Cthonian Mining Guilds
The Cthonian Mining Guilds are a particularly powerful mining Guild of the Leagues of Votann.[1]
Contents
History
Fearless in the cause of locating, securing, and harvesting resources for their race, the Cthonians think nothing of braving environments so extreme that even other Kin would balk at the hazard. This bloody-minded approach extends to not only physical hazards such as the fringes of black holes or Space Hulks but also to living dangers such as predatory alien races and hostile empires. Many Guild surveyors think nothing of assessing assets of other civilizations such as plasma storage plants, Promethium stockpiles, ore barges, and industrial infrastructure. They are viewed no differently than naturally occurring resources. In such instances, trade is often attempted as the first recourse, but if these measures fail they will promptly turn to war.[2]
Not all miners join the Cthonian Guild. There are hundreds of unaffiliated asteroid mines and void-harvesting rigs scattered across League space. However, a large majority of Kin miners do choose to acquire Guild accreditation for firmly pragmatic reasons, for the Cthonians are rich enough to operate their own fleets of ships that allow them to better lay claim to resources. Most Kin who join the Cthonians are already adapted for hardiness, possessing Cloneskeins that imbue them with benefits such as hyper-dense bone structures, resistance to extreme radiation, and the ability to perceive esoteric energy spectra. Added to this are willingly submitted surgeries that further reinforce them with benefits for their trade, such as reinforced skull-plates, advantageous bionics, and artificial organs that allow them to survive in the most extreme environments. Indeed, there is a cheerful rivalry amongst the Cthonians as to who is the most heavily adapted, with the hardiest being nicknamed "luggers".[2]
The Cthonians do not just undertake traditional mining. This is a broad term that also covers global magna-extraction, tectonic delving, and star-harvesting. Nor do the Cthonians shy away from mining in active warzones, and indeed many conflicts have been triggered by their acquisitive efforts.[2]
In battle, the Cthonian Mining Guilds use ships that are capable of acting as temporary defensive structures as well as prefabricated shelters and field generators dropped from gunships. Their Kin gladly fight alongside Hearthkyn and Hernkyn, acting as sappers, combat engineers, and linebreakers. Most infamous of all are the Cthonian Beserks, who relish the opportunity to smash the foe in battle to prove they are the toughest lugger.[2]
The Délve
Cthonian guilds employ a host of tactics to secure the resources they exploit. The term délve refers to the maze of access ways, working faces, service ducts, vaults, and more which have been established to allow them to mine as efficiently as possible. This network may be one of physical tunnels or meshes of magna-rail conduits and sealed chambers deployed into environments without a physical surface. Some may even be linked with teleportation nodes.[3]
See Also
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Community: Lore of the Votann – Who Are the Guilds? (posted 28/07/22) (last accessed 28 July 2022)
- 2: Codex: Leagues of Votann (9th Edition), pg. 19
- 3: Codex: Leagues of Votann (10th Edition), pg. 56
