Grace

"Hunger unwound what little hope was left and moved us to what humanity would not once have contemplated."

–Comdeus Canto, survivor of the expedition from the Inferno’s Child

Rumors about Grace

• Grace did not have an official Imperial Shrine set up on its world, meaning many viewed the Warp Storms as divine retribution from the God-Emperor
• Despite having forfeited her claims to the planet, and showing no interest before the Storms, Aspyce Chorda launched several missions to try to reach the system.
• Treasure hunters across the Expanse want to be the first to the planet as the palatial estates no doubt contain a lot of treasure suitable for “salvage”
• Grace Gyn was distilled from the local fungi on the planet, and was the only export of any note.
• Most of the colonists of Grace were criminals or hedonistic nobles, and they no doubt had many defenses to keep their treasures secure.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Author : Navigator Secundarium onboard Rogue Trader In Purgatio Lumen , Maturinus of House Pazzano Subject : Entrance to the Grace System Classification : KQIeegHIl Priority : Ship Council Review Entry : 1d654bkg-yik7-fv11-xaow-79o5573yb81n
Information gathered previously had told that the Grace system had been cut off by terrible warp storms since 792.M41, in the preceding years only rumors of people returning from Grace have been heard no hard evidence.
It was with trepidation that the In Purgatio Lumen moved on to Grace. Truly it was a blessing from the Emperor to celebrate mass at the False Hope system. While moving through the warp I encountered a large warp storm passing through from Grace to the False Hope system. Thankfully I was able to steer above and around it. Celebrating that mass gave time to the storm to move from Grace and give a clear path to the system.
But this was not the only hazard. Before exiting the system a number of imprints in the warp were seen. We floated through one of these ghost ships, that seemed to have been destroyed trying to enter/exit the warp around Grace. It was a harrowing experience that effected the crew I am told. I have spent some time talking to the crew to asses there experience they had and see if they are in good spirits.

Geography

Storm-ridden Grace is circled and shrouded by swirling clouds and hurricanes. Continual gales carry the spores of its simple fungal life far and wide amidst lightning and frozen hail. Beneath the storms, the peaks and valleys of Grace’s jagged surface form a stark, beautiful landscape that was once dotted with the proud structures of a colony founded under the authority of Rogue Trader Aspyce Chorda. From behind void shields and armored crystal viewports the colonists, drawn from the wealthiest exiles of Imperial nobility and the most successful of criminals (a distinction between the two being not always easy to draw) gazed out on the beauty of the world that was their sanctuary from blood wars, vengeful rivals, and the iron fist of Imperial justice. The world of Grace is still just as beautiful, but the colony palaces lie in ruin and its pale-eyed people scuttle in the shadows, harboring a terrible secret.

Points of Interest:

OFF-WORLD

• Dagger of Fate – This void station lurks in orbit over Grace Prime, and was the staging ground for all traffic on and off-world.
• Hell’s Boundary – The Outer Boundary is littered with the shredded hulks of those who tried to escape the system, only to be caught by the Warp Storm that surrounded the planet.
• Shrine Altar-Koronus-Est-17 – The local Adeptus Mechanicus Shrine. Rumored to be home to a Heretek cult that had purchased their ownership from Aspyce Chorda.
• Pearls of Grace – A series of small planets locked in a tight orbit around the star, they are rumored to possess the only obvious mineral wealth in the system, but the extreme temperatures makes them impossible to harvest.
• Occlusion Shields – These powerful shield generators located in high-orbit around Grace provide both void shields from the Storms, and baffle any sensors from Orbit.
• The Teardrop – A massive gas giant on the outskirts of the system, it is slowly losing its essence to the Void, resulting in a brilliant blue trail as it travels its orbit.
• The Unheard Blessing – A Ministorium Transport in perpetual orbit directly opposite Grace Prime, its crew attempted to save the souls of those on Grace Prime, but was fired on any time it tried to land on the planet.
• The Widening Gyre – A lost transport ship that translated into the system in the wake of the Warp Storm, it is now thought to prowl the system as a Ghost Ship, sailing aimlessly through the Outer Reaches.

