It was 007M31, and the Age of Darkness had descended upon the Imperium.

當(dāng)時間來到007M31，黑暗年代已經(jīng)降臨于人類帝國。

The veil of night had fallen and it would not be lifted within the lifetime of any condemned by the fates to live through it. At Isstvan III, Warmaster Horus had purged four entire Legions of those elements who could not be trusted to follow him and his Traitor brothers into rebellion against their father-Emperor. Soon after, the terrible extent of the betrayal was revealed at Isstvan V?where three more Legions demonstrated their loyalty to Horus and three others were all but annihilated.

暗夜的帷幕已然落下，對于任何命中注定要經(jīng)歷這段歲月的人而言，在他們有生之年，黑暗年代都沒有結(jié)束。在伊斯特萬三號上，戰(zhàn)帥荷魯斯對整整四個軍團進(jìn)行了清洗，屠殺了那些他不相信會追隨他與他的叛徒兄弟們背叛父皇的戰(zhàn)士。不久之后，伊斯特萬五號上的慘劇揭示出了這次叛變的可怕程度——又有三個軍團表明了自己對荷魯斯的忠誠，而另外三個幾乎被毀滅。

As the fires of war caught, entire worlds burned. The Imperial Fists were savaged at Phall, while the Ultramarines were betrayed at Calth and their Five Hundred Worlds plunged into a sea of?blood by the combined war hosts of the Word Bearers and the World Eaters. Of the remaining Legions, little was known of the fate of?the Blood Angels, White Scars and Dark Angels, for the artifice of the Warmaster and his agents had ensured they were scattered far and wide by the time his treachery was revealed. For the first years of the Horus Heresy, they were feared lost at best, and turned at worst.

戰(zhàn)火在（諸多）完整世界上燃燒著。帝國之拳在法爾星系遭受重創(chuàng)，同時極限戰(zhàn)士也在考斯遭到背叛，懷言者與吞世者的戰(zhàn)爭聯(lián)軍令五百世界陷入一片血海。至于剩下的那些軍團，我們對于圣血天使、白色傷疤和黑暗天使的命運知之甚少，因為戰(zhàn)帥及其下屬們使用了詭計，確保這三個軍團在自己發(fā)動叛亂時被分散到了各處。在荷魯斯叛亂的最初幾年中，帝國認(rèn)為樂觀的情況是這三個軍團迷路失聯(lián)，悲觀的情況則是他們已然叛變。

between Isstvan in 006.M31 and the casting back of the Shadow Crusade in 009.M31, the Imperium knew anarchy, uncertainty and bloodshed on a scale never before witnessed. Though still more destruction was to come before the end,?this was a period of unprecedented confusion and chaos. Lorgar of the Word Bearers had, by?the ritual offering of the Veridia star, invoked the Ruinstorm, a raging tempest that made warp travel and astrotelepathic?commutationacross the galaxy-spinning Imperium?perilous at best and impossible?at worst.The Primarch Rogal Dorn of th Legiones Astartes Imperial Fists had assumed command of the defences of Terra, while the Emperor appeared to have withdrawn entirely to pursue a mission he could not confide even to his most trusted sons. The Warmaster claimed world after world in the northern Imperium, and other spheres, systems and entire sectors across the galaxy declared for the Traitors'?cause. Millions-strong armies reeled in disorder as desperate pleas for aid went unheeded. A torrent of orders flooded out from Terra with no notion of whether the intended recipients would receive them, or if?they had already been slain or turned to the Warmaster's cause. Entire planetary populations fled across the stars, a migratory diaspora of refugees driven beyond sanity by the horrors unleashed by the rapidly advancing Traitor armies.

