Steeped in history, riven by conflict, and filled with contradiction, The Deep and the Dark covers two sectors at the interface of human and Aslan space, where rival species and civilizations have long contended for influence and power. Here lie the ancient battlegrounds of the Aslan Border Wars and the Cultural Purge. Here are found worlds abandoned or ignored for centuries, which shelter strange, isolated societies that have fallen back to primitive conditions.

Reavers Deep lies on the edge of the Great Rift, with a wide Buffer Zone separating the human systems of the Third Imperium and Solomani Confederation from the Aslan worlds of the Hierate. Within this Buffer independent states and worlds harbor fierce animal life and many alien species, while marauders and petty warlords plague the sector. Into this wild area venture intrepid trade pioneers in search of new opportunities.

The Dark Nebula is named for the mysterious Celella Nebula, a jumpspace phenomenon that has devilled astrogators for millennia. The sector is also the home of Kusyu, homeworld of the Aslan and spiritual heart of their star-spanning Hierate. The Deep and the Dark also provides an overview of the complex, ever-shifting politics of the Hierate and the nature of Aslan culture. Includes a giant two-sided poster map of the two sectors.