vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Patriarchs of Ulixis - Sources: Adeptus Astartes: Successor Chapters (Limited Release Booklet)Codex: Deathwatch (8th Edition), pg. 15Codex: Space Marines (3rd Edition), pg. 47Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pg. 8Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pp. 8, 141Codex: Space Marines (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), pg. 116Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition) (Revised Codex), pg. 29Codex: Space Marines (9th Edition), pg. 47White Dwarf 286 (UK),  "The Eye of the Storm - Space Marine Chapters fighting in the Eye of Terror" by Andy Hoare, pg. 66
Paul Kearney - Paul Kearney: Paul Kearney is an author for Games Workshop's Black Library imprint.
Paul Kearney - Dark Hunters: Dark Hunters: Umbra Sumus (2015, ISBN 1-84970-844-4)
Paul Kearney - Space Marine Battles: Calgar's Siege (2016, ISBN 1-78496-492-1)
Paul Kearney - Ultramarines: Calgar's Fury (2017, ISBN 1-78496-609-6)
Paul Kearney - Warhammer Horror: The Thing in the Woods (Short Story) (Collected in Anathemas (Anthology))
Paul Kearney - Others: The Last Detail (Short Story) (Collected in Legends of the Space Marines (Anthology) and There is Only War (Anthology))
Pauper Princes - Pauper Princes: The Pauper Princes are a Genestealer Cult that originated in the coastal slums of the world of Chancer's Vale. Its members are highly religious and zealous fanatics who believe in ill-defined alien gods known as the "Star Children." Pauper Princes cultists are willing to make almost inhuman sacrifices at a personal level to spread their faith.The Pauper Princes believe that greatness can only be found in self-sacrifice and humility. Zealous to the point of mania, they bring the edifice of the Imperium of Man low to ensure the new order can thrive -- even if it costs every life save for that of their sacred messiah known as the "Star Saviour," the cult's Genestealer Patriarch.The Pauper Princes have spread far beyond their "holy land" of Chancer's Vale to many other worlds in the galaxy. The most important of these was the Sentinel World of Vigilus, where the Pauper Princes were one of the key combatants in the War of Beasts after the opening of the Great Rift.Claws hailing from this cult typically include vast throngs of lowly faithful, tides of chanting Neophyte Hybrids more than willing to serve as living barricades behind which their leaders can shelter. These warriors fight all the more fervently around their Acolyte Iconward and Clamavuses, whose mere presence drives their brothers and sisters into near-paroxysms of zealous ferocity.Religious zeal and unquestioning faith have long been weapons in the arsenal of the Imperium. To the Pauper Princes, however, they are a means to poison the worlds of Mankind one by one. This mirrors the Ecclesiarchy in many ways, yet where the Imperial Creed must be imposed as much through fear as through genuine devotion, fanatical belief is absolute in every Pauper Princes cultist. The cultists of the Pauper Princes are so zealous they would gladly hurl themselves on a live Frag Grenade to protect their leaders. When their organisation is threatened, they fight like madmen to pull down and slaughter those who challenge their ascendancy.
Pauper Princes - War of Beasts: The Pauper Princes tell one another they are blessed with an uncanny prescience, and on numerous occasions that claim to having a sixth sense has been borne out. On the wartorn planet of Vigilus, at the northern end of the Nachmund Gauntlet, the Pauper Princes had worked for generations to infiltrate every stratum of society.Though teams of Adeptus Arbites and even elements of the Inquisition had delved into the darkest corners of the world after rumours and reports of disappearances far surpassed the usual threshold, the Genestealer Cult always stayed one step ahead -- or at least camouflaged itself so well amongst the populace that they continued their vile agenda without serious hindrance.The Genestealer Patriarch of that planetary infestation, known as "Grandsire Wurm" to its faithful worshippers, was so adept at evading pursuit or discovery that it was claimed by his cultists that the Grandsire was as intangible as mist, and could shift from one shadow to another at will. Grandsire Wurm had made its primary home under the surface of the continent Megaborealis and began spreading its infection among Vigilus' population.When a sudden invasion of Orks from within the newborn Great Rift threatened to capsize the Vigilus insurgency before it had truly begun, the Genestealer Cultists found themselves fighting to defend the very Imperial holdings they had worked so long to undermine. All they had fought for, all they had planned, would be in tatters if they allowed the Greenskin menace to overtake the surface world -- for the Orks of this so-called SPEEDWAAAGH! had capitalised on the planet's vulnerability during the Noctis Aeterna to conquer the wastelands and invade the fringes of the hivesprawls that formed every civilised region.What began as a devastating but relatively straightforward Greenskin invasion soon turned into a complex and many-layered war on all fronts, a conflict remembered as the War of Beasts. The Pauper Princes took control of Dirkden Hivesprawl and even gene-poisoned many of the Hollows, giant reservoirs from whence much of the arid planet's water supply was drawn.Wheels within wheels and plans within plans saw the cult's creed reach the highest echelons of Vigilus' society, even infecting the Adeptus Ministorum of Saint's Haven and the planet's ruling Aquilarian Council. Only the intervention of Chapter Master Marneus Calgar's Ultramarines brought the planet back from the brink of disaster -- yet the Pauper Princes had already spread, infesting the planet's moon before venturing further afield.
