Profundis

Profundis is an enormous gas giant in orbit around a dying star. There are no other planets in the system, but it is home to billions of Imperial citizens who reside on five habitable moons: Rebis, Hyepasis, Repasis, Aria and Excidia. It is possible these moons used to be other planets that were eventually pulled into orbit around the gas giant, millennia before the system was discovered by the Imperium. The name Profundis has become synonymous with both the planet and the system, indeed, many consider Profundis to be the dark heart of the system: its eerie light illuminates its moons, and its nebulous form is always visible in their skies.

The Moons

Profundis has a large Adeptus Mechanicus presence, largely concentrated on the forge worlds of Aria and Repasis and the prison colony of Rebis, where underground facilities are rumoured to house Skitarii training grounds. The Mechanicus was originally drawn to the sector by the unusual artifact that orbits Profundis itself, a gigantic artificial structure of apparent Xenos origin. Despite their best efforts, no explorator team has ever managed to enter the structure – its hull is impervious to any inquisitionIconattempted intrusion.

Profundis is near the Dalthus sector, existing in a relatively isolated region of space near the Howling Stars. In recent years the system has become insular, focusing on internal development rather than interplanetary trade. This new phase of development began largely as a result of the depletion of the forge world Repasis and the discovery of rich natural resources under the oceans of Hyepasis.

Hyepasis is an ocean world, and until recently was largely unexplored. The first stages of the industrialisation of Hyepasis was a wonder of the Mechanicum’s art and involved the controlled crash landing of vast forge ships and asteroids of raw materials into the moon’s churning seas.

Until recently the Hive World Excidia housed many billions of Imperial citizens, but the arrival of the forces of Chaos and the concentrated assault against the unprepared moon rapidly changed that. Now the world, renamed Mageddon by its tyrannical overlords, is a tortured furnace of demoniac industry as the Dark Mechanicus established their base of operations. Huge fleets of Chaos spacecraft hang in orbit: the forge ships of the Dark Mechanicus and the assorted vessels of the pirate princes protecting their newly claimed world from reprisals.

Aria is the capital of industry of the sector, especially after the exhaustion of Repasis. When the Chaos fleets arrived, the focus of the Imperial defence was to protect Aria, and by contrast, the population of Excidia was largely left on their own. Aria is home to vast hive cities and underground catacombs while the surface is an ashen wasteland.

The Arrival of Chaos

The arrival of the Chaos fleets, 20 years ago, has led to a state of constant war on all of the moons and across the vastness of space. Imperial forces such as the Cthodian regiments chaosIcon2(known locally as the Garrison) are entrenched on Aria, while on Rebis, the Skitarii emerge from underground fortresses to engage the Dark Mechanicus’ monsters. On Hyepasis naval battles are waged daily around the floating cities, while on Mageddon bands of survivors fight running battles against daemon engines.

The arrival of the Chaos forces has coincided with natural disturbances across the system, deep under the oceans of Hyepasis great aquatic beasts began to make their presence known, while in the depths of the catacombs of Aria unknown creatures awaken. Rebis, always infamous for its hostile native fauna has seen an increase in the savagery of the beasts and on Repasis, through the toxic fogs, vast shapes walk the earth. And above it all, within the hazy blue-green expanses of Profundis itself, men swear that great shadows are stirring, impossibly huge and shapeless, moving as if swimming through the depths of the cosmos itself, and coming ever closer to the surface.