Victorum Sector

Sector Cartograph, ca. 760.m41

“///Catalogue item AX-82: Powerblade with extruded hilt and guard, dimensions 1.933 by .34 meters, weight 36.66 kilograms. An example of pre-Imperial weaponcraft forged by the Falx Gladocracy. Experimental tests have shown the blade to possess a propensity to ‘sing’ when put to use, like others of its kind. Tests have necessitated the replacement of two (2) archive-servitors and seven (7) menials. Should other recovered artifacts prove to be as well-preserved, I anticipate a marked downturn in the local underhive population.///”

-Extract from inventory catalog of House Leonine Explorator detachment prior to liquidation by [CENSORED].

Located in a distant corner of the Segmentum Tempestus, along the southern edge of the galaxy, the Victorum Sector is a shining beacon of Imperial civilization and the triumph of the God-Emperor in a region widely held to be a dangerous frontier ever at risk of falling to xenos invasion and recidivism. For more than six millennia, it has been the heart of Imperial rule in the fringes of the segmentum, a vital link to several hundred distant frontiers. Beneath this display of strength, however, lurks the constant threat of ancient heresies, dark machinations and xenos invasions which threaten to undermine all its people have built.

Sector Overview

The Saint

“And their works were Cast Down from the Lightless Palaces,

And the Saint did set her Beasts upon them in their ruins.”

-Extract from A Light Fantastic by Sector Governor Henry dé Arsene I, formerly Lord Militant General, 1st Vereth Lancers

History records that Saint Rosella Castor began her life as a loom-girl, living in one of Babylum's ancient walled city-states a millennia after the Horus Heresy. From these humble origins, she raised a faith and an army, and went on to become one of the greatest conquerors of her age.

Eons ago, Babylum had been a minor arcology colony settled by disparate interests. During the chaos of the Age of Strife, the colonists had survived only through the repressive and hypnotic control of self-appointed Archons, masters of voidships who brought vital fuel and raw resources to the failing towers. In time, the Archons set themselves up as gods, and the walls of the arcologies fell as cities of stone encrusted their roots. A small interstellar empire was founded to feed the Archon's reconstruction and rule, and the Patriarchate of Babylum emerged. The Patriarchate prospered for a time, until they met the Falx Gladocracy. Ancient starships duelled and helot-soldiers warred, but the Patriarchate, though superior starfarers, were no match for the Falxian's sorcerous knight-engines. Only the vicissitudes of the Warp, barely navigable by these petty empires who lacked navigators or sorcerers, saved them from conquest.

The coming of the Great Crusade turned the tide for a time. Though forced to renounce their titles of faith, the inherently cynical Archons retained the use of their hypno-indoctrination techniques and mass-produced rank upon rank of barely-literate auxilia to be hurled against the Gladocracy's forces. But it was only temporary, and with the carnage unleashed by the Horus Heresy, the Patriarchate was left lost, spent, and alone.

Rosella Castor's world was a battleground, caught between the degenerate remnants of the cult-kings and their armies. Their stellar empire was a long-lost memory, and reavers from across the stars had play in the wilds beyond the city walls. The weaver-girl grew up in the thrall of a false god, but doubt was ever in her heart. To ease her mind, she took to walking the cities and the abandoned arcologies at their heart, long-since plundered by the Great Crusade. Among the ruins, Saint Castor asked the Six Questions and received the Six Answers. To this day, the parable of The Twelve is a holy tale and its numerological significance is woven into the cultural fabric of the Sector.

Saint Castor was able to unite her scattered people and cleanse Babylum of its enemies. Inspired by the legends of the Great Crusade, Saint Castor would embark on her own crusade of vengeance against the Falx Gladocracy, enlisting the aid of long-forgotten Imperial hold-outs, degenerate Adeptus Mechanicus refugees, and even, it is said, a lost chapter of Space Marines.

Her legendary battles with the heretek Gladocracy, corsair Eldar, and foul Orks allowed the Seventh Tempestus Crusade, then slogging its way down the Pyleus Arm, to establish an Imperial foothold in the region. With a catalogue of victories, the Saint soon assumed command of the struggling Imperial forces, and would go on to purge the enemies of Man from hundreds of worlds, creating the foundations that would one day become three great Imperial sectors. To this day, she remains the spiritual heart of this region of the Segmentum Tempestus, her native city a shrine and a tomb.

