The First Black Crusade is Abaddon the Despoiler’s first big push out of the Eye of Terror, launched in 781.M31. It’s the moment the Traitor Legions stop hiding and the Long War against the Imperium properly begins.
What it was and when it happened
It kicked off with the First Battle of Cadia in 781.M31, out in Segmentum Obscurus. That battle opened the whole thing, and once Cadia fell to Chaos the fighting spilled out into a decades-long war across the sector.
By the end of it, Abaddon had claimed the daemon sword Drach’nyen. So the First Crusade isn’t just a footnote, it’s where he picks up one of his most infamous weapons and proves the Traitors are back for good.
How it started
The roots go back to the Horus Heresy’s aftermath. Sigismund, the Imperial Fists’ First Captain, spent centuries hunting Abaddon for his part in nearly tearing the Imperium apart.
Sigismund eventually worked out that Abaddon and a lot of the Traitor survivors had run into the Eye of Terror. The High Lords of Terra didn’t buy it. They figured nothing could last that long inside the Eye, so Sigismund used his authority as High Marshal of the Black Templars to park a big fleet at the Cadian Gate anyway.
- Sigismund wasn’t content to just watch the Gate, so he sent ships into the Eye to hunt.
- One strike cruiser, commanded by Marshal Avathus, got boarded by daemons and crashed on the Black Legion world of Maeleum.
- The Black Legion picked the wreck clean and learned centuries had passed outside, and that Sigismund was guarding the Gate with a real fleet.
- The Sorcerer Iskandar Khayon followed a voice underground and found Moriana, an exiled Inquisitor, near Horus’ old resting place.
Moriana and the push out
Moriana wasn’t intimidated by the Black Legion surrounding her. She demanded to see Abaddon, saying she had things to tell him about the Imperium and his own future.
Khayon brought her to him, and from there the Legion moved on the Cadian Gate. That’s the setup for the First Battle of Cadia and everything that follows.
Aftermath and why it matters
Sources call the outcome an Imperial pyrrhic victory. The Imperium held, but at heavy cost, and Chaos spent decades tearing through Segmentum Obscurus before it was done.
It’s the first of Abaddon’s thirteen Black Crusades, and it sets the template: hit the Cadian Gate, drag the Long War back into the open, and walk away with something that makes the next one worse.
Key facts
- Started in 781.M31 with the First Battle of Cadia.
- Fought mainly in Segmentum Obscurus against the Imperium.
- Led by Abaddon the Despoiler and the Black Legion.
- Sigismund and the Black Templars were the main Imperial defenders at the Cadian Gate.
- Ended as an Imperial pyrrhic victory after decades of war.
- Abaddon claimed the daemon sword Drach’nyen during the campaign.
FAQ
When was the First Black Crusade?
It began in 781.M31 with the First Battle of Cadia, and the fighting stretched on for decades afterward.
Who led the First Black Crusade?
Abaddon the Despoiler led it, with key Black Legion figures like Iskandar Khayon, Falkus Kibre, and Telemachon Lyras alongside him.
What did Abaddon gain from it?
He claimed the daemon sword Drach’nyen by the end of the campaign, one of his signature weapons.
How did the First Black Crusade end?
It’s recorded as an Imperial pyrrhic victory. The Imperium survived, but the cost was heavy and the sector was left badly mauled.