|
This article, Escalia, was written by Bunglethorpe. Please do not edit or 'acquire' this fiction without the writer's permission. |
- "Though ye kneel your blood a'pouring, for the Emperor's grace imploring, ask the strength to keep on warring, Death and Glory lads!"
- —Closing stanza of "Death and Glory lads!", song of all Escalia's regiments.
Escalia was an insignificant Imperial civilised world in the Alamae sector of the Segmentum Tempestus. It was destroyed by the ravenous Tyranids of Hive Fleet Leviathan. Approximately twenty Escalian Regiments are believed to still be active with the Astra Militarum as of 110.M42.
Details[]
The Planet[]
Escalia was a civilised world generally classified as a mountain world, and its topography was best described as erratic. Heavy tectonic and volcanic activity shaped the relatively young planet into jagged mountain peaks plunging into narrow seas. Very little land was level, and what few even surfaces existed were more often than not underwater or near vertical. The seas and straits of the world were infamously tumultuous as the tides and currents were funnelled between the bottlenecks and canyons, producing extremely fast flowing and turbulent channels, as well as a good many whirlpools. Mean sea level temperature was around nine degrees Celsius, though most terrain laid well above this.
The planet exhibited an eccentric orbit, taking the planet much further from its star at the apogee than the perigee. This created planet-wide seasons of Summer and Winter, the latter of which could be brutally cold, particularly at higher elevations. The inhabitants considered the Summer to last only a third of the year, the remainder being Winter. An Escalian year was approximately five hundred Terran days, and the day about 27 Terran hours. It had two natural satellites, a moon of around a quarter of the planet’s mass, and another body adequately described as a medium-sized asteroid. Neither was home to any natural life, or even significant atmosphere. The system contained two other planets, both further from the star than Escalia. The first was a gas giant with its own plethora of uninhabited moons, and the other was slightly smaller than Escalia and near the edge of the system. The latter was home to a minor Imperial Navy listening post, but had no standing fleet to speak of.
Pict-file of average Escalian terrain, taken mid-winter.
History[]
During the Age of Strife, Escalia remained inhabited, and entirely isolated. Its people survived mainly off of the sea-life and traded with each other by means of caravans taking treacherous mountain passes. A certain prestige came to be associated with these traders, who became ever wealthier and ever more nomadic. During the Great Crusade, Imperial forces found a population of naive but skilled survivalists, eager to explore the galaxy at large. They were absorbed without bloodshed, and the caravan owners came to be the ruling class. In M38, the then Governor, Geranus Perim Thule, became dissatisfied with his planet’s standing in the wider Imperium, and launched a campaign to turn the planet into a hive world. In order to accomplish this, he set in motion a series of expansion plans, including a propaganda campaign encouraging increased procreation, and the expansion of cities planet-wide, even pushing architects to build vertically as opposed to horizontally. Five hundred years later, the population had only increased by around twenty percent, making about seven billion total, and the governor died a disappointed man, his successor then choosing not to continue his follies. Regardless of his intent, or his opinion of the result however, many of Escalia’s cities were greatly expanded, and its citizens enjoyed more spacious accommodation than most.
Cities[]
The cities of Escalia were generally coastal affairs, preferring to sit on flat land where possible, but often clinging to “Shelves”, the sides of steep slopes sometimes even cliffs. There were examples of settlements built on stilts and floats, but these were limited to wider, shallow bodies of water in order to avoid strong currents simply sweeping the town away. Most large land-based cities were shaped like small hives, due to the ambitions of Governor Thule, with the exception of Escapolis, the capital. This sprawling mess occupied the planet’s largest region of relatively even terrain, though it was pierced by the odd peak in places. The city ran more or less north-south along a landmass of a similar shape, and as such was often referred to as the spine of the world.
Running from a latitude of around twenty degrees south to about seventy degrees south, the immense settlement was home to the majority of the world’s population, and was far too expansive and oblong for Thule to turn into a hive. Rather, he tried to turn it into several. The city was dotted with spires connected by ancient streets, and one can imagine his vision as more of a great ridge as opposed to a tower. At the north-most end laid the Centennial City, the warmest region and home to most of the nobility, the rough equivalent of an ordinary hive’s upper spire. South of that was Escapolis proper, the densest region and home to all matters of government and business.
