The Scouring timeline – How the Warhammer Studio worked with Black Library authors on the new series

The Horus Heresy may have come to a close with The End and the Death, but the Imperium’s story continues as they navigate the ruined empire left in the Warmaster’s wake. The vengeful campaign to purge Horus’ Traitors from the galaxy is known as the Scouring, and kicked off with Ashes of the Imperium.

To mark Black Library Celebration, we spoke to the lore writers of Warhammer: The Horus Heresy to find out how they are working hand-in-hand with Black Library authors on the series, and nailing down the timeline of this tumultuous era.

Andy: It was really exciting to see the release of the first novel in Black Library’s new series The Scouring, as work began on it several years ago, when the guys at BL first started talking about what might come after the Siege of Terra novels were concluded.* As part of the planning process the Warhammer Studio was involved right from the onset, and we soon found ourselves engaged in a fascinating exercise in future history!

It was obvious from the start that what was needed was a convincing and consistent underlying ‘military history style narrative’, a historical backdrop for the character-driven stories the authors wished to tell in their novels, as well as setting things up for any potential future gaming books. This would serve to give both novels and gaming supplements a common foundation and keep the grand narrative moving in the right direction, which, as Warhammer fans know, culminates in the vengeful Loyalists casting the defeated Traitors into the Eye of Terror.

But things are never as simple as they seem…

The first task was to research everything that’s been written about the Scouring over the years, going right back to the first editions of both Warhammer 40,000 and its epic-scaled cousin Space Marine (the forerunner of Legions Imperialis). Interestingly, the background presented in the original Space Marine rulebook was actually set during the Scouring, with events being presented as taking place after the Siege of Terra and the death of Horus. The first edition of Adeptus Titanicus was another great source, as was the second edition Codex: Ultramarines and Codex: Chaos, both of which feature the stories of the Legions and their Primarchs very much as they’re known to this day.

Of great use were the Index Astartes articles published in White Dwarf in the early 2000s, which were especially helpful for pinning down the dates on which those Loyalist Primarchs who survived the Horus Heresy took leave of the Imperium. Lastly, there were multiple editions of later Warhammer 40,000 Codexes to consult, as well as numerous Black Library novels – including, of course, The Beast Arises series.

We worked tirelessly on a full timeline, detailed with all the major events and the key actions of the Legions, their Primarchs, and other important characters. It covers all seven years between the end of the Siege of Terra and the driving of the Traitors into the Eye of Terror. This gives us lots of information about where everyone needs to be at key points in the narrative, and offers a thrilling opportunity to flesh out some of the major battles and other events.

One thing that needed resolving about the Scouring was the framing of its climax – we need to know where we’re going and how we’re getting there. It’s known from the lore that the Loyalists drove the defeated Traitors into the Eye of Terror, which would then serve as something of a sanctuary because the Loyalists could never follow them into its roiling, sanity-cracking depths. This raises the question of whether the Traitors willingly and deliberately took refuge there, seeking the embrace of Chaos as a means of (re)empowering themselves for an eventual return to the galaxy, or whether the Loyalists were actually unable to totally defeat the Warmaster’s servants and sought instead to cast them out and guard the Eye against them ever returning to plague the Imperium.

Of course, this being Warhammer, both can be true, which opens up some interesting exploration of the (often competing) motivations of the various main players in the Traitor camp. Some surviving traitors are fully enamoured of the Ruinous Powers, having sold their souls and dedicated their lives to Chaos. Others are still waging war in the old Legion manner, their objective to complete the Great Crusade and establish themselves as the rulers of a new Imperium. In many ways these two philosophies are completely opposed, setting up conflict within each Traitor Legion as different leaders attempt to influence matters to their own ends.

Here are a few extracts from our Scouring master timeline – it’s unlikely that all of these events will appear in either novel or gaming book form, but they give a hint of things to come.

I for one am really excited to read where the Black Library authors are going to take the various characters – not just the Primarchs, but the numerous other figures who no doubt will step out from their leaders’ shadows in this new age, and where this could develop in the years to come. The Scouring lasted seven long years – as long as the Horus Heresy itself – so there are plenty of tales yet to tell and battles yet to fight!

Thanks, guys! Jump into The Scouring right now with Ashes of the Imperium, and find out how author Chris Wraight approached this groundbreaking new series in our exclusive interview.

* Aside from more novels set in the Horus Heresy, of course – just because the main events are concluded doesn't mean there aren’t plenty more stories to tell!