Temperance - History: Temperance's inclusion in the sector's fragmented planetary records dates back slightly more than a Terran century. The world's initial survey records remain scattered, and the only concrete information lists the reason for settlement as the hope that it might one day become a bountiful Agri-world. There was much to support this goal, as Temperance is quite fertile and lacks any complex native life besides the dreaded mind-mould.Temperance's first settlers originated from Kalto, and consisted of strongly-knit family groups whose farming expertise made them ideal for Temperance's untouched landscape. Their strong ties to the Ecclesiarchy also made them model colonists, and many hoped that the strong bonds between each family group and their mutual devotion to the Emperor would keep the fledgling Agri-world on a safe and straight path to productivity.Unfortunately, the planetary surveys failed to acknowledge the world's extremely rocky surface. The land was fertile just as reported -- perhaps more than expected -- but the ground beneath the thin soil was harsh and impeded any rapid transformation to heavy agriculture. What reports remain from the first solar months after arrival speak of rock formations that appeared scorched or melted from some unknown cataclysmic event, with molten scarring dating back thousands of standard years.The cause is as yet unexplained, and speculation has suggested everything from massive seismic shifts to terrible orbital bombardments. Some whisper legends of past heretical acts, continent-spanning wars, and the death cries of billions, all of which rose to create a myth that now fuels the doctrine of Temperance's dominant Chaos Cult -- the Sons of Temperance.Hardship and death marked the first few solar decades, as the population struggled to sustain themselves. Mind-mould ate away at their farming land, and more crops ended up burnt than gathered. On several occasions, the mould nearly claimed the entire population, leading to the hasty development of a jury-rigged "mouldsuit" that kept the deadly spores at bay.The situation only worsened during periods of heavy rain, as Temperance suffered from long storms that started without warning and occurred in no discernible pattern -- yet another detail the planetary surveys somehow failed to mention. Mind-mould thrived in the muddy quagmire left by each downpour, and even with the mouldsuits, infestations often lasted for solar months and claimed hundreds of lives. To make matters worse, the Pandaemonium Warp rift cut Temperance off from the wider sector almost as soon as the settlers arrived.As crops failed and mind-mould killed more families, many turned to superstition and apocalyptic preaching. The settlers splintered under the weight of their total isolation, with administrator Drest Ovidius powerless to stop each new doomsayer and his legions of hungry followers. As the standard years dragged on, Ovidius saw his population dwindle to less than half its original number and desperately clawed at any idea to stave off total societal collapse, even going so far as to dedicate his few Astropaths to a programme of constant broadcasts.The exertion killed or crippled almost all of them. Eventually, the small choir fell silent as a particularly heavy storm brought about the largest mind-mould infestation on record, and the psychic spores killed all remaining Astropaths within a matter of solar days. As Ovidius' most loyal retainers burnt the bodies to prevent further infections, the people of Temperance turned on one another. Entire sections of the starved population openly renounced the Emperor for abandoning them.It was at this moment, with Temperance's future as a productive Askellian world in doubt, that the Legion of Twelve arrived. For some reason, perhaps even divine intervention, the Pandaemonium lifted, and a few solar days later a small fleet of transports entered Temperance's orbit. Apparently, some of Ovidius' desperately exaggerated astropathic cries for help had been received, as the recovery fleet contained a small craft staffed by an abnormally large compliment of twelve Adeptus Arbites.Despite the false pretence that summoned them to the planet, the Arbitrators immediately broke into small teams once they saw the flagrant disorder amidst the scattered peoples. They pacified the remaining population quickly, and within weeks Temperance's near-collapse was a memory, with crops replanted and recidivist leaders burnt in promethium pyres.Ovidius himself disappeared during the uprising. Some suspected he fled into the wastes and now lives as an anonymous Grox herder on some remote farm, whereas others believed he died at the hands of a ferocious mob. With the colony's leader missing and with no orders to leave, the Adeptus Arbites took an unusual step and formed a provisional authority that rules over Temperance's main settlements of Bastion and Beacon, as well as the outlier farms, to this very day.