Hephaestia

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One of the very few known Forge Worlds within the Ixaniad Sector, Hephaestia Stands as a beacon of knowledge and technology on the very edge of the galaxy. Situated in a dense cluster of planets on the edge of the void, its isolation has allowed its influence to spread among the local systems. Surrounded by dynastic hereditary governments often at war for short term power and a host of Xenos threats that seek to hide from the crushing fist of the Imperium, Hephaestia has had to adopt a brutal outward mentality and staunch isolationism, keeping the system sealed behind an iron wall of force and furor. Among the Mechanicum, Hephaestia holds a reputation for uncommon and ironclad unity in the face of the coming darkness. Existence on the far side of the expanding Eye of Terror has done no good for the Forge, and Old Night has brought new terrors unto the world as contact with the Imperium wavers.

World Overview
The forge world of Hephaestia (sometimes mistakenly referred to Hephaestus-IV or Aglea-IV) is a Forge World founded sometime in the 28th millennium by Archmagos Diomese Guln and established in the distant reaches of what is now the Segmentum Obscura by the long ranging Mechanicum exploratory fleets. Fragmentary records indicate that the original expedition was cast far off course by the warp storms so common at the time and forced into the system via emergency translation only to encounter what is mysteriously referred to as ‘Undying Men’. The world itself is typical of any other forge world of the Mechanicum. Industrialized to the point of excess with oceans long since boiled away, the land is covered in sprawling arcologies, ranging high into the heavens to deep down into the earth. The planet undergoes a continuous process of decay and renewal as older districts of laboratories, manufactorums, and construction facilities, once commissioned for great and noble purpose, are deconstructed so that the new may stand in their place. The forge is divided into eight Great Forge’s of which the ruling synod hold dominion over, with the Forge Primus sitting at the heart of the web of perfectly geometrical transport systems which facilitate the efficient movement of goods and material between each of the Forge Fanes. Surrounding these forges are scores upon scores of lesser forges, each dedicated to the production of material as seen fit by the ruling Archmagi Prime of the Forge. The world is studded with titanic climate engines and phased energy receivers, the former dispersing the fierce heat of the sun, and the latter taking in the constant deluge of power transmitted from the Lumen Collectors which power so much of the world.

Possibly due to isolation, the Forge World is notable in that they have managed to hold on to a substantial level of knowledge from the time before the great crusade allowing for the manufacturing of ancient and terrible weapon systems. It is this isolation which kept the forge safe. The system is located at the center of a somewhat dense cluster of star systems deep in the Ixaniad sector, Hephaestia stood as the anchor point for the Imperial presence on the edges of the galaxy and a source of rarer patterns of technology which would grace the battlefields of mankind. Surrounded by hive worlds and lesser human realms along with minor xenos empires, the forge stood vigil on the edge of Imperial Space as it always had, sending out what forces were required of it across the galaxy, but primarily focused upon the defense of the Cadian gate.

It was in 342.M39 that this pocket of Imperial might was brought to the forefront of the Ixaniad sector as the Angevin Crusade swept through the sector, expanding the boarders on all fronts and exterminating the alien threats in the sector that had plagued it for so long. Relations were quickly made with the crusade and lucrative rearming deals made in exchange for a place in the crusade and a right to spoils. Though diminished in stature and reach next to what would become the empire building Calixian Mechanicum, the crusade proved highly beneficial to the Forge, and the influence of the Forge rose greatly throughout the sector.

Planetary Culture
The Tech-Priests of Hephaestia are a stalwart and independent group whose often self imposed isolation and practices have spawned numerous sub-cults over the centuries. The priesthood comprises primarily of Unitarians, believing that the God-Emperor of Mankind and the Omnissiah are the same being, with the other being another aspect of the other, representing what mankind is and what mankind once was and could be again in singularity with the Machine God. Perhaps due to insular nature, the priesthood of Hephaestia retains a higher then usual level of factional unity then other forges. Where other worlds may be marred in political strife, assassination, and sabotage, Hephaestia's tech priests, for the most part, stand united in the face of alien foes and the return of Old Night. The dominant cult in the Hephaestian system of Anima Omnissiah promotes an atmosphere of research and experimentation into Beastia Anima. The Forge World rejects any rumor that their research delves into Abominable Intelligence, yet the rumors persist.

Among the tech priests of Hephaestia, it is common for the priesthood to hold a notable amount of pride in this internal solidarity over other Forge Worlds, given their possession of such weighty secrets and ancient knowledge, and the perception of factional weakness in others. Dealings with other forges have ended poorly over the millennia as the worlds ruling elite overplay their hands or insult other factions of the Mechanicum. Given the knowledge possessed by the priesthood, it is common for priests to deal in knowledge as currency over material wealth and secrets and schematics are swapped for goods as often as Imperial Thrones. It is often a point of pride to possess a library of one’s own apart from the Cathedral of Eternal Knowledge. To possess such a personal thing is considered a mark of stature among the Hephaestian Mechanicum, to lose even a portion of it is considered a mark of great shame and false or outdated information is often met with embarrassment.

Unity is the true pride of Hephaestia, the sub-cults working with machine like efficiency with the other, at least on the surface. Sub-cults are strictly monitored and crushed when required, inefficient or uncooperative workers vanish without a trace, and priests who keep knowledge from the rightful sub-cults will be engram-branded to ensure faith in the future. Beneath the surface of perfect harmony however, the politics of mankind boil. Sub-cults and magi conclaves vie for ascendancy, and individual magi engage in assassination or sabotage to get ahead while maintaining a facade of perfect compliance by necessity. The necessity is required, for if the duplicity is uncovered, the priest shall be cast down, or worse. The logic of survival must come first, the illogical are destroyed.



Among the billions of ley folk who make up the bulk of the non-servitor population upon the forge world who dwell within the deep sunk or towering interconnected hives, a diluted form of the Cult Mechanicus is impressed upon the population that emphasizes hard work and dedication to duty. While muted compared to typical imperial hive worlds, the morale and dedication of the menials is high by the standards of the Mechanicum. Due to in part by their Mechanicum masters efforts, a vast series of pastimes have become popular such as logic games and competitions, marksmanship, and so forth in what little free time they possess. In truth, it is their Mechanicum masters who promote such activities and games. Data is constantly collected and sifted, menials who show aptitudes for logic or marksmen or physical skill will be recruited into the Cult Mechanicus proper and elevated or sent to the skitarii. The Mechanicum promotes close family ties through integrated and indoctrinated agents, as a result of millennia of this practice, menials often live in larger family units in the hive spires. This is convenient as it allows for more efficient monitoring of people. The menials often dress is red robes made of durable material which can be stripped down easily to a functional uniform for work and then put on again to protect from the toxic environments so common on Forge Worlds along with a re-breather and goggles to complete the set. Aside from elevation into the cult proper or the Skitarii, the greatest goal of the menials is to be awarded the designation 'Manufactoria Absolutia'. This designation grants the menial the rank of overseer and transfered to the Agri-worlds at the systems core, they are given a plot of land and quarters charged with oversight of food and produce production. The land is not hereditary, and when the owner dies a new menial is selected, if they allow the family of the previous menial to remain is up to them. The reward incites incredibly high worker motivation knowing that they could escape the forges if they are productive enough.

Status in the 42nd Millenium
As the clock ticks into the 42nd millennium and the Lightless Century fell upon the world, millennia old protocols were enacted as Old Night fell once more. Freedoms and research liberties decreased and the whole planet moved to a war footing. It was during this time that rebellion would foster upon worlds under the dominion of Hephaestia, and they would be crushed with ruthless efficiency, their populations reduced to menials or servitors and the once mighty civilizations turned to factories and workshops. The sundering of the galaxy by the great rift cut off the Forge from the light of the Emperor. As battlefleets and war convocations trickled back into the system along with the scores of refugees fleeing the spreading terror, the forces of the Archenemy followed suit.



Initial incursions were a gradual stream of ships and heretic astartes in which space borne stations throughout the system were either irreparably damaged or destroyed after which the forge began recalling its forces from across the galaxy, abandoning pacts and defensive stations when possible. As the might of the forge began the great journey back, a cataclysmic battle broke out upon the planet wherein the Death Guard and hordes of chaos warbands broke into the system with hundreds of warships carrying millions of traitorous guardsmen and chaos cultists, along with the knights of House Nachmund. The battle raged across the system and resulted in the severe devastation of Forge Vulcanis. As the rest of the assault fell upon Momus, the attack was broken. In the wake of this assault, the Archmagi Prime gathered in parliament and discussed all possible options and options. In the end, one prevailing thought became ascendant; Old Night had come once more. The Lightless Century would see Hephaestia consolidate power into its holdings and ancient protocols come back into use. The knowledge of Hephaestia must be protected at any cost and the inhumanly callous aspect of the Mechanicum became ascendant, and operation of defenses and survival of the population and knowledge at all costs became the norm even into the Indominatus Crusade and put itself at odds with the savior forces. As the crusaders reached the stalwart forge, armament and weapons were compelled forth once more and the forces of Hephaestia marched out into the galaxy once more. By the command of Mars, Hephaestia has ramped up production to unprecedented levels and whole systems are stripped bare of both people and resources for the infinite hunger of the forges.

Planetary Government Structure and Militant Orders
Though loyal and bound to Mars, each Forge World is unique unto itself, a supreme power within their home sector and empires unto themselves. While each owes fealty to the Lords of the Red Planet, in some cases these bonds are as absolute as steel, while in others the ties to the Mechanicum seat of power are weaker, sometimes often simply due to distance or immaterial disruption, and in the most extreme cases this fealty becomes questionable at best and the threat of rebellion or internecine conflict becomes distinctly possible. It is this web of fealty which joins the forges of Mars together and holds the shadow empire of the Mechanicum together.

Hephaestia, like many forges, forms a microcosm of this greater web, and the enforced unity of the disparate feudal factions reflects the struggle of the greater Imperium. The Forge World is made up of a complex patchwork of factions, sub-cults, and organizations which rule semi-independent domains across the system. On the surface, from the perspective of the Imperial citizenry, this is a difficult thing to grasp, seeming to be simultaneously a bewildering tapestry of of magi, mechanical cults, and indentured manpower, but also consisting of a rigid and firmly enforced hierarchical structure holding it in a wildly divergent form of rule then typical Imperial Worlds.

The system is ruled by a parliament of 239 Archmagi, known as the Archimandriture, who sit at the heart of the Forge's power and webs of fealty. In their hands are entrusted the secrets of the lost Dark Age of Technology, with its innumerable treasures and secret sins. Presiding over this congregation of technocrats is the Forge-Master Primus, the Archmagos Intendant and Planetary Governor who appoints a second, known as the Apprenti Primus, as second in command. Each Archmagi is selected from the Forge-Masters of each of the major forge domains spread across the system, and each one specialized in a particular facet of the Machine Cult's lore or command a sizable and substantial measure of their worlds infrastructure or military forces. Over the rest of the Archimandriture stand the Seven Lords, Archmagi who have risen to the very highest levels of power within the forge and command all factions who lie beneath their domains in theory. The Archimanditure is bound together by terrible oaths of loyalty and subservience engrams, but more so by tradition then by anything else. Since the time of founding, the magi have had to work together to survive through ancient horrors and alien threats. Whatever misgivings the priests of Hephaestia have of each other, the rule of unity must be upheld to preserve the forge into the coming age of darkness. Given the independence of the magi which make up the parliament primarily serves to ratify new patterns, officiate compacts and trades with other forges, administer to the ruling of lesser forge domains and vassal worlds within the realm of Hephaestia as well as serve as the focal point for macro level political intrigue for the powers of the forge. It is the archimandriture which has the vote of whether the forge will march to war or not.

Ruling Synod of Hephaestia
The Hephaestian system is governed by the Archmagi Parliament and presided over by the Forge-Master Primus and the Apprentii Primus. Serving to advise and carry out the edicts of their lord. The offices of the Hephaestian lords are as follows:

Magos Intendant: The Magos Intendant is the de fecto ruler of the forge and highest authority on all religious matters. Ranked as the planetary governor, with full executive, temporal, and spiritual power over their domains with fealty only to Mars.

Magos Archimandrite: The Magos Archimandrite is the tech-priest who has risen to the height of prominence on Hephaestia. The archimandrite is given custodianship of Eucleia and all the data upon it. The formal authority of the Archimandrite is to forge alliances with other Forge Worlds, formally declare war, and found new Tahgmata battlegroups. This rank is traditionally held by the Apprentii Primus, and is passed on upon their ascension to Forge-Master Primus.

Magos Stataraga: The Magos Stataraga is an ancient title granted to those within the Collegia Titanica. This rank is held by an Archmagos Titan-Priest in charge of overseeing the selection and training of new Princeps. They also oversee the building and maintenance of new Titans and liaising with the Legio Kreuzius.

Magos Malagra: The Magos Malagra is charged with enforcing the will and edicts of the Forge-Master Primus as head of the Prefecture Magisterium. The primary role of the Malagra is the termination of heretics, both of Mechanicus and of Imperium, and is often given entire armies to do so and control of the deadliest assassin hosts. By the rule of the Malagra is the unity and efficiency of the forge maintained and the civilian and military intelligence apparatus' kept moving along.

Magos Myrmidax: Charged with oversight of the Myrmidon ordos, tech-priests dedicated to the art of war and destruction. The Lord of the Myrmidons holds dominion over the Tahgmata battlegroups that serve Hephaestia. It is under their direction that cybernetica cohorts and Skiitari regiments are created and deployed, and it is they who have the final say in what new weapon systems are permitted.

Magos Ordinator: The head of the Ordo Reductor on Hephaestia. The Ordinator holds dominion over the gargantuan weapons deployed in war and custodianship of the weapons of mass destruction possessed by Hephaestia. The Ordinators are charged with overseeing the installation of weaponry upon the craft coming out of the orbital shipyards, the building of defenses and assisting with the construction of new Forges, cities, hives, and are responsible for the reclamation of material for repurposing.

Magos Lachrimallus: The overseer of the manufactorums of the Hephaestian system. The Magos is responsible for managing the workforce of the Mechanicus. In addition to that, the Magos is in charge of ensuring food supplies and caring for the upkeep of the workforce.

Magos Macrotek: Charged with care and maintenance of the foundries. The head forge master and tech-wright, the Magos Macrotek ensures the quality of work coming out and the quality of material going into the forges.

The Triad-Magna
The linchpin of military power on Hephaestia is known as the Triad-Magna; the great trinity. A military pattern hearkening back to the days of old, the Triad-Magna is comprised of three key components; The Skitarii Legiones, the shock troopers of the Mechanicum, the Legio Kreuzius, the burners of continents, and the Tahgmata Omnissiah, the feudal orders of military forces of the Forge which come together to form the backbone of the Hephaestian military power.

In support of the triad-magna are the colossal fleets of battleships of the Baskilion Astra which ferry the troops and war material of the forge about the galaxy and the Explorator battle-groups which take the forces of the forge into the unexplored regions of the galaxy. Sailing with the Legiones of the Forge are the forces of the Ordo Reductor. Semi-independent from the greater forces, these war savants travel the length and breadth of the segmentum as the pace of battle ebbs and flows before returning to the home forge to resupply and rearm.

Legio Kreuzius
The Titan Legion known as Kreuzius (Shield-Wardens) was sent upon the original Explorator Ships which sent out to scour the galaxy for lost technology. Standing vigil over the system since the great Iron War that occurred upon arrival to the system and persisting throughout the ages. The Titan legion is a medium sized legion, but well equipped and maintained. To this day they stand as a Secundus-grade legio, counting 73 engines among their number, primarily consisting of warlord and reaver pattern titans. Scout titans are seen generally as a waste of resources that could go towards battle titans. As such, scout titans make up only up to one fourth of the Legio’s might at any time and function to train princeps in the same way a Space Marine might train their scouts. The Legion’s command structure and priestly orders are nigh impenetrable to outside members of the Machine Cult. Even to those within the Cult Mechanicus, the titan legions stand apart. Those secrets are guarded for good reason. From the earliest days of the Forge’s subjugation of the system, the remnants of the strange alien technology have been studied by the darkest and most secret orders of the Mechanicum. Utilizing ancient patterns of salvaged technology, the Legio Kreuzius has marched upon 10,000 worlds. Gravitic drop rings assist the legion and shape their battle doctrine and for their potent effect has left the legion an intensely aggressive legion that must sometimes be reined in by the Hephaestian Mechanicus. The titan legion serves as a testbed for new macro scale weapons and defensive systems, the culmination of this research by the Order of Binharic Cessation has borne fruit in the adaption of the ancient and proscribed technology of the Warlord Sinister. Through crude replication of the technology, the apotheosis of this dark presence and malign harvest of bound psykers is given form in the body of the Warlord-Sinister, and ancient pattern of dark provenance. Such technology is resurrected from the deepest crypt-vaults of Hephaestia to walk in the face of the direst threats.

The legion previously was spread out across the Segmentum Obscurus on over two dozen worlds in a series of specially constructed orbital stations. Utilizing a series of guidance thrusters to position above the planet, these massive battle stations served as defense platforms as well. Since the Lightless Century began, these battle stations serve as bases of power for Hephaestian might over worlds sworn to the forge, a sword of Damocles ever threatening. These battle stations are equipped with gravitic suspensor rings that allow titans and knights to be dropped from orbit where needed. In the resurgence of Imperial Power following the Indominatus Crusade, previously abandoned battlestations have since been occupied once more and their guns trained back upon the worlds below and the space beyond.

