Forge Castir



Forge Castir is a Hell-Forge of the Dark Mechanicus, wholly dedicated to the Ruinous Powers, located in the Calixis Sector of the Segmentum Obscurus. This is one of three massive forge complexes located on the Chaos-controlled world known as The Hollows, one of the many strange worlds located amongst the so-called Gloaming Worlds on the outer ring of the warp rift known as the Screaming Vortex. Forge Castir continues to wage an eternal war against the rival forge complex of Forge Polix.

History
"Torn asunder by war and united by hate. Twin Forges hammering out the chorus of battle, crafting talons of death upon brass wings. Lies, threats, contradictions, and half-truths are the local tongue. If the Hollows does not rip itself apart first, it is a lovely place to visit."

- Asrodel the Fated

Amongst the Gloaming Worlds on the outer ring of the Screaming Vortex, few worlds are as immediately recognisable as the Hollows. From the void, the planet seems oddly deserving of the name; like a dismembered corpse, only a little more than half a world spins in orbit. The upper hemisphere is mostly intact, crumbling remains spiralling outwards from the lower half where only a stem has been left behind. Like a rotten, half-eaten fruit cast into the stars, the Hollows is a world that could only exist within the reality-bending zone of a warp storm.

Hellwhisper
It was not always so—once, when it was whole, this world bore the name Hellwhisper. Rich in natural resources, habitable by a wide array of biologies, and strategically located within the Vortex, Hellwhisper was a rich prize that drew the attention of a group of outcasts from the Tech-Priests of Mars. Led by Arch-Magos Elikous, the Hereteks established three massive forge complexes on Hellwhisper and swiftly earned a reputation for producing large quantities of useful technology to the denizens of the Vortex. Elikous left two of the forges to his most brilliant protégés and locked himself away in the third forge, the largest and most advanced facility. There, Elikous focused his brilliant mind and prodigious technical skills upon a mysterious project of his own devising. No records remain to explain Elikous' obsession, but there are many whispered legends of what happened next. Most of the surviving accounts vary wildly in details and often contradict each other, but the most detailed of these records are the hololiths of Graz'tzar. According to those leximechanics possessing the proper protocols to access such proscribed data, Graz'tzar -- first Prophitect of the Stygian Order.

Eternal War
Whatever the true fate of Arch-Magos Elikous may have been, the survivors of both remaining Forges wasted no time in declaring themselves the true heir to Elikous' legacy, triggering a struggle for control over the planet's abundant resources that has gone on for six centuries. Hellwhisper was carved up like a feast between the two warring Forges, stripped of vast amounts of heavy metals, chemicals, and precious ores. Deep-core mining devoured huge amounts of the planet's lower hemisphere, depleting nearly half the world's total mass and beginning what was perhaps inevitable from the start. Hellwhisper was gone, and only the Hollows remained.

Now, the planet is consumed by the flames of war; armies of barely-trained menials equipped with bionic war-implants and shock-pikes clash with sophisticated battle servitors while orbital strikes lance down into formations of scuttling Velocireapers threatening the flanks of disciplined mechanical troops. The two Forges employ much more unusual forces as well, willing to utilise ludicrously destructive weapons, soldiers, and stratagems to settle their ancient grudge once and for all.

Although the conflict still grinds on, over the last decade the advantage has been grasped by the forces of the Exospectre, the undisputed master of Forge Castir, who now holds the upper hand on the Hollows. While the armies of Forge Polix still control vital areas of the Hollows -- such as the Forgeflow and Mechmoor -- they have slowly been forced back into a defensive posture. Any significant change in this bitter conflict is likely to be wrought from without rather than within -- a fact that has not escaped the two rival Magi, who even now seek for allies and mercenaries to support their bid for absolute domination of the Hollows.

Both Magos Onuris and the Exospectre are constantly focused on the war between them, but both would also be greatly interested in tipping the balance of power by gaining an advantage in technology or allies. The Exospectre has already located and plundered a Necron tomb, claiming its technology for his own uses. This act has spurred Magos Onuris to try to establish contact with Necron forces in the Screaming Vortex, hoping to locate a Necron Lord with whom he can bargain for assistance against his hated foe. [[Category:F]]