Hephaestus-IV

In the Omnissiah's name, we work in your glory

World Data

Hephaestus-IV

Segmenatum: Obscura. Galactic north

Sector: Ixaniad Sector

System: Hephaestus System

Designation: Forge World

Orbital period: 595.6 earth days

Rotational period: 28.3 hours

Orbital distance: 1.7 AU

Tithe Status: Non Parnum; world primarily supplies the Cadian Gate.

Patterns and/or exports of note:

-Volkite weaponry

-Castellax class battle automata.

-Thanatar class battle Automata.

-Krios pattern battle tank.

-Photonic weapons

-Processed and weapons grade promethium.

-Leman russ variants

-Infantry fighting vehicles

-Ammunition

Host to Legio Kreuzius (Shield-Wardens) Titan Legion.

Host to Ordo Reductor outpost omicron-rho-pi.

World Overview

Hephaestus and the characters that come from it are produced as a result of ongoing RP plotlines and reference past Dark Heresy and Only War games.

The forge world of Hephaestus IV was a Forge World founded in the late 33rd millennium. The forge world was established as a bastion of technology as resource rich worlds were found in the outer sectors of the Segmenatum Obscura as the demand for war material in the systems surrounding the Cadian Gate and the Eye of Terror increased exponentially over the years. The Forge World is notable in that they have managed to hold on to a substantial level of knowledge from the time before the great crusade allowing for the manufacturing of ancient and terrible weapon systems. However, due to an inability to produce certain parts, some patterns have only recently reentered service with the opening of trade pacts with other Forge Worlds, notably Ryza. The Cult of the Light of Sollex has found strong roots on Hephaestus within the last millennium as the photonic light that emits from the planet’s weapon forges converts many priests to its belief.

The Tech-Priests of Hephaestus are devout followers of the Omnissiah and God-Emperor. The priesthood believes that the God-Emperor of Mankind and the Omnissiah are the same being, with the other being another aspect of the other, representing what mankind is and what mankind once was and could be again. There is liberty taken with their faith though, and it is common belief that augmentation should not be limited to the human form. While Hephaestus maintains that humanity is the superior species in the galaxy, most high level tech-priests in fact of this world do not resemble what they claim in theory. As a result of this belief, the higher in the ranks a priest raises, the less they will resemble a man, with high level Archmagi partially resembling animals or heretical alien species which would be unrecognizable as a man, though this is typically a coincidence, or so they claim. It is custom however to not over-modify your head, as to remind the priest what he once was.

The system is ruled by a parliament of 239 Archmagi, known as the Archmagi Prime and presided over by a priest known as the Forge-Master Primus, with the Apprenti Primus as second in command. Each Archmagi is selected from the Forge-Masters of each of the major manufacturing facilities spread across the system, along with representatives of the Titan Legion, Legio Kreuzius, and the militant orders that exist within the system. The forges and facilities of each world in the system are all fairly independent with the parliament serving to ratify trade pacts with other worlds, officiate new patterns, and to act as tribunal for tech-priests who stray too far from the path of the Machine God. In times of war, a militant Archmagi will be selected to oversee the deployment of the Forge Worlds cybernetica detachments, Skitarii and other forces.

The planet itself is much like any Forge World, it is heavily built up with vast amounts of infrastructure. The sky is relatively clean by Forge World standards, as much of the world's power comes from plasma reactors and fusion. Smog lingers low over the main manufacturing nexus's from the byproducts of metal processing and waste run off. All about the planet are containment domes; shielded areas where phtonic weaponry is produced. These areas are also marked by vast storage towers for deuterium and oxygen gas, key parts of the manufacturing process.

There is a source of contention between worlds in the system; on Hephaestus-XI is where the majority production of the Castellax class war robots lies, along with the manufactories of parts required for servitors, augmetics, and parts of the Thanatar class robot. Priests on Hephastus-IX demand the worlds upgrading to official Forge World status. However, for reasons unknown, Mars continues to deny the designation. There is a continuous rivalry between Hephaestus IV and XI.

Due to proximity to the eye of terror, chaos invasion is always a danger, the forge world and its system came under light assault during the 13th black crusade and repelled it. Unfortunately the neighboring Agrippa sector was devastated by the assault and took the brunt of the attack, sparing Hephaestus. The forge world continues to supply the Cadian gate and surrounding imperial worlds.

Hephaestus system

The Hephaestus system consists of 12 planets.

