The Long Night Part Three: Bonfire at Dawn (45k)

The Fifth Grand Conclave Part Four: Segmentum Solar and the Minor Powers

Segmentum Solar remains one of the most divided Segmentum's in the galaxy. It currently contains the three major Chaotic Domains, a portion of shattering Black Imperium, the Void Dragon and part of the Imperium Quartus. Segmentum Solar once contained around three thousand sectors but after the recent superweapon exchange now contains has lost around a tenth of them, two thousand of which the Imperium controlled before the Death of the Emperor.
To the northwest of Segmentum Solar lies the Realm of the Cyclops, the dominion of the Daemon Primarch Magnus the Red and the oath bound servants of the Black Emperor. Currently sizing at ninety-nine sectors the Realm of the Cyclops is far from recovered from its recent defeat at the hands of the Black Legion.
To the northeast lies New Olympia, the domain of Perturabo, Daemon Primarch of the Iron Warriors and one of the most industrialised Chaotic Dominions. While he was not forced to swear on the Oathstone like his brother, Perturabo was also forced to kneel by Abbadon, a slight he will repay at the first opportunity. The Iron Realms of New Olympia still number a full hundred and twenty sectors, though it will take decades more for their industry to fully recover from the damage inflicted on them.
To the east is the western side of Realm of Vect, one of the few Chaotic Domains that prospered in the Black Imperium Civil war, and has grown to a solid to sixty-seven sectors in Solar.

Abbadon has, for a brief moment, regained control of the Black Imperium and controls twelve hundred and forty-four sectors within Segmentum Solar, with another seven hundred and sixty-one controlled by various vassals. There are a mere hundred sectors controlled by independent chaotic forces within the Segmentum, with most domains having fallen into line after Abbadon broke the rebellion.
In total Chaos controls approximately two thousand three hundred and ninety-one sectors in Segmentum Solar.

With the death of Gork and Mork and the collapse of the Final Waagh the Orks have gone to a major power to a few scattered remnants, with many orkish groups being conquered or converted by their neighbors. These remnants still cover a major portion of the Segmentum however, stretching over a hundred and ninety-eight sectors at the moment.

The Quartus Imperium controls a stretch of territory leading from the south-eastern edge of the Segmentum to just passed Ryza, with ninety-three sectors falling under the Primarchs control. There are thirty-nine more sectors of space held by other sane powers, ranging in size from a single well fortified world to a single sector.

In total the Sane control a hundred and thirty-two sectors in Segmentum Solar.

The united forces currently containing the Dragon directly control ten sectors worth of space, space which is a mix of fortifications and various supply dumps, medical and repair sites and mustering points.

Currently, the Void Dragon controls around five sectors worth of worlds, though spread over several times that area , though it is contesting five more sectors worth of worlds. The superweapon exchange of a few decades ago has created several new horrors, which combined with the survivors of the existing minor apocalypses control seventy-four sectors worth of worlds, most of which are centred around Sol.

Nurma's analysis of the powers of the Grand Conclave has now moved on to the more interesting of the Minor Powers, the minor polities that while numerous are the weakest grouping in the Grand Conclave. There are currently either three Minor Powers of interest, all of which were once more powerful. First the Baal Protectorate, then the shattered remains of the once unified Imperium Secondus and Tau Empire.


The Baal Protectorate is the most powerful of the Grand Conclaves Minor Powers, and possibly deserves to be considered a Middle Power. While it has not recovered from the massive beating it took from being in the vicinity of the now ended Eternal Conflagration, it still controls a dozen sectors and ten trillion citizens.
Now that it is within the area secured by the Krork the Baal Protectorate has focused on supporting its Astartes to fight more distant foes and aid various distant allies, most often the Imperium Secondus.
The forces of the Baal Protectorate rely on the Blood Angels, and the various strengths and weaknesses that each individual company's combination of the Three Curses provides them. Some go deep into the Black Rage, and lose themselves as they wield the skill of the Great Angel. Others fight the pull of the Red Thirst, and find their bodies elevated beyond mere Astartes even as they resist the urge to feed on all those around them. Then there are those who follow the Path of the Yellow Doom, where reality itself bends to have them die fighting for good causes.

The Tau Empire was once one of the rising powers in the post Imperium galaxy, looking like it may become one of the galactic hyperpowers. This growth slowed when it started to clash with the also rising Imperium Secondus in an increasingly less bloody war. Things only started to go wrong with the arrival of the Destroyer, and the endless legions of Necrontech killbots led by a C'Tan. While that war was eventually won, the Deceiver taking control over the Ethereal Council and feeding notable portions of the Tau Empire into biotransference furnaces while shattering the rest into countless feuding factions with long laid plots and sleeper agents spelled the end of the Tau Empire as a player in galactic affairs, despite the best efforts of the Farsight Enclaves.
These days the Tau control half a dozen sectors in what was once the core of their territory, and are slowly working to bring the rest under control with a mix of diplomacy, where reason exists, and force of arms, where it doesn't.
At war the Tau rely on heavy use of artificial intelligence alongside various other high technologies to allow a small mobile force to defeat a greater foe.

For a time the Imperium Secundus was the largest and most powerful of the Remnant States of the Old Imperium, quickly expanding across Ultima white maintaining a level of organisation and cohesion that few polities could manage. This expansion nearly entirely halted with the first war with the Tau Empire, though it slowly restarted as the wars became more formal and less destructive. Like their once enemies, later allies it was the combination of the centuries long war with the Destroyer and then the undermining of the Deceiver that ended the Imperium Secondus as a power, despite the best efforts of their returned Primarch.
The Imperium Secondus controls seven sectors centred around Macragge and like the Tau, is working to expand into what was once the rest of its territory via both force of arms and diplomacy.
In battle the Imperium Secondus works like most Astartes Protectorates, using its marines as spearheads and linebreakers to support armies of well trained, well equipped conventional troops.