A History of the Sector

Era	Events
Pre-History:	The Eldar establish the outpost of Da'gathon within the Webway. It grows in power and wealth, becoming the principal nexus within the region. The Hydera System goes supernova.
The Dark Age of Technology:	The region is colonized by mankind. It is known by many names: The Dacian Reach, Camolann, and The Dragon's Pearls.
The Age of Strife:	The Dark Eldar colonize the ruins of Da'gathon and rename it Curghanact, The Hounding Place. A faction of human survivors combines ancient nanotechnology, arcane sorceries, and Knight Engines to forge the Falx Gladocracy. Other human successor states wage wars of survival against the expansionist Gladocracy, including the Star-Lords of Poseidon and the Archons of Babylum. The Mechanicum of Mars sends several expeditions to see if rumors of a technological empire in the galactic South are true; after falling afoul of the Falxians, the ragged survivors of the last such attempt establish the forge world of Nilumanen and its attendant Legio Delendum within the galactic dust cloud called The Cliffs of Roland. Faced with an arcane and technological foe, the magi of "The Lightless Forge" begin to pursue the forbidden doctrine of innovation, beginning with the study of enemy war materiel.
The Great Crusade:	The 117th Expeditionary Fleet fights a decade-long campaign against the Falx Gladocracy with the assistance of local powers that are absorbed, to greater and lesser degrees, into the budding Imperium. Such powers include the Star-Lords of Poseidon, the Archons of Babylum, and the Cydonian Republic. Nilumanen becomes an ally of the Crusade forces, though endemic tech-heresy causes conflict with more puritanical Martian forces attached to the fleet. Political infighting and doctrinal conflict between the Salamanders, Night Lords, and Death Guard detachments assigned to the fleet weakens their effectiveness, and the Crusade suffers a mortal defeat on the ruined tech-world of Ixlamad.
The Horus Heresy:	The forces of the Imperium desert the region as the events of The Horus Heresy erupt far to the galactic north. Thinly-held star systems are left vulnerable and native allies are forced to retrench as Imperial Army and Adeptus Astartes units abandon the faltering campaign. The Gladocracy, more reliant than ever on their sorcerous technology, attempts to exploit the chaos to regain lost territories. As warp storms consume the Immaterium, however, their efforts are hopeless. Isolated and scattered enclaves become independent tribal states, plunging the Dacian Reach into ever more war and conflict. Survivors of the Battle of Ixlamad defeat the remnants of the Falxians on their world and begin rebuilding. Ixlamad establishes a dualistic government, with power shared between a secular Imperial Governor and an Mechanicum Fabricator. The region is ignored by the Heresy and the wars which follow, though legends speak of the return of the Night Lords and the scattering of Imperial Army forces across the region. War stalks the stars as the remnants of the old empires struggle to regain their lost holdings, and what few space-faring vessels remain become the preserve of legendarily bloodthirsty raider-kings.
The Time of Rebirth:	Saint Rosella Castor rises to power on Babylum. Inspired by legends of the Great Crusade, she defeats the warlords and Falx bloodletters preying on her homeworld and takes to the stars, swearing to free the stars from their bloody tyranny. The Seventh Tempestus Crusade is able to exploit Saint Castor's victories and advance into the Dacian Reach. Several worlds, like Poseidon and Nilumanen, are found to have remained loyal to the Imperium in isolation and are swiftly reincorporated. Saint Castor eventually assumes command of the Crusade forces and conquers the worlds of the Grand Trunk Warp Routes, bringing them into the fold of the Imperium. Survivors flee into the Mylas Cloud and Cliffs of Roland, never to be seen again. The Saint departs, leading the crusade deeper into the frontiers of Segmentum Tempestus. Her blessed remains are returned two centuries later, having conquered more than five hundred stars in the name of the Imperium. Guanyu is founded as the principal forgeworld of the Adeptus Mechanicus in the region, the Legio Evincer being established as its sword and shield. Nilumanen once more bows to Mars, but are left largely alone to avoid a Mechanicus civil war. Ixlamad survives the reformation of the Adeptus Mechanicus and derives its independence from its deep knowledge of archaic and lost tech-patterns. An Enslaver infestation claims the entirety of the proto-hive Rabban upon the world of Geidiheim. After six months of bloodshed and growing psychic turbulence, the Legio Evincer is convinced to Walk upon the hiveworld’s soil and utterly obliterates the tainted city. 12 million souls are sent to the God-Emperor’s side in a single day of fire. More than three hundred ships are lost as ruinous tides sweep the Aquillian Way, prompting mass rerouting of shipping routes through the Poseidon Run and Saint’s Way. As a result, the long-neglected hives of Poseidon experience a renaissance and its noble lords begin the reclamation of long-lost holdings throughout the Spinward reaches. Saint Castor’s death in the far reaches of the Helicine Trail is the cause of much sorrow. A war of words and assassins is fought between factions of believers, with some of her most precious relics lost amongst the war-wracked worlds of her crusade. It is only when the Archons of Babylum, long-converted to the God-Emperor’s faith, sign the Steel Writ of Allegiance with the Homeodidactic Congress of Guanyu and the warlord princes of the Collar of Castor that the crusaders agree to return the honoured saint’s remains to her birthworld, rather than risk the blockade of crucial supplies of men and materiel. The Nilumanen Protectorate, a cluster of minor mining and agri-worlds ruled by the Lightless Forge, is brought to agreement and signs the Steel Writ under the wary gunsights of the Castorite warfleets. The twin-world of Jarlmere is the site of a much-acclaimed visitation by Saint Castor. Under the auspices of the Archon’s Steel Writ, the mining world of Xirang is colonized solely to provide marble, granite, limestone, and other finely-dressed stonework to the newly renamed world of Champion’s Rest.
The Forging:	The Rogue Trader Delios Hoslow discovered the mysterious Tenebrous Gates and unlocks a tenuous warp route through the Cliffs of Roland. The Hoslow Dynasty becomes the first to explore and disappear amongst the Abnobian Reaches beyond. A combined fleet of Archonate, Castorite, and Nilumanean warships defeats an Ork Waagh of unprecedented size preying upon the fledgling colonies of Poseidon. The Steel Writ’s united forces lay the foundation for the future Battlefleet Victorum. The last embers of Saint Castor’s crusade gutter out, and the attentions of mankind turn to consolidating and governing the salient of civilization she claimed amidst the stars of the Segmentum Tempestus. Much mauled by the Ork Waaghs sweeping the Imperium, the Sons of the Dragon seek succour with the lords of the Steel Writ. In exchange for pacts of supply and blood, the Sons are enthroned upon the feudal world of Ultima Praxes. Utilizing their extensive knowledge of siegecraft, they fortify the spinward worlds and forge strong bonds with the local defence forces. The worlds of the Steel Writ, yet deemed the Victorum Reach, are designated the Victorum Sector by the High Lords of Terra in an Imperium-wide reorganization. Though yet confined to the Avalonus, Babylum, Collar of Castor, and Poseidon Sub-Sectors, it is recognized as a strong and secure outpost of the Imperium in a turbulent frontier. The capital of the new sector is established on Avalonus, a flourishing hive world with strong ties to the many Imperial Adepta. Babylum, which had led the worlds of the Steel Writ, is deprecated as its religious hierarchs are often at odds with those of the Temple of the Saviour Emperor. Battlefleet Victorum is officially founded by merging the assets and officers of the various powers of the Steel Writ, thereby defanging the Archons of Babylum and Nilumanen’s ruling Hierarchy of Variances, both of which were regarded as potentially destabilising elements by the ruling powers of the Imperium. However, desperate to avoid a costly civil war, the founding charters retain several prerogatives and perquisites unique to the regional warfleets and sets the pattern for future expansion and integration.
The Nova Terra Interregnum:	Exploration beyond the boundaries of the sector lead to the Sons of the Dragon relocating to the mega-continental world of Valotair and forging strong ties with the isolated feral worlds of Moloch Tetrax and Moloch Quintox. Their influence upon the Mylas March is strong and, together with the archaic forgeworld of Ixlamad, they secure the frontier against the continual predation of orks, eldar, and heretics. Civil war engulfs the hiveworld of Durandum as multiple Rogue Trader dynasties become embroiled in conflict over the governance of the Aquillian Way. The infamy of the Inquisition is publicly established by the war’s bloody end, when the crucified dynasts are scourged, flayed, and exsanguinated before a multitude of the sector’s great and powerful assembled at the apex of the First Sword of Avalonus. As the Nova Terra Interregnum enters its fifth century, Victorum becomes renowned for its strong faith and growing might. The Durandum and Geidi sub-sectors are established to better manage the riches extracted from their worlds, and previously independent defence forces and privateer fleets are integrated into the Imperial Guard and Navy. Much division and bloodshed follow. Babylum officially bows to the Temple of the Saviour Emperor, and while some unique aspects of governance and worship are preserved, much of its hierarchy is suborned by Holy Terra. In doing so, the Archons are spared the devastation visited upon other heterodox cults during the Cataclysm of Souls.
The Reign of Blood:	The Victorum Sector remains largely loyal to Goge Vandire, though sporadic and growing rebellions break out across the sector as the millenium passes on. Dark Eldar take advantage of the chaos to begin a fruitful harvest, known as The Starlit Reap. The Gareox Prerogative and its allies come into conflict with Battlefleet Bakka and the "Big Gun" school of Imperial tacticians over control of Imperial Navy procurement plans, shipyards, and naval appointments. Civil war erupts across the Segmentum Tempestus. Battlefleet Victorum is at the forefront of the conflict, hoping to break Bakka's influence over the Segmentum. The Sons of the Dragon Chapter of Space Marines forswear their oaths to the sector's rulers and withdraw in isolation to Valotair, disgusted by the excesses of the sector's Vandiran masters. Emboldened, the ruling ketzals of Moloch declare open allegiance to the Confederation of Light and begin a new civil war the engulfs the rim- and spin-ward reaches of the sector. Frateris fleets are destroyed over Valotair and Moloch, taking the greater mass of Gareox-aligned officers down with them. The surviving officers either abandon the Imperium or reconcile with the naval orthodoxy, and defy orders to bombard rebelling worlds. Several years after the defeat of Goge Vandire, with communication with Terra still sporadic, the Seventh Battle of Avalonus sees the Vandiran loyalists overthrown.
The Plague of Unbelief:	The sector's new rulers are barely enthroned when further rebellions break out across the coreward systems. The heretic Cardinal Bucephalus' influence causes the rebellion of the entire Babylum Sub-Sector, its Ecclesiarchal rulers unwilling to abandon their temporal power. The Babylum sub suffers heavily in the Thorian Purge that follows, leaving dead and forbidden worlds in its wake. Forces of Battlefleet Victorum make their first major excursion in force beyond the Sector since the war of the Gareox Prerogative, aiding the Imperium in reconquering rebellious territories throughout the Galactic South. Their presence is little more than token, however, and much is made from the relatively small contributions of their escort and light cruiser forces. Port Fury is established in a stable orbit around the twin-worlds of Moloch Tetrax and Moloch Quintox. Moloch's rulers are rewarded for their faith with governorship of the newly-established Moloch Sub-Sector.
Circa 800.M38:	The Order of the Radiant Spear is founded. Dedicated to Saint Castor, it serves as protection for the sector's relics, with a special focus on finding and recovering them.
Circa 380.M39:	The Siege of The Tenebrous Gate sees the combined forces of the Imperium, including the sector's preeminent Titan Legions, defeated by a multi-faction Eldar force on the haunted night-world. This defeat leads to the scouring of all life along the worlds of Roland's Breach and ends exploitation of the systems beyond the Cliffs of Roland for more than a thousand years.
Circa 500.M40:	Rogue Trader Ellard von Ragsbeck departs the Victorum Sector, enraged by the taunts of wealthier peers from more storied Houses. Rather than join the feeding frenzy stemming from the exploitation of the systems beyond Gros Pajan, he blazes a path through the then-unpassable Mylas Cloud. In time, he will be canonized as Saint Ellard the Indignant, patron saint of Void Farers, Explorators, and The Lost.
738.M41-752.M41:	An Inquisition War begins as Lord Inquisitor Qatasoum begins moving against Radical inquisitors within the Conclave Victorum. The war ends only after the last Excommunicate inquisitor is hurled into the plasma fires of St. Castor's Fury, but the distrust and division fatally weaken the conclave. In the shadows of countless worlds, knives are sharpened and vengeance plotted.
Recent History:	744.M41: The Tech-Suppression of Vellagus X sees a once-prosperous agri-world vanish in a burst of arcane energies. Since then, tales circulate of its reappearance throughout The Collar at various times, wailing and forlorn. 745.M41: The First Tyrannic War claims one-fifth of Battlefleet Victorum's outsized strength, as many of its active ships are siphoned off to other sectors to make good Imperial Navy losses to Hive Fleet Behemoth. 748.M41: Six capital ships and dozens of escorts are despatched by Battlefleet Victorum to support the Lalladorium Crusade in honour of ancient debts. This further drain on the Navy's strength, particularly of capital ships, leaves the fleet unprepared for the spreading privateer battles and pirate raids that enmesh the Grand Trunks. 749.M41: The Kabal of Splintered Lies enters the annals of the Victorum Sector, raiding the knight world of Zannemann's Seat and carrying off a trio of Knight-Engines in chains. 755.M41: In response to the deteriorating condition of the sector, Lord-Admiral Tyborius Leo-Khan orders the recommissioning of vessels from the reserve fleet. Many surviving designs of the Gareox Prerogative, particularly suitable for anti-piracy and enforcement missions, are slowly restored to functioning condition. The influence of conservative naval leaders is considerably weakened, and tension grows within the ranks of the fleet. 756.M41: Conflict erupts between the shrineworld of Uraniborg and the forgeworld of Ranatophe when Cardinal Astra Walmark denounces Fabricator Ottomachinus VII as a heretic and a traitor. The Tytania Cluster descends into chaos as fanatic zealots assault any tech-priest in sight. 084759.M41: Orks attack the star-colonies of Canus Line in strength not seen in millenia. Da Mekboss Bork Rad-Eye leads multiple Kroozers in a raid of the fragile void habitats and plasma mines, carting off stellar nets, slaves, and the hulks of the Navy squadron guarding them.
760.M41:	Present Day 183760.M41: The Sword-class frigate Starflare defeats a Dark Eldar raid on a pilgrim convoy transiting through the Moloch Sub-Sector. The kabal's archon, Ilsierex Star-Eyes, is slain by a young lieutenant. Though the remnants flee with hundreds of prisoners, the convoy escapes. 280760.M41: In response to the increasing xenos incursions of the Moloch Sub, Sector High Command orders a reconnaissance in force of the Mylas Cloud, from whence the Orks came and to where the Dark Eldar seem to have fled. A force of reserve and freshly-raised Guard regiments, and a squadron of newly-reactivated warships, is directed to fortify the world of Oxydas 9 and take the first tentative steps to bringing the region under Imperial dominion. The Starflare is hastily repaired at Port Fury and leads the first convoy of troopships into The Small Worlds, the fringe of Imperial power adjoining the Mylas Cloud. 816760.M41: The Battle of Oxydas: Orks invade the Oxydas system and swiftly overrun the void stations of its lesser worlds. Oxydas 9 is cut off by blockade and psychic disruptions. The Oxydan Defence Force suffers grievous casualties in the weeks afterward. 848760.M41: The Starflare convoy enters the Oxydas system.