Notable Titans include
 * Dies Ignis: Warlord Class, Hephaestia Sub-Pattern
 * Dies Cinis: Warlord-Sinister Class, Hephaestia Sub-Pattern.
 * Tenebris Inculator: Warlord Class, Hephaestia Sub-Pattern
 * Custodes Fideli: Reaver Class, Lucius Pattern
 * Trucido Rex: Reaver Class, Mars Alpha Pattern
 * Lux Tenebris: Reaver Class, Mars Pattern
 * Nocturnum Lupus: Warhound Class, Lucius Pattern
 * Venator Rex: Warhound Class, Lucius Pattern
 * Inmatura Morte: Warhound Class, Lucius Pattern

Thrall-House of Dumontine
The enemy of all things is time, and House Dumontine of the Agri-World of Croissance made dire foes of it. Once a valiant and noble house of knights with dozens of suits at its disposal, Dumontine stood forever vigilant over the system of Ensante since the early days of the Imperium. Containing only the Agri-World and the Hive World of Crasseux in the Segmentum Pacificus, the knights of Dumontine would often depart the system to quest for glory when Imperial petitioners came forth. As the Imperial Tithe came about once per century to Crasseux, Dumontine would often pledge knights to sail the stars with the recruits for the Imperial Guard, slaking their thirst for glory while fulfilling their imperial obligations. But as Crasseux gained note for the production of infantry fighting vehicles and a fierce reputation for combat about the sectors surrounding the Eye, so too did it become a target from a mighty Ork WHAAG!, striking at the system in 382.M41.

The system was ravaged in the attack, Dumontine and the PDF of Crasseux managing to fight off the green hordes at great cost and nearly two dozen suits of armor. Vast chunks of the Hive World’s infrastructure were destroyed. The pleas for help went out and the Forge World of Hephaestia answered, sending engineers and workers to begin rebuilding the world.

But it was this aid that would doom them. A Warband of Iron Warriors known as the Iron Flesh Warband had long harbored a hatred of the Forge World and had spent many long years searching for it. Agents of the Warband brought news of the Forge’s presence in Ensante and the warband attacked in 794.M41.

The attack was sudden and utterly merciless. The traitor’s allies in the dark mechanicum had worked foul machinations upon the Iron Warrior ships and had given them the power to perform Exterminatus upon the Hive World. Without any significant space borne presence, House Dumontine was unable to assist and could only watch helplessly as the Iron Warriors rained down on their world. Once again Dumontine called for aid and waited as the most peerless siege smiths of the forces of chaos went to work.

For over a month they prosecuted a hit and run war against the traitors as they garrisoned the bulk of their people and civilians in their fortresses. Cerastus Knights rampaged through the traitor lines as Questoris knights broke traitor engine after engine. Unbelievable destruction was wrought unto the land as plague spread and the earth was scared by ancient energies and exploding ordnance. Eventually Hephaestia arrived in force and began to drive the traitors back. But it was too little and too late. As the traitors saw their match and were slowly being overrun, they began to collect what blasted shells of fallen knights they could as sorcerous exterminatus preparations were made. Evacuating what knights they could and what of the population could be retrieved, the Hephaestian Tahgmata retreated as the world was destroyed.

What remains of the once great house now resides on Momus, the remaining populations lending their expertise to farming the land. All the meanwhile, the last 27 surviving knights have given up their heraldry, bonding with the Mechanicum forces which saved them so that they may someday wreak a bloody vengeance as the Iron Flesh warband is utterly destroyed.

Elements of the former Knight House of Dumontine are incorporated into the Legion as auxiliaries and support units. There are currently 27 knights bonded to Hephaestia. Notable Knights include:
 * Venator Regalum: A Knight-Cerastus Atrapos, piloted by Lord Adrian Dumontine. This knight suit was specially made at the order of the Forge Master Primus Jhon’son and the sanction of Mars. It is his dark duty to hunt the mightiest of the enemy war engines and slay them. Built deep in the Primus Forge of Hephaestia, this towering war engine has slain with cold hunger and consuming purpose. Since the War of Momus, this mighty knight has become the tomb of Lord Dumontine. Critically injured in the Battle of Momus, he was cybernetically entombed into his mount.
 * Comedenti Hominum: Knight-Cerastus Castigator, piloted by Lady Dumontine. Serving as an imposing force upon the battlefield, this knight stands ascendant among what is left of the Arbelaster Order. Possessed of enhanced targeting mechanisms and specially augmented ocular augmetics intended for greater data gathering, granting the pilot incredible amounts of battlefield data.
 * Ferrarum Venatori and Excorciator Tyrannis: Knight-Cerastus Lancers, Piloted by Ser Alexi and Nichol Dumontine. As Life Guardians of his lord, the two lancers are covered in victory banners for throwning themselves between gargantuan monsters and heretek engines alike to keep their master safe. Piloting the last of the Dumontine Lancers, they alone are uniquely suited to preserve their lord and friend’s life.

The leadership of the House and House culture charged severely and dramatically after the domination of their house by the Sidon Protocols. In failure to defend their homeworld, the knights stripped all heraldry of their own from their knights save for the Imperial Eagles, taking otherwise the symbols of the Mechanicum and adopted the red of Mars upon their armor. Reduced greatly in number, the knights have been in great demand and time spent upon their new homeworld is limited. Such combat has seen the pilots wounded and as indoctrination into the machine cult over the centuries has continued, so has the prevalence of cybernetics. Cortex Controllers are seen as great honors to obtain, as it allows the knight pilots to slave automata support to their will. The balance of power within the house in tenuous and conflict between the nobles and the Mechanicum is a constant possibility. The Prelate of the house, an Archmagos by the name of Duranus, seeks to bend the knights further to Mechanicum subservience, and in the now absence of Lord Dumontine, Lady Dumontine combats this attempt constantly.

Some of the notable leaders of Dumontine are:
 * Lord Adrian Dumontine: Seneschal and De Jure leader of House Dumontine. A fierce and somewhat temperamental man, Lord Dumontine has been the leader of his house for over 250 years. Since the fall of his house his disposition has become darker and more serious, and since his entombment into his knight, darker still. In battle his ferocity returns and he leads the knights in the field despite being no longer able to deal with business as a mortal man.
 * Lady Galinda Dumontine: The De Facto leader of House Dumontine, Lady Dumontine is charged with the day to day business of the house. Dealing with the oversight of new knight construction, relations with the Mechanicum, and fending off the gradual encroach unto their sovereignty, Lady Galinda is a patient woman well suited to her mount’s machine spirit.
 * Ser Alexi and Nichola Dumontine: Two brothers who serve as lifeguards to Lord Dumontine, they pilot the last two lancers of the House. Gung-ho and filled with a desire for justice, these two knights relish in challenging themselves. The two brothers are possessed of varying temperaments of how to deal with their battle approach. Alexi, piloting Excorciator Tyranis would slay all who stand before them with brutality. Whereas Nichola advocates a defensive mindset, forming a great shield with which he may counter and destroy the enemy. Both have proven invaluable to the house in its diminished state.

Hephaestian Skitarii Legiones
The Skitarii legiones are the the rank and file of the forge world's forces, forming a fearless and unshakable wall of iron which marches at the command of their masters. The Skitarii are divided into numberless Legiones, each one based at one of the forge fanes across the system on each planet and commanded by the ruling Archmagos Prime. From Xespora to Eucleia they maintain watch over the worlds, stations, outposts, and ships. The first legion, the Secutarii, is the most prestigious among the legiones as it garrisons the Legion Kreuzius and where the engines of Kreuzius march, so does the first legion. Each Legion is supported by a small fleet of strike cruisers and attack craft along with the Legiones capital ship and arcana war machines to augment the power of the Omnissian soldiers.

Thought the Skitarii fight in vast maniples by themselves at the behest of their masters, the soldiers of the machine god are woven inexorably into the fabric of the entire military structure of the Machine God's armies. It is the skitarii who perform the key ground occupation efforts and who hunt down the foes of the Omnissiah and who man the outposts and defensive structures and battle tanks. They march at the feet of titans and among the militant orders of magi, yet they stand only above servitors, menials, and the tech-thrall Adsecularis in the hierarchy of Hephaestia. In this station, they find glory and purpose, often through fulfillment of their own subculture and creed of the Machine Cult. Though their gleaming and flawless augmetics may project a life of glory as the armies of Hephaestia march down the parade grounds of the Imperium, the Skitarii are as expendable as bolt munitions, and the devotees of the Omnissiah go gladly to their fate.

Each Legion is divided up into Macroclades, of which there is at any time a minimum of seven and the maximum changing to respond to demand. Each Macroclade is divided into four Cohorts, and each Cohort into 3 Maniples, such that twelve Maniples exist in each Macroclade, a sacred number among the Mechanicum. The Hephaestian Skitarii Legiones primarily use energy weapons; plasma weaponry of ancient design and Neutron weapons rediscovered from the lost Dark Age. Among the Legiones, use of 'dumb' munitions is considered a punishment, for only the Secutari use the specialized solid state ammunition.

Notable Skitarii Legiones

 * Tenth Legion: The garrison force of Forge Deculus itself and biggest of the legiones. Swollen in size up to 21 Macroclades by the influx of refugees into the forge system over the Lightless Century, the legion is spread far and wide across the galaxy with the battlegroups of Hephaestia. Throughout the Lightless Century, the TenthLegion came into conflict with Eldar numerous times and earn a dread reputation among the perfidious xenos. It was the tenth legion which bore the brunt of controversy as the Forge World met with the galaxy. skitarriguns.png As zealous soldiers of the machine god swept out into formerly closed off vassal domains with the Indominitus Crusade, the Hephaestian forces came to a terrible misunderstanding with the fanatical forces off the Ecclesiarchy under who owned the worlds. Forced into a defensive siege in the capital city of the world, the Legion and Tahgmata forces held back the tides of fanatics for two weeks until the missive came through from the Fabricator General of Mars to cease hostilities and the situation was cleared up and the world returned to the rule of Hephaestia. Tension with the Ecclesiarchy has been high since in the face of perceived heresies in each.

Tahgmata Battlegroups
Perhaps the most complex of the Mechanicum's array of military power. A somewhat archaic designation translated from Lingua Technis as 'That which is divinely ordered for war' and in the current day and age the parlance of 'War Convocation' is more common. The Tahgmata is formed from the myriad of militant priest orders, magi sworn to service to their lords and the resources that come with those subserviant disciples; armies of retainers, cybernetic monstrosities dredged up from the depths of the vaults, and cohorts of war machines outfitted and formed by their masters will and in line with the preferences, High Techno-Arcana, and proclivity.

Tahgmata battlegroups are raised on demand at the behest of the Magi Archimanditure, and when the Magos Myrmidax, the Forge Master Primus, or those Archmagi Prime empowered in war to fight for the forge call a Tahgmata into being, it is the sworn duty of each magi sworn unto their masters to provide troops and assets as is demanded of them to support the great military undertaking of the forge. Through this web of subservient magi; lesser tech-adepts, sub-cults, and other more esoteric orders are called on, and so on and so forth throughout the patterns of seniority and fealty that criss-cross the forge world. In essence, the Tahgmata battlegroups represent the unity of the forge in times of war, drawing forces from across all disciplines and major fanes into one collective unit.

Oftentimes, Tahgmata battlegroups will serve as the prime military power of Hephaestia, and will be called upon to travel beyond the forge and its hot blue star to distant outposts and battlefields or aboard explorator fleets and garrisons upon client worlds tied together by patronage and pacts of mutual defense and allegiance. The command structure of these raised battlegroups are formed from the Archimandriture or appointees in the stead of the chosen magii, the synod choosing several of their own well versed in the arts of destruction to form war councils at the head of the Tahgmata. Such commands are highly sought after by the servants of the Archimandriture, both for power and prestige they bring, and the potential glory or knowledge which can be uncovered. More rarely, a Tahgmata shall be raised to provide armed escort for diplomatic missions or garrison key strategic outposts.

While the skitarii provide the all important ground power for the military strength of the forge, the Tahgmata provide everything else required in war and a wide and extremely diverse range of specialities.

Principle Tactical Divisions of the Hephaestian Tahgmata

 * The Lacyraemara: Magi and manpower conscripted into service for the Tahgmata forces. Consisting of indentured labor and workers, mind-locked expendable slaves, Adsecularis covenants, and medical divisio's. The Lacyraemara is a brutal salvation that provides the organic support for a battle-group; both for the benefit of their allies and bane of whatever prisoners they capture. The turnover rate of the unfortunate troops is extremely rapid, but is offset by the rapid collection of organic field samples by the callous and distant overlords.
 * Munitoria Logis: The providers of munitions and wargear, these data-savants are drawn into the service of war from the centers of bureaucracy across the system. Putting their talents to use in war, it is their duty to organize the logistics chains and prepare battlefield reports so as to direct the overall flow of the battlegroup. In addition to this, the logi are charged with the upkeep of the various monotasked servitors and drones which move about the Tahgmata in addition to lexmechanic duties such as record keeping and scribe work necessary for interaction with the Imperial Bureaucracy.
 * Macrotechnica: Drawn from the combat engineers, Enginseers, and Ordnance magi of the forges, the macrotechnica is charged with the construction of field operation bases and structures. Within the fleet of the Tahgmata, the Magi under the Macrotechnica will work the forge ships, preparing prefabricated structures to drop unto the target world via gravitic drop rings. It is the Enginseer covenants who direct tech-thrall forces in battle and direct the power of Ordinatus should their power be sanctioned.
 * Bonded Cybernetica: The cybernetica permeates all levels of the Hephaestian system and its power is recognized as ascendant among the forces of the forge. As the most feared, revered, and powerful of the Divisio's Militant, the cybernetica forms the core power of the Tahgmata. By ancient decree, the legio must remain broken into a myriad of smaller and self contained units known as cohorts. These cohorts are sworn to the service of hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of different magi and consist of fighting forces of 30-100 battle, stratos, and siege automata, and each cohort led by a senior priest of the Anima Cult with whom the secret lore of the Cybernetica resides. When called to war, those priests must heed the calls of their masters and their cohorts march with them. It is the cybernetica which the rest of the Tahgmata follow, seeking direction within the sacred minds of the Beastia Animus.
 * The Autokrator: The closest analogue to traditional military structure within the Tahgmata, focusing entirely on the ground forces of the unified military apparatus that is the Tahgmata. The armorsmiths of the forge and metallurgists rumble alongside Indentured Skitarii within their own ancient arcana war vehicles and mobile artillery units second only to those of the Ordo Reductor. It is the autokrator who perform the function of advance guard and pioneer force, setting up Noospheric relay beacons in their wake and it is the Autokrator who are so often seconded to explorator forces.
 * The Associated Sub-Cults of Hephaestia: When a Tahgmata is created, the chains of fealty that wind throughout the forge pull tight and draw all manner of priests of all manner of sects into action. From the Myrmidon Cult; the hulking and heavily augmented war savants from whom the most potent weapons flow and which Destructors rain down punishing barrages of fire, to the contentious worshipers of energy in the Fulgarites and Corpuscarii Cults. With them walk representatives of the Anima Cult and the Autocaduceus Order in perfect lockstep with the normally nigh-outcast Xenarite influenced biologus cults. This seemingly disordered collection of sworn priests-militant is the perfect representation of the mechanicum in times of war, unifying all manner of factions beneath the Binharic banner of the Tahgmata, and a trillion binharic instructions buzz about them to ensure compliance.

Ordo Reductor Covenant Omnicron-Rho-Pi
The worshipers of the Omnissiah in his aspect of unmaker and bringer of ruin, the Ordo Reductor has had a long standing presence upon Hephaestia, coming to dominate Forge Oblito and acquire a permanent position of influence within the Archimandriture. For the most part, the Ordo Reductor stands apart from the bulk of the Forge World, choosing not to engage in the labyrinthine politics of the priesthood and devote themselves to their craft and duties. Many magi are drawn to the comfort of singularity of purpose, while others, it is sometimes said, were already outcasts; either seen as dangerously heterodox by their peers or overly independent even by the standards of Hephaestia. Low whispers among the synod have echoed for an eternity that the Reductor has oftentimes been used as a dumping ground for those undesirable priests, whether true or not is never commented on by the reductor, but none can question their efficiency or their dedication of purpose that some say only those seeking redemption can muster. The Covenant represents perhaps the most diverse body of priests outside of the Tahgmata, and indeed the most cohesive; all coming together under the Bringer of Blessed ruin. Representatives of almost all of the sub-cults of Hephaestia can find representation within; the Myrmidon Cult,, Anima Omnissiah, the Light of Solex, Cult Graviticus, Ordinatus, and Biologus. These war minded priests serve often as the vanguard force for whatever fleet or army they find themselves in compact with, Imperial or Mechanicus, and conduct probing strikes to best asses the strength of the enemy and follow up with an analysis of the battlefield to demonstrate both the effectiveness of the Imperial War machine and how to improve it for the next encounter with their enemy.

It is thus that the priesthood of the Ordo Reductor often departs their home forge, the covenants of ruin basing themselves out of Galleass class warships birthed in the shipyards of Cacus and Caeculus for this exact purpose. These warships serves as transport, fane, and holy fortress-monastery for the Ordo Reductor. These warships travel the length and breadth of the Segmentum Obscura and beyond and for eons have congregated about the Eye of Terror as the ebb and flow of battle shifts. The eye and the forces of chaos represent the ultimate challenge for the Reductor; the destruction of astartes and fellow mechanicum. Inevitably though, these war fleets return to their home forge for resupply and rearmament and to deliver the fruits of their research and impart the bloody wisdom they have learned.

