Lighthouse

Lighthouse.

### Military Forces

Enforcers, Militia, Standing Army, Armoured Force, Titan Force, Naval Force, Orbital Stations, Missile Silos (planet and orbital), Defence Lasers

## Location

### System

Lighthouse

The homeworld of the Lightkeepers Astartes chapter. It is the 3rd planet of the Lighthouse system by proximity of the central star.

Lighthouse is a critical planet for the Imperium since the Great Crusade, well before the Lightkeepers made it their homeworld. It constitutes an administrative hub for most of the Maelstorm region, in the western part of Segmentum Ultima. The world serves as a hub collecting, copying and dispensing or archiving litteral kilometre cubes worth of documents each year. Without it, the whole region could collapse in anarchy.

## History

### Before the Lightkeepers

#### Dark Age of Technology (M15–M25)

Towards the end of the Dark Age of Technology, the Lighthouse system (whose original name has been lost) was subject to mining exploration. Several planets were found to be rich in minerals. A colony was established on one of them, Lighthouse, at the beginning of M24 with a plan to terraform it into an industrial world. Lighthouse II, a less rich planet but already having a primitive life, was reserved for agriculture. Finally, Lighthouse I, IV and V would become mining worlds.

During M24, the colony slowly expanded as the planet was terraformed and became less hostile. At the same time, automated mines were set up on the other planets in the system to supply the first factories on Lighthouse. Some industrial complexes were formed and spread over entire regions.The fertile areas of the planet were covered with trees, in order to develop an industrial sector of precious wood.

When the first psykers were spotted on Lighthouse from M23, the inhabitants hesitated about what to do with them. The potential risks seemed too great to let the psykers live among the population, but no one wanted to eliminate them since they had done nothing wrong. So it was decided to systematically send the psykers to a large space station orbiting Lighthouse V. This station, called the Ark, allowed psykers to explore their Warp sensitivities and special talents. The station's remoteness protected both the psykers and the rest of the population.

When the war with the Men of Iron broke out, the terraforming of Lighthouse was not yet complete, its atmosphere breathable but imperfect. The urban areas and factories were not yet at full capacity. The bloody battles against the Men of Iron killed three quarters of the population. Lighthouse II was also ravaged, drastically reducing its agricultural production capabilities. Too many people in the system were specialized in a particular technical field, so almost no one knew how to produce food or certain other commodities. By the end of the war, the Lighthouse system was left bereft, forced to trade some of its industrial production for food with neighboring systems.

#### Age of Strife (M25-M30)

At the end of the war against the Men of Iron, Lighthouse was on the verge of collapse. The remaining cities on its surface were too busy rebuilding and repopulating to think about reclaiming the ruins of the lost areas. Food shortages occurred regularly, causing unbearable tension for the population. For some unknown reason, navigation through the Warp became difficult and extremely risky, increasing the frequency of shortages and exacerbating their magnitude. Despite the implementation of a rationing system, riots, then skirmishes, and finally open conflict broke out.

Meanwhile, disturbing news came from the Ark. Paranormal phenomena were occurring, accompanied by ever-increasing violence. Since it was becoming dangerous to approach the station, a quarantine was put in place. New psykers appearing on Lighthouse were isolated in dedicated prisons, if not first murdered by their neighbors. Only a few months later, transmissions from the Ark showed scenes of unimaginable savagery and cases of demon possession of psykers. Then contact was lost within minutes of a portal being opened by Chaos. From then on, psykers were systematically killed on Lighthouse as a precautionary measure.

When navigation in the Warp finally became completely impossible, the society on Lighthouse imploded. Technical knowledge was spread too thinly among the population and basic resources were too hard to come by, so no structure was able to survive on its own. The last inhabitants fought for their survival, tearing each other apart around the crumbs of civilization remaining in the cities.

Centuries of anarchy followed. Small pockets of civilization clung to life at all costs, owing their existence only to their ability to maintain the machines that surrounded them. Hard-working people tirelessly copied all the texts they could find, while adventurers went in search of forgotten technologies. These societies resisted the barbarian bands thanks to the war machines and weapons they managed to build. As on Mars, a kind of cult of knowledge appeared, maintained by copyist priests. But unlike the Mechanichum Cult, the scholars of Lighthouse did not mix science and religion. For them, belief and superstition were brakes on technological development. If they were to survive, they needed a thorough understanding of how their tools worked. Moreover, these communities were constantly confronted with too many enemies. Every resource, material or human, was therefore precious. The civilized survivors had to employ optimal strategies to resist the barbarians. The people, their history and their dreams did not matter by themselves, but what they could bring to the community was paramount. Human life had a high price, notwithstanding the aspirations and fulfillment of individuals. The population was too desperate to consider feelings.

Slowly but surely, the situation improved over the centuries. With the help of the technologies saved by the copyists and their machines, the small civilized societies reconquered all their cities and factories.

Lighthouse made contact with nearby systems and found the forgeworld Crucible and the knight world Gallica. The three planets quickly envisioned their mutual interest to form and alliance. They began to trade raw material for manufactured goods and wargear. They also swore vows of mutual protection and helped eachother on numerous conflicts. Two minor knight houses from Gallica, Rhenus and Liger, even joined the other two systems, Crucible for the first one and Lighthouse for the later. House Liger settled upon Lighthouse II and to make it again the agriworld it once was, in order to support the needs of Lighthouse in clean water and food. Over the centuries, this tripartite bond between the system became even stronger, each one protecting and helping the others.

#### The Imperium of Mankind (M30-Present)

During the Great Crusade, the burgeonning Imperium made contact with Lighthouse as it was suffuring from an Ork invasion. The population wholeheartedly welcomed the men and women from the heavens, recognising in them the star-spanning civilisation mentioned in so many ancient texts. The armies of the Imperium swiftly got rid of the fool xenos in the system, liberating its people. And so Lighthouse immediatly joined the Imperium, putting its archives and factories at the service of the Imperium. The imperial administration noticed the peculiar copying tradition of the priests, and put it to use extensively. Lighthouse became a pivot for the administration, aswell as a production site for many goods. On another hand, as the population constantly fought for its very survival before the coming of the Great Crusade, it created and maintained a long heritage of military training. It was decided that the planet would continue this tradition and produce soldiers for the war effort of the Imperium.

