Arcas

Departemento Cartographicae pict-file of Arcas, Chapter home world of the Great Bears.

## Planet

### Class

Ice World/Death World;
Adeptus Astartes Chapter Home World

## Location

### System

Dubhe System

**Arcas** is a frozen Imperial Ice/Death world that serves as the Chapter home world and primary recruitment source of the Great Bears Space Marine Chapter.

## Background

The Great Bears's homeworld of **Arcas** is found in the Dubhe System, orbiting the twin stars of Ursa Major and Minor. The world is covered in snow and ice year-round, with blizzards an almost daily occurrence for the inhabitants. Mountain ranges are common, surrounding deep valleys through which the bitter wind can blow. Coniferous forests of Arcasian Pine stretch for kilometres, thick green blankets against the crisp white and dull greys of the snow-covered landscape.

Life on Arcas is hard, with the weak, old or sickly being left to freeze far from the hearths of the homes. This forms strong people however, making them hardy and eager to work to keep the cold at bay. The people of Arcas build their lives around their work; ice-fishers and hunters providing food along with the below ground hydroponic farms. Woodcutters and miners build homes for the people, utilising the Stafnmoos, large moose-like creatures native to Arcas, as work animals, pulling the large sledded pallets to the construction sites.

The working population live in villages in wooden homes, with elders living in stone and wood long-halls. The noble and more wealthy population live in great stone walled cities built in the Gothic style typical of other Imperial cities. The largest and grandest city, the planetary Capital, Calisto, is located among the foothills of the mountain that contains The Den.

### Fortress-Monastery

The Fortress-Monastery of the Great Bears is known as The Den. Built into the largest mountain on Arcas, stretching deep below and above, the entrance to The Den is an enormous cave known as Ursa's Maw. Huge Adamantium gates block the Maw, with Diamantine walls surrounding the base of the mountain, defence positions set around the Maw and along the walls to repel any enemy forces. Leading down into the mountain from the Maw is the hallway known as Ursilon's March. An enormous corridor carved from the stone itself, with a high ceiling and engravings showing the greatest victories of the chapter, it is named in honour of the first Den Master, Ursilon Whitefang.

#### Great Hall

At the end of Ursilon's March lies the Great Hall of The Den, known as The Bear-Hearth. Huge enough to have every Marine in the Chapter stand or sit inside at the same time for ceremonies such as the choosing of a new Den Master, the ceiling stretches far above, the braziers lining the walls not being able to light it to its apex. Between these braziers stand statues of notable Den Masters and great Marines, looking down on their brothers long after they have passed to the other side. The Bear-Hearth also functions as the Chapter's Assimularum, the place for gathering them all together, as well as their Refectory for eating with the kitchens, store-rooms, disposal units and purification vats located in small rooms off of the Hall and the food brought in by Chapter Serfs.

At the far end of The Bear-Hearth, on a high stone platform, with steps leading up to it carved with the name of every Den Master, the throne of the Den Master sits, carved from a single log of Arcasian Pine and decorated with bear skulls. In front of these steps, sits an enormous ever-burning fire, the eponymous Bear-Hearth. Kept burning by Chapter Menials, there is a legend within the Chapter; "*Should the Bear-Hearth extinguish, so too will the Chapter be extinguished.*" For this reason, and the importance of heat and fire in the lifestyle of the Arcasians, the Chaplains of the Great Bears, known as Black Bears, will add an annoited log of Arcasian Pine to the Hearth during ceremonies. On top of the throne sits the skull of Whitefang, a legendary Arcasian Bear. The first Den Master Ursilon hunted Whitefang with nothing but a simple woodcutting hatchet after it slaughtered his village. The bear was twice as big as any bear seen before, with snow white fur and scars covering it from many battles, Ursilon tracked it to its den. He fought it in the snow outside the cave, hand-to-hand until the snow was stained red with Whitefang's blood. Inside the den was found a colony of Whitefang bears, all snow white in colour. Ursilon believed these bears now to be blessed by their Gods and so after the founding of the Great Bears, these Whitefangs were brought to The Den living in their own cave, open to the outside as the Chapter "pets". This cave and the subsequent area that is open to the elements, but still inside the great walls of the Den, is known as Whitefang's Pass with a relief carved into the wall above the cave entrance of the great beast. Though it is open to infiltration, only a foolish or suicidal foe would attempt it as the Whitefang bears are extremely hostile to anyone but members of the Chapter and those associated with it and will tear anyone, including Orks or Traitor Marines to shreds.

#### The Berserker's Den

Deep within The Den, there is a cave that many Marines will not approach, save for the Black Bears and the Den Master. Within this cave live The Berserkers, Great Bears Marines who have succumbed to the Black Rage. Half-mad with grief over their loss of their Primarch 10,000 years ago and full of rage after reliving his final memories, these Marines can no longer tell the difference between friend or foe but for the Black Bears who are able to corral them. Known as the Heimórr Ódrrinn or Home of the Mad in Arcasian, Marines will not go near it, out of fear of both the maddened screams emanating from within as well as their potential fate.