Liber Challenge 2: Forgeworld Creidhne

[MindOfMetal]

General Information:

 

Forgeworld Creidhne was colonised in mid M36 by a collection of Magos’ from Forgeworld Stygies. The forgeworld is located in the Meeria sub sector of the Segmentum Pacificus.  The conditions on the planet are inhospitable, even for a forgeworld.  Temperatures rise during the daytime to above a point at which even buildings would suffer irreparable damage.  Therefore, the infrastructure of the planet is underground.

Much of Creidhne’s raw materials comes from failed planets in the system, shipped through to the forgeworld by mining craft.  Creidhne is the only fully formed planet in the Solar System, with roughly 3 other planets worth of Asteroids.  This has meant that while the forgeworld has a substantial amount of raw materials to draw upon its production rates can be hampered significantly by any fleet capable of blockading the system.

Creidhne’s sphere of influence extends over two knight households in the Meeria sub sector; House Ifan of the planet Auriok and House Bladehold.  A third household was aligned with Creidhne, House Radix, until 500 years ago when an Ork Waagh destroyed their home world. 

 

Notable Persona: 

 

The current Fabricator General of Creidhne is Arch Magos Jin-Gitaxis. Jin-Gitaxis is the most militant of the Fabricator Generals to have ruled over Creidhne, creating a number of the system defences present around the forgeworld.  He has also approved a significant increase in the forge space given over to the Myrmidon cult, which has led to a greater than usual presence within the system. This has led to an improvement overall in Creidhne’s military efficiency. Jin-Gitaxis spent much of his early years as Magos Logis; his skill as a logistician working on the grand scale of the Forgeworld and his attendant worlds.

 

Lord Iacobus is the current Princeps of House Ifan, frequently riding to war in his Crusader.  Iacobus has served his house for two centuries now, his body suffering greatly from the stresses of combat. Much of his body has been augmented heavily due to this, leading him to seem frail outside of his knight.  However, his mind is still sharp and his understanding of the capabilities of those under his command has led his House to many significant victories.

 

House Bladehold is a mostly secretive house.  Its knights are never seen outside of their knights on campaign and its Sacristans all wear masks to cover their faces. Unlike most knightly houses, no consorts have been seen accompanying them to war either. This has led to rumours within the Sub-Sector, but their actions in the defence of Imperial interests have managed to ensure that they have undergone no serious investigation. 

 

Legio Iapetus is a relatively small Titan Legion compared to many forgeworlds.  Due to the non-standard nature of the planet, the Legion has never grown large and has never fielded an engine larger than a Reaver variant.  Most commonly Warhound titans are seen accompanying Creidhne’s Skitarii.  The Legio rarely fights without a significant presence of Creidhne’s military might.

 

History:

 

Much of Creidhne’s history has involved the struggle against the Ork menace destabilising the Meeria Sub-Sector. The Forges have run continuously to create war material to aid the effort, with the Skitarii Legions and Creidhne’s war cults becoming experts at fighting Orks; especially in void combat. 

There have been 2 major assaults against Creidhne itself by Ork fleets within the past millennia.  The first such assault led to the destruction of the Forgeworlds third most productive mining facility in the system, the second assault managing to land a small force of Orks on the soil of Creidhne itself.  This small force had the misfortune of landing directly next to the prime myrmidon compound in the Northern Hemisphere.  The resulting battle was fierce but short lived, with radiation still registering in significant quantities in the area.

 

The loss of House Radix is considered by all to be the greatest military defeat of Creidhne since its creation.  At the time, the House was the most powerful of the 3 knight houses allied to the forgeworld; more so than the others combined.  The majority of the house was gathered on their homeworld for the ceremony that would promote their newly elected Princeps to rulership of the house when Waagh Skargor happened to attack the planet.  For reasons unknown, alarms where not sounded until the main force of Orks was making planetfall.  With a call for aid seemingly unsent, the knights of House Radix rode out against the Waagh in hopes of defeating it and driving it from the planet.  Many put this down to the inexperience of the newly elected Princeps, but many still wonder why the House had no warning of the impending invasion until too late and did not try to call for aid.  From forensic data reconstruction, the members of the House fought valiantly, but the sheer numbers of the invaders dragged them down until the house Princeps and a select few knights remained. These last few knights charged into the horde in order to slay Skargor to break the back of the Waagh. It seems that they were successful at least, but at the cost of their lives.  Waagh Skargor was broken and later destroyed by a vengeful Creidhne fleet.  But House Radix was destroyed, no surviving members of the House have been found.

 

Notable Allies:

 

Creidhne is unusual amongst local forgeworlds due to a close relationship with the Luchtaine dynasty. The origins of this relationship are unknown, but the relationship has been for many generations of the Rogue Trader dynasty.  Luchtaine forces and commercial interests often appear with a number of unknown patterns of servitor automata, giving them a number of significant advantages.  What they did to get such an advantage is unclear, but rumours say they are heavily indebted to Creidhne.

 

 

(Any suggestions/areas for improvement/comments would be appreciated)