Due to in part the relatively small numbers of the covenant, the Ordo Reductor has often served as advisers to the war councils of the Tahgmata and to the protocol directors of the Skitarii legiones, fulfilling the roles of battlefield intelligence gatherers and warrior-seers to best conduct the warfare of the armies. Their true calling comes into play during siege-craft, and to the magi of the covenant, this is a true thing of beauty and intricate mystery. Through countless sieges against rebellious worlds, heretic bastions and the castles of the traitor Astartes the Ordo Reductor has proven its capability a hundred thousand times. The covenants acknowledge no equal in the sector and their cold fury brooks no insult.

The Aglaean System
The Aglaea System is home to much more than the Hephaestian forge. It is home to eight additional planets, interplanetary depots, and space stations home to the shadowy experiments of the Hephaestian Cults. Visitors to the system will find a veritable fortress of a system and interplanetary movement highly controlled, prepared for an assault believed to be inevitable as the End Times approach. Defensive platforms and auguries peer into the hearts of those ships that enter, picking out all weaknesses. Automated space-borne drones swarm through the system like hordes of carrion crows, seeking prey, and without proper access codes, intruders will find their citadel-ships torn down piece by piece as blistering solar radiation scours clean the twisted hulls.

Aglaea
The various bodies revolve about a star which burns bright like a beacon in the darkness which surrounds the Eye of Terror. Even as the harsh light scours the worlds under its harsh gaze, the blue star provides the energy for countless solar generators and argodomes. The scalding gaze had long ago rendered the system bare, millennia of harsh light and solar flares leaving the worlds thin of atmosphere and inhospitable. According to fragmentary records of the systems founding, through the power of the Mechanicum was new life breathed into the worlds. It is through the genius of the tech priests that the power of this harsh eye is harnessed and dominion held over nature via network of heavily shielded lumen collecting satellites orbiting about the star, collecting nigh immeasurable amounts of energy and transmitting them via phased energy transponders and bleeding off solar flare ups with titanic grav-suspensor projectors and thermal siphons.

Xespora

 * Xespora
 * Segmenatum: Obscura. Galactic North. Sector: Ixaniad Sector.
 * System: Aglaea System.
 * Designation: Death World.
 * Orbital period: 163.2 Terran Days
 * Rotational period: 18.7 hours
 * Orbital distance: 0.83 AU
 * Tithe Grade: Aptus non (Dead World)



A graveyard of a world sterilized long ago by the ionizing radiation of Aglaea, this burnt husk of a planet represents a dumping site for the tech priests of Hephaestia. Every day millions of tons of waste material are dumped under the harsh light of Aglaea, the scorching radiation burning out sensitive electronics of waste technology the priests would keep secret. The searing heat boiling away seas of chemical waste and the light denaturing all organics abandoned upon it. It is forbidden to step foot upon this world, as to do so is a death sentence. Enforcing this quarantine is a series of stations in orbit, suspended in space for a series of purposes. Some dedicated to security, others dedicated to the mounting and deployment of new and powerful weapons, for the polluted hellscape is a perfect testing ground for the macro-scale weapons produced by the Hephaestian Forges and a convenient means to ensure the appropriate destruction of what lies below. It is said that the deep recesses of the planet within the carcasses of voidships and strata of wreckage dwell the tiniest of populations, vile mutants or hereteks who cannot escape the system yet have sought haven.

Euphema and Momus

 * Segmenatum: Obscura. Galactic North.
 * Sector: Ixaniad Sector.
 * System: Aglaea System.
 * Designation: Agri-World.
 * Orbital period: 721.3/432.8 Terran Days
 * Rotational period: 48.5/33.1 hours
 * Orbital distance: 1.3/1.6 AU
 * Tithe Grade: Decuma Extremis



Two of the inner planets (Aglaea-II and III) have been converted to agri-worlds to sustain the population. Continent sized Argodome networks shield the macro-farms from the glaring light of their sun. Land is sometimes given to serfs who manage to distinguish themselves in the manufactoria and the forge fanes, this land does not get inherited and once the landholder dies, another is selected to watch over the lands. Upon Momus is a great Mechanicum citadel built of iron and stone for the purposes of House Dumontine. Within this facility are the repair and construction facilities to facilitate the rebuilding of the thrall-house. Momus was ravaged in the opening months of the Lightless Century. Over 43% of its land was rendered contaminated or unusable. Food production has suffered and land is restored where possible, where impossible, new Mechanicum facilities have sprung up dedicated to cloning food products and involving in genetics work in addition to mass manufacture of ammunition.

Hephaestia-II

 * Segmenatum: Obscura. Galactic North.
 * Sector: Ixaniad Sector.
 * System: Aglaea System.
 * Designation: Forge Moon (Mechanicum Outpost)
 * Orbital period: 595.6 Terran Days
 * Rotational period: 17.4 hours
 * Orbital distance: 1.9 AU
 * Tithe Grade: Aptus non (Production grade IV-Secundi)



Known as Cedalion to the citizens of the moon; a reference to surviving tomes of Terran myth. This lesser forge is covered in Forge Fanes and is effectively an extension of Hephaestia. Home to the Autokrator orders and Baskilion Astra factions of the Forge, the world yet retains importance. Home to the Legio Kreuzius, the ancient bastions of Omnissiah derived power dominate the landscape wherever they crop up, piercing the heavens as orbital elevators ferry their divine cargo to the ships above. Unknown to the priesthood at large and known only to the ruling synod of Hephaestia, The Cult of Binharic Cessation; an order dedicated to the experimentation and furthering of proscribed technology from before the Age of the Imperium, works in secret with the Legio. A multitude of smaller cults operate upon the moon as well away from the ruling synod, but the current Lord Malagra, Gearhardt, keeps a very close watch.

Hephaestia-III

 * Segmenatum: Obscura. Galactic North.
 * Sector: Ixaniad Sector.
 * System: Aglaea System.
 * Designation: Armory World (Mechanicum Outpost)
 * Orbital period: 595.6 Terran Days
 * Rotational period: 21.9 hours
 * Orbital distance: 1.9 AU
 * Tithe Grade: Aptus non

The smaller moon of the Forge World serves as a mustering ground for the manufactoria. On the planet proper, the impossibly huge amounts of war material, Imperial goods, and manufactured material roll out of the production lines and directly into huge storage warehouses, kilometers wide vehicle yards, and deep sunk stasis facilities where they await transport to one of the orbital elevators for pick up by Imperial Forces. In times of increased production or decreased product departure, whether by necessity or by happenstance, excess material is stored here, carried from the forge by the orbital elevators and colossal bulk transporters. Over time, the vagaries of the warp have caused Imperial ships to arrive late or not at all. As such, material has gradually accrued upon the moon over the millennia. Generations worth of battle tanks lie in formations big enough to be seen from orbit, prefabricated buildings form empty cities, and stores of munitions capable of fueling the wars of a sector for a decade lie unused, awaiting the right release papers or a situation dire enough to warrant their disgorging, and the stocks may very well be accessed soon.

Cacus and Caeculus

 * Segmenatum: Obscura. Galactic North.
 * Sector: Ixaniad Sector.
 * System: Aglaea System.
 * Designation: Mining World.
 * Orbital period: 1899.6 Terran Days/2192.2 Terran Days
 * Rotational period: 29.3/31.4 hours
 * Orbital distance: 4.4/4.8 AU
 * Tithe Grade: Aptus Non

Cacus and Caeculus are gaseous planets rich in hydrogen, nitrogen, and various other gasses. In orbit around these planets are vast space-borne mining platforms which continuously plumb the depths for the precious elements to further refining or conversion into sublight drive fuel. On the moons of Caeculus exist manufacturing facilities for voidcraft parts with numerous orbital shipyards around them; these shipyards are capable of producing many patterns of Imperial ship, with their grandest achievement being the production of the Oberon-Class battleship. Though production of those mighty ships is a massive endeavor and can take many decades to produce a single one at the expense of the production of other lesser craft.

Crius

 * Segmenatum: Obscura. Galactic North.
 * Sector: Ixaniad Sector.
 * System: Aglaea System.
 * Designation: Dead World.
 * Orbital period: 742.6 Terran Days
 * Rotational period: 37.3 hours
 * Orbital distance: 4.9 AU
 * Tithe Grade: Aptus non



Of note is Crius which contains extremely rich promethium deposits found only in single layers of Strata. Evidence of incredibly ancient ruins has been discovered on the planet that is otherwise nearly completely barren save for patches of strangely verdant growth where most of the planets population dwells. It is thought to have been the home of an ancient Xenos species and a much more verdant world before some unknown cataclysm. Soil analysis reveals absolutely no nutrients within the scoured soil, and an unusually high concentration of carbon. In the depths of one of the ruins is a chamber which leads deep into the earth, several missions have been deployed down into the bowels of the catacombs, but only very rarely do they return, often with disjointed stories or their cognition buffers wiped. The entrance has since been sealed and is monitored continuously by a detachment of cybernetica cohorts.

Gaeaus

 * Segmenatum: Obscura. Galactic North.
 * Sector: Ixaniad Sector.
 * System: Aglaea System.
 * Designation: Mining World.
 * Orbital period: 653.2 Terran Days
 * Rotational period: 29.3 hours
 * Orbital distance: 5.3 AU
 * Tithe Grade: Decuma Extremis



This world is rich in Adamantium, cobalt, helium, and other metals required for the manufacturing of high quality military and industrial grade equipment as materials required for the manufacture of very high quality lenses. What is not covered in mining facility is covered by manufactoria which run constantly to directly turn mined crystal into the required macro-scale lenses for the highly effective Hephaestia Pattern Godsbane Lance Battery, a powerful photonic weapon mounted on main battleships which continue to be in high demand. In addition to the batteries, las weapons of all walks are produced constantly to fill the hunger of the Imperial war machine.

Eucleia

 * Segmenatum: Obscura. Galactic North.
 * Sector: Ixaniad Sector.
 * System: Aglaea System.
 * Designation: Shrine World/Forge World
 * Orbital period: 2634.1 Terran Days
 * Rotational period: 24.3 hours
 * Orbital distance: 5.9 AU
 * Tithe Grade: Aptus non



Eucleia is a repository world covered in temples to the Omnissiah and to the God-Emperor of Mankind known for its vast cogitator banks containing technological information sometimes dating back to the great crusade or beyond, notably the construction and maintenance of photon weaponry and patterns of plasma weaponry rarely seen in the imperium. The world provides sanctuary to data of utmost importance to the Forges throughout the system. Outside of the temples lie data storage facilities, warehouses, and infocrypts along with massive scriptoria required to disgorge the proper protocols to those properly inducted into the highest mysteries of the omnissiah. The greatest treasures of the world lie within titanic stasis vaults at the center of the planet: arcane xenos devices, twisted wrecks of ancient or alien ships, with the greatest treasure being the Ark Mechanicum which brought the priests to this system. Rumors about of the true secrets buried in the depths of the world abound. This world is kept warm by ancient climate engines which maintain the atmosphere of the planet and keep it habitable so far from the blazing sun. A quarter of the world’s surface lies in ruin from an Ork Whaag! attack; partial restoration of the lost data is proceeding slowly. Additional assaults by the Thousand Sons have left the master of this world paranoid, and new defensive emplacements are beginning to stud the towers of Mechanicum faith.

Forge Domains and Vassel Worlds
Beyond the Aglaean system the forge world holds considerable influence within the local cluster of systems and throughout the sector. Whole planetary systems are sworn to subservience to the Forge, forming a fiefdom of forge domains on the edges of Imperial Space. Worlds under the dominion of the forge are generally resource rich or capable of providing some valuable material and often have a strong Mechanicum presence or whole controlled areas. In other cases, the worlds will be left alone, the services of Hephaestia given freely so long as tithe and tribute is paid to the forge. Since the Lightless century begun, numerous worlds rose in rebellion against their inhuman masters, Hephaestia has crushed them in kind, leaving whole populations bereft of identity and free will and civilizations turned to industry beneath the iron heel of the Machine God.

Forge Moon Cabeiria
The Forge Moon of Cabeiria was a Mechanicum outpost established to aid the Chapter of the Knights of Steel after their founding in 599.M32 and stablished around the planet of Zunus, the homeworld of the Chapter, in the (insert name here) system, by the tech priests of the Forge World of Hephaestia. Prior to the occupation of the moon by the Mechanicum, the mighty citadels that lie at the hearts of each of four great forge domains were occupied by the high generals of Zunus. Formerly under the authority of Governor Volkmar Kling, ruler of Zunus of the Alteria system, the planet served as a Vassal World for the isolated Forge World of Hephaestia, and entered into rebellion in 611.M32, the planetary governor declaring himself King of the world and that the system was his Klingdom, claiming the resources and factories upon the world for himself. The ambitious move came amidst the WHAAG! of The Beast, and the Mechanicum rulers were unable to respond adequately. After the defeat of the WHAAG! and Fourth Founding, the Knights of Steel, descendants of the Dark Angels, fell upon the system. It was not an easy victory. The world was possessed of powerful technology gained from the beneficence of Hephaestia, and thus posed stern resistance to the invading Knights and inflicted terrible damage to the chapter, killing almost half of the chapter.(edited) Amidst the terrible war, huge chunks of resources were utilized in the five year campaign to fuel the foundries to hold off the Knights of Steel and chunks of the world were reduced to ruin as the Knight House of Algonquin stormed across the world. As the remnants of The Beast’s forces were slain, Hephaestia managed to reach the now shattered world and found themselves in a conundrum with what to do with it. Surrendered forces held prisoner by loyalist military forces spoke of the Knights of Steel and their victory over them. After executing one third of the population for their heresy, diplomatic relations were extended unto the Knights of Steel and an alliance was made and terms of alliance drawn. The mathematics of such a compact were simple, the alliance with an Astartes Chapter was worth more to the Mechanicum then the remaining resources upon the world, and the system was turned over to the rulership of the chapter with the tech priests of Hephaestia taking up a permanent presence within the system on the capital world’s moon. And since then the foundries run constantly to manufacture all the goods required for the chapter and the world beneath them.

While the Forge is nominally at the behest of the chapter and is compliant with all demands made upon it as such, ultimately loyalty lies to the parent forge and to the Machine Cult, though typical to the enforced doctrines of Hephaestia; unity must be maintained. Typical of its parent forge in kind, a well concealed division within the ranks of the Tech Priests simmers far away from the eyes of the marine chapter which it serves. Bitter debate takes place periodically over where loyalties truly lie; to the forge, separated by gulfs of space whose iron resolve provides neither succor nor satisfaction, or to the Astartes, allies of the Mechanicum that they are, who show naught but appreciation for their talents and glory in battle.(edited)

Much like other lesser forges established by Hephaestia, the cyberdiocese of Cabeiria follows the hierarchical pattern of the ruling synod but on a smaller scale. The Forge is ruled by a Forge Master Primus and Apprentii Primus and below that are the great forge fanes, of which there are four of which stand ascendant above the scores of lesser workshops, yards, and assembly facilities.


 * Forge Ingran: Greatest of the forges and center of omnissian worship upon the forge moon. Presided over by Apprentii Primus Hieth Beyea. Within this forge do the parts for voidships crawl forth and the mightiest guns of the chapter roll forth. Above the fane in geostationary orbit, tethered to the world by enormous orbital elevators, are the dry docks for the chapter fleet. Within this fane is located the astropathic choir of the world and the holding cells for potential psykers found upon the world below to be held before the black ships can retrieve them. At the head of the forge stands Forge Master Primus Basiliscus Persyn who oversees the spiritual needs of the forge and ensures that any new STC patterns reach Hephaestia. This forge also serves as the last holdout of Electro-priests within Hephaestian controlled realms.


 * Forge Boeri: A lesser forge which serves as the production center of bionics, servitors, man portable weaponry, and astartes grade power armor. Presided over by Forge Mistress Desparrois, the forge is the center of the tech guard auxillary upon the forge and production center for ammunition and las-cells, pouring the munitions down unto the world below while tending to the maintenance needs of the Chapter.


 * Forge Uzziel: A most bizarre forge which is also the most expansive of the forges. Manned by the most remote and distant of priests, the overwhelming majority of the forge is manned almost entirely by servitors. At the head of the forge is Forge Master Nulaati, who has never been seen since his ascension to master of the fane. The circumstances which saw him rise to power are cloudy and chunks of records are deleted but what can be certain is that the previous occupant of the position did not leave peacefully. Known only to the magos and to the Magisterum Prefectus, the former magi was declared excommunicate after proclaiming themselves a true prophet of the omnissiah. The digital battle that followed saw systems across the forge go haywire, and at the end left Nulaati so enmeshed with his systems he would never leave them again. The forge is the center of production for space marine vehicles and macro-scale weapons with assembly lines spanning almost half of the equator of the moon.


 * Forge Maximian: Center of genetics and gene seed research. This forge is home to the vast gene banks of the chapter. Carefully maintained gene banks lie among the miles of stasis tanks which preserve the vital gene stock of the chapter. Alongside these tanks are endless samples of xenos biology. Endlessly analyzed so that the marines may better slay their foes. The apothecaries of the chapter are trained here and the highest medical care available in the sub-sector is carried out by the Knights and by the priests here.

Enetheos
A former civilized world within the Ansirian system and home to the civilized worlds of Duraneer and Juraneel. Formerly a producer of rare ores and a manufacture of imperial vehicles, commercial goods, and specialty parts for the Forges. In the middle of the lightless century, the system governor and the ruling oligarchy declared their independence, taking the technology given unto them and succeeding from the Imperium. Being unable to reach the world and unknowing of the betrayal, the world remained as such for decades. When the world finally was uncovered as warp travel became possible once more the Forge came down hard on the world and system. Juraneel was mined out and exterminatused and Enetheos was reduced to a factory world and converted to an outpost of the mechanicum, the civilization erased and much of the population reduced to servitors and tech-thralls.