Inner worlds

Hephaestus-I and II have been converted to agri-worlds to sustain the population. Land is sometimes given to serfs who manage to distinguish themselves in the manufactoria, this land does not get inherited and once the landholder dies, another is selected to watch over the lands. The outer worlds are rich in Adamantium and other metals used for manufacturing of military and industrial grade equipment.

Hephaestus-III is in the process of being converted to an industrial world from a agri-world. The worlds soil was never optimal and food production is adequatly maintained by the inner two most planets. The world is home to the facilities of the Legio Kreuzius. In addition, manufacturing plants dedicated to the manufacturing of ammunition exist there. The planetary conversion and optimum output are expected to be complete by mid-42nd Millennium, for the time being, what foundries have been established are operating at 27.842% output capacity.

Hephaestus-V is a Hive and mining world. The mines are primarily manned by servitors, slaves, and indentured criminals. Asteroids and meteors from the Asteroid belt between V and VI often fall to the planet to be mined. As a precaution against this, powerful void shields have been established around the three primary hive cities.

Outer Planets

Hephaestus-VI is a hive world that contains much of the workforce for the system.

Hephaestus-VII is notewworthy for its extremely rich promethium deposits. Evidence of incredibly ancient ruins has been discovered on the planet that is otherwise nearly completely barren save for patches of strangely verdant growth where most of the planets population dwells. It is thought to have been the home of an ancient Xenos species and a much more verdant world before some unknown cataclysm. In the depths of one of the ruins is a chamber which leads deep into the earth, several missions have been deployed down into the bowels of the catacombs, but only very rarely do they return, often with disjointed stories or their cognition buffers wiped. The entrance has since been sealed and is monitored continuously by a detachment of cybernetica cohorts.

Hephaestus-VIII is a mining world notable for its orbital shipyards. These shipyards are capable of producing many patterns of Imperial ship, with their grandest achievement being the production of the Oberon-Class battleship. Though production of those mighty ships is a massive endeavor and can take many decades to produce a single one at the expense of the production of other lesser craft.

Hephaestus-IX is an industrial world dedicated to the production of cybernetics, robot parts and war vehicles. Especially the Castellax patterns of robots. The world also produces several varients of Leman Russ Battle Tank. Despite its vastly built up infrastructure, the world is denied Forge World status by Mars due to an edict by a Forge-Master Primus past and is a source of major contention between the inner and outer worlds.

Haphaestus-X is a repository world covered in temples to the Omnissiah and to the God-Emperor of Mankind known for its vast cogitator banks containing technological information dating back to the great crusade, notably the construction and maintenance of photon weaponry and patterns of plasma weaponry rarely seen in the imperium. This world is kept warm by ancient climate engines which maintain the atmosphere of the planet and keep it habitable. What is not covered in temples is covered by manufactoria which run constantly to build the highly effective Hephaestus pattern-Godsbane Lance Battery. A powerful photonic weapon mounted on main battleships which continues to be in high demand. A quarter of the world lies in ruin from an Ork Whaag! attack, partial restoration of the lost data is proceeding slowly.

Hephaestus XI and XII are gaseous planets rich in hydrogen, nitrogen, and various other gasses. In orbit around these planets are vast space-borne mining platforms which continuously plumb the depths for the precious elements. On the moons of Hephaestus IX exist manufacturing facilities for voidcraft parts. The mined gasses are used in the construction of plasma reactors.

The High Rulers of Hephaestus

The Hephaestian system is governed by the Archmagi Parliament and presided over by the Forge-Master Primus and the Apprentii Primus. Serving to advise and carry out the edicts of their lord. The seven offices of the Hephaestian lords are as follows:

Magos Archimandrite

The Magos Archimandrite is the tech-priest who has risen to the height of prominence on Hephaestus. The archimandrite is given custodianship of Hephaestus-X and all the data upon it. The formal authority of the Archimandrite is to forge alliances with other Forge Worlds, formally declare war, and found new Tahgmata battlegroups. This rank is traditionally held by the Apprentii Primus, and is passed on upon their ascension to Forge-Master Primus.

Magos Stataraga

The Magos Stataraga is an ancient title granted to those within the Collegia Titanica. This rank is held by an Archmagos Titan-Priest in charge of overseeing the selection and training of new Princeps. They also oversee the building and maintinence of new Titans and liaising with the Legio Kreuzius.

Magos Malagra

The Magos Malagra is charged with enforcing the will and edicts of the Forge-Master Primus. The primary role of the Malagra is the termination of heretics, both of Mechanicus and of Imperium, and are often given entire armies to do so. A target may be a single fallen magi, a sect of heretical thinkers, or a chaos space marine warband, they must all be terminated. The lord also is in charge of the intelligence network.

