Avalonus

Avalonus
Governor	Sector Governess Rosella Khassom-Ownevere
Population	Est. 62 Billion
Tithe	Exactis Extremis
Adeptus Presence	Strong, all major Adepta present
Military	Medium-Quality PDF: The Illuminated Blades of the Imperial Majesty The Reflected Blades of the Imperial Glory
Trade	Imports: Food, fuel, raw materials, religious pilgrims Exports: Weaponry, manpower, luxury goods, Rogue Traders
Location	Segmentum Tempestus Victorum Sector Victorum Sub-Sector Haemus System

The Capital of the Victorum Sector, Avalonus has been the heart for the region since the Dark Age of Technology, when the Falxian Gladocracy ruled this region of space. Sitting at the juncture of several cross-sector warp routes collectively dubbed The Traian Trunk, it dominates travel and trade throughout the central sub-sectors. Not only did this make it a natural choice for sector capital, it brought a prominence to Avalonus which saw it rival other Segmentum powers in days long past.

Overview

Avalonus is a world of unimaginable wealth, where the treasures of a thousand worlds are gathered by Chartist fleets plying the space-lanes of the Imperium and Rogue Traders plunging into the distant and unconquered frontiers. The patronage of a million nobles pay for the creation of art and soldiers known even to the distant spires of Holy Terra, while ponderous and stately examples of the pinnacle of Mechanicus craft can be seen on every upper hive street. Mineshafts plunge deep beneath the surface of the planet, seeking untapped mineral riches and deposits of ancient war ruins to process into useful commodities which it exports to lesser worlds and distant sectors.

It is also a world of stately anachronism and brutal killings, where oath-bonds and noble knights are as woven into the fabric of Avalonian society as bespoke dueling and gladiatorial arenas. Every citizen, from the lowest underhive scunner to decadent spire noble carries a blade with them to settle matters of honor, swear blood oaths or simply show willing. Wandering sell-blades known as knights are pledged to noble families and guard their claims, taking to arenas to settle matters of dispute. Vying “dukes” and “earls” and other titles of peerage dot the landscape of the hive, bestowed upon the allies of the great ruling families, fighting shadow wars of influence and control from the base of the noble spires to the very depths of the Underhive.

In the shadows of Avalonus, however, lurk secrets vile enough to chill the heart of even an Inquisitor Lord. Slumbering treasures from the Dark Age of Technology are hunted by Mechanicus hereteks seeking secrets that could drown these stars in a tide of blood and death. Blood cults dedicated to the Skull Throne vie with the pleasure cults of the Prince of Lies, the excess of bloodletting fuelling dark deeds as decadent and dissolute nobles seek ever greater pleasures that the Imperium denies them. The complex weave of noble politics draws the unwelcome attention of the Changer of Ways, while seditionists whisper of a future where Avalonus stands at the heart of a vast human empire and heretical priests speak of the return to an age of aggrandized worship. The age and wealth of Avalonus has long been a breeding ground for conspiracies of a most ancient provenance, and one day they will boil to the surface in a frenzy of damnation, tearing down the structures of the Imperium and replacing them with once-dead nightmares and long-hidden designs.

Hives

Avalonus can be broadly divided into four main regions. The first, the Great Conurbation, spans the northernmost pair of continents and the polluted sea beneath. Born from a melding of Hives Gildwynn, Calivere and Jaranoct, it is the heart of the planetary and sector government. To the south lies the great expanse of water known as the Grail Sea and home to the undersea hive of Aronlot which clings to the seamounts of Avalonus’ planetary ocean. The wet, tropical continent beyond it could be another world, were it not for the looming bulk of Hive Verethkyn. On the other side of the planet lie the twin hives of Gergenir and Exewain, based in the vast expanses of desert that mark the landing zones of Saint Castor’s forces six millennia ago. These hives are mostly independent, ruled by nobles that jealously guard their holdings and influence, but each hive sends a representative to the Arch-Council of Avalonus to negotiate matters of inter-hive importance.

Gildwynn

The oldest, most expansive hive on Avalonus, Hive Gildwynn is the heart of the Victorum Sector’s administration. Its cyclopean, blade-like towers cover nearly half the continent and spill out over the polluted remnants of the Sea of Tiran to merge with the towering bulk of Hive Calivere. The hive competes with Hive Exewain for dominance of the orbital trade, but neither hive alone would be able to cope with the sheer volume of traffic that Avalonus attracts.

Gildwynn can be divided into two regions: the Golden Heart and The Steel. Named for the gold and electrum-clad hive towers (called "blades") clustered around the First Sword, the Golden Heart is the home of greater noble houses, Rogue Trader dynasties, and the high organs of Imperial governance. In contrast, gray-clad towers of The Steel are home to the “pretender” noble houses raised by the true nobles of the upper hive, as well as less successful merchant cartels and prosperous knight orders. Every spire is blazoned the history of its denizens, a practice that began with the First Sword. In either brilliant gold statuary or simple steel engravings, noble families and merchant cartels emblazon their triumphs and trials upon the spires of Gildwynn.

Travel between these upper regions can be done through the graceful roadways built by the skilled architects of the hive, but this is normally left to the liveried servants and other lesser beings who are granted residence in the upper hive. Instead, fleets of private aircraft and skimmers fly in a chaotic tangle of aerial flight paths determined by the Administratum for maximum efficiency and minimal risk.

The middle hive is a warren of tithe-houses, manufactories and shuttleports amidst dense blocks of tenements and blood arenas. Large portions of the maze are pierced by wide arterial transitways which feed the hive’s engines of production. Even here, the practice of blazoning continues; arenas celebrate the greatest honor jousts and bloodiest performances upon their armored domes, merchants brand their seals or logos into the doors of their storefronts, dwellers carve their names into the crumbling brick of their new tenement. The middle hive is also home to the hive’s seaward docks, which open onto the Sea of Tiran.