Worlds of Victorum

• Avalonus: Sector Capital. Solar-type Hive World, with a population of 62 billion+. Ruled from the First Blade, a hive tower of unsurpassed height commissioned by the express order of Saint Castor. Its people are infamous for their dedication to chivalry.
• Babylum: Spiritual heart of the sector. Birthplace and tomb of Saint Rosella Castor, with more than 50 billion pilgrims travelling there annually. Seat of the Arch-Diocese Rosa Victorum, governing synod of the Ecclasiarchy in the region.
• Guanyu: Forge Primaris of the Adeptus Mechanicus in the sector. Renowned for the quality of power and force weapons produced there, as well as the dangerous ferocity of its plasma reactors and plasma weaponry.
• Port Rosella: Sector Headquarters of Battlefleet Victorum, salvaged from the wreck of a Dark Age-era deep space station. Includes dedicated Mechanicus forgemoons and a minor agri-world given wholly to the production of military foodstuffs.
• Poseidon: Capital of the Poseidon Sub-Sector. Oceanic Hive World, and heart of the Poseidon Run warp route. Has extensive naval and submarine habitation, military assets, and resources.
• Durandum: Capital of Durandam Sub-Sector. Tradeworld.
• Dyastes: Location of Sector naval reserve. Hundreds of outdated interstellar starships drift here, maintained by aging servitors, decrepit tech-priests, and archaic tech-patterns produced by Ferrum Tridentus.
• Fanelia: Knight World sworn to the Imperium. Its Knights are well-known for their love of dueling and gladiatorial combat.
• Geidiheim: Capital of the Geidi Sub-Sector. Highly industrialized hiveworld, famed for the prodigious amount and variety of clothing produced there.
• Ixlamad: Imperial/Forgeworld dual government. One of the Mechanicus' Reclamatory Worlds, dedicated to the recovery and rehabilitation of war materiel.
• Lorne's Bounty: Most productive Agri-World in the sector.
• Minoa: Sub-Sector capital of the Collar of Castor. Wealthy mining world which dominates trade and distribution of agri-world production through the trailing region of the Collar.
• Moloch Tetrax and Quintox: Capital of the Moloch Sub-Sector. Twin deathworlds of the Moloch system, with rule split between the High Ketzals of both worlds. Sub-Sector Governor rules from orbital void station. Both worlds are also recruiting worlds for the Sons of the Dragon.
• Nilumanen: Oldest forgeworld in the sector. Remains the subject of rumours which speak to the heresies of xenotech research and innovation. Produces unusually stable void and gellar fields.
• Rennwyck: An airless world made entirely of glass and silica. Site of major Mechanicus research installation with strong ties to Nophocus. No known native life-forms. One of six such worlds known to exist within the borders of the sector.
• Sagisu Prime: Sub-Sector capital of the Vajra Marches. Formerly an agri-world, now fiercely overcrowded. Home to the famed Sagisu Legionnaires, the oldest Imperial Guard regiment in the sector.
• Shimmerwelt: Major mining world located in the Moloch sub-sector. Its Guard regiments have recently been shamed by accusations of cowardice in the face of the enemy.
• The Small Worlds: A frontier district located at the edge of the Mylas Cloud, considered part of the Moloch sub-sector but little regarded.
• The Tenebrous Gate: An isolated system at the mouth of one of the few breaches in the impassable clouds of the Cliffs of Roland. One of the few routes where the warp is settled and traversable along the Cliffs. Site of a major Imperial defeat by Eldar forces, and later known to be the domain of the Flaming Fighting Fighters Corsair band.
• Valotair: Chapter world of the Sons of the Dragon chapter. Declared inviolate to all unauthorized traffic after the Reign of Blood.
• Zabaniya: Minor Hive World in the Avalonus Sub-Sector. Moderately low gravity with towering, void-piercing hives. Ruled by longshanks.