GRACE PRIME

• Arrogance – Established shortly before the downfall of Grace, this was the only true Colony to be founded on the world. It appears to have localizedthe rich inhabitants could trade with each other.
• Butcher’s Bay – A sprawling estate taking up a harborto the shipping excursions to the islands where Grace Fungi would be harvested.
• Chorda Gyn Distillery – The only form of life native to Grace was its unusual fungi that could be brewed into a most potent liquor. The first structure built on Grace, and it stands to this day.
• Crimson Court – A massive Bloodsport arena that was once a part of the private estate of the Stoddard House, it was expanded to being open for any wishing to witness the death games.
• Golden Valleys - Located within Grace Prime’s vast mountain ranges, these valleys were shielded from the worst of the planet’s natural storms and bore the majority of the palatial manors built on the surface.
• Outcast Peaks – The inner mountain range on Grace, this is where runaway slaves or pirates who would raid noble houses could hide out.
• Port Chorda – A spaceport built at the planet’s equator, all manner of illegal goods and shadowy figures once traded their wares here.
• Signal Station Alpha – Located in the Northern Ice Caps, this was the home of the Astropathic Choir for this System.
• Verdant Marshes - Home to the unique fungi distilled to brew their Gin, these swamplands are the only area apart from the Golden Valley to truly be explored on Grace.

Localized Phenomena

Eaters of the Dead

It is said by the pious that in time no sin goes unknown or unpunished in the God-Emperor’s sight, and the punishment for Grace was terrible indeed. Vessels of Aspyce Chorda carrying supplies to Grace were destroyed by a warp storm that rose up, swallowing them whole and sealing passage to Grace. The world itself was a pleasurable and beautiful refuge and had no capacity to produce its own food. For a time the exiles and criminals contented themselves with the false hope that supplies would come, and then when they did not, they turned on one another, sending their vassals to loot and burn other palaces and strip them of supplies and food. In time only a few of the many colony palaces were left, and these had become ugly fortresses against the predatory raids of the few others that persisted. When even raiding could not feed those who remained, they turned to eating their dead---first those who had been slain, and then those who still lived. So it is that the few debased colony palaces harbor those who eat human flesh, and they are always hungry. Some have beacons that broadcast distress calls out into the void, seeking sustenance from unwary travelers.

History

Grace was a colony world founded not for the expansion of the domain of the God Emperor, but to serve the greed and arrogance of Rogue Trader Aspyce Chorda. The colonial palaces built on Grace were palatial fortresses for Imperial exiles of wealth and means---those worthies secretively brought to the edge of the Imperium by the Cold Guild, stored in frozen vaults for their journey and returned to life in the depths of Port Wander.

Rogue Trader Aspyce Chorda swelled her coffers accepting fugitives into the world she had claimed and giving them leave to build their armored palaces on Grace. At further ruinous cost, she provided the exiles with illegal slaves from Footfall, provided them with the finest foods using the lesser ships of her fleet, and allowed their spies and agents to pass to and from Imperial space in the holds of her ships. It was, for a time, a paradise of the wicked, but it did not last.
Founded by Rogue Trader Asypce Chorda early in her career in the Koronus Expanse, it was speculated that she sought claim to the Trailing subsector to compete with Calligos Winterscale for a region that would draw Rogue Traders – and their commensurate influence – to her banner.

The system of Grace was originally a storm-ridden world that hid a beautiful, unspoiled landscape that had never seen human or xenos life colonized on it. The wealthiest of Imperial nobility and the most successful of criminals built elaborate palaces on its surface, and Aspyce Chorda collected neither tithe nor tax from the builders apart from the initial exorbitant cost to build the estates.


Supply runs were set up between the colony and Footfall, and for a time the system seemed to prosper. Alas, nothing lasts in the Foundling Worlds, and whether it was the decadent sin of the inhabitants drawing the wrath of the God-Emperor or the innate folly of colonies in the subsector, in 792.M41, a warp storm rolled over the planet and has not abated since. The fate of those who dwelled in Grace is still unknown.

Type

Planet

Location under

Foundling Worlds

Owner/Ruler

Aspyce Chorda

Ruling/Owning Rank

Rogue Trader

Contested By

• The Imperial Cult