Terra - Notable Locations: Terra is the heart and Throneworld of the Imperium of Man, and serves as the headquarters for many of its most important Adepta and other organisations. Most importantly, it is the homeworld and resting place of the Emperor of Mankind. The most important places on Terra and the headquarters of the vital Imperial organisations based on Terra include the following:Imperial Palace - One of the largest structures on Terra, the Imperial Palace is more like a sprawling hive city than a single edifice. It covers the better part of the Northern Hemisphere, and is guarded by the Adeptus Custodes, the superhuman praetorians of the Emperor who rarely leave the confines of the Palace. It is the heart of the Administratum as well as the home of the Sanctum Imperialis, the great throne room of the Emperor and the location of the Golden Throne. The Palace is divided between the Inner and Outer Palace. It is described as "an endless, black hive of forbidden technology and subterranean passages delving deep within the bowels of the planet."Eternity Gate - The largest entryway into the Inner Imperial Palace's Sanctum Imperialis. A mile-long passage leads to the Eternity Gate, lined with the banners of thousands of the greatest and long-dead Imperial heroes, including Lord Commander Solar Macharius. It constitutes the end of the galactic pilgrimage trail or the devotees of the Imperial Cult, and is itself the most important pilgrimage site in the entire Imperium, for almost no one is ever allowed entrance through the Eternity Gate into the Sanctum Imperialis.Sanctum Imperialis - The Sanctum Imperialis is the throne room and heart of the Imperial Palace. It is the massive chamber housing the Golden Throne and the Emperor's physical body. It is guarded by a select group of three hundred Adeptus Custodes, the Companions, who are the elite among the elite.Central Offices of the Departmento Munitorum - These offices mark the central location of the Departmento Munitorum, a department or sub-division of the Adeptus Administratum devoted to the general administration, personnel assignment, supply and logistics of the Astra Militarum.House of Weapons - The House of Weapons is the ancient, formidable armoury of the Imperial Palace. The Adeptus Custodes and the Imperial Fists Chapter are known to store their arms and armour here.Tower of Hegemon - This tower is where the Custodes keep their office of watch. Within the tower lies the Watchroom -- the nerve-center for security operations for the Adeptus Custodes and the entire Imperial Palace complex.City of Sight - The City of Sight was built within a section of the Emperor's own Imperial Palace in the Himalazian (Himalayan) Mountains. This was the main headquarters of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy.Obsidian Keep - The Obsidian Keep is the current headquarters of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica in the 41st Millennium. Located in the vast Astra Telepathica palace complex on Terra, some psykers captured by the League of Blackships are brought here for training as Astropaths or Sanctioned Psykers.Bhab Bastion - The Bhab Bastion was an ancient place of counsel and refuge for warlords and tyrants since before the Age of Strife. Following the Unification Wars, this ancient structure was absorbed into the growing complex of the Imperial Palace. During the Horus Heresy, the Bhab Bastion, alongside the Phalanx, the massive capital ship of the Imperial Fists Chapter, acted as the command centre of the Primarch Rogal Dorn while he oversaw the construction of the defences for the Sol System as the Warmaster Horus' Traitor Legions closed on the Throneworld.Tower of Heroes - The Tower of Heroes houses the Bell of Lost Souls, a colossal iron bell that is as massive as a building and adorned with dark runes. The Bell of Lost Souls tolls only when the greatest of the Imperium of Man's heroes perish and can be heard by millions of people across the face of Terra. It rarely rings, but when it does, all resident Imperial Palace servants must be evacuated and sealed within reinforced shelters to prevents the annihilation of their eardrums and subsequent death through lung rupture and embolism. Among its many legends is the holiest of all; that when the bell rings, the Emperor hears the sound even in His long slumber upon the Golden Throne, and sheds a single tear.The Shrouds - The Shrouds is the name given to the secret chamber located deep within the confines of the Inner Palace that served as the headquarters of the Officio Assassinorum. It was the primary meeting place of the various masters of all six Assassin Clades and was overseen by the Grand Master of Assassins. During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras, this post was held by Malcador the