Arkhan Confederates

The Arkhan Confederates are the Astra Militarum regiments raised on the Civilized world of Providence, located in the Ultima Segmentum, near the Maelstrom. Primarily noted for their use of specially designed equipment as well as traditional cavalry, along with being fiercely independent. Confederates often showcase a bitter rivalry with other Imperial forces, most especially the Navy. Confederates tend to be equal parts kind-hearted and bull-headed. Willing to break protocol if it means getting the job done as they see fit.

History
The planet Providence is a Civilized world so advanced it could easily be considered equivalent to a minor Forge World. Two centuries before being discovered by the Imperium, the people of Providence went through a major breakthrough in terms of technology. Highly advanced uses of steam, similar in concept to machinery used in the early days of Terra, but significantly more versatile. Not only could they create constructs such as steam boats and locomotives, but things as complex as power armor, all the way up to void worthy spacecraft, built around a heart of steam.

Providence was discovered by the Ecclesiarchy in 998.M41 roughly, and was fully inducted into the Imperial Cult and shipping regiments and psykers off world within a single year.

The planet was originally founded by the inhabitants of seven human colony ships. These would later expand outward, becoming the seven nations that encompass the majority of the planets' inhabitants. These nations held together by an association known as the Union of Seven Stars. This governance held strong, until the Union went too far in abusing it's power.

The people of one nation, Norland, developed into a tribal society, similar in nature to the Native Americans of old Terra. For whatever reason, psykers born on Providence are exclusively Norland females. The Union began a systematic eradication of the Norlanders. Whether out of fear or anger, it is hard to say. It began slowly at first, stripping them of their tribal names and forcing them to adhere to the greater societal customs, but it soon became something far worse. Norlanders were being rounded up and forced to march a trail to their own deaths.

This proved to be the turning point. The southernmost nation, Arkhan, gathered the support of roughly half the members of the Union and rebelled, organizing military forces to assist and fight on behalf of the Norlanders, as well as other oppressed groups. These forces were the first Arkhan Confederates.

The following conflict was known as the First Providence Uprising. The Union was eventually dismantled in it's entirety, a new governmental body formed in it's place, the Arkhan Confederacy.

This arrangement served them well for many years. The planet prospered, reaching new heights of technological innovations until they were finally able to take to the stars. One of Providence's steam powered void ships was discovered by the Imperium and soon the Ecclesiarchy descended upon the planet in the year 998.M41.

While many accepted the Imperium with open arms, there were a large number that did not. These rebels banded together under the name Independence. Under their guiding philosophy of the March of Freedom, these rebels claimed to be the reincarnation of the original Union, greater than ever before, with the singular goal of resisting Imperial rule. the Independence gained support from peoples of all walks of life on Providence, and even the service of xenos mercenaries.

This conflict was the Second Providence Uprising.

The fighting lasted only a single year, but the losses were devastating, many Confederate regiments losing as many as 3/4ths of their men. Independence nearly won the war when they attacked the capitol of the Confederacy, Yethsemane Falls. The Confederates held fast however, and were able to fight off the attack and bring the war to a close before the greater Imperium was forced to intervene.

Society
The vast majority of Providence's residents live in relative comfort. What external forces to threaten them are fairly well handled so the common people have little to fear from Chaos or Xenos. Of course, there are several exceptions to this.

The most noteworthy of these being the forges. Giant forge complexes dominate the landscape of the most built up cities on the planet, capable of such complexity and output that Providence rivals some forge worlds, and handle nearly all equipment needs of the Arkhan Confederates. These forges are lorded over by the Grand Machinists, who design all of the technological innovations that roll off the assembly lines. These Machinists are obsessed with innovation, constantly redesigning and building off of prior successes.

Below the Grand Machinists are the Professors, these individuals are the ones that conduct maintenance on machines after they are constructed. Much like the Machinists above them, the Professors are equally obsessed with innovation, constantly tinkering with the machines in their care, constantly modifying and introducing minor alterations.

The Professors background provides ample background for the Mechanicus Priesthood, and as such many of them are inducted into the cult of the Machine God. Despite this, many of them will still indulge in their urges and experiment, creating modifications some more conservative Tech Priests may deem heretical.

Tribes
Not all citizens of Providence find residence within the grand forge cities. The greatest exception to this are the Norlanders. Descendants of the colonists aboard one of the original seven colony ships, the Norland, the Norlanders form into societal groups not unlike the Native Americans of ancient Terra.

Norlanders hold the unique distinction of being the only people on Providence from which psykers appear, made even rarer by the fact that only Norland females have the potential to become psykers. The cause of this is unknown.

