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By the twenty-fifth millennia, mankind had reached the far edges of the galaxy in a glorious expansion during the Age of Technology. However, this era came to a close as the new Chaos god Slaanesh was being formed through the decadence of the Eldar. Massive and far reaching warp storms choked the galaxy, plunging all systems within into thousands of years of darkness and isolation known as the Age of Strife. Travel and communication between systems became impossible, even Terra was cut off, and hope of a joined empire of mankind was cast into doubt.
The ascension of the Emperor, sometime in the thirtieth millennia, marked the coming of a new age. His great psychic abilities and newly created Space Marines allowed him to rally the people of Terra and lead a crusade to rebuild the great network across the stars. With his mighty genetically enhanced legions, he was able to liberate his subjects, planet by planet, as the warp storms that blinded the galaxy were overcome and dissipated, and intersystem travel and communication was possible again. The Imperium restored, the Emperor was able to return to Holy Terra to preside over his domain and command the defense of humanity from all enemies across the Universe.
Many of the warp storms that crippled humanity for millennia have dissolved. There are however, sections of the galaxy still shrouded in their blinding grasp. Slowly these remaining warp storms continue to dissipate, revealing planets unseen for tens of thousands of years. Tempest Claustrum is one such warp storm. And the dark events happening within its confines are about to shake the very foundation of the galaxy.
Sequestus was found and colonized initially as a prison planet for the criminally insane. In the twenty-fifth millennium (M25), massive prison systems were erected on the surface, which housed over a billion lunatics and psychotics. The entire infrastructure stem of the planet was designed to support this massive detention center. The six moons of the planet were used as sites for experimental farming techniques, force-field research, and experimental neuro-weapon testing.
"Sequestus became a center for research dedicated to unraveling the mysteries and capabilities of the human psyche. Many would be psykers were sent to Sequestus and forced to undergo a series of torturous tests and experiments at the hands of their warden scientists, the Golden Men.
After the detention and research facilities were operational and at full capacity, the discovery of enormous amounts of precious and resilient metals under the surface brought with it a new use for the imprisoned population: mining. Shortly after the initial mining equipment had been mobilized on the planet and shafts dug into the crust, the systems only star was eclipsed by an unidentified entity, plunging the Sequestus and its moons into a month long twilight. During this freak night, communication with nearby systems became difficult.
When the light returned to the planet's surface, its inhabitants were frightened to learn that all communication in or out of the system was impossible, and that a massive warp storm had completely enveloped the planet and its only sun. Planet-wide despair led to planet-wide dereliction of duty, which led to planet-wide rioting within the detention facilities. The violence spread so quickly and virulently that it soon became impossible to repel, the wardens of the planet were consumed in the lunatic uprising, and Sequestus fell into complete anarchy.
Centuries of madness ensued.
From the chaos emerged a strong militant group called the Pursuers, who were able to subdue much of the non-sensical violence on the planet and restore some level of order. The Pursuers, led by a powerful psyker-teleporter named Damien Frith, sought to discover a way to escape the warp storm by means of mass teleportation. With this objective, the Pursuers re-instituted the detention facilities and began their own experiments in the fields of teleportation and unlocking latent psychic powers. Though each and every attempt to escape the system was met with disastrous failure, even causing Damien Frith to disintegrate, the quest to obtain some secret knowledge of release only burned with more fervor, and it drove the population into a deeper and more entrenched state of nihilism and hysteria. The group also started up the mining efforts on the planet to obtain materials to construct space-faring vessels to replace those that had been destroyed in the insurrection. In the process of mining deep into the planet, incredibly ancient artifacts of unknown origin were uncovered and found to exhibit strange and awesome powers in the hands of developed psykers. The Pursuers led the people of Sequestum to attempt to not only push their way outward, but to travel inward to the center of their planet, in the hopes of finding some secret knowledge of escape.
This mission continued uninterrupted for many millennia.
(It is ironic that the mass-psychic experimentation was a major factor in sustaining the warp storms that cut off the system, as the inhabitants were unknowingly feeding the will of a forgotten, but watchful Chaos god.)
