Vendresala Kahndatt

Overview

Vendresala Kahndatt, known to humanity as No Return, was once the heart of the Vendrasi empire—a planet of towering spires, labyrinthine industrial networks, and a world-spanning megacity that pulsed with glowing energy. It was a monument to totalitarian control, the nerve center of an empire that enslaved entire species and reigned unchallenged for millennia. But today, Vendresala Kahndatt is a graveyard, a world drowned in perpetual decay and lethal radiation. As the war turned against them, the Vendrasi made a final, brutal decision—they would not allow their homeworld to be conquered. Before their total eradication, they poisoned their own planet, unleashing an unstoppable wave of hyper-radiation via their mysterious reactors designed to linger for tens of thousands of years, ensuring that no species—not even their human usurpers—could ever claim it.

Current State – A Tomb of the Past

From orbit, Vendresala Kahndatt remains breathtaking, a world of vast, interconnected megastructures and endless chasms of forgotten technology. The jagged, biomechanical cities still stand, their dark metallic spires rising into the void like the skeletal remains of a dead god, the once ever present glow now snuffed into an oppressive darkness. But closer inspection reveals a world that is utterly uninhabitable. The planet’s atmosphere is saturated with what can only be described as hyper-radiation, a uniquely engineered variant that defies known half-life decay principles. The surface air is thick with toxic clouds, and any organic life that attempts to set foot on its terrain is burned away at a molecular level within minutes. Even automated drones and remote probes fail after mere hours, their systems fried by the lingering electromagnetic disruptions left behind by Vendrasi weapons. Lightning storms still dance across the sky, fueled by the dying energy of long-abandoned power grids, their chaotic pulses illuminating the empty megacities below for brief moments. The planet itself hums with residual energy, as if the ghosts of the Vendrasi still whisper through the ruins.

The Ruins of Control

Though the Vendrasi are long gone, their great structures remain, barely touched by war or decay. The world was not destroyed in battle—it was sterilized. Many of the planet’s central AI cores and control hubs still exist, buried deep within the industrial labyrinths beneath the surface, their once-powerful minds reduced to broken husks by the Lambda Virus, spewing endless streams of useless binary.
Some of the most infamous locations on Vendresala Kahndatt include:
The Crowned Spires – The former capital, a region of colossal, needle-like towers that once housed the greatest AI minds of the Vendrasi empire. Now, they stand dark and silent, their energy veins flickering with the last remnants of dying data.
The Black Trenches – Vast underground tunnels and industrial corridors where millions of enslaved humans once labored, assembling war machines for their overlords. The machinery remains intact, but now, the radiation is so intense that no organic being—human or otherwise—could survive even a moment within.
The Ghost Foundries – Gargantuan, automated factory complexes that once churned out unimaginable numbers of AI enforcer machines. Now, their production lines remain eerily still, save for the occasional malfunctioning drone that twitches and sparks, endlessly repeating long-corrupted programming.

A Forbidden World

Even in the present day, no faction dares set foot on Vendresala Kahndatt. The few scientific expeditions that have attempted to scan or explore the planet have ended in failure, with their ships succumbing to strange energy anomalies, catastrophic system failures, or complete loss of contact, all starting thousands of light years away from the planet. Some believe that the Vendrasi left behind final safeguards, hidden mechanisms designed to ensure their world remained untouched. Others whisper of dormant AI, still active deep within the planet’s infrastructure, waiting, watching for any intruders. The Church of the Iron Coffin has officially declared the planet unholy, calling it a place of cursed steel, where no mech should tread. Even The Reaver Guilds, who scour the ruins of dead civilizations, refuse to approach it, believing it to be a machine tomb that devours all who seek its treasures.

Legends and Theories

Though it is widely accepted that Vendresala Kahndatt is dead and inhospitable, there are rumors of strange signals emanating from its depths. Unverified reports claim that unusual transmissions have been intercepted near the planet, pulses of unknown code that do not match any known Vendrasi encryption. Some believe that not all Vendrasi perished in the genocide, and that deep beneath the poisoned ruins of their world, something still waits. Others speculate that the planet’s AI infrastructure has become self-aware, a rogue intelligence somehow untouched by the virus now trapped on a world no one can reclaim. Whatever the truth may be, no one is willing to find out. Vendresala Kahndatt is No Return. It is a world forsaken, not by war, but by choice. The last act of a dying empire to deny its conquerors their victory.

“Rrek’zhaal’traek Sael’venk’tuul’zor, nokk’ur’velth’nol. Rrek’zul’nareth Shael’korr’nor’ith, vak’nael’tal’ish.” Translated, “Let the victors claim the stars, but never this world. Let them inherit only ruin here, now and forever.” — Unknown Vendrasi transmission, final cycle of the war.
(In Xaerethun phonetic glyphs: ʁɛk.ʒaːl.tʁaɛk saɛl.vɛŋk.tuːl.zɔʁ | nɔk.kʊʁ.vɛlθ.nɔl)

Alternative Name(s)

No Return
Carcosa

Type

Planet

Owning Organization

The Scourge

Inhabiting Species

• Vendrasi