Tournament of Blades

The Warmaster calls a test of strength called the Tournament of Blades in honor of the Emperor. The winner of the tournament is to be named the Praetorian of Terra, tasked with guarding Segmentum Solar for all time. The Primarchs and their honor guard are invited to the newly compliant world of Cadia, where a mighty coliseum has been erected. There, brother will compete against brother to prove their superiority, and thus their worth to the Warmaster. The Judgement Bringers, Warhawks, The Knights Exemplar, Iron Hearts, Paladins of Kor, Silver Spears, Second Sons, Storm Hammers, Bohemoth Guard, Sky Serpents, and of course the Eyes of the Warmster, are all in attendance. The Loyalists are lead to believe that repulsor fields and Oathsworn medica teams will keep the tourney relatively safe, but they are fools to believe so.

The Primarchs and equerries of the legions muster in the arena with their honor guards. Above them in the stands are ranks and ranks of armored Astartes, here to cheer their fathers' names. The arena floor before them is so massive that the competitors set up their preparation camps and tents inside the arena itself, along the outer edge. The first (and only) match-up is the Crimson Warhawks against the Silver Spears. Cheers from both legions echo the clashing blades of the two forces, but when the spear of Milvious Garmon pierces the Crimson Warhawks commander Samandrial Huss, the whole arena goes dead silent. Garmon screams his treachery for all to hear, and tells his fellows now is the time to turn on their brothers. Garmon's screams are cut off by the telltale whistling of a thousand whirlwind missiles, which hit the stands. All hell breaks loose among the Astartes, with men charging down the stands for vengeance, safety, and out of sheer confusion. Those who knew of the treachery beforehand begin slaughtering their comrades, and the loyalists begin to defend themselves. The arena turns into a charnel house of death and gore, and the Primarchs stand dueling at its center.

Despite the best efforts of the Warmaster's puppets, many loyalists manage to escape the carnage. Chief among them is Bannroud Tenriel, equerry of the Paladins of Kor. The moment the battle breaks out, Bannroud realizes what has happened and rallies his men to him. They fight their way out of the arena while others fight to reach the center. Bannroud and his men escape to orbit, and bring news of the Heresy to Anders Kor.

Traitor cohorts:

Silver Spears

Milvious Garmon (fights in the first and only legitimate match of the tournament and brutally murders his opponent while screaming the opening line of the heresy, proceeds to get shot up from a hundred different angles)

Kaion of the 202nd (racks up a lot of kills and a lot of casualties)

Turilbane (gets wounded and secretly defects to whatever that legion was which harbors loyalists from traitor legions, goes anonymous for the rest of the war)

Kashaln (duels a primarch or three, catches the attention of Slaany McRapetacles)

Also there's a whole bunch of veterans and even some bikes and tanks who have shined themselves up to an even brighter gleam for the occasion.

Eyes of the Warmaster

The Eyes of the Warmaster watch from viewing boxes high above the stadium, propriety not permitting them to compete in a tournament in their own honor.

Loyalist cohorts:

Warhawks

Samandrial Huss >Shadow Captain of the 63rd Strike Battalion. And an entourage of a dozen veterans.

Zachariah Yorros >Knight-Champion of the Hawk >The Dark Blade

Knights Exemplar

Klaus Staffel: Primarch of the XXth legion.

Adrian Feldt: Knight Commander of the first chapter, More diplomatically inclined than his lord Adrian was there to go to all those boring dignitary events while Klaus kept an eye on the fights, Dies in the preliminary bombardment. Gerhart Berger: Champion of the inner circle, Supposed to fight in the lists, Dies after HERESY in single combat with someone noteworthy. Detlef Adler: Knight superior of the inner circle, Is mortally wounded and placed in stasis awaiting a dreadnought.

Paladins of Kor

Captain Bannroud Tenriel and his Terminators.

Storm Hammers

Primarch Engerand: Participate. Survive the battle with a missing leg.

Raimund: Commander Raimund, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Company, 7th Grand Company. A simple, honest man who refuse to wear too many ostentious decorations despite his amazing record. One of the few truly competent duelist of the Storm Hammers wielding a sword made from the same material the iconic Hammers of the Legion are made of.

Catumandus: Captain of the Taranisian Honour Guard. Did not deploy in Terminator armor because of his desire to compete. Is the first to fall when Engerand is attacked.

Bodocenos: Vicious, brutal and generally disliked by the Legion yet chosen for his sheer brutality. Bodocenos was already warp-tainted and of questionable sanity. He turns to the traitor side and murder Catumandus in cold blood, crushing his spine. Survive the battle and swear allegiance to Khorne. Join whatever legion want to take him.

Fulbert: Master of the first Grand Company. Is crippled in battle and become a Dreadnought after Raimund drag his battered body back to safety.

Dolfin: An ugly, brutish hulk of a man and a mere sergeant in rank. Stand nearly at Primarch size. He was teased as having mutant blood which explained his ugly appearance and large size. It seems these were just childish taunt, as Dolfin proven to be compatible with Storm Hammer geneseed. Dolfin excel in various competitions which involve brute strength and endurance, outmatching several Astartes from other Legions. He is killed when he throw himself between Traitors and Engerand, buying time for his primarch to regroup. As revenge for besting them, several Traitor marines butcher his body and put it up for display.