Element 5 – Homeworld

[Brother Tyler]

In this round you get to vote for the basic concept for the DIY Chapter’s homeworld using the poll system. Note that spelling and grammar errors are inconsequential, and substantive elements are provided as a foundation only. Later on in the DIY Chapter development we will fix any errors, and we might adjust concepts slightly in order to make the entire product cohesive. Members that submitted Homeworld concepts may vote for their own submissions. Note that I actually received a third entry, but that entry changed some of the basic requirements and didn’t come close to the 1,000 word requirement (I would have allowed as little as 800 words since there was a semi-consensus that 1,000-2,000 words was asking a bit much, but changing the planet to a forge world wasn’t allowed). That member will be allowed to post the “Participant” image in his signature since he did put forth effort and incorporated elements from three different concepts. Unfortunately, however, that entry isn't eligible for voting since didn't meet certain requirements.

 

Our Homeworld concepts are:

 

Concept 1

 

Presumed lost from the rule of the Imperium in the tempestuous wake of the Horus Heresy, the world of Illustris lies near the Veiled Region in the Segmentum Tempestus.

 

The world of Illustris is a world dominated by it's geographical features. There is one large, central landmass, that wraps around almost fully half of the planet. The core of this vast continent is composed of towering, jagged mountains and deep, ancient valleys. Away from the inhospitable centre, forests and plains form the majority of the planet's terrain. Whilst there are other, much smaller islands on Illustris, they are highly perilous places, and as a result humans and their civilisation have only flourished on the central continent.

 

There, the human settlements are largely made up of individual, isolated clans. Each clan generally has two or three fixed settlements, and migrate from one to the other at set times throughout the year. The people of these clans are hunter-gatherers and farmers by nature, who pit themselves daily against storms, wild beasts, and occasinally against other clans. As a rule of thumb, clan members are only allowed to marry people from other clans. In such instances, it is tradition for the man to move into the woman's clan, although this tradition is not always observed. On rare occasions, couples from the same clan elope together. Some disappear into the mountains, and are the rumoured source of the 'clanless', a semi-legendary horde of bloodthirsty raiders who plunder and kill wherever they go. Others will travel to distant clans in far-off lands, and start a new life there. Illustris has few major cities, and it is only those fortunate enough to dwell within the walls of these great cities who do not undergo any migration.

 

Each of the clans, and even the cities, must swear allegiance to one of four 'Dominions', vast empires ruled by a collection of powerful dynasties. Wars to take control of border territories, or even to annex the lands of distant clans into part of a dynasty, are commonplace. When a clan's lands are taken over, that clan's allegiance is usually forced to switch to the conquering Dominion, under the threat of mass execution.

 

The people of Illustris consider themselves honourable and courageous. Even after being defeated and absorbed by another Dominion, clans will willingly fight for their new masters to uphold the honour and reputation of their clan and it's warriors. The people of Illustris generally make excellent soldiers, disciplined and steadfast warriors that seldom question the decisions of their commanders, and fight with the ferocity of tigers. The cultures of the clans value good warriors highly, and the most fearsome of them pass into local legends. Almost every clan has a tale or two of a clan-born legendary warrior, who others strive to emulate.

 

The most famous one of these is Giashi Quan, a vengeful warrior who took his knife and rifle, travelling alone into the mountains to hunt and kill the raiders who butchered his beloved wife. The tale goes that seventy years later he returned, with a belt made from the skulls of the ones responsible, and a sword said to have been forged by the mountain spirits. The story then details his journey back into the mountains, where according to rumour he buried the sword at the furthest end of the deepest valley.

 

Of particular note is the surprisingly strong bonds between the clans, despite the frequent skirmishes and bloodshed overseen by the Dominions. In many cases these go far beyond simple trade rights, and many clans have a long, documented history of their interactions with other clans. Particularly, clans whose history is consistently violent and contains mostly warfare tend to view each other as worthy adversaries. Members of one clan marrying into another are, surprisingly, not demonized by their former clansmen, except in rare cases.

