Elder Frontier

*See, weary traveler, the Imperium of Man.*

*See every last light before you, a world of this realm.*
See the galaxy united in the Emperor's name,

See all worlds wither and die in His wrath,

See them prosper again by his grace.

See, weary traveler, the mightiest empire of all ages

*See and be afraid, for I tell you, for every world in His light*
you see,

there are a thousand more still in the dark.

*Thus the task is not ended, the mandate not fulfilled.*
And
until all worlds are one in this Imperium,

you shall not stop again to look back at its glory.

Turn and face the darkness ahead.

For there are more worlds to conquer, more worlds to
claim.

And however far you will go, go further.

For there is always a new frontier.

- The commandment of the Crusader. v- 422.43

Closest to the light of Holy Terra lies the region of the Elder Frontier in Subsector Cambria. Out of all regions in Sector Gondwana, this was the first frontier to be reclaimed by the Great Crusade and for nearly two hundred years remained as the outer border of the young Imperium's domain. Here, the great forces for the last push into the Uncharted Regions gathered, and here too they retreated, called back when the Arch-Heresy was committed and the last push of the Great Crusade was forsaken.

## Astrography

Forming the subsector's innermost border to the galactic south, the Elder Frontier reaches as far as the spiral gulf separating the whole of Sector Gondwana from the rest of the Galaxy. Like many regions on the fringes of the Imperial domain, the Sector is surrounded by shallows of the intergalactic ocean, where strange and dangerous powers contort and stretch the Immaterium. Travel is difficult there and few fleets safe for the mighty of the Imperial Navy ever cross this abyss.

To the Galactic West lies the Trantor Reef next to the Elder Frontier. There, the cosmic winds sent forth from the Glacial Nebula dissipate into wide blue banks of void-borne mist.

Directly north of the Elder Frontier lies the Gulf of Cambria, with the Omnissiah's blessed Ringworld therein. This region of the Mechanicum is heavily fortified and one of two hearts to the Triumvirate of Gondwana. Linked closely to it on the east, the Azure Nebula wafts in solar winds, carefully shielding the vibrant and strange sylvan garden world Cornubit.

## The safe shore of Subsector Cambria

The cosmic shore of Subsector Cambria is unremarkable in any other aspect but this: To the astropaths of the Explorators and Great Crusaders, it appeared as a high cliff rising above the abyss of the Spiral Gulf, and the void between constellations ended, granting them the strength to drop safely out of the warp.

So far from the heart of the Imperium, the most remarkable trait of the Elder Frontier is its utter ordinary nature by the measures of man. Its stars are few, hosting merely a few barren worlds, gas giants and belts. No remarkable colonies of the Dark Ages there survived, nothing indicated the touch of ancient Xenos or chaos infestation.

What made it a safe shore in ancient times, allowed the Elder Frontier to be all but forgotten during the Imperial Age. Relatively far from the sources of all evil in the Sector, it went through the millennia unscathed. And while none of its worlds truly prospered, they exist still unperturbed by the events at large in the Imperium.

## Worlds blessed by Oblivion

Only a handful of colonies exists on the Elder Frontier, linked through a handful of trading lines, where unremarkable traders on unremarkable ships ship unremarkable goods to unremarkable people at unremarkable prizes for eons at the end. The utterly mundane nature of these worlds would even be a cause of suspicion among the more paranoid of the Inquisition, if not for the fact that even troubles upon these worlds are still within an utterly unremarkable measure. Safe for a few Ork incursions and the occasional uprising, nothing shook these worlds for over ten-thousand years. Thus their populations, in the few millions, came to appreciate the stability of Imperial rule and have since paid their tithes with the same unremarkable reliability.

These worlds are blessed by Oblivion, say those who are lucky enough to know their names. Blessed by the sheer size and scale of the Imperium, where just a handful of worlds such as this can slip by forgotten, without ever coming into the focus of great tragedy.

## Notable Systems

### Old Burg

When the first imperial lord set foot in Subsector Cambria, it was on the threshold of Old Burg, the first Star Fortress to be built in a system of Sector Gondwana. This historical relevance still holds some prestige and splendor for the ancient fort, and the powers of the Sector made sure to keep this glory preserved.

Despite being far removed from the frontlines, detachments of all fleets in the sector who seek connection and favor in the Imperium, are sent to the Old Burg and perform training maneuvers theirs. In their efforts, every day and night all year round, they create an unending spectacle of harmless laser lances and blank projectiles, a great show of a never-ending battle to praise the Emperor and ceremoniously hold up his call for the Great Crusade.

In the ten thousand years of recorded history, this ritual was halted only twice in times of dire war, when the theatre was replaced by actual combat near the fort. On both occasions, the wardens of Old Burg prooved to themselves and the Imperium, that the ancient strength still resides within the batteries of the old fort.