Pauper Princes - Chalnath Expanse Campaign: During the Era Indomitus, the Hive World of Vorotheion in the Barolyr System of the Chalnath Expanse of the nothern Ultima Segmentum was one of the planets of that region that was caught up in the multi-sided conflict between the Imperium and various xenos powers that was known as the Chalnath Expanse Campaign.Vorotheion came under attack by both the forces of the T'au Empire's Fifth Sphere Expansion and an uprising by the Genestealer Cult known as the Pauper Princes. The cult was ultimately victorious in taking over most of the world, though the T'au and the Imperium still maintain control over several of the world's hive cities. The Pauper Princes remain undaunted by this, and have already begun the necessary work required to welcome their Star Children masters -- a Tyranid hive fleet -- to their world.
Pauper Princes - Reliquary of Saint Tenndarc: The sacred remains of Saint Tenndarc are of vast spiritual importance to the Pauper Princes. It is said that Tenndarc, a Magus of the cult's first gene-sect, dove in front of his Genestealer Patriarch to save it from a sniper's bullet. He died in the process, but that act of martyrdom has echoed through the cult ever since.
Pauper Princes - Cult Psychic Discipline: Last Gasp - The cult psyker sends their powers flowing out to fill the minds of the faithful with visions of ascension and unity. Borne up by fervent rapture, the cultists fight on until -- or sometimes even after -- the last spark of life has left their bodies.
Pauper Princes - Sources: Codex: Genestealer Cults (7th Edition), pp. 19, 51Codex: Genestealer Cults (8th Edition), pp. 28-29, 76-77Codex: Genestealer Cults (9th Edition), pp. 34, 60Imperium Nihilus: Vigilus Defiant (8th Edition), pp. 1-21, 30, 111Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good (8th Edition), pp. 6, 16-19
Pawns of Chaos (Novel) - Pawns of Chaos (Novel): Pawns of Chaos is a novel by Brian Craig released in 2001. It is listed under the Heretic Tomes brand which is reserved by Black Library for works no longer considered consistent or canonical with the current lore of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
Pawns of Chaos (Novel) - Synopsis: Gavalon had already begun thinking of the bulk of his forces as "gunfodder," even though they had never faced guns before. The guns produced by the Imperium in their planetary-based factories were by no means as powerful as those they had brought from the star-worlds, but they were guns nevertheless and there was nothing in Gulzacandra that could compete with them -- except, of course, magic.  If the Imperium was to be stopped, magic would be the force that would do it.In the grim future of Warhammer 40,000, Mankind is engaged in an eternal conflict with the armies of Chaos.  On the medieval world of Sigmatus, the hated Imperium is flexing its power with ruthless efficiency.  The rebels have a plan to fight back: summon a powerful Daemon from the Warp and unleash it upon their enemies!
Pearl Moon - Pearl Moon: Pearl MoonImperialKarrikOcean WorldAgri-worldAdministratumCalixis SectorDespite being a relatively peaceful place to live, life on the oceans of the Pearl Moon is hard, and the average lifespan is only about 40 standard years. Most people live on large farming rigs that are suspended over submerged reefs and rocks by numerous cables.The people of the Pearl Moon tend to possess a high degree of tolerance to motion sickness and contact with slightly caustic environmental conditions. Despite their harsh life, something about an existence on the ocean appeals to many people here, and they can become maudlin if taken from their homeworld.The Planetary Governor Lord Artaxis Spheng and a bevvy of his cronies form an effective oligarchy who concern themselves mainly with strategies to meet their Imperial Tithe quota. There is a greater separation of church and state on the Pearl Moon than on most Imperial worlds, though Spheng and his friends are careful to remain on the right side of the local religious authorities.The moon's population is too small for heretical cults to take hold successfully, though folk tales abound of sunken cities, giant white whale-worms, and weird islands covered in alien architecture that are revealed during certain confluences of the moons, but sensible folk are dismissive of them. Small communities of both Ratlings and Ogryns live on the rigs as well.Whilst the population of the Pearl Moon is peaceful and loyal to the Imperium this is an important world for the sector, and relatively vulnerable, so it may make a tempting target for the forces of Chaos, or some other foe.
Pech - Pech: The Kroot homeworld of Pech lies within the Ultima Segmentum, not far from the T'au Empire.On this world, massive evergreen forests of the hardy jagga tree cover most of the prime continent. The other regions of Pech that are not covered by forest are mainly inhospitable ranges of rock cliffs and jagged mountains.It is from Pech's deep forests that the Kroot originated, and there, they live within arboreal colonies in family groups known as "kindreds," led by wise and ancient Kroot called Shapers.Most make their homes, nestled amongst the higher branches of the trees, from animal hides and regurgitated dead wood pulp.
