Knight House Pentastar

[mechadryad]

Knight House Pentastar

 

Time of founding: Unknown (pre M31)

Location: Five Star System

The Five Star System is a collection of five large solar systems in close proximity to each other orbiting a cluster of five blue stars known as the Anixian cluster. Each of these systems have a Death world and a Forge world, many around the imperium come to see the sight of the star cluster from the commercial fleet. Is is generally the only option to see it clearly and safely as going too close to the cluster causes ships to be pulled in by the super gravity that keeps the solar systems orbiting them.

 

Orginisation: The Pentastar house was originally the coalition of the knight houses of the separate solar systems with each house in control of their home solar system. After extensive interaction with the White Scar legion’s Leviathan Brotherhood the houses formed a sixth house tasked with leading the other houses under the name Pentastar as sub-houses. This house took on the name of the Noyan-Khârn of the brotherhood, Talos Megalo.

Despite their unification the Imperium treats the house as six houses.

The Knight families act as planetary governors of their solar system in a manner based off of the organisation of the High Lords of Terra before the Horus Heresy with many issues being resolved long before it reaches the Baron. The Death worlds are used as training worlds since the speed the planet recovers from any kind of damage caused to it in a matter of days provides ample challenge and opportunity.

 

Succession Laws and Assignment: Imperial Knights belong to the original family they serve. All members of the house are eligible to be inducted into a knight, reasons for others outside of the house are left to the house head’s discretion but are largely based in meritocracy as an incompetent can lead to issues with the other houses.

Typically knights are divided into groups of 50 containing 4 Seneschals, these groups are to function as an independent force and answer only to the head of their house; Forge world or house Megalo

Regardless of which sub-house they serve all Knights are part of house Pentastar and don the same house colours.

 

Strengths and Economy:The 5 Forge worlds are capable of creating typical things from ammunitions to personal appliances, however such domestic things are usually the usually the duty of Forge world Kairix. The 4 remaining Forge worlds tend to specialise in other fields, the most important being Forge world Krax which specialises in the construction, repair and salvage of Imperial Knights. Possessing the knowledge to construct almost any knight the Krax is the main reason for the military and economic strength of the system as there is few Knights that a Magos of the world cannot restore. The military strength on the houses is often called upon due to the sheer numbers available. However no house is to have less than 100 Knights stationed within their solar system at any given time.

 

Flaws and Deficiencies: Due to the nature of recruitment knights of the Pentastar houses are generally viewed as blunt and honest to a fault, as such interaction with less warrior-like allies the nobles of the house tend to speak on their behalf. Such an inability to see eye to eye with other commanders tends to lead to the Knights subverting their orders from commanders they don’t have faith in, while these decisions usually save billions of lives or can end up snatching victory from the jaws of certain defeat for a deluded commander their insubordination has led to a mixed reputation within the Imperium at large.

While the environment of having 5 houses competing with each other does have it’s benefits political disputes are extremely common, from servants to Knights and the Barons themselves. Generally these are settled by house Megalo acting as the high authority, however despite the diligence of the house issues can spiral out of control causing such discord that it requires an act of force. Historically these have ranged from the High King personally executing perpetrators in the streets during full scale riots to the Barons of every house being arrested to stand trial collectively.

The houses also have no access to Paragon Gauntlets and as such have very few Knight Gallants, those they do possess have a pair of reaper chainswords. This variation causes abnormalities with the machine spirit making it bloodthirsty, due to the neural connection between the Knight and pilot this can cause weaker willed pilots to rampage out of control. As such the Knight Gallants are seldom deployed and the pilots spend as little time in them as possible.

 

M31:

During the Great Crusade the Knight houses assisted multiple legions, notably the White Scars, Blood Angels, Lunar Wolves and Emperor’s Children. At the outbreak of the Heresy there was mass confusion and eventually civil war between the houses and within them as everyone accused each other rather of joining the Warmaster. House Megalo restored order over the course of a year after assuring the loyalty of the Knights of their own house, once their loyalty became known the war with traitor legions and Knight houses. The Pentastar houses had begun to make their way towards Horus with plans to destroy their once allies and cut off the Heresy at it’s roots, however they had to withdraw once the Fabricator General of Mars declared his allegiance to the Warmaster with 150 Knights continuing towards the Sol system with the mission to return Mars to the imperium.

The incident that caused the retreat of the house was the rebellion of the Skitarii legions.

The Treachery of Mars incited rebellion within the Forgeworlds the Magos leading the force was the head of the Skitarii legions, without the bulk of the Knight houses the Forgeworlds were hard pressed to defend technology that could completely change the balance of over. All 5 Forgeworlds had originally been built to study objects they had believed to be Eldar webway gates with the intent of using the webway to travel, however these had been revealed to be warp gates. Although these could be used to travel between other warp gates they were connected directly to the warp, leaving the Pentastar forces fighting a 4 front war against the Skitarii, the new traitor Knights and the traitor legions and the daemons spilling out into the material plane. A situation that required every Knight available. 

 

M41:

The Pentastar houses not only survived the Horus Heresy but recovered and grew. The ancient warp gates guarded continuously, the outer planets of the systems see conflict against all manors of enemies with few making it beyond.

The Forgeworlds now work on new neurotech since the discovery that the only son of the High Queen can pilot any Knight with the intent of extending his control to multiple Knights and to find out why this is possible, with the eldest daughter becoming a Magos and the second becoming a Commander of the Planetary Defence Forces the other two daughters will have to come of age before they can see if others possess the gift.

The systems are at relative peace and most disputes are over political marriages, as far as the galaxy at large else knows.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Has the House come in conflict with Elder or Dark Elder, due to the Warp gates' presence? Are the Warp gates related to Webway portals in any way?