Vraks Prime
The only inhabited world of the Vraks system, Vraks Prime was an armoury world of the Imperium, used as a vast storage facility for supplies and equipment.
| Map | Basic Data | Planetary Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Name: | Vraks Prime | 
|
| Segmentum: | Segmentum Obscurus | ||
| Sector: | Scarus | ||
| Subsector: | Kerak | ||
| System: | Vraks | ||
| Population: | None (originally 8,000,000 human and abhuman) | ||
| Affiliation: | Imperium | ||
| Class: | Armoury World | ||
| Tithe Grade: | Aptus Non | ||
Geography
Vraks Prime was a cool, dry, tectonically stable world with no multicellular life. Sulphur-rich oceans cover 55% of the planet's surface and waterways cut deep trenches into the planet's surface[1a]. Violent electrical storms form on short notice, bringing torrential downpours that turn the sulphurous soil into sticky mud as it drains away. The Van Meersland Wastes comprise five thousand barren square kilometres, outcrops of volcanic rock the only noticeable terrain feature[1d].
History
Vraks's society was organised with the same hierarchy as the Administratum on Terra. The majority of its population were either bureaucratic adepts or labourers. A transient population of up to five million pilgrims was on Vraks Prime at any time visiting the shrine to St. Leonis[1a].
The Vraks system was first discovered in the Imperium's expansion after the Age of Strife. The Van Meer rogue trader household explored the world and the Van Meersland Wastes are named in their honour. The world was established as an armoury world for exploration and other operations around the Eye of Terror lying to the southeast of the system. The Departmento Munitorum built a fortress and starport to protect the world's stockpiles of arms and armour[1a].
The Fortress of Vraks was the Administratum's base of operations in the system. Built in the caldera of an extinct volcano, the fortress was gradually expanded and fortified, creating a virtually impregnable fastness that protected Vraks's vital supply lines from xenos and pirate raids for millennia. In M38, the Cardinal-Astral built a basilica dedicated to administer to the faith of the labour force and consecrated with the bones of the martyred St. Leonis[1a]. A detachment of Adepta Sororitas from the Order of the Argent Shroud protected the Basilica[1b].
The Siege of Vraks
Cardinal-Astral Xaphan made Vraks Prime his base of operations under the advisement of Deacon Mamon. Concerned elements within the Ordo Hereticus deployed an assassin to kill Xaphan. When the attempt failed, the planet rose up in open revolt[1b]. An astropathic distress signal reached the Departmento Munitorum and the 88th siege army was organized to retake the planet[1c].
Originally planned as a twelve-year mission, the Siege of Vraks took eighteen years and over fourteen million Guardsmen died in the conflict. The renegade forces received reinforcements from the Alpha Legion and Khorne Berzerker and Plague Marine warbands. Inquisitor Lord Hector Rex assumed overall command of the siege when daemonic forces came into play.
The eighteen-year conflict rendered the planet useless and the system is now interdicted[3].
Sources
 |
- 1: Imperial Armour Volume Five - The Siege of Vraks - Part One
- 2: Imperial Armour Volume Six - The Siege of Vraks - Part Two, [Needs Citation]
- 3: Imperial Armour Volume Seven - The Siege of Vraks - Part Three, pg. 86
