The Maw

“It is a beast that swallows the apostate, the doubter, and all who ship with them. Better to slay the unfaithful than risk the dread Maw whilst such false wretches draw breath.”
–Opening lines of the Voidfarer’s Warning from the Drusian Play
The Koronus Passage is a stable but dangerous warp route
that passes through the Great Warp Storms separating
the Calixis Sector from the Koronus Expanse. The
Koronus Passage was discovered by a Magos-Explorator of
the Machine Cult in the distant past, lost for millennia, and
found once more by the Rogue Trader Purity Lathimon at the
very close of the 40th Millennium. The Passage links Port Wander and the Drusus Marches to the great star Furibundus and the void colony of Footfall---and beyond Footfall, the
Koronus Expanse beckons.
Superstitious voidfarers call the route “the Maw.” To their
eyes the Maw is a beast made of warp storms, cunning and
malicious, whose crushing gullet must be braved by those
who seek to break through to the Koronus Expanse beyond.
Many have died in trying, and traversing the Maw remains
harrowing despite centuries of experience gathered by
Navigators and Rogue Traders. Some say this ill-omened title
came from the first to survive the crossing---and that they
returned wild-eyed, at the edge of sanity, and few journeyed
to the voids again.
The possibilities of a passage through the Great Warp Storms
were first recorded by Abenicus, insane Navigator of House Benetek, and have gripped the hearts and minds of Rogue
Traders ever since that time. Vast riches and a way through
the Great Warp Storms were once a lure to the brave and
foolhardy, and many died for pursuing what they believed to
be the truth. In time, cautious steps into what would be called
the Maw laid the groundwork for the Stations of Passage that
guided steps of those passing through the Maw. Later, during
the Mistaken Age of the early 41st Millennium, Navigators
learned to read the Maw and its moods---to see signs in the
warp for what they were and so avoid the sudden, sweeping
maelstroms that doomed earlier explorers. The Stations of
Passage fell into disuse, save as refuges from unexpected
upheaval in the empyrean, and as covert rendezvous points
for plotting Rogue Traders.
In the present times the Maw is a rite of passage for Rogue
Traders of the Calixis Sector. A Lord-Captain may bear the
greatest Warrant of Trade ever seen in Port Wander, but
until he harrows the Maw and survives to see the
raging light of Furibundus at its farthest end, he
is no better than a common Free Trader in the
eyes of his peers.
==The Maw and the Fleet==
“All that you know is left at the entrance to the Maw.”
–Darius Xerxes, Master Helmsman
Beyond the Rubycon II System, the Koronus Passage looms
wide, ready to swallow the Rogue Trader ships that brave its
depths. The Maw is so vast it is more a region of space than a
opening in the warp storms along the Drusus Marches—but
the Maw can also swell closed when the warp storms rage,
shrinking to the narrowest passage.
Though the boundaries of the Calixis Sector end at the
entrance to the Maw, there are certain Imperial organizations
that venture beyond those bounds. Chief amongst them is
Battlefleet Calixis of the Imperial Navy who maintains a
watch of warships at Port Wander, the entrance to the Maw,
and some say, within the Expanse beyond. This squadron,
under command of Fleet-Captain Nathaniel Horne, is on
extended detached duty from the rest of Battlefleet Calixis.
Though the squadron---Passage Watch 27 Est---is not
large, especially compared to Battlefleet Calixis as a whole, it is
comprised of several cruisers, light cruisers, and battlecruisers,
supported by multiple destroyer and frigate escorts. These ships
have some of the most combat experience in Battlefleet Calixis,
as they are almost constantly in conflict with raiders, pirates,
and the occasional xenos vessel that come through the Maw
to plunder the Calixis Sector. Passage Watch 27 Est is hard-pressed
but vigilant, and on occasion has sent its distinctive
crimson-prowed vessels on counter-actions and reprisals
into the Expanse. This has led the ships’ crews to refer to
themselves---only half-jokingly---as “Battlefleet Koronus.”
==Zone 15==
Within the last century, Passage Watch 27 Est has placed a
blockade on one of the rare becalmed sections of the Maw.
Once dubbed the Fifth Station of Passage, this barren and
unremarkable star system is now known as Zone 15.
Navy frigates constantly patrol the edges of the system, and
unauthorized vessels are challenged first with terse warnings,
then lance fire. However, Zone 15 sees a large influx of ship
traffic. Convoys of mass conveyors and unwieldy transports
put into Port Wander for fuel and supplies, though neither
the crews nor passengers (if any) are allowed to disembark.
These convoys vanish into the Koronus Passage, and those
who traverse the Maw regularly claim their destination is
Zone 15. When the convoys eventually return, their holds
are empty and their hulls often show the scars of combat.
On occasion (and with increasing regularity in recent
decades), Rogue Trader vessels have been given leave to pass
into Zone 15. These vessels return months or years later, if at
all, although most of their captains remain tight-lipped, some
speak of an ancient relic, a “gate” that leads somewhere... else. If
these captains know where this “Jericho Reach” lies, they do not
speak of it. However, with increasing numbers of ships entering
Zone 15, it is only a matter of time before the truth is revealed.
==The Stations of Passage==
“Don’t be fooled, the Maw is alive! It takes the measure of each man passing through it and decides if you’re worthy enough to venture on.”
–Garvel Marvollo, Rogue Trader, addressing a group of Imperial Fleet cadets on Cypra Mundi
The Stations of Passage are a number of locations along
the Koronus Passage, better known as the Maw. Each
was discovered through trial and error as bold and
foolhardy Rogue Traders traversed the Maw to reach the
Koronus Expanse. Some are extremely familiar to the Rogue
Traders who navigate this precarious passage, while others are
known only to a few. Thus, nobody knows for certain how
many Stations exist. Each Station is different from the others---they are united only in that they are each a safe haven against
the predications of the powerful warp storms that surround the
Maw.
Those who journey through the Maw consider the secrets
of the location of the Stations extremely valuable. Of those
known, some are shunned as more dangerous than the storms
they supposedly provide protection from. However, there are
four main stations that are widely regarded as “safe,” and many
renowned Rogue Traders claim these places have saved their
vessels on more than one occasion.
The various Stations of Passage are also regarded as neutral
grounds, at least for most. However, there are those renegades
who won’t hesitate to lay in ambush at one of the various
stations in the hopes of preying upon damaged ships. Such
scum are usually found out for what they are, as
no “honorable” trader who traverses the Passage will stand
for such behavior. In addition, within the last century the
Battlefleet patrols of Passage Watch 27 have made piracy
slightly more hazardous.
The Stations of Passage were discovered gradually, as
those traversing the Maw explored its secrets. As the Maw
swelled and sealed with the strengthening and weakening of
nearby storms, ships noticed certain locations of calm that
remained untouched. What began as a few locations became
an ever-changing network as Navigators and captains made
discoveries. As time went on, many of the Stations fell out of
use, with some being used as clandestine meeting points for
Rogue Traders to broker deals away from the prying eyes of
Imperial authorities. Other stations were cordoned off as they
led to nowhere, or even put ships into mortal jeopardy.
Some of the Stations of Passage are installations or
artefacts, while others are nothing more than dead systems
with shattered worlds of rock and spent cinders for stars.
There are even a few that are simply clear void, or streams of
energized plasma.
*The Temple
*Witch-Cursed World
*The Battleground
*The Hermitage
Category:Koronus Expanse
Category:Koronus Expanse Regions