vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Imperium of Man - A Legacy of Strife: The Human race of the 41st Millennium bears deep scars upon their collective psyche thanks to the horrors of the Age of Strife, which ground on for almost six standard millennia. Mankind survived its ravages in only the most fragmented and desperate fashion, emerging from its shadows and into the Emperor's light as a species much changed.The collapse of Humanity's intersteallar society during the Age of Strife brought a violent end to millennia of Human confidence. It completely shattered the species' prior sense of galactic destiny. Never before had there been a peril or challenge Human ingenuity could not best. Worse, the dangers that laid Mankind low came from within, unmarked until it was too late.The damage done to the gestalt Human psyche by thousands of Terran years of galactic catastrophe ran so deep as to become instinct; mistrust of curiosityand invention, of alien influence and psychic witchcraft predominated. Humanity became closed-minded and violently conservative, desperate to avoid repetition of the mistakes that had led to the horrors and intense suffering of the Age of Strife. Where lore and record-keeping failed, mythology and religion kept those fears alive.Perhaps this explains the fervour with which the Emperor's Great Crusade was greeted. Though of course countless warlords and isolationist societies fought His rule, the Emperor's unification of the Human-settled galaxy brought a safe and secular comfort that banished the ghosts haunting the Human soul. If this is true then it would also explain why the Emperor's fall during the Horus Heresy saw those spectres rush back in with such vengeance.Fearful and bereft of the Emperor's conscious guidance after His interment within the Golden Throne, Humanity sought strength in the blind zealotry that the Emperor Himself had so assiduously discouraged through the spread of the Imperial Truth, becoming ever more entrenched in their superstitions over time.The Age of Strife even scarred the galaxy itself. Countless worlds were reduced to inimical wastelands or overrun by dangerous living weapons. Others wereleft haunted by the cyclopean ruins of lost endeavour, vast haloes of decaying orbital machinery, looming spires crackling with strange energies, echoing techvaults still concealing deadly threats behind bulkheads buried in the dust of ages.Every time the Imperium discovers another such remnant of Humanity's former glory it is but another reminder of the hubris that damned Mankind, and the dangers of daring to hope in such a dark and terrible age as the 41st Millennium.
Imperium of Man - Cult Mechanicus: Technology and its mysteries are the preserve of the followers of the Machine God, the Tech-priests of the Cult Mechanicus. For they believe that machines are imbued with a life-force of their own, a soul granted to them by the Machine God who governs the universe -- a will and a personality. The more ancient a piece of technology, the greater reverence it will elicit from these robed followers, who will spend many hours anointing a machine with the correct unguents before pressing the sigils of activation to coax its animistic Machine Spirit into life. The God-Emperor of Mankind is the Omnissiah in this view, the physical embodiment of the Machine God in realspace.A machine that is both old and complicated is given the same status by the Tech-priests as the Ecclesiarchy would give a major Imperial Saint, for many of the systems on these machines are irreplaceable, their secrets lost to time. Among the greatest of such machines are the vast Battleships of the Imperial Navy, or the super-heavy Titan war machines, whom the Tech-priests call "god-engines.". But the Tech-priests will also lavish their attention upon an antique Lasgun or prognosticator and will spend much time trying to understand the intricacies of a device's workings. All machines though, no matter what their pedigree, are treated as living things by the Tech-priests and they will treat all with reverence, for all are gifts from the long-lost past, knowledge of their function handed on through time only by the beneficence of the Machine God. Woe betide any man who fails to treat his weapon with respect or hurls abuses at his desktop logicator within the range of the cybernetically-enhanced senses of a Tech-priest.Paradoxically, true machine intelligences, Silica Animus, are held to be anathema by the Tech-priests, for they view these as soulless automata, spiritless things cast into the galaxy to confound the will of the Machine God. Shrouded in myth and legend, these abominations, the so-called "Men of Iron," are rumoured to have originated during the Dark Age of Technology and to have caused immense damage to the interstellar Human civilisation that had existed before the Age of Strife brought it low. Supposedly pathologically dangerous, an Inquisitor may encounter them, although rarely, in the course of his duties. Should they learn of these creations, the Tech-priests will hunt them down, investigate them and then destroy them. Only properly sanctioned digital logic engines and Cogitators, those deemed to have a spirit gifted them by the Omnissiah (and to lack true sentience), are allowed to persist.