The Great Forges of Hephaestia
The planet of Hephaestia is dominated by eight great forge fanes, each one spreading for thousands of kilometers in every direction from the center. It is within these forges that the greatest products of the system and the mightiest war machines are produced. Where distant forge fanes across the system produce items of lesser import such as vehicles for the Imperial Guard or Rhino APC’s and those vehicles based on the chassis, it is these fanes which are dedicated to producing Archaoetech vehicles, rare STC’s, and specialty creation pieces of artificery and research. The greatest of automata are built and parts from across the system come together in these great continent sized fanes before being shipped out to allies, traded with other Forge Worlds, and used to gird the armies of the Mechanicum. It is these forges that supply the armies of mankind.

Due to good luck, greed, grace of the God-Emperor or devotion to the Machine-God, the Adeptus Mechanicus of Hephaestia have been able to survive with substantial amounts of old data. Of particular note is the world’s skill with photonic weaponry. The forge world is one of the main suppliers of ancient weapons whose wrath would be lucky to grace a dozen worlds with their presence. The Orders of the Adeptus Mechanicus all find home here and each fane is peopled with Logi, Transmechanics, Runepriests, and an infinite amount of enginseers and overseers who ensure the forges keep running at maximum capacity.

Forge Feulner
Domain of the Forge Master Primus Caeve Johnson, wholly given over almost entirely to research and replication of the most ancient of STC’s of the Dark Age of Technology. It is in this forge which produces the most powerful Knight frames, the graviton weaponry mounted upon starships, and the phased lumen transmitters and thermal siphons which tame Aglaea, and many such mighty relics of human technology. It is Forge Feulner that produces the neutron weapons of the Skitarii Legiones and the focusing equipment for the neutron caster weapons mounted upon laser destroyers and tank hunters. The sprawling forge complexes are also home to the most sophisticated secrets of each individual forge, for each lesser forge domain must tithe a sample of their works each year, and a copy of their blueprints replicated within the forge for transport to Eucleia. Examples of notable goods produced at this forge:
 * Cerastus Knight Atropos
 * Neutron Laser/Neutron Caster
 * Graviton Weaponry
 * Contemptor (Mortis) Dreadnought
 * Laser Destroyer
 * Fire Raptor Pattern Gunship: During a joint venture with the Forge Worlds of Yukaun, Atrauin-Beta, Neumekii-X, and the Rogue Trader house of Gregario, the STC blueprints for the Fire Raptor were uncovered. As with the other forge worlds fortunate enough to uncover this relic STC pattern, gradual dissemination across the Imperium has begun and limited production has resumed once more.
 * Volkite Weaponry: Volkite weapons are weapons of tremendous power which exist as weapons of status throughout the Hephaestia system. These powerful heat rays have infantry killing power like no other. Due to complexity of the systems and difficulty of assembly, parts for the Volkite weapons are manufactured as need arises so each gun will be in optimal working condition. The Volkite weaponry is extremely valuable in other ways as it allows for trade pacts of great worth to be established. Due to the rarity of such ancient patterns, Hephaestia has managed to secure several lucrative trading pacts with notable forge worlds such as Freion, Zharkad, and Ganymede.
 * Arcana Vehicles are non-STC derived vehicles created during the Age of Strife and held as Arcana by the Mechanicum and never divulged for wider Imperial Use. Spread far across the galaxy to distant forges on early exploratory ships, the valuable vehicles are rarely found upon more recently founded forges. Such vehicles as Krios Battle Tanks and Tiaros Armored Conveyors utilize complex shield technology and layered techno-cant wardings to stave off attack to a degree superior to conventional armor.

Forge Crawn
Despite its position as the domain of the Apprentii Primus Akairos Shadowsun, this forge domain is smaller than its lesser forges of prestige as the Magos Archimandrite’s primary domain is upon Eucleia. The forge domain is dedicated to the production of the climate engines and argodome generators that crisscross the worlds and moons of the Agalea system. The bulk of the forge is devoted to shield technology which keeps the system and Forge safe. Void shield generators for both ship and emplacements are manufactured here. More fine types of shielding units are crafted by the artificers within the central forge fane. Disruptor Matrixes and personal shielded technology are in high demand in the galaxy as well as the ever increasing need for Gellar Field and warp defense technology. The fruits of anti-warp technology reverse engineered by the Binharic Cessation sub-cult are born here and implemented, the technologies scrubbed clean of alien taint and put to work in service of Mankind. In addition, this forge produces Marks of Astartes Battle plate, capable of manufacturing Mk III, VI, and VII patterns as well as producing Mechanicum issue battle plate such as Dragonscale Pattern or Infernus Pattern. Examples of notable goods produced at this forge:
 * Gellar Field Generators
 * Shipboard/installation void shields
 * Null Field projectors
 * Conversion field generators
 * Terminator Armor Variants

Forge Mendrala
Domain of Magos Stataraga Caius Hohlstein, the great manufacturing powers of this forge are divided between this fane and the Legio Kreuzius holdings upon Hephaestia-II. Mendrala is responsible for the manufacture of knight frames both Questoris and Cerastus in addition to the creation of Titan Mind Cores. The energy weapons of the titan legions are manufactured here and the armor plating forged. The Hephaestian branch of the Collegia Titanica is located here and it is where candidates are put through the intense selection process of new Princeps. Research on titanic lore is the realm of this forge domain, working ever harder to improve firepower, efficiency, and aiming by fractions of a percent at a time. Examples of notable good produced at this forge:
 * Belicosa Volcano Cannon
 * Cerastus Chassis
 * Adamatine armor plates
 * Voidship grade armor plate
 * Turbo Lasers
 * Titan Grade plasma weaponry

Forge Deculus
Domain of Magos Malagra Alphaeus Gearhardt and largest of the forge fanes of Hephaestia aside from the Forge Primus. The forge domain is dedicated almost entirely to the production of robotics. As the domain of the Alpha Dominus of the Anima sub-cult, the forge is divided up into assembly of automata from the parts crafted by other lesser forges of the system, specialized munitions for bolt cannons, manufacturing of specialized guns for said automata, and the all-important cybernetica cortexes which gave driving anima to the body of each robotic shell along with the armor plating and key systems. In addition to these mainline battle robots, a host of lesser automata and robots are also produced; space borne drones, maintenance and messenger robots, and a variety of industrial manufacturing machines and construction drones. Expertise in fine engines and power sources also leads the construction of Aeronautic aircraft. As the center of Malagra activity, the forge is also home to the mech-assassin training clades, centers of surveillance equipment manufacturing, and domains of the Magos Juris, prosecutors of hereteks. The courts of judgment are located at this forge, and criminals of sufficient infamy or ability were brought before the glaring optics of the tribunal magi. Criminals or hereteks deemed too dangerous or of potent knowledge and ability would be brought before the Archmagi Parliament for their verdict. Criminals otherwise would be locked in the prison forges where they would be forced to use their skills and ability unto death, or sent to Forge Ostrum for conversion into servitors. Additional specialty manufacturing workshops exist as well which to serve the imperial cause; specialty ammunition for the Officio Assassinorum and Space Marine Sternguard units, and others. The mightiest achievement by the forge is the Star Krakens; mighty mechanical beasts the size of cruisers and nigh totally autonomous, capable of crushing spacecraft in their grip and sundering the mightiest armor. Examples of notable goods produced at this forge:
 * Castellan class robots are divided into two categories, Castellax, the more advanced derivative, and Kastellan, an inferior pattern possessed of a simpler mind core. They are typically armed with a flamer and a special Mauler Pattern Bolt Cannon. In the past this upscale bolter fired special piercing rounds, but over time this data has been lost. To compensate for this loss, each bolt has special high yields explosive munitions.
 * Thanatar class robots are mighty siege engines which dwarf all other forces of the mechanicum save for the noble Knightly houses and the glorious Titan Engines. These robots are meant to break down the mightiest of walls and are equipped to do so. Mounting a Hallax class plasma mortar which uses powerful generators and cooling systems to fire burning balls of plasma to besiege a fortress, turning the defenses to liquid in an instant.
 * Vultarax class robots are VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) drones intended for long range recon. The drones possess potent anti-vehicle and infantry weaponry and have a deceptively high top speed. These the Arc weaponry utilized by these long ranging is rightfully feared by heretic mortals who are not yet in possession of demonic machinery. This pattern of Robot is coming into increasingly greater demands in the wake of the Plague Wars and equally coming a target for Dark Mechanicum and Death Guard forces for conversion into Blight and Bloat Drones.
 * Conquerer class robots are shock assault units meant to shatter enemy battlelines. Equipped with hardened armor and additional drive motive systems, each derivative is intended to crash into the enemy lines and wreak havoc. Two main derivatives manufactured by Hephaestia are the Domitar pattern, meant for siege work and popular with the Ordo Reductor and the Arlatax pattern, meant for fortress breaching and disruption. Equipped with graviton hammers or jet packs and electro flails, these machines are terrors upon the battlefield.
 * Lightning guns: Utilizing ancient beam technology and attached micro-reactors, this gun remains in use by the Skitarii cohorts and the Thallaxi shock troopers in more advanced forms. A beam of ionized las-energy is projected at a target to ‘paint’ it, after which a discharge of incredible power coruscates toward the foe, overloading systems and searing flesh.
 * Aeronautica Imperialis: The quality of manufacture of engines of this forge is unmatched, and as such, the forge produces and oversees the creation of the finest aircraft. Valkyrie gunships, Primaris Lightning, Thunderbolts and other such gunships roll of the production lines daily.

Forge Vulcanis
Domain of Magos Myrmidax Lan Cinkosky, the leader of the Myrmidon sub-cult on Hephaestia and the magi charged with the prosecution of war in all its forms and shapes. This forge domain is given over to the production of weaponry which girds the armies of Hephaestia and equips the armies of the Imperium for war, churning out millions of bolters, lasguns, and radium weapons. The armament of the Skitarri legions are produced here along with the cybernetics required to build them. The machines of war built here range from Onager Dunecrawlers to ancient Arcana Vehicles from pre-imperial times. The power of the forge is divided between the forge domain and the moon, with the main production facilities of the Autokrator order producing the special patterns. Forge Vulcanis produces astartes pattern battle tanks, militarum and sororitas armor, and inquisitorial vehicles. The Cult of the Light of Sollex has a very strong presence here and the bulk of the energy weapons of the Forge World are produced at Vulcanis. Possessed of ancient knowledge, Forge Volcanis manufactures plasma weaponry of notable potency and cooling prowess for the Skitarii legions and battle servitors. Laser weaponry of all walks is produced here; lascannons, starship mounted lance weaponry, and the potent weapon known as a Darkfire Cannon. The Mistress of the forge fane routinely orders sections of the forge deconstructed and reconstructed according to the whims of the Forge Master Primus in a continuous attempt to produce new products and goods. Examples of notable Goods Produced at this forge:
 * Hephaestia Variant Godsbane Lance Batteries: The Godsbane variant lance battery is an ancient pattern of high technological demand and maintenance requirements that typically only older grand cruisers and battleships possess the requirements to mount them. Due to innovations to the focusing systems by the former Forge-Master Primus, Gabriel Locus, in the year 826M38, the Godsbane Lance system has been able to be mounted on smaller ships of the Imperial Navy, though high power requirements remain an issue. These lances are extremely long range to the point where beam dispersion becomes a problem, in addition to this, firing into an atmosphere is a problem due to rapid energy bleed off when the beams coherency is broken due to atmospheric interference and is therefore ill-suited for orbital bombardment.
 * Leman Russ Battle Tanks
 * Man Portable Photonic Weapons: The Mechanicum of Hephaestia has managed to maintain extremely powerful weapon systems in the form of portable photonic weaponry. However, chunks of the data have been lost over time. Several parts of the weapon systems are vastly scaled down versions of the Godsbane Lance system and due to somewhat roughshod construction are prone to overheating.
 * The first weapon, the Photon Thruster, is a weapon rarely seen in the imperium at large; such is the difficulty of manufacture. These weapons require a powerful cooling system be carried with the bearer or be integrated into the armor system, if applicable. These photon weapons fire hairs-width beams of black energy which is capable of piercing even the thickest defenses and densest armor. Maintenance is required after every deployment to ensure catastrophic overheating does not occur.
 * A smaller version, the Photon Gauntlet, is wearable on the hand of the user and is powered by a single shot battery; this weapon is meant to be a last resort weapon and as such has minimal range, only up to 20 feet. However the battery is replaceable but only the mechanicus are capable of manufacturing such a special item. As such these gauntlets are typically symbols of status on worlds allied with Hephaestia, the weapon can also be manufactured for Astartes and integrated into their armor, replacing the vambracer and gauntlet.
 * Finally an upscale version of this weapon type, the Darkfire Cannon, is in existence, however, this large weapon requires up to three people to transport effectively, and is better suited to mounting on vehicles or stationary emplacements and battle automata. This version of photon weapon is able to easily bring ruin to the mightiest of war machines.

Forge Oblito
Domain of Magos Ordinator Vicconius Breutzmann, the Archmagos in charge of the Ordo Reductor outpost omicron-rho-pi. The presence of the reductor dominates the forge almost entirely, what is not devoted to manufacturing is devoted to temples to the Omnissiah in His aspect as destructor and bringer of ruin. The bastions of reductor power are not given over solely to the manufacture to gun and shot and machine, but to research facilities, holding the second highest concentration of biologis priests and genetors. When a new and terrible alien form or demonic army is encountered by the Mechanicum it is the ordo reductor’s biologis magi who analyze it, reductor preceptors analyze weaponry and war machine, and through this blood soaked wisdom does Hephaestia lay their foes low. Forge Oblito produces many of the artillery grade weapons of the planet and siege weaponry utilized by the Tahgmata battlegroups. The weapons produced at this forge are deadly beyond reason, for the secutors and destructors of Oblito has been given right to bear arms forbidden since the Dark Age of Technology and arcana deemed too unpredictable or dangerous for use by the Skitarii legions and Tahgmata battlegroups. Within this forge domain are cybernetic rebuild facilities which produce the most extensively converted cyborgs on the world, holding the secrets to Thallaxi Shock Troops and powerful augmentations. Notable Goods produced by this forge:
 * Thallaxi are special shock troopers employed by the Ordo Reductor and Legio Cybernetica. As time has passed, the Mechanicum at large has reduced their dependence on these mighty warriors, Hephaestia has not. The patterns for the Lorica Thallax, the body of the cybernetic warriors, are traded to other Forge Worlds in Exchange for valuable goods. These warriors are made from a robust human specimen’s brain and nervous system implanted into the Lorica and surgically removing emotion and pain. Armed with jet pack and ancient patterns of energy weapons, the Thallax are the strongest infantry fieldable by Hephaestia.
 * Radiation Weaponry: Dangerous weaponry responsible for the scouring of whole worlds. Using ancient patterns, these anti-organic weapons use bulky projectors to blasts scouring cross-spectrum radiation to dissolve the bonds between cells and break down tissue even inside the thickest of armor.

Forge Ostrumm
Domain of Penrod Ubel, the Magos Lachrimallus of Hephaestia. Of the great forges, it is Ostrum which is held in lowest regard due to the nature of its work. Ostrum is home to the processing facilities required to make servitors, the greatest concentrations of Divisio Genetor Priests, and fulfills the unglamorous but necessary requirements of the system; workforce and food, and they are equipped as such. Manufacturing limitless amounts of farming equipment, Land Crawlers, water processors, blankets, clothes, and whatever else is required for the mortal servants of the omnissiah to function. Despite all else, it is the center of science equal to any of the other great forges; genetics work carries on at its peak here and the gene boosting which many imperial servants desire is enacted along with juvenat treatment and alchemistry. The processing centers for incoming menials are located here, and it is here that they are divided up. Some sent to servitors and some become skitarii while the rest are destined for a life as a menial or shipped to work the continent spanning farms upon the inner worlds. The center of medicine upon Hephaestia, it is within the bioreactors and gene-forges that miracles of life are performed, and with the expertise of the Biologus are the most complex surgeries performed in city sized laboratories. Notable Goods produced by this forge:
 * Gene tonics
 * Field dressing
 * Battle Servitors
 * Juvenant Chemicals

Forge Acorda
Domain of Marcus Almgren, Magos Macrotek of Hephaestia. Barely behind Forge Deculus in size and growing in height and sunken depth daily, it is this forge which is charged with numerous duties both menial and excellent, and the great forge fane of Acorda is the forge most visited by those foreign to the world. It is the center of trade which receives visiting personnel and imperial authorities and a major economic hub of the Ixaniad sector. It is the master forgewrites and tech artisans here which ensure final quality of the Omnissiah’s works, to perform the last blessings and consecrations to ensure purity of function. It is the master artisans which forge the infinite number of items the worlds of the Imperium require from specialized Arbites equipment to customized security systems for planetary governors to construction and mining equipment. It is at this forge which foreign personnel receive training; the Frater Astrotechnicus (the techmarines), the Sacristans of the Knightly Houses, and scores of imperial servants who fulfill crucial jobs, those that show promise in certain fields may be granted access to other forges and masters if they show aptitude, and it is here that the menials of the Mechanicum may find their way into the cult proper. Perhaps the greatest duty of the forge is their tending to the infinite series of upkeep tasks which their enginseers endless ministrations resolve and that of the maintenance of energy reactors. This forge contains the bulk of the plasma reactors which fuel the world and the receptors which receive the incalculable amounts of solar energy to distribute across the world. Notable Goods produced by this forge:
 * Arbites equipment
 * Promethium fuels
 * Plasma reactors
 * Forge construction equipment
 * Imperial Guard Vehicles

Notable Areas of the Forge
Outside of the greater forge domains lie the scores of lesser forges, and beyond that the hidden and low places of the world. Between great ash wastes and strip mined colonies, the surface of the world is dedicated entirely to manufactorums and Mechanicum facilities. Beneath the planet’s surface and high above lie treasures and horrors in equal measure and the wonders of the Mechanicum are on full display.

