Many fantastic ideas concerning the potential use or purpose of the dread Tyrant Star, if I may be so inclined to do so I'd like to add my two cents into the pot.

For my purpose, Calixis as it stands is a place where the fate of the Imperium (and indeed the Materium itself) is to be decided. Komus's true purpose is that of a "Final Gateway" that connects the Warp and Real Space, should this gate ever be opened it can then never be closed again and all things will become one (essentially the Eye of the Abyss x100000).

Feeling the gate's presence the Ruinous Gods race to see who will cross over the gate and claim ultimate dominion over both realms and desperately call upon their followers to open the gate in his name (thus allowing them to exist in both worlds and rule both). Coinsiding with all this is an increased activity in the sector's known Cults as well as the arrival of a new Cult (a Khornite based cult that is woefully missing from the books) and named Champions of each god and a Greater Daemon to aid them.

All the while as the acolytes struggle to defeat and contain them they are secreted aided by...Baphomeal and the Brotherhood who (ironicly) don't want the gate opened but events are moving in strange ways and each Ruinous God has his own plan for ultimate conquest....

After having read Tattered Fates, I have some new notions about the mystery of the Tyrant Star.

It is something coming from another time, something from the past sent to the present, and cannot yet fully manifest in our time, so it's limited now to spectral appearances.

Erasmus Haarlock is behind it all. He wants to recreate time or return to a former epoch in order to get his wife and daughter back. For example: returning to the past to prevent their fates from happening. That is why he is lost now .. he still exists but in another time, in the past.

Perhaps he has killed all the Haarlock descendants because he wants to undo the things they have done, some great evil they wrought, and he wants to reset things to a time when they were not yet doing those dark things he has come to regret now.

The way I did about it, I didn't. I couldn't fathom of a reason good enough to actually make it worthy.

But, if I had to think, something along the lines of a secret project (aren't they always?) of an Imperium Weapon that was designed against use of Chaotic worlds. Too bad they didn't realize how it worked when they turned it on.

I recently had to totally overhaul my original interpretation of the Tyrant Star.

My original theory was that the "xenos" race who's anonymous ruins litter the Calixis sector were actually a race of human psykers who predate the Imperium. They foresaw the coming of the Age of Strife and tried to build a Soul Ark that would allow them to survive the coming chaos and asend to a higher plane of existance. However, the Ark was corrupted by Tzeentch and instead became a prison for their souls. The Tyrant Star has languished, imprisoned in a place in the depths of the Halo Stars where all time and space converge. Slowly, the billions of imprisoned souls have clawed at the walls of their prison slowly weakening the fabric of realspace preparing for the time that it will break free to rampage through the Segmentum Obscurus and consume the souls of all mankind so the imprisoned souls can share their eternal torment.

Unfortunately, this theory was based on an extreme misreading of many passages, including a serious misunderstanding of who exactly Eloeholth the Faceless is (I thought he was a Chaos Corrupted Eldar Harlequin). So it all had to go out the window.

After realizing my original mistake, I created a new theory that more closely matches published fluff.

The new theory goes like this. One million years ago, what are now the Calixis and Ixiniad sectors were controlled by a race of incomprehensible Xenos. These chitinous beings had a very advanced understanding of the nature of the warp, indeed their technology was almost entirely based upon it. This race, whos name has been lost to time, sought power above all else. Using the secrets of their warp technology, they sought to build a massive xenos engine the size of a star that would give the user absolute power over space, time and matter itself. In short, they sought to possess the power of the gods themselves. Alas, the device did not work, and in the throes of its stillbirth it tore the very fabric of space and time asunder. The coriscating energies of the warp poured through and their civilization was totally eradicated. It was not until almost a million years later that the broken, incomplete remains of this engine were discovered by the Chaos Lord Eloeholth the Faceless.

Eloeholth resolved that he would succeed where these strange aliens had failed. For thousands of years, the Silversmith of Prospero and his cult labored upon this alien device taking the alien mechanism apart, correcting the mistakes the original designers had made, and reassembling it. Despite Eloeholth's great knowledge however, it was a slow process. To speed matters, Eloeholth went out to the shattered remants of human civilization that remained there. Descending from the heavens on a chariot of fire like a prophet of ancient Terra, he gifted the people of the Adarantis nebula with his knowledge, creating the civilization known as the Adrianti. Using the new inventions that the eager young minds of the Adrianti churned out, Eloeholth's great artifice was nearing completion when disaster struck. The armies of the God-Emperor arrived.

It seemed that Eloeholth's work would be for nothing, until his fateful meeting with the grief-stricken scion of a powerful Rogue Trader family named Erasmus Haarlocke.