 

All four of the Dominions are fairly evenly matched in warfare, and wary generals make much study of their enemies' strengths, as well as their own. On the rare occasion that one Dominion rises above the others in terms of power, the other Dominons have always bonded together to combat them, although such alliances have proven to be fragile and quickly broken once the common threat has been toppled.

 

The history of Illustris shows a marked difference between the lives of it's nobles and commoners. The nobles keep to the major cities, spending thier days mired in an eternal struggle to manuever into greater prominence, whilst watching their backs against the ambitions of other nobles. The great dynasties that rule each of the four dominions eternally contest each other, both within their own dominion and abroad. Who gives the orders is almost irrelevant to the peasantry, however, who are forced to obey them regardless, pressured to do so by both their peers and personal codes of honour and obedience thousands of years old.

 

The one definitive surviving link to previous Imperial rule can be found in the somewhat decrepit temple on the far north of the continent. Far more splendid and magnificent than any of the other structures found on Illustris, it is home to the ancient line of Illustrian kings, dating from long back before the dynasties that rule the Dominion were established. As time has passed, however, the wealth and power of these kings has diminished, to the point where now they have almost no influence on national politics, their voice barely heeded more than any ordinary clan leader. With the decrease in power has come the decay of the temple, that clearly once used to be a vast shrine to The Emperor. Ancient documents suggest the line of kings to be descended from governors installed during the long-lost days of Imperial rule.

 

Various prayers and catechisms within the Illustrian culture refer, at times, to a Great Emperor, a figure who created marvels and whose very presence could tame and command the great beasts of the wild. Others talk of him being attended by an army of enormous statues, grey as the stones and yet alive. While such tales are largely considered mythical within Illustrian society, most Imperial scholars believe these accounts to refer back to the days of the Great Crusade, long before the Horus Heresy. When Illustris was claimed back into the Imperial fold, little changed on the world, although the site of the ancient temple was quickly transformed into a servicable space port.

 

Concept 2

 

+++ From the logs of Explorator-Captain Sevan LeKalo +++

 

Illustris is a world composed of a vast chain of large archipelagos, formed by long-dormant undersea volcanoes. Along the equator are two small continents, Absum in the west and Peccavi to the east. The archipelagos vary greatly along with their latitude, from dense tropical forests, to ice-covered tundra to the far north and south. The continents are largely desert wastes – rich in mineral deposits but severely lacking in the arable land needed to sustain permanent settlements.

 

The population of Illustris is fractured in to hundreds of island kingdoms which are locked in a state of constant warfare. The most powerful of these nations are ruled by Witch-Lords, powerful wild psykers that have become increasingly prevalent among the population in the past several millennia. These Witch-Lords can vary greatly in temperament and governance, ranging from bloodthirsty megalomaniacs concerned only with the next war, to benevolent queens ready to lay down their lives for their lands and their people. Alliances between these rulers are common, but always temporary, typically lasting only long enough to destroy a common enemy. It is little wonder then that the Illustrian word for "treaty" is the same as "dew" – both are formed in an evening, only to evaporate in the light of the next morning. A revolt against a ruling Witch-Lord is a rare thing, since nations without a Witch-Lord are easy prey for their neighbors, and revolutions are brutally suppressed.

 

A rigid caste system pervades Illustrian society, a tradition fully endorsed by the ruling Witch-Lords. The caste system ensures a relatively smooth transition of power when a new ruler assumes control of a conquered nation, and the populace remains relatively shielded from any political intrigue. The most powerful of the castes is the warrior caste, which enjoys all of the privileges typically reserved for nobility. The caste is further divided into Clans, styles of warfare with their own totems and philosophies, from the brutal charging assaults of the Boar Clan to the lithe but deadly Viper Clan. While the upper echelons of a Clan are from the warrior caste, the rank and file soldiers are typically slaves captured and sold at a young age for a life of constant warfare.