The Prison Forges
Criminals, malateks, the guilty and the judged; all of them are sent to dwell in the prison forges. Those of sufficient technical skill or ability and are convicted of crimes which do not justify conversion and reduction to servitordom are sentenced to the scorching hell that is Forge Fane Logicius. Carefully regulated and maintained, the forge is contained in a series of caverns miles below the surface of the planet; massive factories hang from the planets crust within the man-made caverns above intensely regulated magma flows which stretch for miles and miles beneath the manufactoria of Hephaestia. These factories use colossal magma pumps and dredges to scoop the molten stone up into the forgeworks allowing the laborers to melt down raw materials and reshape them efficiently to refine them into the necessary components of import. It is from the prison forges that the bulk of the forge’s base material comes from; in addition to that, all of the molecular bonding studs come from this forge. Work in the Prison Forges is considered incredibly dangerous even by Mechanicum standards. Workers wear modified heat resistant gear at all times and despite what little safety regulations are put in place, unexpected eruptions and accidents result in nearly one-hundred and ninety fatalities per month for the menials, as well as a loss of an average of thirty-eight malatek priests to the forges roaring fires.

Polar Naval Tethers
The main shipyards of Hephaestia were moved to the orbits of Cacus and Caeculus long ago. In the long history of the forge, huge orbital stations were never heavily expanded upon unlike Mars’ own Ring of Iron or the Jovian yards. The greatest of the hundreds of stations orbiting Hephaestia, the ports of Hephaestia can hold whole armies of soldiers and ships worth of material. Established in the second decade of the Angevin Crusade to better provide for the needs of the fleets, Hephaestia has seen constant activity since as ships dock before heading to the infamous Calix Sector or further to the Galactic North to the Spinward Front. For the Tether Laborers at the poles the sight of Imperial Guardsmen or Skiitari marching into the colossal orbital elevators is a common sight, as is the constant stream of dropships spiraling about the pillars reaching up into space. It is growing increasingly common since the Indominatus Crusade reached the forge for the tethers to house whole regiments of guardsmen as they transfer between ships or await restock and resupply of their own vessels, as such, hive-barracks have begun to pop up about the tethers between the railways and highways as need is required. Travel outside of the tether habs by visitors is tightly controlled and any fools brave enough to attempt to do so are never seen again. A black market of sorts among the labor population of Hephaestia has found root here trading with the guardsmen, and despite the best efforts of the priesthood to crush it, it always seems to resurface.

The Ash Wastes
What little of Hephaestia is not industrialized is left as a barren wasteland populated with the wreckage of abandoned projects, orbital debris, ravening mutants, and rogue machines which have escaped their captors to prey on renegade servitors. Some life yet lives within the hulks of burned out ships living on the carcasses of those that died on impact and the fungus and molds which come with each human vessel. The wastelands also serve as an imagined haven for menials who escape or flee the hive spires, seeking escape from their Mechanicum masters. Those fleeing fools find no respite, as the wastelands are incredibly dangerous for mortals; hunter killer automata patrol the ashen sands, tasked to kill anything and everything that moves and wandering bands of mutant raiders take care of the rest before their inevitable demise to the periodic rad-scourges by patrolling salvage ships.

Planetary Defense Batteries
Spread across the planet throughout the forges is colossal defense batteries and weapons platforms aimed permanently skyward. Equipped with nova cannons and enhanced Godhammer lance batteries capable of tearing holes in ships. The defense batteries are extremely heavily guarded and fortified and constantly scanning the heavens to coordinate with orbital guns. Hidden within and key to the defenses of the planet are a hidden treasure of the Dark Age: Photonic Deflection Shields lie in network across the forges. While not providing true cloaking or invisibility, the scattering fields make orbital targeting extremely difficult and spread out the effect of laser weaponry. This same technology is scaled down for use in the Tahgmata Battlegroups deployed by Hephaestia, allowing their soldiers to march through fields of laser fire without fear.

Cathedral of Eternal knowledge
The center of Omnissiah Worship upon Hephaestia and located at the southern pole, this church sprawls over hundreds of kilometers and serves as the seat of power for the Forge Master Primus; Caeve Jhon'son, where he dispenses final word on matters of doctrine and will of the Omnissiah. As the center for religious rites upon Hephaestia, the proper machine blessings spill forth from the cogitators and sacred code psalms are relayed to those priests authorized to know them for distribution to the laity. It is here where new tech priests are ordained and the final engrams are burned into their cogitation buffers. The Canticles of the Omnissiah sing through these halls and sacred incense fills the vaulted sanctuaries while slaved servitor gun turrets ensure the sanctity of the holy ground and the colossal libraries containing information dense datastacks filled with knowledge from across the ages. Hallways large enough for titans to walk through fill the interior and smoke belches from towering forge spires where the most sacred and honored technology is crafted. Holy icons and techno-cant warding rosaries are made here and the finest of devotional craft produced to be distributed to the faithful and the favored or tributed to Sacred Mars. When new patterns are ratified or a new titan is completed, it is said the entire priesthood gathers in these industrial halls to commemorate the event.

Notable Magi of Hephaestia
Over the aeons, several magi have risen to prominence, but in the last thousand years as darkness closes in more magi have come to the forefront.

Patris Fabrica Diomese Guln
Archmagos and Grand Explorator charged with the founding of a new world. Born upon the ash wastes of Mars in the Age of Strife, Guln rose to prominence on pre-imperial mars in the 28th millennium and was sent out into the galaxy to uncover the whispered treasures of the distant world of Medusa. The lull in the warp storms predicted by the priests of Mars did not last as long as predicted, and his fleet was sent careening off course. Threatened with imminent gellar failure and hull breach within the warp, Guln was forced to make an emergency translation back into realspace at the cost of one fourth of his fleet and several hundred stasis pods upon his own ship where the hull threatened to rupture. Guln is held up as a paragon of adaptive thinking and order, having used his forces to fight off the waves of alien defenses in space and upon the worlds of the Aglaean system. He is also the patron saint of the Hephaestian Baskilion Astra for his mastery of void combat.

Forge-Master Primus Caeve Jhon’son
Current and highly eccentric leader of the Forge World. Jhon’son is a major advocate of innovation and experimentation which has often brought him into conflict with more conservative minded adepts on Mars. Some call his experimentations pointless at time, but none can doubt the brilliance of his inventions…or their oftentimes misapplication. Presently, the four-hundred and seventy two year old Magos is grooming his successor, for he has been declining in health ever since an experiment with moon dust of which he has ordered all records sealed.

Apprenti Primus Akkairos Shadowsun
Current second to the Forge-Master Primus. In absence of the Forge-Master, he oversees the magi parliament and generally handles administrative work in Jhon’son’s stead while he experiments. The last word in projects and research, Akkairos is the warden of the ancient knowledge of the Forge. As warden, he is also a target for political assassination as other magi seek his position as Magos Archimandrite. Shadowsun has managed to rise to this position despite vicious rumors that his bloodline is tainted with Eldar lineage, a rumor he is loath to comment on and he fights viciously for his position, using his role as keeper of the knowledge repositories to strangle out the work of his rivals.

Archmagos Prime Alphaeus Gearhardt
“We have learned your sins and archived your failings; surrender yourself for questioning and summary termination.”- Pre-sentencing announcement. Alphaeus is the current Lord Malagra of the ruling synod of Hephaestia and Alpha Dominus of the Anima Cult. Hailing from Hephaestia-II, Alphaeus rules the majority of the lesser foundries upon the moon from his domain of Fane Deculus, having seized political power through his ties to the Anima Cult and his high standing within it. Befitting his position as head of the intelligence network, Gearhardt is a patient and intelligent man who embodies the nature of the machine, capable of implementing and employing long running calculations for maximum benefit. It is this aptitude for long term planning which has seen him grow to one of the most potent Malagra in the history of Hephaestia. Calculating and studious, Alphaeus surveys the personnel of his own domain constantly, seeking out promising magi and recruiting them to his service and retinue, choosing magi which complement his needed areas of expertise, hunting down talented members of the Digitalis cogitator science, Orbologis planetary scientists, Logis, and Cybernetica priests. Those who gain his patronage find themselves elevated and given technological access undreamed of and face expectations unheard of. While ultimately a man and a Unitarian, seeing emperor and omnissiah as one and faithful to the Imperial cause, he is still above the rest of mankind, and can be unspeakably cruel and callous if he deems it necessary. As Lord Malagra of Hephaestia, he is tasked with the destruction of heretics and their armies, and it is his sense of justice which has dictated the law of Hephaestia for hundreds of years. The dedication of this priest is without peer, it is said that the apex of his research has granted him a phylactery, a continuously updating real time copy of his own brain with his personality, thoughts, and memories. Rumors about that Gearhardt cannot be truly slain and that he has survived countless assassination attempts through dark and arcane science.

Apprentii Prime Jesenia Grygiel
Of all apprentices taken by Gearhardt, Magos Grygiel stands as perhaps his favorite. Taking the place as second in command under Alphaeus Gearhardt, the priestess fulfills numerous duties. A priest of the Divisio Logis, Jesenia is seen as a soothsayer by the lesser members of the cult mechanicus. Initially part of the Digitalis offices of Forge Deculus, it was her skill in data manipulation which thankfully caught the attention of Gearhardt, lest she languish in obscurity forever. Somewhat of a prodigy, once she was permitted to expand her areas of research, she quickly took to her master’s specialties of robotics and cybernetics while expanding her research into electromagnetics and neural augmentation with her crowning achievement being a derivation of the implanted potentia coil, enabling remote electromagnetic manipulation with her own prototype allowing her limited periods of levitation. The technology involved is said to be linked to her own expertise in xenotechnology, a claim she rigidly denies, for alien technology is only to be understood so that it may be factored into the grand calculations as per her orthodox view of the Machine Cult. In the hierarchy of the Mechanicum, she functions as herald and regent of Gearhardt, while she does not often leave the Fane Primus of Deculus, center of bureaucracy and regulation that it is, she holds his unbreakable trust, and when she takes to the field, it is in company of powerful automata and the presence of a legion of mechanical warriors and assassins. Like all priests, she holds some peculiarities, manifesting as a strange and spontaneous attachment to forge scribes and menials or other non tech priests, those who find themselves the target of their attention live lives of privilege, but whether or not the subjects are willing or not is a matter of perspective.

Archmagos Reductor Jayms Decimus
“Ruin upon you, scorn becomes you.”

Formerly second in command underneath Alphaeus Gearhardt, this senior Tech-Priest oversees the Reductor forces under the influence of Alphaeus. Elevated to his position from the macro-factories of Forge Acorda, Jayms is a Grandmaster Artisan, a master of construction and applied engineering, who’s defenses and structures tower over Forge Deculus and Oblito. Jayms’ specialties in applied mathematics and place in the Divisio Physik reflect a calculating man to match his former master. Jayms is a stoic man who prefers the company of machines to others and finds himself at home on the battlefield or the yards rather than in an office, and it is this lack of talent for bureaucracy which inevitably saw him fall from his position as Apprentii Prime of Gearhardt. He did not go unrewarded for his service though, and instead he was given new outlet for his talents, rising meteorically through the ranks of the Ordo Reductor, and through his talents did a dozen weapon systems come into existence and under his eye were a hundred battlefields were sucked dry of forensic information and post-op data under the careful diligence of his analytic gaze and many of his weapon designs hang above the blasted planet of Xespora for testing. It is whispered throughout the Noosphere that it is Decimus who shall replace Vicconius Breutzmann as the Magos Ordinator in time. He has converted the skull of his dead brother into a servo-skull which is with him at all times, monitoring his internal systems and serving as an information buffer. Contained within is also a power field augmenter which serves to improve upon Jayms’ formidable technological defenses. At the order of Mars, the war machine of Hephaestia has risen to a fever pitch, and his skills in siege work and construction are more valuable than ever as the forge’s influence expands.

Preceptor-Intendant Raphael Mondregarde
The Princeps of the Warlord-Class titan Dies Ignis and lord of the Legio Kreuzius is a headstrong and bellicose man. He commands his Titan with distinction and has done so for over two-hundred years. A highly skilled tactical mind rests beneath the aura of wrath which hangs about him, often taking it upon himself to fix holes in imperial battle plans when assigned to specific warzones, and often ignoring directives from commanders of the Imperial Guard should their ability and foresight not live up to his judgment. Over time he has acquired many augmentations but does not wish to submit to amniotic suspension, believing it to be a crutch used by weaker men. His voice in the Archmagos parliament carries great weight and it is not unheard of for lesser members of the orders militant to seek his audience and council. As the time of ending draws ever closer…his voice is heard more and more.

Titan-Priestess Raechael Japetus
A Magos of the Collegia Titanica and representative of the Titan Legion Kreuzius. Japetus is a slightly more conservative priestess who is very diligent in her ministrations of maintenance and construction. Loath to deviate from doctrine, she is well suited to her task serving aboard Titans, as she is inflexible in procedure and ill suited to battlefield roles. She is a devout believer in the binary nature of the God-Emperor/Omnissiah and has comparatively few external augmentations, thinking that as a disciple of their God, man and machine must come together, not overwhelm the other. Her secondary areas of expertise in metallurgy and servo-robotics serve her well in her secondary duty, maintaining the knights bonded to Kreuzius.

Mechanicus-Captain Johan Arnfried
The Captain of Archmagos Gearhardt’s battleship, the Iron Fury, he has served as the captain for near 72 years and has proved to have a tactically flexible mind while retaining strict loyalty to his master. His connection to the ships machine spirit has left him entombed upon his command throne and his mastery of the ship unquestioned.

Magos Malficer Eisenherz
A ranking figure of the Cybernetica and bonded magi to Alphaeus Gearhardt. Formerly of prestigious position within the Forge Fanes of Shadowsun upon Eucleia, a lifetime marred with rumors of sabotage and hacking of his rivals saw him cast down into the dregs of society. His skill in code and cipher brought him to the eventual attention of the new Lord Malagra, Gearhardt, who placed him within the cybernetica forces under his sway. Given free rein to work once more, Eisenherz improved psalm-code and canticle transmission vectors by 13.6%, worthy enough to see him placed at the head of a war cohort. When the 13th black crusade arose, the magos was eager to take to the field to further curry favor from his lord, yet he has found the galaxy beyond the forges troubling to say the least. Since the fall of Cadia, Magos Eisenherz is MIA, presumed dead.

Magos Valens Feindt
A ranking member of the highly secretive Cult of Binharic Cessation and charged with the watching of the vault doors to the tomb complex upon Crius. From within his citadel does extensive monitoring go on with the bulk of the research involving ground penetrating scans to try and breach the defensive cloaking fields about each tomb. Feindt himself is steeped in Xenotechnological research and, outside the watch of the greater populace of Hephaestia, integrated samples of Necron Technology into his wargear including his gavel, possessing a null field generator capable of rendering him and those within a few feet of him impervious to psychic assault. Feindt has often worked with the Ordo Xenos and the Deathwatch regarding Necron technology and is a noted expert in the field. A holder of heterodox beliefs in the Machine Cult, Feindt stands apart from his brethren, finding the use in alien sciences that he does. He is willing to engage with aliens if necessary to further his goals, but his ultimate loyalty lies to his forge and to his species.

Timeline of Hephaestia
To follow is a record of some of the significant engagements and events which shaped the Forge World into what it is in the current day.

Founding to Scouring

 * xxx.M28 – Founding of the Forge. The long ranging exploratory fleet of Archmagos Guln arrives in the Aglaea System. Fragmentary records indicate a terrible battle fought to claim the system in the midst of cataclysmic warp storms which drove the fleet off course. The enemy they fought is unknown, but wreckage of destroyed xenos installations is found within the asteroid belts of the system to this day, the implications of which are a closely kept and worrying secret.


 * 904.M30 – Reunification with Mars and Terra. Negotiations went very smoothly with some contentions about the Forge World’s interactivity with machine intelligence, earning censure for a period of time.


 * 941.M30 – First campaign with Clan Haarmek of the Iron Hands. Assault on the human rebel empire of Kalemund, which spanned 16 worlds across 3 systems. Despite the high technology of the empire, the combined Imperial forces managed to obtain a foothold on the capital world of Suramir. First penetrating the orbital defenses and taking control of the ground level control bunkers for the remaining space borne weaponry, the Mechanicum set up a denial zone for Haarmek to land in and begin amassing forces. Acting as a flanking force, the Mechanicum Tahgmata began a systematic crushing of resisting forces, dividing up the area into a grid they began a methodical destruction of the defenders while the Iron Hands drove up the middle towards the key city and the King’s palace. The throne world fell as the Iron hands decapitated the government and the Mechanicum and Iron Hand fleets took full control of the space around the world. The following year would see the two forces grow even closer together as resistance across the empire was crushed and the worlds brought into Imperial Compliance.