Magos Myrmidax

In charge of the Myrmidons, tech-priests dedicated to the art of war and destruction. The Lord of the Myrmidons holds dominion over the Tahgmata battlegroups that serve Hephaestus. It is under his direction that cybernetica cohorts and Skiitari regiments are created and deployed, and it is he who has the final say in what new weapon systems are permitted.

Magos Ordinator

The head of the Ordo Reductor on Hephaestus. The Ordinator holds dominion over the gargantuan weapons deployed in war and custodianship of the weapons of mass destruction possessed by Hephaestus. The Ordinators are charged with overseeing the installation of weaponry upon the craft coming out of the orbital shipyards, the building of new Forges, cities, and hives, and are responsible for the reclamation of material for repurposing.

Magos Lachrimallus

The overseer of the manufactorums of the Hephaestian system. The Magos is responsible for managing the workforce of the Mechanicus. In addition to that, the Magos is in charge of ensuring food supplies and caring for the upkeep of the workforce.

Magos Macrotek

Charged with care and maintenance of the foundries. The head forge master and tech-wright, the Magos macrotek ensures the quality of work coming out and the quality of material going into the forges.

Notable Goods Produced on Hephaestus-IV

Due to good luck, greed, grace of the God-Emperor or devotion to the Machine-God, the Adeptus Mechanicus of Hephaestus have been able to survive with substantial amounts of old data. Of particular note is the world’s skill with photonic weaponry. The forge world is one of the main suppliers of ancient weapons whose wrath would be lucky to grace a dozen worlds with their presence. The system also manufactures substantial quantities of ammunition and is in the process of converting Hephaestus-III to a manufacturing world.

Hephaestus Variant Godsbane Lance Batteries

The Godsbane variant lance battery is an ancient pattern of high technological demand and maintenance requirements that typically only older grand cruisers and battleships possess the requirements to mount them. Due to innovations to the focusing systems by the former Forge-Master Primus, Gabriel Locus, in the year 826M38, the Godsbane Lance system has been able to be mounted on smaller ships of the Imperial Navy, though high power requirements remain an issue. These lances are extremely long range to the point where beam dispersion becomes a problem, in addition to this, firing into an atmosphere is a problem due to rapid energy bleed off when the beams coherency is broken due to atmospheric interference and is therefore ill-suited for orbital bombardment.

Man Portable Photonic Weapons

The Mechanicum of Hephaestus has managed to maintain extremely powerful weapon systems in the form of portable photonic weaponry. However, chunks of the data have been lost over time. Several parts of the weapon systems are vastly scaled down versions of the Godsbane Lance system and due to somewhat roughshod construction, are prone to overheating.

The first weapon, the Photon Thruster, is a weapon rarely seen in the imperium at large; such is the difficulty of manufacture. These weapons require a powerful cooling system be carried with the bearer or be integrated into the armor system, if applicable. These photon weapons fire hairs-width thick beams of black energy which is capable of piercing even the thickest armor and densest matter. Maintenance is required after every deployment to ensure catastrophic overheating does not occur.

A smaller version, the Photon Gauntlet, is wearable on the hand of the user and is powered by a single shot battery; this weapon is meant to be a last resort weapon and as such has minimal range, only up to 20 feet. However the battery is replaceable but only the mechanicus are capable of manufacturing such a special item. As such these gauntlets are typically symbols of status on worlds allied with Hephaestus-IV, the weapon can also be manufactured for astartes and integrated into their armor, replacing the vambracer and gauntlet.

Finally an upscale version of this weapon type, the Darkfire Cannon, is in existence, however, this large weapon requires up to three people to transport effectively, and is better suited to mounting on vehicles or stationary emplacements. This version of photon weapon is able to easily bring ruin to the mightiest of war machines.

Volkite Weaponry

Volkite weapons are weapons of tremendous power which exist as weapons of status throughout the Hephaestus system. These powerful heat rays have infantry killing power like no other. Parts for the Volkite weapons are manufactured as need arises so each gun will be in optimal working condition. The volkite weaponry is extremely valuable in other ways as it allows for trade pacts of great worth to be established. Due to the rarity of such ancient patterns, Hephaestus has managed to secure several lucrative trading pacts with notable forge worlds such as Ryza, the Lathe Worlds, and Jupiter.

