Battencia

Battencia is an Imperial Civilized World, situated in the system that shares its name. It is a major Imperial colony and the capital of the Zylos subsector. It is also home to the Battencian Heralds chapter of the[Adeptus Astartes. Once, it was a practical Paradise World, with a small, relatively advanced human population, and beautiful but dangerous wilds. Ever since its devastation at the hands of the Word Bearers from 380.M40-385.M40, the planet has been very different. The Ecosystem has sprung back in many places, and Battencia still hosts many beautiful sites, though there are some areas that have been irreparably damaged by war. Ever since the Siege of Battencia, the Battencian Heralds have taken a much more active role in the governance of the planet, and now almost the entire planetary population has been technologically uplifted to modern Imperial standards.

Before the Imperium
Battencia was first discovered by humanity during the Dark Age of Technology. It was very suitable for human habitation and a sizable population quickly grew on it, though not sizable enough to threaten its environment. It was a nice, quiet Human world until the Age of Strife started and the Human Empire was engulfed in Warp Storms. Cut off from the greater Empire, the Planetary Governor, Larkin Blonigan, took charge and consolidated his power. The first, most immediate threat, were the revolting Men of Iron. Quickly, Larkin put together defense militias and mobilized any military asset he had at his disposal, including the Knight Walkers of the neighboring world of Epipolae. In a desperate battle upon the plains of Battencia, the revolting robots were put down and annihilated.

With the immediate threat of the Men of Iron dealt with, Battencia faced the problem of reestablishing communication with the outside. It was quickly found that the Warp Storms were not quite as bad around Battencia, so they were able to secure a viable route of travel to three nearby systems, Antya, Ionii, and Thrake. These four systems agreed to submit to the Blonigan government, and the small Empire existed like that for millennia, seeking to expand as far as they could, but having little luck. On their own, they prospered.

Coming of the Imperium
Eventually, the Warp Storms did subside. However, before any meaningful colonization efforts could be made, the Imperium arrived over Battencia. It was an Expeditionary Fleet of the Great Crusade, composed of the 9th Legion, the Blood Angels. Its leader was their Primarch, Sanguinius. He entered into negotiations with the leader of Battencia, a descendant of Larking Blonigan, and within 3 days the independent state of Battencia ceased to exist as they were peacefully incorporated into the Imperium of Man.

Imperial Battencia
As an Imperial colony, Battencia paid its tithes on time and to their fullest, the rich planet having little issue paying some of its resources and men for the Imperium. Epipolae was the center of the old Independent Battencia's STC storage, and the Adeptus Mechanicus moved in the claim it, turning it into a Forge World. Battencia meanwhile served loyalty, and since it had once had its own military there was no shortage of fighting men, and the ranks of the Solar Auxilia were swelled with Battencian recruits. In addition to providing recruits for regular human forces, Battencia is also believed to have provided some men to the Blood Angels legion itself, though this claim is the source of much controversy. Regardless, Battencia stuck with the Imperium throughout the Great Crusade, and into its darkest hours, in the Horus Heresy.

The Battencian Sieges
For almost 10,000 years, there would be relative peace for Battencia. However, in the late 38th and 39th Millennia, the forces of the Ruinous Powers increased their activity in the area around the Zylos subsector. As such, during the 24th Founding of the Adeptus Astartes, 2 chapters would be created in the Subsector. The first, the Angels Tempestus, in Estrillon, one of Battencia's neighbors. The second, the Battencian Heralds, upon Battencia itself. This new chapter would go off fighting occasionally, but largely remain as garrison, fighting off increasing Chaos raids, until, in the 350th year of the 40th Millennium, everything changed. A major warp rift opened in the Subsector, and a massive Chaotic army was divulged from it. It was lead by elements from both the Word Bearers and Thousand Sons. Quickly, the subsector became a warzone. For 30 years, the Imperial defenders of Battencia fought, but were steadily pushed back. Eventually, the Heretical army split, and the Word Bearers came directly for Battencia.

What followed was a 5 year siege. The Heralds opened their fortress monastary to hold as many refugees as they could, but still many more were left outside. The population of Battencia went to ground wherever they could. They set up hidden fortresses wherever they could, deep in the forests, high in the mountains, and in old ruins, and began to harass the invading army as much as they could. The PDF and Guardians of Battencia Imperial Guard Regiments on the planet fought a heroic fighting withdrawal, with some Guard mechanized divisions waging an effective hit and run campaign against the Heretics, though many were eventually cornered and annihilated. The Fortress Monastary itself was heavily shelled, and a massive artillery duel on a nigh-unimaginable scale commenced. The well trained Heralds scouts aided in this, sneaking out of their fortress during the night to blow up guns and kill Heretics.

Holan, the planet's capital city, was invaded quickly, but a desperate resistance by the population and Imperial Guard forces halted the Heretical advance. Fierce urban fighting would continue for years, and despite large numbers of Loyalist heavy weapons in play, the Heretics began to gain ground. However, before the city could be fully subjugated by the Word Bearers, the gates of the Fortress Monastary flew open, and the Battencian Heralds stormed out to do battle with the Heretics. It took 4 companies a month and a half to secure the edges of the city.

