Note: This page refers to the Ice World and it surrounding moons. For the Colonial Endeavour refer to the Svard Colonial Tracker

A Rogue Trader’s dynasty is built on the ambition of his ancestors, be they dreams of glory or nightmares of failure.
-Excerpt from Wielding the Warrant: A popular pict series about Rogue Traders

Administratum Information

Classification: Mining System
Region: The Cauldron
Founding: Unknown – Predates Discovery of the Stations of Passage
Current Proprietor: Planetary Council of Svard
Environment: A bastion of Imperial Light in the cold.

History

The discovery of the Koronus Expanse revealed many strange wonders, bestial Xenos and heathen outposts of humanity, but so far unique among all of the systems discovered was that of Svard, a system that readily, and accurately, identified itself as an Imperial Colony. Explorators were able to confirm that the colony had existed for at least a millennia, and Missionaries discovered that although having slowly been distorted by its time in isolation the Imperial Cult was still observed and worshipped by the people. As the system is located close to the storm from which The Cauldron takes its name it is not a well-travelled system, but it is known to be a port of call that will welcome Imperial travellers.

At first impression the system itself appears unremarkable. Its star of Aurinko having long since exhausted its supply of fuel now burns a faint red, a dying ember in the void of space. Though there are signs that this system once supported a number of possibly inhabited planets, the only world left is Jatti, a massive gas giant in the Outer Reaches. With the collapse of the star, Jatti is slowly dissipating into the void, so a casual observer would be forgiven thinking that no colony could possibly survive in such an environment. However, the heat and elements from the gas giant’s collapse has created a semi-habitable zone in its orbit, and a large number of the moons that are caught in its orbit have been converted into a human-habitable environment, creating the colony system of Svard Prime.

The true power in Svard lies with the ice moon for which the System draws its name. The “moon” is in a deep enough orbit around the Gas Giant to allow traffic to easily dock in and out of the system, and over the years the colony has risen to a commendable size. A number of other moons have been given over to the Adeptus Mechanicus in exchange for keeping the world supplied and stable. The industry of Svard lies in exploiting the resources given by the dying system. A large number of asteroids have been pulled into the orbit of the gas giant, and are regularly strip-mined by the more enterprising miners, and then refined and shipped offworld. Even more valuable however is the nigh-limitless supply of Promethium given off by the decaying gas giant, the gaseous form of which is collected by close-orbit installations and purified for the Mechanicus. This off-world wealth has resulted in Svard Prime supporting a burgeoning artistic and architectural scene, and the city itself is quite beautifully rendered.

There have been the odd attempts by Rogue Traders and pirates alike to claim the system for its own, but due to the Mechanicus presence there is a more than ample System Defense Fleet to protect this colony from enterprising predators. Amicable traders with the world report that they are strongly Imperial, but identify themselves as already being aligned with another Rogue Trader, the return of which the people anxiously await.

Inhabited Moons of the Svard System

• Citadel of Psykers: An Astropathic Choir for the system, it is contained on a small void-shielded asteroid in orbit by the planet.
• Cog: A miniature Adeptus Mechanicus forge moon, there is a single massive hive that has polluted the atmosphere so that regions of this Moon are completely uninhabitable.
• Exclusion: A well-maintained penal colony where the wealthier inhabitants are rehabilitated and the poorer and “trained” to be suitable for the more dangerous mining endeavours.
• Hollow Worlds: The nickname for the series of asteroids in orbit around Svard where the bulk of the mineral resources of the system come from.
• Kybu: A moon whose core has been hollowed out by the Adeptus Mechanicus, and contains a jungle environment that was suitable for raising both flora and fauna for consumption by the system as a whole.
• Promethium Refineries: In the inner system of Svard lurk a series of Void Stations that collect and refine the gas from Jatti and transform it into precious Promethium.
• Silence: A privately owned moon that supports a commune of sculptors that provide delicately made statues throughout the Expanse.
• Svard Prime: The main colony inside of Svard, this world’s atmosphere appears quite habitable for Imperial life, though it is somewhat on the chilly side.