Recognizing the critical importance of Lighthouse, the High Lord of Terra decided to make it the homeworld of a new Astartes Chapter during the 4th Founding.

The first Lightkeepers were then trained in the Segmentum Solar by veterans of the Ultramarines, Salamanders and Raptors. Meanwhile, on Lighthouse the Pharos was prepared to accommodate the Astartes and hereby become their Fortress-Monastery. The cojoined preparations were programmed over twenty-five years. Unfortunately, during this period the whole Ereb-Assou sector got besieged by an Ork invasion. Aeldari pirates and Drukhari Kabals took this opportunity to launch more raids upon the damaged planets. Meanwhile, insidious incursions on several mining worlds by Word Bearers Chaos cultists sought to corrupt the population and set uprisings. The Imperial forces in place slowly but continuously lost control of the sector, as two decades of grinding defence progressively took their toll on them. Despite all these foes, the Gawain Sub-Sector held strong, so Lighthouse was not directly threatened.

### The Lighthouse system and the Lightkeepers

#### The Lightkeepers' Arrival

In 570.M32, the Lightkeepers had to discontinue their initial training, as the situation in the Ereb-Assou sector grew too much alarming. The chapter counted at that time four full Companies, for a total of about four hundred and fifty Marines. As they never had seen official engagements, they had no veterans yet. The Companies were numbered from 2 through 5, leaving a phantom 1st Company to be progressively completed by the best Marines. The chapter also possessed some empty Dreadnought chassis, in the provision of the losses they would soon face. After a gathering of wargear and spaceships, a great ceremony occurred, before the Lightkeepers, led by their Chapter Master **Karia Herodotus**, set out for distant stars.

Upon their arrival on Lighthouse, the Astartes got well received by the population and the imperial forces in place. Their welcoming was not completely warm though, as they still had to prove their valour in a sector ravaged by war. The planetary governor of Lighthouse, a well-learned and old woman, was quite relieved to see such a great force come to save the sector. But at the same moment, she perceived that her time as a governor had to end soon, for chapter homeworlds are ruled by the Chapter Master. Until that day she effectively managed to defend her planet against many invasion tentatives, all while meeting and often exceeding the quotas required by the Administratum. Consequently, she knew what Lighthouse would lose with her gone, and she feared the Lightkeepers would not be able to correctly manage the planet from the start, or even at all. Besides, representatives of the Imperial Knight **House Liger** on Lighthouse shared the same the governor's feelings, for their planet was situated in the same system.

Understanding the situation, Karia Herodotus asked for a private meeting with these important figures. He knew that offending the governor or the representative of House Liger would only result in resentment and sub-optimal resource production and distribution for his chapter. Together, they held council for hours. The details of their discussions are not publicly known, but in the end, an agreement was concluded. From now on, the current planetary governor would cede her position for the benefice of Karia Herodotus, but she would remain in charge of a large part of the planetary activity as a vice-governor. The relationship between House Liger and Lighthouse would not be affected by this change. For the moment, the vice-governor would work in the same way she had up to this day, while giving the Lightkeepers every means and resources they asked, provided that their demands were reasonable. The exact repartition of duties between the governor -now the Chapter Master- and vice-governor would have to be settled later, once the Gawain sub-sector would be fully secured, as this question would be important for the future generations occupying these two roles. But war could not await and each hour counted.

So the Lightkeepers briefly settled in the Pharos, as intended during their founding, before propelling themselves in and around the Gawain sub-sector. They vaillantly fought all the threats they encountered, mainly Orks. Their strikes were surgical, concentred on the xenos leaders or critical assets, to disorganise the enemies and allow other imperial forces to finish the work. When the chapter first met the Skitarii manipules from the forge world **Crucible**, Karia Herodotus and the Tech-Priests settled a light alliance. They worked out how each faction would interact with the other in battle, while also agreeing not to arrange a mutual defence pact for the moment. In this manner, both organisations would retain total freedom until they better knew each other. The same agreement was landed with the Imperial Knights of **House Sequena** when the Lightkeepers reached the **Gallica system**.

As the sub-sector was already the best-defended in Ereb-Assou, it only took a solar year to definitively secure it. When this first phase in the defence of the sector was completed, the Lightkeepers returned to the Lighthouse system to briefly recover and rearm. Karia Herodotus and his vice-governor took the opportunity to update the balance between their roles. Together, they optimised at length the repartition of their respective duties. The Chapter Master would supervise all military aspects on Lighthouse, while the vice-governor would be in charge of all civilian matters. The Chapter Master would also have absolute powers, so he would have the final say on every subject.

Before the many victories already attributed to the Lightkeepers, House Liger also negotiated an alliance with the chapter. The Imperial Knights perceived that fighting alongside these Astartes would be an excellent opportunity to be even more successful in battle, and at the same time elevate their own glory to the level of greater Houses. Karia Herodotus also negotiated a full alliance with representatives of Crucible and Gallica, this time with mutual defence terms.

Then, the Lightkeepers had to face a challenge greater by orders of magnitude. They helped in the liberation of many worlds over the following years, each time freeing new assets for the imperial forces to push back the Orks and other xenos further and further. The Lightkeepers also encountered the Word Bearers for the first time, operating only in the underhives and mining networks of mining planets, as if the Chaos Space Marines were afraid to reveal themselves in open light. The chapter grew a special hatred for this Legion, while they were chasing the unexpecting worshippers of Chaos in the darkness. Two enemies could not be as distant. The Lightkeepers were fighting for the salvation of Mankind while promoting science and reason, in opposition to the Word Bearers who propagate the most abhorrent of religions and zealously subjugate humans to please their dark masters. Lastly, the chapter happened to inadvertently catch some Aeldari and Drukhari raiding parties and made them pay dearly for their attacks. However, all these combats were costly for the Lightkeepers. Every success was paid in sweat and blood. That period saw the first activation of their Dreadnoughts, after the fall of particularly skilled battle-brothers.