Sigillite.Column of Glory - The Column of Glory is a massive crystalline pillar of multi-hued metals rising half a kilometre high, under a vaulted dome so lofty that clouds form to obscure its frescoed arcs. Studding the Column is hundreds of shattered suits of Power Armour belonging to Blood Angels, White Scars, and Imperial Fists Space Marines, who died defending the Imperial Palace 10,000 standard years ago during the Siege of Terra.The Pillar of Bone - The Pillar of Bone is believed to be a monument raised on Terra to the Imperial Fists' courage in an unnamed campaign. In reality it is actually a sacred relic to those privy to the truth about the Chapter within the Imperial Fists. The Pillar is the last remnant of the once-great Imperial Fists fortress-monastery that stood on Terra. It was destroyed during the Horus Heresy in the midst of the Siege of Terra.The Investiary - The Investiary was a massive amphitheatre open to the night sky, its broad space once containing the statues of the twenty Primarchs on ouslite plinths in a silent ring. The effigies of the traitorous Primarchs who betrayed the Emperor during the Horus Heresy were once temporarily shrouded. Following the end of the Horus Heresy, the effigies of the Traitor Primarchs were removed entirely.The Senatorum Imperialis of the High Lords of Terra - This immense building within the Imperial Palace complex houses the council or Senatorum Imperialis of the twelve highest-ranking political officials in the Imperium, the High Lords of Terra, who rule in the Emperor's name as He no longer can, though His mind is believed to remain active in the Warp, guiding and protecting Humanity.Great Chamber of the Senatorum Imperialis - This massive meeting chamber is where the Imperial elite hold their "parliament," and is the meeting place of the High Twelve.Library Sanctus - The Library Sanctus is an Imperial archive located on Terra. It holds knowledge of some of the oldest and most sinister things in galactic history, such as information on the Men of Iron and the Ymga Monolith.Dark Cells - The Dark Cells or "Black Cells" as they are sometimes called, are shadowy oubliettes located deep beneath the Imperial Palace that contain entities and aretfacts that date back to the Age of Strife that could be used to annihilate the Imperium itself if they were to break free or be used by those with nefarious purposes. It is unknown if the Dark Cells are the same location as the Vaults of Rython that were used for an identical purpose by the Legio Custodes before the Horus Heresy. Guarded by the Shield Host of the Adeptus Custodes known as the Shadowkeepers, the technology used to keep them sealed includes runic locks, psychic wards and sanctic circles. The corridors of the Dark Cells are patrolled at all times by a hundred Custodians of the Shadowkeepers. Although neither light, nor sound can escape from the cells, the dread air surrounding the facility is capable of even putting the iron-willed Custodians on edge.Adeptus Terra - The Adeptus Terra, known commonly as the Priesthood of Earth, is the actual government of the Imperium of Man, consisting of countless different bureaucratic organisations and the departments within them. Besides the vast, destitute population of non-Adepts that makes up the majority of the planet's populace, much of the rest of Terra's population are members of the Adeptus Terra and of these the largest percentage are Adepts of the Administratum.Administratum - The Administratum is the administrative and primary bureaucratic division of the Adeptus Terra. It consists of untold billions of clerks, scribes, bureaucrats and administrative staff constantly working to manage the Imperium at every level, from assembling war fleets to levying taxes and tithes. It is the largest of the departments comprising the Adeptus Terra, and ten billion Administratum Adepts work in the Imperial Palace alone.The Forbidden Fortress - The Forbidden Fortress is a vast complex that extends throughout the mountain range of the Himalazians. A single peak is carved to form the Chamber of the Astronomican, where ten thousand psykers continuously power the Astronomican beacon directed by the mind of the Emperor with their own life energies. The "psychic light" of the beacon reaches thousands of light years across the Warp and helps to keep the daemonic entities of the Warp from breaking through the dimensional barrier into realspace. The Astronomican is utilised by the mutant psykers known as Navigators to guide interstellar starships through the otherwise trackless chaos of the Warp. Without it, long-distance Warp travel would be impossible and the Imperium of Man would disintegrate. Access to the Forbidden Fortress is restricted to invitation only. This includes even members of the Inquisition who must