Huron

## History

### Iron and Embers

The violence of Old Night obscures much of its history. Decades of painstaking study have yielded only in fragments the origins of the Three Fires, or Tricendia to give its High Gothic name. What is known is that the region was once home to a powerful interstellar polity, as evidenced by the archaeotech retained across several worlds. It would seem that this is partly due to a large population of Demiurge, Squats in common parlance. They also enjoyed access to ample mineral wealth for industry, which allowed them to endure for millennia. The Huron system was densely populated, and sublight travel to neighbouring systems was quite feasible. Just as importantly, they possessed a formidable army, the heart of which was a confederation of Knight Houses.

However, these Houses were to prove a catalyst for ruinous conflict when a Mechanicum Explorator fleet came across the sub-sector. What archives have been uncovered on Mars indicate that the Explorators had founded a functioning Forge World along with smaller colonies and traded with the inhabitants of the now Three Fires for a time. Despite this promising start, relations deteriorated rapidly. Both material greed on the part of the Magos and affront at the Knights’ refusal to accept their natural allegiance to the Cult Mechanicus are blamed for this. Undoubtedly there are subtler factors, now lost like tracks obliterated by a sandstorm.

What is known is that war raged for decades, devastating planets on both sides. Other factions - Orks, abhumans, unidentified xenos - saw weakness, and attacked opportunistically. Over centuries, the two enemies were ground down to the point where they fragmented, the old Tricendians beyond even planetary unity. The Mechanicum domain crumbled, with only the domains of Oamura and Kotossa remaining, sundered by distance. To their old foes, they ultimately became little more than myth and allegory, though traces of them remained in the technology of more advanced planets. Indeed, the raiment in which Daer'dd clad his armies had as much in common with Skitarii and automata as it did the designs used by the Emperor for His armies.

Knight Houses scattered across the sub-sector, claiming what territory they could. Some were consumed by internecine conflict, while others fell to outside threats or burned themselves out trying to sustain their strength with meagre resources. Across the Core Systems of Huron, Xephyr and Accer Ferrus, no one House managed to dominate a planet, and tribal systems maintained a significant share of governance on those worlds. Conflict was restrained; wars were fought for advantage, but no House gained sufficient power to be confident of anything better than a pyrrhic victory. Traditions relaxed slightly as Houses and tribes mixed; the scion of a House might instead choose to learn the disciplines of infantry, armoured or aerial combat instead of bonding with a walker.

Thus the prosperity of the past faded almost entirely from memory, and over centuries, many came to believe that their existence had ever been fractured and perilous. Yet when the outriders of the Great Crusade went in search of the Explorators, they ran up against the borders of a small but powerful empire, quite willing to embrace the Emperor’s rule. When they reported their findings they knew there could only be one reason for such a power to have risen in a matter of mere decades. They had found a prize whose value outshone any industry or army - a Primarch.

### Huron

Huron is the Jewel of the Three Fires sub-sector, a "Super Earth" at 1.8x the size of Terra and 2.1x the gravity. It is a world rich with dense metals including Iron, Copper, Tungsten, Cobalt, and Osmium. It is covered in vast, relatively shallow fresh water oceans with little more than glorified islands covered in coniferous and hardwood forests. It has a semi elliptical orbit around a single star leading to long Autumnal and Winter seasons. While standing at a high technological state, space travel had been almost non existent outside of the sub-sector because of warp storms.

#### The Lord

The VIth Legion's citadel, known colloquially as '*The Lodge*', was carved from a mountain heavy in osmium and tungsten. Essentially, this mountain is its own island rising from sapphire waters, the rock's slate-like colour palate and glinting ore deposits are striking. The entrance of The Lodge was carved from a near 20,000 foot sheer cliff. This over looks a very large port and bay at the base of the mountain. At the Bay's entrance is The Light of Huron. This ornate marble and copper spiral tower stands exactly 1,066 feet tall; while it is a literal lighthouse for ships it is also the home of the planet's Astropath choir. The locals see it as both a literal and figurative beacon of hope.

The face of the entrance is adorned with long gothic-style glass windows. While some of these massive portals are narrow some are over two miles long. The cyclopean doors are a thousand feet of wrought iron and copper, detailing the many great feats of Daer'dd and The Emperor. There are far smaller more sensible doors for common use. On either side of the door there are four gargantuan Birch trees (a symbol of home) seemingly half grown into the rocks itself. These eight trees create three alcoves on either side of the door. In the naves directly next to the doors stand The Guardians; two ancient Imperator-class Titans gifted to, and then completely rebuilt by Daer'dd while uniting the Three Fires. In the other four spots stand a single bronze statue in each known as the Dauntless Few.

On the backside of the mountain there is a large waterfall and a vast forest. At it's heart stands Wiigwaas, the first Birch Tree. Amongst the trees spindly towers can be seen the homes of the Legion's specialist Astartes, from Shaman to Apothecary. The Island itself sits in the straits between the two largest islands of Huron, it's face overlooking the capital of Chi'boygaan on the southern isle and the (eventual) pilgrimage/tourist stops of Maakiinac and Marquette. Whilst hundreds of various islands sit in or near the straits, the island that's home to the Three Fires High Council coliseum sits due east of The Lodge.