To compensate for its losses, the chapter detached some of its first veterans permanently to the Pharos and missioned them to train recruits. The planetary vice-governor helped in the process, sending her Arbites to scan the hive-cities in search of good candidates -willing or not. Neophytes showed some strange particularities. They suddenly got access to vast quantities of lore, tactics and other knowledge that were yet taught to them. Later, some were somehow able to remember memories of deceased Lightkeepers, recognising people or places they never had met. This confused the neophytes and puzzled their mentors. The latter, unsure of the right conduct to adopt, informed the Golden Council of the phenomenon. The Masters debated together, then recognised in this surprising outcome a great opportunity. Thanks to that ability, recruits would train faster and be ready to battle early. It was decided, however, that the chapter Master of Sanctity, Chief Apothecary and Chief Librarian would later investigate the matter, to assure this memory feature was not the sign of a detrimental mutation nor a taint of Chaos.

In the dawn of 600.M32, after decades of struggle, the Ereb-Assou sector was still at war. But the situation was now controlled and the imperial forces finally had the upper hand. In only thirty years after their founding, the Lightkeepers had already lost more than a quarter of their numbers, which was not that much considering the many threats they had to engage in such a short period. Recruitment only prevented this toll to be higher. As things began to cool down in Ereb-Assou, the Lightkeepers took the time to reinforce their foundations.

With the help of the authorities of Lighthouse and then other planets in the sector, the Lightkeepers started a vast enrolment campaign to replenish their strength. The Master of Sanctity, Chief Apothecary and Chief Librarian firsthand supervised this process, searching for signs of mutations, or anything else that would explain the recruits' ability to recall things experienced by previous Lightkeepers. They found out that the gene-seed of the chapter originated from a modified stand of Ultramarines. In some inexplicable way, the progenoid gland of each battle-brother collected his memory. This meant that, when those glands were implanted in a neophyte's body, he acquired those memories. Some information was readily accessible after the surgery, notably tactics and general lore, while others were only triggered by meeting a person, hearing specific words, seeing some places, etc. This second category mostly encompassed direct memories of the neophyte's predecessor's life. As this ability was not linked to Chaos and did not cause other mutations, the Golden Council saw it as a blessing that would help the chapter in its mission.

A Captain suggested that every fresh Lightkeeper shall receive the surname of their direct predecessor, whom they inherited their progenoid glands and memories. This would help the chapter keeping track of lineages among its members. And so started a new tradition, which the chapter still maintains today.

The now fifty veterans of the 1st Company trained the new units. The Lightkeepers also sent some Astartes to the homeworlds of other chapters, one squad each, with three objectives in mind. They wanted the bring help where it was most needed, forge strong bonds with their distant brothers, and learn new strategies and tactics to be even more efficient. Some chapters turned down the offer, more or less politely. Some persistent tensions originate from this period. Fortunately, the three chapters that trained the first Lightkeepers, the Ultramarines, Salamanders and Raptors, welcomed the sent away Lightkeepers with open arms. The White Scars, Imperial Fists, Raven Guard and Tome Keepers also accepted the squads. Some Lightkeepers, feeling a special hatred for the xenos they fought for decades, elected to join the Deathwatch. This willingness to learn directly from other chapters by seconding some squads became a tradition for the Lightkeepers since that time.

#### The Forging (ca. M32 - ca. M35)

In 626.M32, after eighty years of tyrannical ruling, Drakan Vangorich, the Grand Master of Assassins of the Officio Assassinorum, became so paranoiac that he was deemed a menace to the Imperium. Vangorich was forcibly removed from power and executed by a large Space Marine retribution force led by the Imperial Fists as well as the Halo Brethren and Sable Swords chapters. In the aftermath of Vangorich's fall, the Imperium proceeded to descend into a period of political anarchy for some time. The Ereb-Assou sector and its surroundings were no exceptions. The Lightkeepers had to recall their brothers seconded to other chapters, in order to reinforce and quell the rebellions, until 640.M32 when peace was forcibly imposed in Ereb-Assou.

During this period Korinthos Xenophon, a veteran in the 1st Company and hero of the chapter, fell in combat and was entombed in a Contemptor Dreadnought. He is still currently active, which makes him the oldest Lightkeeper by far with more than seven thousand years of active dut When the calm returned, the Lightkeepers again sent a few squads to assist other chapters.

In 646.M32, Agnathio, the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, united over 50 leaders from other chapters of the Adeptus Astartes and arrived upon Terra. Such a show of power and faith put an end to the squabbling for the contentious seats of the High Lords of Terra that had consumed the differing Imperial factions since the Beheading. As the Lightkeepers showed their worth by pacifying their entire sector, Karia Herodotus was one of the Astartes leaders invited by Agnathio and came with a retinue of five Lightkeepers veterans. To their surprise, they found another Lightkeeper before the gates of the Imperial Palace. He was a member of the squad currently seconded to the Salamanders and had the immense privilege to be invited by the Salamander leader. In locked council with the mightiest of Humanity's warriors, the High Lords' matters were quickly sorted out. To this day none know exactly what was done or said, but when the Space Marines departed back to their far-scattered missions, there once again sat twelve High Lords of Terra in the Senatorum Imperialis. If there was further dissension, none dared speak it aloud. While Karia Herodotus met the High Lords with the other Astartes leaders, the six remaining Lightkeepers roamed around, where their presence was allowed, in the Imperial Palace to collect any information of use. They listened, read and talked with the staff. Little is known about what knowledge they gained this day.

Before the end of the 32nd Millennium, the Lightkeepers reached full capacity despite their many engagements outside of the Ereb-Assou sector, thanks to the numerous population of their homeworld.

