Nidalos

Nidalos is a sparsely populated civilized world, that was a site of many battles throughout its history and was reduced from once a prosperous world to a half-dead world so-so able to sustain its population. Within the last century, it switched its allegiance from the Imperium of Man and joined the Europan Planetary Federation after the Second Battle of Nidalos, where the Europans answered the desperate call for help, then the Arch-enemy made a planetfall.

Ancient history
Nidalos was colonized sometime during the late Age of Strife, before Horus, Primarch of the Luna Wolves turned against his father and brothers and threw the galaxy into turmoil that never ended. Yet this turmoil left a scar on this world, a scar that never fully healed. Forces of the Imperial Army and the Legion of Space Wolves clashed with the Emperor's Children and their corrupted bootlickers over control of this lush and prosperous world. The fight was fierce and furious, yet the heretics had an upper hand, so the world was denied its existence by a Virus Bomb. The bomb fulfilled its purpose and forced the heretics retreat from the world, yet it, probably due to faulty chemical composition, the bomb didn't exterminate all life as it was supposed to, although what remained alive started to slowly but surely, to mutate.

M32 to M38
Not much is known between those years, as the war and virus bomb reduced the world into a half-dead husk and threw the survivors back into the stone age and with little technology working, the survivors had to rebuild their civilization from the ashes and tattered remains. Basic technology needed to be rediscovered and books containing knowledge became valuable beyond reason. And even then the world they now live in is way different to the world they once knew, and they had to adapt. Half of the planet is nothing but lifeless barren rock, while the other half is barely surviving, apart from a handful of regions that can sustain themselves and thrive. Even the humans themselves didn't escape mutations, although in their case (as in case of many other animal or plant lifeforms) it was more of a forced and accelerated evolution rather than being changed beyond recognition into unthinking monsters.

M39 to 081.M42
Seven thousand years after the virus bombing, the locals, that were no longer pure humans, but rather developed into a stable breed of abhumans, that fully adjusted to the new conditions on their world. Also, habitable zones of the world were repopulated and civilized, with infrastructure rebuilt and cities raised again from the rubble they once were, yet the architecture is unlike any other within the Imperium. The early 40th Millenium also seems to be the very last date when any official Imperial representative visited Nidalus, presumably to make sure the Emperor's light shines on this world and teach, yet this information was not confirmed. It also happened several decades later after the crusade into Garon's Nebula was called off. Since then, the Naarians, how the natives called themselves now, lived in isolation.

082.M42
This year, the Naarians firstly revealed themselves, when they began calling for help by forming a psychic communion to send out a desperate call for assistance, and it was also the first time the Europans learned about the existence of Nidalos. The Europans decided to hear the call and so the Second Battle of Nidalos was fought, with the Flawless host forced to retreat in the end, yet at a huge cost both in lives and material and the damage caused to the already fragile world was also significant. The Europans offered support and further protection in exchange for the allegiance of the Naarians. The debates took weeks, but the Naarians got persuaded after being explained all the thing about the called-off crusade, the Echo Zone and the fact that the Imperium is very likely coming anytime soon.

083.M42 to the Present day
Currently, the world is, with combined effort, being rebuilt and extensively fortified with bunkers and watchtowers. Also, intensive diplomatic negotiations were going on to ensure the smoothest and safest integration into the Europan Federation. One of the requirement was that the prime minister (or High Prophet, how they call their leaders) of the Nidalos will always be a Naarian, not a human, and even the ordinary Naarians are learning about their new allies, as well as humans do. The integration will take some time though, and seeing a Naarian on any of the core worlds is even rarer than seeing a beastman in a business suit. The Adeptus Mechanicus is also examining the Naarian technology and introduces them to their own, usually vastly superior creations.

Landscape & Nature

 * The landscape of this world is rather alien to the ordinary human in its appearance. Half of the world is effectively dead, with almost no water, wildlife or vegetation and the terrain is little more than dry, hot, and windswept plains and mountains, covering 60% of the planet's surface. The ocean covers 27% of the surface, while the fertile land covers only 13% of the surface, yet the lifeforms living there are truly bizarre. Also, due to almost no axial tilt and nearly perfectly round orbit, there are only very slight changes in weather or temperatures throughout the year, but due to heavy clouds, the world is veiled into near-perpetual, bluish twilight.
 * Speaking of flora, there are, for example, forests of giant mushrooms tall as a 5-story building or trees with bioluminescent fringes hanging down from the treetops, that cause nerve spasms when touched by naked human skin. Some trees grow bioluminescent fruits and some grow gaseous balloons that explode after some time, spreading seeds around.
 * Speaking of wildlife, some horrid lifeforms reside in half-dry deserts around the lush areas, as roots limit its growth. Those organisms known simply as Desert Maws are immobile, living bellow the ground in the soft sand, with only huge, twitching insectoid limbs and tentacles protruding from the ground that catch the prey that happens to walk past and feed it to a large maw. Such an organism grows indefinitely larger and larger as long as it gets enough nutrients and then basically starves to death. It reproduces by giving birth to dozens of worm-like creatures from honeycomb-like growths above the ground. Giant moths with bioluminescent wingtips are native to the mushroom forests, as well as are spiked lizards and short, bony humanoids that attack anything on sight, usually by throwing sticks and stones at their prey.