Imperium of Man - Human Variability: The peoples of the Imperium vary in their form and appearances just as their homeworlds do. Whilst there is a generally agreed baseline Human standard, consisting of four limbs, one head, twenty digits and so on, the local environment and genetic stock have caused all manner of interesting anomalies, evolutionary adaptations and fashions. These differences are usually cosmetic in effect; however, the more radical alterations walk the line between accepted variation and outright mutation. It is a subject of intense debate amongst some Inquisitors, and indeed the priests of the Ecclesiarchy, on what it is to be Human and therefore accepted into the Imperium.Certain planets will betray their colonial origins with the appearance of their peoples -- perhaps a particular type of nose or skin colour will be dominant. Others will have clear tribal divisions. Some populations will possess unusual adaptations as a consequence of their local environment. The folk of the Agri-world Dreah, for example, have a grey skin, hair and eye tone, which exactly matches the flora, fauna, sky and waters of their notoriously dull planet. Some cultures may impose certain ideals of beauty that drastically alter the looks of their peoples. Certainly, many strange and terrible gangs of Underhivers have been discovered, clad in hyper-fashionable armour, sporting glowing Electoos, skull studs, gang tribal mutilations and shiv scars with pride.To some extent a similar appearance and culture binds the people of a planet together into a common stock. Usually speaking, citizens of the Imperium will prefer to spend their time with fellow natives of their world. That said, however, Mankind has ever been titillated by the exotic, so friendship, love affairs and even children with off-worlders is not unknown on planets with a culture that legitimises such travel.
Imperium of Man - Rebellion: The Imperial Creed maintains that all of Humanity must be brought and kept within the Imperium where men and women can benefit from the rule of the Emperor. Several Imperial organisations are permanently occupied with suppressing any possibility of rebellion before it has a chance of developing. The common worship of the God-Emperor holds Mankind together and instills loyalty towards the Imperium. Rebellions and uprisings on Imperial planets nonetheless remain a constant problem. The nature and causes of a rebellion can fall into several categories: the government of an Imperial world may decide to secede from the Imperium; a popular uprising may attempt to overthrow the local Imperial government; in the most insidious of cases the rebellion may be brought about by alien or Chaos influence. In the more prosaic cases however, a new planetary government established through rebellion is not necessarily opposed by the Imperium, so long as it accedes fully to Imperial authority and pays its tithes to Terra. Besides the pursuit of outright war, there are many ways a rebellious world may be brought back into the Imperium. With the existence of its more secretive organs like the Inquisition, the Imperium is fully capable of carrying out covert methods of restoring Imperial rule, including assassination, popular agitation, economic sabotage and terrorism. Sometimes a rebellion can be subdued by the removal of a single individual. Pro-Imperial groups or other anti-government forces can be infiltrated or supported as required.
Imperium of Man - Great Rift: The Fall of Cadia and its ancient pylons during the 13th Black Crusade, the sundering of Craftworld Biel-Tan during the Battle of Biel-Tan and the partial awakening of Ynnead, the Aeldari god of the dead, the breaking of the Amethal Daemon cage during the Diamor Campaign, Magnus the Red's vengeance on Fenris during the Siege of the Fenris System and the return of the Planet of the Sorcerers to realspace -- these and dozens of other pivotal events fractured the stuff of reality as the 41st Millennium raced towards its bloody conclusion.Any or all might have been the final blow that broke the fault lines wide open and unleashed the Great Rift upon the galaxy. Known also as the Cicatrix Maledictum in High Gothic to the Imperium, Gork's Grin to the Orks, the Dathedian to the Aeldari and countless other names weighted with dread and mythological symbolism, it has changed the face of the galaxy forever, stretching from the Eye of Terror in the galactic west to the Hadex Anomaly in the east.Upon its opening the rift unleashed a tsunami of ferocious empyric energy and supernatural darkness that temporarily cut Humanity off from the light and psychic protection of the Astronomican that was known to the Imperium as the Noctis Aeterna, and this event alone claimed countless worlds, fleets and armies. Though that shadow has receded in much of the galaxy, still the rift roils and spreads, devouring entire species with its unnatural fury.
Imperium of Man - Imperial Languages: Low Gothic is the common tongue of the Imperium, spoken on most Imperial planets as a first or second language. Imperial worlds have inevitably developed their own, often highly variant, dialects of Low Gothic over time. High Gothic (fictionally represented as a form of Latinised English) dates from the last time Humanity was united across interstellar distances in an ancient confederation that existed during the Dark Age of Technology (long before the Age of the Imperium), and is used solely as a hieratic tongue in the 41st Millennium by the divisions of the Adeptus Terra, the Inquisition and the Ecclesiarchy. High Gothic is the language that was spoken by the people of Terra at the time of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy and is considered a sacred language because it was the tongue of the Emperor Himself.Low Gothic (also called "Imperial Gothic" or simply "Gothic") is the "official" language of the Imperium, the everyday tongue of its adepts and of Terra. Most worlds have been a part of the Imperium for long enough to have adopted Low Gothic as a universal tongue but there are still a great many Feral Worlds on which Imperial Gothic is not spoken.Inevitably, dialects of Gothic differ from world to world and can be mutually unintelligible. Older planets frequently maintain archaic tongues of their own, to the extent that ruling aristocracies might only know enough Low Gothic to be sworn into their Imperial offices. For highly formal matters, the Adeptus Terra use High Gothic, the related precursor language of Imperial Low Gothic. Many Ecclesiarchy rituals, Administratum edicts and Imperial charters use this ancient and venerable language.
