The Furnace
Fortress of the Ninth Scar
The Northern Fang
Fortress of the Ninth Scar
The Northern Fang
Overview
The Furnace is the heart of the Ninth Scar, a fortress carved into the sun baked cliffs of the Tarlon Basin. Built from hardened durasteel and thick slabs of stone, it dominates the surrounding desert like a god’s tomb, its silhouette visible for kilometres through the shimmering haze.
At any given time, the Furnace houses around 20,000 defenders: soldiers, officers, engineers, and Sith. Thousands more initiates pass through its gates each cycle, drawn by the promise of glory and shaped through fire, deprivation, and agony into weapons of the Serpent’s will. The walls hum with contained power, the air thick with the scent of ozone and ash.
A massive energy shield cocoons the fortress, flickering with faint crimson light. It renders the citadel nearly impervious to bombardment, its generators buried deep beneath the rock. The fortress’s guns, long-barrelled plasma artillery and anti-orbital batteries, command the basin from every angle, making a direct assault painful.
Within, the corridors are austere and functional. The architecture reflects the Ninth Scar’s philosophy: no decadence, no comfort, only endurance. Heat seeps through the walls; the constant hum of forges and drills echoes from the deep levels.
The Surrounding Complex
The Furnace does not stand alone. It is the centre of a wider network of fortifications and testing grounds used by the Ninth Scar for training and defence.
The Fangs
To the north and south of the Furnace stand two bastions of thick stone and durasteel. The Fangs guard the approaches to the Furnace. Their towers bristling with weaponry; turbolaser emplacements, ion cannons, and anti-air batteries, ensuring no army reaches the fortress unchallenged.
The Fangs serve as the first line of defence and command posts for ground operations in the surrounding region. Beneath their main keeps lay a series of vaults containing supplies, munitions, and reinforced shelters to protect from bombardment.
The Valley of Scars
Surrounding the Fangs lies the Valley of Scars, an expanse of broken salt flats and jagged canyons. This is the Ninth Scar’s primary training ground, a place where recruits are driven to the brink of death and beyond.
The salt crust here is streaked with red from the minerals in the rock and the blood of those who train upon it. Tempests sweep through the canyons, blinding with dust and heat. Soldiers are made to run the valley until their feet bleed; others are sent to fight in the dark ravines, where echoes play tricks on the mind.
The ground is uneven, scarred with sinkholes and fissures, some natural, others formed by the explosions of failed trials. To survive a month in the Valley is to be reborn.
The Forge
Further north lies The Forge, a dried-up lake bed turned proving ground. Here, the Ninth Scar undertakes their mysterious final trial...
The basin is littered with sun-bleached bones, some human, others unidentifiable. The wind sings through the empty ribcages like a dirge, and the ground is cracked and white, reflecting the light with blinding intensity. No tents or shade exist here; only the bones and the heat.
Camp Aurek and Camp Besh
On the edge of the Valley of Scars are Camp Aurek and Camp Besh, temporary encampments for those awaiting entry into the Furnace’s trials. Each camp houses a few hundred initiates, overseen by officers and drillmasters, who break them down before sending them to the Valley.
Conditions are deliberately harsh: no shelters beyond simple tents, rations limited to nutrient blocks and recycled water, and no contact permitted between camps. Fights are common; survival is tolerated, but disobedience is not.
The Starport
To the north-west of the northern Fang lies a small starport, a small but fortified complex capable of handling several shuttles at a time. It serves as the primary link between the Furnace and Port Wrath, the planet's only formal starport and logistics hub that manages off-world supplies.
The starport is primarily functional, landing pads, refuelling stations, and barracks for pilots and crew. Incoming ships are thoroughly screened, and flight paths are tightly controlled. Unauthorized departures are impossible; those who attempt them simply vanish.