Katzbalger Clans

Along the spinward edge of Subsector Cambria’s No-Man’s-Land lay truly desolate spaces, burned realms on the cusp of the imperial frontier. There, the lost souls of the sector dwelt, those unwilling or unable to be part of the great work of humanity.

These were the Katzbalger Clans, named for the damned last governor to lead the worlds of this thin strip of space to their doom. A curse on every world of the Sector, only the mad outcasts themselves could have taken to the name and upheld it with feral pride, a totem of greater past which they slaughtered to replace it with the broken manifestations of their shattered minds.

In pursuit of foul ambitions, the bidding of false gods and their own delusion, the broken souls of these cosmic lands embodied every reason for the entire region to have been declared forlorn. Vermin of the human species, they were neither worth saving nor destruction and thus continued in the twilight of existence, a worthless utopia for the sick and criminals of the sector.

## The Forlorn Shores

Though they would not have been marked on any map of some repute, the realms of the outcasts were known among voidfarers as the forlorn shores. Stuck between the imperial bulwarks of the Limes Gondwana and the primal abyss of the Thetys Rift, this thin strip of space was the very brink of human space and encompassed no world nor system of note, only the drifting hide-outs, and enclaves of the outcast clans.

### Derelict worlds

The closest thing to marks of note along the Forlorn Shores was the derelict worlds and stars, arranged in some twisted facsimile of constellations. They were broken worlds, long conquered by the enemy but given up for their insignificance. Others had been swallowed by the warp hole, lived through an eternity of hell before being spat out again in another time and space than where they belonged. And there were the rogue barren worlds, empty rocks without tangible worth, left by the wayside by both the Imperium and its enemies. All of them had grown to become hubs of an imaginary underground empire, where millions of outcast souls dwelt.

### The Imaginary Empire

Among the brigands, criminals and many heretic cults of the Subsector Cambria, there existed tales and myths of an empire of the underground, some vast elusive power mirroring the overt might and splendor of the Triumvirate of Gondwana. To the twisted minds of those outcasts, it was the antithesis of imperial utopia, a dream-like vision of their depraved desires.

Of course, it was in truth little more than a mad man’s dream, gibberish, and visions of false prophets written down and perpetuated by all those mad enough to wish for such a thing. The empire of their imagination was the last thing any human soul could aspire to before falling directly to the ruinous powers.

To any sound mind, it could be nothing but a pathetic thing, false hope for those last slithers of sanity persisting in the minds of the outcasts. In reality, their imaginary empire was little more than criminal bands and barbaric clans, smuggling circles and insurgent cells destined to fall apart as quickly as they coalesced from the unsteady underclasses of better worlds.

## Outcasts of the Imperium

All denizens of the forlorn shores were outcasts, unworthy to partake in the greater whole that is humanity. The greater lot of them were marauders, plundering the debris fields of ancient battles or occasional skirmishes between the Imperium and lesser foes. Where the conflicts of others could not provide, the outcasts themselves would venture into imperial space to raid and to take from the imperial citizens what they did never deserve.

### Forces and Strongholds

And yet, despite the outcasts deeply eroded and opportunistic nature, even among the lowest examples of mankind, the occasional leader would emerge, rising by chance from the pens of the lowly born souls mass-bred on the desolate worlds, or finding themselves just depraved enough to be chosen a kind of champion by the forces of ruin. Such occasional warlords become marshalls of the unruly bandit clans and manage to accumulate noteworthy power, enough so perhaps even to warrant an imperial expedition, which will end in the kind of battle the lesser outcasts will then again feast upon.

### Return to the Imperial Fold

Some devotees of the imperial faith believe in their hearts that the Emperor grants redemption to even the most wayward soul should it return to the blessed light of the Golden Throne and truly repent. At least in the eyes of those with such fate, there may be some hope yet for the outcasts, or those borne into their families, who are stranded on the forlorn shores for no reason other than the fault of their blood.

For those seeking to return to the Imperium from this lowest point, it will take a lifetime to be absolved and many lifetimes more for their offspring to one day be once again recognized worthy subjects of the Emperor's holy domain. Still, there are some rare cases of valiant souls attempting to make their return. Most often, they begin their journey toward redemption in slaughter, killing those vile souls surrounding them to forge a path forward to the light. Few of these ever make it far, but just like the malicious false prophecy of the underground empire, the sacred path to return to honor is a myth upheld in the minds of those trapped on the desolate worlds, hope at least, worth living for.

## History

The Katzbalger Clans have no true history to call their own, no record or chronicle of their existence beyond the most immediate years gone by. What imperial records there exist of their activity are limited strictly to military actions, refusing any acknowledgment of a prolonged, coordinated effort outside of imperial space.

Most certainly, the lives of the outcasts have been dictated by the course of history and their numbers have been known to swell and dwindle with the number of conflicts and incursions rising from the Thetys Rift.

For the centuries leading up to the Crusade of Brass and Iron, the Katzbalger Clans had been in a state of something like stability, resorting ever more often to raiding actions of their own as few other attacks along the Limes Gondwana.