Akira

(To be added)

**Akira** was a powerful Forge Moon, recognised as a Forge World for its power and influence, located in the Madrigal System, and allied to the I Legion - The Harbingers. It was one of the most important polities in the Madrigal Sphere.

## History

Akira's history is well-documented, and bound up with that of Madrigal. The system played host to a colony founded by Mars as the Age of Strife set in. While the Red World and Terra warred with each other and then themselves, Madrigal endured the onset of Old Night. Drawing in cultures which struggled to hold together, it became a powerful stellar polity. Even a large and growing psyker population was a source of prosperity rather than a cause for alarm, though the Warp anomaly known as the Maelstrom loomed close to the world.. By the time contact was established with Mars and the Mechanicum sent its Explorators, Madrigal was strong enough to be accepted as a partner to those magi who made their way to the edge of the Maelstrom. The world itself remained verdant even as its moon Akira grew into a shipyard to rival Saturn in its golden era.

But this happy equilibrium was not to last. The surviving archives attest to growing tensions within and without the Mechanicus sect, of clandestine meetings and increasingly esoteric research as a cabal sought to combine forbidden science and psyker arts prohibited by the rulers of Madrigal. Finally, the conspiracies take nightmare form, coalescing into an individual: the Thunder King. Machine-lord and blasphemous sorcerer, he unleashed a war which consumed the fertile surface of Madrigal in atomic fire and Warp-spawned horror. Though the Thunder King was eventually defeated, entombed beneath the world’s crust, Madrigal was irrevocably changed. The survivors were confined to the fortress-cities they had built upon the world’s mountains, and the extent of the strife had drawn a tendril of the Maelstrom perilously close. Every two centuries, the world would pass through it and endure what became known as the “Time of Storms.”

The people of Madrigal and the surviving magos of Akira conferred, and realised that their orbit would carry them through the Warp-tendril. Necessity forced them to cooperate, and they threw themselves into the construction of what came to be known as the Macro-Geller Field. While not as secure as the ubiquitous, ship-sized field, this shielded Madrigal and Akira from the worst of the Warp’s onslaught, and those spectres that menaced the world and moon were destroyed by the warriors of Madrigal. When the threat abated, the rulers of Madrigal and Akira vowed that they would never again permit the power of the Warp to be abused in such a fashion.

The rulers of Akira worked in conjunction with those of Madrigal, except for the years when Hirato Tokawa seized control of Madrigal as Shogun, building such a power that even the Magos were forced to kneel before him. The rise of Icarion Anasem ended this unhappy state of affairs, and as Madrigal flourished under the Primarch's hand Akira benefited too. More technology was retrieved from the underground vaults and archologies of Madrigal, much of it requiring the insight of the priests to dissect and reverse-engineer. The Forge Moon became a key part of the growing Madrigal Sphere.

## Unity with the Imperium

Akira and Madrigal's prosperity would only increase with the coming of the Imperium, and Akira was perfectly placed to arm the new, rapidly growing I Legion. The vibro-katana crafted there would become synonymous with the Lightning Bearers, more so than the chainblades that were otherwise ubiquitous in the Legiones Astartes.

Kelbor Hal, Fabricator-General of Mars, was careful to ensure that Akira was in his debt and lavished resources upon it, while always working to ensure that Martian dominance was apparent to all. The clearest example of Mars' beneficence was the Legio Telesto, raised from one of the Red World's Triad Ferrum Morghulis to stand as guardians over Akira.

Trade with the wider Imperium saw material flood into Akira, and several powerful weapons and vehicles were developed in its forges. Notable among these were the Ash Phoenix Gunship and the Tesla cannons used to arm both Titans of the Legio Telesto and the Ordinati of the Akiran taghmata, which ever fought beside the Lightning Bearers. The Knight House of Rakham, bereft of their old realm, would in time join the ranks of Akira's armies, and they too would be armed with weapons developed on Akira, resulting in the vastly powerful Acastus Damysus.

Yet Akira's greatest achievements remained in the field of shipbuilding, and Icarion's own flagship was constructed in its orbit. Besides the *Thunderchild*, vessels of many types were designed and built under the eyes of the magos.

## The Insurrection

Akira was among the first of the polities and forces Icarion turned to his banner in the build up to his rebellion against the Emperor. With the beginning of the Icarion Insurrection, the entire might of its taghmata, Titan Legio and Knights turned their cloaks and made war upon those who remained Loyal. Akiran vessels and personnel took part in both the Commena Cluster campaign and The Battle of Ysta, along with many other operations large and small.

## Notable Output

* Shogun-class Battleship
* Baron-class Destroyer
* Ash Phoenix
* Vibro-katana (favoured over chainblades)