Memento Mori (Exalted/40k)

[MrRageQuit]

Hopefully @Maugan Ra won't mind me stepping in and doing a bunch of lore posts, since I have (almost) all the Dark Heresy 1E PDFs.

A Basic Primer to the Calixis Sector

Origins
The Calixis Sector is in the northwestern corner of Segmentum Obscurus, resting on the very edge of the Imperium. To its spinward, the Koronus Expanse, where Rogue Traders seek to expand the Emperor's domain further. To its rimward, the infamous Halo Stars. Coreward is the Ixaniad Sector. To trailing, the dangerous Fydae Great Cloud, and the Scarus Sector (the setting of the Eisenhorn and Ravenor novels).
Calixis has a dark and ominous history. It was first documented in M35 as the Calyx Expanse by the legendary Rogue Trader Solomon Haarlock, calling it a "chalice of great and ancient wickedness" that would only be purchased for the Imperium with a "great effusion of blood." At the time, it was ruled by the Yu'vath, a xenos species with an appropriately dark nature.

In M39, the Imperium launched a campaign to conquer the Calyx Expanse as part of a Crusade under Lord Militant Angevin. It would be spearheaded under a General Drusus. There are a multitude of stories about Drusus, his origins, his feats, and deeds, but here are the core facts. Drusus was an inspired leader who led the crusade to many great successes. Then, while resting on the world of Maccabeus Quintus, he became a Saint. Again, there are many conflicting tales about what happened, but this much is clear: an assassin nearly killed Drusus, but the God-Emperor's power destroyed them, and resurrected Drusus.

Saint Drusus would go on to exterminate the Yu'vath, complete the conquest of the Calixis Sector, and become the first Sector Lord, until his death (for good) in 417.M39. He was in many ways the founding father of the Calixis Sector, and Drususian worship is a core pillar of the Calixis Ecclesiarchy.

Sub-Sectors: Golgenna Reach, Malfian Sub-Sector, Drusus Marches, Adrantis Nebula, Hazeroth Abyss, Josian Reach, Markayn Marches, The Periphery.
Sector Capital: Scintilla, Golgenna Reach.
Sector Governor: Marius Hax. Lord Hax is from an ancient Terran-descended family in the heart of Segmentum Solar, appointed as Lord Sector by the High Lords of Terra approximately 250 years ago (accounting for the time shift into M42), ruling Calixis from the Lucid Palace on Scintilla (of which he is also the official planetary governor). Lord Hax is an extremely grave and austure man, with an absolute conviction that order and obedient rule are essential to humanity's survival.

At the same time, he is a surprisingly even-handed man, who values and listens to good advisers. Hax rules in an "hands-off, big picture" fashion, generally ignoring events on individual planets, but only sleeping four hours a night and reviewing daily economical and fiscal reports in great detail. His priorities are the tithe, quashing rogue psykers and rebellions, and upholding the authority of the Imperium.

In short, not bad as Sector Lords go, except Marius Hax has been slowly descending into paranoia and tyranny. He has enacted various measures to increase his control over the Calixis Sector, including the notorious Chaliced Commissariat (a highly loathed formation modeled off the Commissariat to oversee PDF units). This state of mind is not of his own making, but engineered and encouraged by conspiracies within the Lucid Court. Needless to say the birth of the Cicatrix Maledictum is unlikely to improve the situation.

Major Planets
Scintilla: The capital world of the Calixis Sector, Scintilla is a hive world of 25 billion, the largest population in the Sector. Dominated by the Hives of Sibellus and Tarsus (with Ambulon and Gunmetal City as runner-ups), Scintilla is the economic, political, and religious heart of Calixis. As all of our options start here, I'll detail the planet further in a later post.

Malfi: The capital of the eponmyous sub-sector, Malfi is a semi-tropical hiveworld with a massive grudge against Scintilla for taking what the population believes to be Malfi's rightful place as sector capital. It is also notorious for being an absurd hotbed of intrigues. Every act and motion of Malfian life is about dissemblance and intrigue. Malfi's elaborate, layered culture of falsehood and deceit makes it laughably easy for numerous sects and cults to recruit and conceal themselves.

