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Description
Every spacer knows not to visit the Sol Anomaly. Even though those brave and fortunate souls that make it back return with technological riches that have forged dynasties, there is a reason that not even the mighty fleets of the Empire dare venture within a few hundred light-years of that fell place. The Sol Anomaly was the cradle of mankind, and thus the battleground of hundreds of thousands of wars. Every manner of weapon, from the most mundane to the most terrible, has been used profusely in this region of space, turning it into a graveyard whose inhabitants seek to swell their numbers. Ancient mines still prowl the stars for prey, lost fleets patrol space to fight enemies defeated tens of thousands of years past, and the unspeakable monstrosities unleashed from the black heart of the Solar Anomaly wait in the void for ships and men to consume. Reality itself is torn here, the result of weapons thankfully lost to time, and here the cosmos weeps madness into our world.

The Sol Anomaly is a major space-time anomaly located in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. While smaller than the Core Anomaly or the Eldritch Stars, it lies at the heart of Imperial space, and is therefore one of the more infamous anomalies in the galaxy. It was once the center of human civilization, and old starcharts even mark it as the origin point of all other galactic coordinates. Even though no ship is allowed to exit hyperspace or warp out within six hundred lightyears of the anomaly, many daring—and foolish—explorers still dare to venture into the dead heart of mankind.

The Sol Anomaly was once the Sol System, a standard star system with eight planets, utterly unremarkable from a physical standpoint. Its importance arose solely from the fact that it was the home system of humanity. Consequently, most of the early human empires, including the First and Second Empire of Man, were based in the Sol System. The third planet in the system, Earth, was the homeworld of mankind, and thus the most developed. The original appearance of Earth has been lost to history, but records dating back to before the War of the Cog Lords describe it as a planet where every single square inch is covered by an artificial structure. These structures were said to go hundreds of miles deep, until one reached the blasted, still-radioactive natural surface. All food was supplied from farms on other planets, particularly the farm world of Venus, or from offworld shipments. The Second Empire's wormgate network was managed from Sol, and with its destruction, the wormgate network has been damaged almost beyond repair.

As the administrative center of two major galactic empires, Sol was heavily militarized. In its expansion through the stars, mankind made many powerful enemies, enemies which would want nothing but to behead their opponent. The moons of the outer planets, and of Earth itself, had been hollowed out to form immense battlefleets dedicated solely to the defense of the system. The moons themselves became immense star fortresses, filled with enough weapons to bring an entire sector to heel. A system-wide hyperspace countermeasure was even devised to intercept any unauthorized object exiting hyperspace or moving at relativistic speeds; these objects would be sent directly into the core of Sol itself.

The Sol Anomaly was formed during the War of the Cog Lords. The details are sketchy, but a weapon was placed in Sol which used that star's gravitational pull to tear a hole in space-time. Some accounts claim that the hyperspace defense grid was used to send this weapon into the star's core. While it is well-accepted that it was the Cog Lords responsible for this act, others claim that it was the human defenders themselves that created the Anomaly. Knowing that the Cog Lords would take over all of their computer systems, the defenders' conventional weapons would be useless, and the Cog Lords would be given access to the Second Empire's entire wormgate network. In order to stop this from happening, the defenders destroyed the entire star system.

Today, the Solar Anomaly remains a highly lethal place to visit. As physics is warped even hundreds of light-years away from the heart of the anomaly, faster-than-light systems frequently malfunction. It is not uncommon for the unfortunate to starve to death in the interstellar medium. The less fortunate will be caught in the Anomaly's gravity well, and be drawn closer to the Anomaly itself. What exactly lies within the Anomaly is unknown. Some spacers have reported visiting very near the Anomaly and seeing a perfectly normal star system, albeit one filled with derelict starships. Others report being attacked from every angle as soon as they arrive, and yet others report seeing "white space and black stars," or entire planets on fire, as some unknown force tries to pry open every airlock on their ship. Most others have never returned, and the most unfortunate return in such a damaged state that simply disappearing would be preferable.

But the Solar Anomaly still has an allure which draws thousands to their deaths. As the Anomaly is believed to have preserved the structures within the Sol System, both from the elements and from looters, the relics within the Anomaly are without equal around the galaxy. And of course, being a highly militarized region of space, the most powerful weapons ever developed can be found in the Anomaly. If a spacer recovers even a gunship built by the Second Empire, he could become the lord of an entire star system. Thus, the Anomaly continues to draw in the daring and the desperate, each hoping that they would be fortunate enough to leave that fell place with something to turn their lives around.