從伊斯特萬屠殺爆發(fā)的006.M31到暗影遠(yuǎn)征軍撤退的009.M31這段時間中，人類帝國經(jīng)歷了規(guī)模前所未見的混亂、動蕩和流血沖突。雖然在終局到來之前還會發(fā)生更多的毀滅，但這是一個前所未有的混亂時期。通過對于Veridia恒星的儀式性獻(xiàn)祭，懷言者原體珞珈引發(fā)了毀滅風(fēng)暴，這場狂暴的亞空間風(fēng)暴在拓展到銀河系的人類帝國中肆虐，亞空間航行和星語通訊在好的情況下是變得危險，壞的情況下則是變得不可能。帝國之拳阿斯塔特軍團的原體——羅格 多恩統(tǒng)領(lǐng)著泰拉的防御，同時帝皇似乎完全退居幕后，去執(zhí)行一項他甚至不能向自己最信任的子嗣們訴說的任務(wù)。戰(zhàn)帥在北銀河奪取了一個又一個世界，而在其他的宙域中，銀河各處都有星系和完整的星區(qū)宣布加入叛軍陣營。數(shù)以百萬計的軍隊在無序混亂中搖搖欲墜，而絕望的呼救也無人理會。命令如同洪水般從泰拉涌出，但帝國也不知道目標(biāo)接收者能否收到信息，或者是否已經(jīng)被殺或投入了戰(zhàn)帥的陣營。整個星球的人口都在群星間逃亡，叛軍部隊的快速挺進(jìn)所散布出的恐慌將流散得難民們逼到失去理智。

Thus it proved nigh-impossible for Terra to mount a truly coordinated defence of its worlds and so sector after sector fell to the Warmaster as he advanced upon Terra. There was no single frontline that could be held and no decisive salient that could be mounted. Individual forces, from small companies to entire armies, threw themselves willingly into the crucible of war in a desperate effort to stem the inexorable tide. Never before had Mankind been divided by such conflict, and soon a thousand worlds and more were transformed into blasted war zones across which millions of erstwhile brothers-in-arms, from the humblest militia conscript to the mightiest warrior of the Legiones Astartes, clashed.

因此，對于泰拉而言，要建立起一個真正協(xié)調(diào)的防御系統(tǒng)幾乎是不可能的，所以在荷魯斯挺進(jìn)泰拉的過程中，一個又一個星區(qū)落入戰(zhàn)帥手中。帝國沒有哪一條戰(zhàn)線是可以守住的，也沒有哪一個決定性的突出陣地是可以攻下的。獨立的的部隊——從小規(guī)模的連隊到完整的軍隊?wèi)?yīng)有盡有，自愿投身于戰(zhàn)爭的嚴(yán)酷考驗，絕望地想要阻止那不可阻擋的潮流。人類之前從未因這樣的沖突而分裂過，不久之后，超過一千個世界都化為了戰(zhàn)火紛飛的戰(zhàn)區(qū)，數(shù)百萬昔日的戰(zhàn)友兵戎相見，從最卑微的征召民兵到最強大的阿斯塔特軍團戰(zhàn)士都莫不如此。

The task of recounting the triumphs and tragedies of the Age of Darkness is one that can never be completed even should the Imperium stand for ten thousand years and our Order swell in size to rival the armies of humanity. Countless battles must therefore go unrecorded by posterity, so total was the destruction wrought by and upon both sides when at last the end came. Where once the young Imperium had stood upon the cusp of an age of unity and prosperity, suddenly it stood upon the very brink of the abyss. between the outbreak of the Horus Heresy at the Isstvan system and the casting back of the Shadow Crusade from Ultramar, a period of around three years, all-consuming war came to Calth, the Coronid Deeps, Baztel, Anvillus, Paramar, beta-Garmon, Tallarn?and a hundred other worlds, many of them rendered to blackened wastes by the close of the Age of Darkness.

即便帝國能夠屹立萬年之久，我們修會的人數(shù)也膨脹到能夠與人類的軍隊相匹敵，記述黑暗年代中的（全部）勝利與悲劇也是一件永遠(yuǎn)無法被完成的任務(wù)。無數(shù)的戰(zhàn)爭必然不會被后人所記錄，當(dāng)終局最終來臨時，雙方遭到的破壞都是如此徹底。年輕的帝國曾經(jīng)站在了統(tǒng)一且繁榮時代的頂峰，但現(xiàn)在它突然站到了深淵的邊緣。從荷魯斯叛亂于伊斯特萬星系爆發(fā)到暗影遠(yuǎn)征軍撤出奧特拉瑪?shù)倪@段時期——大約三年的時間中，考斯、王冠深淵、Baztel、安維魯斯、帕拉瑪、貝塔—伽爾蒙、塔蘭和其他一百個世界上都爆發(fā)了吞噬一切的戰(zhàn)爭，當(dāng)黑暗年代結(jié)束時，他們中的大部分都淪為了被燒得焦黑的廢土。