Iocanthus: A lawless world dominated by and their huge armies, clashing across the planet's forests, jungles, and plains. Iocanthus' sole meaningful export is also what makes it so important: it's one of the few places where Ghostflower pollen (a key ingredient in the combat drugs used by Imperial Guard penal legions) can grow. Because Ghostfire cannot be cultivated normally, the warlords (styled 'vai', meaning prince) and their armies are constantly on the move looking for new patches to harvest and fighting for control. Every five years, the warlords turn over their hauls to an Administratum task force in exchange for weapons, clean water, and other supplies. The one that provides the most Ghostfire pollen is named 'Vervai' ('King') and Planetary Governor.

Sepheris Secundus: The epitome of feudal worlds. Everyone born on the planet has a master to whom they pay nine-tenths of what they produce, starting from the billions of serfs, moving up the chain to the barons, the monarch, and of course the Imperium. Tradition and force maintains an antiquated system dependent on serfs living in city-size mines, hacking away at ore faces with basic, primitive hand tools. In short, the planet would be a joke if it weren't for the amazingly vast mineral weath underground, enough to make it key to the Calixis Sector's economy.

 

[MrRageQuit]

As promised, another lore post, @Maugan Ra. Well actually, I'm splitting this one up into two posts to improve readability.

Scintilla

Scintilla is the thriving heart of the Calixis Sector, dominated (or depending on your perspective, shared) by Hives Sibellus and Tarsus, the cities that hold the lion's share of the planet's 25 billion strong population. While Ambulon and Gunmetal City are significant economic nodes, they cannot meaningfully challenge the great hives.

That said, Hive Sibellus (often called "the Capital" or "the ruling hive") is the first among equals - not only the larger of the pair, but the center of Scintilla politically, administratively, and in productivity. At the same time, Hive Tarsus (nicknamed "the other place" by Sibellans) is the financial hub, controlling all off-world trade and commerce, so their interdependence is a feature of Scintillan proverbs and myths.

All four cities are controlled by councils of spire nobility - whose power has gone to their heads. Even by the standards of hive worlds, the Scintillan nobility are thoroughly corrupt, often considering themselves (not without cause) above or outside Imperial law, the splendors of their fashion only matched by their callous disdain for their lessers. The middle hivers are generally indentured to either the Scintillan nobility or the sector-wide Great Houses, toiling their lives away for the gain of their betters. The underhives are as you imagine them to be, ultra-violent hellholes of gangs, mutants, and worse (such as the zealots of the Red Redemption).

(So-Called) Law & Order

Most policing on Scintilla is handled by the Magistratum, the planetary law enforcement. While laws and procedures vary from hive to hive, as a rule, their dark green greatcoats will be omnipresent in the noble districts, limited in the middle hives, completely absent in the underhives, and of course they will always take the side of the powerful. The Arbites, while present in force, only care about sedition, tithe interference, and any other matter they deem rises to an 'Imperial' level. Most often, this covers major riots. It's worth noting the two organizations hate each other and will only work together in the most dire situations.

Trial by combat and duelling are cultural touchstones on Scintilla. While conditions vary depending on the specifics of the crime, either party in a trial can always have a champion fight in their place, and professionals are guaranteed dangerous but lucrative careers. Similarly, killing in a duel is legally, not murder. Naturally, the Magistratum hosts trials by combat in their Bloodsquares and won't interfere in duels.

In Gunmetal City, duels are fought with pistols, and the nobility habitually watch gunslingers battle in fancy arena behind bulletproof screens. There's an old joke in the rest of Scintilla that Gunmetallicans don't even know what a Magistratum uniform looks like.

 

[MrRageQuit]

Next lore post, @Maugan Ra.