Erasmus had just lost his beloved wife and daughter to a rogue member of his house and was half-mad with grief when he ventured into the depths of the Halo Stars. When Erasmus laid eyes on Komus he knew that before him stood the one thing that could alter history and save lives of those he had loved and lost. Erasmus made a pact with the Silversmith of Prospero, he would assist in Eloeholth's endeavors and, in return Eloeholth would allow Erasmus to use Komus once, to alter history so his wife and daughter would still live.

However, while Erasmus was consolidating his power, the Silversmith of Prospero made a dire discovery. Komus design was flawed at a fundamental level. All his labor of the past 3,000 years had been for nothing. Komus cannot work, it will not work. Attempting to activate it will simply repeat the disaster that wiped out its original creators and very likely create a second Eye of Terror. Eloeholth departed the Calixis sector, never to return, but Erasmus refused to abandon hope. Using Eloeholth's cult and the powerful, otherworldy objects he created Erasmus Haarlocke is determined to finis Eloeholth's work with or without him. Erasmus is more than wiling to wager trillions of lives on the off chance that he can see his beloved again.

I like this theory for several reasons. For one, it meshes with most of the published hints that have been dropped about the Tyrant Star, it matches the prophecies published about it. It also explains the manifestations of the Tyrant Star as psychic echoes of the future growing ever more intense as the impending disaster draws nigh. It also explains why the fabric of time and space seem unstable in the Calixis sector and ties up all the loose ends very nicely. Plus it gives the campaign and epic conclusion, a race against time to stop Erasmus Haarlocke before he dooms the entire Sector. Not to mention that a Chaos Lord is probably the last thing my Acolytes would ever expect to have offered as an ally.

Let me start off by first saying that I am a real big fan of the 'superweapon' concept so this colors my opinion of the Tyrant Star. When the Calixis sector was first being explored Haarlock (or someone working with him) discovered a device, or series of devices, that creates a sort of miniwarpstorm in a star system. Problem was that he could never really get the bloody thing under control 100%, so he could not sell it (he is stated to be a Rogue Trader IIRC) or use it to create his own little empire. When he disappeared he left a series of Daemonhost like creatures and devices that can influence where the 'Star' appears, but can not turn the thing off after starting it up.

I know this is nontechnical has heck but it works for me .

I am not sure Solomon Haarlock and Eloeholth the Faceless should be connected. I feel more for the theory expressed here , which states that the Hydra Lock from the Radical's Handbook, the Key mentioned in The House of Dust and Ash and the 'portals of sleep' have to do with each other.

But I have never heard of the dreamlands and portals of sleep before, and Haarlock isn't associated with portals of sleep too

I gave details on the Dreamlands (with nifty hyperlinks) on the other thread, but dont see the Dreamlands as having a direct analogue in the 40Kverse- the closest thing would be the Warp which is far more malevolent than the Dreamlands. Carcosa/Hali and the incredible

With regard to the Haarlock trilogy, thematically you might want to think King in Yellow- the whole ball at Gabriel Chase was essentially Edgar Allan Poe's "Masque of the Red Death" which in turn was an inspiration for the Hastur Mythos(admittedly though, they've also used that same inspiration for the Last Masque of the Orsinis on p153 oof DotDG) . Combined with the Hyades reference (Aldebaran and Hyades are the home of the King and Yellow) combined with the King in Rags and Tatters (the 40K take on the King in Yellow) I think the implication is that Haarlock has turned to Chaos in order to meet his goals (levels of irony since it was his chaos-tainted cousin who killed his wife and child in the first place) and that the Hyades Locks and unleashing of the Warp/Carcosa on the Calixis sector will destroy a planet or more to supposedly restore his family. How that ties in with the Tyrant Star, I dont know.

Another throwaway line- the Widower in Tattered Fates says his master is the first and last of the Haarlock line. Another famous Lovecraft story is the Strange Case of Charles Dexter Ward in which an ancient sorceror (Solomon Haarlock) is reborn/returned from the dead in the image of his descendent when the descendent goes mad and starts poking around in the family tree. Could Erasmus Haarlock (the Last) be possessed by the spirit of Solomon Haarlock (the First)?

SJE

One last, nifty link - The Road to Hali - years later John Tynes creates the Hastur Mythos in Delta Green Countdown (excellent book) but this was some of his original ideas and this links into the CoC adventure Night Floors

What does any of this have to do with Dark Heresy or the Calixis Sector? Nothing directly. But the people writing your Dark Heresy books are coming from this angle of Cthulhiana, though giving it the more simplistic 40K twist (things tend to boil down to Chaos ultimately). Also you can use these adventures fairly easily with Dark heresy- just add some skulls and Mediavael GrimDark dystopia.

SJE

I suspect the whole affair is tied to the Child of Midnight mentioned in the RH, which parrallels a prophecy known to the Thorians of a pair of twins to be born in the sector, one capable of destroying the Imperium and one an avatar of the Emperor himself, linked somehow to the Tyrant Star.

