The penal world of Maleziel exists in the area of the Koronus Expanse called Winterscale’s Realm. On this bleak and desolate world harsh winds howl across the landscape, and the planet's ancient and dying sun barely puts out any light, casting all in eternal twilight. The high radiation put out by the star keeps the planet in a moderately-habitable state. The planet's establishment as a prison world remains somewhat of a mystery. This world of scrub plains and rock has a single settlement with a massive, rusting and crash-landed starship at its center. This is the remains of the Malezial, a prison ship that crashed on the surface after being blown far off course in a furious warp-storm sometime in M32. Most of the settlement's inhabitants are descendants of the ship's survivors, originally some 10,000 guards, inmates and crew. Aside form the rusting superstructure that creaks and moans as the wind blows through it resembling massive reddish-brown-colored ribs of some long-dead creature, the vessel's figurehead is all that survived the crash ages ago. The figurehead itself, sculpted to resemble a male angel looking to the heaves in supplication, is the source of much speculation and superstition. Some whisper that the eyes of the figurehead weep whenever a world is about to die, but no one really knows the reason for this mysterious activity.
A settlement, also named for the ship, has grown up around its hulk and sits upon a flat plain of scrub and stunted trees surrounded by craggy peaks. It was here that the surviving guards and crew sought to keep order over the inmates who survived the crash. They established a new prison within the remains of the hulk, but this soon became impractical and both sides realized that they were stranded on a strange world with little hope of supplies or rescue. As time went on the groups homogenized and a strange culture took shape. Today, the settlement is a virtual thieves' den, which is one the verge of collapse. Rogue Traders frequently stop here to either hand over their undesirable (or criminal) crewmen to the enforcer-cadres to add to the settlement's workforce, or to replenish their holds with cheap labor; thus enduring a steady influx of new "residents," one of the only things keeping this place alive. Without a doubt, Rogue Trader vessels are the only means by which new supplies can be had; Maleziel pays for these shipments in able-bodied crew, or by trading whatever mineral wealth is dug up from the various mines and quarries. It is also home to a particularly tenacious breed of pit leech.
Of late, there have been reports of mysterious xenos scouts with crested helms spotted on the fringes of the settlement. These may well be Eldar Corsairs, although what they want on this forgotten world remains a mystery.