Koltep

"*There is no word in Gothic able to transcribe how violent Koltep's winds can be. Stormy doesn't strike deep enough. Tempestuous barely scratches at the truth. I say again, no word exists that could portray the squalls digging open seas out of plains and the lightning bolts flattening dunes into glass.*"
— Koltepian attempting to describe his homeworld's climate.
The planet named **Koltep** is a world of destructive winds and ceaseless lightning storms. Any man-made structure can be brought low within weeks if placed haphazardly, forcing the population to settle in protected enclaves within mountainous ranges whose peaks are periodically showered by bolts. While Koltep's size is close to Terra's standard, its rotational speed is quite faster.

Despite the Sin Seekers being fleet based, the world is still considered an Astartes Home World and its value to the Imperium is high due to unknown influences higher up.

### Timeline

#### Discovery, M21

Located in an unexplored cluster of stars to the center of the Segmentum Pacificus, the Koltep system was late to be studied, accessed, and cleared for colonization.

#### Scouring, M25

Warp Storms aggravate the conditions of the planet slowly but surely. After milennia of isolation, the population attempts to hold up in the caverns, leaving the installations outside to be scoured by the altered climate.

#### The Great Crusade, M30

Lorgar and his Legion rediscover Koltep and enforce Compliance on the colonists' descendants. The energy-extracting technologies of the Dark Age of Technology all but lost and no schematics resisted the passage of time and the destructive winds. The Word Bearers establish an outpost and invite settlers to allow the population to rise again. Koltep recovers despite the harsh conditions, with steady supplies and aid to create less efficient but similarly inclined power plants to assist the cities.

#### War of False Prohets, M42

Koltep is embroiled in civil war against a Cult, its defenders infiltrated lead to lengthy underground war and heavy sabotage of its power plants. Complete eradication of the Koltepian 1st Regiment, dying bravely against the traitorous tides. The tardy intervention of the Sin Seekers was barely enough to save the survivors, and rebuilding is ongoing in what counts as planet-wide.

## Geography

Koltep's surface is very uneven and shifts continuously under the relentless assaults of its warm winds carrying sharp rock shards to sculpt the surface into new forms. Though there are constants in the form of the larger mountain ranges and canyons, the maps of Koltep necessitate constant updating. Koltep's geography is a wondrous sight to behold from orbit, as the planet never looks the same, even on a day-to-day basis.

### Mountains

This world presents large amounts of obsidian mountains ranges almost equidistant to one another. They withstand the constant torture of the winds and lightning strikes and give the planet an aspect ofLarge black dots over slithering shades of grey and brown. Many tempered valleys and caverns are present, where remnants of rivers and seas dug into the softer rocks to form a serpentine labyrinth of caverns, safer and easier to inhabit.

### Seas

Despite the fact that large ravines exist on the planet's surface, ready to collect the abundant rainwater, very few constant bodies of water actually exist on Koltep, even on a large scale. Only sheltered ponds and deep groundwater survive the nigh migratory process that the winds of the planet inflict upon its surface. The moving seas and lakes are called "migrant", traversing the planet left and right following the newly dug up trenches that expand as the waves gnaw their way in one direction or another. The few non-migrant bodies exist in large underground lakes hidden beneath the mountains where the majority of the troglodyte settlements are located.

### Notable Locations

1. Ventus Ruptor is the capital of Koltep. Its 1 million inhabitants live half buried in the highest mountain range of Koltep, while the other half consists of flat and durable housings in a valley where the winds are not as strong. It is the seat of the Sin Seekers' Chapter Bureau and it is here that the majority of their recruits are selected.

## Defences

As the Homeworld of a Space Marine Chapter, Koltep is a well defended planet be it in orbit or on the groudn. Besides the deathly environment that almost single handedly repelled an Orkish incursion, the regiments of this Death World is used to standing their ground. The small contingent of Sin Seekers Astartes staying on the planet to oversee the Archives are also very helpful in defending the system and call the Chapter itself in case of emergencies.

The Koltepian 2nd Regiment is the heir to a long-lived and cautious group of Imperial Guardsmen, the Koltepian 1st. Contrary to usual expectations the Munitarium doesn't oftenly call upon them to protect neighboring system, allowing the Guardsmen to continuously train in the tempestuous regions. This came very handy in the defense of their Homeworld in the past. They are, alongside the local PDF forces, the first bulwark of Koltep against invasions.

## Moons

Two small grey bodies orbit around Koltep, both going in the opposite direction to the planet's rotation. As a result, the moons travel the skies at relatively high-speed, taking roughly half an hour and ten minutes respectively to rise and set beyond the horizon. The faster and larger moon is called Mara, the second is named Samara.

## Trivia

* The names of the moons, Mara and Samara, are said to be taken from an Old Terran language for "mirror". It seems to be a references to their reflective properties and the fact that they fly over the planet at high speeds akin to a mirror circling around to observe one's features.
* It is observed that Koltep's rotation is slowing down at a limited rate.