Cybernetica Resources

Haphaestus maintains and builds the ancient patterns of war robots; Castellax and Thanatar. These mighty war engines are nearly impervious to harm from small arms and are indispensable battlefield units.

Castellax class robots are typically armed with a flamer and a special Mauler Pattern Bolt Cannon. In the past this upscale bolter fired special piercing rounds, but over time this data has been lost. To compensate for this loss, each bolt has special high yields explosive munitions.

Thanatar class robots are mighty siege engines which dwarf all other forces of the mechanicum save for the noble Knightly houses and the glorious Titan Engines. These robots are meant to break down the mightiest of walls and are equipped to do so. Mounting a Hallex class plasma mortar obtained through their pacts with Ryza, it uses powerful generators and cooling systems to fire burning balls of plasma to besiege a fortress, turning the defenses to liquid in an instant.

Thallaxi are special shock troopers employed by the Ordo Reductor and Legio Cybernetica. As time has passed, the Mechanicum at large has forgotten about these mighty warriors, Hephaestus has not. The patterns for the Lorica Thallax, the body of the cybernetic warriors, are traded to other Forge Worlds in Exchange for valuable goods. These warriors are made from a robust human specimen’s brain and nervous system implanted into the Lorica and surgically removing emotion and pain. Hephaestus often uses Thallaxi as trade incentives with other words as many other tech-priests would like to learn their secrets.

The Forge World also manufactures phosphex and blind grenades of particular potency which are valued throughout other imperial organizations. Due to trade pacts with Ryza, limited amounts of Phased Plasma Fusils are produced. Though the secrets of the potent cooling systems are beholden only to Ryza, with Hephaestus sworn not to replicate them. The manufactorums also produce a lesser amount of Leman Russ Battle Tanks (Punisher, Eradicator, demolisher, and standard variants), and it is rumored that Hephaestus has the capability to produce the Valdor Tank Hunter, however these claims are unsubstantiated.

Legio Kreuzius

The Titan Legion known as Kreuzius (Shield-Wardens) was officially founded in the 35th Millenium as a reward for assisting in the defense of the Cadian Gate for so many long years. The Titan legion is fairly small, but well equipped and maintained. To this day they count 24 engines among their number, 8 Warlord-Class, 12 warhound-class, and 4 reavers. The Legion has since recovered the functioning remains of an Imperator Class Titan known as Omnissiah Vindicta, of the now defunct Legio Desolace, and covertly works to learn the secrets of their construction for themselves. The Titan legion’s facilities currently rest on Hephaestus-III.

Notable Titans include:

- Dies Ignis: Warlord Class, Hephaestus Pattern

- Custodes Fideli: Warlord Class, Hephaestus Pattern

- Tenebris Lux: Reaver Class, Mars Pattern

- Nocturnum Lupus: Warhound Class, Lucius Pattern

- Venator Rex: Warhound Class, Lucius Pattern

- Inmatura Morte: Warhound Class, Lucius Pattern

Notable Involvements of Divisio’s Militant

The nature of the militant forces of Hephaestus and the defense pacts with Cadia see the forces of the forge world deployed frequently, detailed below are some of the more notable campaigns.

801.M33 – Founding of Hephaestus-IV

897.M33 – Ork incursion onto Neighboring systems, divisio’s militant deployed.

009.M34 – Chaos Space Marine raid upon Hephaestus-X and moons of Hephaestus-VI, data repositories destroyed.

019.M34 – Defense of Kasr Que’becca

398.M34 – Defense of Kasr Don’leeg

509.M35 – Forge Wars (against Dark Mechanicum)

Mid-M36 – Age of Apostasy, arming of several chapters.

719.M37 – Siege of Dozeyurg

811.M37 – 7th Black Crusade

999.M37 – 8th Black Crusade

482.M38 – Defense of Kasr Hideeki

537.M38 – 9th Black Crusade

881.M38 – Fall of Skarrow

001.M39 – 10th Black Crusade

009.M39 – Defense of Hephaestus (Ork Whaaag! against Hephaestus-X)

139.M41 – 12th Black Crusade

583.M41 – Ork Whaaag! Comes back to keep fighting, remnants land on Hephaestus-II, ongoing purge operations are in progress.

999.M41 – 13th Black crusade.

012.M42 – Purge of Kasr Partox. This deployment marked the first joint deployment alongside the Conservators chapter of Space marines. The purge referred to the besiegment of a minor city on the planet by traitor mechanicus and their Word Bearer allies. The city contained data repositories and numerous weapons depots and was being used as a staging round by the invading chaotic forces.