Imperium of Man - Psykers in the Imperium: Humans with psychic powers, known colloquially as "psykers," who possess abilities ranging from telepathy to pyrokenesis, have existed since the dawn of Mankind's existence as a species during the Paleolithic Age on Old Earth, but their position in the Imperium is an uncomfortable one at best.An untrained psyker is an unguarded gateway to the Warp, through which psychic predators like Daemons and Enslavers can enter realspace and wreak havoc. It is said that whole worlds have been lost to hideous monsters of the Empyrean, while rogue psykers have committed horrible crimes with their powers or led dangerous and destructive cults.On some worlds all psykers are tried as "witches," subjected to tortuous ordeals and burned at the stake when their inevitable guilt is proven. Imperial law requires all worlds to monitor its psykers and subject them for testing by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. Those who are strong enough to withstand the perils of the Warp are forced to endure the soul-binding and are trained to serve the Imperium as Sanctioned Psykers. Those who are too weak are taken away by the Black Ships and never seen again, their lives used to maintain the Emperor's strength within the Warp and power the Astronomican.
Imperium of Man - Travel in the Imperium: Interstellar travel between the worlds of the Imperium is rare and dangerous. The vast majority of civilians will never know the roaring tedium of shuttle flight, the sickening plummet of a Drop Pod or the unnerving silence of deep space. Given the huge size of the Imperium, it is impossible to cross it in the fleeting span of time given to ordinary men. Colonists, pilgrims and refugees spend many generations in the vastness of space, and many starships never survive the vagaries of travel to reach their destination.
Imperium of Man - Sub-Light Travel: Used mostly for journeys between planets or closely neighbouring star systems, sub-light travel involves speeds that confound mortal imagination and yet are still nothing when measured against the sheer size of the galaxy. Those attempting to use slower-than-light drives to travel any appreciable distance condemn themselves and their descendants to a shipboard life, endlessly whittling away the Terran years until they arrive at the distant star they set out to reach. The average Imperial citizen is unlikely to experience slower-than-light space travel. Even those individuals living within a star system with plentiful voidships for interplanetary travel are likely to prefer the world of their birth over distant places with strange customs, odd food and "funny-looking" people.In many places, space travel is reserved for the privileged few who can afford to maintain the rituals, priests and shrines that such voidcraft require, as well as the vast cost of the starships themselves. Tech-priests do what they can to sate the Machine Spirits of these spacecraft, but often even their unfathomable lore is not enough to prevent these temperamental ships from venting their rage (and oxygen) to the detriment of passengers. Sheer odds dictate that sooner or later those that frequently travel in ships between planets will experience such a disaster. Those worlds that have not lost the art of creating and maintaining slower-than-light starships jealously guard their arcane craft. This reluctance to share their guild secrets ensures the reliability and price of their vessels but also robs others of vital information required to placate their own craft. Institutions such as the Imperial Navy, the Inquisition and various Adepta have access to much better-quality vessels, maintained with religious awe and reverence by countless generations of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Imperium of Man - Warp Travel: To move any appreciable distance within the Imperium, voyagers must make use of Warp travel. This method of faster-than-light travel is rare, expensive and dangerous, as it requires the use of the unpredictable realm known as the Warp, or the Immaterium. Vessels equipped with a functional Warp-Drive are able to translate themselves into this other dimension of being that coexists with the material universe by generating an envelope of protective Gellar Fields. The Warp-Drive "bends" the starship through the veil of realspace into the Immaterium. Once within this strange hyperdimensional realm, the starship is able to ride the currents and eddies that flow within the Warp, frequently dropping back into realspace to check its positioning.The Immaterium is a bizarre and contradictory place, entirely unnatural to Mankind or any being of realspace. Looking upon the Warp unprotected causes madness and Chaos corruption, and thus is greatly feared by almost everyone in the Imperium. Dimensions, colours, forces and emotions operate entirely differently within the Warp's embrace, and this can drive even the most thick-headed crewman insane. Psykers of course, find such travel even more disturbing as their mystical senses are able to comprehend much more of the Immaterium and the foul creatures that dwell within it. Those that travel through the Warp emerge to discover another of its disconcerting effects. Time does not operate normally within this other realm and so travellers can emerge to discover that Terran centuries have passed in realspace since they started their journey, that they have merely been absent for a few solar seconds, or have even arrived before they left. Even skilled Navigators cannot predict how much time will be lost, gained or repeated over the course of a journey. Those that embark upon Warp travel know that they will probably never return home, or that if they do so they will find it so changed that it is unrecognisable. When two or more captains of starships meet, they invariably trade dates, attempting to reconstruct the time they are missing or have gained. Needless to say, Warp travel is not embarked upon lightly.The Warp is occasionally prone to great turbulence or storms of activity. These strike at random and last for an unpredictable amount of time. Whilst these Warp Storms rage, any vessels within are tossed about on roiling currents, sometimes being spat out at random locations. Other ships simply become trapped, unable to translate back into realspace, cursed to an eternity upon the waves of the Warp. These storms disrupt communication across the Imperium and can sometimes herald a great disaster within realspace, as they did during the Age of Strife before the birth of the Chaos God Slaanesh during the Fall of the Eldar.