In the darkness of the underhive, one can find pools of industrial waste, abandoned mining tunnels or excavations, and even, it is whispered, structures dating back to the time of the Gladocracy. These hazards constitute the only way most underhive denizens have of surviving, either by cultivating the mutated life-forms that spring up from these dismal places or scavenging them for anything they can sell to up-hive expeditions.

Notable Locations

This First Sword still serves as the heart of Imperial rule, with Sector Governess Rosella Khassom-Ownevere holding court from within its glass-topped apex. Rising nearly 15 kilometers into the air, it towers over lesser blades. At its peak is the Imperial Curia, where Sector Governess Khassom-Ownever, also known as the Lady Sector or Lady Victorum, meets with representatives of the Imperial Adepta and the worlds of the Victorum Sector. Beneath stained glass renditions of Saint Castor’s victories, the powerbrokers of the Imperium negotiate tithes, review the latest developments of the Trident War, and plot the course of the sector.

Just below the Imperial Curia is the Grande Court of the Perilous Round, where the Arch-Council of Avalonus meets to discuss matters of planetary import. While not as grand as the Curia, its soaring walls are covered with adamantium shields, each emblazoned with the coat of arms of Avalonus’ greatest noble houses. At the center of the Court are the eleven Seats Superior, where the representatives of the six other hives sit around a round table with the Lord-Generals of the two PDF armies, the Inquisitorial Agent, the Mechanicus Envoy and the Saint’s Voice. At the nominal head of the table is the Throne Perilous, which only the ruler of Hive Gildwynn or their chosen representative may take.

Under the Grande Court are thousands of chambers and rooms that host emissaries and agents of the nobles, cartels and governments of the Victorum Sector, as well as representatives of the Imperial Adepta and dignitaries from beyond the sector’s borders. This is the heart of the Administratum, which creeps over a dozen square kilometers of records rooms and clerical quarters. Millions of clerks and servitors collate the output and consumption of Avalonus’ manufactories and people, ensuring that the people of Avalonus fulfill the demands of the Imperial Tithe.

Abutting the First Sword is the slightly lower Tower of Sight, home to Avalonus’ primary Astropathic choir. An electrum-plated spire, thin and sharp like a needle, it is home to the two dozen astropaths that maintain the Victorum Sector’s links to the greater Imperium. It also hosts the planet’s Adeptus Astra Telepathica, which dispatches psykers newly arrived from distant Terra across the sector. Unknown to all but the highest levels of the Imperial adepta, the Tower maintains a battalion of sanctioned battle-psykers within its silvery depths, ready to be deployed against daemonic incursions and rogue psykers.

In the midst of the gleaming blades of Hive Gildwynn’s Golden Heart sits a squat black fortress built in the shape of the Imperial Aquila. This is the Court Imperial, the heart of the Adeptus Arbites operations in Hive Gildwynn. Visible from all the higher towers, it is a reminder of Imperial Justice and the cost of failing your Emperor-given duties to the rulers of Avalonus.

Sprawling over the great underground docks of that abut the Sea of Tiran is Varranus Spaceport. A constant stream of lighters, shuttles, and aerial transports feeds the Conurbation hives from its blast-scarred surface, and carries the products of the great northern continent to the great fleets in orbit. Varranus is also the official spaceport of Avalonus, where any Imperial presence will first land and disembark. As such, it combines both Avalonian traditions and Imperial design, to impress upon guests both the unique character of the capital world and its loyalty to the Imperium.

Inquisitorial Holdings

Though Hive Gildwynn’s towers and hab-blocks are usually packed close together, one stands alone, surrounded by a circle of courtyards made of white Terran marble that rest upon the middle hive. This spire is far larger than the average blade, cylindrical rather than flat and nearly reaching the heights of the First Sword. It is the Court of Last Remembrance, the fortress-palace of the Fidelis Vigil Ex Victorum. Its impressive bulk is carved with images of Inquisitors, Saints and other heroes of the Imperium, each graven statue concealing deadly defences.

The Court is the subject of intense rumor and myth among the people of Avalonus. Beyond the usual horror stories that accompany an Inquisitorial fortress, the history of its construction is shrouded in mystery. It is said that it appeared suddenly one night, rising from the black depths of the Sea of Tiran, or falling from the sky on fiery rockets, or being lifted from a massive land-train that stretched twenty kilometers into the continent. The Inquisition has never responded to rumors that, in times of dire need, the entire hive spire could be either sunk into the Sea or lifted back into space.

The Conclave has been led (some say ruled) by Lord Inquisitor Shandolh Qatasoum for the last thirty-two years. Answerable only to the High Lords of the Inquisition, Lord Qatasoum’s first act upon assuming lordship of the Sector Inquisition was to plunge it into a bloody Inquisition War. This pogrom, which claimed more than a dozen Inquisitors and their retinues, has led to a growing movement of Radical and unaligned Inquisitors to either distance themselves from the High Council or otherwise remove the influence of the Lord Inquisitor.

The Court of Last Remembrance is home to roughly ten thousand agents, clerks and Inquisitorial troopers, in addition to passing bands of Acolytes and Inquisitors. In the bowels of the spire, sealed off from the rest of the middle hive, are banks of cogitators and vast echoing vaults of arms and equipment. Deeper still, descending into the pollution of the Sea of Tiran, are the forbidden vaults, where arch-heretics are questioned and potentially heretical, and certainly dangerous, artifacts are sealed. In the time of Lord Qatasoum, their contents have remained untouched for fear of arousing his ire, and those artifacts recovered have tended to disappear into the fusion fires of nearby stars instead.