Continuing south the elevation increased into the plateaus and valleys of Greerock, sat in the desolate shade of an ancient volcano, which was tapped for power, this was the realm of the middle class, luxury industries and businesses not quite prestigious enough for Escapolis Proper. Finally, the elevation dropped again into the permafrost slopes of Wilease, which ended at the seasonal ice shelves of the Ice Straits, which would create temporary land bridges to the Antarctic desert. This freezing hole was home to the poorest, clinging onto the edges of industry for the scraps of warmth they provided. Habitats and factories were built with extremely thick walls and connected by tunnels, as in Winter it was not uncommon for most of the region to disappear under meters of snow. More recent expansions had given up on the surface altogether, and delved downwards instead.
Pict-File of Wilease workers during change of shift.
On the whole, living conditions were better than in the majority of the Imperium, and for those living outside Wilease at least, were on the whole quite good. There was not an excessive amount of industry or mineral exploitation, resulting a relatively clean environment, and remarkably little mutation. Indeed the biggest issue facing the general populace was simply the Winter cold.
Flora and Fauna[]
Land[]
Escalia's plantlife was mostly found near sea level, and at latitudes below thirty degrees. This was thought to be due primarily to the cold, and secondarily to the fact that for most of the year the colder regions would be covered in a thick blanket of snow and ice, and areas sufficiently windswept to clear such obstructions also tended to make life difficult for young saplings to take root. Nevertheless, the planet's North, South and peaks were far from devoid of life. The most successful species being the squat, coniferous Tent Tree, so named for their appearance following heavy snowfall. Several species of grass, fern and moss also found success clinging to cliffsides, where they could not be so easily smothered. Around the equator, conditions were far more favourable, and often temperatures would remain as high as four degrees celsius, even in the depths of winter. As such, these regions were home to flora of every kind, and could easily be compared to the temperate regions of ancient Terra.
The Planet's wildlife naturally followed the plantlife. In the less hospitable latitudes and altitudes, the largest lifeform was the fluff-covered, pure white Escalian Mountain Hare, believed to have been introduced by humans during the planet's colonisation before the long night, and a delicacy that supported an entire industry of private hunters. Beyond this there was the far less fluffy Seal Bat, a fist-sized flying creature that fed upon the cliffside greenery. These fat, blubbery creatures were less of a delicacy, but nevertheless had saved many lives on the mountainsides.
Deserving of special mention however, is the Rorke, Escalia's apex predator. These massive, leathery, flying beasts could grow to a wingspan of some ten meters, and were easily capable of carrying away a man. They were territorial hunters, and would patrol regions often over eighty square kilometers in search of food, expertly soaring on the volatile air currents generated by the terrain below. The sheer size of these territories made Rorke attacks mercifully rare, but it also made them a constant threat to the lone hunter wandering the slopes in search of hares. Needless to say, when a Rorke nest was discovered, usually in a high cave or crevasse, efforts were often made by the PDF to eliminate its occupant.
Sea[]
Given the tumultuous nature of Escalia's waterways, it was rare indeed for one to ice over fully, even during the harshest winters. As such, underwater plantlife flourished in all but the most polar regions. Indeed, it was the seas that allowed Escalia to survive the long night, and maintain self-sufficiency all the way up to its demise. Their huge array of edible kelps, seaweeds and algae providing a remarkably good source of nourishment, the latter often turning the water vivid green every summer. So important was this resource, that towards the end of the world's life, the majority of the Planet's seas were being actively farmed.
The aquatic fauna of Escalia was similarly successful, however as they lacked the wide open space of true oceans, they were relatively small in size, and there were certainly no predators considered dangerous to swimmers. These fish too were continuously exploited by the people of Escalia as a food source, and farmed throughout the planet's lifetime.
Religion[]
Like all Imperial Worlds, Escalia subscribed to a version of the Imperial Creed. Specifically, the Emperor had been tied to the various elements which dominated the lives of ancient Escalia. Primarily, this encompassed the weather, as once the world's trade had relied on thousands of treacherous mountain passes, regularly trod by caravans of every size. This led to superstitions arising around the peaks themselves, and offerings of goods would often be left at the entrance to such passes, as a toll to the mountain. Since then, these practices had continued, however the offering places had been converted shrines to the Emperor, and certain saints. In terms of day-to-day life, religion played a relatively small part. The majority would offer prayers before bed, and attend their local temples during the various religious holidays or when in need of spiritual guidance. Some more fanatical elements would choose to attend more often, and a few common folk would not attend at all. A far greater emphasis was placed on religion among the noble houses. Piety was considered a necessity, and where it could be proved that a powerful noble was not properly conducting their religious rites, they could stand to lose significant influence. Prayer also played a larger part in the lives of those who regularly traversed the world's highlands, or ancient roads, as bad weather on an exposed mountainside was just as dangerous in Imperial Escalia as it had been ten thousand years prior.