Imperium of Man - Imperial Calendar: The Imperium of Man originally used a special Imperial Dating System derived from the original Gregorian Calendar of Old Earth that denotes the current year by the notation (year of the millennium).M(number of the millennium). For example, the year 40,999 A.D. would be represented as 999.M41, while 41,002 would be 002.M42 and the year 2021 would be 021.M3. However, the year 41,000 A.D. would be 000.M41, since the new millennium starts at the year 001 and has no Year 0.In the wake of the resurrection of the Primarch Roboute Guilliman and his return to the position of lord commander of the Imperium and Imperial Regent in ca. 999.M41, he discovered that the Imperial Calendar had become degraded by both dogmatic adherence and thoughtless revisionism. Various rival dating systems had evolved from the Imperial Standard, making a true, accurate chronicle of the galaxy almost impossible to construct.As the Indomitus Crusade's first phase drew to a close approximately twelve standard years into what would once have been designated the 42nd Millennium, Guilliman calculated the current year by the five main factional variants of the Imperial Calendar to be anywhere between the early 41st Millennium and an entire millennium later, and that was leaving out the numerous lesser, more heretical interpretations. As a result, most dates given in the 41st Millennium should be considered unreliable or approximations at best in relation to the period of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, and many have argued that the Imperium is still in the midst of the 41st Millennium.Following the birth of the Great Rift and the start of the Era Indomitus, temporal anomalies spread across the galaxy making the use of a universal dating system extremely difficult as different Imperial worlds began to experience the passage of time at different subjective rates.A new, more localised dating system came into existence that was different for each settled world or star system. It used the birth of the Great Rift as the standard event from which all time was calculated, either before or after its creation.
Imperium of Man - Imperial Currency: The economic systems in existence across Imperial space vary from world to world and their levels of technological progression and so there is no standardised financial system or currency in use across the entire Imperium. On more primitive Feral and Feudal Worlds, there may be no system more complex than bartering or the exchange of a basic, precious metal-based currency.However, most civilised worlds that have achieved the standard level of Imperial technology make use of some form of fiat currency for all economic transactions which is often digital or electronic in form. The names of these currencies vary as wildly as the Human cultures that employ them. Some are used only on individual worlds or their surrounding sub-sectors, while on others the currency may be accepted on a sector-wide or even multi-sector basis.For example, the Imperial currency of the Calixis Sector and many of the surrounding regions such as the Koronus Expanse is known as the "Throne Gelt", embodied in the form of metallic coins known simply as "thrones," a reference to the Emperor's Golden Throne. This currency, like most in the Imperium, is a fiat currency based on the value of the local region's Imperial Tithes. There are also precious shell tokens or coins of rare or strategic metals that are accepted as legal tender on all of the civilised Imperial worlds of that sector. Thrones can also be dispersed in electronic form as payment, usually by using a data-slate.
Imperium of Man - Threats to the Imperium: Despite being the largest empire that Humanity has ever known, many planets within the Imperium feel isolated and alone in the deep void of space. Across all the peoples and planets of the Imperium, fear gnaws away at the psyche, worming mistrust and desperate faith into the conscious and unconscious mind. Time and again the universe has proved itself an uncaring and frightening place deeply hostile to the survival of Humanity. People fight one another, the Warp rages, xenos attack and worlds die. The people of the Imperium watch their neighbours for signs of heresy and witchery. Mankind prays to the Emperor to protect them from the woes of the universe, of which there are many.
Imperium of Man - Dark Gods and Daemons: Time and again throughout history, the minds of Man have proven fertile soil for the seeds of corruption by Chaos. There are certain dark powers abroad in the universe that seduce the weak and foolish into their damnable service. These ageless beings, their names unspeakable, prey upon Mankind's needs and desires. With honeyed words, forbidden knowledge, bloody rites and festering secrets they lure Humanity to become their slaves. Some within the Imperium choose to worship these Daemon Gods. The ways of these Chaos Cults are many. Some meet in clandestine rituals of sacrifice and incantation. Others are foolish scholars, meddling with powers beyond their ken. Others still are organisations, companies or political groups drunk with power gained through pacts with unspeakable creatures of the Warp. Perhaps worst of all are the instances of entire worlds that worship the Chaos Gods through ignorance or choice. All of these profane cultists invite ruin upon themselves, the Imperium and Humanity. The Adeptus Terra, Planetary Governors and the Inquisition all watch for these disciples of Chaos, for the inevitable consequence of their meddling is pain, disaster and bloodshed. The ordinary peoples of the Imperium rightly fear these cults and their malevolent masters. On many worlds an undercurrent of paranoia, suspicion and fear of Chaos Cultists is the norm.The very existence of such fell beings as the daemons of the Warp is a terrible secret to most citizens of the Imperium, as the Imperium's rulers believe such truths must be hidden from the minds of those who would fall prey to them. A daemon is a Warp entity, a terrible creature of thought and psychic energy brought forth into existence by the twisted needs of sentient beings, or at least so the high masters of the Ordo Malleus say. To even think of them is to invite their attention and only the steeliest mind, the most powerful faith in the God-Emperor, is enough to overcome their utter, monstrous evil. Inconceivable as it may seem, there are those who would consort with the daemon, for they whisper dark things in the night to those who would listen and make many promises of temporal or eternal power. They can be brought forth willingly, by the witch or by certain arcane sorceries, or they may try to force a way through into realspace through the unsuspecting portal of an untrained psyker's mind. However they become incarnate, if they achieve their goal, just one daemon can bring ruination to all it encounters. One need not talk of the Night of Silence in Atraxian III's capital city, nor of the lost world of Abandoned Hope, which to this day is warded by the Inquisition, knowledge of its existence forbidden to all. Make no mistake, to face a daemon is to face damnation, to court a daemon is to embrace its dark masters.