Pedro Kantor - Pedro Kantor: Pedro Kantor, Lord Helblade, is the 29th and current Chapter Master of the Crimson Fists Chapter of Space Marines, having served as its master for almost a standard century since 900.M41, and his record of service goes back another 250 Terran years.He first rose to prominence at the Battle of Melchitt Sound, where, as a sergeant, he led the crucial boarding action against the Ork Kill Kroozer Da Growla. The Kroozer was disabled in the attack, allowing the Crimson Fists' strike cruiser, The Crusader, to break the Ork line of battle and scatter the Greenskin fleet into the detritus-clogged outer system.Pedro Kantor is a heroic figure of the Imperium of Man who has fought bravely to bring about victory when faced with great tragedy. His presence inspires loyalty and heroism in his troops. Unlike his close friend, Captain Alessio Cortez, Kantor places his duty to the Emperor of Mankind and to the people of the Imperium above his desire for glory or vengeance.He has a strong sense of honour that sometimes leaves him torn between what is morally right and what is tactically sound. Kantor is faced with the difficult task of bringing his Chapter back to full strength after the costly defence of his Chapter homeworld of Rynn's World and the recent reinforcement of the Chapter with Primaris Space Marines brought by Roboute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade.
Pedro Kantor - Prelude: In 989.M41, an Ork Warlord known as Snagrod, the Arch-Arsonist of Charadon, began a massive Ork WAAAGH!, taking several Imperial colonies of the Loki Sector with minimal resistance. Snagrod boasted that his next conquest would be Rynn's World, a peaceful Agri-world and Chapter planet of the Crimson Fists Space Marines.The 3rd Company of the Crimson Fists, under Captain Ashor Drakken, was sent to stall the WAAAGH! on the planet of Badlanding and gauge its strength. The size of Snagrod's forces had been significantly underestimated, and only a few Astartes of the 3rd Company escaped to relay this vital intelligence back to Chapter Master Kantor.
Pedro Kantor - Invasion of Rynn's World: Kantor ordered the immediate recall of all Crimson Fists, and set about organizing the defences of Rynn's World to meet the expected Greenskin assault. During the initial invasion of Rynn's World, a great tragedy befell the Crimson Fists.A missile launched by one of the planetary defence installations struck the Crimson Fists' own fortress-monastery. The missile's potent warhead, intended to penetrate Void Shields and heavy voidship armour, instead levelled the monastery killing 600 Crimson Fists and leaving just over a dozen survivors, Kantor among them.The survivors were ultimately able to travel overland through great peril and link up with a detachment of approximately 400 Crimson Fists, consisting of elements of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Companies, assigned to defend Rynn's World's capital, New Rynn City. The trek took ten solar days through a landscape choked with Orks warbands.During the daylight hours, Kantor and his warriors were forced to seek shelter where they could -- lying up against the ruins of a farm one day, hiding out in an abandoned quarry the next. Kantor arrived at New Rynn City wearied to the bone, his armour slick with the blood of slain Orks.Scarcely half of the Crimson Fists who had embarked upon the journey survived to reach the city gates, and not a warrior amongst them was unwounded, yet their resolve never wavered. Taking command of the Imperial forces, Kantor was able to hold off the Orks through an 18-month-long siege until Imperial reinforcements could arrive just before the city fell to a horde of Ork Gargants.
Pedro Kantor - Aftermath: The Rynn's World Incident resulted in the near-destruction the Crimson Fists Chapter. As a result, Kantor's primary focus is currently on rebuilding the Chapter. Due to their significant losses, the Crimson Fists can only be fielded as infiltration-size squads of Astartes. Snagrod's WAAAGH! has induced a deep hatred of Orks within the Chapter, and it is said that Crimson Fists Astartes will go to any lengths to defeat any Ork forces they encounter.All of Rynn's World's major cities were destroyed with the exception of New Rynn City, the capital and seat of the world's government, before the planet was brought back under Imperial control years later. Millions of the Agri-world's people had been killed, most likely a majority of the population. it would take decades for the planet to recover its lost infrastructure and agricultural productivity. Many of the worlds of the Loki Sector captured by WAAAGH! Snagrod, including Badlanding, are lost, remaining in Ork hands to this day.
Pedro Kantor - War of Beasts: During the War of Beasts on Vigilus, Pedro Kantor led the forces of the Crimson Fists to the beleaguered Sentinel World. Kantor and his Astartes proved instrumental in the defence of the Hyperia-Dirkden Fortwall from the Orks of the SPEEDWAAAGH!