Military Forces of Victorum

Imperial Navy

Battlefleet Victorum is the primary arm of the Imperial military in the Victorum Sector. Owing to the immense amount of trade flowing through the Grand Trunks, as well as the slight but growing trickle of development fostered by Rogue Traders beyond the Mylas Cloud and Cliffs of Roland, it has grown to become one of the largest and most powerful battlefleets in the Segmentum. But this strength is hollow, for at the heart of Battlefleet Victorum are shameful secrets, ancient vendettas, and the ennui of sloth that only peace can bring.

During the 36th Millennium, Battlefleet Victorum fell under the sway of the Gareox Prerogative. Carrier vessels, including some unique to the Sector, were constructed in large numbers and proved their worth in enforcing the mandates of the Sector's rulers. Warships from Victorum were also at the forefront of the conflict, taking part in some of the first battles between the carrier fleets of Gareox and the "Big Gun" battleships of Battlefleet Bakka. Amongst the tragedies of the Age of Apostasy, the Gareox Prerogative initiated a segmentum-wide civil war unnoticed by most of the Imperium.

Many of the sector's Navy officers were slain, and the carriers were destroyed in battle or exiled to reserve yards after Bakka emerged victorious. The teachings and tactics of these rebellious officers, however, remained in favor with the officers of the sector for they were particularly well-suited for Battlefleet Victorum's normal roster of pirate-hunting and tithe enforcement duties. Victorum would be politically sidelined well into the forty-first millennium, and a strain of viperous resentment still curls about the heart of the fleet's officer corps.

In a sign of the disapproval in which Battlefleet Victorum continues to be held, it was one of several sectors called upon by Segmentum Command at Bakka to render a tithe of ships and squadrons to replace those lost in the First Tyrannic War. Having painstakingly rebuilt its strength, on par with Segmentum Command itself, the loss of so many of its best vessels to Bakka's demands remains a festering wound among the fleet's high command, and the theft of such strength has stretched the resources of the battlefleet. In response, the Lord High Admiral has authorized the reactivation of mothballed reserve vessels. Many of the ships now being resurrected by the shipyards of the sector are veterans of the Gareox Prerogative, treacherous vessels who still bear the stain of their ancient sin.

The symbol of Battlefleet Victorum is an Aquila clutching two silver lances on a six-petaled cyan rose. Their ships are sky blue, with gold prows and chrome highlights around the weapon ports.

Battlegroup	Home Port	Major Ships
Battlegroup Rosella:	Port Rosella	Par Excellence, Saint Castor's Light, Redeemer of Gareox	Based at the Sector Naval Headquarters of Port Rosella, Battlegroup Rosella is the zenith of Battlefleet Victorum. The best and most-favored officers are assigned to the oldest of warships here, and it is the desire of all ambitious officers to serve on even the escorts of this force. Rosella's remit is to patrol the starlanes of the Avalonus sub-sector and act as the most potent reserve force in the sector, to turn the tide of war when needed most.
Battlegroup Resolute:	Port Resolute	Fidelis Exactis, Minotaur, Earl Dandy	Perhaps the most important battlegroup in the Sector, Battlegroup Resolute is based at Port Resolute along the Poseidon Run. Charged to protect the sector's most important warp route and all trade along it, as well as keep a watchful eye on the sub-sector's border with the Mylas Cloud. Led by the ancient Oberon-class battleship Fidelis Exactis, Battlegroup Resolute has forged an impressive reputation of faith and loyalty to the Emperor above all.
Battlegroup Antioch:	Port Fury	Tempest Caller, Templar's Wrath	A small fleet stationed at Port Fury in the Mylas system, Battlegroup Antioch is named for the crippled battleship that forms the heart of the station. Its primary duty is to maintain the security and collect the duties of all ships traveling through the warp lanes of the Moloch sub-sector.
Battlegroup Invictus:	Falkenrath	Omega Mortis, Terra Triumphant, Arc of Judgement, Abyssum Invocat, Fury of Sohan	Battlegroup Invictus has the unenviable task of maintaining the Imperial Navy's blockade of the Tytania Cluster. With the fires of rebellion taking root on worlds throughout the region, Invictus has already been forced to battle more than a dozen rebellious warp vessels. Nearly all of them were pilgrim ships hijacked by their fanatical passengers.

Battlefleet Victorum is divided into several subsector admiralties, each leading a permanent battlegroup of large capital ships. Lesser ships, which make up the bulk of the fleet, operate interchangeably between the various sub-sectors, with ships often serving 5- and 10-year tours of duty on long-established patrol routes. In times of crisis, composite battlegroups are raised from this fleet-at-large, to be lead by a senior captain or admiral aboard a ship seconded from one of the admiralty's permanent battlegroups. In this way, camaraderie between the different admiralties is maintained, and the experiences of captains from far-flung corners of the sector can be brought to bear.

The Sons of the Dragon

Sons of the Dragon
Roaring green dragon head within a six-rayed gold sun.
Battle Cry	"We live for Him! We die for His People!"
Founding	Fourth Founding
Successors of	Imperial Fists
Chapter Master	Gurava Lannar
Primarch	Rogal Dorn
Homeworld	Valotair
Strength	650+ Space Marines, 8 strike cruisers, 1 battle barge
Specialty	Siege Warfare
Allegiance	Imperium of Man
Colours	Quartered Caliban green and sunburst yellow

The Sons of the Dragon have been bound in blood to the people of the Victorum Sector. While they have not always been faithful to the lords of the sector, the Sons have stood faithfully by the innocent, through battles and sieges down the ages.

