Behind the scenes, however, the Navigators of House Mercator are gripped by an insanity that few others can even imagine. Generations ago, a Novator by the name of Magulax declared that he would chart a route out of the galaxy towards one of the numerous smaller dwarf galaxies orbiting it and there establish his own stellar empire in the name of the God-Emperor of Mankind. Magulax was denounced as a fool and madman by the Novators of scores of other Houses and so raucous was the clamour of denunciation that the Paternova himself was forced to intervene and forbid House Mercator from attempting so foolish an endeavour. In response, Magulax renounced his station and disappeared with vast sums of his House’s wealth. Though his replacement dispatched the most celebrated of manhunters to bring their fallen kinsman back to the fold, he was never seen again, the last reports having him vanish in the region once known as the Calyx Expanse and today labelled the Calixis Sector.
Most are unaware of this legend, for House Mercator has striven hard over numerous generations to suppress it. Some within their ranks have uncovered evidence that Magulax
Mercator sank his stolen wealth into a joint venture with an outcast Rogue Trader and between them sought a passage out towards the Canis Major dwarf galaxy said to orbit the galaxy at a distance less than that between Terra and Kar Duniash. None believe that the rogue Novator could possibly have navigated the empty void between the two regions; nonetheless, the upper echelons of House Mercator have never stopped hunting for clues of their ancestor’s fate, just in
case he might somehow have done so. Most would denounce the idea that a stellar empire could have been founded a mere 25,000 light years from the seat of the Emperor’s rule, but,
over the years, small scraps of evidence have caused the House to continue its search. As recently as a century ago, evidence emerged that Magulax had been charting what he called
the “Monoceros Conduit” just before he vanished, and the House’s agents have been seeking details of it ever since.
Because of their veiled past, the Navigators of House Mercator exist in a shadowy world of service and espionage. Every post they serve and every venture they participate in is at once an opportunity to expand their own fortunes and a chance to seek more clues as to their lost ancestor’s fate. In their searches, they have uncovered many hidden facts about their
counterparts—including the dark truth of House Ortellius.
These secrets are dangerous, but also very powerful, and grant them leverage beyond their limited resources.
Ignis Aeternus WH 40K campaign notes 