 * 006.M31 – The Heresy Begins: News of the heresy reaches Hephaestia from a returning Myrmidon delegation that had managed to escape the killing fields of Istvaan V. The ships ambushed en route by what was believed to be, at the time, Iron Hands. The surviving tech priests engaged in a brutal zone mortalis operation and the data they brought back was fragmentary. Shortly afterwards, a delegation from Mars arrived, hoping to bring them to the side of the Warmaster, promising greater freedom to experiment with Anima and robot. The offer was close to being taken when the Lord Malagra at the time, Lord Pendagos, uncovered the true records of the attack, carried out by Martian priests. Violent war soon erupted afterwards, raging across the planet as the Martian delegation opened fire on the world. The war raged for 3 years until the reinforcements from Mars suddenly stopped. In the aftermath, Hephaestia declared fully for the loyalists, unleashing long proscribed weaponry and the dread animus of their robotic might.


 * 009.M31 – Scrap Wars: During the Heresy, Hephaestia primarily dealt with traitor mechanicum and Sons of Horus forces. One particularly brutal battle upon the derelict world of Dar’gulda, a former Ork held world, resulted in the churning conflict which persisted almost until the end of the Heresy, as Traitor, Loyalist, and vestigial Ork forces fought to claim a long buried weapon of Dark Ages past.


 * 009.M31 – The Blackest Night: The Tahgmata forces begin to spread out from Hephaestia, a long and brutal march that followed several months of heated debate following the attack on their world. Along with the bonded knight house of Durthramar, Hephaestia began to make its way to Mars. One such Tahgmata was led by Archmagos Prime Jul’mathon, stopping to respond to a distress call from the world of Ulysser, a world of high technology which had survived the Age of Strife. For their efforts they were rewarded with the attentions of a night lord great company, a warband, shattered since the declarations of their First Captain. Landing upon the barren outer cities about the capital in bulk landers, the Ordo Reductor began an establishment of bases to deploy long range artillery from while cybernetica forces began the grind onward towards the planetary capital. The bonded cerastus knights surged onward, crushing the flanks of the Night Lords utterly and driving the jetbike squadrons which had so terrorized the world back into the outskirts. As the Hephaestian Tahgmata advanced, traitor mechanicum forces revealed themselves, possessing great numbers of Thallax and corrupted Vorax hunter killer units, set on depopulating what civilians remained for the joys of their Nostromo masters. The feedback loop of ire caught in the Hephaestian network forced a refocusing on these units, seeming to reprioritize the Night Lords as an afterthought. Once the Mechanicum traitors were sufficiently obliterated, the night lord forces were utterly crushed; the bulk of the cities spared the sweet attentions of the night lords and the last dregs escaping to hidden orbital ships in what gunships remained. Taking the time to resupply, Ulysser generously gave them all that was needed, securing a vassal-hood that would remain far into the future.


 * 009.M31 – Shots in the dark: The movement away from Ulysser was difficult, orbital reserves of Night Lords harried the Mechanicum forces, forcing them into the warp and into the direction of the Eastern Fringe. Exiting the warp along with pursuing Night Lord forces saw a protracted void battle that forced the opposing forces to make planetfall upon the Imperial Depot of Szchenvan. A harrow encounter with the bulk of the Night Lord forces in the galactic east and the Night Haunter himself would see Tahgmata Jul’mathon critically depleted and trapped in the eastern fringe. Their luck would fall further, as their transmissions through the warp were intercepted by a traitor Mechanicum force and their blackshield allies, void reavers who had sold their services for armament. The assault was withering and saw the Tahgmata fall beyond critically depleted levels. The Tahgmata would slowly die over the next few years as raiding attacks destroyed more and more of their forces until Archmagos Prime Jul’mathon was slain in 011.M31 by Night Lord Terror force in the wake of the Thramas Crusade.


 * 010.M31 – Surpassing Perfection: During the Hephaestian march toward Mars, dozens worlds were defended and stabilized by the various Tahgmata of Hephaestia, ensuring trade pacts and mutual defense treaties which would stand eternal. Upon the Industrial World of Gaemion, Tahgmata Dumas and Reductor Group D-17 had begun reinforcement operations, securing the borders of the climate controlled cities and outlaying domed forests against both the eternal raging winter that lay beyond the artificial boundaries and against incursion of the traitors. On a routine patrol of the tundra, Thallax Cohort Theta-Sigma-92-3-4 encountered a muster point of Emperor’s children Marines, massing at a hidden base for a sneak attack under cover of snow. Their Djinn sight pierced the snowbanks and saw them, beginning to harass them as they relayed crucial orbital data. In the wake of the discovery, long range shelling and orbital bombardment began as a gradual destruction of the traitors began. Forced into no other option, the remaining forces pushed into one of the nearby forest domes, attempting to take the structures within as a relay point so their gunships could come down to evacuate, seeing no perfection in death. But Archmagos Dumas had foreseen this, for as the traitors rushed in under the shielding of heavy armor and supported by bastion breaching tanks, they were met with the sight of emplaced guns, awaiting automata, and servo skulls relaying targeting data. As the dome’s force fields dropped to box them in, their tanks were ripped apart by howling darkfire and the guns of the reductor as the traitors within perished by bolt and by plasma, each one finally finding their exquisite death as orbital fire rained down on their convoys. The Emperors children were routed entirely and their orbital ships located and burned, the ruins sent screaming down into the icy plains.


 * 011-016.M31 – ++Files: >>Corrupted<< …decoding…++


 * 016.M31 – The Scouring: The goal of Hephaestia during the heresy was to reach Mars and claim vengeance upon the traitor Mechanicum who had dared assault them. Denied their succor, they took to the cleansing of other Mechanicum traitors. Using what they had learned of the traitor’s code and cogitator modifications, a terrible weapon was created that would later come to be viewed as borderline heretical even by the deviant standards of Hephaestia, the Mechanicum Contagia. A murder virus which could wipe whole planets of technology and sterilize all machine spirits within its reach.

Age of the Imperium

 * 593-801.M32 – WHAAAG! of The Beast: The absolutely massive forces of The Beast rampaged across the entire Imperium, reaching even the Ixaniad sector. The Ork forces were coordinated on a scale unheard of in Hephaestian records, such that outlying worlds of their domain came under assault or succeeded. As the WHAAG! was broken across the imperium was broken, so too was this force broken and the worlds of the Agalean system sterilized of Ork infestation.


 * 897.M33 – Ork incursion of WHAAG! Legsmasha into Neighboring system of Uraisma, divisio’s militant deployed. Relatively small cybernetica detachment is sent. Astropathic transmissions garbled by the WHAAG! Energy belayed the true scale of the incursion; deployed forces were overrun and wiped out. Surviving priests and Prime Magi reported a well-entrenched force which would take substantially more resources to combat. The cleansing took substantially more time to cleanse then foreseen, resulting in a churning conflict and eventual stalemate. Ork forces routed, but not cleansed. The system worlds of Borisus and Dumani were subject to eventual exterminatus by order of the Ordo Xenos.


 * 001.M34 – 4th Black Crusade:


 * 009.M34 – Chaos Space Marine raid, data repositories destroyed.


 * 019.M34 – Defense of Kasr Que’sonos.


 * 398.M34 – Defense of Kasr Don’leeg


 * 509.M35 – Forge Wars: Millennium 35 was a tumultuous time for the Mechanicum. Hephaestia engaged in a series of conflicts with the Dark Forge world of Bronjam-XII. A series of protracted conflicts broke out as Hephaestia sought to claim massive promethium and metal deposits on the designated world of Q-19-282-D. Several Hephaestian Tahgmata’s were expended against the seemingly infinite Skitarii masses with victory finally being achieved after 26 years of continuous fighting and the loss of hundreds of Magi.


 * 378.M36 – Age of Apostasy: Ascension of the Golden Order to prominence. A heretical sect of the Logicians which managed to embed themselves into the ruling synod after one of their order managed to obtain the position of Magos Malagra. In their efforts to further their cause, they began arming several breakaway groups who intended to fight against the Imperium and throw off the yoke of Ecclesiarchy and administratum for good. Through political manipulation and assassination, the heretic magi managed to take the ear of the ruling Forge Master Primus and sway many of the techpriests, prideful in the ancient knowledge they had managed to hold onto, to their side with tales of progress and a restoration of power.


 * 383.M36 – The Ordo Machina Invasion: ++Records Purged by order of the Inquisition++


 * 790.M36 – The Decline: Following the censure by the Ordo Machina, the power of the forge was greatly impacted. Stellar domains were diminished and war material was taken in great quantities as retribution for their heresies. As the forge’s power was reduced, so too was the protection and armament it could provide to the surrounding systems. Combined with the damage done to the ruling governments of the surrounding systems by the Golden Order, many worlds began to devolve into infighting and heresy. Without the watchful eye of their masters, whole worlds began to slide away from the guiding light of the Omnissiah as xenos threats, long contained by the Mechanicum, became resurgent and smaller empires began to form. These xenos threats would provide the Hephaestian Mechanicus and the dozen systems in their local cluster with misery and woe for hundreds of generations to come as the forge rebuilt its power. The military power of the forge in this era would go almost solely toward defending the system and its territories. The most notable conflicts in this time would take place against the Gordunn Xenos Empire; a species of terrible might and malevolence that sought to expand out into the galaxy in the wake of weakening human grip upon the Ixaniad sector. The xenos were of strange provenance, vaguely humanoid with excessive limbs and possessed of technological prowess in warp technologies, able to move through space with incredible speed. After outmaneuvering the forge’s forces for decades, eventually the empire sent an invasion force to the Agaelan system and was pushed back by the forge’s armies, breaking them of their spaceborne power which they would never truly recover from.


 * M37-M39 – The Age of Plunder: Warp Storms linger from the end of the Age of Apostasy and the light of the Astronomicon is dim. In this time, scores of Rogue Traders and renegade pirates flooded into the already settled Ixaniad sector, having heard the rumors of weakened or rebellious worlds filled with technology, which in truth was Hephaestian derived technology. Clashes with pirates and the xenos empires during this time drove the rebuilding forge deeper into isolation. The greatest battle of this time was between the forge and the renegade Rogue Trader House of Nai’xhu. Having followed the trail of technology, a warfleet eventually transitioned into the Agaelan system consisting of dozens and dozens of ships. Attempts to hail and discourage the fleet were met with failure and a protracted void battle commenced. A series of highly destructive battles were fought across the system aboard dozens of voidborn battlestations in scorched earth zone mortalis actions by the priests. The culmination of the fighting took place aboard the flagship of the fleet above Hephaestia itself when a cybernetica onboarding station crashed intentionally into the ship and latched on, allowing hundreds of battle automata, Myrmidons, and Secutors onto the ship along with dozens of maniples of Skitarii. The priesthood stormed onto the ship and quickly began securing decks; Vorax hunter killers swept through the duct systems and Castellax and Domitar tore through the main decks. The well entrenched Rogue Trader and his household guard were the last threat to deal with, but one that could not be disgorged. Using Dark Age miracles corrupted to foul purpose, energy barriers capable of firing projectiles of solid light held the bridge and command decks secure. The battle came to a conclusion when sabotage teams reached the central engines, destroying the controls and causing the ship to deorbit and crash into the ash wastes of the world below. As the fleet broke, the household fled. Over the years the household remnants would try to barter for the ship back; they were always denied and the hulk lies in the wastes to this day.


 * 999.M37 – Obliteration of Marshazl-XI:


 * 482.M38 – Defense of Kasr Hideeki


 * 537.M38 – The Ixaniad Dynasty Wars: Throughout the middle of the 38th millennium, the planetary governors of the sector engaged in multi-system wide warfare as each hereditary line vied for ascendancy. Having engaged in interfamilial political marriages, the webs of power throughout the sector were tenuous and when the time came as the ruling family fell out of power. As conflict raged across the sector, many worlds sought the assistance of Hephaestia and the technological edge they brought. Hephaestia would only intervene when fighting forces landed upon worlds sworn to Hephaestia and brutally crush them.


 * 881.M38 – Fall of Skarrow: Elements of the Hephaestian Ordo Reductor were summoned to the desert world of Skarrow to lay siege to several rebellious hives. Along with the orders militant of the Forge World of Deusi, the Mechanicum was able to breach the hive walls within two years and allow the Imperium’s Armies to pour in.


 * 332.M39 – Angevin Crusade: The Angevin Crusade was the time of true resurgence for Hephaestia. As Imperial forces flooded into the Ixaniad sector, new life flooded into the forge. The crusading forces arrived at the forge with a feast of captured material and worker personnel. The Hephaestian priests leapt on the chance to serve the crusade, taking in huge supplies of resources and churning out war material in levels not seen for thousands of years. As the Crusade swept through the Ixaniad sector over the next 20 years, the xenos threats were totally crushed and worlds which had slid away from Imperial light were brought back into compliance. As the space throughout the sector was rendered safe again and new resources brought in, the Forge began to expand throughout their previous territories again, claiming resources, manpower, and the tribute they felt they deserved. Never again would Hephaestia allow themselves be brought so low, and as their power waxed strong once more so did the supply of material out to the wider imperium and the Cadian Gate.


 * 009.M39 – Defense of Hephaestian system (Ork Whaaag! against Momus)


 * 139.M41 – 12th Black Crusade


 * 583.M41 – Ork Whaaag! Comes back to keep fighting, remnants land on the inner worlds, ongoing purge operations are in progress.


 * 794.M41. – Fall of House Dumontine ++Records corrupted…please stand by…++


 * 797.M41 – Destruction of House Hecaton: After years of searching for the home world of the traitorous knights who aided in the destruction of Dumontine’s home world, the Mechanicum of Hephaestia-IV managed to come across a data repository buried deep within a traitor fortress on Uronia-XII. Techsorcists managed to recover the location of a world in the south of the Segmentum Obscua known as Endromere. Finding the world covered in manufactoria dedicated to the Dark Mechanicum, the hephaestian Tahgmata landed upon the world, headed by Archmagos Alphaeus Gearhardt, Princeps Raphael Mendregarde and Lord Dumontine themselves. As the destruction began and the god engines began to walk, the knights of Dumontine savaged their way across the world at the forefront of a robotic assault, determined to find the traitors. The destruction drew out the traitorous knights within. But it was not as it seemed, the knight’s iconography was wrong. Infuriated with the error, Archmagos Gearhardt ordered a complete purge of the world. As the last of the traitorous knights met the Tahgmata in the plains before the last city, they charged. Ser Nichola Dumontine put himself between his lord and three rushing chaos knight. Instantly slaying one before dueling with anouther. A cowardly blow was struck from the third, ramming a chainsword through the back of the Lancer. With his last actions, Nichola rammed his shock lance through the chest of the knight, detonating the reactor, his shields and armor defending him from the brunt of the blast. In fury, lord dumontine charged onward, destroying countless super heavy tanks and knights as the Warlord titan Dies Ignis laid waste to the rest of the armies and ordo reductor tanks dragged down the traitors. Nicholas would be recovered and heavily rebuilt with augmetics in time, the real prize of the world was a true data cache, that the world was used by the Iron Flesh warband, these knights were just pawns. Exterminatus of the world soon followed.


 * 798.M41 – The Genetic Rebellion: Upon the Industrial World of Diamont, a world long sworn to Hephaestian subservience, rebellion was in full swing. Their message of salvation and the coming of their Four Arm Emperor had lured millions into the cult. Tahgmata Decimus was dispatched to crush the rebellion along with Lady Galinda Dumontine and two of her life guards. Upon landing on the planet, it was found that Mechanicum Tech-Guard and Imperial PDF were engaged in a losing battle with the cult, being destroyed piecemeal. Rapidly setting up command posts and data networks, Thallaxi cohorts and strato-automata drones began rapid reconnaissance to locate the head of the beast. Rapid moving Hephaestian forces quickly eliminating possible locations for the Gene Cult’s command center, the Dumontine knights swept through the cities, obliterating hordes of mutants and genestealer xenos in thundering rains of mass reactive fire. The cult was eventually cornered and the main bastion of power located. Driven out of their holes with ground penetrating seismic charges and the expenditure of thousands of Tech-thralled menials, the cult made its last and defiant stand in the outskirts of the city. The efforts of mighty battle-automata and war machine were blunted by the prepared ambushes of the cult. Laser fire struck down tech-guard as network interference caused targeting parameters to go away, turning automata upon themselves. Archmagos Decimus himself was cornered by cult acolytes and aberrants, and he and his priesthood bodyguard cut them down by the hundreds to defend their sacred machines. But it was when they thought Decimus cornered that the Genestealer Patriarch did reveal himself. Amidst the chaos of intense guerilla warfare, Lady Dumontine called several maniples of Battle-Automata to her side; slaving them to her cortex command system. Cutting off all avenues of escape, a blistering torrent of munitions held back the purestrain tide and obliterated the Patriarch. With the loss of their leader, the cultists began to break, last ditch efforts were repulsed with flame and munitions and hunter killer Vorax were deployed to finish off the dregs of the cults dregs. A 100 year screening process began afterwards with a further 384,049,382 civilians, imperial servants, and Mechanicum personnel destroyed and remains burned. Defenses were upgraded…for if the cult rose up, then a fleet might not be so far behind.


 * 828.M41 – Rise of the Soulless Machine: A Hephaestian Tahgmata was raised to assist Imperial Battlegroup Eraustoh in the Segmentum Obscura to fight against Eldar Pirates who had set up a threatening and seperate presence from the craftworlds. After months of fighting on the world, the terrible strikes of orbital bombardment cracked opened the tombs beneath.


