Avachrus

Classification: Forge World
Population: Approximately ten billion
Geography: Lifeless tundra blasted by unsurvivable
heat (day side) or frozen into poisonous crystalscapes
(night side).
Planetary Governance: Princeps Ultima Gol Bessor
(presumed deceased). Archdomina Aexekra Vakuul of
Belaxia Foundry rules as self-proclaimed regent. The
Suspire Priesthood holds the most functional leverage
and power, should it ever deign to wield it.
Tithe Grade: Aptus Nihil (no longer capable of paying
Terra’s due)

A barren rock of vast mineral wealth wreathed
in storms of toxic clouds and corrosive acid rain,
Avachrus is locked in close orbit of the Gilead star. The
force of gravity keeps one side of Avachrus facing the
system’s sun, its blazing heat reducing simple metals
to slag in seconds, while the other side is bound in
perpetual night.

The billions who serve the Adeptus Mechanicus
on Avachrus spend their entire existence underground,
living in perpetual toil. Foundry-forges dot the world,
protecting its citizens from the elements with sheathes
of iron. Beneath the surface are vast engineering
warrens, each a self-contained atmospheric blister of
industrial activity. Surrounding the planet is an orbital
ring of shipyards and space-docks through which the
wealth of Avachrus flows. Two moons orbit Avachrus:
the silvery Odo and the black-rocked Uru.

Amidst the forges, foundries, and fortresses are other,
older structures. The Eternal Engines are relics of the
Dark Age of Technology recovered and repurposed by
the Magos of the Cult Mechanicus. Vast solar collectors
power the city-foundries of the world and the great
space elevators that reach to the orbital ring above.
These are essential for the running of the planet’s other
machinery and a failure in any Eternal Engine dooms
millions to die in seconds. Imperial records show such
a tragedy occurring only once, at Illiarch. The foundrycity
now stands empty and silent, a haunting reminder
of the fragility of life on this Forge World.

A sacred order of Tech-Priests known as the
‘Suspire’ tend to these vital machines, granting the
order great political power. However, they remain
aloof from the infighting among the cities and other
Magos — or so they claim. Recently Inquisitor Argyle
of the Order Malleus fortress on Imperia has been seen
in contact with several Magos-adepts of the Suspire.
Combined teams of Skitarii and Argyle’s retinue
have been reported combing the shell of Illiarch,
with artefacts removed to Imperia under Tech-Priest
supervision.

For all it’s impressive power, the resources of
Avachrus are finite; its moons were hollowed ages
ago for their mineral wealth and have since become
havens for pirates and Corsairs. The Legio Kaurthos,
long deployed across the galaxy, has left many of its
fortifications empty. However, there is more archeotech
here than the Eternal Engines, and scavengers have
begun gathering in the night of Imperium Nihilus to
plunder it.

Xenos and renegade raids have become an
increasing threat, but more worrying to Archdomina
Vakuul by far are the rumours of the presence of a
scrap code beginning to infest isolated systems.
Hushed whispers tell of a new order growing within
the shadows of the Adeptus Mechanicus on Avachrus,
of tech-heresy practised in abandoned warren cities,
and of a mad Magos crafting technological horrors.