Pedro Kantor - Wargear: Artificer ArmourDorn's Arrow (Storm Bolter) - Pedro Kantor is known to carry Dorn's Arrow, an ancient and revered relic Storm Bolter attached to his gauntlet that has a high rate of fire, even for a Storm Bolter. It is also able to penetrate thick armour plate.Iron Halo - Pedro Kantor also carries his Iron Halo as a protective shield against attacks. This proved very effective against the Orks during the Battle of Rynn's World.Power Fist - A Power Fist (also known as a "Power Glove") is essentially an over-sized, armoured gauntlet that generates an energy field around it that disrupts any solid matter it touches. It is a favoured close combat weapon for the warriors of the Imperium of Man, as well as the forces of Chaos (particularly the Chaos Space Marines). It is an iconic weapon of the Loyalist Space Marines. It is large and slow in combat, and so the bearer must be willing to risk the blows of his enemy before he can strike back. The benefits of the Power Fist are that it increases the user's strength, much as Power Armour does due to the power provided by the mechanical servos that allow the Power Fist to move as its user desires. The disadvantages of its unwieldy nature are often well worth the limitations, however, as the combination of the disruptive power field and sheer physical strength afforded by a Power Fist allows a Space Marine to pulverize and tear apart armour plate from the most well-protected of vehicles, and to wound and kill even colossal monstrous creatures in close combat; its brutal effects against more mundane foes goes without saying. It is most commonly found fitted to Space Marine Tactical Dreadnought Armour.Frag GrenadesKrak Grenades
Pelegius - Geography and Climate: Pelegius is a world inimical to Human life, toxic and radioactive to a point that an unprotected Human will sicken and die within solar days.These conditions are not only lethal to Humans; there is little organic that can withstand such horrific conditions, and all but the hardiest of creatures will struggle to exist on Pelegius for long without sophisticated protective equipment or equally potent natural advantages.The macrofauna native to Pelegius is immune to the effects of their world's environment, having evolved to withstand it over countless generations.Yet the planet is also possessed of extensive, naturally occurring mineral resources, the overwhelming majority of which are valuable to the ceaseless industry necessary to keep the Imperium functioning. This abundance of natural wealth makes Pelegius extremely important to the ongoing Achilus Crusade.With sufficient labour and after the development of an appropriate infrastructure, Pelegius will be able to support potentially as much as a tenth of the projected raw material requirements of the crusade, and the expeditionary government on the surface have advised that the planet be assigned a Tithe Grade of Exactis Extremis.Pelegius' abundance of resources is believed to be a major contributor towards its inhospitable nature. Many of the raw materials discovered on Pelegius are extremely toxic, radioactive or both, and combined with the world's comparatively close proximity to its powerful white star, has resulted in a level of ambient surface radiation that builds to lethal levels in a Human body after mere solar hours of exposure.
Pelegius - Outpost Aleph: The oldest and largest of the Imperial settlements on Pelegius, Outpost Aleph is a colossal latticework of shielded, self-contained hab-domes connected by environment-sealed tunnels that span an area more than eight kilometres across.Equipped with powerful vox and augury systems to pierce the interference caused by Pelegius' high background radiation, Aleph serves as the central command centre for all Imperial scientific and military operations across the planet, and its outermost domes are heavily fortified to serve as bunkers and barracks for the Astra Militarum and Skitarii garrisons.What few know about, however, is the true extent of Outpost Aleph. At the heart of the complex, unseen by all but the Tech-priests who work there, is the Aleph dig site, the true reason for the complex's location.Extending more than sixteen kilometres below the surface, the dig site took the efforts of thousands of Servitors, menials and lay-technicians to excavate, and dozens of Archaeosavants and other Tech-priests to study and catalogue the artefacts and ruins found within.Their findings have been woefully inconclusive as of yet. While the inhabitants are likely to have been humanoid, almost nothing remains that suggests whether the ruins are of Human origin or xenos construction.Worse, a string of serious industrial accidents have claimed the lives of hundreds of menials and destroyed thousands of Servitors over the past year, while several Tech-priests have simply gone missing during forays into the deeper zones.Thanks to the presence of infiltrators in service to the Inquisition, investigation of these incidents is underway, with many suspecting that whoever created the ruins may not be entirely gone.
Pelegius - Tirmorodan Mountains: A ring-shaped mountain range enclosing a dune sea some eleven hundred kilometres across, the Tirmorodan region has been the site of more clashes between Imperial and T'au forces than almost any other region on the planet, with neither side able to gain a foothold in the dune sea for more than a matter of solar weeks.The Tirmorodan Mountains themselves have been identified as a particularly abundant source of metals valuable for the production of starship armour, while the territory within the ring is believed to be home to one of the largest archaeological sites on Pelegius, though neither side has been able to accurately confirm this due to the almost ceaseless hostilities.The passes leading through the mountain range are heavily guarded and key positions have been extensively fortified, serving as strong-points from which both T'au and Imperial forces can launch raids and expeditions into the dune sea.As each side pushes deeper into the contested territory, temporary encampments are established to allow scientists and engineers an opportunity to delve beneath the shifting surface and learn of what exists under the sands.Ambushes and raids swiftly condemn these opportunistic digs to failure, leaving the bodies and equipment to be buried beneath the ever-changing dunes. These attacks are met with swift retaliation, with the Imperium and the T'au denying one another the opportunity to study the region in more detail.Yet some doubt exists. While those of a military inclination are swift to blame their foes for each failure, a small but mounting collection of evidence suggests that a proportion of those lost encampments are just that -- lost, having been suddenly and inexplicably depopulated and destroyed by something other than Imperial or T'au weaponry.Confronted with this evidence, most are quick to blame the deadly and voracious indigenous creatures or some attempt at deception from their foes ... for the prospect of another force on Pelegius that opposes both Human and T'au alike is a disquieting one.