 * 841.M41 – The Breech of 10,000 Hulls: Upon the jointly overseen armory world of Boliner, a seconded Tahgmata battlegroup remained to garrison the world alongside the Imperial forces. During the 933rd year of the 41st millennium, a chaos cult upon the planet emerged upon the arrival of the Sorcerer Cabal of the Veiled Dagger, having taken root within the planets garrison forces and to a very minor extent, the local Techpriests. Seizing control of vast quantities of tanks, the traitors quickly took over bastions and turned the massive amount of armor on the loyalists. Rapidly identifying the central traitor bastion via orbital scans, the Tahgmata began a heavy frontal assault on the fortress. The fury of the tank’s guns laid low over 78% of the Tahgmata’s forces, but the battle automata managed to break the central line and rampage through the traitor’s forces, killing the Cabal’s sorcerers and eliminating the command structure of the traitors. The rest of the rebellion fell swiftly and much of the war material was reclaimed. Reconsecration of wargear is ongoing.

The Time of Ending

 * 917.M41 – Purge of Kasr Partox: Allying with the Conservators Chapter of Space marines, Alphaeus Gearhardt negotiated a treaty between the two of mutual benefit. Supplies to the flagging chapter in exchange for Marines to fight on Hephaestia’s behalf in the Cadian Gate. Together with their fourth company, Alphaeus Gearhardt hunted down the renegade archmagos, Lord Ul’jama, who had turned traitor with several ancient artifacts and was now allied with a word bearer’s warband for protection and armament. The fallen lord was eventually terminated and the irreplaceable relic of the office of Malagra, the Phase Walker, was recovered.


 * 932.M41 – Defense of Belaris-III: A fairly significant undertaking that saw the Tahgmata of Hephaestia, the Legio Kreuzius, and their allies of Clan Haarmek of the Iron Hands, come to the aid of the blighted planet in their hour of need. Dealing a crushing blow to the forces of Nurgle, the forces of Hephaestia gained valuable intelligence on the new plagues of the Traveler, Typhus. Of especial note, the Warlord Titan Dies Ignis, slew the chaos warlord Mortis Titanicus in the middle of the fiercest fighting.


 * 946.M41 – Shadow Warfare: Hephaestius Cybernetica cohorts were deployed to the beleaguered world of Jussuria, where key relay stations for Imperial communication lay. An unholy alliance of Iron Warriors and Alpha Legionnaires had managed to establish a psychic beacon and attract a small hive of Tyranids to the planet. While most of the Xenos were eliminated in orbit some of the largest xenoforms made it down to the planet. The Chaos Marines staged a masterful attack on established artillery positions on the mountain range Spine of the World to capture them and began to turn the mighty guns on Imperial Bases. Hephaestia arrived at the world in tow of elements of the Raven Guard 3rd and 10th company and began electronic and immaterial warfare across the planet, blacking out the chaotic calls from corrupted astropaths while the raven guard dropped into the artillery positions and began wreaking havoc and to establish orbital uplinks to the Mechanicum assets for their landing. As cohorts cybernetica ground the enemy to pieces, four knights of the Legio Kreuzius along with two Reaver class Titans; Custodus Fideli and Beastia Terribus began the purge of the remaining Tyranids and what heretic engines they could find.


 * 968.M41 – Against the Hated Enemy: During a supply drop on the Industrial World of Kirkham, the planet came under attack from the Tau, who sought to annex the world as part of the Third Sphere expansion. The Skiitari regiments assigned to guard the supplies were able to supplement the existing PDF forces long enough to call to Hephaestia. The initial invading forces of the Tau were pushed back. It was discovered by agents of the Inquisition that an Etheral by the name of Tu’jul’awas to be present on the planet and the Lord Malagra was dispatched to eliminate such a target. The swiftly assembled Tahgmata made record time to Kirkham and quickly landed and set up on the planet around the Hive Primus to await the Tau’s second wave. And less than a day later it came. With Warhound Titan support from Kreuzius to cut off flanking maneuvers, Tau forces broke against the iron of battle automata and priest and under the command of the magi did they unleash searing beams of darkfire energy and bolt to sunder and tear apart the Tau battlesuits. The battle turned when the position of the Etheral was uncovered and Lord Gearhardt teleported directly to his position, exterminating the command personnel and eventually the Etheral himself, decapitating him with a single strike. The battle was concluded as Thallax cohorts harassed the remaining battlesuit formations long enough for knights of Kreuzius, led by Lord Dumontine himself to exterminate them and utterly route the Tau forces. Hephaestia returned to their world with many new samples of alien technology.


 * 988.M41 - The Cull of the Arch-Traitors: As the long war ground on against the forces of the archenemy, the Tahgmata of Hephaestia found itself in conflict with a warband of the Black legion and partnered with a band known as the Dark Wolves. It is long rumored that these Dark Wolves are remnants of treacherous Space Wolves from the Heresy. As the warbands made planetfall upon the densely populated islands of the Ocean World of Catharis. Clearing out the Island’s PDF garrison, the traitors took up defensive positions while their sorcerers went about some unknown task. Fortunately for the local population, the planetary governor of the world had recently sealed a deal with the Magi Parliament of Hephaestia to trade minerals in exchange for infrastructure buildup. As the security forces sent to establish presence on the world clashed with the traitors, the Islands turned against them. The small islands allowed the mechanicum force to level devastating and closely packed bombardments on the chaos forces, obliterating them to a man as robotic forces marched through the shoals, eliminating what resistance could move to try to flank. Catharis is now undergoing extensive deep sea mining operations and technological buildup is ongoing.

13th Black Crusade
The Black Crusade begun and Cadia was besieged. The Forge of Hephaestia, long committed to the defense of the Cadian Gate, redirected all available forces to the world to stand in the face of the forces of chaos. As the fleets closed in to the world and laid siege, Hephaestia’s Tahgmata battlegroups fought valiantly as the full might of the Titan Legions were brought to bear and terrible weapons of the lost dark age came to the light once more.


 * 999.M41 – The Siege of Kasr Don’gur: The Space wolf defense force under Wolf Lord Gjael was under pressure from encroaching chaotic forces. The Mechanicum forces of Hephaestia were well entrenched and supported by two Titans of the Legio Kreuzius; The Reaver Praesiudium Omnissiah and the Warlord Fidelus Custodes. In a swell of overwhelming force from two traitor warlord titans, the Kreuzius titans were forced to make a tactical withdrawal. The combined imperial forces held out for several days until a hole was breached in the outer wall of the fortress city by the traitor titans, allowing millions of enemy combatants to swarm in. Entrenched battle automata and myrmidons managed to hold back the bulk of the forces, but were ultimately unable to contain the breach and fierce city fighting ensured. Orbital bombardment and ordo reductor forces took down a warlord, giving a break in the firepower long enough for the Kreuzius titans to reposition and lay down withering fire unto the breach, giving the Space Wolves time enough to force out the bulk of the Chaos Marines in a devastating counterattack. The defense was costly; losing 3 Knights of House Dumontine and millions of soldiers. The breach is held as the titans stand sentinel, the Imperial Guard rallying in the shadow of the God-Engines.


 * 999.M41 – The God-Battle: The traitors marched upon Cadia and the tainted Titan Legions marched forth with them. The greatest engagement of the Legio Kreuzius upon Cadia was against the corrupted Legio Domini. The commitment of 34 titans of the legion was deemed worthy enough to unleash the greatest secret of the legion, the Warlord-Sinister titan, Dies Cinis, piloted by the Princeps-Omega Bastilla. Led by Preceptor-Intendant Mondregarde in Dies Ignis, the lord of House Dumontine took to the field in escort with his Lancer bodyguard along with a dozen knights in auxiliary. A reaver flanking group and warhound escort was the first maneuver, scoring the first kill against the traitors. Dumontine forces harried the enemy warlords, forcing the chief titan into a Cliffside ravine and damaging the drive servos. Dies Ignis obliterated the traitor in a hellstorm of warpfire. The traitor forces came with support, the superheavy vehicle squadrons and rogue psyker congregations providing covering fire and support. The sinister titan Dies Cinis displayed its awful power, burning out a thousand psykers and tearing open a hole in the warp. Entire companies of traitor baneblades were sucked into the warp and whole skitarii cohorts left soulless by the power of the Sinestrum Tenebrae. The might of the left hand of darkness tore the greater demon from anouther warlord titan, leaving it without guiding anima, detonating the reactor. The battle was a victory, at the cost of two warhounds, 6 knights, and a reaver, the enemy titan force was utterly destroyed.


 * 999.M41 – The Decimation: An Imperial orbital defense position was overrun by traitor Space Marines and turned on the Imperial Forces. Thought newly recruited to the cause of chaos, the traitors possessed much of their former wargear and corruptive hallmarks were sparse, yet detectable. Lord Dumontine broke off from the main force to escort Tahgmata Decimus, his war machine still smoking from the titanic battle. As the position was surrounded and automated guns erected, skitarii forces begun to spread out around the offensive lines flanked by towering battle automata. The traitor’s trap was sprung moments later, and drop pods tore through the sky, taking strategic positions around the advancing Hephaestian forces. Charging headlong into the traitors, Lord Dumontine swiftly forced the traitors back as automata held the outer edges. The graviton cannon of the knight lord tore reality asunder and great rifts in reality formed, not to the warp, but into the stygian depths of folded space. As the traitors were cleared out, their purpose was revealed, the facility was irrevocably compromised with a scrapcode virus, delivered by the renegades. With time running out, much of the facility was left to the mercies of the collapsing singularities; if Mars could not have it, nobody could.


 * 999.M41 – The Remnants of Tahgmata Eisenherz: As the war in the cadian system raged, Hephaestia marshalled several battlegroups and war convocations to aid in the defense of the system. As battlegroups spread across the system, it was Tahgmata Eisenherz which landed upon Cadia itself along with elements of the Legio Kreuzius. The battlegroup moved toward the outer Kasr’s from the hub and mounted a worthy defense before being overrun by Black Legion reinforcements. The ensuing battle saw the Mechanicum forces whittled down to a handful of skitarii and automata before reinforcements from the Iron hands fifth Clan Company stabilized them and fought together against Dark Eldar taking advantage of the conflict, chaos marines of all four gods, and traitorous guardsmen and cultists. Inevitably, when Cadia fell, the Imperial forces pulled back. In the chaos, the fate of the battlegroup is unknown, they are thought to be on Medusa presently.

The Lightless Century
Cadia has fallen; the forces of the Imperium were driven into full retreat. The forces of Hephaestia managed to escape the system at great loss of their fleet and fall back to regroup in the Agaela system. As the maledictum rift split the galaxy in half and the eye swelled, so did the light of the Astronomicon fade from view. Long range warp jumps became impossible and the forces of darkness fell upon the Forge. Old Night had fallen once more. In the interim century, Hephaestia would be besieged repeatedly by the forces of Chaos and rebellion would spring up on worlds under their dominion, thinking themselves able to throw off the yoke of the Mechanicum. With inhuman brutality and tirelessness, these conflicts would shape the disposition of the forge for centuries to come.


 * 999.M41 – The Great Retreat: As the light of the Astronomicon began to fade behind the Maledictum rift and the forces of Hephaestia returned en mass to the Aglaea system with all the news and information they’d accumulated from the fall of the Cadian System. The order was put out immediately to begin withdrawing all forces across the galaxy to the home Forge, abandoning their posts to fall back to the Aglaean system and the surrounding vassal system as the remaining long range astropaths began detecting warp presences coming toward the system from the Eye. The prime group to recover was Tahgmata Battlegroup Anihila, in possession of an Ordinatus and utilizing it to break the offensive of a fragment of Hive Fleet Behemoth at the edge of the Segmentum Obscurba. House Dumontine was deployed almost in full strength to recover the precious Ordinatus and the thousands of priests, battle robot cohorts, and Skitarii maniples accompanying it. When the Hephaestian forces landed to begin recovery operations, they found soldiers from the Salamanders chapter present with forces from the Forge World of Xia. The expected relief from Hephaestia did not come, and as forces were withdrawn, the Salamanders were forced in kind to give ground. The Mechanicum fought brutally in their methodical retreat and did their best to defend their precious war material. Demands from the Salamanders mounted as ground was lost. Deciding to relay the news of Cadia for them, the Salamanders agreed to evacuate. Ultimately, the Mechanicum would sacrifice their Ordinatus to cover the escape of Dumontine, Salamanders, and Xia as a colossal wave of Synapse minions and Harpies descended upon them.


 * 000.M42 – The battle of Momus: As the clock ticked forward into the 42nd millennium, the system of Hephaestia found itself besieged by a colossal force of heretic astartes, traitor guardsmen, and corrupted knights. The initial incursion was met with fierce resistance as the forces of Hephaestia engaged them in space. Colossal Void-Kraken would claim dozens of ships and graviton pulsars would collapse space hulks into singularities to tear through the fleets before dissipating in flashes of gamma radiation. Black Legionaires, Death Guard, and Traitor Guard would make their landing upon the Forge World itself and fierce battle would rage there for months with the most intense fighting at Forge Vulcanis and the outer forges of Nihilus and xi-za, the centers of laser weapon manufacture and the Myrmidon Cult. Throughout the system, conflict raged across orbital battlestations, research habitats, and in fierce boarding actions, though the true ultimate battle for the system would occur upon the inner world of Momus, nominally the dominion of Dumontine, but in practice was the sole rule of Hephaestia and the world supplied the bulk of the food for the system from its titanic eco-domes. The forces of chaos would establish a foothold upon the planet and unleash their most dire threat; a psychicly dominated remnant of Behemoth. The knights of Dumontine fought hard and were backed by the Reaver Titan Fidelus Custodes as the traitor knights of Nachmund descended in kind, seeking to add new suits to their armories. Leading a mighty charge from the front, the cybernetically enhanced war leader taking charge of the battle and slaving the cortex automata to his will. The scale of the battle consumed nigh the whole world in war and saw the Magos Myrmidax, Malagra, and Reductor lords descend unto the world. At the height of the conflict world scarring battle that followed, the leader of House Dumontine, Lord Adrian himself, would face down a biotitan in battle by himself, but be overcome in its death throes. Gravely wounded and knight disabled, the knights of Nachmund would descend in true earnest unto the Mechanicum positions, desperate to recover such a prized knight suit. It would be his Lifeguards, Lord Alexi and Nichola, two brothers piloting the two remaining Lancers of the house, who would fend off this pressed assault. By themselves they would cast down over a dozen traitor knights and personally drag the damaged Atrapos from the field as raking darkfire cannons struck at their foes. The rest of house Dumontine would drive deep into the traitor positions after this, breaking the back of the assault while pounding artillery and automata held the line. Over the next year the forces of the archenemy were picked off piecemeal and restoration efforts began. The loss of war material and food product was incredible, and millions of menials starved over the next decade.


 * 001.M42 – Seeking Knowledge: In the midst of the Lightless Century, Euclidea came under sudden assault by forces of the Thousand Sons. The spontaneous arrival via sorcery took the tech guard by surprise and allowed the forces of Rubricae, Sorcerers, and their constantly materializing armor to cut a path to the central temple on the world; The Temple of Eternal Knowledge. Daemons of Tzeentch began flooding into the world and invading the precious data stacks, ruining entire districts holding centuries of knowledge. Warp routes, cures to diseases, patterns of lasguns, all types of knowledge were destroyed. The Thousand Sons sorcerers prepared to teleport inside, but failed, finding themselves blocked by anti-warp technologies, and thus the Daemon Prince Mxyl’plzztyl led the charge against the cybernetica and tech guard forces defending the gate. The Dumontine Knight-Warden, Malifax, bellowed challenge to the Daemon Prince for single combat, and slew the monster and began savaging the traitors armor and horrid warp machines before being pushed back through the first gate and powering down for emergency repairs. In wake of the knight’s repairs, the defenders began throwing battle servitors into the breach to buy time for battle automata to get into position, and withering hails of bolt and plasma fire tore apart enemy war machines. The Sons would make one last push, using foul sorcery to turn bullets aside in a bid to eliminate Vault Warden Garnfired, strategic warp portals would see the command point of the second gate destroyed and Garnfried’s position overrun, but it would be for naught. Neutron laser defense turrets and constant reinforcement of cybernetica and skitarii saw them repelled and all invaders crushed. Techsorcists would descend at the order of Shadowsun and many weeks would pass before the daemonic taint was considered purged.


