Smoldering of Wrath

The Smouldering of Wrath was a massive joint-Imperial excoriation campaign conducted by the Tempest Knights, Imperius Ravagers and Wardens of Orask to eradicate the dire threat of the insidious Word Bearers Traitor Legion and their Chaos Cultist and daemonic allies, to reclaim several star systems located in close proximity to the infamous warp rift known as the Maelstrom. These three Adeptus Astartes Chapters played an instrumental role in reclaiming these fallen systems on behalf of the Emperor. The fighting culminated on the enslaved Shrine World of Pictoris, where the Forces of Chaos had covered the entire surface with blasphemous temples to the Dark Gods. The Tempest Knights and their brother Chapters broke the back of the Chaos overlords and put every single Traitor to the sword, leaving behind hundreds of mounds of piled skulls - a grotesque display to serve as a stark reminder and a dire warning to those that made truck with the Ruinous Powers.

Background
In the latter centuries of M35, several system located adjacent to the infamous tear in reality, known as the Maelstrom, were subjected to a massive infamous by the Forces of Chaos. During this tumultuous period, severe warp surges had cut off many of these systems from the rest of the Imperium, making warp travel a dangerous prospect. These volatile region of the galaxy had long been subjected to attacks by those who followed the Dark Gods as well as renegades that sought refuge within the hellish realm of the Maelstrom. For several decades, the Word Bearers and their Chaos Cultist allies lorded over these helpless systems, as they fell one at time to the overwhelming and destructive power of the chaotic crusade of destruction.