Pelegius - Azkharraeon Flats: Believed to be the location of the primary T'au compound, the Azkharraeon Flats are stable, rocky wastelands in contrast to the shifting sands that cover most of Pelegius, and they are found few hundred kilometres north of the equator.Imperial expeditions have thus far avoided the equatorial regions of Pelegius, mainly due to the extremely high temperatures common there, but T'au physiology is believed to be far more capable of enduring high temperature/low humidity environments, explaining a greater willingness to establish themselves in places where Humans cannot thrive.Scouting missions, performed by specially augmented Skitarii, have determined that much of the T'au compound is maintained and operated by drones, directed by a few hundred T'au engineers and scientists.Limited pict evidence of the heart of the compound shows a device that appears to be an extremely potent fusion cutter, believed to be employed to drill into the dense rock of the Azkharraeon Flats, though what the T'au have found beneath the surface there remains unknown.The T'au garrison on Pelegius appears to consist almost entirely of battlesuit-equipped infantry, as conventional T'au combat armour cannot provide adequate protection against the hostile environment.Lighter battlesuits are favoured, and armoured environment suits of a similar design (though unarmed) are used by the Earth Caste personnel on Pelegius as well.
Pellas Mir'san - Pellas Mir'san: Pellas Mir'san, known as the "Winter Blade" and the "Defender of Nocturne," is a venerable captain of the Salamanders Space Marines Chapter.He has served as the commander of the 2nd Company for more than a century and a half. He is one of the oldest members of the Chapter still serving.
Pellas Mir'san - History: A legend amongst the Astartes of the Salamanders, the venerable Captain Pellas Mir'san is one of the oldest members of the Chapter still serving, which earned him the title of the "Winter Blade" amongst his fellow Battle-Brothers.Captain Mir'san has served as the commander of the 2nd Company for more than one hundred and fifty standard years, and before that served as Chapter Champion for thirty years, remaining undefeated for his tenure.A consummately skilled swordsman, Pellas Mir'san is a former winner of the legendary Trial of Blades. He applies his Chapter's well-known discipline and pursuit of excellence to the duelist's art as well as the creation of some of the finest Power Swords in the Salamanders' history.He has lost nothing of his phenomenal skill at arms, despite his skin greying to the colour of cold forge ashes and the light in his eyes dulling to a deep crimson. He has tempered the blade of his wisdom to a fine edge through his experiences with countless enemies and in innumerable conflicts.
Pellas Mir'san - Badab War: Captain Mir'san is most famous for commanding the Salamanders Chapter contingent throughout their involvement during the Badab War against the infamous Tyrant of Badab, Lufgt Huron of the Renegade Astral Claws.Initially, the Salamanders were reluctant to get involved in the internecine conflict, having fought alongside both the Astral Claws and the Fire Hawks as recently as the Lycanthos Drift Campaign of the 810s.M41, and the Chapter was greatly troubled to intervene on either side, despite direct calls do so.When proof was provided to them by the Legate Inquisitor in charge of prosecuting the war that the Astral Claws had broken faith fully with the ancient covenants of the Imperium and embraced the service of Chaos, the Salamanders were forced by duty to act.The Chapter could only send a small force consisting of one Battle Company (the 2nd Company) under the command of Captain Pellas Mir'san, as the rest of the Chapter was already committed elsewhere. Although few in number, the Salamanders' force was heavily engaged throughout the conflict until the bitter end, playing key roles in several important events that defined the course of the war.Captain Mir'san came to be relied upon heavily by Lord Commander Carab Culln of the Red Scorpions, who was the overall Loyalist Astartes commander. Following the infamous incident of the capture of the Salamanders Battle Barge Pyre of Glory, in 909.M41, and the subsequent and infamous "Red Hour," Captain Mir'san believed his Chapter owed a great debt of honour to the Secessionist Executioners, and stood beside them in their final judgement as their advocate.
Pellas Mir'san - Borzog: Mir'san was part of a Salamanders strike force that went to aid the besieged Imperial Navy base at Thrastos from an attack by the Ork Warboss Borzog.When the strike force neared the base, however, a hidden Ork fleet emerged nearby and attacked the Salamanders. The outnumbered strike force was then forced to fight their way clear of the ambush, but dozens of their Battle-Brothers were slain by the Orks.Mir'san is among those Salamanders who survived. He vowed to take revenge against Borzog.
Pellas Mir'san - Talledus War: Pellas Mir'san commanded a demi-company of Salamanders to aid in the defence of the Cardinal World of Benediction in the Veritus Sub-sector during the Talledus War.As the Word Bearers' forces closed in on the Grand Honorificum cathedral city, the faith of the Adeptus Ministorum priests and other faithful of the God-Emperor within unleashed a phenomenon of the Psychic Awakening.Skull-faced spirits of the blessed Imperial dead emerged from the Warp to wrap the cathedral-city in a wall of power later called the "Saints' Wall" that banished the daemons aiding the Word Bearers back into the Immaterium.The Salamanders took advantage of this to launch fresh assaults on the advance formations of the Word Bearers, breaking through to the bridge over the River Carmine and cutting the Heretic force in two.The battle for Benediction had not been decided by any measure, but the momentum of the Word Bearers' assault was repelled, and the Grand Honorificum remained in Loyalist hands. Still, the Dark Cardinal Kor Phaeron, who was commanding the Chaos forces, had no intention of retreating, not with Benediction so nearly in his grasp.