Imports and Exports[]
Escalia changed remarkably little from its days during the Long Night to its final demise, and as such was mostly self-sufficient. It had no great mineral wealth, and lacked great tracts of farmable land or sea, so its place as an asset versus a liability was more-or-less neutral. It only imported a little in the way of food and luxury items, and it mainly exported personnel. The planet’s topography greatly discouraged land travel and the maze-like waterways made movement by sea painfully slow. As such, most transport was by air, producing a greater than average number of capable pilots, a great deal of which went on to serve with the Imperial Navy. Further, the planet produced regiments of both Mountain and Airborne specialists for the Imperial Guard.
Escalia's local forgeworld was Duopedes and the majority of its imported materiel was supplied from there, the notable exception being the Ximenia pattern lasgun of the Escalian Mountaineers.
Military[]
Every Escalian guardsman would have started in the PDF, learning basic weapon and survival skills, as well as the discipline to stand guard on city walls in extremely low temperatures and driving precipitation. This time was also used to educate the men on basic small unit tactics and the Imperial Creed, and provided an opportunity to spot potential high-achievers. Expeditions into the mountains were common, and provided the skills necessary to survive their initial training for the guard. Equipment was poor, with few heavy weapons or fighting vehicles. PDF troopers could expect to serve with little more than a padded coat and a bolt-action rifle of local manufacture.
Mountaineers[]
Most PDF members would at some point be offered a position with the Imperial Guard, a posting which in all but the most extreme cases, would be with a regiment of the Escalian Mountaineers. Since the world was not a wealthy one, it could not afford a great range of vehicular support and equipment, and since it was not a heavily populated one, it could not bring enough men together to produce infantry regiments. Therefore, its regiments played on the skills their home provided, armed with little more than lasguns optimised for long range, and situationally with a supplementary oxygen tank, these men were expected to fight in low oxygen, over rough terrain and in the bitter cold without support for months. They were effective guerrillas and survivalists, and were generally used to harass enemy forces and deny flanking routes.
Training would generally take place over a single winter, as the new regiment was marched up a mountain, just high enough for the lowlanders among them to become breathless and pass out easily. There they would make base camp, and could expect to deal with temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees, along with roaring winds and zero visibility. They were then acclimatised, through long hikes, becoming jogs, and finally building up to runs, or at least as fast as one can run through knee-deep snow. Teams were regularly sent to summit nearby peaks, in order to gain experience with their oxygen equipment, and for the highlanders to experience hypoxia. Long patrols would be sent out, expected to last weeks, with the task of finding and dealing with avalanche threats.
Fortifications were dug, and weapon specialists were trained in the use of their visibility-enhancing optics. When the whole gruelling season was finally over, each man was expected to earn the title of Mountaineer by hiking the Tyddeman trail, cresting Mount Tyddeman, the highest peak on the planet and a holy site. The survivors would then be assigned to a regiment and shipped out, spending the trip in extremely low-oxygen compartments to preserve their acclimatisation, and conducting weapon exercises. Only after having proved themselves more than capable in actual combat would Guardsmen then offered further training and a place in an Airborne regiment. The typical
Airborne[]
The Airborne regiments were divided into Drop Troops and Air Cavalry units. The key difference being that Drop Troops jumped from high altitude with grav chutes in order quickly capture key points, whilst Air Cavalry would ride their transports down to the ground, attacking quickly, often before withdrawing. In other words, the former operated in relative isolation, taking and holding until relieved, whilst the latter was a rapid-deployment force used for raiding, rapid-reaction or exploiting changing battlefields. Neither was considered more prestigious than the other, both being grouped under the Airborne umbrella, however naturally there was a great sense of competition between the two camps. These regiments were universally small, elite forces, and considered Escalia's primary representatives on the battlefield.
Fate[]
Escalia was suddenly destroyed by Hive Fleet Leviathan at an unknown date circa 090.M42, stripping the planet of all life, water and air. No distress calls made it to the wider Imperium, and it may have made little difference if they had. Seeing an opportunity, Segmentum level command sent every non-committed regiment it could to witness what had been done to their home, and listed each of them from that point on as anti-Tyranid specialists. As such, they are the main foe of the remaining Escalians.
Of the twenty or so Escalian regiments remaining, roughly three quarters are believed to be Mountaineers, with the rest being Airborne, of which only one is known to be of drop troops. The vast majority of these formations are scratch regiments, the only confirmed exception being the 44th Mountaineers. Certainly every Airborne regiment is as such, and none are considered to be at full strength.
Battlefleet Alamae expect to shortly receive a Falchion Class Escort that will be named Avenger of Escalia.