Merast Tertius

Departmento Cartographica pict of Merast Tertius. Note the 2 moons of Merast Tertius, Satera Primus and Satera Ultima.

## Planet

### Class

Garden/Civilised Planet, Adeptus Astartes Homeworld

## Location

### System

Merast System

**Merast Tertius** is an Imperial Garden-World found in the Segmentum Tempestus. The Chapter Homeworld of the Emerald Spears, Merast Tertius is known as a planet of dual-natures, being both indescribably beautiful yet also being home to a vast quantity of extremely large, dangerous predators.

## History

### Prehistory

The world of Merast Tertius is an old colony of humanity, being founded sometime in the DAOT. Little is known of the early history of the Merast system, other than the original inhabitants came mostly from the regions of Old Albia.

### Discovery

Merast Tertius was discovered by the Emerald Spears in the late 40th millenium, shortly after their founding in the mid 40th. Shortly after discovery Merast Tertius was incorporated into the Imperium as the homeworld of the Chapter, who found the culture of the inhabitants to be very similar to the martial nature of the Spears themselves.

## Climate and Geography

Merast Tertius is the 3rd planet in the Merast System. A roughly Terran sized planet, Merast Tertius orbits it's sun much further than other populated planets, however the large Merastian sun ensures that Merast Tertius remains within livable human conditions. Merast Tertius has a very pronounced axial tilt, leading to an extreme 50oC swing in tempreture between seasons which, along with the long orbital period of almost 3 Standard Terran years, has ensured that the Merastian natives are adept at handling a wide range of climates.

Merast Tertius is dominated by a large central continent, Talamh, covering the majority of one half of the planet, surronded by the large Aigéan Ocean and a multitude of smaller landmasses. Talamh is mostly flatland plains and savannahs, however in the northern reachs of the continent a mountainous terrain dominates. The largest mountain range of Talamh is the Fiadh Mountains, high, foreboding snow-covered peaks which are said to be near-impossible to climb.

## Culture & Technology

Merastian culture is dominated by a distinct love for nature in all it's forms, along with an almost preturnatural focus on coordination and extensive planning, due to the extremely large saurid predators that call the plains of Talamh home. Merastian natives live in a multitude of small communes, numbering from 500,000 to 1,000,000 people, and are distinctly martial in nature, all children being raised in the Merastian culture of combat and warfare. Prior to the discovery of Merast Tertius by the Emerald Spears, this martial culture was required to defend against the predators of their homeworld, along with competitions between communes as, despite the plentiful resources of Merast Tertius, each commune settles problems and forms bonds between each other through ritual combat. Since being incorporated into the Imperium, this culture has been adapted and now serves the purpose of finding recruits for the Emerald Spears and the regiments of the Merastian Gallowglass. Once per Merastian year, on the summer of a boys 11th Terran birthday, large tournaments are held in each commune, where the successful boys are given to the Emerald Spears for further testing and hopefully recruitment into the chapter, while girls and surviving yet unsuccessful boys are tested in the winter of their 14th Terran Birthday for incorporation into the Merastian regiments, where they remain on reserve as the PDF until the Imperium requests their service.

The Merast Tertian population produces all of the food needed for the system, and consists of mostly grains such as rice or oats, alongside the meat harvested from the saurid predators of Merast Tertius' plains. The coastal population typically supplements this with fish and seafood, the Merastian fish being noted as large and nutritious. The excess saurid meat and fish are traded to other systems in the local area for delicacies that can not be found there, such as fruits or exotic spices,

Merast Tertius managed to maintain knowledge of several advanced technologies, such as las-weaponry and basic powered spears, and since discovery the Imperium has gifted Merast Tertius most of the standard advanced technology of the wider Imperium.

## Astra Militarium Regiments

Despite being a Chapter Homeworld, Merast Tertius has a large enough population to provide small regiments to the Astra Militarum. The Merastian Gallowglass regiments serve the imperium seperate from the Emerald Spears, two impressive forces coming from one world, yet independent from each other.

The Meristian Gallowglass are known for their tactical skills and close-combat spearmanship, just like the Chapter that calls their planet home, and have been noted in many warfronts for their bravery and ease of communication between units. As fitting for regiments coming from worlds with large, voracious predators, the Merastian Gallowglass have gained a reputation as xenos hunters, something sorely needed in the xenos-infested Segmentum Tempestus.

The Gallowglass fight as close-combat infantry, wielding simple chain-spears alongside las-carbines, and are typically armoured in cadian-standard flak or carapace armour. The Gallowglass typically have reliable weaponry supplies thanks to the local forge world of Merast Septus, yet due to their world being a chapter homeworld, most of the specalist weaponary crafted on Merast Septus is given to the Emerald Spears, and so the Gallowglass typically lack artificer-crafted gear, even at the command level.

## System

The Merast System contains 7 planets, 4 of which are inhabited; however the vast majority of Merastian citizens live on Merast Tertius, with Merast Primus, Quintus and Septus being specalised production planets. The Merastian star is much larger than the star of Sol, and shines with a vibrant blue light which reaches to the far reaches of the system, leaving Merastian Primus and Secundus being beyond life-support capabilities for all but the most augmented citizens.