Description
Every spacer knows not to visit the Sol Anomaly. Even though those brave and fortunate souls that make it back return with technological riches that have forged dynasties, there is a reason that not even the mighty fleets of the Empire dare venture within a few hundred light-years of that fell place. The Sol Anomaly was the cradle of mankind, and thus the battleground of hundreds of thousands of wars. Every manner of weapon, from the most mundane to the most terrible, has been used profusely in this region of space, turning it into a graveyard whose inhabitants seek to swell their numbers. Ancient mines still prowl the stars for prey, lost fleets patrol space to fight enemies defeated tens of thousands of years past, and the unspeakable monstrosities unleashed from the black heart of the Solar Anomaly wait in the void for ships and men to consume. Reality itself is torn here, the result of weapons thankfully lost to time, and here the cosmos weeps madness into our world.

The Sol Anomaly is a major space-time anomaly located in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. While smaller than the Core Anomaly or the Eldritch Stars, it lies at the heart of Imperial space, and is therefore one of the more infamous anomalies in the galaxy. It was once the center of human civilization, and old starcharts even mark it as the origin point of all other galactic coordinates. Even though no ship is allowed to exit hyperspace or warp out within six hundred lightyears of the anomaly, many daring—and foolish—explorers still dare to venture into the dead heart of mankind.

The Sol Anomaly was once the Sol System, a standard star system with eight planets, utterly unremarkable from a physical standpoint. Its importance arose solely from the fact that it was the home system of humanity. Consequently, most of the early human empires, including the First and Second Empire of Man, were based in the Sol System. The third planet in the system, Earth, was the homeworld of mankind, and thus the most developed. The original appearance of Earth has been lost to history, but records dating back to before the War of the Cog Lords describe it as a planet where every single square inch is covered by an artificial structure. These structures were said to go hundreds of miles deep, until one reached the blasted, still-radioactive natural surface. All food was supplied from farms on other planets, particularly the farm world of Venus, or from offworld shipments. The Second Empire's wormgate network was managed from Sol, and with its destruction, the wormgate network has been damaged almost beyond repair.

As the administrative center of two major galactic empires, Sol was heavily militarized. In its expansion through the stars, mankind made many powerful enemies, enemies which would want nothing but to behead their opponent. The moons of the outer planets, and of Earth itself, had been hollowed out to form immense battlefleets dedicated solely to the defense of the system. The moons themselves became immense star fortresses, filled with enough weapons to bring an entire sector to heel. A system-wide hyperspace countermeasure was even devised to intercept any unauthorized object exiting hyperspace or moving at relativistic speeds; these objects would be sent directly into the core of Sol itself.

The Sol Anomaly was formed during the War of the Cog Lords. The details are sketchy, but a weapon was placed in Sol which used that star's gravitational pull to tear a hole in space-time. Some accounts claim that the hyperspace defense grid was used to send this weapon into the star's core. While it is well-accepted that it was the Cog Lords responsible for this act, others claim that it was the human defenders themselves that created the Anomaly. Knowing that the Cog Lords would take over all of their computer systems, the defenders' conventional weapons would be useless, and the Cog Lords would be given access to the Second Empire's entire wormgate network. In order to stop this from happening, the defenders destroyed the entire star system.

Today, the Solar Anomaly remains a highly lethal place to visit. As physics is warped even hundreds of light-years away from the heart of the anomaly, faster-than-light systems frequently malfunction. It is not uncommon for the unfortunate to starve to death in the interstellar medium. The less fortunate will be caught in the Anomaly's gravity well, and be drawn closer to the Anomaly itself. What exactly lies within the Anomaly is unknown. Some spacers have reported visiting very near the Anomaly and seeing a perfectly normal star system, albeit one filled with derelict starships. Others report being attacked from every angle as soon as they arrive, and yet others report seeing "white space and black stars," or entire planets on fire, as some unknown force tries to pry open every airlock on their ship. Most others have never returned, and the most unfortunate return in such a damaged state that simply disappearing would be preferable.

But the Solar Anomaly still has an allure which draws thousands to their deaths. As the Anomaly is believed to have preserved the structures within the Sol System, both from the elements and from looters, the relics within the Anomaly are without equal around the galaxy. And of course, being a highly militarized region of space, the most powerful weapons ever developed can be found in the Anomaly. If a spacer recovers even a gunship built by the Second Empire, he could become the lord of an entire star system. Thus, the Anomaly continues to draw in the daring and the desperate, each hoping that they would be fortunate enough to leave that fell place with something to turn their lives around.