Naarian anatomy
Naarian anatomy had changed over the millennia, adjusting to the higher gravity as well as new environmental conditions.
 * Their originally human plantigrade feet turned into even-toed unguligrade hooved legs, possibly to allow them faster movement in the rocky and muddy terrain. Leg and thigh muscles are also generally larger and stronger than of an average human. Ears also became pointier.
 * Their skin also became rubbery and devoid of body hair, with a bluish or greyish undertone, presumably as a result of their new skin composition, or to help them blend into the dusky forests more easily. Even their eyes have a protective membrane covering the eyeballs, all likely because of the irritating mushroom spores endlessly falling from the gills meters above. With the membrane, Naarian eyes have a semi-opaque look, yet the iris has a natural bioluminescent capability, giving an impression of glowing eyes, although the glow is rather faint and visible only in near or utter darkness.
 * They also grew a thin tail, possibly to help them keep balance. Some individuals also grow shallow V-shaped ridges on their foreheads made of hardened skin, although it does not have any specific function. Same applies to flesh hair, which are long, tubular skin growths growing from the back of one's head, above the neck. Naarians often decorate them with rings, gems or colorful feathers.

Naarians

 * Naarians are very spiritual people, living in calmness and tranquility. They are also no zealots in spiritual matters and always seek a peaceful and respectful solution to their disputes. To become a priest or a shaman is very prestigious, yet very difficult, as each individual must prove their worth and pass many tests, including psychic conditioning, which means all priests and shamans are trained psykers. There is also a position of a war priest, who's basically a battle psyker, but only for the very gifted individuals. Apart from the priests, who serve the community, each individual pursues their own goals.
 * The population is dispersed throughout the entire livable area, yet the majority is living in cities, each acting as an individual city-state held together in an alliance led by the High Prophet. Naarian architecture is also very unique, as they prefer to build domes, usually out of stone, with windows made of stained glass, usually depicting religious motifs or important individuals, be it a famous warlord, or just the owning family's ancestor. Buildings are also very open and spacious, often even lacking doors and windows, and inside richly decorated.

Naarian technology

 * Since the world developed from scratch, with only little technology surviving intact, the technological level of their world is rather backward, yet even then they were able to achieve things far beyond expectations. Due to lack of resources, gunpowder or gasoline combustion engines never existed, yet electricity is widely used. Most common ways of power generation are steam, wind, and telluric batteries.
 * Speaking of weaponry, the basic rifle uses compressed air to propel the projectile (bullets with toxins inside are commonly used) out of the barrel. It is powerful enough to kill a lightly armored man. More advanced weapons use an electromagnetic field to propel the projectile. Those coil rifles are more effective against armored targets and are also built both as small arms or heavy weapons. The slow rate of fire is a huge disadvantage of both coils rifles and air rifles alike.

Humans

 * Humans are forced to live in the cities, as the mushroom spores can cause painful blisters after exposure, and if left unattended, even fungal growth spurts from the exposed area and after some time (usually matter of several days) without medical attention, slow and painful death as the fungus grows through the flesh. Usage of masks or rebreathers is recommended even for daily use in some regions, as inhaling a spore can be fatal with little chance of saving, and full-body protective gear is required whenever a human wish to enter the fungal forests, or get anywhere near it.
 * Humans living on Nidalos also had to adjust to the local culture and habits, as it is expected of them by the Naarians to follow at least some traditions as a sign on respect and politeness, and if somebody stands out too much, they are likely to be ostracized by the natives.

Notable locations

 * Daraal Zaar - Daraal Zaar, which in Naarian language means "The City of Light", is the largest and most populated one, and also the richest one. It is a place where the High Prophet lives and preaches, with hundreds of pilgrims coming from other cities to listen.
 * Nura'an Zaar - Meaning the "City in Mountain", Nura'an Zaar is a fortress, built predominantly inside a huge mountain. The city has a long military tradition and holds the largest garrison.
 * Daralaan Zaar - Meaning literally "City where flowers grow", Daralaan is a city focused on agriculture and food production due to their position close to vast fertile fields. They export over 60% of their total food production.
 * Nulaar Zaar - Once a prosperous industrial city, it now lies in ruins, as the city saw the worst fighting against the Chaos forces.

Notable people
(to be added)

Armed Forces
Nidalos is home to only 41 regiments, 32 of which are composed of the native population, while the remaining three are humans garrison and peacekeeping units. The most notable are listed below. Also, the Naarians don't use numerical designation on their regiments, as each regiment has a unique name, usually with a long tradition tied to their place of origin.


 * Lightbringers - An elite unit of warriors clad in heavy armor and equipped with the best weapons the Naarians produces. By Imperial standards, they could be compared to Scouts of the Adeptus Astartes, yet they lack any implants and augmentics, as well as powered armor. They wear exoskeletons that support the weight of the thick armor places. To battle, they usually carry both ranged and melee weapons, usually Coilrifles, Powered Hammers and shields.


 * Highland Hunters - recon & scout mounted infantry (to be added)


 * War Maidens of Niraan Zaan - female only medium infantry regiment (to be added)


 * Daralaan Siege Corps - Siege Corps are, basically, tank regiments, yet the word "tank" has to be taken with some leeway. In reality, those Siege engines are huge, slow, steam-powered rumbling landships with dozens of guns all around. Their siege engine is no match against the Leman Russ, let alone the Sabertooth tank.


 * Public militia - Serving as a territorial army, the militia consists of ordinary people that went through military training and are knowledgeable with the use of firearms and military tactics. Every member has their weapon and armor at home, although it is prohibited to wear it while they are not ordered to.