still request access.Fortress of the Inquisition - The Inquisition's headquarters on Terra is a sprawling and highly secure complex built beneath the south polar ice cap of Antarctica. Located deep underground, this subterranean complex is heavily warded and equipped with psyker dampening devices and null-fields. Only members of the Inquisition and a sparse number of prisoners are permitted to enter this underground complex. The Fortress is overseen by a senior Inquisitor known as "The Castellan," a position which changes annually, to ensure that no man or woman can establish a political powerbase or extend the control of one of the Inquisition's innumerable quarreling factions over this facility.Navigator's Quarter - The headquarters of the families of the Navis Nobilite (the Navigators). It is said to be located on a massive island.Hall of Judgment - The headquarters of the Adeptus Arbites, the chief law enforcement organisation of the Imperium.Officio Assassinorum and the Assassinorum Temple - Although its agents operate throughout the Imperium, this dark organization is based on Terra. Its School of Assassins and most of the temples that comprise the Officio are said to be located on Terra, although their actual locations are closely guarded secrets. The Assassinorum Temple is specifically the headquarters of the Grand Master of Assassins.Adeptus Astra Telepathica - The Adeptus Astra Telepathica is the organization responsible for recruiting and training officially-sanctioned psykers for service to the Imperium. The infamous Black Ships of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica travel throughout the Imperium, gathering their tithe of psykers and returning with them to Terra. The psykers are analysed and sorted according to their psychic power and strength of mind in resisting the temptations of Chaos. The novitiates are trained at the Scholastica Psykana for five standard years before being sent for further training elsewhere. Some of these Sanctioned Psykers become Astropaths, specialist psykers who are trained to telepathically send and receive messages over interstellar distances (no other form of instantaneous interstellar communication exists). Others are requisitioned by the Adeptus Astronomica for service in the Astronomican's choir. The most powerful, those who demonstrate a strong enough mental character to resist daemonic possession on their own, often enter the Inquisition for training as Acolytes, with some eventually becoming Inquisitors themselves. Those psykers deemed too weak or dangerous to live become sacrifices to the Emperor; their souls are "fed" into the arcane technology of the Golden Throne so that the Emperor may continue to live and guide the Astronomicon that allows the Imperium to function as an interstellar civilisation. Only psykers that have been trained at the Scholastia Psykana are legally sanctioned by the Imperium; all others are considered illegal, often branded as "witches," and are at risk of being summarily executed as Heretics by the Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus and other organs of official Imperial power.The Ecclesiarchal Palace - The headquarters of the Ecclesiarchy, also known as the Adeptus Ministorum, the Ecclesiarchal Palace sprawls over almost the entirety of Terra's southern continent of Australia. It is also home to one of the two major convent-fortresses (the Convent Prioris) of the Adepta Sororitas (the Sisters of Battle) on the Imperium's Throneworld.The Cathedral of the Emperor Deified - A massive cathedral of the Imperial Cult that was built near the Ecclesiarchal Palace.The Cathedral of the Saviour Emperor - A large cathedral of the Imperial Cult that is quite popular amongst pilgrims. It is said to contain important Imperial relics, including pieces of the Emperor's armour and ashes from the cloak of Roboute Guilliman, the Primarch of the Ultramarines and current Lord Commander of the Imperium. Pilgrims often undertake multi-year journeys to the Cathedral and endure massive lines, only to be granted a mere three solar seconds to be in the presence of these holy relics before they must take their leave and move on.Khangba Marwu - Khangba Marwu, also known as "The Vault," was a large underground Imperial prison complex on Terra intended to hold the worst criminals of the Imperium of Man. Its inmates were overseen by the Legio Custodes during the early 31st Millennium. The prison was located in the Himalazian Mountains under the mountain peak of Rakaposhi, and had been constructed at least a thousand standard years before the Horus Heresy began by persons unknown. The prison was home to some of the worst criminals of the Imperium and had been used to imprison several of the tyrants defeated by the Emperor's forces during the Unification Wars.Eternal