill is like a breath before the plunge, setting up stories that will continue into the Siege of Terra. THE STORY As the Imperium prepares for the final great battle of the Horus Heresy, all sorts of heroes make the perilous journey to Terra, some to defend the Throneworld and some to cast it down. Among them is Alivia Sureka, a mysterious Perpetual who turned her back on the world long ago. Called back to the planet of her birth, guided by some force she barely understands, and plagued by memories of her long life and premonitions of the horrors to come, she must guide the ship on which she travels safely into the Solar system – for more than just the lives of those on board depend on it ...

Advent Calendar 2018: Day Two The Fyreslayers of the Zharrthagi clan gather to defend their home from a horde of enemies who approach – but could the key to what is to come lie in their distant past? READ IT BECAUSE Gav Thorpe crafts a tale that exemplifies the duardin regard for their past and delves into the legends of the Fyreslayers – as well as their fascination with ur-gold. THE STORY Before the Gate of Endless Defiancé, entry to the Vostargi Mont, ancestral home of the Zharrthagi Fyreslayers clan, stands the clan's Runefather. Behind him are arrayed an army of his kin, determined to defend the sanctity of their lodge, even as they have done for uncounted centuries. Yet the foe they face is one like no other they have encountered in their long history – and the key to what happens next may lie in a told long told by their people, a tale of how they became the warriors they are today. This is that tale.

Advent Calendar 2018: Day Three Trapped in an enemy-infested city and hunted by their foes, Commissar Severina Raine and the 11th Antari Rifles must survive by any means if they are to strike back… READ IT BECAUSE It's a tense and claustrophobic story set in the ruins of a shattered city and following a few brave women and men as they fight to survive. THE STORY Severina Raine and the 11th Antari Rifles battle in the labyrinthine streets of Balfar, beneath the twin stars known as the Eyes of the Emperor. With the cathedral city of Whend under the control of the Chaos-corrupted Sighted, and the Astra Militarum being pushed back, the situation is desperate. When their fall-back route is destroyed, Raine and her troopers find themselves trapped in the city and desperate to survive – is this the end for them, or can they seize the day and claim victory?

Advent Calendar 2018: Day Four What exactly is UR-025? When the ancient robot ventures into the Blackstone Fortress alongside a party from the Adeptus Mechanicus, secrets come to light that could spell doom… READ IT BECAUSE It's a look at one of the greatest mysteries – and most fascinating characters – from the Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress game. THE STORY Of all the explorers in the Blackstone Fortress, the towering robot known only as UR-025 is perhaps the most mysterious… and dangerous. An automatous tool of Magos-Ethericus Nanctos III of Ryza, the machine's true reasons for joining the muster at Precipice and venturing inside the ancient alien labyrinth of the fortress is unknown. When it enters the twisted, ever-changing corridors of the alien construct alongside a force of other explorers from the Adeptus Mechanicus, secrets may come to light… and they are to be feared.

Advent Calendar 2018: Day Five Thalinoth, a sorcerer of Tzeentch, seeks great power in the waters beneath the benighted Claw of Mermedus. Will he achieve his ambitions, or have the tides of fate lured him to his doom? READ IT BECAUSE It's a tale of twisted ambition, desperate endeavours and the horrors that lurk beneath… THE STORY The shores of Gharn are vibrant with life… apart from one spot, where even the native insects fear to tread. It is there that Thalinoth of Charr ventures, the sorcerer drawn to the mysterious Claw of Mermedus by portents and visions sent by Tzeentch. Something lurks in the waters beneath that benighted spot, something that could provide great power to Thalinoth and his warband… or spell their doom.

Advent Calendar 2018: Day Six Prisoner on a Black Ship, surrounded by dangerous psykers and the terrifying Sisters of Silence, Aveth Vairon is hopeful… because this is the moment he has been guided to. But what awaits him? READ IT BECAUSE It's a dark and horrific tale set in the depths of a Black Ship in the midst of battle and shows how destiny and death intertwine as Chaos grips the galaxy. THE STORY On one of the feared Black Ships, Aveth Vairon, a humble Administratum scribe cowers in a cell. Imprisoned by the Silent Sisters, cowed by their mind-numbing aura and terrified by their situation, he nevertheless feels hope. For Aveth was guided to where he is now by a greater power. For years, he has followed a twisting rune in his mind, guiding him to this moment… and to another prisoner, a faceless woman of great power who he knows will put him on the path to his destiny. But as the Black Ship comes under attack, will that destiny come to pass, or be thwarted by the whims of fate?

Advent Calendar 2018: Day Seven The Order of the Ardent Star are dying. Their master has fallen, their numbers are few, and their last hope is a desperate flight to a distant redoubt – can they marshal their courage and brave the gauntlet of Khorne worshippers that stands in their way? READ IT BECAUSE It's a tale from the Age of Chaos, showing one of the small acts of desperate heroism that took place in those dark times, as brave warriors held out against the seemingly unstoppable hordes of the Dark Gods. THE STORY In the chapel of the Order of the Ardent Star, Sir Aenea prays to the warrior goddess Myrmidia for guidance. And with an army of rampaging Khornate warriors outside, she has never needed her deity's guidance more. Her master is dead at the hands of the Chaos warleader, her comrades brought low by the seemingly unstoppable champion of the Blood God. With fewer than a hundred of their number left, the only hope for survival lies in a desperate sally forth from their fortress, seeking the indomitable redoubt of the distant Drakenount.

Advent Calendar 2018: Day Eight Koleg is a killer. His skill is the creation of terror, an ability he exercises on behalf of Inquisitor Covenant. But what leads a man to become such a creature? READ IT BECAUSE In a tie-in to the Horusian Wars saga, this tale explores the past of Koleg, the psychopathic killer who stalks Inquisitor Covenant's enemies. THE STORY Koleg is a killer. A stone-cold slaughterer, he puts his terrifying talents to use in the service of mankind, exercising his murderous abilities on behalf of Inquisitor Covenant. But what past darkness, what horrific deeds, can lead a man to become such a creature and devote his life to dealing death? As he prepares for a new mission, Koleg remembers his past and the events that brought him to where he is now…

Advent Calendar 2018: Day Nine Pursuing an alien ship into a warp anomaly, the Iron Hands encounter a vision of their own future that could be their undoing. READ IT BECAUSE It's a chilling tale, and one that has the weight of tragedy, as Ferrus Manus makes a discovery that could avert the hideous fate awaiting him – but only if he doesn't lose his head… THE STORY At the height of the Great Crusade, the Fist of Iron, the mighty flagship of the Iron Hands Space Marine Legion, pursues an ork cruiser into the pull of a dangerous warp rift. A rare phenomenon, little is known about the rift, but Ferrus Manus, who commands the powerful warship, is about to learn more than he wishes as something emerges from the rift. Something impossible. An Iron Hands warship that seems to be from the future…

Advent Calendar 2018: Day Ten In the wilds of Shyish, the Hallowed Knights seek to reforge an ancient alliance between Azyr and a duardin clan. But an equally ancient enemy awaits them… READ IT BECAUSE It's a Hallowed Knights story by Josh Reynolds exploring the Vanguard Chamber as they face a hideous and dangerous foe. THE STORY Lord-Aquilor Sathphren Swiftblade and his Vanguard Chamber warriors from the Hallowed Knights have ventured into the wilds of Shyish, the dread Realm of Death. Their goal? To resurrect an old alliance between Azyr and the duardin who dwell in these forgotten lands. But if they are to reforge long-sundered bonds of brotherhood, Swiftblade and his warriors must first defeat a mighty daemon of Chaos known only as the Soulflayer.