Beyond the God-Emperor's Scourge, deep within the Unbeholden Reaches, lies a region of clouded space -- the Alenic Depths. Dust clouds and shadowed nebulae choke the region of light, wrapping a few frail stars in thick black cloaks. Navigation is next to impossible in this part of space, where even the light of the Astronomican grows dim and nebulous, and astropathic communications seemed muffled and indistinct. The outward appearance of the Depths discourages most from venturing there, as even the starships of the Disciples of Thule avoid that section of space. Those few who journeyed within the Depths (most in the early centuries after the Maw was opened) were inevitably well-armed and well-provisioned. They spoke of star systems cluttered with debris and half-formed planets, asteroid ri