After over ten thousand years of failing to find a means to escape, the authority of the Pursuers was challenged. A paralyzed but incredibly powerful psyker by the name of Hox led a rebellion against the rulers of Sequestus, levitating towards his enemies and melting the minds of anyone who opposed his will. Hox wielded ancient artifacts discovered in the mines and claimed to hear the whisperings of Damien Frith, who instructed him to preach a new message to the denizens of Sequestus: self-deprivation. By succumbing to complete isolation, barriers lose their meaning the mind can be unfettered to explore all the secrets of the cosmos. Standing atop the highest platform of the City Spire Frith, Hox had his eyes, earlobes, nose and tongue cut from his body and burned. His last words were a invitation to anyone who wished to free their mind, to follow his example. Tens of millions were persuaded to follow suit, billions more sympathized but couldn't bring themselves to the act. Those who did self deprive were held in awe, and the society that evolved from that moment on was built on achieving that level of commitment. With such a personal obstacle to overcome looming over the minds of the entire population, quarrels between people seemed so trite that nearly all violence was extinguished. The new inward focus of the new world order siphoned away interest in breaching the warp storm, and eventually brought a willing denial that anything had ever been beyond it. The new drive of the lunatic denizens of Sequestus was to understand and activate the numerous ancient artifacts found buried in the planet, and ultimately to achieve nirvana through self deprivation.
Tempest Claustrum, the enshrouding warp storm kept the entire Sequestus system completely ignorant of the ascension of the Emperor, his Great Crusade which unified the galaxy, the establishment of the Imperium, and the Horus Heresy. In the span of sixteen thousand years, from the isolation of Sequestus to it's unveiling, there has only been one successful breach of the surrounding storm.
An on-the-run chapter of Space Marines known as The Vigilant had been lost in a warp anomaly for thousands of years, finally exiting the warp within the Sequestus system. These unfortunate marines did not benefit from the time altering effect of the warp and experienced their wayward trip in real time, challenging their faith in their long missed Emperor. The long awaited exit from the warp brought such a welcome release of stress on the chapter fleet's astropaths that they simultaneously expired upon re-entry into the Materium. The Vigilant, unwilling and now stranded from re-entering the warp landed on Sequestus.
The travelers from beyond the confines of the system were greeted as heroes, their leaders as near-gods. Unsure if the Inquisition would still be pursuing their chapter, The Vigilant decided to inhabit the system. Relieved to discover that the inhabitants also wished their new guests to remain with them, The Vigilant integrated themselves as guardians into the existing society, discarding their old name and becoming The Forgotten. They would protect a system of appreciative lunatics rather than be hunted for their curiosity of forbidden knowledge.
The piousness and spiritual strength of Sequestus began to take a darker turn as The Forgotten were finally inducted into the religion, giving up their faith in the Emperor. The Chapter Master, Kabal Malhiim, began to be influenced by the powers of chaos as he began to study and wield an ancient shield, excavated from beneath the surface, dubbing it the Ivory Tower. As the popular leader of The Forgotten became manipulated by the powers of Chaos, the time was ripe for the watchful got to appear.
A shadowy entity named Garkiin, the Great Numb One, finally revealed himself to the people of Sequestus, claiming that Damien Frith, Hox, and now Kabal were his prophets. He promised to bestow tremendous powers to those who chose to follow his already established path of self deprivation and isolation. Garkiin too, understood the bonds of imprisonment, as he was caged by the other Chaos gods for his incompatibility with their schemes. He wished only for his followers to find complete and eternal peace through sacrifice, and sought to bestow his nirvana on all, by force if necessary. Garkiin's re-emergence could only be achieved through magnificent sacrifice, requiring the whole population of the system.