 * 033.M42 – The Ruptures: The next several decade would see a constant influx of traitors unto the system, enticed by the resilient target and challenge it presented. The warp storms and inability to partake in long range communication forced Hephaestia to focus its full military powers onto their realm and at a lesser extent, the surrounding worlds. Unable to establish a lasting foothold within the Agaela system, the Poxrot Warband, long nursing a grudge against the Hephaestian Magi for their previous defeat, began luring the military powers of the forge to their vassal worlds. As the powers of the forge landed upon the vassal worlds they brought their Biologis magi to set about dealing with the diseases. Where disease was thickest, warp gates opened as a simultaneous invasion force translated into the system, they were immediately set upon by the defenses of Hephaestia; automated battleships and barques, nova cannon platforms, and lance batteries. Haphazard landings by the death guard began on Hephaestia and Hephaestia-II and Momus once again with huge damage being inflicted unto the lumen transmission stations. The tech guard and the titan legion responded immediately. Elements of the Blood Angels and Iron Hands were in system picking up wargear shipments and responded appropriately. The main hives and citadels across the worlds were besieged in a mass assault and anarchy reigned. The Legio Kreuzius marched across the worlds and the knights assembled in full force, leading a great hunt through the towering avenues of the forges, taking down putrid and towering daemon engines. The lesser sieges upon Momus were repelled and the Death Guard could not stand before the Legio Kreuzius upon the forge moon. As the primary force assaulted Forge Feulner Fortress Delta, the walls held for weeks, until rot brought down the perimeter in a tide of sorcerous rust. The death guard force was broken as legions of hunter-killer automata barred the breaches and titans annihilated the forces from behind. Even after the breaking of the main force, remnants of the Poxrot warband would remain within the system like bacteria that could not be excised, taking footholds in voidstations and protecting or cloaking them in sorcery.
 * 035.M42 – Combating the infection: Voidstations about the system began to darken as they were silently taken by sorcery shrouded vessels or destroyed. As the number of missing stations became troublesome and reports of stations in incorrect locations opening fire on others mounted, the Forge Entered into a great calculation and Digitalus divisio's from all the forges came together to determine a pattern. In time, one was established following the limited release of heavily redacted information on the sacred numbers of chaos. Following the purge of all exposed priests, the ordo reductor took it upon themselves to make short work of the threats. Following a series of incredibly intense zone mortalis boarding actions, the majority of the abberant stations were destroyed.
 * 038.M42 – Excision of the Cancer: In the waning days of the thirty eighth year of the Lightless Century, a seemingly explainable disappearance occurred. A warp field detection satellite orbiting through the system debris belts vanished. Thought to have been destroyed by meteor collision or happenstance, the tragedy was noted and filed away. It would be noted as such until the core of the satellite's data repositories crash landed upon one of the forge moons surrounding Cacus. Without warning the concealed forces of the Poxrot warband eurupted, determined to recover the data core and the augeries contained within. The readied forces of the Mechanicum were upon them immediately and the tenth, fifth, and eighteenth Skitarii legiones were upon them along with the systems Tahgmata garrison. It was at this time that the Lord Malagra, Gearhardt, deemed it time to decapitate the head of the warband and as such an assassin clade of mech-assassins was dispatched to the battlefield. In the chaos of the incredibly brutal battle which followed, the leader of the warband as well as the overwhelming majority of the plague marines present were slain and their sorcerers destroyed. The effectivness of the assassin clades would not reach 100%, in the final moments, the high sorcerer of the warband was able to grab the data core and escape into the warp with what few underlings remained. The search for the sorcerer is ongoing.
 * 042.M42 – Censure of Enetheos: The world of Enetheos, a Vassal world sworn in fealty to Hephaestia, rebelled amidst the chaos of the Lightless Century. With warp travel now possible in brief jumps and communication severed with the forge, the civilized and industrious world deigned to throw off the yoke of the Mechanicum and rose up against the Forge in the 36th year of the 42nd millenium. The PDF forces and system defense flotilla, swayed by the populist movement of the Planetary Governor, swiftly eliminated the Hephaestian citadels within the worlds cities by orbital bombardment and invasion by the millions of soldiers. As the warp settled enough for local jumps to be made in 040, the Forge sent out small explorator fleets to the nearby worlds under their dominion, and upon translation into the system, were beset upon by their own defensive platforms and Imperial system defense ships and forced into retreat after being warned off by vox transmission. Two years later, Hephaestia would return with a retribution fleet led by Alphaeus Gearhardt to bring censure to the world. The response was swift, brutal, and utterly merciless. The system defenses and fleets were swept aside by the arcane armament of the Mechanicum ships and the world burned in orbital bombardment to match the previous devastation and the legiones of the Machine God would tear the planet apart. In tow with the retribution fleet was the ally to the forge, Rogue Trader Greggario, who by compact would lend the use of his bulk landers. The world was burned and whole cities leveled. Billions died in the censure. Their resources pillaged, their people reduced to labor, their industrial output subsumed by the mechanicum, their military might absorbed, and their once proud history reduced to a footnote in the data looms of Hephaestia, never to reach relevance again. A mote of forgotten knowledge amidst millennia of ignorance. At the end, Archmagos Gearhardt himself descended unto the world with Greggario to execute the governor. The events of this censure were transmitted on permanent loop; a warning to all other worlds who would dare rebel.
 * 045.M42 – The Lightning Schism: The enforced unity of the disparate cults of Hephaestia finally failed in the fourty-fifth year of the forge's isolation. The factions of corpuscarii and fulgarite electropriests united together in the face of what they perceived as intense blasphemy of the Anima cult, who had been siphoning huge quantities of energy away from the great batteries of the Motive Force cults since the Death Guard assault had destroyed swaths of power transmitters in 033. Seeing this diversion of sacred energy into what the highly orthodox Electro-priests saw as heretical battle automata in such quantities had broken their tolerance for the unliving metal beasts. In a furious assault, the electropriests descended upon Forge Deculus and Acorda, determined to wipe out the battle automata production and and storage facilities as well as the energy storage depots that were to ship power cells off world. In the blaze which followed, large swaths of forge works were left decimated and wracked with lightning scorched cityscape as the Motive Force Cults were ordered to be censured at the order of Forge Master Primus Jhon'son and their holdings seized for acting against the Forge.
 * 045.M42 – The Banishment: Not long after the Lightning Schism, a mysterious chain of events took place throughout the holdings of the Electropriests in which agents of the heretek Logician faction began to spring up through their holy grounds, stealing or destroying ancient energy relics. Many were hunted down and slain by the Corpuscarii, while others, possessed of a worrying level of resource and planning, escaped and fled to the Halo Stars where factions of the Dark Mechanicum dwelt. Directed to redeem themselves by the Forge Master Primus, almost the entirety of the electro-cults departed the forge along with a small fleet of war-barques. After landing upon the world of Coronosis, the priests encountered the Heretic Astartes allies and cultist forces of the Dark Mechanicum. A fierce but brief conflict occurred and the electropriests were wiped out to a man. It is whispered that the uprising of the Logician remnants was manufactured by the upper echelons of the synod, and rumblings of discontent were squashed by the Chamber Cardinal.
 * 046-102.M42 – ++Records Corrupted...>>decoding<<++

Post Indomitus Crusade
At the conclusion of Guilliman's crusade, the forces of the Crusade would disperse through the beleaguered Galaxy to other Imperial worlds. Eventually reaching the Ixaniad Sector as warp travel became possible again. The Imperial forces would find respite amidst the chaos within the realms of Hephaestia and fresh armament. However, in the midst of the survival protocols of Old Night, the Imperial forces would find their hosts chilly at best.
 * 103.M42 – The Wars of Faith: As the fanatics of the Echlessiarchal forces accompanying the Imperial armies crossed into the domains of Hephaestia, controversy occurred. As the example messages were viewed, the priesthood demanded retribution of the censure of Imperial Worlds which they claimed Hephaestia had no right to do so. The zealous soldiers of the machine god which had swept out into formerly closed off vassal domains with the Indominitus Crusade, to a terrible conflict with the fanatical forces off the Ecclesiarchy who claimed ownership of the Hephaestian sworn worlds as subjects of the Emperor. Forced into a defensive siege in the capital city of the world, the Legion and Tahgmata forces held back the tides of fanatics for two weeks until the missive came through from the Fabricator General of Mars to cease hostilities and the situation was cleared up and the world returned to the rule of Hephaestia. Tension with the Ecclesiarchy has been high since in the face of perceived heresies in each.

Relationship With Other Imperial Organizations

 * Ecclesiarchy: The Mechanicum of Hephaestia are generally staunch believers that the God-Emperor and the Omnissiah are the same thing, due to their shrines to the God-Emperor within their system and trade pacts with them, the Ecclesiarchy generally behaves favorably outwardly to the priesthood within the system. However, tension simmers beneath the surface at the notion that these priests, useful allies they may be, deign themselves to know better then the God-Emperor when it comes to the holy human form. Since the Indomitus Crusade reached Hephaestia, several lesser factions of the Ecclesiarchy have been engaged with low level conflict with the Forge over mutually perceived slights and heresies.


 * Space Marines: Hephaestia maintains a good relationship with several Space Marine chapters, among them being Clan Haarmek of the Iron Hands, who with which they share an especially close bond, and the Dark Angels descendant chapter 'Knights of Steel'. There is enmity between themselves and the more pious chapters such as the Black Templars and the Red Scorpions for much the same reasons as the Ecclesiarchy who see them as prideful and arrogant. The priests of Hephaestia have since established a mutual benefit alliance with the Conservators chapter of Space Marines, a chapter long shunned by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Doing so is not out of defiance of Mars but the need for warriors at the Eye in this dark time.


 * Inquisition: Relations with the Inquisition remain shaky. Since the censure of their world in M36 by the Ordo Machina, Inquisitors constantly attempt infiltration of the system with mixed results. Through their rededication to Mars and centuries of great tribute and political maneuvering, Hephaestia remains in the good graces of Mars, and as such uses that leverage to resist the Inquisition as they can. But when times are dark and the Inquisition requisitions aid against the traitors, Hephaestia will gladly oblige.


 * Imperial Guard: Hephaestia maintains great relations with the guard and dedicates nearly 74% of the Forge’s output to supplying the forces around the Cadian Gate. The Militant Archmagi Primus tend to clash with Cadian commanders though, oftentimes resulting in friction between the two, but is eventually smoothed over as the next supply of weapons ships in. Since the fall of cadia and the Indomitus Crusade, Hephaestian forces have fought alongside huge numbers of guard and their technology has graced even more regiments.


 * Other Forge Worlds: Hephaestia is a generally compliant Forge World and pays tribute to Mars in the form of weapon schematics and samples of technology, this tribute is sent out once every 100 years. Past conflicts with the Ordo Machina have caused Hephaestia to change from its original colors to the colors of Mars, reaffirming their fealty for all time and the black, representing that of censure, is displayed prominently. The Forge World has relations with the worlds of Agrippa, Omnicron-9, and a few other worlds. Relationships with other forges are sometimes strained, the mix of Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy that is Hephaestia clashing constantly with the other forges which swing more prominently in one way or the other. Of note is an alliance with Ryza. They share several patterns of ancient technology with them in exchange for access to their powerful cooling systems and mastery of plasma.

Hephaestian Cults and Factions
''“Trust the Emperor on His holy throne on which He rests at the heart of our empires, blessed be His sacrifice for eternity, for He is the entity of our spirit, united and separated in singularity of the God-Emperor and Omnissiah, protector of Mankind and Mechanicum. May He watch over flesh and steel, as the metal of the throne supports Him. May He watch over blood and oil which gives us life, as the devotion of mankind gives Him his. May he watch over voice and noos, so that we may scream His word and our defiance into the darkness. He is our shining light of navigation and consistency who illuminates the true path of logic. Imperator Omnissiah Unificat Carnis un Metallum.  The Emperor Protects.”  ''

''From the Book of the Forged Spirit. Section 1, verse 1. Translated from Binary.''

The Forge World of Hephaestia and the planets within its system are primarily split into two main cults who work toward the respective goals of the forge with several smaller cults and organizations popping up over the millenia. While the cults have their differences, they share a tradition of extreme augmentation and general devotion to the Imperium. It is said that darker presences lie beneath the surface.

The Cult of the Light of Sollex
This cult first appeared on Hephaestia after ships from Hephaestia encountered ships from Battlefleet Calixis in 869.M40 and agreed to an exchange of knowledge, notably improvements to lance weaponry and photonic gear in exchange for improvements to shipboard plasma reactors. As the ideas of the Cult of Sollex spread throughout the fleets and eventually back to Hephaestia, priests began making pilgrimidges to the lathe worlds, bringing back a little more dogma each time.

The Sollexian cult promotes a warlike mentality when it comes to addressing problem, having a divisive and binary method of thinking; rigorously categorizing things as definitive as the individual radiations within the spectrum of light. The Cult of Sollex specializes in the mysteries of photon and laser, finding divine wisdom in the fractured and varied spectrum of light. It is unsurprising that the cult found such strong roots in Hephaestia given the nature of the technology which Hephaestia specializes in.

Cult of Anima Omnissiah
This cult is dominant throughout the majority of the Agaelan system. The central aspect of the sect is that the will of the God-Emperor/Omnissiah is made manifest through the minds of his chosen mechanical servants; the Beastia Anima. It is through the blessing of the Emperor that these nigh-sentient machines do not gain true awareness, but it is through the actions of the Anima does the Emperor act.

The Anima cult promotes a mentality of spiritual belief and trust in the God-Emperor not unlike the traditional Imperial Cult. The key difference is that the adherents of his cult believe their God to walk bodily among them in metal vessels which serve as avatars of His will and guidence. Such is this belief that priests dedicated to this cult are known to promote the active use of robots over traditional forces and have been known to (and condemned for) experimenting wildly with the Anima. It is the core tenant of the faith that holds beastie anima as holy and sacred, and adherants to this faith will do whatever is required to recover cybernetica cortexes upon the field of battle, for as the machine moves, it analyzes all upon the battlefield and decides for itself what the optimal targets are, sharing the data with all around it which adherents of the cult then prioritize with all haste.

It is this faith which has spawned the Autocaduceus Order; a conclave of warrior tech priests akin almost to the Apothecaries of the Space marine Chapters who tend to the behemoths in battle to reload their weapons and enact repairs. Walking among the cohorts of battle automata equipped with an Acciperia, an arcane device bonded to the augmetics of the priest and fitted with a micro-nest of mechadendrites equipped with laser drills, adamantium saws, and solders. This device allows the priest to cut through the metal hide of fallen automata and extract the Cybernetica Cortex for examination. If deemed undamaged, then the artificial brain may be placed within a new body to fight anew.

This version of the faith is gaining increased traction amongst the serfs on Euphema and Momnus due to the actions of the cybernetica in repelling the remnants of the Orkish invasion in Millennium Thirty-Nine and the chaos invasion in Millenium Forty-two.

Order of Binharic Cessation
Known by those privy to its secrets as the Silent Order, it is subject only to the decrees of the Forge Master Primus and is the deepest held secret of the forge. Based out of what is known only as Outpost-17-Tertiary, the station is concealed by powerful cloaking technology as it orbits Hephaestia within the rings. This sect of Tech Priests is dedicated to the study, replication, and experimentation of ancient anti-warp technologies uncovered in the system at the time of its founding. Known to be Necrontyr in origin, this anti-warp technology has led to painstakingly replicated, yet crude, copies of such devices as The Null Field Matrix, a device which destabilizes psychic connection to the warp. By incorporating the principles of this device, the priests have been able to create nigh heretical technologies such as the Dusk Shield, of which no electromagnetic fields may penetrate, and the Probability Anchor, which solidifies reality and prevents divination from seeing what is to come within its field of effect. It is these technologies which grant Hephaestia their powerful defenses against the unrelenting forces of the Traitor Legiones and through their psychic manipulation abilities allow the abomination of the Dark Age, The Psi-Titan, to walk.

The Cult of Binharic Cessation controls much of the world of Crius in secret and it is their watchers who overseer those priests who tend to the machines of the world. Amongst the promethium field rigs and iron citadels in the ash wastes lie augery stations whose ground penetrating scans are constantly recalibrated to peer into the tombs beneath. The cult is known to the Ordo Xenos to be experts regarding Necrons and are often requested to be seconded to watch stations to share their secrets. Priests of this order, who spend their time away from the greater priesthood, will often make use of their reverse engineered technology and integrate what they have uncovered into their armories. In exchange for glancing over eccentricities, the Order provides the inquisition with Necrontyr weaponry, usually in the form of phase blades or reverse engineered weapons which go to use in the Deathwatch.

Logicians Cult
The logicians are made up of heretical factions and tech-cults who have long been a thorn in the side of the Calixis and Ixaniad sector, while their origins go back considerably further into the history of the Mechanicum and Imperium. Taking inspiration from the heretical text ‘In Defence of the Future: A Logical Discourse’ the logicians seek to overthrow the Mechanicum’s monopoly on technology and begin the advancement of science at all costs regardless of its source for the ultimate ‘benefit’ of humanity and restoration to the Dark Age of Technology.

To this end, the work posits the destruction of the Cult Mechanicus and overthrow of the Imperial authority and end to the Ecclesiarchy. The logical course as postulated by the logicians is to lead humanity to the stars through the guidance of a new absolutist oligarchy of ‘forward thinkers’ – namely the Logicians themselves.

The cult has, in the past, moved to gain a foothold upon Hephaestia, arriving upon the world through Mechanicum transports and visiting delegations throughout the thirty-fifth millenium during the height of the Nova Terra Integrum. In the wake of the Moira Schism which gripped the Mechanicum in the early millennium thirty-six, in the age of apostasy, the Logicians seized their chance and took control of the ruling synod of the world and began undermining Imperial Control of the surrounding systems. As the cruel galaxy wide edicts of Goge Vandire eroded faith in the central government, the Logicians, referring to themselves as the Golden Order, eroded it further and primed the worlds for permenant succession from the Imperium.

Soon after the rule of Vandire, the Ordo Machina descended upon the forge and crushed the logician cult and rooted out almost all their members from the forge, critically depleting many areas of research and production where their influence had festered. To this day, tiny enclaves of Logician adherents remains in the bowls of Hephaestia and are hunted down with extreme prejudice to prove loyalty to Mars and avoid censure again. It is the effect of the cult which has imposed such stringent care protocols for who takes power in the synod.

Notable Ships Produced by the Shipyards

 * Iron Fury: An Oberon class Battleship that serves as the personal ship of Archmagos Prime Alphaeus Gearhardt for the purpose of carrying out his duties as the Lord Malagra. The ship has especially augmented augery and scanning powers and a quad layered void shield system. It is equipped with nova cannons of Ryza origin which fires devastating plasma warheads at luminal speeds.


 * Miracle of Steel: A Retribution class battleship that serves as the flagship of Magos Eisenherz’s fleet. The ship’s last known position was above Cadia during the final hours of the planet, it is thought to have escaped with Archmagos Dominus Cawl’s fleet. Whether it was destroyed by Abbadon the Despoiler is unknown.