Seeing their assault on Holan fail, and the Fortress Monastary holding fast under their guns, the Heretics got desperate. In an extremely risky maneuver, the Word Bearers brought a Destroyer into Battencia's atmosphere and had it concentrate all its firepower on the Fortress Monastary, with the crew fighting to keep the ship aloft the entire time. For 7 minutes, it stayed before finally plummeting to the ground, but in that time a breach was formed, and the final Word Bearers assault began.

In ferocious fighting on the walls of the Fortress Monastary, the Heralds gave it their all to finally end the siege. The Herald's close range fire discipline broke down, and it devolved into an all out melee. Chapter Master Kyudor Albexus of the Battencian Heralds personally slew the leader of the Word Bearers force, and the Heretics were repelled after hours of extremely close hand to hand fighting.

The Heralds then struck out, and in a matter of 2 months they had hunted down all the heretics they could find, and broke the back of that prong of the Word Bearers army. After relieving the Siege of Estrillon, the Imperial forces spent 5 years scouring the Zylos subsector, and Battencia was no exception, with the Fifth Company being placed on long term garrison duty to specifically clean out the world and its neighbors.

Modern Era
Thankfully, the planet of Battencia has not faced anything as trying as the Sieges since that conflict's conclusion. After the dust had settled, the command staff of the Battencian Heralds addressed the planet's situation. Much was in ruin, and there was a lot of rebuilding to be done. However, the more modern citizens in Battencia's major cities had by far put up the most effective resistance to the Invaders, with much of the medieval peasantry just getting murdered. Furthermore, the Heralds commanders proved more effective than the PDF officers at command and control skills, as well as assessing the battlefields of the Siege. So, the planet was usurped from its civilian government by the Heralds, but many of these government officials kept their roles under the new Astartes government. The positions of Planetary Governor and Chapter Master were merged. The populace of the planet embraced this change, and the old governors, still following the Blonigan family line, were given a special advisory role to the Governor, and was made Governmental Regent, meaning they act as governor whenever the Chapter Master of the Battencian Heralds is off worlds. Seeing as the Adeptus Astartes is a quite travel-demanding organization, this happens quite often.

In the two Millennia since, the Heralds have helped revive Battencia. Many of the war torn locations in Battencia have been restored to pristine and verdant glory, and the planet's populace has been reeducated by the Heralds to bring them into the modern age. Even before this, most Battencians lived in a modern state of technology, but with backwards peasant communities dotting the countryside. Many of these communities have now been enlightened, though holdouts still exist. The Heralds are fine with these holdouts, as they provide an interesting place to send Recruits, and an even better place to take them from.

Geography
Battencia possesses 5 main continents and 3 large oceans, as well as several smaller seas.

Lavrish largely consists of plains and forests, dotted by rivers and lakes, with the Northern regions cold enough to receive snow. Lavris is bisected by a large mountain range. It is situatied in the planet's eastern hemisphere.

Necan rests to its south. Its northern coast consists of jungle, which turns into mountains and volcanos as one goes deeper inland.

Iunix lies to the west, and is a vast, expansive landmass with almost every climate imaginable present. It has forests along the coast, morphing into a jungle and then levelling out into plains. There, to the north stretches a great tundra and to the south a vast desert. Going inland reveals a steppe dotted with mountains and canyons.

Wrogros lies in the far north, and is very inhospitable. It is cold all year round, with violent snows and harsh tundras. Only the hardiest of creatures can survive in Wrogros, and it is largely barren of any resources. For this reason, it hosts very few permanent settlements.

Guranya lies between Lavrish and Iunix, it is a large island that is almost completely covered in jungles and rainforests. It hosts a very diverse ecosystem, including carnivorous plants, monstrous apex predators, and ancient tribes of humans largely cut off from the rest of the planet.

Climate
Battencia is largely temperate planet with an orbital pattern similar to Terra. It has 24 hour days and 365 day years. Its climate, as mentioned above, varies depending on the latitude. The central regions of Lavrish and Iunix tend to be very mild, and they support vast amounts of flora and fauna. Tending north or south, things get progressively colder or warmer. Already at the northern tip of Lavrish, there is tundra for a good part of the year. Up at Wrogros, there is yearlong winter, as there is at the planet's south pole, which is connected to Iunix. Guranya is mostly equatorial, and hosts a very tropical environment.

Plants
Battencia's landscapes are home to a vast amount of plant life, some species of which date back to Terra itself. There are some special examples like the Battencian Great Oak, giant trees that extend hundreds of meters into the air, far past the ancient Terran redwood, and Guranyan Sycamores, trees so hardy they can survive anywhere from the deserts of Iunix to the mountaintops of Necan.

There are also some less docile plants, like the Perlaic Bellplant, which uses its tough vines to drag even man sized victims into their mouths to be paralyzed and digested by enzymes.

Animals
Likewise, Battencia is home to a wide variety of animal species. Plenty of common Old Terran domesticated animals, like dogs, horses, and cats, have been brought to Battencia where they still live, but there are plenty of unique species to be found. Most notable among these are the large apex predators that dominate the wilds. Two of the largest are the Great Troll and the Chimera.

Great Trolls are bipedal animals that stand about 8 feet tall. They aren't exceptionally intelligent, but they are strong enough to harm an armored Astartes. Chimeras are hybrids, that appear as a cross between a lion, snake, and goat. The Chimera, unlike the Great Troll, aren't aggressive to humans by their nature, and they are revered in Battencian Society, adorning the Herald's chapter symbol.