The legends of the Sons say that they were once a crusading chapter, founded in the aftermath of a tremendous war which nearly destroyed the Imperium. For millennia they hunted the enemies of Man through the deep void, brokering strange and distant ties to a half-dozen recruiting worlds, among them Moloch Tetrax/Quintox. Some terrible tragedy brought an end to their trek through the stars, and in their moment of weakness they clasped hands with the Lords of Victorum. In exchange for a grant of lordship over the super-continental feral world of Valotair, they would bind themselves deeply into the fabric of the Victorum Sector. Through the Darkling Wars to the Reign of Blood, the Sons of the Dragon shed their blood for the defence of the sector, always in the name of the Emperor and his people. But their sacrifices were unappreciated, and during the poisoned reign of Goge Vandire, the Sons renounced their oaths of fealty to the unworthy rulers of the Sector, and joined the growing tide of rebellion that swept the Imperium. Deemed pure of heresy in the inquests which followed the Thorian Reformation, the Sons nevertheless placed themselves apart from the sector's masters.

In the modern Imperium, the Sons are no longer integrated into the governorship of the Victorum Sector. Their homeworld of Valotair is forbidden to Imperial starships, and no longer are their war councillors seen in the spires of Avalonus. When called to war, the Sons have proven themselves capable of integrating with Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy forces, especially when called upon to act as the decisive spearhead of a fully operation Imperial war machine. At other times, they remain cloistered within their fortress-shrines. Their recruiting worlds are scattered throughout the Imperium, the product of centuries of crusading. Far-flung and isolated, their worlds see a Space Marine perhaps once in a century. Those worlds in the Victorum Sector blessed enough to provide recruits may see aspirants raised as frequently as once a decade, though the Sons' unusual gene-seed requires the most stringent of testing.

Beneath their armor, their skin ranges from charcoal black to slate gray. A mutation in their Occulobe has caused them to develop sensitivity to ultraviolet light, allowing them to partially sense the higher wavelengths of the light spectrum. This also causes their eyes to slowly develop a mirror-like sheen as they age, with centuries-old members having mirror-like silver eyes.

During their long millennia of crusading, the Sons developed a chapter cult known as The Way of Solar Fire. Inspired by transplanted Promethean beliefs, the Way is similarly self-sacrificing and devoted to the protection of mankind, but places more emphasis on solar rituals and the light of the Emperor as reflected through the Warp. Scattered throughout the sector are fortified temples, acting as both centres of their faith and bastions of mankind. While designed to act as fortresses of last resort, these hidden stockpiles of men and arms also act to promulgate The Way. Should the Inquisition or the Ecclesiarchy ever uncover this fact, unwanted and dangerous questions might be raised.

Their homeworld of Valotair is the finest example of this combination of faith and fortification; having once been a forward operating base established by the Salamanders Legion, it retains strong Promethean and Nocturnan themes in its architecture, and served as a template for the Sons' future installations. Home to thousands of scattered tribes of feral, near-abhuman descent, fewer than 1 in 10,000 are fit to be raised in Imperial society, and far fewer fit to be elevated to the Adeptus Astartes. Nevertheless, the Sons of the Dragon cherish their barbaric wards, and the people's wholehearted embrace of the Way of Solar Fire is only one example of the strong bonds forged between them and their god-like overlords. It was for them that the Sons of the Dragon rebelled against the Victorum Sector during the Reign of Blood, and more specifically against the rule of the Temple of the Saviour Emperor and the puppets of Goge Vandire.

The Sons of the Dragon possess a large force of Dreadnought hulls, of various makes and patterns. Each of these hulls is uniquely built and armed according to it's occupant's designs, and no two of them are alike. They also possess a great deal of armored vehicles, primarily Rhinos, Vindicators, and Whirlwinds. The Sons possess only two Land Raiders, revered as holy relics, but where they came from none can say. Though they possessed at least four Land Raiders at their founding, all were recorded as lost in action.

Recent decades have strained the Sons of the Dragon to the limit of their resources. While not overly-depleted in numbers, their feudal obligations to the Imperium have left them vulnerable to the sudden upheavals threatening the peace of the sector. The Sixth Company was despatched with great pomp and ceremony as part of the Victorum Sector's contribution to the Lalladorium Crusade far to the galactic west. The strike cuiser Silver Fire and most of the chapter's Third Company vanished along with Vellagus X during the ill-starred Tech-Suppression. And Eldar raiders appear to have targeted the Sons' Tenth Company specifically during a fierce and bloody slave raid on Geidiheim, piercing multiple layers of planetary security to spirit them away.

Legio Evincer

“Nullus Vivere!” (None Shall Live!)

-Legion Motto

Legio Evincer
Primary Forge: Guanyu Strength: Primaris (100+ Titans) Specialization: Titan Killing, Artillery Bombardment Commanding Officer: Ultima Princeps Lars Rho Valians Famed Battles: The Razing of Spire Rabban, The Battle of Naxos-Rho, The Irudine Conspiracy Symbol: A trident flanked by two tank treads Colors: Green and gold lozengy, azure trim Nickname: “Blazing Peacocks,” “The Exterminators”

Descended from the Legio Astraman, the Legio Evincer is a belligerent legion with a preference for crusades and wars of conquest, particularly against xenos life-forms. Founded to protect the nascent forgeworld of Guanyu, the Legio Evincer quickly distinguished itself by purging an Enslaver infestation upon the neighbouring world of Geidiheim with extreme prejudice, obliterating six million souls and an entire hive spire. Since that day, their name has been a byword for devastation and destruction, scouring hundreds of battlefields of all in their path, friend and foe alike.

The Levio Evincer has a preference for turbolaser and plasma weaponry, the more destructive and wide-ranging the better. Their preferred strategy is one of targeted annihilation, acting with near surgical precision to completely obliterate their chosen foe and tip battles in the Imperium's favor. This has put them at a disadvantage against the fleet, ghostly god-engines of the cowardly Eldar, who dance through their precisely calibrated fields of fire. Ever prideful, the princeps of the Legio Evincer have attempted to compensate by incorporating powerful logis-engines and geometric calculi in their auxiliary staff, though their bloody defeat at the Siege of the Tenebrous Gate proved such measures were inadequate.

The bulk of the Legion's strength is in Warhounds and Warlords, Guanyu lacking the knowledge to produce Reaver-class Titans. While some few have been recovered from the battlefield or given in tribute by grateful forgeworlds, the Legion prefers the more easily produced and maintained modern Titans. Indeed, no Titan within the Legion is more than two millennia old, something of a sore wound for a Legion that has served the Omnissiah since the founding of the sector.

Legio Delendum

“Fortis Ex Tenebrae.” (Strength In Darkness.)

-Legion Motto

Legio Delendum
Primary Forge: Nilumanen Strength: Tertius (~50 Titans) Specialization: EM Warfare, Close Quarters Combat Commanding Officer: Princeps Titanicus Ganet Primar Thothus Famed Battles: First Battle of Avalonus, Vigil of Castor, Siege of the Tenebrous Gate Symbol: A winged skull within a sharp-toothed brass cog Colors: Black and Red Nickname: “The Black Death,” “Gargoyles”

Believed to be the oldest Titan Legion within the sector, the Legio Delendum carries both the triumph of ancient victories and the dark infamy of their homeworld with them wherever they stride. In ages past, the Legio Delendum marched alongside the crusades of the Imperium, their Titans renowned for fighting on when all else seemed lost. That glory is long behind them; in these twilight days the Legio Delendum remains bound to the defense of the forgeworlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus, as was their purpose when they were founded in the terrible days of the Age of Strife.