City - The Eternal City is a massive urban area adjacent to the walls of the Imperial Palace in the 41st Millennium that is known to contain both great splendour and horrible squalour, making it a microcosm of Terra itself.The Catacombs - The Catacombs are vast underground passages which run beneath Terra, so large that they require oversight by a designated Imperial official known as the Mistress Plenary who is a lesser member of the Senatorum Imperialis, serving at the pleasure of the High Lords.Hive Karelia - This ancient city once housed a vast library that contained knowledge of the Dark Age of Technology, but was bombed by Pro-Panpacifists during the Great Crusade era, due to civil unrest and resistance to the Emperor's rule. It had been scheduled for demolition, but Kasper Ansbach Hawser, an Imperial Conservator (historian), managed to succeed in recovering over 7,000 texts from a data archive that had been deemed worthless.Hive Tashkent - Hive Tashkent is one of the hive cities of Terra known to exist in the 32nd Millennium at the time of the War of the Beast. It is based on the continent of Asia.Himalayic Shelf - Deep beneath this geological construction live the deadly denizens of various rune-locked vaults. The warriors of the Adeptus Custodes often fight in skirmishes intended to prevent them from escaping.Manufactora Mericum - Beneath this massive manufactorum complex lie countless tunnels that are used as hiding places for various cults. The warriors of the Adeptus Custodes sometimes enter them to carry out a purge of the cultists when the threat they present begins to grow.Walking City - The Walking City was a densely-populated, mobile techno-nomad platform that slowly walked a looping route towards the equator of Terra and back on twenty great legs. During the Horus Heresy, in the days just before the start of the Siege of Terra, the Walking City came under assault by the daemon known as the Lord of Flies, which had used the potent faith of a secret church dedicated to the then-illegal cult of the God-Emperor as a way to manifest in the material realm. The daemon had infected the population, transforming them into plague fly-riddled zombies. The Knights-Errant, led by Nathaniel Garro, were despatched to combat the attack and successfully banished the Chaos infestation.White Mountain - The White Mountain was a great subterranean fortress delved beneath a mountain range on Terra. It had been constructed by one of Terra's ancient and unknown warlords and lay in a region that by the time of the Horus Heresy was still irradiated and lifeless from the damage caused to the world by the Age of Strife. The fortress had been taken over by the Imperium and had potent anti-psyker wards put in place so that it could serve as a prison for psykers. The Emperor's intent had been to imprison the potent psychic Primarch Magnus the Red there if he had been successfully extracted from Prospero. Unfortunately, the Space Wolves had attacked that world early in the Heresy against the Emperor's original orders and Magnus had gone over to the service of Chaos, never returning to Terra. The White Mountain was where Malcador the Sigillite ordered a group of Sisters of Silence who had been captured and tortured by the forces of Chaos and then recovered by the Loyalists to be held while his researchers sought to determine what had been done to them. In fact, the altered Sisters were simply part of a plot by the Traitors to assassinate the Sigillite by triggering a subliminal mental command that had been psychically embedded in the mind of Tylos Rubio by the Word Bearers First Chaplain Erebus. Rubio was one of Malcador's Knights-Errant who had fought at the Battle of Calth. The plot was initiated when the White Mountain came under assault by Chaos Cultists and the daemon of Nurgle known as the Lord of Flies. The Knights-Errant were deployed onto the slopes of the fortress to deal with the assault, while Rubio's mental conditioning was triggered by the Sisters of Silence kept within the White Mountain's holding cells. He attacked Malcador while the Sigillite was bereft of his psychic powers due to the fortress' anti-psyker technology. The Sigillite managed to hold off the attack using his hidden Conversion Field and then psychically stripped the mental conditioning from Rubio's mind. On the slopes of the White Mountain, Garro and the Knights-Errant managed to defeat the Chaos assault, though the Knight-Errant and former World Eater Macer Varren was possessed by the Lord of Flies before finding the willpower to force back the daemon's assault and destroy himself using a brace of grenades taken from Garviel Loken. The daemon's hold on realspace was finally destroyed by the Sigillite himself, who used his restored psychic abilities to burn the daemon to ash.