My pet theory is that whatever the Tyrant Star was originally (and I prefer this to be hazy), it is being used by a lesser Chaos God to attempt to ascend to a level of power comparable to that of the four major gods. The likely candidates that I know of are Malal (the God the Chaos Divided and then consumed by its own hate and spite turned inward) or Melkirth (Chaos God of Malice, Spite, and Wanton Suffering, mentioned in old material and Wikipedia as growing nearly powerful enough to rise as a true God of Chaos).

Naturally, either of these beings are suitable patrons of the Pilgrims of Hayte, whose inclinations do not match those of any of the four Ruinous Powers.

Were I to use this, I would tie it to the Seven Devils of Dread Calix. Also, I would have the nascent God attempt to fuel his ascention with not only the death of the sector, but with the essence of the Avatar of Khaine contained in the one Craftworld which passes through the sector, in hopes of ultimately laying claim to all of the Eldar God's shattered essence.

I also tend to think that the Tyrant Star is too ancient and dreadful to be bound to any one purpose. Rather, it may be turned briefly to countless unspeakble deeds, at the risk of imagining that one is in any sense its master, rather than yet another amoung countless supplicants blessed momentarily with a taste of its power .

SJE said:

The feeling of Solomon possessing the mad Erasmus is great though it must be pointed out that Solomon wasn't the first Haarlock. That honor falls to Mordicia though very little is actually mentioned about him. Solomon, being the one who discovered the Calyx expanse just takes most of the Haarlock glory in DH.

A bit more to think about in connecting the Tyrant Star mystery with the Hastur mythose would be in the description of the Forgotten Apocalypse on pg 122 of RH. A place or thing called the echoing Vault is mentioned there which seems to me to be a kind of a tip of the hat to the Whisper Labyrinth which serves as one of the connecting points of the real world to Carcossa in Delta Green: Countdown. Judging from the text, the Echoing Vault lies out in the Koronus Expanse out where all those mysterious dead worlds float...

Not to mention that it served as the entry point for ....things...from outside who were so horrible that they were just called The Harrowing and seemed unconnected to either the realspace OR the warp...ahem...

Does anyone notice that throughout the halo regions there are stars that have certain similarities with Komus? The biggest examples are the Processional of the Damned and Concainid in Rogue Trader. Also in the short story Nightfall in legends of the space marines there is an anomaly known as the Black Sun that seems to transform and corrupt the planet of Sarastus. I think that the Tyrant Star is not as singular an entity as we are meant to believe. Any thoughts?

Hmm, well, if I ever craft a campaign around the Tyrant Star, I think I'll make it turn out to be a previously unknown C'tan. Rather than suck the souls straight out of people, it would move from place to place feeding off entire populaces at a time, keeping casualties to a minimum in order to allow it's food supply to maintain itself. Eh? Eh? Pretty good, am I right, or am I SUPER right?

Except that the C'tan need the Necron to collect the bodies and souls for them, they can't do it themselves from the stars

Though it could be the Outsider, he went mad during the War in Heaven and has not been seen since. The psychic backlash of an insane C'tan, jumping from star to star, would fit the bill of the Tyrant Star's effects on people, and it would explain why the Eldar avoid the sector (not to fond of the C'tan...)

Honn said:

No, actually, since C'tan feed off the bio-electrical energy from living beings, they can feed off of people. The necrons are there to keep any uppity races from directly attacking the C'Tan. Plus, all the known C'Tan had congealed their massive forms into Necrodermis bodies, so the way they feed is different than a "regular" C'Tan might feed. After all, they used to siphon off the massive amounts of energy given off by stars, until the necontyr drew their attention to the little bits of dirt floating between the stars.

So while the Deceiver or the Nightbringer are reliant on their armies of Necrons to harvest energy for them (since they are now housed within necrodermis bodies and no longer large enough to encompasse an entire planet to succor off the bio-electric energy of living beings) A normal C'Tan can do it all on it's own. While I can't attest that any of this information is official (Except the bio-electrical stuff and the necrodermis bodies) the rest just falls into place on it's own. And if it's wrong, well, I'll just temporarily retcon the fudge out of whatever lore needs to be re-written to allow it.

Well, I believe current fluff has the Outsider being in the Dyson Sphere that's to the bottom-right of Segmentum Tempustus in this map:

Linky

MILLANDSON said:

Hmm, the outsider you say? The description of him/her/it matches that of the Tyrant Star quite nicely if the wiki is anything to go by: http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/The_Outsider

This is better than season 2 of Lost!

Now... it says that the Outsider is the most powerful C'Tan... But it also says that the Void Dragon is the most powerful... So if they got into a fight, who would win?

In my DH campaign I am treating the Tyrant Star as an embryonic chaos god, not quite yet ready to be born. It is being created by the grief and dispair of the Eldar as their race dies. This also explains why the Eldar fear and avoid the Calixis sector.

JohnJBerthold said:

Man, that's cruel, having the Eldar dream up yet another Chaos God!