In 615.M33 the *Blade of Infinity*, a pre-Heresy cruiser, emerged from the Warp, its re-entry signature suggesting that it had left realspace over 20,000 standard years before. This period predated even the Warp-Drive's invention in the Age of Technology and suggested a radical time stream disorder. Vox transmissions picked up from the vessel suggested that the *Blade of Infinity* was trying to communicate some type of warning, but before much could be deciphered, the ancient starship disappeared once again into the Warp. In its wake arrived an invasion fleet of Chaos Space Marine Traitor Legions, the Archenemy of the Imperium who wreaked much havoc. The *Blade of Infinity* reemerged from the Warp several more times in subsequent years, always as a harbinger of further incursions into Imperial space by the forces of Chaos from the Immaterium. Some of these invasions spilt into the Ereb-Assou sector. The Lightkeepers and their allies held against that threat, to a great cost.

In 401.M34 the terrible crisis known as **The Howling** unfolded. Black Templars Space Marines ended the Catelexis Heresy by executing the Cacodominus, an alien cybernetic psyker whose formidable powers allowed it to psychically control the populace of thirteen hundred star systems. Unfortunately, the Cacodominus' death scream was amplified by the Warp and burned out the minds of a billion Human astropaths while it also distorted the beacon of the Astronomican. Millions of starships, including hundreds in the Ereb-Assou sector, were lost in the resulting upheaval and entire sub-sectors of the Imperium slid once more into barbarism without the dictates of the Adeptus Terra to guide them. It is a terrible price to pay for victory. Three groups of Lightkeepers were engulfed by the Warp at that time, never to be heard again. In the ensuing chaos that followed the Howling, the chapter helped as many allies as possible to recover the planets cut from the Imperium because of the lack of Astropaths.

After the **Scouring of Lighthouse II** in 760.M34, following a WAAAGH! invading the agriworld, the Lighthouse system had difficulty importing enough food. But in the following decades, a Lightkeeper expedition came back with a set of microorganisms and flora that proved able to grow on the calcined surface of Lighthouse II. The process of regrowth took a long time to be completed, and a new fauna had to be introduced. But in the end, the planet regained its position as an agriworld, feeding its system again. Because its green painting was now associated with the Orks, House Liger changed its heraldic colour to black. By doing so, the Knights also aimed to honour the Lightkeepers, who bled at their side then brought the seeds of a new biosphere for Lighthouse II. House Liger elected to become a protegee of the chapter. Since that time, many Knights choose to serve the chapter directly, joining the Astartes in battle as Freelances.

At the end of the 34th Millennium, the *Cathedral Terra*, an Oberon-class battleship got regurgitated by the Warp. It is supposed that the vessel got lost during the events following the Howling. Some Terminator squads of the Lightkeepers investigated the relic spacecraft, finding it devoid of life. The chapter thus secured the vessel. After a long process of retrofitting, the massive vessel became the chapter command flagship. It is still used to this day.

##### Nova Terra Interregnum (ca. Mid M34 - Late M35)

Upon the declaration of independence of the Ur-Council, the Lightkeepers immediately sent several expeditions to fight what they considered a major rebellion in the distant Pacificus segmentum. Despite their efforts, and those of many more imperial factions, the Ur-Council of Nova Terra effectively established itself as the ruling power of the segmentum. This period of division is called the Nova Terra Interregnum.

Seeing their foes were too numerous and well-organised, the chapter members changed their strategy. The groups dispatched in the Pacificus segmentum reorganised into small Kill-Teams, each regularly tasked to eliminate an important target. These space marines' approach thus evolved to become more akin to assassins' and infiltrators' than battlefield forces'. They did their best to kill insurrectionist leaders on unnumerable worlds, sabotage industrial assets and forcibly scuttle space vessels. The chapter Scouts proved highly efficient in such operations.

Meanwhile, the Moirae Schism tore the Adeptus Mechanicus apart, dividing it between the orthodox followers of the Cult Mecanicus and a new kind of faith. Some Tech-priests began to believe that the Adeptus was to be destroyed and that the Cult Mecanicus and the Imperial Cult would fuse into one religion. Members of the Adeptus fought a bitter civil war for decades. Several imperial factions outside of the Adeptus Mecanicus, even some Astartes chapters, got contaminated by the teachings of the hereteks, especially those closely related to Tech-priests.

Even if the Lightkeepers, as ever, distanced themselves from any kind of religion, several of their Techmarines got seduced by some of these new teachings. These saw the situation as an opportunity to reforge both Cults at the same time to remove a great lot of superstition. But this proved to be a foul's hope, as the Schism only furthered the place of faith in imperial lives. Most Lightkeepers Techmarines only could watch their faint promise of enlightenment turn into a devastating blaze threatening the Imperium. The few of them who still took the side of the Moirae followers got declared as hereteks by the Adeptus Mecanicus, but the chapter refused to hand them to the Tech-priests. These fouls clung to a ghost hope, trying to convince their brothers that there was a way to turn the Schism into a favourable outcome. When the orthodox Techmarines understood that they could not talk their brothers out of their madness, they decided to take definitive action. With much resentment and sadness, they suddenly pointed their guns at the hereteks' heads and shot, shedding a tear for each lost brother they brought down. A handful of heretek survivors managed to escape the onslaught, but the rest of the chapter chased the fugitives and administrated the Emperor's Peace to every one of them. The Lightkeepers heavily suffered during this dark day, as they were supposed to incarnate humans' hope, but were forced to extinguish their brothers' one. This tragic event was later called the **Iron Tears Night**. It is since comemorated by the chapter as an example against unchecked optimistic beliefs.

After the initial Schism, it took over two Terran millennia of desperate warfare before the Moirate doctrines were considered fully purged from the servants of the Machine God.

The Nova Terra Interregnum elongated well beyond the main events of the Moirae Schism, the Lightkeepers and other imperial forces being overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the secession. This period lasted for nine hundred terran years.

When its members sensed the first foretelling hints of the **Cataclysm of Souls**, the Golden Council suspected that a massive war of faith would soon submerge the Pacificus segmentum. The Masters of the chapter feared that the raging believers would take the opportunity to kill some Lightkeepers since those were fervent defenders of reason over faith. Not wanting to needlessly lose men to the hands of the very people they were supposed to protect, the chapter withdrew all its forces from the Pacificus segmentum. Not long after, the Ur-Council officially rejected the Ecclesiarchy's teachings, which led to a tidal wave of popular rises in all the segmentum. The Ecclesiarchy ultimately proved successful and the Ur-Council was overthrown after much bloodshed, then the Segmentum Pacificus was reintegrated back into the broader Imperium.