Founded on the dust-shrouded world of Nilumanen, the Legio Delendum was first raised to protect the forge from the threat of the Falx Gladocracy. Outnumbered and alone, it was necessary for the legion to learn how to use the disruptive nature of their hideaway to their advantage. Their preferred weapons make up for a lack of accuracy with the application of mass firepower or close-ranged melee weapons, the better to destroy foes blinded by gamma-ray flares, deafened by vox burners, and debilitated by noospheric data-jinxes.

As befits so ancient a Legion, the bulk of Delendum's forces are Reaver variants. Warhounds of ancient provenance serve as pickets for Titan maniples, protected by machine-charms from the deleterious effects of the Legion's EM weaponry. The Legion's greatest god-machines, however, are a pair of Imperator Titans. One serves as an eternal guardian of Nilumanen, the forge of their birth. The other is a secret known only to a few, maintained in reserve in the vassal forge of Ixlamad. Still scarred by the wars of the sector's birth, it slumbers to this day, awaiting the call to war.

Order of the Radiant Spear

We pray that the God-Emperor, in His Mercy, will empower the faithful and bring light to the True.

We pray that He will bring down the Hand of Chastisement, by the strength of those blessed by His Sight.

-Litany of The Emperor's Wrath, spoken upon the ascension of novitiates to the Order

Order of the Radiant Spear
Main Convent: Pillar Strength: More than 1,200 Sisters of Battle Specialization: Shock Assault Canoness Superior: Sola XII DeAnnise Famed Battles: The Arrakis Crusade, Battle of the Storm, Battle of the Ancient Cathedral Symbol: A white fleur-de-lys on a blue flame Colors: Silver armor, grey trim and weapons, azure cloak Daughters Of: Order of the Argent Shroud Nickname: "Spears of the Saints"

During the 38th Millennium, dozens of Adepta Sororitas were seized by visions of a blazing spear hurled into an orb of stars. Following the call of the Emperor, these Sisters of Battle landed upon the gemworld of Pillar. Fighting now-extinct chthonic xenoforms of that world's endless chasms, the Sisters took shelter in the wreck of a long-lost fane-ship where they found ancient weapons dating to Saint Castor's Crusade, including Her holy spear. With these relics, they broke free of the chasms and returned to the surface. Thus, the Order of the Radiant Spear was founded upon that broken world, dedicated to the memory of Saint Rosella Castor.

The Order of the Radiant Spear holds as its primary purpose the tracking and recovery of relics, whose veracity is ensured by the associated Order of His Limitless Sight. Saint Castor was a vocal proponent of the creed of Imperial Redemption, holding that all the galaxy had once felt the footfall of man and that the greatest devotion one could perform for the Emperor was the recovery of lost elements of humankind, whether they were people, places, or relics. Thus the Sisters of the Radiant Spear attach themselves to far-flung Rogue Trader fleets, Crusades venturing into the outer dark, and Inquisitorial extraction missions, following the Saint's creed to recover all that was once mankind's.

Since its founding, the Order has embraced an active interpretation of the Adepta Sororitas' remit. They protect and utilize sacred relics on the field of battle, bearing them to inspire common soldiers or unleashing their divine power upon the heretic and traitor. In keeping with Saint Castor's teachings, they have a disproportionate number of Seraphim and Dominions, to bear overwhelming firepower where necessary to turn the tide of battle.

The holiest relic of the order is The Winged Spear of St. Castor, a double-headed power halberd with an unbreakable adamantine shaft emblazoned with the symbols of the Imperial Cult. Legends say the Spear grants the faithful the power to blind machine-senses, reveal the weakness of any armor, and turn the spell of any sorcerer.

Imperial Guard Regiments

“Stand true, you dogs of the Emperor! Steady that line!” *BLAM*

-Commissar Ranmothe encouraging the 2nd Company, 4th Heavy Dragoons, at the Battle of Heresy Field

