Noctilith

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Targetdrone.gif Blackstone redirects here. For other uses of the term, see Blackstone (disambiguation).
Blackstone fragment[17]

Noctilith, commonly called Blackstone,[2] is a strange metallo-organic compound superficially similar to obsidian.[18] It has the mysterious capability to strengthen or weaken warp influence. Blackstone is found across the Galaxy.[1][16a] Once thought to be of little worth by Humanity, control of this resource could potentially win or lose the war against Chaos in a galaxy split in two by the Great Rift's opening.[16a]

Overview

Tech-Priest acquiring Blackstone from a Necron structure.[13b]

Noctilith is the substance which the Necrons use to create their star-spanning tetrahedral zones of stable space and is known to be highly resistant to the powers of the Warp. Noctilith is known to hold back Empyric energies, limiting both Psychic abilities and the manifestation of Daemons.[3] Found in abundance on Tomb Worlds, the Adeptus Mechanicus under Belisarius Cawl in particular has sought out deposits for blackstone.[1] Conversely, Noctilith can also enhance the effects of psychic powers,[5] acting as a locus for warp energy.[16a] Noctilith can be tuned by specialized devices to either amplify or nullify the Warp.[6]

Blackstone fragment[18]

The Imperium covets Noctilith, which some call "Pariah stone" due to its similar effect. Cawl and more ambitious members of the Mechanicum wish to mine enough Noctilith and empower it in order to create a shield against Chaos, perhaps subverting the growth of the Great Rift.[3] The Necrons have been able to use Noctilith to create entire regions of space free from the touch of the Warp, such as the Pariah Nexus.[4] Szarekh hopes to create this array on a galactic scale.[5]

Further effects of Noctilith have been observed. Any living creature within the area of influence of Noctilith will find themselves afflicted with a numbing despair that only worsens with time until they become little more than a mindless husk - a perfect vessel for Necrons' experimentation on the reversal of biotransference.[5]

It is said that the Chaos Gods have their own plans for Noctilith.[5] During the aftermath of the 13th Black Crusade, Black Legion forces used Blackstone shards of the Cadian Pylons to cut off Warp routes to Terra.[9]

Noctilith has a variety of uses, fragments and shard are able to be repurposed in a variety of augmented armaments or psychic defences.[13c] A Tech-Priest could alter their weapon of choice, whether it be a simple data-wand, or an Omnissian Staff or Axe, it could be augmented to have both give or leech motive force from organic, mechanical, or even supernatural entities.[13d]

History

The Cadian Pylons, which were made of Blackstone[3]

In the distant past of the galaxy, ancient races understood the workings of blackstone. Something more advanced than both the Aeldari and Necrons created the Blackstone Fortresses long, long ago. Despite this, only the Necrons would carry the secrets of blackstone into the future.[16b] Millions of years ago, the ancient Necrons used Noctilith to build a variety of Warp-dampening Pylons across the Galaxy.[3][13a]

In the time of the Great Crusade, the Custodian Guard constructed a prison on Terra made of Blackstone salvaged from Cadia to hold their most dangerous captives.[12]

Some time before 338.M41, the radical Inquisitor Quixos developed an interest in the warp-altering properties of the Cadian Pylons, in the hope of permanently closing the Eye of Terror. Controlled through Quixos' enslaved daemonhost, Cherubael, a cult calling itself the "Sons of Bael" studied the pylons. These studies bore fruit, and Quixos duplicated the pylons on other worlds using corrupted merchant cartels and personal supplies of Blackstone.[19]

Unfortunately these plans never came to fruition as he was executed by an Inquisitorial taskforce led by Eisenhorn. It is unknown if Quixos' plan would have succeeded regardless - he was deeply addled by warp corruption and it was well within reason that his experiment could have instead torn the Eye of Terror asunder, which would have resulted in the Noctis Aeterna's devastation and the formation of the Great Rift almost six centuries early.[19]

During the ten thousand years of the Long War Abaddon launched strategic strikes on worlds of the Galaxy rich in Blackstone, allowing for the expansion of the Great Rift following the destruction of the Cadia during the Thirteenth Black Crusade.[6a] The destruction of Cadia and its Pylons resulted in increased interest in the study of Blackstone by the Adeptus Mechanicus. In truth Mechanicus had been mining raw Blackstone throughout the Segmentum Solar for well over five centuries. The secretive nature of Mechanicus’ gathering of Blackstone has drawn the eyes of the Inquisition towards their operations.[6b]

Known Blackstone Constructs

Other Blackstone Devices

Images

  • Mechanicus raiding a Necron world.[13b]

See also

Sources

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