Trials and Tribuimions

審判者與保衛(wèi)者

Warriors whose names had been carved in glory into a thousand triumphal memorials would come to be reviled by the multitudes, their names turned into bywords for fratricide and atrocity. Warriors whose names had never been known were at a stroke propelled to such heights that they held the fate of entire worlds in their hands. The task of redacting the names and deeds of the former and enshrining those of the latter is one that has already begun, but which is unlikely to be completed within the span of mortal years.

在黑暗年代的戰(zhàn)爭中，（很多）姓名被光榮地刻在成千上萬凱旋紀(jì)念碑上的戰(zhàn)士們將會遭到民眾的唾罵，他們的名字也變成了自相殘殺和暴行的代名詞。很多原本名不見經(jīng)傳的戰(zhàn)士們也被瞬間推上高位，以至于整個世界的命運都掌握在他們手中。帝國已經(jīng)開始了修正前者的名字和事跡，并將后者的名字和事跡載入史冊的任務(wù)，但這不可能在有生之年中被完成。

Galaxy of War

戰(zhàn)火銀河

For every world that burned in planet-wide conflagration, innumerable smaller scale, but equally bitter wars were fought, often far away from any war zone that might be considered a front line. At the opening of the Horus Heresy, many of the Legions had been operating as large bodies under the direct command of their Primarch, but even then, many smaller contingents had been seconded to service elsewhere. As the Age of?Darkness ground on, many of these mighty hosts became fragmented and while individual Primarchs often remained in direct command of the core of?their Legions, ever more sub-commands were despatched across the galaxy in pursuit of?either Traitor or Loyalist goals. As the Ruinstorm?cut yet more regions off from the greater Imperium, many such detachments were turned by circumstance into independent commands in all but name, their leaders vested with what amounted to total authority to conduct their own wars in whatever manner they deemed most appropriate.

在每個全球范圍內(nèi)都燃燒著戰(zhàn)火的世界上，都進(jìn)行著小規(guī)模但卻同樣苦澀的戰(zhàn)斗，它們通常遠(yuǎn)離那些可能被視為前線的戰(zhàn)區(qū)。在荷魯斯叛亂初期，很多軍團都是在原體的直接指揮下作為龐大的整體進(jìn)行運作，但之后很多小規(guī)模特遣隊被臨時派往其他區(qū)域。隨著黑暗年代推進(jìn)，很多龐大的部隊集群也變得支離破碎，同時各位原體也通常是直接控制著軍團的核心部分，越來越多的次級指揮官被派往銀河各地，去追逐叛軍或忠誠派的目標(biāo)。隨著更多地區(qū)被毀滅風(fēng)暴切斷與更大帝國主體之間的聯(lián)系，受環(huán)境影響，此類特遣隊中有越來越多都在進(jìn)行獨立指揮，他們只是在名義上遵從上級命令。這些部隊的領(lǐng)袖們也授予他們?nèi)珯?quán)，允許他們以自己認(rèn)為最合適的方法進(jìn)行戰(zhàn)爭。

Across the galaxy, independent Legiones Astartes forces varying in scale from subcompany to battalion or chapter conducted countless high intensity operations. Many were surgical strikes against targets of vital strategic worth 一 at Grendel's World for example, a mixed force of around three hundred Night Lords and Emperor's Children Legionaries destroyed the Astropathic relay station established there a decade earlier to serve the 78th Expeditionary Fleet as it pressed into the regions beyond. Whether or not it was their intent, the destruction of?the relay station caused all contact with the 78th to be cut for many years. The fleet's high commander, Lord-Captain Morrachi?of the Legiones Astartes Blood Angels, did not therefore learn of the outbreak of?the Horus Heresy until after the event and was thus unable to intervene at vital juncture?in history.

在銀河各處，規(guī)模從半連到戰(zhàn)斗營或戰(zhàn)團不等的獨立阿斯塔特軍團部隊都在執(zhí)行著無數(shù)高強度的行動。其中很多都是對具有重要戰(zhàn)略價值的目標(biāo)進(jìn)行外科手術(shù)式的進(jìn)攻——例如在Grendel世界上，三百名午夜領(lǐng)主和帝皇之子軍團戰(zhàn)士組成的聯(lián)合部隊摧毀了此地的星語中繼站，此站點于十年前建成，目的是在第78遠(yuǎn)征艦隊向更遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)挺進(jìn)時為其提供服務(wù)。無論這是否是襲擊者們的意圖，該中繼站的毀滅都導(dǎo)致帝國與第78遠(yuǎn)征艦隊的聯(lián)系被切斷數(shù)年之久。因此該艦隊的最高指揮官，圣血天使阿斯塔特軍團的領(lǐng)主連長莫拉奇直到荷魯斯叛亂爆發(fā)后才得知該事件，因此他們也未能在歷史的關(guān)鍵時刻進(jìn)行干預(yù)。

Many operations were specifically targeted attacks against key enemy leaders or individuals holding the balance of power, and many of?these amounted to litde more than callous murders and brutal assassinations. Far-ranging Legiones Astartes kill teams or larger strike forces were capable of?reaching and striking against targets more conventional Legion forces could not engage, and so no commander or high administrator was guaranteed safe from the executioners'axe. Though reliable accounts of most such attacks are few and far between, the assassination of the Magister-Mllitaris of Constantinium serves as something of an exception, as was no doubt intended when it was conducted. Magister Karpath of Constantinium had declared the entire Viridis sector for the Warmaster in mid 007.M31 and expended prodigious resources to fortify his capital, claiming?that its walls would be built every bit as strong and tall as those of Terra and that no attacker would ever penetrate them. The Magister-Militaris was made a fool and a liar when within a year a strike force of Dark Angels, White Scars and Iron Warriors Legionaries conducted a coups-dc-grace operation which penetrated straight into the heart of his massively fortified palace. Karpath was executed kneeling at the foot of his own throne before his entire court in what could only have been intended as an incontrovertible message to all who would turn against Terra.The presence of the Iron Warriors element in this force however remains unresolved and unexplainable, as do so many similar accounts of the unseen wars of the Age of?Darkness.

許多行動都是專門對于敵方關(guān)鍵領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人或掌握權(quán)力平衡的個人的攻擊，其中許多案件都不只是無情的謀殺和殘忍的暗殺。分散在遙遠(yuǎn)空間中的阿斯塔特軍團戰(zhàn)士殺戮隊或更大型的進(jìn)攻部隊能夠抵達(dá)和攻擊那些傳統(tǒng)的軍團部隊無法與之交戰(zhàn)的目標(biāo)，沒有哪位指揮官或高級政務(wù)官能保證自己不會死于處刑者的利斧之下。盡管記錄此類襲擊的可靠報告很少，但對于Constantinium世界軍事執(zhí)政官的暗殺行動則是一次例外。Constantinium的執(zhí)政官卡爾帕斯在007.M31中葉宣布整個Viridis星區(qū)都效忠于戰(zhàn)帥，并且耗費了大量資源來加固他的首府；他聲稱自己首府的城墻將會被建造得和泰拉上的同樣堅固高大，沒有進(jìn)攻者能夠?qū)⑵鋼舸５坏揭荒曛螅@位執(zhí)政官就被證明是個蠢貨和騙子——某支由黑暗天使、白色傷疤和鋼鐵勇士軍團戰(zhàn)士們組成的打擊部隊所進(jìn)行的致命一擊行動擊穿進(jìn)入了他大規(guī)模加固的宮殿的核心。在他整個宮廷的面前，卡爾帕斯跪在自己王座的腳下被星際戰(zhàn)士們處決，這只可能是傳遞給所有將會背叛泰拉之人一個不容置疑的信息。然而，就像許多對于黑暗年代那些看不見戰(zhàn)爭的相似描述那樣，鋼鐵勇士們在這支部隊中的出現(xiàn)仍未得到解釋。