Fiefdom of the Crimson Queen

Among all dynasties and domains of rogue traders in Sector Gondwana, the fiefdom of the Crimson Queen is the most powerful and old. Its roots reach further into time than even the Imperium and for the last ten thousand years, its sacred holdings have been safely kept behind an ever-changing veil of cabals and secrecy, favor and feud, knowledge and faith alike.

**Associated Pages**

* Port All
* Corsairs of Port All
* Queen's Fleet
* Ruby Mariner
* Erinnyenmere and Uncharted Space

## History

During the Age of Strife, civilization persisted long upon the Ringworld Cambria and from there reached out to many worlds of the subsector of the same name. But in time, even the mighty builders of the Omnissiah's crown fell and darkness was cast about Cambria. Its colonies were left alone in the dark and those few who had still ships to muster became masters of these lost worlds.

By the time the storms of the Immaterium subsided and the Imperium came, one voidfaring mistress had claimed dominion above all others in Subsector Cambria. She, who would once be called the Crimson Queen, had arisen before even the legions of the Imperium and she awaited them.

Through the swollen Rift of Thetys, she led them, and to the supposed heart of her worlds, and her service and pledge to submission was rewarded kingly in return. Whilst her worlds would become ones of the Imperium, her dominion over them would not cease and she would still hold claim over an allotted number of their souls and produce and all they paid in imperial tithe.

### Shadow Empire of the 41st Millennium

Over ten thousand years of imperial rule, the fiefdom of the Crimson Queen changed little in its ways. Its age and unbroken loyalty to the Imperium alone grant unparalleled authority to the Crimson Queen. Her warrant of trade and sacred authority are not handed down relics of the Adeptus Administratum, but documents in one dynasty's possession since the age of the Great Crusade.

One thing only is known to be true to all rogue traders of Port All about the Fiefdom of the Crimson Queen with certainty: Never do her affairs or those of her domain interfere with the great game of power among the Triumvirate or other rogue traders. She has assets and resources beyond the reach of any of them. And by the grace of the Emperor, she shall keep them forever.

## Astrography

In the known regions of Subsector Cambria, Port All is the beating heart of the Queen's fiefdom. There, her corsairs and traders gather, and there they are called to do her bidding. And yet, all know the artificial world near Trantor is a mere pawn, the highest branch of an unseen tree rooted deep in uncharted spaces.

The worlds of the Crimson Queen lie on the northern and western fringes of Erinnyenmere, of which few charts were ever made. And these are merely those worlds below a shallow veil, easily gathered and known by many.

Legends tell also of worlds beyond Subsector Cambria, some lying in the now uncharted region, in places where the Great Crusade never went. Worlds, upon which the authority of the Crimson Queen remained ever absolute, are rumored to exist beyond the Rift of Thetys. And stranger still, subjugated Xenos Worlds are said to be among them.

## Crimson Queen

She reigns this fiefdom and its world lies entombed deep within the Tabernacle, much akin to the principles of god engines, embedded in arcane technology. It is said she was there when the Imperium rose first among the stars, and struck a deal with the Imperiums oncoming legions, to wield fire and sword in the Emperor's name.

Some legends tell the crimson queen was given then the blessing of an undying soul by the grace of the Emperor, her body and mind preserved in the sarcophagus upon her bridge. Others say a curse befell her and all her kin upon an evil Xenos world, turning flesh and bone into living metal, life an eternal torment to her mind. Others still say the Crimson Queen is reincarnated time and again in bodies sacrificed to the arcane machinery of her vessel.

One way or another, the line of the Crimson Queen has never faltered, her voice never silenced by the passage of years. And in the eons of her existence, she waged wars and crusades of her own, underwent massive Explorator expeditions, struck piece with imperial and Xenos worlds, made trade with all and built a web of connections, riches, and information far beyond the grasp of anyone but himself. The Crimson Queen reigns over a shadow empire, one with the Imperium and yet distinct, rooted deeper on many worlds than even the Imperial Creed.

Her Voice is the only who could rally the traders of Port All, the Rogues of the Erinnyenmere and countless other forces lying in the shadows, beyond the official charts and scrolls of the Administratum and Triumvirate.

## Forces of the Fiefdom

The Crimson Queen calls upon all those loyal, sworn or deep in debt to her. The forces she can muster are legion and among the most unique in all of Sector Gondwana. No two ships nor warriors in her fleets and armies are the same and only the lieutenants of the queen truly know which strengths truly lies with them.

###  Bilstein

Although a Major Castellum of the Limes Gondwana, Bilstein is most commonly known as the military capital of the **Fiefdom of the Crimson Queen**. Officially isolated, through elusive ways, it is in constant contact with the shadow fiefdom and maintains dealings with countless rogue traders. Though secretive, ever speaking only through automaton avatars, the watchmen of Bilstein reveal their strange findings and observations in the Thetys Rift to all who wish to hear them. Their fortress line was never broken, even during the last Surge of Thetys, which has led some to believe they are secretly allied to a mighty power beyond the Thetys Rift, which kept the forces of the Immaterium from their side in check.

### The Tabernacle

An ancient vessel beyond compare, the Tabernacle wields systems and weaponry beyond the knowledge and skill of even the wise priests of Cambria. Her systems are kept in operation by servitors imbued cybernetically with long lost knowledge, and by a crew acting strictly by the orders and procedures preserved in the vessel's library.

Little of the Library is known, other than its vast expanse of knowledge about both the Galaxy and the ship itself. Rumors exist even of an STC sitting at the heart of the vessel, providing all components needed to keep the vessel in operations. Others say the ship was examined more than once by shipwrights of the ancient Aeldari, who's knowledge of it was granted to the crimson queen in exchange for services unknown.
The only certainty about the data banks of the Tabernacle is their mystery. A mystery even the Tech-Priests of Cambria have respected for many millennia.

### Tabernacle Fleet

The most infamous fleet of the queen's fiefdom is that of the Tabernacle, an ancient order of vessels said to date back to the ancient days before crusade and heresy. Its vessels are of a kind often turned to chaos in these days, rarely seen in the realm of the living. Moreover, they hold secrets and technologies long forgotten now to all but the inner circle of tech-priests devout to the Queen in Red.

### Ruby Mariners

Born and raised on unknown worlds, on fleets and ships of the fiefdom itself, were these warriors of the Crimson Queen, who fight at her command with weapons and tactics beyond the grasp of much of the Imperium. They are most unusual in their ways, but effective, and feared for their relentless onslaught during boarding actions.

### Corsairs of the Queen

All rogue traders sailing under the suns of Sector Gondwana are said to do so by the grace of the Crimson Queen. Their dealings with her may be in the strangest ways, but ultimately none escape her grasp. In times of need, she may call upon them and summon the most stubborn and free of people to do her bidding, by the oath they have taken.