The Ghoul Stars Crusade was the very first Crusade launched by High Marshal Helbrecht after he attained his rank as the Black Templars' new High Marshal. This was a dangerous decision as no Imperial expedition had ever returned from the desolate region of space known as the Ghoul Stars. The Black Templars were intent on finally vanquishing the alien race known only as the "Cythor Fiends" of the Ghoul Stars. The battles were bloody but decisive, and after eight Terran years the xenos population was all but destroyed, and the Black Templars began to push in towards the aliens' homeworld. Upon reaching the Cythor Fiends' core star systems, they were found to be eerily empty. No trace of the aliens could be found, but before a proper investigation could be launched, a desperate call for help c