Regiment Name	Symbol	Details	Overview
Avalonian Crusaders Nickname: “The Crusaders”, “Saint’s Own” (9th Crusader Lancers), “Steelheads (327th Crusader Infantry)	7 gold spears fanned behind a gold orb with the High Gothic letter "A" stamped on it, the regiment number in gold below, on a white field, with battle honours in red	Specialization: Shock Troops, Fast Attack Strength: 1152 Regiments (408 Infantry, 356 Heavy Infantry, 116 Mechanized Infantry, 41 Armoured, 19 Artillery, 212 Rough Rider) Famed Battles: The Seventh Battle of Avalonus, The Hellenine Rebellion, The Suppression of Babylum, The Liberation of Vallon Hive	Hailing from the Sector Capital, the Crusaders are a powerful army of zealous troopers with a tremendous wealth of combat experience and a long regimental history. Typically heavily-armoured, and armed with a great deal of close combat experience thanks to Avalonus' unique planetary culture, the Crusaders are often used as linebreakers. The regiment favors Melta and Lascannon heavy weapons, and are well-equipped by the forges of Hive Gergenir.
Sagisu Legionnaires Nickname: “Back-Breakers”, “Hive-Pounders” (18th Legionnaire Artillery), “Big Shotz” (33rd Abhuman Legionnaires)	A skull wearing a gold helmet with red plume over a black saltire on red field, “Sagisu” scroll below the helmet with the regiment number in gold below	Specialization: Line Infantry, Siege Warfare Strength: 847 Regiments (395 Infantry, 46 Mechanized Infantry, 123 Artillery, 190 Siege Infantry, 93 Abhuman) Famed Battles: The First Battle of Avalonus, The Seven-Star War, The Battle of Sirusburg	One of the oldest Guard regiments in the Sector, the Sagisu Legionnaires have marched beneath the banner of the Imperium since the days of the Great Crusade. Hailing from the overcrowded hiveworld of Sagisu, the Legionnaires have a roll of honor as long as the Avalonian Crusaders, and never fail to remind others of the history borne by their regiment. Their glory has been bought in blood, for millions of Legionnaires have been sacrificed in grinding wars of attrition, but so long as Sagisu births men it shall feed the wars of the Imperium.
Shimmerwelt Heavy Dragoons Nickname: “The Steady and True”, “Wobblies” (disparaging), “Glory Bees” (1st Heavy Dragoon)	Flame-wreathed red stallion running on sky-blue field, regiment number underneath in red	Specialization: Counter-Insurgency Operations, Tunnel Warfare, Winter Warfare Strength: 7 Regiments (7 Mechanized Infantry) Famed Battles: The Battle of Heresy Field, Defence of Hill 53	The Shimmerwelt Heavy Dragoons are newly-founded regiments, raised to feed the voracious appetite of the sector’s wars and crusades. The 4th Heavy Dragoons were recently destroyed during the Battle of Heresy Field on Uraniborg, after breaking in the face of the enemy's zealot engines. The Dragoons hail from a glacial mining world and are well-versed in tunnel fighting and putting down labour rebellions, with a preference for mounting Flamers on their Chimeras and Sentinels.
Poseidon Sea Guard Nickname: “Seaguards”, “The Blues”, “Seadogs” (2nd Sea Guard), “Sea Dragons” (11th Sea Guard)	Crossed gold tridents on a white shield over a navy blue field, regiment number between the tridents in blue, with the symbolic seabird of the regiment's home hive crowning the shield holding a "Poseidon" scroll in its beak	Specialization: Amphibious Assault, Ocean Warfare Strength: 35 Regiments (29 Naval, 6 Drop Infantry) Famed Battles: Invasion of Ghress Prime, Basilea's Fall, The Battle of Aschbal	A rare example of a regiment specialized for ocean warfare, the Poseidon Sea Guard are often sent out of the sector to serve in distant crusades. The Sea Guard regiments return to their homeworld periodically for resupply and reinforcement, ensuring a constant churn of veterans who supply new recruits with much-needed experience. Heavy Bolters, Rocket Launchers, and Mortars provide man-portable heavy firepower when the Sea Guard operate beyond the range of naval ordnance.
Ixlamad Armoured Nickname: “Revenant Engines” (1st Armoured), “Ironsides” (3rd Armoured), “Twice Lucky” (14th Armoured)	Three red cogwheels bend sinister on a gray field, regiment number in the upper left in High Gothic, lower right in Techna-Lingua	Specialization: Armoured Warfare, Hostile Environment Operations Strength: 28 Regiments Famed Battles: The Seventh Battle of Avalonus, The Liberation of Gathalamor, The Villagus Tech-Suppression	Raised from the wreck-strewn world of Ixlamad, the Ixlamad Armoured is equipped only with vehicles and weapons salvaged by the great pit-cities of their homeworld. Each regiment is a highly eclectic mix of vehicles built in uncounted forges scattered across the Segmentum, returned to duty by the devotion and skill of the Reclamator Magi. Many of their troops are augmented by the Mechanicus, and treat their war machines with as much devotion as any enginseer.
Ganth Eagle Warriors Nickname: "Screaming Loonies” (1st Regiment), “Headbangers” (2nd Regiment), “Bleeding Maniacs” (3rd Regiment), “Screechers” (disparaging)	The Aquila clutching thunderbolts and arrows, on a bright green field, “Ganth” in thick font above, regiment number in Low Gothic below	Specialization: Shock Troops Strength: 3 Regiments (Heavy Infantry) Famed Battles: The Liberation of Gathalamor, The Seventeen Battles of Novagrad, The Zarona Intervention	Though little regarded by the rest of the sector, Ganth produces some of the fiercest warriors ever to fight beneath the banner of the Imperium. With an unshakeable faith in the Emperor, these brightly-colored warriors charge into battle like berserkers, wielding chainaxes and Flamers with all the zeal of a Redemptionist crusade.
Krydae Void Cataphracts Nickname: “Silent Death”	Yellow roaring lionshead on a black circle on white bullseye on gray, “Krydae” scroll above circle, “Cataphracts” scroll below circle	Specialization: Void Assault Strength: 1 Regiment Famed Battles: The Hunt of the Scarlet Tears, The Battle of Green Noah	Most void regiments are raised as Imperial Navy armsmen, but the Krydae Void Cataphracts are a rare exception. Their home system, the Krydae Field, is a maelstrom of broken worlds and trapped starlight, orbiting a black hole. Preferentially deployed in void assault operations, the Void Cataphracts have broken orbital fortresses, trapped xenos raiders, and taken heretic starships. Their favored special weapons are grenade launchers and meltas, useful within the confines of a void boarding action.
Rana-Tophe Stalkers Nickname: “Scalpers” (disparaging), “Impalers” (2nd Stalkers), “Vengeful Reapers” (3rd Stalkers)	Crossed axes on yellow field with dark green flaunches, “Rana-Tophe” and regiment number on a black bar below	Specialization: Fast Attack, Detached Operations, Scouting Strength: 5 Regiments (4 Rough Rider, 1 Light Infantry) Famed Battles: The Harrowing of Apostate Charles, The Battle of Sinfeld’s Vale, The Eredswar	One of many feral regiments raised within the sector, the Rana-Tophe Stalkers achieved particular infamy for their actions during the Harrowing of Apostate Charles. Roving bands of heretical zealots would be found scalped and spiked among the canyons of Pillar, the victims of Stalker scouting forces protecting the flanks of the Imperial forces. Since then, their brutality and bloodlust have become a byword for unseemly excess within the Guard, their success in the name of the Emperor their only shield from rebuke. Each Stalker is skilled with throwing axe, as is the practice of their homeworld, and these axes often fetch a high price after battle for each is lovingly endowed with devotional scenes and prayers to the Emperor.

Power Groups

The Victorum Sector is a region rife with powerful lineages and intransigent factions, all pushing and shoving to bring its stars under their heel. This is but a selection of their agents and representatives, powerful people and groups who might yet be mere catspaws to other, darker conspiracies.

Sector Lords

• Sector Governess Rosella Khassom-Ownevere: Rosella Khassom-Ownevere is the supreme authority of the Emperor within the sector. Through ties of blood and marriage, the storied bloodlines of House Khassom and Ownevere have held the Throne Perilous for more than 800 years, and Sector Governess Rosella is a typical example of her bloodline: stubborn, close-minded, and convinced of her absolute power.
• Chapter Master Gurava Lannar: The chapter master of The Sons of the Dragon and Lord of Valotair, Gurava Lannar has faithfully served the Emperor for two centuries. During the latter days of the Inquisition War, Chapter Master Lannar led his chapter to crush several battling Inquisitors.
• Arch-Cardinal Rogal Tranth Gellorn: Most High Prelate of the Emperor and Primus Inter Pares of the Arch-Diocese Rosa Victora, Arch-Cardinal Gellorn is the master of the Ecclesiarchy in the sector. Functionally, that means he must settle the disputes between the various factions of the Victorumite Ecclesiarchy, a task frought with peril as lingering elements of the "Temple Tendency" wax stronger.

The Inquisition

The Fidelis Vigil Ex Victorum is a shadow of its former self. Its unity is broken, its power has been spent, and fear more than loyalty keeps the sector's lords in line. The shadow of The Rostrum Purge looms large over the Inquisition, where billions died for the cause of purity, honor, and faith. Some consider it a cost well-spent, others a mad folly. Regardless, the Conclave was undoubtedly weakened, with nearly a third of its members vanished, slain, or lost. In their place, heresy flourishes, and the sector's Acolytes are busier than ever.

• Lord Inquisitor Aquillonius Qatasoum: The master of the Victorum Conclave. A passionate Amalathian, he truly believes that the turning point has passed and the Inquisition can only grow stronger now that it has been purged.
• Lord Inquisitor Roboute Thorne: Leader of the Ordo Malleus, and a man of strong Thorian leanings. He is famous beyond the Inquisition for his prose fiction.
• Inquisitor Hestia Merriwyn: Ordo Hereticus cabal leader, charged with the suppression of the Uraniborg rebels and the ending of Cardinal Astra Liaus Walmark. Even as she works towards his end, she has listened to his words and compiled a surprisingly weighty body of evidence against Fabricator Ottomachinus VII of Ranatophe. Her work will only be complete when judgement has been dispensed on all those who would threaten the unity of the Imperium.
• Inquisitor Zi Shang: A ranking member of the Ordo Xenos, obsessed with Dark Eldar menace. In recent years he has fallen to the fringes of the Conclave, for he seeks out abhumans and mutants as those most likely to attract the eye of discerning slavehunters and thus most at risk.

The Imperial Navy

Battlefleet Victorum is the Imperium's shield, its first line of defense against the threats emerging from the darkness between stars. The influence of its high officers spans the sector, from feudal worlds where kings give up their children to the Navy's most menial positions to gilded hive cities where Navigator Houses vie for contracts and postings.