Notable Magi of Hephaestus

Forge-Master Primus Caeve Jhon’son

Current and highly eccentric leader of the Forge World. Jhon’son is a major advocate of innovation and experimentation which has often brought him into conflict with more conservative minded adepts on Mars. Some call his experimentations pointless at time, but none can doubt the brilliance of his inventions…or their oftentimes misapplication. Presently, the three-hundred and seventy two year old Magos is grooming his successor, for he has been declining in health ever since an experiment with moon dust of which he has ordered all records sealed.

Apprenti Primus Akkairos Shadowsun

Current second to the Forge-Master Primus. In absence of the Forge-Master, he oversees the magi parliament and generally handles administrative work in Jhon’son’s stead while he experiments. Shadowsun has managed to rise to this position despite vicious rumors that his bloodline is tainted with Eldar lineage, a rumor he is loathe to comment on.

Archmagos Prime Alphaeus Gearhardt

Alphaeus is the current Lord Malagra of the Diviso Militant factions and one of the central figures of Hephaestus-IV. Having risen to power on Hephaestus-XI, some look upon him with distrust, seeing his actions as a means to convince Mars to elevate his homeworld. Alphaeus pursues no such goal however and is singularly loyal to Hephaestus. Heavily augmented, Alphaeus retains a mere 8.7% of his original flesh. For all his change, Alphaeus does not look down upon those outside the Mechanicum, seeing them as the children of the Emperor, whereas he is a child of the Omnissiah, two sides to a single coin. As Lord Malagra of Hephaestus, he is tasked with the destruction of heretics and their armies and as a result is often tasked to terminate a single enemy combatant above all others. Alphaeus also serves as the prime liason between Hephaestus and the Conservators chapter of Space Marines.

Apprentii Prime Jayms Circuitrus

Second in command underneath Alphaeus Gearhardt, this senior Tech-Priest oversees the day to day operations of Alphaeus’ ships and forges and commands in his stead. Heavily augmented, he prefers to maintain a human form, in contrast to his master. 87% of his flesh has been converted and bound to heavy dragonscale pattern power armor. Jayms is a stoic man who prefers the company of machines to others and finds himself at home on the battlefield or in an office. He has converted the skull of his dead brother into a servo-skull which is with him at all times, monitoring his internal systems and serving as an information buffer. Contained within is also a power field augmenter which serves to improve upon Jayms’ formidable technological defenses.

Princeps Maximus Raphael Mondregarde

The Princeps of the Warlord-Class titan Dies Ignis is a headstrong and commanding man. He commands his Titan with distinction and has done so for over two-hundred years. Over time he has acquired many augmentations but does not wish to submit to amniotic suspension, believing it to be a crutch used by weaker men. His voice in the Archmagos assembly carries great weight.

Titan-Priestess Raechael Japetus

A Magos of the Collegia Titanica and representative of the Titan Legion Kreuzius. Japetus is a slightly more conservative priestess who is very diligent in his ministrations of maintenance and construction. Loath to deviate from doctrine, she is well suited to her task serving aboard Titans, as she is inflexible in procedure and ill suited to battlefield roles. She is a devout believer in the binary nature of the God-Emperor/Omnissiah and has comparatively few external augmentations, thinking that as a disciple of their God, man and machine must come together, not overwhelm the other.

Mechanicus-Captain Johan Arnfried

The Captain of Archmagos Gearhardt’s battleship, the Iron Fury, he has served as the captain for near 72 years and has proved to have a tactically flexible mind while retaining strict loyalty to his master.

Relationships with other Imperial Organizations

Ecclesiarchy

The Mechanicum of Hephaestus are generally staunch believers that the God-Emperor and the Omnissiah are the same thing. Due to their shrines to the God-Emperor within their system and trade pacts with them, the Ecclesiarchy generally behaves favorably outwardly to the priesthood within the system. However, tension simmers beneath the surface at the notion that these priests, useful allies they may be, deign themselves to know better then the God-Emperor when it comes to the holy human form. In addition to the Cadian Gate, the Forge World also supplies melta and flamer weaponry to various Sororitas Militant covenants within their purview.

