Uncharted Regions

Beyond the treacherous shores of the Thetys Rift, there lies the wild space of the Uncharted Regions. Vast and unknowable, this distant firmament has been in all of galactic history visited only by few. Fewer still ever returned to tell of the alien horrors there escaping the Imperiums holy grasp on the stars. It is a region where the mandate of mankind to lay claim on all worlds has never been fulfilled, and as such it remains a blemish on imperial glory, one which He, the Emperor of Mankind, shall not suffer forever.

## Astrography

Bordering Subsector Cambria along the line of the Thetys Rift, and to the galactic north where the cosmic ice and winds of the Glacial Nebula spring, the Uncharted Regions extend far out until they lose themselves in the intergalactic void. Little is known about their true extent or even just the number of their stars, for space, itself seems to contort around the fringes of the Galaxy and deny the wise of the Imperium any certainty.

To the west and south, the uncharted regions infringe upon the Erinnyenmere, spilling over the Limes Gondwana where the aetherial shadow shrouding the Fiefdom of the Crimson Queen grows long. It is said in these regions, brave voidfarers made the jump into uncharted territories and mapped the stars of a few constellations for purposes of their own. But such star maps are the most prized possessions of ancient dynasties, which would never allow such secrets to becoming known.

## Contortions of Time and Space

The uncharted regions were strange long before the waking of the warp, touched by the deepest void of the intergalactic abyss. Intangible forces lie in between their systems and constellations, and streams of dark matter, coming from the galactic core, create a constant drift of entropy, outward into the absolute unknown. Whatever horrors lurk out there do not only devour the light, however but sometimes appear to bring forth ripples in time, from which young and vibrant stars appear, which burn brightly on the otherwise dying sky.

This strange paradoxical firmament has been studied long by the wise and holy of the Imperial worlds in Sector Gondwana, and neither the Archmagos of Cambria nor the High Executor of Trantor ever had witches or astropaths in their deploy which could decipher the meaning of these alien zodiacs.

But legends tell of prophecies and soothsayers on the Pantheon World of Mekephau, who can read the stars of the uncharted regions. And these are the only voices ever known to say much about the nature and disposition of the uncharted worlds.

## Notable Systems

### The Pillar Worlds

Neither the Uncharted Regions nor any stars therein have been ever given a name sanctioned by Holy Terra. Most remain nameless, referred to only by their galactic coordinates and ancient recognition codes in the databanks of the Mechanicum. And still, there is a phrase known among the most experienced voidfarers and ancient archivars.

*On the Far Side of the Thetys Rift, there Lie the Pillar Worlds.*

 Some belief this to be a name of a constellation north of the Erinnyenmere, cut-off by the Thetys Rift, where there lies the heart of a Xenos civilization. Yet by none, this possibility has ever been considered for long, as any inquiry quickly leads to the universal gap in Sector Gondwana's memory – the war redacted from all chronicles when the Thetys Rift had receded and something else came through.

### The Source

Somewhere deep in the Uncharted Regions, there must lie the origin of the Abominable Signal, the steel-blue flash of light awakened when the Gates of Cambria were thrown open at the turn of the Millennia. Nothing is known about its possible nature or threat. But it is this light which has sparked the wrath of the Imperium, and the will to send forth a new crusade to purify the uncharted regions once and for all.

## History

Long before the Thetys Rift was tainted, the Uncharted Regions were already strange. Not even during the Dark Age of Technology, was this far frontier fully settled and if the Crimson Queen's chroniclers are to be believed, deeper horrors layout there than even in the awakened warp. Humanity ever knew to stay away from the absolute depth of intergalactic space and these few stars on the brink were ever too close to remain pure.