Kabal accepted Garkiin's charge, and initiated a campaign to deprive all inhabitant of the system of their senses and cast them into numb exile. Beginning with the largest moon of Sequestus, The Forgotten rounded up 500 million people and ritualistically took from them their sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. The ritual created a fresh stir in the Immaterium, as the other Chaos gods became aware of the intention to empower Garkiin once again. Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch, and the newest god Slaanesh, sent their daemonic agents to disrupt the rituals.
Armies of daemons poured into the Sequestus system from the warp storm and triggered a fierce and protracted war for the world. The invasion rallied the entire system behind Garkiin and his prophet Kabal, transforming the entire population of near-psychic lunatics into a fanatical unified defensive force. The defense of Sequestus was of such overwhelming strength, that the invasion was decimated, and subsequent assaults were easily repelled. This cost of this war was measured in time, delaying Kabal from completing his mission with expedience, but not altogether. Having to command the defense of Sequestus against an inexhaustible army of daemons, Garkiin's charge had been slowed dramatically.
Aware of the failure of the daemonic invasions and the impending completion of Kabal's mission, Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways, set into motion a new strategy. Through careful manipulation of his minions in nearby systems, Tzeentch was able to amass a tremendous force of misguided cultists to act as bait for a genestealer infestation, and thus a beacon for a tendril of Hive Fleet Scylla. The approach of the Hive Fleet brought with it the mysterious Tyranid Shadow in the Warp phenomenon, quelling parts of the warp storm around Sequestus that had been unknowingly maintained from within. With the concealing and restrictive barrier partially subsided, a fresh avenue of attack was available to the Chaos gods, and the traitor legions loyal the their patron gods were sent to invade the system.
Though the storm around Sequestus had opened enough for entry, the Shadow in the Warp still rendered communication impossible. Reacting to the developments concerning the traitor legions (Death Guard, Emperor's Children, World Eaters, and Thousand Sons), Imperial forces were able to ascertain their destination: the long charted warp storm known throughout the Imperium as Tempest Claustrum.
Inquisitor Mandatum, investigating the recent heretical uprising in the vicinity of Tempest Claustrum, received word that traitor legions were dispatching fleets towards the Tempest, and he had orders to divert his efforts to the warp storm itself. He quickly discovered that the storm had partially subsided and allowed entry of smaller sized vessels. Entering the hole in the storm with a small force, Mandatum encountered a defense patrol and captured several engineers after boarding their craft. The blind prisoners revealed themselves to be part of the Cult of Deprivation. Through the mad ranting of the men, Mandatum learned of the plot to restore the power of the ancient Chaos god, Garkiin, through massive sacrificial mutilation and rituals. He also learned that the small system was under the protection of Kabal Malhiim, who had been sought by the Inquisition for heresy and presumed dead for thousands of years. Armed with this information, Mandatum hurried out of the storm, ordered his ships to leave the area in order to escape the Shadow in the Warp, and sent a message to Terra, warning his superiors of the crisis.
As the Inquisition and several Space Marine chapters hurry to heed the call of Mandatum, the Traitor Legions too, make haste for Tempest Claustrum. But these are not the only races drawn into the coming conflict within the Tempest. The Eldar have been sending fleets towards the Tempest, in an attempt to recover the ancient artifacts empowered by Garkiin, hoping that they can aid the Eldar against Slaanesh, the polar opposite of the Great Numb One. Hive Fleet Scylla has splintered and a group of Tyranid hive ships has begun to gravitate towards the storm. The Ork Warboss Yarkk Gikkimon has stealthily followed an squadron of Imperial Guard frigates in hopes of ambushing them near the storm. Unnoticed by the Imperium, a contingent of Necron vessels have set their course for Sequestus, knowing all too well what lies beneath the surface of the planet.
Unknown to those who race to stop The Forgotten and the Cult of Deprivation from completing their missions, their fleets will be too large to pass into the opening in the storm, which allows only strike forces to land on Sequestus and her moons. The remaining ships in their fleets will face a desperate all-out battle outside the Tempest, as their ground forces fight desperately from within. If Kabal is not stopped and Garkiin is released from his ancient prison, the whole of the universe will shake to its foundation.