#### Age of Apostasy (M36)

The Lighthouse system upheld its name during the Age of Apostasy by providing a light of hope for billions of people fleeing some Ecchlesiarchy members' madness, particularly **Goge Vandire**'s during the Reign of Blood. Like lost sailors on a stormy night, attracted by the faint glow of a distant beacon, masses of refugees flooded the system. They had followed tales and legends about the Lightkeepers and their system outside the grasp of the Church.

Seeing waves of millions arrive at their doors, the Lightkeepers and the population of Lighthouse took as many people as they could under their wings, and dispatched the rest to other planets in the system or nearby stars. The refugees were put at work as soon as they landed. Their first task was to produce the means and resources necessary to house and feed them. Such life was so hard that many died in the process, but most survived.

Meanwhile, the Lightkeepers patrolled the whole Ereb-Assou sector to screen any suspicious activity. Each time they encountered a vessel belonging to the Ecclesiarchy, the space marines politely but firmly asked the crew to leave the area immediately. Some of them refused, so skirmished happened between both factions. This systematic denial alienated the chapter and the whole Ereb-Assou sector to the eyes of the Church. Such defiance got met with increasing hostility from the Ecclesiarchy, as well as a diminishing support from other factions of the Imperium at large. So, the Lightkeepers prepared to face directly Goge Vandire, in order to put an end to his folly. They knew their strength would not be sufficient however to besiege the Ecclesiarchal Palace alone, so they tried to subtly rally other chapters to their cause.

Suddenly, in 353.M36, a serie of massive Warp storms surrounded the Gawain sub-sector, heart of Ereb-Assou, cutting most of its safe routes. Travel was still possible through the rest of the sector, but only during the short lulls between the storms. Communication were intermitent at best, with sometime several months separating contact with the exterior. To top this, million of daemons spilt from the Warp breachs and attacked the planets housing the most refugees, Lighthouse being one of their prime targets. This event indefinitely postponed the operation the Lightkeepers were preparing, as they could not reach for allies nor safely travel to Terra, and had to protect their own space. The chapter turtled up in the Gawain sub-sector to wither the storms and fight the daemons back. Such was the intensity of the daemonic incursions that the remainder of the sector had to be abandonned for many years.

The storms only decreased in intensity in 378.M36. At that time, the Lightkeepers received delayed communications from the Black Templars, who just had forged a crusade with other chapters to eliminate Goge Vandire. The Lightkeepers immediately dispatched all the squads they could spare -which was not that many after decades of intense struggle against daemons- and sent them to Terra as well. Upon their arrival, the space marines found out that the Ecclesiarch was already dead. This meant that they would not be remembered as liberators, unlike their brothers who arrived first. But the Lightkeepers kept their heads high, as there still were pockets of insurgents, previously loyal to Vandire, to purge.

Once the calm returned on Terra, while other factions paraded to celebrate the end of the Reign of Blood, the Lightkeepers rummaged in the Ecclesiarchal Palace for weeks. They found and secured many precious documents about the dirty works of the Church, which they then took back to Lighthouse. The chapter later used the information thus collected to blackmail the Ecclesiarchy in the following millennia each time the institution threathened to sink its claws in Ereb-Assou.

While this party was out, the remainder of the chapter discovered that the Ecclesiarchy, as well as various xenos and Chaos factions, had taken over parts of the Ereb-Assou sector while the Lightkeepers were confined in the Gawain sub-sector.

The space marines used the information gathered in the Ecclesiarchal Palace to threaten the cardinals settled in the sector. Most of them, sensing that their very position could escape their grasp if those secrets were to be made public, got easily convinced to leave the area.

One cardinal however resisted the blackmailing. The Lightkeepers then revealed to the Imperium at large communications made between this very cardinal and Vandire's administration, which contained evidences of child trafficking and numerous other dark practices. The cardinal managed to persuad part of his dioceses that these allegations were lies, and that the proofs provided by the Astartes were faux. This part of the sector remained in a hot and tensed state for years, until higher ranks in the Ecchlesiarchy deemed necessary to act. The cardinal was moved to a distant location, but because of the vacuum left in the local power structure, a civil war exploded between those in the population who supported the cardinal and those who opposed him. The Lightkeepers interfered in this conflict in favor of the latter, mercylessly crushing the other side of the population into submission. In the following years, the cardinal was found dead in his private apartments, choked by a plastic bag wrapped around his head. It is unknown to this day who killed him, as no trace had been found in the room, but a great number suspect the chapter.

The rest of the sector had to be taken back from xenos foes and Chaos cults. The process took decades of intense fight. Because their numbers were depleted, in 385.M36 the Lightkeepers began to secretly use volonteers to multiply their gene-seed stocks and produce more marines.

Following the end of Reign of Blood and the reconquest of the Ereb-Assou sector, many false prophets grew from the seeds sowed by the religious occupants recently banned from the sector. The most successful raised whole planets or even systems against Imperial rule. This pattern was seen in the whole galaxy, most notably around Gathalamor during the Plague of Unbelief. Once again, the Lightkeepers purged the dissidents in their sector.

The continuous fights of the chapter during the first half of the 36th millennium left the Astartes depleted. It took them most of the second half of the millennium to fully rebuild their strength.

#### Age of Redemption (ca. M37)

The Lightkeepers took part in many Imperial Crusades during the Age of Redemption, to recapture the lost wealth of the Imperium and push back the hordes of Chaos, Orks and other alien threats to Humanity. To this end, they had to spread their strength in and out of the Ereb-Assou sector as they were drawn into longer and more terrible crusades. This heavily strained the chapter.

In the middle of the 37th millenium, the Chapter Master of the time decided that the chapter would stop sharing its knowledges and treasures. They were the Lightkeepers, so they would keep the light provided by the Emperor for themselves. To him, most other imperial faction were too much backward-minded, corrupted, doctrinal, or all at once. So the chapter would make a better use of the technologies it had discovered or maintained.