Pellas Mir'san - Wargear: Artificer ArmourCinder Edge - Cinder Edge is a master-crafted Power Sword forged by the hand of Pellas Mir'san. The blade was folded countless times in the fires of Nocturne's volcanic heat.Close Combat WeaponCombi-flamerFrag GrenadesKrak GrenadesIron Halo
Pellenne - Pellenne: Pellenne is one of the Grand Worlds of the Askellon Sector. It is crucial to the sector's economy, not only by virtue of its tremendous mineral resources, but also by dint of its vital strategic position. It sits squarely along the Grand Processional, the primary Warp tributary linking the sector's Grand Worlds in relatively stable travel paths.The Processional permits access to the sector capital, Juno, with Warp journeys between the two worlds lasting only scant weeks. In addition, Pellenne sits at the centre of a local web of lesser Warp-routes to a number of Low Worlds within the Stygies Cluster, and acts as a jumping-of point for spinward-bound traffic exiting the wider sector.
Pellenne - History: Pre-Imperial records relating to Pellenne are scant, but all extant documentation—spanning thousands of years—consistently describes it as a Mining World. Pre-Imperial commercial contracts retained by the ruling dynasties indicate that the planet’s initial human population was small, a long-vanished caste of peripatetic interstellar mining clans using a high degree of mechanisation. Over millennia, as the skills necessary to maintain their equipment were lost and their fleets of ragtag starships eroded, Pellenne's rulers became more and more reliant upon vast numbers of unskilled labourers shipped to the planet from adjacent inhabited worlds.Pellenne corrupted these labourers; mutation ran rife among those toiling in the deep tunnels, even among those who took all precautions to ward themselves against the virulent radiation found within. For as long as there have been humans on Pellenne, there have been mutants and outcasts clinging to existence in ramshackle towns outside the shielded tunnel-cities, eking a miserable life from the effluent seeping downward from above them. The arrival of the Imperium made little difference to the planet’s utilisation; indeed, it only hastened the planet’s reliance upon off-worlders. Locking this imported labour into hereditary contracts of indentured servitude—to do the jobs the resource-rich Pellennian ruling dynasties were not prepared to do themselves—was the next logical step.
Pellenne - Life Underground: Given the number of indentured workers (who vastly outnumber the natives), the planet’s culture retains a rather rough edge, despite its antiquity, and Pellenne still feels like a Frontier World. As on most Imperial worlds, the majority of its inhabitants do not experience art, leisure, and the advantages of civilisation. Pellennian society remains highly stratified, with little interaction between social classes. The planet’s rulers, a class of interrelated (and often inbred) noble families known as the “Dynants” live in heavily shielded towers on the surface, protected by dozens of regiments of ferocious Enforcer-soldiers—the Deep Guard.The Dynants are aggressive exploiters of the poor of the Stygies cluster, enticing them to the planet with promises of honest paid work, only to then tie them in to contracts containing unachievable mining targets. Every year, hundreds of thousands of naive workers arrive in Fornix, Pellenne’s great subterranean capital city, to discover that they must carry out decades of backbreaking work in highly radioactive mines. There are tales of some managing to eventually leave, but they are more hopeful myth than fact.The planet exacts a toll on those who work there; mutation rates, especially among those who work closer to the planet’s core, are frighteningly high, despite extensive rad-shielding. Any worker exhibiting signs of mutation is dismissed immediately, exiled from the protection of the great tunnel cities, and driven into the vast and ancient mutant Pellennian underclass
Pellenne - Deep Guard Enforcer: The famed Deep Guard regiments act as both a local defence force and Enforcers on Pellenne, an unusual dual role which speaks volumes regarding the Dynants’ paranoia, obsession with control, and the lengths they go to in order to retain it. Effectively a well equipped militia force consisting solely of native-born Pellennians from the upper, lesser-irradiated levels of the planet, the Deep Guard have a well-deserved reputation for brutality. However, this is tempered by a keen insight into the desperate tactics of mutants from within Imperial society, making the Deep Guard a valuable asset to the wider Imperium: Deep Guard regiments are routinely tithed to the Astra Militarum to take part in the brutal suppression of mutant uprisings across the segmentum and beyond. Their distinctive appearance, with their iron combat armour and stylised drill-bit shaped great helms has made them a familiar sight in areas of civil disturbance across the sector.