 

With the recent advent of blackpowder weapons, a new city-state of Loda’I has risen on the northern edge of Peccavi. The disenfranchised and casteless have flocked to Loda’I, seeing an opportunity to break with the crushing cycle of warfare and to escape the restrictions of the caste systems for good. These hopes are in vain however: the ruling Council of Loda’I is concerned primarily with increasing their holdings throughout the Witchlands (as they refer to the island kingdoms) to support Loda’I itself, and is in constant struggle with one Witch-Lord or another. Even the caste system still persists, albeit in a different form – in Loda’I, inventors and craftsmen occupy the highest ranks of government and privilege; innovation is greatly prized in Loda’in society, and political power is typically equated with how many patents a House holds. Loda’in soldiers have only slightly more status than day-laborers and as such, little martial tradition exists among the city’s people. Slavery has been abolished in Loda’I, at least nominally, but a system of indentured servitude persists to keep entire generations under the heel of the Great Houses. Psykers within the population are non-existent as anyone bearing a hint of Taint is met with a swift and public death. Loda’I does brisk trade with nations too powerful or remote for them to conquer, offering machines and finished goods for the raw resources needed to keep the wheels of industry turning. Only the export of blackpowder weaponry is forbidden, and any House found trading them is stripped of its wealth, branded and sent into the wastes. The wastes to the south of Loda’I are crisscrossed by a network of railways connecting mines to refineries to factories, and are the only way to cross those barren lands reliably and safely.

 

The commoners of the Witchlands tend to lack a sense of national loyalty or pride – how can one love their nation when their ruler might be different tomorrow? Similarly, the warriors of Loda’I are largely mercenary, and will fight for whoever can pay the highest sum. These attitudes extend to the Imperium itself, or would if any of the Illustrins knew that they were a part of such a thing.

 

Currently, several Witch-lords and their vassal states have allied to counter Loda’In encroachment, attempting to capture the islands closest to Loda’I while employing pirates to disrupt major trade routes in an effort to lay siege to the city-state. It remains to be seen which will be the first to yield: the slowly-starving industrial juggernaut or the fractious bickering hordes of the Witchlands.

 

Important fauna:

Leviathans – regarded as the Children of the Sea-God, these immense sea serpents are greatly honored and feared. Any sighting of a leviathan is an omen of great portent, and entire cults are given over to their interpretation. To harm a leviathan is to invite destruction, and to actually kill one is an unfathomable blasphemy. Even the most power-hungry Witch-Lords refuse to use them in warfare for fear of injuring one.

 

Howlers – the wastes of both continents are home to a species of semi-intelligent ape, of which little is known about. They appear near Loda’I’s mines and desert foundries, typically proving a minor nuisance before they disappear in to the desert once more. A common tale (of dubious veracity) is that these sub-human beasts were originally an exiled Great House, twisted by the Waste and long since forgotten, back to visit mischief on their former home.

 

Weather:

Illustris is prone to massive typhoons throughout its tropical zones, and scouring sandstorms in the Deep Wastes so powerful they can strip the flesh from a grown man in seconds. Most notably, Illustris is entering a period of global cooling, and the ice caps at both poles have been encroaching on habitable lands for centuries, further increasing the competition for resources among the island kingdoms

 

+++ End log +++

 

Mini-game: See if you can point out all of the elements the submissions derived from the list of concepts I provided here. They included:

• China during the Warring States Period
  
• The Delaware Indians
  
• The Kalevala
  
• The Kree from Marvel comics
  
• Naboo from Star Wars
  
• The Oz books by L. Frank Baum
  
• Wild Wild West (the TV show, not the movie)
  

Voting ends Saturday 1 January at 5:30 am Eastern Standard Time (or whatever time I wake up and log in after the festivities of the night before), at which point we'll announce the winner and the next challenge.