Imperium of Man - Xenos: The Imperial Cult teaches that it is Mankind's manifest destiny to rule this galaxy. The Ecclesiarchy holds that it is the Emperor's will that Humanity and Humanity alone will bestride the stars, and to that end most Imperial servants fervently bend their lives.There are many other creatures in the galaxy, unclean creatures born of worlds far from the sacred soil of Terra, whose misbegotten forms are an insult to those who wear the shape decreed by the Lord of Man as fitting and right.Some of these creatures are weak and harmless, and easily extirpated, their planets expropriated for the true masters of the stars, their memory expunged. But there are other, stronger alien races that would see the will of the Emperor foiled and Mankind cast down.Among them are the savage greenskinned Orks, whose numberless multitudes plague the galaxy with their endless desire for war. Hulking creatures, bigger than a man, they are mindless, yet powerful and unafraid.Elsewhere can be found the fickle Aeldari, those who cannot be trusted, beings similar in appearance to Humanity which extend the hand of friendship whilst clasping a dagger behind their back. Beware these fiends; their machineries of war are as swift and as deadly as their lying tongues.Likewise the Tyranids, blasphemous monstrosities who reduce worlds to bare rocks in their feeding frenzy, their endless armies made up of hellspawned bio-constructs.Other things dwell in the dark places of space -- the Hrud, whose very presence is poison to the rightful progression of time; the T'au, whose heretical technicians enslave technology to their grotesque ends with no thought for the proper rites; the Verminthiculians, wild alien mercenaries and reavers.Yet, while the alien is legion, the Imperium claims that Humanity is always the stronger, and the warmongering of such xenos species is but the desperate savagery of those who know that their end draws near.
Imperium of Man - Other Science Fiction Influences on the Imperium of Man: The Imperium itself, in keeping with the dystopian themes of Warhammer 40,000, is a highly oppressive techno-theocracy obviously influenced by the Padishah Empire found in Frank Herbert's Dune.It also closely resembles Isaac Asimov's Galactic Empire in the Foundation series, with millions of star systems only loosely connected with the governing center, where technology is becoming a myth rather than a science, with extreme persecution of those questioning the morality or validity of the endless conflicts and divine rule of the Emperor.
Imperium Sanctus - Imperium Sanctus: The Imperium Sanctus is the High Gothic name given in the Era Indomitus to the southern and western half of the Imperium of Man where the psychic beacon of the Astronomican is still visible to Navigators and psykers alike after the formation of the Great Rift.The Imperium Sanctus consists of the Segmentums Pacificus, Tempestus and Solar, and portions of both the Segmentum Obscurus and Segmentum Ultima.The name is a hollow one, for even beyond the influence of the Great Rift, the dire edge of the times can be felt. Daemons and Traitor armadas have struck at Holy Terra itself during the Battle of Lion's Gate, and the expansive reach of the Warp Storms throughout the galaxy enable the forces of Chaos to strike without warning from nearly any quarter.The other half of Imperial space is known as the Imperium Nihilus, or the "Dark Imperium." There the light of the Astronomican has never recovered from the darkness of the Noctis Aeterna.Warp travel and FTL communications are still disturbed within the Imperium Sanctus by the birth of the rift and the lingering effects of the Noctis Aeterna. But the Astronomican's continued transmission means that the worlds of the Imperium Sanctus are not as isolated from each other or as vulnerable to Chaos and xenos threats as those of the Dark Imperium.The tithes continue to flow from most worlds, but although efforts have been redoubled to produce machines of war and to call forth regiments of troops, they are barely sufficient to the needs of the Imperium's current state. Shrinking the Imperium's size by half has not made it easier to supply, but instead has doubled the dangers to every world.The two halves of Imperial space are now separated by the roiling Warp storms that comprise the Cicatrix Maledictum, connected only by the passage through the rift known as the Nachmund Gauntlet. The gauntlet is book-ended by two worlds at either end, Sangua Terra on the side of the Imperium Sanctus and Vigilus on the Dark Imperium side.Because of Vigilus' strategic position as one terminus of the only passage through the Great Rift, it became the source of conflict between Imperial, Chaos and xenos forces during the War of Beasts in the early years of the Era Indomitus.The worlds of the Imperium Sanctus are among the most stable of those remaining to the Imperium in the Era Indomitus, including Terra, Mars, Fenris and the planets of Ultramar. However, the Imperium Sanctus certainly suffers from its fair share of conflicts and threats, as no place in the galaxy is now entirely free from strife as the power of Chaos waxes ever stronger.The loss of resources from the worlds of the Dark Imperium have made every defeat suffered by the Imperium a greater one, but such is the strength of the Imperium Sanctus that the forces of Chaos are made to pay in equal measure.The Imperium Sanctus is directly governed from Holy Terra by the Senatorum Imperialis and Lord Commander of the Imperium and Imperial Regent Roboute Guilliman.