Pellenne - The Twisted: No one knows exactly how many mutants there are on Pellenne. Since time immemorial, they have lurked at the edges of human society, feeding upon its refuse and watching its inhabitants with envious eyes. In recent years, as many of the great excavation machines have begun to malfunction, these outcasts have assumed a greater economic importance; each mine’s overseer now musters them together every work-cycle in their thousands and herds them into the deepest mines, where they hack away at the bare iron with hand tools in exchange for meagre scraps of food. Those wretches closest to the currently-worked mines and tunnel cities, a group consisting largely of recently-mutated indentured workers desperate for survival, are still utterly dependent upon human society. These desperate exiles occupy hastily-assembled shanties, and jostle for the scraps thrown to them by Pellenne’s untainted population.At a remove from these unfortunates are the descendants of earlier outcasts. These more experienced mutants are less servile and more resentful of their lot. Prone to forming ruthless, exploitative, and secreted bands with their own gang-cant, they are opportunists, entrepreneurs, and innovators, establishing their own constantly-evolving culture. The movers and shakers of mutant society, they operate tattered drinking dens and seedy outposts, many of which are the grandest buildings in the under-towns. These crime lords and ladies, agitators, and thugs are responsible for many ill-fated uprisings against the cruelty of the Dynants over the centuries.At yet a further remove is a third mutant community. This is by far the most poorly-understood population, consisting of those mutants who, in ancient times, led deep into the lowest and oldest tunnels. A primeval and preternatural attraction to the depths has always drawn the most mutated. Every year, as if at some secret signal, thousands of mutants wander into the darkness in ones and twos. Many die, their desiccated corpses littering the dark, spiralling tunnels. Yet many seem to find others of their kind, there living a peculiar, almost tribal, existence, feeding upon each other and the strange mould that glimmers wetly in the darkness. Here, strange societies bloom and fall, far from the eyes of the Imperium, worshipping and sacrificing to hidden gods. Here the spiral mutants breed and plot, waiting patiently for the day when their numbers are so great that they can rise up from the deepest tunnels and drown the light of the human cities in eternal darkness. One day, soon it appears, their time will come despite the futile efforts of those above to eliminate mutants from Pellenne
Pellenne - Spiral Pit Mutant: The mutants of the deepest pits are an ancient tribal people, subsisting on an unholy diet of cannibalism and a sickening black radiotrophic mould that thrives upon the latent radiation of Pellenne’s lower levels. How the spiral pit mutants survive in what should be a lethally-radioactive environment is a matter of some conjecture. Perhaps they have evolved unprecedented levels of natural resistance, or perhaps they have located tunnels with survivable radiation levels; no satisfactory proof supporting either explanation has yet been found. Some blasphemous theories even hold that the descendants of Askellon’s mythological first settlers live among these mutants. These tales relate that though they were once human, they have since devolved to a level where they are no longer recognisable except as horrid creatures to be exterminated as rapidly as possible.What could have driven them to sink so far, both in geography and shape, make up the most twisted parts of these theories. Although by no means a true-breeding Abhuman race, the mutants of the deepest pits tend to share certain traits: glowing eyes, powerful and tumorous horn-like protrusions, and terrifying ferocity when threatened. Although these atavistic mutants have devolved to a lower tech-level, they are by no means animalistic in their behaviour. They have created their own unique languages and cultures, demonstrate complex (if sinister) religious beliefs, and utilise sophisticated techniques when hunting and battling the human inhabitants of the upper tunnel systems
Pellenne - Veiled Mutant Noble Conspirator: Not all mutants are shambling monstrosities whose deformities are so obvious that they must run to the darkest tunnels to hide from torch-wielding mobs. There are many who bear the stigmata of genetic impurity in some less obvious, concealable fashion: a second leering face embedded in their chest, a withered extra limb that can be wrapped under voluminous clothing—the variations are infinite. On Pellenne, it is said that some within the coddled ruling class, the Dynants, secretly bear the mark of the mutant, and conceal their condition for fear of what they would lose if they were forced to join the ranks of those they have oppressed. These conflicted individuals are, by virtue of their condition, easily drawn into conspiracy, whether by blackmail or by desperate need to keep their corruption secret from the agents of the Imperium. Some veiled mutants desperately search for a “cure” for their mutation, while others gather together with other similarly-afflicted individuals and form secret cults for protection, or for fostering revolution against those who would seek to burn them at the stake
Pellenne - Magister Consanguinitas: Despite many attempts, the rulers of Pellenne have never satisfactorily established the identity of the leaders of the Consanguinity sect. Undercover Deep Guard investigations have identified that certain shadowy masked figures issue instructions to individual cell commanders at Consanguinity gatherings, but these individuals have never been captured. These Magisters Consanguinitae seem as skilled in rhetoric and inflaming mobs as they are in subterfuge, treachery, and counter-surveillance. They have been recorded delivering instruction to junior members of the movement in skills as diverse as bomb construction, operating covert cells in hostile territory, countering interrogation techniques, and the deployment of propaganda. The skilled professionalism of these leaders is of some concern to authorities, as they far exceed those typically found among unofficially tolerated groups of this sort. Speculation about the leadership, and why it has insisted on secrecy, has ranged far and wide in senior Imperial circles; the conclusions drawn have led to increased official interest in the cult.
Pellenne - Frater Consanguinitas: Individual members of a Consanguinity cell are unprepossessing and anonymous, as if expressly selected for their ability to blend into a crowd. When in public, they wear plain, black, unadorned robes with tall hoods that mask their identity and often carry stylised totems displaying a foul mutant hanging from a gallows. All are devoted to committing heinous actions against mutants and those they believe support them in any manner, especially if they provoke greater hatred between humans and mutants.
