Kalidar - History: Compared to other worlds of the Imperium whose history often spans tens of Terran millennia, Kalidar is a fairly young world as it was only settled in the wake of the Age of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium. However, Imperial records remain obscure as to exactly when after that era Kalidar was first colonised.The colonisation of Kalidar was initiated in the planet's southern hemisphere where its first hive city and administrative capital, Hive Meradon, was founded. At roughly about the same time, its northern counterpart -- Hive Modulus -- was constructed, for the intense radiation of Kalidar's sun is so harmful that most human settlements on the world need to be located underground to protect their populations.As the colonisation effort swiftly proceeded, the Adeptus Mechanicus was tasked with performing geological surveys of the Lorelei deposits in the Khalidarian deserts, mapping the location of the richest concentrations and the purity of their crystals. The Mechanicus' evaluation led the planetary government to found several new cities, each close to the most promising mining sites.Five more hive cities were founded in quick succession and interlinked by a net of subterranean transit ways to promote trade and the exchange of resources. However, Kalidar's turbulent magnetosphere and intense, ionising solar radiation greatly hindered Vox communication across the planet's surface.The hive cities of Kalidar were initially constructed in sandy areas where the Lorelei was mainly collected with the help of gigantic sand-crawlers, enormous vehicles that sifted through the sand in search of the precious crystals. Despite the low quality of this form of Lorelei, the industrial output of Kalidar's settlements soon made them profitable, and their production was gradually increased, eventually reaching 36 gigatons of refined lorelei per Terran year in the case of Hive Meradon.At some point prior to the 37th Millennium, a second geological survey of Kalidar's yet untapped regions was conducted. This second survey discovered unprecedented deposits of extremely pure Lorelei beneath the region known as the Ozymandian Basin. The construction of a new hive city -- Hive Kimeradon -- soon began, but due to the psychic resonance of the high-grade Lorelei veins, the construction teams were constantly plagued with frightening visions and other psychically-induced trauma.Prolonged exposure to the Lorelei ultimately caused the members of the construction team to suffer psychotic breaks and attack each other, resulting in the deaths of the entire team. The infamous last transmission of the Hive Kimeradon Constructor Team gave birth to the notion of "the Ghosts of Kalidar" and their macabre fate prevented any further expansion of Lorelei mining operations into the Ozymandian Basin.Other than the fiasco that marked the birth of Hive Kimeradon, mining operations on Kalidar proceeded unhindered until 395.M41 when the planet found itself in the path of an Ork WAAAGH!. After making planetfall in the southern hemisphere, the Greenskins quickly overran Kalidar's meager Planetary Defence Force and took possession of Hive Meradon, killing Planetary Governor Lozallio Cann in the process.While the Orks could easily have swept aside all remaining Imperial resistance on Kalidar, inexplicably they lingered, occupying Hive Meradon for a full two Terran years before Astra Militarum reinforcements as well as a Crusade of Black Templars Space Marines could be diverted to the stricken Industrial World. By then, the Orks under "Arch-Skarlord General" Gratzdakka Wur Mekdakka had firmly entrenched themselves in and around Hive Meradon. The local population had even begun to call the fallen hive city "Orktown".But with the arrival of the Astra Militarum and Black Templars forces, the reclamation of Kalidar could begin, unleashing what Imperial savants have named the Kalidar War.