Gunmetal City

Gunmetal City is built into the crater of Mount Thollos, an immense volcano on the north coast. Given the limits placed by the crater, the city is built upward, the spire made of sky-piercing towers constantly being scrubbed clean by hordes of servants. Clean air is the privilege of nobility, the richest outright importing fresh air from other worlds for their mansions.

The middle hive here is completely defined by the gargantuan foundries churning out an incessant flood of weapons and munitions crucial to Imperial war efforts. The Infernis, the under-hive equivalent, is consumed by unbearable heat, and spouts of lava and toxic gas from Mount Thollos. The gangers of Infernis have nothing to live for other than dominating other gangs, and these well-armed maniacs produce the best soldiers in the PDF and tithed Imperial Guard regiments.

Bloody Lucre

In theory, business in Gunmetal City is straightforward. There are contracts with private buyers, direct purchases by Battlefleet Calixis and the Departmento Munitorum, and the biggest prize: consignments to the Administratum as part of the tithe. The producers deliver directly to the Administratum on behalf of the Lord Governor, and the Lord Governor reimburses them in turn. The "Exactors" (as the Administratum adepts are called for their suspiciously precise numbers) make sure everything is running smoothly and publish the next set of quotas at the proper time. The Mechanicus oversee the machines in every foundry and tightly control the dispensation of archprints and rites of forging.

In practice, people will do near anything to get those commissions. Bribery, intimidation, sabotage, and assassinations are rife. The Arbites don't care about what the nobles do to each other, but come down with maximum force and zero subtlety on corruption in the Adeptus or anything that could threaten the tithe.

Fane-ing Sympathy

The fanes are loose cartel-combines that control much of weapon production, theirs is an elective cross-class membership offering protection to their members. Metallicans may shift their allegiances between fanes or the lesser forges, but never do so lightly. Every fane boasts its temple of arms, with altars and reliquaries containing legendary weapons and archetype-models. They provide a modicum of stability, protecting their members, yet they too are regular players in the trade-wars that consume the city.

Examples:

The Fane of Doru: While possessing a great deal of money and resources, the fane of Doru garners little respect or influence among its peers. Regarded by the rest as "artless panel beaters and skulking cowards," Doru is seen as little more than a front for the Skaelen-Har Hegemony (one of the Great Houses), and they face an uphill struggle to consolidate or expand their power in the hive. They are continuously beset on all sides by backstabbing and petty indignities. In terms of arms, the Doru is largely limited to the mass-production of PDF patterns, generic spares and ammo.

The Forge of Fykos: Perhaps the most famous and wealthy of the Metallican independents, the Fykos dynasty has supplied the elite of the Calixis Sector with the most potent and exclusive of hunting weapons and arms for centuries. Many on Gunmetal regard them as dangerously arrogant and insufferably effete.

The Forge of Khayer-Addin: The family of Khayer-Addin are reputedly of fallen Rogue Trader stock and their family forge has provided master-gunsmiths for five generations. They specialise in one-off commissions, duelling pieces and a variety of artfully disguised guns and blades. To the Scintillan nobility, a Khayer-Addin weapon is a highly desirable item, often an exquisite and ornate work of art whose lethality is rarely exceeded.

The Fane of Orthlack: Allied to the ascendant power of House Hax of Sibellus, the Fane of Orthlack hold the ironclad contracts to arm the Scintillan Magistratum and the enforcer cadres of many other worlds. Old, powerful and influential, the Orthlack are among the most conservative of the great fanes and arguably the strongest.

The Fane of Takara: A rising power, the Takara are creators of superior las weapons of all types. They have strong Cult Mechanicus ties and recently fought off a takeover by the Fane of Doru, forcing a radical reassessment of their power and influence by others in the Metallican hierarchy.

The Fane of Westingkrup: A powerful and aggressive fane, and one with a long history of survival despite the odds, Westingkrup specialises in revolvers, hand cannon, shotguns and other "low tech/high-quality" arms with a just reputation for crafting robust, no-nonsense weapons. Westingkrup is also infamous for the number of regulators and gunslingers it routinely employs and its willingness to go to war over the slightest provocation.