GM CRYSTAL MINING STATION: VORAX-DEEP

Location:

Deep within the tectonic crust of Karak-Thol IV, a barren, near-airless mining world in the Golgotha Subsector, Segmentum Obscurus.

Imperial Classification:

  • World Type: Resource-Restricted Mining World
  • Special Designation: Ordo Metallurgica Sub-Reserve: Crystal-Class IV (Weapon-Grade)
  • Ownership: Charter-granted to Merchant House Vorax
  • Administrated By: Guild Coalition under House supervision
  • Adeptus Oversight: Mechanicus observers from Forge Mandrel, no direct control

The Crystal Veins of Thol

Beneath the crust of Karak-Thol IV lies the Crucible Vault, a natural geothermic chamber where hexalite-borosilicate crystal formations have grown over millions of years. These massive, luminous crystal clusters exhibit:

  • Extreme purity and harmonic resonance, ideal for lance weapon focusing lenses
  • Strong thermal inertia, making them resistant to energy shearing

The largest chambers, called “Glass Cathedrals”, feature crystals over 20 meters long, humming with internal frequency and light.

Station Vorax-Deep

Built directly above the Crucible Vault, the station is a deep-core mining hub with:

  • Gravity-stabilized mine shafts
  • Heat-shielded crawler rigs
  • Coolant cathedra—mechanical shrines to prevent core meltdowns
  • Coolant
  • Coolant-pits for worker recovery between shifts

Working conditions within the mines are lethal:

  • Ambient temperature: 55–65°C (131–149°F)
  • Humidity: ~95%
  • Exposure limit: 20 minutes without a cooling rig
  • Crystalline particulate: Causes blindness, respiratory crystallization, or “glass rot”

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THE GROUNDING CHAIN

Electro-Static Charge Hazard

The crystal formations within the Crucible Vault of Vorax-Deep are not inert. As they grow and shift over millennia, their geometric structure and mineral density accumulate static electrical charge at unpredictable rates.

This charge builds slowly, but once critical thresholds are reached, it discharges in devastating intra-cavern lightning arcs—arcing from crystal tips, lattice veins, or even from the exposed bodies of nearby workers.

Documented Effects:

  • Instant vaporization of exposed flesh
  • Arcing through atmosphere up to 12 meters
  • Induction through tools, chains, augmetics
  • Rare, ball-lightning manifestations reported in high-pressure pockets

The Chain Protocol

To mitigate the buildup of static in the human body, all authorized personnel in crystal-extraction zones are required to wear a copper grounding chain, known as the Ankle Braid, affixed to the left ankle and trailing 1.5 meters behind them at all times.

Chain Specifications:

  • Woven copper links coated in sacred machine-oil
  • Connected to a conductive plate or embedded rail system on the ground
  • Worn barefoot to allow full dermal discharge
  • Blessed before each shift by a Guild Thermis Heatwright

Consequences of Noncompliance

Those who remove the chain—either through arrogance, ignorance, or intentional sabotage—face near-certain death or disintegration. Worse still, the energy may rebound through tools or equipment, into the veins of nearby crew.

Guild Luminex marks such incidents with a charred copper shackle, nailed into the walls of the affected shaft with the name of the burned-out worker etched into it.

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GUILD THERMIS NOTICE OF CORRECTION

Ref: Internal Bulletin #AUG-774-GD
Issued by: Senior Heatwright Krann Vel-Tar, Guild Thermis, Vorax-Deep
Subject: Clarification on Lightning-Related Incidents & Unauthorized Myth Dissemination

Notice to All Personnel Operating Below Coolant Strata Theta-9:

It has come to the attention of the Guild that unauthorized narratives concerning so-called “lightning-daemons” have begun to circulate among shift-workers and Lodecut apprentices.

Let it be recorded and affirmed:

Accidental death by electro-static discharge remains within the expected and authorized thresholds outlined in the current productivity schema.

  • This includes spontaneous plasma arc vaporization, lightning-burst exposure, and nerve-searing through improperly grounded tools.
  • All such events are logged, sanctified, and signed off by Guild Thermis.

The following rumors are hereby declared FALSE:

  • That a “lightning-daemon” stalks the extraction chambers.
  • That the crystals have “memory” and “wrath.”
  • That ghosts of burned workers scream within deep cathedrals.
  • That proximity to Cathedral Prime causes “vivid dreams.”

These tales are the result of lazy superstition, off-guild agitators, and hallucination due to insufficient salt rationing.

Mandated Punishment for Misinformation:

Any worker found:

  • Spreading false accounts
  • Failing to wear grounding chain
  • Interrupting morale chants
  • Refusing to enter charged zones

…will be immediately assigned double shifts in the Deep Cathedrals—under supervision of Thermis enforcers and with restricted coolant privileges.

Final Reminder:

“Work without failure. Die only in quota.”

— Heatwright Krann Vel-Tar
☼ Guild Thermis Authority,
☼ Purveyor of Coolant Hymns,
☼ Sigil-Stoker of the Third Pulse