Imperium Secundus - Imperium Secundus: The Imperium Secundus, known also as the Unremembered Empire, was the second stellar empire of Humanity created by the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman in 009.M31 during the Horus Heresy following the horrific events of the Battle of Calth and the Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan V.The Imperium Secundus was located on the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy in the Segmentum Ultima and at its peak in size it compromised roughly five hundred worlds and was centered on the Ultramarines' own Realm of Ultramar.The light of the great navigational beacon of the Astronomican was extinguished across half the galaxy through the efforts of the Word Bearers Legion's maleficent summoning of the massive Warp Storm known as the Ruinstorm.Cut off from the rest of the Imperium of Man and unable to firmly establish whether or not the Emperor of Mankind still lived, or if Terra and the Imperium had fallen to the Traitors, Guilliman instituted the ultimate contingency plan -- to create a second human Imperium in order to ensure the survival of the Emperor's dream of a united Mankind.The Imperium Secundus was eventually folded back into the larger Imperium before the end of the Horus Heresy in 014.M31. It was later considered by Guilliman one of his greatest mistakes and an event that he was not eager for others to learn of once he was resurrected to serve as Lord Commander of the Imperium after the birth of the Great Rift in the late 41st Millennium.
Imperium Secundus - The End of Imperium Secundus: By 014.M31, the final year of the Horus Heresy, it had become clear to the Loyalists on the other side of the Ruinstorm that both the Emperor and His Imperium had survived the Horus Heresy intact. The Imperium Secundus' ruling Triumvirate then decided to abandon the project, which was now both unnecessary and seen as somewhat heretical and disloyal. The Imperium Secundus' territories were restored to their prior Imperial sectors or to the Realm of Ultramar under the Regency of Valentus Dolor.Guilliman, Sanguinius, and Lion El'Jonson led the bulk of their respective Legions through the Ruinstorm in hopes of reaching Terra and aiding the Emperor in His final struggle against Horus, though ultimately only Sanguinius and the Blood Angels would make it through following the Second Battle of Davin to participate heroically in the Siege of Terra.
Imperius Reavers - Imperius Reavers: Imperius ReaversSpace MarineChapterUltramarinesndFourth FoundingThe Chapter's homeworld is the Hive World of Praedis Zeta in the Vidar Sector, which is located in the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy at the farthest edge of the Ultramarines' Realm of Ultramar.This volatile region is under constant siege by the twin threats of the alien and the Daemon. The Imperius Reavers Space Marines are adept at hunting aliens, having been embroiled in many wars with the Tyranids in years past.Their 2nd Company, known on Praedis Zeta as "The Stormbringers," are veterans of the First Tyrannic War and experts in rooting out Genestealer hybrids.
Imperius Reavers - Chapter History: Led into battle by their vigilant Chapter Master, Vassile Belousov, the Imperius Reavers are a Fourth Founding Chapter of the Ultramarines. Given the Vidar Sector, which lies in the Eastern Fringe, as their demesne, the Imperius Reavers were assigned the Hive World of Praedis Zeta as their Chapter homeworld.It is fortunate that such a stalwart Chapter watches over this turbulent region of the galaxy, for the Vidar Sector has long been the home of cut-throats, aliens and Heretics.While Imperial in name, and with many of the planets and star systems here paying heavy tithes to the Emperor of Mankind's coffers, Vidar is, in truth, ruled by a small number of wealthy noble families called the "Highborn."These families, such as the Fett'ars of Hypnoth, the Darneth Clan of Carnae and the Zaitchesks of Davatas, have all risen to power through diplomatic wrangling, including flexing political power, assassination, temporary alliances and other such un-Imperial means, but so far from the Terran eye, they have avoided investigation for centuries.While the ruling classes of Vidar live in corpulent luxury, the serfs beneath them toil at the machines of the forges to produce arms, food and supplies for sale to the Imperial armies.
Imperius Reavers - Chapter Gene-Seed: The Ultramarines' gene-seed is by far the purest stock of Astartes gene-seed in the Imperium and there are no known aberrations in its genetic structure. Every one of the esoteric organs utilised in the arduous creation of a Space Marine by the Imperius Reavers Chapter is fully functional.The terrible schism known as the Horus Heresy highlighted weaknesses inherent in the gene-seed of several other Space Marine Legions and this was exacerbated by the accelerated zygote harvesting techniques used to keep the Legions up to full strength during that terrible conflict.When the Legions were broken down into Chapters after the Heresy, a genetic repository was set up on Terra to store their gene-seed and monitor its purity.As the largest of the Space Marine Legions, the Ultramarines' contributions to this resource was greater than that of any other Legion and, as a result, their gene-seed became the stock type for many subsequent Chapters of later Foundings. Those Chapters created from the Ultramarines gene-seed stored on Terra venerate Roboute Guilliman as their founding Primarch.