This situation lasted only for a few years, until the other members of the Golden Council stepped in. The unanimously voted the Chapter Master out of his position. As there was no free position among the captains, the outing Chapter Master had no choice but to simply join the 1st company as sergeant. This action humbled him deeply, but did not made him chance his view.

The former Chapter Master remained a source of embarrassment for a long time. He found his end during a boarding operation, where he was leading a terminator squad in the metallic maze of an enemy battleship.

#### The Waning (ca. M38 - ca. 750.M41)

Anarchy throughout many sectors of the Imperium was rife during a dark period in Imperial history that is now called the Waning. Ever more star systems were turned over by the Administratum to direct rule by space marines chapters to preserve stability, as only the Astartes possessed the inviolable military strength required to restore Imperial control in the more lawless regions of the galaxy. Thus, more and more systems got placed under direct control of the Lightkeepers, until they ruled over almost the entire Gawain sub-sector. This stretched thin the strength of the chapter, as their numbers were too low to permanently occupy each of these systems.

Between 131.M39 and 181.M39 took place the Redemption Crusades, a series of Imperial Crusades led by five heroes, which pushed back the borders of the Imperium further than they had been for nearly 500 standard years. All Companies of the chapter assisted these conquests, at least at one point.

The Waning saw four of the thirteen Black Crusades led by Abaddon the Despoiler. The Lightkeepers directly took part in the defence againt two of them, the 9th and 12th, the latter also being known as the Gothic War.

The 5th Company of the Lightkeepers participated in the Macharian Crusade, one of if not the greatest campaign of conquest operated by imperial forces since the Great Crusade, between 392.M41 and 399.M41. But after the death of the leader of the crusade, Lord Commander Solar Macharius, his seven Astra Militarum army group generals fought over the control of the 1000 systems conquered during the crusade. Even space marines chapters came to blows in dispute and anger. The whole area quickly fell in disarray and anarchy.

So, the High Lords of Terra were forced to act decisively. The called several waves of fresh space marine chapters to bring the civil conflict to an end by exterminating heretical forces and bringing order to the region under the command of the Imperial Warmaster Solon. The 2nd and 3rd Companies of the Lightkeepers soon joined their brothers. Ultimately, the forces of over 100 separate chapters were deployed at some point durig what is now called the Suppression of the Macharian Heresy. The conflict for seventy terrans years between 400.M41 and 470.M41.

In 500.M41, during the event known as the **Tears of the Emperor**, the Imperium was swept by visions of the Emperor's tears. Various Lightkeepers and chapter serfs had visions of the Emperor stirring upon His throne, tears running from His empty sockets. Others saw statues of the divine Emperor shed tears. Even some servitors strangely shed tears themselves, while they should not had otherwise been able to express emotions. Although the dreams took myriad forms, all know that the Emperor weeps not for Himself, but for the plight of Humanity.

In 737.M41, **Sidon Herodotus** was elected as the new Chapter Master of the Lightkeepers.

#### Time of Ending (ca. 744.M41 - ca. 999.M41)

The second half of the 41st Millennium proved disastrous for the Lightkeepers, as for most other imperial factions. Being spred thin on too many fronts, fighting to many enemies at the same time, the chapter lost more than three quarters of its numbers, and even irreplacable dreadnoughts. The 4th, 5th and 7th Companies got almost completely erased from existence.

In 750.M41, six Aeldari craftworlds were sighted in the Argos System. When imperial force arrived to investigate, the craftworlds had disapeared, but most importantly all prime suns within sixty light years were extinguished. The imperial fleet and innumerable transports attempted to ferry the countless billions of imperial citizens to neighbouring star systems, in what was the largest exodus ever attempted by the Imperium. Sidon Herodotus ordered all available vessels in the Gawain sub-sector to be dispatched and help the imperial fleet in the evacuation. It is estimated that nearly 12% of the population and 32% of the heavy industry of the region were safely removed. This event is recalled as the **Great Exodus**. The ring of dead planets and suns is now known as the **Deadhenge**, a salvager's paradise and refuge of pirates.

Throughout the Segmentum Ultima, in 797.M41, countless Ork invasions threaten to mass into a single colossal WAAAGH!. Some of them being near the Ereb-Assou sector, the 5th Company of the Lightkeepers was sent to fight back the xenos. Against infinitely more numerous foes, the Astartes used guerilla tactics. The Bike Marines and Attack Bikes proved instrumental in these manoeuvres and during reconnaissance operations.

In 901.M41 the terrible civil conflict known as the Badab War begins when Lufgt Huron, the Chapter Master of the Astral Claws Space Marines, refuses to hand over his chapter's tithe of gene-seed to the Administratum and instead announces his secession from the Imperium, declaring himself the "Tyrant of Badab". Two squads of Lightkeepers, accompanying respectively the Raptors and Salamanders chapters, took part in this massive conflict. Twelve standard years of intersystem war followed, wreaking havoc on shipping lanes in the Maelstrom Zone and embroiling more than a dozen space marines chapters. With much loss, Badab Primaris finally falls to the Loyalist forces in 913.M41, but Lufgt Huron and some 200 of the Astral Claws escape to take refuge in the Maelstrom of the Ultima Segmentum. There, they become Heretic Astartes and change their name to the Red Corsairs.

In 907.M41, Ork activity rose throughout all five Segmenta of the Imperium. The Ereb-Assou sector got targeted by a notable WAAAGH!. The 4th Company of the Lightkeepers held the front against the advance of the green tide.

In 941.M41 the Second War for Armageddon began when the largest and most powerful Ork in millennia, the Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, led a vast WAAAGH! that, after much rampaging, met its match upon Armageddon, a Hive World of vital strategic importance to the Imperium in the Segmentum Solar. Three squads of Lightkeepers, accompanying respectively the Blood Angels, Salamanders and Ultramarines, helped in the defence of the planet Armageddon. The conflict ended in 943.M41 on an imperial victory.

