Porphyry
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Name: | Porphyry | 
|
| Segmentum: | Segmentum Obscurus | ||
| Sector: | Calixis Sector | ||
| Subsector: | The Periphery | ||
| System: | |||
| Population: | |||
| Affiliation: | Ork / former Adeptus Mechanicus | ||
| Class: | Mining World / former Xenos World | ||
| Tithe Grade: | |||
Porphyry is a rocky, arid Mining World home to insects, numerous species of serpent and reptile, a handful of spindly, dangerous looking plants, and not much else. It is a dusty, sun-baked world of dark, purple-red stone and glittering, crystal deserts that shimmer under a perpetually cloudless, azure sky.[1]
History
Evidence uncovered by Explorator missions shows that sometime in the distant past, a highly developed society of unknown provenance dominated Porphyry. The crumbled ruins of their great cities still stand on the wind-scoured plains in the northern and western hemispheres, showing evidence of a complex and highly technological culture. No record exists of humans ever having colonised Porphyry, and what remaining architecture, building materials, artefacts, and art that have been unearthed resemble nothing produced by any of the known extant xenos races.[1]
In recent times, Porphyry has been home to an extensive Adeptus Mechanicus mission, sent from the Lathes to extract the world’s mineral wealth. Hundreds of mines litter the mountains and valleys of this splendid world. Shafts cut deep beneath the crust, where men and servitors toil like ants in their warrens, and massive strip mines hundreds of kilometres across are tended by titanic, slowly moving digging machines that can draw up millions of tonnes of rock and stone as easily as a man would heft a lasgun. For years, this mining operation provided much needed raw materials to the forges on the far away Lathes, and thousands of miners worked rotating assignments, carefully organised by Explorator administrators and watched over by the keen eyes of the Skitarii.[1]
Waaagh! Grimtoof
Elements of Waaagh! Grimtoof descended unannounced upon the unsuspecting mining outposts, slaughtering all who stood in their way. The battle for Porphyry was fierce and bloody, with no quarter given or received on either side. Miners took up tools as improvised weapons, and stood shoulder to shoulder with the heavily augmented Skitarii.[1]
In orbit, the few Explorator cruisers fought a valiant, but ultimately futile battle with the Ork voidships. Many thousands were wiped out in an instant, and overhead, the small Mechanicus fleet was routed, each ship either completely destroyed or captured and taken by Ork boarders. Greenskins swarmed through the mines and their accompanying foundries, constructed to process the raw ores. Workers who surrendered or were caught unawares and subdued were gathered up and herded into holding pens, while those who took up arms and resisted were killed without hesitation. Unlike other raids throughout the sector, the men and women enslaved on Porphyry were not packed up and shipped offworld to the main bulk of the Waaagh!, but were rather put back to work, mining and refining to feed the ravenous Ork war effort.[1]
Since the Ork invasion and subsequent occupation, Porphyry has had little contact with the galaxy at large. Nothing is known about the enslaved humans, and no members of the Adeptus Mechanicus mission are known to have escaped.[1]
Geography
The landscape of this harsh and unforgiving planet is dramatic and decidedly vertical, with huge, jagged mountain chains crisscrossing the stony continents and incredibly deep canyons sheltering abyssal lakes of brackish water. Strange stone formations litter the planet, formed by wind erosion and long dormant tectonic forces, each one disturbingly beautiful and covered in wicked, obsidian-like stone flakes that pierce even flak armour with ease.[1]
See also
Sources
- 1: Only War: Enemies of the Imperium, pg. 42