Imperius Reavers - Chapter Homeworld: A large, Class Alpha Hive World, Praedis Zeta is situated eighty light years from the Forge World of Hypnoth. Along with the nearby planet, Nyx, Praedis Zeta has long supplied Hypnoth with the raw materials with which the tools of war are to be built.Towering hive cities stretch up to the black-lined clouds of the planet, housing billions of citizens, and breaking up the miles of bare ash waste of the planet's volcanic surface. Praedis Zeta is not like other planets in the Vidar Sector -- it is not ruled by a Highborn family, but instead by proper Imperial authorities; Planetary Governor Holt keeps watch over the planet's population and ensures the correct taxes are paid.The reason for this strict compliance is that Praedis Zeta is the home planet of the Imperius Reavers, a Chapter of Adeptus Astartes founded from the vaunted Ultramarines. Here, nobody dares step out of line and punishment for offenders has historically been very harsh.
Imperius Reavers - Notable Imperius Reavers: Chapter Master Vassile Belousov - Current Chapter Master of the Imperius Reavers Chapter.Captain Nickolias Bates - Captain Bates is the current commander of the xenos-hunting 2nd Company, "The Stormbringers".
Imperius Reavers - Chapter Colours: The Imperius Reavers wear a unique halved-heraldry of red (right) and black (left) power armour. In lieu of an Aquila or Imperialis on the chest guard, the Imperius Reavers often substitute these icons with their own Chapter iconography.It is not currently known what squad or company markings they use to identify themselves with, but as an Ultramarines' Successor Chapter, they more than likely emulate the practices of their Progenitor forebears very closely.
Imperius Reavers - Chapter Badge: The Imperius Reavers' Chapter badge is a white "Omega" letter drawn from the Greek alphabet, in emulation of their Ultramarines progenitors, superimposed over a gladius sword, centred on a field of red.
Impulsor - Impulsor: The Impulsor is a lightly-armoured and fast-moving anti-grav assault transport favoured by Vanguard Space Marine forces.Benefiting from the same advanced gravitic-impulsion technology employed by the heavier Repulsor-class chassis, the Impulsor boasts vectored thrusters that give this light grav tank a healthy dose of speed.Its open-backed design allows it to transport a full squad of 10 Space Marines swiftly into battle, entirely bypassing such obstacles as trench lines, river deltas, toxic industrial runoff and the like.
Impulsor - History: For millennia Mankind had lost the secrets to constructing anti-gravity devices, which only a few relics from the Age of Technology remaining. It was the discovery of an ancient STC by the famed Arkhan Land that led to a breakthrough in rediscovering and restoring this potent technology to the Imperium during the Great Crusade.The ancient Mechanicum and its Adeptus Mechanicus successor was able to once more produce anti-gravitic generators and impeller units that -- while nowhere near as elegant or refined as those heretical technologies used by certain xenos species like the Aeldari -- were robust, reliable and could be adapted for use on a variety of hulls, from light reconnaissance craft like the Land Speeder right up to the Astraeus super-heavy grav tank.After the opening of the Great Rift, with the direct sanction of both Roboute Guilliman as Lord Commander of the Imperium and the Fabricator-General of Mars, a select handful of chosen Tech-priests like Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl continued research and development into new gravitic battle tanks with which to bolster the battle lines of the Adeptus Astartes.
Impulsor - Role: Typically, these vehicles are saved for the delivery of the killing blow by Vanguard Marine forces, or else employed in a similar capacity to Rhino APCs by other Primaris Space Marine forces who wish to deploy massed armoured columns or perform rapid outflanking manoeuvres.As befits a vehicle that is often its squad's only support in hostile territory, the Impulsor can be rapidly refitted with a variety of weapons and defensive systems. For those troops expecting to face heavy incoming fire, the vehicle can mount an advanced shield dome atop its hull that sheathes it in a shimmering, protective Refractor Field.Forward reconnaissance missions are facilitated by the deployment of Envoy-class vox and auspex arrays, while those squads requiring additional fire support can call upon either the Bellicatus Missile Array or an Ironhail Skytalon Array ideal for swatting enemy aircraft from the skies.
Impulsor - Unit Composition: 1 Impulsor
Impulsor - Wargear: 2 Storm Bolters2 Fragstorm Grenade Launchers (as replacements for Storm Bolters)1 Ironhail Heavy StubberRefractor Field shield domeEnvoy-class Vox orbital communication and Auspex sensor arrays (as replacement for shield dome)1 Bellicatus Missile Array (in place of shield dome and orbital communications system)1 Ironhail Skytalon Array (in place of shield dome and orbital communications system)
Impulsor - Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications: The technical specifications of the Impulsor are not yet available in Imperial records.
In Remembrance (Short Story) - In Remembrance (Short Story): In Remembrance is the first stand-alone short story in the Gaunt's Ghosts series of novels by Dan Abnett. In Remembrance was first published in the Black Library's Inferno! magazine. The story was later re-published as part of The Founding omnibus and later as a stand-alone e-book.