• Lord-Admiral Tyborius Leo-Khan: The scion of a storied military dynasty from Hive Verethkyn, Lord-Admiral Leo-Khan is the master of Battlefleet Victorum. A doctrinaire admiral, his political and operational support is anchored in the ancient noble bloodlines of the sector, from whom he prefers to promote.
• Rear Admiral Elena Domino: One of the prestigious Dominos of Battlefleet Victorum, and one of the few female officers in the sector's high command. An ambitious woman seeking skilled subordinates. Leapt at the chance to command the Mylas squadron, seeing the Ork threat as her ticket to higher rank.
• The Noble Chancers: An ancient fraternal order, formed sometime during the Saint's Crusades by the surviving officers of a great void battle. Made up of command-level officers of Battlefleet Victorum, it functions as part-social club, part-warrior lodge where status and rank are set aside. Members of the order often help one another in minor matters, such as conquering a woman or securing a prized case of wine. The order's symbol is a dice with two stars upon its face.

The Imperial Guard

The Imperial Guard has built thousands of fortresses and sacrificed trillions of men in the wars to hold the Victorum Sector. Alongside the Departmento Munitorum, the Schola Progenium, and the other human armed forces of the Imperium, they have sunk their teeth deep into the marrow of the sector's worlds, and will continue to tithe their youth for as long as the Imperium stands.

• Lord Militant Bors Ownevere: Lord of the Astra Militarum and Supreme Commander of the Victorum Sector, Lord Militant Ownevere is the latest in a long line of Avalonian nobles to rise to the leadership of the Imperial Guard.
• Brigadier General Rogal Johnsson: Commander of the 10,000-strong XXIVth Praetorian Guard, and chosen instrument of Sector High Command to lead the Mylas Garrison. A veteran of ork wars in the Segmentum Solar, General Johnsson no longer underestimates the ork threat. If there is anyone who understands the dangers of a full-throated WAAAGH, it is him.

The Adeptus Mechanicus

The power and majesty of the Adeptus Mechanicus spans this region of space like a shroud over a corpse. Drawn by rumors of archaic technological might, the Lords of Mars have ever sought to plunder the sector of its ancient secrets. Much remains to be fought after, both miracles and madness of such advanced technology that it might be deemed sorcery. Frustrating the tech-priests in their quest for knowledge are the ever-vigilant eyes of the Inquisition, the grasping claws of the greed-driven Rogue Traders, and their own puritanical reactionaries.

• The Homeodidatic Congress: A sector-spanning body of archmagi drawn from the forgeworlds, Explorator fleets, and void stations scattered through the region. While they do make the occasional decree, the primary duties of the Congress are enforcing Mechanicus theological law, approving promotions, and judging the purity of recovered knowledge or new designs. Representation in the Congress is based on seniority, results, and knowledge of theotechnical minutae.
• Terfrateris Fabricatum: The ruling body of Guanyu, the principal forgeworld of the Adeptus Mechanicus. A trio of Fabricators Frateris selected by the Homeostatic Congress to rule Guanyu, elevated from the ranks of its high forgemasters. The current trio are Fabricator Chou-Lambda of the Yang Jing Plasma Foundry, Fabricator Luc Tusco of the Machina Lumin Armorium, and Fabricator Aleph Rho-Thorum of Decima-Prima Munitions Manufactorum Complex.
• The Hierarchy of Variances: The governing body of the forgeworld of Nilumanen, made up of six hundred representatives of Nilumanen's constitutent forges and vassal worlds. It is infamous for its embrace of factionalism, using constant debate among thousands of factions within the Hierarchy to drive proper policy.

Rogue Traders

For such a wealthy and ancient sector, Victorum is still home to hundreds of Rogue Trader holdings. Bordered on two sides by ancient, shrouded frontiers, it continues to draw the adventurous and greedy. To be a Rogue Trader in such a sector is to be a snake in a pit of vipers, for ancient ambitions, petrified jealousies, and unending hunger have made it their nest for millenia.

• Marwyn Ragsbeck: It is said that one of every fifty thrones spent in the Victorum Sector is paid into the coffers of Marwyn Ragsbeck. The head of the famed Ragsbeck Dynasty is a ruthless tycoon with no qualms of crushing any who oppose him. He also has a reputation as a profiteer for the weak, ruthlessly undercutting his competitors and offering ever more ways for the lowly Imperial citizen to glimpse a better life; that prices rise even higher after his price wars is rarely commented on. The Ragsbeck's primary holdings are voidbound, and from the great void station Ellard's Glory Marwyn Ragsbeck holds the beating heart of the Victorum Sector in his aged hands.
• Filionaire dé Arsene: A beautiful scion of the dé Arsene dynasty, Filionaire has gained a reputation as a rescuer of investments with the smile of an angel and the bloodless heart of a carcharadon. She has used her allowance to purchase faded conglomerates, impoverished colonies, and other such weaklings, and turned them into healthy concerns with growing profit margins that attract far richer buyers. That the companies shed laborers in droves or the manufactories empty of ancient fabrication engines is of no concern to her.
• Laird Sangral: Once seneschal to his elder brother, Laird Sangral ascended to the leadership of his famed dynasty when Gros Pajan VII died, and the Sangral household with it. With their ancestral manor destroyed and their throneworld a charred cinder, Laird abandoned the growing chaos of Gros Pajan and vanished with the core of the Sangral fleet beyond the Cliffs of Roland. While the Sangral's holdings in the Victorum Sector have coasted on their inertia, word has trickled back into the sector that Laird Sangral has taken to extracting tolls of weapons, supplies, and men from ships trying to return to the sector through the Gros Pajan Warp Corridor. Invariably, the ships targeted are those of Rogue Traders warring on Gros Pajan.

Villains and Rogues

• Da Mekboss Bork Rad-Eye: Arising from the impenetrable and unknown reaches of the Mylas Cloud, Bork Rad-Eye is a Deffskullz Big Mek with a plan. A plan to wage WAAAGH across the wide open stars of the Victorum Sector. With the great Orkenstone under his control, Rad-Eye will unite the warring Freebooter clans of the Mylas Cloud and consume the stars in endless war.
• Archon Ilsierex, The Star-Eyes: Archon of the Kabal of Splintered Lies. Outcast from Comorragh, he leads a band of renegades, rogues, and disgraced Dark Eldar. Driven by revenge, addiction, and a lust for fame, Star-Eyes has exploited the weakness of the Victorum Sector to perform daring raids, becoming a minor celebrity among the plebs of Curghanact.
• Cardinal Astra Laius Walmark: A faithful man of the Emperor, Laius Walmark spent a hundred years climbing to his present position. In his next hundred years, he saw faith eroded by heresy, politics undermined by greed, and unity splintered by a hidden hand. A new god was rising among the worlds of the Tytania Cluster, one with heart of iron and a mind of gears. When the Cardinal Astra had gathered his evidence, he revealed the hand of treachery amongst the Imperium's own. Now war threatens to consume the Durandum sub-sector, a War of Faith against those who have stood as brothers to the Imperium of Man for ten millenia. For this, the Cardinal Astra must die.

Gallery

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External Links

• Dark Heresy
• Rogue Trader
• Deathwatch
• Black Crusade
• Only War
• Tiji Sector - The original inspiration.
• Generators
• WH40k RPG map assets, for making your own sectors.
• Lexicanum - Everything you always wanted to know about 40k (but were afraid to ask)