Norland Witches
When these psykers are discovered they engage in a ritual wherein they are bonded to a warrior of their tribe, who will then become their Weraldur. The Weraldur is a lifelong companion to the witch. When bonded the warrior has their tongue removed, unable to speak to anyone except their bonded witch via a mental link. The witch is then taken away aboard the Black Ships, and the Weraldur waits.

If the witch does not return within 7 years time, the Weraldur is duty-bound to commit suicide. Should the witch return, however, the Weraldur will become a constant guardian, protecting the witch from all threats, including, potentially, themselves. The Weraldur will always carry a large doubled headed axe; for the second duty of the Weraldur is executioner. Should his witch fall to corruption, it is the Weraldurs duty to kill her in that instant.

It is noted that, while the Imperium and Ecclesiarchy merely tolerate many practices of the Norland tribe, the Weraldur system is actively encouraged.

There are, however, those that wish to avoid the greater of society altogether. These men and women will commonly spread out into the untamed frontier known as the Badlands. This can be for any number of reasons; some seek riches digging up valuable minerals, others seek to establish homesteads and small towns, securing trade routes through the hostile environment. Others though, seek it out because they don't fit into civilized living. These people are given the name Badlanders, usually forming into small bands of brigands and raiders. This tribals occupy the same stretch of land, and thus regularly engage in conflict with, the feral ork population of Providence. They are generally noted for poor quality hand made equipment, vibrant neon dyed hair, and being larger and more muscular than their counterparts towards the cities. This vagabonds often attack trade routes through the badlands, hoping to pillage supplies from passing caravans

Religion
Providence, due primarily to it being rediscovered only recently, follows a unique variation of the Imperial Creed; Maintaining nearly all of their pre-existing customs and beliefs, merely receiving minor alterations to denote worship to the Emperor, most often simply having names or titles changed.

The religion of providence preaches words of love and peace, that the God Emperor cares about each and every one of the true believers, that they will spend eternity with him after they pass.

The Whispersea
The Norlanders show a particular aptitude in regards to their beliefs; with the understanding that reality is divided into two distinct planes of existence. The Annatta, or Shadow Maze, the only reality that normal people can see. And the Whispersea, more commonly known as the Warp.

The most common way of communing with the warp is with a collection of sacred objects known in the old days as Whisperbones, but now in the time of the Imperium; The Emperor's Bones. A series of bone fragments, usually taken from the spine of an animal, with tribal runes engraved into them. The bones will be scattered on the ground, then they will leap back up into the air and scatter again, at which point the Witch will read the upward facing runes and decipher their message.

The torrents of the Whispersea lay host to the vile creatures called serpents, daemons to other worlds. These serpents, and the Whispersea itself, constantly surround everyone and everything, but those that lack the Wyrd, psychic potential, are blind to them.

It is believed that if a serpent sees a person's face or eyes, they can seep into that person's soul and steal their physical body. As such all Norland Witches wear a hood or veil, covering their faces whenever possible.

Above the serpents is the greatest threat of all within the Whispersea, The Great Wyrm.

It is said that the Wyrm is the origin of all the serpents, that it poisons the land and turns people against one another. But if anything is known of this being in detail, it is a secret the Norlanders guard carefully.

Thunderground
The most infamous of Providence's religious beliefs, and by far the most common amongst the Confederates, is the Thunderground. The Thundergound is a place inside a man's soul, part of their destiny. It's the final road a soldier walks, a walk that lasts the rest of their life. Thunderground is where you prove your worth to the Emperor. In practical terms, Thunderground is the point in a person's life when they face their greatest challenge, when they're staring death in the face. To face that challenge with courage, with a fire in your heart, is to take the first step, and begin the walk. To cower in fear, to try to cheat death, you lose your Thunderground forever.

The Arkhan believe that those who walk their Thunderground will eventually reach it's end after they have passed on. It leads them to a mighty banquet hall, where all those that reach it may feast, make merry, and fight to their hearts content for eternity. At the head of the table sits the God Emperor himself. But for those that fail, those that cheat or back down. There is no joy awaiting them, no aspirations. They are doomed to drown in the whispersea.

Technology
It would not be unfair to compare Providence to some of the minor Forge Worlds. While not dedicated in totality to the production of machinery, it's massive forge cities maintain a staggering output.

Providence's main innovation is in the use of steam power. This permeates all levels of mechanization, from simple steam boats, all the way to space fairing ships, belching vapor into the void.

Uniquely, for an astra militarum regiment, all of the Confederates' equipment is created on Providence itself, from lasguns to chimeras, all of it unique Providence-Pattern.

