Trantor Reef

A golden glow lies about all the Trantor Reef, the aura of imperial splendor emanated by a world chosen to be the center of authority, wealth and power.

Favored by the powers that be upon Holy Terra itself, Trantor has long been the center of all of Sector Gondwana and would be so unrivaled if not for the might of the Mechanicum supporting the magnificent Forge- and Ringworld Cambria. Its glory is displayed throughout its constellation, which it deems destined to be the center of wealth and imperial influence in all of Sector Gondwana.

## Astrography

From the southern border of the Subsector, the Reef of Trantor reaches into the galactic north, where it intersects with the Erinnyenmere to the North-West and the No-Man's-Land. It's closest relations, however, are with the well-protected worlds of Glaive's Reach to the northeast, and to the few eastern worlds lying directly on the Elder Frontier.

Notably, Trantor lies in the wake of the Glacial Nebula, the blue clouds of which often drift as far south as there. But by the time they reach the mighty Administratum worlds, much of their power has already waned and well-versed voidfarers have no issue traversing the shelfs of cosmic ice. Corridors for free trade and convoy vessels are freed by expeditionary forces of the Celestial Navy, who also scour the breaking ice for hidden treasures left behind.

## Golden Worlds

Beyond the incandescent hives of Trantor itself, the aura of its splendor reaches to a great number of worlds and stellar systems upon the Trantor Reef. Those which are blessed by the gifts and blessings of the Triumvirate are regarded as the "Golden Worlds" of Subsector Cambria and display prosperity beyond that of nearly all other worlds in the wider region.

Each of the Golden Worlds is a vassal to the grand administratum world and maintains strong ties of commerce, migration, and trade with the core world of Trantor. Similar to the Triumvirate world in tradition and culture, these worlds are more often than not regarded as extensions of Trantor directly, rather than as distinct entities of their own. Even their own populace often regards itself as though they were part of the Hives Incandescent, no more than a simple shuttle flight away.

## Entrenchments on the Reef

Surrounding the incandescent globes of the Golden Worlds are endless rows of fortifications, vast defenses erected across the constellation to stand guard over the treasured heart of the Triumvirate. For all their beauty, many of the Golden Worlds still bear the scars of the Last Siege of Trantor and the Thetys Surge. Not to allow any foe such a victory again has been the utmost goal of all worlds upon the Trantor Reef since the end of the last war.

Aside from the reassertion of Trantor's authority over the Limes Gondwana, a number of new star forts and countless smaller watchtowers and encampments were erected all around the golden worlds. Every planetary body of their systems, every rogue planet in between, has been settled and weaponized, made ready to face the next invasion coming. For all their might and defensive capabilities, however, these fortifications lack not in the rich splendor of their sister worlds. Each wall and battery adorned in brilliant gold, each weapon tipped with ivory and crystalline sights, they present the full glory of their masters and of all the Imperium.

## Commerce and Trade

No Region in Sector Gondwana profits so richly from interstellar trade as the Trantor Reef. Its worlds are deeply intertwined in a complex of relations and economical feuds. Liners carrying goods, luxuries, and citizens of different worlds, cross the void between these worlds in the millions every year. Heavily guarded by merchant custodians and mercenary fleets, they form a great network of commerce extending far and wide. The longest of its routes reach as far as Forge World Cambria and to the distant mining worlds of the Feirefitz Constellation. Traveling on such routes toward the Trantor Reef is said to be a distant mirror image to approaching the holy worlds at the core of the Imperium. Every light year closer brings greater glory into view and at last, every ship will find itself surrounded by the mighty trading fleets, one among tens of thousands seeking to bring more goods, wealth and knowledge to the worlds at the heart of the Sector.

## Notable Systems

### Trantor

Unsurpassed remains the glory of the first Triumvirate World. Trantor stands proudly at the center of the Reef, its influence and aura dominating all remaining worlds. Its fleets cross the void of this constellation, its voice commands the choir of all the astropaths. Nothing rivals Trantor's splendor among these stars and so it remains, first among many, at the heart of Subsector Cambria.

### Port Isenhart

Most notable among the mighty star forts erected in the wake of the last Thetys Surge is the rogue world Port Isenhart, a fort to house the gross of the Celestial Fleet. Far from any star, Isenhart glows in the light of its own energy alone, a beacon of shining imperial glory traversing deep space on a course along the Trantor Reef. As legends have it, the humanity of old set this world into motion, anticipating its value uncounted millennia in advance.

The entire world is now a citadel and haven, overgrown with the ancient architecture of manufactorum districts and fortifications.

### Priscani

Tidally locked with a white hot sun, the two sides of Priscani are cloaked in eternal light and shadow. From its twilight zone has sprouted, against all odds, the fungal webbing enveloping extreme world whole. On the light side, there are tendrils buried deep into the planetary crust, feeding off the cosmic heat and radiation from its sun. On the night side, bioluminescence creates the basis of complex symbiotic systems of fungal organisms intertwined, producing biomass in unprecedented growth.

The peculiar nature of this world was harvested by the Imperium to feed the populace of ever-growing Trantor. In orbital factories, the fungal mass is either prepared into protein paste and rations or preserved as spores for new growths and farms on faraway worlds.

Upon the surface of this agriworld, there is no permanently living, human soul. For the spores and poison of the fungus, as well as potential psychic influence, is far too great for any individual to last longer than a few days at most.

### Kontrabadur

At the center of sector-wide trade stand the riches and secrets of the mighty trading dynasties. Wares and profits accumulated over countless centuries are gathered, stored and closely guarded on the dedicated world Kontrabadur. This is a Kontor for the vast trading lines of Sector Gondwana, and seat of many highborn nobles whose wealth is spread across a great many systems in assets and papers and entire populations.

Vaults and warehouses, administratum offices and clerks dominate every hectare of this Kontor world, and in its orbit remains an everlasting swarm of a million traders and guardian's vessels.

### Pescani

A world covered in palaces of glass, Pescani is one of the praised wonders of Subsector Cambria. Producing stable biomass in the form of diverse flora from over a thousand worlds, Pescani provides the elites and nobles of all the sector with the finest herbs, vegetables, flowers, and exotic growths, ranging in purpose from adorning palace gardens to the feasts held in the deepest pleasure dens.

Medicine and aphrodisiacs, drugs and tobacco are equally traded here and harnassed for the further benefit of the humankind.

The seat of power upon this world is located far below the glass, however, in a grotto citadel underneath, where only the deepest roots and tunnels of the crystal canopied garden reach.

## History

Among the first discovered regions by the Mechanicum Pioneers, the Trantor Reef was also among the first settled and cultivated in the Imperium's name. Where the first worlds were found to be of great potential for agricultural industry, Trantor itself quickly came into the focus of Imperial interests. A jewel of the dark age of Technology, right on the brink of a submissive fiefdom, it made for the perfect bridgehead in a yet uncharted and forgotten sector. In time, Trantor had become the centerpiece in the great game of power played among the many institutions and branches of imperial authority, seeking in the fate of Sector Gondwana the most favorable outcome for themselves.