To the primarch, the throne was just another piece of furniture, a possession reclaimed, as Ultramar was. He used it unthinkingly. Even now he was back, his casual attitude toward these ancient relics, although they were his, offended something in Calgar.

It was a ridiculous notion.

Present in the hall were the upper echelons of the Imperial command structure within Ultramar, which comprised the Ultramarines’ upper leadership, the Chapter Masters of the Howling Griffins, the Nova­marines and the Genesis and Aurora Chapters, as well as the first captain of the Sons of Orar and the third captain of the Mortifactors. The Inquisition were there, as were other, even more secretive organisations. By lithocast, the Chapter Masters of the Silver Eagles and the Libators were also in attendance. News had come that the White Scars were en route in force. Elements of twenty-four other Chapters were either on their way or present in Ultramar. These smaller forces were of varied strengths, ranging from a single squad to a company in size, and they had elected eight further captains from among their total number to speak for them at the council. Ultramar’s Knightly Houses were also well represented, as were its forge worlds, Navy and Astra Militarum forces.

Guilliman had brought numerous groups with him from the Indomitus Crusade, including the heads of various Primaris Chapters founded at Raukos, as well as all his other military leaders, who all had their own spokesmen and advisers.

Maldovar Colquan sat at Guilliman’s left hand, Calgar at his right. The military leaders occupied the first three tiers of seats around the council table; there were several hundred all told, as varied a gathering but not quite as grand as there had been at the Triumph of Raukos. In the remainder of the seats were diplomats speaking for the governments of dozens of worlds from Ultramar and Greater Ultramar.

A human-sized table, long enough to run the length of the gathering, had been set up down the middle. It was largely symbolic, for there were far too many bodies in the room for anyone to make use of it. Guilliman had expressly ordered that no hololiths or other data-projection devices be present. Instead, the table was heaped with ancient tomes and maps, symbols of obligation assumed long defunct by many of the dignitaries present.

Calgar thought Guilliman wished to be free of distraction. Less charitably, he thought his gene-father wanted to ensure that he was the sole source of knowledge in the room.