In 973.M41 a violent Warp storm troubles the dreams of people across the galaxy -- for those more psychically aware, the storms proved catastrophic. Nightmares cracked the barrier between realspace and the Warp, slaying many psykers and creating rifts between the Immaterium and reality. Although brief, thousands of daemonic incursions cause untold damage and many dark seeds of corruption are planted. Dozens of worlds in the Ereb-Assou sector fell in a matter of hours to such Chaos invasions. The Lightkeepers detachments sent in place only found wrecked planets with traumatised populations. The daemons had already returned to the Warp. The Astartes, with the help of the Inquisition, executed massive purge campaigns to remove any taint of Chaos. Some worlds however proved to far gone on the way to heresy. Those were tragically submitted to *Exterminatus*.

In 138.997.M41 humanity peers into the abyss when the twin tendrils of Hive Fleet Leviathan emerged from intergalactic space and strike at the underbelly of the Imperium from below the galactic plane, cutting a swathe of truly horrific destruction through Segmentum Tempestus, Ultima and Solar in what is sometimes called the Third Tyrannic War . A spliter of the hive fleet reached the Ereb-Assou sector. Its course indicated that it was heading for the Gawain sub-sector, the most populated area of the sector.

In 757.998.M41 Ghazghkull Thraka finally returned to Armageddon for his long awaited rematch in the Third War for Armageddon at the head of a new, even greater Ork WAAAGH!. Four squads of Lightkeepers, accompanying respectively the Blood Angels, Raptors, Salamanders and White Scars chapters, took part in the defence of the planet. The squad following the Salamanders happened to be in part composed of veterants of the Second War of Armageddon, so they already knew the place. Several solar months into what rapidly became a battle of attrition, Ghazghkull grew bored with the grinding stalemate that had developed and left his minions behind to finish the fight while he set off to conquer the surrounding planets. He was pursued by Commissar Yarrick and the Black Templars, who swore an oath to finally bring the greenskin commander to heel. The Lightkeepers involved in this war, for their part, remained on Armageddon to purge the xenos threat in place.

The **Rebellion of Masym**, in 999.M41, crushed the most experienced members of the 7th company anf some of the 6th.

In 982.999.M41, the **Great Awakening** occured, when a ripple of psychic activity passes through the Imperium, awakening the dormant powers of countless latent psykers. On Lighthouse, many thousands of them suddenly manifested their powers, causing panick and chaos around them. The resulting backlash created innumerable Warp rifts and daemonic incursions, including in and around the Ereb-Assou sector. The 2nd, 4th and 9th Companies of the Lightkeepers defended Lighthouse and as much worlds possible in the Gawain sub-sector. Because of its already diminished numbers, the chapter had to leave the rest of the sector to its fate. The 4th Company bore the brunt of the defence, which reduced it to a handful of survivors. When the Warp storms finally ceased, the other two companies reached for the fallen worlds in the remainder of the sector, to bring them back under imperial control.

In 993.999.M41, wave after wave of astropathic pleas for help flood at once from all across the galaxy, though there is only an eerie silence from the segmentum Pacificus. So powerful is the influx, so overbearing is the psychic current, that the Adeptus Astra Telepathica suffers serious personnel losses amongst their Astropaths. Whole choirs collapse at once, driven mad or slain outright, their minds bursting. Vast breakdowns in imperial communications ensue, increasing both anarchy and panic as the endless psychic screams for help echo across time and space. This virtually cut most of the Lightkeepers from the Imperium, for days or weeks depending of their specific locations.

In 995.999.M41, a Lightkeepers detachment contributed to the overall defence of the Cadian Gate during the 13th Black Crusade. These Astartes brought a frigate with them, which they used as a plateform to launch boarding parties against enemy vessels in orbit of Cadia. They unfortunately did not see the end of the battle. Those few who had survived the battle for Cadia and the subsequent destruction of the planet were killed shortly after, during the last hours of the battle in space which concluded the 13th Black Crusade.

#### Era Indomitus (ca. 999.M41 - Present)

Following the near complete loss of three of its companies, then the introduction of the Primaris Marines, the Golden Council designed a massive re-organisation of the chapter. This allowed for a smooth integration of the new Primaris in its ranks, as well as new strategies to face the upcoming threats.

Shrine worlds of the Imperial Cult come under assault by heretic Astartes and daemons across the Segmentum Solar and Segmentum Pacificus. The Word Bearers traitor Legion is especially active in this endeavour. To combat the servants of the Ruinous Powers, members of the Lightkeepers joined the Black Templars and many other imperial factions in the defence of these Shrine worlds. The chapter members take part in these wars more to save lives, resources and infrastructures than to defend the faith. To avoid infight with other imperial factions, they keep this fact to themselves.

As the forces of the Orks and the Imperium were still battling amongst the ruins of the Hive World of Armageddon, the planet was overrun by the daemonic legions of Khorne and Tzeentch, which soon began to assault each other as well as anything else in their way. The Greenskins and the Humans were often forced to forge alliances of convenience to defend themselves against their common foe. The arrival of reinforcing imperial forces, accompanied by elements of nine Space Marine chapters led by the Salamanders (still accompanied by a squad of Lightkeepers), ultimately succeeded in halting a ritual that would have brought Angron, the daemon Primarch of the World Eaters, back to the planet that had defied him centuries before during the First War for Armageddon.

## Climate and Geography

It once was terraformed to look like Old Terra, but now more than fifty percent of its surface is covered by buildings and factories. The other half of the planet surface is composed of seas and oceans. Some water bodies can also be found underground or under buildings. All the natural water is lifeless and polluted. Fresh water is only available through artificial reservoirs and canalisations. It atmosphere is polluted but bearable, with many cloud of smoke rising from millions of chemnies. Respirator or rebreather are strongly recommanded for long periods of exposure. As all the land surface of the planet is built upon and some platforms even nibble the seas, it can be qualified as a ecumenopolis.

## Fortress-Monastery

The Pharos is the highest spire emerging from the ecumenopolis of Lighthouse. The whole structure is a gigantic bastion reaching directly outer space.

