Astelac

Astelac – Chapter World of the Kings Martial. Astalac is a jewel in the filament of space, one that continually draws the covetous gaze of enemies both within and without. At the equator lies vast rolling plains, ringed by two almost unbroken circles of jagged mountains, “the Umflethar” – ‘the fangs that gnaw the world-sky’. The few mountain passes capable of allowing an army to pass through are narrow and treacherous affairs made all the more so by the impossible abominations that descend from the shimmering mountain peaks when the moons are right. At high altitudes, the air shimmers and strange voices can be heard on the wind. The mountain-dwelling folk that revere the God-Emperor are hardy and resourceful types, toughened by a life of constant warfare against beasts, hunger and the elements. Despite this, their close proximity to the tears in the fabric of reality found at the tips of the Umflethar means that it is rare to find those untouched by stigmata or some minor mutation.

The men of the mountains brave these perils for good reason. Only at these altitudes do the Rarsk’vey – the great two-headed eagles – make their nests, gorging themselves on warp energies as much as they subsist on flesh and blood. When the tides of the empyrean abate, the Rarsk’vey fly far from their nests in their hunger, bringing great woe to psyker and daemon alike.

Their bizarre anatomy and unique feeding habits have birthed countless rumours about their origins. Some say that Astalac was once the secret retreat of a great peer of the Imperium and that on their death, their collection of vat-grown psyber-eagles escaped, somehow flourishing despite their deformity. Others whisper that they are part of a great scheme woven by the Fleshless, a champion of Tzeentch exiled from his own flesh and cursed to possess body after body. They say that this sorcerer created the Rarsk’vey to lure the great and good of the Imperium to a world perfectly suited to their corruption. Still more claim the Rarsk’vey are the reincarnated souls of Imperial saints and this belief has led to a small but growing stream of pilgrims, while in dimly light corners, some whisper of the many strange wonders that were wrought during the Dark Age of Technology.

Regardless of their origins, demand for tame Rarsk’vey is insatiable and continues to grow as their legend spreads throughout the sector. However, rare is the world that can saite their hunger, limiting their off-world appeal to witchfinders callous enough to let them dine on the psykers they capture. Despite being living icons of the Imperium, the Rarsk’vey’s droppings – typically a dark green paste – are laden with fell energies and are consequently much sought after by sorcerers and daemon summoners to aid in their unholy rites and rituals.

Towards the north and south poles, the ring created by the mountain ranges is broken by the world’s two purple seas, the Sas-Jah-Nar in the North and the Ost-Jak-Mar in the South. Beyond the mountains the terrain becomes varied, with dense pine forests to the north, fetid swamps to the East, scorching deserts to the south, and burning mercurial lands to the West. It is here that the descendants of the tribes cast out by the Aesthir and the Valdanthai dwell, eking out a sullen, jealous, existence and ceaselessly plotting to one day reclaim their ancestral hunting grounds. Fortunately, their hate for the twin tribes often pales into comparison to the web of feuds and vendettas between them. However, full scale war between the outcasts is rare for the Vakanarl, the devoted of Khaneth – “The drinker of blood” – and the Sissphjarl, who worship Sarlash, the great dream-serpent, are separated from one another by the Umflethar and the plains beyond them. The same holds true for the Viramor, the tribe known for eking out a bitter morbid existence in the great swamplands in the East and dedicating their fallen to Morith, God of suffering and morality, and their polar opposites, the Sasklzar – “the Star blessed” – who raise shimmering towers made of ice and fire in the lands of the setting sun.

Baracu – Previously a Civilised World, this was forcibly converted to a Fortress World after the expansion of the Thornveil. It houses a Deathwatch Watch Fortress, and an Inquisitorial station.

Astelac Tertiary – A Civilised World reclassified as a Fortress World after the expansion of the Thornveil. The pair of fortress worlds are supplied by the nearby Agriworld of Yoke, in the Braun system.