Space Marines

Hephaestus-IV maintains a good relationship with several Space Marine chapters, among them being the Iron Hands of Medusa and the Fleet-bound chapter of the Dark Angels and has offered training to several of their techmarines, some have accepted. There is enmity between themselves and the more pious chapters such as the Black Templars and the Red Scorpions for much the same reasons as the Ecclesiarchy who see them as prideful and arrogant. The priests of Hephaestus-IV have since established a mutual benefit alliance with the Conservators chapter of Space Marines, a chapter long shunned by the Adeptus Mechanicus. Doing so is not out of defiance of Mars but the need for warriors at the Eye.

Inquisition

Relations with the Inquisition remain good. Now and then Inquisitors will come to demand wargear from them or come on claims of maintaining purity.

Imperial Guard

Hephaestus maintains great relations with the guard and dedicates nearly 74% of the Forge’s output to supplying the forces around the Cadian Gate. The Militant Archmagi Primus tend to clash with Cadian commanders though, oftentimes resulting in friction between the two, but is eventually smoothed over as the next supply of weapons ships in.

Other Forge Worlds

Hephaestus is a generally compliant Forge World and pays tribute to Mars in the form of weapon schematics and samples of technology, this tribute is sent out once every 100 years. The Forge World has relations with the worlds of Agrippa, Omnicron-9, and several other worlds. Of note is an alliance with Ryza. They share several patterns of ancient technology with them in exchange for access to their powerful cooling systems and mastery of plasma.

Hephaestus Cults and Religious Factions

“Trust the Emperor on His holy throne on which He rests at the heart of our empires, blessed be His sacrifice for eternity, for He is the entity of our spirit, united and separated in singularity of the God-Emperor and Omnissiah, protector of Mankind and Mechanicum. May He watch over flesh and steel, as the metal of the throne supports Him. May He watch over blood and oil which gives us life, as the devotion of mankind gives Him his. May he watch over voice and noos, so that we may scream His word and our hate into the darkness. He is our shining light of navigation and consistency who illuminates the true path of logic. Imperator Omnissiah Unificat Carnis un Metallum. The Emperor Protects.” -From the Book of the Forged Spirit. Section 1, verse 1. Translated from Binary.

The Forge World of Hephaestus and the planets within its system are primarily split into two main cults with several smaller cults popping up on occasion. While the cults have their differences, they share a tradition of extreme augmentation and general devotion to the Imperium.

The Cult of the Light of Sollex

This cult first appeared on Hephaestus after ships from Hephaestus encountered ships from Battlefleet Calixis in 869M40 and agreed to an exchange of knowledge, notably improvements to lance weaponry and photonic gear in exchange for improvements to shipboard plasma reactors. Knowledge of the Cult of Sollex was also gained by the Tech-Priests who spent time with the Calixian priests.

The Sollexian cult promotes a warlike mentality when it comes to addressing problem, having a divisive and binary method of thinking; rigorously categorizing things as definitive as the individual colors within the spectrum of light. The Cult of Sollex specializes in the mysteries of photon and laser, finding divine wisdom in the fractured and varied spectrum of light. It is unsurprising that the cult found such strong roots in Hephaestus given the nature of the technology which Hephaestus specializes in.

Cult of Anima Omnissiah

This cult is dominant on the outer worlds of the Hephaestus system, primarily on Hephaestus-VII and Hephaestus-X. The core belief of the sect is that the will of the God-Emperor/Omnissiah is made manifest through the minds of his chosen mechanical servants; the Beastia Anima. It is through the blessing of the Emperor that these nigh-sentient machines do not gain true awareness, but it is through the actions of the Anima does the Emperor act.

The Anima cult promotes a mentality of spiritual belief and trust in the God-Emperor not unlike the traditional Imperial Cult. The key difference is that the adherents of his cult believe their God to walk bodily among them in metal vessels. This version of the faith is gaining increased traction on Hephaestus-I and Hephaestus-II due to the actions of the cybernetica in repelling the remnants of the Orkish invasion in Millennium Thirty-Nine.

Notable Ships Produced by Hephaestan Shipyards

Iron Fury: An Oberon class Battleship that serves as the personal ship of Archmagos Prime Alphaeus Gearhardt for the purpose of carrying out his duties as the Lord Malagra. The ship has especially augmented augery and scanning ability and a quad-layered void shield system. It is equipped with a nova cannon of Ryza origin which fires devastating plasma warheads at luminal speeds. The ship also mounts the Hephaestus pattern Godsbane Lance battery, several dozen torpedo tubes, dozens of macrocannon emplacements, and hundreds of lascannons. The ship also possesses several hangers, being the jack of all trades design it was made for, each one contains several shark-class gunboats, and many more fury interceptors, and planetary shuttle-craft.