In Remembrance (Short Story) - Synopsis: On the world of Verghast, the Imperium is triumphant. The forces of the Astra Militarum -- aided by the brave men and women of Vervunhive -- have defeated the Chaos-tainted soldiers of rival Ferrozoica Hive. The Traitor leader is dead, killed in single combat by Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt. Now, in the aftermath, a sculptor seeks to commemorate Gaunt's men, the heroes of Vervunhive -- the Tanith First-and-Only.
Incaendius Booster Pack - Incaendius Booster Pack: The Incaendius Booster Pack was a Dreadnought-sized external Jump Pack designed for use with the Contemptor-Incaendius Dreadnought. It was the Incaendius Booster Pack that gave the Contemptor-Incaendius its ability to deploy from low orbit or make a one-off leap right into the heart of the enemy's ranks.This volatile, single-burn magneto-plasma engine was powerful enough to decelerate the Dreadnought in a fall from low orbit or to propel it in a shallow leap at significant velocity despite the bulk of its armour and ceramite endoskeleton.
Incaladion - Incaladion: Incaladion is an Imperial Forge World of the Adeptus Mechanicus that is located in the Segmentum Ultima of the Milky Way Galaxy. This world was once home to the sinister and ill-reputed Legio Fureans ("Tiger-Eyes") Titan Legion. Following the end of the Horus Heresy, when the Traitor Legions were driven into the hellish realms of the Eye of Terror, the newly reformed Adeptus Mechanicus deemed that Incaladion's worth as a Forge World and its potential industrial output was worth saving.Since that bygone era, Incaladion has continued to serve as a vital Forge World of the Imperium, though recently Incaladion was incriminated in a conspiracy connected to techno-heretics and worship of proscribed xenos-lores. It is known that Incaladion is a Production Grade III-Prima Forge World with a Tithe Grade of Aptus Non, meaning it pays no tithe to the Administratum, as its industrial output is considered of potent strategic value for the Imperium in and of itself.
Incendia Bastaal-Chorda - Incendia Bastaal-Chorda: Incendia Bastaal-Chorda is a Rogue Trader and the leader of House Chorda, one of the three most powerful Rogue Trader dynasties, alongside House Winterscale and House von Valancius, operating in the Koronus Expanse of the Segmentum Obscurus.Unusually for a bearer of the Warrant of Trade, Baastal-Chorda is a firm believer in the doctrines of the Imperial Creed and a fanatical Puritan. She will stop at nothing to see the light of the God-Emperor spread across the Expanse and the destruction of every Heretic and xenos beast that threatens to obstruct the spread of the Emperor's domain.
Incendia Bastaal-Chorda - History: Before Incendia Bastaal-Chorda, blessed be her name, rose to prominence as her dynasty's Rogue Trader, her predecessor, Aspis Bastaal-Chorda, was an infamous marauder who dabbled in less than reputable spheres of influence every day. Aspis was no better than a glorified pirate, and this often left her at odds with the many Imperial institutions spread throughout the Koronus Expanse. But then came her successor, Incendia, a woman blessed by the adherents of Saint Drusus, the patron saint of the neighbouring Calixis Sector, who worked to bring her dynasty back into the Emperor's light.With the backing of the Drusians, Incendia began paving a road of piety and fanatical dedication to the Imperial Cult throughout the Koronus Expanse, working to bring succor to the faithful and stamping out the impious and the heretical.Throughout her dynasty's territories, worship of the divine God-Emperor and absolute obedience to His innumerable institutions are mandatory with the failure of any of her vassals to supplicate themselves carrying the pain of death, long a typical facet of daily Imperial life.In so doing, Incendia specialises in the trade of holy relics and heretical artefacts so they might be handled and destroyed by the Drusians who constantly accompany her fleets and maintain a presence on every Baastal-Chorda holding. She also dabbles in exports of food, incense and all the daily amenities that pilgrims and faithful denizens of the Imperium would require to offer obeisance and subsist in their work. Thus does she bring forth a degree of prosperity one might not expect to see in the day-to-day lives of those in a frontier region like the Koronus Expanse. For such is the boon of being counted among a successful Rogue Trader dynasty's citizenry.However, faith can easily become a double-edged sword that falls onto the pious as readily as it does a Heretic. Thus, it remains to be seen to what destination Incendia's blind faith in the God-Emperor will ultimately bring her and her dynasty.
Incendine Combustor - Incendine Combustor: An Incendine Combustor is a type of Flamer used by the Adeptus Mechanicus' Kastelan Robots. The Incendine Combustor hurls out great gouts of burning, thrice-blessed promethium. Laced with Magos-blessed unguents and ignited by a flame lit from the Perpetual Forge, each holy fire-thrower can turn a Heretek into foul tallow in a matter of solar seconds.
Incendium Cannon - Incendium Cannon: An Incendium Cannon is a large, Dreadnought-sized Flamer Weapon deployed on the Invictor Tactical Warsuit.Its pyrotechnic blasts can reduce swathes of enemies to blazing corpses in a heartbeat.