The following is but a small collection of the unique equipment created by the Professors for the regiments.

Providence-Pattern Lasguns are based on an older design than the more ubiquitous Kantrael or Lucius patterns. Providence lasguns are furnished in brass and wood, and built to be as sturdy as possible, taking the most severe punishment possible with no degradation in performance.

Providence-Pattern Chimeras are remarkably unchanged from the traditional counterparts, with two major alterations. The first is the option to mount sleds to the underside, giving it the functionality of a snowmobile. A valuable commodity during the harsh winters of the planet. The second is the rear mounted hitch, allowing chimeras to pull the same trailers or wagons that the horses would. The most common of these are known colloquially as the Wounded Wagons, essentially hollow chimera chassis on wheels used to transport and treat wounded in the field.

Providence-Pattern Sentinels are based on the standard armored variation. The key distinction is an altered foot design. While the standard Sentinel features articulated claws, Providence sentinels instead use large flat pads, similar in function to a horse's hooves. This gives it great speed across savannah and plains regions. These sentinels are also equipped by default with the capability to tow the same trailers as horses and chimeras. But perhaps the most noteworthy addition is the capability to mount jetpacks to the hull. This is a newer modification, taking inspiration from the Elysian Drop Sentinels. With the initial premise in hand, the Machinists and Professors sought to make use of the functionality using the technology they possess on the planet, which does not include grav-chutes. The solution was to modify standard troop jetpacks so that they could be mounted to key position on the walkers. While this succeeded in giving the sentinels air drop capability, it also provided another unplanned bonus, short bursts of flight. This greatly increases the maneuvering options of the vehicles. A further variation, reserved for commanders of sentinal cavalry units includes more advanced maneuvering thrusters and reduces the weight of the overall machine. This gives the sentinel mid-air combat functionality in brief intervals. This variation has been recording fighting evenly in mid-air conflict with a Tau Crisis suit during the Phaedra Campaign.

By far the most interesting of Providence's technological achievements are the Steamblood Power Armor suits.

Steamblood Power Armor
The power armor used by the Steamblood Zouaves are one of a kind antique heirlooms, handed down from father to son by wealthy nobles of the planet. Each one is a masterpiece of stam powered engineering. A suit of fully environmentally sealed, strength augmenting, jetpack equipped, powered armor. Each and every suit of armor is equipped with a full vox suite, two in fact. Internal coms within the helmets allow for communication with all other steambloods in the field, as well as regimental command staff. The other is exemplified by a pair of speakers mounted to the shoulders of the suits. Each and every Zuoaves will run into battle blaring inspirational music from these speakers across the battlefield for all to hear, bolstering the morale of nearby troops.

They are divided into two classes.

Thundersuits are the oldest, and the largest. Each one closer to a walking tank than a uniform. Despite significantly encumbering the operator, the individual being unable to run, forced to slow to a walking pace; the Thundersuit carries with it one major advantage. Each one can mount two heavy weapons, one to each arm. The most common loadout is a heavy stubber and large melee weapon such as a drill, but other armaments such as heavy flamers have been observed as well.

Stormsuits, a slightly more recent invention, are more commonly seen. They are smaller, more agile, and cheaper to create. While still maintaining the full environmental seal, and near impenetrable armor of their larger counterparts, Stormsuits do not encumber the occupant to nearly the same degree. Users can be seen running, rolling, and jumping nearly as well as a standard foot troop. Where these suits lack is in armament. Each one can only be fitted with a single heavy weapon. To compensate for this, Stormsuits feature circular saws mounted in the wrists. These saws have proven powerful enough to cut through the hulls of tau transports, but obviously lack in regards to range.

Regimental Organization
Each Arkhan Regiment is made up of roughly 15,000 men, divided into smaller units based on combat specialty; line infantry, cavalry, etc. While the exact makeup will vary between regiments, they all contain a mixture of elements, with a greater focus towards cavalry.

One of the major exceptions to this are the Steamblood Zouaves. Elite soldiers clad in power armor. Regiments will hold no more than roughly two dozen of these men. These Steambloods are not bound by the traidional chain of command, and are free to choose which unit they serve with in the regiment, but they are bound to follow the commands of the Steamblood Captain.

Recruitment
The majority of the Confederates are a volunteer based army. Though occasionally some will be pressed into service unwillingly. This is primarily the case with slaves and tribals. Badlanders will often be rounded up and pressed into service, their skills useful in spite of their anti-authority ways.

Norlanders will also see themselves pressed into service. Specifically Norland Witches.