At its peak lies a gigantic light source that is said to illuminate the hearts of the people under its golden rays, even through kilometers of ferrocret and rock. The light of the Pharos can even be seen in the Warp, as a feeble glow reaching up to the limits of the stellar system.

In times of relative calm, half of the Chapter's strength remains in the Fortress-Monastery to prepare for the next battle and to allow for a rotation of teams one the front. In difficult times, three quarters of the Chapter are present on the front simultaneously, with minimal rotation. On dire occasions, almost the entire Chapter head to battle at once, leaving only a few veterans to protect the Pharos.

## Culture

Lighthouse is presently home to about fifty billions souls.

All the inhabitants of the planet have at least a basic military training, because the population had to fight for its very survival since the end of the Age of Technology. With the required equipment, the whole population could become a Planetary Defence Force. After their majority, they generally have to specialize in one of three fields: industrial production, administrative work, or military matters.

The first one is self-explainatory, since Lighthouse is covered by factories.

The administrative life is inherited from the ancient history of the planet, when small pockets of civilisation had to retrieve, copy, pass on and archive any information they could get theirs hands on. Only those who were successful in this endeavor, gaining and maintaining access to advanced technology, made it through the Age of Strife. This came to be an important part of the whole population's culture, and later of the Lighkeepers' one too.

Finally, the military life is the continuation of the basic training. Lighthouse used to form many Imperial Guard regiments of good quality, before it became home to the Lightkeepers. Since its change in status, the planet is not requiered to produce soldiers. Many inhabitants still become Imperial Guardmen however, but less than before as efforts are more oriented to support the Chapter.

The other planets in the Lighthouse system serve to produce various raw ressources that are then processed by the hiveworld. Most notably, Lighthouse II is an agriworld that feeds the whole system. This second planet is protected and led by the Imperial Knights of House Liger, who are the Lightkeepers' closest allies.

The system is a crossroad for various trade routes. As such, it imports and exports many goods, and receive thousands of travelling vessels each day. Rogue Traders, Inquisitors, merchants, Black Ships, Arbites, Imperial Navy logisticians, etc.

## Economy

Exports: Weapons, ammunition, vehicules, fuel, clothes, wargear, workers, soldiers, montains of documents.

Imports: Water, vegetal and animal products, minerals, wood, technology (legal or not), relics, montains of documents.

## Situation and surrondings

The Lighthouse system is situated in the Ereb-Assou sector and in the Gawain sub-sector. The forgeworld Crucible and the knight world Gallica can be found in the same sub-sector. The three planets did set a strong alliance between them during the Great Crusade and now form the core of the Ereb-Assou sector.

## Government

The Chapter Master of the Lightkeepers is *de facto* the planetary governor of Lighthouse. Under his command, a mortal works as vice-governor. The Chapter Master choose the vice-governor when the previous one dies. He can also revoke the vice-governor when they become unable to fulfill their tasks, then choose a new one. This kind of decision is never to be taken lightly, as it has a massive impact on the activity of the planet.

Since the Scouring of Lighthouse II and the subsequents events, House Liger is a protegee of the Lightkeepers. Thus, the Chapter Master has a say about the defence of this second planet. This allows for greater coordination between the worlds on the military matters.

The Lightkeepers Chapter Master rules over all military activities in Lighthouse system, as well as any political interaction with other parties. The civilians aspects of the Lighthouse life are delegated to the vice-governor. This broadly include all social and economical subjects. It has to be noted that the Chapter Master can, if necessary, interven in civilian affairs and has the finale word in all domains.

## Defences

* Enforcers: Huge size, medium/high quality

* Militia: Huge size, medium/high quality

* Standing Army: Huge size, medium/high quality

* Armoured Force: Huge size, high quality

* Titan Force: Large size, medium/high quality

* Naval Force: Huge size, high quality

* Orbital Station(s): Large size, medium/high quality

* Missile Silos (planet): Huge size, medium/high quality

* Missile Silos (orbital): Large size, medium/high quality

* Defence Lasers: Huge size, medium/high quality

## Notable Campaign

* **Scouring of Lighthouse II (760.M34)** - A massive WAAAGH! managed to pierce through the defences of the Lighthouse system. Lighthouse II, home of the Liger Imperial Knight House and only agriworld of the system, took the bulk of the invasion. The Lightleepers held the planet alonside the Imperial Knights and some Astra Militarum regiments of Lighthouse, waiting for reinforcements from the rest of the Gawain sub-sector. Even after help arrived, the Imperial forces needed years to completly purge the xenos stain. They had to painstakingly burn each centimeter of the planet in order to prevent any reappearance of the Orks. And so the rich biomass of Lighthouse II disapeared. Thanks to the Lightkeepers, a new biosphere was later implanted on the planet.

## Important Characters

* **Diane Octavia** (dead) - She was the active Governor of Lighthouse when the Lightkeepers arrived on the planet. With Kiara Herodotus, the Lightkeepers' first Chapter Master, she reformed her balance of power in the stellar system. Kiara became the new Governor, while Diane retained much of her power as Vice-Governor. This meant that Kiara and his successors would have the final word on any subject and control the military forces, but Diane and her descendant would have almost free range for all civilian matters.

## Trivia

The following (hopefully fun / interesting) facts are listed by order of addition to the Lightkeepers project.

* The first idea of what would become Lighthouse was inspired by Walter M. Miller Jr.'s novel A Canticle for Leibowitz, where in a post-apocalyptic Earth some monks preserve the surviving remnants of man's scientific knowledge until the world is again ready for it. Later, this idea expended from the population of Lighthouse to a new homebrew Space Marine Chapter, which became the Lightkeepers.

* The name for the Ereb-Assou sector originates from one hypothesis about the etymology of the words Europe and Asia. So "Ereb-Assou" would mean, in Phenician, "Europe-Asia". As the first names for characters were drawn from Greece and Anatolia (at the limit between both continents). This matches with the name of places and historians chosen for the characters.

* The name for the Gawain sub-sector is inherited from the eponymous arthurian knight. Sir Gawain was the solar knight, whose strength rose with the sun. This name echoes with the Chapter's theme about light.