Pellenne - Satellites: Pellenne possesses two small moons. One, Brax, is rich in rare silicates while the other, Leem, is a carbon moon rich in titanium carbide and diamond. Such a combination of geologically distinct bodies in a single system is highly unlikely in planetary formation. The question of how such conveniently exploitable resources came to be in their current location has such worrying implications that few Pellennians are inclined to delve into the matter too deeply, however. Both moons show the same evidence of mining by boring machines of colossal size during some unidentifiable previous period. There is a third, artificial moon, Facility Rho-Kappa 213. This large orbiting smelt yard is operated by the Adeptus Mechanicus under the terms of a centuries-old mutual benefit charter entered into with the current Pellennian ruling dynasty. Beyond these, the space above is remarkably free of orbital bodies and debris.
Pellenne - Economy: Pellenne's resources are crucial to the operation of the entire Askellian economy. It annually exports hundreds of teratonnes of pure, high-quality iron for use across the sector, together with large quantities of rarer minerals and ores from its moons. The reliability and consistent supply of iron generated by Pellenne has made it a world of importance; unlike other resource worlds, there is no sign of Pellenne’s natural bounty exhausting itself at any time in the future.
Penal Legion - Penal Legion: A Penal Legion, one of the Legions Penetante, as they are known in Imperial High Gothic, are drawn from Astra Militarum and Planetary Defence Force troops who have committed capital crimes, and had their sentences commuted to life service.In a desperate universe justice is often harsh and instant, with little consideration given to miscreants and misfits. In the struggle for survival there is no room for individuals who transgress the rigid structures of Imperial society. Such people face servitude for life in the Penal Legions.There are a great many capital crimes in Imperial Law, so the supply of potential troops for the Penal Legions is never-ending. The Legions are home to killers and psychopaths, to fraudsters and cheats, and to the insane and the fanatic. Pick-pockets and petty thieves rub shoulders with brutal murderers, cackling madmen, and religious zealots.Into the Penal Legions pours the Human refuse of the galaxy. New troops have their heads shaved and tattooed with the unit insignia, and explosive slave-collars are put around their necks. The collars are a disciplinary device rather than a means of turning the troops into Human bombs -- the blast is directed inwards, and will have little effect on anyone standing a few Terran feet away.The collars are controlled by the Adeptus Mechanicus personnel accompanying the force, and are detonated sparingly, when discipline needs to be enforced without destroying the troops' morale.The Penal Legions provide a massive expendable source of manpower for the Imperial armies. Thrown into desperate battles to hold back surprise offensives, or cast against fortifications to test the enemy's strength, the Penal troops are disposable and they know it. Most die in their first battle, driven like cattle into the heart of the fighting.The toughest, the most dangerous, the born killers, somehow survive. For every hundred pathetic miscreants that die whimpering under the enemy guns one mad killer emerges triumphant, screaming his insane anger. Penal Legions are a part of the regular fighting force of the Imperial Guard, and a commander who regards Penal Battalion troops merely as cannon-fodder and uses them wastefully is liable to end up in a Penal Legion battalion himself.
Penal Legion - Role: The Penal Legions are filled with scum of the worst kind. These murderers, rogues, deserters, cowards, madmen, seditionists, and drunkards fight for the Emperor in the bloodiest warzones -- whether willing or not. The penal units in which these villains serve are the product of the harsh discipline enforced in the Imperial Guard.With millions of men and women under arms, all armed and trained to kill for the God-Emperor, there can be no leniency if order and combat effectiveness are to be maintained. The breaking of any number of tenets of military law and the inexhaustive wealth of Departmento Munitorum regulations up to and including murder are all punishable by death -- or service in a penal battalion.The will of condemned criminals is not easily bound to the Emperor's service, and so many methods may be applied to get these forlorn wretches into battle. These methods may include the generous application of lashes by electro scourges, or fitting the penal legionnaires with auto-injectors to flood their bloodstreams with frenzon, slaught, or other combat drugs and turn them into raving berserkers.Decimation of a Penal Legion that fails to advance is also a common motivational tool. In some cases legionnaires may be fitted with explosive collars which can be detonated remotely to reinforce an order or give instant punishment.The Penal Legions are thrown into the most dangerous and suicidal of engagements where the chances of survival are minimal. Some go into battle filled with remorse for their crimes. Others walk like men already dead, their limbs trembling with fear. Some embrace the carnage and the prospect of their own death with madness born of fear.Most die in the first moments of such engagements and pay a quick price for their crimes -- but a few may survive to be cast once again into the cauldron of blood and fire and see if the Emperor is yet done with their service.These rare survivors are a savage breed who can walk into the mouth of hell and emerge screaming their defiance at death. In the end, however, death finds all, and even the most indomitable survivor will eventually find the only release from their crimes that there can ever be. A very few of these rare and dangerous survivors may find themselves performing new and more lethal service for an Inquisitor who has use for resourceful and hardened killers.