The Maelstrom
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This article is about the Warp Storm; for the 10th Edition campaign book, see The Maelstrom: Lair of the Tyrant. |
The Maelstrom (also known as the Shadow Mere, the Twisted Reach, the Well of Lies, the Maw[6a], or to the Aeldari as Guair Dromlaith the Nightmare Gulf[6c]) is a majoris grade interference between the warp and real space.[1a]
Contents
Overview
  Maelstrom |
| The Maelstrom is located in Ultima Segmentum between the border with Segmentum Solar and the centre of the galaxy[1a] |
Second only to the Eye of Terror in size, scope, and intensity, The Maelstrom is a massive Warp Storm and spatial vortex that lies near the center of the Galaxy. A place where the material universe and the Warp overlap, the laws of physics do not apply and it is infested with all kinds of cosmic horrors, such as Daemons and hordes of Chaos Mutants. Off limits to the Imperium, it has served as a refuge for pirates, brigands, outcasts, and Chaos Space Marines.[2]
A volatile region to live in, the Imperium struggles to retain control over the regions of space surrounding the Maelstrom Zone. The whole region itself is plagued by unpredictable spatial phenomena such as ionic reefs, null zones, and nomadic singularities. Warp travel is also highly unpredictable and hazardous, and this perhaps more than any other factor is responsible for the fact that the Maelstrom Zone has remained untamed by the Adeptus Terra.[2] This has not stopped a steady flow of enterprising Rogue Traders, merchant fleets, sector patrols, and Kin prospects from launching expeditions into the region.[6c]
While avoided by most of the Asuryan Craftworlds who fear falling prey to She Who Thirsts within its gyre, the Maelstrom nevertheless attracts Eldar Corsairs who transit its Webway gates to lost Aeldari worlds and pirate bases rich with plunder.[6c]
History
Regions of the Maelstrom were the site of the infamous Badab War in late M41.[2] After his defeat at the end of the Badab War, Lugft Huron, master of the Astral Claws escaped into the Maelstrom.[1b] Currently the Maelstrom is the home of the Red Corsairs on the world of New Badab.[1a]
During the Thirteenth Black Crusade, the Maelstrom became a part of the Great Rift which spans the Imperium from one side to the other.[3]
Regions of the Maelstrom
- The Crimson Eyrie[6d]
- The Great Lesion[6b]
- The Howling Gyre[6b]
- Mournhollow[6b]
- The Parachyre Helix[6b]
- The Rad Marches[6b]
- The Tyrant's Crown[6b][6d]
- The Venatorian Caldera[6b]
- The Zilldwyre Crevasse[6b]
Sectors and Subsectors Surrounding The Maelstrom
Notable planets in and around the Maelstrom Zone
- Badab Primaris
[Help] - Bathamor[6b]
- Cocholos[6b]
- Ghalmek[6b]
- Hell's Teeth[Help]
- Kovalic II[Help]
- Kyren[Help]
- New Badab[6b]
- Phargos Hex[6b]
- Torvendis[Help]
Other Locations and Anomalies of the Maelstrom
- The Broken Narrows[6d]
- Corsair's Keep - A Blackstone Fortress gifted to Huron Blackheart by Abaddon the Despoiler.[6d]
- Ghostmare[4]
- Hell's Iris - Red Corsairs Ramilles Class Star-fort[5][6d]
- Kharfast Anchorage[6d]
- Kymnos Cluster[6d]
- Mawtex - phenomena full of little globules resembling blood[4]
- Nightmare Gulf[Help]
- The Null Bastion[6b]
- Perdition's Gate[4]
- Phorneus Rapidity[4]
- Sinistral Gate - area of relatively calm space favoured by renegades and pirates striking out of the Maelstrom[4]
- Storm of Maws[4]
- Vassago Stream[4]
- Vhorst System[6d]
See also
Sources
- 1: Warhammer 40,000 5th Edition Rulebook:
- 2: Imperial Armour Volume Nine - The Badab War - Part One, pgs. 9-11
- 3: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (8th Edition), pg. 87 - Huron Blackheart
- 4: Sons of the Hydra (Novel), Part IV, Chapter ν
- 5: Blood Reaver (Novel), Chapter 11
- 6: The Maelstrom: Lair of the Tyrant:
