Icelus

WORK IN PROGRESS.

Imperial Classification

An icelusian herald in the Planetary Governor's employ.

Population: 32 billion

Tithe Grade: Adeptus Non

Geography: Barren ash wastes, flat and arid other than a massive mountain range straddling its equator. Large pits dot the landscape, most likely remnants of ancient lakes and seas.

Government Type: Adeptus Astartes

Planetary Governor: Planetary Governor Maximillion Escidia

Adept Presence: Adeptus Terra, Administratum, Adeptus Ministorum, Adeptus Astra Telepathica (Astropathic Choir upon Mount Telthon), Adeptus Arbites, Scholastica Psykana, Adeptus Astartes

Military: Planetary Defence Force, Emperor's Nightmare Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes

Trade: Icelus is a major exporter of weaponry, munitions and armour, up to and including starship weaponry. It is also the recruiting world of the Emperor's Nightmare, and the source of its Fortress Monastery. Icelus cannot support itself and requires massive imports of food from the surrounding sector.

++Thought for the Day: A mind without purpose will wander in dark places.++

Icelus is a Hive World within the Segmentum Tempestus. An arid desert of ash and ruin, its natural beauty destroyed by the fires of industry long ago, the world plays host to five mighty hives, each a home to many billions of souls and belching thick plumes of smoke into the atmosphere as they produce vast quantities of military equipment in a vain attempt to assuage the boundless hunger of the Imperium. The people of Icelus are influenced strongly by the stewardship of the Emperor's Nightmare, the livery of the Chapter's 2nd through fifth companies being taken as the royal colours and the uniform of the Planetary Defence Force.

The Hives of Icelus

Hive Icelus Primus

The Planetary Capital, resting upon a broad plain in the northern hemisphere of the planet. The city is surrounded on either side by two sea-pits, most likely as a defensive measure. There is one way in or out of the Hive, not counting underhive bolt-holes, the enormous golden gates at the front of the city. This is constantly congested, so the nobility and wealthy merchants make use of the numerous hangars branching out from the city like spinning plates to travel in and out. The highest hangar is reserved for the Emperor's Nightmare, and is one of the tallest points of the city.

Being the Hive closest to Betten-Burgen, Icelus Primus is the starting point for the recruitment ritual of the Emperor's Nightmare, prospective candidates travelling from all over the planet in a desperate attempt to become one of Icelus' guardian angels. Many never make it, as travel by foot in the ash wastes is a dangerous prospect at the best of times. During the time of the recruitment the paths to the capital become rife with danger, bandits and nomadic beastmasters preying upon the pilgrims.

Icelus is also the largest hive, with a population dwarfing the others by several billion. As such, this is also the headquarters of the Planetary Defence Force and the Adeptus Arbites maintains a moderate presence. Icelus' infamous underhive is an utter mess, its corridors and clearings choked with crumbling masonry and old works of art from some forgotten cultural rennaisance. Now, gangs and worse stalk its ruins, and decent people are few and far between.

Hive Icelus Secundus

Located on the equator, nestled in a large mountain clearing, Hive Icelus Secundus has neither the manufacturing strength nor the impressive figure of Icelus Primus. Instead, this high-up hive is the main port of the planet. It is also the home of the largest Adeptus Arbites precinct, as the Arbitrators are more concerned with ensuring the planet's tithe makes it off the planet than the bickering of the other hives. The five tunnels leading out of Hive Secundus, each large, heavily guarded roads bored through a separate mountain, are the only ways in or out by foot. Should a serious security threat arise on Icelus the tunnels are collapsed with demolition charges, relying on the many fighters and flak batteries upon the mountains to repel airbourne invaders.

Icelus Secundus' most impressive building is the enormous main Star port, a collossal entity which takes up a full third of the mountain walls surrounding the hive. Although the port is officially the property of the Planetary Government, its day-to-day running is handled by a triumvirate of members of the Planetary Defence Force, the Adeptus Terra and a collective of Merchant's guilds, each of which have a different use in mind for the valuable docking space it provides. This results in a fair amount of beaurocratic jostling as the three factions jostle for influence over the port. This has resulted in more than a little organizational chaos before.

Hive Icelus Tertius

Another equator-bound hive, Icelus Tertius is built around a cluster of particularly high mountains, rather than nestled in its depths like Icelus Secundus. Icelus Tertius is regarded as an ill-omened place by the populace, as not only is it the headquarters of the Scholastika Psykana on Icelus, but within the highest peak, Mount Telthon, dwells the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. The mountain is largely hollowed out, and access is granted through colossal elevators known as "The Drops". An entire culture has evolved within The Drops, as the elevators require near-constant maintenance. This civilization of mechanics, who receive very little contact with the outside world save supplies, are scornfully referred to by the Hive populace as "Drop-mice".

Hive Icelus Quartus

Located in the southern polar region, Icelus Quartus is unique among the Icelusian Hives in that it is almost entirely underground. The only indicator of its existence is a collossal cavern leading down to the soot-stained depths. It is here the heavy industry of Icelus takes place, the inhabitants making use of a magma river at the Hive's depths to forge battleship-grade weapons and ammunition. It is a brutal place, continuously covered in smog and filled with the echoes of heavy manufacture. Light is a commodity in Icelus Quartus, something to be earned through toil or stolen from those less deserving. Quartus' nobility dwells within The Stake, a large metal pillar which stretches from the Hive's top to its very bottom. Inversely to the normal scheme of things, the lower down in The Stake a noble's dwellings are, the greater their perceived status. This is largely due to the enchanting vision of the Magma Lake as seen by the lower levels, and also because smoke travels upwards. If the nobles must leave The Stake, they do so with ornamental rebreathers and servants to ward away the cloying smoke.

Hive Icelus Quintus

Icelus Quintus is a bizarre settlement, at least upon a Hive World. The structure can be likened to an enormous glass bubble, a transparent enclosure which arcs over the entire hive. In stark contrast to the rest of Icelus, Icelus Quintus possesses very little manufacturing facilities at all. Instead the toil of Quintus is directed towards agriculture and general food production. City-sized factories produce crops at an industrial level, overseen by the inhabitants. The sight of such a verdant construct is decidedly bizarre, a massive artificial oasis in the middle of the ash wastes, and many an eyebrow has been raised by members of the Adeptus Terra. The Emperor's Nightmare firmly quashes any proposals to bring the Hive more into line with the manufacturing giant which is Icelus, to the chagrin of many. In addition, due to the sheer staggering number of crops grown here it is physically impossible to police them all. As a result, Icelus' stimulant black market is almost entirely situated in Icelus Quintus. The relatively pleasant view in contrast with the other hives makes Quintus a favoured holiday home for the nobility, though its growth is limited by the clear carapace above it which makes real estate immensely valuable.

Gallery

<gallery> File:File-IcelusInquis.jpg| An Inquisitor hailing from Icelus File:Icelusguard.jpg|A high-ranking guard File:Beastmaster.jpg| A nomadic beastmaster File:Iceluspdf.jpg| A member of the Icelusian PDF File:Iceluswanderer.jpg| An ash wastes wanderer