Seventh Blackstone Fortress
  Blackstone Fortress |
| Location in Segmentum Pacificus[1a] |
The Seventh Blackstone Fortress is a recently discovered Blackstone Fortress in the Galaxy.[1a] It has borne many names, such as The Dark Star, Old Unfathomable and The Eater of the Dead, as well as thousands of others across hundreds of languages, over the years.[4]
Contents
Location
The Blackstone Fortress was located in the Western Reaches of Segmentum Pacificus, far from any shipping lanes and populated systems.[3]
Description
The Fortress continually adapted to its intruders.[3]
History
Before the opening of the Great Rift, the area surrounding the Blackstone Fortress was an uncharted and unnavigable region of space.[1b]
Soon after the Great Rift appeared, the Fortress began to emit strange impluse signals. These were detected by ships en route to war zones, and fleeing from worlds lost to the Rift. Brave and foolhardy star-farers attempted to locate the source of the signals, but almost none returned. The few that did claimed to have seen a Blackstone Fortress, with a bounty of archaeotech within its corridors. Rumours that a Blackstone Fortress had been discovered began to spread from the Western Reaches across the galaxy, to the furthest reaches of the Imperium, but the galaxy's warring factions could not afford to divert their forces to take it.[1b]
Scans revealed a hidden vault deep within the Fortress, with energy readings indicating that it contained something of incredible power. This vault was surrounded by four strongholds.[3]
Overview
Impossibly old, the Blackstone Fortress is surrounded by a debris field of ancient vessels spanning millions of miles in all directions. These wrecks orbit around the station, which hides deep in its interior. These wrecks themselves are a tempting prize for scavengers, as they contain ancient wonders and weaponry. Traveling to the Fortress itself requires a small and nimble vessel. Near the structure is a small way-station known as Precipice, inhabited by a ragtag crew of explorers and scavengers from across the galaxy and consisting of a variety of races. An uneasy truce endures in this station, something which is enforced by a small cadre of powerful and influential captains looking to maintain stability for their own interests. Precipice is the final destination before the Blackstone Fortress itself, and is home to many merchants and information providers. From Precipice one goes into the nearest opening of the Fortress itself, known as the Stygian Aperture.[1a]
The interior of the Fortress itself is a brutal labyrinth of corridors and chambers. Its geometric halls are vast, arrayed with spire-like towers and deep chasms dropping away into rivulets of energy. The Fortress is filled with mysterious wonders from across history and the corpses and remains of many past explorations. Travel inside the Fortress can sometimes be achieved by Maglev Transport Chambers. However, unlike the other six known Blackstone Fortresses, this construct reshapes its own interior regularly and makes consistent mapping near-impossible.[1a]
The fortress is fraught with a wide array of dangers. From savage Ur-Ghuls to spindle drones to the twisted creations of Chaos, exploring the fortress's interior requires martial prowess or at least a suitable bodyguard entourage. Many believe the blackstone fortress has traveled across space and time and collected these entities, deliberately steering them towards interlopers.[1a]
Despite these dangers, many recent expeditions to explore the fortress and plunder its wonders or even gain control of it have been attempted. These include the Rogue Trader Janus Draik, the navigator Espern Locarno, the priest Taddeus the Purifier, the Eldar Ranger Amallyn Shadowguide, the Kroot mercenary Dahyak Grekh, the Man of Iron UR-025, the Chaos Lord Obsidius Mallex, and the Ork Freebooter Skarburn Zapdakka.
Sources
- 1: Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress Background
- 2: Warhammer Community: The Art of Blackstone Fortress (posted November 11 2018) (last accessed 12/4/2019)
- 3: Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress Rules, pg. 2
- 4: Isha's Lament (Novella), Chapter 1
